SMITE Rulebook (High School)

The 2021 - 2022 SMITE Rulebook for High School leagues.

Updated over a week ago

The Overall High School Competition Rulebook can be viewed here.

Introduction and Purpose

These Official Rules (“Rules”) of the PlayVS High School Esports League apply to each of the teams who have registered and met the requirements for the 2021-2022 school year, as well as their head coach, assistant coaches, vice principals, athletic directors, Starters, Substitutes (collectively “Team Members”), and other members.

Table of Contents

1. Game Rules

1.1 Definition of Terms

1.1.1 Unintentional Disconnection.

A player losing connection to the game due to problems or issues with the game client, platform, network, or PC.

1.1.2 Intentional Disconnection.

A player losing connection to the game due to player’s actions (i.e. quitting the game). Any actions of a player which lead to a disconnection shall be deemed intentional, regardless of the actual intent of the player.

1.1.3 Server Crash.

All players losing connection to a game due to an issue with a game server, PlayVS platform, or venue internet instability.

1.2 Game of Record

A game of record (“GOR”) refers to a game where all ten players have loaded and which has progressed to a point of meaningful interaction between opposing teams. Once a game attains GOR status, the period ends in which incidental restarts may be permitted and a game will be considered as “official” from that point onward. After the establishment of GOR, game restarts will be allowed only under limited conditions (see Section 1.4). Examples of conditions which establish GOR:

1.2.1

Any attack or ability is landed on minions, jungle creeps, structures, or enemy Champions.

1.2.2

Line-of-sight is established between players on opposing teams.

1.2.3

Setting foot, establishing vision or targeting skillshot ability in opponent’s jungle by either team, which includes either entering the brush connected to the enemy jungle.

1.2.4

Game timer reaches two minutes (00:02:00).

1.3 Stoppage of Play

If a player intentionally disconnects without notifying a coach or League Official or pausing, a League Official is not required to enforce a stoppage. During any pause or stoppage, players may not leave the match area unless authorized by their coach.

1.3.1 Directed Pause.

League Officials may order the pause of a match or execute a pause command on any player station at the sole discretion of the League Officials, at any time.

1.3.2 Player Pause.

Players may only pause a match immediately following any of the events described below, but must signal a head coach immediately after the pause and identify the reason. Acceptable reasons include:

1.3.2.1

An Unintentional Disconnection

1.3.2.2

A hardware or software malfunction (e.g. monitor power or peripheral disability or game glitch).

Player illness, injury, or disability is not an acceptable reason for a player pause. In such a situation, the team must alert a League Official, who may in his/her sole discretion, grant a pause in order to evaluate the identified player to determine whether player is ready, willing, and able to continue playing within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the League Official, but not to exceed a few minutes. If the League Official determines that the identified player is not able to continue playing within such reasonable period of time, then the identified player’s team shall forfeit the game unless a League Official, in his/her discretion, determines that the game is subject to an Awarded Game Victory.

1.3.3 Resuming the Game.

When the pausing team is ready to unpause the game, a player from each team must confirm the resumption by typing “ready” or “r” in the chat. To communicate with the opponent, players will press enter, type “/all” followed by a space and the message, then press enter again to send the message.

1.3.4 Unauthorized Pause.

If a player pauses or unpauses a game without permission from the coaches, it will be considered unfair play and penalties will be applied at the discretion of League Officials.

1.4 Game Restart

The decision of which condition(s) shall justify a game restart is solely at the discretion of League Officials.

1.4.1 Restarts After GOR.

The following are examples of situations in which a game may be restarted after GOR has been established.

1.4.1.1

If a game experiences a critical bug at any point during the match which significantly alters game stats or gameplay mechanics.

1.4.1.2

If a League Official determines that there are environmental conditions which are unfair (e.g. excessive noise, hostile weather, unacceptable safety risks).

1.4.2 Controlled Environment.

Certain conditions may be preserved in the event of a restart of a game that has not reached GOR, including, without limitation, picks and bans. If, however, a match has reached GOR then League Officials shall not retain any settings.

1.4.3 Player Confirmation of Settings.

Each team captain shall verify that every player on his/her team has finalized their intended game settings (including runes, masteries, controls, and GUI settings) before GOR is established. Any error in verification is not grounds for a game restart after GOR is established.

1.5 Roster Requirements

1.5.1 Roster Size

SMITE teams consist of a starting roster of 5 players. Each player is expected to play a role based on where they are slotted on the roster (Solo, Jungle, Mid, ADC, or Support).

Each team is required to maintain, at all times during the season, one coach, and at least three players in the starting lineup (“Starters”). It is recommended that a team also maintain two players as Substitutes or Alternates ("Substitutes"). For the avoidance of doubt, Starters and Substitutes are subject to the same roster eligibility requirements. No individual may simultaneously hold two or more of the roles listed above.

The Starters are considered collectively as the “Starting Roster.” The Starting Roster, including any Substitutes that are competing, will be required to be on-site for every official game that the team participates in.

Substitutes are considered collectively as the “Substitute Pool.” Players in the Substitute Pool may be used for any team within an assigned league. All eligible substitutes for a league will be displayed under the Substitute Players area of the Manage Teams page. The players shown under the Substitute Players area are the only players that can be used as subs for the selected league. Only the substitutes for the selected game from the dropdown will be displayed. Any verified player can be enrolled as a substitute through the enrollment process by navigating to the enrollment page, selecting a game, and then switching to the substitute players tab and selecting the players you would like to be enrolled into the substitute pool for the selected game. During the playoffs, substitutes must be assigned to one team.

The Starting Roster will be displayed on www.playvs.com. The Starting Roster on the PlayVS website will be considered the most up to date roster that could be applied within a reasonable time. Roster eligibility is at the discretion of League Officials.

All players associated with a school are considered collectively as the "Complete Roster." The "Playoff Roster," Starting Roster plus two Substitutes, must be locked in one week prior to the playoffs.

A player is only allowed to compete for the school that he or she is enrolled in. A player will not be allowed to compete for more than one school simultaneously and therefore cannot be listed on the roster of more than one school. To verify that these players are officially enrolled at their school, each player must be verified by the team's coach or another member of the faculty. For the avoidance of doubt, the verification of a player is an agreement to a summary of some key terms of the Rulebook needed by the league to verify eligibility and confirm agreement by player and team.

1.5.2 Substitutes

Each SMITE roster can have 5 substitutes or bench players. Prior to one week before the playoffs, the starting roster and all bench players must be locked.

Substitute players must be enrolled onto the roster in order to play. When they are intended to play, a coach or captain must make the substitution on PlayVS in order for it to be a valid substitution for the match. The switch should be done at least 15 minutes before the intended game of the swap

2. Player Equipment

21. Player Equipment

Players will be able to use any of the following systems to play SMITE during the PlayVS competition.

  • PC (Steam or Epic Games Launcher)

  • Playstation 4 or 5

  • Xbox One or Xbox Series X

  • Nintendo Switch System

2.2 School Provided Equipment

Each school should have equipment for their players in the following categories

  • One of the Game systems stated above.

  • Peripherals

  • Table and Chair

  • Ethernet or Wifi connection

2.2 Computer Specifications

2.2.1 Computer

  • Minimum Requirements

    • CPU: 2 GHz processor (supporting SSE2 instruction set or higher)

    • RAM: 2 GB RAM

    • HDD: 8 GB available hard disk space

    • GPU: Shader version 2.0 capable video card

    • Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10

    • DirectX: Version 9.0c or better

  • Recommended Requirements

    • CPU: 3GHz Processor (supporting SSE2 instruction set or higher)

    • RAM: 4GB RAM

    • HDD: 16GB Free Space

    • GPU: Nvidia GeForce 8800 / AMD Radeon HD 5670 or equivalent video card with dedicated memory of 512MB or higher VRAM.

    • Windows 7, 8.1, or Windows 10

    • DirectX: Version 9.0C or better

2.2.2 Laptop

  • Minimum Requirements

    • CPU: 2 GHz processor (supporting SSE2 instruction set or higher)

    • RAM: 2 GB RAM

    • HDD: 8 GB available hard disk space

    • GPU: Shader version 2.0 capable video card

    • Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10

    • DirectX: Version 9.0c or better

  • Recommended Requirements

    • CPU: Intel Core i5 U Series | AMD Ryzen Mobile 5

    • RAM: 4GB RAM

    • HDD: 16GB Free Space

    • GPU: Intel UHD onboard graphics | Radeon Vega 8 onboard graphics

    • OS: Windows 7, 8, or Windows 10

    • DirectX: Version 9.0C or better

2.2.3 Peripherals

  • Monitor

  • Mouse/Mousepad

  • Keyboard

  • Headset/Earbuds and Microphone - For communication with teammates

3. League Structure

3.1 Definition of Terms

3.1.1 Game

An instance of competition that is played until a winner is determined by one of the following methods, whichever occurs first: (a) completion of the final objective, (b) Team Surrender, or (c) Team Forfeit.

3.1.2 Match

A set of games that is played until one team wins a majority of the total games (e.g., winning two games out of three “best of three”) or the maximum number of games are completed (e.g., two games in a “best-of-two”). Each team will receive win or loss tallies in a league format or the winning team will advance to the next round in a tournament format.

3.1.3 Block

Scheduled league play that will occur over an approximately two- or three-week period of time in the Regular Season. Each block consists of 2-3 matches that must be completed by the last scheduled week of the block. Performance in a schedule block will be used to determine a team’s opponents for the subsequent block.

3.1.4 Phase

A section of scheduled league play that comprises a season. There are three distinct phases: preseason, regular season, and playoffs. Each phase has its own format.

3.1.5 Season

Scheduled league play that will occur over an approximately three-month period of time. Each season will consist of three phases: (a) Preseason, (b) Regular Season, and (c) Playoffs, which will occur at the conclusion of the Regular Season and will lead into a championship.

3.2 Phase Details

3.2.1 Preseason

This phase consists of each team enrolled in the league competing in one official practice week. Results of this match will not be recorded however this match is required in order to properly test equipment and player game connections.

3.2.2 Preseason Format

Preseason matches between each team will be played in a Two Game set format. Wins and losses from each match will not count towards the team’s regular season standings.

3.2.3 Regular Season

This phase consists of each team within a state, each playing a minimum of 16 games per season, in a league format against opponents within their region. Ranking in the league will be determined by each team's win-loss ratio.

3.2.4 Regular Season Format

  • Regular season matches between each team will be played in a Two game set format. Wins and losses from each match will be added to each team’s regular season standings.

  • Rosters - Teams must have a roster of five (5) players ready to go at the start of the match. Substitution must be communicated on the PlayVS platform and in the in-app messaging, as well as confirming the substitution with the other team before the next game can begin.

3.2.5 Playoffs Format

Playoffs matches between each team will be played in a Best-of-Three(BO3) format. Teams with missing match results and/or forfeits in more than 2 matches will be disqualified from the playoffs. Teams will follow the standard Match Creation process found in section 4.2.2. Winners of each match will advance to the next portion of the bracket. Teams will compete in a single-elimination tournament until only two (2) teams remain. The two remaining teams will move on to the Finals.

Rosters - Teams must have a roster of five(5) players ready to go at the start of the match. Substitution must be communicated on the PlayVS platform and in the in-app messaging/Match Lobby Chat, as well as confirming the substitution with the other team before the next game can begin. Rosters with starters and substitutes must be submitted and locked one week prior to playoffs.

Coaches of the winning team must submit the match results within 1 hour of match completion, otherwise the match will go into quarantine and will delay the Playoff bracket from progressing.

3.2.6 Finals Format

Final’s matches will be played in a Best-of-Three(BO3) format. The team to win two matches will be declared the League Champion. In the event that a single team reaches two wins before the start of a third game, then a third game will not be played.

Coaches of the winning team must submit the match results within 1 hour of match completion.

4. Match Process

4.1 Pre-Match Preparation

4.1.1 Equipment Testing

  • Coaches and players are recommended to restart all computers at least one hour prior to scheduled matches

  • Game client should be tested by loading into a custom game

  • Any encounters with equipment malfunction during equipment testing, player must alert and notify a coach and support@playvs.com immediately

  • Coaches must be available to assist with the setup process and troubleshoot any problems encountered during pre-match preparation

4.1.2 Timeliness of Match Start

It is expected that players will resolve any issues with the setup process within the allotted time and that match will begin at the scheduled time. Delays due to setup problems may be permitted, at the sole discretion of League Officials. All players competing must be in the game lobby to be considered “present”. Teams that are over thirty (30) minutes tardy will forfeit their match.

4.1.3 Acknowledgement of Pre-Match Testing

No fewer than five(5) minutes before the match is set to begin, players and coaches must acknowledge their setup is complete and they are ready to compete(Check-in process)

4.2 Game Setup

4.2.1 Game Lobby Creation

Matches will be in Conquest Mode. In order to start the match correctly, all players (including any substitutes that are playing for the day) must be correctly presented on the starting roster at the scheduled time of match. Starters must have correct in-game names connected to the PlayVS player account.

4.2.2 Match Creation

The home team will be required to create their own custom lobby and invite all players with the following game settings in place.

  • Match Type : Conquest

  • Team Size: 5v5

  • Player Pick: Draft - Conquest

  • Starting Level: Level 1

  • Starting Gold: 1500

  • Pause Type: Normal

  • Bonus Time: 30

  • Spawn Lane Minions: On

  • Region: North America

  • Allow Spectators/Record Demo: On

  • Low-Delay Spectate Mode: Off

  • Bans: 4 Per Team (8 Total)

4.2.3 Side Selection

4.2.2.1 Regular Season

Side selection will be assigned randomly.

4.2.2.3 Draft Mode

Draft Mode format follows the standard conquest mode rules in picks and bans:
Blue Team= A; Red Team = B Bans: ABABAB Picks: ABBAABBAAB

4.3 Post Match Process

4.3.1 Results

Coaches must manually submit results and any screenshots on the PlayVS match dashboard after their match is over. Both teams will share the results of each game and any screenshots with their coach.

4.3.2 The winning coach is responsible for inputting the results of all games of the match within 1 hour of the last game played.

4.3.3 Winning coaches will input the results by selecting "Add Game Results" from "Mission Control".

Important: By default, rulebooks overrule game day protocols. Please reach out to support if you find conflicting information.

Version 2021 - 2022 v1.01

v1.0-1.01 Match Lobby Creation and Player Equipment updated

V1.2 - 10/4/21 // Substitution updates with bench system
V1.3 10/6/21 // Tiebreakers removed

V1.4 - 10/15/21 // Verbiage update to 4.2.2.3, standard conquest mode rules

V1.5 - 11/10/21 // Playoffs Format updated, Section 3.2.6 Finals Format added
V1.6 - 4/28/22 // Bryan's updates for Spring Cup

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