Current Events > Hades v1.0 is out on Steam, Epic and Switch!

(+) Yeah! (+)

Man, I have not been a fan of roguelikes or roguelites historically here...but this game is so freaking good. A few runs in now and I beat Meg for the first time, started my first trek into the second area, almost beat the hydra the first time...I'm seriously loving it. I'm also glad I listened to earlier posts and just unlocked the bow. The aoe special shot + Zeus bolts...lawd I loved that. My favorite boon so far is definitely the dash upgrade from Poseidon though. Damage, a dot, and knockback felt sooooo good.

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sylverlolol posted...

Man, I have not been a fan of roguelikes or roguelites historically here...but this game is so freaking good. A few runs in now and I beat Meg for the first time, started my first trek into the second area, almost beat the hydra the first time...I'm seriously loving it. I'm also glad I listened to earlier posts and just unlocked the bow. The aoe special shot + Zeus bolts...lawd I loved that. My favorite boon so far is definitely the dash upgrade from Poseidon though. Damage, a dot, and knockback felt sooooo good.

I saw a run on Youtube where the guy went all in on the Poseidon dash, to the point where he unbound all the other attack buttons. So he finished the game with just dashing.

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Question: I feel like I'm missing something or doing something wrong here...I've made it to Asphodel twice now and it just feels like such a step up in difficulty compared to the first area that I'm not sure how I can make it through the rest of the game (depending on how many areas there are).

I'm assuming it gets 'easier' as more stuff is unlocked via the mirror and whatnot...I just hope it doesn't take too long to get to that point. For example now, I just entered the second area for my second time and all I really have to my name is an aoe explosion on a shield toss return from a daedalus hammer and two low tier, level 1 boons. I just feel like I'm not doing enough damage in the second area right now to effectively clear enemies quickly. Is this normal early on or am I just not getting enough synergy going in the first area?

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sylverlolol posted...

Question: I feel like I'm missing something or doing something wrong here...I've made it to Asphodel twice now and it just feels like such a step up in difficulty compared to the first area that I'm not sure how I can make it through the rest of the game (depending on how many areas there are).

I'm assuming it gets 'easier' as more stuff is unlocked via the mirror and whatnot...I just hope it doesn't take too long to get to that point. For example now, I just entered the second area for my second time and all I really have to my name is an aoe explosion on a shield toss return from a daedalus hammer and two low tier, level 1 boons. I just feel like I'm not doing enough damage in the second area right now to effectively clear enemies quickly. Is this normal early on or am I just not getting enough synergy going in the first area?

I think it sounds like you're not building well. But the big threshold IMO is in the third area - if you don't have high enough damage at that point you'll really suffer. Mirror unlocks help a bit, but the main part is what you build.

Play around with different boons and try and find some that enable you to apply damage consistently. Some boons give super high damage but are tricky to set up correctly. I find that it's better to focus on 1-3 gods rather than spread out, then upgrade with poms. Then it's about finding a style that you like, and figure out patterns of enemies so you know how to properly maximize the DPS against different patterns.

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Is it just me or is the sword the worst weapon? I keep choking on the final boss with it.

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I had a baaad run with the sword yesterday. Had Weak on Special and Doom on Attack AND the Duo that supports both. No long range options and ended up getting murked by chariots in the third area. Chariots are a really good way to observe whether you have any long range game because short range is just not viable.

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I havent had a problem with the big chariots, they just kinda roll around while I whack them. The little exploding ones are annoying

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Alpha218 posted...

Is it just me or is the sword the worst weapon? I keep choking on the final boss with it.

It does have an aspect that is fantastic for casting, though. Exit wounds along with the aspect that dislodges blood shards, :)

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I still can't clear the second stage, and I'm like 10 hours in, lol. I made it to the mid-boss once, I think. The issue is all on me, I'm not very good at games like these where you need to remember enemy patterns, but I'm having a blast. I will get better after time, I'm a really good Isaac player now, and I used to be horrible. It just takes me longer to learn

Also, I always end up damaging myself in the fire/lava


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Bad_Mojo posted...

I still can't clear the second stage, and I'm like 10 hours in, lol. I made it to the mid-boss once, I think. The issue is all on me, I'm not very good at games like these where you need to remember enemy patterns, but I'm having a blast. I will get better after time, I'm a really good Isaac player now, and I used to be horrible. It just takes me longer to learn

Also, I always end up damaging myself in the fire/lava

I actually think that boss is the easiest one for me, purely because it doesn't move around a whole lot. Use your range attacks, and especially your cast, and then if you're having trouble dodging the beams, you might want to pick up a deflect for your dash if you can. I think that's honestly one of the most useful boons in the game. When all the heads show up, I generally just focus everything on them one at a time. The casts automatically pop out once something is dead, so you don't have to worry about unloading all of them right away.

As for the lava, just think of them as pits. That's what I do.

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Pus_N_Pecans posted...

I actually think that boss is the easiest one for me, purely because it doesn't move around a whole lot. Use your range attacks, and especially your cast, and then if you're having trouble dodging the beams, you might want to pick up a deflect for your dash if you can. I think that's honestly one of the most useful boons in the game. When all the heads show up, I generally just focus everything on them one at a time. The casts automatically pop out once something is dead, so you don't have to worry about unloading all of them right away.

It's not the boss that was the issue. I had like 12 HP when I got there. The entire stage is hard for me because I can't always beat the Fury, so I can't always even make it to the lava place to get better at it. Then once I do, I'm still not in the best of shape

Like I said, I get what I need to do, it just takes me longer to be able to do it, lol

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The only thing I don't like about the Shield is using it in the second area.

Whee Bull Rush OH GODS MY TOES.

In general the second area really teaches you harshly about controlling your dash.

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I've been playing Hades since way before 1.0. I've full cleared it about 60 times. Shield and Fists are OP, and you just about cheese the entire game if you get Deflect on all your abilities, especially Dash.

CyricZ posted...

The only thing I don't like about the Shield is using it in the second area.

Whee Bull Rush OH GODS MY TOES.

In general the second area really teaches you harshly about controlling your dash.

Yeah, I'm always getting into trouble when I'm trying to Dash away from something.

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Bad_Mojo posted...

I get what I need to do, it just takes me longer to be able to do it, lol

I'm like that too lol
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I just beat The Hydra!

Was really easy, tbh. Have a Shield build going with 4 Stacks of Thunder and 2 Jolt on my Special Attack. Just threw it out there and dodged.

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Well TC, I have good news and bad news.

Good news I paid for Hades since I found a nice $10 deal on it.

Bad news is that came via Epic. ;P

That's good news and neutral news :P I'm no Epic hater tbh

Let me know when you start playing it!!
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I feel like the last boss is a spoiler but the other ones not as much. The 1st happens early enough in the game, and the 2nd and 3rd arent really tied to the plot like the final boss is

Also there is a secret Charon boss battle, if you grab the sack of coins that randomly spawns behind him. I wasnt really prepared the one time I fought him.

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teepan95 posted...

That's good news and neutral news :P I'm no Epic hater tbh

Let me know when you start playing it!!

Oh it'll be a while. I'm tunnel visioning hard on FFXIV right now.

Just a reminder: Attacking destroys most projectiles even if you don't have Athena's deflect boons. Sometimes it's easier to just destroy the bullet hell than dash around.

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Finished a second run with the bow this time. (at 1 heat, haha, gotta work my way up to more)

CyricZ posted...

The only thing I don't like about the Shield is using it in the second area.

Whee Bull Rush OH GODS MY TOES.

In general the second area really teaches you harshly about controlling your dash.

There's a boon that lets you use the shield as a projectile instead. I used that with my shield run the first time I beat it. Much preferred that.

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Leanaunfurled posted...

Well TC, I have good news and bad news.

Good news I paid for Hades since I found a nice $10 deal on it.

Bad news is that came via Epic. ;P

Same gurl.

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Gotta get all of the boons to fulfill prophecies though

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Oh another thing I learned the hard way.

Sometimes when something affects your "Attack" it does NOT affect your "Dash Attack".

It's not everything, though.

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CyricZ posted...

Oh another thing I learned the hard way.

Sometimes when something affects your "Attack" it does NOT affect your "Dash Attack".

It's not everything, though.

I think "attack" only means your standard Y button attacks (including the charged ones) NOT 100% on that, but I'm almost positive. They're usually very specific, like everything else is labeled as "special", "cast" or "dash" and some boons will say all of those increase damage.

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Pus_N_Pecans posted...

I think "attack" only means your standard Y button attacks (including the charged ones) NOT 100% on that, but I'm almost positive. They're usually very specific, like everything else is labeled as "special", "cast" or "dash" and some boons will say all of those increase damage.

Oh no, sometimes boons that affect your attack will also affect your dash attack, I'm almost positive. But I'm not sure if the distinction is that certain boons do this, or if dash attacks count as attacks for certain weapons.

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Said this is the other topic, but it took me a good chunk of time to figure out I could upgrade my weapons with those red gems in the weapon room.

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scar the 1 posted...

Oh no, sometimes boons that affect your attack will also affect your dash attack, I'm almost positive. But I'm not sure if the distinction is that certain boons do this, or if dash attacks count as attacks for certain weapons.

Could be a question for the subreddit, since I know theres several dataminers on there

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Bad_Mojo posted...

Said this is the other topic, but it took me a good chunk of time to figure out I could upgrade my weapons with those red gems in the weapon room.

This feature doesn't unlock until you've unlocked all weapons. So to the people who haven't done that yet, that's the reason why you can't find this option :)

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Alpha218 posted...

I feel like the last boss is a spoiler but the other ones not as much. The 1st happens early enough in the game, and the 2nd and 3rd arent really tied to the plot like the final boss is

Also there is a secret Charon boss battle, if you grab the sack of coins that randomly spawns behind him. I wasnt really prepared the one time I fought him.

bruh spoiler tag that. getting screwed over by surprises is part of the fun.

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Bad_Mojo posted...

I still can't clear the second stage, and I'm like 10 hours in, lol. I made it to the mid-boss once, I think. The issue is all on me, I'm not very good at games like these where you need to remember enemy patterns, but I'm having a blast. I will get better after time, I'm a really good Isaac player now, and I used to be horrible. It just takes me longer to learn

Also, I always end up damaging myself in the fire/lava

omg the environmental damage from the fire/lava definitely took me by surprise my first time in the second area too @_@

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Its mentioned that Zagreus is resistant but not immune to the pyroclastic rivers in Asphodel. Realistically if I take damage from it its just 1 point because it does ramp up in damage but only if you stand in it long enough

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yeah I dash into lava all the time but as long as you get right out you don't take any significant damage.

pushing enemies into the lava kills them very fast too

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What keepsakes are ya'll using? Right now I usually start with the one that gives you extra damage % each chamber for not getting hit since the first floor is easy to rack that up, switch to the one-time coin sum on the second floor, +50 max health for the third because fuck that boss, and then the bonus revive for the 4th floor.

I should probably start using the god-summoning ones more, but I'm kind of dumb about knowing which synergies to go for.

MordecaiRocks posted...

What keepsakes are ya'll using? Right now I usually start with the one that gives you extra damage % each chamber for not getting hit since the first floor is easy to rack that up, switch to the one-time coin sum on the second floor, +50 max health for the third because fuck that boss, and then the bonus revive for the 4th floor.

I should probably start using the god-summoning ones more, but I'm kind of dumb about knowing which synergies to go for.

I'm mostly maxing them right now, but then I'll be picking a god's keepsake at least for the first level. Depending on the weapon I start with, I have some boons that I absolutely prefer. Right now I've just come to realize how insanely strong Poseidon is. He really gives tons of damage. If you have something fast hitting, Dionysus or Demeter can be really strong since you need many hits to apply those. So it fits things like the rifle or the Chiron bow.

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MordecaiRocks posted...

What keepsakes are ya'll using? Right now I usually start with the one that gives you extra damage % each chamber for not getting hit since the first floor is easy to rack that up, switch to the one-time coin sum on the second floor, +50 max health for the third because fuck that boss, and then the bonus revive for the 4th floor.

I should probably start using the god-summoning ones more, but I'm kind of dumb about knowing which synergies to go for.

When I first started out, I leaned hard on Dusa's feather duster to keep me alive. But once I got better at the game coupled with some mirror talents (healing on darkness pickup) and renovations, I was able to keep myself topped off well enough that I was able to avoid it.

My current scheme:

Act 1 - One of chaos boon, Sisyphus' shackle, or coin purse
Act 2/3 - God summoning to fill in a gap or get an ideal boon
Act 4 - Either Skelly tooth or Cerb collar because the boss is still quite hard for me
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I hate when I suddenly get with with some BS trap because some mob triggered it

Oh, and I had a couple more questions. I don't give a shit about spoilers, so go ahead and answer as well as you can.

1] At the start of a run sometimes you'll see Hades and a single word message. What does this mean?

2] After I beat the Hydra I got a diamond. I was hopping for another one of those red things the Furry was dropping that let me level up my weapons at the rack. What does the diamond do and how do I get more of those red things to level up my weapons?

3] I read a bit on the Reddit nobbie help topic and it said to only put the. . .the. . .artifact/gear that starts you off with X gold at the start of the run and then switch it out. I didn't know you could switch those out after you start to escape. How do you switch them? Or was I just reading incorrectly?

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I usually use that one that lets you go down Chaos gates for free or the one that blocks the first few attacks in a boss battle. I used to use the dodge goes up 1% per encounter you clear quickly too, but it seems to really drop off in the third world.

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I recently got a really sick build. I put Poseidon on the spear special and then had the hammer change it to throwing an exploding spear. That's it. Hermes helped with speeding it up but I just went all in on that, adding rupture to Poseidon's knockback and having Chaos upgrade the damage more. Probably the highest DPS I've managed so far, it was really nuts.

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Bad_Mojo posted...

I hate when I suddenly get with with some BS trap because some mob triggered it

Oh, and I had a couple more questions. I don't give a shit about spoilers, so go ahead and answer as well as you can.

1] At the start of a run sometimes you'll see Hades and a single word message. What does this mean?

2] After I beat the Hydra I got a diamond. I was hopping for another one of those red things the Furry was dropping that let me level up my weapons at the rack. What does the diamond do and how do I get more of those red things to level up my weapons?

3] I read a bit on the Reddit nobbie help topic and it said to only put the. . .the. . .artifact/gear that starts you off with X gold at the start of the run and then switch it out. I didn't know you could switch those out after you start to escape. How do you switch them? Or was I just reading incorrectly?

1) Just flavor, from what I can tell.

2) Diamonds are used for some sweet renovations and are also highly coveted, For more titan's blood, beat the boss of Act 4. Or, acts 1 and 4 with all the weapons. Subsequent runs with the same weapon will result in more darkness currency, never more titan's blood/diamond. Once you beat the act 4 boss once, you'll unlock "heats" which are a variety of difficulty modifiers (take more damage, items cost more, foes have more hp, etc). Selecting a given number will lock you into a "heat" number. Heat 1 with a weapon (basically, +1 difficulty modifier) allows you more opportunity for titan blood+diamond.

3) After the act 1 boss, there's a stretch with a fountain, your keepsake box, a place to sell up to 3 boons you have, and a consumable vendor. Interact with the keepsake box. Keepsakes can only be used once per run (ie, if you start the escape with it, then swap into something else, you cannot swap back to your 1st keepsake prior to Act 3). Also you cannot be clever by swapping in the gold coin purse, buying something, and then swapping again.
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ok so I thought I almost beat Hades on my first try when I got him to 10% >_>

this is gonna be hard

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Just to expand a bit, you can buy Titans Blood (1200 coins) and Diamonds (1000 coins) in the area 4 shop. One of them appears. I forget if Ambrosia spawns too. Using the Pact of Punishment provides you 20 more of each floor clear reward, 1 per heat level up to 20 (40 for Titans Blood)

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Alright, thanks, @philsov

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lol

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I wish the fishing in this game was more interesting

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Yeah, Im terrible at the first boss. The second? 100% when I get there. Super Sonic Flash speed Fury is too much for me unless I get lucky. I cant figure them out

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Bad_Mojo posted...

Yeah, Im terrible at the first boss. The second? 100% when I get there. Super Sonic Flash speed Fury is too much for me unless I get lucky. I cant figure them out

The bull has three attacks you need to figure out. His double swing, his jump, and his charge. All this meanwhile you try to keep track of Theseus's targeting crosshair. It took a while for me to figure it out but now I manage pretty consistently if my DPS is good enough

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Heyo. Got to the fourth area last night. Shield build was doing me pretty good combining Poseidon attack with knockback and bonus wall slam damage.

Then a rat melted me.

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CyricZ posted...

Heyo. Got to the fourth area last night. Shield build was doing me pretty good combining Poseidon attack with knockback and bonus wall slam damage.

Then a rat melted me.

You need to drink from the fountain in the room if you get poisoned

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