Current Events > Give me some "mid-game" Hades tips.

(+) Yeah! (+)

By mid-game, I mean that I'm able to get to Theseus and his poor bull boyfriend pretty much every run, but I still lose more often than not. I've gotten to the last(?) boss maybe a half-dozen times, but he's whooped me so far.

The issue I'm having is that the only progression path I see - other than git gud - is just grinding resources for the merchant. I've beaten the first two bosses with all of the weapons, so I can't get any more Titan Blood or Diamonds that way which means I can't upgrade the weapons or grab the juicier underworld improvements. Is there something I'm missing or does it genuinely just get a little grindy at this point?

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How's your mirror upgrades progress looking?

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honestly if you've made it to the last boss that much you should be able to just win on a good run. pick something with a ranged attack of some sort or build a strong cast and just camp him super hard. dash through the green rings as they expand instead of trying to run from them, bring the acorn

tips for the third boss: have a damage-dealing call of some sort and save it, when he calls just go all in attacking him without dodging at all + use your own call and you can potentially just kill him before he even finishes the cast animation (at the cost of a bit of health probably but it's worth it)

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PMarth2002 posted...

How's your mirror upgrades progress looking?

Looking at it now, I should probably pay the key and respec. Some of the ones I've maxed I just don't use.


kirbymuncher posted...

tips for the third boss: have a damage-dealing call of some sort and save it, when he calls just go all in attacking him without dodging at all + use your own call and you can potentially just kill him before he even finishes the cast animation (at the cost of a bit of health probably but it's worth it)

Yeah, I think I more-or-less did that last time I killed him. Aphrodite's call seemed pretty good on that fight for more than one reason.

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Dunno what to tell ya other than git gud, really. You're playing on 0 Heat and have most of the mirror. You should be able to clear quite handily.

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Ilishe posted...

Dunno what to tell ya other than git gud, really. You're playing on 0 Heat and have most of the mirror. You should be able to clear quite handily.

That's what I figured, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious.

I should probably stop swapping weapons based on which one gets the bonus and just focus on trying to clear it with my best one.

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I really enjoyed Hades, but I just couldn't get good enough to clear the game. Feels bad, man.

pegusus123456 posted...

That's what I figured, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious.

I should probably stop swapping weapons based on which one gets the bonus and just focus on trying to clear it with my best one.

That might be a good idea at this point. You've been giving everyone at least one nectar as well right? Use what you get from that to help guide your build.

And definitely respec and put more into what you mainly use. Don't underestimate Dark Foresight for more boons in a run.

And know that even if you don't have anything in Fated Persuasion, you can still get tokens and use them if you got the upgrade at the Contractor that gives you them for Key rooms.

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tainted_emerald posted...

That might be a good idea at this point. You've been giving everyone at least one nectar as well right? Use what you get from that to help guide your build.

Oh yeah, that was like the first thing I aimed for. I've generally been running Skelly's, but I might try out some others since I grabbed that third charge of Death Defiance. Maybe Cerberus' since it'd compliment it well. The Olympians' ones seem rather weak tho.

tainted_emerald posted...

And know that even if you don't have anything in Fated Persuasion, you can still get tokens and use them if you got the upgrade at the Contractor that gives you them for Key rooms.

I'm a little confused on what that actually does. Is it basically just a reroll on a room?

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pegusus123456 posted...

Oh yeah, that was like the first thing I aimed for. I've generally been running Skelly's, but I might try out some others since I grabbed that third charge of Death Defiance. Maybe Cerberus' since it'd compliment it well. The Olympians' ones seem rather weak tho.

I'm a little confused on what that actually does. Is it basically just a reroll on a room?

The Olympians trinkets will guarantee that the first boon you come across in an area is that god's/goddess's. Useful if you want Divine Dash, or when you get more acquainted with the weapons later and want a certain attack/cast or dual boon.

And you did buy the case that let's you switch them between areas right?

As for the tokens, Fated Authority let's you reroll rooms. Fated Persuasion let's you reroll boon and mini shop choices, which is what I use the most.

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like, running skelly's from the very start? it does literally nothing until your last death...

there are a few boons that are very strong and personally I find the best use of the trinkets is

act 1 - try to force a specific strong boon you like
act 2 - try to force a different specific strong boon or force something with synergy with what you got so far
act 3 - maybe coins, maybe charon's thing, maybe healing on pots, kinda whatever here
act 4 - broken spear if you're dying to the rooms, acorn if you're dying to the boss

skelly's is honestly not even that good

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kirbymuncher posted...

skelly's is honestly not even that good

to expand on this: max level tooth is 100 health. max level acorn blocks 5 hits, and hades hits basically all deal more than 20 damage, so it adds up to more health even though it probably doesn't instinctively feel as impressive

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A good strategy is to get the Divine Dash and cheese enemies from afar with the bow + delfections. Thar's how I got my first win.

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kirbymuncher posted...

like, running skelly's from the very start? it does literally nothing until your last death...

Yes but mostly just because I forget to switch at the start lol. When I remember it, I've been using either the butterfly or the bonus cash.

From the sound of things, though, I've been vastly underestimating the acorn. And Divine Dash for that matter. Some casual browsing on the Hades subreddit also sings its praises.

kirbymuncher posted...

act 4 - broken spear if you're dying to the rooms, acorn if you're dying to the boss

Weirdly, I find the rooms in act four pretty easy. Elysium gives me way more trouble. Maybe it's kind of a survival bias: I only beat the third boss if I have a really good build which makes act four really easy.

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ArchangelBaruch posted...

A good strategy is to get the Divine Dash and cheese enemies from afar with the bow + delfections

this strategy fits imo. if cant brute force it. cheese it somehow.
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Also, while I'm thinking about it. What is the actual effect of Hades directly hitting you with one of his skulls? I can tell it's bad since Zagreus comments on it and the entire screen fucks up, but it's too hectic for me to notice a difference. Is it a DoT like the poison?

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pegusus123456 posted...

Also, while I'm thinking about it. What is the actual effect of Hades directly hitting you with one of his skulls? I can tell it's bad since Zagreus comments on it and the entire screen fucks up, but it's too hectic for me to notice a difference. Is it a DoT like the poison?

Same effect as your Boiling Blood mirror power. You take extra damage when it's in effect.

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tbh i just turned on god mode

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Try starting with bonus cash then switch to Cerberus. It makes the most sense considering 0 Heat and trying to wrangle that first clear.

Reroll boons is very good. Always prioritize your current run when selecting door rewards. More boons is always better. Gold is good too.

Acorn as someone mentioned is fantastic for boss fights but it scales much better with Heat (don't wanna spoil things), Cerberus might be your best choice for survivability.

Always, always take '!' doors. Take shops even if you don't need them (counts as a room, keep your HP up) unless the other option is a good boon or you're out of coin (again, a 0 Heat decision).

Bow and Rail let you keep your distance. Pick one weapon and really learn it for the first clear, you'll have ample runs to play around with everything.

Oh yeah, if you have it unlocked, aspect of Zeus is insanely good. You can block things for days while the special rips things to pieces. Without a time limit to worry about this could be a winning strategy for you.

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Something worth remembering that the game barely mentions: you're invincible when you dash, but attacking ends the invincibility.

I know it's kinda obvious, but it tripped me up a lot early in the game when I was trying to dodge and attack at the same time.

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Finally managed it. The winning strategy was Chiron's Bow, the Doom Effect on Special, and roughly 430 health.


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The easiest way to win is get Poseidon's dash attack and Hermes perk that gives you extra dashes. Then just keep upgrading the dash power. You won't even need to use your weapon.

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My first clear was with Chiron's bow as well. It has been a while, but I think I had a combo of Dionysus and Aphrodite with that extra hangover on weak enemies synergy. Obviously I had other things I picked up along the way, but I recall being impressed with the hangover/weak synergy carrying me with the relatively safe and easy to use bow choice.

Aspect of Gilgamesh on the fists were probably my most used weapon/aspect. The twin fists in general were 4 or 5 heat ahead of the other weapons when I stopped playing.

Everyone will tell you to kill the bull before Theseus, but in allll my best runs they died within <5 seconds of each other. Sometimes at the same time.

its good to just focus one while you learn their attack patterns, but leaving Theseus alone that long draws the fight way out, and you dont want to do that on higher heat

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thronedfire2 posted...

Everyone will tell you to kill the bull before Theseus, but in allll my best runs they died within <5 seconds of each other. Sometimes at the same time.

its good to just focus one while you learn their attack patterns, but leaving Theseus alone that long draws the fight way out, and you dont want to do that on higher heat

Theseus is very easy to dodge unless you're using extreme measures 3. Killing the minotaur first means you get more room to maneuver when frat boy goes super saiyan.

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If you have access to the pomegranate, use that for as long as you can, then switch to broken spear for act 4. Makes the game very easy.

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Always pick the hammer upgrades
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lurknomore posted...

My first clear was with Chiron's bow as well. It has been a while, but I think I had a combo of Dionysus and Aphrodite with that extra hangover on weak enemies synergy

Yeah, Dionysus special buff was the one I wanted going in since Hangover is the only stacking, damaging debuff, but Ares offered an epic boon really early on that I couldn't say no to.

lurknomore posted...

Aspect of Gilgamesh on the fists were probably my most used weapon/aspect, with the twin fists in general having the most clears when I stopped playing.

I've heard other people say this, but I think the only weapon I like less than the gun is the fists. The range on them is just so low. I know there's one aspect that gives you a baseline dodge chance though, so maybe that'll change.

warlock7735 posted...

Theseus is very easy to dodge

I mean, you say that <_<

I get so distracted by his boon AoE that I miss him sticking his spear up my ass.

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pegusus123456 posted...

Yeah, Dionysus special buff was the one I wanted going in since Hangover is the only stacking, damaging debuff, but Ares offered an epic boon really early on that I couldn't say no to.

I've heard other people say this, but I think the only weapon I like less than the gun is the fists. The range on them is just so low. I know there's one aspect that gives you a baseline dodge chance though, so maybe that'll change.

I mean, you say that <_<

I get so distracted by his boon AoE that I miss him sticking his spear up my ass.

I meant Theseus is easy to dodge before he gets his boon, so kill asterius before bringing theseus to half

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1. Pick a weapon
2. Slap Zeus on it
3. Keep slapping Zeus on it

Works every time

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Zeus for some reason has been really rare for me the last few dozen runs.
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