Smite 4.8 Patch Notes Reveal A Bob Ross Skin

Hi-Rez Studios has announced the details of the latest patch for Smite, and while it doesn't add a new character or mode, it does offer something that's arguably better: a Bob Ross skin.

Yes, the famed artist--best known for his TV show, The Joy of Painting--will soon be commemorated in Smite as a skin of Sylvanus. It still places Sylvanus on the shoulder of his tree companion, but it gives him the look of Bob Ross, complete with an easel. His basic attack takes the form of paint that he throws, and one of his abilities sees him plant an adorable tree with a smile. You can see the skin in action around the 46-minute mark of the patch preview on Twitch.

Gallery

There's actually an entire Bob Ross bundle on the way to Smite, thanks to a partnership with his estate. This gets you not just the skin, but a jump stamp (what you see on the ground when you jump), loading frame, and loading screen. It's priced at 700 Gems or $10 through the Twitch Commerce and launches on May 9 on PC/Mac and May 16 on PS4 and Xbox One.

Elsewhere in patch 4.8, Erlang Shen gets the Queen's Guard skin, while Sol, Thoth, Kuzenbo, and Thanatos all get new looks as well. You can see those in the gallery below.

Among the balance changes, the price of Hastened Fatalis has been increased, though it also gains a small amount of bonus attack speed. Chronos sees a nice buff, with Stop Time's damage being boosted and the cooldown on his Ultimate, Rewind, being reduced. Jing Wei has been buffed as well: Agility's cooldown is now lower, and the ability provides physical power and movement speed bonuses for a short time after its use.

Gallery

Perhaps more meaningful than any character- or item-specific changes are those intended to counteract snowballing. Hi-Rez is adjusting both the amount of experienced needed to level up early in matches and how easy the Gold Fury is to kill. The purpose of these adjustments is to address concerns over how it feels like the early portion of a match plays too large of a role in determining its outcome. These changes won't be made in the full 4.8 release; they'll be tested on the PTS alongside 4.8, and they may then be included with the official 4.9 launch.

For full details on all of the balance changes in 4.8, check out the full patch notes.