h2-discussion

[gusty maple]

Take what you're comfortable with lol but if you ever struggle I suggest re-arranging your arcanas first, it might help

[broken glen]

I’d still recommend going one or the other! Death can work great for newer players but you’re better off spending the 4 grasp on something that’ll be useful for the whole run over strength

[restive ibex]

[tropic ravine]

Yeah it is but even completing the game doesn’t mean anything , in fact you barely just scratched the surface

[restive ibex]

god forbid i'm not the best at the video game

[gusty maple]

Don't listen to people tbh, just play your own way

[split flume]

Coulda spent that arcana on way better stuff, having both means you only get to use strength when on your last legs and on half hp, and probably only during the last region

[tribal wharf]

The point is just that you don’t actually benefit at all from Strength before you’re on your last life

[crude dragon]

There's a difference between "the best" and "not making a bad decision"

[tropic ravine]

Erm actually you have to use no arcana and 67 fear and use your bare fists otherwise you are no skill

[restive ibex]

[final saddle]

Ik, like H1, it’s just I’m at minimum 7ish runs away

[crude dragon]

I mean, 67F has no arcana by definition :3

[restive ibex]

[tropic ravine]

It sounds better

NO boons

[restive ibex]

"better stuff" when i'm literally just messing around and doing what works for me

[crude dragon]

67F no Keepsakes

[restive ibex]

i don't care too much about the meta when i'm playing the game to have fun

[tropic ravine]

Yeah Ofc do what makes you enjoy the game

[limpid oar]

6 7 mentioned

[gusty maple]

No.

[tribal wharf]

People could phrase it nicer but we’re just saying that Death isn’t doing anything until you’re on your last DD

[restive ibex]

on higher difficulties sure but i'm literally only on 2 fear right now dude

[crude dragon]

Again, there is a difference between "the meta" and "stuff that explicitly works against itself"

[tropic ravine]

What did you turn on

[split flume]

I'm not telling you how to play but i think you could have more fun by picking arcana that does cool stuff for your entire run instead of one that doesn't even activate until you're almost dead

[tribal wharf]

And the grasp can be spent on some other pretty cool cards if you’ve unlocked them

[restive ibex]

for my 1 fear run i just made things slightly tankier

[tropic ravine]

Out of curiosity how long are your usual runs

[mortal dragon]

This reminds me now that I’ve hit 32/24 I should do some funny judgement runs.

[tacit sequoia]

Where do i find soot snoot?

[crude dragon]

Like, you could have taken some other cards that add up to 4 Grasp and axed Strength or Death

For instance, axing Death and instead taking Lovers and Wayward Son if you don't already

[crude dragon]

Soot's from after the credits roll

[restive ibex]

like. 20-30m

[tropic ravine]

Lovers changed my life and how I think of this world

[crude dragon]

But why tho

[final saddle]

Me but with Strength

[tropic ravine]

Oh, if you want a challenge I reccomend the time fear thing

[tropic ravine]

Yeah that too

[tribal wharf]

More damage is actually more HP because things that are dead faster will deal less damage to you therefore Origination and Furies make you tankier

[restive ibex]

why is it that there's both "just have fun" and every single one of my choices here is being interrogated

[final saddle]

I think I’m running Judgement builds now too

I love that card lol

[crude dragon]

Because they're coming from two different people, those who don't care how you play and those who think your choices are just gonna make things less fun

[split flume]

Max frenzy max timer max hordes max pain denial no arcana no boons or you suck and should never play a video game ever again

[restive ibex]

i'm aware strength only pops with no death defiance and that it only matters at the end of the run, and i'm fine with that

[final saddle]

Bc you got hardcore and casual fans at the same time

[restive ibex]

when i see the "Strength Active" popup it helps me focus on the fight at hand more

[crude dragon]

What is your full Arcana setup?

[tropic ravine]

Did you actually forget about using a blindfold and playing on a Nokia? So unskilled…..

[timid vigil]

tbh you should play however you want but people are just pointing out that its kinda unoptimal to do that, but ofc you can keep both if you want to

[final saddle]

For the Strength + Death thing yeah I agree, I just got a run where I got Death forced on me after Hecate and I was fine, made it all the way to Chronos and then choked in phase 2

[crude dragon]

Because knowing what you have means we can tell you what's a good thing to sub out Strength or Death with so you're not running both

[split flume]

It just seems like some of your choices can be, uh, anti fun?
It's very easy to make this game much more frustrating than it should be and i think people are trying to veer you away from that

[timid vigil]

the game should get easy enough that you can clear the story doing whatever you want eventually

[final saddle]

Nokia?! Man you gotta play on the Smart Fridge to get the true hardcore experience

[restive ibex]

lemme get hades up

[restive ibex]

how is it anti-fun if i'm having a good time

[timid vigil]

however, if you eventually want to fear climb to upgrade all weapons (and get hidden aspects and more stuff) then eventually you'll need to 'fix' your arcana setup

[crude dragon]

Like, you could ditch Strength and turn on Artificer and a 1-cost for some extra gambling

[final saddle]

Or just buy Nightmares from the boatman

[split flume]

Cus you could have a better time!

[restive ibex]

i'm aware that i have to do this in the future, but again, i'm literally at fear 2 right now 😭

[timid vigil]

that would take SO LONG to upgrade all weapons

but yeah, i guess there's a way to upgrade them all even without doing the bounties

[restive ibex]

sometimes the suboptimal builds are fun, like special skull dps

[crude dragon]

Colossus Driver + Aphro go brr

[restive ibex]

colossus driver was hella fun i'm ngl

[split flume]

Swap strength for night (makes you use omega combos for crit damage) and some 1 arcana cards and now you have an interesting new way to play, and are stronger!

[restive ibex]

it was fun running circles around cerberus and socking him in the face for 250 on command

okay i have zero clue why hades hasn't launched yet

[restive ibex]

see how about No

[split flume]

Dude i'm not forcing you to do anything

[jolly hound]

getting rid of strength is a hot take tbf

[split flume]

It's your game and if you wanna lose out on some cool features it's your choice

[split flume]

Either strength or death, doesn't matter

[restive ibex]

okay see, passive-aggressive comments like that does make it feel like you're trying to force me to play differently

[crude dragon]

I mean, technically speaking, Death is more effective HP than Strength, and has a bunch more boons and Keepsakes that play nice with it

And also is more valuable at high Fear than Strength

That being said, I like Strength

[split flume]

I'm not trying to be passive aggressive at all it's just the way i see it

[crude dragon]

And if I weren't concerned with getting Narc's DD refill for a prophecy, I'd be running it

[native bramble]

ah yes thank you circe for activating judgement, which then promptly activated death, turning strength off

[timid vigil]

the fact that i only got this on 1.0 even tho i played all major patches since EA release is so funny

[split flume]

That, for example, is actually a pretty good example of death and strength working out pretty well together

[restive ibex]

okay so my entire computer is freezing so i gotta wait for it to get it's act together

[jolly hound]

if it take more than five minutes just turn it off and on again

[restive ibex]

it does

[jolly hound]

the IT guy at work has a rule where he won’t help you until after you’ve restarted the computer and I think it’s a brilliant rule

[crude dragon]

If you remember the cards off the top of your head, you could go to Crossroads and then link the setup that way

[restive ibex]

[native bramble]

what do you mean?

[restive ibex]

i'm at the arcana screen, i just don't know all the cards by name 😭

[jolly hound]

I play on Nintendo cause I can’t be bothered to deal with computer problems on my own time

[split flume]

Judgement activates death for free, which means that you didn't have to take it at the expense of other cards
Still unoptimal but not so bad

[native bramble]

yeah true i suppose

[restive ibex]

unoptimal shumoptimal

[crude dragon]

https://h2crossroads.pages.dev/ArcanaDeck/?deck=WyJjMSIsImMyIiwiYzMiLCJjNiIsImM3IiwiYzExIiwiYzEzIiwiYzE0IiwiYzE2IiwiYzE3IiwiYzIxIiwiYzIyIiwiYzIzIiwiYzI0Il0=
This is generally what I ran, for instance

[jolly hound]

Circe hitting judgment is pretty lit tho you have a nearly full deck going into typhon

[restive ibex]

i don't even have all the cards, hell i don't even have the ability to upgrade them yet

[jolly hound]

yea it’s unfortunate that you lose strength (and Athena keepsake) but

[jolly hound]

you’ll get there. just keep playing

prob took me 75-100 runs to have everything unlocked

[crude dragon]

I'd say it's even more important that you don't waste Grasp, then, because you don't got the full 30 to play with yet

[restive ibex]

but apparently i have to play optimally at all times

[jolly hound]

it’ll get ya there faster if you do

learning how to optimize is part of the fun

[split flume]

Dude i put heph blasts on knife attack, i love making silly unoptimized builds
But this specific instance is just... wasteful, you basically just don't get to see the benefit of strength at all or for most of the run

[restive ibex]

i don't care about the optimization right now

[jolly hound]

just worry about being 1% better than last run. do that 70 times and you’re twice as good

[restive ibex]

[jolly hound]

in general the progression with strength and defiances is use defiances til you have a few wins where you didn’t use a defiance, switch to strength, and don’t look back til you get to crazy high fear

[restive ibex]

if it works it works

[split flume]

I think ur just being a bit hardheaded rn for no reason
As long as you enjoy the game tho

[restive ibex]

i'm literally getting "optimize optimize optimize !!!" shoved down my throat when i've only killed chronos twice

granted it was with arguably broken things but still

[split flume]

But it's not even optimize! You're just basically giving yourself less game to play

[crude dragon]

Honey, if you think "don't use two cards that are at each other's throats" is optimization, then you really ain't ready for the deeper stuff like hammer/Boon combos

[restive ibex]

okay but i've pointed out numerous times that i'm fine with this

[crude dragon]

You also give me the vibe of "Samurai player who never uses a single Iaijutsu" energy

[restive ibex]

i don't get the reference

[crude dragon]

A job in FFXIV, Iaijutsu is its main mechanic

[split flume]

And that's the hardheaded part
It's like saying ur fine eating an unseasoned meal and only adding salt to it on the last bite
Sure it's still edible, but... why?

[restive ibex]

i play tank

[sturdy magnet]

I was so shocked that I defeated Typhon during my first confrontation with him

[crude dragon]

Okay, then to put it this way, it's like playing Warrior but never using Berserk or IR

[restive ibex]

try again, you got this

that was. actually kinda rude i'm sorry

[crude dragon]

My apologies

Substitute Delirium

[restive ibex]

[crude dragon]

You two classes play the same anyways

[restive ibex]

see WAR just sits there and says mechanics are for cars

anyway

[jolly hound]

what’s your goal then

do you wanna just get ending and be done, are you trying to push high fear eventually, etc

[restive ibex]

literally just to progress and mess around to see what works and what doesn't until i have to optimize for the higher difficulty stuff

[timid vigil]

again, it doesnt really matter initially, the game is literally made to be beaten

[restive ibex]

it's what i did in the first Hades

[timid vigil]

maybe i'm saying this cause i never went as deep into h1 as i did for this game but i feel h2 has a lot more depth

[restive ibex]

okay hopefully i can get my arcana cards now without my computer wanting to kill itself

[timid vigil]

but tbh my entire time playing hades was going for merciful end no matter the weapon or just doing random 2 curses go

[split flume]

H2 is def more complex

[restive ibex]

i haven't even used my first nightmare because i don't know what aspect to upgrade, there's so many options that i wanna try

[broken glen]

There’s always the ‘ol random number generator

[crude dragon]

Well, there's a few that are pretty good even out of the box like Medea, Circe, and Charon. So I'd focus more on stuff that really wants its upgrades like Momus

[timid vigil]

The correct answer is pan

[restive ibex]

• The Wayward Son
• The Furies
• Persistence
• The Messenger
• Death
• The Centaur
• The Enchantress
• The Boatman
• The Artificer
• Strength
• The Queen
  

[crude dragon]

Okay, definitely sub out Strength or Death for Champions

Because that gives you boon rerolls and turns on Fates for even more rerolls

[honest oracle]

Bc they are opposites

[brave gate]

You can use this website to more easily share your Arcana

https://h2crossroads.pages.dev

[crude dragon]

(Not because it's good, but because it fills a prerequisite for the hidden knives, which are)

[crude dragon]

They are not, dice cards work with one another

[restive ibex]

tyty

[brave gate]

Np

[brave gate]

They’re talking about Strength and Death

[timid vigil]

I'm not saying how you should play but it's hard to not mention the lack of origination

[restive ibex]

i'm just using what i have

[tribal wharf]

I saw this and thought a bit about interesting analogies and I ultimately could only think of Steve Jobs only getting chemo for his cancer when he was on his last DD I mean when it was too late

[timid vigil]

Ah fair

[restive ibex]

i admittedly devoted ashes a lot to rekaal to get it to mel 5

[honest oracle]

I was talking about strength and death not the rerolls

[restive ibex]

now i just feel really stupid

[jolly hound]

am I allowed to laugh at this that’s hilarious

[crude dragon]

TBF, Mel Skull is pretty solid

And that's even after they nerfed it back in early access

[timid vigil]

The skull?

[jolly hound]

yeah Mel skull goes hard. It’ll delay you a tiny bit on getting hidden aspects but so what

[timid vigil]

Mel skull is goated

[restive ibex]

yee, i'm weird and tend to refer to the weapons by their names and not titles

like i exclusively call the axe zorophet

[timid vigil]

Yeah the names are cool

[restive ibex]

descura, ygnium, etc

[timid vigil]

Not really since the other aspects upgrade with nightmare anyway

[crude dragon]

I still remember the time Mel Skull had 5 shells and 15 Power per spent shell

[brave gate]

You can start with Poseidon’s keepsake to try and get his Buried Treasure and Sea Star boons to earn ash quicker

[brave gate]

I miss when freeze and gust alone triggered Origination

[broken glen]

Still somehow not as egregious as the Medea cast bug that was hiding in the game up to unseen update

[timid vigil]

I miss when pin was not a DD

That was broken af tho 💔

[restive ibex]

i'm just working on leveling the evil eye rn, i had the silk sash and luckier tooth at max so i'm just working on other keepsakes

let alone i need to not keep forgetting about giving nectar

[brave gate]

Is just equip the Eye when you’re going into the region who’s boss killed you last. Thats what I did in the beginning and it leveled up quick enough

[crude dragon]

Until launch*

[brave gate]

@restive ibex Do you have the incantation that lets you change keepsakes between regions?

[restive ibex]

just got hephaestus's dialogue about killing chronos and grinned when he said "Mayhap I helped in my own way?" considering i beat Chronos to death with hammers on my last run

[restive ibex]

i do :D

[broken glen]

By “up to” I mean including

[brave gate]

Yeah just switch to the Eye before the region you need it

[crude dragon]

Speaking of beating someone to death with hammers, just wait until you see what his Legendary does

[restive ibex]

but i like keeping the keepsake the entire run just to squeeze out as many encounters into it as i can

[timid vigil]

The biggest qol this game has done is the incantation that makes ranking up keepsakes faster

[brave gate]

Forgot about that

[gusty maple]

Same

[restive ibex]

okay but 2 second cooldown for volcanic flourish

[brave gate]

But they also didn’t keep the “max all keepsakes” achievement so I don’t get the satisfaction 😭

[restive ibex]

like i genuinely just Beat Him to Death with Hammers

[brave gate]

You can get it do 1.5s with Poseidon’s duo boon lol

[jolly hound]

That’s insanely hard to do til you get endgame keepsakes but it is every bit as fun as it sounds

[crude dragon]

Oh, I know. And that's just the basic engine, wait until you start setting up the clang Duos

[brave gate]

Not really

[restive ibex]

actually it was pretty easy, i got it to +5 somehow and Echo just decided to double it to +10

[restive ibex]

dude i WISH i got the hestia duo with volcanic flourish that high

[jolly hound]

That works

[crude dragon]

Don't forget the Dem and Apollo Duos

[jolly hound]

I can’t imagine life without my jpom any more tbh

[restive ibex]

one of my runs that Eris screwed up i got my hands on three hestia duos

[brave gate]

Lmao

[restive ibex]

hestia+heph, hestia+poseidon, hestia+demeter i think they were

[timid vigil]

Unironically

[restive ibex]

[brave gate]

Yeah I feel the addition of a new core slot with gain boons makes Duos wayyyy more common

[crude dragon]

But the first game had 5 core slots as well

[timid vigil]

I'm running rerolls when speedrunning and feeling the difference of not having lvl4 on all boons

[crude dragon]

Attack, special, cast, dash, Call

[brave gate]

Yeah but most call boons don’t contribute to Duos

[brave gate]

I find being able to rarify my first boon + getting the boons I want earlier (meaning I can pom them sooner) makes up for it. Obviously not the same but still

[timid vigil]

Oh it does for sure

[brave gate]

Being able to make any build I want with rerolls is soooooo nice

[jolly hound]

Took a while to unlock calls, but idk how much that would matter for duos. I did a fresh file on the fourth attempt of h1 off the scripted call you get in the first room when they unlock. I miss Poseidon’s aid moon water just isn’t the same

[jolly hound]

ngl sometimes I miss rerolls. I had 11 Zeus boons once and not one was double strike

I lost to super typhon and I’m still mad about it

[crude dragon]

Well yeah, this game's Poseidon call equivalent is Wolf Howl

[brave gate]

Moon Water gets hilariously stupid with upgrades. Having 12 uses at once that all heal for a ton and regen mana is so funny

[timid vigil]

I wish moon water worked over scars

[crude dragon]

The nefarious Vow of Scars:

[jolly hound]

You’re not wrong, but with smoldering air and rip current the og Poseidon call was like wht if you’re playing Mario kart with a permanent star

[timid vigil]

I feel like scars is almost bad game design, invalidating so many boons and things but arbitrarily working with others

[brave gate]

I don’t think it should completely ignore scars but I think it should definitely be affected less to where it still heals some at Scars3.

Although the Hex technically isn’t useless with scars3, it pretty much is

[restive ibex]

boosted ignition, possessed array, or looming ignition

[timid vigil]

I kinda wish scars 3 was 25% instead of 0% but it applied to EVERYTHING including life tax, gonion, etc

[brave gate]

They literally made Ghost Onion ignore Scars just to buff Onion 😭

So silly

[timid vigil]

Could be even lower than 25% tbh

Just be consistent

[brave gate]

I agree with scars3 being 25% but I think some things should still ignore it. Like ghost onion.

[timid vigil]

No just buff the amount of gonion

[cunning laurel]

dd healing for 10 hp

[brave gate]

Fair

[timid vigil]

UNIRONICALLY

It should be like this

[crude dragon]

All 3 are solid picks

Roll a die

[restive ibex]

i picked looming

[tropic ravine]

Why so

[brave gate]

Off topic but I wish the Icarus keepsake boon made rank 4 Aromatic Phial upgrade a common boon at the next 2 fountains.

I know it doesn’t match with how Phial levels up normally but still

[timid vigil]

the correct option is click the one that you need to fulfill prophecy

[brave gate]

Aromatic Phial is underrated as a region 2 keepsake

[gusty maple]

Without having to keep it ?

[brave gate]

Possessed Array is busted if you have the mana to support it

[tropic ravine]

Or born gain

[timid vigil]

For scars 3 specifically, I'm suggesting you should still be able to heal (just a lot less) and that it should apply to everything

[brave gate]

Sure but it wouldn’t need that factor.

Cause after you equip Phial you’re guaranteed 2 fountains before swapping out

[tropic ravine]

100%, that’s TOO hard for a casual player that wants to try it

[cunning laurel]

its only an issue with pain 3 and even then its still reasonable

[timid vigil]

I'm not even saying its hard, although I think it is, I'm just more annoyed that some effects bypass it

[tropic ravine]

Dd bypasses scars? Never knew

[timid vigil]

but anyway

[cunning laurel]

otherwise itd heal for 0 😭

[restive ibex]

see all three were needed to fulfill the prophecy

[brave gate]

Also, having a vow that makes certain boons completely useless isn’t fun

[timid vigil]

Like, self healing is still a viable pick but warm breeze isn't

[crude dragon]

It'd also be interesting if instead of being just healing reduction, it was heal reduction and a bit of HP priming

[brave gate]

Or that Demeter boon. Plentiful Bounty I think it’s called?

[jolly hound]

It was my go-to before I got my beloved jpom

[crude dragon]

Like, making the levels be 25% reduced healing and 5% of damage taken becomes HP primed per rank

[jolly hound]

Plentiful forage; becomes cracked with gift of Gaia even with scars 1 or 2

Useless with 3 tho im too scared of scars 3

[brave gate]

Exactly. Completely useless because of a vow. I don’t think the player should ever be offered something that has 0 purpose.

(And no I’m not counting the +1 mystery seed)

[tropic ravine]

Jpom is your second and not first?

Why not first

[brave gate]

This made me think of how silly Warm Breeze would be with the Demeter Infusion

[jolly hound]

It is my first; prior to unlocking it I would often take aromatic phial going into second biome but now it’s Chrolex (or calling card in the heph edge case)

[restive ibex]

freezer burn with ice strike and flame flourish

[brave gate]

I’ll still sometimes take Phial over Chrolex if I have 1 common boon that’d be really good to make heroic. Or even 2 common boons of if they’re both good hits (or I wanna gamble lol)

[brave gate]

Now get Aphrodite + Hestia duo 😫

[cunning laurel]

one heroic is never better than chrolex though

[tropic ravine]

What is chrolex

[cunning laurel]

maaaybe nitro boost is worth

[cunning laurel]

postgame keepsake

[brave gate]

I do it If I’m already happy with my money going into region 2. Plus, I end up going with Chrolex in region 3 anyway.

Also, sometimes I’ll take phial from region 3 if I still only have 1-2 commons I’d like to upgrade

[brave gate]

Actual name is “Time Piece”

[tropic ravine]

Ohhh ||chronos keepsake?||

[brave gate]

Yup

[tropic ravine]

Why so

[cunning laurel]

its like 3 more boons

[tropic ravine]

I just bring boatman and i always have enough coins

[cunning laurel]

without it you almost never can afford boon in region 2 midshop

[brave gate]

When I’m doing a Fates Whim run, I feel so naked not being able to reroll my first Hermes boon to try and get Quick Buck lol.

When I get on the game later, I need to check how many times I’ve used that boon.

Has to be top 10 at least

I love in Ephyra when I go first room Medea + get money curse -> second room Hermes + get Quick Buck.

Going in every side room and getting a Heracles encounter makes you get to the first shop with nearly 1000 gold (if not more) lol

A scenario like that is when I like to take Phial. Especially since Menace2 can do a lot of damage on Thessaly

[mortal dragon]

I think my max is still Racing Thoughts probably

[crude dragon]

||Yeah, because it's a Rolex from Chronos||

[tribal wharf]

Actually yeah I just recently started using the Fates Whim keepsakes and aside from starting Jewelled Pom what’s the strategy for the others?

[cunning laurel]

95% its chrolex next, calling card is niche when you have one boon left you want to have rarity

[brave gate]

A that the one that speeds up omega moves?

[brave gate]

Cause of what I said above, I think calling card works better as a region 2 keepsake on the surface more than in the underworld

[mortal dragon]

yeah

[cunning laurel]

even when gold is more valuable on surface with hermes shrines?

[broken creek]

But then you have to sacrifice fig leaf too

Calling card is more a niche r3 take imo on both routes

[brave gate]

Most people don’t use fig leaf. I’m not saying it’s bad (it isn’t). It’s just that you mostly only want it on high fear and for speed running

[cunning laurel]

how goes the 67 plum

[brave gate]

On his way to 3rd weakest

[broken creek]

Ive lost to chronos 3 times now

First 2 I fumbled p2, 3rd time i timed out because I was scared of p2 too much

[brave gate]

“Timed out” hehe 🤭

[broken creek]

Im getting to sirens and beyond a lot more consistently though so fs sometime this week itll be done, issue is I have a job 🥀

[crude dragon]

Even then, don't people take Chrolex over Leaf in most cases for high Fear?

[brave gate]

Speed runners need to use Fig Leaf or they straight up won’t break records

[crude dragon]

Speedrunners, yes, but not high Fear

[brave gate]

Can’t comment on the high fear cause I don’t play it. But maybe

[broken creek]

Depends

[brave gate]

But one speed run route I know of is Medea Skull with Zeus keepsake start into Fig Leaf region 2

[broken creek]

Olympus and thessaly are mean for timer on surface in particular

[cunning laurel]

leaf is kinda common in thessaly

[broken creek]

And ive taken fig before on uw when I timed out on hecate for a 62

[brave gate]

Cause Menace2 is so bad in Thessaly

[restive ibex]

didn't even make it past phase 1 without defiance

[tribal wharf]

For who

[brave gate]

whom* 🤓 ☝️

[restive ibex]

chronos

[tribal wharf]

Grandpa got moves

[restive ibex]

love that the one time i'm looking for bronze on the surface it doesn't appear at all

[brave gate]

Took Calling Card for Ephyra hoping to get Heph for my Morrigan blade but he didnt appear :(

At least I have a heroic Zeus special now

[jolly hound]

not a bad alternative

zap

[jagged tree]

what is the ??? mark dude on the fourth surface level called, i think its the minotaur because its a labyrinth. but i cant find anything on youtube about him. he keeps killing me

[cunning laurel]

whats a labyrinth?

[jagged tree]

like a maze like structure

[cunning laurel]

i mean where is that lol

[jagged tree]

the mini boss with a monster head on the final surface floor

i think its like mount olympus or something

[brave gate]

Theyre talking about the ||Spawn of Typhon|| room

[cunning laurel]

oh nvm i know the enemy you mean. its written as "???" for spoiler reasons.

[jagged tree]

ty, i just needed the name so i kind find a guide on youtube about how to not get hit

[cunning laurel]

hes only got a couple attacks

[brave gate]

Yeah I just dogwalked Prometheus and Heracles. Granted I only have Frenzy1 on

and not 2

My level 15 heroic zeus special 😭

[broken creek]

he has swipe -> swipe -> slam and charging into a wall, the swipes just dont get ansty and dash through him and for the slam part you can stay behind him and it wont hit you, and for the charge just bait him into a wall and remember where the safe spots are since its the same everytime

[broken creek]

although for the slam stay a healthy amount behind him lol, just in case i dont remember just how big it is but i do remember that its not that big

[hollow crest]

i keep dying to Rivals bosses if i'm not playing the meta weapons

[broken creek]

They take some getting used to yeah

Im only recently getting used to rivals scylla and thats only cuz I have to 😭

[brave gate]

Okay just checked and Quicl Buck is literally my most used boon lmao

[timid vigil]

Mine is blinding rush

my beloved

[brave gate]

I'd use that more but it doesn;t like showing up for me

Oh and Jpom and Phial are tied for my most used keepsakes.

[native bramble]

just beat the game, and i gotta say supergiant did a really good job on the ending

[simple stag]

[rich maple]

Hey, not sure where to ask but is it normal that possessed arsenal's mana cost (charged attack when you pick up a skull, but costs 25 mana each time) doesn't count towards your spell? I thought I had something solid with that and the instant return upgrade, but it just drains my mana with no spell progress :(

[crude dragon]

Yeah, it was specifically nerfed to not charge Hexes

Also, Fetching Array is a worthless hammer

[rich maple]

That's my first run with that weapon, not like I know what's good or not - and up until there it let me spam charged attacks well ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[crude dragon]

Well, you generally don't use the Omega Attack on any of the Skull aspects

[rich maple]

That'd be nice if the upgrade or hex description told you it didn't count

I haven't even unlocked aspects yet

[crude dragon]

It technically does because it says "lose" 25 MP instead of "spend"

But anyways, it was nerfed for the exact reason you think it was

[rich maple]

Yeah, on that it makes sense (though I'd have loved spamming meteor strikes at least once)

Then it's a translation issue. Arsenal says "it costs 25 MP" while hex description counts "MP spent" - the wording is way too similar

[dense lintel]

hi is there new stuff added to this game? i saw something on ign posted a couple days ago. i started playing this game last october

[crude dragon]

The only "new things" added to the game was a rewrite of the ending, and that was back in November

IGN's doing what they do best, pulling stuff from thin air

[worn barn]

how many players have cleared unseeded/modded 67 fear?

[red fox]

Well there is some small balance stuff as well but it isn't a huge deal

It was together with ending

[broken creek]

Around like 6-8 unseeded iirc

Soon to be another if I lock tf in 🙏

[worn barn]

wow, that’s not many

[jolly hound]

if you have p array and a way to keep your mana topped off, you won’t need hex to win

[rich maple]

here's the issue though: besides arcana regen, I need to be hit to regen mana

[red fox]

Game basically force core boon down to your throats

[rich maple]

Got an anvil to trade away that drain, in the last shop, so I could win still

[red fox]

Unless you keep skipping core boon you gonna see gain boon

[rich maple]

(shame both anvil upgrades were on technique and not attack, but just returning to normal was good enough for me)

Yeah, but my gain boon was the "take damage to gain 150 mana" one - hardly usable when I drain a 100+ a second

[broken creek]

Yeah possessed array wants born gain primarily

Cardio gain with some investment can supply it

[rich maple]

Born? Cardio? Sorry, no idea what these are - don't have a compendium yet to see if that rings a bell, maybe translation has different names?

[native bramble]

hera gain and hestia gain respectively

[jolly hound]

that is suboptimal but workable; intentionally hit thorns if you’re in fields, chronos is gonna hit you eventually, Godspeed

it isn’t the ideal gain boon, but if you pull it off you’re a legend

[rich maple]

I got rid of possessed array at the last shop and just omega'd & hex'd my way past chronos

(extra area size helps a lot)

[jolly hound]

Win’s a win! Nice work

[rich maple]

Thanks! Only my 4th or 5th, but I'm getting the hang of it now

[jolly hound]

see you in the high fear chat in a few weeks

wait do we even have a high fear chat, we should lol

[rich maple]

About to move to fear 2, still a long way to go :p

[brave gate]

Don’t be afraid to jump to higher numbers. You still get the nightmare rewards from the Oath of the Unseen regardless

[devout atlas]

Does selling Bridal Glow boon also reverse the Heroic conversion?

[red fox]

No

[devout atlas]

The one that makes 1 randon boon heroic and gives +lvl

[red fox]

Its free gold

[devout atlas]

ah sweet, thanks

[hardy panther]

man why are icarus encounters so long

[brave gate]

Only reasons you wouldn’t want to sell it is if you wanna get King’s Ransom (Duo that turns Hera boons into lvls for Zeus boons) or if you have the boon that gives you more dodge chance the more boons you have

[rich maple]

I know, I've played the first game. That's why I keep it low, I know there's no benefit to overdoing it. Might as well keep it at the current requirement, I'm still very early (no aspect, not all weapons, half the keepsakes, etc) and barely started winning runs. Especially with how annoying most fear choices seem.

[brave gate]

Gotcha. Well anyways, fear is a lot easier to deal with than heat in Hades 1. That’s why people have been able to clear max fear so much sooner

But take it at your own pace.

@rich maple When you raise it more, here are some vows that aren’t bad. Ranked from easiest to hardest (in my opinion):

• Timer 1-2
• Hubris 1-2
• Debt 1
• Menace 1-2 (Harder on surface than underworld)
• Shadows

Menace is only a real issue in Thessaly because Olympus enemies are so strong.

[crude dragon]

It will not, though you can't re-acquire it later

So if you need it for the element it provides or for King's Ransom, I suggest holding onto it

[hardy panther]

and the arena is smaller than my dorm room

[rich maple]

I haven't explored surface yet, besides the initial "go through 2 rooms to pick stuff up and die" bit

[hardy panther]

worst part about thessaly tbh

[broken glen]

Vow of shadows can make 1 specific miniboss in Erebus a lot faster, so it’s not that bad

[brave gate]

Me when I’m trying to clear a room in Thessaly but 80% of the floor is fire and there are 2 giant dragons

[broken glen]

Thessaly had so much missed potential… navigating different levels of a ship and swinging on ropes is so cool but NO ALL WE GET IS CRAMPED SQUARES

[hardy panther]

Me when i spawn in and immediately get jumped by a draken with 0 room on my left and right 😭

[rich maple]

As for modifiers, I'll be the judge of that. Already discarding timer, I like to take my time

[hardy panther]

timer 2 7 minutes for each region is extremely lenient. just dont think about it and youll probably win

[brave gate]

I don’t think Vow of Shadows is too hard. Just harder than the other ones I listed.

But the Wardens that get harder from it are the Erymanthain Boar, the other Ephyra Warden, the Mecha Dragon, and the Spawn of Typhon

[broken glen]

Always take 5 minute timer. If your build can’t beat the 5 minute timer it wasn’t a good build anyways

[brave gate]

And if that’s too much, timer 1 is definitely free. Almost any run is going to be under 36 minutes naturally

[brave gate]

We’re talking to someone who just started using fear and wants to go slow lol

[broken glen]

(Once you’re experienced enough that is)

Oh yeah and make sure to pause your game when deciding on rooms and whatnot

[hardy panther]

5 minute timer was abit too much for me with wards but i was probably just not used to it

[brave gate]

Yeah Timer 3 is rough with any combination of wards, grit, and hordes

[broken glen]

wards sucks to deal with so that makes sense

[brave gate]

@hardy panther What fear do you play at?

[hardy panther]

16 rn

[brave gate]

What vows are you running? There’s easier ones to take than wards

[hardy panther]

Was using hubris over wards but was using mel staff so i switched from hubris

[broken creek]

Mel staff isnt an omega weapon hubris is fine

[brave gate]

I think you should try sticking with it. But one sec let me show you what I’d use for 16f. If you’re interested

@hardy panther do you have rivals unlocked?

[hardy panther]

I can probably just run Timer hubris scars pain horde menace 2 fang and 2 timer

[broken creek]

Don't run pain and hoards what 😭

[hardy panther]

yeah i just dont like both of the first rival fights

[broken creek]

Do you plan on pushing 32+, I can make you a vow set

[hardy panther]

plan on stopping at 32 , but sure

[brave gate]

https://h2crossroads.pages.dev/FearCalculator/?vows=WzAsMCwwLDMsMCwzLDAsMCwwLDAsMiwwLDYsMCwyLDAsMF0=

you can try this.

If you don’t like Frenzy1, you can swap it out for Fangs1 + Debt1

Frenzy helps wit the timer though since it makes enemies spawn faster

[broken creek]

https://h2crossroads.pages.dev/FearCalculator/?vows=WzAsMCwyLDAsMCwzLDAsMCwwLDIsMiwwLDMsMCwyLDAsMl0=

If you wanna avoid frenzy, otherwise id recommend doing it at 2 to get used to it

For 32 you'll be doing frenzy2 timer3 with some rivals most likely

[brave gate]

Yeah I don’t think Debt2 and Wards2 is good for someone just starting to climb fear 😭

[broken creek]

Chrolex makes debt2 a joke and wards is solvable by just knowing the weapon

You can drop wards for like denial or scars2, maybe even return but I just think return is obnoxious

Chrolex and hermes both make debt2 a nothing vow

[brave gate]

Fangs 1 isn’t hard

[broken creek]

Yeah with no hoards you can do fangs2 even and not feel bad

Id argue you should put denial on now too just to get used to it

In a perfect world though the play is rivals4 frenzy2 timer3 lmao thats 24 right there

[hardy panther]

rivals 4 erm

[hardy panther]

https://h2crossroads.pages.dev/FearCalculator/?vows=WzEsMSwxLDAsMSwzLDAsNSwxLDAsMCwwLDMsMCwwLDAsMF0= yea this is what i'v ebeen doing

maybe i just jump into 2 frenzy to get accustomed

[nova oar]

Horrific setup for 16 😭

[hardy panther]

anything but 1 rivals

[nova oar]

Use this

[nova oar]

https://h2crossroads.pages.dev/FearCalculator/?vows=WzAsMCwwLDYsMCwwLDAsMiwwLDAsMCwwLDYsMCwyLDAsMF0=

[hardy panther]

what's after that

[nova oar]

For what fear level

[hardy panther]

just progressing from 16 to 32

[nova oar]

It's easiest to do 32 with rivals https://h2crossroads.pages.dev/FearCalculator/?vows=WzAsMCwwLDYsMCwwLDAsMiwyLDIsMiwwLDYsMCwyLDIsOF0=

If you have to do it without

https://h2crossroads.pages.dev/FearCalculator/?vows=WzAsMCwwLDYsMCwzLDIsNSwyLDIsMiwwLDYsMCwyLDIsMF0=

[hardy panther]

btw what's wrong with 1 pain?

[broken creek]

No reason to turn it on, makes everything more punishing

Pain tends to be one of the last vows to go on

[cunning laurel]

you have all the easy ones off and hard ones on

[hardy panther]

maybe its just me but i havent noticed 1 pain, maybe cause i use strength?

[broken creek]

Generally until 45+ grit, hoards, pain, and some scars is avoided entirely

Then pain and scars3 dont even go on until the 55 -> 62 jump sometimes

[hardy panther]

i see, thought the last would be like frenzy

[broken creek]

Frenzy is a muscle memory diff, you just gotta learn it and its free

Makes timer3 easier too since they spawn faster

[cunning laurel]

wonder how fun everything but void and frenzy is

[nova oar]

Timer and frenzy are super free once you learn them

[nova oar]

I would get hit more doing that

[broken creek]

300 fish moving in slow-mo

[red fox]

If you don't handle frenzy early, later frenzy + pain is pure torture

[hardy panther]

also i guess this setup assumes im running fates whim right

since id want timepiece for debt 2

[broken creek]

Yeah fw is standard

Although you can do rerolls pretty easily til like 62+ ik some people have done reroll 62s

[hardy panther]

I like fate's whim, just that only ever been comfortable with it on medea

probably just game knowledge diff but medea seems the most forgiving with boons

[broken creek]

Oh yeah it is, super flexible weapon

[cunning laurel]

almost every weapon is flexible enough for fw though

[nova oar]

Always be whimming

[cunning laurel]

hel probably the worst and fw still better

[nova oar]

Hel and charon are probably the only two I'd say are just worse off for whimming

Because they do best with specific boons

[brave gate]

Yeah Charon is completely dependent on what gain boon you can get

[hardy panther]

damn zagreus with 2 frenzy is crazy
this is what hades felt

[cunning laurel]

the charon uw65 didnt use the aspect

[nova oar]

65 is a different deal

[jolly hound]

What’s your 50 setup

[hardy panther]

wait so jpom works when youre not using it?

[nova oar]

https://h2crossroads.pages.dev/FearCalculator/?vows=WzAsMSwyLDYsMywzLDIsNSwyLDIsMiwwLDYsMCwyLDIsMTJd

[nova oar]

Yep, all the fw keepsakes do

[broken creek]

Lemme make one

https://h2crossroads.pages.dev/FearCalculator/?vows=WzAsMSwyLDYsMCwzLDIsNSwyLDIsMiwzLDYsMCwyLDIsMTJd

[nova oar]

Interesting

I take hordes over ff

[limber lodge]

guys im doing the fated list quest arcana of the ages and even though it says i have done all of them it does not let me claim the quest. is it bugged or am i missing something?

[tribal wharf]

I believe I have the slightest mental buff when fighting Eris from knowing that Zag (I, the player) could use her Rail much better

[hardy panther]

@broken creek thanks you were right, frenzy isnt too terrible and actually made Time alot easier

[jolly hound]

I might be crazy but I’ve been taking hordes 3 since 40

was getting bored waiting for boss fights and still have no confidence in either of the rivals 4 fights

[nova oar]

That is crazy yes

[nova oar]

Have you unlocked all the arcana

[limber lodge]

yup

[nova oar]

Fast clears are safe clears

[nova oar]

And used them all to win a run?

[jolly hound]

leeroy jenkins

[limber lodge]

YES

its all green

[tribal wharf]

Did you check the next page?

[nova oar]

Could you dm me a ss?

[limber lodge]

i am a fool

[nova oar]

Thought so, missing judgement

[broken creek]

Nice! Yeah its just a knowledge and comfort thing, timer shouldn't be much of a problem until 45+ cuz of frenzy

[brave gate]

I've beaten the Chaos Below and Great Chaos Below trials but it didnt complete the Improbable Outcomes prophecy?

[timid vigil]

that's insane

[timid vigil]

Improbable outcomes is win 2 random trials in a row

[brave gate]

Bruh 😭

[timid vigil]

Can be two normal or two great, just needs to be in a row

[jolly hound]

Regular rooms were boring me, I wanted to sweat again

[brave gate]

Two of the same one?

[timid vigil]

Can be different

[brave gate]

ok ty

[timid vigil]

I did great first and then hopped on a normal one just to do it

[broken creek]

Run 67 then twin 🙏

Its not that hard trust(ive made it to chronos 3 times only and fumbled all 3 times)

[jolly hound]

lemme get to 50, Hecate just smoked me twice in a row and I gotta go to bed early for a 7 am sales call tomorrow, hello darkness my old friend

[brave gate]

@timid vigil Can I do regular runs inbetween them?

[timid vigil]

Not sure

[brave gate]

Guess I wont risk it

[timid vigil]

Maybe? Idk

[brave gate]

Guys is this just a really weird coincidence or do the random trials use the weapon that current has blood thirst? 😭

[hardy depot]

no, it says successive, not successful, that got me too

[nova oar]

Coincidence

[hardy panther]

do u run artificier or top right corner stuff

[nova oar]

Depends on the aspect

[hardy panther]

which aspects use Night then

[nova oar]

Torches and shiva

and charon

[hardy panther]

so other thwn that just take artificier?

[nova oar]

or eternity

[hardy panther]

ic

[red fox]

Charon don't use night, you are only using ospecial

[nova oar]

ocast works with it

[red fox]

Auto ocast doesn't work with night

[nova oar]

since when?

[red fox]

Since beginning

[analog sail]

im not convinced this is a coincidence, i feel ive also had most (all?) of mine

[brave gate]

Just started a Pan run and my starting reward is a hammer with Wicked Onslaught, Rapid Onslaught, and Sureshot Flurry......

sad :(

[restive ibex]

xinth feels

scarily good

[nova oar]

I love the coat

[restive ibex]

also, what keepsakes should i focus on leveling? i'm also not sure what i'm missing besides the endgame ones, but i know i'm missing a lot of keepsakes

[nova oar]

All the Olympian ones, pin, antler, droplet, fang, amulet, fig leaf

[restive ibex]

currently have the Luckier Tooth, Discordant Bell, and Silk Sash maxed, with the Evil Eye at 2*

[nova oar]

You can send me a ss and i'll let you know which npc's to talk to

[restive ibex]

gochu, hold on

[nova oar]

I would never use any of those in a run tbh

[restive ibex]

i get ridiculous armor levels with the sash, plus i like the extra security it gives since dropping death defiance

[nova oar]

Just take onion then

Or amulet if you're running strength

[restive ibex]

what amulet

though yeah the bell was . a questionable choice

[nova oar]

Just checked and you don't have it yet

[rough lintel]

Athena boon

[broken creek]

Nah I can get sash

I might actually start taking it r3 for 67s assuming I level it and can hitless scylla

[primal timber]

buffs like "attacks deal +XX% damage" do they buff omega atks?

[real scarab]

yes attacks mean attack & omega attack

[cunning laurel]

if its specific itll say "attack"

[primal timber]

is the relationship between +atk% and +omega atk% buffs multiplicative or additive?

[real scarab]

additive

[primal timber]

rip that would have been fun

[hardy panther]

is there a way to see what boons are currently eligible to be offered? i just got shafted by being forced to prime my last magick

[red fox]

Check your book

Deleted boon get crossed out

[queen cosmos]

Dum dee dum

Oh I forgot my starting line

GUYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

sssssssssssssssss

sss 🐍

What build should I use for the surface, any weapon

[pale gazelle]

do aspect of pan dagger

with ares attack and special and hestia cast zeus dash

trust

[broken creek]

No tk either

[pale gazelle]

no strength

[broken creek]

No strength is fine death is plenty good

[pale gazelle]

strength > dd

[split shuttle]

try playing high fear on strength

[pale gazelle]

i do

[split shuttle]

whats ur fear pb

[pale gazelle]

24 right now im not super good but i generally perform way better with strength than with dd

trying to beat 32 atm

[split shuttle]

when u get to the really high levels of fear like 50f and above you'll appreciate dds

[pale gazelle]

i doubt it

dd is a crutch

with strength im forced to get better

plus with strength you can get way more effective hp than with dd

[split shuttle]

what

dd gives u more hp to work with overall than strength

plus dd refills exist

[pale gazelle]

not effective health

[red fox]

The humble scar

[split shuttle]

scars is bane of strengths existence

[pale gazelle]

maybe but with strength you can reach like 80 dr

recently i had a run with 80% dr and 500 hp

or something like that

which is like 2.5k effective health

much more than you get out of the health from death defiances

[wispy storm]

Curious, anyone else wondering when we'll start hearing word of more console ports?

[split shuttle]

yeah but ur not getting that all the time

[wispy storm]

Obv no info yet but any predictions i mean

[red fox]

Idk how you even get 80%

[pale gazelle]

no but still much better than a run with dd if you ask me

[split shuttle]

with ur amount of fear strength is understandable

[pale gazelle]

strength, weak giving like 40% with glamour gain, a hammer upgrade for axe that gives you 20% dr while attacking which is literally the only input i was using on that run, island getaway (aphro poseidon duo) gives +15% dr and treats all enemies as nearby

[red fox]

Damage reduction stack multiplicative, not additive

[split shuttle]

uh they're not additive theyre multiplicative

[pale gazelle]

yes

im aware

i did the calculations

[split shuttle]

but on high levels of fear it's not really viable without dying lots of times

[pale gazelle]

you should be aiming to get better instead of using dd as a crutch

thats just my opinion

[red fox]

You are talking to a person clear 62f like breakfast

A person has actual experience on clearing high fear

[split shuttle]

also i cleared 62f with strength i can do both but dd is just way easier overall

when everything can kill u in one or two hits strength is not worth it

[broken creek]

Sure bro

Arcana is a crutch trust(fumbling chronos 3 times at 67 is killing me)

[pale gazelle]

i didnt say arcana is a crutch i said dd is a crutch

[split shuttle]

next chronos fight youll get him trust

[broken creek]

God I hope so

Cant wait to shake off 3 days of rust cuz of work

[split shuttle]

u made significant amount of progress in just three attempts of fighting him

with that amount of progress you'll get him next try trust

[broken creek]

I need to be able to say I cleared 67 when people ask how many people have 🙏

[pale gazelle]

do you guys think aphro attack is good

[red fox]

No

[split shuttle]

if ur gonna bring that up all the time if u do clear 67f you're gonna be insufferable lmao

[pale gazelle]

why not

highest dmg multiplier ingame

[red fox]

Damage isn't high enough to have no additional effect over other % attack boon

[split shuttle]

it doesn't have a curse

on short ranged weapons like medea it's good yeah but id rather have hera or ares attack there just cuz it has a curse

[broken creek]

"Hey how's this fear setup"
"Free asf bro trust me I did 67"
(The setup is pain3 scars3 grit3 hoards3 timer3 for a 16f)

[split shuttle]

fire vows

[broken creek]

If void isnt on the table its free 🗣🔥🔥🔥

[pale gazelle]

just do void3 with judgement

🥹

[broken creek]

Thats not 67 twin thats 65 ive done that

[red fox]

65f is a category

[split shuttle]

ay me too twin

[hardy panther]

whats a high multiplier special i can use for mel staff that has a curse

[split shuttle]

hera

[broken creek]

Ares if you have no other choice and wanna get grievous

[red fox]

Aphro special however, the number is huge

[hardy panther]

Maybe i should just stop being lazy and put curse on my attack and actually use it

[red fox]

Still prefer hera but the number is acceptable now

[split shuttle]

eh u can have curses on both

[broken creek]

Blitz 🗣⚡️⚡️⚡️

[split shuttle]

zeus attack hera special my beloved

[hardy panther]

Me when double moonshot and 1 aphro special projectile procs blitz

[broken creek]

Peak build(works on everything)

[hardy panther]

so the other doesnt have origination

[broken creek]

Ok just get a cast curse or glamor gain

[split shuttle]

or blinding rush

[red fox]

Well you still have cast and dash to apply curse

[broken creek]

That too

You got 6 things to apply curses

[pale gazelle]

nah run apollo or aphro attack

[hardy panther]

true yeah so like blinding rush and hera cast ig

[pale gazelle]

trust

[broken creek]

Hera special zeus attack demeter cast 🗣🔥🔥🔥

[split shuttle]

whos using hera cast in the big 2026

[broken creek]

Shoutout mel staff being the easiest weapon to build

[pale gazelle]

ares attack ares special heph cast demeter dash 🗣️

[split shuttle]

ok get this kid out

[hardy panther]

I gotta ask tho , besides rivals what do i take instead of Hubris

[pale gazelle]

you guys arent good enough to see the vision

[hardy panther]

when im doing magick heavy builds

[broken creek]

Hubris(im not joking)

[split shuttle]

bro what

[hardy panther]

Also whats the menu to see god boons again? and does it show what you haev left after denial

[broken creek]

Take any magic pots or r3 silver wheel and its a nothing vow

[pale gazelle]

get r4 silver wheel

[broken creek]

Like on my eos 62 I didnt gaf abt hubris

[split shuttle]

on mel staff too hubris is free

mel staff doesn't need magick

[hardy panther]

I was doing Charon axe and got forced to prime 50 magick. Thanks, zeus

[split shuttle]

why are you taking zeus on charon

that's the only aspect in which zeus isn't good

[hardy panther]

fair point

but yeah how do i see the boon menu

[broken creek]

Uhhh press y(?) In the boon selection(whatever offerings says to press)

[split shuttle]

for controller it's up on dpad i think

[broken creek]

Or its up on the dpad then go to the gods and press offerings

Itll adjust for denial too

[hardy panther]

ah ok thanks

[pale gazelle]

oh my god bro i got a chaos boon that gave me +100% attack damage which i really needed on shiva but the downside was that i had void4 for 6 encounters

made me lose the run

can you get multiple of the same type of chaos boon in one run? like can i get multiple strike boons

[broken creek]

Yeah just gotta get lucky iirc

[broken creek]

Like i said twin arcana is a crutch 😌

[hardy panther]

at 28f rn, 4 more heat from rivals 1 grit 1 wards 1 ig?or maybe hordes over wards

[split shuttle]

if u can't play without arcana u don't deserve to have arcana

[broken creek]

Noooo dont touch hoards or grit

What's the current setup

[split shuttle]

show me ur vow setup and ill cook up something for u

trust me it's free

[broken creek]

Don't let bro cook

He's boutta give you the void4 setup

[hardy panther]

https://h2crossroads.pages.dev/FearCalculator/?vows=WzEsMCwyLDYsMCwzLDAsMiwyLDIsMiwwLDYsMCwyLDIsMl0= this ig?

[broken creek]

Id lowkey put on fangs2 and drop pain and wards

[hardy panther]

wait no thats wrong i have 2 fangs 😭

[broken creek]

Oh ok lol

[split shuttle]

are u planning on stopping on 32f

[hardy panther]

probably

[split shuttle]

aw man

[hardy panther]

maybe 48

[broken creek]

Do 62 twin 🙏 its not as bad as it sounds

Maybe at least 60 so you can beat metal(shoutout my goat btw)

[hardy panther]

eh idk i just really dont feel like learning rivals

[split shuttle]

if u learn rivals fights u get bragging rights

[broken creek]

Mhmhm hitless rivals gramps or scylla feels amazing

Hitless hecate with a natural sheep ball dodge too

[hardy panther]

ive tried rivals 2, 3, my main issue is both of rivals 1 for some reason

rivals 4 havent tried

[split shuttle]

boated made a rivals bossfight guide

pretty good if u ask me

[broken creek]

Shoutout boated the goated fr

[hardy panther]

can you link it

[broken creek]

#h2-victory-boasting message
Thats his yt

[split shuttle]

https://youtu.be/8vsHiiWpp9w?si=m8UEaneD4Oc-R6II
https://youtu.be/kL6Zs27Csbg?si=VOgGe7DrAoHsw9BT

[hardy panther]

Ty

[hardy panther]

ye for now, ig 1 rivals, 1pain1wards?

[broken creek]

For 32 id just do this, maybe drop the scars for return2 or wards2 so you can be messier
https://h2crossroads.pages.dev/FearCalculator/?vows=WzAsMCwwLDYsMCwzLDAsNSwyLDIsMiwwLDYsMCwyLDIsMl0=

If wanna push past 32 id say get used to wards now on whatever weapon you run

[split shuttle]

just don't play axe rest of weapons are good

[hardy panther]

simply get psychic whirlwind every run or something like that

[split shuttle]

axe with wards is my worst nightmare

[hardy panther]

Lovers feels like cheating, kind of dangerous im getting used to having it on

[broken creek]

I took it off icl but for 67 practice, never a reason to drop it unless you plan to do the same

Plus being able to facetank stuff is funny

[hardy panther]

Really nice that its per guardian and not per region so it doesnt get randomly taken off like gale charges

[broken creek]

Shoutout gale for blocking the 2 damage fish i clearly iframed but not the 80 damage chronos scythe barreling at me

[hardy panther]

[prime slate]

Do you guys find the olympus path or the underworld path harder?

[slim pike]

Yes.

[gusty maple]

Gale is that kind of goat

[gusty maple]

IMO: Barely any difference if we consider fearless. However Underworld is harder with high fear imo, mainly due to Ephyra making your build easy to do (and if you can quickly reset if you don't find anything good)

[split shuttle]

nah

underworld is easier by a mile

[broken creek]

Surface has thessaly and Olympus dont believe their lies

[split shuttle]

exactly

[slim pike]

Auto watchers to the face

[broken creek]

Sure erebus is rough but once you get past that it's smooth to gramps

[split shuttle]

sirens exist

[slim pike]

then you get to the next area, and there's still auto watchers because this is Menace and you've only just arrived at Olympus

[split shuttle]

but yeah second half is free

[broken creek]

Just be better 😌

[split shuttle]

u have a point

[slim pike]

Inb4 we get a modded hardmode run where you do Erebus, Oceanus, Olympus and the Summit

ending in fighting Chronos

[prime slate]

Ngl i struggle more on typhon than chronos

[broken creek]

Give me erebus, thessaly ending in sirens, elysium, summit ending in gramps type run

[gusty maple]

Thessaly into Sirens is pure evil

But it would even make sense lore wise

[slim pike]

I mean, if we want to continue the tradition of "Surface bosses all have an extra character in it" then Scylla needs to show up along side Eris

And the thing that makes it hard turns out to be Eris attempting to sing and not even Scylla can make her stop

[gusty maple]

They would surely end up fighting each other

[slim pike]

Infighting is a thing on the rest of olympus so why not?

[queen cosmos]

Thessaly is perfect for sirens

Also eris should uhh, why does she exist

[broken creek]

Truuuuue so true twin

Thank god I never run surface

[slim pike]

Eris is there because you want to punch her eventually

She's in Hades II because of that singular item from the Charon wells in H1

[hardy panther]

Are there just some hecate attacks that you have to tank in order to dodge the sheep hex?

[nova oar]

No

[hardy panther]

ic

[broken creek]

Some are easier than others fs but all can be done hitless without anything extra

Although demeter and Apollo are both my goats and their dashes make it free asf

[final saddle]

They probably flip in difficulty, I find that early Underworld and late Overworld are the hardest parts of each run for me, ironically for opposite reasons (Underworld has some hard rooms early, while the combo of Prometheus into the gauntlet can be rough in the overworld)

Also I haven’t done every rival oath yet, just the first one in each path, but imo Olympus has the harder bosses on average

[slim pike]

The finale is harder for unrivalled chronos

than Typhon

particularly when trying to be quick

[final saddle]

I find regular Typhon harder than regular Chronos

[slim pike]

which is fair

but chronos gets a much bigger glow up

[final saddle]

I think another big thing is that Typhon also shoots you with 2 bosses first, while Chronos literally has an anti Chronos boon giver in the area

[slim pike]

counterpoint is that Tartarus doesn't guarentee any boons along the way, whereas the summit gives you two boss rewards

and better shrine shops

[final saddle]

Fair, I’ve always seen at least one boon or triple pom myself before the end

And by Tartarus aside from a Hades boon my build is usually done

[slim pike]

yeah, if you're under the timer, you're straightlining tartarus, maaaaybe taking the hades boon

[nova oar]

Summit does have more annoying enemies but the minibosses are fairly simple and typhon is a massive bullet sponge

[nova oar]

Hades slows down tart

[final saddle]

That final bullet hell phase is really tricky for Typhon

[timid vigil]

Typhon is way easier imo, even non rivals

[slim pike]

the learning curve of Chronos phase 3 is learning when you're even allowed to attack

[final saddle]

While Chronos basically feels like Hades from 1

[slim pike]

if you're lucky he shows up super late and it's worth it

[nova oar]

True that

[slim pike]

might give you the life tax you need to stagger through the finale

or the deep dissent to speed up chronos

[nova oar]

Typhon tends to be harder for newer players because they lose resources to the summit

[slim pike]

Also typhon just hits harder, but he's a lot more mechanical

[timid vigil]

Outside of speedruns I always get the hades boon

[nova oar]

Yeah it's nearly always worth it outside of speedruns

[final saddle]

I just lose resources at the big man himself

[slim pike]

only phase 4 on typhon gets spicy for avoiding damage

[final saddle]

P4 is the phase I usually get hit around a bit if I do struggle

[nova oar]

Once you get good at builds it takes 40 seconds to a minute to kill him and most of that is cutscenes cause the surface scales Mel so hard and he just takes it

[timid vigil]

I also think his attacks are so telegraphed and easy to dodge

[final saddle]

The ones he does himself are

But the triple eye bomb in P4 is a nightmare

[split shuttle]

nah babality is the hardest one to dodge

[slim pike]

That's easily the hardest attack, and frinos can be a total Judas there

[split shuttle]

if chronos ball didnt exist it would be ez game but eh

[nova oar]

Once you learn the dead zones it becomes easier

[timid vigil]

Yeah babality is super hard

[slim pike]

the first time I guess, when you're just focusing on dodging it's fine. Don't glue yourself to the circle

[timid vigil]

For regular Typhon spinning tentacles thing sometimes can be a little tricky to dodge when he uses another attack at the same time but like, eh

[slim pike]

and bait the chin slam and othewise pray for the sweeper beam since it's easy

[timid vigil]

Or just get unseen ire from jpom tank 1 hit and then it's kinda free

[final saddle]

Oh, btw I need some help with Rival Polyphemus, he was a lot harder than I expected lol, still won, but it was really rough

[slim pike]

the other thing to realise is the final final actual final phase is a total victory lap

Typhon is completely neutered

[split shuttle]

u can still get hit in victory lap phase but its very hard to do so

[slim pike]

he can technically still hurt you, but you have to actually try to be hit

ninja'd

[slim pike]

There's a lot of complex mechanics going on with it where one of the two is on the attack and the other is on support, (And they trade places occasionally), but it's probably best to just learn not to get hit and that HITCH IS YOUR FRIEND

[split shuttle]

champion said poly not prom

[slim pike]

ooops

well, I don't know what to say there

don't get hit? It's just polyphemus with extra projectiles

[nova oar]

camp the wells and don't bumrush

[slim pike]

and well, use the fountains to cleanse poison

like the game tells you, but I've seen a weird number of people not understand this, despite the game telling you about it, and white lines pointing at the wells once you're poisoned

[final saddle]

https://tenor.com/view/stare-ghost-death-gif-27106641

Aw heck is the eagle gonna start throwing hands or something?

[split shuttle]

youll see when u get there

[slim pike]

It's Prometheus' brother, Epimetheus

[split shuttle]

bro

[slim pike]

literally, bro, yes

[split shuttle]

no spoilers

😔

[slim pike]

Titan of Hindsight

Reacts perfectly to what you do, but only afterwards

Honestly this is all very lore-accurate

[hollow jetty]

Hows hades going for everyone

[slim pike]

he's less grumpy than he was

[nova oar]

I hate speedrunning the game won't give me a sub 5 route

[split shuttle]

eh youll get it eventually

[hollow jetty]

Thats awful man

[split shuttle]

last pb of mine was 5:26 and then game gave me a legendary run of 4:48

[hardy panther]

just me or im feeling like mel staff with hera special is doing absolutely no dmg?

like 250 something with origination

[split shuttle]

its just u

[nova oar]

Just you

[nova oar]

Mine is 5.30 atm

[nova oar]

My body is a machine that turns 2.20 oceanus into 4.00 fields

[split shuttle]

wait 2:20 erebus?

thats reset worthy

[nova oar]

Oops

I reset if I don't get a 1.20-1.30 erebus

[hardy panther]

maybe im just brainrotted from double moonshot aphro

[split shuttle]

1:35 to 1:40 is workable tbh

[nova oar]

Eh

Most runs i can get a 1.30-1.40 i just roll with it

[split shuttle]

most important thing is u have to get 3:xx fields exit

then its smooth sailing unless u get ass tartarus

[nova oar]

I've fumbled 3.40's before

[hollow jetty]

i have no idea what any of that means actually

[nova oar]

For a sub 5 you want to finish erebus in 1m 30s, erebus in 2.20 minutes, fields in 3.30-3.50 minutes, and tartarus before 5 minutes

[hollow jetty]

aaah i seee

sorry im still very much a beginner

[final saddle]

I think the arena’s smaller too

[hollow jetty]

trying to beat the surface rn

[final saddle]

At least it feels smaller, I really used that space in reg Polyphemus and I feel like I have less wiggle room now

[slim pike]

maybe a little?

the smaller space is mostly the puddle spam from medea

of, fun fact, medea's own Enfeeblement of Cowards works against her own projectiles in that battle

she's a coward, by her own logic

[final saddle]

It could just be my build too

I love Judgement lol, but I do run Strength as a starter

[nova oar]

Judgement is really bad, never use it

especially if you're struggling

[final saddle]

I’m not really struggling to the point of frustration, it’s just seeing new patterns lol

[wide wigeon]

yo can someone explain how anubis works

specifically the attack

[nova oar]

Attack places a field that does damage over time, like hestia cast

[slim pike]

Press it once, makes a field that does damage

you can only have one such field at a time

omega attack makes this sector like shape that ticks 50 (?) base power 6 times and is a real heavy hitter

always use dash strike if you can, since the animation is faster

[final saddle]

(Besides I’m addicted to that feeling of hitting a post Cerberus/Prometheus Boatman )

[slim pike]

the normal attack field is 20 base power and works as you'd hope with all attack boons

wave strike in particular has a property where it's allowed to create up to three splashes at once

Hestia is particularly good here, not only is flame strike great, but also Slow Cooker is a monster with Anubis

(And it's one of those times when Secret Crush is actually pretty decent)

[sharp current]

i just met with athena in surface after 4 or 5 runs and this is the dialog with her:
your toughts about arachne are casuing you distraction, which in turn is causing me distraction now. i would propose a means by which we could put this matter with her to rest.
melinoe: she wants to help arachne
athena: athena asks if arachne would like to speak to athena throught her Gorgon Amulet? if yes then she will make an appearance

so i guess now i should go and talk to arachne?

[wide wigeon]

ah gotcha

I thought wait does this create them gold ghost things and thats how attacks have dmg? ig not lol that would be bad

[slim pike]

It's also that, yes, there's a few hammers that interact with them

in particular the one that activates all gold shades on your omega Special can save you the bother of dashing through them all

(Pharaoh Etchings)

combine that with Scarab Etchings and you can actually put together a servicable commander build with it

[wide wigeon]

I understand it now

hol up wait a minute ts might be fire?

[slim pike]

might be? my friend, Anubis is a monster

[wide wigeon]

ion wanna be that guy but jojo reference lmao

[split shuttle]

nah anubis is the god of the afterlife

[slim pike]

Just you gotta learn the oAttack tech, and how to dash at the right moment to get more range

and getting it to place correctly is a bit of an art since it's a strange shape

also worthy of note is that the regular special is weaker than the other aspects, but much more spammable

(Also doesn't penetrate iirc)

[tranquil wren]

anubis my beloved

[wide wigeon]

it brings the enemies closer? the special

[slim pike]

yes, that's the idea

set up field and cast, drag enemies in

[wide wigeon]

so spam the special and dash strike

or the opposite lmao yeah

[slim pike]

you'll be saddened to know that Wicked Thasher is unavailable for anubis since it would be busted as all hell

[wide wigeon]

hel was fun asl too I might use that next im js doing chaos trials rn

[slim pike]

Hel is... not considered top tier, but she's really fun and I've been recently enjoying making certain unviable nonsense work with her

[brave gate]

Yes

[slim pike]

Also probably the most transformed aspect as literally none of the moves carry over from the base aspect

[wide wigeon]

yeah exactly thats why I like hel

[slim pike]

it's actually a reworked Adamant Rail wearing a funny hat

with Delta Chamber as standard

[wide wigeon]

I have this generational hate for the skull

[slim pike]

Leering Gaze is literally just Ricochet Fire

[wide wigeon]

ion know what that is

[slim pike]

it's from hades 1

the gun weapon from that game is the basis for Hel, and one of the upgrades is literally the same

and Delta Chamber was an upgrade for that weapon that caused it to fire in three round bursts, which Hel just does out of the gate

[wide wigeon]

oh yeah supay looks good too how's that one

[split shuttle]

its the goat

[slim pike]

Supay is a slow starter since it's terrible without boons, but once it gets going it's great

the ability to perform attacks and specials automatically means you can focus on making your cast and rush boons do their thing

[wide wigeon]

im thinking zeus bangle get special blitz and js blitz

[slim pike]

yeah, blitz is a strong choice

the base power values on supay's moves are low compared to the torches, but who cares? blitz

[wide wigeon]

or like scorch and duo with grandma for steam

[slim pike]

scorch, waves, hitch, all good

Nexus Rush is comically good with supay

[wide wigeon]

thats the hitch dash?

[slim pike]

yeah

[split shuttle]

breaker rush is the goat tho

[slim pike]

+30% rush bonus damage on supay

[wide wigeon]

oh yeah I see the absolute madness

[slim pike]

hitching everything while also smearing your autofiring special into them and the auto attack is just shooting at whatever it likes

I think it targets the closest enemy in preference

[wide wigeon]

plus the hestia exploding victims idk what its called

[slim pike]

Flash Fry

well that's just a good boon no matter what you're using, nothing special with supay there

[wide wigeon]

aight so in the black stone I see ||chaos below and above|| is that the greater trials or is there more

[slim pike]

yeah

[wide wigeon]

and I get gems no stardust? come on chaos give me more

[tranquil wren]

chaos below and chaos above (as well as the greater variants) are the last trials to be unlocked, if that's what you mean

[wide wigeon]

yeah thats what i mean

someone said theres "greater trials" in chat a while ago

[tranquil wren]

yeah, great chaos above/below

oh, greater

yeah that's not a thing

[wide wigeon]

ah got it do I get anything for beating them all like a prophecy

[sharp current]

just a tip, you dont have to do grat chaos above if you dont want to

[wide wigeon]

I want to

[tranquil wren]

there's three achievements related to chaos trials
one for beating any 20
one for beating great chaos below
one for beating any two randomised trials in a row (I did great chaos below -> chaos below)

[wide wigeon]

you did great first? damn

[tranquil wren]

if you get it out of the way first then chaos below is easy by comparison

[sharp current]

you could have done chaos below then chaos above if you want the easy way

then do the great chaos below for the achievmenet

[tranquil wren]

I mean I did it first try

so like it wasn't a problem

[sharp current]

either skilled or lucky

could be both

[tranquil wren]

as long as you don't get max scars it's chill

[slim pike]

Yeah, Supay autofires at the nearest vulnerable target

just checked

[tranquil wren]

it even fires at coin urns

[slim pike]

Yes, but I think not in preference

[tranquil wren]

😔

I want money more

[honest oracle]

The united bank of MONEY