Hi-Rez Studios has revealed the details of Smite patch 3.17, and it's a substantial one that introduces a new game mode among many other things.

Smite currently is a strictly competitive game; there is technically a co-op mode, but that simply allows you to play the standard game with AI bots in place of real players. It's not ideal.

3.17 adds a new co-op mode called Xing Tian's Mountain that attempts to do something more. It pits a team of five players against waves of enemies, with Hi-Rez saying it "combines the best parts of MMO-style boss encounters and wave-based survival modes into a truly unique experience."

Players still level up, earn gold, and buy items as in the standard game, though in this mode you start at level 13 with 7500 gold. From there, the team takes on "a randomly selected encounter" that they have to complete within a certain amount of time. Doing so successfully allows the team to then move on to another round, with each one being more difficult than the last. An accompanying leaderboard will let you show off your progress.

The other big non-balance aspect of this patch is the launch of the 2017 Odyssey. This event will run from the release of 3.17 until the Smite World Championship early next year. New content will be up for sale every two weeks, and buying these items earns you Odyssey points that allow you to unlock exclusive content. You can also earn points by completing quests, with seven being available each week.

The first of these items are new skins coming in 3.17. Amaterasu gets a fox outfit, Susano receives a very cool steel samurai skin (featured in the video above), and Nu Wa gets a retro skin. You can see these in the gallery below (alongside Terra's new mastery skins).

3.17 also has the usual assortment of skins (two each for Izanami, He Bo, and Geb) and balance changes. Item-wise, there are a number of tweaks to boots that may affect what you buy early in the game. Shoes of Focus now provide 40 magical power (up from 30), making them a more viable alternative to Shoes of the Magi. Likewise, Ninja Tabi now provide more attack speed (20 percent, up from 15) and 100 mana to compensate for offering less power than Warrior Tabi. Reinforce Shoes/Greaves each now have a passive that provide additional protections for a brief time after taking damage, stacking up to five times. And Talaria Boots now cost 100 less gold (1400) and provide more physical power (15, up from 10).

On the character side, there's quite a bit going on. Izanami, the character added in the most recent update, is actually getting a buff, which is often not the case with a new addition. Her stealth effect (one of the things that makes her unique as a Hunter) will now last for longer at all levels, while her Ultimate will deal more damage and scales higher.

Bastet's base stats and abilities are being adjusted to make her more effective in the early-to-mid game, but less effective later on. This is happening largely by giving her more mana and mana regen, but reducing the damage scaling on her Razor Whip ability. Nemesis' Ultimate cooldown, meanwhile, gets increased at the first four ranks, only reaching the current 70-second mark once it hits level 5. Xing Tian's Ultimate, on the other hand, gets a small adjustment by reducing the wind-up time on it.

Ravana gets nerfed; his Prana Onslaught ability's cooldown is being increased and his 10-Hand Shadow Fist now heals for less. Poseidon gains some additional movement speed from his Tide meter, and he can now basic attack more quickly after using Trident.

The last significant character change is to Nu Wa, or more specifically, the minions she spawns. These are notoriously stupid, but should now more reliably attack the target she wants. They'll now prioritize targets attacking Nu Wa; if no one is attacking her, they'll focus on the closest enemy until a god attacks her or one of her allies. To compensate for their newfound modicum of intelligence, they'll reduce fewer protections from enemies they hit.

You can check out the full patch notes on Smite's website.