HUGE BALANCE PATCH IS LIVE! | Hades 2

00:00 Introduction
01:32 General Gameplay
04:09 Weapon Changes
06:13 Aspect Changes
14:41 Hammer Changes
21:46 Hex Changes
23:35 Foes & Encounters
25:37 Level Design
26:22 Chaos Trials
26:37 Vow of Forsaking (IMPORTANT)
29:30 Menus & UI
30:26 Misc.
36:00 Final Thoughts

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[YashSingh-eyll]

The reason the crit chance on Thanatos is 13 is bc Death is the 13th tarot card, incidentally its also the 13th arcana card

[MaximusPrimusKay]

I was reading that Duo boon "adjustment" and I immediately saw Haelian written in brackets.

[Arty_Nah]

The added invulnerability for Death Defiances is so nice actually omg it’s happened 1-2 times where I’d die to Chronos and before I even got to move another hit would kill me and waste 2 defiances it was heartbreaking 😭😭😭

[EmporerEmblem]

That change to be able to play with only keyboard is honestly such a nice accessibility change. One of the things I had to learn for web design is making it so websites can exclusively work with keyboard for those with hand problems that make using a mouse difficult. It's important that games also do what they can with control accessibility, especially since not everyone is comfortable with using controllers.

[goatmeal]

I like that they changed hammers to not have major build-breaking downsides. I might actually use Experimental hammer now, and quite a bit at that!

[amanofnoreputation]

Aspect of Artemis updates is really solid: I actually remember charging up the riposte only to dodge because I had the messenger equiped.

[INStheRebel]

Finally I can start memorizing the keepsakes instead of looking at the damn alphabet

[Voicelet]

The aspects change is going in the right direction imo. Now they are impacting your playstyle in their own ways more, rather than just amping up a number on one of its facet.

[TheWunn]

I've been testing things out since the patch, and i've got some notes:

THE TORCHES

Firstly, the Omega attack speed on the torches is SIGNIFICANTLY better now than it was, comparable to something like the Rail in Hades 1. What's more, the increased attack speed means you get a very large amount of ghosts lingering on the screen, which can bounce between enemies and deal even more damage than is on-paper. It's not quite as insane as something like Eris rail and the single shot damage isn't really comparable to something like Hestia rail, but those two were incredible aspects if you built for them correctly, and with the improvements to channel speed all of the torches (Mel was the one I used in my actual run but I trialled Moros and Eos in the training grounds for thoroughness' sake), a good attack boon makes the torch attack a surprisingly effective option.

My setup for that run was Apollo attack, Born Gain and Hephaestus special, but i honestly would fully recommend dropping Hephy in this setup (which i'm sure is a sensation he's unfortunately quite used to feeling - thanks again Hera). Hephy works best in my experience when you put him on something that's not really a part of the weapon's moveset you intend to use all that often - for instance, if i'm running Mel knives and hard focusing the attack, I'll usually chuck Hephy on the special because being able to throw a knife now and then for a bonus 400 damage in between my combo strings allows me to gain a nice extra chunk of damage, it can proc Vent which can help with getting Origination up (and is just more free damage on top of that), and Hephy's miscellaneous supportive boons mean he's not a bad option to have in the pool, especially now that they've upped it to a 4-god limit.

That being said...Hephy's usefulness when used in this way entirely depends on how reliable it is to weave in your specials in the middle of an attack chain, and unfortunately the torches really don't perform in that regard. The special's still decent, don't get me wrong, but they appear to have quietly reduced the speed you can spam them in the most recent patch, and that plus the coiling arc of the flames means it's kind of easy to whiff them if you only use one, which Hephy's boons encourage because of the long timer on the blast - you hit it once, then go back to doing something else with your attacks and casts.

More damning than that though, is that the torch attack is one that encourages you to hold it down for long periods to fire off your omega attack, and dropping that chain of attacks to apply Hephy means you have to waste time with your dinky little normal attacks while you wait for the omegas to come back online. It's not bad design or anything, it's just the way the torches are set up really doesn't lend itself well to an off-Hephy build the way that something like the staff, knives or axe do. That's not necessarily a problem, as long as you keep it in mind when targeting your boons.

One thing i DID notice though: dropping your *cast* doesn't interrupt your attack string the way your specials do. This means having a status-inflicting attack like Demeter, Hestia, Zeus or Hera, plus a status inflicting cast like Aphrodite, Hestia, Demeter, is basically free Origination if you play your cards right. I managed to salvage the run by picking up Daze on my sprint (because it seems, at least to me, that even the single dash that the torches allow you while you maintain your attacks still applies daze) and Rapture Ring from Aphro, and Chronos honestly went down with very few problems from there.


THE KNIVES

Flick knives, one of the new hammers for the sister blades, makes it so your dash attacks also throw out 3 of your special knives, as well we know. Thing is, this also applies any status curses your special would inflict, without having to drop your attack string to use your special. Remember earlier how i mentioned earlier that Hephy works really well when you can throw in a quick Hephed-up strike now and again in between a different set of attacks? Can say for absolute certain: Vent from Hephy or Blitz from Zeus is an absolute monster on the knives' special with flick knives, because it means you can just flick out the status, then switch back to your powered-up Demeter, Poseidon, Hera or whatever other god on your attack (ideally with a second status - we stan Origination in this household) to just absolutely melt your target in the blink of an eye. You don't need to drop a single attack, and it even works as an opener, because attacking out of a full sprint also counts as a dash-strike for the purposes of Flick Knives.

THE AXES

Good lord the axes. Than's scythe is just perfect in every conceivable way for me. I know, everyone likes Than axe, but the boost in attack speed as a passive means that it's not just a perfectionist tool, it also makes it easier for you to stay mobile and avoid the incoming damage that would wreck your bonus. It's fast, it's fluid, and ALL of your omega moves gain from the Mortality crit chance bonus, and moreover - it's just fun! It's a really good aspect and I like playing it! I got Aphrodite as my attack boon on the run I did with it, and Artemis gave me hunter's mark (we getting heart rend flashbacks with this one), and it was i think maybe the comfiest run i've ever had of this game. Definitely recommend it to anyone looking for just a fun time with a big stick.

And finally, the elephant in the room is...

MOMUS

Haelian's right. New Momus is more fun, has better build diversity and is overall a less cheesy weapon, and is still plenty effective. It fits into a completely different niche than original Momus did, but I vibe with what it's putting down. Only notes I've got: Apollo's Solar Ring doesn't appear to work with Momus' effect, it just goes off once and then the other two casts are normal detonations from there. Understandable maybe, but a little disappointing. That being said, Uncle Poseidon be providin', cause his cast works perfectly fine, and is a great keep-out tool while you set up your turrets.

Anyways those are my big conclusions so far. Boy these ADHD meds sure are working out, huh?

[chadwick]

"Moonwater... *slightly* reduced healing." How the heck is 10 healing off of 25 healing a *slight* reduction lol. I think it's probably a good adjustment, just a funny use of the world *slightly*.

[lloxu]

11:54 I could be wrong but I think they may have made it 13 because the 13th tarot card is "Death"

[BoxCox]

The reason for lingering of a shield on an axe special is the small window that was present between the charging of an attack and it landing. When the shield transitioned into a slam, there was a small window when enemies could hit you. It was quite annoying.

[venkateshbatman]

I didn't expect them to straight up remove momus, I always thought it would get reduced numbers or move some of the power away from the special into something else. RIP

[pebbellz]

I'm so glad that they made the oil slicks in the rift extinguish after fights. It just didn't make sense to me that every other environmental trap stops affecting you once the encounter is over, but the oil slicks didn't. Plus it was so annoying to have a resource spawn in an oil slick and have to just be like "...welp, guess I can't get that resource then" 😅

[maco]

Good thing I managed to beat 32 fear with Momus before this patch lol

[Onesevensevenzerothirteen]

i think the 13% crit is due to the death arcana card being number 13 and thanatos being the personification of death

[samkon]

I get why vow of forsaken needed to be changed because it was busted, but trying to build towards legendaries and duos feels AWFUL now. The extra god in the pool makes a big difference. It's much worse than in hades 1 because activating the arcanas for boon rarity and duo likelihood are awkward to use and come with big drawbacks. I think if they kept the god pool at 3 it would feel a lot better.

[wildstorm]

You know at first I was angry at the Vow change you know.

But after calming down. I agree that it was a necessary one.

Like you said it’s suppose to be a detriment. But instead it was a positive. It allowed you to get to the legos and the duo’s way to fast.

And even with out the guarantied duo/legend. It’s still helpful a good chunk of the time.

Ie it still helps you cut out boons that you don’t need. Or helps you get to the correct boon you need for your build faster.

[EizenVanKatsu]

Darkside nerf makes a bit of sense. I had a run where I was functionally invincible fighting Chronos with it. Was. Slower kill but he couldn’t touch me

[GulayBeans]

18:18 hook knives for aspect of pan builds has this issue that the knives travel so fast that some of the miss the target even with the homing feature. This just makes sure that some of the knives will hit the target