#hades-patch-notes

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naive siren Dec 7, 2018, 8:00 PM

Hi All! We've just released our first patch. Please restart the Epic Launcher if you're not seeing the game update, and make sure it's set to Auto-Update in the game settings!

Version 11652 Patch Notes

Fixes for startup crashes for some users
Fixes for a handful of rare crashes during gameplay
Fix for Mirror of Night tooltips sometimes not appearing
Fix for possible client lock-up in the Controls menu
Fix for Alt+F4 not working in some contexts
Various text fixes for non-English languages
Various cosmetic fixes like Room Rewards being obscured in Asphodel

Known Issues:

~~+ A startup crash effecting people playing with Windows set to certain languages. You can avoid this by setting your Windows language to English.~~
~~+ Keyboard icons sometimes appear as Controller icons in certain contexts~~
~~+ UI buttons will sometimes become unresponsive, causing players to get stuck in Boon screens, Charon Well Shops, etc~~

Thanks for your early support! We're working to fix additional issues as they come in, and appreciate your bug and feedback reports 😄

naive siren Dec 8, 2018, 11:21 PM

@here

Early Access Patch 002 - December 8, 2018

This patch contains fixes and balance changes based on initial reports and observations since launch. The Shield of Chaos had a little too much bite, and we'd like to see Cast attacks used more often.

Gameplay & Balance

Shield of Chaos: reduced base damage slightly; removed Deflect as an innate property (Athena's Boons still can give it Deflect)
Pulverizing Blow (Daedalus - Shield): reduced damage
Peerless Parry (Daedalus - Shield): removed entirely; replaced with...
Assault Flight (Daedalus - Shield): NEW upgrade added
Phalanx Shot (Athena): increased base damage
Storm Shot (Poseidon): increased damage radius and base damage
Bolt Shot (Zeus): increased chain radius and base damage
True Shot (Artemis): increased base damage
Reduced healing in the Asphodel guardian battle

Presentation & UI

Death Defiance presentation includes healing numbers
Improved death VFX for Bloodless
Added God Boon VFX to some Special attacks
Updated 'Codex Updated' indicator
Minor graphical improvements to some Tartarus chambers
Various cosmetic fixes

Bug Fixes

Fix to a progression blocker when entering Blood Gates
Fix for a rare crash on start-up based on Windows language setting
Fixes for several rare gameplay crashes
Fix to an issue where in-game menus could become unresponsive
Fix to a rare visual issue with falling rubble from pillars
Removed vestigial click-to-move controls affecting some players
Reduced the max scale of damage VFX (it could get silly...)
Fix to an issue where gamepad controls appeared using mouse
Minor UI fixes in some languages
Minor text fixes

Please be sure to restart the Epic Launcher to ensure you have the latest version of the game! You should see V0.11720 in the Main Menu

Quote of the Patch

'But by this earth, and by the sky above,
and by the waters of the Styx below,
which is the strongest oath for blessed gods,
I swear I will not plot more pain for you. ~ The Odyssey (Homer; E. Wilson translation)

naive siren Dec 10, 2018, 9:05 PM

@here Early Access Patch 003 - December 10, 2018

This patch addresses technical issues reported by some players, and streamlines our patch process. Expect another patch with more gameplay and balance changes later this week!

Presentation &a UI

Patch Notes now have a 'New!' indicator between updates

Bug Fixes

Fix to a rare crash during Trials of the Gods
Fixes to several other rare crashes

Quote of the Patch

Never, never again shall I return from Hades,
once you have given me the soothing rites of fire.'

~ The Iliad (Homer; R. Fagles translation)

Please be sure to restart the Launcher to get the latest version! You should see V0.11731 in the Main Menu

KNOWN ISSUES

Opening the Codex while changing rooms causes problems
Controller issues
Issues where Zag is hidden by objects (please send us reports with SCREENSHOTST)
4K support has issues. Please play at 1440 or 1080!

naive siren Dec 13, 2018, 11:33 PM

@here Early Access Patch 004 - December 13, 2018

This patch contains numerous fixes and balance changes based on further reports and observations since launch. Some weapons are stronger, and the gods have heard your prayers about certain Boons. Notes marked with shadesmile came from YOU, our community!

General Gameplay

Slightly longer player invulnerability after taking heavy damage
Reduced brief slow-mo effect on some combat interactions
Player briefly invulnerable in end-of-encounter slow-mo moments
Charon's Obol (Money) no longer offered at run start (this was the only option that did not directly improve your power or survivability)

Balance - Weapons & Powers

shadesmile Blade of the Underworld: increased damage on 2nd and 3rd swings of Attack combo; increased radius and added knockback on Special
Heart-seeking Bow: shots natively pierce through foes; slightly increased max range; slightly reduced power shot recovery time
Shield of Chaos: Special returns to you more reliably; slightly reduced Special damage

Eternal Spear: slightly increased Special damage
Cast: increased base damage; added slight homing to base version
Dash: brief invulnerability now lets you phase through some attacks

Balance - Boons & Upgrades

Lightning Strike (Zeus): normalized base damage
Tidal Surge (Poseidon): replaced with Tidal Dash
Phalanx Shot (Athena): increased base damage
Divine Protection (Athena): increased how often the effect occurs
Blade Surge (Ares): replaced with Blade Dash
Curse of Agony (Ares): reduced time until damage dealt
Curse of Pain (Ares): reduced time until damage dealt
Engulfing Vortex (Ares): increased effect radius
Sweet Surrender (Aphrodite): reduced power level
Deadly Flourish (Artemis): increased base effect chance
Multi Shot (Artemis): reduced power level; renamed to Burst Shot
Life Drinker (Daedalus - Blade): reduced health penalty
Penetrating Shot (Daedalus - Bow): replaced with Piercing Shot
Other minor changes and improvements

Balance - Foes

Bloodless: increased health (weaponless variants only)
Lout: slightly delayed attack point; slightly increased health
Pest: small improvements to movement and collision
Bone Hydra: reworked various aspects of this encounter
Bloodless-type foes no longer impervious while leaping
Bloodless-type foes more effective at flanking the player
Added unarmored Inferno-Bombers and Slam-Dancers in Asphodel
Adjusted frequency of various foes in Asphodel
Player knockback vs. impervious foes now only at close range
Other minor changes

Balance - Mirror

Quick Temper: rescaled; reduced effect of each rank
Avenging Gain: rescaled; reduced effect of each rank
Deep Pockets: rescaled; reduced effect of each rank Note: As a result of these changes, you may have new Upgrade Ranks available

Balance - Keepsakes

Myrmidon Bracer (Achilles): reduced penalty damage
Bone Hourglass (Charon): increased effect duration
Harpy Feather Duster (Dusa): increased chance to find healing items
Skull Earring (Megaera): higher active threshold; reduced dmg. bonus
Lucky Tooth (Skelly): increased health restoration

Level Design & Environments

shadesmile Numerous art and collision fixes in many Tartarus chambers
Numerous art and collision fixes in many Asphodel chambers

Re-tuned Asphodel 'river crossing' encounter
Asphodel 'lava jelly' objects now can be destroyed on touch
Additional visual polish in the House of Hades

Art & Visual FX

Ares: the God of War's portrait is now more suitably impressive...
Life Fountains are more noticeable when they can be used
Updated Numbskull attack VFX
Updated Critical Hit VFX
Updated 'Invincibubble' VFX (for Impervious state)
When chaining Dashes, camera shifts more smoothly
Updated Hypnos' sleeping Zs; fixed dialogue indicator not showing
When interacting with Sisyphus, Life Total is shown in tooltip
Updated some Codex images
Additional visual polish

Menus & UI

Send Feedback: **F10 ** to send feedback anywhere in-game
'Run Cleared' screen run shows completed runs per weapon
Mirror of Night shows when you reach max rank for an upgrade
Pause Menu now displays time of last autosave
Alternate boot-up announcement if your game build is out-of-date

Music & SFX

Added SFX to some Boon powers
Updated some SFX for Brimstone-type foes
Updated SFX for 'Trial of the Gods' events
Updated SFX for blood splatter
Music goes quiet prior to facing each Guardian (if Charon isn't there)

Voice & Narrative

A certain court musician now is more susceptible to persuasion...
Start-of-run 'Remembrance' scenes less likely to repeat
Some character interactions less likely to repeat
Other minor changes to voice lines and events
Fixes to minor text and caption errors

Miscellaneous

Credits: Orpheus added to Voice Cast
Improvements to analytics sent via the Transmit Data feature

Bug Fixes

Fixes to additional rare crashes reported by players
Fixed an issue letting players recover health using Keepsakes
**Impact Blast (Daedalus - Spear ** dealt backstab damage unexpectedly
Player now invulnerable while exiting chambers
Fixes to controller vibration not working with some weapons
Fixes to some control remapping issues
Reopening **Well of Charon ** could affect their contents
Boons sold by Charon no longer use up rarity bonus effects
Pulverizing Blow (Poseidon) caused knockback unexpectedly
Fixed cases where Codex could be opened during other events
Fixed an issue where the Aegis weapon could be cloned
Fixed text display issues in some languages
Possible fix to a rare black-screen issue in the House Courtyard
Numerous other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch

'O child of Zeus, one word shall tell thee all.
We are the children of eternal Night,
And Furies in the underworld are called.'

~Eumenides (Aeschylus; E. Morshead translation)

naive siren Dec 14, 2018, 9:40 PM

@everyone Early Access Patch 005 - December 14, 2018

This patch resolves some issues reported by players after Patch 004. We're investigating additional reports and appreciate the feedback.

Balance - Boons & Upgrades

Tidal Dash (Poseidon): reduced area-of-effect
Passion Dash (Aphrodite): reduced area-of-effect
Different League (Aphrodite): normalized base power level

Miscellaneous

Courtyard vista scene no longer states max. number of Chambers, which could be misleading; farthest Chamber reached still displayed

Voice & Narrative

Some Gift events with the Olympians could play out of order
Minor changes to some event requirements

Bug Fixes

Fixed a rare crash with Engulfing Vortex (Ares)
Fixed a graphical issue on the screen edges in ultrawide resolutions
Divine Protection (Athena) ceased working after Blood Gates
**The Aegis weapon's Special applied some on-hit effects on return **
Fixed various issues with the new Send Feedback command
Fixed a visual issue with Asphodel 'Trial of the Gods' Reward Previews
Minor text fixes

_'The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.'-

~The Myth of Sisyphus (A. Camus)

You should see V0.12014 in-game when updated! Please restart the Epic Launcher to ensure you get the latest patch!

naive siren Dec 17, 2018, 10:29 PM

@everyone Early Access Patch 006 - December 17, 2018

This patch has several balance changes and fixes to issues reported by players. We'll keep monitoring, though this is likely our last one till after the holidays, as we gear up for our first major content update in January!

Balance - Boons & Upgrades

Life Drinker (Daedalus - Blade): removed from the game (this had a variety of bugs and balance issues; we will fix or replace it later)
Divine Flourish (Athena): slightly increased damage
Sure Footing (Athena): normalized base power level
Curse of Vengeance (Ares): reduced time until damage dealt
Blade Dash (Ares): slightly increased damage, reduced duration
Heartbreak Strike (Aphrodite): reduced damage bonus
Heartbreak Flourish (Aphrodite): reduced damage bonus
Sweet Surrender (Aphrodite): normalized base power level

Balance - Keepsakes & Items

Bone Hourglass (Charon): slightly reduced effect duration
Cyclops Jerky (Well): reduced power level

Miscellaneous

shadesmile Text clarifications and name changes to some Zeus Boons
Text clarification to Cthonic Coin Purse (Hypnos)
Improvements to German and Polish menu localization

Bug Fixes

Fixed a save-related crash experienced by players after many runs
Quick Temper (Mirror) was applying more damage than indicated

Quote of the Patch

'Like a shooting star Athena flashed across the earth,
plunging down in the midst of both camped forces.'

~The Iliad (Homer; R. Fagles translation)

You should see V0.12032 in-game when updated!

naive siren Jan 15, 2019, 7:50 PM

@everyone

Early Access Patch 007: The CHAOS Update - January 15, 2019

Our first **Major Update **is here! Your feedback helped us prioritize features that add variety and lasting value, to help keep things fresh as we continue to create more content. Note: We'll likely post several smaller patches after this, then shift focus to next month's big update!

Highlights

Primordial Chaos: the ancestor of the gods awaits within Blood Gates! Blessings from **Chaos offer powerful benefits, with initial side effects...
Pact of Punishment: for those skilled and determined enough to have cleared the game, now even greater trials await through this system
Zag's New & Improved Look: We've retouched thousands of frames of animation to bring our protagonist in line with the game's visual style
New 'Perfect Clear' Encounter: Lord Hades sometimes challenges you to slay your foes without getting hit (and, if you fail...)
New Foes: the Skull-Crusher, the Gorgon, & the Megagorgon
New Resource: after unlocking the Pact, look for **Heat ** to power it up
Wretched Broker: exchange resources in the House of Hades

Balance - Weapons & Powers

Dash: now briefly stuns most unarmored foes
Eternal Spear: Special slightly faster; Spin Attack area slightly increased but no longer Backstabs (same as other area attacks)
Shield of Chaos: Special returns sooner; slightly reduced Bull Rush recovery time

Balance - Boons & Upgrades

**Critical **effects have a reduced chance, but deal more damage
Lightning Strike (Zeus): increased damage
Lightning Flourish (Zeus): increased damage
Thunder Dash (Zeus): effect no longer targets invulnerable foes
Divine Flourish (Athena): slightly increased damage; reduced Deflect duration on Special (Blade only)
Tidal Strike (Poseidon): slightly increased damage; reduced knockback
Tidal Flourish (Poseidon): increased damage
Sunken Treasure (Poseidon): increased healing and other rewards
Ocean's Bounty (Poseidon): reduced money bonus
Slicing Shot (Ares): increased base damage
Super Nova (Daedalus - Blade): reduced damage and area of effect
Sudden Sunder (Daedalus - Blade): fixed an issue where you could Blink repeatedly
Triple Shot (Daedalus - Bow): widened attack arc
Sudden Rush (Daedalus - Shield): charges even faster
Minotaur Rush (Daedalus - Shield): increased damage
Javelin Throw (Daedalus - Spear): increased damage
Trick Toss (Daedalus - Spear): removed speed bonus (since the base throw now is faster)

Balance - Foes

Bloodless: flank you more effectively; slightly delayed attack point
Inferno-bombers: now drop one bomb when slain (instead of three)
Skullomat: increased health
Voidstone: increased shielding range; effect ceases once destroyed
Bone Hydra: further tuning to aspects of this encounter
Megaera: slightly reduced health; other misc. fixes and changes
Re-tuned various **Asphodel **foes to make room for the new varieties
Normalized 'Backstab' areas on various foes

Balance - Mirror

Infernal Soul: reduced max rank (invested Darkness will be refunded)
Quick Temper: removed from the game (invested Darkness will be refunded); replaced with...
Boiling Blood (NEW!): gives dmg. bonus after hitting foes with **Cast

Balance - Keepsakes & Items

shadesmile All **Keepsakes **re-scaled; they now rank up through repeated use
You can now switch **Keepsakes **only once after clearing **Tartarus

Black Shawl (Nyx): now restores Health when you earn Darkness
Cosmic Egg (Chaos): added to the game
Daedalus Hammer (Charon): increased shop cost
Boons (Charon): slightly reduced shop cost
Centaur Heart (Charon): slightly reduced shop cost
Eye of Lamia (Well): slightly increased cost
Light of Ixion (Well): no longer sold during early escape attempts

Level Design & Environments

New Chambers: 3 added to Tartarus, 3 added to Asphodel
Adjustments and fixes to various chambers

Art & Visual FX

Artemis: the Goddess of the Hunt shows herself at last…
Cast: your **Bloodstones **have an updated look
Hades Remembrance sequences have a new look
New cosmetic obstacles added to various Chambers
Various other graphical improvements

Menus & UI

Victory Screen: successfully complete a run to see this summary
Screenshot: **F11 **(default) to take screenshots anywhere in-game
Report Bug: **F10 **(default) to report a bug anywhere in-game (note this is no longer for misc. feedback; please give feedback in Discord!)
Main Menu: improvements, plus **Chaos Update **presentation
Updated Player Health Bar; more improvements planned
Updated look of Aim Previews for various weapons and abilities
Improved feedback on some button states
Various minor fixes and improvements

New Settings

shadesmile Show Timer: toggle this to track your best time
Playback Device: set your preferred audio device in-game
Mouse Lock: lock your mouse cursor in windowed display modes
Dead Zone: tune your controller's neutral position

Captions remain visible during scene transitions
Other minor fixes and improvements

Music & SFX

'Primordial Chaos': added new music track
Added various new SFX

Voice & Narrative

Added voice lines for Chaos, Zagreus, Hades, Achilles, & Hypnos
Added Zagreus voice events for various gameplay contexts
Added several new character events in the House of Hades
Achilles should give the **Codex **more reliably early on
Added **Codex **entries for Chaos, new foes, and Heat
Increased max Gift level for Olympians, Nyx, Skelly, and Cerberus

Miscellaneous

shadesmile Updated descriptions of some Boons, Keepsakes, and Upgrades

**Keepsakes ** re-arranged in the Display Case
Credits: Primordial Chaos added to Voice Cast
Improved feedback when your last **Death Defiance **is used up
Added feedback if you try using the Codex before it's unlocked
Can no longer buy **Life Essence (Well) ** at full health
Small amounts of Darkness awarded directly instead of in pick-ups
Game pauses automatically if a controller disconnect is detected
Various minor text fixes

Bug Fixes

shadesmile Fixed a crash if your character died while viewing the Codex
Fixed an issue where Dusa would vanish rather than fly away

Fixed a visual issue with Boss Health Bars not fully depleting
Various minor fixes

Quote of the Patch

'Astounding heat seized Chaos: and to see with eyes and to hear the sound with ears it seemed even as if Earth and wide Heaven above came together.'

~Theogony (Hesiod; E. Evelyn-White translation)

You should see version V0.12868 In-Game once you have the update

vagrant epoch Jan 16, 2019, 8:35 PM

@here Early Access Patch 008 - January 16, 2019

This patch addresses several issues reported by players following our first Major Update. We're continuing to monitor feedback and expect to make further adjustments this week.

Level Design & Environments

Fixed transition to Hydra's chamber sometimes not playing
Other minor fixes to various chambers

Voice & Narrative

Fixed a Chaos event that had the wrong content; other minor changes
Voiceover timing improvements in 'Perfect Clear' encounter

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed Chaos Boons sometimes showing incorrectly in Boon Info
Fix to Chaos' Caustic curse showing incorrect icon
Fixed an issue where Megagorgon sometimes got stuck in terrain
Fixed an issue where Record Time was not tracked correctly
Ocean's Bounty (Poseidon): fixed interaction with Darkness
shadesmile Engulfing Vortex (Ares): fix to an erroneous description
Fixed an issue scrolling the Codex pages with controller
Minor text changes

Fixed an issue where music sometimes did not play in boss battles
Other minor fixes and improvements

Quote of the Patch
'The death of Achilles filled the army with dismay, and they buried him with Patroclus in the White Isle, mixing the bones of the two together.'

~The Library (Apollodorus; J. G. Frazer translation)

naive siren Jan 18, 2019, 10:42 PM

@here Early Access Patch 009 - January 18, 2019

This patch enhances features added in our Major Update earlier this week, and makes further balance changes. After this, we will be shifting focus to our next Major Update, so expect fewer changes till then.

General Gameplay

shadesmile Using the **Pact of Punishment **now multiplies Darkness earned
New unlockables for completing runs at certain **Pact **thresholds
Late-game **Heat **resource appears much less often as a reward
Infernal Troves: reduced likelihood of Health and Darkness variants; reduced difficulty of these encounters

**Blood Gates **have slightly increased health cost scaling; significantly less likely to appear before the Hydra encounter
Pom of Power: slightly reduced power level
**Epic **rarity blessings have slightly reduced max power levels

Balance - Boons & Upgrades

Chaos: added **Lunge ** and **Flourish **blessing variants
Chaos: reduced power variance of Rare and Epic effects
Thunder Dash (Zeus): reduced range of lightning bolt
Phalanx Shot (Athena): slightly increased damage radius and damage
Hunter Dash (Artemis): reworked; makes **Dash Attacks **stronger
True Shot (Artemis): normalized base power level
Pressure Points (Artemis): reduced **Critical **chance
Quick Reload (Artemis): reduced base time reduction
Heartbreak Strike (Aphrodite): slightly increased damage
Dying Lament (Aphrodite): increased damage
Slicing Shot (Ares): increased damage
Point-Blank Shot (Daedalus - Bow): reduced damage bonus
Sniper Shot (Daedalus - Bow): reduced damage bonus
Perfect Shot (Daedalus - Bow): increased damage bonus

Balance - Foes & Encounters

**Asphodel **encounters should have slightly more foes than before
**Asphodel ** 'Perfect Clear' encounters have reduced difficulty
Hydra: increased health slightly; seeking shot harder to evade
Megaera: reduced delays between some of her attacks
Wretched Witch: more aggressive (spends less time hiding)
Gorgon: raised damage and rate-of-fire; Elite variant is stronger
Skull-Crusher: increased damage; reduced damage radius; added Elite variant; minor fixes

Balance - Mirror of Night

Avenging Gain: removed from the game (this had a variety of issues preventing it from influencing gameplay the way we expected; invested Darkness will be refunded)
Thick Skin (NEW!): raises Life Total
Boiling Blood: damage bonus applies only to Attack and Special

Balance - Pact of Punishment

Shared Misery: reduced effect of each rank; adjusted Heat cost
Death Insurance: reduced max rank

Balance - Keepsakes & Items

shadesmile Fixed an issue where Keepsakes ranked up faster than intended; reduced max rank requirement to compensate
Skull Earring (Megaera): increasing scaling with rank-ups

Braid of Atlas (Well): reduced power level
Trove Tracker (Well): reduced effect duration

Level Design & Environments

Updated aspects of the House of Hades courtyard
Art and collision fixes in some chambers

Art & Visual FX

Improvements to Cerberus idle animation
Improvements to Skull-Crusher visual FX
Added spawn-in effect for Onion 'reward'
Other minor art changes

Menus & UI

Minor visual improvements to **Mirror of Night **UI
Minor visual improvements to **Pact of Punishment **UI
Clarifications to some in-game prompts and descriptions
Other minor fixes and improvements

Music & SFX

Sound FX pass on some **Asphodel **traps and weapons

Voice & Narrative

New late-game events added to the House of Hades courtyard
Voiceover timing improvements and minor fixes

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue unexpectedly failing 'Perfect Clear' encounters near lava
Fixed an issue causing unexpected damage bursts from the Hydra
Fixed an issue with Boon Info display when entering Chaos chambers
Fixes and improvements to in-game Bug Reporter
Minor text fixes

Quote of the Patch

_'It is not clear how the Greeks conceived Chaos, which was not in existence from the first, but came into being.' _ ~Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology (E. Tripp)

You should see V0.13009 In-Game once you have the update

vagrant epoch Jan 19, 2019, 7:33 PM

@here Early Access Patch 010 - January 19, 2019

This small patch fixes several issues surrounding the new unlockables added last time (we pin 100% of the blame on Skelly). We've now set our sights on our next Major Update. Until then!!

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed crashes with Pact unlockables while Skelly is 'dead'

Fixed Pact unlockables locking again if you started a new run without unlocking them before (though, why would you do that)
Victory Screen properly tracks Heat records of past runs
Skelly no longer spoils the surprise when attacking unlockables

Quote of the Patch
'Just tell me the quick way I could get down there! To Hades!' ~The Frogs (Aristophanes; G. Theodoridis translation)

You should see v0.13019 in-game once you have the update

naive siren Feb 12, 2019, 7:43 PM

@everyone Early Access Patch 011: The GOOD TIMES Update - Feb. 12, 2019

Our second **Major Update **is here, featuring a mighty new Olympian and weapon, and much more. We'll likely post several smaller patches after this, then shift focus to next month's big update!

**Highlights**
    + **Dionysus**: the god of wine offers his intoxicating blessings! Seek his aid and encouragement during your escape attempts
    + **Exagryph, the Adamant Rail**: this legendary forebear of firearms presents an all-new playstyle! Own all four other weapons to reveal it
    + **Fated Authority**: new **Mirror **upgrade lets you alter the rewards you'll earn in each chamber _(to whatever the Fates decide...)_
    + **Infernal Gates**: seasoned players may earn greater rewards within _(provided they use the Pact of Punishment, and can clear the challenges inside)_
    + **New Story Events**: expect new narrative plus new contextual gameplay quips, with hundreds of newly recorded voice lines
    ![shadesmile](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/520447982727069737.webp?size=128 "shadesmile") **Roadmap**: press the **Next Major Update **button on the Main Menu to learn more about what else we're working on

**General Gameplay**
    ![shadesmile](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/520447982727069737.webp?size=128 "shadesmile") 'Perfect Clear' encounters no longer occur in random Chambers; now occur when you enter the new **Infernal Gates
    ![shadesmile](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/520447982727069737.webp?size=128 "shadesmile") **Centaur Hearts **no longer a reward option in the first chamber**
    ![shadesmile](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/520447982727069737.webp?size=128 "shadesmile") **Codex **unlock requirements reduced in most cases
    ![shadesmile](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/520447982727069737.webp?size=128 "shadesmile") Improvements to auto-aim selection in various contexts
    + Added Superior-quality Chamber Reward variants _(for Infernal Gates)_
    + **Wretched Broker **deals offer better value _(sometimes...)_
    + **Infernal Troves **retain their full value longer before decay-over-time

Balance - Weapons & Powers
+ Adamant Rail: added to the game, with its own Daedalus Upgrades
shadesmile Stygian Blade: Thrust recovery time slightly reduced; Special recovery can be reduced by attacking
Heart-Seeking Bow: Special recovery time slightly reduced
Eternal Spear: Special damage and range slightly increased; returns slightly faster; improved input buffering
Shield of Chaos: Attack recovery slightly faster; improved input buffering; now can block petrifying projectiles
shadesmile Cast: improved input buffering when linking shots

Balance - Boons & Upgrades
+ Thunder Dash (Zeus): reduced max. damage
shadesmile Ocean's Bounty (Poseidon): no longer affects shop items
Titan Toppler (Athena): no longer interrupted by Spike Traps
+ Hungry Blades (Ares): reduced duration scaling; scales with rarity
Deadly Strike (Artemis): reworked; adds bonus damage and a fixed +15% chance of a Critical hit
shadesmile Deadly Flourish (Artemis): reworked; adds bonus damage and a fixed +20% chance of a Critical hit
Hunter Dash (Artemis): reduced power level; various fixes
Burst Shot (Artemis): now scales with rarity
Fully Loaded (Artemis): now scales with rarity
Dying Lament (Aphrodite): increased power level
shadesmile Wave of Despair (Aphrodite): increased power level
Unhealthy Fixation (Aphrodite): increased effect chance
Empty Inside (Aphrodite): now scales with rarity
Remedy (Chaos): cut from game; **Soul **(Life Gain) still offered;
+ Grasp (Chaos): now scales with rarity
+ Atrophic (Chaos): increased negative effect
+ Pom of Power: upgrades can now have improved rarity

Balance - Daedalus Hammer
+ Cruel Thrust (Sword): added to the game
+ Sudden Sunder (Sword): faster recovery time
+ Piercing Shot (Bow): replaced with **Piercing Barrage
+ Point-Blank Shot (Bow): replaced with **Twin Shot
+ Triple Shot (Bow): widened attack arc
+ Rapid Shot (Bow): removed damage penalty
+ Dread Flight (Shield): hits more targets before returning
+ Voracious Flight (Shield): replaced with **Mirage Flight
+ Assault Flight (Shield): reworked; now faster and fully automatic
+ Minotaur Rush (Shield): reduced charge-time penalty
+ Trick Toss (Spear): replaced with **Flurry Jab
+ Impact Blast (Spear): replaced with **Exploding Launcher
+ Cruel Skewer (Spear): replaced with **Vicious Skewer
+ Multi Skewer (Spear): bounces between more targets, including foes
+ Quick Spin (Spear): now charges much faster

Balance - Foes & Encounters
+ Pest: now flings mines; mines eventually expire; reduced Elite armor
shadesmile Thug: no longer turns during attack; reduced Elite armor
Numbskull: no longer spawn one-by-one in some encounters
Skullomat: reduced Elite armor; reduced spawn cap
**Megaera **: reinforcement spawns no longer yield unlimited money
+ Slam-Dancer: no longer immune to knockback while leaping
shadesmile Gorgon: attack expires slightly sooner
Skull-Crusher: reduced health, size, and spawn cap; Elite rises faster
Megagorgon: now immune to stun and knockback;
+ Hydra: no longer slows you with its slam attack; improved feedback on some of its attacks; other minor changes
shadesmile Asphodel **Lava Puddles **take longer to damage you (like other lava)
+ **Brimstones ** can now appear in the Asphodel 'river crossing' encounter
+ Area attacks (such as the Skull-Crusher's) now briefly stun other foes
+ Various other minor fixes and improvements

**Balance - Mirror of Night**
    + **Fated Authority**: added to the game
    ![shadesmile](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/520447982727069737.webp?size=128 "shadesmile") **Death Defiance**: healing now scales with Life Total

Balance - Keepsakes & Items
+ Overflowing Cup (Dionysus): added to the game
+ Chthonic Coin Purse (Hypnos): reworked; gives a fixed money amount
shadesmile Light of Ixion (Well): no longer loses charges in ineligible chambers
Trove Tracker (Well): no longer loses charges in ineligible chambers
+ Olympian **Keepsake **effects won't expire before you take their boon

**Balance - Pact of Punishment**
    + **Whipped Frenzy (NEW!)**: raises foe movement speed and attack speed
    + **Convenience Fee (NEW!)**: raises item costs
    + **Pain Tolerance**: reduced effect at max rank
    + Increased Darkness bonus when using the Pact
    + Adjusted **Skeleton Key **costs for some unlocks

Level Design & Environments
+ Added chamber for when you dare enter the new Infernal Gates...
+ **Charon's Shop **in Tartarus has a new look
+ House of Hades: the Wretched Broker has a new location
+ Several chambers in **Tartarus **now have multiple exits
shadesmile Art and collision fixes in some chambers

**Art & Visual FX**
    + Improved art for **Chaos Gates **_(formerly called Blood Gates)_
    + Improved art for **Asphodel **pillar
    + Improved visual FX for **Asphodel **smoke traps
    + Olympian portraits now have some animated visual FX
    + New visual FX for new Superior-quality Chamber Rewards
    + New art for Superior-quality healing items
    + Updated visual FX for **Poseidon **effects
    + New art for **Enshrouded (Chaos) **Chamber Reward previews
    ![shadesmile](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/520447982727069737.webp?size=128 "shadesmile") **Gorgon **petrification projectile easier to see
    ![shadesmile](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/520447982727069737.webp?size=128 "shadesmile") Move animations now sped up proportionally with upgrades
    + Charge-up animations now sped up proportionally with upgrades
    + Improved spawn-in animations for some foes
    + Various other graphical improvements

Menus & UI
+ Death Defiance and similar effects now represented distinctly in the UI
+ In the **Mirror **and Pact, you can press-and-hold to quickly modify stats
+ Formatting improvements in the **Mirror **and **Pact
+ Added visual timer for **Cast **ammo auto-returning to you
+ **Tenebrous Veil (Pact) **now shows you removed choices
+ **Death Insurance (Pact) **now has improved feedback on foes
shadesmile **Boon Info **command now shows how many chambers deep you are
Added support for wrapping in many menus using gamepad
You can close the **Codex **using the command to open it
+ Main Menu selection improvements with gamepad
+ Visual distinction between 'resource' and 'upgrade' Reward previews
+ Layout changes in Controls screen
+ Improvements to **Victory Screen
+ Improvements to interact text presentation
+ Various other minor improvements

**Music & SFX**
    + A certain court musician may now be persuaded to sing another tune...
    + **Keepsakes **now have unique sounds when equipped
    + Added audio cue for when **Chaos Gates **unlock
    + Added various new ambient sounds
    + Various minor SFX changes and improvements

Voice & Narrative
+ Added Zagreus voice events for various gameplay contexts
+ Added new narrative events with various characters
+ Added new Storyteller lines for successfully clearing runs
+ Added **Codex **entries for **Dionysus **and Exagryph
shadesmile Voiceover timing improvements and minor fixes

**Miscellaneous**
    + Improved consistency across various boon and upgrade descriptions
    + You can Dash into the **House Bedchambers **more reliably
    + Added interaction if you can get all **Pact ** unlockables in the Couryard
    + Credits: Dionysus added to Voice Cast

**Bug Fixes**
    ![shadesmile](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/520447982727069737.webp?size=128 "shadesmile") You sometimes took damage blocking with the **Shield **unexpectedly
    ![shadesmile](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/520447982727069737.webp?size=128 "shadesmile") **Hunter Dash (Artemis)** no longer a prerequisite for Critical boons
    + The **Spear **Special did not benefit from **Boiling Blood (Mirror)
    + The **Shield **Bull Rush could sometimes deal damage while petrified
    + **Asphodel **foes sometimes appeared in the first chamber unexpectedly
    + **Vicious Torment (Pact) ** boosted Deflect damage unexpectedly
    + **Pain Tolerance (Pact) **was not applying the stated values
    + 'Last Kill' presentation was not occurring in 'Perfect Clear' encounters
    ![shadesmile](https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/520447982727069737.webp?size=128 "shadesmile") Your Life Total appeared incorrectly when choosing **Chaos **boons**

Quote of the Patch
'[W]hen the crude grapes which Dionysus gave to men -- a joy and a sorrow both -- begin to colour, in that season they fought and loud rose the clamour.'
**~Shield of Heracles **(Hesiod; H. Evelyn-White translation)

You should see V0.14026 In-Game once you have the update

naive siren Feb 13, 2019, 8:01 PM

@here Early Access Patch 012 - Feb. 13, 2018

This patch addresses technical issues reported by some players since yesterday's Major Update. We're excited to see the response thus far, and continuing to monitor your feedback -- keep it coming!

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixes to several rare crashes
**Megagorgon **encounter should run smoother for some players
Fix to **Premium Vintage (Dionysus) **providing health when gifting
Fix to **Divine Flourish (Athena) **not functioning with Rail Special
Fix to **Boiling Blood (Mirror) **not functioning with Rail Special
shadesmile Fixed **Convenience Fee (Pact) **successively affecting Well of Charon
Fix to foes continuing to spawn after defeating Megaera
Fixes to several minor cosmetic issues
+ Minor text fixes

Quote of the Patch
'The hearts inside us shook, terrified by his rumbling voice and monstrous hulk.'
**~The Odyssey **(Homer; R. Fagles translation)

You should see V0.14049 In-Game once you have the update

naive siren Feb 14, 2019, 7:45 PM

@here Early Access Patch 013 - Feb. 14, 2018

This patch includes balance changes to several boons and upgrades, as well as fixes to a number of issues reported by players this week.

Balance - Boons & Upgrades
shadesmile Lightning Strike (Zeus): reduced damage
Tipsy Shot (Dionysus): reduced damage
Premium Vintage (Dionysus): reduced rarity scaling

Balance - Daedalus Hammer
shadesmile Flurry Fire (Rail): reduced max. ammo increase
Spread Fire (Rail): reduced power level
Exploding Launcher (Spear): reduced power level

Art & Visual FX
+ Adjustments to Chamber Reward previews on Infernal Gates
+ Other minor visual improvements

Menus & UI
+ **Tenebrous Veil (Pact) **has improved presentation for locked choices
+ Minor adjustments to Victory Screen

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixes to **Blight Wine **damage stacking
Fixes to several minor cosmetic issues
Fix to being able to Gift and talk to characters simultaneously
Fix to an issue exiting to Main menu during a Survival encounter
Fix to speaking indicator on Skelly when he has nothing to say
Fix to 'Talk' prompt briefly appearing after conversations
+ Other minor fixes
+ Minor text changes

Quote of the Patch

'Unhappy labour after labour shall await him, each more baleful than that which went before.'
**~Lycophron **(Aratus; A. W. & G. R. Mair translation)

You should see V0.14081 In-Game once you have the update

naive siren Feb 15, 2019, 10:56 PM

@here Early Access Patch 014 - Feb. 15, 2019

This small patch addresses rare crases and several other issues. We're now setting our sights on our next Major Update. Until then!

Art & Visual FX
+ Updated some Codex images

Miscellaneous
+ Updated menu strings in some languages

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixes to rare crashes
Fix to **Nasty Dash (Dionysus) **working with his Peer Pressure
Fixes to minor cosmetic issues

Quote of the Patch
'The nocturnal rites performed every year in honor of Dionysus I must not divulge to the world at large.'
**~Description of Greece **(Pausanias; W. H. S. Jones translation)

You should see V0.14115 In-Game once you have the update

naive siren Mar 12, 2019, 7:06 PM

@everyone Early Access Patch 015: The MURDER DEATH KILL Update - Mar. 12, 2019

Our third **Major Update **is here, adding Wrath powers, an enigmatic rival, vicious new bosses, and more. Expect several smaller patches after this, then we'll shift focus to what should be our biggest update yet!

Highlights
+ Wrath of Olympus: charge up new super moves from each Olympian to turn the tide of battle
+ Thanatos: the incarnate of death arrives! can you beat him at his own game?
+ Alecto & Tisiphone: think Megaera the Fury is a tough customer? wait till you meet her sisters
+ New Boons: look for many new God Boons, including all-new 'Duo' powers
+ New Foes: watch out for the **Bloodless Burn-Flinger **and the Bloodless Wave-Maker
+ New Story Events: experience many new fully-voiced narrative scenes and contextual gameplay quips

General Gameplay
+ Updated default control mappings, having added **Wrath **(note: your control mappings have been reset)
+ The same types of **Chaos **blessings can no longer be offered at the same time
shadesmile **Infernal Gates **now have a fixed cost in **Heat **in each biome

Weapons & Powers
shadesmile Stygian Blade: increased damage on first and second strikes; increased dash attack damage to match thrust; reduced Special recovery time
Heart-Seeking Bow: slightly reduced projectile hitbox (making it less effective against enemy projectiles)
Shield of Chaos: more reliably blocks foes' ranged attack; improved Bull Rush cancel window
shadesmile Adamant Rail: increased rate-of-fire from press-and-hold; removed faster rate-of-fire from tapping; you can reload while moving; slightly reduced projectile hitbox; Special briefly stuns you if it hits you

Boons & Upgrades
+ Added **7 **new **Wrath **boons, one for each of the Olympians currently in the game
+ Added **6 **new 'Duo' boons, combining effects from different gods; see if you can discover them!
+ Added **12 **additional boons, especially to Olympians who offered relatively fewer choices
shadesmile Lightning Strike (Zeus): increased damage, bolt accuracy, and range; reduced damage per bounce
+ Tempest Strike (Poseidon): re-scaled knock-away distances on this and similar effects
+ Breaking Wave (Poseidon): reworked; instead of a stun effect after a wall-slam, deals damage in an area
+ Flood Shot (Poseidon) (formerly Storm Shot): now seeks nearest foe (same as base Cast)
shadesmile Phalanx Shot (Athena): now seeks nearest foe (same as base Cast)
+ Curse of Agony (Ares): slightly increased time until damage dealt on this and similar effects
Unhealthy Fixation (Aphrodite): increases charmed foe's speed; now affects bosses
Peer Pressure (Dionysus): reduced damage; increased cooldown
+ Tipsy Shot (Dionysus): now bounces off of tall obstacles
shadesmile Chaos: increased power level of most blessings

Daedalus Hammer
+ Flurry Blade (Blade): damage reduced (to compensate for the Blade's base damage increase)
shadesmile Seeking Fire (Rail): range increased; projectile acceleration removed
+ Flurry Fire (Rail): increased rate of fire; increased ammo capacity; increased accuracy
+ Spread Fire (Rail): reduced penalty to ammo capacity
+ Infinity Chamber (Rail): removed tap-to-fire penalty

Foes & Encounters
+ You can no longer encounter successive 'Trials of the Gods' with the same choices
+ The new **Wave-Makers **and **Burn-Flingers **now can appear as **Tartarus **mini-bosses
+ Skullomat: reduced appearance rate of Elite variant in Asphodel
shadesmile Pest: your Deflect effects now work against its mine lob attack
Wretched Lout: slightly reduced range (to better match the visual)
Bloodless: slightly reduced range (to better match the visual)
Skull-Crusher: reduced how many can appear per encounter; now susceptible to backstab damage
shadesmile Gorgon: projectile speed reduced; you are briefly immune to petrification after breaking free
Megagorgon: projectile speed reduced; you are briefly immune to petrification after breaking free
+ Bone Hydra: added new head variant; attack timing adjustments

Keepsakes & Items
+ Pierced Butterfly (Thanatos): added to the game
+ Trove Tracker (Well): reduced purchase cost

Pact of Punishment
+ Reduced **Skeleton Keys **required to unlock the system

Level Design & Environments
+ Added several new chamber to Tartarus
+ Updated layout for **Charon's Shop **in Tartarus
+ Improved collision in **Erebus **challenge chamber
+ Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

Art & Visual FX
+ Updated visuals for Hades Remembrance sequences
+ Updated artwork for some environmental objects
+ Updated visuals for Skullomat death
+ Added visual FX for new characters and foes

Menus & UI
shadesmile Unified formatting of some in-game prompts
+ Updated text formats on some screens
+ Updated main menu logo sequence
+ Added **Wrath **UI and activation presentation
+ Updated some Codex images
+ Updated icons and visuals for Pact of Punishment
+ Adjusted width of this and similar screens
+ Added scroll bar to this screen
+ Other minor changes and improvements

Music & SFX
+ 'Scourge of the Furies': added new music track to Tartarus
+ Added various new sound effects
+ Minor fixes and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative
+ Added new narrative events with various characters
+ Added Zagreus voice events for various gameplay contexts
+ Added **Codex **entries for Thanatos, Alecto, Tisiphone, Wave-maker, Burn-flinger, and...?
+ Updated requirements from some narrative events
+ Fixes and tuning to some contextual voice lines

Miscellaneous
+ Updated Roadmap to reflect our plans for our next Major Update
+ Updated 'Congratulations' message after clearing an escape attempt
shadesmile Improved mouse pick boxes for **Brimstone **and **Hydra **
+ Updated some menu strings in non-English languages
+ Improved feedback when foes collide with other foes
+ Credits: Thanatos, Alecto, and Tisiphone added to Voice Cast; Additional Animation updated

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed an interaction between **Nasty Dash (Dionysus) **and Peer Pressure (Dionysus)
Fixed an issue with the **Bone Hourglass (Charon) **effect sometimes not applying correctly
You can no longer use **Fated Authority **on locked Infernal Gates
Fixed an issue causing the Achilles Wall-Scroll to sometimes cost much more than intended
+ Fixed an issue where attacks from foes affected by **Unhealthy Fixation (Aphrodite) **could hit the player
+ Fixed issues that could prevent some voiceover from playing when interacting with Skelly's unlockables
shadesmile Fix to Dusa showing conversation indicator when she didn't have anything important to say
Minor text fixes
+ Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'And last, who under Earth the guilt avenge
Of oaths sworn falsely, let the Furies hear!'
**~The Iliad **(Homer; W. Cowper translation)

You should see V0.15086 In-game once you have the update

naive siren Mar 14, 2019, 6:53 PM

@here Early Access Patch 016 - Mar. 14, 2019
This patch makes several fixes and improvements based on initial feedback and our ongoing iteration following the launch of the **Murder Death Kill Update **earlier this week. Thank you for playing!

General Gameplay
+ **Thanatos **is faster, can move over terrain gaps, and can use his area attack more often; increased his encounter frequency; adjusted foe variety in his encounters to present a more consistent challenge

Weapons & Powers
shadesmile Adamant Rail: slightly reduced scatter

Boons & Upgrades
+ Electric Shot (Zeus): reduced Rare and Epic rarity power level; now seeks nearest foe (same as base Cast)
+ Clouded Judgment (Zeus): reduced power level of Rare and Epic rarity
+ Storm Lightning (Zeus): reduced power level of Rare and Epic rarity
+ Double Strike (Zeus): reduced power level of Rare and Epic rarity
+ Boiling Point (Poseidon): reduced power level of Rare and Epic rarity
+ Proud Bearing (Athena): reduced power level of Rare and Epic rarity
+ Slicing Shot (Ares): reduced damage variance from rarity
+ Dire Misfortune (Ares): reduced damage variance from rarity
+ Aphrodite: Increased Charm effect durations; reduced durations vs bosses
+ Chaos: increased minimum damage of Abyssal, Maimed, Flayed, Addled, and Stabbing curses (note: most of Chaos' blessings also became stronger in the last patch)

Daedalus Hammer
shadesmile Double Edge (Blade): reduced critical chance
Vicious Skewer (Spear): reduced damage bonus
Cluster Bomb (Rail): increased damage radius; reduced damage penalty

Foes & Encounters
shadesmile Alecto: rage effect decays faster; reduced max. Lout reinforcements; reduced whip pre-attack time; her rage gauge now visibly drains while she is enraged (until she is perma-raged....)
Tisiphone: she will always lunge in the direction of her whip strike; area burst attacks no longer target behind her; other minor fixes and improvements
shadesmile Burn-Flinger: fixes to higher-than-intended encounter rate in **Asphodel **; reduced and standardized rate of attack; removed slight homing effect from 'fastball' attack; reduced death bomb area of effect
Wave-Maker: increased health; increased Elite armor
Bone Hydra: fixes to lunge attack and hit box; updated attack for the latest head variant; each final-wave variant now has ranged attacks; auto-aim now targets hatchlings; other minor changes
+ Caustic Urn: this explosive trap now deals significantly more damage to foes
+ Survival encounters should be seen slightly less often

Art & Visual FX
+ Improvements to **Wrath **presentation
+ Updated reload-while-moving animation while using the Rail
+ **Thanatos **has a new animation for his area-effect Death Sentence power
+ **Alecto **has an updated animation for her Enrage power
+ **Tisiphone **has an updated animation for when she prepares to fight
+ **Burn-Flinger **'fastball' attack looks more distinct from 'curveball' attack
+ Fixes to some graphical sorting issues with some chambers and visual effects
+ Other minor fixes and improvements

Menus & UI
shadesmile Text clarifications to some boons and upgrades (some effects no longer expressed as damage-over-time)
+ Improved UI hiding in **Hydra **encounter

Music & SFX
shadesmile Duration-based **Wrath **powers have an audio cue for when they are about to expire
+ Fixed an issue preventing Charon's heavy breathing from being uncomfortably loud
+ Other minor fixes and improvements

Voice & Narrative
shadesmile Fixed a voiceover mismatch in a newer Megaera event
+ Additional minor fixes and tuning to some contextual voice lines

Miscellaneous
shadesmile **Tempest Strike (Poseidon) **is no longer canceled out by Pulverizing Blow (Daedalus - Shield)
Fixed a case where you could encounter two **Charon's Shops **in successive chambers in Asphodel
Improved dead zone setting adjustment while using a controller
Improved support for controller vibration feature with some controllers

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed a case where a chamber reward could be unreachable in **Asphodel
Fix to Sea-God's Rage (Poseidon) not activating his **Second Wave
Fixed an issue that could cause the UI to disappear after using consecutive **Wrath **powers
Fixed **Pierced Butterfly (Thanatos) **not affecting **Ares **curse damage
shadesmile Fixed **Affluence (Chaos) **creating fractional sums of money; now affects Trove Trials and Sisyphus
+ Fix to **Curse of Eternity (Ares) **sometimes being offered before you had prerequisite boons
+ Fix to **Wrath **presentation sometimes playing if the effect was canceled

Quote of the Patch
'On thee, the portion of our time depends, whose absence lengthens life, whose presence ends.'
**~The Hymns of Orpheus - "To Thanatos" **(T. Taylor translation)

You should see V0.15187 In-game once you have the update

naive siren Mar 14, 2019, 10:13 PM

Early Access Hotfix Patch - Mar. 14, 2019

This Hotfix patch addresses an uncommon issue preventing players from progressing after finishing some Thanatos encounters in Asphodel

You should see V0.15188 In-game once you have the update

vagrant epoch Mar 19, 2019, 7:22 PM

@here Early Access Patch 017 - Mar. 19, 2019

This patch makes additional fixes and balance changes based on your feedback, as we set our sights on our next Major Update, coming in May.

Weapons & Powers
shadesmile Eternal Spear: Spin Attack recovery can be dash-canceled
Shield of Chaos: increased speed of Special throw
Adamant Rail: increased speed of Special bombard

Boons & Upgrades
shadesmile Pressure Points (Artemis): reduced critical chance
Deadly Flourish (Artemis): normalized base power level
Deadly Reversal (Artemis): normalized base power level
Barbs of the Master Huntress (Artemis): increased range
Charm of the Lovely Goddess (Aphrodite): increased charm duration; now pierces multiple foes

Daedalus Hammer
shadesmile Quick Spin (Spear): now also improves Spin Attack recovery time
Massive Spin (Spear): now also increases Spin Attack damage
Exploding Launcher (Spear): increased damage bonus
Vicious Skewer (Spear): reduced damage bonus

Dread Flight (Shield): increased speed in proportion to faster base version

Foes & Encounters
shadesmile Wave-Maker: reduced range
Burn-Flinger: increased pre-attack duration; slightly reduced encounter rate
Bone-Hydra: head slam attack hits through pillars

Art & Visual FX

Thanatos has a new entrance animation
Some foes' on-hit animations were not playing consistently

_ _
Miscellaneous

Wrath can no longer be used upon vanquishing a boss
Lava in Asphodel can no longer cause critical damage
Updated menu strings in some languages
Minor text changes

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where Fated Authority (Mirror) could be used during Perfect Clear challenges
Fixed an issue where the Bone-Hydra sometimes spawned more heads than expected
Fixed a rare issue where Slothful (Chaos) curses could break the Asphodel 'river crossing' encounter
Fixed a rare issue causing chamber reward previews not to appear in Asphodel
Fixed a rare audio issue with Fated Authority (Mirror)
Fixed an issue causing the visual effect of War-God's Thirst (Ares) to clear when catching the Shield
Fixes to minor collision issues in some chambers
Fixes to minor voiceover issues

Quote of the Patch
'Dark-colour'd queens, whose glittering eyes are bright with dreadful, radiant, life-destroying light.'

~The Hymns of Orpheus - "To the Furies" (T. Taylor translation)

Note: You should see v0.15244 in-game once you have the update.

naive siren May 7, 2019, 6:51 PM

@everyone

Early Access Patch 018: The BEEFY Update - May 7, 2019
Our fourth **Major Update **has arrived, letting you rise higher into the Underworld than ever before! This one is packed, so _ A) _we hope you enjoy it! and _B) _we'll be monitoring feedback and making follow-up changes for a number of days before switching focus to our next big update.

Highlights
+ Elysium: rise up to an all-new biome of the Underworld, rife with new perils and mysteries
+ Theseus& the Minotaur: they await you in the afterlife of heroes... who else will you find up there?
+ Redesigned Dash: outmaneuver your foes like never before with this newly revised core ability
+ Improved UI: all-new Boon Info display lets you track an even greater number of power-ups
+ New Foes: confront the **Exalted ** and the Nemean Chariot, among other Elysian foes
+ New Boons: look for new God Boons, including all-new 'Exchange' choices
+ New Story Events: including ~1,000 new voice lines! The most added in an update since launch

General Gameplay
+ Added the third main biome after **Asphodel ** (good luck up there)
shadesmile Boons and other power-up rewards now show up relatively more often as Chamber Reward options
You can now find and use more than one **Daedalus Hammer ** per escape attempt
+ Reworked damage scaling from multiple Boons; effects are generally additive rather than multiplicative
+ Olympians will sometimes offer an **Exchange **of Boons; Exchanges always have a higher power level
+ Added **Heroic **rarity level for Boons, greater than Epic (note: used with 'Exchange' Boons)
+ **Poms of Power **now yield diminishing returns when repeatedly applied to the same Boons
+ **Infernal Troves **requiring **Skeleton Keys **are rarer but yield greater rewards
+ **Infernal Gates **appear slightly more often

Weapons & Powers
+ Dash: redesigned for a more fluid feel
+ Wrath: reduced meter gain from dealing and receiving damage; meter no longer gained from pillars
shadesmile Stygian Blade: slightly reduced recovery time of Nova special
+ Heart-Seeking Bow: standard shot now staggers foes on-hit; increased stagger duration of Power Shot; reduced recovery time of Volley special
Shield of Chaos: increased attack damage; increased knockback for Bull Rush; you are now invulnerable while using Bull Rush
shadesmile Eternal Spear: reduced damage of Throw special; removed recovery time if you retrieve a thrown Spear by moving to it; slightly increased range of Spin Attack to match the visual
Adamant Rail: increased speed and reduced recovery of Bombard special; attack projectile hit box slightly increased (making it more effective against foes' projectile attacks)

Olympian Boons
+ Boons affecting your **Dash **are all updated based on the new properties
+ Status Curses: each Olympian now has their own status effect; some descriptions have been updated
+ Static Discharge (Zeus): newly added!
shadesmile Thunder-God's Fury (Zeus): slightly increased damage and range
+ Freak Accident (Zeus x Artemis): newly added!
Sea-God's Rage (Poseidon): increased damage, duration, and maneuverability
+ Razor Shoals (Poseidon): slightly reduced damage
+ Blinding Flash (Athena): newly added!
shadesmile Titan Toppler (Athena): no longer freezes you in place for a moment
Sure Footing (Athena): increased damage resistance
+ Deadly Reversal (Athena x Artemis): reduced chance of Critical damage
+ Hunter's Mark (Artemis): newly added!
Exit Wounds (Artemis): increased damage
shadesmile Barbs of the Master Huntress (Artemis): shots pierce obstacles; increased long-range damage
Deadly Reversal (Artemis x Athena): reduced duration of guaranteed-Critical buff
+ Heartbreak Strike (Aphrodite): increased duration of **Weak **effect on this and her other Boons
+ Dying Lament (Aphrodite): increased radius of effect
shadesmile War-God's Thirst (Ares): increased damage and added immunity to knockback effects
+ Positive Outlook (Dionysus): reduced damage resistance

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades
shadesmile Empowering Nova (Blade): slightly reduced duration of Critical buff
+ Sudden Sunder (Blade): redesigned as Instant Nova; much faster but no longer blinks forward
+ Piercing Barrage (Bow): reduced armor damage (to compensate for increased rate of fire)
+ Explosive Shot (Bow): increased damage; increased duration of charge-up (making it slightly slower)
+ Defensive Aura (Shield): removed from game
+ Dark Barrier (Shield): removed from game
+ Assault Flight (Shield): removed from game
+ Minotaur Rush (Shield): redesigned; now gives your Bull Rush a Power Shot opportunity
+ Pulverizing Blow (Shield): redesigned; now hits twice
+ Dashing Wallop (Shield): newly added!
+ Explosive Return (Shield): newly added!
+ Armor Shredder (Shield): newly added!
shadesmile Mirage Flight (Shield): returns to you faster; updated visuals
+ Sudden Rush (Shield): increased duration of charge-up
Vicious Skewer (Spear): reduced chance of Critical damage
+ Exploding Launcher (Spear): increased attack speed
+ Seeking Fire (Rail): cut from game
+ Cluster Bomb (Rail): cut from game
+ Cooling Chamber (Rail): cut from game
+ Triple Bomb (Rail): reduced recovery time
+ Explosive Fire (Rail): newly added!
+ Heavy Slug (Rail): newly added!
+ Invigorating Blast (Rail): newly added!

Foes & Encounters
+ Beware of a variety of all-new foes and traps in Elysium
shadesmile Removed **Survival **encounters from Asphodel
+ Reduced how many types of elite foes can appear in **Thanatos **encounters
+ Removed **Elite Voidstones **from **Asphodel **(look for them later on...)
Reduced enemy counts in **Asphodel **'river crossing' encounter
Pest: mines thrown onto impassable terrain now harmlessly defuse instead of exploding
+ Burn-Flinger: death weapon should be slightly easier to avoid
shadesmile Wave-Maker: slightly reduced projectile acceleration
+ Megagorgon: removed short-range area attack
Bone Hydra: further adjustment and improvements to attack telegraphing
Alecto: reduced attack speed while enraged

Mirror of Night
+ Greater Reflex (Mirror): max rank reduced (as part of the Dash redesign; invested Darkness will be refunded)
+ Privileged Status: **newly added! **deal greater damage by chaining godlike powers
+ Shadow Presence: reduced max rank

Keepsakes & Items
shadesmile **Keepsakes **can now rank up during escape attempts _(not just in between)
+ Broken Spearpoint: newly added!
+ Tinge of Erebus (Well): reduced shop cost

Pact of Punishment
+ Updated **Skeleton Key **cost and ordering of options once the system is unlocked (as a result, the Pact should be able to more quickly and meaningfully enhance challenge)
shadesmile **Shared Misery **makes foes spawn faster as well as in greater numbers
**Tenebrous Veil **now locks random choices

Level Design & Environments
+ Added **Elysium **chambers
shadesmile Updated newer **Tartarus **mini-boss chamber with more walkable space
**Chaos Gates **now can spawn in the first chamber of Asphodel
+ Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

Art & Visual FX
+ Added new **Elysium **environment set
+ Updated main menu based on new Major Update
+ Updated animations for Alecto
+ Updated animations for Tisiphone
+ Updated colors of **Asphodel Witches **to be distinct from those in Tartarus
shadesmile Updated colors of wave-shooting **Bone Hydra **head to be more distinct from the others
+ Updated visual effects when interacting with Primordial Chaos
+ Added visuals effects for new **Status Curses **and other new Boons
+ Added visual effect for Second Wave (Poseidon)

Menus & UI
+ Updated and reset default **Boon Info **command; now toggles the screen on/off instead of requiring a press-and-hold (note: you may need to update your control mappings)
+ Updated **Victory Screen **after successfully completing an escape attempt
+ Improved low-health feedback on the life gauge
+ Added feedback when **Keepsakes **rank up after encounters
+ Added feedback when **Pierced Butterfly (Thanatos) **upgrades in power
+ Added new feedback for when you are being targeted by certain ranged attacks
+ **Death Defiance **charges granted by **Athena **have a special indicator
+ Updated Boon icon backings to show rarity color more clearly
+ Improved 'active Heat' feedback when using the **Pact of Punishment
+ Improved feedback for Boons affected by **Tenebrous Veil (Pact)
+ Improved feedback for recently ranked-up **Keepsakes **in the selection screen
+ Improvements to **Well of Charon **formatting
+ Improvements to boss life gauges
+ Improvements to feedback on charmed foes
+ Damage numbers from damage-over-time effects have distinct formatting
+ Updated text for various Boons and interactions
+ Other minor changes and improvements

Music & SFX
+ 'The King and the Bull': added new music track to Elysium
+ Added many new sound effects
+ Minor fixes and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative
+ Added narrative events with various characters
+ Added Zagreus voice events for various gameplay contexts
+ Added 'Remembrance' and Victory event variants
+ Added **Wrath **voice events for when Olympians are displeased in 'Trial of the Gods' encounters
+ Added **Codex **entries for new foes and characters
+ Updated requirements from some narrative events
+ Fixes and tuning to some contextual voice events

Miscellaneous
+ Updated **Development Roadmap **to reflect our plans for our next Major Update
+ Improvements to Aim Assist tuning using controllers
shadesmile Gameplay timer now pauses while entering **Chaos Gates **and Infernal Gates
+ Skelly's unlockables now become available after clearing **Elysium **(if you haven't revealed them yet)
+ The **Pact of Punishment **is now unlocked after clearing **Asphodel **(if you haven't unlocked it yet)
+ Gameplay performance optimizations for some system configurations
+ Added lightning effects for Scintillating Feast (Zeus x Dionysus)
+ The catch animation for the Shield's Throw special now plays more reliably
+ Reduced frequency of the hint to use Wrath
+ Improved D-pad scrolling in **Mirror **screen
+ Updated some non-English language strings in menus
+ Updated Voice Cast in Credits

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed various issues with **Charm **effects from Aphrodite
+ Fixed issues with **Last Stand **and **Deathless Stand (Athena) **not applying to all **Death Defiance **effects
+ Fixed an issue causing the **Adamant Rail **to have too much knockback from Tempest Strike (Poseidon)
+ Fixed an issue where **Sea-God's Rage (Poseidon) **could be earned before a specific event
+ Fixed an issue where **Ocean's Bounty (Poseidon) **did not affect rewards in Erebus
+ Fixed incorrect prerequisite Boons for earning Second Wave (Poseidon)
+ Fixed lingering visual FX issues with Razor Shoals (Poseidon)
+ Fixed **Engulfing Vortex (Ares) **not upgrading his War-God's Thirst
+ Fixed an issue where you could exit chambers while charging up the Shield's Bull Rush
+ Fixed an issue where upgrades affecting Rail ammo supply did not update the UI right away
+ Fixed issues where reduced healing from **Grim Inevitability (Pact) **did not always preview correctly
+ Fixed issues with the Wrath Gauge sometimes not showing correct feedback when full
+ Fixed issues with controller vibration occurring unintentionally in some contexts
+ Fixed lava damage causing a physical impact sound
+ Fixed a rare issue where the Codex update notification would not display when intended
+ Fixed an issue with Tisiphone's AI when standing in the corner during the last phase of the fight
+ Fixed an issue where opening the Codex near Thanatos did not always turn to the correct page
shadesmile Fixed an issue where Dusa could be gifted after flying off
Many other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'...now Theseus encouraged his father and loudly boasted that he would master the Minotaur, so that he gave the pilot another sail, a white one, ordering him, if he returned with Theseus safe, to hoist the white sail, but otherwise to sail with the black one, and so indicate the affliction.' **~Life of Theseus **(Plutarch; B. Perrin translation)

** Note: You should see v0.17192 in-game once you have the update.**

naive siren May 9, 2019, 9:00 PM

@here Early Access Patch 019 - May 9, 2019
This patch contains a number of fixes and improvements prompted by initial feedback about the **Beefy Update **we released earlier this week. Thank you for your enthusiastic response, and may the Fates be kind to you in Elysium!

General Gameplay
shadesmile Increased base effect of **Poms of Power **on many Boons
+ Reduced **Wrath Gauge **build-up at higher damage outputs
+ Slightly reduced **Chaos Gate **appearance rate

Boons & Blessings
shadesmile Static Discharge (Zeus): increased damage
Tidal Dash (Poseidon): increased damage
+ Titan Toppler (Athena): reduced duration of invulnerability
Blinding Flash (Athena): increased damage bonus
Curse of Longing (Ares + Aphrodite): cut from game (due to a balance issue we're still investigating)
+ Unhealthy Fixation (Aphrodite): reduced chance of charm effect; can now affect the Furies
+ Black Out (Dionysys): increased damage bonus
shadesmile Soul (Chaos): increased health bonus

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades
+ Empowering Nova (Blade): reduced chance of Critical damage
shadesmile Multi Skewer (Spear): redesigned; hits up to 7 foes, successively dealing more damage
Exploding Launcher (Spear): increased damage
Vicious Skewer (Spear): increased damage
Explosive Return (Shield): reduced radius and damage

Foes & Encounters
+ Archer Trap: increased damage
+ Phoenix Urn: increased damage
shadesmile Exalted Soul: any effects that activate on-death should now occur when they respawn with weapons
Exalted Greatshield: reduced autoblock angle (making them easier to hit from the flank)
Skull-Crusher (Elite): increased health, damage, and speed; only appears in **Megagorgon **encounter
shadesmile The Minotaur: increased speed and damage of Bull Rush; other minor changes
Theseus: reduced autoblock angle; no longer blocks while using his Wrath; no longer blocks **Blade Rifts **or Lightning Bolts; now attacks more frequently and retreats less frequently

Keepsakes & Items
shadesmile Broken Spearpoint: increased duration of invulnerability

Level Design & Environments
+ Minor fixes and improvements to various **Elysium **chambers

Art & Visual FX
+ Updated visual effect for **Phoenix Urn **blast
+ Updated visual effect for **Elysian Witch **attack
+ Updated impact feedback on some attacks
+ Updates to some **Elysium **environment art
+ Other minor visual fixes and improvements

Menus & UI
shadesmile Updated the **Boon Info **screen to show fewer empty slots
+ Further improvements to low health feedback on the life gauge
Minor text fixes and other changes

Music & SFX
+ Improved timing of audio feedback as **Wrath **effects are expiring
+ Various minor SFX changes and improvements

Voice & Narrative
shadesmile Fixed an issue where the **Fallen Warrior **could be given Ambrosia before learning his name
+ Added an alternate conversation branch with the Fallen Warrior
Updated requirements for some narrative events
+ Fixes and tuning to some contextual voice events

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixes to rare crashes
Fixed an issue where **Exalted Souls **could sometimes fly out of bounds in Elysium
Fixed a rare issue where **Nemean Chariots **could spawn in the **House of Hades **(don't ask...)
Fixed a rare issue where **Gorgon **projectiles could hit you after defeating the Minotaur
+ Fixed an issue where the Minotaur's attacks could make him wall-slam himself
+ Fixed an issue where **Wrath **Boons could sometimes be earned prior to a specific introductory event
+ Fixed damage numbers not showing from **Primordial Chaos **curse effects
+ Fixed **Asphodel **lava puddles sometimes causing backstab damage
shadesmile Added missing caption text for some **Lord Hades **voice lines
+ Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'Thus Theseus also went on his way chastising the wicked, who were visited with the same violence from him which they were visiting upon others, and suffered justice after the manner of their own injustice.' ~Life of Theseus
(Plutarch; B. Perrin translation)

Note: You should see v0.17295 in-game once you have the update.

naive siren May 14, 2019, 7:17 PM

@here Early Access Patch 020 - May 13, 2019
Following last week'sBeefy Update, we're rolling out this encore update featuring a brand-new music track, balance changes, and more, as we begin to shift focus to the next set of tasks on our roadmap. We'll likely have one more smaller update this week.

General Gameplay
shadesmile **Duo Boons **no longer offered during 'Trial of the Gods'(to not further complicate having to pick sides)

Weapons & Powers
+Eternal Spear: increased damage of Throw special

Boons & Blessings
+Sea Storm (Zeus x Poseidon): increased damage
+Scintillating Feast (Zeus x Dionysus): increased damage; Zeus' **Wrath **now a valid prerequisite for this
+Hunting Blades (Artemis x Ares): increased speed and seeking of Blade Rifts
+Sea-God's Rage (Poseidon): slightly reduced duration, damage, and bonuses from higher rarity levels
+Clean Kill (Artemis): reduced Critical damage bonus
+Deadly Reversal (Artemis): reduced chance of Critical damage
+Hunter's Mark (Artemis): the **'Marked' Status Curse **now expires when the target takes Critical damage
+Different League (Aphrodite): reduced bonuses from higher rarity levels

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades
+Cruel Thrust (Blade): added damage bonus, reduced chance of Critical damage
+Double Edge (Blade): added damage bonus, removed chance of Critical damage
+Empowering Nova (Blade): slightly reduced chance of Critical damage
+Twin Shot (Bow): reduced range penalty
+Dread Flight (Shield): increased max. targets per throw

Foes & Encounters
shadesmile Exalted Soul: slightly reduced health (and armor for Elite version)
Skull-Crusher (Elite): reduced health and armor
Megagorgon: reduced health
Exalted Greatshield: slightly increased vulnerability time after using their Hunker Down attack
Exalted Strongbow: increased duration of retreats between shots; should appear slightly less often
shadesmile The Minotaur: slightly reduced health; added variations for his axe-swing combo; the midboss fight against him ends sooner; if you defeat him in the midboss fight, his health is reduced in the boss fight
Theseus: slightly reduced health; no longer blocks Tipsy Shot (Dionysus); reduced rate of **Chariot **reinforcements

Keepsakes & Items
+Myrmidon Bracer (Achilles): slightly increased power level
+Bone Hourglass (Charon): improved power level
+Cyclops Jerky Select (Fallen Warrior): slightly reduced power level

Level Design & Environments
+ Additional minor fixes and improvements to various **Elysium **chambers

Art & Visual FX
+ Fallen Warrior: now has a new portrait!
+ Exalted Greatshield: added an on-hit animation
+ Improved visual effects for **Elysian Witch **attack
+ Improved visual effects for **Exalted **dash maneuver
+ Other minor visual effects updates and improvements

Music & SFX
+'The Exalted': new music track in Elysium!
+ Minor sound effects updates and improvements

Voice & Narrative
shadesmile Added several new conversations with Achilles
+ Increased max. Gift level for Thanatos
Updated requirements for several narrative events
+ Added more voice lines for **Death Defiance **activation
+ Tuning to some contextual voice events

Miscellaneous
+ **Wretched Broker **now charges more **Darkness **for Skeleton Keys
+ You can now retrieve **Cast **ammo while using the Shield's Bull Rush
shadesmile Description for **HydraLite **now affected by Grim Inevitability (Pact)
Minor text fixes and updates

Errata
+ Updated the May 7 **Beefy Update **patch notes to reflect that we also cut the following **Rail **upgrades: Seeking Fire, Cluster Bomb, and **Cooling Chamber **(added several new upgrades in their place)

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed an issue where the game frame rate could degrade over longer sessions
Fixed additional issues where **Exalted Souls **could sometimes fly out of bounds in Elysium
Fixed an issue with **Broken Spearpoint (Fallen Warrior) **visual feedback mismatched from effect
Fixed an issue where **Peer Pressure (Dionysus) **could affect the player if a foe was Charmed
shadesmile Fixed an issue where Olympians could say their 'Trial of the Gods' forgiveness lines after those events
+ Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'Theseus was remembered, particularly in the works of the Athenian playwrights, as a champion of justice and defender of the oppressed.'
**~Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology **(E. Tripp)

Note: You should see v0.17401 in-game once you have the update.

naive siren May 16, 2019, 7:02 PM

@here

Early Access Patch 021 - May 16, 2019
This small patch makes additional fine-tuning to **Elysium ** as we switch over to working on June's Major Update, as well as bigger tasks on our Roadmap. Thank you very much for playing, and until the next one!!

General Gameplay
+ Increased how much health must be sacrificed to enter Chaos Gates

Weapons & Powers
+ Dash: canceling out of your Dash with an attack now cancels the brief remaining period of invincibility
shadesmile Stygian Blade: fixed an issue where the Dash Attack could make you slide farther than expected

Boons & Blessings
+ Black Metal (Ares): reduced bonuses from higher rarity levels
+ Different League (Aphrodite): reduced base power level

Foes & Encounters
shadesmile Exalted Greatshield: slightly reduced speed of ranged projectile; Elite variant appears slightly less often; now correctly blocks during idle pose with shield up
Exalted Strongbow: slightly reduced target acquisition range; slightly reduced duration of retreats
+ Nemean Chariot: increased move speed and rotation speed while in its attack mode
+ The Minotaur: slightly increased health (it is still less than before the last change); reduced the health total at which you defeat him in the mini-boss fight; reduced his health loss from this in the boss fight
+ Theseus: slightly increased health (it is still less than before the last change)

Level Design & Environments
+ Adjusted camera in most **Elysium **chambers so you can see more of the surroundings
+ Adjusted camera in the **Tartarus **mini-boss so you can see more of the surroundings
+ Other minor fixes and improvements

Art & Visual FX
+ Improved visual effect for **Eternal Spear **Spin Attack
+ Improved visual effects for when **Theseus **and the **Minotaur **are defeated
+ Updated art for **Exalted Soul **weapons
+ Updated texture for **Nemean Chariot **weapons

Music & SFX
shadesmile Increased loudness of sound when **Exalted Strongbows **and **Theseus **are targeting you; added sound when they are about to fire
+ Added sounds when **Theseus **and the **Minotaur **are defeated
+ Minor improvements to the **Elysium **music piece introduced in the previous update

Voice & Narrative
+ Added another new conversation branch with the Fallen Warrior
shadesmile Minor fixes to some narrative events
+ Tuning to some contextual voice events

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed a rare issue where players could not proceed after clearing the Minotaur mini-boss encounter
+ Fixed an issue where the low-health sound effect would play again after entering a chamber
Fixed an issue where the **Rail **Bombard special was not contributing to the weapon's Codex unlocks
+ Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'"Though the dead forget their dead in the House of Death, I will remember, even there, my dear companion."'
**~The Iliad **(Homer; R. Fagles translation)

Note: You should see v0.17446 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Jun 11, 2019, 6:45 PM

@here Early Access Patch 022: The HIGH SPEED Update - June 11, 2019
Our fifth **Major Update **is here, so get ready to pick up the pace in a big way! As always, we'll be monitoring feedback and making follow-up changes for several days before switching focus to our next big update -- which will introduce the next biome after Elysium! Check our **Roadmap **for details.

Highlights

Hermes: the god of swiftness arrives to give you a serious boost!
New Foes: beware the **Soul Catcher ** and the **Flame Wheels ** up in Elysium!
New Chambers: step inside dangerous, new **Elysium **environments!
New & Updated Boons: look for new powers from the god of war, plus many balance changes!
Updated 'Trial of the Gods': spurning any of the Olympians is a bigger deal!
New Music: fight your heart out to Thanatos' theme, 'Last Words'!

General Gameplay

Updated input buffering on basic moves (should result in a smoother feel, with fewer dropped inputs)
Enhanced **Poms of Power **found in **Erebus **now increase Boon level +2 (rather than changing rarity)
Power Shot damage bonuses now additive instead of multiplicative
Damage Reduction effects such as **Different League (Aphrodite) **now additive instead of multiplicative
Lava in **Asphodel **deals less damage to foes

Weapons & Powers

Cast: shots now bounce off when blocked by shield-bearing foes, so ammo can be retrieved
Stygian Blade: chop attack now can more reliably hit enemy projectiles; Nova special's blast speed lined up with visual effect (rather than hitting instantly)
Heart-Seeking Bow: Volley special can stagger foes
Adamant Rail: reduced scatter while firing

_ _
Boons & Blessings

Added Hermes, God of Swiftness, with a variety of his unique Boons
Re-balanced Attack, Special, and **Cast **damage bonuses for each Olympian
Reduced effect of Boons that help build up Wrath Gauge
Artemis no longer offers Exit Wounds and Quick Reload if your Cast is not compatible
Static Discharge (Zeus): increased **Jolted **effect damage
Thunder-God's Fury (Zeus): increased damage
Tidal Dash (Poseidon): increased damage radius; now can briefly stagger foes
Typhoon's Fury (Poseidon): increased damage
Breaking Wave (Poseidon): increased damage
Razor Shoals (Poseidon): increased damage
Ocean's Bounty (Poseidon): re-scaled bonuses from higher rarity levels
Sea Storm (Poseidon + Zeus): increased damage
Last Stand (Athena): reduced healing effect
Divine Protection (Athena): shield effect no longer consumed when successfully blocking attacks
Wave of Despair (Aphrodite): reduced area of effect
Shatter Shot (Aphrodite): reworked; increased range, now deals a single instance of damage per foe
True Shot (Artemis): can no longer be blocked by shield-bearing foes
Burst Shot (Artemis): now affects Cast Boons from other Olympians
Quick Reload (Artemis): reduced effect
Barbs of the Master Huntress (Artemis): can no longer be blocked by shield-bearing foes
Black Metal (Ares): reduced area-of-effect bonus
War-God's Thirst (Ares): reduced damage
Curse of Eternity (Ares): cut from game
Battle Rage (Ares): newly added!
Vicious Cycle (Ares): newly added!
Curse of Longing (Ares + Aphrodite): restored this previously-cut Boon; reduced successive damage

Merciful End (Ares + Athena): newly added!
Bad Influence (Dionysus): increased damage
Black Out (Dionysus): increased damage
After Party (Dionysus): healing effect now scales with life total; no longer upgradeable using Poms
Wine-God's Stupor (Dionysus): increased damage
Stabbing (Chaos): reduced self-damage
Atrophic (Chaos): now reduces health as well as life total
Enshrouded (Chaos): now counts down in each Chamber (not just each Encounter)

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades
shadesmile **Piercing **effects can no longer be blocked by shield-bearing foes

**Piercing Fire (Rail) **and **Explosive Fire (Rail) **now mutually exclusive
Instant Nova (Blade): replaced with Double Nova
Explosive Shot (Bow): reduced charge-time penalty
Sudden Rush (Shield): now also removes Bull Rush knock-away effect
Explosive Return (Shield): reduced damage

Foes & Encounters

Added a new mini-boss encounter variant in Elysium
Trial of the Gods: enhanced foes blessed by spurned gods; the spurned god's Boon has reduced rarity
Wretched Thug: increased Elite armor
Wretched Witch: increased Elite armor
Wretched Lout: increased Elite armor
Skull-Crusher: attack can no longer be blocked
Exalted Strongbow: removed duration variance from pre-attack
Exalted Longspear: slightly reduced leap attack damage radius
Exalted Greatshield: reduced health
The Minotaur: starts fighting sooner once the encounter begins
Theseus: adjusted his Poseidon Wrath variant; increased spin attack recovery time; Chariot reinforcements reduced to one at a time; other minor timing changes

_ _
Keepsakes & Items

Lambent Plume: newly added!
Skull Earring: reduced active threshold
Kiss of Styx (Well): increased shop cost
Ranking up a Keepsake now refreshes its on-equip effect if it has one
Minor rearrangements to the ordering of Keepsakes in the Display Case

Pact of Punishment

Vicious Torment: now also increases damage from inferno-bombs from **Caustic (Chaos) **effects

Level Design & Environments

Added two new **Elysium **chambers
Adjusted spawn points and object positions in **Asphodel **'river crossing' encounter
Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

Art & Visual FX

Updated visual effects for weapon upgrades with an explosive property
Updated attack animations for Heart-Seeking Bow; updated visual effects for its Power Shot
Updated some **Bone Hydra **effects and animations
Updated some **Exalted **visual effects and animations
Updated artwork for Theseus' thrown spear
Updated visual effects for Ares' **Doom **hitting foes
Updated visual effects for Invigorating Blast (Daedalus - Rail)
Updated main menu based on new Major Update
Updated animation for ambient butterflies in Elysium
Updated aspects of **Hypnos **portrait
Other minor changes, additions, and improvements

Menus & UI
shadesmile Updated text for various Boons; clarified some Status Curse tooltips

Added more color variety to damage numbers (based on each god)
Reduced duration of region text presentation when warping to new regions
Improved controller D-pad navigation in some menus
Other minor changes and improvements

_ _
Music & SFX

'Last Words': added new music track to **Thanatos **encounters
Added distinct sound when **Infernal Troves **unlock after encounters
Added distinct sound when **Wells of Charon **unlock after encounters
Updated sound for **Wretched Pest **mine-fling attack
Updated sound for Ares' **Doom **hitting foes
Updated sound from taking lava damage
Improved timing on audio chime as Wrath effects are expiring
Reduced how often hurt vocalizations play from boss foes
Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative

Added narrative events with several characters
Added more Zagreus voice lines for various gameplay contexts
Added **Codex **entries for Hermes, Soul Catcher, and Flame Wheels
Updated requirements for some narrative events
Fixes and tuning to some contextual voice events

Miscellaneous

Updated **Development Roadmap **to reflect our plans for our next Major Update, and beyond
Reduced the delay before the Chamber Reward appears after the **Minotaur **mini-boss fight
Improved feedback when manually picking up the **Eternal Spear **after the Throw special
Improved feedback when catching the **Shield of Chaos **after the Throw special
Renamed **Titan Toppler (Athena) **to Divine Dash (it no longer reduces your mobility like it used to)
Renamed **Sick **Status Curse to **Poison **
Wrath effects and other effects on Zagreus should stop more reliably after defeating bosses
Credits: Hermes added to Voice Cast

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixes to some rare crashes
Fixed a rare progression blocker in the Prince's Bedchambers when the **Pact **is first revealed
Fixed a rare progression blocker with the Fallen Warrior

Fixed an issue where **True Shot (Artemis) **could not deal backstab damage
Fixed issues with some weapons not applying knock-away effects consistently
Fixed an issue where you could reload the **Adamant Rail **while using Ares' or Poseidon's Wrath
Fixed an issue where life total could be higher than expected after unequipping Old Spiked Collar
Fixed an issue where **Bone Hourglass **could apply to some effects unexpectedly
Fixed issues where some sound effects could loop indefinitely after encounters
Fixed an issue that could cause music not to resume in some chambers
Many other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'"Thanks to Hermes the guide, who gives all work
of our hands the grace and fame that it deserves,
no one alive can match me at household chores"'
**~The Odyssey **(Homer; R. Fagles translation)

Note: You should see v0.18276 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Jun 13, 2019, 6:33 PM

@here Early Access Patch 023 - June 13, 2019
This patch makes several fixes and balance changes based on initial feedback following the **High Speed Update **earlier this week. We are planning for one more patch later this week. Thank you for playing!

General Gameplay

**Dodge **passive ability from **Hermes **no longer works while petrified

Weapons & Powers

Eternal Spear: increased damage of Spin Attack
Improved input buffering of **Stygian Blade **Nova special after a Dash Attack
Improved input buffering of **Heart-Seeking Bow **Dash Attack in some instances

Boons & Blessings

Thunder Flourish (Zeus): reduced damage
Slicing Shot (Ares): reduced damage at higher rarity levels
Black Metal (Ares): reduced effectiveness at higher rarity levels
Hunter's Mark (Artemis): Status Curse now clears consistently after a Critical attack
Hunting Blades (Artemis + Ares): reduced effectiveness
Greatest Reflex (Hermes): removed penalty to recovery time

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Sniper Shot (Bow): greatly increased damage to distant foes; increased min. distance of damage bonus
Minotaur Rush (Shield): increased damage of Power Shot
Quick Spin (Spear): reduced recovery time of Spin Attack
Massive Spin (Spear): increased damage
Vicious Skewer (Spear): increased damage

_ _
Foes & Encounters
shadesmile 'Trial of the Gods': reduced effectiveness of foes blessed by Dionysus
**Exalted ** reinforcements in the **Soul Catcher **mini-boss encounter are now Elites

Level Design & Environments
shadesmile Minor fixes to some **Tartarus **chambers

Menus & UI

Updated some color variants for god-specific damage numbers

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixes to some rare crashes
Fixed a rare progression blocker while fighting the Bone Hydra
Fixed an animation issue caused by dash-canceling the start of the **Eternal Spear **Spin Attack
Fixed some issues with preview text showing up incorrectly for 'Exchange' Boon choices

Fixed an issue where the music could transition abruptly during region text presentation
Fixed Boon icon for Relative Speed (Hermes)
Fixed a controller D-pad navigation in some contexts in the **Codex **
Fixed a timing issue with the last few seconds of **Survival **encounters
Fixed **Shatter Shot (Aphrodite) **sometimes causing ammo to appear out of bounds
Fixed **Battle Rage (Ares) **visual effect being visible during the boss-defeated presentation; and persisting after encounters are complete
Fixed an issue where **Bone Hydra **death animations could follow Zagreus around (spooky...)
Fixed an issue where some **Hermes **Boon effects could carry over into the House of Hades
Minor fixes to some narrative event requirements
Minor text fixes
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'Hail, Hermes, giver of grace, guide, and giver of good things!'
**~Homeric Hymns **(Anonymous; H. G. Evelyn-White translation)

Note: You should see v0.18336 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Jun 14, 2019, 6:13 PM

@here Early Access Patch 024 - June 14, 2019
This small patch contains a few additional fixes and improvements before we move on to building out the next Major Update, slated for early August. What lies beyond Elysium? Find out then!

Weapons & Powers

Eternal Spear: reduced damage of Spin Attack (rolling back yesterday's change, which introduced new issues)

Boons & Blessings

Positive Outlook (Dionysus): reduced benefit from Poms of Power

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Massive Spin (Spear): reduced damage (it is still greater than before the last change)

Foes & Encounters
shadesmile 'Trial of the Gods': reduced damage of foes blessed by Aphrodite, Artemis, and Dionysus

Miscellaneous
shadesmile Gameplay timer now pauses during the brief outro sequence after the **Minotaur **mini-boss fight

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Additional fixes to some rare crashes
Fixed an issue where **Piercing **attacks did not always apply Boon effects against shield-bearing foes

Fixed an issue where the effect of **Empowering Nova (Daedalus - Blade) **did not expire consistently
Fixed an issue with **Flurry Blade (Daedalus - Blade) **sometimes attacking an extra time unexpectedly
Fixed an issue where **Doom **visual effects could linger onscreen during the boss-defeated presentation
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'Hermes I call, whom Fate decrees to dwell in the dire path which leads to deepest hell'
**~The Hymns of Orpheus - "To Hermes Khthonios" **(T. Taylor translation)

Note: You should see v0.18357 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Aug 6, 2019, 6:49 PM

Early Access Patch 025: The BIG BAD Update - August 6, 2019
Welcome to our sixth Major Update, where at last you can rise to the very top of the Underworld and face what awaits! We've packed a lot into this one, so we'll be keeping a close eye on your feedback and making follow-up changes for several days before we change focus to our next big update.

Highlights

Temple of Styx: an all-new, labyrinthine biome awaits at the very edge of the Underworld
Final Battle: there is no escape from the Underworld; at least not without a fight
Sinister New Foes: beware of Gigantic Vermin, Satyr Cultists, and more; plus deadly new traps!
Wrath Rework: now you can call upon divine aid from Olympus much more often during battle
Pool of Purging: rid yourself of the occasional unwanted Boon, in exchange for some coin
New Boons & 'Duo' Boons: the Olympians have a slew of powerful, new blessings on offer
New Story Events: more of the Underworld Prince's story unfolds if you can reach the Temple
New Music: not one but two blood-boiling new tracks to accompany the new setting

_ _
General Gameplay
shadesmile Boss foes switch between phases faster (their invulnerability periods are shorter)
Knock-away effects now work against boss foes
'Trial of the Gods': spurned gods' Boons no longer have reduced rarity; they may offer 'Exchange' Boons for Boons from the other god

Slightly reduced the length of each biome (since completing a run now takes longer than before)
Increased healing from **Death Defiance **effects
After clearing Encounters, Chamber doors should unlock slightly faster than before
Pool of Purging: **newly added! **Look for these in chambers from time to time
Increased value of **Charon's Obol ** Chamber Rewards and gifts from Sisyphus
Wall Slam damage scales up in each successive biome
Health pick-ups no longer block projectiles

Weapons & Powers

Heart-Seeking Bow: increased damage of main Attack (Dash Attack is unchanged)
Shield of Chaos: returns sooner after the Throw special if there are no other foes near it
Various improvements and fixes to input buffering

_ _
Boons & Blessings

Reworked and renamed **Wrath **and all Wrath Boons: now you can **Call **for Olympian aid more often, or use your entire God Gauge for an ultra-powered effect like before
Billowing Strength (Zeus): newly added!
Thunder Dash (Zeus): normalized base power level
Tempest Strike (Poseidon): slightly reduced power level
Tempest Flourish (Poseidon): slightly reduced power level
Divine Strike (Athena): slightly increased power level
Proud Bearing (Athena): increased power level
Heartbreak Strike (Aphrodite): slightly increased power level
Life Affirmation (Aphrodite): newly added!
Impending Doom (Ares): newly added!
Clean Kill (Artemis): reduced power level
Fully Loaded (Artemis): no longer upgradeable using Poms
Tipsy Shot (Dionysus): now enhanced by Rapid Cast (Hermes)
Second Wind (Hermes): newly added!
Greater Recall (Hermes): newly added!
Greater Evasion (Hermes): reduced power level of Rare and Epic rarity
Passing Through (Hermes): reduced power level
Lightning Phalanx (Zeus x Athena): newly added!
Vengeful Mood (Zeus x Ares): newly added!
Freak Accident (Zeus x Artemis): cut from game; replaced with...
Lightning Rod (Zeus x Artemis): newly added!
Sweet Nectar (Poseidon x Aphrodite): newly added!
Exclusive Access (Poseidon x Dionysus): newly added!
Merciful End (Ares x Athena): reduced power level
Heart Rend (Artemis x Aphrodite): newly added!
Hunter's Mark (Artemis): Status Curse now applies to a nearby foe (instead of the one you hit)
Ocean's Bounty (Poseidon): yields greater rewards; no longer affects Centaur Hearts
Razor Shoals (Poseidon): reworked; **Rupture **damage no longer scales with move speed

_ _

Vicious Cycle (Ares): effect no longer stacks from separate sources
Grasp (Chaos): reduced max. possible bonus

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades
shadesmile Sniper Shot (Bow): reduced min. distance for damage bonus; reduced damage bonus
**Twin Shot (Bow) **and **Sniper Shot (Bow) **are now mutually exclusive

Pulverizing Blow (Shield): fixed an issue causing on-hit effects not to trigger from the second hit
Exploding Launcher (Spear): now increases base damage of the Throw special
Invigorating Blast (Rail): power-up effect is applied more reliably

Foes & Encounters

Beware of a variety of all-new foes and sinister traps in the Temple of Styx
Thanatos: reduced frequency of his area attack; also increased preattack duration and recovery time
'Trial of the Gods': **Athena **effects no longer harm you as foes spawn
Slam-Dancer: attacks more frequently
Alecto: increased damage of Whip Shot attack
Bone Hydra: increased health and armor
Soul Catcher: butterfly projectiles can no longer be deflected (only destroyed)
The Minotaur: reduced health
Theseus: reduced health; removed **Chariot **reinforcements

Keepsakes & Items
shadesmile Lambent Plume: clear-times required to gain the benefit now vary by encounter type

Kiss of Styx (Well): increased shop cost

Level Design & Environments

Added **Temple of Styx **chambers
Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

_ _
Art & Visual FX

Added new **Temple of Styx **environment set
Updated textures for Megaera
Updated look of Witch variants in **Asphodel **and Elysium
Added slight animation to portraits for **Dionysus **and Ares
Added visual effect for Exit Wounds (Artemis)
Updated visual effects for Shatter Shot (Aphrodite)
Updated UI and visuals for **Death Defiance **effects
Updated some artwork in the House of Hades
Updated visual effect for spurned god's Boon vanishing in Trials of the Gods
Updated visual effect for **Gorgon **and Megagorgon projectiles
Updated shadows on some **House of Hades **characters
Updated main menu based on new Major Update

Menus & UI

Updated **Wrath Gauge **UI *(now called the God Gauge) *as part of the Wrath system rework
Updated biome map with the Temple of Styx
Updated text for various Boons and interactions
Added visual timer when using Lambent Plume (Hermes)
Improved feedback on active Heat UI when using the Pact
Text clarifications to some Boons and upgrades
Other minor changes and improvements

Music & SFX

Two new music tracks, for the Temple of Styx and final battle!
Added many new sound SFX for the Temple of Styx
Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative

Added narrative events with several characters
Added more Zagreus voice lines for various gameplay contexts
Added new Storyteller events for successfully clearing runs; removed some that no longer apply
Added **Codex **entries for new **Styx **foes, as well as **Asphodel **and **Elysium **Witches
Updated requirements for some narrative events
Fixes and tuning to some contextual voice events

_ _
Miscellaneous

Updated **Development Roadmap **to reflect our plans for our next Major Update, and beyond
Updated Credits; including with some exceptional Community Contributors (Thank you!!)
Cerberus: now permits Zagreus to pet him in certain contexts

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed an issue where foes could deal extra damage to you after **Charm **effects on them expire
Fixed an issue where **Poms of Power **sometimes offered no visible changes in Boon power
Fixed issues with the effects of **Light of Ixion (Well) **and **Trove Tracker (Well) **not stacking correctly
shadesmile Fixed an issue with exiting Chambers just as the last foe is slain in a Trove Trial

Fixed an issue preventing **Wrath **Boons from being offered as **Pom of Power **upgrades
Fixed Ares' **Blade Rifts **getting stuck in walls in some contexts

Fixed **Tipsy Shot (Dionysus) **creating multiple Ammo drops due to Burst Shot (Artemis)
Fixed **Battle Rage (Ares) **activating from **Thanatos **kills or **Exalted **respawns
Fixed **Dying Lament (Aphrodite) **hitting the player in rare instances
Fixed **Sudden Rush (Daedalus) **sometimes causing the **Shield's Bull Rush ** to have reduced range
Fixed **Drift Dash (Hermes) **sometimes causing the **Shield's Bull Rush ** to have reduced range
Fixed a rare issue with the next chamber not unlocking in the Fallen Warrior's chamber
Fixed being able to gift Ambrosia to the **Fallen Warrior **before learning his name
Fixed pre-boss Shop Chamber previews sometimes appearing alterable by Fated Authority
Fixed incorrect footstep sounds sometimes occurring in the **House **after multiple consecutive runs
Fixed the center-most projectile in Tisiphone's flurry attack being invisible
Fixed **Skull Earring (Megaera) **visual feedback not clearing after healing above the activation threshold
Fixed a graphical issue where **Elysian Arrow Trap **projectiles did not always dissipate correctly
Fixed gameplay timer briefly counting up between Olympians speaking and the Boon screen opening
Fixed 'Petrified' status icon sometimes not displaying correctly

Fixed music state sometimes advancing incorrectly after returning from Erebus
Fixed an issue causing the save indicator to show in the Main Menu after quitting right after saving
Fixed instances where Bone Hydra's neck segments could sort in front of the head
Fixed various other graphical sorting issues
Many other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
"Hades' name...probably meant 'Unseen One.' Even though this was less a name than a title, the Greeks were hesitant about using it in speech, apparently out of fear of attracting the attention of the awesome lord of the dead."
**~Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology **(E. Tripp)

Note: You should see v0.19784 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Aug 8, 2019, 6:19 PM

@here Early Access Patch 026 - August 7, 2019
Thank you for the warm response to the Big Bad Update! This follow-up patch fine-tunes various aspects, and makes balance changes based on what we've seen so far. We'll patch again in the coming days.

General Gameplay
shadesmile Slightly increased minimum chamber length of each **Temple of Styx **Satyr Tunnel
Foes in **Temple of Styx ** mini-chambers take slightly longer to attack when you first enter

Slightly reduced frequency of **Valuable Urns **in Temple of Styx
Slightly reduced money drops on foes in Temple of Styx

Weapons & Powers

Stygian Blade: reduced damage radius of Nova special
Shield of Chaos: basic attack no longer knocks foes away

Boons & Blessings

Zeus' Aid: reduced duration of Max Gauge Bonus
Poseidon's Aid: reduced duration, increased damage
Athena's Aid: reduced duration, reduced power level of Rare and Epic rarity
Aphrodite's Aid: reworked Max Gauge Bonus; now deals significant damage
Dionysus' Aid: reduced duration of Max Gauge Bonus
Thunder Dash (Zeus): reduced damage
Last Stand (Athena): reduced healing; now offered only once you have at least one Athena Boon
Deathless Stand (Athena): now offered only once you have at least one Athena Boon
Life Affirmation (Aphrodite): increased power level

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Flurry Blade (Blade): increased damage
Dashing Wallop (Shield): reduced damage; adjusted hitbox
Pulverizing Blow (Shield): removed the property 'no longer knocks foes away'
Spread Fire (Rail): removed penalty to max. ammo

_ _
Foes & Encounters

Megagorgon: now vulnerable to knock-away effects
Tisiphone: slightly reduced hitbox on her melee combo to align with the graphic
Gigantic Vermin: increased damage, increased attack-start range
Bother: increased damage, increased damage radius
Snakestone: increased damage, increased tracking speed
Satyr Cultist: attack now deals a bit of physical damage
Final Boss: increased damage of various moves; reduced blast speed of shockwave attack; reduced tracking of homing attack; beam attack now destroys rubble; various other adjustments

Level Design & Environments
shadesmile Miscellaneous fixes and improvements to various **Temple of Styx **chambers
Minor fixes and improvements to other chambers

Art & Visual FX

Added and updated visual effects for Final Boss
Updated some animations for Final Boss
Updated art in various **Temple of Styx **chambers
Added visual effect for **Gigantic Vermin **and **Crawler **on-spawn attack
Added visual effect for when **Lightning Rod (Zeus x Artemis) **strikes foes
Other minor changes and improvements

Music & SFX

Adjusted audio mix in **Final Boss **encounter
Added new sounds for **Cerberus ** in Temple of Styx
Minor updates to **Olympian Call **audio feedback
Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative

Added more voice lines to Final Boss
Added more Zagreus voice lines for various gameplay contexts in Temple of Styx
Added new 'Remembrance' event variants and adjusted some of their requirements
Fixed or updated requirements for some narrative events from the previous patch
Fixes and tuning to some contextual voice events

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed various issues in **Final Boss **encounter

Fixed an issue sometimes causing the **Final Boss **Health Bar to not display properly
Fixed foes in **Temple of Styx **being vulnerable during their spawn sequence
Fixed a rare issue where the **Minotaur **would not spawn in his chamber
Fixed a rare issue where 'killing' **Skelly **made him appear in the next chamber, and bad things happened
Fixed backward-compatiblity crash with certain **Chaos **Boons
Fixed a rare issue where you could not progress after earning a Healing Chamber Reward
Fixed various graphical sorting issues
Fixed ambient audio not playing consistently from fountains
Minor text fixes
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'...she bare a second, a monster not to be overcome and that may not be described, Cerberus who eats raw flesh, the brazen-voiced hound of Hades, fifty-headed, relentless and strong.'
**~Theogony **(Hesiod; H. G. Evelyn-White translation)

Note: You should see v0.19908 in-game once you have the update.

📎 Cerberus_and_Tots.png

mossy quarry Aug 13, 2019, 6:02 PM

@here Early Access Patch 027 - August 13, 2019
This patch makes further improvements and balance changes following last week's Big Bad Update. Barring any unexpected issues, we will now be focusing on our next Major Update. Thanks for playing!

General Gameplay
shadesmile After using **Mandragora Cure Pools **in the Temple of Styx, you now are briefly immune to poison

Slightly increased frequency of **Valuable Urns **in Styx (it is still less than before the last change)
Slightly increased frequency of **Wells of Charon **and Pools of Purging

Weapons & Powers
shadesmile Stygian Blade: increased damage radius of Nova special (it is still less than before the last change)
Shield of Chaos: basic attack knocks foes away again (we and many of you liked it better this way)

Boons & Blessings

Poseidon's knock-away effects re-scaled (they no longer scale in intensity at higher rarity levels)

Foes & Encounters
shadesmile The Minotaur: slightly reduced health; reduced speed boost while enraged
Theseus: slightly reduced health; reduced speed boost while enraged
Snakestone: reduced tracking speed (it is still greater than before the last change)
Satyr Cultist: attack no longer staggers you
shadesmile Final Boss: now deletes your save progress if you lose (just kidding; in actuality, the Final Boss now has reduced damage and health, plus other changes that should reduce the sheer difficulty)

_ _
Keepsakes & Items
shadesmile Lucky Tooth: increased healing to better align with the recent change to **Death Defiance **effects

Level Design & Environments
shadesmile Minor fixes and improvements to some chambers

Art & Visual FX

Improvements to visual effects and death animation for Final Boss encounter
Added death animation for Bother
Updated look of Styx Saw Blade Trap
Updated look of depleted Mandragora Cure Pools
Other minor changes and improvements

Menus & UI

Minor fixes and improvements to **God Gauge **UI

Music & SFX

Added ambient sounds to many **Temple of Styx **chambers
Minor sound effects updates for Final Boss
Removed expiration warning sounds for **Greater Calls **with an instant effect
Other minor SFX changes and improvements

Voice & Narrative

Minor additions, fixes, and tuning to some contextual voice lines
Minor updates to requirements for some narrative events

Miscellaneous

Improved on-hit feedback for Max-Gauge Aphrodite's Aid
Improved feedback when using Artemis' Aid
Added more variety to the message when circumventing a certain multi-headed obstacle in Styx
Updated feedback when using the **Fountain **in the Styx Satyr Storage Chamber

_ _
Bug Fixes

Fixed **Theseus **sometimes using his 'Bull Horn' combo attack after the **Minotaur **is defeated
Fixed an issue with **Spent Spirit (Athena x Aphrodite) **giving **Theseus **more than one spear
Fixed the sound when targeted by sniping attacks sometimes lingering longer than expected
Fixed an issue where menu highlights sometimes vanished when closing and opening a menu
Fixed an issue in 'Trial of the Gods' where foes blessed by **Athena **could damage you after being slain
Fixed a minor camera issue entering the main hub in the Temple of Styx
Minor text fixes
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'Now [I came] to bid farewell to Zagreus and to his sire, the hospitaler.'
**~Fragments **(Aeschylus; H. Weir Smyth translation)

Note: You should see v0.19998 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Oct 8, 2019, 6:54 PM

Early Access Patch 028: The SUPERSTAR Update - October 8, 2019
Welcome to our seventh Major Update, which we think is our most game-changing one yet! Due to the number of new systems and features here, we're expecting to follow up on this initial launch with several smaller patches. We'll be watching your feedback closely as we go. Hope you enjoy it!

Highlights

Weapon Aspects: unlock specially-enchanted alternate forms for each of your different weapons
Pact of Punishment, 2nd Edition: an overhauled Pact is central to a newly revised endgame
Eurydice: the muse of Orpheus is out there, somewhere; can you find her?
New Resources: look for Gemstones, Diamonds, & **Chthonic Keys **as you make your escape
House Contractor: unlock a variety of new cosmetic items for the House of Hades, such as the...
Music Stand: unlock music pieces heard throughout the game, & change the music in the House
Underworld Renovations: look for new & improved visuals in the **House of Hades **& all of Asphodel
New Song: listen for the melodious voice of our longtime musical collaborator, Ashley Barrett!

General Gameplay

Added Weapon Aspects, revised Pact of Punishment, and **House Contractor **systems
Heat: removed as a collectible resource (part of the Pact rework; you will get 5 Darkness for each Heat lost)
**Gemstones **and Diamonds: newly added resource used with **House Contractor **and Wretched Broker
Chthonic Keys: newly added resource used with **Weapon Aspects **and some other interactions
Your first boss clear with each weapon earns you a Bounty, i.e. a **Chthonic Key ** or Diamond
Your **Death Defiance **effects remove any poison effects

_ _
Weapons & Powers

Each weapon can now be permanently upgraded in the Courtyard, once you reach a certain point
Stygian Blade: reworked Nova special; updated Dash Attack (new timing and animation)
Shield of Chaos: updated Dash attack (new animation); improvements to input buffering
Eternal Spear: adjusted Attack combo timing and damage; updated Dash attack (new timing and animation); Throw special now staggers foes

Boons & Blessings

Zeus' Aid: reduced damage
Athena's Aid: increased duration; **Greater Call **duration multiplier reduced to compensate
True Shot (Artemis): added a chance to deal Critical damage
Hunter's Mark (Artemis): dealing Critical damage to foes with the 'Marked' Status Curse clears the effect
Exit Wounds (Artemis): reduced power scaling from improved rarity
Fully Loaded (Artemis): rarity set to **Legendary **
Support Fire (Artemis): no longer Legendary; effect now scales with rarity
Lightning Phalanx (Zeus x Athena): reduced max. number of bounces and bounce range
Shatter Shot (Aphrodite): reduced power scaling from improved rarity
Life Affirmation (Aphrodite): slightly reduced power level
Rapid Cast (Hermes): now also increases Cast homing effects to compensate for the speed boost
Stabbing (Chaos): cut from game (Master Chaos has decided not to punish you simply for dashing)
Boons with 'Revenge' effects now trigger when your **Death Defiance **effects activate

_ _
Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

The following upgrades are no longer offered: Empowering Nova (Blade), Mirage Flight (Shield), Heavy Slug (Rail), and Invigorating Blast (Rail); their spirits live on in some of the new Weapon Aspects
Piercing Wave (Blade): **newly added! **A long-range wave with every slash
Charged Shot (Shield): **newly added! **Your Bull Rush fires a projectile instead
Multi Skewer (Spear): now pierces through the last foe it hits
Rocket Bomb (Rail): **newly added! **Fire a rocket instead of bombarding
Inescapable Blast (Rail): **newly added! **Foes are slowed while targeted for bombardment

_ _
Foes & Encounters

You can no longer run into multiple mini-boss encounters in a region in a single run
Increased the size of **Elysium **by one chamber
**Trial of the Gods **encounters can now take place in Elysium
Reduced max. types of Elite foes that can appear in **Thanatos **encounters
**Erebus **challenge chambers now contain Champion foes (tougher than Elite foes)
Champion foes no longer drop money
Megaera and the Furies: learned some new tricks via the Pact...
Bone Hydra: slightly reduced health; updated ranged flurry attack; learned some new tricks via the Pact...
Exalted Longspear: now leap off impassable terrain
Flame Wheels: groups spawn in quicker succession
Soul Catcher: reduced appearance rate in Elysium; reduced Elite health; no longer completely immobile and now susceptible to knock-away effects
The Minotaur: updated some animations and attack timings
Theseus: updated some animations and attack timings
Gigantic Vermin: poison puddles expire faster
Final Boss: reduced damage; reduced health; reduced tracking of homing attack; reduced health of some Champion summons; summoned urns now invulnerable while spawning; overall, still a pain

_ _
Keepsakes & Items

**Wells of Charon **no longer offer **Bedroom Decor **items; the **House Contractor **has a monopoly on them
Evergreen Acorn (Eurydice): **newly added! **Take no damage from boss attacks for some number of hits
Old Spiked Collar (Cerberus): slightly reduced power level
Black Shawl (Nyx): increased power level
Lucky Tooth (Skelly): increased power level
Lambent Plume (Hermes): tuned fast-clear durations for some encounter types
**Charon **now offers one of the two new rare resources for sale in the Temple of Styx

Pact of Punishment

Overhauled the system; now linked to Bounties (look for more details when you first get to it)
Rescaled **Heat **as a measure of difficulty (1 unit now is equivalent to about 5 units before)
Reworked and renamed the various Conditions
Middle Management: **newly added! **Raises number of Elite foes in mini-boss encounters
Tight Deadline: **newly added! **Gives you a limited amount of time to clear each region
Heightened Security: **newly added! **Boosts damage from traps
Underworld Customs: **newly added! **Forces you to purge a Boon as you leave each region
Extreme Measures: **newly added! **Influences the final battle in Tartarus
Snake Oil: **newly added! **Influences the final battle in Asphodel

_ _
Level Design & Environments

Added two new chambers in Asphodel
Added a **Pool of Purging **to the final chamber in each region
Added several new **Erebus **challenge chamber variants
Made some renovations to the House of Hades (others are ongoing)
Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

Art & Visual FX

Updated visuals all throughout Asphodel
Updated visuals in the House of Hades
Updated portrait for Orpheus
Updated visuals for the Wretched Broker
Updated visuals for wretched shades and spirits in various environments
Updated visuals in first chamber of Elysium
Added unique **Zagreus **run animations with the Blade, Spear, and Bow, and other weapon details
Added some animations for **Megaera and the Furies **to accompany their aforementioned new tricks
Updated textures for **Alecto **and Tisiphone
Updated some of the visuals for the Bone Hydra
Updated some animations for **Theseus **and The Minotaur
Updated various visual FX in **Final Boss **encounter, including the Status Curse effect
Improvements to the look of the **Exalted **once separated from their weapons
Updated UI and visuals for **Death Defiance **effects
Increased transparency of **Dionysus' Festive Fog **effects
Improved feedback for the deactivated state of the **Mandragora Cure Pools **in the Temple of Styx
Removed slight animation from **Dionysus **and **Ares **portraits (due to various issues; they still blink, though)
Unified the look of Elite foes' armor outline
Updated main menu based on new Major Update (including our studio logo, for our 10th anniversary!)
Other minor visual changes, fixes, and improvements

_ _
Menus & UI

Updated Health Bar UI for foes
Updated visual FX for Boon selection
**Underworld Map **presentation when traveling between regions now shows earned Bounties
Added new **Death Defiance **UI indicators based on the source of the effect
The backing for interact prompts now scales with the prompt
Added alternate dialogue prompt for key early-game character conversations that unlock new systems (specifically, the Codex from Achilles and Mirror respeccing from Nyx)
The Fallen Warrior's **HydraLite Gold **premium good now shows your life total in the tooltip
The warning pop-up for deleting save data defaults to Cancel instead of OK
Text clarifications to some Boons and upgrades
Other minor fixes, changes, and improvements

Music & SFX

'Good Riddance': added new music track, featuring the voice of Ashley Barrett!
Added various new sound effects for the new resources, systems, and other contexts
**Adamant Rail **now has a distinct fire sound while low on ammo
Battle emotes from Zagreus and others now affected by SFX Volume rather than Voice Volume
Minor fixes and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative

Added many narrative events with characters (including Eurydice, Orpheus, Hades, and Achilles)
Added many new Zagreus voice events for various gameplay contexts
Added **Codex **entries for Eurydice, Gemstones, Diamonds, and Chthonic Keys
Added to **Codex **entries for each of the Infernal Arms
Added specific captions for ambient voice lines from the Fallen Warrior
Updated requirements for some narrative events
Fixes and tuning to some contextual voice events

_ _
Miscellaneous

Updated **Development Roadmap **to reflect our plans for our next Major Update, and beyond
The **Wretched Broker **now offers additional resource trades, and has fixed all his prices...
Some later **Mirror of Night **upgrades now require Chthonic Keys
Skelly: increased health (stationary jumping can be an effective form of cardiovascular exercise)
Rescaled **Heat **requirements to earn Skelly's unlockables
Credits: Eurydice added to voice cast; other updates, including new Community Contributors!

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed issues with some **Zeus **lightning effects not taking upgrades correctly
Fixed an issue causing **Vicious Cycle (Ares) **to ramp up damage more than expected

Fixed **Positive Outlook (Dionysus) **not gaining benefits from more than one Pom of Power
Fixed **Spent Spirit (Athena x Aphrodite) **not affecting accelerating projectiles
Fixed **Heart Rend (Artemis x Aphrodite) **unintentionally applying additional chance for Critical damage
Fixed an issue sometimes causing **Chaos Gates ** and **Infernal Gates **to be invisible
Fixed an issue sometimes causing parts of the Health UI to not show correctly
Fixed **Skull-Crushers **being susceptible to Backstab damage from the front
Fixed issues related to vanquishing **Theseus **and the **Minotaur **in close succession
Fixed an issue causing **Gigantic Vermin **poison puddles to not always clear after encounters
Fixed an issue where you could build up your God Gauge by hitting pillars while fighting the Final Boss
Many other minor fixes

_ _
Quote of the Patch
'There remained but little more to climb till they would touch earth's surface, when in fear he might again lose her, and anxious for another look at her, he turned his eyes so he could gaze upon her.'

**~Metamorphoses, Book 10: Orpheus & Eurydice **(Ovid; B. Moore translation)

Note: You should see v0.21731 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Oct 10, 2019, 6:12 PM

@here Early Access Patch 029 - October 10, 2019
We're thrilled by the rousing response to the Superstar Update!! We're following up with some improvements and fixes based on initial observations and feedback. We'll patch again in the coming days.

Weapons, Aspects, & Powers

Raised the max level of the Zagreus Aspect for each weapon to 5
Stygian Blade: you can move a bit during the Nova special preattack sequence
Heart-Seeking Bow (Hera): reduced spread of Bloodstones from loaded shots
Adamant Rail (Eris): reduced damage bonus after absorbing a Bombard blast
Adamant Rail (Hestia): empowered shot now activates only from a manual reload

Boons & Blessings

Quick Reload (Artemis): reduced effectiveness
Nasty Dash (Dionysus): removed minor damage this was doing on impact
Eclipse (Chaos): now also boosts Darkness drops from boss foes

Foes & Encounters
shadesmile Soul Catcher: projectiles should be slightly easier to hit

The Minotaur: updated some attack timings (he should be slightly more effective)
Final Boss: beam attacks should interact with obstacles more reliably; skull ammo objects can now be targeted by more abilities

Level Design & Environments

Minor fixes and improvements to some chambers

Art & Visual FX

Added unique visuals for each weapon equip spot in the Courtyard to go with each Weapon Aspect
Updated textures and visual FX for some Weapon Aspects
Added unique menu images for each Weapon Aspect
Added visual FX for when your current weapon phases out in some Zagreus animations
Additional visual improvements to some **Asphodel **chambers
Additional presentation improvements when leaving or entering **Asphodel **chambers
Other minor visual fixes and improvements

_ _
Menus & UI

Added presentation when collecting Bounties
In the **Pact **screen, current **Heat **is no longer shown in two different places
**Ambrosia **now shown in addition to other resources during escape attempts
The 'Slay to Retrieve' hint for lodged Ammo will no longer display on bosses
Added custom hint about retrieving ammo while using the Blade's Poseidon Aspect
Added unique tutorial objectives in the Courtyard while using certain Weapon Aspects
Minor text changes; other minor fixes and improvements

Music & SFX

Updated sound effects for certain Weapon Aspects
Minor fixes with the new Music Stand

Voice & Narrative

Added narrative events with certain characters (including Hades, Orpheus, and Skelly)
Added new Zagreus, Hades, and Skelly voice events for various gameplay contexts
Added new Storyteller events for successfully clearing runs
Updated requirements for some narrative events
Fixes and tuning to some contextual voice events

_ _
Bug Fixes

Fixed several issues causing the **Eurydice & Orpheus **story subplot to not advance correctly
Fixed collision and blocking issues with the **Chaos Shield **while using Charged Shot (Daedalus)
Fixed instances where the **Spear's Achilles Aspect **could be used to escape map boundaries
Fixed an issue preventing manual recovery of the **Spear's Achilles Aspect **Throw special
Fixed an issue causing the **Rail's Hestia Aspect **empowered-shot ability to transfer to other Aspects
Fixed interactions between the **Rail's Hestia Aspect **and Spread Fire (Daedalus)
Fixed interactions between the **Rail's Hestia Aspect **and Explosive Fire (Daedalus)
Fixed some visual issues with the Rail's Aspect animations
Fixed Tisiphone's **Extreme Measures (Pact) **support attacks being active during chamber changes
Fixed lava being blockable with the Chaos Shield
Fixed **Final Boss **encounter not ending when expected if summoned urns were still present
Fixed a rare crash in the **Final Boss **encounter

shadesmile **Heat **difficulty will reset in older saves that previously could get stuck at high difficulty
Fixed an issue where the **Tight Deadline (Pact) **timer would expire prematurely in Elysium

Fixed an issue causing the **Tight Deadline (Pact) **timer to remain visible after defeat
Fixed an unbreakable urn in the final chamber of Asphodel
Fixed some visual issues with the effect for Evergreen Acorn (Keepsake)
Fixed rare performance issues in the **Pact **screen
Fixed various other minor UI issues with the **Pact **screen
Fixed Duo Boons showing up as Legendary in the Pool of Purging
Fixed an issue where **Infernal Troves **requiring **Skeleton Keys **were not showing a lock indicator
Fixed some menu title text being off center
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'[Orpheus] became so adept at music that his playing and singing charmed wild animals and caused stones and trees to follow him when he wished.'
**~Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology **(E. Tripp)

Note: You should see v0.21873 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Oct 15, 2019, 6:00 PM

@here Early Access Patch 030 - October 15, 2019
This patch makes additional improvements and fixes to last week's **Superstar Update **based on what we've been seeing. Expect one more smaller patch before we switch to working on our next Major Update.

Weapons, Aspects, & Powers
shadesmile Shield of Chaos: improved Bull Rush input buffering after the Throw special
Heart-Seeking Bow (Zagreus): now adds chance of critical attack (instead of power-shot window)
Heart-Seeking Bow (Hera): reduced disable duration while loading Bloodstone ammo
Eternal Spear (Achilles): you now can retrieve the thrown spear normally, or with Raging Rush

Adamant Rail (Hestia): increased damage for empowered shot

Boons & Blessings

Double Strike (Zeus): reduced bonus chance of effect after using Poms
Tempest Flourish (Poseidon): reduced knock-away effect from the Bow's Volley special
Exit Wounds (Artemis): now requires one additional related Artemis Boon before it is offered
Lightning Rod (Zeus x Artemis): no longer upgradeable using Poms
Heart Rend (Aphrodite x Artemis): no longer upgradeable using Poms

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Super Nova (Blade): reduced damage
Cruel Thrust (Blade): increased damage and critical chance
Flurry Blade (Blade): you now can hold the attack command to strike repeatedly
Relentless Barrage (Bow): reduced number of bonus projectiles
Explosive Return (Shield): no longer applies **Flourish **Boon or similar effects during the blast
Extending Jab (Spear): increased damage
Inescapable Blast (Rail): increased slowing effect on foes

_ _
Foes & Encounters

Slightly increased frequency of **Thanatos **encounters in Asphodel
Voidstone: no longer appears in **Erebus **challenge chambers
The Minotaur: fixed some instances where he was dealing more damage than expected

Keepsakes & Items

Bone Hourglass (Charon): increased **Well of Charon **effect durations for each rank
Shattered Shackle (Sisyphus): increased bonus damage from rubble at ranks 2 and 3
Evergreen Acorn (Eurydice): reduced instances of damage absorption for each rank; no longer loses charges to attacks that would have caused no damage

Level Design & Environments

Minor fixes and improvements to some chambers

Art & Visual FX

Further visual improvements to some **Asphodel **chambers
Further presentation improvements when leaving or entering **Asphodel **chambers
Updated visual FX for Zagreus run-stop animations for the Blade, Bow, Shield, and Spear
Updated animation for Chthonic Keys
Updated visual FX for Exit Wounds (Artemis)
Updated art for **Pact Exit **in the Courtyard
Other minor visual fixes and improvements

Menus & UI

Game screen now is dimmed while the game is paused
When unlocking Weapon Aspects, always auto-equip the new Aspect
Music track names for the **Music Stand **can now appear hidden before the track is unlocked
Improved legibility of repeated 'Backstab!' combat notifications
Slightly reduced size of standard damage numbers
Several text clarifications and other minor changes

Music & SFX

Minor fixes and mix improvements

_ _
Voice & Narrative

Additional scripting fixes to **Eurydice & Orpheus **story subplot
Added several miscellaneous narrative events for Eurydice & Orpheus
Fixes and updated requirements for some narrative events
Fixes and tuning to some contextual voice events

Miscellaneous

Minor improvements to some Shades milling about the House of Hades
Skelly no longer rudely talks over Zagreus when starting a new escape attempt

Bug Fixes

Fixed the **Rail's Hestia Aspect **empowered shot applying damage twice from one Dash Attack
Fixed an issue causing **Support Fire (Artemis) **to never be offered
Fixed **Hermes **Boons unintentionally being affected by Eurydice's treats
Fixed **Exalted Brightswords **sometimes being able to destroy the Rail's Bombard projectiles
Fixed **Final Boss **not canceling out of certain attacks upon defeat
Fixed some conversation alert icons not clearing as expected
Fixed certain **Eurydice **narrative events unintentionally being able to play more than once
Fixed 'Bounty Earned' messages showing current total Heat, rather than target **Heat ** for Bounties
Fixed an issue causing 'Death and I' to never be offered for the Music Stand
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
"'One sole condition yet
Upon the boon is set:
Let him not turn his eyes
To view his hard-won prize,
Till they securely pass
The gates of Hell.' Alas!"
**~The Consolation of Philosophy **(Boethius; H.R. James translation)

Note: You should see v0.22033 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Oct 17, 2019, 6:10 PM

@here Early Access Patch 031 - October 17, 2019
This patch ties up some loose ends in the **Superstar Update **as we set our sights on our next Major Update, coming in December. It'll cap off a full year of updates, and we plan to make it a big one. Until then!

Boons & Blessings
shadesmile Support Fire (Artemis): now upgradeable using Poms

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades
shadesmile Rapid Shot (Bow): you now can hold the attack command to autofire; now called Flurry Shot

Foes & Encounters
shadesmile Reduced how many **Crawlers **can appear in tougher encounters in the Temple of Styx

Level Design & Environments

Minor fixes and improvements to some chambers

Art & Visual FX

Visual touch-ups for the Bone Hydra
Additional visual touches to **Asphodel **chamber enter-and-exit sequence
Improvements to the Shield's Throw special recovery animation while using alternate Aspects
Updated textures for the Blade's Nemesis Aspect
Added passive visual effect to the Music Stand

Menus & UI

Improved feedback for some states of the **Pact **screen

Music & SFX

Added some sound effects to the **Bone Hydra **encounter
Updated some sound effects for the **Weapon Aspects **screen
Other minor additions, fixes, and improvements

Voice & Narrative

Added a narrative event for Eurydice
Added some new Zagreus voice lines for certain Pact, Daedalus Hammer, and Bounty interactions
Additional minor fixes and improvements to some narrative events and contextual voice lines

Miscellaneous
shadesmile Recovered the missing Infernal Contract that **Lord Hades **is always holding in his portrait

Persuaded an occasional pack of Shades in the **House of Hades **to move away from the Music Stand
Unified text descriptions for Boons and upgrades with Flurry effects
Other minor text changes

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed interaction between Athena's **Holy Shield **and Blinding Flash
Fixed **Divine Dash (Athena) **not always applying critical damage correctly
Fixed an issue where a Splitter's projectile attack could vanish after she was slain
Fixed some attack interactions with the Final Boss

Fixed **Brimstone **satellite crystals sometimes leaving orbit
Fixed a visual issue with **Rocket Bomb (Daedaulus - Rail) **and the weapon's alternate Aspects
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
"...while Orpheus thoughtlessly looked back, all unbelieving his Eurydice restored to him and following, he lost his singing's recompense; and she had come to the verge of life only to die once more."
**~Hercules Oetaeus **(Lucius Annaeus Seneca; F. Justus Miller translation)

Note: You should see v0.22135 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Dec 3, 2019, 7:57 PM

Early Access Patch 032: The WELCOME to HELL Update - December 3, 2019
Welcome to our eighth Major Update, filled with new content and features for our early adopters as well as new players delving into the Underworld for the first time! As with all such updates, we plan to follow up with several smaller patches, closely monitoring your feedback as we go. Thank you for playing!

Highlights

Hell Mode: a more challenging way to play for veterans of the cycle of death & rebirth
God Mode: a more forgiving way to play for those struggling to progress through the story
Underworld Renovations: the House Contractor has many new improvements available for commission
The Fated List: acquire this special parchment, & fulfill the Fates' prophecies! (for a reward, naturally)
Forge Bonds: you now can deepen your relationships with several key characters...
New Keepsakes: ...& if you do, you might just get something special!
Extreme Measures: engage the Pact of Punishment, & face Theseus & the Minotaur like never before!
New Story Events: we have added more new narrative events & voice lines than any previous update!

_ _
General Gameplay

Updated requirements for when many characters and game systems are introduced, to pace out the early-to-mid-game better; Orpheus, Chaos, Alecto, Tisiphone, and Thanatos can be revealed sooner
Updated Gifting System: several characters' Affinity Gauges can now be maxed out; this involves achieving certain conditions to unlock their gauges past Lv.6
Wretched Broker: now presents a consistent set of offers plus a Limited Time Offer
Death Defiance: most items and Boons that previously added charges now replenish spent charges
Infernal Troves: now lose reward value faster over time while you slay foes summoned to guard them
Bounty rewards are no longer random; they are now specific to clearing each Underworld region
Removed Valuable Urns from inter-region chambers

Infernal Arms & Abilities

Eternal Spear: increased damage of second and third thrusts in the Attack sequence
Adamant Rail: Bombard special can no longer deal backstab damage
Increased bonus to Darkness collected while using a weapon imbued with Dark Thirst

_ _
Boons & Blessings

Tidal Dash (Poseidon): slightly increased damage
Sunken Treasure (Poseidon): now can also drop Gemstones
Divine Flourish (Athena): removed brief invulnerability period
Last Stand (Athena): now replenishes a spent charge of Death Defiance (rather than giving you an extra)
Deathless Stand (Athena): same as above
Passion Dash (Aphrodite): now deals damage only at the start of the dash; increased damage
Ares' Aid: increased damage
Artemis' Aid: arrow shot now has a chance to deal Critical damage
Nasty Dash (Dionysus): now deals damage only at the start of the dash; increased damage
Dionysus' Aid: increased damage; reduced power scaling from improved rarity
Numbing Sensation (Dionysus): this and other Slow effects now affect bosses (to a reduced extent)
Merciful End (Athena x Ares): reduced power level
Deadly Reversal (Athena x Artemis): reduced chance of Critical damage
Heart Rend (Artemis x Aphrodite): increased power level
Black Out (Dionysus): reduced requirements, making this more likely to appear
Defiance (Chaos): rarity set to Legendary (still adds a charge of Death Defiance as before)
The gods no longer offer 'Exchange' Boons from the start (they will after several escape attempts)
Several Boons have updated scaling for Heroic rarity

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Double Nova (Blade): reduced damage radius
Double Edge (Blade): increased damage bonus
Super Nova (Blade): reduced damage bonus

_ _
Foes & Encounters

Theseus and The Minotaur: they challenge you to confront them using Extreme Measures (Pact)...
Adjusted foe compositions in Thanatos encounters
Erebus challenge chambers now have varied foe compositions based on which region you came from
'Trial of the Gods': reduced duration of Athena shield effects
Updated several mini-boss encounters under the effects of Middle Management (Pact)
Megaera: increased damage of her whip attack; slightly increased speed of her tackle attack
Megaera and the Furies: adjusted their encounters under Extreme Measures (Pact); expect to face the Furies in a variety of combinations (sometimes in pairs as well as all together)
Gorgon: less inclined to fly out onto lava
Bone Hydra: increased lunge damage; attacks slightly less often under Extreme Measures (Pact)
Temple Poison Trap: improved hit box; fixed an issue where they could keep spewing after combat
Temple Axe Trap: improved hit box
Snakestone: added mini-boss variant in the Temple of Styx
Bother: added mini-boss variant in the Temple of Styx
Gigantic Vermin: added mini-boss variant in the Temple of Styx
Satyr Cultist: added mini-boss variant in the Temple of Styx
Final Boss: slightly reduced duration and frequency while Unseen
Other minor changes and improvements to encounters
Bosses now absorb excess damage between phases; previously, very damaging attacks such as Aphrodite's Aid could be used to bypass phases of these fights

_ _
Mirror of Night

Death Defiance: reduced cost of first rank; increased cost of subsequent ranks
Additional adjustments to ordering and costs of some upgrades

Keepsakes & Items

Legendary Keepsakes: newly added! See if you can discover all four currently available.
Shattered Shackle (Sisyphus): now also increases damage foes take from traps
Lambent Plume (Hermes): now gives you a bit more time to clear Thanatos encounters
Kiss of Styx (Well): reduced cost; now replenishes a spent charge of Death Defiance
Tinge of Erebus (Well): now yields more Darkness, as does the Darkness item sold by Charon
HydraLite (Well): reduced cost
A third Daedalus Hammer can no longer be purchased in the Temple of Styx
The Fallen Warrior now offers a Kiss of Styx Premium, which replenishes all Death Defiance charges
Skeleton Keys: functionally replaced with Chthonic Keys
Resource Formerly Known as Chthonic Keys: functionally replaced with Titan Blood
Resource Formerly Known as Ambrosia: now called Nectar
Ambrosia: newly added Bounty resource used with gifting, Wretched Broker, and more

_ _
House Contractor

The House Contractor can now be used to permanently upgrade certain resource pick-ups, such as...
Darkness: can now be upgraded to also slightly increase your life total
Gemstones: can now be upgraded to also give you some Charon's Obol
Chthonic Keys: can now be upgraded to also give you a charge of Fated Authority
Nectar: can now be upgraded to also give a random Boon +1 Lv. (as though you used a Pom of Power)
The House Contractor is now also the key to upgrading certain aspects of the Underworld, such as...
Breakable Urns can be upgraded to contain Charon's Obol (and must first be unlocked)
Infernal Troves can be upgraded to contain greater riches (and must first be unlocked)
Fountain Chambers in each Underworld region now must first be unlocked
Reduced costs for some outrageously priced House Decor

Fated List of Minor Prophecies

You are destined to obtain this newly added system from the House Contractor

_ _
Pact of Punishment

Increased max. Heat threshold for earning Bounties (doubling the previous cap)
The max. Heat threshold for earning Bounties is even higher in Hell Mode
Snake Oil: cut from game as a stand-alone Condition; its effect is now part of...
Extreme Measures: now affects bosses region-by-region, from Tartarus through Elysium
Middle Management: reduced to one rank; now affects each mini-boss encounter in a distinct way
Tight Deadline: countdown pauses at the same times as the 'Show Timer' setting; adjusted timers per each region; the out-of-time effect now can deal lethal damage
Personal Liability: newly added! Limited to Hell Mode, this removes your post-damage invincibility
Increased Heat clear requirements for earning Skelly's unlockables; these are now introduced later, after several successful clears (so you can first get used to the Pact)

Level Design & Environments

Added four new chambers to the Temple of Styx
Some Chaos chambers now have multiple exits; the exits now have Chamber Reward previews
Exits from Chaos chambers can now be altered using Fated Authority
Reduced appearance rate of Pools of Purging; they no longer appear in Tartarus
Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

_ _
Art & Visual FX

Map of the Underworld: updated look and presentation when traveling between regions
Sisyphus: now has a new portrait and character model!
Added portrait variants for Zagreus, Megaera, Thanatos, Theseus, and The Minotaur
Updated portraits for Megaera and Hypnos
Minor changes to portraits for Eurydice, Aphrodite, and Zagreus
Added various emote animations to some narrative events
Added several new expressive character animations for Megaera, Thanatos, and Zagreus
Updated look of Brimstones
Updated look of Satyr Cultist mini-boss
Valuable Urns now glint in a tastefully attention-grabby way
Death Defiance: updated effect presentation to be clearer and more dramatic
Toned down the look of Zeus lightning effects (don't tell him)
Added a new screen effect for when foolishly trudging through lava in Asphodel
Further visual improvements to various chambers, such as the final chamber in Elysium
Some of the shades in Asphodel now writhe for eternity
Updated look of narrative panels and tooltips
Updated visual FX for the Throw special using the Chaos Shield
Updated visual FX for the Raging Rush using Achilles' Spear Aspect
Minor improvements to Heart-Seeking Bow charge-up recovery animation
Optimized textures and animations on the Bloodless
Other minor visual changes, fixes, and improvements

_ _
Menus & UI

Hell Mode: added option when starting a new game. Makes you have to use the Pact from the start
God Mode: added to Settings Screen. Instantly makes you tougher; effect increases when you die
Boon Info Overlay: minor presentation improvements; changed default hotkey; can now be accessed while interacting with characters such as Eurydice
Updated look and screen position of subtitles (formerly called 'captions' but they are officially subtitles now)
Subtitles now have a unique color depending on which character is speaking
Subtitles now enabled by default on new save slots (a majority of players were toggling them on)
Wretched Broker: screen has an updated look
'Play' Main Menu Screen: updated look; added one additional Save Slot
Underworld Codex: screen has an updated look; updated alert prompt
Updated look for the Affinity Gauge in the Codex (for characters you can give gifts to)
Other additional presentation changes around Gifting
The House Contractor may prompt you to stop by from time to time
Additional minor improvements to Pact screen feedback and usability
Minor improvements to Weapon Aspects screen feedback and usability
Added distinct Chamber indicators for elite, mini-boss, and boss chambers
Minor updates to the sorting of resources on the right side of the screen
Added Fated List indicator when choosing Boons and Upgrades tied to Prophecies
Added keyword tooltips to distinguish types of Well of Charon items
Improved feedback when trying to Cast while out of Bloodstone ammo
Improved feedback when trying to enter Infernal Gates with too little Heat
Added keyboard selection input in Well of Charon
Other minor fixes, changes, and improvements

_ _
Music & SFX
shadesmile The song of Eurydice does not always start from the beginning when you find her

Added many new sound effects to accompany new and updated systems, such as the Fated List
Added new sound effects for the Map of the Underworld
Added new sound effects for Death Defiance activation
Added new ambient sound in and around the final chamber of Elysium
Added sound effects for Hera's Bow Aspect special ability
Updated some sound effects for the Bone Hydra
Added different sounds while choosing Boons or Upgrades based on the god or upgrade type
Added impact sounds to Support Fire (Artemis) arrow shot
Added impact sounds to Nasty Dash (Dionysus) and Dionysus' Aid
Updated impact sounds for Tidal Dash (Poseidon) and Poseidon's Aid
Added ambient sound to the Lounge in the House of Hades
Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative

Added many new narrative events (including with Megaera, Thanatos, Sisyphus, Skelly, Lord Hades, Achilles, Theseus, the Minotaur, Ares, Dionysus, and more)
Extended Affinity Gauges for Megaera, Thanatos, Sisyphus, and Skelly (you can give them more gifts)
Normalized the Affinity Gauges for some other characters, capping them to Lv.6
Updated Affinity Gauges for certain characters.
Added many new Zagreus voice events for various gameplay contexts
If Meg blames her losses on the Mirror and you face her without its effects, she will acknowledge it
Added Codex entries for Titan Blood and Ambrosia
Added to Codex entries for Megaera, Thanatos, Sisyphus, and Skelly
Updated Codex entries for Nectar and Chthonic Keys
Added presentation the first time you enter a Chaos Gate
Updated requirements and other minor changes to various narrative events

Fixes and tuning to various contextual voice events

Miscellaneous

Updated Development Roadmap to reflect our plans for our January 2020 Major Update, and beyond
The final chamber in Elysium is now quite a bit livelier
A certain letter written to a certain god appearing in a certain scene has a new look
Sisyphus: we are investigating reports of unusual interactions with an inanimate object in his chamber
Orpheus: you now have to do something to 'unlock' him (if you haven't met; he can be unlocked sooner now)
When you first get the Codex , it now is back-filled with any entries you would have already unlocked
The alert prompt to open the Codex will no longer play during combat (it will show up after)
Zagreus has lost the will to senselessly somersault in the House (reminder: no fighting in the House!)
Adjusted Thanatos entrance and exit interacts during his encounters
Added an animation for when Zagreus is stunned by certain attacks
Pausing the game now reliably pauses any voiceover in progress
Pausing the game now possible while Boon Info Overlay is displayed
Damage numbers from Deflect attacks show up in Athena's colors
Added a custom weapon objective hint in the Courtyard after equipping Achilles' Spear Aspect
When starting a new escape attempt, a perfect landing must be executed with greater precision
Updated Credits; including with some more exceptional Community Contributors (Cheers!!)
Various text fixes, updates, and clarifications

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed a crash that could occur while rapidly switching pages in the Codex

Fixed several additional scripting issues with the Eurydice & Orpheus story subplot
Fixed an issue where deflecting attacks from Skull-Crushers could still deal damage
Fixed various issues that could occur while exiting a chamber during an Infernal Trove battle
Fixed an issue causing the special shot of Hestia's Rail Aspect to fire unexpectedly
Fixed Hestia's Rail Aspect not interacting properly with certain Boons and Hammer Upgrades
Fixed Tipsy Shot (Dionysus) not interacting properly with Flurry Cast (Hermes)
Fixed Divine Dash (Athena) sometimes hitting twice unexpectedly
Fixed Battle Rage (Ares) not benefiting from improved rarity
Fixed several issues with switching between different Weapon Aspects
Fixed some obstacles in Asphodel not having impact feedback
Fixed Tight Deadline (Pact) timer appearing in the House
Many other minor fixes

Bug Additions

Will get back to you next patch

Quote of the Patch
'And I saw Sisyphus too, bound to his own torture,
grappling his monstrous boulder with both arms working,
heaving, hands struggling, legs driving, he kept on
thrusting the rock uphill toward the brink.'
~The Odyssey (Homer; R. Fagles translation)

Note: You should see v0.23617 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Dec 6, 2019, 7:46 PM

@here Early Access Patch 033 - December 6, 2019 (Happy Birthday, HADES!)
This patch builds on our recent Welcome to Hell Update with new balance changes, additional story content, and for the first time... multi-language support!! It's a lovely time of year in the Underworld!

Highlights

Localization: added first-pass text translations in French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese!! We also have Polish coming soon.

Additional details:

To set the game's language, go to Options > Languages in the Main Menu.
We are just beginning to localize this game! Not all translations are fully up to date.
Stay tuned for more information about how you can contribute to localization as part of Early Access.

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities

Stygian Blade (Nemesis): reduced critical chance; adjusted scaling per rank
Heart-Seeking Bow (Zagreus): increased critical chance
Heart-Seeking Bow (Chiron): reduced max shots per Special

_ _
Boons & Blessings
shadesmile Heaven's Vengeance (Zeus): normalized damage (to be generally greater than before)
Typhoon's Fury (Poseidon): increased power level; adjusted power scaling from improved rarity
Poseidon's Aid: increased damage

Blinding Flash (Athena): reduced power scaling from improved rarity
Dying Lament (Aphrodite): increased damage
Curse of Vengeance (Ares): increased damage; adjusted power scaling from improved rarity
After Party (Dionysus): increased healing effect
Premium Vintage (Dionysus): drops upgraded Nectar if you have the right Contractor Renovation
Black Out (Dionysus): fixed an issue preventing its damage bonus from applying reliably
Merciful End (Athena x Ares): no longer upgradeable using Poms
Roiling (Chaos): now only affects standard encounters (it no longer adds foes to mini-boss encounters)

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Relentless Barrage (Bow): now adds a flat bonus of additional shots (instead of a percent increase)
Charged Shot (Shield): increased damage

_ _
Foes & Encounters

Survival encounters can no longer have both elite foes and standard foes of the same type
Splitter: Deflect effects now work correctly against their split-up projectiles
Bone Hydra: improved target tracking for its wave-shooting heads
Soul-Catcher (Elite): reduced number added by Middle Management (Pact)
The Minotaur: updated some attack timings under the effects of Extreme Measures (Pact)...
Temple of Styx: Daedalus Hammers no longer offered as rewards for the clearing mini-boss chambers
Final Boss: improved pathfinding in some corners of the environment

_ _
Keepsakes & Items

Pierced Butterfly (Thanatos): slightly reduced damage scaling
Cyclops Jerky (Well): increased power level; reduced cost
Cyclops Jerky Select (Fallen Hero): slightly increased power level

Pact of Punishment

Middle Management: increased Heat
Extreme Measures: increased Heat for ranks 2 and 3
Tight Deadline: countdown now pauses during Thanatos encounters (DEADline, get it??)

Level Design & Environments

Minor fixes and improvements to some chambers

Art & Visual FX

Added a unique icon for the Boon effect while using God Mode
Updated textures for the Wretched Thug (this was in the previous patch but not previously noted)
Other minor improvements

Menus & UI
shadesmile You can use the Interact command as a shortcut to proceed through the Pact screen

_ _
Voice & Narrative

Added several new narrative events, mostly for Achilles
Added 100+ more contextual voice lines in a variety of contexts related to our latest updated
Added an Inspect Point to a chamber in the Temple of Styx
Updated several older narrative events with Lord Hades, Achilles, Nyx, and Skelly
Minor fixes and improvements to some narrative events and contextual voice lines

Miscellaneous

Asphodel transit barges no longer appear at entrance points you did not use
Added last-hit presentation to The Minotaur and Final Boss encounters
Spectators in the final chamber in Elysium no longer emote as vigorously
Added some missing subtitles for Thanatos
Minor text changes

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed a rare crash caused by Charon responding to some voice lines

Fixed some narrative events not displaying correctly vs. the Fury Sisters using Extreme Measures (Pact)
Fixed music sometimes stopping unexpectedly in the Temple of Styx
Fixed several issues with toggling God Mode
Fixed Theseus not gaining his shield effects correctly under Extreme Measures (Pact)
Fixed Legendary Keepsake inactive presentation occurring in the House of Hades
Fixed Chaos Gates not appearing in a certain Asphodel chamber despite using Light of Ixion (Well)
Fixed some issues with the clear conditions for Chthonic Colleagues (Fated List)
Fixed some Chaos Boons not showing Fated List Prophecy hints in the choice menu
Fixed a minor UI issue that could occur from the effects of Boiling Blood (Mirror)
Fixed a presentation issue in the first chamber of Elysium
Fixed various minor visual issues in some chambers
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'Some writers identify three of [the Erinyes], whom they name Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera, but they are usually neither named nor counted. They were described by Aeschylus as frighteningly hideous, but were seldom shown so in art.' ~Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology (E. Tripp)

Note: You should see v0.23759 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Dec 12, 2019, 10:10 PM

@here Early Access Patch 034 - December 12, 2019
This patch improves display issues with localized content, adds several narrative events, and makes several balance changes as we close out an exciting week! Expect another patch in the next few days.

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities
shadesmile Shield of Chaos (Zeus): the Bull Rush charge-up is no longer interrupted by retrieving a thrown shield

Boons & Blessings

Divine Protection (Athena): no longer upgradeable using Poms
Life Affirmation (Aphrodite): reduced power level
Roiling (Chaos): now only adds foes to standard encounters (no longer affects mini-boss encounters)

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Daedalus Hammers can no longer be purchased in the first few escape attempts
World Splitter (Blade): slightly increased damage
Flurry Slash (Blade): slightly increased damage

Foes & Encounters

Survival encounters can no longer occur on the very first escape attempt
Theseus and The Minotaur: increased damage when facing them under Extreme Measures (Pact)

Keepsakes & Items
shadesmile Trove Tracker (Well): now causes an Infernal Trove to spawn soon, even if you have not yet commissioned the House Contractor upgrade that normally causes them to appear

Art & Visual FX

Minor visual improvements to some chambers

_ _
Menus & UI

Removed button shortcut to close the Pact screen (this introduced new issues requiring a different solution)
Improved mouse pick boxes when choosing a Save Slot
Other minor improvements

Music & SFX

Minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative

Added several new narrative events for Megaera and Lord Hades
Added various new contextual voice lines for Skelly
Updated several older Zagreus voice lines with newer recordings
Minor fixes and improvements to some narrative events and contextual voice lines

Miscellaneous
shadesmile Various improvements to localized content display issues in some languages

Various improvements to presentation of the encounter in the final chamber in Elysium
Removed Polish and Japanese language settings for now (we do not yet have localized content for these)
Minor text and subtitle content fixes

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed a rare crash while using the Codex
Fixed Exit Wounds (Artemis) not correctly interacting with Skull-Crushers
Fixed some issues using Companion Rib (Skelly) in the battle with Tisiphone

Fixed Heart-Seeking Bow (Chiron) not firing the correct number of Volley shots at certain ranks
Fixed Exploding Launcher (Spear) sometimes causing the thrown spear to remain in the field
Fixed certain attack behaviors for the Bone Hydra
Fixed a rare soft lock while gifting Thanatos; fixed sometimes being able to gift him after he departs
Fixed one of the Final Boss attacks being canceled by the effects of Death Defiance
Fixed the effects of Zeus' Aid continuing during the effects of Death Defiance
Fixed incorrect values listed in the Collection for Shattered Shackle (Sisyphus)
Fixed Skelly voice lines not playing as expected after pummeling him
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'Within my heart plunge all your torches, rend me, burn;
For lo, my bosom open to your fury's stroke.
O brother, bid these vengeful goddesses depart
And go in peace down to the lowest shades of hell.'
~The Tragedies of Seneca: Medea (Lucius Annaeus Seneca; F. Justus Miller translation)

Note: You should see v0.23865 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Dec 18, 2019, 12:05 AM

@here Early Access Patch 035 - December 17, 2019
This small patch focuses on localization improvements and bug fixes, thus wrapping up our Welcome to Hell Update. Next up is our Major Update in January! Until then, we're looking over all your feedback, and making plans for an exciting year to come. Happy holidays, and thanks so much for all your support.

House Contractor
shadesmile Orpheus' release paperwork now is more likely to appear, and is required for some later upgrades

Music & SFX

Updated on-hit sounds on Wretched Pest and Bother
Other minor changes

Voice & Narrative

Added several new narrative events for Sisyphus
Minor fixes and improvements to some narrative events and contextual voice lines

_ _
Miscellaneous

Added first-pass Polish localization!
Added new localized text for content recently added in the Welcome to Hell Update
Added localization notice on boot-up announcement screen in non-English languages
Ongoing improvements to localized content display issues in some languages
Foe indicators on Chamber Reward previews should be more consistent
Added missing subtitles for newer voice lines
Minor text and subtitle content fixes

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed a rare crash while using the Codex
Fixed Zagreus referring to Orpheus having returned to the House while Orpheus is still away
Fixed instances of incorrect Fury Sister portrait appearing in some pre-boss scenes
Fixed Premium Vintage (Dionysus) sometimes causing Nectar to spawn out of bounds
shadesmile Fixed Slothful (Chaos) sometimes causing Zagreus to fail to board the Barge of Death in Asphodel
Fixed some instances of escape attempt clear times not updating correctly

Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'No, Mother! Why do you not stay for me,
and let me hold you, even here in Hades?
Let us wrap loving arms around each other
and find a frigid comfort in shared tears!'
~The Odyssey (Homer; E. Wilson translation)"

Note: You should see v0.23923 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Jan 21, 2020, 5:55 PM

Early Access Patch 036: The LONG WINTER Update - January 21, 2020
We wanted to start the year off with a bang with this Major Update! It features a new Olympian, a new weapon variant, new activities, more story, and many other improvements. We plan to follow up with a couple of smaller patches while keeping a close eye on your feedback. Thank you very much for playing!

Highlights

Demeter: the Goddess of Seasons brings winter to the Underworld! Seek out her powerful Boons
Rod of Fishing: capture (& sell!!) Underworld river denizens with this new House Contractor item
Aspect of Guan Yu: earn this unique new Aspect of the Eternal Spear, and vanquish your foes!
Underworld Decor Galore: scores of new items are available at the newly renovated House Contractor!
New Legendary Keepsake: forge an unbreakable bond with Dusa, and summon her to petrify your foes
Boon Info & Victory Screen Update: pin multiple Boons onscreen for easy reference and sharing
New Daedalus Hammer Upgrades: look for multiple new upgrades for each weapon
New Story Events: uncover new secrets in hours of added narrative (with more than 1,000 new voice lines)

General Gameplay

Increased prices of Boons sold by Charon
Increased price of Daedalus Hammer sold by Charon
Increased price of augmented Boons and Poms sold by Charon in the Temple of Styx
Slightly reduced healing from tasty-looking Health Drops
Reduced healing from Fountain Chambers; however, new House Contractor upgrades can increase it
You may now encounter fishing points in various chambers, once you have the Rod of Fishing. Deliver your stock to the Head Chef in the House (who will take very good care of them)

_ _
Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities
shadesmile Stygian Blade (Zagreus): now also increases Dash distance

Stygian Blade (Nemesis): reduced Critical chance
Eternal Spear (Guan Yu): newly added! Seek Achilles to learn more (once you have several Aspects)
Eternal Spear (Zagreus): now increases Attack damage and Dash-Strike damage
Shield of Chaos: slightly increased Bull Rush charge up time; slightly reduced Bull Rush damage
Shield of Chaos (Zagreus): reduced damage resistance
Shield of Chaos (Zeus): increased damage of Throw special
Shield of Chaos (Chaos): now throws additional Shields in a radial pattern
Adamant Rail: no longer briefly slows foes on-hit

_ _
Boons & Blessings

Demeter: newly added! Seek out 11 new Boons and 4 new Duo Boons
Billowing Strength (Zeus): reduced power level; increased effect duration
Zeus' Aid: reduced power scaling from improved rarity
Scintillating Feast (Zeus x Dionysus): reduced damage
Divine Dash (Athena): slightly reduced Deflect duration
Athena's Aid: increased God Gauge cost and effect duration (it cannot be used quite as often)
Merciful End (Athena x Ares): reduced damage; reduced appearance rate
Spent Spirit (Athena x Aphrodite): reduced slow effect on foes' projectiles
Reduced power level of Aphrodite's Weak Status Curse
Broken Resolve (Aphrodite): newly added! Improves potency of Weak Status Curse
Passion Dash (Aphrodite): now affects foes near your dash destination (rather than at the starting point)
Crush Shot (Aphrodite): formerly Shatter Shot; updated effect
Curse of Pain (Ares): slightly reduced damage
Battle Rage (Ares): adjusted scaling from rarity and Poms (overall power level should be similar)
Ares' Aid: reduced damage; increased move speed
Hunting Blades (Ares x Artemis): reduced speed; reduced tracking
Deadly Strike (Artemis): reduced Critical chance; increased damage to compensate
Support Fire (Artemis): reduced damage
Drunken Dash (Dionysus): formerly Nasty Dash; now deals several instances of damage and Hangover (formerly called Poison)
Second Wind (Hermes): increased effect duration; increased power scaling from improved rarity
Passing Through (Hermes): cut from game (Demeter is the new curator of slowing effects)
Relative Speed (Hermes): cut from game (same reason)
Quick Reload (Hermes): now offered by Hermes (donated by Artemis, who felt sorry for him)
Slothful (Chaos): reduced how badly this curse can impair your move speed

shadesmile Defiance (Chaos): increased appearance rate

Reduced power level of Chaos blessing effects at higher rarity

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Cursed Slash (Blade): newly added! Restores health on-hit, but your life total is heavily reduced
Shadow Slash (Blade): newly added! Deals bonus damage when striking foes in the back
Serrated Edge (Spear): newly added! Your Dash-Strike hits multiple times but your Dash is shorter
Charged Skewer (Spear): newly added! Press and hold to power up your Skewer special
Quick Spin (Spear): no longer quite as quick
Charged Throw (Shield): newly added! Press and hold to power up your Throw special
World Smasher (Shield): newly added! Your Bull Rush is replaced with a powerful up-close strike
Chain Shot (Bow): newly added! Your attack bounces between targets, dealing bonus damage
Charged Volley (Bow): newly added! Press and hold to power up your Volley special
Cluster Bomb (Rail): newly added! Your Bombard special fires a spread of 5 smaller bombs
Hazard Bomb (Rail): newly added! Your Bombard special fires a big bomb that blasts the area around you, but can damage you ("Have you tried not standing there when it blows up?" --Hypnos)
Delta Chamber (Rail): formerly Infinity Chamber ; now also fires in a 3-round burst
Explosive Fire (Rail): cut from game

_ _
Foes & Encounters

Introduction to Olympian Aid now gives you some God Gauge to use Poseidon's Call
Thanatos: should show up more frequently (once you encounter him for the first time in Elysium)
After the other Fury Sisters show up, it is no longer possible to randomly avoid one indefinitely
Alecto: reworked her Rage Gauge (you can knock her out of her rage-building move, but watch out)
Skullomat: Elite is more powerful; reduced appearance rate in Asphodel
Burn-Flinger: Elite attack pattern adjusted
Wave-Maker: non-Elite throws one wave at a time (rather than two); adjusted Elite attack
Reduced number of foes on the Asphodel Barge of Death under Middle Management (Pact)
Bone Hydra: reworked aspects of this encounter to be faster though deadlier to compensate; one fewer phase; removed urns containing health (the Hydra finally realized they were there and ate them)
Elysian Arrow Trap: attack now dissipates as soon as combat is over
Flame Wheels: reduced health and Elite armor
Nemean Chariot: no longer can hit multiple times in one charge
Exalted Greatshield: appearance rate reduced; non-Elite no longer has a spin attack; reduced rotation and increased vulnerability times

Soul Catcher (Elite): now more aggressive under the effects of Middle Management (Pact)
The Minotaur: no longer gains brief invulnerability when low on health in the battle with Theseus
Increased damage rate of Poison effects in the Temple of Styx
Final Boss: various changes to attack patterns; resolved issues where cover sometimes did not work reliably against ranged attacks

_ _
Keepsakes & Items

Companion Fidi (Dusa): newly added Legendary Keepsake! Summons Dusa to petrify your foes
Companion Mort (Thanatos): increased effect radius; increased damage; reduced pre-attack time
Companion Shady (Sisyphus): dropped goodies no longer block foes' movement
Companion Battie (Megaera): increased damage
Frostbitten Horn (Demeter): newly added! Raises chance to find Demeter Boons with improved rarity
Broken Spearpoint (Patroclus): now has a cooldown between uses; slightly increased effect duration
Evergreen Acorn (Eurydice): reduced instances of damage absorption
Myrmidon Bracer (Achilles): reduced damage reduction at higher ranks
Chthonic Coin Purse (Hypnos): reduced bonus money at higher ranks
HydraLite (Well): reduced healing

House Contractor
shadesmile Screen now shows all available options by category (instead of a random set of just three)
Screen now shows which items you have purchased, and lets you toggle some decorative items

Added many new decorative items to the House Contractor inventory (some with light interactions)
Added renovations that improve health recovery from Fountain Chambers
Reduced costs for many items for this grand reopening

_ _
Fated List of Minor Prophecies

Goddess of Seasons: newly added!
A Place of Revelry: newly added!
The Fated Saint of War: newly added!
The Gift of Song: newly added!
Updated requirements to fulfill several Prophecies (this won't affect you if you've already fulfilled them)
Increased rewards for Daedalus Hammer and Olympian Prophecies

_ _
Pact of Punishment

Heightened Security: reduced to a single rank
No Choice: increased Heat
Hard Labor: re-scaled to 5 ranks
Tight Deadline: timer pauses in non-combat chambers with characters such as Sisyphus

Level Design & Environments

Added one new chamber to Tartarus
Added two new chambers to Elysium
The first chamber in Asphodel now offers more picturesque views...
Updated layout of Megaera's chamber to have fewer places to hide
Updated look of Bone Hydra's chamber
Updated layout of Final Boss's chamber
Minor changes to layouts of some chambers to helpfully accommodate the Rod of Fishing
Minor changes to layout in the House of Hades
Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

_ _
Art & Visual FX

Updated main menu based on new Major Update
Lord Hades can now be seen toiling away in the House
House Contractor has a new look in the House
Added many new optional decorative items to the House of Hades
Added many new visual effects for Demeter Boons
Added new art, visual effects, and animations for the Eternal Spear's Aspect of Guan Yu
Updated various animations for Exalted Shades in Elysium
Added a couple of portrait variants for Dusa
Updated visual effect for Crush Shot (Aphrodite)
Reduced visual effects of poison in the Temple of Styx (making it easier to find curing pools)
Reduced visual effects of Zeus' Aid (making it easier to see what's going on)
Updated texture and Codex portrait for Wretched Thug
Other minor visual changes, fixes, and improvements

_ _
Menus & UI

Boon Info Screen: updated layout shows Mirror and Pact setup; you now can 'pin' Boons for comparison
Victory Screen: as above; also added various text Commendations based on your performance
Added graphical icons for each Mirror of Night Upgrade
Added graphical icons for each Pact of Punishment Condition
Version number watermark and current Heat switched screen positions as part of these changes
Songs are now subtitled
Slightly reduced size of critical damage numbers
Gamepad shoulder buttons now page through the House Contractor and Fated List
Improved look of choice selection in narrative events
Other minor fixes, changes, and improvements

Music & SFX

Added new sound effects for Demeter and her Boons
Added new sound effects and emotes for Eternal Spear's Aspect of Guan Yu
Added new sound effect when Zagreus is stunned
Added new sounds for other miscellaneous contexts
Added equip sounds for the two new Keepsakes
Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

_ _
Voice & Narrative

Added many narrative events (with Demeter, Dusa, Achilles, Hades, Aphrodite, the Storyteller, and more)
Added narrative events around the Eternal Spear's Aspect of Guan Yu
Added many new Zagreus voice events for contexts such as House Contractor and the Rod of Fishing
Zagreus has more to say to the Bone Hydra and certain other monsters and shades
Extended Affinity Gauge for Dusa (you can give her more gifts)
Updated Codex entry for Dusa
Added Codex entry for Demeter
Primordial Chaos now responds to certain interactions in their realm
In the 'Trial of the Gods', you now hear from the god you choose
Updated requirements and other minor changes to various narrative events

Fixes and tuning to various contextual voice events

Miscellaneous

Added new localized text for some content (note: translation still pending for much of the newer content)
Updated Development Roadmap to reflect our plans for our next Major Update in March, and beyond
Orpheus: due to the House Contractor redesign, the item to release him can be found more reliably
Most characters impervious to your attacks no longer knock you back when struck
You need a bit more Darkness now before Nyx upgrades the Mirror with the ability to refund it
Gameplay Timer pauses in non-combat chambers with characters such as Sisyphus
'New!' tags on Prophecies in the Fated List clear on selection (rather than after closing the List)
Credits: Demeter (Laila Berzins) added to voice cast; added new Community Beta Testers (Thank you!!)
Text: Renamed various Dionysus Boons and effects to be more in-theme with his lifestyle choices
Minor changes to presentation when the Minotaur leaves his chamber
Adjusted behavior of mouse-and-keyboard controls while the default 'Attack at Cursor' is disabled
Zagreus now will always enter chambers at a standard speed (such as when his speed is reduced by Chaos)
Various text fixes, updates, and clarifications

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed various text overflow issues in non-English languages

Fixed Achilles not telling you about Titan Blood and Ambrosia soon after you first find them
Fixed a rare issue where Death Defiance could cause a permanent slowdown
Fixed Numbing Sensation (Dionysus) having a reduced power level at Heroic rarity
Fixed Black Out (Dionysus) unintentionally being upgradeable by Eurydice
Fixed Companion Rib (Skelly) causing 'Trial of the Gods' effects to occur unexpectedly
Fixed Infernal Gates blocking the aim preview for the Shield's Bull Rush
Fixed a key narrative event with Megaera sometimes playing twice unexpectedly
Fixed narrative scripting around events involving Orpheus and Dionysus, which could become unavailable in some cases
Fixed Bother foe having incorrect material sounds
Many other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
The Earth did not send up any seed. Demeter, she with the beautiful garlands in her hair, kept them covered underground. Many a curved plough was dragged along the fields by many an ox—all in vain.
~Homeric Hymn to Demeter (Anonymous; G. Nagy translation)

Note: You should see v0.24897 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Jan 22, 2020, 11:16 PM

@here Early Access Patch 037 - January 22, 2020
Thank you for all your feedback and excitement about yesterday's big Long Winter Update! This patch addresses several issues it introduced. Some changes we fully walked back and marked with *** ** below. We're continuing to monitor impressions as we prepare additional patches for the coming days (or nights?).

General Gameplay
shadesmile Reduced prices of Boons sold by Charon
Reduced price of Daedalus Hammer sold by **Charon ***
Reduced price of augmented Boons and Poms sold by Charon in the Temple of Styx

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities
shadesmile Stygian Blade (Nemesis): increased Critical chance *** **
Eternal Spear (Zagreus): reworked; now gives bonus damage, range, and speed to Skewer special
Eternal Spear (Guan Yu): reduced penalty to life total and healing; replaced Skewer special with the new Firework Skewer, which deals area damage on its flight path and does not require retrieval

Shield of Chaos (Zeus): increased damage rate of Throw special

_ _
Boons & Blessings
shadesmile Wave Pounding (Poseidon): newly added! Boons with knock-away deal bonus damage to bosses

Blinding Flash (Athena): fixed an issue causing bonus damage from this to be less than expected
Divine Dash (Athena): fixed an issue preventing this from activating Blinding Flash and Merciful End (Athena x Ares) as intended
Life Affirmation (Aphrodite): increased power level at higher rarity
Support Fire (Artemis): increased damage; increased power level at higher rarity
Deadly Strike (Artemis): increased Critical chance; reduced damage to compensate *
Arctic Blast (Demeter): increased damage
Quick Reload (Hermes): significantly increased effect at higher rarity
Increased power level of Chaos blessing effects at higher rarity *

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Double Nova (Blade): slightly increased damage radius
Cursed Slash (Blade): now restores 1 Life per hit (instead of a percentage)
Charged Volley (Bow): slightly increased minimum range
Charged Skewer (Spear): slightly increased minimum range
Quick Rush (Shield): no longer removes the Bull Rush's innate knock-away effect
Charged Throw (Shield): should now be more responsive to short button presses
Hazard Bomb (Rail): increased damage; reduced self-damage
Rocket Bomb (Rail): increased damage
Explosive Fire (Rail): it's back; now briefly slows foes instead of staggering them

_ _
Foes & Encounters
shadesmile Thanatos: reduced maximum number of waves of foes in encounters with him in Elysium and Styx; slightly reduced total enemy counts in those encounters
'Trial of the Gods': reduced radius of Demeter's attack if you spurn her
Wave-Maker: reduced appearance rate in Asphodel
shadesmile Splitter: reduced appearance rate in Elysium
Reduced damage rate of Poison effects in the Temple of Styx *** **
Final Boss: toned down a particular combo attack...

Keepsakes & Items

Evergreen Acorn (Eurydice): increased instances of damage absorption *
Lucky Tooth (Skelly): fixed an issue causing this to restore less health than intended

Pact of Punishment

Convenience Fee: reduced effect on shop prices (making this somewhat less punishing than before)

_ _
Rod of Fishing

Fixed an issue causing Fishing Points to appear more often than intended in Tartarus
Fish in the Temple of Styx now net you a tidy sum of Gemstones
Increased how often fishing opportunities occur in the main hub in the Temple of Styx
The Gameplay Timer and Tight Deadline (Pact) Timer pause while fishing ("Relax, boyo!" --Skelly)
Taking damage now interrupts any fishing attempts ("Have you tried NOT standing in lava?" --Hypnos)
Fish fake-out jukes are harder to detect
Additional adjustments to timings trying to catch those blasted little...

Art & Visual FX

Added reveal animation in the Weapon Aspects screen for the Aspect of Guan Yu
Added unique icon for Demeter's Keepsake (note: this was included as part of a hotfix yesterday)
Updated visual effect for Aspect of Guan Yu's Moon Cutter Spin attack
Slightly reduced visual effect for Bloodless Burn-Flinger bomb blast
Minor updates to some Elysium chambers and artwork
Minor updates to the recently added chamber in Tartarus
Minor updates to Charon's Shop in Tartarus
Minor art fixes in the House of Hades
Minor art fixes to visual effect for Mistral Dash (Demeter)
Minor art fixes to Keepsake icons

_ _
Voice & Narrative

Fixes to narrative scripting to some new events
Fixed Inspect Point for the new Massive Weights decoration appearing prematurely
Moved an Inspect Point about decorative pillars to a more appropriate-looking set of pillars
Fixes and tuning to various contextual voice events

Miscellaneous
shadesmile Added mouse-wheel scrolling to the House Contractor screen

Added simple interaction to Intricate Contraption and Bloodless Sculpture
Small adjustment to gameplay timer formatting
Minor text changes, clarifications, and fixes

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed a progression blocker opening the Codex or Boon Info screens while fishing
Fixed a progression blocker renovating Zagreus' bedchambers after a character conversation
Fixed some House Contractor decorations being unavailable after deactivating the Scrying Pool

Fixed Eternal Spear (Guan Yu) causing your burst-damage shield to activate more often than intended
Fixed Crush Shot (Aphrodite) not destroying some obstacles as expected
Fixed Atrophic (Chaos) curse removing more health than intended
Fixed an issue causing Demeter Duo Boons to only show up from her, not her extended family
Minor fixes to Cluster Bomb (Daedalus - Rail) blast preview
Fixed Dusa's conversation indicator sometimes remaining visible after she bails on you
Fixed Dusa sometimes not being visible after using Companion Fidi
Fixed Skelly Codex entry showing incorrect unlock conditions in some cases
Fixed Cursed Slash (Blade) stealing life from urns or even poor Cerberus in the Temple of Styx

Quote of the Patch
'Demeter's true concerns were not on Olympus, but on the earth. She presided over the crops, and over the grains in particular. For some reason she held the bean in contempt as impure.' ~Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology (E. Tripp)

Note: You should see v0.24965 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Jan 24, 2020, 6:35 PM

@here Early Access Patch 038 - January 24, 2020
This patch contains various fixes following this week's Long Winter Update. Expect another patch with more localized content and additional changes before we switch focus to our next Major Update.

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities
shadesmile Eternal Spear (Guan Yu): improved hit box while using Deflect effects

Boons & Blessings
shadesmile Wave Pounding (Poseidon): damage bonus now correctly applies to your Special as well as Attack

Support Fire (Artemis): fixed an issue causing Pom bonuses to scale incorrectly (the first one used gave too much of a benefit, while subsequent ones gave too little)

Fated List of Minor Prophecies

Fixed God of the Seas requirements to include Wave Pounding (Poseidon)
Fixed A Simple Job being completable below the stated requirement

Rod of Fishing

Fixed an issue causing Fishing Points to appear more often than intended in the Temple of Styx
Added cannot-interact feedback on fishing points when they cannot be used (such as during combat)
Adjusted positions of some hard-to-reach fishing points
Minor fixes to some graphic issues related to fishing

_ _
Art & Visual FX
shadesmile Further adjustments to visual clarity while poisoned in the Temple of Styx

Minor updates to one of the many rugs available from the House Contractor
Minor updates to some Demeter visual effects
Minor graphical fixes in the House of Hades and Bedchambers
Minor graphical improvements to House Contractor screen
Minor visual improvements to Eternal Spear (Guan Yu)
Minor visual improvements to a pillar destruction animation in Asphodel
Minor improvements to one the biome map transitions

Voice & Narrative
shadesmile Fixed instances where Dusa could not be gifted for no apparent reason

Fixes to narrative scripting to some new events
Fixes and tuning to various contextual voice events

Miscellaneous

Added some new localized strings for content added in the Long Winter Update
Adjusted some player on-hit effects fighting the Minotaur and Final Boss
Removed money sometimes dropping from destructible pillars in Asphodel
Added several missing subtitles for Dusa
Added work-in-progress presentation when Winter Harvest (Demeter) slays a boss
Using Charm effects on Exalted Strongbow now clears their targeting reticle
Minor text changes and fixes

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed a crash that could occur while inflicting Chill effects on the Bone Hydra
Fixed crashes with certain Polish-language text strings
Fixed additional cases of being able to use the Rod of Fishing while standing in lava

Fixed Mistral Wind (Demeter) sometimes activating Dodge effects
Fixed Eternal Spear (Guan Yu) breaking after swapping a Boon affecting your Special
Fixed a Boon text issue with Deadly Strike (Artemis) and Deadly Flourish (Artemis) (their Critical chance was higher than the text stated)
Fixed incorrect icon for Nourished Soul (Demeter)
Fixed several issues where World Smasher (Shield) could be offered with incompatible upgrades
Fixed an issue where Brimstones or Snakestones sometimes could be knocked out of bounds
Fixed an issue causing life-steal effects to work against ambient shades (they have no life to steal)
Fixed being able to dash out of bounds in a certain Tartarus chamber
Fixed Daedalus Hammer sometimes appearing as a chamber reward in Styx when not supposed to
Fixed a watery sound effect continuing to play unexpectedly after fishing
Fixed Court Music items in the House Contractor continually showing as new
Fixed several issues with toggling certain House Contractor decorations
Fixed a missing hit reaction on certain obstacles when facing the Final Boss

shadesmile Fixed Codex entries with special requirements not unlocking as expected
Fixed a display issue in the Fated List while navigating with gamepad should buttons

Fixed a graphical issue with Demeter's Aid Greater Call and certain visual effects
Fixed a visual effect popping away unexpectedly in the Final Boss encounter
Fixed minor collision issues in the House of Hades
Many other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'He had eyes like a phoenix's and fine bushy eyebrows like silkworms. His whole appearance was dignified and awe-inspiring. Presently, Liu Bei crossed over, sat down beside him and asked his name. "I am Guan Yu," replied he.' ~Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong; C.H. Brewitt-Taylor translation)

Note: You should see v0.25053 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Jan 28, 2020, 8:24 PM

@here Early Access Patch 039 - January 28, 2020
This patch includes more localized content, balance changes, fixes, and improvements for last week's Long Winter Update, as we shift focus to our next Major Update. Until then, thank you for playing!!

General Gameplay

Reduced prices of Boons sold by Charon
Titan Blood sold at the Wretched Broker now yields more Gemstones

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities

Shield of Chaos: slightly reduced Bull Rush charge-up time (to how it was before the Long Winter Update)
Adamant Rail: increased autolock radius while using gamepad

Boons & Blessings

Reduced offering rate of 'Exchange' Boons
Reduced offering rate for Olympian Aid Boons (in general, they should appear less early and often)
Divine Dash (Athena): slightly increased Deflect duration (still less than before the Long Winter Update)
Proud Bearing (Athena): improved scaling from Poms
Holy Shield (Athena): increased duration of Deflect revenge effect
Curse of Pain (Ares): fixed an issue causing this not to scale correctly with improved rarity
Urge to Kill (Ares): effect now can scale with Poms
Aphrodite's Call: no longer blockable by shield-bearing foes; no longer stopped by Final Boss urns
Artemis' Call: no longer stopped by by Final Boss urns
Crystal Beam (Demeter): increased tracking speed
Killing Freeze (Demeter): improved scaling from rarity
Rare Crop (Demeter): slightly reduced appearance rate
Demeter's Aid: increased speed at which winter vortex reaches full size
Blizzard Shot (Demeter x Poseidon): increased damage
Defiance (Chaos): increased appearance rate

_ _
Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Piercing Wave (Blade): increased damage
Cursed Slash (Blade): increased life-steal effect
Charged Volley (Bow): slightly improved charge-up time
Charged Shot (Shield): fixed an issue causing it to stop you longer than intended
World Smasher (Shield): slightly reduced damage; no longer fully automatic
Cluster Bomb (Rail): staggered firing sequence; reduced damage penalty; increased area of effect

Foes & Encounters

Thanatos: reduced appearance rate (it is still significantly higher than before the Long Winter Update)
The Fury Sisters: adjusted some of their attack timings under Extreme Measures (Pact)
Wave-Maker: adjusted attack pattern; reduced armor; reduced appearance rate in Asphodel
Burn-Flinger: adjusted attack pattern; reduced appearance rate in Asphodel
Bone Hydra: reduced tracking of projectile attack
Gigantic Vermin: Mini-boss creates fewer Poison puddles
Final Boss: improved hit box on some attacks; urns no longer deal damage while being summoned

Keepsakes & Items

Broken Spearpoint (Fallen Warrior): reduced cooldown

_ _
Pact of Punishment
shadesmile Budget Cuts: no longer locked in as part of Hell Mode

Lasting Consequences: first rank now locked in as part of Hell Mode
Underworld Customs: increased Heat
Forced Overtime: increased Heat; reduced number of ranks (though each rank has a greater effect)
Convenience Fee: no longer raises cost of Bounty resources sold in Charon's shop in Styx

Art & Visual FX

Added new visual presentation when vanquishing bosses with Winter Harvest (Demeter)
Improved visual presentation when slaying other foes with Winter Harvest (Demeter)
Improved visual presentation when revealing Spear (Aspect of Guan Yu)

Music & SFX

Added new sound effects for Final Boss urn destruction attack
Adjusted sound effects volume for Mistral Dash (Demeter)
Fixed sound effects on Charged Skewer (Spear)
Fixed Delta Chamber (Rail) always playing low-ammo sound
Fixed victory music stinger being inaudible if a song is being performed in the House of Hades

_ _
Voice & Narrative
shadesmile Restored post-defeat voice lines from Final Boss
Added one-time voice hint about how to get to Eurydice while outside her chamber

Added new voice lines for various Wretched Broker interactions
Fixed two Inspect Points in the House of Hades that were not playing or appearing correctly
Fixed voice lines sometimes not playing when confronting the Bone Hydra
Fixes to narrative scripting to some events
Additional fixes and tuning to various contextual voice events

Miscellaneous
shadesmile Added more new localized strings for content introduced in the Long Winter Update
Improved text and icon distinctions between Max Life increases and Healing
In ultrawide resolutions, sidebar artwork no longer occludes the edges of the display

Added controller vibration while using the Rod of Fishing
Reduced frequency of visual effects while taking damage from Lava
Fixed Cyclops Jerky Select (Fallen Warrior) text to match the effect (the text was less than the effect)
Minor fixes and improvements to Splendid Lyre interact presentation
Added subtle visual effect when collecting Bloodstone ammo
Other minor text fixes and presentation improvements

_ _
Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where too many different Olympians could appear in a single escape attempt (note: this has no effect on Boon offering rates, only on total number of different Boon-giving characters per escape attempt)
Fixed an issue that could stall progress on Dusa's lounge renovation quest
Fixed instances of invisible collision in the House of Hades
Fixed Boon Rarity markers disappearing from Ambrosia Delight (Eurydice) or Rare Crop (Demeter)
Fixed one more case of being able to use the Rod of Fishing while standing in lava
Fixed Trippy Shot (Dionysus) sometimes being destroyed unexpectedly
Fixed an interaction between Bow (Hera Aspect) and Crystal Shot (Demeter)
Fixed a graphical issue in the biome map travel sequence from Tartarus
Fixed an animation issue with the floating bobber while using the Rod of Fishing
Fixed alert icon always appearing on House Contractor even when new items were not available
Fixed conditions for certain Victory Screen Commendations
Fixed a minor graphical issue while closing the Fated List
Fixed instances where icons could remain visible in the Boon Info sidebar unexpectedly
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'On the middle 7th cast Demeter's holy grain on the well-rolled threshing-floor, keeping a sharp eye open; and have a woodcutter cut house planks, and all the ship-timbers that are appropriate for ships. But begin building narrow ships on the 4th.' ~Works and Days (Hesiod; M. L. West translation)

Note: You should see v0.25138 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Mar 10, 2020, 4:57 PM

Early Access Patch 040: The NIGHTY NIGHT Update - March 10, 2020
This Major Update opens up even more ways to battle out of hell, with a powerful new weapon, new weapon Aspects, and lots more story to sink your teeth into! As always, we will be closely monitoring feedback and are planning on at least a couple of follow-up patches. Thank you very much for playing!

Highlights

Malphon, the Twin Fists: pummel your foes into the ground with this furious close-quarters weapon
Mirror of Night Rework: now with twice the Talents, inviting more choices to fit your playstyle
Aspect of Arthur: wield the might of Holy Excalibur with this legendary Aspect of the Stygian Blade
Improved Visual Effects: we've made frenetic combat easier to parse without compromising the oomph
New Pact of Punishment Conditions: see if you can survive Benefits Package and Routine Inspection
Administrative Chamber: access your Permanent Record beyond a mysterious locked door in the House
New House of Hades Events: the god of the dead's residence is livelier than ever
Expanded Story: hours of added narrative featuring Nyx, Chaos, Artemis, Zeus, and more

_ _
Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities

Twin Fists: new! Unlock earlier weapons to reveal this (once you return from an escape attempt)
Twin Fists (Zagreus Aspect): new! Gain attack speed and dodge chance
Twin Fists (Talos Aspect): new! Drag foes to you with the power of the Magnetic Cutter
Twin Fists (Demeter Aspect): new! Obliterate foes with the power of the Giga Cutter
Stygian Blade (Arthur Aspect): new! Seek Nyx to learn more (unlock Guan Yu and Blade aspects first)
Eternal Spear (Guan Yu Aspect): Spin attack now bounces off obstacles rather than passing through
Adamant Rail: increased accuracy; now the sixth weapon to be unlocked, after the Twin Fists
Added one more frame of invulnerability to the Dash (you now are fully invulnerable until you can move)

_ _
Boons & Blessings

Reduced base offering rate of Legendary and Duo Boons; a new Mirror Talent lets you boost this
Huge Catch (Poseidon): new! Increases chance of finding fishing points
Holy Shield (Athena): fixed Evergreen Acorn (Eurydice) activating at the same time when you are hit
True Shot (Artemis): reduced damage scaling from improved rarity
Unhealthy Fixation (Aphrodite): can now be offered if you have Broken Resolve; fixed issues where Charmed damage bonus did not expire
Battle Rage (Ares): expires after first hit from Aspect of Zeus Throw special; no longer expires when recalling the Spear's Throw special
Urge to Kill (Ares): improved scaling from Poms
Snow Burst (Demeter): now correctly fires at your position while loading ammo using Aspect of Hera; no longer hits through obstacles
Mistral Dash (Demeter): increased damage
Atrophic (Chaos): fixed issues causing incorrect adjustments to Life Total
Roiling (Chaos): duration no longer reduced by Boss encounters (since it does not affect those encounters)
Auto Reload (Hermes): new! Regenerate Bloodstones faster (if you have a certain Mirror talent)
Bad News (Hermes): new! Deal bonus Cast damage to foes without Cast ammo in them (if you have a certain Mirror talent)
Greater Recall (Hermes): now requires first having one of Hermes' Cast-affecting Boons
Flurry Shot (Hermes): reduced power scaling from improved rarity
Quick Reload (Hermes): increased power scaling at Heroic rarity

_ _
Daedalus Hammer Upgrades
shadesmile Double Nova (Blade): reduced penalty to damage radius
Cursed Slash (Blade): reduced penalty to Life Total
Charged Volley (Bow): increased minimum range; no longer offered while using Aspect of Chiron

Relentless Barrage (Bow): fixed an issue where it sometimes stopped working with Aspect of Chiron
Chain Shot (Bow): shots no longer bounce off of invisible Chamber boundaries
Minotaur Rush (Shield): increased Bull Rush Power Shot damage
Charged Shot (Shield): increased minimum range
Explosive Return (Shield): slightly reduced damage
Exploding Launcher (Rail): slightly reduced damage
Cluster Bomb (Rail): adjusted firing pattern
Hazard Bomb (Rail): now fires on press (rather than on release); fixed interaction with Inescapable Blast
Spread Fire (Rail): reworked; now fires as a single, powerful blast
Long Knuckle (Fists): new! Attacks have improved range and damage
Rolling Knuckle (Fists): new! Attack combo ends in a powerful hook punch
Concentrated Knuckle (Fists): new! Successive attacks against the same foe deal more damage
Breaching Cross (Fists): new! Your Dash-Strike pierces foes and deals bonus damage to Armor
Explosive Upper (Fists): new! Your Dash-Special (unique to Twin Fists) deals bonus area damage
Rush Kick (Fists): new! Dash toward foes with a powerful kick
Flying Cutter (Fists): new! Hold Special for a stronger, longer range strike
Draining Cutter (Fists): new! Slay foes with your Cutter special to restore some Life
Quake Cutter (Fists): new! Deal area damage while landing from your Cutter special

_ _
Foes & Encounters

'Trial of the Gods': updated many effects from spurned gods; no longer occur in smaller chambers
Thanatos: reduced appearance rate in Tartarus; removed Flame Wheels from appearing in these fights
Larger chambers in Asphodel now only appear later in the region
Bone Hydra: a wider variety of heads can appear (note that no new types have been added)
Exalted Longspear: attack visual more closely matches its hit box
Splitter: updated pattern of split-firing projectiles (it should look better)
The Minotaur: updated spin attack, specific to the effect of Extreme Measures (Pact)
Theseus: can no longer invoke Demeter's aid before you have met her
Crawler: Elite variant no longer appears, although...
...added a terrifying new mini-boss encounter to the Temple of Styx...

_ _
Mirror of Night

Reworked! More choices, improved usability, reduced total Darkness cost; in more detail:
Added a new flip-side Talent for each Talent! Only one Talent per pair can be active at a time
Removed ability to subtract ranks in a given talent; added a full Darkness refund option
Talents are no longer all visible at the start of the game; they are now unlocked two rows at a time
Later Talents cost less Darkness; if you had more invested than is now required, it has been refunded. Total Darkness required to max all Talents is less than before (when there were half as many Talents)
Fiery Presence: new! Deal more damage vs. undamaged foes
Dark Regeneration: new! Recover health when you collect Darkness
Stubborn Defiance: new! A single Death Defiance effect that replenishes in each Chamber
Ruthless Reflex: new! Dash just before taking damage for bonus damage and dodge chance
Stygian Soul: new! Your Cast ammo regenerates automatically (instead of dropping from foes)
Golden Touch: new! Earn money between Underworld regions based on how much you have
High Confidence: new! Deal bonus damage while your Life Total is high
Abyssal Blood: new! Foes with Cast ammo in them move slower and deal less damage
Family Favorite: new! Deal bonus damage for each different Olympian whose Boons you have
Olympian Legacy: new! Improves chance of finding Duo or Legendary Boons
Gods' Chosen: new! Improves chance of finding chambers with Boons, Hammers, or Poms
Fated Persuasion: new! You can randomly alter Boon and Well of Charon choices offered
Note: We have plans to do even more with the Darkness resource in future updates

_ _
Keepsakes & Items

Lucky Tooth (Skelly): reduced healing at higher ranks (bringing it in line with other defensive Keepsakes)
Broken Spearpoint (Fallen Warrior): fixed issues with it not working against some Final Boss attacks
Black Shawl (Nyx): reworked; now gives bonus damage vs. undamaged foes and while backstabbing
Companion Mort (Thanatos): no longer blockable by shield-bearing foes
Companion Rib (Skelly): increased resistance to wall-slam damage
Companion Shady (Sisyphus): resource drops now affected by certain Boons; reduced money drops
Touch of Styx (Well): new! Improves healing from Stubborn Defiance
Touch of Styx Dark (Fallen Warrior): new! A superior version of the above
Trove Tracker (Well): no longer offered in the Temple of Styx (Lord Hades wouldn't put troves there)

Pact of Punishment
shadesmile Budget Cuts: cut from game; replaced with...
Routine Inspection: new! Disables Mirror of Night talents, three at a time from the bottom
Benefits Package: new! Gives Dire (a.k.a Armored) foes an assortment of nasty Perks:

Shifter: teleports around from time to time
Bruiser: extra armor
Puller: surrounded by a field that pulls you in
Savior: intermittently makes nearby foes briefly invulnerable
Slugger: hits harder
Speeder: moves and attacks faster
Linker: links to other foes via a continuous beam that damages you
Cloner: summons 1-Life copies of itself
Burner: spews molten puddles
Seeker: ranged attacks track you
Popper: bursts into Exalted Shades that self-destruct
The Condition previously called No Choice now is called Approval Process

_ _
Permanent Record

new! Added a screen summarizing each of your escape attempts; find it in the House's locked chamber
Note: This is a first-pass version of this screen, which we expect to continue improving in subsequent Major Updates

House Contractor

Added items specific to certain subplots...

Fated List of Minor Prophecies

Whence Night and Darkness Came: new! Nyx and Chaos shall be reunited
Musician and Muse: new! Orpheus and Eurydice shall be reunited
The Holy King: new! The Aspect of Arthur shall reach the surface
Slashed Benefits: new! Foes with all Benefits Package Perks shall be slain
Denizens of the Deep: new! A variety of fish shall be caught
Dark Reflections: new! Successful escapes shall be completed using all Mirror Talents
End to Torment: aiding Sisyphus is more involved than before (if you haven't done this yet)
Updated requirements to fulfill several other Prophecies (won't affect you if you've already fulfilled them)

Level Design & Environments

Added two new chambers to Asphodel
It is easier to reliably dash across gaps in several Temple of Styx chambers
Updated, clearer cover layout in the Final Boss chamber
The lounge's kitchen area in the House of Hades is easier to get to
You can now get into one of the locked chambers in the House of Hades...
Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

_ _
Art & Visual FX

Updated main menu based on new Major Update
Added new portraits and character model for Nyx
Added new character model and animations for Hypnos
Added new animations for Dusa
Added some new animations for Lord Hades
Added unique art, animation, and VFX for the Twin Fists and its Aspects
Added unique art, animation, and VFX for the Aspect of Arthur (Blade)
Updated the look of Olympian Boon pick-ups
Updated the look of the House Contractor screen
Updated the look of the Well of Charon screen
Updated the look of the Pool of Purging screen
Updated the look of the Fated List screen
Updated the look of information panels (e.g. the one that says THERE IS NO ESCAPE)
Added presentation while resetting offered choices using Fated Persuasion (Mirror)
Added and updated some icons in the Mirror of Night and Pact of Punishment
Added graphical icons for various new Boons, Aspects, and Upgrades
Updated the look of one of the locked doors in the House of Hades
Made various improvements, detailed below, that in aggregate should improve clarity during combat
Updated on-hit visual effects (they are cleaner and now have directionality)
Updated on-hit visual effects for rapid-fire attacks
Updated on-hit visual effects for foes with Armor
Updated visual effects when foes are slain
Updated the look of damage shroud (i.e., when you get hit; this no longer reduces visibility as much)
Updated the look of the Power Shot full-screen effect (not as jarring as before)
Updated the look of Trap floor panels (they should be easier to spot)
Foes' Summoning Circles now are sized relative to the foe; they have varying sound effects as well
Minor improvements to the look of the Underworld Map between regions
Minor improvements to Weapon Unlock presentation

Other minor visual changes, fixes, and improvements

Menus & UI

Updated Mirror of Night screen and presentation based on new functionality
Added category-specific indicators when House Contractor has new items or is sold out
Added reminder to activate Legendary Keepsakes in certain contexts
Added feedback when failing to power up Pierced Butterfly (Thanatos) or Lambent Plume (Hermes)
Added ammo-regeneration indicator while using Stygian Soul (Mirror)
Improved sorting of resources along right screen edge
Improved feedback using Charged Throw (Spear)
Made various improvements, detailed below, that in aggregate should improve clarity during combat
Updated Damage Numbers presentation to reduce clutter (successive damage now ticks up a single number)
Updated Boon Sidebar to show only relevant Boons (everything is still in the Boon Info screen)
Updated Status Curse stack feedback on foes
Other minor fixes, changes, and improvements

Music & SFX

Added new sound effects for the Twin Fists
Added new sound effects for the Aspect of Arthur (Blade)
Updated sound effects for the Well of Charon and Purging Pool
Updated sound effects for the House Contractor
Updated sound effects for some attacks from spurned Olympians
Added and updated ambient sounds in some chambers
Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

_ _
Voice & Narrative

Extended Affinity Gauges for Nyx, Chaos, Artemis, and Zeus (you can give them more gifts)
Added many narrative events (with Nyx, Chaos, Orpheus, Eurydice, Artemis, Zeus, Hades, and more)
Added new Remembrance sequences (when Lord Hades appears at the start of some escape attempts)
Added several new Duo Boon interactions for some pairings
Added many new Zagreus voice lines to various contexts for additional variety
Added more voiceover variety in the Final Boss encounter
Added Codex entry for Malphon, the Twin Fists
Added Codex entries for Underworld Regions (i.e., various locations)
Added Codex entries for River Denizens (i.e., fish)
Added Codex entries for Fables (use Legendary Keepsakes to unlock these)
Updated Codex entry for Nyx
Added utterly nightmarish new Flashback Sequence...
Added yet another new Early Access Ending variant
Minor changes to effects on Nyx voiceover
Updated requirements and other minor changes to various narrative events
Fixes and tuning to various contextual voice events
Added several missing subtitles

New Settings
shadesmile Added Master Volume setting to Settings
Added Screen Shake toggle to Settings

_ _
Miscellaneous

Updated Development Roadmap to reflect our plans for our next Major Update, slated for June
Added community-translated content in some languages (translations are ongoing for newer content)
Added a number of new Victory Screen Commendations
Lord Hades will sometimes judge the shades gathered in his Great Hall
Dusa and Megaera will sometimes be gossiping in the lounge
Hypnos will sometimes fall back asleep
Wretched Broker now has a Limited Time Offer letting you exchange Darkness for Gemstones
While switching auto-aim targets with the Bow and Rail, Zagreus quickly rotates instead of snapping (this is a cosmetic change with no effect on aim speed)
Urns can now be broken as a result of some knock-away effects (not just direct attack)
Added a visual hint when trying to exit chambers before collecting the reward
Keepsake Screen no longer shows available Ambrosia before it can be used there
Minor improvements to door interact presentation in the Temple of Styx
Minor improvements to Rod of Fishing presentation
Sisyphus now tosses items in your general direction
Updated Credits with additional Community Contributors (Thank you for all your help!!)
References to lava changed to magma (as is well known, magma is beneath the earth, lava is above it)
Various text fixes, updates, and clarifications

_ _
Bug Fixes

Fixed lag issues using Switch Pro controllers (if you run into input issues, please report them by pressing F10)
Fixed rare instances of foes taking wall-slam damage multiple times from a single knock-away effect
Fixed damage effects playing after Death Defiance activation, rather than before
Fixed Splendid Lyre sometimes not making a sound when used
Fixed God of War (Fated List) coming from Artemis rather than Ares
Fixed an issue where gifting Thanatos during an escape attempt made him noninteractive in the House
Fixed being able to use exits in some Chambers while using the Rod of Fishing
Fixed certain story events in the Prince's Bedchambers not queuing properly
Fixed issues toggling some House Decor items from the House Contractor
Fixed a graphical issue exiting the Temple of Styx
Fixed a visual issue where Chill effects would tint a character's speech bubble
Fixed a visual issue when Wave-Makers are affected by Chill effects
Fixed weapon charge-up sounds sometimes persisting between chambers
Many other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'Nyx, whom the Romans called Nox, is a scarcely personified abstraction... Alone she spawned a large and generally unpleasant brood that included Moros (Doom), Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), the Fates, and Nemesis.' ~Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology (E. Tripp)

Note: You should see v0.26753 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Mar 11, 2020, 10:10 PM

@here Early Access Patch 041 - March 11, 2020
This patch contains bug fixes, art and UI improvements, and new story events, following yesterday's Nighty Night Update. We expect to patch again in the coming days. Thank you for playing!

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities

Twin Fists: improved input buffering after flurry attack; reduced hit pause on Cutter special and Dash-Special (note: this was added as part of a hotfix yesterday)

Boons & Blessings

Huge Catch (Poseidon): this recently added Legendary Boon now has a chance to be offered in subsequent escape attempts following its unique introduction event

Foes & Encounters

Skull-Crusher: slightly adjusted attack timing under the effect of Middle Management (Pact)
Megagorgon: reduced Blink ability timing variance under the effect of Middle Management (Pact)

Pact of Punishment
shadesmile Benefits Package: banned certain Perks from certain types of foes; reduced bonus Armor from Bruiser Perk

Level Design & Environments
shadesmile Removed several urns that had no real business being in the Final Boss chamber

Minor improvements to one of the new chambers in Asphodel

Art & Visual FX
shadesmile Further improvements to the look of Olympian Boon pick-ups, making Olympians easier to spot

Added unique visuals for text presentation when Zagreus dies
Added unique visuals for text presentation when Zagreus vanquishes a boss
Added animations for the new mini-boss encounter in the Temple of Styx
Improved visual effects on Twin Fists (Demeter) Giga Cutter special
Added unique icon for Broken Resolve (Aphrodite)
Slightly reduced the visual size of the interact object for the Shield of Chaos out in the Courtyard

_ _
Menus & UI
shadesmile Adjusted Armored foes' health bars so depleted Armor looks more distinct from depleted Life
Updated damage numbers presentation so Critical numbers appear on their own
Updated Cast tooltip while using Stygian Soul (Mirror)

Music & SFX

Updated sound effects for Twin Fists (Demeter) Giga Cutter special
Updated sound effects for the new mini-boss encounter in Temple of Styx
Other minor changes

Voice & Narrative

Added quite a few more narrative events with and about Nyx
Added more Inspect Points to the Admin Chamber
Minor fixes and tuning to various events

Miscellaneous

Added some additional localized strings for content updated or introduced in the Nighty Night Update
Updated Credits with additional Community Contributors
Various minor text fixes and presentation improvements

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed a game freeze that could occur when multiple characters speak simultaneously
Fixed a crash involving assembled shades in the House of Hades
Fixed several other crashes reported by users
Fixed music issues and soft locks as part of the Orpheus & Eurydice subplot

Fixed an issue where the incorrect Olympian appeared in one of the new Duo Boon conversations
Fixed tooltips not reliably showing up while mouse-highlighting Talents in the Mirror of Night
Fixed incorrect Dash-Strike visuals using Twin Fists (Talos)
Fixed Affinity Gauge unlock animation not appearing as expected with certain characters
Fixed an issue where insufficient Darkness was refunded in some cases (involving the Pact)
Fixed incorrect text appearing in some Death Defiance tooltips
Fixed a pathfinding issue with Thanatos in a certain chamber in Asphodel
Fixed a visual issue with some door animations in the Temple of Styx
Fixed an issue in Thanatos encounters with Benefits Package (Pact) where you got credit for slaying self-destructing Exalted Shades
Fixed Skelly sometimes talking while Skelly was already in the middle of talking
Minor art and visual effect fixes
Minor text fixes

Quote of the Patch
'Goddess of phantoms and of shadowy play, whose drowsy pow'r divides the nat'ral day:
By Fate's decree you constant send the light to deepest hell, remote from mortal sight'
~The Hymns of Orpheus - "To Night" (T. Taylor translation)

Note: You should see v0.26833 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Mar 17, 2020, 5:05 PM

@here Early Access Patch 042 - March 17, 2020
Following last week's Nighty Night Update, this patch packs more balance changes, fixes, improvements, and story events. Expect another patch before we shift focus to our next Major Update.

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities
shadesmile Stygian Blade: Nova special fires in the direction of the cursor (default mouse-and-keyboard settings)
Stygian Blade (Arthur Aspect): adjusted hitboxes to better match attack visuals; defensive aura prevents floor traps from activating; defensive aura briefly flashes before it expires
shadesmile Eternal Spear (Guan Yu Aspect): fixed issues where changes to max life were not always correct

Boons & Blessings

Heaven's Vengeance (Zeus): improved scaling from Poms
Sunken Treasure (Poseidon): increased prerequisites (it should not be offered as early in a run)
Holy Shield (Athena): improved scaling from Poms
Merciful End (Athena x Ares) : fixed it sometimes not being offered by Ares
Curse of Vengeance (Ares): improved scaling from Poms
Wave of Despair (Aphrodite): increased damage; reduced damage radius; improved scaling from Poms
Dual Shot (Artemis): reduced power left; reduced power scaling from Poms
Fully Loaded (Artemis): increased prerequisites (it should not be offered as early in a run)
Winter's Harvest (Demeter): increased prerequisites (it should not be offered as early in a run)
Flayed (Chaos): fixed an issue preventing it from affecting the Fists' Dash-Upper

_ _
Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Piercing Volley (Bow): increased damage to Armor
Relentless Barrage (Bow): fixed greater-than-intended shot count with Aspect of Chiron
Rush Kick (Fists): reduced damage; slightly increased charge-up time
Draining Cutter (Fists): life-drain effect now also activates from Aspect of Talos magnetic pull
Quake Cutter (Fists): reduced damage; stomp now modified by Boon effects

Foes & Encounters

Thanatos: fixed Shattered Shackle (Sisyphus) boosting his damage unintentionally
Splitter: less likely to retreat over magma pools

Mirror of Night

Fated Persuasion: after using it, you will now always be offered at least one new selection

Keepsakes & Items

Lambent Plume (Hermes): timer now should stop reliably as soon as bosses are vanquished
Companion Fidi (Dusa): projectiles no longer slowed by your abilities
Fixed several cases when Summon abilities could be used while they were meant to be disabled

Pact of Punishment
shadesmile Benefits Package: banned certain Perks from certain types of foes

Permanent Record & Security Log

The screen formerly known as the Permanent Record is now called the Security Log
Permanent Record: new! Shows progress with weapons, Boons, and more (find it in the Admin Chamber)
Note: This is a first-pass version of this screen, which we expect to continue improving in subsequent Major Updates

Level Design & Environments

Adjusted layout in smaller chambers in Asphodel (those added in the Nighty Night Update)
Fixed Brimstones being able to fly out of bounds in a certain Tartarus chamber
Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

_ _
Art & Visual FX
shadesmile Further adjustments to the look of Olympian Boon pick-ups, making their colors more distinct

Added new character model for the Fallen Warrior in Elysium
Added animations for Lord Hades while judging shades gathered in the Great Hall
Updated animation for Skelly when summoned by Companion Rib
Updated animation for Dusa when summoned by Companion Fidi
Updated visual effects for some upgrades, abilities, and animations for the Twin Fists
Updated icons for some Mirror of Night Talents
Added more animations for the new mini-boss encounter in the Temple of Styx

Music & SFX
shadesmile Improved audio feedback when activating Ruthless Reflex (Mirror)

Added material sounds to some objects in Asphodel
Other minor changes and improvements

Voice & Narrative

Added new events to a subplot between Nyx and Dusa
Added more dialogue events with Nyx, Chaos, Artemis, Zeus, Aphrodite, Achilles, and others
Minor fixes and tuning to various events

_ _
Miscellaneous

Added and updated more localized strings for content from the Nighty Night Update
Reduced requirements to fully unlock River Denizens entries in the Codex
Updated placement of fishing points in various chambers
Updated placement of Infernal Troves in various chambers
Updated placement of Chaos Gates and Infernal Gates in various chambers
The Eldest Sigil has an updated look after you restore it through the House Contractor
Shades in the Administrative Chamber may emote from time to time
Added unique tutorial objectives in the Courtyard while using Aspect of Demeter (Fists)
Removed the Triathlete Victory Screen Commendation, which was appearing too often
Minor presentation improvements when purchasing Eldest Sigil Restoration and Administrative Privilege from the House Contractor
Minor formatting improvements to Security Log screen
Minor text changes and fixes

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed an issue where you could get limited Cast ammo using Routine Inspection (Pact)
Fixed various display issues with Nourished Soul (Demeter)
Fixed visual effects not appearing correctly with Flying Cutter (Daedalus - Fists)
Fixed Boon Info not appearing reliably while interacting with characters such as Sisyphus

Fixed a graphical issue with Valuable Urns in Asphodels
Fixed a graphical issue unlocking new Mirror of Night Talents
Fixed audiovisual issues with Ice Wine (Demeter x Dionysus)
Fixed requirements for fulfilling Close at Heart (Fated List)
Fixed requirements for fulfilling Goddess of Seasons (Fated List)
Fixed voice lines sometimes not playing when encountering the Bone Hydra
Fixed voice lines not playing reliably after making purchases from the House Contractor
Fixed incorrect instruction text appearing in some contexts in the Pact of Punishment
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'Then he drew his sword Excalibur, but it was so bright in his enemies’ eyes, that it gave light like thirty torches. And therewith he put them a-back, and slew much people.'
~Le Morte D'Arthur (Thomas Malory; A. W. Pollard translation)

Note: You should see v0.27008 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Mar 24, 2020, 9:48 PM

@here Early Access Patch 043 - March 24, 2020
This patch contains more localized text and improvements following this month's Nighty Night Update. Thank you for playing and for your feedback, and see you again for our next Major Update in June!

Foes & Encounters
shadesmile 'Trial of the Gods': reduced move speed penalty applied by Demeter's attack if you spurn her
Splitter: will not retreat as far onto magma pools; reverted change from last patch that made them less likely to retreat (this had some negative side effects we expect to address in a future update)

Tiny Vermin: fixes and tuning to some behaviors of this recently-added Temple of Styx mini-boss

Keepsakes & Items
shadesmile Companion Rib (Skelly): increased health for summoned companion

Level Design & Environments

Minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

Art & Visual FX

Updated visual for the Permanent Record object in the Admin Chamber
Improved look of the defensive aura expiring with the Stygian Blade (Arthur Aspect)
Other minor fixes and improvements

Music & SFX

Added sound effects for shades pleading their cases to Lord Hades
Updated sound effects for recently-updated 'There Is No Escape' and 'Boss Vanquished' messages
Updated sound for Ice Wine (Demeter x Dionysus)
Updated ambient sound in the Admin Chamber
Updated ambient sound during Remembrance sequences
Other minor changes and improvements

_ _
Voice & Narrative

Extended Affinity Gauge for Aphrodite (you can give her more gifts)
Primordial Chaos now sometimes speaks via the Shield of Chaos (Chaos Aspect) after a certain point...
Added more contextual voice lines for the Permanent Record and Security Log screens
Reduced the requirement for the newer Flashback Sequence (it can occur sooner than before)
Adjustment some Inspect Points in the newer Flashback Sequence
Fixed scripting issues with the recently added subplot between Nyx and Dusa
Fixed some losing-streak events for certain bosses playing too infrequently if you met the requirements
Fixed Lord Hades judgment voice lines conflicting with his House Contractor purchase voice lines
Fixed Hypnos consolation event for dying to the effects of Tight Deadline (Pact) not playing
Other minor fixes and tuning to various events

Miscellaneous

Added more localized strings for Nighty Night Update content (thank you, Community Translators!)
Added a Victory Screen Commendation, Legendary Boon Boy, for clears with many Legendary Boons
Updated requirements for Victory Screen Commendations that were too frequent or infrequent
Improved presentation for vanquishing the Tiny Vermin in the Temple of Styx
Improved presentation timing for successive encounters with said Tiny Vermin
Improvements to scrolling in the Permanent Record screen
Improved House Contractor purchase presentation for Administrative Privilege and Eldest Sigil
Added preview icon for the Bloodless Sculpture in the House Contractor screen
Minor text changes and fixes

_ _
Bug Fixes

Fixed a rare progression blocker on a specific event path with the Fallen Warrior in Elysium
Fixed rare cases where boss damage limits between phases could be bypassed at the start of fights
Fixed issues interacting with Eurydice after the conclusion of her subplot with Orpheus
Fixed a rare issue where Zagreus and the final boss could die at the same time (there can only be one)
Fixed visual issues where Zagreus could get stuck in the firing animation with the Bow
Fixed visual issues with Long Knuckle (Daedalus - Fists)
Fixed UI for Nectar sometimes remaining visible between chambers
Fixed shades in the final chamber of Elysium sometimes facing the wrong way
Fixed some trap interactions with the defensive aura created by the Stygian Blade (Arthur Aspect)
Fixed not being able to scroll to the Fated Persuasion (Mirror) ability in the Well of Charon
Fixed an Inspect Point that was not appearing after the battle with Megaera
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
"'True, Zeus shrank from doing a thing to outrage rushing Night.'"
~The Iliad (Homer; R. Fagles translation)

Note: You should see v0.27191 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Jun 23, 2020, 5:08 PM

Early Access Patch 044: The BLOOD PRICE Update - June 23, 2020
Our third Major Update of the year has officially arrived, and it's our biggest ever, chock-full of new content across the board!! Thank you for playing, and special thanks to our beta testers for helping us get here. Expect a follow-up patch soon to address any lingering issues, and then... onward to our v1.0 Launch!

Highlights

New Boss Fight: see if you can find this dangerous new encounter, and reap the rewards
New Legendary Aspects: discover the hidden forms of the Bow, Shield, and Rail
New Foes and Mini-bosses: face the Wretched Sneak, Dracon, Doomstone, and more
New Boons & Upgrades: gain dozens of new powers, including Duo Boons for each Olympian pairing
New Goods in Stock: look for many new items from Charon and the House Contractor
New Art & Visual Effects: bask in the atmosphere, with newly added character models and animations
Expanded Story: experience new narrative events for nearly every single character in the game
Updated Code Base: our newly optimized game engine offers smoother performance for many players

Engine & Tech

Updated our code base for improved performance and compatibility. The game should now run on more PCs above the minimum system requirement, and run faster for most players.
Note: Please make sure to update your graphics drivers to the latest version to take advantage of these improvements! If you cannot start the game, or experience worsened performance relative to past versions, please reach out to us here at our Discord and we will work with you to get it resolved.

_ _
General Gameplay
shadesmile Upgraded Chthonic Key rewards grant Fated Authority even while using Routine Inspection (Pact)
Hell Mode no longer forces you to play at escalating Heat levels

Slightly reduced base chance Olympians offering Duo Boons (now that there are many more of them)

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities

Heart-Seeking Bow (Rama Aspect): new! Seek Artemis to reveal it (unlock Guan Yu and Bow aspects first)
Shield of Chaos (Beowulf Aspect): new! Seek Chaos to reveal it (unlock Guan Yu and Shield aspects first)
Adamant Rail (L------ Aspect): new! Seek Zeus to reveal it (unlock Guan Yu and Rail aspects first)
Stygian Blade (Arthur Aspect): improved hit box on second swing in the Attack sequence
Eternal Spear (Guan Yu Aspect): slightly reduced Throw special width and damage

_ _
Boons & Blessings

Each Olympian now offers a new, alternate Cast Boon while you have Aspect of Beowulf (Shield)
Lightning Reflexes (Zeus): new! Dash just before being hit to counter-attack with a lightning bolt
Smoldering Air (Zeus x Aphrodite): new! Your God Gauge charges up automatically, but caps at 25%
Rip Current (Poseidon): new! Makes Poseidon's Aid last longer and pull foes in
Hydraulic Might (Poseidon): new! Your Attack and Special are briefly stronger at the start of Encounters
Unshakable Mettle (Poseidon x Athena): new! You can't be stunned, and resist damage from bosses
Curse of Drowning (Poseidon x Ares): new! Your Cast is a pulse that deals damage to foes around you
Parting Shot (Athena x Aphrodite): new! Your Cast deals backstab damage and gains related bonuses
Spent Spirit (Athena x Aphrodite): now from Athena x Dionysus, called Calculated Risk
Stubborn Roots (Athena x Demeter): new! While you have no Death Defiance, your health regenerates
Blood Frenzy (Ares): new! After using Death Defiance, deal more damage in that Encounter
Dire Misfortune (Ares): increased power level
Ares' Aid: reduced duration; increased damage to compensate
Curse of Nausea (Ares x Dionysus): new! Your Hangover effects deal damage faster
Freezing Vortex (Ares x Demeter): new! Your Cast inflicts Chill, but is smaller and slower
Blown Kiss (Aphrodite): new! Your Cast shoots farther and is stronger against undamaged foes
Cold Embrace (Aphrodite x Demeter): new! Your Cast beam fires at your position, dealing more damage
Curse of Longing (Aphrodite x Ares): increased damage
Dual Shot (Artemis): now a Duo, called Mirage Shot (Poseidon x Artemis)
Support Fire (Artemis): reduced scaling from Poms

shadesmile Fully Loaded (Artemis): reduced bonus Cast ammo; adjusted requirements for this to be offered

Splitting Headache (Artemis x Dionysus): new! Hangover-afflicted foes more likely to take Critical damage
Strong Drink (Dionysus): new! Using Fountains restores all your health and gives you bonus damage
Glacial Glare (Demeter): new! Your Cast fires for a longer duration and inflicts Chill
Frozen Touch (Demeter): new! after taking damage, damage and completely Chill your foe
Arctic Blast (Demeter): reduced effectiveness
Winter's Harvest (Demeter): adjusted requirements for this to be offered
Quick Favor (Hermes): new! Your God Gauge slowly charges up automatically
Side Hustle (Hermes): new! Gain some money each time you enter a chamber
Rush Delivery (Hermes): new! Deal bonus damage based on any bonus move speed
Halting (Chaos): new! Your Dash has reduced range
Brilliance (Chaos): new! Any Gemstones you find are worth more
Assault (Chaos): new! Deal bonus damage striking undamaged foes
Ambush (Chaos): new! Deal bonus damage striking foes from behind
Ruin (Chaos): new! Traps deal bonus damage to foes

_ _
Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Hoarding Slash (Blade): new! Your Attack deals more damage the more money you have
Snap Nova (Blade): new! You lunge forward when you use your Special; use again to lunge back
Greater Consecration (Blade - Arthur Aspect): new! Your Special aura is larger and makes foes slower
Concentrated Volley (Bow): new! Your Special deals bonus damage for each consecutive hit to a foe
Point-Blank Shot (Bow): Added back to the game; makes your Attack deal bonus damage to nearby foes
Repulse Shot (Bow - Rama Aspect): new! Your Attack creates a Blast Wave that knocks away nearby foes
Flaring Spin (Spear): new! While charging your Spin Attack, you pulse damage and cannot be stunned
Triple Jab (Spear): new! Your Attack strikes 3 times in a spread pattern
Winged Serpent (Spear - Guan Yu Aspect): new! Your Serpent Slash ability travels longer
World Smasher (Shield): cut from game
Empowering Flight (Shield): new! After your Special hits, your next 3 attacks deal bonus damage
Ferocious Guard (Shield): new! After blocking a foe, briefly gain bonus damage and move speed
Dashing Flight (Shield): new! While you Dash, your Throw special is faster and deals more damage
Unyielding Defense (Shield - Beowulf Aspect): new! After using your Cast, you briefly cannot be stunned
Kinetic Launcher (Fists): new! Your Cutter special becomes a charged ranged attack
Heavy Knuckle (Fists): new! Your Attack becomes a stronger, slower 3-hit sequence
Colossus Knuckle (Fists): new! You cannot be stunned while using your Attack or Special
Consecutive Fire (Rail): cut from game
Spread Fire (Rail): now has a penalty to max. ammo again; reduced damage and area of effect

Inescapable Blast (Rail): now also causes foes to take more damage; now called Targeting System
Seeking Fire (Rail): new! Your Attack seeks the nearest foe and deals bonus damage
Concentrated Fire (Rail): new! Successive shots against the same foe deal more damage
...Plus 4 new Daedalus Hammer Upgrades unique to the Rail's new L------ Aspect

_ _
Foes & Encounters

Thanatos: increased rate of attack for his single-target Death Sentence
'Trial of the Gods': increased frequency and tracking of Artemis attacks; increased frequency and quantity of Dionysus attacks
Wringer: new! This Tartarus foe grabs and briefly stuns you
Wretched Sneak: new! This Tartarus mini-boss is elusive and deadly
Doomstone: new! This Tartarus mini-boss is what Brimstones want to be when they grow up
Bloodless Slam-Dancers, Wave-Makers, and Burn-Flingers no longer appear as Tartarus mini-bosses
Megaera: ground blast attacks detonate slightly faster
The Fury Sisters: increased health and attack speed under Extreme Measures (Pact)
The Bloodless: improved leaping behavior for all varieties
Wave-Maker: reduced Elite health and armor
Bloodless Bone-Raker: new! This Asphodel foe attacks with consecutive swipes
Dracon: new! This Asphodel foe burrows and uses ranged attacks
Witches Circle: new! This Asphodel mini-boss encounter pits you against elite Spreaders
Gorgon: increased Elite armor and firing sequence
Skull-Crusher: slightly increased the duration the Elite version stays on the ground
Bone Hydra: reworked; the main head now has 4 new variants you may encounter instead of the original, each with their own attacks (based on what the smaller heads can do)
Elysian Spear Trap: now link their attacks whenever one is activated
The Exalted: increased damage for Brightswords, Greatshields, and Strongbows
The Minotaur: slightly reduced turn speed on Bull Rush attack; updated various other attacks
Theseus: reduced damage of explosive attack under Extreme Measures (Pact)

shadesmile Fixed Styx Poison effects sometimes not clearing after an Encounter

Mirror of Night

Family Favorite: slightly reduced effectiveness; you now can see your current bonus from it in Boon Info
Olympian Legacy: moved to be the counterpart to Gods' Pride; now called Gods' Legacy; reduced the max. benefit this could provide (now that there are many more Duos; invested Darkness will be refunded)
Dark Regeneration: slightly reduced max. benefit

Keepsakes

Companion Antos ( ? ? ? ): new Legendary Keepsake! Summons ? ? ? to skewer your foes
Companion Rib (Skelly): summoned companion no longer auto-locked using Aim Assist
Shattered Shackle (Sisyphus): reworked; your basic moves are stronger while not empowered by Boons

_ _
Well of Charon & Other Items

Anvil of Fates: new! Removes one random Daedalus Hammer enchantment, then gives you two
Mystery Boon: new! Gives you a Boon from a random Olympian; costs less than a Boon
Pom Slice: new! Gives a random Boon +1 Lv.; costs less than Pom
Gaea's Treasure: new! Provides some Gemstones.
Centaur Soul: new! Raises life total (without healing).
Price of Midas: new! Provides some money, in exchange for some life.
Chimaera Jerky: new! Your Special deals more damage.
Fateful Twist: new! You gain a random item from the Well of Charon.
Nemesis Crest: new! You deal more damage striking foes from behind.
Eris Bangle: new! You deal more damage to undamaged foes.
Nail of Talos: new! You deal more damage against armor.
Aether Net: new! You start Encounters with your God Gauge partly full.
Stygian Shard: new! Traps deal significantly more damage to your foes.
Skeletal Lure: new! Guarantee a Fishing Point at the next possible location
Night Spindle: new! Gain +1 use of your Chthonic Companion
Flame Wheels Release: new! Guarantee Flame Wheels will not appear
Kiss of Styx: now only offered if you are missing a Death Defiance charge
Charon sometimes sells Gemstones (only when he would have offered Darkness, Chthonic Keys, or Nectar)

Pact of Punishment
shadesmile Routine Inspection: no longer prevents getting Fated Authority charges during an escape attempt
Forced Overtime: added foe-specific limitations in cases where this was particularly unfair...
Benefits Package: reduced how much bonus Armor could be provided by the Bruiser Perk

_ _
House Contractor

Added dozens of new jobs to order with your hard-earned Gemstones and Diamonds, such as...
Bat Cage, All-Seeing: survey the entire House with these specially-trained reconnaissance bats
Aquarium, Cubical: since all those river-denizens you're procuring out there do need a place to live...
Sundial, Imported: surely this will settle the mystery of whether it is day or night at any given point...
Gallery Paintings, Landscapes, and Portraits: revamped gallery space with bigger, bolder images
Darker Thirst: speaking of hard-earned Gemstones, this new upgrade lets you hard-earn them faster
Downgraded the poor House Contractor's work desk, even after all that (though you can upgrade it)

Fated List of Minor Prophecies

Divided by Death: new! Help settle a difficult matter between Achilles and the Fallen Warrior
The Preserver's Avatar: new! Bring the Aspect of Rama to the surface
The Dragon's Rival: new! Bring the Aspect of Beowulf to the surface
The Dawn Bringer: new! Bring the Aspect of L------ to the surface
Amusing Chaos: new! Vanquish the Final Boss bearing the Cosmic Egg
Sea-God's Spite: new! Vanquish Theseus using Extreme Measures (Pact) for Poseidon
War-God's Bloodlust: new! Slay how many foes for Ares?
Customer Loyalty: new! Purchase each of Charon's goods
A Friendly Wager: new! Prevail in a certain battle twice without failing for Hermes
Updated requirements to fulfill several other Prophecies (won't affect you if you've already fulfilled them)

Permanent Record & Security Log
shadesmile The Security Log now shows your Mirror and Pact configuration per escape attempt

_ _
Level Design & Environments

Added new chambers to Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium, and the Temple of Styx
Updated the layout of Charon's shops to make room for a certain item that appears from time to time...
Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

_ _
Art & Visual FX

Updated main menu based on new Major Update
Added new portrait and character model for Charon
Added new portrait variant for the Fallen Warrior
Added new portrait variant for Zagreus
Added new character models for Achilles, Orpheus, Sisyphus, and Skelly
Added new animations for Achilles, Sisyphus, Hypnos, Nyx, and more
Updated Bone Hydra look and animations; each type of head is more distinct
Updated artwork and visual effects in various chambers
Updated visual presentation making contact with Olympians
Updated visual presentation initiating Trials of the Gods
Updated the Tartarus Overlook in the House Courtyard
Updated various other assets in the House of Hades, such as the Prince's Wall-Scrolls
Added visual effects dashing from the Pool of Styx in the House of Hades
Added a unique chamber preview icon for the transitional chambers between regions
Added visual effect for the appearance of Duo and Legendary Boons
Added new look variations for some types of information panels (e.g. forging bonds with characters)
Updated visual effect for enhanced rewards
Updated Skelly's animations using Companion Rib
Updated visual effects for equippable Infernal Arms in the Courtyard
Updated the look of the Mirror of Night object in the Prince's Bedchambers
Updated the look of the Underworld Map
Updated the look of Chaos' Boon
Updated the look of Inspect Points
Updated the look of selection indicator in some menu screens
Improved visual effects when striking armored foes
Improved some visual effects on the Fury Sisters
Improved presentation fulfilling Prophecies about bringing Legendary Aspects to the surface
Improved presentation buying out Sealed Documents from the House Contractor

Improved look of going through chamber exits in the Temple of Styx
Many other visual fixes and improvements

Menus & UI
shadesmile Improved messaging and feedback in the Pause menu when choosing between Quit and Give Up

Updated some formatting on the Keepsake Screen
Some powers with range-specific bonuses show an indicator on their aim previews
Fixed Underworld Map showing mystery rewards after clearing the highest Heat level for rewards
Improved feedback on successful Backstab attacks
Updated feedback activating Ruthless Reflex (Mirror) (enhanced the visual, removed the text)
Added Info button on the Pact screen for a reminder about how it works
Updated presentation when new Boons and other powers are added to the sidebar
Updated some tooltips on the Mirror of Night
Added improved error messaging if auto-save fails for any reason
Other minor fixes, changes, and improvements

Music & SFX

Added a new music track for a certain new encounter...
Added many new sound effects to various contexts (such as the new foes and Legendary Aspects)
Updated sound effects for Theseus and The Minotaur
Updated sound effects for the Final Boss
Updated sound effects using the barges in Asphodel
Updated impact sounds on foes (so they are distinct from impact sounds on the player)
Updated interact sounds for each Olympian Boon and some other rewards
Updated some sound effects while using the Rod of Fishing
Updated audio presentation for Olympian Aid effects
Fixed some Asphodel obstacles missing impact sounds
Minor improvements to Eurydice song scripting after completing her subplot with Orpheus
Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

_ _
Voice & Narrative

Added many new narrative events, some for nearly every character (with roughly 3,500 new voice lines!)
Extended Affinity Gauges for Achilles, Cerberus, Charon, Poseidon, Hypnos, Hermes, Athena, Ares, Dionysus, and the Fallen Warrior (you can give them more gifts)
Added Duo Boon interactions for all Olympian pairings that didn't already have them
Added many, many new Zagreus voice lines to various contexts for additional variety
Added Codex entries for various new Perilous Foes and Artifacts, plus a new Fable
Added a number of new Inspect Points to new chambers and some House Contractor items
Updated dozens of older Zagreus voice lines for performance consistency
Updated Codex entries for Achilles and the Fallen Warrior
Added still another new Early Access Ending variant
Spurned Olympians will speak over the death presentation if you perish during a Trial of the Gods
Chaos will speak over the death presentation if you perish after taking damage from a curse
Added emote animations and other minor improvements to various narrative events
Updated requirements and other minor changes to various narrative events
Fixes and tuning to various contextual voice events

New Settings
shadesmile Added Bright Cursor setting to Settings menu; it can make the mouse cursor easier to spot

Added VSync setting to Display menu; toggling can help improve performance in some cases

_ _
Miscellaneous

Updated Development Roadmap to reflect our plans for our next v1.0 Launch, slated for later this year
Added more translated text content in supported languages (translations are ongoing for newer content)
Cloud Saves now supported for the Epic Games Store version of the game (NOTE: Temporarily disabled pending technical issues. We apologize for the inconvenience.)
Added Community Translators to Credits (Thank you for all your efforts!!)
Added more Community Contributors to Credits (We really appreciate your support!!)
Reduced minimum system requirement to DirectX 10 (was DirectX 10.1)
After Thanatos encounters, he will sometimes teleport toward the chamber exit to get there faster
Thanatos now shows an invulnerable effect when struck
Reduced requirements to unlock Perilous Foes entries in the Codex
Infernal Trove pedestals should interact with projectile attacks more consistently
Sisyphus gives more Darkness
Added more contextual tips when learning to use the Rod of Fishing
The gameplay timer now stops during Thanatos encounters
You now can pet Cerberus without having to give him Nectar
The Keepsake Screen has unique messages for each character with whom you forge a bond
The crowd has more dynamic reactions in the final chamber in Elysium
The Head Chef in the House of Hades now cuts onions ceaselessly
You now can interact with the Featured House-Servant Wall in the Lounge; more characters eligible
You now can interact with the Motivational Wall-scrolls in the Administrative Chamber
You now can irritate caged shades in Tartarus

Tuned interact distances on some characters and House of Hades objects
Removed the shimmering halo on the portrait of Lord Hades (the Olympians can have it)
Shades in the House of Hades have more to say
Improved presentation confronting the Tiny Vermin in the Temple of Styx
Improved presentation exiting the Administrative Chamber in the House of Hades
Updated flavor text on various screens
Updated boss nameplates in some encounters
Various text fixes, updates, and clarifications

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed Aphrodite's Affinity Gauge sometimes not unlocking as intended

Fixed an issue where Black Out (Dionysus) would sometimes not apply its damage bonus
Fixed unintended interactions using Aspect of Hera with Auto Reload (Hermes)
Fixed an issue where Boon icons could remain stuck onscreen
Fixed incorrect icon for Exit Wounds (Artemis)
Fixed presentation issues with Boon upgrade feedback while using Rare Crop (Demeter)
Fixed an issue preventing situational Chthonic Companion Summon voice lines from playing
Fixed minor animation issues with Hypnos and Dusa
Many, many, many other minor fixes

Bug Additions

Hopefully not too many, thanks to our diligent Beta Testers!

Quote of the Patch
'Never, never again shall I return from Hades once you have given me the soothing rites of fire. Never again will you and I, alive and breathing, huddle side-by-side, apart from loyal comrades, making plans together--never...'
~The Iliad (Homer; R. Fagles translation)

Note: You should see v0.31666 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Jun 26, 2020, 6:28 PM

Early Access Patch 045 - June 26, 2020
Thanks so much for the enthusiastic response to this week's Blood Price Update! Following several technical hot-fixes, this patch contains additional fixes and balance changes. Expect another patch this coming week, then we begin the final stretch of development before our v1.0 Launch later this year!

Engine & Tech

We hotfixed several crashes and performance issues, and will continue to do so if additional issues arise
Note: If you experience any issues with graphics or performance, please check #h1-tech-fixes for possible solutions

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities
shadesmile Adamant Rail: reduced scatter while firing
Shield of Chaos (Beowulf Aspect): Throw special now bounces once; slightly increased attack speed; reduced damage penalty

Boons & Blessings
shadesmile Strong Drink (Dionysus): no longer offered if you have not unlocked the Tartarus Fountain Chamber

Quick Reload (Hermes): increased power level; significantly improved scaling from rarity
Quick Recovery (Hermes): slightly increased power level

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Snap Nova (Blade): now also increases the base damage of the Nova special
Perfect Shot (Bow): now also makes Power Shots easier to execute (the timing is more lenient)
Dashing Flight (Shield): no longer offered if you have Charged Flight (and vice versa)
Explosive Upper (Fists): increased damage
Concentrated Fire (Rail): increased damage
Hazard Bomb (Rail): removed the inability to aim your Bombard special (just be sure to get out of the way)

_ _
Foes & Encounters

The Exalted: fixed an issue causing the Brightsword, Strongbow, and Greatshield to deal somewhat more damage than intended; their damage is restored to what it was before the Blood Price Update
Doomstone: slightly reduced Armor

Level Design & Environments

Improved collision at the Great Hall and Lounge intersection in the House of Hades
Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

Art & Visual FX

Added icon for Fireplace, Infernal decorative item offered by the House Contractor
Updated visual effects for footprints in the Final Boss encounter
Updated look of 'Renovate' interact point in the Prince's Bedchambers
Updated visual effects for healing in Fountain Chambers

Music & SFX

Updated attack sounds for the Wringer
Updated sound effect when foes are destroyed
Adjusted sound effect for when you use up your last Death Defiance
Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative

Updated several older voice lines
Minor changes and fixes to various events

Miscellaneous

The Bone Hydra's neck pieces are closer together when you enter its chamber
Fixed text size being larger than intended talking to Shades in the House of Hades
Minor text changes, formatting, and fixes

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed various crashes and performance issues reported by players
Fixed requirements for fulfilling War-God's Bloodlust (Fated List) (this was in a hotfix since last patch)

Fixed incorrect icon for Greater Consecration (Daedalus - Blade)
Fixed a small visual issue with the Wringer phase-in animation
Fixed a looping sound sometimes persisting with Theseus under Extreme Measures (Pact)
Fixed a camera issue when encountering the Final Boss
Fixed Zagreus becoming stuck in the firing animation with the Spear Throw special
Fixed Zagreus sometimes turning backwards entering Alecto's chamber (there is no escape)
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
He went then in blazes, bended and striding,
Hasting him forward. His life and body
The targe well protected, for time-period shorter
Than wish demanded for the well-renowned leader
~Beowulf (Anonymous; J. Lesslie Hall translation)

Note: You should see v0.31726 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Jun 30, 2020, 8:17 PM

@here Early Access Patch 046 - June 30, 2020
This patch contains additional performance and stability improvements, balance changes, and more. We're anticipating one more patch this week, to tie up any other loose ends with the Blood Price Update.

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities

Eternal Spear: slightly increased attack range; increased damage of first thrust in the attack sequence; increased Throw special speed
Eternal Spear (Zagreus Aspect): fixed an issue where this was not affecting charge-up time
Eternal Spear (Achilles Aspect): increased number of damage bonus instances; Throw special now is press-and-hold for variable range; Charged Skewer and Chain Skewer no longer offered if you have this
Eternal Spear (Hades Aspect): now also increases Spin Attack radius
Heart-Seeking Bow (Rama Aspect): slightly reduced charge time (it is faster); increased Power Shot damage; reduced fire speed and autolock angle of Volley special

Boons & Blessings
shadesmile Bronze Skin (Athena): improved scaling from Poms
Strong Drink (Dionysus): no longer offered if you have not unlocked the Tartarus Fountain Chamber

Drift Dash (Hermes): now also makes you Sturdy; now called Hyper Sprint
Eclipse (Chaos): now also gives bonus Gemstones
Brilliance (Chaos): cut from game (due to the previous change)
Ruin (Chaos): cut from game

_ _
Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Double Nova (Blade): no longer reduces area-of-effect
Repulse Shot (Bow): increased knockback
Piercing Volley (Bow): significantly increased damage to Armor
Minotaur Rush (Shield): increased damage; Power Charge timing easier to execute
Flurry Jab (Spear): adjusted auto-attack, improving interaction with Swift Strike (Hermes); fixed a bug where it could be offered if you had Flaring Spin (Daedalus - Spear)
Flying Cutter (Fists): reduced charge-up time (it is faster)
Heavy Knuckle (Fists): increased damage
Quake Cutter (Fists): increased damage

Foes & Encounters
shadesmile Final Boss: you no longer auto-lock to the summoned urns

Well of Charon & Other Items

Price of Midas: increased minimum money value for life sacrificed

Fated List of Minor Prophecies

Chthonic Knowledge: increased required number of Codex unlocks to fulfill this
God of Swiftness: now also requires finding Bad News (Hermes)

Menus & UI

If you have insufficient Chthonic Keys for a Mirror of Night unlock, the cost now appears in red
Unified formatting on the 'Reset' button in the Controls and Settings screens

Art & Visual FX

Minor fixes and improvements to several chambers

Music & SFX

Added sound effect variations for purchasing different Well of Charon items
Adjusted activation sounds for several 1-stock Olympian Call effects (some were much quieter than others)
Adjusted sound effects for Eternal Spear (Achilles Aspect) Throw special
Adjusted sound effects for Flying Cutter (Daedalus - Fists)
Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

_ _
Voice & Narrative

Zagreus voice lines identifying foes should play more reliably when you first encounter them
A conversation with Achilles about Aspects is no longer needed for him to reveal the Aspect of Guan Yu
Numerous other minor changes and fixes to various events

Miscellaneous

Added more localized strings for Blood Price Update content (thank you, Community Translators!)
The Keepsake Screen now has unique messages for each Chthonic Companion, after forging a bond
Increased appearance rate of Fishing Points in Chaos; updated Head Chef rewards to compensate
Adjusted appearance rate of Fishing Points in Tartarus (they were too likely to appear in the first chamber)
Voice hint plays slightly sooner when repeatedly attempting to use Cast while out of Bloodstones
Improved presentation when Strong Drink (Dionysus) activates
Adjusted presentation timing when Side Hustle (Hermes) activates, just after entering chambers
Minor fixes and improvements to the presentation when you enter the Bone Hydra's chamber
Tuned interact distances on Lyre and Gaming Table decorative items
Reduced requirement for final Codex entry for the dreaded Red Onion
Updated text feedback for near-miss effects on Ruthless Reflex (Mirror) and Lightning Reflexes (Zeus)
Reduced frequency of how often you can admire Skelly's unlockable prizes (if you have them all)
Minor text changes, formatting, and fixes

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed various additional crashes and performance issues reported by players
Fixed issue where mouse cursor could flicker unexpectedly for some players

Fixed Bone Hydra main head variants appearing sooner than intended early on
Fixed rare issues where Chthonic Companion summons could deal bonus damage from certain effects
Fixed issues with Shield of Chaos (Beowulf Aspect) when Cast abilities are purged
Fixed visual issues toggling between Fireplace decorative items in the House of Hades
Fixed Codex update prompt occurring in the midst of fighting the Bone Hydra
Fixed attack sound sometimes persisting while fighting Theseus under Extreme Measures (Pact)
Fixed voice hint about your Dash not playing when intended the first time you meet Eurydice
Fixed Dionysus Wall-Scroll decorative item appearing in flashback sequences
Fixed incorrect icon using Stubborn Defiance (Mirror) in the Courtyard
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
Sharp as a serpent's venomed fang
Straight to its mark the arrow sprang,
And from the giant's body shred
With trenchant steel the monstrous head.
~The Ramayana (Valmiki; R.T.H. Griffith translation)

Note: You should see v0.31857 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Jul 2, 2020, 8:39 PM

@here Early Access Patch 047 - July 2, 2020
This patch includes a last set of improvements following last week's big Blood Price Update. After any further technical fixes, our focus will shift to our v1.0 Launch later this year, and fulfilling the promise so many of you have seen in Hades!! Until then, thank you all so much for playing in Early Access!

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities

Twin Fists: fixed Dash-Upper not staggering foes as intended
Shield of Chaos (Zagreus Aspect): reworked; now adds base damage to Attack and Dash-Strike
Shield of Chaos (Beowulf Aspect): Hunting Blades (Ares x Artemis) no longer offered if you have this
Eternal Spear (Hades Aspect): re-scaled Spin Attack radius (it now is larger at the lowest charge)
Eternal Spear (Guan Yu Aspect): increased Skewer special width (same as before the* Blood Price Update**)
Adamant Rail (Lucifer Aspect): fixed Dash invulnerability persisting after canceling with an attack; range normalized with other Aspects; fixed cases where it triggered some Boon effects very frequently

Boons & Blessings

Electric Shot (Zeus): restored slight homing effect
Lightning Reflexes (Zeus): now can apply Jolted Status Curse
Sweet Nectar (Poseidon x Aphrodite): now also affects Pom Slices
Second Wind (Hermes): reduced scaling from rarity; fixed an issue causing duration to scale with rarity

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Flash Fire (Rail): no longer deals damage faster; now gains an attack range bonus

Keepsakes & Items

Harpy Feather Duster (Dusa): increased healing item drop chance
Gaea's Treasure (Well): reduced cost

Level Design & Environments

Minor fixes and improvements to several chambers

_ _
Art & Visual FX

Updated Keepsake icon for Bone Hourglass (Charon)
Updated look of the eavesdrop point near to Shades in the House of Hades
Minor improvements to Orpheus model textures
Minor improvements to Hypnos model textures

Music & SFX

Updated sound effects while fulfilling Legendary Aspect prophecies
Updated sound effects when activating Strong Drink (Dionysus)
Updated sound effects when activating Side Hustle (Hermes)
Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative

Added special audiovisual effect for Boon pick-up sequences, which plays before one-time story events
In multi-character conversations, now only the first character to speak shows the TalkToMe! indicator
Minor changes and improvements to various narrative events

Miscellaneous

Lord Hades now slams his desk disapprovingly when he believes it is warranted
Improved error messaging around corrupted save data (may you never see it)

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed various additional crashes reported by players
Fixed Eclipse (Chaos) blessing not displaying accurately in some cases while viewing Boon Info

Fixed travel sound of barges in Asphodel cutting off between chambers
Fixed Lord Hades writing feverishly rather than glaring at characters he is interrogating in some events
Fixed Mirror, Guard-Post not being offered as expected by the House Contractor
Fixed a display issue with Dark Reflections (Fated List) where Stubborn Defiance appeared twice
Fixed an issue where the Mouse Lock setting could cause the cursor to get stuck
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
Here we may reign secure, and in my choyce
To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav'n.
~Paradise Lost (John Milton)

Note: You should see v0.32647 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Sep 17, 2020, 3:32 PM

Patch 048: The v1.0 LAUNCH Update
At long last, our v1.0 Launch has arrived!! The true ending awaits, along with much, much more. This marks the conclusion of our development in Early Access, though we will be monitoring this launch closely and patching any issues that arise. To all of you who joined us during development, thank you!

Highlights

The True Ending: discover what awaits Prince Zagreus at the end of his journey
New Hidden Aspect: harness the unsurpassed fury of the Twin Fists in the aspect of an ancient god-king
Extremer Measures: can you withstand the full unbridled power of the Final Boss?
New Late-Game Unlockables: assert your status with new decorative themes and prestigious badges
New Keepsakes: get not one but two powerful, new Keepsakes... but from whom?
New Music: listen for five stunning new tracks, rounding out 2.5 hours of original music
New Artwork: new visual effects, renovated chambers, and updated animations abound
Expanded Story: new narrative events with every character, and thousands of new voice lines

Achievements

Added nearly 50 Achievements! Note: You may earn certain Achievements once you load your game, based on past progress. Fear not, it isn't possible to have played past the point where you can unlock any Achievement. Ones not awarded retroactively should be reasonable to earn (e.g. clearing Tartarus).

General Gameplay
shadesmile Increased Darkness rewards when vanquishing Bosses
Increased Darkness and Gemstone rewards from Elite encounters

You may receive a large surplus of Darkness, as a refund from adjusted Mirror of Night costs for Fated Authority and Fated Persuasion

_ _
Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities

Stygian Blade: adjusted Dash-Strike recovery and input buffering
Stygian Blade (Zagreus Aspect): now increases move speed and Attack speed (rather than Dash distance)
Heart-Seeking Bow: increased Attack and Special damage; reduced Attack and Special recovery time
Heart-Seeking Bow (Rama Aspect): reduced Attack charge-up time (it is faster); fixed an interaction between Shared Suffering effect and Breaking Wave (Poseidon)
Twin Fists (Zagreus Aspect): removed increase to attack speed (this was only affecting the first punch...)
Shield of Chaos (Chaos Aspect): updated behavior of bonus Shields from Throw special
Shield of Chaos (Zeus Aspect): increased damage radius of Throw special
Twin Fists (Hidden Aspect): new! Seek Asterius to reveal it (unlock Guan Yu and Fist aspects first)
Adamant Rail (Eris Aspect): increased damage bonus
Adamant Rail (Hestia Aspect): now easier to manually reload after firing
Adamant Rail (L------ Aspect): Bombs no longer block pathing

_ _
Boons & Blessings

Thunder Dash (Zeus): improved scaling from rarity
Electric Shot (Zeus): reduced scaling from Poms
Zeus' Aid: reduced damage
Lightning Rod (Zeus x Artemis): significantly increased attack range; increased attack rate
Razor Shoals (Poseidon): increased damage
Wave Pounding (Poseidon): increased damage bonus
Hydraulic Might (Poseidon): reduced damage bonus; increased duration; fixed when effect begins in encounters that do not start right away
Sunken Treasure (Poseidon): fixed scaling from rarity not working correctly
Parting Shot (Athena x Aphrodite): increased damage bonus
Merciful End (Athena x Ares): adjusted requirements for this to be offered; slightly reduced damage
Deadly Reversal (Athena x Artemis): adjusted requirements for this to be offered
Crush Shot (Aphrodite): reduced scaling from Poms
Urge to Kill (Ares): increased power level
Dire Misfortune (Ares): improved scaling from rarity
Curse of Vengeance (Ares): improved scaling from Poms
Blood Frenzy (Ares): increased power level
Slicing Shot (Ares): increased damage; reduced rate-of-attack to compensate
Blade Dash (Ares): increased damage; reduced rate-of-attack to compensate
Vicious Cycle (Ares): increased damage (to compensate for the previous changes)
Freezing Vortex (Ares x Demeter): reduced penalty to damage radius
Hunter's Dash (Artemis): reduced scaling from rarity
Fully Loaded (Artemis): adjusted requirements for this to be offered
Black Out (Dionysus): adjusted requirements for this to be offered
Demeter's Aid: reduced scaling from Poms
Swift Strike (Hermes): fixed an issue where this did not affect the third strike from the Stygian Blade
Greater Evasion (Hermes): reduced power level
Hyper Dash (Hermes): reduced scaling from rarity

Bad News (Hermes): adjusted requirements for this to be offered

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Rending Claws (Fists - Hidden Aspect): new! Dash-Upper makes foes slower and take more damage
Snap Nova (Blade): cut from game; replaced with...
Dash Nova (Blade): new! Lunge forward during your Special and briefly become Sturdy
Piercing Wave (Blade): increased damage
Perfect Shot (Bow): increased damage
Charged Volley (Bow): increased damage
Serrated Point (Spear): slightly increased Dash distance penalty
Quake Cutter (Fists): increased damage; now applies Boon effects
Hazard Bomb (Rail): increased damage

_ _
Foes & Encounters

Fixed Thanatos sometimes showing up too frequently in Tartarus (as a result of using Infernal Gates)
Increased falling rubble damage to foes
Increased maximum money value earned from slaying foes in Survival encounters
Increased Darkness given by Sisyphus
Slightly reduced Well of Charon appearance rate
Slightly reduced Infernal Trove appearance rate; increased resource reduction speed
Reduced damage Bosses take from using Deflect effects against them
Wringer: significantly increased speed of Elite version
Tisiphone: this battle now has one fewer phases
Slam-Dancer: now has a death weapon similar to the Burn-Flinger
Spreader: reduced appearance rate of Elite version
Gorgon: increased sight radius
Dracon: increased sight radius
Skull-Crusher: adjusted hitbox of its nova attack under the effect of Middle Management (Pact)
Asphodel Barge of Death: added alternate encounter under the effects of Middle Management (Pact)
Flame Wheels: reduced explosive radius; reduced appearance rate of Elite variant
Splitter: Elite variant now fires several splitting shots at once; reduced appearance rate
Exalted Longspear: attack reduced to a single strike; Elite strikes three times successively
Soul Catcher: increased health
The Minotaur: whirlwind attack telegraphs more distinctly while under Extreme Measures (Pact)
Theseus: each Olympian's aid also imbues his spear with special properties
Theseus and The Minotaur: they have learned a new tag-team maneuver (once you reach a certain point...)

Final Boss: added variant of this battle while under Extreme Measures (Pact); no longer susceptible to Charm effects during beam attacks; summoned urns now easier to target using mouse controls; Deflect effects now cause ranged projectiles to drop rather than destroying them
Optional Boss: fixed Deflect effects causing Backstab damage

Mirror of Night

Thick Skin: increased Darkness cost
Fiery Presence: increased power level
Privileged Status: increased Darkness cost
Abyssal Blood: fixed issues preventing this from working as described
Dark Foresight: fixed issues that made this less effective than described
Fated Authority: reduced max. rank; significantly reduced cost (invested Darkness will be refunded)
Fated Persuasion: significantly reduced cost (invested Darkness will be refunded)

_ _
Keepsakes

Added not one but two new Keepsakes to discover
Companion Fidi (Dusa): increased duration before summoned companion departs
Companion Shady (Sisyphus): removed variance in dropped rewards

Pact of Punishment
shadesmile Extreme Measures: increased Heat for third rank; added fourth rank (requires a certain Contractor item)
Benefits Package: capped Savior Perk invulnerability rate; reduced spawns from Popper Perk

Tight Deadline: your time no longer resets between regions; clearing regions adds more time

_ _
House Contractor

Adjusted costs of various items (costs are lower, for the most part)
Codex Index: new! Lets you view each Olympian's Boon List (while browsing the Codex or choosing Boons)
Vanquisher's Keep: new! Earn bonus Gemstones from vanquishing Underworld bosses
Extremer Measures: new! Unlock this brutal variant of the Final Boss (once you reach a certain point)
Decorative Themes: new! Revealed in the late-game, these 6 different themes alter the look of the UI
Once purchased, you can now deactivate Shortcut, Great Hall

Resources Director

new! Revealed in the late-game, this shade lets you trade excess resources for a fancy Badge! These are cosmetic decorations for your Life Total UI.

Fated List of Minor Prophecies

The Reluctant Musician: new! Release Orpheus from solitary confinement (if you haven't already met him)
Power Without Equal: Discover all Legendary Boons
The God-Like King: new! Bring the Fists' Hidden Aspect to the surface
F----- R------: new! Complete the epilogue of the story
Increased Gemstone rewards for many prophecies
Slightly reduced rewards for fulfilling the prophecy for each hidden Aspect

Permanent Record & Security Log
shadesmile The Permanent Record now shows Clears, Best Time, and Best Heat for everything
You now can press and hold to rapidly scroll through Security Log escape attempts

Level Design & Environments

Added new environments related to the true ending...
You now can enter the locked chamber in the House of Hades (under certain conditions)
Adjusted camera height in some chambers
Fixed Zagreus appearing at incorrect scale in several chambers
Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

_ _
Art & Visual FX

Updated main menu art, animations, and logo
Updated Zagreus animation when jumping down at the start of an escape attempt
Updated Zagreus animation when he is defeated
Updated several Zagreus animations using the Stygian Blade
Updated textures and animations for Lord Hades while toiling in the House
Updated Orpheus character model (specifically, his lyre)
Updated artwork in inter-region chambers
Updated artwork in an early chamber in Tartarus, as well as the opening chamber
Updated artwork in the fountain chamber in Elysium
Updated artwork in the Asphodel Barge of Death
Updated textures for various foes in Tartarus
Updated firing effects for Witches
Updated death animation for Wretched Sneak
Updated Bone Hydra neck and base art and visual effects
Updated look of Wave-Maker projectiles (and similar effects)
Updated Dracon visual effects while burrowing
Updated textures for Satyrs
Updated Tiny Vermin death presentation
Updated Final Boss visual effects
Updated visual effect when Achilles and Orpheus leave the scene in certain events
Updated on-hit animations for Exalted
Updated Theseus pre-fight animations
Updated visual effect for Fishing Points, making them easier to spot
Updated visual effects on Flame Wheels
Updated phase-in animation for Megagorgon
Updated visual effects for Punishing Sweep effect using Spear (Hades Aspect)
Updated icon for Bone Hourglass (Charon)
Updated visual effects for bonus shields using Shield (Chaos Aspect)
Updated visual effects for Magnetic curse using Fists (Talos Aspect)
Added visual effect when foes are struck by Charm effects
Added visual effects for Power Shot-style abilities granted by Daedalus Hammers

shadesmile Added visual effects for when foes' projectiles are hit using Deflect effects
Added visual effect for Billowing Strength (Zeus)
Added distinct effects for Broken Spearpoint (Fallen Warrior) and Divine Protection (Athena)

Added distinct visuals to locked exits in inter-region chambers
Minor updates to several images in the Codex
Many other visual fixes and improvements

Menus & UI

Updated look of floating text messages in most in-game contexts
Updated look of the Controls screen
Updated look of timer while using Tight Deadline (Pact)
Updated look of sidebar art while playing in ultrawide resolutions
Updated icons in the biome map travel sequence
Updated presentation when maxing out a Talent in the Mirror of Night
Updated presentation when entering the Temple of Styx main hall for the first time
Updated look of damage preview using the Rail's Bombard special
Updated look of various button prompts
Slightly increased text sizes in various contexts for improved readability
Improved menu navigation using controller input
Opening the Codex no longer requires pressing and holding the command
Version number no longer appears onscreen during gameplay (only in the main menu)
Various fixes to Bloodstone ammo indicators using Aspect of Hera and Aspect of Beowulf
Unified look of Side Hustle (Hermes) and Golden Touch (Mirror) text
Fixed various formatting and text spillover issues in some languages
Other minor fixes, changes, and improvements

_ _
Music & SFX

Added five new music tracks! Listen for them in Asphodel, Elysium, and beyond...
Added sound effects for Fists' Hidden Aspect
Added sound effects for Rare Crop (Demeter) activating
Updated sound effects for various Final Boss attacks
Reverb in the House of Hades gradually dampens as you fill the place with House Contractor items
Weapon charge-up sounds pitch faster or slower based on the charge duration
Updated ambient sounds on the Asphodel Barge of Death
Updated combat emotes for the Minotaur
Updated sound effects on explosive upgrades from Daedalus Hammers
Updated sound effects for Voidstone invulnerability pulse
Updated sound effects entering Chaos Gates
Updated impact sounds using Electric Shot (Zeus) and Shield (Zeus Aspect)
Updated sound effects when fulfilling prophecies related to Hidden Aspects
Updated footstep sound effects while walking on various rugs
Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

_ _
Voice & Narrative

Added one last new character to meet...
Added many new narrative events, with some for every character (with more than 3,000 new voice lines!)
Added many new Zagreus voice lines to various contexts for additional variety **
Added Zagreus voice lines to some contexts (e.g. seeing a Kiss of Styx you can't afford in a Well of Charon)
Added Codex entries for Zagreus, a new location, and more
Added new Remembrance sequences (when Lord Hades appears at the start of some escape attempts)
Added a number of new Inspect Points to various locations
Added alternate portraits for a couple of characters
Updated requirements and priority for various character subplots (these should advance more reliably)
Updated requirements and other minor changes and improvements to various narrative events
Fixed Theseus and the Minotaur sometimes lamenting one another's demise while already dead
Updated various older voice lines
The second flashback sequence can now occur several escape attempts earlier
Lord Hades will eventually take a brief recess from judging shades (then begin again...)
You now can listen to many conversations between other characters from farther away
Sometimes, Hypnos will be awake and ready to greet you as per his job description
The Wretched Broker and Megaera react to being the Featured Houseservant
Added several missing subtitles
Fixes and tuning to various contextual voice events

_ _
Miscellaneous

Integrated additional technical optimizations that should improve performance for some players
All text should be fully translated in all languages! To our vigilant Community Translators, thank you!!
Removed Development Roadmap, now that we have exited Early Access and launched v1.0
Added support for Cloud Saves (Epic Games Store version)
Added stickers for each character to the Keepsakes Screen (once you have forged a bond with them)
Added objective hints for revealing Weapon Aspects for the first time
Updated presentation when unlocking a character's Affinity Gauge
Updated presentation when forging bonds with each character
Updated presentation when revealing Weapon Aspects for the first time
Updated ordering of Keepsakes in the Keepsakes Screen (now that all of them are implemented)
Updated text position during Death Defiance presentation
Clarified text on Boons and Upgrades that affect base damage (as opposed to adding damage bonuses)
Adjusted size of Bone-Raker relative to other Bloodless
You now can select the Mouse Wheel when remapping controls
The sound effect for Fishing Points plays slightly sooner after encounters
Slightly reduced frequency of crowd reactions in the final chamber in Elysium
The Featured Houseservant Board in the House of Hades starts off looking bare-bones...
You now can no longer fish in Thanatos encounters before he appears
The Supportive Shade in the final chamber in Elysium now emotes when addressed by Zagreus
Removed occasional 'Perfect Landing' text when beginning escape attempts
Added more variety to messages when circumventing Cerberus in the Temple of Styx
In the House Contractor, a message appears under Court Music before it's available

Zagreus will not appear to take damage while entering a Chaos Gate with the Cosmic Egg (Chaos)
Added several new Victory Screen Commendations
Updated Credits
Various text fixes, updates, and clarifications

Bug Fixes

Fixed various issues with environment art layering incorrectly
Fixed subplot between Achilles and the Fallen Warrior sometimes not advancing correctly
Fixed voice lines not playing when opening the Codex entry for the Fallen Warrior for the first time
Fixed Bloodstone ammo sometimes not regenerating as expected using Stygian Soul (Mirror)
Fixed golden flecks in the House of Hades not sparkling
Fixed an issue where Infernal Troves could be activated twice
Fixed visual issues where Chill effects could make other visual effects too bright
Fixed combat messages not playing correctly when foes are slain by falling rubble
Fixed Crush Shot (Aphrodite) sometimes getting blocked unexpectedly
Fixed Companion Fidi (Dusa) summon becoming trapped outside of the environment vs. Tisiphone
Fixed an issue where losing a Death Defiance while fishing froze you in place
Fixed Heaven's Vengeance (Zeus) not interacting correctly with Vengeful Mood (Zeus x Ares)
Fixed 'Prophecy Foretold' notifications playing invisibly while choosing a Boon
Fixed visual effects while using Rocket Bomb (Daedalus - Rail)

Fixed Companion Rib (Skelly) sometimes summoning in a spot inaccessible to the Tiny Vermin
Fixed damage fall-off effect not playing on small life bars
Fixed stun reaction presentation occurring while immune to stun effects
Fixed a visual issue where Aspect of Beowulf and Aspect of Rama attack sparkles became disjointed
Fixed instances of incorrect button prompts displaying using certain controllers
Many, many, many other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'The labyrinth was then built by an eminent master-craftsman,
Daedalus, who had obscured all guiding marks and designed it
to cheat the eye with bewildering patterns of tortuous alleys.'
~Metamorphoses, Book 8: The Minotaur and Ariadne (Ovid; D. Raeburn translation)

vagrant epoch Oct 2, 2020, 8:24 PM

@here Post-Launch Patch - October 2, 2020
We are humbled by and grateful for the amazing response to our v1.0 Launch Update. While our Early Access development is now complete, expect several follow-up patches such as this one to shore up any remaining issues. Thank you very much for playing.

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities
shadesmile Heart-Seeking Bow (Hera Aspect): fixed certain interactions with Crush Shot (Aphrodite)
Adamant Rail (Hestia Aspect): fixed instances where empowered shots could fire successively

Boons & Blessings

Merciful End (Athena x Ares): combo effect can no longer activate multiple times from a single instance of the Doom Status Curse

Foes & Encounters
shadesmile Wringers no longer appear in Survival encounters

Theseus and The Minotaur: fixed issues with their alternate late-game tag-team maneuver
Hidden Boss: fixed an issue preventing pillars from collapsing between phases as intended

Level Design & Environments

Minor fixes and improvements to several chambers

Music & SFX
shadesmile Updated timing of music-ducking during voiceover (music should remain soft during gaps in speech)

Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative

An early event where Achilles grants the Codex should occur more reliably
Minor changes and improvements to various narrative events

_ _
Miscellaneous
shadesmile Added launch option UseSideBarArt (set to false if you prefer black bars in ultrawide resolutions)
The third of Skelly's unlockable prizes now sparkles as well it ought

You can no longer use Fishing Points in Survival encounters before the encounters begin
Improved aim preview intersections around some obstacles
Updated text size in some non-English languages in certain contexts
The backing for floating text messages should align better with the text in certain cases
Various minor performance optimizations

_ _
Bug Fixes

Fixed Bouldy gifting interactions repeating more often than intended (there are a bunch...)
Fixed Good Riddance not unlocking correctly from the House Contractor
Fixed unintended Eurydice events sometimes occurring after completing her subplot
Fixed Orpheus sometimes changing songs after re-entering the House of Hades main hall
Fixed the Final Boss reusing a certain ability while under Extreme Measures (Pact)
Fixed Thanatos area attack activating the player's revenge Boons
Fixed Thanatos being invisible during certain specific story interactions
Fixed various Achievements not unlocking as expected
Fixed Dusa sometimes remaining visible after flying off
Fixed Lord Hades using the wrong animation in certain late-game scenes
Fixed a specific case where the Administrative Chamber could be unexpectedly inaccessible
Fixed Dark Thirst looping sound stacking when successively equipping the imbued weapon
Fixed Aspect of Beowulf causing Cast to function in the House (no fighting in the House!)
Fixed incorrect requirements in the Codex Index for Scintillating Feast (Zeus x Dionysus)
Fixed incorrect requirements in the Codex Index for Thunder Flare (Zeus)
Fixed incorrect requirements in the Codex Index for Curse of Nausea (Ares x Dionysus)
Fixed incorrect requirements in the Codex Index for Defiance (Chaos)
Fixed some visual issues with Chill effects from Demeter Boons
Fixed minor formatting issues in the Keepsakes Screen
Other minor fixes

_ _
Quote of the Patch
'My son, my son, the unluckiest man alive!
This is no deception sent by Queen Persephone,
this is just the way of mortals when we die.'
~The Odyssey (Homer; R. Fagles translation)

Note: You should see v1.36211 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Oct 13, 2020, 8:24 PM

@here Post-Launch Patch - October 13, 2020
This patch contains additional improvements, balance changes, voice lines, and fixes following our v1.0 Launch Update. We expect to deploy another patch in the coming weeks. Thank you for playing!!

Boons & Blessings

Lightning Reflexes (Zeus): improved scaling from Poms
Hydraulic Might (Poseidon): increased power scaling at Heroic rarity
Huge Catch (Poseidon): Conch Shell Keepsake now works as a prerequisite for this to be offered
Clean Kill (Artemis): improved scaling from Poms

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities

Heart-Seeking Bow: reduced damage of Volley special (it retains other improvements from the v1.0 update)
Heart-Seeking Bow (Chiron Aspect): increased arrows from Volley special (offsetting the change above)
Heart-Seeking Bow (Hera Aspect): additional improvements to interaction with Crush Shot (Aphrodite)
Twin Fists (Talos Aspect): increased Magnetized damage bonus

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Dash Nova (Blade): increased Sturdy effect duration
Charged Volley (Bow): increased power level (offsetting the Volley change above)
Sniper Shot (Bow): increased size of effective area
Flaring Spin (Spear): increased damage of pulse effect

Foes & Encounters

'Trial of the Gods': increased encounter difficulty in Elysium
Minor adjustments to foe appearance rates in Tartarus

Mirror of Night

Fiery Presence: fixed damage bonus not working correctly; adjusted bonus to compensate

House Contractor

Added Theme, Infinite and Theme, Sonorous, two new late-game decorative themes that spruce up the Boon Info screen and Victory screen (there now are eight unlockable themes in total)

Fated List of Minor Prophecies
shadesmile Added a new Prophecy after the true ending, on the path to the epilogue

_ _
Art & Visual FX

Lord Hades' luxurious mane and moustache now animate as well they ought in certain contexts
Bloodless foes now have a start-moving animation
Minor visual fixes and improvements to some chambers

Voice & Narrative
shadesmile Thanatos should make his very first appearance more reliably (once you have met the requirements)
Achilles should grant the Codex more reliably early on

Added more Charon voice lines for miscellaneous interactions with him
Added more Asterius voice lines when entering his chamber
Added more Zagreus voice lines in certain contexts; and a new late-game conversation with Achilles
Added a new Inspect Point after the epilogue
Nyx should be more inclined to greet you on approach
Dusa has a wider variety of remarks when startled
Fixed issues preventing some repeatable Zeus and Athena dialogue events from playing
Fixed Zagreus no longer sometimes calling out different types of foes by name in encounters
Minor fixes, changes, and improvements to various narrative events

Miscellaneous

Various updates and improvements to translated content. Cheers to our heroic Community Translators!!
Adjusted animation and presentation after a successful escape attempt after the true ending
Added several names to Community Contributors and Special Thanks in the Credits
Various minor performance optimizations
Various minor text changes and fixes

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed various additional crashes reported by players
Fixed Mouse Lock not always working properly with multi-display setups
Fixed Sundial, Imported sometimes not appearing as expected from the House Contractor
Fixed additional cases of Codex Index screen displaying incorrect requirements for Boons
shadesmile Fixed Decorative Themes causing too many 'new inventory' notifications from the House Contractor
Fixed Well Stocked (Achievement) sometimes not unlocking correctly
Fixed Back to Work (Achievement) sometimes not unlocking in the correct chamber
Fixed cases where you could give gifts to Thanatos after he had already shifted away
shadesmile Fixed cases where you could not interact with Thanatos in the House of Hades
Fixed Orpheus sometimes switching songs when you moved between House of Hades chambers
Fixed effect of Divine Protection (Athena) being visible during a key story scene
Fixed Dusa sometimes embarrassingly getting stuck while flying away in embarrassment

Other minor fixes

_ _
Quote of the Patch
'Night bore hateful Doom and dark Fate and Death, she bore Sleep, she bore the tribe of Dreams.'
~Theogony (Hesiod; M. L. West translation)

Note: You should see v1.36447 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Oct 27, 2020, 10:54 PM

@here Post-Launch Patch - October 27, 2020
This small patch contains assorted balance changes, fixes, and improvements, following our v1.0 Launch Update. We should have another patch in the coming weeks. Thanks very much for playing!!

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities

Eternal Spear (Guan Yu Aspect): increased attack damage; improved attack input buffering (you now can Dash between strikes)
Twin Fists (Talos Aspect): increased duration of Magnetized effect
Twin Fists (Gilgamesh Aspect): improved input buffering after Dash-Strike
Adamant Rail (Lucifer Aspect): increased Bombard special bomb travel speed and detonation speed

Boons & Blessings

Thunder Dash (Zeus): increased scaling from Poms
Second Wave (Poseidon): adjusted requirements for this to be offered
Parting Shot (Athena x Aphrodite): no longer offered while using the Shield's Beowulf Aspect
Calculated Risk (Athena x Dionysus): increased power level
Crush Shot (Aphrodite): increased scaling from Poms
Passion Dash (Aphrodite): increased area of effect and scaling from Poms

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Dash Nova (Blade): now offered while using Aspect of Arthur
Twin Shot (Bow): reduced penalty to max. range
Draining Cutter (Fists): life-drain effect now activates from Aspect of Gilgamesh Maim damage
Heavy Knuckle (Fists): increased damage

_ _
Foes & Encounters

'Trial of the Gods': slightly reduced encounter difficulty in Tartarus
Wretched Thug: slightly reduced appearance rate
Theseus: improved hitbox of his Zeus lightning enchantment on his spear throw

Voice & Narrative

Adjusted requirements for several miscellaneous Hermes events that were never playing
Minor fixes, changes, and improvements to various narrative events

Miscellaneous

Steam: Added choice of rendering configurations when starting the game, including a new Vulkan renderer option, which may lead to better performance and stability on some systems (you can also run this version of Hades.exe directly from the x64Vk folder in your install directory)
Slightly increased chance to find Fishing Points in Chaos
Adjusted timing of when gameplay timer pauses while opening the Codex

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed various additional crashes reported by players
Fixed A Friendly Wager (Fated List) prophecy not being fulfilled when expected
Fixed sometimes being able to queue two empowered shots using the Rail's Hestia Aspect
Fixed Deadly Flourish (Artemis) negating the Critical chance of Vicious Skewer (Daedalus - Spear)
shadesmile Fixed incorrect damage text on the description for Heart Rend (Artemis x Aphrodite)
Fixed an inconsistency in the requirements for being offered Minotaur Rush (Daedalus - Shield) and Sudden Rush (Daedalus - Shield)
Fixed rare issues on older save files preventing players from gifting certain characters in certain cases
shadesmile Fixed a camera issue interacting with the Bat Cage, All-Seeing in the House of Hades
Fixed instances where Fishing Points could appear when you did not have the Rod of Fishing

Fixed a minor animation issue when Bloodless foes started moving after attacking
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
Espous'd in Autumn: life and death alone to wretched mortals from thy power is known:
For thine the task according to thy will, life to produce, and all that lives to kill.
~The Hymns of Orpheus - "To Proserpine (Persephone)" (T. Taylor translation)

Note: You should see v1.36645 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Dec 1, 2020, 8:40 PM

@here Post-Launch Patch - December 1, 2020
This patch contains additional minor fixes and improvements based on your feedback and reports since our v1.0 Launch Update. We expect this to be our final PC patch of the year. Thank you for playing Hades!!

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities

Heart-Seeking Bow (Zagreus Aspect): increased Critical chance
Eternal Spear (Achilles Aspect): increased Skewer special charge speed; improved input buffering
Adamant Rail (Eris Aspect): reduced duration of bonus damage effect

Boons & Blessings

Sea Storm (Poseidon x Zeus): adjusted requirements for this to be offered; fixed interaction with Curse of Drowning (Poseidon x Ares)
Blinding Flash (Athena): fixed incorrect scaling from Poms on the Exposed Status Curse
Athena's Aid: reduced scaling from Poms
Parting Shot (Athena x Aphrodite): fixed interaction with Shadow Presence (Mirror)
Sweet Surrender (Aphrodite): normalized scaling from rarity and Poms
After Party (Dionysus): improved scaling from rarity
Black Out (Dionysus): adjusted requirements for this to be offered
Rare Crop (Demeter): fixed this not counting toward the bonus from Family Favorite (Mirror)
Killing Freeze (Demeter): fixed damage being locked at Common rarity; adjusted scaling from rarity

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Dash Nova (Blade): increased Sturdy duration; fixed dash sometimes moving you to the wrong position
Heavy Knuckle (Fists): increased attack speed; no longer locks you in place while attacking
Draining Cutter (Fists): life drain now works under the effects of Lasting Consequences (Pact)

_ _
Keepsakes & Items
shadesmile Companion Rib (Skelly): increased health for summoned companion; takes less damage from you

Myrmidon Bracer (Achilles): now also works vs. trap damage
Skull Earring (Megaera): increased active threshold
Shattered Shackle (Sisyphus): increased power level
----- of the ---- (???): reduced max number of stocks; updated text description to be more accurate

Mirror of Night

Abyssal Blood: increased power level

Level Design & Environments

Minor fixes and improvements to several chambers

Art & Visual FX

Added unique visuals for the Aspect of Eris damage boost
Minor improvements to Final Boss intro animation

Music & SFX

Updated sounds for the third strike in the Aspect of Guan Yu attack sequence
Updated sound for big slow radiating blasts generated by certain attacks
Added emote for when the Minotaur sets up the 'Bull Horn' combo attack

Voice & Narrative

Slightly increased priority of events in the subplot that unlocks Hypnos' Affinity Gauge
Increased priority of Zeus events required for the epilogue
Increased priority of Orpheus events once you've started playing the Splendid Lyre
Fixed rare cases where the Night and Darkness prophecy was not fulfilling when expected
Fixed event requirements for Final Boss acknowledging if you can get there without Olympian Boons
Fixed event requirements for Thanatos and Achilles acknowledging specific Weapon Aspects
Other minor fixes, changes, and improvements to various narrative events

Miscellaneous

Updated in-game flow when syncing cloud saves (Epic Games Store version)
Improved feedback when highlighting upgrade buttons for each Companion in the Keepsake Screen
Various fixes and improvements to localized text in different languages

shadesmile Minor text fixes, updates, and clarifications

Bug Fixes

Fixed an old, elusive issue that sometimes caused text keywords to appear in the w r o n g f o n t
Fixed instances where Gorgon projectiles could be destroyed using the Shield of Chaos
Fixed Deflect causing higher-than-intended damage against the Furies and Bone Hydra
Fixed the damage preview for Hazard Bomb (Rail) not being quite the right size
Fixed interactions between Ares' Doom Status Curse and Aspect of Gilgamesh Maim effect
Fixed issues using Poms on Flood Shot (Poseidon) with Blizzard Shot (Demeter x Poseidon)
Fixed Pool of Purging showing non-zero sell costs while you are affected by Pauper's (Chaos)
Fixed additional cases of Codex Index screen displaying incorrect requirements for Boons
Fixed Aspect of Hestia reload tutorial objective never clearing while testing it in the Courtyard
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'The dead? O gods, the dead! Yes, I know who you mean.'
~The Choephori (Aeschylus; P. Vellacott translation)

Note: You should see v1.36579 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Feb 2, 2021, 7:24 PM

@here Post-Launch Patch - February 2, 2021
We've continued monitoring feedback and reports since our v1.0 Launch Update, and this patch contains fixes to various issues brought to our attention. Thank you for your support, and for playing Hades!!

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities
shadesmile Twin Fists (Gilgamesh Aspect): fixed Maim effect not always dealing as much damage as expected

Boons & Blessings

Thunder Flourish (Zeus): fixed an issue where most lightning bolts could not deal Critical damage after also picking Pressure Points (Artemis)
Swift Flourish (Hermes): fixed an issue where this would reduce attack speed above Common rarity

Foes & Encounters
shadesmile Wringer: fixed issue where they sometimes attacked through obstacles

Theseus and The Minotaur: fixed their alternate tag-team maneuver not always firing as expected; other minor fixes

Voice & Narrative
shadesmile Fixed some Megaera battle chatter voice lines not playing correctly, causing subtitle mismatches

Fixed several rare issues where certain subplots or affinity events would not occur as expected
Fixed a rare issue where Orpheus would sometimes not appear back at the House as soon as expected
Other minor fixes, changes, and improvements to various narrative events

_ _
Miscellaneous

Improved detection for DualSense controllers for some systems
Improved controller support with systems running macOS Big Sur
Improved Switch Pro controller support (default inputs now match the console; please check your bindings)
Various fixes and improvements to localized text in different languages
Improved controller selection for Companions in the Keepsake Screen (to prevent accidental upgrading)
Version number on the main menu now fades out smoothly when loading a game
Improved check for Three-Headed Boy (Achievement) to ensure Cerberus pets are correctly tallied
Various minor memory optimizations
Minor text fixes, updates, and clarifications

_ _
Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed several rare crashes and hangs
Fixed a rare issue where big slow radiating blasts from certain bosses would be missing visual effects
Fixed a rare issue causing Wall-Scroll, Achilles to not be offered from the House Contractor

Fixed a lighting issue that could occur when dashing into the Lounge via the Shortcut, Great Hall
Fixed Exalted Strongbow targeting indicator sometimes briefly sticking to Zagreus
Fixed a rare issue where the Minotaur could get stuck in his Bull Rush animation
Fixed rare issues where Lord Hades could be judging shades when he really ought to be on break
Fixed Price of Midas erroneously indicating you earned money while affected by Pauper's (Chaos)
Fixed a minor visual issue when certain characters' affinity gauges are unlocked
Fixed minor issues with some visual effects for the Final Boss
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'Although Zagreus is known only in connection with the partly artificial mythology of the cult of Orphism, his story may contain elements of genuine but otherwise forgotten myths.'
~Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology (E. Tripp)

Note: You should see v1.37332 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Apr 1, 2021, 9:18 PM

@here Post-Launch Patch - March, 2021
This small patch contains various minor improvements and fixes to issues reported by our players. We hope you're enjoying your days / nights in the Underworld!

Infernal Arms, Aspects, & Abilities
shadesmile Shield of Chaos (Beowulf Aspect): loading Bloodstone ammo during a Bull Rush now works reliably

Boons & Blessings

Trippy Flare (Dionysus): fixed this dealing less damage than expected using the Bow's Aspect of Hera
Icy Flare (Demeter): fixed this not correctly registering as a prerequisite for Winter Harvest (Demeter)

Foes & Encounters
shadesmile Bother: fixed an issue where these remained passive after using the ----- of the ---- Keepsake

Voice & Narrative

Fixed Zagreus and Hades not snarking about Color Trim purchases from the House Contractor
Fixed rare cases where the first meeting with Sisyphus didn't have the intended dialogue
Fixed a rare sequencing issue that could occur in the subplot between Dusa and Nyx
Other minor fixes

_ _
Miscellaneous
shadesmile Various fixes and improvements to localized text in different languages

Added several names to Localization, Translation, and Special Thanks in the Credits

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed a rare crash in the Courtyard interacting with the Shield while using the Aspect of Guan Yu
Fixed an issue preventing the 'Pom-Powered!' Victory Commendation from appearing
Fixed Nourished Soul (Demeter) sometimes dropping a healing item where you cannot get it

Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'Howl, Furies, howl, you bloody ravening pack,
Gorged with this house's blood, yet thirsting still;
The victim bleeds: come, Fiends, and drink your fill!'
~Agamemnon (Aeschylus; P. Vellacott translation)

Note: You should see v1.37828 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Apr 21, 2021, 8:54 PM

@here Post-Launch Patch - April 2021
This patch adds a Japanese text translation to our list of supported language options. Thank you for playing!

Miscellaneous

Added Japanese language option in the Languages menu
Added Japanese Localization team to the Credits

Bug Fixes

You can no longer rudely walk away from Cerberus when forging a bond with him
Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
Sisyphus is still there in the halls of Tartarus, pushing that boulder up the hill and getting almost to the top before it rolls back down and he has to start once again.
~Mythos (Stephen Fry)

Note: You should see v1.38099 in-game once you have the update.

vagrant epoch Jul 27, 2021, 8:32 PM

@here Post-Launch Patch - July 2021
This small patch has some final touches on localized text, as well as this brief update from our team:

With some months having passed since our v1.0 Launch Update, we're soon going to remove the Patch Notes section from the Main Menu, and also remove the F10 bug-reporting feature (of course you may still contact us via Discord or email if you encounter any bugs). We feel these changes will help reflect the fact that our Early Access development phase has been complete for some time.

We are humbled and grateful for the incredible support so many players have shown Hades, and our team is excited to press on and figure out what's next. Thank you very much for playing,

Miscellaneous

Various fixes and improvements to localized text in different languages
Added several more names to Special Thanks in the Credits

Bug Fixes
shadesmile Fixed a rare issue where the final Zeus affinity event would not unlock

Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch
'Farewell now, you dwellers in Olympus, and you island continents, and the salt sea between.'
~Theogony (Hesiod; M. L. West translation)

Note: You should see v1.38177 (or later) in-game once you have the update.