divine strike saved me
#h1-builds-and-combat
proven robin
A win is a win.
mystic vale
Yep, straight up buying the diamond at Charon. If I fail the run, I keep the diamond.
That said, he's also selling Demeter and Dio.
vivid solar
Got my first clear ever with rail yesterday and since then I'm on a 5 win streak. I usually go dionysus attack and if I get triple bomb and a demeter or aphro special it's pretty much over. Really fun weapon
proven robin
Yaaaay!
mystic vale
Nice. Hit for 1,587 with triple ice-wined arrow. :x
BALLS. Tiny Vermin. 😦
Welp, there goes a DD>
Yay, Killing Freeze right before end boss. Let's hope they forget to summon anything. 😦
Yay! Huge Catch is my first bow win! It's a good thing there's only five weapons, 'cause I'd hate to have to win with a rubbish sword.
unkempt pagoda
*the sword will remember that
vivid solar
Ah boy new run daedalus hammer spread fire at the start. Here we go again
naive tusk
@mighty ermine 2 more weapons to go for the sub 12 minute mark. Keep it up 
mighty ermine
hey thanks!! 
naive tusk
Do a barrel roll~
mighty ermine
had a good sword one just now but not as good as those others! https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/654076105321480226/711285290907598899/20200516133208_1.jpg
ice wine stuff again haha
vivid solar
wow spread fire actually cut my run averages from 30 min to 23 min and Hades got beat in about 2 min. op stuff
unkempt pagoda
it is lol
spare zealot
I'll never understand how you all get level 8 boons but also have level 2/3 boons next to it
thats a lot of poms/nectars....
narrow rampart
^ ikr
i guess it helps if you get the boons you want from the start
so you just end up rerolling for poms
mossy breach
most of the time is not worth it imo, the scaling quickly diminishes
spare zealot
I never really go past level 5 in most cases for anything
unless the run seems to only want to give me a pitying number of boons and bury me in poms
naive tusk
Well, I found out something peculiar: upgrading a common boon's rarity through Ambrosia Delight while having Exclusive Access will upgrade it to Epic rarity instead 🌊 🍷
naive tusk
The game probably thinks I lost the common boon and "found" a new one instead so it made it Epic 🤷
I welcome that feature regardless 👍
unkempt pagoda
it's so interesting that we can see how the game works and sorts boons by these rare interactions
lethal crane
i guess it must work like that, by 'swapping' the boon to a new one, since it needs to multiply it from the baseline. If you got a rare boon to be upgraded you must first demote it to common to multiply. That's a cool interaction, wonder if they'll fix it, I would report it since it's unintended I imagine.
naive tusk
Imagine getting Epic Rare Crop while having Exclusive Access 
viscid vale
i want exclusive access
earnest ravine
What a choice
naive tusk
Charon has 3 poms in his shop btw
naive tusk
This is the weirdest Aspect of Zeus run I've ever had. I will have to post this build after I finish this run
naive tusk
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/710856989416226886/711311380879507526/HADES.png
I never Bull Rushed and just whacked them with attacks while laying Chill stuff around. Greatest Reflex was the black sheep in the Epic fam 
proven robin
That's a way to go!
pliant palm
https://prnt.sc/si350b look at that lol
I just tanked Hades, didn't tried to avoid any of his attack
viscid vale
lol
pliant palm
Haven't even lost any DD x)
proven robin
Whooooo!
viscid vale
madlad of Olympus
pliant palm
Not that I lose any usually, but usually I try to mitigate the damage I take
proven robin
I love Hunting Blades.
pliant palm
Hunting Blades is super fun, ye
naive tusk
Tanky Nemesis
pliant palm
Hey, if it works
c:
Imagine the same build with Arthur, big oof for hades
But yeah, feel like I won't have much trouble with heat levels until what, 15+?
naive tusk
Heat it up, baby 🔥
dry ember
I just went through all of the rooms in Styx for money to buy a Titan Blood
Then finish Hades with 5s to spare
viscid vale
ow...
dry ember
3 TB in one run is ok I guess
pliant palm
TB ?
dry ember
I was 1482 before the last room at 4 mins left
viscid vale
titan blood
dry ember
Titan Blood
pliant palm
I don't like saving for the blood/diamond at the end, would rather have more fun in the current run
dry ember
Yeah I feel that
viscid vale
same, at the moment
pliant palm
I have 15 diamonds rn
dry ember
This is the first run I had 1k going to styx
snow copper
About the heats, does the game ever require you do more than 1 heat or is it just that you raise it whenever you want, but the game won't force you to go up heats?
I beat the game with the first heat and when it didn't go up, I got confused
pliant palm
You don't have to
But you won't get more bounties
I think you are forced to go up in hell mode
snow copper
So to get more bounties you have to do more heat? But the bounties didn't seem to restart?
Im also confused on bounties lol
pliant palm
You get bounties every time you kill a boss on a new heat level
pliant palm
Blood for the Furies, Diamond for the Hydra, Ambro for the Heroes, Blood for Hades
The bounties are separate for each weapon
But not for each aspect
snow copper
Cool cool cool, thanks!
viscid vale
i wish they were different for each aspect
snow copper
Or different rewards for different aspects
pliant palm
Already enough grind as it is x)
viscid vale
but that means less bounty Cae
viscid vale
rly ? but...you always pretty much need resources, don't you ?
pliant palm
Would be cool if you could get a new currency that you can only get at higher heat for more meta-progression
viscid vale
with all those things to unlock
pliant palm
Limited amount of aspect, limited amount of decorations
Etc
So at some point you'll just start stockpiling for the next update
I think, at least
Yeah, nvm, was thinking that maybe you couldn't have enough blood for all weapons
proven robin
Niiiiice!
snow copper
New High Heat currency with new Heat-only items would be dope
pliant palm
But there is a lot of blood you can get from prophecies
Hmm
Time to do some legendaries hunting
Need to sweet sweet gems
pliant palm
Hmm, just realized that all the demeter duo are pretty specific, boon requirement-wise
naive tusk
While there are limited bounties to be claimed, they are more than enough to buy everything you will need to unlock. I have a massive surplus of resources at this point now that I finished buying everything I can.
turbid arch
@snow copper I would just be happy if secret rooms would not be absolutely unplayable.
Made the mistake of stepping into one in Elysium today.
viscid vale
ok that's good to know @naive tusk
naive tusk
How have you been faring with Varatha? @viscid vale
@pliant palm Charged Volley won't appear at all when you are using Aspect of Chiron.
snow copper
What're secret rooms?
naive tusk
I think they are referring to Erebus rooms.
viscid vale
i'm doing a guan yu run @naive tusk, i paused it but i've already beaten the Fury so i'm not doing bad
turbid needle
Nice
pliant palm
Trying to go for the Poseidon/Demeter duo, 3 god proposed for the whole first 2 zone, 2 poseidon that got me flood shot and razor shell, and a demeter that didn't gave me any core boon
Big wow
viscid vale
i like Poseidon, too bad his boons are not always that good
i love his visual effects
turbid arch
Poseidon could be one of the best gods if his Aid wouldn't be broken and if Sunken Treasure/Oceans Bounty would not exist.
pliant palm
Trying Achilles for the 1st time and his cast seemed like the best one
Cause of the AoE effect
viscid vale
i will try to get Aphrodite during my run, turns out its one of the last keepsakes i'm missing cause i gifted Ares twice instead of gifting Ares and her during a previous run
turbid arch
On the other hand, he needs a revenge counter. A huge aoe water wabe that knocks away enemies upon being hit.
It's a no-brainer, really.
turbid needle
Wait Achilles cast ? You mean Athena's right ?
viscid vale
Achilles and Hades aspects of the spear seem interesting but Guan Yu tempted me the most x)
turbid needle
And yeah it's a somewhat underrated cast
turbid needle
oh
Don't see how Achilles' aspect gives AoE but yeah, his empowered casts are good
pliant palm
God damn, I have to fight the hydra with absolute trash damage once my cast are gone
Poseidon cast has AoE
turbid needle
Might have read your message wrong but whatever
Poseidon cast in general is good yeah
turbid needle
oof
Also had fun with this run like yesterday
Yes it was as insane as it looks
turbid needle
Sorry I took them all
pliant palm
FFS
Got a trial
Poseidon/demeter
Boss fight are awful with the duo
Eh, got the poseidon leg at least... yey...
That might have been the slowest heroes fight since I started playing
My god
turbid needle
#PoseidonProblems
novel prawn
Aspect of Arthur with crit is so much fun. If they nerf this, I'm gonna cry, lol
though I can see the reason for why someone would wanna nerf it
pliant palm
Finally got the duo
time to wreck everything
Looool
I killed hades in like 20sec
Pretty nice
Excellent for bosses and small room, but pretty meh when the ennemies are split
mystic vale
What is "raging rush" anyhow?
naive tusk
It's Aspect of Achilles' trait: you can dash to where the spear is standing after you use your Special.
mystic vale
Ah, so the spear recalls you instead of the opposite. Mother Russia would be proud.
turbid needle
You can also recall the spear by attacking after using the special
Both Rushing and Recalling works
mystic vale
Fancy.
proven robin
On a side note, what are specifics of Ice Wine?
I'm seeing it can be cast past cover, is faster than the Dionysus normal cast, and does a buttload extra damage.
And inflicts Chill, so if you can get Decay active, that works.
proven robin
It is certainly strong!
I'll have to add that to my calculations for a "Mage build," if I'm running into trouble with my weapon.
So Ice Wine, Crystal Clarity, Hunting Blades, and Blizzard Shot.
turbid needle
Dionysus/Zeus duo technically affects Dio's cast as well
And applies with Ice Wine too
proven robin
Hm! Not bad either. Scintillating Feast, right?
turbid needle
yup
proven robin
That's...yeah, that's pretty good.
Funnily, that leaves Lightning Phalanx as the only underwhelming cast modification as far as my experience.
turbid needle
... Underwhelming is one way to put it. It's not weak per say, but yeah
young gorge
OK but what about lighting rod
mystic vale
Crystal Clarity is probably the weakest duo boon. I'm not sure it has a use outside of tapping Damage Control shields.
turbid needle
We don't talk about that one
young gorge
Mmhm as it should be
turbid needle
For real tho it's about as underwhelming as Lightning Phalanx in most cases
mystic vale
Heck, it would be weak as a normal boon.
turbid needle
the one good thing it has going is that it scales with Zeus' lightning boons
So that's nice
turbid needle
Literally unusable with regen casts
mystic vale
Crystal Clarity can't even claim to look pretty. :p
mystic vale
Why are you taking a bad cast in the first place, though? :p
turbid needle
You have the god seed with Artemis/Demeter and you want memes ?
mystic vale
I mean, it's legitimately weaker than the default cast.
turbid needle
If you don't have Forced Overtime it does get a bit better
proven robin
Just drop it, and you have a zone of damage you can just let do its thing.
turbid needle
Then the enemy walks away and it suddenly doesn't do anything
With Clarity it actually tracks them
real nebula
I love crystal for bosses
mystic vale
Festive Fog can also drop a zone of damage, except it also stuns and does way more damage. :p
real nebula
and minibosses
proven robin
I dunno, I just know the Crystal Clarity has done me right.
turbid needle
You want Demeter for some casts build but not for her cast herself, the irony
mystic vale
The only drawback to either is the "lob" animation, and HeraBow skips that. :p
(Also, not gonna lie, Ice Wine may be my favourite thing in the game thus far.)
proven robin
Fair!
mystic vale
Chill + stun + damage + AoE....mmmmm.
So much cold, yet it feels hot in here. Y'dig?
young gorge
And a scintillating feast
You get perfection
And throw in cold fusion for good measure
mystic vale
Bonus points in that you can do both.
young gorge
Stacking all three duos feels so GOOD
proven robin
Meantime, there's Hunting Blades if you up the size, make it last longer and vacuum enemies in, and get Ares's Legendary on it.
mystic vale
Dio/Poseidon? Kind of? :p
proven robin
Crystal Clarity, once I got that juiced with Dual Cast, so that dropped six lasers on Hades and did upwards of like 5500 damage on just one salvo, all while I was safe behind cover.
mystic vale
I mean it's not awful but you do need it early.
mystic vale
But when that's your worst combo, you're doing okay.
turbid needle
The triple
proven robin
But Lightning Phalanx, though.
young gorge
Hell yeah that's what we're talking about
proven robin
Just....I dunno, is there power there I'm missing?
proven robin
Hmm?
mystic vale
I like it when Spreaders are around.
turbid needle
It deals the highest damage behind Aphrodite by like 2 points lol
And it's AoE
More importantly, the bounce effectively makes it insane for room clears
And it's good enough for bosses already
proven robin
Ah, yeah, against people with lots of projectiles, obviously it's great.
But that's already true of the normal cast.
proven robin
The bounce doesn't do much damage that I saw, though.
pliant palm
ffs, first lost in a while
proven robin
Unless I was misreading in the heat of battle.
turbid needle
It deals as much damage as the cast itself
pliant palm
Had a trash build
proven robin
Ah. Well, that's cool.
turbid needle
More crazy heat 20 nonsense
With Athena duo
Don't mind the Heroic Hermes sprint LOL
proven robin
Eesh.
pliant palm
Am I the only one thinking that the chill is more annoying that anything ? it make the dodge timing feels weird, idk
pliant palm
Demeter as a whole just feels weird, doesn't do much damage, her duos are pretty specific
turbid needle
Her damage is decent
And while her duos are specific, they are insanely powerful for the most part
Also Killing Freeze and Voracity
Those two boons are insane
Also her effect is pretty good
pliant palm
She isn't bad
For sure
I just don't really understand how to use her in a build that doesn't aim for any of the duos
turbid needle
You pick her up on whatever action slot you have left and hope to get Killing Freeze or Voracity
pliant palm
Beside like, Killing Freeze, which is excellent for Hades
turbid needle
That's literally it
proven robin
For me, her Chill effect is all about control. Like...it may mess up dodge timing, but she makes people way less able to actually do anything to you.
Especially if you've got that proccing a lot.
turbid needle
When I say Killing Freeze is insane
I mean it
32 Heat BTW
That run had NO business winning
mystic vale
Demeter works well with big hits. Rail's mortar shot, Bow's power shot, etc.
Well, lemme rephrase.
She can actually go both ways - her Flourish/Strike/etc. work with big hits.
turbid needle
She has enough damage to make big hits worth it
And her effect scales nicely with rapid fire weapons
mystic vale
Arctic Blast is better with fast hits.
pliant palm
Just had a run with Rail
mystic vale
So you can keep triggering it.
turbid needle
You can kinda consider it a DPS increase like Urge to Kill really
real nebula
I only really like arctic blast with the demeter call
seems too hard and too costly any other way
pliant palm
And lost to Hades just cause the fight was too long and I wasn't concentrated anymore
pliant palm
Anyone knows what's the best condition setup for 32 heat is ?
Wanna give a try before going to sleep
mystic vale
I do wish there were a trinket that made hammers give four choices, or let you change one at the last shop or something.
pliant palm
Cause why not
turbid needle
Depends on the weapon and aspect you choose
mystic vale
Yeah, Damage Control would screw some builds and others would never notice.
turbid needle
Chaos Shield is great for 32 heat yes
turbid needle
I wouldn't pick Tight Deadline on Bow like ever
real nebula
I mean the thing with hammers is there's no bad choice
hazy yacht
& 2 heroics
turbid needle
Unless Hera
mystic vale
Hazard Bomb would like a word with you. :p
turbid needle
Nice run Entrench
mystic vale
Also, some hammer choices are redundant with some Aspects.
hazy yacht
hazard bomb is good if you have more than 2 dashes
real nebula
Hazard bomb is great
turbid needle
Hazard bomb is literally a nuke
real nebula
huge aoe with +200% damage? hell yeah
turbid needle
it's good
mystic vale
(I like Hazard Bomb for self-triggering Ruthless Reflex.)
But I know some people self-own.
pliant palm
mystic vale
Yep, get just outside the blast area and dash right before it hits.
real nebula
when I used it it nuked enemies but only did like 3 damage to me
mystic vale
Do it often enough and you basically have permanent 50% dodge and damage buff. :p
EM 3 Theseus gets chariot but loses shield.
I hear some folks prefer it.
turbid needle
Asterius becomes a jerk that does his best Garen impression
Also tons of AoE waves when he slam dunks
pliant palm
I'll try like that, not like I'm gonna win anyway lol
turbid needle
It's best you get a couple of non-heat runs first
Theseus on his chariot can catch you by surprise REAL hard
pliant palm
Ye
turbid needle
with EM 3 of course
real nebula
nah trial by fire
mystic vale
EM 4: ||Hades|| just pitchforks through your neck as soon as you step in the room. GG.
mystic vale
Double teams you with Thanatos and his 9999 curse.
neon fiber
EM4: Hades can summon any of his underlings from the House to attack up to and including the EM1 and 3 bosses
mystic vale
EM 5: The doors kill you. You don't even get to see the end boss.
turbid needle
Murder noises intensifies
pliant palm
Bleh, gonna have to do some reroll for at least a decent start tho
turbid needle
Wait isn't this channel spoilers free or what
I thought #h1-discussion was the one channel where you needed to keep shush about spoilers
mystic vale
That would be a good troll for SGG though. Make EM 5 and say "this is literally impossible."
turbid needle
99 heat
mystic vale
And then watch how many people complain when they find out it wasn't kidding.
(I just like to avoid spoilers regardless of the rules. I had Guan Yu and Excalibur spoiled. 😦 )
turbid needle
Oof
mystic vale
Although I'm not sure how to unlock either, so there's that.
turbid needle
Good
mystic vale
I sort of like the spear so I'll probably find out eventually.
real nebula
this channel can do spoilers, yeah
mystic vale
Sword...maybe not. :p
has what will no doubt one day be a famous hatred of the sword.
neon fiber
EM 5: every friendly NPC tries to kill you whenever you're near them
real nebula
I think my favorite is the bow that shoots casts, just a damn shame the +dark buff never goes onto the bow
turbid needle
Achilles spear gang rise up
Even if I am technically playing with about every aspect
real nebula
I have like 4 runs on the bow and its my favorite weapon supergiant pls
mystic vale
EM 6: Hypnos endlessly spawn camps you.
turbid needle
EM 7 : Chaos just deletes your game
mystic vale
Note: Because of this, EM 6 can never be turned off.
proven robin
And just to further mess with you, if you pump EM to max, it just turns into Zag on a boat fishing until he chooses to quit.
turbid needle
oh no
mystic vale
You have to earn Hypnos spawn camping you.
This may have something to do with why I'm not allowed to run anything or have sharp objects. :p
pliant palm
turbid needle
Ouch
pliant palm
I can't do 32 heat
Litterally
Makes my game laggy as hell
Too much enemies that move too fast
:c
Seems like it's cause of the witches
snow copper
Troves shouldn't have survive timers. You can literally never get a high amount of return on them
snow copper
On the survive ones? They count down so it always goes down regardless
A few minutes ago, I had a trove that I finished and only lost 6 Darkness. Just now I had a survive one that went from 150 to 38. I lost 112 through no fault of my own
pliant palm
Yeah frick that
1st room of Asphodel, 3 waves of witches with the armored perk that give them a lot more HP
https://prnt.sc/si5f5s and not really much room to dodge x)
turbid needle
The floor is lava
proven robin
Yep, I've gotten into that.
pliant palm
"it always goes down" sure, but it's still worth
I never get under 110 for the money trove
And the never under 50 for the gems ones
Dark regen or chthonic for 32 heat ?
pliant palm
ic
turbid needle
Also shops are much more reliable for healing
and Charon's well too
Won't get much healing in Styx tho, so that's the downside
graceful raven
Could anyone explain the difference between the blue and golden laurels? I didn't get the temporary/permanent thing
pliant palm
I'll do a try with EM3 then, not like I'll go up to Elysium at this rate c:
turbid needle
@graceful raven I think the Blue laurel rooms have the small rewards like Keys, Darkness and Gemstone. Those are rewards you will use for permanent upgrades, that you can acquire outside of a run. Gold laurels are for rewards like Poms, Centaur Hearts, Obols and Boons. Those will be temporary upgrades for your current run.
Said temporary upgrades will impact your run a lot
But will go away after the run is over
graceful raven
Oooohhh you're right, thank you @turbid needle
pliant palm
Some of those armored perk combo are insane
Just had a trial full of witches with beefy health + clones or idk what
proven robin
Yeah, part of why I'm very cautious about adding it.
pliant palm
If mean, with the shield, the fight itself isn't too bad
But the FPS drops, my god
I run at like 15
Have a decent seed tho, will just give up and try again tomorrow
Maybe should try to go with Demeter instead of Poseidon on the attack, idk
But it's pretty fun, really not the same way to play as low heat
primal sigil
Do Hades vases count as traps?
@bold hamlet make sure you learn the main phases of the fight
And the main attacks
Then you have to really be nimble when the other heads come up
bold hamlet
I was using sword
primal sigil
How long have you been playing
bold hamlet
Since today
I got to him twice, but couldn't get past the phase where he spawns millions of swords.
primal sigil
Swords? The Hydra doesn't fight with swords
lament merlin
i think he means uh
valid warren
I think he means the projectile spit attack
primal sigil
Oh yeah you just have to dodge those repeatedly
Athena's deflect also works great against it
valid warren
Use the terrain to your advantage as well, it can block all the shots. You can also destroy and reflect (Athena boon needed)
hazy yacht
this was a hard one https://i.imgur.com/gYXYB6P.jpg
bold hamlet
Should I swap to the shield in the fight?
It seems like it would be really easy in that fight.
valid warren
Shield makes the fight very easy, but learning attack patterns will help you get farther in the long run. Do test all weapons all you like though.
bold hamlet
Okay ty
hazy yacht
do we have the fourth aspects for the bow, gauntlet, and rail yet?
proven robin
I do not believe so.
hazy yacht
ok
proven robin
...I don't know if we have the shield either.
hazy yacht
oh yeah, shield too. I forgot about that
valid warren
Soon™️
shrewd brook
Support Fire on ExaGryph is the best boon ever
mighty ermine
i typically go for twin shot, but triple and chain can just get ridiculous, apparently https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/654076105321480226/711355666601607198/20200516181118_1.jpg
mighty ermine
thanks, yeah it's super fun, you should totally try it
the side shots tend to bounce off of walls and such then back to foes
it really racks up
proven robin
Yeah, makes sense!
mighty ermine
i think the description for chain shot only says the shots will ricochet off of foes themselves, which is why i personally was surprised that they just bounce and get the damage bonus off of seemingly anything haha
proven robin
Yeah, you can get some nice trick shots with that.
shrewd brook
Triple + Chain shot + Poseidon Attack + Poseidon Legendary = effortless no damage Styx
proven robin
Ooof!
mighty ermine
@primal sigil very late answer to your question but the final boss vases do count as traps
they do a truckload with heightened security on
dry ember
Does splitting bolt (Zeus legendary) proc with lightning from lihtning strike (the auto attack boon)?
neon fiber
plus the stun they already had by default
mighty ermine
it does
neon fiber
it ought to since it's a lightning effect iirc
dry ember
Thanks!
graceful raven
Olympian favor or legacy? 🤔
mighty ermine
yeah i personally prefer favor most of the time as well
graceful raven
So I just beat the game with the pact of punishment and still did not complete The Useless Trinket, anyone have any idea why?
spare owl
I had a great run XD my second win, haven't been able to beat with anything but the shield so far
tried to paste a screenshot but it wont let me XD
proven robin
You'll get there! And congrats on the wins!
versed wolf
I think I've only done 4 successful runs. 1 of them with a sword run where I crit for like 1200 with backstabs. Other time where duo demeter/poseidon cast just wrecked everything
dry ember
Nice!
I only recently have my first successful run 5 days ago
Now I'm at 22
I should stop playing this game lol
vivid solar
I'm on winstreak 6 with adamant rail and I feel unstoppable! If I die it'll probably be to the pact of punishment
chrome viper
is Lightning Phalanx affected by any of Zeus' boons, like additional bounces or status effect?
languid storm
if you don't have the pact of punishment that gives bosses extra moves and you pick up enough heat, will they start doing new things anyway?
Asterius just yote Thesius at me and I was woefully unprepared
pliant palm
No
mighty ermine
@chrome viper i don't believe so iirc. the only change to phalanx shot is the bounces, but otherwise doesn't change. it's unfortunate
proven robin
The throwing Theseus thing is absolutely something they normally do.
pliant palm
And no, I'm pretty sure phalanx isn't affected by Zeus boons
proven robin
I will check on that next time I get them together.
cunning urchin
@spare owl you can share imgur links instead. That's what everybody else does.
turbid needle
LP is not affected by Zeus boons.
mystic vale
Triple Shot + Flurry Shot is how I got my first bow win.
mystic vale
It was not easy.
neon fiber
But i did anything but use the bow
mystic vale
Flurry Shot made Dash-striking much easier.
That + Hera bow + Ice Wine did it.
I'm not sure how you'd get a bow win without at least 1 point in Hera Aspect. I'm guessing either Flurry Shot or the extra-long-but-exploding shot.
Either way, you rely on an Aspect or a hammer for the win, not the base bow itself.
(Or you go pure caster and ignore the bow for the most part. :p )
dry ember
I use Zag aspect level 1
Got Deadly Strike from Artemis
Got Triple Shot
I just dash strike behind the enemy at close range and powr shot
languid storm
You could probably snag a couple bow wins off of chiron if you get decent special synergy
dry ember
Just be careful at Elysium
Chiron needs upgrades imo
Or the hammer upgrade
But you need to be lucky to hit that
languid storm
Also inescapable blast +split special is absolutely preposterous on exagryph
mystic vale
Heck, Inescapable Blast + anything else only balanced by being slow moving.
F'rex.
languid storm
the 5 shots stack though, so if you point black someone it completely nukes it
and they can'
can't move, they get trapped in place
turbid needle
I had Triple Bomb and Inescapable Blast on my 32 Heat Rail clear.
it was also crit bombs
mystic vale
I sort of want a way for hammers to be more controllable. They kind of make or break runs a lot now.
Would anyone use a keepsake if it guaranteed a hammer in the first room of your next area, but only gave two options? (Or three options, but some other minor drawback? Or is not controlling your boons enough drawback?)
turbid needle
Does it break the "2nd hammer only appears in Elysium and later" rule?
unkempt pagoda
you can easily come across all two hammers in a normal run anyways
dry ember
I don't think that's with the spirit of being a roguelite game
mystic vale
Nope, no changing the spawn rate - that would be broken. Just guaranteeing it comes up first room. I know one normally spawns anywhere in Tartarus or Asphodel.
Second seems to always spawn in the first three rooms of Elysium. But there may be exceptions.
This just guarantees it early. I know with Rail or Bow, I really would want it ASAP.
Because what Hammer I get would determine which deities I want.
languid storm
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/536807176560312321/711405307003273278/Hades_00014.png
So almost 20 seconds of straight invulnerability is kind of preposterous and I really don't think any of my other boons or hammer choices mattered reflecting on that
mystic vale
I still need to get her ultimate.
So, I note that the game gives you a list of minor prophecies. I wonder what the majors will be like.
lapis matrix
Major ones are country changing ones I think
mystic vale
Like if I use the red spoon for my cereal instead of the purple one?
Alright. I'm exhausted, half-asleep, and a bit loopy. What will kill me first, ineptitude or falling asleep?
turbid needle
Ineptitude.
mystic vale
Let's see...Rail, took Demeter's Horn, oh, and I've unlocked three uses of Battie which may save me. Can Theseus's shield block companions?
turbid needle
Maybe Dusa?
He doesn't block proper AoE attacks unless he's facing the epicenter.
But Meg and Than might pierce that anyway.
mystic vale
Oh, Thanatos has one? Huh. Neat. Hardly ever see him around. Dusa too. Cool.
maiden sundial
excuse me, anyone know where to report apparent bugs? came into a fairly major one
mystic vale
Let's see...all green perks, except Death Defiance, Thick Skin, Privileged Status, and Gods' Pride.
turbid needle
Press 
in-game.
maiden sundial
cheers
turbid needle
If you're like, in the middle of the bug it's even better since they can see exactly what's going on.
naive tusk
Bugu >w<
mystic vale
Oooh Killing Freeze in Tartarus.
naive tusk
Because it sounds cute
dry ember
Are you the one who made the boons progression chart in the wiki?
If so thanks a lot! They are helpful.
mystic vale
This could make or break a run. 4% special damage from Bouldy!
So far as I can tell, s/he is. It's the same name in any case.
And yes, thank you for the contribution. It's more than my snark will ever be worth.
naive tusk
I did! You are welcome
mystic vale
Oooh, 150gp trove. :x
Useful since I'm running Golden Touch.
Sadly no hammer in Tartarus. :/
60 gold off GT for first area.
Wow, I lost to Thanatos. I am sucking the big one here.
No hammer, no Flourish, no Dash, halfway into Asphodel. :x
Most of my damage is coming from Blade Rift and traps.
chilly silo
Rail is pretty much broken with poseidon pushing everyone around lmao
turbid needle
Broken, as-in it does not work at all, correct.
2-3 shots and they get out of range
Doesn't work that well if you want to deal damage
It's nice if you do want one boon to push away for specials or casts
But outside of that, yeah
On top of the effectively lowest damage boost in the game?
^ that too
You take Poseidon exactly once, for Ocean's Bounty and Family Favorite.
LOL
And if you prefer Privileged Status and Chaos, not even then.
naive tusk
💦 🔫 splash splash <<< that how it be Poseidon railgun
turbid needle
I might be more scared of the squirt gun lol
mighty ermine
i can't disagree with any of that, that's just the state poseidon is in
turbid needle
Sea Storm sounds neat until you realize that Splitting Bolt does the same thing without knockback breaking combo and with more side-effects.
mystic vale
Okay, I caught a break. Drunken Flourish + Frost Strike = Privileged Status kicks in.
And in the last room of Asphodel, hammer for Spread Fire, Piercing Fire, or Hazard Bomb.
SF tags in.
turbid needle
I'm so excited to get Drunken/Frost Strike to work with Spread Fire again.
unless SGG hates me
mystic vale
+63% from Chaos too.
dry ember
I'm using Family Favourite more and more
Tailoring builds to enable Privileged Status is exhausting sometimes
turbid needle
I've exclusively used Family Favorite because I am a madlad that actually uses the reroll for boons rather than the reroll for rooms
mystic vale
I use FF on Sword/Spear/Fist. The other three get PS because I tend to use debuffs with them.
dry ember
Yeah recently I have been forcing God keepsake just to enable Privileged Status
It kinda limits experimentation
turbid needle
^
And the reason why I don't use the roll reroom
let me explore janky stuff dammit
turbid needle
I do find the boon reroll to be nice to help find duos
And better rolls on chaos and hermes is nice too
dry ember
I'm torn between the two rerolls
turbid needle
But being able to roll rooms for specific gods or specific gold laurel rooms is just so much more useful, especially when you have so many more rerolls for it
dry ember
I use room reroll just because I have more upgrades in that
Will try boon reroll later though
mystic vale
Made it to Elysium. Down a DD but I'll pick it up on way to Styx. I stand a half a chance now I think.
105 gold from GT, 165 total.
Light of Ixion between realms to get that Chaos hookup.
dry ember
You don't really need all DD for Hades fight
I usually have one or two DD left anyway.
mystic vale
4 chambers hidden, +70% attack damage? OKAY.
turbid needle
Elysium, right ? could get spooky, but that's a lot of damage
mystic vale
Just means at worst, my Hermes/hammer will come late.
turbid needle
Unexpected butterfly room is what I fear the most for that
mystic vale
I mean my other options are -51% move for 35 life or -3 life per attack for 13% boon rarity.
turbid needle
But that's about it
mystic vale
Or I could reroll.
turbid needle
... Stick with the hidden rooms LOL
mystic vale
Pretty sure I go blind for damage there with Spread Fire + Frost Strike.
proven robin
...OKAY never mind, Lightning Phalanx does hella damage.
Was just remembering it wrong.
proven robin
Yeah, but in a densely packed mass, that's fine.
mystic vale
Oh good. Rocket Bomb. Just what I needed to probably break this over my knee.
If I screw up from here, it's my own damn fault.
(Explosive Fire and Cluster Bomb are my other options.)
I don't think there's really a wrong choice unless Explosive Fire + Spread Shot is a bombo.
turbid needle
Doesn't work.
mystic vale
So yeah, Rocket Bomb.
turbid needle
Spread Fire deals AoE damage.
Pierces enemies, hits multiple enemies at once.
It is positively busted.
mystic vale
Spread Fire with Frost Strike, Rocket Bomb with Drunken Flourish, Mistral Dash, Trippy Shot, Ares on Call.
turbid needle
Maybe if you took Piercing Fire it could beat shields.
mystic vale
And I've got companion calls for Theseus and the first two boss rats/satyrs to give me guff.
135 off last GT even after buying a Kiss of Styx and a few other things. 1,034 coins going into Styx.
bold hamlet
Is there a definitive best weapon in the game?
proven robin
I'd say "It depends on your style."
turbid needle
If you remove outright damage negation and change it to damage reduction I think the Rail is the best weapon, even accounting for the fact that Spread Fire is super busted right now.
proven robin
But the shield is definitely very good.
unkempt pagoda
now change it to funnest weapon and you’ll find shield to be the worst
jk spear exists
turbid needle
Optimal shield is more boring than optimal spear, but not by much
Both are kinda lame weapons by design really
lament coral
judging weapons by their hammers is silly
cunning urchin
They can all be quite fun.
lament coral
that's why Hades spear is trash in a vacuum, when you don't have triple dash attack and quick spin
mystic vale
Pffft, I could have won that with Stubborn Defiance and Skelly. Spread Fire lets even blind idiots win.
Triple full Ares summon helped too.
lament coral
he's the only defensive summon
mystic vale
Skelly's Tooth, I mean.
mystic vale
You're spoiling me on all the summons. :p
lament coral
pretty sure Skelly has him beat in that regard still
mystic vale
turbid needle
Which is why I said Skelly was the best, not the only. You asserted the latter.
mystic vale
Even the game didn't bother crediting me with a fifth skill.
lament coral
we are in agreement then
turbid needle
I consider Bouldy to be more of a generalist rather than defensive
mystic vale
"Nope. These four do all the work."
unkempt pagoda
lmao dark thirst
turbid needle
how in the world does that even happen
Doesn't even highlight the legendary keepsake
mystic vale
And prevented at least 100 damage to me.
turbid needle
Like it does in ALL my runs
mystic vale
Because the game knows well and good that Trippy Shot and hammer did everything.
And that is why I want a keepsake that does guaranteed hammer. My run completely sucked until the last room of Asphodel.
Then it was herp derp faceroll.
Spread Fire dropped in my lap, GG.
mystic vale
Well I finished heat 1 with shield and rail.
0 with everything else except the Rubbish Sword.
turbid needle
Sword's great, you should play more.
dry ember
I'm just commenting
mystic vale
I fully intend to do caster sword build when I'm sitting on 15 blood or whatever. :p
turbid needle
Not even Poseidon.
dry ember
You don't really need full Poseidon aspect?
dry ember
Poseidon seems like a Hera to me
mystic vale
Currently sitting on...four.
turbid needle
(since True Shot was nerfed)
turbid needle
True shot dealt more damage
Simple as that
It hit harder and you could get Artemis's Legendary more easily.
^
dry ember
I ser
supple roost
mystic vale
So lore wise, shouldn't the end boss uh, not bleed red?
turbid needle
supple roost
This was quite a fun build. Ares and Artemis Duo is fun
dry ember
That is such a nice build lol
turbid needle
There is no 4-boon combo that does as much work in the game.
I can attest to that
mystic vale
Does Scintillating Feast/Ice Wine count? :p
turbid needle
^ it's a good one too
Vicious Cycle Hunting Blades is better.
^
That's really it
supple roost
Aspect of Excalibur was a good choice I think too as it helped me clear temple of Styx faster, keeping all the rats in a pack
mystic vale
Never gotten Vicious Cycle to show up yet.
dry ember
That's French right?
turbid needle
Yup
dry ember
I'm just curious
turbid needle
But you can still see the icons
dry ember
Yeah Ik
supple roost
Aspect of Arthur*
mystic vale
Hmm, game's tossing me spear for this one. Do I invest in Shadow Presence and give in to the Skewer backstab gods, or Athena up and hope for the Uberdash?
turbid needle
Divine Dash is fantastic all-around defensive utility, but consider whether it's really working for you build.
mystic vale
I know your opinion, Schpoon. :p
You were here last time I had spear.
Although this time I have a summon.
turbid needle
I'm manually unwinding after a pretty hectic work week, you'll have to remind me.
mystic vale
(Last time I ended up with the explosive toss and my backstab went to waste.)
turbid needle
RIP
mystic vale
Granted, I won the run.
turbid needle
Shadow Presence with Vicious Skewer sounds mean.
mystic vale
So no complaints.
Yeah, that's what I was hoping for.
But again, there's no Hammer keepsake, so I had to choose boons before hammers.
I guess I could try starting with the gold pouch for Golden Touch purposes and waiting to see if my Tartarus spawns a hammer before I invest heavily in boons.
But that leaves Fiery/Shadow presence up in the air.
Oh! That gives me an idea. Weapon profiles, that save your mirror/keepsake/companion settings per aspect.
Since I actually change my mirror for almost every weapon.
turbid needle
I run the same Pact on every weapon.
mystic vale
Submitted.
turbid needle
I only turned on weapon-specific Pact options when going for 32 Heat.
dry ember
Do you run the blue shield one for bow?
mystic vale
My usual role in beta tests is balance testing. I usually have a good nose for it. I'm terrible at innovating ideas but I'm not entirely rubbish at improving existing ones.
dry ember
Damage Control I think
mystic vale
Spear's probably not the weapon to go all in on Vicious Cycle...
lament coral
I've been told that Achilles is good for it
mystic vale
Eh, I'll stick with the gold pouch plan. See what my hammer turns up.
lament coral
but the few times I tried to force an Ares cast run, it went poorly
mystic vale
Default to Shadow Presence and stick with it unless I get something absolutely bonkers that prevents backstabs.
proven robin
Well, I just finished a run with the Aspect of Achilles.
mystic vale
Go Family Favourite since I have no idea what deities I'm going for.
mystic vale
Sweet! Hammer first room. Quick Spin, Exploding Launcher, Extending Jab.
proven robin
Thanks to the Chaos boon that gives an extra Cast, Aspect of Achilles boosting Cast damage, plus plenty of packed groups (and as you can see, a lot of damage boosts to my Raging Rush), Phalanx was able to rack up ridiculous amounts of damage.
mystic vale
Pretty sure I take the explosions and chuck my backstab.
proven robin
Hmm...yeah, that's one way to go!
mighty ermine
extra casts with stygian soul is a blast
mystic vale
Honestly half-tempted to reset, take Fiery Presence and High Confidence, but I don't want to cheese it that hard.
proven robin
Yep!
mystic vale
4 rooms of blindness for +78% special damage.
proven robin
Oooh, yes.
mighty ermine
had a +1 cast stygian soul run centered around crystal clarity earlier and it was too fun https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/654076105321480226/711417212254290030/20200516213321_1.jpg
just a constantly active array of lasers
turbid needle
Oh man, with that Auto Reload?
mighty ermine
YEAH i went wild when hermes gave that to me hoo boy
unkempt pagoda
lvl 7 beam with clarity, auto reload, and poseidon 😩
proven robin
Yeah! Crystal Clarity is amazing...especially if you also get that Artemis boon that doubles up on your Cast.
Just...dropping four, even if two of them are weaker, just...yeah, that's free damage.
unkempt pagoda
y'all know that one scene from the resident evil movie
mystic vale
Tempest Flourish, 128%. Seems legit.
mystic vale
Looks like Poseidon and Zeus are going to be my patrons. I am completely fine with Sea Storm.
umbral lagoon
Anyone have any beginner tips for your first run on Hades? Grinding weapons, keys, and darkness takes so long...
turbid needle
Talk to everyone.
lapis matrix
Don't trade Ambrosia
mystic vale
Does that work with Second Wave the way I'd want it to?
lapis matrix
It should
mystic vale
Spaced: Unlock Shield ASAP. It's the easiest weapon to progress with.
The big disc-looking thing.
turbid needle
Don't crutch a single weapon, rotate following Dark Thirst.
umbral lagoon
Approximately how much stat buffs do you need to beat 5 heat?
just curious
and weapon level i guess
turbid needle
Sticking with a single weapon is a really good way to learn bad habits or at least not learn good habits.
umbral lagoon
👌
lapis matrix
Not a lot
umbral lagoon
So far I love using the bow, fists, shield, and spear in that order.
Gun is ??? to me right now
Sword I haven't tried yet
turbid needle
I would at least max out everything except the final talent before you start messing with Heat.
lapis matrix
It should have been your first run
turbid needle
Well, you at least start the game with sword.
umbral lagoon
Yeah, but I didn't get far. I just ditched it as soon as I got enough keys for spear.
I basically quit at the hydra with sword
lapis matrix
Titan Blood is important
umbral lagoon
I need to try nemesis soon, so I'll probably do a sword tartarus run
Right now I'm stuck at minotaur and theseus
I feel vulnerable with arrow and fist
and shield does like nothing...
lapis matrix
Hmm, bow does have a problem with the third area
umbral lagoon
Doom spam doesn't work anymore
unkempt pagoda
proxy
unkempt pagoda
that was surprisingly slow for the bot lmao
lapis matrix
Hmm?
umbral lagoon
lmao
lapis matrix
Proxy?
umbral lagoon
bot warned me for cursing
lapis matrix
Ah
unkempt pagoda
post stayed up for a second longer than it usually does
umbral lagoon
yeah, but is there any way to make the shield better
lapis matrix
Bow has some good aspects to dip into
turbid needle
Shield's the best weapon in the game.
umbral lagoon
still lvl 2 i think
lapis matrix
It requires some investment for Chaos
umbral lagoon
ugh
lapis matrix
Zeus is kind of tuned weird
umbral lagoon
alright i'll just grind some blood with sword and upgrade my shield i guess
turbid needle
Yeah, if you don't have Chaos maxed I'd recommend Zag Aspect.
umbral lagoon
running out of options
unkempt pagoda
zeus vs chaos is a matter of playstyle
turbid needle
It offers additional damage reduction.
mystic vale
83 gold from GT. This is gonna be hawwwwwwwwwwwt.
unkempt pagoda
i really can't run zeus well, but i know people have made it really good
lapis matrix
It requires a Zeus build or so I hear
turbid needle
Zeus shield aspect is pretty darn effective with Demeter/Artemis/Athena/Aphrodite special as well
In fact the only special you don't want is Poseidon's lol
lapis matrix
That makes sense
umbral lagoon
one more thing
turbid needle
Thunder Flourish, Zeus's Special, works almost exclusively on the Aspect of Zeus.
Or Ares' kinda
umbral lagoon
I still haven't RNG'd a fishing rod
umbral lagoon
i've done like 50 runs 😭
stuff like that should not be random
i've been avoiding gems forever thinking that i'll get a rod one day
it's been 3 days
umbral lagoon
yeah and i killed the hydra like 5 times
:/
anyway thanks for the tips
back to the grind
lapis matrix
I think I got it after I beat Theseus
lapis matrix
You'll get there
Focus on getting keys
There are some good upgrades locked behind the keys
You can also trade the for titan blood sometimes
mystic vale
Poseidon in Trials of the Gods: "If you were in a boat or ship or something, you'd be rekt!"
dry ember
That's a decent amount of heat for 2450 Darkness mirror
Also no Tight Deadline?
The first level is free
turbid needle
I wouldn't turn on TD before I had a maxed mirror.
dry ember
Essentially
turbid needle
Tight Deadline is only free Heat if you're extremely familiar with the game's structure and already know what to do in most any situation.
dry ember
Well forgive my limited knowledge then
turbid needle
It's not limited knowledge.
dry ember
TD has never been a big issue for me
turbid needle
Everyone plays at different speeds.
dry ember
Fair
Although I do wonder if s/he actually finished all 4 prior heat
Since 5 heat on 2450 Darkness is still a lot.
raw violet
could also just be hell mode
dry ember
True
lapis matrix
Yeah, mode starts you out on 5
raw violet
oh yeah, you can see at the top
lapis matrix
Yeah it takes a while to get used to things
umbral lagoon
yuh i just got the game a couple of days ago (19 hours to be exact, when it was on sale)
immediately turned on hell mode cause i played stuff like this before
still trying not to do stupid things like dash into lava or challenge chariots head on
naive tusk
Everyone plays at different speeds.
- Schpoon "Infinity Chamber" Man
Shyly raises hand
umbral lagoon
oh shoot more questions
what happens if you give nectar after getting the character keepsake?
don’t want to waste them
proven robin
That will build relationship and progress storylines!
mystic vale
proven robin
If available in the current build. No worries, though, none of it will be wasted.
mystic vale
First win with just one DD used. Zag was extra thicc.
umbral lagoon
maybe explain a tiny bit more about the relationships haha
does it help you get stronger?
raw violet
only in spirit
i would focus on giving nectars to everyone once til you get all keepsakes
then there are 5 characters that will require nectars and ambrosia to get their summon
lapis matrix
They give you keepsakes to help you shift things in your run
Like forcing you to get a certain boon at the start
Although that might be overridden by hammers
raw violet
to avoid spoilers, if you want to know who you should keep giving nectars to, you can look up companions
turbid arch
I would like to have the relationships have a bit more of an impact on Zagreus. 5 guys give us companions, which is nice. I would like some other guys to also give us something permanent. Small stat increases maybe.
lapis matrix
Probably not stat increases
turbid arch
Say you forge a bond with Achilles, may that giving you 10 more max HP permanently?
lapis matrix
But something else might be nice