My favorite Skull aspect delivers at 32 Fear | Hades 2

[@ento]

"What do the familiars do now...?" With the new system, anything can still show up, but the one you have equipped is extremely weighted above all others, to the point that the others practically won't show up at all. The pets act like a mini-equip, so the fish/ghosts can actually show up still. More importantly to me, they let you skip the minigame for looting the ghosts/fishes.

[@ruxbon]

@JamesCastle-vd1lc they indeed have infinite charges for gathering, now, but I don't remember what they gain from resting once you get that one incantation that doubles their use or whatever

[@akraziel4993]

@@ruxbon after "resting" they have in creased % of gathered materials (+2%, 5%, etc)

[@DNABeast]

It seems like allowing your familiar to rest doesn’t do anything anymore. I liked this mechanism so I hope they figure something else. Edit: should have read the comment before me :p

[@neaubee]

If you upgrade the familiars accordingly, then you get the appearance chance up part of it but that's not really the purpose of the familiars now in regards to gathering. The familiars just help skip the mini-game part of the gathering. The ones that raise the likelihood of a specific resource are the tools, meaning if you choose the fishing rod before heading out, you get more fish spots.

[@thesenate8268]

@@DNABeast why did you like the familiar resting mechanic lol

[@Matt-wn9by]

Just noticed the "some friends over for dinner" line from the Cyclops haha, nice Silence of the lambs reference

[@Annokh]

Ngl, seeing that I'm not the only one who gets wrecked early in the run is kinda calming.

[@salmonbamminfish2925]

A big problem with most of the hexes is that you are very vulnerable while using them. Like the animation for all of them you would use mid combat leaves you to be hit

[@TheDragonQueen-uh4lm]

Yeah and alot of them is time based, so Chronos negates them completely, so they're kinda useless in his fight.

[@MaceHead117]

Agreed I think moon beam would be very popular if it acted like Demeter's cast from the first game!

[@Fucisko]

@@MaceHead117 you can get an upgrade for it so that you can place it on a spot, but it's still pretty bad cause it has almost zero tracking

[@TheDragonQueen-uh4lm]

@@MaceHead117 yeah, i find Moon Beam sucks because unless there's an upgrade path that makes you immune to dmg, you are a literal sitting duck. I'm unsure if the beam even staggers enemies, though i can assume bosses aren't, so it's a very hard sell for me. The one that slows down time for 5 seconds is my favorite after Moon Water, though it doesn't work on Chronos, but if you get the upgrade that gives you more attack and movement speed during it, it is still useful for Chronos. Though, the fact you need certain upgrades for it to work on the final boss still sucks.

[@champiggyfrm_pig5271]

@@TheDragonQueen-uh4lm Beam has an upgrade that makes it fire from the position you where at when you casted, and you can move

[@sh_i_ro]

the skulls are definitely my favorite. they offer such a unique playstyle. when i first unlocked them i was so disappointed and after a run or two i was like dawg these might be pretty good lol

[@Realtoag]

I hadn't beaten my first run and as soon as I unlocked the skulls, I tried them out and beat my first run that way on that test run 💀

[@RamikinHorde]

The skulls sound lame on paper, but their insane burst damage and obvious attack/special synergy makes them really fun (and good). Definitely my most successful weapon.

[@thesenate8268]

Unique? Literally beowulf but worse

[@reboot3332]

I dont agree that moon water needs a nerf. On higher fear, that heal is essentially non-existent and I actually prefer other hexes cause the gains are so minimal.

[@justarandomdood]

Which other hexes do you think are good for high Fear? I haven't even done 8 yet lol

[@lookalike4805]

You can try the Summon just to deflect Some Aggro away from you or jump Smash as a Panick Button for when your Dodge hasn't Recharged Yet.... That's it.... You cant use any of them for Damage because your build is Already Stronger than all the Damage Hexes.

[@reboot3332]

@@justarandomdood The slow down, morph enemies, convert enemy to fight for you (can be especially strong as it uses the last enemy you killed), essentially anything that helps with cc. In Tartarus it gets so out of control with the 8 million enemies per room that cc is vital even if you already have good cc.

[@whatzittooyah9182]

Just realized while watching this that Polyphemus has green hair because he’s a son of Poseidon. He takes after dad a bit.

[@justarandomdood]

Story spoilers? . . . . . . . . . Apparently not a son of Poseidon in this game, they lied to him and said he was

[@Genero222]

“F*** I thought I dashed” is the best summary of my feedback for Hades 2. Love them game though.

[@lookalike4805]

People just probably haven't yet Internalized the Dash Timings Yet. One thing that I think needs to be addressed is the Dash Cooldown being Affected by anything that Changes the In Game Speed. To put things into perspective... Even *Hitstop* is enough to Throw off your Timing... Decoupling those Aspects might actually Help Alot. 🤔

[@Genero222]

@@lookalike4805 I really like the addition of sprint but think dash and sprint being incorporated together leads to clunky interactions / controls. I actually liked the original more than the recent patch changes to dash and sprint.

[@justarandomdood]

Wild that the Zeus boon that Hermes dropped didn't get onioned. Wonder if it matters that you bought it in the City instead of on the Rift, or if that doesn't matter at all...

[@apw9929]

I like the aspect - it feels like Beowulf in hades 1 but it doesn’t feel as good because the skulls don’t seem to blow up consistently at the end of the special

[@axllow3914]

Because the attack explodes independently of the special, you kinda just have to calculate it yourself

[@ento]

They don't blow up at the end of the special; they blow up on the first enemy you hit with the special. Or after 3 seconds, like @axllow3914 is saying.

[@HerMi.T]

​@@axllow3914 Not really, it also blows up with impact.

[@summyt09]

0:18 each level of the swift runner does 5%, 7.5%, and 10%

[@KingJerbear]

This looks so fun! I messed around with the Aspect on Skelly and thought I had to just wait for them to detonate. Makes sense the idea is to dash through. Looks like a super fun playstyle!

[@abra_escaped]

On the topic of what they'll do with Ares (and probably Dionysus too), I think it's just difficult to come up with so many different damaging debuffs. I think having multiple similar ones is fine as long as the t2 boons are unique/fun, for example Dio in 1 vs Hestia with stuff like strong drink, slow cooker, bad influence, fire extinguisher, etc. They both revolve mainly around stacking DoT and a little bit of survivability but there's enough differences in how the other boons work to make them unique. Ares and Hephaestus both have delayed damage debuffs, but Ares also has lots of stuff to increase your damage and all the blade rift stuff where Heph from what I've seen is more about long cooldown burst damage explosions and being tanky (or sometimes even wanting to take damage). Similar debuffs, but different everything else

[@OmeganKryist]

My thoughts on the hexes: Yeah moon water I think maybe just needs fewer uses, or to heal less? Start with 1 use (maybe even limit to a single use)? Maybe increase the mana cost to like 100-120? Also the upgrade that gives coins is weird and insignificant. Move it to a new hex that is more focused around that… replace it with an effect that reduces the mana cost. Dark side should just apply/include your attack and special boons and benefit from any other such boons that impact attacks and specials. If it could apply curses and scale with your boons I think it would be fine. If I recall lunar ray doesn’t make you invulnerable during the attack which is the big issue I see there (you kinda get stuck in a spot for too long, maybe if you could still dash like zag could with the rail gun). Some builds also just out damage this ability too, so unlike total eclipse it just slows you down sometimes. It needs some juice in short I think. Night bloom Should be like half the mana cost to charge I feel. It’s hard to use and doesn’t do much in most cases. Twilight curse should not target 10 foes and should be cheaper. Honestly if it was like 1 foe but to charge it up was like 30 mana that would be a lot better and actually usable. Could make it 60 mana and target like 2, then path of stars to have it affect more targets. 10 is overkill and the cost to charge it up makes it hard to use in most cases. Wolf howl needs something. The damage it deals isn’t significant enough. If it gave you a buff after using or applied some debuff to the enemies hit… maybe if stunned enemies and/or removed armor effectively then probably be worth it. Idea it applies a curse that makes enemies take 50% more damage (100% to armor) or something. Lastly feel like in general the path of stars is lack luster for some hexes. Not enough increase to power (such upgrades should be double I feel what they are currently), lot of the time these just sort of feel kinda just there, not a desirable choice. Some upgrades in short need to feel more impactful. Moon water perhaps the one case currently where path of stars is too good, more an issue with the hex itself though. Best hexes to me definitely seem to be: Moon Water (kinda like extra death defiances without the death part) Phase Shift (Slow effect is just good) Total Eclipse (kinda just a super omega cast)

[@pabloich3482]

i like the one that summons a fallen enemy you can just take the one arcana that charges up your hex passively and get a strong damaging familiar for a bit

[@oonanoodle2896]

Wolf howl has a fun factor for me, so i enjoy it although it doesnt add that much dps to your build low level

[@scottallen2966]

I personally think totally nerfing that much would not benefit the game much (I do agree drastically increasing mana costs for moon water). I do agree alot of other hexes need buffs/removing the wind up animations... especially during the chronos fight

[@ThRollingCoinGaming]

My take on Hexes so far is that you can divide them into three or so categories: Good, Good with Path of Stars, and not good. Some of those blue upgrades (Lunar Ray autofire, Wolf Howl Invuln, Eclipse Slowdown, Minion Explosions) are really really helpful! I once did a run where I was basically fully invuln because of the aforementioned Wolf Howl upgrade. Also, since they're based on spending magic, not all builds get to use them at all (and the Night Arcana sucks to take). Oh but the Morph projectile probably just sucks.

[@aaravkonidena4850]

Random idea but it would be pretty cool if for extreme measures, Eris gets a bunch of random hammers and upgrades which could have funny interactions with Icarus

[@majtravien4381]

she already has basically Spread Fire and Tripple bomb/cluster bomb, I think she's good on hammers

[@thecactusman17]

The biggest issue for me with Polyphemus is all the weird hitboxes for him and his attacks. If the angle isn't managed correctly on his ring attacks (such as if auto-aim pushes you into a mob you didn't intend to go after) then you can get hit 2-3 times by his strong attacks. I think that if he was reworked to do all the same things he does now but with discrete projectiles instead of the strange "ring" AOEs, he'd still have the same intended challenge but you'd be less likely to get multi-hit because you caught a weird angle on the dodge. This also affects his leap collision. His current design almost makes me wonder if SGG is actively using him to test how players respond to certain attack types? Because he has 3 different AOE attacks that all function differently. There's the red ring stomp attack. Then the leap, which is a single slow moving projectile that continue to hit. There's the fast pressure wave attack when he kicks or throws the boulder. And finally, there's the "shockwave" attack where he stomps out a half-ring of earthquakes.

[@biiyen8458]

Dark Side from Selene needs a buff either in damage or duration because five seconds ain't enough for it to be worth it in combat

[@Vostro-]

Regards to the dash - originally you had to wait for the shadow behind you to catch up before you could dash again

[@karlrassmann4604]

I wonder if Medea needs to come with a damage resistance while using special buff, or a max HP buff

[@pkbeamgamma9262]

is there any way to kill the sheep? i feel i can never get rid of them i either just dance around them or just get hit

[@chanlekho]

I dont even know how to pick 16 fear oath. Everything looked terrible. I miss extreme measures.

[@manuelito1233]

The oath that makes enemies spawn from the next biome is the new extreme measures, free fear.

[@clover2309]

i'm pretty sure they're planning on adding more vows later in development (which i imagine will include something like extreme measures), so i'm probably gonna wait on those before i start trying out super high fear runs! the highest fear i've managed so far is 18 and i just can't fathom going any higher cause the other vows are way too punishing for someone as bad at the game as i am 😭😭

[@clover2309]

​@@manuelito1233the vow that makes you enter each location with 0 magick is free fear too if you're running a build that doesn't use omega attacks(like momus staff or mel skull)! if you activate the huntress arcana it actually turns it from a detriment to a really helpful buff lol so that's always one of my recs for hitting fear thresholds!

[@Kohcta]

you are missing a lot of hermes shops. is it on purpose? they are not worth even taking a look? just wondering

[@lookalike4805]

Hermes *ALWAYS* has the Lowest Rarity Boons and they are Unaffected by Poms and the Base Numbers are literally Not Noticeable. Stopping For Hermers is a Waste of time if you don't have any Rarity Manipulation Plan to get Actually Decent Buffs. 👀

[@justarandomdood]

Nah he just never notices them. Said on stream once that he wishes they got dinged like resources do LOL

[@Genero222]

Went back and played a hades 1 run.. it felt so easy to gain power from random unplanned boons. Though Hades 2 has some things that need nerfed, I think more things need to be buffed. Up at higher Fear you just have to have a great build and skill cannot carry you or compensate for underpowered boons/hammers (for most people). I’m mostly talking Fear 24+ where time becomes a huge issue with low output builds.

[@gregw_]

I know this problem will solve itself when the surface eventually gets more areas, but for the moment it feels really awkward when you get the Hermes shop on the ship.

[@IOSALive]

Haelian, You're amazing! I hit the like button as soon as I saw it!

[@cantrip7]

23:00 Does attack speed affect the fall speed of skulls...? That might be useful.

[@ricardorodriguez8497]

The word or icon in green is the value that is modified. So it likely went 0/5/10 for level 1/2/3 dash arcana.

[@brandonhodge109]

Its partly an apollo issue, partly just the poms being scaled down moreso in Hades 2 at Heroic rarity due to them being much more common now. I think a small buff to apollo's radius would justify the lessser damage.

[@isaiahlem]

The Argent Skull was my least favorite weapon at first. Then the aspect of Medea got me my first two wins against Chronos. The flow I found was loading 2 attacks, then omega special across as many enemies as possible, load the third attack, and do it again the other way. Cast as needed. Aprhodite attack and cast work wonders. Almost anything on special is great.

[@Zzzodiackillerrr]

I thought this aspect was weak asf until i realized you could tap special to dash all 3 skull blasts at the same time lmfaooo

[@ento]

The best way I've found to use it is to alternate tapping one attack and dashing through to the opposite side of an enemy back and forth. That way you do a constant stream of damage and always pick up your skulls without delaying. Hammers like the one where your skulls build damage/explosion size over 2 seconds change the gameplay by incentivizing stacking all 3 at once like you described, but otherwise you're better off with 1 per dash unless you get zoned by something the boss is doing and have time to actually stack multiple skulls at once.

[@LucyVi_]

Maye we get a bigger god pool after we unlocked dio, ares and athena.

[@sonajxsonaj]

Just watching the Cyclops fight gave me stress. Great fight!!!

[@Sheamu5]

For moon water, they could change it to a regen effect.

[@FateBringsMe2U]

I am not 100% but I imagine attack speed for the medea aspect makes loading the shells quicker.

[@Sparkmonth]

How did you rarify the Apollo attack from common to heroic at 04:17 ?

[@alessandrodellepiane2088]

Narcissus keepsake, it rarifies a random common boon when using a fountain (only once), at level 3 it goes from common to heroic, what u can do is aim to have a specific common boon like attack or special and no other common before hitting fountain so its guaranteed

[@Sparkmonth]

@@alessandrodellepiane2088 thank you very much!

[@ResonanceRetroData]

I think the current balance for surface bosses is a really good place for their eventual extreme measures to be at I'd say for base Poly take away the hitbox on his jump, the shockwaves on his slow walk, and don't spawn fire barrel throwers. for base Eris, take away the fire tar hazards in the arena, the shotgun attack, and reduce the frequency of +100% damage procs. then when you turn on extreme measures, just revert the bosses to their current states

[@lookalike4805]

I don't think that's going to Happen.... 🤔

[@germanpotato1318]

Can you try aspect of Pan on the sister blades with the spiral knives hammer?

[@vick1873]

I'm struggling with 16 fear Underworld path and he's casually clearing 32 fear 😆 Edit: Nvm cleared 16 right after this comment, but there ain't no way I'm trying 32!

[@lookalike4805]

You will after you've Progressed Abit ... No point in only completing 66% of the Eternal Glory. 👀

[@salmonbamminfish2925]

I mean blitz is literally doom with a different trigger like the Zeus Aphrodite duo is the same as Athena ares duo in the first game if you had Athena’s dash

[@lookalike4805]

Makes you wonder what's going to Happen to Ares since they did claim he was Going to Return. 👀

[@lightforgedcrusader2992]

I also tried fear 32 with medea, but lost to a tiny health of final boss. dang speed Eris is crazy😢

[@mr.crayola]

i have found myself depending on the immediate dash way too much

[@lookalike4805]

You say that as if there's another Universal Defensive Mechanic. 🤔

[@pedrofranco3504]

What torch aspect is that? Around 00:30s

[@pedrofranco3504]

@@shmaco thank you

[@LSDon-gs7bz]

@0:20 5% 7.5% and 10%

[@amatoxic1452]

there was 100% a n input lag on dash and it was driving me crazy, the only gripe i have about the game, but im glad to see theres a solution!

[@lookalike4805]

There was no input Lag.... The Dash just had a Startup Animation. All they did was Remove it. 🤔 Hence now the Dash is Uglier

[@amatoxic1452]

@@lookalike4805 thats what i meant by input lag since when you input dash, there was animation that delayed the dash

[@lookalike4805]

Input Lag wouldn't only Affect one Feature it would Affect the Whole Game.... Look.... you were still Invulnerable during the Wind Up Animation... I think the part that has you confused is you only think you don't Take Damage when the Dash is in Motion. This isn't how it Works.... As soon as the Game Registered the Button Press then you Become Invulnerable even when you're not Moving. Not only that.... You actually Stay Invulnerable even at the End of the Dash when she Stops Moving.... I've Had Attacks Pass Through me during those Wind Ups and Recovery even though she wasn't Technically "Dashing". Changing the Way the Dash Looks Didn't Change how Responsive the Game is. 👀

[@amatoxic1452]

@@lookalike4805 i didnt think the game was unresponsive, i just prefer Hades I dash, i didnt know you had i-frames on the wind-up tho thanks for the info, i feel like i take damage while dashing pretty often tho, esp from bully ass dash spamming ass Chronos ;,c

[@pokesouls8258]

Which aspect is this with the loading thing?

[@lookalike4805]

Medea

[@wisteriapetals]

I believe old dash had wind-up frames compared to the new one

[@lookalike4805]

It Did.... But you were Still invulnerable during those Frames. In All Honesty I would Say Dashing was Actually Nerfed since your Invulnerable for less Time Now. 😳

[@criticaltipper7699]

@@lookalike4805 cd is lower too tho so ultimately it’s more s

[@lookalike4805]

@criticaltipper7699 I don't think anybody Complained about the Cooldown 🤔

[@jahsreef8386]

I honestly think the dash is waaaay better now

[@lookalike4805]

I think it's Awful. 😭

[@jahsreef8386]

@@lookalike4805 wow that’s surprising from what I’ve seen others think it’s better. Did you play hades 1? It’s just quicker response time to the things you want to do

[@lookalike4805]

Yes I played them both in Early Access... The Dash isn't Faster.... Its just Shorter (Because the Cut off the Starting Animation).... People think it Feels more Responsive because it's Shorter now. But the Response time is the Same. It just looks Worse.

[@RamikinHorde]

​@@lookalike4805cutting off the starting animation literally makes it more responsive, what? You're basically contradicting yourself. As an FGC player the delay on dashing felt utterly terrible and is no essentially gone

[@lookalike4805]

@RamikinHorde Then as an FGC player you know what "Pre-Jump Frames" are.... this is the Period in the Jumping Animation where you Character is Still on the Ground.... This is Also where Animators Add the "Anticipation" (is the Official Term) for the Jumping Animation.... And as you already know.... Even Pre-Jump Frames are Invulnerable to Throws. The Starting Animation in Hades II Functions the Exact same Way.... Just because the Animators included a Start Up Animation doesn't mean the Input is Laggy... Those Two Things have Nothing To Do With Each Other.... The Dash might Look Slow but You were Still invulnerable for the *Entire Duration* of the Dash... Including the Start Up. There's no Contradiction... You just Didn't Understand how the Dash Worked or What Was Changed.

[@jakethe_]

Ah so its not just me that hates the Polyphemus fight. Balance Patch would be nice. I suspect some form of nerf for Staff special and Born again. Wouldnt be surprised about changes to double up, im not sure everything it affects is intentional. Buff to Moon would be nice. I like it mechanically but a lot of the stuff seems undertuned or has bugs (the circle for the Jump doesnt show up so often). Im also not sure if Chronos anti slowdown really needs to affect the moon stuff so much, makes many of them useless.

[@EuanWood-k8z]

@haelian, or anyone else, I’m considering getting Early Access but cannot find any official information that I will get the main game after it. Can someone reassure me please? I have copy-pasted this so could someone answer…

[@Coran_06]

You will get the main game after it, and early access saves are intended to carry over into full release.

[@Coran_06]

@@EuanWood-k8z No problem!

[@EuanWood-k8z]

@@Coran_06thank you! Will definitely be getting it soon

[@anon9067]

wait, so is charybdis technically a mini boss? i swear i had a run where i fought charybdis *instead* of eris, as in, i beat charybdis, went out the door, and got one of the placeholder end screens where the narrator was like "let's just say melinoë ran into some obstacles and died. the end for now!" and then i was back in the crossroads. my partner had a run where the same thing happened. does anyone know why this is?

[@lookalike4805]

Maybe Eris Killed you so Fast you didn't even have a Chance to Fight Back. 😳

[@anon9067]

@@lookalike4805 loll maybe that was it 💀 she's mischievous!

[@ghostcritic8508]

My fave aspect 🥺♥️

[@slowcarboost4everzzz]

Born Gain is probably going to get nerfed or have a rework.

[@mika9455]

Do you unlock the scythe after defeating Chronos? he seems to have different looking weapons from mine....

[@dnys_7827]

these are weapon aspects. theres 3 for each weapon right now, and each one has a unique apprarance and unique mechanics, just like in hades 1. check ur incantations, there might be one that unlocks them.

[@merlinwarage]

that's my most hated aspect, so double GG :)

[@TheSilentLamb7]

balancing the game is great and all but where are the custom decorations? they should focus on what really matters.

[@lookalike4805]

How to Activate all 25 Arcanas Simultaneously (AKA *Arcana Of The Ages* in the Fated List) Disclaimer: I haven't Tested It Yet 👀 Step 1: Activate atleast *14 Cards* (if you can activate more thats even better). Step 2: Upgrade *Crystal Figurine* Keep Sake and *Judgement* Arcana to Rank 3. Step 3: *DO NOT UPGRADE ANY OTHER INACTIVE CARDS TO RANK 3* 😳 Step 4: Defeat Hecate and pray that the *Crystal Figurine* Rolls The *Judgement* Arcana. Step 5: Defeat Chronos. Yes.... The *Crystal Figurine* ChooseS Which Cards to Activate based on its Own Rank so If *Judgement* is the only Rank 3 Card then that's the the one it should Roll. Sloppy Game Design.... You shouldnt have to Avoid Upgrading things to Complete a Challenge 🤔 3 Runs so Far and I haven't Rolled *Judgement* Yet 😭

[@doireallyhavetocare]

just my opion but this is a 1-P game, there should be very little to NO nerfs. buffs should be implemented more then nerfs. if something is just better than everything else, buff the shitty options, dont nerf the good ones.

[@nicklemay8056]

I don't really like Medea Skull it feels really underwhelming honestly and the fact that you pretty much have no choice but to omega special into enemies or else you're trading damage feels really shit to me

[@lookalike4805]

The Aspect of Persephone isn't any Better... Glory takes forever to Charge and you are Decintevised from using your Special for because it deals no Damage if you don't Charge it.

[@joaovmlsilva3509]

My first skull run i beated Chronus

[@crashymate6770]

Just get rid of the damn sheep

[@heitordesousamoraes]

Yes

[@gabrielladias420]

Ain't she a beaut :D

[@tiagoj8020]

The sprint was faster before update

[@lookalike4805]

I think we are playing Different Games. 🤔

[@O_MagicPants_O]

Algorithms

[@sleeplesstime]

Personally I think it's not Momus that needs to get nerfed, but the other weapons need to be made better so they stand a chance against it. Compared to Hades, I think weapons are really bad in this game, aside from the staff and the daggers.

[@lookalike4805]

If you're comparing it to Hades 1 then the Balance is Identical.... Slower Weapons are Bad and Faster Weapons are Good. I feel like people are Remembering Hades 1 Wrong.... Its Balance wasn't any Better. 🤔

[@adhamgaber462]

the skull just doesn't feel nice to use, most of the weapons don't feel good unfortunately

[@lookalike4805]

The Axe feels Good... Unfortunately it doesn't Perform as Good as it looks ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@LSDon-gs7bz]

no offense to the devs but what we have is playable balance later fix bugs and add content now