how does crit stacking work? if i have +10, +20 and +50 is it a flat 80% chance? higher? lower? is there a known cap?
#h1-builds-and-combat
turbid needle
kind fiber
I believe its 80%, I haven't heard anything about a cap being lower than 100%
turbid needle
aight, thanks
gloomy scroll
4 runs in a row now that I've got hunting blades and won easy
turbid needle
seven gems away from getting the thing i need and still no diamond deals
i'd strangle the contractor if they weren't already dead
cosmic dawn
Chaos aspect with blight flourish is crazy
One charged throw and I put full stacks of poison on two enemies instantly
strong verge
Hera Bow with Tipsy Shot sounds like a ton of fun.
Especially since Scintillating Feast seems to do a LOT more now.
abstract ferry
Are their any other hidden moves like the spinning spear dash?
kind fiber
None that come to mind
gray oxide
hey is there a hard coded cap on procs from a single special attack 'use'
kind fiber
I think the zeus special only triggers once, with some exceptions
gray oxide
doing a chiron run and took zues special, but they ony get zapped once
mild crag
Yep Zeus only hits once per "use"
gray oxide
but if i hit multiple enemies instead of the same one
it procs each time
aw thats such a bummer
mild crag
I guess they decided it was too powerful
gray oxide
i noticed something similar when i had poseidon special on the sheild
mild crag
though somehow they think Dionysus is fine
kind fiber
Dion is fine
gray oxide
sometimes they wouldnt get knocked away
gray oxide
thats fine from a balance perspective but it isnt communicated ingame at all
kind fiber
You can also only trigger one bolt per use of an attack boon
A notable exception to the one trigger per special use, is the zeus aspect shield
the zeus aspect shield can trigger it once every "attack"
gray oxide
so that pretty much makes it so crit or poison are the only good uses for chiron aww
at least the only ones that take advantage of it
wellp
mild crag
there's also knockback
gray oxide
doesnt that follow the same ruleq/
mild crag
nop
it knocks back every time
if you have the poseiden/zeus duo, they're struck by lightning each time too
gray oxide
strange, it seemed to have a knockback limit on chaos aspect sheild
kind fiber
well
kind fiber
You could also use athena or aphro on the shield
mild crag
poseiden AND zeus!
kind fiber
Poseidon handles things pretty well by himself, I don't see the point of adding zeus to the mix
mild crag
for the lightning strike each time
and with rupture and jolted that's privileged status active too
kind fiber
yeah, but things are dead when they get knocked into walls with poseidon
they don't need to be deader
mild crag
for burnin bosses
gray oxide
it just seems like theres quite a few too many times the 'text' of the game promises you a synergy, but it turns out it just doesnt do what it implies on the tin
mild crag
such is the way of roguelikes
turbid needle
Any specific examples?
mild crag
"how does X work with Y"
kind fiber
Are you more likely to get a legendary when you get more and more of a god's boons? Or is it just as likely each time?
gray oxide
all the legendaries have a list table they look for
kind fiber
so long as you satisify the condition that is
turbid needle
I think their likelihood is added to the mix once you have their prereq.
gray oxide
you must have certain boons before it can show
kind fiber
I know that
but once you satisify the condition, does having more boons from that god increase the likely of the legendary boon showing up?
gray oxide
but yeah the game just turning off your procs based on hidden criteria is not a good feel
kind fiber
I know?
turbid needle
Such as?
gray oxide
well in this example I was talking about how if you get zues on a chiron bow, it will only proc the lightning for one arrow
kind fiber
@turbid needle Athena's legendary requiring brilliant reposite beforehand
kind fiber
It doesn't make sense to me, athena's legendary doesn't have anything to do with deflection so why should a specific deflection boon be a prerequisite?
mild crag
aha, i didnt even realise Athena had a legendary
since I rarely take brilliant riposte
turbid needle
I'm sure it's been tested with every arrow natively hitting a lightning bolt and was found super broken.
gray oxide
athenas legendary is particularly picky
im sure its been tested too
but
I feel like there are ways to fix that without making the boon a lie
because as it stands its a massive bait and switch
mild crag
what would you propose
turbid needle
I'm not a fan of its prereqs. BR encourages offensive play, but Athena's entire schtick is defense, and her Legendary is an entirely passive shield.
gray oxide
reduce the lightning damage based on weapon
the bow special hits many times, so it should have a lower damage lightning proc than, for example, the rail
but the way the game is right now, zues special is the same damage
on each
kind fiber
Using Ares as an example, his legendary boon, Vicious cycle requires either black metal or engulfing vortex, if you have one of those two, does obtaining battle rage in addition, increase your odds of seeing vicious cycle the next time you see Ares?
turbid needle
I don't think so, except by shrinking the available boon pool.
mild crag
im guessing it would by reducing the pool of possible boons
but that requires knowledge of inner workings
kind fiber
Does shrinking the available boon pool increase the odds of being able to obtain Vicious cycle?
mild crag
does it pick rarity first
gray oxide
pretty sure its binary findable or not findable
mild crag
true claire but the chance of getting it might change
gray oxide
well time to let this chiron run die to traps, im not playing this out with essentually a wasted boon
kind fiber
For example, if you've obtained every other Ares boon in the game (somehow), are you guaranteed to find vicious cycle the time you visit ares?
mild crag
well yes, since he can't offer you nothing 
pseudo topaz
hey, new player here; what are your thoughts on the cast attack? I've beaten the game once and I've never had to use it
if only for a free chaos boon
gray oxide
pretty much everyone neglects cast at first
kind fiber
Cast builds are viable assuming you find enough support for them
gray oxide
especially because without the night mirror its weak
mild crag
everybody thinks casts are bad til they realise the true power 
pseudo topaz
I wouldn't even know how to start trying to build cast tbh
kind fiber
okay
wary knot
I feel like once you meet the prerequisites for a legendary boon, it has a higher chance of appearing then any other random boon from that god. 100% anecdotal though, I don't have any numbers on this
gray oxide
pseidon aspect sword, or hera aspect bow
turbid needle
There is a Cast build that is THE strongest in the game, but they are entirely Boon-reliant, to add to what Claire said.
kind fiber
would you like a list of the things that makes casts great? or would you like to find out for yourself?
turbid needle
Also Achilles Aspect and Eris Aspect.
kind fiber
Ill dm it to you
pseudo topaz
thanks!
turbid needle
Eris and Achilles are better for most Cast builds.
mild crag
well this is gameplay channel where spoilers are allowed so you could say it here really
wary knot
Is hunting blades the best just because it's basically risk free as it's fire and forget? I never felt like the damage was insanely high or anything
turbid needle
With Vicious Cycle it's the best DPS in the game.
But just by itself, it's super safe, yeah.
gray oxide
hunting blades is only broken with the scaling damage
wary knot
Huh, even with that legendary it didn't feel crazy to me. I guess I'm comparing it to the really high-roll crit builds I've had for DPS
Whereas you can just have hunting blades + vicious cycle and nothing else, and you're set
mild crag
high roll crit is bursty but hunting blades + cycle is high dps
turbid needle
Yeah, but it's not best DPS until you've really ratcheted all your boons towards it. Any of the Aspects that increase Cast damage, Privileged Status, Burst Shot, Pressure Points.
Achilles off a high level Epic Slicing Shot? It's starting at 40 damage.
gray oxide
my favorite cast builds that are easier to put together are flood shot or tipsy shot paired with zues
wary knot
Yeah exactly, I've won runs with hunting blades with basically no buffs to my cast but it carried anyway. Which goes to show how strong it is
Hm, never thought about using the raging throw to up the starting damage of the blade rift, that's sweet!
turbid needle
I get why people like Hera, but it's pretty clearly the worst Cast-oriented Aspect (not that it's bad by any stretch, it's quite good--with Tipsy Shot).
wary knot
Yeah it's obviously made to be good with casts, but it's definitely worse than Poseidon. Ranking up the aspect is a pretty unexciting power increase as well
mild crag
for pure casts poseidon is better for sure
only thing hera is better at is exit wounds builds
final fox
no it's not
poseidon procs exit wounds immediately
wary knot
Yeah, sucks when you go looking for exit wounds and can't find it though. Poseidon also works pretty well with exit wounds right?
mild crag
it's safer, so I think it's better
you can apply all your casts faster too
unless you have hermes rapid fire ofc
wary knot
That's a good point, casting is pretty slow at base
pseudo topaz
is there any plans to put in different types of casts available outside of the projectile? like a cast that does the inverse of Athena's boon on Theseus
or a bouncing one
kind fiber
Theres the dion cast which isn't a traditional projectile
Zeus's cast bounces
Ares cast isn't a traditional projectile either
mild crag
Aphrodite's is a short-range shotgun style burst too
pseudo topaz
ok wow so my inexperience is really showing here huh
wary knot
Cast in a more generic "magic blast" sense is kinda interesting. But they're all kinda projectile based by design really
wary knot
Delicious new content 
Talking about the weapon aspects: do you think they're too powerful? Every run I've had since they released has been kind of a cake-walk. That might just be a symptom of me slowly working back up the Heat scale earning bounties though...
I really enjoy them and how they can change up your playstyle, but it feels like they're really strong!
kind fiber
If you are willing to tune heat up, they help counteract that
kind fiber
If you don't like heat as a difficulty modifier then yeah, you could consider them too strong
limpid tapir
Otherwise, I really enjoy the aspects for being able to change your playstyle
wary knot
For sure, I love their visual designs and how they interact with all the boons and hammer upgrades. Super fun!
turbid needle
Daaaaang.
mild crag
nice streak
limpid tapir
Thank! 😄
wary knot
I suppose I haven't really cranked up the heat in a while. And I suppose the reworked Pact probably has a higher difficulty ceiling than the old one... maybe?
mild crag
it does yeah
limpid tapir
Agreed
How high are you running the Heat gauge?
Throwing in things like +enemy health, speed, damage, and quantity will make things frantic in a hurry again XD
wary knot
I'm at like... 10ish with all weapons right now. As I said, slowly working up through the bounties. I guess I could just kick it up real high and keep running it at that level to unlock previous bounties
pseudo topaz
One last interruptory question--sorry!--is there anyway to sell things while you're in Charon's shop?
kind fiber
no
wary knot
My streak right now is like... 28 or something 
mild crag
nope gotta use purging pools
limpid tapir
😮 28!
pseudo topaz
is there a reason there's no purging pool in Charon's shop?
limpid tapir
And don't mind the interruptions! You can sell boons, that's it
kind fiber
Ask the devs
limpid tapir
^
solid cairn
ok how do you pardon sisyphus
kind fiber
There isn't because there isn't
pseudo topaz
should I uh put that under suggesstions
wary knot
As I said, it's more just that I've got a few maxed out aspects and I'm running all the weapons through low-ish heat
kind fiber
@solid cairn Buy his contract next to hades
requires 10 diamonds from the house contracter
solid cairn
do you have to cycle through stuff to see it
kind fiber
Maybe
Its also possible that you haven't triggered enough of the related events to see it
Have you for example, talked to bouldy yet?
solid cairn
yes
kind fiber
I don't believe that talking to bouldy is the last one event, but its close to the last one
solid cairn
Well I’ve talked but he doesn’t respond
pseudo topaz
he responds in spirit
kind fiber
You may be surprised to hear this, but thats normal
solid cairn
I know
kind fiber
Damn man, look at you stone faced taking my joke
pseudo topaz
if you talk to a boulder and it answers back there's a problem, even if you're in greek mythology
anyway, this game's pretty fun and I can't wait for more content and story tbh
limpid tapir
^^^ agreed!
cosmic dawn
this is my 8th or so run with Hera aspect and I just found out that you could load multiple casts into a single arrow
I'm dumb
turbid needle
Just had 6 or 7 Satyrs spawn one by one as they were killed after a Dire Snakestone and before a Dire Vermin, drawing out this branch to almost two minutes. This was like the endless rat spawns but worse.
granite vine
this is my 8th or so run with Hera aspect and I just found out that you could load multiple casts into a single arrow
this was the first thing I tested lol
i immediately missed after loading 3 in
turbid needle
Hey, at least you didn't miss a bunch of Tipsy Shot arrows. 
granite vine
nah I only had True Shot at the time
turbid needle
And I don't know what happened to the World Splitter/Nova Smash timing, but it feels pretty terrible now. Huge, huge delay inserted seemingly at random between the two.
Is Lightning Strike out of rotation? I've seen it once, Common, in two days.
strong verge
I don't think it is.
Also, I think I'm going to have to say RIP to my eardrums.
Lightning Strike, Storm Lightning, Support Fire, and Explosive Fire.
muted patrol
yikes
cosmic dawn
Dear lord people weren't lying about the barge of death being way more challenging with the middle management pact
Survived with 10 HP left
terse nimbus
Yeah. It almost feels broken. Especially when one Bloodless knocks you into another bloodless and then you're bombarded with bombs left right and center.
muted patrol
Yeah, barge is pretty crazy. I think its a bit better if you pick up divine dash
But there are still too many enemies
candid merlin
Anyone finished a run using doom as their main damage deal?
candid merlin
What weapon?
turbid needle
Shield.
candid merlin
Huh interesting
turbid needle
Yup. Had Chaos Aspect and Dread Flight, so Doom hit everything in the room almost every time I pressed Special.
candid merlin
I see, when starting did you focus 1 weap or did you rotate weapons?
candid merlin
I'm always a Bow guy but I wanna try different stuff
solid cairn
level 3 nemesis aspect and no regrets
turbid needle
Christ Almighty I am over the Hydra moving around in Snake Oil. This thing needs to go yesterday.
it's not going away, is it?
Like, even accounting for the holiday break, I'm sure.
candid merlin
Would you take Chaos gate over a boon?
turbid needle
Almost never.
candid merlin
Would you buy it for 40 gold tho?
I used to be excited over chaos gates but I never get what I want -_-
solid cairn
only weapons I can really stand are the rail and blade
turbid needle
Generally, no. I don't want to have wasted the 40 Obols if I don't pick the Chaos Gate.
And Cinder, then grind the crap out of those.
solid cairn
yeah I might as well only use the others for getting titan blood
candid merlin
@turbid needle Best Euridyce option in your opinion?
turbid needle
Ambrosia Delight.
Almost all boons scale better off Poms from increased rarity, so you gain more in the long run over Pom Porridge (unless you're packing Zeus, Dio, and Support Fire, then you want the porridge).
Refreshing Nectar is only if you've got an extreme dearth of boons.
candid merlin
Thx for the advice
cosmic dawn
The run I just did was probably the closest I got to losing in quite a while
There were lots of close calls, and in the end I burned through all three of my death defiances
Apparently a crit-based build for the bow doesn't work nearly as well without twin-shot
trim wind
argh I can best Hades, I have gotten so close three times with a bow+doom build
carmine raven
@mild crag do you buy that thing from store to trigger chaos gate?
turbid needle
Because they eat a chunk of HP and there could be 3 potentially crippling boons that will just end a run before it even get off the ground.
carmine raven
do you prefer chaos gates over single boon?
turbid needle
There's simply a lot less risk involved.
carmine raven
do you guys buy trove chests in store?
carmine raven
if it's very close to boss fight, I might skip chao gates
mild crag
I rarely take troves so I don't buy the Well item for it
turbid needle
Aaand Hades killed me with a stab through Divine Dash. Think I'm done for the night.
mild crag
turbid needle
That's a bad taste in my mouth.
mild crag
Love it when I have the divine dash circling me during death defiance
carmine raven
I feel the only good trove is money? darkness and gems are not worthy
mild crag
Or I see the trail of Zag's dash
turbid needle
👏 PLEASE 👏 REVERT 👏 DASH 👏 I-FRAMES 👏
mild crag
Did they get changed? I wasn't aware
solid cairn
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/392070250511728653/658502146513174555/unknown.png aspects ranked on aesthetic and appearance
mild crag
I guess I'm not just paranoid and it isn't a conspiracy
solid cairn
this is gonna be controversial
turbid needle
I've been getting hit way way more frequently.
solid cairn
oh boy
glacial ravine
How do you even unlock Aspects?
turbid needle
Like, taking absurd amounts of damage, even with Divine Dash.
mild crag
@solid cairn WHAT'S THAT I SEE IN LAST PLACE HUH
solid cairn
it's not ordered
mild crag
WHAT'S THAT I SEE IN EQUAL LAST PLACE HUH
solid cairn
wait I think eris was supposed to be there
turbid needle
Eris was on there.
turbid needle
Chaos Aspect is my favorite looking weapon.
solid cairn
Chaos is a lil' plain lookin
muted patrol
I'm fine with going in them, even at teh cost of health
but having to spend both gold and health
is a bit of a detriment
turbid needle
It's a big eye.
solid cairn
I think Zeus looks way better
turbid needle
It makes me think of Final Fantasy 13. 👎
solid cairn
this template was made by me
reminder that nemesis sword is the pinnacle of art designed by the human race
muted patrol
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/653374271946489865/658504448804388896/Aspects.png Gameplay Wise
err, swap zeus and zag shield
that was a mistake
with zeus you can auto and special
better than damage reduction
b/c you block everything anyways
muted patrol
understandable
solid cairn
so zag rail isn't really trash it's just worse than the others
muted patrol
yes
its good
just not better than the others
prety much all aspects are good
none are noticably bad
atomic panther
I think Zagreus is the rail's best aspect
muted patrol
I mean
think of it this way
would you rather do 15 shots all at once every 2 seconds
or 24 consecutive normal shots over a long period of time
also arte dash makes it so that you do 300
at epic or so
300 base with one boon
is bonkers
you only need to find one opening on bosses to get your shot in
instead of many openings
to do the same damage
carmine raven
how to fill gauge? taking damage, giving damage or both way can fill?
muted patrol
Only attacking I think. The wording on the Poseidon blessing makes it seem like you don't fill gauge on damage taken
teal wren
taking damage fills it
muted patrol
ok, so then pos buff is a booster to your natural ability
I dont really pay attention to it too much, I just see when its ready
solid cairn
@muted patrol zag is the most low maintenance
strong verge
Woo, I think I got my groove back. Two really good runs.
solid cairn
also the one that allows you to do things that would normally require inf ammo
it allows you to focus on dodging
strong verge
What's a good setup for sword? I usually go something like Dionysus/Poseidon for guaranteed Epic boons.
muted patrol
sword?
solid cairn
nemesis aspect underrated
solid cairn
I have level 3 nemesis aspect no regrets
muted patrol
nice
solid cairn
highest levelled aspect
solid cairn
I have eris as well tho
muted patrol
I'd rather just reload when I run out
its only a little bit of time and inconveinence
solid cairn
anyway, nemesis with world splitter is a monster
muted patrol
Nova usually hurts me more than helps
on almost any run I do
with sword
I tried using it
solid cairn
yeah I just enjoyed nemesis so I put titan blood into it
muted patrol
had 5 consecutive losses with Nemesis aspect
swapped to pos for cast damage, and barely clicked special
won that run
zeus/pos
solid cairn
imma be honest aside from rail and sword I don't have any weapons I like all that much
solid cairn
I'll also invest into pos
muted patrol
I really like Bow
Shield is just boring to play for me
its OP
but its boring
There is just no challenge in holding down attack and then specialing occasionally for chaos shields
I like Lance too
its just so much fun
solid cairn
tbh I'm probably gonna rebeat with shield just to have access to more titan blood
I feel like I really messed up with allocation lol
solid cairn
but I'd rather make mistakes like that than fall into the trap of blindly following guides
muted patrol
the ones i think are the best of course
and then fleshing out the others every so often
solid cairn
plus they may still buff some things
solid cairn
hold up you think regular lance is the best
muted patrol
take what you know and anecdotes from others to build your experience
yeah
its crazy
spin attack is slow
achilles is good, but it doesnt have the speed and range of zag
Elysium was a joke with zag
hell, the entire run was a joke
solid cairn
doesn't seem like the special is very good
muted patrol
Its stupid strong
with crit
like
this was heat 1
but still
also the chaos boon
solid cairn
the special is strong with crit?
solid cairn
I don't use the special much
solid cairn
ok I got a question what do you think is a good all-around melee god
solid cairn
boon god
mild crag
they're all god tier
muted patrol
or you can go the trio
solid cairn
what boons for each
muted patrol
Weak on like cast, Poison on something else
mild crag
Aphro and Artemis you want theirs on your high damaging attacks
and Dio on your fast attacks
muted patrol
b/c if you pick up thrust stuff
you get +40% crit
and double thrust
sword I would assume
Shield you can faceroll
and lance might as well be a ranged weapon
solid cairn
ok I'm gonna try spear as a melee powerhouse to replace the sword
solid cairn
lack of sweeping attacks is weird
muted patrol
I never use those
too long charge up
you need a hammer upgrade to make it work
and thats all RNG
solid cairn
make what work
solid cairn
yeah I'm saying that not have sweeping attacks is weird
muted patrol
oh
you meant like how the sword arcs
yeah, its a bit weird
also, dont forget to stunlock. lance is best at it
any enemy that doesnt have armor you just spam square/attack
they die eventually
solid cairn
ok fine
solid cairn
jabby jab time
muted patrol
you can spam it to clear rooms fast
turbid needle
Achilles~
mild crag
schpoonman is always against me on aspects!
turbid needle
Well maybe if you had better taste... 
mild crag
turbid needle
I'm not super comfortable with the spear's normal Special.
strong verge
Or Bouldy.
muted patrol
I think its scythe
spear normal special is fine
its like bow attack
but better
in every way
strong verge
Scythe could be cool too.
I only use Spear's normal special if I get stuck with the armor shredding hammer buff, because it's a good way to get armor off of Hydra heads quickly.
turbid needle
spear normals are garbage, when you get good boons to boost the normals the special is still better
muted patrol
the final aspect for the next weapon is Demeter, godess of the harvest
turbid needle
the worst part of spear is it locking you in place for the laughable damage it deals
strong verge
Wait, what?
muted patrol
spear special shreds hydra even without armor debuff
spear does OP damage
damn
i cant stream in this server
strong verge
I thought Demeter was going to be the last Olympian.
muted patrol
or I would show you my curent run
just got past like midboss of tart
Demeter is going to be the next olympian
but look at the last aspect of each weapon currently
they are all elder gods
solid cairn
the only time I use spin attack is to hit a lot of enemies right as they spawn
strong verge
Hmm. Sound logic.
muted patrol
yeah, that works Cinder
strong verge
I wonder what the final final aspects are going to be?
muted patrol
Scythe would make the most sense considering she is godess of the harvest, and her father is cronos
turbid needle
Scythe with Demeter, Than, and third Aspect for a hammer?
muted patrol
not sure
solid cairn
artemis on spear special is actually insane what
turbid needle
I wanna get Artemis and Explosive Launcher.
turbid needle
Sorry, I wanna get it again.
muted patrol
i speak from experience
turbid needle
I've had it before, it's great.
turbid needle
I almost always play with Extreme Measures on, and with Theseus down to one-third HP when he invokes a god it's easy to burn him down without having to deal with his shield.
strong verge
Maybe all of the final aspects will be Titan aspects?
muted patrol
That'd be neat
strong verge
Cronus, Atlas, Hyperion, Rhea...
muted patrol
1 minute Meg clear
just now
with lance
nice
yo I hate middle management barge
just lost 100 health
crazy
turbid needle
I'm think I'm gonna have to put my big boy pants on and turn on Budget Cuts. I got Alecto with maxed Forced Overtime and she ruined me.
haughty wigeon
bouldy op
muted patrol
yeah
Barely lost
he was at a sliver
and I got caught out by the sweep
by Final boss
atomic panther
It does nothing
haughty wigeon
that's neat
rose island
ambiguity bonus?
is that different from the damage reduction you get from gifting him nectar?
mild crag
yeah he gives you a random bonus
damage reduction, bonus coins, movespeed, attack damage... etc
and one of them is ambiguity bonus which does nothing
mild crag
"you do not know if you believe in bouldy..."
rose island
you always have to believe
mild crag
if you believe in bouldy, he believes in you
atomic panther
@turbid needle In regards to your latest feedback, that's already a thing in the game
turbid needle
Is there?
atomic panther
They're called Duo boons, and they're pretty much exactly as you described; you need at least one boon from each of the appropriate gods (sometimes you need specific boons) and you get a powerful ability. For example, if you have a boon from Artemis and the blade rift cast from Ares, you can be offered a duo boon called Hunting Blades that makes your cast rift seek out enemies
onyx glade
There's other duo stuff, like getting a boon that guarantees future boons are epic
atomic panther
Yeah, that's a good one
onyx glade
Or lightening mixing with other boons, which are cool
turbid needle
Holy****, and here I thought I was being naîve.
@atomic panther I appreciate the heads-up! That seriously is amazing.
Is there a chart?
unborn trellis
There's a list on the wiki
high pulsar
Specifically: https://hades.gamepedia.com/Duo_Boons
glad mantle
any tips for fighting the Hydra with the bow?
i always get to the 3rd phase and the mobs + heads kinda just screw me up no matter what buff I get
rose island
yup phase 3 is pretty hectic
it'll depend what upgrade you've gotten for the bow
but you have very good single target dps with powershot
and after you take out two of the hydras you have a bit more safe room to work with
so i'd go left to right or right to left and try to focus down the hydras as quickly as possible
alternatively you could focus the things that spawn the mobs to reduce numbers a bit, but usually the mobs are a lot less threatening than the hydras
the bow's not my best weapon though so happy for any different thoughts
glad mantle
yeah i focused mostly on power shot and got a volley upgrade here and there
thign that keeps happening is that whether its dash charge or stand still charge the projectiles and mobs just slowly chip away at my health
rose island
is volley the special?
glad mantle
yeah
frosty sinew
Its gonna come down to what you have tbh, I mean bow can get so versatile depending on upgrades and weapon type and boons
rose island
from my experience any upgrades to the special are very underwhelming
glad mantle
i'm starting to feel that honestly
frosty sinew
I can agree with that
rose island
unless you have the upgrade that makes the special target your marked enemy
not sure if you have infernal arms upgrades unlocked or if that's a spoiler
if so yikes, not a massive spoiler though
frosty sinew
I would recommend getting reflect/weak for your volley ability and only use it for the tbh
rose island
i'd agree with that
it's basically always going to be lower dps than powershotting them
frosty sinew
game kinda spoils the infernal arms itself tbh
glad mantle
Is there a consistent way to get more damage with the bow? Right now Elite fights take super long compared to every other weapon
rose island
get doom on attack
frosty sinew
Like firing at the right time for extra damage instead of full charged
rose island
with the yellow screen flare
frosty sinew
I wouldn't recommend doom for attack on bow, atleast not in basic mode I would rather take something that increases its atleast high base dps
rose island
how are you on darkness?
glad mantle
The small mobs are no provlems but every elite fight i just feel my damage is really really lacking
rose island
the mirror upgrades are pretty important
frosty sinew
^
glad mantle
Ah i just started recently so just working my way up right now
frosty sinew
I would recommend getting the keys to unlock the one that deals increased damage with your cast stuck in them
It makes it easier to target down elites/bosses
glad mantle
Played with the four weapons they have so far. Got through to ||Elysium|| with spear and sword. Got to ||Hades|| with shield
rose island
yup additional 50% damage
glad mantle
Ah okay
rose island
I always found rail the strongest
glad mantle
Got it
rose island
although maybe I have to try new stuff now
glad mantle
Thanks! Will give that a try
Shield to me is bonkers
The abolity to block makes the hydra a joke
glad mantle
Also nice ML Ara dosplay pic :P
frosty sinew
The sheild doesnt hold up against the last boss well though but I wont talk why
rose island
completely fair
but yeah the only shield strat i've seen that's like wow that's insane is the speedrun one
with explosive return
frosty sinew
Powershot bull rush is really strong tbh
glad mantle
That and the festive powder thunder strike cast
rose island
my strongest run so far was actually a cast one though
blade rift cast
seeking blades duo
frosty sinew
I will say deathscar you will see a crazy increase in distance when you ge tthe mirror done
rose island
legendary artemis for an extra 3
glad mantle
Got it
I’ll work my way there
Loving the game so far!! Thanjs for all your help! ^^
frosty sinew
I'm clearing without even any uses of death defiant at this point at times Haha
Yeah!
rose island
yeah if I use any death defied's before hades i'm actually trolling
usually run the butterfly keepsake
just because it teaches good habits
rose island
just dodge lul? 
nah I get it
starting with 100 coins is really useful too
then switching for whatever god you're specialising in
frosty sinew
The armor piece let's you pretty much play asleep hoenslty 40% damage reduction from the front which normally is where people will he when melee is alot
rose island
works well with ranged weapons too
since you turn to face whatever you're shooting at
frosty sinew
Yeah but butterfly is to strong
Even 10%is helpful but at 3 stars you can typically expect ending with 30-40%
rose island
needing to keep it equipped to keep the benefit is quite a big drawback though
but yeah
usually I just get it and run it to the end
but I feel like i'm missing a big area of strategy with keepsake switching
because if you can get the right legendary/duo boons I feel like that's a more consistent win than 30% damage
frosty sinew
Idk the god trinkets are massively underwhelming to me
iron shale
any gameplay tipps for hades ? i only beat him once with tripple special shot on the gun
turbid needle
Picking up a god can cause them to spawn more. It's a snowball.
Find safe ground when he calls in the vases in phase 2.
frosty sinew
Uhhh have plenty of death defiant is honestly the best possible thing you can do
turbid needle
You can get up to 5.
frosty sinew
||I know choas can give you one in rare times, which will increase cap||
turbid needle
Skelly and Chaos can each give one.
frosty sinew
I believe it's a really high rarity though
frosty pier
Yeah you need atleast few Chaos presents to have a chance on it appearing
turbid needle
It's their legendary, it takes a few visits to get it.
frosty sinew
Nah choas kinda hardly hurts
rose island
just need to dodge the -hp on attack ones
also does anyone have any particularly strong opinions on the best rail aspect?
i'm trying the empowered shot one
and getting to one shot any early mob is pretty nice
frosty pier
Choas... Is that an honest mistake or I should let off "If emperor had TTS?"
frosty sinew
Kinda late but idk I just went with zag
It is really annoying to empower self on special tbh
Atleast on controller
My best runs are typically with poison or the Artemis abitly to fire an hour when you hit so more attacks are my go to
Getting increases speed from the one upgrade really helps with that
Oh wait you where talking about hestia
Honestly that doesn't sound bad tbh haven't tried it yet
frosty pier
Hestia is cool enough, but I want my Heavy Slug back.
frosty pier
Aspect: Zeus
Boons depend on hammers mostly.
rose brook
@iron shale I like Chaos aspect, and poison special
With multiple shields going around, its pretty easy to keep up
iron shale
rose brook
And if I'm lucky, I'll try to get Aphrodite cast and attack and their duo boon if I manage to hit it in the run
iron shale
@frosty pier what are your favorites ?
steep prairie
I like zeus aspect with poison on the special, if you throw the shield right it can do a ton of damage, poseidon's boon on your special can also do a lot of work
frosty pier
My shield builds depend on a first hammer. If I have pulverising thing (2 attacks w/o knockback) I can go for a poison on attack, given that Aspect makes it easy to have doom/weak on an enemy while you give him blunt trauma poisoning.
If you got lucky with dashing wallop... Perfection.
I already dashattack like a man possessed
frosty pier
I see people recommending Chaos aspect... but really? So you telling me all you do with a shield is charge through enemies and throw specials? Effective? Perhaps. Sounds like 2/10 on a FUN scale? For me, Y E S
zealous spade
How do you get the new companions?
frosty pier
You mean the locked keepsakes?
zealous spade
the ones that need ambrosia
neon bough
I just can't use Zeus aspect
frosty pier
Yup, those. Well for Than, you need to progress his story by beating him in his encouners. Meg also is pretty easy on execution, but hard on patience. Just kill her and talk. Doesn't work with other women . Skelly gives you his after you kill him with max lvl. Zagreus aspect Sword. Yeah, that's 5 blood.
neon bough
Enemies have a tendency to move too much
zealous spade
Thanks for the hints dude 
frosty pier
Sysiphus needs dailogue and 10 diamonds for a release fee.
That option shows up at the contractor
atomic panther
Sisyphus deserves a smooch. And I want to be the one to give him that smooch.
zealous spade
one last question when the heart meter in the codex looks like it the dials of a clock does that mean you just have to talk to them or wait for the next update?
frosty pier
Update.
vestal parcel
You can take advantage of Charon's keepsake in the inter-level chamber before swapping it out. But if you forget to buy from the store before picking a new keepsake, you lose the benefit and don't have the option to switch keepsakes again. It'd be nice if you got the benefit if you entered the room holding the keepsake, whether or not you're still holding it.
Wouldn't make things any easier, except for people like me who keep forgetting to go look at the store first. 🙂
frosty pier
Yeah you can, but it's not that bad.
And by THAT BAD I mean the thing that made switching keepsakes between zones only "1 at a time"-deal a thing.
unkempt raft
got a pretty noob question here if someone would be so kind. So, im going through levels 1/2 consistently, and the bosses are just dropping darkness instead of the boss drops. I'm assuming this a feature?
mild crag
Yes for each weapon (and then heat levels for each weapon after that) you only get the boss drops once
atomic panther
It is, yes
unkempt raft
ok that makes sense, thank you very much!
blazing mulch
Weapon?
karmic coyote
congrats, maximum heat when
karmic coyote
do it or no cookie
mild crag
cookieless 
pact for interested parties https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/270911855306866689/658629505845297152/unknown.png
karmic coyote
not even maximum no choice smh
karmic coyote
no choice always picks the best boon anyway so 2 won't make a difference
i always thought heightened security was the easiest to deal with until i accidentally stepped on the green jar in Hades fight and boom 150hp gone
mild crag
for me i walk into the spear statues in elysium
karmic coyote
that happens all the time for me, at least it doesn't oneshot me
mild crag
recorded that run btw if anybody is interested in some hestia rail propaganda
karmic coyote
Hestia is boring as watching golf, i'm all about Eris now, jk
mild crag
frosty pier
heightened security is most fun of all options.
WHAT IS A LIFE WITHOUT A SUDDEN ONESHOT?!
karmic coyote
a balanced life
frosty pier
Well, to be honest I am sweating bullets then I think about Hydra-EX
mild crag
i think i can handle hyrda ex fine now, but only with the rail lol
melee weapons sounds like hell
karmic coyote
Spear + armor skewer or vicious skewer works great against Hydra, destroy their armor after 2-3 throws
karmic coyote
i got 8 aphro casts with Hera bow once, killed a hydra head with 1 shot
mild crag
oof
karmic coyote
2 extra casts from Chaos and 3 from Artemis
pearl plank
that sounds heavenly
mild crag
man i played bad in this run i won
meager mica
i killed Hydra Head with just 5 Aphro cast on Hera Bow
mild crag
featuring: running out of time in elysium and going into erebus only to get hit
meager mica
8 are overkill
pearl plank
overkill is the best kill
mild crag
overkill for the style points
pearl plank
let the hydra know who's boss
karmic coyote
Indeed, always load all of them just for good measure
iron shale
i feel like i am at the point
were my complete build should just be for beating hades
uff
because i just bs myself through the rest
quaint plume
Is there any reason to increase heat over the limit other than the game being too easy?
sour brook
Am I the only one who feels the special from the bow is kind of useless?
cyan tulip
I really enjoy bow's special with ares boons and the +50% arrows from the hammer
granite vine
prolly not but imma tell you ya wrong
bow special lets you screenwipe, apply a ton of status at once, deal burst damage when standing next to a foe, attack at decent damage without needing to charge
sour brook
but I feel like when you get some nice upgrades for your bow's primary attack, even with ares boon or status effects applied, it feels more worth to just.. kill them? Since the bow can easily reach a ton of damage
idle latch
bow special shines with chiron aspect
sour brook
and the animation time for the special seems slightly long
granite vine
you can't clear a screen full of projectiles with primary attack
sour brook
yeah with chiron aspect it can be pretty neat, but without it, idk I always feel like just shooting is a better option
true, it does clear projectiles
granite vine
or apply 7 different chain lightnings on one button
idle latch
depends on what you are shooting
granite vine
it's definitely build-dependent, but ime you don't always have the option to stand still and charge an attack
special gives you that breathing room
sour brook
I still feel it's really bad, but if others are finding success with it then its fine I guess
well
granite vine
deflecting spray has carried most of my runs
sour brook
since you can charge while dashing, charging an attack is almost always an option you can take imo
or not while dashing, but you can still almost play as kalista from League of Legends, charging and then dashing, always creating distance. But well, if others are getting succes or liking the special then fair
candid merlin
Yeah bow is my favourite but the special seems definitely on the weaker side
granite vine
at least it's not sword special
candid merlin
But I'm still new
granite vine
I forget that exists even more often than cast
sour brook
sword special is awesome
candid merlin
^
sour brook
the fact that you can charge your special and then dash, making it trigger as you land feels very strong
and you can cancel the animation somewhat by using a normal attack as the blow hits
candid merlin
And Chiron aspect is fine but Zeus' boon doesn't trigger more than once on it
sour brook
what I really feel like isnt very good is actually the sword's third attack in it's combo? Since after using your normal slash twice you can use special, which is both faster than the third strike and also deals more damage
pearl plank
okay, the fact that you can dash after you start the sword special animation changes everything
I never realised that
sour brook
yeah it's such a good opener
and the damage you do if you attack twice, use special, and then cancel the special animation with two new strikes, followed by a special, rince and repeat, also feels super strong
pearl plank
my instinct when using the sword is always to break up the combo with dash attacks
sour brook
sword is super fun
pearl plank
It really is
honestly my least favourite weapon in terms of fun is the shield
the bow would be it, but the stuff you can do with hera's bow pushes it over the line
sour brook
I like the dash-charge gameplay with the bow
if youve played league of legends it's almost like kalista
and I personally find shield kind of fun, you can do some great stuff with it
the railgun is prob my least favorite, but I havnt played around with it's alternative forms
granite vine
railgun is funky with all the on-attack procs
pearl plank
hesta's rail also adds a little bit of punch to the old girl
granite vine
shield is easily my favourite because you don't have to go looking for any defensive options
solid cairn
Not gonna be able to play hades in a week cuz I’ll be one vacation with a bad laptop
Also, I think a shield rework to nerf the blocking and buff other stuff would make it more fun to use
Like instead of flatout blocking everything it could be just a high percentage of damage reduction
Like 85%
It would still make Bull rush good defensively but you would still have to manage health
@granite vine
It would be offset by some damage buffs to things
onyx glade
I tend to use the bow's special as a close range burst damage, not what it's meant to be, but with bonus arrows from a hammer upgrade its devastating
granite vine
I literally just maxed that aspect 2 seconds ago 😭
solid cairn
Zag bow?
I feel like Chiron is just better
Also no judging my highest levelled aspect is nemesis
And we all know the state of the sword besides Poseidon right now
Something I’m liking now is the spear with crit
The special just does so much damage
And it has some solid Daedalus upgrades
Like 50% crit on the spear coming back
And explosive launcher
solid cairn
Even crit on normal attack is good
livid nimbus
So i just noticed that if you have the aim assist thing on controller and dash attack (atleast with the sword) Zag still attacks the target even if the enemy jumps in the opposite direction of your dash
granite vine
oh my goodness ||Bouldy gave me a movespeed buff?!?!?!||
karmic coyote
i just had a run with Chiron bow + your special inflicts poison and Dio/Aphrodite duo boon, instant 100+damage/s
granite vine
I just passed on Support Fire for the first time, someone convince me it was worth it
muted patrol
yup Marcoos
granite vine
(I took Deadly Strike instead because I have twin shot on zag aspect
frosty sinew
I think if you do the right heat it will be awhile before you honeslty encounter issues
frosty pier
Eh it looks like you passed it on a bow?
muted patrol
Ah true
granite vine
why would you pass it up?
also Support Fire was rare while Deadly Strike was epic
carmine raven
@frosty pier 8 heat is a lot, I am at 4 heat atm
muted patrol
Bow it would be better on
carmine raven
any tip for distrubing those heats?
carmine raven
which conditions do you consider good?
muted patrol
I think I would take it
Jury summons
take that
its a buff sometimes
with eye of lamia
ez health regen
frosty pier
Depends on a weapon bit if you take life protection a on a rial you wont be hurting that much
granite vine
I've never passed on Support Fire before but I wanted to do a bow run that wasn't so special-focused, I always spam Q
frosty sinew
I'm still on lower heats just but minor things like more adds more health and extreme measure atleast the first one are pretty easy to work with
gloomy scroll
Try hunting blades with Hera aspect
frosty pier
Well a bow is not that dependant on support fire
frosty sinew
Extreme measures works out cause it just the boss battle then you dont gotta worry
muted patrol
Hera aspect blade storms seem pretty good
ill have to try it
It may not be dependent
but its free damage
like why not take it
gloomy scroll
Hunting blades is just kinda nutty and with Hera you get to deposit them on the enemies
granite vine
ofc I already failed a bit since I have jolting lightning special anyway
muted patrol
on chiron bow?
does it proc multiple times for that?
i dont recall
IMA DO A RUN RN
TEST IT
srry caps lock
ok this game hates me
gave me nectar first room
after hammer
livid nimbus
rip
muted patrol
so it looks like it does
i dont see what is wrong with lightning special chiron
its pretty neat
dusky hull
What happens if you don't clear a region under a designated time with tight deadline activated?
grand patrol
you slooooowly die and its THE WORST
solid cairn
Oh
dusky hull
How much slowly?
solid cairn
At least it isn’t instant death
grand patrol
its like a tick of damage every second, like poison, at least it was when i tried it
grand patrol
if they changed it ill never know bc it scared me too bad to ever use again
solid cairn
Can we agree artemis is the best boon god in the game
grand patrol
and it wont even do the final blow ! you just hover miserably at 1hp
grand patrol
she rocks......... currently ares and dio are my faves tho
muted patrol
absolutely bonkers
grand patrol
yessss
solid cairn
Can I get a tier list