NEW Cast Boon Tier List! | Hades Guides Tips and Tricks

Here's another tier list for you! This time we are looking at the cast boons. The last time we ranked the cast boons was in March of 2020 so it seemed fitting to revisit the topic. This video doesn't include the Duo boons in my considerations. That will come in another video. Thanks for checking out the video!
0:00 Intro
1:40 Tier Explanation
3:11 Aphrodite Cast
4:12 Demeter Cast
5:57 Zeus Cast
7:30 Poseidon Cast
8:56 Athena Cast
10:51 Ares Cast
12:45 Dionysus Cast
15:08 Artemis Cast
16:11 End Summary
16:31 Outro
Old Cast Boon Vid: • *OLD* Cast Boon Tier L...
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Hades is a god-like rogue-like dungeon crawler that combines the best aspects of Supergiant's critically acclaimed titles, including the fast-paced action of Bastion, the rich atmosphere and depth of Transistor, and the character-driven storytelling of Pyre.
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As the immortal Prince of the Underworld, you'll wield the powers and mythic weapons of Olympus to break free from the clutches of the god of the dead himself, while growing stronger and unraveling more of the story with each unique escape attempt.
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The Olympians have your back! Meet Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, and many more, and choose from their dozens of powerful Boons that enhance your abilities. There are thousands of viable character builds to discover as you go.
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[@evand2]

The only issue with these tier list is that it's all situational. For example, you rank Demeter's low because it's not good for clearing rooms but can be amazing against slower enemies or large bosses. But you don't ding Zeus's because IMO it's horrible against bosses at its base. But great for large group encounters. All of these are just so situational

[@2ndNightingale]

yes, but putting things on a scale, you have waaaaaaaay more rooms to clear than boss fights, i usually try to change Zeus cast for Ares+Artemis Seeking Vortex

[@officerpolarbear8670]

I like that about this game. Rather than like other games (such as competitive shooters), Hades isn't afraid to give you something fun or even gimmick-y at the expense of "balance". The bottom 5 casts on Paul's tier list are situational for sure, but have some wild boons, whereas the top 3 don't really have much excitement in terms of upgrades. And chances are, if you are going to play with casts, you're going to choose cast-boons.

[@goochipoochie]

There are way more rooms but rooms are also almost always eyes-closed easy, unlike boss fights So builds should focus on the hardest parts of the game. Which imho are only the satyr+rat rooms and Hades

[@Atanatari165]

Demeter crystal beam is way more effective than Zeus cast when fighting Hades

[@robertbensch7748]

My potato dodge loves crystal beam on boss fights, hates them on normal rooms. Just throw down as many as possible, combine with artemis PP and the dual, enjoy.

[@Mrlackofthought182]

Yeah i agree. I actually look for the crystals when I use the bow to have more outgoing damage in a larger area. That way I can still dodge and still damage.

[@garethross8890]

@@robertbensch7748 My favourite build is Aspect of Achilles + Crystal Clarity. The +150% damage for your next 4 casts after a spear rush applies to all of the hits done by a cast that does damage over time like Demeter's or Ares's meaning that even a common Demeter cast will do at least 100 damage per second

[@robertbensch7748]

@@garethross8890 yeah, I love it because it looks like a weak one and you can basically make it play the game for you. I aim for the artemis duo and just concentrate on dodging damage. I´m just a casual gamer dad and can´t concentrate on too many things simultaneously :D. Either button mashing for the win, or something like the demeter cast.

[@recruitlegionary5552]

I love it when you get that boon that makes chill stacks explode when it reaches 10 and that other Demeter boon that makes your cast apply chill. Super fun to mess around with

[@Mysticalturkey]

I'm interested to hear your opinions on Herra and Beowulf cast tier list. Anyone else interested in seeing this become a video?

[@Lilo_D._Boom]

Aphrodite by far i am main hera trust me

[@Lilo_D._Boom]

Or festive frog

[@threebees7785]

beowulf poseidon cast for speedrunning for sure, you can get mirage shot fairly easily and the damage is nice

[@threebees7785]

on hera for speedrunning Aphrodite cast is best because of high base damage and how instant it is. zeus, demeter and ares seem to be the weakest others are good poseidon might be weird, but you could try it out

[@joonseochoi7180]

@@threebees7785 Ares Hera is acc decent, it can melt bosses with some duo and legendary boons

[@Stilghar]

Almost every run I've finished has been with a Demeter Cast. I like it so much...

[@DarthRadical]

It's amazing against bosses if you get the boon which has it deal chill. But on it's own I kinda agree with D tier.

[@rafaelbordoni516]

That's the problem with all Hades tier lists. The reviewer has to consider things on their own, but the game never exists in a bubble. See how the casts at the bottom are all casts that can be highly improved upon with other boons or weapon aspects, while the ones at the top really can't, and in all cases the full build of the bottom ones are much better than the a build with the ones at the top.

[@milk_bath]

💥

[@catharticreverie]

@@rafaelbordoni516 yeah they balanced the game really well so that the vast majority of boons are viable when working with something else you have, the synergies makes it all so great.

[@ninten90z70]

DIonysus cast is one of my personal favorites. It's great for clearing standard encounters with its high burst. It's great for late game Styx too even if you don't get any other boons to buff it because then you can turn the weakness of the confined spaces to your benefit by zoning enemies that would otherwise zone you. It has great synergy with most or all the weapons, and there are plenty of boons in game geared towards the cast, making an already potent cast even more potent. You lose out on one mirror upgrade for using it, but, the cast works better without sticking to enemies. It makes it easier and faster to reset after it has done its work, granting the player more utility than what other casts provide. You mentioned the lob mechanic is its weakness, but, is it really? Enemies have very predictable movements, even the ones that dash around a bunch, and they are al focused on trying to kill you with the exception of the shield stones. You can always count on them pausing long enough to try to hit you and it is during their attack that you can dash out of danger then immediately cast to disable them then go in for the kill. Otherwise, if it is that much of an inconvenience, you can try getting the boon that teleports the cast to your target location instead. And the cast is AoE, meaning it cannot be blocked! Sorry Great Shields, Sorry, Theseus, but you ARE going to take your well deserved medicine!

[@guga5708156]

Make a tier list of status effects and gods gimmicks, like poseidon knockback, charmed, jolted etc.

[@Bogrin]

Watching your videos really made me love cast builds! Poseidon, Achilles and Hera aspects are some of my fav now!

[@yoboyajax5983]

The issue with tier lists like this is that there are different formats to consider. The tier list for super high heat is always different from the speed run tier list, for example.

[@JawlessPaul]

Indeed!

[@knivetsil]

Trippy shot is my favorite cast. It’s the only one that can reliably do burst damage to multiple enemies out of your line of sight. And with a mouse, I find the lob mechanic actually significantly easier to aim than traditional projectile, e.g. bow.

[@JawlessPaul]

Interesting!

[@wesleybahn2185]

Thank you for your content and your videos. I’ve absolutely fallen in love with Hades and I think a lot of the credit can fall on you. You’re my go-to hades channel. I have very much enjoyed learning about the game and developing my skills in the game while watching your stuff. Thanks for your dedication and work and information. Also you have a winning smile my mans.

[@GEOPAS1995]

I was waiting for this video, thank you JP for getting so many people in the game (myself included) and keep making excellent content. Now cant wait for the version that takes in mind duos etc. :D

[@WavyMedic]

love your videos man, they have improved my runs alot !!

[@CloudWalker__]

With the katana zero music in the background 🔥🔥👏🏽👏🏽 love it man.

[@vtolxpatriot]

Love these ranking videos Paul, keep up the great work! Just got a new pc rig, hope to catch one of your streams soon!

[@kittencaboodle8124]

slicing shot enjoyer here just wanted to say you're pretty much right on the money with it. it's so good when you get all the requisite elements (engulfing vortex, hunting blades, vicious cycle, bad news) and then you try another run and have to watch your sad plate slowly roll across the floor and get stuck behind a pillar

[@JosephG70]

Just subscribed! Your channel was recommended when I looked up Hades guides. I am definitely going to check out your streams as well! Thank you for the great content. I can honestly say that I have become a better player.

[@JawlessPaul]

that's awesome! Glad the vids have been helpful!

[@nicojan]

I've never tried the Hera bow, thanks for the suggestion!

[@JawlessPaul]

It's incredible!

[@coraline2770]

I love the characters popping up

[@JawlessPaul]

Glad you liked it :)

[@eshaylord3950]

Dionysus cast is my favourite and I thought it would be S tier, rip. It just has amazing burst damage, amazing area control and it's really easy to get the cast stones back, so you can keep spamming and destroying enemies with it. Poseidon cast is my very close second favourite, much for the reasons you stated. Anyway, great video, respect🙏

[@addarquthni245]

Best hades content creator! Keep up the good work sir

[@dennisjoosen7899]

I love love love Cast builds so much, and I agree with a lot, if not all, of what you said about the tier 1 Cast boons in this video, though I think I like them all regardless of which tier they ended up on. I might actually slightly favor the boons closer to the bottom of the list because incidentally, they seem to be the ones that have the most options in terms of Duo boons and I really like getting those. Looking forward to the continuation of this discussion that includes the Cast-related Duo boons!

[@Boethion]

Playing with mouse and keyboard and not minding the lob mechanic Dionysus Cast is easily the best cast in the game for me because it does the most damage and has great utility on top of that without even considering any other boons which further make it insane. Also even though I agree Ares cast isnt that good on its own Demeters is far worse and like you said you might rather have the base cast instead.

[@catharticreverie]

yeah, the stun from it can be pretty good, like I hate the satyrs, but Dio cast really stuns them and lets you just wail on them until they die

[@javonieltrowers651]

I absolutely love Demeter's cast. It's a top 3 cast for me. I dash around the room and set them up so I have at least 2-3 lasers focused on one enemy. Boosted up w/ chill effects I get so much damage in on enemies + the slow makes bosses much easier.

[@JawlessPaul]

It is definitely fun when you can stack them up!

[@PhilipAlexanderHassialis]

Demetra's cast is one of my fav's too, esp. when getting the secondary boons for chill application. Getting the Artemi's duo boon makes it simply a fire-and-forget area denier tower-defence laser which simply helps controlling the situation esp. in the Styx rooms.

[@oRitual]

great video!

[@ceasar1877]

Great stuff New to game so tight work!

[@6eci]

My first run with the Aspect of Beowful shield I got Trippy Shot for my cast and had my fastest run time yet. Since then, I've been trying to make it work with other casts but damn, I really can't make it work with anything other than trippy shot lol. Love your content, btw

[@kittencaboodle8124]

the speedrun meta is poseidon cast, surprisingly trippy flare doesn't knock back nearly as far as trippy shot (it's more comparable to the knockback from sword special). damage is good and aoe is massive so it's really good for quick room clears

[@oRitual]

my favorite build is poseidon sword and artemis cast 🤫 if you get exit wounds w that build it’s GG

[@zeratulrus142]

Yeah, 100% agree on Ares, tried it out with Poseidon sword and it was really painful to use when I didn't get the Artemis duo.

[@Blobiverse]

Athena cast with Zeus duo is ridiculously OP, bouncing that cast is insane. Surprised you didn’t mention it! 😄

[@Mr.BednaR]

Thanks man!

[@JawlessPaul]

You're welcome!

[@jackrabbit08]

Aphro cast also synergizes well with Athena/Aphro and Arty/Aphro duo since the high base damage means you'll be backstabbing and/or critting for a ton. They're not unique synergies, but worth mentioning since they complement each other so nicely.

[@KatelynCate]

Ooo updated tier list! Slicing shot deserves better though if only because it can put out insane dps against bigger, slower enemies.

[@JawlessPaul]

Fair!

[@tiagoj8020]

I concur with your chart sir!

[@albertnigely]

Will you be doing a separate video for the Flare Casts for Beowulf? While some are similar, some are changed drastically for Beowulf. Love your videos!

[@mauruhkatigaming4807]

Artemis cast can do some MONSTER damage when used in tandem with, for instance, the Achilles spear. With other bonuses a critical hit can do four-digit damage.

[@JawlessPaul]

Definitely!

[@rasenshurikenfries2942]

Interesting. Excellent video as always paul! Love the thought and analysis you put into these. I feel like any hades tier list willhave some controversy because everyone plays differently, with different weapnons at different ranges. The game is so balanced that many different approaches are viable. Aphro cast is good because its strong, its definitely better on hera or beowulf aspect, its short range is a big hit for me. I feel like players who are more skilled/ attentive than me can make aphro cast work without much trouble, but I think we underestimate just how powerful being able to hit at range can be. If i dont get close, I cant get hit right? Just taking that risk gets me hit a lot more with aphro cast. Whereas with a ranged cast, its fire and forget. I like Zeus cast as well, I feel like the base damage on it is a little low. Its also hard to control where it ends up (which target the stone sticks in) which makes it harder to benefit from the debuffs of having a cast stone embedded in a target. Zeus cast room clear is really good, altho against bosses it suffers much more. Demeter cast is interesting, with certain Duo boons it can be good or serviceable, but I would have expected the beam to be D tier. I have to confess, I havent played with demeter cast too often, so your mileage may vary. Maybe if I fiddled with it more, and learned more about how to use it well, I could get it to work for me. But in general I find Demeter cast tracking is too slow to be effective at all against most enemeies in asphodel or elysium. In tartarus and styx it works better, because most of the enemeies there dont move as much, or the big ones in styx are slow and the fast ones can be eliminated easily. It does better against bosses in theory, but again without faster tracking, the furies and sometimes even hades are too mobile generally to get consistent damage out of it. It requires more understanding of your enemies and how they move in order to be effective, again, fire and forget casts are easier. With EM, theseus moves a lot but asterius is somewhat easier to hit when he spins, and without EM I would think asterius' jumps and theseus shield make it harder to land demeter cast (without getting the cast behind theseus, which is something i havent tested). Ares is an interesting take, I think its good to point out that without the duo boon it is defeinitely different, and, dare I say, it gets maybe a little overrated because of the duo boon. Still, I might have blade rift at A tier, because esp with stygian soul it would be easier to use, getting the cast stones back with blade rift can be a pain otherwise. But the ease of use of it, to just shoot in an enemies direction and watch it build up a lot of damage is very nice. The lob on dio cast is a little harder, the lbo itself is slow, aiming even slower, but it hits like a ton of bricks. Moreover, the lob crosshair (at leqst on switch) will automatically start on an enemy, So if you just move so only one or two emeies are on screen, you can easily manupulate who it targets, and then just tap the cast button and let her rip without standing still. The AOE stun can also be very useful for allowing other weapons that require you to get very close ()e.g. fist and sword) to be much more easy to use, if i remember correctly, doesnt it stun armored targets as well? I have to check again, but if so, definite S tier for me. And even without that, I might still leave it at S tier. It rarely takes many dio cast shots to strip armor from foes entirely, and the ability to stun targets completely rom range before moving into finish them off with almost no risk is literally OP to me. But like I said, YMMV. I fid the lob mechanic very easy to get around, partly because I like to play at range, but other people might find it harder to work around, especially if you like to play up close to enemies or at high speed (read, tight deadline).

[@lightsoul95]

Im so in love with demeter cast i literally dont even wanna try without it, its so insanely strong

[@JawlessPaul]

It's pretty "cool"! 🤣

[@maxwellashcroft6942]

Artemis cast is underrated. Best cast for boss fights, easily

[@DarthRadical]

I like it a lot if I already have decent room clear on my weapons. Best against bosses on its own IMO.

[@SpiritSquadMTG]

Artemis cast is pretty much always my favorite thing to look for on Hera bow. Theseus' fight becomes crazy-easy with it.

[@messatine]

Oh yeah her great call is such a beast at a whopping 100 damage

[@Phnxkon]

@@messatine her call isn't her cast.

[@michaelsotomayor5001]

@@messatine Feel sarcasm in the air. Her call is good when fully charged.

[@TheRmm1976]

Dionysus is an A for me. If you get the Demeter duo (Ice Wine) it's S tier. I've beaten Hades around 50 times and my most DPS ever was with this cast setup and the Poseidon sword! Also key is the Hermes boon that lets you lob 3 successive casts...

[@JawlessPaul]

Yeah, that's super strong!

[@MarcelDurston]

I love using the Dionysus cast! Pair it with the rail and just run around lobbing everything

[@JawlessPaul]

Howitzer run!

[@drakteria]

I feel bad for blade rift :'( But i think you're right, the base version is pretty underwhelming, but if you manage to get the necessary cast boons (more casts, faster reload, a couple of Ares boons, etc), it can get totally out of control. I had so many runs where i honestly had no idea what's going on because my whole screen was filled with blade rifts and they would kill everything.

[@benlin7975]

digging that katana zero ost!

[@crimsonECH1DNA]

One minor correction I'd make is when you say no duo boons go with Artemis' cast, technical Mirage Shot does since it works with all casts.

[@drakteria]

the same goes for parting shot, you can buff almost every cast with it. Still doesn't make it too good tho

[@matthewherr1588]

I love the crystal beam because I don’t tend to use cast builds as much in general and those are fire and forget. It’s really some easy supplemental damage to my primary build without having to optimize anything else for casts

[@JawlessPaul]

The lasers can definitely be fun!

[@KyleBrand]

I'm kind of in agreement with the Ares cast. I do like the Ares boons a lot, and while I really like the slicing shot, it does need a few other boons to really shine.

[@pixelfrog8281]

Most ares boons are like that really. He‘s kind of the worst god to get if you don’t want a full build from him

[@IntegralKing]

I think the thing to remember is that you get these casts purposefully with other combos. my favorite is aphro cast with ares special, with aspect of poseidon, hermes cast speed and duo continuous doom while weak if possible. you might say -- you're not going to get all of them, ... well that's not as rare as you might think. Just use the keepsakes to make sure you get it. If you pom the cast up to like 5 or 6, then you get a fast hundreds of damage (I was at 850 per cast at level 9 legendary), then special to get the stones back and do it again. It's not like I'm going to pick up an aphro cast while doing a rail run or something. I think it's more about their ceiling in a good run rather than their floor, because you're never going to use them at floor strength

[@JawlessPaul]

Indeed!

[@jamieohjamie]

Festive Fog + the Zeus Duo Boon + all that extra lightning stuff you can stack = good times

[@prodrosish87]

+ Rail with 5 bombs, + 2 bonus casts = nuking time

[@lites73]

Dont forget that trippy shot(dionysus boon) has a duo boon with Zeus and demeter so if not only will you inflict lightening dmg but also chill making it imo a very strong cast. I also reccomend that you use it with the hera bow

[@aaronkim3856]

athena and poseidon are my favorite boons to use with the aspect of hera!

[@elriq9979]

my two cents on Trippy Shot is that it helps SO much in Elysium when the big chariots show up. Hate those things but trippy shot keeps them in the little bubble doing NOTHING. Big agree on the zeus cast, tried that for the first time, changed my life.

[@JawlessPaul]

That's a great point. I tend to sleep on the stagger it provides, but for some enemies it's amazing!

[@amitaish1055]

Now I want to see a tier list of additional casts for duo boons

[@JawlessPaul]

You know it's coming! :)

[@Slapapow]

Demeter cast on Beowulf shield is my favorite! Maybe not the best... but my favorite :)

[@EtienneTC]

I think it’s pretty easy to make a “broken” cast build with phalanx shot because Athena has such good survival perks in general. So you just use Poseidon sword, and start the run with Athena’s keepsake. Start by taking her dash or phalanx shot (based on the rarity)...and then pick the other one next time you see her. Then you just build the strength of the cast with Hermes and either Zeus or Artemis (preferably both). Rapid fire with Hermes is easy to get (his legendary that returns stones to you is great too) maybe do a chaos reroll for a cast perk. Artemis for Crits, and aim for her legendary for the additional casts. Zeus+ Athena duo makes your 3-5 casts bounce around and auto-target everything..so you can just walk into any room and cast a few times for a quick clear You get a lot of protection with this build because you engage every enemy with dash and cast (deflecting nearly everything). And the build really only relies on 2-3 gods(And Hermes is guaranteed anyway)...so it’s very easy to ignore the others and focus on getting their legendaries/ duo’s and poms for the cast. If you have everything you need you can easily involve a 4th god for some nice benefits (Aphrodite on the special...ares for the added power...Demeter for the chill effect when casting or rarity boosting. Dionysus for premium vintage...and Poseidon for farming and boss damage)....all of those gods can provide really nice benefits that only require you to see them once

[@ln8496]

Curse of drowning is super underated imo. Paired with talos gloves, its still compatible with merciful end. You can also go all out and try to get mirage shot or sea storm (sea storm is only really good with rupture+jolt though which is a huge investment) with curse of drowning for full cast builds.

[@JawlessPaul]

The main issue with curse of drowning is how close you need to be to enemies. Cast builds are amazing often because they are safe as well as high damage. Thanks for the 2 cents!

[@ryanrodgers3099]

Really interesting how much using a controller versus mouse and keyboard affects some of these. Dionysus is easily A tier, if not S, on a keyboard, aiming is a breeze and you just decimate rooms. Same thing applies to the rail special etc.

[@JawlessPaul]

I can imagine!

[@enriquegarciacota3914]

Aphrodite cast = ideal if you are using a lighting rod-based build. It allows you to "plant your jewels" quickly wherever you want.

[@horizonblack8351]

Slicing shot requires too much upgrade from Ares to make it pow-wow, especially bad with the Beowulf aspect. The blade existing time is too short and won't do much when not coming with either Duo with Demeter or an Legendary Ares boon.

[@matthewjohnston6777]

I’m diggin the katana zero music 👌

[@matthewjohnston6777]

Which I think you’d all like.. very fast paced and satisfying

[@michaelsotomayor5001]

I agree with this list. You should make another list of how they stack when FULLY equipped.. as in Duo + secondary boons added. I've had Ares/Artemis boom with both upgrades .. easy win. Or Dionysus with festive fog buffs .. win.

[@JawlessPaul]

That's a good idea!

[@reeseelliott8454]

I'm biased because I love Lord Dionysus but his cast is one of the most satisfying aoes in the game. I love it's strong burst damage but especially its ability to stagger foes. That's super helpful. I also like Demeter's a lot because I often use it geometrically to hit from almost all sides. For little movement bosses, it WHIPES them if you place all of them at once in the same spot.

[@JawlessPaul]

It's pretty great!

[@hochoy]

I used to love Athena's cast! I have definitely skipped over zeus' cast. I'll definitely look into it next time I play. Been spending a bit of time with Slay the Spire these days. Check it out! Would love to hear what you think about it.

[@JawlessPaul]

Oooh, I love Slay the Spire. I wish I was smarter...

[@ShearsOfAtropos]

I think putting Ares cast at the bottom is absolutely fair enough, it's so frustrating without the duo boon, it does like two tics of damage in most cases before enemies move out of it/it moves past enemies. I'm surprised by your high ranking of Athena cast, I've almost never used it, I must give it some tries

[@Sidney_TSG]

This is the greatest game during quarantine I swear

[@JawlessPaul]

It's fantastic!

[@UniGya]

Artemis has one extra benefit, and that's that it isn't blocked by the eternal souls in Elysium or by Theseus.

[@JawlessPaul]

YES! That is a huge deal for sure. I love not worrying about shields

[@geneinkc]

You said that there are no duo boons for Artemis cast, but having Artemis in your god list opens up her duo boon with Poseidon, which fires a second shot. It’s not specific to True Shot, but it’s a great boost. I like to equip the Poseidon sword and then grab his special, so that I can dislodge the cast while knocking enemies away.

[@Penzig]

I rather agree with your views on this :) But the premises for this tier list is a bit weird though. None of these casts are amazing at the end of a run if you dont combine it with any other power. And this game IS all about that. Combining powers. So while I enjoyed the video, I would have liked to see a video on ranking casts, based on their ultimate potential combined with certain other boons, and how easy it is to make use of that potential. Like.. Some stuff requires you to get 5 boons before stuff shines (which is often not all that easy to do in any given run, you gotta get very lucky), others are great if you just get one other boon (and with multiple other boons possible to pair it with) and thus a "safe" choice to go for with high chance of getting good value off that boon. Blade rifts with that tracking boon and the one that ads 2-3dmg per consecutive hit is hella powerful vs bosses, and you can totally beat Hades no problem even if you crap out on luck with all other boons. But just blade rift - as you said - sorta sucks. Cheers m8.

[@JawlessPaul]

Absolutely! I actually have a video all about the cast duo boons! They are some of my favorite boons in the game!

[@zakaryrichmond396]

With all the other damage that I'm doing up close with the weapons I prefer I don't think about casting enough which is why I like Aphrodite's because it is just a short burst that affects the people right in front of me and leaves the stone in them it really gets stronger as you level it up though

[@JawlessPaul]

Aphro cast is very chunky!

[@jedodedo]

Huh. And here I thought the trippy shot/trippy flare sustain damage while they are inside. Sometimes I notice enemies in the festive fog gets stunned and stops attacking a couple of times.

[@MichaelRigoni]

The stun itself hits multiple times if they stay in it but it doesn't cause damage on its own unless there's Duo Boons and such

[@mattdre93]

The Orpheus costume was awesome!

[@JawlessPaul]

Haha, thanks!

[@taylereasdon4765]

Its not really a cast but theres a demeter boon that does major damage when all your cast are depleted. Its sooo good when combined with any cast just thought it was worth mentioning.

[@JawlessPaul]

It's great!

[@catharticreverie]

the nice thing about Slicing Shot is that it goes right through Shields, so the Shield exhalted and Theseus get absolutely destroyed since they're so slow at moving, they basically stay inside the aoe for most of the duration. And also it doesn't go off edges to get stuck out in limbo were you can't collect it. Like flood shot will go out waaay far if you shoot it toward lava or the white rivers of Elysium, Slicing shot conveniently stops at the edge

[@JawlessPaul]

A fair point!

[@catharticreverie]

@@JawlessPaul I'm looking at slicing shot again, and it seems to not stop at edges like how I mentioned before. what I saw might have just been hunting blade pulling them toward the enemies, and causing it to slow their momentum.

[@seijuroakashi9257]

aye the katana zero music, i very much approve

[@JawlessPaul]

Yeah! Its so good!

[@ffionjames7350]

I usually pick up slicing shot bc I really like hunting blades

[@JawlessPaul]

Hunting blades is so much fun!

[@bookoo995]

LOVE the content! This is somewhat unrelated to the actual tier list but I hate how unclear it is how much damage Demeter and Ares' cast does. It say x damage per tick, but doesn't say how often it ticks. Just a tip for future vids! May want to say how much damage each does. Would be very helpful for newer players. (Obviously that's on the devs, not you, to make that clear.)

[@JawlessPaul]

Fair enough! The wiki does show that information I believe...

[@serenerhapsody]

Demeter Cast is OP. It is your task to keep the enemies in line with the beam. thats why it works well with exagryph. you can position attacks from all directions.

[@stevenleonmusic]

I recently had a very fun run with Demeter + Artemis +2 extra shards. If you get Crystal Clarity it can melt stuff but it really is a pain to try and use without it.

[@knate44]

I largely agree, except that I would put Demeter in D tier and Ares in C tier. They both only work in a few situations: slow or stationary big targets, but with absolutely no other boons, Rift has some crowd control possibilities while crystal does not. If you miss with rift, it has some value as a trap because it will stack some damage on an errant foe, whereas if you miss with beam, you might as well forget it exists. It might do one tick of damage before the enemy moves. Also if you accidentally drop a crystal next to a wall, it is completely wasted, if you throw a rift at the wall it bounces to at least have a chance to be useful. I honestly do not think it would be broken if they added Chill to Crystal beam by default, which as a personal pet peeve has messed me up a few times now.

[@fable23]

Oh, wow, did you really just totally forget about Lightning Phalanx for Athena? That's a game changer, dude. I know this is ranking them on their own, but you didn't even mention it when you mentioned duo boons.

[@stevenleonmusic]

I've used it maybe twice ever and I never got much of anything out of it. You can cheese 1 boss with it (Elysium) and that's about it. It didn't seem to do a darn thing vs. Hades so I just don't see the point when you can clear rooms in Styx faster using Flood Shot or stun tanky enemies in Elysium with Festive Fog.

[@ThisAutomaton]

Poseidon cast on Hera bow is an absolute nuke. Load it up and watch the mobs get blasted off like Team Rocket.

[@calebthecondor]

Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it ! But in what world is dionysis not s tier? On its own it kinda just kills everything imo; sure you gotta aim a bit but its power is delicious!

[@JawlessPaul]

It's a bit slow but yes, very powerful!

[@geromc]

I think this a fair list when you consider it's just the base cast. Think of this as a 'floor' list. Listen to the analysis though for the boosts and how the casts can move from additional boons for more of a ceiling view

[@JawlessPaul]

Agree! If you take into account some of the other boons that buff the casts, they supercede Zeus cast

[@owa1985]

Zero disagreements, Paul. Although, I didn't know about Zeus cast being buffed by having better tracking code. I just assumed I am less of a noob now than before. It is also rather recently that I realised that Zeus cast + n+1 poms actually makes static charge no longer a necessity for it to be super damaging, apart from triggering privileged position.

[@thesenate8268]

Athena cast becomes Zeus cast with their duo boon, is goooood.

[@flashrogue4376]

It's hard to beat bouncing AoE

[@laughoutmeow]

Blade rift with hunting blades duo boon is basically an auto complete run. One of most op builds.

[@JawlessPaul]

Yes indeed! :)

[@owenzhub]

Ha, and here I am thinking blade rift is the best cast, especially in tight rooms. I struggle the most in Styx and this cast just clears out those rooms.

[@JawlessPaul]

Everyone has a different feeling! Try zeus for clearing Styx rooms

[@owenzhub]

@@JawlessPaul I actually tried it yesterday. Not as good for me. That said, I made it through, but it didn't feel as "melty". If you throw the blade rift in quick succession it just clears everything instantly. Maybe it was because I had it paired with Poseidon's dash, whereas Zeus was paired with Athena's dash that time.

[@Pscribbled]

I’m not a huge fan of Zeus cast because it tends to scatter the cast stones. If I’m playing a cast build, the worst thing is when I run out of stones and I can’t find the stones

[@cuppateia]

The problem with Ares cast is its overreliance on other boons to be good. If you get the necessary boons (the Tier 2s, the Legendary, Hunting Blades duo) it's S tier, but if you don't then it's essentially useless bc of how slow and clunky it is. Dio is similar but it relies on certain aspects rather than specific boons. Some of my best runs have been with these two casts, but their lack of versatilty means that in the vast majority of runs they're not worth taking bc they require you to build around them. PS - JP as Eros (Greek counterpart of Cupid) for VDay?

[@stevenleonmusic]

I think you should consider the scenarios in which you would use these casts. 90% of the time I choose Dionysus or Poseidon because I use the cast as Crowd Control in Elysium and Styx and the Stun or Knockback effects can make all the difference. Otherwise the cast is usually nice for added range or burst damage. I think Aphrodite, Demeter and Ares are the worst ones without additional boons because they simply are too hard to make good use of without putting yourself in harm's way. That being said, Athena and Artemis are my least chosen because they simply don't gain much from anything. The fact is, you will get a lot of other boons in any given run and Athena/Artemis pretty much peak when you get them, with maybe 1 significant boon for each (Exit Wounds and Lightning Phalynx, which seems to do jack all for single enemies). Athena's cast may be the worst since anything it can do, her Dash can do better and faster.

[@JawlessPaul]

Fair points

[@Zizi-1002]

I'm hert that Artemis is not with S or atleast A (especially with disloge but it's fine it's your opinion either way I'm bias cuz my fav build is artimis cast and disloge :)

[@Drakenwild]

Paul says: Please blast me in the comments. Paul thinks: *let's drive up that engagement!* No but seriously, great video. Have you considered doing one on Casts with Hera/Beowulf after one on Duos maybe? The list should shuffle quite a bit when you apply that to it. Duo tierlist as well tbh, Demeter-Poseidon Duo for instance is awful with Hera, tried it.

[@flashrogue4376]

I'd never take slicing shot unless I already had a Arti boon, though I may now, if I'm running a call build or billowing strength. I finish a lot of my runs with 0 cast boons..

[@stevenleonmusic]

If I have God's Legacy on I'll take it and see how Tartarus goes, possibly use Artemis' keepsake at the end. As long as you get Hunting Blades it becomes useful. Ideally you want Vicious Cycle and all that comes with it but at the very least you can make it put in work with Hunting Blades, especially when Hades is busy doing his laser tricks.

[@Death_13TH]

I know this video was made a long while ago, but I haven't really played around with Stygian soul yet have once or twice gone for using the casts. Based on the ones I've experienced Ares is effective at clearing out rooms while something like Demeter is better for bosses such as Bone Hydra. Due to using Infernal Soul I mostly rely on my weapons for attacks, but I can see how the casts might be effective, personally, I don't think Zeus' is all too effective from the few times I got to use it, but I do see how there could be some utility there, such as how it is one of the few cast types that can destroy the butterflies in Elysium by bouncing off another enemy first. I think Demeter's cast is very strong, and Dionysus makes it easier to take out priority targets due to its psudo stunning potential. The only one I'd genuinely say is bad (by my opinion) is Aphrodite's due to how it reduces the range to such a severe extent. I feel like the cast works best as a far range tool rather than as a point blank shotgun.

[@JawlessPaul]

Aphrodite's cast does crazy damage expecially if you get demeter snow burst with it. One of the highest burst dps builds in the game possibly. 👍

[@Death_13TH]

@@JawlessPaul I hadn't considered the fact it can do burst damage like that. It still feels very odd to me attempting to use it over a more ranged cast. Maybe combined with Hera's Bow or with Poseidon's sword since one takes care of the range issue while the other helps the "point blank" aspect of it.

[@IfOUGHTpIRANHAz]

Nice use of the Katana Zero OST

[@JawlessPaul]

I've been jamming so hard to it lately

[@IfOUGHTpIRANHAz]

God, me too. I got it during the New Years sale.

[@1cynicalsaint]

I would probably swap Ares and Demeter just because I generally find it easier to make Ares "work" for me than Demeter, and then maybe also swap Aphrodite and Dionysus for the same reason.

[@evanbeedle5693]

I think you nailed the list. Slicing shot on its own really isn't that great. It can be S tier with hunting blades and A with the other duos but one its own it's just too slow. The one I think you can make an argument for here is moving Artemis cast to A. All the Arty boon increase the damage like Zeus it's just more single target damage. Looking forward to the Hera and duo video!

[@Displatcher]

Dionysus Cast on mouse and keyboard is far superior than you find on a controller is the only difference of opinion I think, nice vid.

[@JawlessPaul]

Definitely!

[@mstegosaurus]

One downside of Zeus you didn't mention is that it can be hard to lodge your stone(s) in the enemy you intend to. For this reason, unless I'm doing a lightning-focused build, I tend to prefer Poseidon, Athena, or Artemis. Other than that, I generally agree with your rankings. (I'd also swap Aphrodite and Demeter, but it may be that I need more experience using Aphrodite's.)

[@JawlessPaul]

Fair point!

[@OuterRaine]

While this is a good start, this come down to situations. I got Aphrodite hitting for 400 after getting double poms. Shredded enemies with Ares blade disc combined with Zeus cast stone upgrade.

[@JawlessPaul]

Zeus cast stone upgrade? Not sure what you mean...

[@oRitual]

artemis cast gotta be at least A tier. thing one hits pretty much anything that doesn’t have armor (i do agree it’s pretty annoying when it gets stuck in an armored enemy)

[@Phnxkon]

Like all things artemis cast is obviously the best at S++ a tier of its own. Though in the video you forgot that it penetrates shields so I can see how you misplaced it.

[@peckisabot2867]

I want to live in a world where Cold Embrace makes Demeter beam come from your chest.

[@stevenleonmusic]

It is such a horrible duo boon. If anything it should have turned the cast into a spherical/circular aura around you. Having lines point at you is so hard to actually make use of for any kind of damage.

[@JawlessPaul]

Anything would be better!

[@FeetLov3r69]

Demeter cast is insane for bosses Even without crystal clarity you just need to have good positioning

[@JawlessPaul]

So long as they don't move! 😊

[@fredv7349]

I thought artemis would be higher, also underestimated how high zeus would be.