It's force you to go for darkness tho
#h1-builds-and-combat
pliant palm
mystic vale
I cannot believe how many runs I must have screwed up not knowing I had access to all that extra healing.
pliant palm
Sure it's great with trove
mystic vale
Eh. The well option shows up constantly, as do the troves.
So I'm not often going for darkness rooms.
pliant palm
But beside that, if you don't have a darkness chaos boon, meh
mystic vale
Honestly the only time I was happy to have the +3 is that if you jump in a Chaos rift at full health, the +3 will kick in.
pliant palm
I'm using it too, but the more I think about it, the better chthonic vitality seems to be
mystic vale
I mean, run both ways and see how your numbers work with your playstyle, but I've already considered that even when I've spent all the darkness I can spend, I can still just heal more that way than Cthonic.
pliant palm
If you are using TD2, I'd say chthonic is defo better
You don't always have the time to go for trove
mystic vale
Granted, if I get to the point where I'm taking <150 damage a run, then Cthonic's fine.
pliant palm
Especially if in Elysium
mystic vale
But if I'm taking that little damage, then it probably doesn't matter which healing option I'm using.
And my next hit of Fated Persuasion is 5k Darkness, so...
pliant palm
Idk tbh
mystic vale
Now, what to do for this Exagryph run...
Sea Storm, I am thinking. Tempest Strike and Thunder Dash, perhaps.
pliant palm
Well, have to think that chthonic is excellent for Styx tho
cunning urchin
Whatever you want. Exagryph can probably clear with no boons at all unless the heat is very high.
mystic vale
...Keep in mind my Exa has 0 bloods.
cunning urchin
I stand by what I said. 
mystic vale
So I don't have all the super toys unlocked. :p
pliant palm
Time to do an Arthur run, 6 heat
visual dust
at what point does heat start being really hard I kinda skipped from 16 to 32 and noticed it was like 4x harder lmao
mystic vale
I'm going to max Aspect of Chaos on my shield, then I think I'mma max that casting buff on sword and try casting builds.
pliant palm
Ah... cursed slash offered
visual dust
took me a few tries for 32 heat
pliant palm
I guess Arthur is the best aspect to have it on, eh
Have to take it for the prophecy
mystic vale
I still have no idea what this Arthur one is. Probably a spoiler.
cunning urchin
I think 16~20 was pretty similar in difficulty.
I skipped to 32 after that because there are no bounties on 21~31 anyway. Have yet to clear 32, though.
I guess once you're forced to choose some of the harder pacts like benefits package, things get a lot more difficult. But you could choose difficult pacts on lower heat, too.
pale roost
got to hades on 32 a few times but always died half way through the 1st phase
visual dust
I just wanted that skelly statue so bad
excalibur with crit and athena call
facetank the boss
mystic vale
I never hear anyone mention taking Damage Control, which seems pretty light.
Probably what I'll do for heat 1.
Heat 57: Die in the first room. Heh.
visual dust
damage control is pretty easy unless you use hard hitting weapons in which case its really annoying
i took lasting consequences for my first heat
pale roost
jury duty as i maybe wrong about this but more enemies means more money
tepid ridge
I’m pretty sure I took Damage control too, then moved to shop items costing more.
mystic vale
Don't want to raise shop prices until I can score a few bloods/diamonds from Styx.
Which I'm reasonably certain I can do with Golden Touch when I start getting good enough to not need to constantly heal.
tepid ridge
Raised costs doesn’t affect the permanent items in the final shop
mystic vale
Ah, nice.
Still, it means anything I buy prior to then will take away from my GT triggers.
I just gotta git gud.
tepid ridge
I honestly just don’t use golden touch. Maybe I should more but I prefer the flat coin bonus at the beginning
mystic vale
(Not that I ever did in Dead Cells. I still never finished any cell runs.)
neon fiber
it is k me lad
just keep playing and you will eventually attain the state of enlightenment known as
getting good
opal glade
Weak has a pretty long duration so putting it on special for certain weapons is not a bad idea since it doesn't stack too
mystic vale
Yeah, I'm trying to get Tempest Strike/Thunder Dash/Sea Storm going.
And Aph gives me Crush Shot, Dying Lament, and Life Affirmation.
...
opal glade
take the shot i think
turbid needle
Aphrodite has the highest bonus to both Attack and Special.
If you're ever going to take a Poseidon core boon you should take Special, Cast, or Dash, which at least have decent damage to offset knockback.
mystic vale
Well I'm using Exagryph, so % bonuses don't do me a lot of good on my attack.
turbid needle
Tempest Strike is the worst Attack boon in the game.
mystic vale
I'm using Poseidon exclusively for the kb.
opal glade
i like privileged status so i usuallly go for statuses with long durations/things that stack
mystic vale
Since I'm trying to combo it with Sea Storm. :p
turbid needle
Like, 1000x so because it knocks stuff out or range of the Rail's attack and you have to be stationary to fire it.
opal glade
(sorry what's kb stand for in this context)
mystic vale
Knockback.
opal glade
oh aight thanks
mystic vale
See, I say Exagryph sucks, everyone else says it doesn't, but any build I suggest with it, I'm told sucks. The mixed signals are epic. :p
turbid needle
Have you tried using these builds that people are telling you are better?
opal glade
really depends how you play
mystic vale
Anyhow, I'm on chamber 7 so Life Affirmation might not be terrible?
turbid needle
I think Life Affirmation was a direct nerf to Aphrodite's kit, but people like it and more HP isn't bad.
mystic vale
The only builds I've had explicitly described were ones that needed Exagryph to be blooded.
tepid ridge
Life affirmation is great that early unless you really want weak
mystic vale
Which mine isn't.
So.
Beyond that, no one's mentioned anything beyond "add static damage buffs." Or "get triple bomb."
opal glade
i dont actually like triple bomb the timing is weird
mystic vale
Mostly I use my attack button to knock things into where I launched my mortar.
Unless I get the Hammer to give me Rocket.
tepid ridge
True but it’s a great mix of nuke damage that doesn’t get nerfed by breaking armor or enemy blue hearts
mystic vale
Then I rocket until everything dies. :p
opal glade
tho exagryph on static damage and also unlimited reload + Attack speed buff basically makes for a minigun
which i find hilarious
mystic vale
Also, I know to go towards Artemis if I see her, for that one she's got that attacks whenever you do.
opal glade
support fire i think?
tepid ridge
Support fire is okay. I usually leave it till later when Artemis is already in my boon rotation.
mystic vale
If my voice over electronics didn't make me sound like a six year old girl with a helium addiction, I'd learn how to Twitch so people could tell me every mistake I'm making in real time. :p
opal glade
i go for crits first
tepid ridge
I usually try to get pressure points or something similar like special crit on Exagryph first
opal glade
you could get a voice modulator lol
pressure points is dope when you have high attack speed weapons like exa, fists or the shield ngl
mystic vale
Like I just had a choice between Pom (with only Tempest Strike eligible) and a shop with 268 coins to me, and I took the Pom. I'm 70% sure I should have hit the shop and hoped for Zeus, Hermes, or a hammer.
turbid needle
Pressure Points with Zeus Attack is ridiculously spicey.
mystic vale
I am loving Ruthless Reflex. I miss the second dash...sometimes.
But for as often as I'm nearly getting hit anyhow, spending half my time with +50% damage and dodge is JUST FINE.
opal glade
find hermes for more reflexs
mystic vale
I pretty much always take haste or dodge first if they're there.
mystic vale
I suspect if I restarted this seed, I'd find the shop had a hammer. Just a hunch.
turbid needle
I wanna say the synergistic gods (DDZP) all show up a little more with each other, the same way AAAA does.
opal glade
also for meme-strats one time i took greatest haste (+40% speed) and second wind(?) (the one that adds 0.9 sec +100 speed after dashing) with ares dash and was basically sonic
mystic vale
Ouch. Aphrodite (second one) or hammer. I'm 99% sure I go hammer here.
opal glade
ive never actually gotten AAAA before, i get a lot of Dio/Aph/Deme/Art usually
mystic vale
Since whatever Hammer gives me may define the rest of the run.
opal glade
drift dash, that's the one
get hammer if you need it cause it shows up less than the gods
and since you've got aphr already she's got a higher chance of showing up later
turbid needle
Exagryph lives and dies on its Hammers.
tepid ridge
True, Aphrodite has more chances to appear later. Unless it’s an elite fight with better chances for good stuff. Take spread fire
opal glade
do you have a good Strike? (Zeus/Dio/Ares/Demeter, i feel), if yes, Delta chamber
turbid needle
Delta Chamber and Explosive Fire? You're gonna have a bad time. Flurry Fire and Triple Bomb? You're walking through the game.
Delta Chamber is bad.
mystic vale
Tempest Strike - trying to get Sea Storm with Thunder Dash (once Zeus shows.)
opal glade
oh i do prefer the unlimited reload
turbid needle
It's a direct DPS downgrade and the Rail's weapon sway means you're missing more attacks than not.
opal glade
one less thing to keep track of
mystic vale
Spread Fire it is.
opal glade
oh i see
turbid needle
It's not like Infinity Chamber where you got to keep a little bit of damage.
lost sage
exagryph spreadfire is the most fun i've had in the game
mystic vale
Light of Ixion? Sure!
opal glade
Exagryph spreadfire is a shotgun lol
tepid ridge
Dash strikes with explosive shotguns? Count me in
lost sage
max ammo and maximum damageo utput
and tons of dashing around my dude
much fun
clears chambers
opal glade
yeap, especially the smaller ones in styx
lost sage
yeah defintely
opal glade
3 second chamber wipes
lost sage
you feeel epic clearing them in seconds
mystic vale
Flurry Cast/Swift Strike/Quick Recovery.
40/21/30% on the random numbers.
My gut tells me QR but you folks know better.
lost sage
would be idk nice if we could test out daedalus upgrades we've unlocked before against skelly
turbid needle
Spread Fire is extremely OP right now and I don't like it.
lost sage
yeah i thought it was a tiny bit op
i really didn't like regular exagryph ithout it
the bombs are defintely funny though
the bombardment
mystic vale
Spread Fire, from what I'm seeing on paper here, just looks like "I want % boons to actually be good." But since you can never rely on it showing up, it feels like maybe that should be a Boon or something instead, but I dunno.
It feels like "% boons can be good" should be an option, but it should probably be a Boon or an Aspect.
Since you have more control over those.
lost sage
aspect of clearing rooms
opal glade
would be idk nice if we could test out daedalus upgrades we've unlocked before against skelly
@lost sage could defo leave it in feedback if someone hasn't already
mystic vale
Aspect of Genocide. :p
lost sage
oh ok
mystic vale
I'll +1 that in Feedback.
tepid ridge
Oh yes absolutely it’s unbalanced but taking it is more on the principle of “I was there to see it”
turbid needle
I just don't like that it was balanced last patch.
opal glade
sometimes you just want the godmode run without the godmode yknow
mystic vale
I may suck at this game but I am not doing god mode unless there's an achievement later for it or something. :p
opal glade
that's fair
neon fiber
it kind of just
detracts the whole challenge bit for me
mystic vale
I almost started in Hell mode just 'cause the game told me not to.
I'm contrary like that.
opal glade
whoops
i usually like to play for the meme-strats and see what dumb stuff i can pull off
mystic vale
Is Swift Strike good with the Spread Shot, or just take Quick Recovery?
tepid ridge
Ooh yes. I would say better than quick recovery
magic dagger
quick recovery is only good if you run away after they hit you
which means it's not great
turbid needle
It mitigates damage taken, it's probably Hermes's weakest boon.
mystic vale
...That might have been my fastest Alecto kill ever.
turbid needle
besides Quick Reload
mystic vale
And since I have Dark Regeneration, full heal after.
I'mma make sweet love to Dark Regen at some point. Full on Barry White, dim the lights, a glass full of bubbles.
turbid needle
I also love Dark Regen.
mystic vale
Also, 172 life since the two Hearts gave me 36 with Life Affirmation.
opal glade
no candles and rose petals?
mystic vale
I'll probably have 300+ by end.
tepid ridge
Is dark regen good on heat runs too when you’re not getting darkness from bosses?
mystic vale
The candles and rose petals part will not be safe to discuss in a PG-13 chat. :p
I would assume DR is good if you're ever hitting troves, or get a choice between gem rooms or bad gods vs. dark rooms.
Or are regularly buying darkness from Charon wells.
Since it's dirt cheap to do so.
Even at +40% would be 28 coins. :p
But I know some of the higher heat people mentioned they don't have time for troves.
So DR would be bad then.
turbid needle
I haven't tried 32 since getting it on my last weapon, but I play with 20 Heat and the first level of the timer and I have no issues taking Troves.
opal glade
im still farming darkness for the ||Nyx/Chaos quest|| so im on dark regen anyways
tepid ridge
I mean, with cthonic regen you probably get something like 30-45 HP back per floor right (not counting Styx)? I would think Dark Regen would outpace that pretty quickly as long as you periodically bought.
mystic vale
For 3 rooms, take 5 when I cast. In exchange, +88% Dash Strike (this is from that Light of Ixion I bought.)
...I...uh...BrB changing pants.
Ouch. 20% dodge or 40% move.
(Also, when you Blood up a weapon, can you turn the upgrade "off" later? Or can you only have one active at a time anyhow?)
turbid needle
Weapons have 3/4 Aspects.
Zagreus, a past wielder from Greek mythology, one of the six Olympians who participated in the Titanomachy, and a fourth future Aspect.
Currently only the sword and spear have their fourth Aspect.
tepid ridge
Each aspect is a choice for where you can spend Blood, and each aspect changes how the weapon plays
turbid needle
Titan Blood is nonrefundable but you can freely pick and choose.
tepid ridge
But you only have one active at a time
unkempt pagoda
each aspect is a separate weapon
mystic vale
I was asking because, for example, I Alt-F4'd out after taking Blitz Disc and seeing how slow it is, but I was wondering if I could have invested in it and then just not used it. That way I could unlock all the aspects, but not use one(s) I don't like.
turbid needle
Yes.
unkempt pagoda
it's zag shield or chaos shield or zeus shield on a run
mystic vale
Got it.
delicate nimbus
@tepid ridge dark regen does give you more hp per room, but it's way less consistent. You have to take dark rooms to heal. To match the 192 hp that the cathonic healing gives you, you need to acquire 240 darkness. That's only really possible with boss darkness.
turbid needle
Troves drop 150 Darkness after they've been upgraded and tick down extremely slowly.
mystic vale
Can I double dip on Chaos boons? Like if I get 88 and 97% dash strike, am I gonna eat souls?
turbid needle
I've flopped around a big Asphodel room with a weak kit trying to find all the Bloodless that yeeted themselves across the map and I still got 140 Darkness.
Yes.
Chaos Boons are bonus modifiers that can stack infinitely (if you could run infinitely).
tepid ridge
No, they stack/merge and the chaos boon becomes “Lv. X”
mystic vale
4 chambers of no previews, but I'll suck it up for 185% damage.
unkempt pagoda
i think chaos boons merging in level is a side-effect of how boons are displayed
turbid needle
If you get multiple "Flayed Lunge" boons they'll level up and display their stacked buff.
tepid ridge
Huh that’s strange. I would think after it no longer matters at all boons with the same reward would merge
Since that would be the only thing in effect
unkempt pagoda
it works based off of the name
mystic vale
Hrrm. Thunder Flourish or Thunder Dash...I guess I hadn't pre-planned which Flourish to take. Although I might want one with a debuff for Privileged Status.
unkempt pagoda
technically "flayed lunge" and "pauper's lunge" would be two different boons
tepid ridge
I get the nomenclature, I meant for future cleaning up of the UI
mystic vale
I get more damage on the Flourish but I'll be dash-striking constantly anyhow...hrm.
Yeah, Dash.
unkempt pagoda
there's value in leaving them separate, if you wanted to share exactly what curse that chaos boon was
but it would be cleaner to combine them
pale roost
how do damage reduction boons stack?(is it adding or multiplying)
tepid ridge
Malphon Paaawwnnnch
lost sage
i love seeing a boss's hp bar just drop by almost a whole quarter from one punch
tepid ridge
Multiplicative I believe except for Aphrodite’s Different League which reduces the amount of damage enemies do as opposed to the value you take
tepid ridge
True shot is nice for a little far-off damage but pressure points affects everything and is easy to get value out of upgrading
mystic vale
Did a 318 on a Ruthless there.
I have...no idea which keepsake to take. Hrrm. If there were one that upped Patroclus showing up...
I think Heartbreak Flourish or Trippy Shot...?
Wow. 596 on a ruthless. That's my top hit that wasn't Aphrodite's Aid.
2nd Hammer: Cluster Bomb, Hazard Bomb, Piercing Fire. I assume PF? :p
mystic vale
...Wish the game mentioned that. I didn't noticed it pierced. Hrm.
So it's Cluster Bomb, or Hazard Bomb (for prophecy, and then probably never use it?)
I saw the small print on Hazard. :p
turbid needle
If you aren't Eris, Hazard is incredibly powerful, that +200% is to the base damage.
mystic vale
But it's possible to hit self?
turbid needle
Yeah.
mystic vale
Hrrrrrm. I dash around a lot. I haven't seen it in action to see how avoidable it is.
But I do have +40% speed.
I guess I'll try it and practise in empty room a moment before carrying on.
Okay, so no aiming for distance. But easily dashed out of even with just one dash.
turbid needle
Hazard Bomb and Inescapable Blast on Hestia is my favorite combination for that Aspect.
mystic vale
Yay! Different League!
Hrrm. Or Heartbreak Flourish with Hazard Bomb.
...probably that, huh?
tepid ridge
With pressure points that will be a thicc bonus methinks
mystic vale
Yeah, I haven't stayed on screen with it to see the damage readouts, but I am one-shotting Elysium mobs.
If you clear out a well, will rerolling restock it, or just do nothing?
mystic vale
Yep. Got me a DD back. Was sitting on 400+ coins.
Ugh, don't think I'm seeing Patroclus this run.
Got Jolted too, so I can Privilege with Flourish/Dash.
Styx always have two poms?
mystic vale
My last doors are Aphrodite or money. I could, in theory, get Sweet Nectar, but it's probably not worth it unless I can guarantee some poms in Styx.
This is, of course, assuming the heroes don't paste me.
Meh, neither will help me in the actual fight, but Aph gives me a second chance at Different League, which might.
Also @tepid ridge I have an answer to your thiccness query; just saw a bombard for 1,372.
Also, Hazard Bomb is extremely good for reliably proccing Ruthless Reflex.
Of course that's 88% Chaos, 97% Chaos, 4% crit proc, Hazard Bomb (200%), and Heartbreak Flourish (154%) to get that damage.
So not highly reliable.
turbid needle
Without Hazard Bomb you'd be getting less than 500 per hit.
Unless that was a crit?
mystic vale
Oh, and 50% Ruthless Reflex.
turbid needle
Oh, wait, no, it would have taken both to get that much.
Hazard Bomb is a pocket crit, it's pretty nutty.
unkempt pagoda
pls get heart rend
mystic vale
Don't have Deadly Strike or Deadly Flourish.
Although if DS pops up, I'll take it at this point.
mystic vale
Tempest Strike was only useful before I went with Spread Fire.
warm cloud
... Odd discovery; purple Hunter Dash combined with Flurry Shot on the bow only adds +10 damage. I think it's a weird interaction where like, Hunter Dash checks how much you charge the bow before boosting damage, but because Flurry Shot deactivates the charging mechanic, Hunter Dash thinks every shot is a min-charge arrow?
Wait, no, my mistake, I forgot about the reduced damage on the bow's dash attack
mystic vale
Man, I didn't get many hearts. 172 life, a DD, and a skelly for Styx. Let's see how this goes.
(Oh, and the last Aphro was Sweet Surrender.)
Which is a shame, 'cause there's triple poms in the shop.
I do wish that mega-fountain spawned in the Temple area, in case you're at full health when you find it and still have other rooms to check.
But probably too good.
Yep, I amazingly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory there. Did one extra room for cash to get two of the poms and lost 90 life. Then Hades just spanked me with his spear charge-up.
@opal glade Were you going to put your Skelly suggestion in #hades-feedback so I can +1 it?
mystic vale
Man, that Dark Reflections prophecy looks juicy with +4 bloods. Means I'll have to eventually use Cthonic Vitality at least one more time though. :x
cunning urchin
Don't go into tunnels after you got the sack.
Unless you have a really good reason to do that.
mystic vale
I thought I did. A +2 and +1 pom. And I took 0 damage in the other 3 tunnels. 😦
dry ember
I wonder how many people didn't realize they can just walk pass Cerberus once they have the sack.
mystic vale
But that one just ate my face.
cunning urchin
And usually you don't have a good reason.
low patio
What about the fun of unlocking potential additional combo?
cunning urchin
1 pom is not a good enough reason. That's worth about one centaur heart. 1 heart is 25 HP. If you lose 50 HP only to get the worth of 25 HP, you're losing value.
dry ember
I mean that's something that would rarely come up?
You kinda have your build set along the way
And you can prioritize where to go when you get there
low patio
Ooookay I'll admit it happens rarely
mystic vale
So...Olympion Favour vs. Legacy. Educate me. Am I generally taking Legacy to proc legendary/duos, at the cost of risking more Commons showing up?
cunning urchin
If it's something like you might get another sick Duo Boon, that's something where you have to gauge the risk and if you even need it.
turbid needle
Yes.
There are also ways in-run to increase rarity, but not increase Legendary/Duo spawn rate.
low patio
If it's something like you might get another sick Duo Boon, that's something where you have to gauge the risk and if you even need it.
@cunning urchin Yeah that's what I had in mind (in the rare case where you get the sack before getting all of the boons available)
mystic vale
Have everything on Mirror maxed except Gods' Favour and the two Fateds.
cunning urchin
Also some builds can clear Styx rooms so easily, you can go for more without much risk at all.
mystic vale
Also, Favour seems terrible compared to Pride. Or am I just bad?
dry ember
Which one is which?
dry ember
Yeah I agree. I never picked favour.
mystic vale
And Hammers are already limited to 2, so...
Erg. Sword run.
I haven't had bow come up in eight or more runs.
Alright, Aphrodite, you're up.
hazy yacht
I picked favour first
shrewd brook
so apparently Supporting Fire has no icd
hazy yacht
then when I got pride
I never went back
the thing I've found about hades is a good start = a good run
neon fiber
Aphrodite can hit surprisingly hard
hazy yacht
it's hard to recover from a very poor start
thankfully the game is pretty well balanced so no matter what you get you can find a way to make it work usually
cunning urchin
There are no "bad" mirror upgrades.
hazy yacht
I mean... pride is noticably better than favor
dry ember
But some are better than others.
hazy yacht
it really depends on where your bar for "bad" is
dry ember
To me, bad means it's detrimental. No mirror upgrades is detrimental.
So there is no "bad" mirror upgrade
hazy yacht
yeah, if that's how you see it then that makes perfect sense
cunning urchin
Err ... God's Pride doesn't contest with Olympian Favor. You can have both at the same time.
dry ember
Not sure if Nya means otherwise though
cunning urchin
Unless pact takes away mirror upgrades obviously.
mystic vale
We were talking Gods' Pride vs. Gods' Favour.
There's multiple "favour" mirror boons. :x
cunning urchin
God's Pride and God's Chosen. Unless the wiki got the names wrong.
cunning urchin
Ah alright.
mystic vale
+2% ambiguity bonus? Huh.
normal orbit
Is there a way to see how far I've gotten with a given weapon?
normal orbit
Ugh. Okay, thank you.
cunning urchin
If you get 3 boons in Tartarus and have to sell 2, those 3 being epic doesn't do much for you. With God's Favor though you could have maybe 5 boons instead. So it's not always strictly superior.
turbid needle
If they're Epic at least you're getting your money's worth off them.
mystic vale
One of these days I'mma load up Sisyphus keepsake, grab Poseidon, and go to town. Not sure with which weapon though. Aegis, maybe?
cunning urchin
Ah right. But still there's an argument that still having some boons could help you more. It's at least not clear-cut.
mystic vale
Wow. Got Unhealthy Fixation before leaving Tartarus.
(Heartbreak Flourish/Sweet Surrender/UF.)
turbid needle
I feel like more boons is better with Persuasion than Authority.
cunning urchin
If you only have 1 choice per boon, then getting more boons would give you a better chance of getting boons that make a good build.
mystic vale
I should probably follow that up with Ares or Artemis for the duos?
mystic vale
I still need it for prophecy. :p
turbid needle
And is significantly less useful than a lot of vanilla boons.
Oh, well.
Yeah, go for it.
mystic vale
But then I still need Heart Rend too.
So.
I'm guessing your advice is Heart Rend. :p
cunning urchin
I feel like more boons is better with Persuasion than Authority.
Yeah, probably. Unless you really want to see a certain God a lot.
mystic vale
I got Cruel Thrust, so Deadly Strike sounds good.
(Will dash-striking make thrust proc, or no?)
mystic vale
So no Deadly Dash then. Which is fine. I might go with Mistral Dash.
turbid needle
Hunter Dash is great on Stygius, your dash attack is almost always strictly better than combo attacking.
mystic vale
I think my mistake was taking Cruel Thrust, but I needed it for prophecy. :p
turbid needle
The only exception is World Splitter, but Double Edge outdoes that.
If you're not a tryhard weirdo like me and have long since minmaxed every build, I suggest you experiment.
mystic vale
I straddle the line. I've got OCD like whoa though, so I'mma want to unlock everything I can.
cunning urchin
Dash-strike seems to be the best tactic on near every weapon.
turbid needle
That's because dashing resets attack cooldown.
So you can get Greatest Reflex and then spam your attacks extremely quickly.
mystic vale
Heh. Charmed Meg. There should be be an achievement for that in full release. :p
cunning urchin
Plus you get extra damage from Hunter Dash, invincible frames, mobility, . . .
turbid needle
Oh, by the way, I think I figured out your issue with the shockwaves in the Power Couple and Hades fights.
Attacking in the middle of a dash cancels the rest of your i-frames, so if you're standing in the middle of the hitbox you will get hit.
cunning urchin
I don't think I attack when I dash through it, but I couldn't say for sure. I'll pay attention to that next time, thanks!
mystic vale
Oh, interesting. I can Flourish/strike/strike to thrust. Makes it slightly better.
cunning urchin
Seems to be a common problem, though.
turbid needle
As far as I can tell it even will go through Divine Dash.
cunning urchin
You've played the game for a long time, I guess?
turbid needle
Yup.
mystic vale
He's done like at least ten runs from what I can tell.
shrewd brook
and once again Artemis proves to be the best Godess. Support Fire + Flurry Fire is amazing
turbid needle
It's nuts, Andrew.
mystic vale
"But I don't want to go on the barge."
"Oh, don't be such a baby."
west totem
You spelled artemis wrong
shrewd brook
Artemis is the only one who doesn't seem to look down on Chthonians
that puts her waaaay up there in the tier list
grave compass
Team Aphro here (although my love for Ares will always burn bright)
west totem
Also shes a cutie, and shes nice and respects people
shrewd brook
although that's a discussion for #waifu board
turbid needle
Actually, I've got a point about that, Andrew, that I think needs discussing in #h1-story-discussion
grave compass
Was unfortunately a bit dissapointed by her mix with hera - the way the cast works just doesnt work for all enemies 😥
shrewd brook
so what are the best casts with Hera? Athena and Poseidon?
cunning urchin
Crush Shot is a lot of fun. Don't need Hera Aspect for it.
Trippy Shot for Hera probably. Trippy Shot for any cast build on anything.
turbid needle
Trippy Shot by a wide margin.
shrewd brook
oh right. trippy shot. with ice wine
magic dagger
and scintillating feast if you can
grave compass
Tbf i did like arrow deliverying blizzard shots directly to hades
I know its not ice wine but close second?
mystic vale
Aaaaaaaaaaand Heart Rend, yaaaay!
turbid needle
I almost would rather keep vanilla Flood Shot for the AoE burst.
mystic vale
Half-tempted to hit up Ares just to get the Duo out of the way. Still don't have Clean Kill or Pressure Points though.
Could go Athena and get Deadly Reversal, with Divine Dash.
cunning urchin
Curse of Pain and Divine Dash on Chaos Aspect if you have that.
grave compass
So ive been in this discord a while now... i only just realised theirs a discussion section 🤣
I just live in this gameplay section i never realised 😂😂
cunning urchin
Oh wait nevermind, misread.
mystic vale
Uh, Deadly Strike, L4 Heartbreak Flourish, Cruel Thrust, Sweet Surrender, Unhealthy Fixation, Swift Flourish, Heart Rend.
Erg. I'll take Athena's keepsake, and I may give Ares the time of day if he shows up.
cunning urchin
Where are you now?
mystic vale
Just got into Elysium.
cunning urchin
What weapon?
mystic vale
Sword. Hm. Double Nova or Super Nova?
neon fiber
guys that's not how you write poseidon best god
mystic vale
Double seems straight up better.
x2 damage instead of +20%.
And I don't knock them out of the AoE.
turbid needle
Used to, but not anymore.
mystic vale
Actually, hrrm. Given that I just lost 100 life to flame wheel explosions, maybe wider AoE is a good idea.
turbid needle
It's pretty good, but a little harder.
Oh, yeah, if you don't have something for Flamewheels I wouldn't mess with that.
cunning urchin
Super Nova will also apply Weak in a wider area.
mystic vale
Yeah, that was just the thing for flamewheels.
cunning urchin
Personally I tend to only get Double Nova if I already have Super Nova.
mystic vale
And now for Trial of the Gods, picking Aphrodite, 'cause Artemis doesn't shoot hearts that stun me for 2 sec.
turbid needle
Yeah, Aphrodite's Trial is scary now.
mystic vale
Oooh, Broken Resolve for prophecy.
cunning urchin
I wouldn't have any idea. I always choose Lady Aphrodite first.
mystic vale
Bleh. True Shot, Hide Breaker, and Support Fire all at common. I haz a sad.
At least Hide Breaker is good against super rats.
cunning urchin
Hide Breaker and Support Fire are great at any rarity. Support Fire doesn't do much for the Stygian Blade, though.
@hazy yacht congrats!
Now once again on 20 heat!
pliant palm
I find spear really not fun to play...
hazy yacht
spear's dash attack is lovely
neon fiber
yeah, most spears aren't that good
turbid needle
Whoa, Holy Shield and Phalanx are great.
turbid needle
If you're using the Spear, just pretend you're on an additional 5 Heat.
magic dagger
get guan yu, it's awesome
pliant palm
Yeah, my guan yu is maxxed
cunning urchin
Sure Footing is great, too.
turbid needle
I meant Sure Footing, actually.
Phalanx isn't bad, but I really don't like how long it takes to accelerate.
cunning urchin
Phalanx is weird. I haven't looked into it much.
I think I had one great run with it with Hera Aspect.
grave compass
Ive used phalanx like once or twice
A bit like ares blades, probably useful just not for me
mystic vale
I very specifically wanted Divine Dash though. :p
grave compass
Also if im going for a zues duo its gonna be dem or poseidon - not wasting it on phalanx
mystic vale
I mean, Ruthless Reflex, Divine Dash...silly good.
turbid needle
I've blown up the Heroes with Lightning Phalanx.
cunning urchin
I think Sure Footing is one of the best boons in the game. Not flashy, but really strong.
turbid needle
Wish it changed the Cast's properties more.
mystic vale
No, no. Phalanx Shot, not Lightning Phalanx.
turbid needle
I know it was just the initial Cast.
I'm saying that Lightning Phalanx isn't a wasted duo like Curse of Longing or Lightning Rod.
grave compass
Honestly i need to get it more - ive been scorned by those elysium traps stabbing me in the back too often
Sure footing that is
cunning urchin
Even at rare it's 75% damage reduction.
lapis matrix
For traps right?
mystic vale
Yummy yummy cyclops jerky.
grave compass
I think i still need the athena legendary anyways so might do an athena focused run next to try and get it
lapis matrix
What is Athena's legendary?
cunning urchin
Invincibility!
grave compass
Although i still wanna do knockback chaos shield too 🤔
So many options for fun combos 🤣
Yeah its literally invincibility
cunning urchin
Divine Protection.
You have a barrier that negates incoming damage.
Barrier Cooldown: 20 Sec.
grave compass
Puts other legendaries to shame that
turbid needle
Athena's boons are nice in that a lot of them don't require kit synergy.
Splitting Bolt is absolutely terrifying if you have rapid-fire lightning, but pretty "meh" without it.
Divine Protection is just... Always there.
mystic vale
And my first Elysium sword win. Still have three DDs too.
turbid needle
you can also sell Brilliant Riposte without fear of repercussions
cunning urchin
If you're good at running away for 20 seconds and aren't on a timer, Divine Protection can help you win even an otherwise awful run. Plus it has good synergy with dodge.
mossy breach
what are you expecting for new aspects? I hope they continue the trend of slower but stronger weapons
mystic vale
Aspect of Microtransactions.
turbid needle
I'm most looking forward to Malphon and Exagryph.
mossy breach
A true minotaur-like charge with the aspect of the shield is what i want
cunning urchin
I expect the new bow will be sweet.
grave compass
Tbf id be interested for a version of the shield that removes bull rush for something else
To make shield a bit more challenging but also get a nice buff like guan yu
mystic vale
Actually that could be funny in game. Every time you leave a chamber, lose 10/13/16/20 gold and get +2%/3%/4%/5% damage or something.
cunning urchin
E Aspect.
neon fiber
E aspect
you just throw your finest memes to the enemy sticked on an arrow
grave compass
Anyone remember pit in super smash bros?
Imagine if they changed up the bow special for that spinning melee attack haha
river nymph
How do you guys feel about Aphrodite's boons? Ignoring whether it's strong enough, do you have fun with the "Weak" mechanic/her whole kit in general? She just feels like the one god I'm never exited to see.
The reason I ask is apparently a lot of people on the feedback forum don't seem to agree with me.
cunning urchin
Weak is great.
lapis matrix
She's good in combination with other gods
earnest ravine
She's one of the better ones for me to see, yeah, because I like getting big numbers and she's wonderful for getting there. Especially if I have Artemis in the run.
lapis matrix
Even on her own she gives one of the bigger stat boots
earnest ravine
Or Dio, for that matter.
magic dagger
She's pretty, has good damage, and helps apply privileged status
grave compass
I enjoy using aphro
Strong does come into it too but it also synergizes with others quite easily - plus her charm can make for some fun interactions
cunning urchin
She has the best +% damage of any Olympian.
lapis matrix
Demeter is the other one I think
cunning urchin
While also reducing the damage you take by 30%.
grave compass
Having 15% charm on a fast attack can make Hades fight very different 🤣
mossy breach
does charm work on hades?
lapis matrix
Yes
cunning urchin
Demeter's +% damage is lower than Lady Aphrodite's.
grave compass
Yeah he charges up then just starts laughing and walks in the other direction
lapis matrix
Demeter's execute works on bosses too
grave compass
But yeah i never pass up the chance for aphro
river nymph
So you'd say you'd build around her for the damage plus the perk of taking less damage? Do any of you take the rose keepsake?
cunning urchin
Weak effectively buffs all the heart chambers you pick up, too. And she has Life Affirmation on top of that.
grave compass
I will often take it as my first keepsake to ensure i get it on what i want
lapis matrix
I'm maxing out all my keepsakes
earnest ravine
If you're trying to force a build, that tends to be the common wisdom, yeah. Get the guaranteed boon and switch next zone.
grave compass
And yeah her damage output is great
earnest ravine
The fact that Weak causes enemies to dealless damage is actually kinda irrelevant to me? But the things that Weakened enemies can then be debuffed by (increased damage taken, Crit damage with Artemis, hangover stacks with Dio) are where she really shines.
grave compass
And her cast is surprisingly unique for something different
lapis matrix
The persistent doom damage
shrewd brook
how does God Mode work with other sources of damage resistance? Can't get past the 80% cap?
grave compass
As far as im aware its the only close range cast
lapis matrix
It's weird
river nymph
Well what I mean is do you often run that specific keepsake and build around Aphro. I love Dionysus and Poseidon so I'll pick their keepsakes a lot, and I also like to switch it up and try the other gods. But I don't really feel compelled to take Apho's keepsake.
I'm trying to gauge if there's a decent amount of enthusiasm for starting with an Aphro build.
earnest ravine
and charm, as other people have said, is Silly
lapis matrix
I never start with her I suppose
grave compass
I have more often built around aphro than dionysis
I actually use dio least unless i happen to get festive fog
And yeah ive very often aimed for an aphro start
cunning urchin
Weak is not really irrelevant, though. If you have 250 HP and your enemies are weak, you have effectively 357 HP—or 454 HP if you also have Broken Resolve. That's a lot of life.
earnest ravine
that's why i prefaced "to me", because my usual strat is avoiding damage entirly because of running butterly
lapis matrix
Aspect of Arthur's special boosts that up even more
earnest ravine
For most reasonable people it's definitely worthwhile, but since Sleigher was asking opinions, I offered mine.
river nymph
I'm not really arguing whether "Weak" is strong or not. I just don't think the mechanic is near as fun or interesting as the other gods.
But I might be in the minority here.
grave compass
I think its no different to artemis - its maybe not as 'interesting' but its safe power output
mystic vale
Alright. 300 life, 2 DDs, and Skelly. If I can't win this sword run, I'm chucking the sword into the river.
lapis matrix
It's possible
river nymph
I can get the argument for Artemis, but I will saying big numbers with exclamation marks is pretty fun
but I will say*
grave compass
Sometimes a fun run is being able to walk up to enemies and 1 shot them rather than wait for effects to do the job for you
Thats just play style
cunning urchin
@mystic vale good luck!
lapis matrix
With Aphrodite you can straight up tank the final boss
cunning urchin
Artemis doesn't make everything pink.
river nymph
@cunning urchin I will definitely say the pink sparkles are pretty great
cunning urchin
See?!
grave compass
I think thats the difference - aphro is all about longevity - you deal more damage and take less
I prefer that to chip damage when i play hence also never really taking dio
cunning urchin
Lady Aphrodite is the best.
grave compass
Best way to compare it is probably ares actually
river nymph
I can see having a playstyle of "Don't care I'm tanky" can have it's appeal, and if that's her nieche, I can see how folks could like her.
I guess that's just not really for me.
mystic vale
Oh hey, I avoided a hit and it said something about Bouldy. I think that ambiguity bonus may be a dodge/invincible %.
grave compass
Everything about ares looks and feels fun - but its underpowered
The blades the doom the god... amazing
Using it... disappointing
Aphro less flashy but you win
cunning urchin
It's not just being tanky, her boons also do big, consistent damage.
river nymph
I guess I like flashy
grave compass
Yeah like max call - you have to wait till max but you do like 40% to thesues
river nymph
put me down for flashy any day
cunning urchin
Deadly Strike needs some extra boons to match the DPS of Heartbreak Strike.
river nymph
Also I love that he's called Dio. I keep thinking of the metal band
mystic vale
JFC still lost. I give up on sword. Got him down to like 8%.
grave compass
Too bad - youll get the win eventually
mystic vale
Obviously not. I had everything possible going for me there.
grave compass
Physical vs ranged play against hades is a whole other learning curve
mystic vale
Jerky.
river nymph
If I go melee I always rock the Athena Dash
grave compass
Double boon
cunning urchin
Consider recording a run and watching it to see what you can do differently.
grave compass
Can never pass up 2 boons
cunning urchin
Your own run, I mean.
lapis matrix
You don't need the health or the recharge so boon
neon fiber
boomer doomer
grave compass
Consider recording a run and watching it to see what you can do
That i actually need to try
neon fiber
actually no
that challenge has two best gods
go in, choose ares and then tank the w a v e s
shrewd brook
oh right. I'm in Elysium. For some reason I thought it was the chick, not the emo
neon fiber
for the love of god don't do ares' trial that thing is painful
mystic vale
Well considering I can't imagine what I could be doing wrong in the first place, I am 99% sure watching myself fail isn't going to teach me anything. All I could have done was maybe back off a few more times, but that would have just gotten me laser'd more.
grave compass
Lasers just stand behind the broken pillars
mystic vale
I even had Athena's Call and still choked.
grave compass
Hide for a bit
mystic vale
Right, and I did that, but because I was already next to the pillar.
grave compass
I think theyre pillars?
mystic vale
If I had backed off, I would have been in laser range.
cunning urchin
You can also stand right next to him, and his lasers won't hit you.
mystic vale
One day I'll try sword with the caster aspect but otherwise I think I'll skip it until then.
grave compass
You can?
lapis matrix
Yes
cunning urchin
Yes.
grave compass
Wow - doesnt really change my gamplay much but nice to know
neon fiber
yeah the pillars are annoyingly wonky
gotta be at the exact right angle or the lasers will just noclip through them
i think a shield can tank the beams too at the right angle
cunning urchin
With Malphon you can just keep punching him because Malphon's attack doesn't move Zagreus.
grave compass
Oh yeah the shield doesnt take any damage from lazers
Just wait and then bullrush
cunning urchin
You can also run in a circle with the lasers to not get hit.
mystic vale
Wheee, first god prophecy finished!
grave compass
I like hiding behind pillars as it allows me to breath and recoup a sec before rushing back into battle
Also chucking festive fog over pillars whilst hes lasering is very satisfying
lapis matrix
I do that too but they're not too great for hiding behind
cunning urchin
I usually get behind a pillar, yeah.
lapis matrix
Do to the clipping issue
cunning urchin
Maybe get hit once and reposition.
grave compass
9 out of 10 times i get the angle right now - every now and then yeah you can get hit when youre not expecting
mystic vale
Wheeee shield run.
cunning urchin
Without Hard Labor up, the beam is not really that bad. And with that up, I still don't get hit most of the time.
hazy yacht
did not expect to win this one so handily https://i.imgur.com/vAD7diE.jpg
that daedalus upgrade is so much better than i thought
neon fiber
I remember the first time the laser noclipped through the pillar
I panicked, started dashing and lost a DD
Not good times
cunning urchin
His beams rotate clockwise, so you stand like to the right of a pillar first, see where his beam doesn't reach behind the pillar, then move there.
remote pulsar
grave compass
How to people so often get epic chaos boons?
I feel like far too often i see chaos and its either common or even after a re roll its not for what i want (attack, special, etc.)
cunning urchin
@hazy yacht congrats!
hazy yacht
ty
neon fiber
@grave compass sheer luck
cunning urchin
People here post the runs where they got really good stuff.
hazy yacht
@grave compass https://i.imgur.com/TR9J7g9.jpg its because of this
grave compass
Ive seen it a couple times though where people consistently post tuns with 3 epic chaos boons though and im always like... how?
neon fiber
I’m not sure whether the olympian rarity mirror upgrades affect them or not, i suppose they don’t
cunning urchin
So there's a lot of average runs that you never see.
hazy yacht
you can reroll for a chance at another epic boon if you don't get one in the first list
that's what I do
grave compass
Yeah i got fully upgraded mirror but i must just get unlucky
hazy yacht
i save my rerolls for when i don't get something epic
cunning urchin
Yeah, that too. Persuasion is nice.
hazy yacht
and if an epic boon appears i usually just take it, even if its not ideal for the build im going for
grave compass
Well except persuasion
hazy yacht
im on an 8 win streak so i must be doing something right
shrewd brook
pure luck. I had a bunch of bad spear runs in a row that I couldn't win and then all stars aligned and I got 2 legendaries and a good duo. managed to kill the last boss without losing any DDs
cunning urchin
I take a common if it's what I want, even when there's something epic lol.
hazy yacht
idk, the bonuses from leveled up epic boons are so good that I can't pass them up
shrewd brook
that common might get upgraded by Demeter or the singer anyway
hazy yacht
there are only a few epics that i'll pass up
cunning urchin
Epic Divine Flourish does practically nothing for me on Malphon, I'd reroll that for Divine Strike or take a common Divine Strike over it.
If I ever choose Epic Divine Flourish on it, 100% I'm going to sell it at the next opportunity.
grave compass
Yeah thats all true - i usually only do about 2 runs a day so i guess i just dont play enough to see those lucky runs as often
cunning urchin
@shrewd brook or by Eurydice!
grave compass
Plan for tomorrow though imma try those divine fists and artemis on the demeter special if i can
cunning urchin
Oh wait, you said that lol.
cunning urchin
I should obviously get some sleep lol.
mystic vale
Wait, Mitch McConnell is in this game?
cunning urchin
You can get wall slam bonus damage against all of them if they're next to a wall, I think.
grave compass
Wallslamming theseus is both fun and easy to do
cunning urchin
Pretty sure I've dealt wall slam damage on Hades with Blizzard Shot.
grave compass
Although since some advice on here hes a lot less of a problem now
Beat up bull, and avoid spear throw
Get thesues down to half now hes alone
Drop companion/call/both
Done
shrewd brook
I achieved it with Chiron aspect + Poseidon special
grave compass
Been using Mort lately and as he deals more power than Battie
Just set and forget - the first god animation isnt even over before the king goes down
cunning urchin
I actually often use a Greater Call to knock his first 50% down fast because he blocks a lot in that phase, then zerg him when he uses his call because he has his defense down.
grave compass
I sometimes just drop the call on the bull cos hes being annoying
Theseus i can get down to 50% now without too much issue - its only once my attention is split by a god i have trouble
cunning urchin
Any HP I lose, I'll get back after the fight anyway.
grave compass
Now im using mort though a greater call pre 50% sounds smart
cunning urchin
Well, he's just standing there after the phase transition, not blocking anything.
And the initial call you can avoid by just holding any direction at all.
So you can just run in circles attacking and dash-striking him, or even just stand there mashing away until he dies. He doesn't have a lot of HP.
grave compass
True - but i just like the ease of dropping a mort and then dodging the first wave
cunning urchin
I've been only using Bouldy. Free healing is nice.
grave compass
Companions definitely nerf boss battles 😅
Tbf bouldy in hades fight might be useful if i can get heals in there whilst dealing some damage 🤣
tepid ridge
I love using shady. Now if only I could remember to equip it during darkness farming runs
cunning urchin
Well, you don't need to defeat Theseus without taking damage. It's kind of a waste of time and resources to do that. You can heal right after the fight anyway.
Everytime I kill a boss and the fountain heals for more than the damage I've taken, I think well I could have done that faster being more aggressive.
neon fiber
better be safe than sorry imo
river nymph
Hopping back on the Aphrodite discussion just one last time: I got the impression that the fun of Aphrodite for some folks is you can facetank a lot more, and this enables a lot more aggressive play. I'm getting that now.
But I would like to see what you guys think about slightly retooling "Weak" to make it a bit more engaging. What if you could recover a portion of the health lost after getting hit? Kinda like Bloodborne.
This way you're a lot more active in your damage mitigation. Unfortunately this would make that one Hermes buff a bit redundant, but I feel like this would be a lot more fun version of "Weak".
mystic vale
Decline. Prefer current state.
river nymph
You could tune it to be as strong as you want. I'm less focused on strength and more on fun.
cunning urchin
Doesn't make sense thematically.
paper mountain
^ who will think of the flavor?
turbid needle
A lot of people?
cunning urchin
And doesn't matter how strong you make it, you can't gain back HP if you're dead.
paper mountain
Oh no that was more a play on "Who will think of the children?" as in it's precious and must be preserved at all costs
Games are 0 without flavor
Though Progress Quest might disagree...
cunning urchin
They don't aim to make every boon fun for everyone anyway, or every weapon.
Some people love the bow and think Malphon is boring. I love Malphon and think the bow is awfully slow.
sly sonnet
If 70% of your runs arent fists you arent a true hades fan 
paper mountain
reminds me of the retort offered by designers of magic: the gathering when players gripe about a game piece not being powerful enough. they don't design everything for the vocal minority of power players, they design them for the overwhelming majority of "yes but i like this" players
cunning urchin
Well, in this case it's not about power, they just don't like how her boons function (weak etc.).
quartz meadow
id like even more weapons
cunning urchin
Yeah, it's really nice. And sometimes you get inspired by what other people run and think hey maybe I should give that weapon another try.
sly sonnet
Seeing people run shotgun builds made me try and use rail more
paper mountain
yeah niko i'm hurting for parry. even a daedalus mod affecting the timing of bull rush, or even just converting it totally to a parry.
sly sonnet
Like it doesnt even need to do damage
it can just be like if you release bull rush as an attack is about to hit you it does something
turbid needle
Make World Smasher parry. 
quartz meadow
You should try using the spear with the modifier of using the especial as an explosive throwable spear
paper mountain
i would settle for a stun. are there...stuns in the game?
quartz meadow
its pretty op
sly sonnet
Yeah dio cast has stun
cunning urchin
Fighting Hades with effectively 1000+ HP from Weak etc. is somehow extremely satisfying.
tepid ridge
I kind of doubt the shield will have a parry mechanic because Athena’s blessings already fill that design space with words like deflect and riposte.
sly sonnet
I treid running powered up thesus and minotaur for 2nd time today
paper mountain
oak that's a good point. deflect does hit melee swings doesn't it.
sly sonnet
almost beat it
tepid ridge
I believe melee can be deflected. I think almost anything that can has a pink aura to it
river nymph
Well she has a few healing focused boons, so I feel like you can get there flavor wise however you want. If folks would prefer the set-and-forget style of the current iteration, I get that, but I was gauging what folks would think about the bloodborne health recovery mechanic regardless of strength (which you can tune however you want).
But it sounds like I'm in the minority here.
sly sonnet
Yeah athena has deflect but it doesnt feel like a true parry imo
cunning urchin
Get Divine Strike on any shield, and you have a parry.
paper mountain
yeah you know what there are more creative existing approaches to parry, i'm convinced
cunning urchin
Parries deflect attacks. Deflect deflects attacks.
sly sonnet
Parries dont need to deflect attacks per se
As grid said they could stun
boost your damage
etc
neon fiber
there are stuns in the game but from what i've seen you're the one getting stunned
paper mountain
mewmew how dare you bring syllogisms into this house
sly sonnet
But yeah maybe its just wishful thinking on my part
neon fiber
i've seen only two instances of getting stunned and both were attacks from bosses
sly sonnet
because I love when action rpgs have parry systems
mossy breach
hmm.. im about to fight theseus and i have 2 chaos boons that reduce speed
sly sonnet
Yikes
paper mountain
duwang you just sent me on a spiral of dreaming up a Hades boon tree, where you get versions of his attacks
sly sonnet
Actually they could do a bayonetta type time slowdown on a parry
paper mountain
@neon fiber imagine your Cast places one of those aoe stun jars 🤤
neon fiber
yeah, i've actually wanted a hades boon tree too, but it explaining how we're getting it would be extremely convoluted so chances are we're not getting one on the first place
sly sonnet
I like it the way it is
I just wish the info on the requirements was ingame and not on wiki
neon fiber
also i've always assumed a hades cast would be ||the shockwave skulls since those are mechanically his versions of our bloodstones. Phase 1 Hades is basically a Zagreus mirror match||
mossy breach
from where the hell is the damage of poseidon cast+demeter coming?
neon fiber
nah we're in march my dude
sly sonnet
I almost fell for it
You mean the duo cast?
Well I only used it once but from what I understood its multiple small hitboxes that constantly tick as they go through enemies
sly sonnet
or that
mossy breach
its a lot of damage, -90% speed theseus run is saved
like 3 casts and he was out of the chariot
neon fiber
i just saw your suggestion about the hades aspect, mewmew
you might be a vile aphrodite sympathizer but you're a very wise one too
imo you basically nailed it, it doesn't really feel his aspect as much as something named after him
plus the whole emotional duel thing
tepid ridge
Plus I want to be able to see him use that attack that killed me many times during the fight and then reply “that’s not a sweep, this is a sweep”
mystic vale
If I'm in the temple and I see Athena's icon with a red glow around it, that's probably good...?
pliant palm
Wdym ?
mystic vale
It's normally just a yellow shield.
Now it's a yellow shield with a red glow around it.
pliant palm
uh...
mystic vale
Erg.
You'll have to view original to get any decent zoom.
My guess is that's a legendary waiting to happen.
proven robin
...The only thing that bugs me so far about Hades is I want to see Zag ||actually able to play a boardgame with someone. Doesn't even have to be super-complex, just some cool minigame he can do by inviting someone he's got a Bond with to his room.||
mystic vale
No, wait, can't be. I don't have Brilliant Riposte.
sly sonnet
not sure
tepid ridge
Does it have the small skull and arrow that indicates it’s an elite path?
proven robin
...That would be sick as heck, though.
mystic vale
Nope, just the coin path does that.
sly sonnet
Athenaa unlocks the 4th shield
pliant palm
Seems normal to me
sly sonnet
You know it would be cool if post launch they added a god gauntlet
pliant palm
Lol wut
paper mountain
Is that blizzard shot or...?
mystic vale
Hrrm, nothing unusual aside from it's offering me Brilliant Riposte.
pliant palm
Gonna have the try that too
tepid ridge
Probably decay and several chaos boons. Can’t tell the weapon but almost certainly one of the aspects that increases cast damage
proven robin
That, Hunting Blades, and Crystal Clarity are my three nominations for a Mage build, basically.
tepid ridge
Dey fun
sly sonnet
Yup same those 3 best cast builds
proven robin
They just do terrifying amounts of damage and you can just drop basically zones of hurt and just lure enemies into it.
pliant palm
Ice wine says hello
sly sonnet
I only used that once I think
proven robin
I'm a little disappointed in Lightning Phalanx.
pliant palm
:0
proven robin
Oh, man, Ice Wine sounds good.
sly sonnet
if I go dio I do scintillating feast
proven robin
Oooh, that'd do it.
proven robin
Yeah, though, is...is Lightning Phalanx worth it?
pliant palm
Yeah, I usually do zeus on attack, demeter on special, and dio cast
Works pretty well with fist
proven robin
For Fist? Hilariously I like to just do combo.
mossy breach
this was the build https://imgur.com/a/mrsfCux. (its okay to link pictures and videos here?)
proven robin
Put on Athena's Call, build that up, and just Greater Call and go to down.
sly sonnet
I do lightning special with charged fist + kick upgrade so you get like 10 lightning procs with one special
proven robin
The gloves do so much damage.
(I do the melee combo, then cancel it into a dash-strike, then repeat. It's quick, it helps evade attacks, and especially if you power your Attack with Zeus's lightning, it does a lot of damage.)
sly sonnet
I put athena on attack
proven robin
Very boxer-y, too. Like, you'd see those same strats on, say, Dudley in Third Strike.
sly sonnet
nd then constaantly punch dash behind enemies for the expose
pliant palm
I use the Talos aspect, more fun than Demeter imo
sly sonnet
Lets be honest when I play dionysus + fists I just want to yell muda muda muda
mystic vale
...I got Crystal Clarity on accident. Heh.
proven robin
I...first learned of spam punches from Fist of the North Star, so mine's the aaaatatatatatata
pliant palm
dio on attack and aphro on special works decently well too
proven robin
The river is red
Elysium's blue
Omae wa mou
Shindeiru
sly sonnet
Amazing
pliant palm
Beautiful 😢
mystic vale
361/401 life. Please tell me I can do this.
pliant palm
361, wut
proven robin
Wow.
sly sonnet
Lmao
pliant palm
I'm nearly always below 200 at the end x)
sly sonnet
I get max 200 HP on my runs lol unless I run excalibur
mystic vale
And I'm using Aegis.
proven robin
You could go into that fight specifically to get killed and Hades would end up getting palpitations and have to give up before he was done.
mystic vale
Tank ALL the fights.
pliant palm
No need to tank if you don't get hit
sly sonnet
Why tank when you can dodge
proven robin
Yeah, I love the shield for that.
mystic vale
(Also; Ruthless Reflex, Divine Dash. I can haz defence.)
sly sonnet
Unless you get impatient like me and lose 2 DD's on dumb dashes
proven robin
...Anyone else prefer the Aspect of Zeus for it? I'm experimenting, but it leads to that same zone of damage that the best Casts often do.
pliant palm
Chaos aspect + Zeus/Poseidon combo = ez win
mystic vale
Divine Flourish too! With one level under max Chaos Shield!
sly sonnet
Only time I prefer tank over dodge is for hydra fight
pliant palm
No, Chaos is just too good
sly sonnet
sometimes you get very unlocky with what spawns
earnest ravine
Zeus is my favourite hands down.
pliant palm
Zeus is gimmicky
earnest ravine
I can't stand Chaos lmao
proven robin
Honestly, the shield and the fists are my two faves.
sly sonnet
Here it goes again
proven robin
Though actually the bow's up there.
earnest ravine
I mean the character is great, but the aspect isn't my taste.
sly sonnet
the eternal Zeus vs Chaos struggle
pliant palm
I mean, Zeus is more fun
sly sonnet
I am a zeus guy myself
pliant palm
But Chaos is just straight up better imo
sly sonnet
I suck with chaos
proven robin
"Hey, remember those projectiles you were trying to fire at me, ever again?"
pliant palm
You just have to spam dash and specials
sly sonnet
Dont know how to use it
mystic vale
Man, if I could spawn Chaos in every room, I'd grab that egg and go wil....
sly sonnet
I do it
mystic vale
We need CHAOS MODE.
sly sonnet
but it feels like no damage
earnest ravine
I know how to use it, it just feels awkward and annoying, plus I don't like being left defenceless.
proven robin
I did have a good experience with Aspect of Chaos, mind.
pliant palm
I go with Zeus on special
proven robin
But yeah, it can be rough not having a shield.
But it seems like mega-crowd control.
sly sonnet
What do you mean
proven robin
So...hey, tradeoffs.
pliant palm
With Chaos
proven robin
As in, when you special, you have to catch a shield to be able to attack and such again.
sly sonnet
Or maybe I dont remember right
pliant palm
Not Zeus
proven robin
For Aspect of Chaos.
earnest ravine
No, I love the Zeus one. I don't like Chaos for that reason.
proven robin
Yeah, but sometimes...y'know.
proven robin
Depends on my mood and how good my reflexes are at that time.
sly sonnet
I even get the blast damage hammer upgrade
pliant palm
You can hit with all of them
proven robin
Don't they go all in different directions?
sly sonnet
and special in their face
sly sonnet
I might try a run tommrow
proven robin
Oh, right!
proven robin
I also finished my first run with the spear's Hidden Aspect!
sly sonnet
I heard doom and dio are best
proven robin
I made it through with 113 life.
pliant palm
I go zeus on special, poseidon on attack and dash
proven robin
Also, Skelly's keepsake is the lifesaver.
sly sonnet
Thats interesting
pliant palm
After that, as much upgrades for the knock off and lightning effect as I can
sly sonnet
once again seems like you would do no damage to bosses
silk river
poseidon dash and rapture is amazing
sly sonnet
since its poseidon
silk river
plus extra damage from hitting barriers
pliant palm
Rapture for bosses, + the dash with the duo
proven robin
That does scan.
sly sonnet
Oh I never use dash strike on shield
pliant palm
Yeah, if you have the duo it just burns
sly sonnet
maybe thats why
proven robin
Oh, dash-strike on shield is helpful!
pliant palm
And if you have the zeus leg, even better
You can do other builds, but that's the one that works the best for me
For now
silk river
tbh just spam dash and attack and hope for the best :v
proven robin
The best dash-strikes for me are on the fists and the spear, though.
That is an excellent default strat for the shield, but sometimes you gotta mix it up.
pliant palm
Spear just don't do enough damage