Smite’s Cernunnos is probably one of the most accurate portrayals of Cernunnos in any media ever. Cernunnos is the god of the forest in Celtic mythology, what that means is that anyone who disrespects the forest will be met with a swift end.
All in all, Cernunnos seems like a pretty chill God, just don’t let his face scare you away. He does however put his money where his words are, as he’s one of the best junglers in the game.
With all that in mind, it’s no wonder why we ranked him so high on our list of the best Smite Gods. But what do you think of Cernunnos? We’d like to hear from you in the comments below or on the Z League app.
Key Takeaways for Smite Cernunnos Guide
- Cernunnos is probably the best hunter in the game
- Lifesteal is the stat you should be most concerned with
- Cernunnos is exceptional in 1 v 1s, but don’t get overly confident
Cernunnos’ Abilities
Starting off with his passive, we have Heavy Glaive. Even though Cernunnons is a ranged God, his passive allows him to deal extra damage if he’s throwing his glaive in melee range; this basically promotes a more aggressive playstyle when playing him. While other hunters prefer staying at range, Cernunnos likes to get up close and personal.
His first ability is Shifter of Seasons. Activating this ability imbues the four seasons in his basic attacks, depending on the season active at the moment you can either get bonus physical lifesteal, bonus damage, a reduction to the enemies protection, or a slow. Ideally, you’d hit the target with all 4 seasons and ruin their day with all the debuffs.
Bramble Blast is his second ability. Basically it’s a skill shot that spreads into an AoE upon hitting a target, a wall, or the maximum range of the ability. If you hit a God however you will also root them in place for a second.
Horn Charge is as the name implies, a charge that allows you to pass through any enemies that may stand in your way. What, you thought the horns were there for aesthetic purposes only?
His ultimate is The Wild Hunt, it’s an AoE that has a short cast time but quite a large radius. Any enemy gods caught in the area will be turned into wild boars which cannot attack, are silenced, and are slowed on top of that for a few seconds. There’s nothing quite as funny as getting the entire enemy team with this ability.
Ideal Cernunnos Build
You’re probably going to be jungling with Cernunnos, so this build will be specialized with that in mind, however, it is also a pretty good all-around build regardless of the situation.
Start off by picking up a Leather Cowl and a Spiked Gauntlet as well as your potions. Purification Beads and a Blink Rune are also recommended. You can also substitute the Beads for a Sundering Spear if you wish.
Upgrade the Cowl and Gauntlets into a Hunter’s Cowl and a Devourer’s Gauntlet as soon as possible. Building up the stacks on the Devourer’s should be your priority starting off.
After those are done, grab a Dominance, a Deathbringer, a Demon Blade, and an Asi to round it off. With the first two items you should have pretty good lifesteal, so you don’t have to prioritize the Asi. Increasing your crit chance is however always useful, so grab a Deathbringer and upgrade it into an Envenomed Deathbringer as soon as you’re able to. You should also upgrade your relics into a Corrupted Blink Rune and Chaotic Beads. Since being a nuisance to the enemy is your job, those will help you accomplish that more effectively.
Tips for Playing With Cernunnos
- Don’t just jungle for the entirety of the game, help out your teammates if their lane is receiving a lot of heat
- Building lifesteal is the way to go because of Cernunnos’ playstyle, you have to get close and persona, hence the need for lifesteal.
- Don’t get overly confident. You’re strong in a 1 on 1, that may not be the case in a 3 on 1.
