Sword and Spear Aspects Guide & Tier Ranking | Tips and Tricks

[@Darkenixx]

Bonus thanks to Skelly for making this video possible.

[@jacobolson9650]

There is an Artemis boon that brings Aspect of Poseidon up to S tier. “When your cast dislodges from foes deal 100 damage.” That shit is a total boss melter.

[@JawlessPaul]

It's good stuff!

[@jacobolson9650]

Yo, you put good content out there, keep it up homie 🤙 I love the way you respond to your comments as well. Always great to see from a KZbinr.

[@charliethecockatoo2159]

Exit Wounds, man. Exit Wounds. ;3

[@aregon5004]

JESUS

[@mattreyes4803]

Thanks for the idea

[@plohka1141]

I got Guan Yu spear as my first “hidden aspect” or whatever it’s called. How great that the first one I got is probably the least beginner-friendly.

[@JawlessPaul]

Yeah, it's pretty tough to use...

[@Mikko_25]

I may be mistaken, but I actually think it's unlocked first for everyone. I think unlocking it is a prerequisite for the other legendary aspects.

[@maikkniss3971]

@@Mikko_25 that is correct

[@kuyagab4444]

I'm iffy on using Guan Yu's spear from the get go. But if you insist on using it, you could try to max it out to cut the penalty from 75 to 50 at max level

[@NimiKhan]

Great thing about Arthur aspect is that it's combo is not interrupted by dash: you do first attack and dash, then second and dash, then you get to your big numbers swing. It really help with survivability, plus bonus backstab damage is nice too.

[@JawlessPaul]

Totally!

[@huascarluiscruzrodriguez1767]

Reminds me of the greatsword in Dead Cells

[@Bogrin]

Something new I found out today with Arthur is it shuts off some traps! From my experience it shuts down ground spikes, lava, and the horse head spear traps! Waking on lava is fine in the aura! Anyone else notice this or see any other interaction with traps?

[@JawlessPaul]

Yes! I forgot to mention it! Quite nice!

[@Roanix1]

Whaaaaat? Thank you, I never knew this

[@ThaMobstarr]

Man as a Switch beginner, thanks man! I cleared the underworld just once so far. Your videos are incredibly helpful! I am loving this game so much.

[@JawlessPaul]

I'm glad they have been helpful!

[@khpc82]

I actually just used aspect of Hades to clear Hades for the 1st time using a weapon other than shields. Which really surprised me. Aspect of GuanYu needs to be buffed. As it is now, it really sucks so much that it is not worth the time. If they plan to punish health, health items so much when using it, they should really increase the amount recovered to maybe +5 per hit?

[@JawlessPaul]

Yeah, it starts to get pretty bonkers if you add much more health recovery. In my opinion they should just do away with the health reduction altogether. Using spin is punishing enough 😂

[@adamn7777]

Really good video. As someone that started in 1.0 these sorts of videos have been a huge help. I'd love it if you could do a video on how to unlock the 4th aspect of each of the weapons. They seem really cool but there isn't really any reliable info on how to go about unlocking these EDIT: For anyone seeing this now the Hades wiki has instructions of sorts for unlocking the weapon aspects. In short it's: 1. Get the fated list of minor prophecies from the house contractor 2. Get to the final boss (winning not required) 3. Spend at least 5 blood on different non-zagreus weapon aspects 4. Talk to Achilles every chance you get. Eventually he will mention how the fates spoke to him of future bearers of your weapons. 5. Spend 3 blood and unlock Guan Yu for Varatha After doing that the steps for the rest of the weapons are: 1. Invest 5 blood into that weapon 2. Talk to a specific character enough times for them to mention that weapon it's: Nyx for the sword Chaos for the shield Artemis for the bow Asterius (in his own mini boss arena not with Theseus) for the fists Zeus for the gun It seems like it's best to bring that weapon when you're going for its 4th form. Once those characters mention the weapon you can unlock it back at home

[@dgraykage231]

^^^^^^^THIS

[@miscast8180]

All the essential info you need. Must unlock the spear first to get acess to the others. Basicly just unlock aspects and rank them up and you naturally start getting them. xd.adobe.com/view/b90bd0e4-4ae8-400b-709d-3305de01e6b3-cf3a/?fullscreen

[@anvo89]

Agree on fourth aspect unlocks

[@AlEzMond1911]

Not mine but here's a handy guide for unlocking the 4th aspect xd.adobe.com/view/b90bd0e4-4ae8-400b-709d-3305de01e6b3-cf3a/?fullscreen

[@anatomyG59]

xd.adobe.com/view/b90bd0e4-4ae8-400b-709d-3305de01e6b3-cf3a/?fullscreen link seems weird but I found it on reddit in the hades sub. It's the top rated comment in this topic - www.reddit.com/r/HadesTheGame/comments/heyc5o/how_to_unlock_the_new_patch_aspects/

[@206lbs.hercules5]

When I first got Guan Yu I was so confused on what it was supposed to be useful for. I didn't realize how good the special damage was. it still seams kinda bad to me but it's cool.

[@JawlessPaul]

Yeah, the special is just "OK"

[@pingupower9780]

Thanks for this, spear more than any other weapon, has been hard coming up with synergistic builds outside the hades spin but I'll have to give the casting theseus spear a try

[@JawlessPaul]

I got a video coming!one of my favorite spear builds

[@eetuli85]

I think it's good for beginners because of the reach but I tend to struggle against bosses because slow damage rate. Boosting backstab and crit for special is probably the best way to go, Ares and Zeus are nice, maybe Poseidon for attack. Hermes on special is also great. Not the best weapon after Bone Hydra, but very solid for beginners, imho. Not a fan of the spin personally.

[@SuperDomi94]

I have to say that at first the Stygius was my least favorite weapon, but I've grown to like it more and more and now I LOVE all its aspects, including the basic one. There is just so much playstyle variety that you could literally play the game for ages just with this weapon! Plus, Nemesis aspect is busted, so that helps enjoying things even more :)

[@TheClue11]

I personally loved the spin attack and the hades aspect on the spear; I've brought it to the surface with some fairly dangerous heat: extreme measures 4, benefits package 2, middle management, tight deadline 2, even forced overtime (not always all at once, mind you), and had a much easier time compared with some other weapons. I was very surprised to find that not a lot of people shared my love for it. I hope more people give it a fair chance.

[@CornPop309]

I just started playing on xbox a few days ago and that the first upgrade I got n still using the spear is badass w that.

[@nealko123]

Oh man, on the contrary, aspect of Arthur is my most lovet aspect.

[@JawlessPaul]

I lot of people love that aspect!

[@evand2]

No kidding. The damage output plus the higher total life, plus the aura circle that ups both defense and slows down everything within I. It's amazing.

[@otomicans6580]

The lack of mobility is kind of an issue when enemies can flush you out or you need to take down a shield guy. It's definitely a fun aspect to play as though.

[@dygouken]

Hitting 4K crits is so fun

[@BardianAngel]

2 things with excalibur. You can dash between slashes and keep the combo going. You can also press special, then dash, and the special will still go off where you dash to. It seems slow, but it's far more mobile than it looks.

[@xxxsoccerrox]

just got it last night holy crap it is sooooooo fun to use got my fastest run yet at 15 mins, crits for like 1500 are too damn cool

[@aelspecto]

Hermes multiple dash boon makes this weapon busted. I also did my 28 heat run with this aspect and with Dionisus low health boons you are practically unkilleable lol

[@pietrx6893]

please, dont go "as fast as possible" take your time, you already said some people complain about length, they can skip parts, but we cant extend ^^ REally good videos, love your personality !

[@JawlessPaul]

Haha, thanks for saying that! Video length and repeating myself is what I get the most complaints about, (other than spoilers). I'm just trying to keep the video lean and efficient.

[@robby6382]

@@JawlessPaul yeah I only skipped through them recently because im at work lol

[@segfault_000]

@@JawlessPaul Complaints? Man, people really don't have anything better to do. You're doing great, no need to change anything.

[@Abraksas112]

@@segfault_000 for some people it wasn't a good day if they didn't get to complain about anything I guess ;)

[@jamesbrincefield9879]

I love putting Deflect on my attack with Arthur and just standing in the center of the aura playing baseball with enemy projectiles. It’s a lot of fun.

[@JawlessPaul]

Fun! 🤣

[@Tr1GGrz]

I quite like the arthur aspect and I usually end up building it towards using the special, since I found that you can dash after you start the special animation and therefore not be interupted during the invulnerability frames and mainly special dashing between enemies. However I usually have some trouble with theo/mino and hades that I need to work on

[@idasowa9225]

It is also possible to dash up to two times between attacks in the combo without resetting it. In fact, doing so will not even trigger the dash attack. I consider this a notable feature of Arthur.

[@roryluukas2703]

Zagreus sword is my favourite weapon!! Pairing it with stacking boons like hangover damage, you can stack up so fast with the added attack speed, I get insane damage out put with it and when I use any other aspect I just feel too slow!!

[@JawlessPaul]

Right on!

[@gambitguides]

I had a Chain Skewer + Tempest Flourish + Sea Storm build today (plus some other Zeus/Poseidon/Ares boons). Even got Poseidon legendary in the end. And I can confirm that it IS as good as it sounds! By the way, did you know that if you have Chain Skewer, you can hide behind the pillar during the Hades fight; and when you aim for certain spots at the edge, like the right side of the door, it will bounce off of it and hit Hades during his beams?

[@JawlessPaul]

It's a blast!

[@w0bbles]

I’m loving your post production value you’re pumping in with showing the boons/power ups images that you are referencing as well as tips all around when playing as a beginner! Kudos and loving the new/updated opinions of the weapons!

[@Convicted_Melon]

One thing. I think you're underrating aspect of Hades. The spin attack can be triggered by dashing, meaning you can kite, retreat or close the gap with an enlarged spin that buffs your damage output. And better yet, right after dash spinning your next attack will be a dash strike. It's a much easier and safer buff to trigger aspect of Achilles where you have to entirely reposition yourself. This is a similar argument as Eris vs Hestia for the rail. Eris buff is technically better on paper but the means of gaining it takes much longer and is less safe than the on demand Hestia empowered shot.

[@JawlessPaul]

I guess I disagree on the spear thing, but that's a personal taste thing. The rail though... Eris is just straight up better. The fact that every bit of damage is buffed for 10 seconds is so powerful and outscales the single buffed shot.

[@Convicted_Melon]

@@JawlessPaul The single buffed shot can be procced over and over by reloading manually even if your clip is already full. There really isn't a reason to unload the entire magazine. The empowered shot also has close to twice the range of a normal shot; making it safer and more reliable. It's also incredibly powerful right out the gate on top of scaling monstrously, while Eris requires boons for it to start snowballing effectively. If you map reload to something less awkward like L2 you're able to easily fire off a couple empowered shots every second. Playing like this you can out-DPS most weapons in the game completely unassisted.

[@penguinmonk7661]

You gotta bump up that Poseidon rank: Exit wounds and fully loaded make this thing SHRED. Couple with flurry cast and Aphrodite boon and you will be shredding SO HARD. Or go for Artemis cast and dash nova if you can find it for a nice in and out. Hades spear is low A tier at least: when you know what you are doing, especially with the sturdy or fast charge in addition to massive. It clears rooms really fast and coupled with Artemis attack can leave a lot of hunters marks even on the boss. Unfortunately it is a little lackluster with special since once you have massive sweep there is very little reason to do special. Additionally you can dash with your charge attack making it easier to be safe and/or hit with it. Works well even in higher heat, however forced overtime 2x makes it a lot harder to pull off as consistently.

[@TheRegulus01]

Spear with aspect of Achilles, a personal favorite of mine for many reasons. But first and foremost, it was the one who got me my first victory a few days ago. An amazing weapon already, the rush attack is incredibly helpful for reposition and doing damage. That thing with the hammer buff for three dash hits paired with Zeus' attack boon and Poseidon's call helped me snatch that victory. Love the spear!

[@JawlessPaul]

Yeah, Achilles spear is a blast for sure!

[@sergeylukin9111]

Jesus artemis on attack On nemesis. 15% bonus crit chance good BUT. artemis have LOWES damage bonus(20% base and heroic 50%). Detemer or apho be best(50% base and heroic 125%) beter raryty you find more damage it be. becasu they add more than TWISE much damage. bonus crit 15(with already 30% ) not not equivalent to 2.5 damage. even with ideal build with all boon and duos demeter or aphro on attack be much stronger. Its just a maths. Mark must have. and special must be artemis. becaus after you use special all anemy around be marked. and you can just press special again and again and almost every hit on enemys be crit. becaus mark. be cool if find double special. and for more damage its Athena dash. becaus its ads another duo 20% critchance for all attacks and give INSANE buff for backstab. with insane scailing. i dont say about speedrunners. becaus they use special SEED for take all for dash(artemis dash,chaos dash 2 boons,hammer dash) or just abadon run if they dont take all for dash. I write to you probably in march comment under video when artur sword comes. you still dont say about animation canceling on swords.specialy on artur sword. when you press special and after fast dash or double or triple dash to move you forward.and special end on dash with out waiting animation. same to all attacks on sword with saving you combo. and artur aspect still BEAST. 5k+ damage easy to have if do not bad build. poseidon sword have another build. its for example aphro cast + demeter damage after any cast. and aphro + athena duo.with special of athena.when cast have all backstab bonus.and we know backstab damage very huge (50% from mirror +athena boon+keepsake. total can be near 300% damage to cast). be best to have hermes boon on fast cast.and you can just take poseidon cast and some athena + aphro to have duo and back stab damage.and cast it over and over in boss becaus can give cast back after special. And about spear.spears have animation canceling too like swords.Specialy it works well with Guan Yu. like with artur aspect.Gun yu have slow attack animation. You can change spin and dash in every side.Hades spear not so bad as you say. Hades spear increase attack and special. to take maximim bonus its 2 directions to maximaze damage. its Artemis attack(becaus artemis need bonus base damage to attack).Or its some thing with greate base damage like aphro or demeter or even Athena or poseidon.Becaus Zeus,dionis,Ares dont take benefin from spin mark. And now we have in hammer tripl dash attack and triple attack.its helps?YES! i can say first example in my mind to workd it well. I choose poseidon! And its insane to have poseidon on attack and zeus on dash. Becaus poseidon spin push enemy away. and with triple attack poseidon and some poseidon boons anihilate any anemy near walls.even greaty to find Breaking Wave(and after spin enemy already some were near walls or dead) and poseidon also have Good base damage on attack.also have 30% more attack for bosses. zeus be good becaus Duo poseidon and zeus.and your attack triple.its work well in any spear.but with Hades tridon you have wery good single target dps for bosses.combo this with special of Athena to boss take more damage from back and you win very easy. If you find triple dash add artemis on dash. and add Support Fire. Support Fire kill every weak foes arond (little hydra,dusa,skull,casters and crystals,rats)and add dps to single target. and its only one example.if in doubt you can try even this build from comments.

[@thomassievert5469]

I’m curious because you didn’t explicitly mention, but maybe it’s just really obvious. Shouldn’t Exit Wounds be like the core boon when you have the Aspect of Poseidon (the one that dislodges spell shards)?

[@JawlessPaul]

It's very good! Provides nice burst for sure!

[@HuyPham-we4dj]

But it's so hard to get. I've never even got the combination after >150 hours of game time

[@ashlynx1]

@@HuyPham-we4dj oh damn I've always got it the three time ive used Poseidon Sword

[@HuyPham-we4dj]

@@ashlynx1 Lucky you! Guess I'll just have to play more

[@thomassievert5469]

@@HuyPham-we4dj why is this? Can't you just focus on Artemis boons with rerolls and keepsake?

[@JamFusion.]

I hope one day there will be some sort of save file that allow us to experiment with and choose our boon combinations. This would be specifically great for content creators. (Which is why I mostly want it)

[@JawlessPaul]

Ellomenop from the speed running community has a mod (not sure if he's updated it for 1.0 yet)that let's you choose the starting seed

[@JamFusion.]

Jawless Paul that’s sounds interesting! Hope it evolves to an amazing mod

[@teamkrub3330]

What is the most efficient way to spend Titan Blood? Spread out with low lv or Max the S tier first?

[@OniSushi]

Oh snap. Sword and spears. Lets go. Background TRACKS I need to watch these more.

[@JawlessPaul]

Haha, nice!

[@AustraliaHungary27]

Once I made a spear I like to call the “Monster Spear”. It has the hammer range up and speed up as the Hades Aspect. Edit: You mentioned it later in the video lol. Still proud of it though.

[@Jedda678]

As far as cast builds go the sword and spear are likely the best. Shield, Fists, and Rail don't exactly benefit casts too much. Fists can and have a +20 damage increase after landing your special, but it's still not all that great but it is more persistent than spear, but less so than sword Poseidon aspect. Can't wait to see more ratings for the 4 other weapons.

[@Blaze8798]

Personally I've taken a liking to the Hades spear, Guan Yu spear, and Excalibur, and it's pretty much just because I found out you're able to do a LOT of stuff with dashes (especially greater reflex). With the spear you're able to do a basic attack, then hold it and immediately dash after the initial attack comes out and you'll dash and still be charging your spin attack to be able to release it after the dash, AND if you're already holding a spin attack charge and you dash without letting it go you'll do a MOVING spin attack in the direction you dashed. With Excalibur you're able to do similar stuff, you're able to dash attack like normal, but if you do it in the opposite order it still works, even for his 2nd and 3rd hits of his attack chain, so you're able to start an attack then quickly dash and your attack will finish after you're done dashing, and if you continue attacking you'll get the 2nd and 3rd hits of the chain, and it doesn't matter which attack in the chain you do it to, even the 2nd and 3rd hits of the chain you can dodge during the very beginning of the attack and it'll continue while you're dashing. You're even able to do the attack-dash with special to start the special then dash up to 2-3 times before the special finishes.

[@TheClue11]

Happy to find another spear spinner out here (feel free to come up with a much cooler name than that for it)! I was really surprised to find that there was such a low overall opinion of the spear, and specifically the spin attack, after having such a rewarding personal experience with it, so it feels good to know someone appreciates it other than just me

[@peterz5053]

How can I get excalibur? I do have max zagreus aspect but I don't know to whom I should talk to.

[@edwardmills4164]

Nyx

[@Koy44751]

Thank you for amazing guide! Also, appreciate it for being kinda short C: Gl with future content!

[@fredgerd5811]

I'd argue Divine Strike is better on Arthur than Deadly Strike, because then you can combo that with Deadly Reversal for 20% crit chance, which will be activated alot because those big swings are deflecting just about everything around you. Also, deflect synergizes with the zone from your special, since projectiles are massively slowed in the zone.

[@oscarsaris3183]

I've escaped like 10 times, fought Hades with the spear, unlocked every weapon and every aspect. And I still can't unlock the hidden spear aspect, so I can unlock all the others. Can someone give me some advice? I keep talking to Achilles but he never brings up anything to do with the aspects.

[@KainDizengarth]

You have to talk with Aquilles after a run with the spear and after unlocking at least 5 different aspects (for any weapon). After some conversation he will talk about some warrior that used the spear and he will tell you what to do.

[@oscarsaris3183]

@@KainDizengarth Yeah I knew this already. Like I said though, the conversation won't trigger.

[@otomicans6580]

@@oscarsaris3183 You've probably unlocked it by now but it took like 3 or 4 conversations with Brad Pitt after I met the requirements to unlock it.

[@admiralbright7308]

Arthur was awkward for me at first but I got used to dashing between the 3 hit attack combo. It is still a bit finicky especially in asphodel lava pits, but it doesn't feel as slow this way. Artemis + some debuffs I was doing 4 digit damage already.

[@arts830]

Great video! Really good analysis and a really solid tier-list, but I still don't know how to feel about the Hades Aspect and the Guan Yu Aspect. I feel like the Spin is such a niche mechanic overall and it's so silly that the Spin doesn't deal more damage after you mark enemies (with the Hades Aspect). And the Aspect of Guan Yu feels so underpowered that it doesn't really hold up compared to the other Hidden Aspects, hell, it doesn't even really compare to the other Spear Aspects. I just feel like the HP debuff making you vulnerable mixed with the spinning, the main mechanic of the weapon, that makes you even more vulnerable puts you in a lose-lose situation most of the time.

[@hughmanatee7626]

I've come to the same conclusion for swords and spears. The spin leaves Zag vulnerable so Guan Yu and Hades get bumped down. For a very long time I've known that crits in ANY game will be op. No surprise Nemesis is S tier. My personal favorites are Nemesis (Artemis) and Achilles (Aphrodite). What I really want to see is Shield, Bow and Rail. I can't figure out what is the definite best aspect for either.

[@geigster]

Hera bow gang

[@ento]

I'd say Bow best aspect is Chiron, no contest. Hera is probably better at base unlock strength, but once you max out Chiron with Titan's Blood it's just beastly.

[@Brutakk]

Chaos shield gang

[@hughmanatee7626]

@@Brutakk I've tried that shield with an Ares special build. It's as safe as it gets.

[@hughmanatee7626]

@@ento Maxed it and tried it with Backstab bonuses from Athena cause I noticed the shots can arc onto backs. Having Artemis' special destroys single targets. I'd say the only hard part is surviving Elysium. Pretty much everything about it. You really can't hold still for a shot there.

[@pedrorios8010]

Aspect of achilles is not just for casts as you mention in the video, it also works with standard sttacks

[@JawlessPaul]

Oh definitely, I just think it works best as a cast weapon.

[@ninjakiwi2476]

Very interesting spear rankings. Guan yu is my favourite weapon. I always try and get quick+massive spin and spam it. Pairing it with as many demeter boons as possible is just so good. She literally carries me to Hades and it's the only weapon/aspect that's gotten me to 30 heat. I find it to be one of the best weapons and definitely the best spear but that's why I like tier list videos so I can see other people's thoughts on it. This has made me consider trying out the Achilles spear though. Not really a special guy especially on the spears

[@Soraxora]

Achilles is for cast builds mostly

[@penguinmonk7661]

Does this still hold after the Guan Yu nerfs?

[@xhy9178]

Guan Yu and Arthur are good due to their INSANELY high basic dmg special/attack. Pair it with the ability to life steal or to slow enemy, disable traps, and reduce dmg, you got a receipt for high heat run that doesn't need much combo to pull off. I was able to do 40 heat with both the weapon. Gotta say, they are pretty good. Would put them both in S tier.

[@penguinmonk7661]

Is this still the case with the nerfs to Guan Yu?

[@xhy9178]

@@penguinmonk7661 The mechanics still work, but you are right, Guan Yu is now less efficient. It still is best spear aspect in high heat.

[@soirema]

Damn you have played so much and you are still in Tartarus? I have no chance on passing this game.../kappa XD

[@JawlessPaul]

LOL! 🤣

[@al-nemer5063]

Don’t forget the special for Arthur disables traps and slows projectiles so really strong against furies and the hydra

[@JawlessPaul]

Indeed!

[@nemanjaz.9113]

Guan Yu imo is a spin centered weapon, which sounds kind of bad at first, but if you get the faster spin buff....And something like Aphrodite or (Personal Favourite) Athena Attack....OOOOOH BOY. You will eradicate everything in your path, your foes will melt, and no matter your low HP, you actually heal **so much** that taking damage is a minor inconvenience rather than an actual problem Quick Spin and Greater Spin are my favourite Hammers on Guan Yu, Athena Attack is my favourite Bonus for it Overall, an A tier weapon for me. The only reason it isnt as tier, is because having an attack run and special run with this weapon isnt optimal, unless you build around your dash strike and dashing, because the main attack is really clunky

[@JawlessPaul]

Right on! I'm happy for people when they do well with spin. I think I've played on forced overtime 2 too many times 😂

[@nemanjaz.9113]

@@JawlessPaul Can be haha! I never play with Overtime, since I like taking my time with the game, and its just unecessarily stressful for me. And by the way, thank you so much for creating Hades content, theres not enough youtubers who play this game!

[@AvengingTiki]

Thanks for the great video! You give a lot of great info on its hammer upgrades, but Boons would you go for on Hades Spear? I’m guessing Ares special? Any other thoughts?

[@JawlessPaul]

I'd say I'd rather do % increases. The Hades spear damage bonus would not apply to doom.

[@garnetgarcia3287]

GOSH thank you I spent like half an hour trying to find a video that broke everything down as well as you did 😩 this was so helpful now I feel a lot more confident in what I spend my Titans blood in

[@capellozapellini6074]

I gotta say guan yu is an A tier weapon, it pumps out so much damage with the right boons especially Artemis and the healing can balance it out but I do understand having significantly less health can be a big issue

[@JawlessPaul]

I had a lot of bad experiences with it at higher heat, which might be why I'm not in love with it. Still a very decent weapon, actually pretty well balanced. Not the powerhouse I used to think it was.

[@pervognsen_bitwise]

It's a lot of fun to play Guan Yu with the Pierced Butterfly keepsake and see how far you can push it since you already need to play defensively. With the charged skewer hammer it's also a great fit for the mirror buff that gives +100% damage on the first hit to undamaged enemies. The special also has a deceptively wide hitbox, so it's an extremely good multi-target weapon especially if you throw some Poseidon boons on there so you can play keep-away. The reduced healing isn't an issue since you usually get 10-15 healing for free in each encounter by doing the charge attack while waiting for waves to spawn in. But the 1/2 health penalty is definitely rough on some bosses, particularly Hades on EM4. You need the Aphrodite debuff and Athena dash to be anywhere near safe.

[@3ace9]

I feel like anytime you have a decent run with guan yu, it would be a god run with anything else. Only way i’ve ben able to do more with it than another weapon is stacking revenge damage and health because other weapons cant use them as well.

[@chakradarrat8832]

my favorite guan yu combbo is massive and quick hammer upgrades and add the athena attack deflect

[@JawlessPaul]

That's a nice combo!

[@SwordOfContempt]

Wanted to say that i really enjoy your videos. I love having them play in the background while I play this amazing game. Hopefully, you enjoy making them as much as your audience loves watching them. Looking forward to future content. Can't wait for the tier lists on the shield & fists aspects

[@justinhackstadt6677]

Guan Yu sucks hard. It shouldn't be max health reduced. Just a flat -50.

[@JawlessPaul]

yeah, it's pretty punishing for a not-so-great buff to the abilities.

[@idasowa9225]

From my experience, I would say the only enemies to watch out for with Arthur sword and forced overtime are numbskulls - others aren't really fast enough to consistently interrupt you. Of course, the experiences of others may be different. I also find the spear rankings interesting, given that I've always thought the spear special is more or less rubbish. I suppose I should try it out then.

[@warriorfire8103]

Felt the same. I'd use it to set up debuffs but damage wise. It'd always be the same thing "ok this isn't hurting them much. Spin, dash strike, stab,etc. Dead enemy. Will try builds around it.

[@helmox1]

@@warriorfire8103 felt the same, then i stumbled with this build by accident, it was artemis in the special the chaos boon that increase backstab damage by like 102%? and the hammer that makes the call back special deal + damage and +50% crit. i was like "wait, why is my special doing so mach damage?" it was fun.

[@JawlessPaul]

It's pretty weak without the right hammers

[@JawlessPaul]

Nice!

[@xelthos2051]

Found out that the aura from Arthur prevents trap and lava damage by the way. Pretty awesome, can't remember if you mentioned that. (I don't have Arthur yet, just saw in another video.)

[@JawlessPaul]

I didn't mention it in this one, I might have mentioned it in the old weapon video

[@barefootalien]

So on the Zagreus sword, Hermes' move speed boon doesn't mean the bonus damage is based on how fast you're _going;_ you can be standing completely still and get the bonus. It's just how much of your total move bonus is applied as bonus damage. It can get kind of nuts, actually, if you can get it at Heroic, plus maxed out Zagreus, plus Hermes' move speed boon at Heroic. I think you can end up with an always-on global damage bonus of +81%, which is even higher than the Eris rail, only you don't have to stand in your special's blast radius to activate it. My favorite build is actually Aspect of Zagreus Sword with the two Hermes boons, Double Edge, and Piercing Slash, with Splash Dash and Tempest Strike. Once I even got Second Wave, Breaking Wave, and Wave Pounding... and basically when you dash-attack, the chain of events that unfolds is absolutely terrifying. First the dash hits (twice) at around a total of 1000% damage. Then the splash dash hits (usually twice as well). The enemy then flies away... far, far away, usually striking some kind of barrier for _enormous_ wall slam damage. Then the splash explosion hits (and if that pushes another nearby enemy into a wall that can chain react). Then the energy slash from Piercing Slash finally catches up and hits (at ~1000% damage). Finally, if by some miracle that enemy is still alive, you're already double-dash-striking in for another round less than half a second later. Lemme put it this way... I never bothered to call Meg on Lernie, because it would've taken longer. The king and his bull took all of maybe 15-20 seconds, total. I cleared really big, tough, annoying Styx miniboss rooms so fast I never even saw what I was fighting, and then the final boss went down (both bars) in basically his invulnerability time plus 10 seconds. The amount of damage output was absolutely stupendous! Way, _way_ higher than any speed run DPS I've seen in a video, with 3-digit numbers flying so fast they never stopped overlapping each other. Man, that was a fun run! Zag sword is one of the most fun weapons in the game, IMO, and I could easily argue that it's one of the most powerful, at least when considered in terms of being a platform to build a boon/hammer package on top of. Typically if I finish a Zag sword run and then go to gloves or rail, they feel agonizingly _slow_ by comparison, it's so fast. XD

[@things8141]

I've had some really good runs with Arthur and Aries doom boons.

[@JawlessPaul]

Nice! I struggle with Arthur, but I know a lot of people love that aspect

[@RatmilkSMITE]

Great guide, can’t wait for the other weapons to be ranked

[@JawlessPaul]

Did they meet your standards? haha

[@RatmilkSMITE]

Jawless Paul Haha definitely. I will say I prefer Chiron now more than Rama bow and may have switched the two rankings personally but other than that everything seems spot on! Great content overall especially helps since I just got my gf into this game and trying to show her helpful guides!

[@sr.lontra]

Oh boy, you underestimate hades's aspect too much. You don't spin and keep spinning. You spin once (don't even have to be fully charged) and then strike strike strike. It's a great weapon to clear rooms and even apply extra damage on bosses. And fun fact: you *can* dash while charging, so you realocate yourself *while* sweeping around yourself

[@nguyentandung42]

Arthur is my 2th favorite aspect only to Chiron as the first I just adore the attack combo and the fact that it can't be interrupted by dash

[@JawlessPaul]

Agreed! It's very strong if you can figure out the rhythm!

[@Goblin4Coin]

The moment I got aspect of Arthur I never lost with the sword, dashing around with the huge sweeps is such a power trip

[@JawlessPaul]

Haha nice!

[@Zarock01]

Yeah, the secret with this weapon is to master animation canceling with your dash. You can cast your special attack and immediately use your dashes, the effect will still go off. It's really important cause not only does it make you safe and avoid your special being interrupted, but it also facilitates the placement of your safe zone. You can also dash between your regular attacks to get better position, avoid enemy attacks etc. It requires a bit of practice but once you know how to do it, it becomes one the best weapon by far.

[@Angelmann23]

Been trying to do a run with these. Perfect timing 🙌🏽

[@JawlessPaul]

Sweet!

[@clrl936]

Is cursed slash really that risky? I am new to the game and only beated Hades once, but it was with cursed slash. That fight was a breeze with the boon the freezes your enemies on attack and I was recovering more life than whatever damage any enemy could ditch.

[@DarthRadical]

I sort of agree - but I'm not 100% on following speed-runners for overall power. They will (of course) be about pure offense combat styles only.

[@DenizCDemir]

Just played my first run with Guan Yu. It felt horrible. Even besides the HP loss, it feels weak overall. Most of the time the spin did more bad than good because I was trying to extend the fight in order to get some lifesteal, which is really ineffective. It doesn't have the range of the rifle or bow and doesn't have the dps of the fists or sword.

[@JawlessPaul]

I almost never attack with guan yu. Special is pretty good though esp with charged skewer

[@dchngphm]

Guan Yu spin might actually be my favorite! But only with certain booms. E.g. My fave combo with it so far is using the Demeter trinket to fish for the freeze attack. Then I can pretty much freeze spin-to-win through the entire game. One or two spins and everything is almost completely frozen! Then if you’re feeling like you’re too squishy, you can put on the Cerberus collar for Asphodel.

[@violetls5628]

I disagree with spears, it should be B,S+,S,A+

[@JawlessPaul]

Fair enough!

[@Banana-cc5rx]

Slapping the projectile on attack with Arthur and you can start yelling EXCALIBAAA every swing

[@lowkeyimloki5400]

Love these videos as a new player! I've come to really love using Guan Yu, Charge Spear plus Artemis special is so addicting. Its been my most consistent weapon so far but I just got arthur and I'm looking forward to using that aswell.

[@JawlessPaul]

It is very very fun! Just scary 🤣

[@lowkeyimloki5400]

@@JawlessPaul I can definitely agree, it gets super scary lol

[@NoniBose]

Hey thanks for this guide. Subbed!!

[@JawlessPaul]

Thank you!

[@WolffQuam]

Every time I tested Cursed Slash, I felt that it was totally op (I mean, if you are good at the game XD) Excalibur is one of my favorite, I love things slow and powerful, so this is designed for me x) Exploding Launcher is so fucking fun on the spear, most of my favorite builds use this. I don't agree with all the aspects ranking, in particular the Spear of Hades, and the Spear of Guan Yu. I would've put the Aspect of Hades in A tier, cause yeah, the spin is pretty hard to handle at the start, but when you get used to it, you can do really good things. And for the Aspect of Guan Yu, maybe it's just me, but I would've put this in S tier. Maybe I'm just good at the game (1500+ hours on Hades), but I found it really op. But good video in all case ^^

[@Tiphereth.]

Problem I have with Excalibur is you have to wait for the defensive zone to go away before casting it elsewhere. And a lot of ennemies tend to stay away from you, dealing ranged damage. So most of the time, I use the special, and I have to go out to chase ennemy. And since the weapon is so slow, I take damage without the defensive bonus. I have no idea how you're suppose to use this weapon (especially with forced overtime). Same issue with spin attacks. I don't have time to charge an attack. Maybe it can work without Forced Overtime, but with it it seems to be the best way to take damage, and so I feel the Guan Yu is a nightmare. In my opinion, the heal shouldn't be on a charged move. :'(

[@notowar5560]

For Aspect of Poseidon, there is a boom that does damage each time you dislodge red diamonds from foes.

[@JawlessPaul]

Yes! Exit wounds is very nice for poseidon as well. Should have mentioned it!

[@JoShUa910MaG]

I disagree with your last comment on Guan Yu. I think that the aspect having a higher skill ceiling makes it deserving of a higher rating. However, I do think that it shouldn't go higher than an A tier because of how limited the boon choices are. There probably only two builds you could really go for. The ultra tank + lifesteal build with Aphro + athena or the max dps build. Pierced Butterfly + Arty special + Charged skewer is just insane. The spear passes through walls and still has a big enough hitbox to make it safe from a distance.

[@mikkel1881]

I agree with most of the ratings, but I think aspect of hades deserves atleast an A rating. 150% more attack/special damage is absolutely nuts, relative to other damage modifiers in this game that is just completly off the charts. True it wont have a 100% uptime, but against bosses and other beefy enemies it will, the debuff lasts for so long making sure it is always active is trivial. For clearing rooms with alot of mobs the aspect of hades does a great job aswell because of the increased spin radius.

[@talleywa5772]

I'ma just say it. Aspect of Poseidon is the absolute GOAT for cast builds. The damage being passive with no trade-offs like positional activation requirements (spear and rail), taking extra damage (shield and fists), or gambling with boons for stygian soul to be effective/sacrificing the range of your weapon to retrieve the stone until Hermes buffs the stone recall time if it even pops up (bow). Just a flat 50% boost and you're off to the races no matter which cast you snag first.

[@JawlessPaul]

It's pretty solid!

[@johnstajduhar9617]

A neat trick for Arthur's sword is that if you start your attack chain and dash in between attacks, it will briefly preserve your hit chain, meaning you can reposition for those big cleaves and try for backstabs or better coverage.

[@JawlessPaul]

Yes!! Takes some practice but it's the best way to play with Arthur otherwise you stand still too much

[@samuraispartan7000]

Aspect of Arthur + Athena Flourish or Athena Dash is absolutely bonkers. Projectiles are slowed in the magic circle thing and you can deflect every single projectile that’s thrown at you without breaking a sweat.

[@HeroHunterPrime]

I kinda fuck with the spear pretty tuff, got me the farthest I’ve been, with a nice crit and speed build. Also after watching the Blood of Zeus on Netflix and seeing that dude fuck shit up with the same spear in the game. I HAD to play it!

[@patricktkeegan]

Nice summary and I agree with all your points. Only difference between us is that I love Arthur and almost always do well with it. The one time I failed miserably was when I had pacts for fast enemies and trap damage. I don’t think I made it past Elysium lol.

[@gambitguides]

It feels like I'm a minority, but personally I like the spear best with fully upgraded Aspect of Zagreus (great all round weapon) and don't like the other aspects as much (although Guan Yu was interesting). Get extra damage on the special together with chain skewer and additional boons (Artemis, Zeus and Poseidon boons are great). Just had the most fun ever with the following build (several of these severely upgraded): - Hammer: Chain Skewer (1st room!) - Heartbreak Flourish (2nd room!) - biggest Special Damage unless I'm mistaken. Also great is Artemis Special, Poseidon Special and Zeus special (fill the room with lightning). - Deadly Strike - Hunter's Mark - Clean Kill - Support Fire (not really a must but had the opportunity to get it in Styx) - Battle Rage - Heart Rend - Distant Memory Keepsake Would have liked Divine Dash but alas no Athena anywhere. This build clears crowded rooms like nobody's business! Maybe the drawback is that it's not the greatest vs. Single bosses (particularly Hades), would depend on the build. And special is a little harder to aim compared to Attack. I know you can get the Aegis Shield for a similar effect, but I just like the skewer pattern much better plus of course the bonus backstab damage. Clearing Satyr tunnel rooms in mere seconds is a sight to behold :)

[@JawlessPaul]

Yeah! I have a Yondu spear build video that is basically that with seastorm. Pretty fun stuff!

[@gambitguides]

@@JawlessPaul On that note, I think Artemis' support shot (visually) looks a lot more like Yondu's spear effect. Only it does not travel through enemies of course. Would be cool if someone could mod it to make the Chain Skewer effect look like this :)

[@gambitguides]

@@JawlessPaul Easiest and most fun run ever. Only Hades could put up some resistance. Hydra melted in an instant, Minotaur and Theseus = Joke, Satyr tunnels cleared in seconds (little longer for last room). Core of the build is basically Chain Skewer with Thunder Flourish + additional lightning boons. Aphrodite boons on the attack not really necessary, but these made it easier to finish enemies off close. Build: Eternal Spear - Aspect of Zagreus Keepsake: Distant Memory Companion: Battie - Pressure Points Lv6 - Chain Skewer - Thunder Flourish Lvl6 - Breaking Skewer - Swift Flourish - Splitting Bolt - Double Strike Lvl2 - Electric Shot - Static Discharge Lvl2 - Heartbreak Strike lvl4 - Sweet surrender Lvl2 - Positive Outlook Lvl2 - Dying Lament - Support Fire - Greatest Reflex - Ambush - Hunter's Mark - Strong Drink - Premium Vintage

[@dolpiff]

Thx Paul for another great guide. Could you do a mirror guide for regular players because the one with the Speedrunner guest pretty much picks opposites lol. Especially wanna hear your input on the last 3 mirror choices for normal players (as in casual sub 20 heat)

[@ashlynx1]

As a spin attack player, Guan Yu and Hades spear are so fun to use. With Guan Yu you only need >80 hp to survive Hades spin attack and putting Zeus on the attack means anything inside the spinning blade just gets shocked to death

[@lepee1300]

PS. I just subscribed to you man. You give the best Hades content! 👌

[@kumottakun6089]

Cursed Slash is actually a good hammer upgrade. It gets me to beat hades with a full health bar without using up any of my death defiance. Just continue mashing him up and you'll heal everytime you hit him. One time he didn't even get to use his bbq laser beams he just died lmao

[@JawlessPaul]

Some people can use it well, I suck with it

[@cyanideh_]

I would put Guan Yu in S tier for my runs (I never lose any death defiance using it), I think is extremely good. Although, I know it can be such a hard weapon to use for new players or even experienced ones who are not used to it. Great vid!, man.

[@JawlessPaul]

Thanks for sharing that! I love when I meet people with different perspectives. Guan yu just feels so punishing compared with the other legendary weapons

[@ruisotas177]

Cant wait for the next weapons. Totaly agree whit ur guide. Keed tge good wrok miss vedios like these

[@JawlessPaul]

Thank you sir!

[@fable9808]

I love hades aspect but that's just me. Also, screw aspect of guan. It's slow, halves healing and health,and has an annoying spin attack that barely heals you at all.

[@yorrishandoko620]

Arthur sword aspect slowness can be negated by Hermes attack speed boon. I once had epic Hermes attack speed boon (+30% attack speed increase), and the sword became super deadly!

[@JawlessPaul]

Very nice!

[@Alexey-qs6nr]

arthur's aspect + attack boons + dash attack boons + artemis crits = 5k+ damage with massive attack radius. Absolutely best aspect of any weapon for me as for now

[@noahbernstein5536]

I started the game a week ago and love it ;) I have to say i unlocked Guan Yu and half my run i was thinking it sucks but then i found out the dash attack on this thing is super op. Then i was just dash attack, dash attack trough my run and it was my fastest run by now.

[@JawlessPaul]

The dash attack definitely chunks! 😊

[@critfiend4736]

Charged spin to dodge makes charging alot less of a trap cuz I can charge away from enemies and then dodge in the middle of them. Love the spear. Got to hades day 2 with it

[@VermHat]

I just watched all your aspects rankings and we are oddly in perfect agreement with every weapon, except Guan which I would bump to A tier. But whatever, still amazed we see eye to eye on all other aspects.

[@JawlessPaul]

That's awesome! I'm just so impressed by how balanced everything is

[@Chad_Maximus]

Excalibur is nice for those of us who dislike the normal sword move set also

[@charliethecockatoo2159]

Insane that Guan Yu has become only _more_ punishing since you released this video. What do you reckon Supergiant devs were thinking?

[@JawlessPaul]

Not entirely sure to be honest. Everything else is really well balanced. The special IS quite amazing, and you do have a self-heal mechanic, which you don't get with any other weapon (besides hammer upgrades) but still...

[@Liam11433]

Arthur with Athena attack is great. Get the unique hammer, slam your aura down then just play ping pong with enemy projectiles

[@JawlessPaul]

Sounds amazing!

[@ipodgolfer13]

My first two clears (which I just got in the past 24 hours) were with the Achilles and hades spear.

[@rogerchandler2241]

Thanks only couple hours into it but love game I mostly play diablo or tourchlight or titian quest games or like this neat spin off to them

[@JawlessPaul]

Yeah! Its a fun take on that style of game!

[@lomiification]

Somehow only 1 out of 8 was "below average". I don't think you're being harsh enough on the bad ones

[@JawlessPaul]

I dunno, the game is pretty well balance tbh

[@dsmkii]

Aspect of Poseidon is hella busted if you manage to get extra damage when bloodstones dislodge!

[@lunalessthan3]

with excalibur you can actually dash in between strikes without interupting the combo to be a little quicker an to get hit less

[@JawlessPaul]

True! And you can dash after you initiate the special. Really nice since its so easily interrupted

[@dighad3824]

Poseidon with artemis cast and exit wounds is so disgusting. Especially when you have that 5 times cast

[@JawlessPaul]

Super fun! I haven't done that build in a while

[@dalaikaka7620]

I get that fewer health and less healing isnt favored, but his attack heals. Smack pierced butterfly cuz you dont wanna get hit. +30% attack with it is totally doable

[@JawlessPaul]

woof, I hate relying on the spin attack though... positioning can really punish you

[@dalaikaka7620]

@@JawlessPaul pray that you get quick spin and its insane. Just dont relie on it too much during [redacted]

[@HalfinchLonomia]

aspect of achilles with festive fog dio cast is really fun

[@JawlessPaul]

Definitely!