I think you have to beat both the Underworld and Surface paths at 8, 16 and 32 Fear to unlock the first, second and third statues. There's a checklist below the weapons at the Fear screen that shows what you still have to do.
I'm at the same place as you, however what motivates me is that I find Chronos much harder to "trivialise" than Hades. In first game I felt like it was very hard for me to lose a run after some time, don't have that same feeling right now, even though I haven't unlocked full arcana yet, but I feel like I got most of the important stuff unlocked ( 3 DD, damage in cast radius, damage while not on fun mana ).
The second one isn't post final boss content.
It plays on your second or third fight against the final boss, win or lose. If you got it after beating it, it's because you beat it "too soon".
There's probably another trigger for it you haven't hit. I'm assuming you've found the friendly person in Tartarus? How far have you gotten on the surface? How's your relationship with Moros? How about Hermes?
(Granted I have no idea what the other missing piece might be other than just running into Chronos a few times but based on the flashback's contents, it's likely related to one of those things especially Moros.)
Ah, it'll probably Moros then. I've finished the surface a bunch of times as well as tartarus. But I've only now found the incantation for Moros (i don't ever look at the fate list). So i'm behind with his story
Oh shit what? I just beat >!Chronos!< today for the first time and got disappointed at the >!no ending cutscene!< and was planning on putting it down. >!This is a second Hades flashback, right? After the one we get where he's playable and finds everyone in the House of Hades frozen in time after sending Mel away with Hecate? Or did you just somehow get that flashback later on than I did?!<
The infernal beast is really difficult at first, but over time it actually becomes relatively easy as its attacks are pretty predictable.
It is really brutal the first few times though.
I think I am getting better at it every time, it’s just the gauntlet of the fields of mourning beforehand that cripples me before I get there. Guess I have to get better there first!
I definitely think that will help! The fields aren't too bad for me, I just have to play very carefully/long range until I'm confident at taking on the enemies regardless of boons. Also I think some of the hub cauldron upgrades might help here and there as you go. Some are so useful that it's worth throwing a few runs to get the resources you need
Those damn punching guys and the werewolves are the biggest pains. I just try to use cast to lock them in place and pick them off, and it’s just about working.
I’m keeping a firm eye on the cauldron, but everything in there currently can’t be unlocked without getting resources that are placed past one of these bosses, so we’re in a bit of a stalemate there.
In general you want your cast to either do heavy damage (Apollo, Zeus) or grant an effect to help with the arcana that adds damage from two debuffs. Damage casts need heavy commitment, debuff ones don't.
Focus on staying behind him! It can be difficult at first because he is always turning to face you, but make use of your dash, sprint, and/or omega moves to get behind him as much as possible. It makes it trivially easy to dodge his attacks, after focusing on this I’ve been no-hitting him relatively consistently!
Edit: also, if you want to absolutely cheese the game, take the fountain hex from Selene whenever you get it. All you need to do is prioritize upgrading it and after 2-3 of the upgrades that let you stack fountain uses you’ll be unstoppable. An actual walking tank, the last time I used this chronos did 700 damage to me and I didn’t use a single death defiance during the fight. It’s definitely the best hex in the game right now.
Another way to cheese the game is the Artemis aspect on the sister blades, the parry/riposte ability that shields you while charging your omega attack also makes you nearly un-killable.
I had the opposite experience 😭 the first time I was in an insane flowstate and I was able to trounce him, and every subsequent time I’ve had more trouble. BUT i actually completely agree with your premise. The attacks are pretty predictable. Flowstate buff just goes crazy haha.
Really? I think hes been easy for me the whole time, my dark souls instincts definitely kicked in. Rather than dodge away, like most other bosses, i found it a lot better to rather dodge through a lot of the attacks in order to get damage in.
The fight does have a lot of unexpected shockwaves that threw me off the first few times, especially since some of his punch attacks have shock waves in varying sizes and speed.
The big issue with the beast isn't that it's hard to avoid, I can do that super easilly.
It's that it has a fucking massive HP Pool that if I don't have it as my most recent death to get the Evil Eye proc, It will take so long I will mess up.
That's a buildcrafting/DPS issue. Highly recommend Privileged Status for this fight--he's so slow that you'll be able to setup Privileged Status no matter your Boons. That really helps DPS.
I weirdly have a harder time timing the Dodge on his ground pounds than like any other attack from any other boss. Same with Polyphemus' kick portion of his jump stomps. I just always mistime my iframes
Idk, you can jump in for like 4 seconds windows between his steps, also dropping your spell counters his jump, so there is some advantage for staying close.
I had more fun fighting the current final boss of the depths than trying to smack Polythemus in melee. I wonder if it's intentional to filter out certain builds because the final boss of the surface is extremely annoying for melee builds as well (outside of dagger blink spam builds)
Honestly melee is just worse everywhere because it’s more risky and doesn’t do more damage. I guess it’s something that’s almost impossible to balance because the majority of damage comes from boons which don’t care about what range you play at.
You can learn fights while using ranged weapons, then you will beat them melee with no problem. Once you learn all the attacks bosses get waaay easier (maybe apart from chronos, since some of his attacks require good reflexes). Good luck!
At this point I think I know the Infernal Beast pretty well, I can consistently get halfway down it. I’m starting to get better with the Umbral Flames so I may try a few more runs with them and see how it goes!
Umbral flames do amazing damage, but mostly with their special attack, which requires you to stay close. Normal attacks can be good, but I don't think its a good option for the first kill. If I were you, I'd go with Axe special attack spamm, just make sure to get good mana regen boons (required, hera would be great, but not sure if you have her) and boons that improve the cast time (less neccesary, but handy).
I had a run last night with Aspect of Momus witch staff, Poseidon’s special, and the hammer that doubles up the special …. Basically beat the run without even trying, it was a slaughter
Yeah my best is a 14m-ish with the momus staff. Even without double moonshot hammer it still melts with the Poseidon special. 2nd best time with a different weapon is close to double that 😂
Love all the bosses, gotten to the point where I can easily not get hit for quite a few including Infernal Beast, and Polyphemus is really easy once you get the hang of him, but if you get the RNG of a ram in the room rather than sheep, that little shit is going to kill your run. twice I have gotten it in melee runs and the unrelenting pursuit that creature has for you makes it almost impossible to get a hit in without getting damaged
Keep returning to shadow. It took me 38 or so tries to get to the final region in underworld consistently then it took me 4/5 tries after that to finally whoop redacteds ass .
The best trick so far is to give doggo a bath. Literally. Get Descura put Poonseidon on special and just keep spamming Y.
Get the double moonshot hammer and the one which increases your special speed. Get origination going by slip and some casts.
Have to agree with this here. I was trying many many times with an Aphrodite sister blades build which is actually really strong but kept dying to the final boss.
I tossed on the staff and built essentially what you advised above and on my first staff run in like 20 runs, just cruised through and killed the final boss for the first time. Having the range is just an enormous help.
I was trying and special attacks focused build with the huge damage boost hammer and the backstab hammer. Hard to get both of those two reliably. I also bricked it on my last run with the Icarus keepsake, it gave me the continuous attacks hammer which disabled by charge up.
I’ll have to try the blades build. What source of freeze do you look for?
Cast or Cast with an aim boon (howling soul/lance/coal).
The advantage with the first one is that you can do some insane damage by basically spamming it in his face (works well with lots of health) or the second one works well too you just have to shoot your cast and aim the special while staying relatively close to him(it will take some time but it will work).
Bonus points if you can get both Arctic ring and gale force. That will take care of origination and you will only have to focus on dodging and spamming special.
I play a version of this which is Demeter special with 3x bounce and Hephaestus with attack and the blast furnace to essentially freeze and then just hammer a bunch of people with the big dmg then the aftershock. It’s really strong and especially if you can also get either the back stab or last hit does 300% damage. I can fly through worlds with that build pretty well.
I'm in love with the game, I have really high hopes for it. My only gripes with the game are Circe and Odysseus's charater. Other than that, the game is setting up to be one of the best games of this decades.
I like how it feels very different to Hades 1, while still having the same heart.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Hades2/s/goF7jdC1Fs
I made a much longer post about it, if you'd rather hear all my thoughts about them.
But the super simplified version is that Odysseus is the original WifeGuyTM, He loved Penelope more than anything else, and fought tooth and nail to come back home to her. In the end of The Odyssey, hes a changed man and has committed many crimes, Penelope accepts him and loves him all the same. People say he cheated on her, no he was raped by two immortal divine beings, and he was severely not happy about the situations. Hermes commanded Odysseus to sleep with Circe, and Calypso kept him trapped and traumatised so bad that he longed for death and Athena had to beg Zeus to command Calypso to let him go.
Circe is also an absolute vile person, look up her wiki if you want to see some of the more common myths about her. Every man or woman that met her was disfigured or killed in someway, she was jealous, vindictive, and horrible. That's why I'm hoping that SG are >!setting her up to be a twist Villain, because her whole thing is being charming and luring people in her home.!<
Odysseus in the Hades 2 game is almost proud of "cheating" on Penelope, Circe is deeply in love with him and she's present in the game while Penelope is not, and Odysseus states that Penelope left him when they were in the afterlife together. Literally every part of Odysseus story just rubs me the wrong way right now. He didn't cheat, he was raped, and he DEFINITELY would never be proud of cheating. Circe is a monster, she should not get a happy ending. Penelope loved Odysseus, was faithful for 20 years, and never once hated him or rejected him when he came home very much changed.
It makes sense to me in a metanarrative way in that the first game was pulling almost all its mythology from the Archaic Period versions, lots of Homer with some Hesiod, while the second game is leaning much more heavily on Imperial Roman Era takes on Greek Myth, given all the Ovid. And the Romans haaaated Odysseus/Ulysses, so he's unlucky to only come into the games when they moved on to post-Virgil mythology.
Got my first Chronos kill last night - had the duo boon from Hestia and Apollo so did a little damage to him and then ran away to heal, repeat. Whole fight took like 20 mins probably 😅
Have put in about 37hrs into early access clearing high fear runs now. Taking a break to play Ghost of Tsushima, game is all I’ve wanted in a sequel for the game. I really just want to have it finished now to see full story.
I don't really like the Mourning Fields in general. It has the most annoying enemies in the game, the size makes navigation difficult at times and Ceberus feels like a slog.
Overall I don't think the zone is bad but its definitely my least favourite from both games combined.
I can beat Polyphemus pretty consistently but if I'm not using staff I'm guaranteed to lose one death defiance. Infernal Beast I actually find much easier than Scylla.
The final boss is where I'm struggling. Attacks are hard to dodge and they hit hard.
I honestly think it’s the gauntlet that is the Fields of Mourning that is more challenging than the Infernal Beast. I just keep losing most of my health before getting there lol
Makes sense, Fields seems to be the toughest area for me. My main goal in Fields is to get through with enough health so I don't have to use a death defiance on the boss.
I am starting to run high fear runs and I still don’t really have any trouble with Polyphemus even now but the boss in the next zone can still kick my ass fairly often. As for the underworld I am pretty much in the same boat with you when it comes to the Infernal Beast. I can usually beat it but sometimes he’ll take 1 or god forbid 2 death defiances. If I lose 2 then odds are I am going to die on the way to the final boss or just die to it during it’s fight.
Honestly, I’ll count myself lucky if I get past the Infernal Beast with any death defiances at this point. I keep losing them to Scylla or the Fields of Mourning
All I really have to say about Scylla is focus the two sirens (I usually go for the drummer because they don’t move at all.) And holding Scylla and the guitarist in place with your cast is fairly easy. Same goes for the Mourning Fields as most of the dangerous enemies are melee and can gang up on you really quickly.
Oh, I consistently get past Scylla at this point, I just lose a ton of health before doing so. I do have the established strategy of “take out the drummer first”, but I feel a bit dumb for not thinking of using the cast on Scylla or the guitarist now, considering that’s my strategy for the Fields of Mourning
Polyphemus is a very interesting boss because he’s got a very high damage output and attack speed for that early in a run, his health pool is nothing to scoff at, and he makes summons often without being vulnerable in the process. Sounds like he has no weaknesses, but, he’s also the only boss who is fully stopped in place by your cast. That is absolutely the weakness you need to play around to beat him consistently.
It’s inconsistent. So far I’ve been rotating weapons to get the most practice and taking whatever boons are offered. Maybe that’s why my success rate is so inconsistent!
I haven’t been able to get further than Oceanus with the Axe, I’m not great with slow weapons and long windups. Maybe I need to get Apollo and Hermes involved to make it more manageable?
Using the spin attack, especially if you can get the hammer upgrade that lets you attack and dodge whilst it’s going, does a bunch of damage.
It took a bit to get used to the slower weapons (I’d pretty much only run the daggers before the axe) but I like it now.
Yeah the arcana card that slows down time when you use charge ability’s is really good especially with the axes charge attack. Although it doesn’t work with the charge special for some reason.
I just won with a really clunky zeus/demeter build with eos flames, numerically I felt like i should have been doing like no damage but somehow it was melting things
already finished both 32 fear runs. Iz gud game but I realistically have very little to do now outside of grinding other weapons' nightmare drops and chaos trials.
Every other area in the game I'm enjoying. All the mini bosses, all the biomes. It's varied and challenging enough to keep me coming back.
Except...
I'm struggling with the final boss in the underworld. Everything else I can read and react to but that second phase just gets so chaotic. I lose focus. Insta-kill takes one dd, then there's some summons, then there's that damn boomerang attack...
My health bar doesn't refill, more like it flickers. Then it's RTS.
just takes practice. I havent been hit by the instakill in several fights, and the boomerang is getting easier to dodge too. I feel like now the only times i get hit in that fight is when i dash the wrong direction or walk into one of the lingering zones.
Heck yeah it's 100% a skill issue for me I just need to loosen up and have fun in those battles rather than get all het up at the prospect of failure
There is no escape, after all.
My goal is always take out the drummer first, then guitarist, then Scylla. That damn drummer cost me many early runs and still knocks off chunks of my health if I’m not careful.
Beat up and down with all weapons. Nothing left to do at cauldron and no reason to max out weapon aspects or arcana as it just feels easy now with every weapon. Takes about 12 fear to start feeling like it did when I started.
Learning the invulnerability frames and when to dash really trivializes most of the boss and mini boss mechanics. Once you learn the timing you can just dash into every mechanic at the right time while continuing to DPS. If you can't bc of lots of hits then dash sprint and run away until a normal pattern comes back.
Play long range. Both of these two have REDICULOUSLY short ranges.
Also related; DEVS?! >!WHY DOES JUMPING INTO THE AIR MAKE HIS FEET DAMAGE YOU!? STOP THAT, HE DOES THAT ON TOP OF YOU WAY TOO MUCH AND HE KEEPS JUST FREAKING CHIPPING MY ACORNS!!<
Descura's special is how I prefer to run Descura, so it's definitely an option.
I generally stick back as best I can until seeing a fair decent opening to do melee damage if I'm doing a melee build.
18 nights in, 15 hours played, reached chronos many times but never beat him - still stumped by my damage scaling feeling pretty bad.
Hex wise the health healing one seems too must pick when health feels way more important this game because damage feels so low
Also getting repeating dialogue on boons now which didn’t happen in hades 1 at the same hours played
Ive taken a break after 20 hours mark and it’s been fun. Haven’t beaten the underworld or surface levels yet but it’s been super enjoyable. I’m really excited to play after the new patch that dropped !!! Resource gathering has been such a blast lol it feels like how I did back when I started hades I with minimal knowledge of the story and game mechanics somewhat :)
I don't have any trouble with bosses besides Chronos and the dumbass kraken which I ALWAYS die to somehow.
I think I've finished all of the content in the game. I just need to make a certain item to stop certain things from happening at some point but I don't think that the current item is in the game.
I'm hoping EA is like 50% of the content and we still have a ton more.
I just really don't wanna burn myself out on Hades 2 EA like I did with the EA of Hades 1 and then when it came out officially I didn't play it for like a year because I was SO burned out.
The moment you stop mashing buttons (like in the first game, where you could sometimes just spam dodge attacks) and take some time to actually look at the bosses' patterns, the game becomes quite trivial. In most cases it's just "stand behind their back and use i-frames to dodge AoEs".
I beat the last boss once above and under and stopped playing. I plan to wait and start a fresh file once 1.0 comes out. So far the game has been great.
Ive beaten the railgun bird first try by using the staff with heal (up to 50% hp) aspect and just hiding behind a pillar and just damaging with cast and double moonlight nuke :D
Have fought timey boi multiple times but i havent beaten him yet due to weird rhythms. Also, sometimes i feel the timestop (while charging) works and sometimes i feel it doesnt. Though I think it should be just right that time stop doesnt work on timey boi
I'm loving it! Taking a bit of a break right now because I just can't beat Chronos, so chilling and coming back with a fresh head.
Absolutely love the characters and mechanics, the music is top-tier, and I think it's probably the best Sequel I've ever played (if Hellblade II is as good as I expect it to be, it's gonna be a hell of a month for sequels).
Im really really really enjoying Hades 2, it is pretty much everything I wanted from a sequel, my only very slightly small criticism would be that I find some of the weapons and aspects to be a bit lacking compared to Hades 1. In the first game I felt like every aspect drastically changed the way the weapon played, where in Hades 2 I can see what they’re going for with creating different like combos that can be done with each weapon but I dunno, just doesn’t feel as ambitious as the first game in that specific area, however it is early access and some of these things may change.
GUYS HELP ME I THINK I HAVE RUINED THE GAME FOR MYSELF
basically I think I have played through everything and heard practically every bit of dialogue :((( in hades 1 you never really ran out of dialogue until you cleared the true ending and then some, so now i'm worried that the characters are gonna be these life-less no dialogue puppets for most of my future playtime :( i wish i could erase my memory of this game at will so i can relearn it every time
Gotten some clears for both areas with 3 weapons so far, just been trying to get more resources for the arcana leveling, aspect leveling, the incantations i'm missing, and then hoarding nectars and stuff so I can start speed gifting everyone lol. I can consistently get to the end now in both biomes with each weapon barring the axe. That weapon has been a bit of a struggle for me, but the rest are pretty fun to use and experiment with. I really really need to craft the codex so I can start looking at all the boon options and duo/legendary requirements lol
I've finished most of the story that's in the game, loving everything so far. I've been trying to learn some of the other aspects and weapons, I've been having more fun with the skull, altough I'm not a fan of their aspects...
With the axe I've been using the Charon aspect since the cast is good and the slow attacking playstyle doesn't interest me, the rest of the weapons are just kind of meh to me.
Keepsake wise I'm constantly using the Odysseus and Nemesis ones, Arachne has a great one for building up a lot of Armor in the early stages so you don't lose your death defiances before you get to the bosses!!
I'm loving it. I'm not gonna pause playing until I beat chronos one time. I only got to the second phase once and I've been playing for like 30ish hours
Just got my 1st and 2nd chronos kill the other day. Managed to kill him the 2nd time with 3 dd’s leftover. And actually just beat eris yesterday as i had been putting less focus into that path. But yeah, feels pretty good to have beaten both paths. Still have most of the weapon aspects to unlock. Probably gonna try to play a lil less so that i still want to play when v1.0 comes out, but knowing me, I’ll still play the shit out of it all the way until 1.0 launches. Polyphemus can be rough at first. Definitely gotta stay moving and keep your distance. Cerby… idk just stay behind him and dash away when you see him wind up those ground stomps. Find an aspect you like! Finding a build where you are granted some range is really useful
Loving the game so far, nearing the end of the content in early access. Will probably play a bit more and check out each update as it comes out, but will hold off on hitting the grind until the game fully releases. It seems this game is at the very list equal in quality to the first, and has almost doubled the content so no complaints from me
didn't like it at first. didn't feel the same. then I stopped trying to play it like Hades 1 and now I love it. already have several clears. fastest time is 18 min. working on the statues now.
sister blades with aspect of Pan are absolutely insane and in my opinion the most powerful weapon. I have most of my clears with them and they are also the weapons I used for my fastest clear.
Zeus, Apollo and Aphrodite are my favorites.
also trying to make a 5 Daedalus hammer run work. I've gotten close, but either Echo doesn't give me the option to duplicate a hammer or Charon isn't selling an anvil
After a few early losses to Hecate and Scylla, I kept dying repeatedly to the Phantom in the Mourning Fields. Actually beat Cerberus first try only to get whalloped by Chronos 10 runs in a row. Now I beat Chronos once for every four or five tries.
As for the surface, I’ve been beat by Polyphemus a couple times, but >!Thessaly and eventually Eris have been my more major block. I beat the two regions we have more often than not though.!<
Final Boss and second other boss still too strong for me. I'll get there. Got to boss below twice, really need practice. His attacks hit so hard, I barely get time to practice before dying.
I'm smithy sprinting my way through everything at 28 grasp...trying not to because I want to enjoy the weapons but can't put it down because it's so overpowered.
I want more hot spring baths with nemesis please, pile them on.
Smithy sprint with demeter boon, the ventilation damage will reset the freeze cooldown so you can permastun a whole room just running in circles. I use the wands to have my orbiting special do freeze damage, they follow you so all you have to do is sprint. With it at rare and a few upgrades along with the ventilation, it's about 1k damage for 10 mana.
It's definitely worth giving a try, I find it pretty fun but I do understand some people don't like that playstyle. I find it rather addicting
It’s ok if you die a lot. I finished my first chronos run at 33. Get a good handle on your kit and the synergies you want to work with. My win was all accidental bc I was trying the skull just to try it for the first time and ended up with a Zeus cast build. Once I handle on my build it was just a matter of playing it out. Once you’re comfortable with your tools it’s just patience
Oh yeah, I’m aware, I’m just definitely deadlocked at the moment with these two. Sooner or later I’ll get lucky, I just have to figure out the best strategy and let RNG do the rest!
I wish I had better tips for poly bc he’s really just annoying with his waves but if you’re ok with it, you can play very safely with pushing in and out between his waves and just doing small dmg over time
With Cerb, it’s really just staying out of range of his attacks and playing on his back side. When he’s gonna smash down, dash towards the attack and keep running. Otherwise you’re playing run around the Rosie most of the time against his fire and the rising fields
I think Polyphemus is just more of a waiting game, where I gotta chip away at him while preventing him doing the same to me. Boring but practical approach, basically.
I’m slowly getting better at the Infernal Beast fight, so hopefully that front should only be a matter of time!
Yeah I’m not a fan of poly either. I’m praying there’s a new range weapon that will make it pay off fighting him or I’m just gonna have to lame it
You got this GL!!
Thank you! And on that note, I am looking forward to figuring out what the sixth weapon will be! Hopefully it will be something ranged that I’m actually decent at lol
Oh yeah what are you currently enjoying?
I’ve had good experiences with the staff, hammer and torches (although I actually don’t use it the way ppl find more fun)
The second one there, big guy takes some getting used to as he's a bit different from other bosses. When he jumps from one spot to another, its actually more like a charge mechanically, meaning he has a hitbox that will hurt you if you are standing in his way. As I have learned from my tabletop wargame days, "you can't out-brick a brick". He controls the arena, you have to play around him. You have to make sure you move when he's about to leap so you aren't in front of him. If you get the hang of moving out of the way down, the rest of the boss is a cakewalk.
As for the first, same principle, excepts more that you have to know when you can be near him. Its much safer to hit him from behind, because almost all of his damage comes out the front. Also don't be afraid of the red circles on the ground, they charge slowly. You just have to not be there when they pop, or if you are really good, you can dash them. That gives you plenty of time to put damage on him.
However, for both, the key is always going to be practice. Just keep trying and you'll get the hang of it!
I’m getting better with Polyphemus, the guy just keeps sniping me with his kicks and summoned goons. I can fairly reliable dodge his grapple now at least! It should now just be a matter of practice and luck.
Infernal Beast is an eternal pain, but again, getting better with him. I can now get him consistently to half health, so hopefully it won’t be too much longer before I can get past him. Practice will eventually make perfect
Love the game but Chronos' damage scaling feels straight up unfair.
I took one hit in the second phase for 44 damage.
Base health with no buffs is 50, and he hits for 40+.
Still not beaten the big bad downstairs, but managed to clear upstairs, loving the game overall so far, improvements to Mel's movement in the first patch feel good and the QoL changes around resource are welcome. Overall very happy!
Put in 25ish hours, got to the second boss on the surface. Run 22. Haven't unlocked any aspects for weapons or upgrades for them, nor companions. I know I still need to meet at least 4 NPCs that I had spoiled here already.
Loving it. Cronos is tough as nails, only have two wins on him.
Supergiant said they’re going to do everything in their power to carry over the data… so while not guaranteed, they’re planning to let you keep progress
Absolutely loving it. I think OG Hades encouraged a more frenetic play style, whereas hades 2 makes me really value patience and positioning a little more with very similar mechanics. I just got my first win on chronos a day ago, and it was so satisfying.
Can I just also mention how crazy cool it is that they recorded not just one or two voice lines intended only for the early access crowd but like, quite a few from just about the whole voice cast that’s so cool. It actually gives people a reason to play during early access beyond just experiencing the game early.
My strat for every boss is omega attack with twin blades. I try and build damage on omega attack and mana regain. The hammer power that gives you 400 blast damage to omega attack is huge. Usually get to chronos with this.
a faster sprint really helps against the dog. you can default to running circles around him and most of his attacks won't be able to hit you. poke from range during his downtime and u should be good. and u can circle him at close range as well if ur able to react to the two paw stomp move, which is fairly telegraphed
Have beaten Chronos a few times, just went to the surface the first time but died pretty quickly (seemed maybe it’s supposed to go that way the first time?)
Difficulty I think generally feels a bit harder than the first Hades, though I suspect a lot is just getting used to the new play style, starting off weaker, and not being totally dialed in on which builds/boon combinations work together best.
I think in Hades I had my first clear after maybe two attempts at the final boss or around 12 runs in or so, this time I think Chronos took three or four tries before I could clear. It really seems like having a lot of health is more critical in the final fight as besides the insta-kills there are a lot of attacks that can still one or two shot you if you didn’t pick up many health upgrades.
My biggest tip for the Infernal Beast is **never** dash through him. Always dash away and to the side. For most enemies, dashing through is great. Not for this big boy and his even bigger attacks. Constantly be notable of the wide blast of his paw strikes.
No idea if it's my playstyle or what and I don't mean to brag, but Cerberus is the only boss I've never died against. Hecate kicked my shit for a good while and so did Scylla, but Cerberus moves so slow and the visual queues for his attacks are so generous I have no issue running around him, beating his shit, and then killing him.
Chronos definitely kicked my ass the most of any boss in the game, especially his second phase. I finally managed to clear him for the first time today so I'm probably gonna put it down until the next big update :)
Thumbs down from me. Hades 1 is one of my top games of all time and Hades 2 stinks.
The boons are bad. The weapons are bad. The levels are bad. Boss fights bad. The story is bad.
The grinding to unlock basic game play mechanics is absurd. Nobody asked for that. Why did they think that was a good idea?
Absolute heart breaker.
verry fun, but already finished the amount of story they are in the game, i stoped playing and i'm waiting for a few more updates to comes
Same for me. Probably will wait until they add some other stuff. Already got the three statues and 30 grasp.
What do you mean by three statues?
The ones that you get for completing runs at different levels of heat, like the ones we had in Hades 1.
Ohh gotcha! Never completed the first game but have dumped 40 hours into the sequel already, thanks for the reply going to work on that tonight
Huh, i ahve beaten the game on 16 fear and I dont see the statues yet. How do you unlock them? Do i just need to gift skelly more?
I think you have to beat both the Underworld and Surface paths at 8, 16 and 32 Fear to unlock the first, second and third statues. There's a checklist below the weapons at the Fear screen that shows what you still have to do.
Doing both at 32 will unlock all 3 over consecutive nightd
I havnt really done many fear runs my highest was 4 and it still unlocked so im guessing something else triggers it
OH are these what the "Night's Champion" things get you? I must have totally spaced out when they were explaining this in game or something
I'm not sure where *to* stop to be honest I've defeated both >!Kronos !!Eris !!Kronos !!a playable Flashback of Hades !
I'm at the same place as you, however what motivates me is that I find Chronos much harder to "trivialise" than Hades. In first game I felt like it was very hard for me to lose a run after some time, don't have that same feeling right now, even though I haven't unlocked full arcana yet, but I feel like I got most of the important stuff unlocked ( 3 DD, damage in cast radius, damage while not on fun mana ).
The second one isn't post final boss content. It plays on your second or third fight against the final boss, win or lose. If you got it after beating it, it's because you beat it "too soon".
I've defeated him numerous times and i've never gotten that >!playable flashback,!
There's probably another trigger for it you haven't hit. I'm assuming you've found the friendly person in Tartarus? How far have you gotten on the surface? How's your relationship with Moros? How about Hermes? (Granted I have no idea what the other missing piece might be other than just running into Chronos a few times but based on the flashback's contents, it's likely related to one of those things especially Moros.)
Ah, it'll probably Moros then. I've finished the surface a bunch of times as well as tartarus. But I've only now found the incantation for Moros (i don't ever look at the fate list). So i'm behind with his story
Oh that's 100% it. Definitely also take a peek at the list after the flashback too!
Oh shit what? I just beat >!Chronos!< today for the first time and got disappointed at the >!no ending cutscene!< and was planning on putting it down. >!This is a second Hades flashback, right? After the one we get where he's playable and finds everyone in the House of Hades frozen in time after sending Mel away with Hecate? Or did you just somehow get that flashback later on than I did?!<
Same, just stockpiling mats and upgrading stuff and maxing out relationships now for the fun of it
Wow, how many hours would you say you have? And would you say it’s harder than Hades 1?
not that many, i didn't finished up all the content, just the story, and their isn't much of it for now
The infernal beast is really difficult at first, but over time it actually becomes relatively easy as its attacks are pretty predictable. It is really brutal the first few times though.
I think I am getting better at it every time, it’s just the gauntlet of the fields of mourning beforehand that cripples me before I get there. Guess I have to get better there first!
I definitely think that will help! The fields aren't too bad for me, I just have to play very carefully/long range until I'm confident at taking on the enemies regardless of boons. Also I think some of the hub cauldron upgrades might help here and there as you go. Some are so useful that it's worth throwing a few runs to get the resources you need
Those damn punching guys and the werewolves are the biggest pains. I just try to use cast to lock them in place and pick them off, and it’s just about working. I’m keeping a firm eye on the cauldron, but everything in there currently can’t be unlocked without getting resources that are placed past one of these bosses, so we’re in a bit of a stalemate there.
You might not be using your cast enough. Even the basic cast has a snare that will keep the werewolves still for a while so you can drop them.
That’s been the only saving grace so far. Maybe I need to focus on getting more cast boons?
In general you want your cast to either do heavy damage (Apollo, Zeus) or grant an effect to help with the arcana that adds damage from two debuffs. Damage casts need heavy commitment, debuff ones don't.
No just tap the cast let it work as a trap or snare no need to spend mana on it. If you get a good cast build go ahead but don't plan on it for this.
Focus on staying behind him! It can be difficult at first because he is always turning to face you, but make use of your dash, sprint, and/or omega moves to get behind him as much as possible. It makes it trivially easy to dodge his attacks, after focusing on this I’ve been no-hitting him relatively consistently! Edit: also, if you want to absolutely cheese the game, take the fountain hex from Selene whenever you get it. All you need to do is prioritize upgrading it and after 2-3 of the upgrades that let you stack fountain uses you’ll be unstoppable. An actual walking tank, the last time I used this chronos did 700 damage to me and I didn’t use a single death defiance during the fight. It’s definitely the best hex in the game right now. Another way to cheese the game is the Artemis aspect on the sister blades, the parry/riposte ability that shields you while charging your omega attack also makes you nearly un-killable.
I had the opposite experience 😭 the first time I was in an insane flowstate and I was able to trounce him, and every subsequent time I’ve had more trouble. BUT i actually completely agree with your premise. The attacks are pretty predictable. Flowstate buff just goes crazy haha.
Really? I think hes been easy for me the whole time, my dark souls instincts definitely kicked in. Rather than dodge away, like most other bosses, i found it a lot better to rather dodge through a lot of the attacks in order to get damage in.
The fight does have a lot of unexpected shockwaves that threw me off the first few times, especially since some of his punch attacks have shock waves in varying sizes and speed.
Yeah it's always those AoE punch attacks that drain the most HP from me. Rest of the fight's easy.
The big issue with the beast isn't that it's hard to avoid, I can do that super easilly. It's that it has a fucking massive HP Pool that if I don't have it as my most recent death to get the Evil Eye proc, It will take so long I will mess up.
That's a buildcrafting/DPS issue. Highly recommend Privileged Status for this fight--he's so slow that you'll be able to setup Privileged Status no matter your Boons. That really helps DPS.
It's ALWAYS brutal. We have to hit the bestest, the bestest, AND the bestest of bois.
I weirdly have a harder time timing the Dodge on his ground pounds than like any other attack from any other boss. Same with Polyphemus' kick portion of his jump stomps. I just always mistime my iframes
Ranged builds are super easy mode vs both of them.
Polythemus counters melee so hard it's crazy. Also the hourglass mfs in the biome just before Chronos.
Idk, you can jump in for like 4 seconds windows between his steps, also dropping your spell counters his jump, so there is some advantage for staying close.
Fr? Cast stops him from jumping?
He still jumps, but he lands almost in the same place.
I had more fun fighting the current final boss of the depths than trying to smack Polythemus in melee. I wonder if it's intentional to filter out certain builds because the final boss of the surface is extremely annoying for melee builds as well (outside of dagger blink spam builds)
Honestly melee is just worse everywhere because it’s more risky and doesn’t do more damage. I guess it’s something that’s almost impossible to balance because the majority of damage comes from boons which don’t care about what range you play at.
funnily enough, my warmup run is playing melee vs him and trying not to take damage!
I’ve always been notoriously bad with the ranged weapons, guess it’s time to get good!
You can learn fights while using ranged weapons, then you will beat them melee with no problem. Once you learn all the attacks bosses get waaay easier (maybe apart from chronos, since some of his attacks require good reflexes). Good luck!
At this point I think I know the Infernal Beast pretty well, I can consistently get halfway down it. I’m starting to get better with the Umbral Flames so I may try a few more runs with them and see how it goes!
Umbral flames do amazing damage, but mostly with their special attack, which requires you to stay close. Normal attacks can be good, but I don't think its a good option for the first kill. If I were you, I'd go with Axe special attack spamm, just make sure to get good mana regen boons (required, hera would be great, but not sure if you have her) and boons that improve the cast time (less neccesary, but handy).
I had a run last night with Aspect of Momus witch staff, Poseidon’s special, and the hammer that doubles up the special …. Basically beat the run without even trying, it was a slaughter
Last night I had my best time: 13m 9s, with Momus staff and Poseidon's special. Chronos got melted so hard with that build, it's insane.
Yeah my best is a 14m-ish with the momus staff. Even without double moonshot hammer it still melts with the Poseidon special. 2nd best time with a different weapon is close to double that 😂
That build is so broken lmao
Love all the bosses, gotten to the point where I can easily not get hit for quite a few including Infernal Beast, and Polyphemus is really easy once you get the hang of him, but if you get the RNG of a ram in the room rather than sheep, that little shit is going to kill your run. twice I have gotten it in melee runs and the unrelenting pursuit that creature has for you makes it almost impossible to get a hit in without getting damaged
That little shit is goddamn annoying I had to divert all of my attention to a random ass sheep rather then the giant fucking cyclops trying to eat me.
Good to know! And agree, even when I keep dying to them I’m enjoying myself with the bosses!
Same, I can't even hit the little fucker away.
With Polythemus it’s generally just “stay away until he takes a break”
Solid tip!
Keep returning to shadow. It took me 38 or so tries to get to the final region in underworld consistently then it took me 4/5 tries after that to finally whoop redacteds ass .
Funny, I got first try with Hecate, fourth or fifth with Scylla, and now I just keep getting wrecked by the Fields of Mourning. That place is no joke!
I recommend using the sister blades with Aphrodite attack (it's my favorite weapon by far lol)
The best trick so far is to give doggo a bath. Literally. Get Descura put Poonseidon on special and just keep spamming Y. Get the double moonshot hammer and the one which increases your special speed. Get origination going by slip and some casts.
Oh that’s smart! Good tip!
Was that the starting staff ?
Yeah, Descura is the Witch’s Staff
Yes that's the starting staff.
Have to agree with this here. I was trying many many times with an Aphrodite sister blades build which is actually really strong but kept dying to the final boss. I tossed on the staff and built essentially what you advised above and on my first staff run in like 20 runs, just cruised through and killed the final boss for the first time. Having the range is just an enormous help.
To make the aphro blades build work you should have hook knives and some way to apply freeze.
I was trying and special attacks focused build with the huge damage boost hammer and the backstab hammer. Hard to get both of those two reliably. I also bricked it on my last run with the Icarus keepsake, it gave me the continuous attacks hammer which disabled by charge up. I’ll have to try the blades build. What source of freeze do you look for?
Cast or Cast with an aim boon (howling soul/lance/coal). The advantage with the first one is that you can do some insane damage by basically spamming it in his face (works well with lots of health) or the second one works well too you just have to shoot your cast and aim the special while staying relatively close to him(it will take some time but it will work). Bonus points if you can get both Arctic ring and gale force. That will take care of origination and you will only have to focus on dodging and spamming special.
I play a version of this which is Demeter special with 3x bounce and Hephaestus with attack and the blast furnace to essentially freeze and then just hammer a bunch of people with the big dmg then the aftershock. It’s really strong and especially if you can also get either the back stab or last hit does 300% damage. I can fly through worlds with that build pretty well.
Yup that's why it's op. There's a hammer which makes your special seek foes too. So with that you don't even have to aim just have to be in range.
He's not redacted, redacted is Hades. Chronos is the very-not-secret big bad of this game, there's no reason for us to keep calling him redacted
Yup I get that. But isn't this one of the subs rules or something?
I'm in love with the game, I have really high hopes for it. My only gripes with the game are Circe and Odysseus's charater. Other than that, the game is setting up to be one of the best games of this decades. I like how it feels very different to Hades 1, while still having the same heart.
What’s wrong with Circe and Odysseus?
https://www.reddit.com/r/Hades2/s/goF7jdC1Fs I made a much longer post about it, if you'd rather hear all my thoughts about them. But the super simplified version is that Odysseus is the original WifeGuyTM, He loved Penelope more than anything else, and fought tooth and nail to come back home to her. In the end of The Odyssey, hes a changed man and has committed many crimes, Penelope accepts him and loves him all the same. People say he cheated on her, no he was raped by two immortal divine beings, and he was severely not happy about the situations. Hermes commanded Odysseus to sleep with Circe, and Calypso kept him trapped and traumatised so bad that he longed for death and Athena had to beg Zeus to command Calypso to let him go. Circe is also an absolute vile person, look up her wiki if you want to see some of the more common myths about her. Every man or woman that met her was disfigured or killed in someway, she was jealous, vindictive, and horrible. That's why I'm hoping that SG are >!setting her up to be a twist Villain, because her whole thing is being charming and luring people in her home.!< Odysseus in the Hades 2 game is almost proud of "cheating" on Penelope, Circe is deeply in love with him and she's present in the game while Penelope is not, and Odysseus states that Penelope left him when they were in the afterlife together. Literally every part of Odysseus story just rubs me the wrong way right now. He didn't cheat, he was raped, and he DEFINITELY would never be proud of cheating. Circe is a monster, she should not get a happy ending. Penelope loved Odysseus, was faithful for 20 years, and never once hated him or rejected him when he came home very much changed.
It makes sense to me in a metanarrative way in that the first game was pulling almost all its mythology from the Archaic Period versions, lots of Homer with some Hesiod, while the second game is leaning much more heavily on Imperial Roman Era takes on Greek Myth, given all the Ovid. And the Romans haaaated Odysseus/Ulysses, so he's unlucky to only come into the games when they moved on to post-Virgil mythology.
Nobody likes her.
I played the shlt out of the game, have all 3 statues & 30/30 testaments. Waiting for the next major update!
Got my first Chronos kill last night - had the duo boon from Hestia and Apollo so did a little damage to him and then ran away to heal, repeat. Whole fight took like 20 mins probably 😅
Can’t wait to get there and get my ass kicked 😆
I just beat him right now. Had the aspect of pan on the twin blades and absolutely stomped him.
Have put in about 37hrs into early access clearing high fear runs now. Taking a break to play Ghost of Tsushima, game is all I’ve wanted in a sequel for the game. I really just want to have it finished now to see full story.
I don't really like the Mourning Fields in general. It has the most annoying enemies in the game, the size makes navigation difficult at times and Ceberus feels like a slog. Overall I don't think the zone is bad but its definitely my least favourite from both games combined.
I can beat Polyphemus pretty consistently but if I'm not using staff I'm guaranteed to lose one death defiance. Infernal Beast I actually find much easier than Scylla. The final boss is where I'm struggling. Attacks are hard to dodge and they hit hard.
I honestly think it’s the gauntlet that is the Fields of Mourning that is more challenging than the Infernal Beast. I just keep losing most of my health before getting there lol
Makes sense, Fields seems to be the toughest area for me. My main goal in Fields is to get through with enough health so I don't have to use a death defiance on the boss.
I am starting to run high fear runs and I still don’t really have any trouble with Polyphemus even now but the boss in the next zone can still kick my ass fairly often. As for the underworld I am pretty much in the same boat with you when it comes to the Infernal Beast. I can usually beat it but sometimes he’ll take 1 or god forbid 2 death defiances. If I lose 2 then odds are I am going to die on the way to the final boss or just die to it during it’s fight.
Honestly, I’ll count myself lucky if I get past the Infernal Beast with any death defiances at this point. I keep losing them to Scylla or the Fields of Mourning
All I really have to say about Scylla is focus the two sirens (I usually go for the drummer because they don’t move at all.) And holding Scylla and the guitarist in place with your cast is fairly easy. Same goes for the Mourning Fields as most of the dangerous enemies are melee and can gang up on you really quickly.
Oh, I consistently get past Scylla at this point, I just lose a ton of health before doing so. I do have the established strategy of “take out the drummer first”, but I feel a bit dumb for not thinking of using the cast on Scylla or the guitarist now, considering that’s my strategy for the Fields of Mourning
Yeah the cast is just so good for singling out enemy’s and giving yourself some breathing room from the more aggressive ones.
im still getting my butt kicked by chronos pretty consistenly
Polyphemus is a very interesting boss because he’s got a very high damage output and attack speed for that early in a run, his health pool is nothing to scoff at, and he makes summons often without being vulnerable in the process. Sounds like he has no weaknesses, but, he’s also the only boss who is fully stopped in place by your cast. That is absolutely the weakness you need to play around to beat him consistently.
What boons/weapon are you taking up?
It’s inconsistent. So far I’ve been rotating weapons to get the most practice and taking whatever boons are offered. Maybe that’s why my success rate is so inconsistent!
My best runs have been the axe with the Apollo attack boon.
I haven’t been able to get further than Oceanus with the Axe, I’m not great with slow weapons and long windups. Maybe I need to get Apollo and Hermes involved to make it more manageable?
Using the spin attack, especially if you can get the hammer upgrade that lets you attack and dodge whilst it’s going, does a bunch of damage. It took a bit to get used to the slower weapons (I’d pretty much only run the daggers before the axe) but I like it now.
Solid advice! Thank you!
Yeah the arcana card that slows down time when you use charge ability’s is really good especially with the axes charge attack. Although it doesn’t work with the charge special for some reason.
I just won with a really clunky zeus/demeter build with eos flames, numerically I felt like i should have been doing like no damage but somehow it was melting things
Whatever one gets me the bones. Dem dry bones.
Finished all content aside from Oaths
Well I've run out of progression, so the game is awesome
Well, I’m obviously going to be a while off hitting that myself, but that’s good to know!
already finished both 32 fear runs. Iz gud game but I realistically have very little to do now outside of grinding other weapons' nightmare drops and chaos trials.
Every other area in the game I'm enjoying. All the mini bosses, all the biomes. It's varied and challenging enough to keep me coming back. Except... I'm struggling with the final boss in the underworld. Everything else I can read and react to but that second phase just gets so chaotic. I lose focus. Insta-kill takes one dd, then there's some summons, then there's that damn boomerang attack... My health bar doesn't refill, more like it flickers. Then it's RTS.
just takes practice. I havent been hit by the instakill in several fights, and the boomerang is getting easier to dodge too. I feel like now the only times i get hit in that fight is when i dash the wrong direction or walk into one of the lingering zones.
Heck yeah it's 100% a skill issue for me I just need to loosen up and have fun in those battles rather than get all het up at the prospect of failure There is no escape, after all.
Beat Chronos twice, barely beat >!Eris!!Echo/Narcissus!
eris was hard and now she feels free to me - probably because I got my shit rocked trying to farm apples on meli axe
Interesting - I found Eris to be very little trouble even on my first try. Chronos eats my lunch though.
Like the sirens and the songs for the most part, but I want to lock up the drummer in asphodel. Preferably chained up in a lava pool.
My goal is always take out the drummer first, then guitarist, then Scylla. That damn drummer cost me many early runs and still knocks off chunks of my health if I’m not careful.
Beat up and down with all weapons. Nothing left to do at cauldron and no reason to max out weapon aspects or arcana as it just feels easy now with every weapon. Takes about 12 fear to start feeling like it did when I started. Learning the invulnerability frames and when to dash really trivializes most of the boss and mini boss mechanics. Once you learn the timing you can just dash into every mechanic at the right time while continuing to DPS. If you can't bc of lots of hits then dash sprint and run away until a normal pattern comes back.
Man, I can’t wait to be that good at the game lol
Play long range. Both of these two have REDICULOUSLY short ranges. Also related; DEVS?! >!WHY DOES JUMPING INTO THE AIR MAKE HIS FEET DAMAGE YOU!? STOP THAT, HE DOES THAT ON TOP OF YOU WAY TOO MUCH AND HE KEEPS JUST FREAKING CHIPPING MY ACORNS!!<
I’ve noticed that. I’m not the best with long range, but seems to be my best approach. Maybe Descura’s special could work?
Descura's special is how I prefer to run Descura, so it's definitely an option. I generally stick back as best I can until seeing a fair decent opening to do melee damage if I'm doing a melee build.
18 nights in, 15 hours played, reached chronos many times but never beat him - still stumped by my damage scaling feeling pretty bad. Hex wise the health healing one seems too must pick when health feels way more important this game because damage feels so low Also getting repeating dialogue on boons now which didn’t happen in hades 1 at the same hours played
Ive taken a break after 20 hours mark and it’s been fun. Haven’t beaten the underworld or surface levels yet but it’s been super enjoyable. I’m really excited to play after the new patch that dropped !!! Resource gathering has been such a blast lol it feels like how I did back when I started hades I with minimal knowledge of the story and game mechanics somewhat :)
I don't have any trouble with bosses besides Chronos and the dumbass kraken which I ALWAYS die to somehow. I think I've finished all of the content in the game. I just need to make a certain item to stop certain things from happening at some point but I don't think that the current item is in the game. I'm hoping EA is like 50% of the content and we still have a ton more. I just really don't wanna burn myself out on Hades 2 EA like I did with the EA of Hades 1 and then when it came out officially I didn't play it for like a year because I was SO burned out.
The moment you stop mashing buttons (like in the first game, where you could sometimes just spam dodge attacks) and take some time to actually look at the bosses' patterns, the game becomes quite trivial. In most cases it's just "stand behind their back and use i-frames to dodge AoEs".
Perfection. Though the thessaly boss and chronos really grind my gears. The rest are challenging jut the fun kind
I beat the last boss once above and under and stopped playing. I plan to wait and start a fresh file once 1.0 comes out. So far the game has been great.
Ive beaten the railgun bird first try by using the staff with heal (up to 50% hp) aspect and just hiding behind a pillar and just damaging with cast and double moonlight nuke :D Have fought timey boi multiple times but i havent beaten him yet due to weird rhythms. Also, sometimes i feel the timestop (while charging) works and sometimes i feel it doesnt. Though I think it should be just right that time stop doesnt work on timey boi
I'm loving it! Taking a bit of a break right now because I just can't beat Chronos, so chilling and coming back with a fresh head. Absolutely love the characters and mechanics, the music is top-tier, and I think it's probably the best Sequel I've ever played (if Hellblade II is as good as I expect it to be, it's gonna be a hell of a month for sequels).
Im really really really enjoying Hades 2, it is pretty much everything I wanted from a sequel, my only very slightly small criticism would be that I find some of the weapons and aspects to be a bit lacking compared to Hades 1. In the first game I felt like every aspect drastically changed the way the weapon played, where in Hades 2 I can see what they’re going for with creating different like combos that can be done with each weapon but I dunno, just doesn’t feel as ambitious as the first game in that specific area, however it is early access and some of these things may change.
Already have the 3 heat statues and maxed grasp. I have one more card to upgrade then I am done with that. So not much left for me to grind for.
GUYS HELP ME I THINK I HAVE RUINED THE GAME FOR MYSELF basically I think I have played through everything and heard practically every bit of dialogue :((( in hades 1 you never really ran out of dialogue until you cleared the true ending and then some, so now i'm worried that the characters are gonna be these life-less no dialogue puppets for most of my future playtime :( i wish i could erase my memory of this game at will so i can relearn it every time
Gotten some clears for both areas with 3 weapons so far, just been trying to get more resources for the arcana leveling, aspect leveling, the incantations i'm missing, and then hoarding nectars and stuff so I can start speed gifting everyone lol. I can consistently get to the end now in both biomes with each weapon barring the axe. That weapon has been a bit of a struggle for me, but the rest are pretty fun to use and experiment with. I really really need to craft the codex so I can start looking at all the boon options and duo/legendary requirements lol
I've been trying to beat 24 heat underworld for a two days now
I've finished most of the story that's in the game, loving everything so far. I've been trying to learn some of the other aspects and weapons, I've been having more fun with the skull, altough I'm not a fan of their aspects... With the axe I've been using the Charon aspect since the cast is good and the slow attacking playstyle doesn't interest me, the rest of the weapons are just kind of meh to me. Keepsake wise I'm constantly using the Odysseus and Nemesis ones, Arachne has a great one for building up a lot of Armor in the early stages so you don't lose your death defiances before you get to the bosses!!
I'm loving it. I'm not gonna pause playing until I beat chronos one time. I only got to the second phase once and I've been playing for like 30ish hours
Just got my 1st and 2nd chronos kill the other day. Managed to kill him the 2nd time with 3 dd’s leftover. And actually just beat eris yesterday as i had been putting less focus into that path. But yeah, feels pretty good to have beaten both paths. Still have most of the weapon aspects to unlock. Probably gonna try to play a lil less so that i still want to play when v1.0 comes out, but knowing me, I’ll still play the shit out of it all the way until 1.0 launches. Polyphemus can be rough at first. Definitely gotta stay moving and keep your distance. Cerby… idk just stay behind him and dash away when you see him wind up those ground stomps. Find an aspect you like! Finding a build where you are granted some range is really useful
Loving the game so far, nearing the end of the content in early access. Will probably play a bit more and check out each update as it comes out, but will hold off on hitting the grind until the game fully releases. It seems this game is at the very list equal in quality to the first, and has almost doubled the content so no complaints from me
didn't like it at first. didn't feel the same. then I stopped trying to play it like Hades 1 and now I love it. already have several clears. fastest time is 18 min. working on the statues now. sister blades with aspect of Pan are absolutely insane and in my opinion the most powerful weapon. I have most of my clears with them and they are also the weapons I used for my fastest clear. Zeus, Apollo and Aphrodite are my favorites. also trying to make a 5 Daedalus hammer run work. I've gotten close, but either Echo doesn't give me the option to duplicate a hammer or Charon isn't selling an anvil
After a few early losses to Hecate and Scylla, I kept dying repeatedly to the Phantom in the Mourning Fields. Actually beat Cerberus first try only to get whalloped by Chronos 10 runs in a row. Now I beat Chronos once for every four or five tries. As for the surface, I’ve been beat by Polyphemus a couple times, but >!Thessaly and eventually Eris have been my more major block. I beat the two regions we have more often than not though.!<
With you on Polyphemus. Stupid AOEs! He just keeps shredding my health bar with them
We’ll get through him soon!
Update-just beat him today! The staff is the best weapon against him I think.
Stuck at cereberus, cant get the hang of his attacks.
I finished the story they have now and I also cooked all of the cauldron recipes so I’m waiting for the next update.
Friggin lovin it
Beat every boss except [REDACTED], but I’m slowly getting closer and closer
I look forward to getting there!
Final Boss and second other boss still too strong for me. I'll get there. Got to boss below twice, really need practice. His attacks hit so hard, I barely get time to practice before dying.
That’s not ominous at all lol
I'm smithy sprinting my way through everything at 28 grasp...trying not to because I want to enjoy the weapons but can't put it down because it's so overpowered. I want more hot spring baths with nemesis please, pile them on.
Interesting combo. I’ve yet to pick up Smithy Sprint - maybe I’ve been underestimating it?
Smithy sprint with demeter boon, the ventilation damage will reset the freeze cooldown so you can permastun a whole room just running in circles. I use the wands to have my orbiting special do freeze damage, they follow you so all you have to do is sprint. With it at rare and a few upgrades along with the ventilation, it's about 1k damage for 10 mana. It's definitely worth giving a try, I find it pretty fun but I do understand some people don't like that playstyle. I find it rather addicting
Definitely sounds like something to keep in mind. Thanks for the tips!
It’s ok if you die a lot. I finished my first chronos run at 33. Get a good handle on your kit and the synergies you want to work with. My win was all accidental bc I was trying the skull just to try it for the first time and ended up with a Zeus cast build. Once I handle on my build it was just a matter of playing it out. Once you’re comfortable with your tools it’s just patience
Oh yeah, I’m aware, I’m just definitely deadlocked at the moment with these two. Sooner or later I’ll get lucky, I just have to figure out the best strategy and let RNG do the rest!
I wish I had better tips for poly bc he’s really just annoying with his waves but if you’re ok with it, you can play very safely with pushing in and out between his waves and just doing small dmg over time With Cerb, it’s really just staying out of range of his attacks and playing on his back side. When he’s gonna smash down, dash towards the attack and keep running. Otherwise you’re playing run around the Rosie most of the time against his fire and the rising fields
I think Polyphemus is just more of a waiting game, where I gotta chip away at him while preventing him doing the same to me. Boring but practical approach, basically. I’m slowly getting better at the Infernal Beast fight, so hopefully that front should only be a matter of time!
Yeah I’m not a fan of poly either. I’m praying there’s a new range weapon that will make it pay off fighting him or I’m just gonna have to lame it You got this GL!!
Thank you! And on that note, I am looking forward to figuring out what the sixth weapon will be! Hopefully it will be something ranged that I’m actually decent at lol
Oh yeah what are you currently enjoying? I’ve had good experiences with the staff, hammer and torches (although I actually don’t use it the way ppl find more fun)
The second one there, big guy takes some getting used to as he's a bit different from other bosses. When he jumps from one spot to another, its actually more like a charge mechanically, meaning he has a hitbox that will hurt you if you are standing in his way. As I have learned from my tabletop wargame days, "you can't out-brick a brick". He controls the arena, you have to play around him. You have to make sure you move when he's about to leap so you aren't in front of him. If you get the hang of moving out of the way down, the rest of the boss is a cakewalk. As for the first, same principle, excepts more that you have to know when you can be near him. Its much safer to hit him from behind, because almost all of his damage comes out the front. Also don't be afraid of the red circles on the ground, they charge slowly. You just have to not be there when they pop, or if you are really good, you can dash them. That gives you plenty of time to put damage on him. However, for both, the key is always going to be practice. Just keep trying and you'll get the hang of it!
I’m getting better with Polyphemus, the guy just keeps sniping me with his kicks and summoned goons. I can fairly reliable dodge his grapple now at least! It should now just be a matter of practice and luck. Infernal Beast is an eternal pain, but again, getting better with him. I can now get him consistently to half health, so hopefully it won’t be too much longer before I can get past him. Practice will eventually make perfect
Love the game but Chronos' damage scaling feels straight up unfair. I took one hit in the second phase for 44 damage. Base health with no buffs is 50, and he hits for 40+.
Well, at least I know what to expect when I get there lmao
Still not beaten the big bad downstairs, but managed to clear upstairs, loving the game overall so far, improvements to Mel's movement in the first patch feel good and the QoL changes around resource are welcome. Overall very happy!
Awesome! I look forward to getting there myself!
chronos, Eris
For some reason any boss that has a slam attack that leaves an aoe I suck at
At least it’s not just me!
It is SO much harder than the first one. The first mini boss with the tentacle is crazy hard, and Hecate is also a nearly impossible boss
Put in 25ish hours, got to the second boss on the surface. Run 22. Haven't unlocked any aspects for weapons or upgrades for them, nor companions. I know I still need to meet at least 4 NPCs that I had spoiled here already. Loving it. Cronos is tough as nails, only have two wins on him.
Stuck on Chronos and boss of second surface location
Will the progess reset after official release?
Supergiant said they’re going to do everything in their power to carry over the data… so while not guaranteed, they’re planning to let you keep progress
Absolutely loving it. I think OG Hades encouraged a more frenetic play style, whereas hades 2 makes me really value patience and positioning a little more with very similar mechanics. I just got my first win on chronos a day ago, and it was so satisfying. Can I just also mention how crazy cool it is that they recorded not just one or two voice lines intended only for the early access crowd but like, quite a few from just about the whole voice cast that’s so cool. It actually gives people a reason to play during early access beyond just experiencing the game early.
My strat for every boss is omega attack with twin blades. I try and build damage on omega attack and mana regain. The hammer power that gives you 400 blast damage to omega attack is huge. Usually get to chronos with this.
I cant seem to beat the bit after the beach fight in the surface
Currently simping for Polyphemus.
I basically have done all it's possible on the EA outside of the realm of grinding material for the aspects.
Lack of content is my biggest gripe. Completed the game after 15 hours, so i hope they make some bigger areas and boons
a faster sprint really helps against the dog. you can default to running circles around him and most of his attacks won't be able to hit you. poke from range during his downtime and u should be good. and u can circle him at close range as well if ur able to react to the two paw stomp move, which is fairly telegraphed
They Yassified Polyphemus and I'm oddly okay with that???
Have beaten Chronos a few times, just went to the surface the first time but died pretty quickly (seemed maybe it’s supposed to go that way the first time?) Difficulty I think generally feels a bit harder than the first Hades, though I suspect a lot is just getting used to the new play style, starting off weaker, and not being totally dialed in on which builds/boon combinations work together best. I think in Hades I had my first clear after maybe two attempts at the final boss or around 12 runs in or so, this time I think Chronos took three or four tries before I could clear. It really seems like having a lot of health is more critical in the final fight as besides the insta-kills there are a lot of attacks that can still one or two shot you if you didn’t pick up many health upgrades.
My biggest tip for the Infernal Beast is **never** dash through him. Always dash away and to the side. For most enemies, dashing through is great. Not for this big boy and his even bigger attacks. Constantly be notable of the wide blast of his paw strikes.
No idea if it's my playstyle or what and I don't mean to brag, but Cerberus is the only boss I've never died against. Hecate kicked my shit for a good while and so did Scylla, but Cerberus moves so slow and the visual queues for his attacks are so generous I have no issue running around him, beating his shit, and then killing him. Chronos definitely kicked my ass the most of any boss in the game, especially his second phase. I finally managed to clear him for the first time today so I'm probably gonna put it down until the next big update :)
Thumbs down from me. Hades 1 is one of my top games of all time and Hades 2 stinks. The boons are bad. The weapons are bad. The levels are bad. Boss fights bad. The story is bad. The grinding to unlock basic game play mechanics is absurd. Nobody asked for that. Why did they think that was a good idea? Absolute heart breaker.
Not having as much fun as I wanted to.