h1-story-discussion

[errant bone]

and ive done both orpheus and sisyphus's prophecys already

[fathom knot]

Rng amount

[errant bone]

so im just very unlucky

great

[normal quest]

similar to that last question, when do the olympians start gossiping about zeus?

he's been maxed on nectar for a while now and rarely hear any of the gods mention him outside of duos and demeter's backstory

also, i think i've gotten most of athena's dialogue from winning runs, but do i need to hear them again to unlock her heart?

[heady raven]

Man I like 5 runs I haven’t gotten mirage shot is there a better way to get it I get the water cast and Artemis attack is that what u need

[vast cloak]

Wrong channel, but any combination of Artemis and Poseidon core boons should do the trick

For example, Poseidon cast and Artemis attack would work

[heady raven]

Mb but dang just mad unlucky

[vast cloak]

You’ll get used to it

[fathom knot]

You can do a number of things to improve your odds

filling out the rest of your cores (strike / special / cast / dash) will improve your odds because as long as one is left open, the game makes the first slot be a core boon

Avoid opening other duo/legendaries at the same time though

also make sure you take hunters mark from artemis and razor shoals from poseidon since as status curse boons, they have a 50% chance to just take priority

[loud basin]

Idk if this goes here but is there any lore reason as to why Zagreus loses all his power ups once he gets to the surface and beats Hades? Or is it just to simplify the implementation of the overworld scenes?

[fathom knot]

Like why he losses them when he dies? since that’s what happens after he bests Hades

he’s an underworld denizen, so he can’t naturally survive for long outside of the underworld

why he losses his boons on death isn’t explained in game but it’s for the same reason he losses them when he dies anywhere else, presumably

[vital dune]

hes talking about the period between defeating hades and dying to being outside of the underworld(happy nugget?), but theyre still there, like when walking to it you still have more dashes if you have the boon from hermes, or the thing that speeds you up after dashes, idk about the other dash boons but those stay at least

[vast cloak]

Erm actually Hades the place isn’t hell, just the underworld

[normal quest]

yeah it'd be weird for half of the characters to be there if it was hell lol

[vast cloak]

Only Tartarus is hell there

[normal quest]

sisyphus sure, the others not so much

[vast cloak]

Well, the Furies make sense to be there, and so does Achilles (under contract with Hades), Dusa (also under contract, and arguably because of her action), and the other Cthonic gods

[normal quest]

dusa is another arguable

the others just fulfill their roles in the underworld

[vast cloak]

Depends if you think she should be sent to Tartarus for her actions as a gorgon

[normal quest]

yeah that's why i said arguable

more of a nature as a monster sort of thing

[vast cloak]

And also considering the fact she was forced to become a gorgon

If she wanted to be a monster that kills people, then she’d definitely be here, but she wasn’t

[normal quest]

yeah

[vast cloak]

The fields of Asphodel are for the common, insignificant folk, and Elysium is for significant individuals and heroes

[normal quest]

Elysium's like Greek Valhalla yeah

almost exactly, really

[vast cloak]

I don’t think they have to die in battle, but yes

[normal quest]

ic

not as familiar with my Greek mythology as my Norse (and I'm not an expert in that either haha)

[novel cloud]

what the helly i almost beat Hades 🧍‍♂️

[normal quest]

man I really need nyx and hades dialogue to unlock some hearts

hoarding my diamonds until I can buy the prophecy related stuff

[loud basin]

Oh right. I was mainly thinking about death defiances tho. Are the natural causes more deadly than being killed perhaps?

[rugged bough]

am i interpeting this correctly, persephone just made up the pomegranate seed thing so she could live in the underworld?

[normal quest]

does zag say anything in particular when he's done with the 210 lyre uses?

i've been using it like 15-20 times per run

and did it like 100+ times while watching a video on my phone

gotten to the point where he's clearly playing snippets of actual songs

he's said "i can play" 6 times

[remote breach]

it's exactly the "I can play" phrase
the quest though needs you to talk to orpheus one more time before it ticks off

[normal quest]

hmm but i just spoke to orpheus and got the line where i spread the rumor about burning hades hands

i got the lessons from orpheus too

maybe the dialogue's congested between the eurydice quest too?

but i also need dialogue from nyx about the admin chamber

eurydice mentioned the contract is in there but i can't access it still

despite having access to the place

[heavy slate]

yes. some of them probably knew it was a lie, but they would've realized that it's persephone's subtle way of saying that she wants to visit her family from time to time.

[normal quest]

ugh 5 completed runs without any major plot developments other than unlocking than's heart (but still couldn't give him a nectar)

[solid blaze]

[dreamy zodiac]

finally got the epilogue yesterday 💪💪💪 kind of expected more cutscenes and conversations outside of just Hades&Zeus but it was cool anyway

[remote breach]

dialogue rng is like that sometimes, keep escaping

[mental niche]

I forgot how depressing grandma is in Hades 1 compared to 2

https://imgur.com/a/jCtwhcE

Like damn okay

[normal quest]

FINALLY getting some progression after escape 27

started dusa's romance, maxed persephone on nectar, got both meg and than's companions, and finally got sisyphus' prophecy to start

oh and got athena's bond, so my first olympian down

[normal quest]

nyx finally came home to give me sisyphus' records location

needed her dialogue desperately for sisyphus, orpheus, and her own quests

feel like i chose the worse option by letting dusa return her ambrosia

but i need it sorry

[normal quest]

sisyphus' quest done, and immediately got access to musician and muse

is there some reason pos hasn't given either dialogue about me beating em3 theseus or catching a fish?

by the former i mean the prophecy, by the latter i mean when you have to unlock his heart

[vital dune]

for the fishing quest i didnt get any dialogue talking about it from what i remember and hes at 1 heart for me so could just be bad luck, and also i for a good 5s thought pos was the other acronym that uses the same letters

[normal quest]

oh no i think the fishing one only comes up when you have him at 6 hearts, it's how you unlock giving him an ambrosia

though he has a prophecy one where you have to catch like 25 fish and have 1 rare one on you or something

also lmao about the acronym

[zenith wedge]

His favor is the one that requires any fish on you

[normal quest]

hm, tho i haven't seen his heart unlock yet

i have that prophecy completed if its the same thing

[zenith wedge]

Is similar enough

His prophecy is 25 fish/1 legendary iirc
Favor is 18 and talk to him with a fish in the inventory

Sadly is just rng sometimes

Keep the fish with you and hope

[normal quest]

yeah i'll keep hoping for it haha

haven't done too many poseidon builds lately so that could be a contributing factor

[cinder bear]

haven't played h1 in a long time, but can someone tell me what was the big reveal about Skelly? Whenever he was asked who he was or who hired him he wouldn't say

[vital dune]

pretty sure he just didnt say, i dont think ive seen all the dialogue from him but i know zag asks if it was achilles or some weird stuff from hades but im pretty sure hes just like "im not a rat i dont tell" or something like that

[fathom knot]

He won’t tell you

[heavy slate]

he tells zag after he asked people around the house. would you like a spoiler or...?

[cinder bear]

yeah tell me

[heavy slate]

||he was hired by charon.||

[urban urchin]

I got to say, I am genuinely jealous of Orpheus LOL

Eurydice seems like such a great wife

[vital dune]

ong, and theyre both great at singing too

[urban urchin]

True

As a fellow singer, I honestly wish I could have a muse like her

[elder totem]

was it Hermes? I don't remember now lol

[vast cloak]

Was it Hermes that did what?

[elder totem]

tried to tag the "who hired skelly" post but missed and I'm also wrong, my bad 😭😂

[vast cloak]

Well we know who

[cinder bear]

ngl when I first played the game I spent over half of it thinking orpheus was a girl

[rocky niche]

opsy

[woeful narwhal]

Everytime I play God of the Dead and Unseen Ones one after the other I imagine an animation in my head

that i am not skilled enough to reproduce in real life

Hades Phase 1 is a typical fight animation

Hades Phase 2 is where both parties pull out all the stops and use whatever they have in their arsenal

All of Olympus' Boons get showcased here

and Hades adapting to each Boon to beat Zagreus is also shown here

At the end of God of the Dead, both are lying flat on the floor, exhausted. The Styx appears, the background turns black like it does ingame.

Cue The Unseen Ones.
Zagreus' eyes flick open and the black background dissipates quickly.
It is clear that he wanted his father to think that they will be taken by the Styx together, in a rather poetic fashion, and then use his last Death Defiance to get past Hades to his mother.
Unfortunately for him, what was going through Hades' head at that moment was "BOOOOOY you KNOW you ain't slick". Hades also had a sense of humor, and thought it would be funny to give him a mere droplet of hope. Both push back the Styx, but something has changed.
The tempo increases and both turn into mere blurs as they fight. Zagreus has stopped using Boons. Hades is fighting without any other backup. It is clear that this isn't a fight like they had before this. This is their definition of fun. Playtime, if you will. Smiles appear on their faces and their attacks keep getting more flashy, more... extravagant. Less practical and more "Hey, look at what I can do!".

In the end, Zagreus sends Hades back to his House, and walks away. Off to see his mother. Off to find answers.

[normal quest]

after nyx starts the night and darkness prophecy, does it take another run before i can buy the sigil?

thought it might trigger by going to the admin chamber, which did make zag mention he had to upgrade it, or by seeing the prophecy in the fated list

but it's not added to the contractor yet

[normal quest]

lmao all the fish i was hoarding across like 5 runs for the sake of poseidon's heart lock (which still hasn't triggered) stacked above the screen

mans been keeping me from so many resources

[idle stratus]

jus beat main story

how do i get hades keepsake?

[zenith wedge]

Talk to him until his lock opens up and you can gift a 2nd nectar

[idle stratus]

also how do i complete the stupid Lyre quest

i have re united Orpheus and Eyeriduce

gotten 2 dialouges from Orpherus

[vast cloak]

Keep playing the lyre, then talk to orpheus, then keep playing the lyre

[idle stratus]

it plays actual music

[zenith wedge]

You gotta play it 210 times total

If you are at 2 dialogues you are on the last stretch basically

But can't tell a number

Just play it a few times between runs and it'll get done at some point

[vast cloak]

ope

[idle stratus]

i was told 210

and i have 210

[zenith wedge]

(if I remember correctly)

[idle stratus]

i counted

excurcatingly

[vast cloak]

yeah

Keep up the grind

[vast cloak]

genuinely thought it was more. It feels like more.

[idle stratus]

i cant even play it in succsecion now sob

[zenith wedge]

The last stretch takes longer tbf

[idle stratus]

i have to like damn near leave the room

to play it again

sob

[zenith wedge]

Cuz yeah zag actually starts playing and the animation takes forever

[idle stratus]

and u cant click it again imeaditly

because ofc!

[zenith wedge]

Just do more runs until orpheus decides to speak

Is how you solve a lot of stuff in this game really

One more run

[idle stratus]

until he decides to show up 😭

[zenith wedge]

(there are a feeeew niche cases that can be more specific but I ?mean it)

[idle stratus]

also is meg’s locked heart just rng

i was told it was

that u have to talk to her and just keep beating furries and eventually she shows up in your room

[zenith wedge]

Yeah meg is one of the "just talk more"

Fwiw

[vast cloak]

rng hellllll

[zenith wedge]

The wiki is actually pretty good for the character favors

Just run your adblocker of choice

[idle stratus]

also how do u do Sisyphuses

is it just having megs done

sob

[zenith wedge]

You need 5 nectar on meg/nyx at least iirc

Keep cycling through the dialogues and zag will talk with nyx about his contract

[idle stratus]

i have it on both

[zenith wedge]

Orpheus/achilles are similar

[vast cloak]

rng helllll

[idle stratus]

cuz i know u need it to be done for Achilles

[zenith wedge]

Yup

[vast cloak]

The most hell part of this game is the rng, and Tartarus exisst

[zenith wedge]

The only ones that are a bit more specific than just keep talking are like, poseidon and hermes

Talk to him after catching enough fish and having one in your inventory / talk to him with his keepsake at 3 stars respectively

[idle stratus]

You should have to beat the Charon fight to get all hearts

[zenith wedge]

It already has a prophecy related to that tbf

[idle stratus]

oh

i didn’t know

i just did it for fun 😭

[zenith wedge]

Yeah hermes bets you to beat him twice in a row lol

[idle stratus]

and then i got a membership card???

[zenith wedge]

Is a neat reward

Better used if you can win it in tartarus lol

[idle stratus]

how is stubborn death ever good

i have been trying to win with it for the prophecy but it’s lowk so ass

90% of the time i don’t lose any dds until the hero’s fight or hades

or certain saytr holes

i am bad at not getting poisoned

[vital dune]

stubborn is good imo, once per encounter is a lot better than up to 3 times per thing, especially when i jump from higher heats where im dying more like in late elysium or late styx encounters(post fountain bs)

[zenith wedge]

For most of the game defiance is better tbf

But yeah heat makes it shine a lot more

[vital dune]

i also like touch of dark styx a lot tho, ever since i got stubborn and especially after i found out abt dark styx i havent taken it off, ill probably eventually do this prophecy with complete opposite of what im using now just bc im curious how different it will be, probably a status build, hangover and something else, weak or chill maybe

just when its actually close to max or like maybe even halfway

[zenith wedge]

I still do mostly death defiances under 32 heat cuz it means I can just oonga boonga dad

[idle stratus]

real 😭

not having to think in that fight is fire

[vital dune]

i try to make dark styx last till dad but if not its whatever normally im fine bc i havent done much to make it affect any boss past asterius and theseus

[radiant coral]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=L35Gxi-p3Gk thinking about zagreus and persephone with this song in mind and crying

[normal quest]

what would've happened if i told hermes to shut up?

[fathom knot]

He would stop giving you dialogue lines prior to getting his boons

he might ask you at some point later on if you’re sure but aside from that I’m pretty sure he just fuly stops talking to you

[delicate pollen]

Was the “In the blood” song only played at the end? Or was it played somewhere else too? I swear it was played more than one time or im having mandela effect

[vital dune]

you can buy it from the contractor to play it again but other than that i dont think so, havent fully completed it like 100% tho so idk

[lyric rapids]

so i was playing through hades why is Theseus in elysum he dosnt deserve to be T-T mans should be in Tartarus

[safe yew]

i mean. acc to mythology he was a great hero. a big ego doesn't diminish that he was a great hero technically. plus, im pretty sure some of the way he acts in game is like. banter bc they are performing for an audience

[zenith wedge]

Hades says it too, if he could, he wouldn't have that many people in elysium lol

But yeah ely is less "good people" and more just, big feats

Patty being an exception here due to achilles meddling with that

[safe yew]

yup

elysium isn't heaven exactly

it's like. heaven+ for people favoured by the gods

gotta have the gods like u to get in and they will like u if u are a great hero even if u aren't a great person

[vital dune]

iirc the dialogue from hades is like "elysium is for heros and kings" and then blah blah blah i dont want that many people in there etc

[scarlet wigeon]

Noooo, Dusa just got fired I hope she will be fine and come back someday

[normal quest]

wow that's commitment lol

I assumed it was some comedic bit like I was supposed to have found Hermes annoying before

but when I said no, he just said "ok just checking"

probably just some QOL for speedrunners to slightly lower their non-IGT times

also just started working on the epilogue, but when does ach/pat favor start?

neither have talked about each other in a lot of runs

i feel like there's some flag i didn't complete that would initiate a series of required dialogues to get to the point it can start

[white heath]

hii im kind of near in completing the game in terms of character bonds, i want to know what’ll happen with Megaera if i give her those big ambrosia bottles? Will she also become a romantic interest? (I have Thanatos as my romance partner)

[vast cloak]

Do you want a spoiler?

Like do you mind the spoiler

Well then ||yes||

[white heath]

I dont mindd

[white heath]

oh so you can have multiple relationships?

[vast cloak]

It’s a three way relationship I believe

So yes

[white heath]

thankss

[normal quest]

also ||dusa will be supportive if you romanced her too||

[normal quest]

completed the epilogue

hoping I'll get lucky with pat's dialogue rng to unlock his favor

looking at his dialogue in the wiki, there's maybe 2-3 other lines of dialogue I'd need

[strange snow]

How do you unlock Hypnos’ favor and how do you get Dusa to return? I’ve been clearing Hades through several playthroughs yet neither dialogue from Thanatos, Hypnos, or Nyx changes to progress those quests. I have maxed out my bond with Dusa, but the Nyx firing Dusa arc happened after that for me. I have also held back on completing the Epilogue (I just have to talk with Hades to complete the epilogue on this save), but idk if that’s been screwing with any of the dialogue happening or not.

[mental niche]

I got a dialogue from Hades saying he took Persephone. What exactly is the lore in the game about them? (I played all the way to almost the epilogue my first time but never went to the actual epilogue). Does he kidnap her in Hades lore too like he did in the mythology or nah

[lucid sandal]

It's explained in game so spoiler, but ||no kidnapping. Zeus knows that Hades likes her so he offers her to him as a gift (which Hades ressents him for), not letting other gods know because Demeter would have none of it. Persephone ends up liking Hades back, so they be happy for a time.||

||And Persephone is not against the way of things either, because she's very much intrigued by Hades and willing to escape her position.||

[mental niche]

So like in Greek mythology with the Zeus thing, except they took out the Hades kidnaps her and it's not consensual in the beginning. I see

[lucid sandal]

Yep Zeus takes the douche role

[normal quest]

ok seriously is there a faster way to unlock the achilles/patroclus favor?

it's been super disheartening

last 2 times he talked about asterius

this time was a generic 1 line greeting

[fathom knot]

How long have you been at it?

[normal quest]

several runs

probs like 8 by now

got every other achievement around 88 hours

[fathom knot]

It is purely rng dialogue if you aren’t getting held back by like Nyx or smthing

[normal quest]

now at 92 93 hours

gotten nyx's favor done too if that's what you mean

idk do i need some dialogue from achilles?

[fathom knot]

mmm

well yeah you’d need the messages between achilles and Patty to get to the point wherr Patty tells him to risk it all no?

[normal quest]

I know that's the end goal but pat's really not been cooperative in saying that lol

if I could just quit the room and come back for another line of dialogue this'd be less annoying

[fathom knot]

If you’re uncertain, it could be either npc

[normal quest]

should I just give up runs quickly to speed through achilles dialogue?

[fathom knot]

I’m not actually sure but you could maybe pheasibly rng fiallgue it

“Giving up” a run puts you back before you started the run so it’d be better to die

[normal quest]

oh

[fathom knot]

to have exhausted any new one-off lines

Ofc there are the dialogue lines Patty will always have

[normal quest]

hm so are there ways to rng manipulate it?

like for example i didn't buy the statue furniture item bc i saw achilles has a line of dialogue about it

[fathom knot]

No it’d be more like rng manipping patty but idk if that works

it’d be like anvil or bouldy rng manips lemme copy paste my usual

so you take anvil, see if you like what it gave you, and otherwise exit to main menu load back in and cast/csummon one more time then last time

but do this for patty dialogue

if it lets you quit from the pause menu after you take your option from him

[normal quest]

so get an item from pat, quit game, load back, cast, then speak to pat again?

[fathom knot]

Try i

It

I don’t actually know if it’ll work for dialouge

You have to cast one more time than you did the last time if you want to do this multiple times

Since each cast stone hitting the ground will shift the seed over by the same amount

That hitting yhe ground part id important

or if you have companions, you can do this with the summon button

[normal quest]

ic ic

i'll try it if i can get him to show up this time

[normal quest]

unfortunately didn't work

[normal quest]

"just restocked on these battle-trinkets" isn't even a line on the wiki

the game's just trolling me with generic greetings from him

not even progressing anything at this point, just getting a lot of generic reused dialogue now from everyone

not unlocking hermes or zeus' hearts either

[midnight pivot]

A very random request, I know, but I just got to the part where Zag tells Persephone that Hades still loves her, and to find proof of that gets Achilles help to get into Hades room and find evidence. I examined the bedside portrait, but accidentally left before I could examine the wardrobe, and now it's locked again. If someone remembers, can they tell me what was in it? My curiosity is killing me. 😭

[zenith wedge]

"I knew it, is all capes!"

Follow up to one comment from zag on the 8th(?) win where he mentions hades just has a wardrobe full of them bc of all the ones he burns

[midnight pivot]

Lmao. Thank you so much, this is def gonna help me sleep at night.

Yeah, I remember that from a couple of runs ago.

[vital dune]

probably one of my favorite bits in the game

[ebon abyss]

hi i'm having trouble unlocking aphrodite's last heart. i have maxed out dusa, than, and meg's hearts too. repeated almost a lot of runs and i think i've exhausted all dialogues but it still won't appear. help?

[dreamy zodiac]

I have the same issue!

[zenith wedge]

Do you have dusa's bond?

Hers doesn't unlock when you reach max hearts with her

[solemn dove]

cam som1 explain why i hermes wants me to to beat chiron twice

[vital dune]

you get something for it, idk what tho

[zenith wedge]

Cuz is fun

[lavish pelican]

Why is achilles mission such a pain

Like he really doesn't want to give me the dialogue I need to progress in the mission

[remote breach]

hermes placed a bet with charon (who was fooled because he forgot to set a time limit)

[mental niche]

Chat, I reached 6 hearts with Meg (trying to get her as a companion), is it normal for her to now never appear in the house of hades?

[vital dune]

probably just bad rng or something

[mental niche]

Feeling like a father witnessing their child learn how to talk rn

https://imgur.com/a/EUi43kb

[frozen chasm]

Murder!

[lean grail]

Hi uh...what is a ||pact of punishment?|| I just beat the last boss finally and met her but uh....before I left I wanted to check out stuff and see I have a pact of punishment over the door what is that

[mental niche]

The ||pact of punishment is something Hades gives you when you beat him as a… punishment.||

It basically allows you to ||play with “heat”. This basically makes the game runs harder in several different ways. You can choose which and how high or low level heat you wish to play in. Beating levels of heat|| will allow you to ||acquire several rewards that you can use to level up weapons and bond with characters.||

You do not have to use it for the main story but if you’re an achievement sweat like me, it is required for a few of them.

[lean grail]

(Oh.|| Can I get their bounties again like titan blood and etc?||)

[lean grail]

(More into lore than achievement tbh)

[mental niche]

Yes!

You can ||get them again for each level of heat. In each weapon.||

[mental niche]

Then you don’t have to bother with it unless you want the rewards ||that will help you bond with characters like Ambrosia. ||

[lean grail]

(I would prefer the ||titan blood and diamond|| the || Ambrosia is best for characters I want atm like Nyx or Achillies)||

[mental niche]

Then you can use it. Might be difficult at the beginning, but it gets easier. Just slowly progress through it

[lean grail]

Thanks

[mental niche]

Avoid the harder conditions like ||extreme measures||. Until you get accustomed to the combat

[zenith wedge]

Eh, EM is one of the first ti suggest imo

At least first two

[mental niche]

I would only suggest it to a beginner if they use that and nothing else 💔 He just beat Hades once and wants to focus on the story.

I think extreme measures, especially higher levels are definitely not for someone who wants casual, story focused game play.

[lean grail]

I will never touch it!!!!!!!! I just heard all of the measures and it is not my cup of tea

[lean grail]

Yep. I prefer lore than achievements tbh

[zenith wedge]

Oh that's why I said the first two levels only
Is a nice 3 heat that doesn't change anything else in the run and the new stuff aren't too demanding.

Em3 is def a non suggestion for a while

[verbal parcel]

Hello!
I am researching how the plot structure of the Hades game reinterprets the myth of Zagreus to make themes of fate and free will emotionally resonant for modern players, essentially promoting interests in older myths for a paper.
I wanted to come out here to promote my surveys to the right community. hopefully, this gets out (I need a minimum of 100 responses).

• These surveys are 100% anonymous; no personal information will be collected ( the demographic questions are optional)
• For the interview responses, you will be asked for your name ( feel free to put anything, it is for the sake of record keeping )
• The first survey takes 30 seconds, and the second would take around 5~ minutes
  Survey 1:
  https://tally.so/r/zxXqdg
  Interview Questions:
  https://tally.so/r/44X8dr
  Thank you for your time! Please feel free to DM or comment with any questions or concerns. If you know anyone else who has played the game and is willing to answer these surveys, feel free to send it their way!! ( please let me know if this isn’t appropriate to post here mean no harm )

[devout flare]

Question only now I think about of true ending...
Couldn't Zagreus just... Swim up?

Since being on Charon's boat he didn't die due to being in the styx

Or am I missing something about the styx that makes it unswimable

[verbal parcel]

the river of Styx is unswimable to mortals, I think it’s supposed(emphasis on supposed since there’s always an exception it’s either invincibility (I.e. Achilles )or death )to be poisonous to them.

[devout flare]

But Zag is an immortal tho

[verbal parcel]

yea he’s a whole other case

I mean technically nothing would happen?

[devout flare]

He might be able to just swim past a bunch of obstacles and to the cottage lol

Hades would be baffled

[verbal parcel]

he’d be so mad 😭

[zenith wedge]

Doesn't he still need to go through the asphodel magma river

[devout flare]

Just checked the credits again, oh, yeah

[crimson axle]

Zag doesn't swim up the river for the same reason Charon won't just ferry him upstream

[lucid sandal]

He should just get the caucasian eagle to fly him there.

[dreamy zodiac]

idk if it's the right channel to ask this, how do you even get Aphrodite's last heart? she's the only one left for me :((

I've heard something about Than Meg and Dusa but I have them all maxed out

[zenith wedge]

Do you have the dusa bond

Her bond happens in a convo a bit after you max out the hearts

[dreamy zodiac]

I have all her hearts but no portrait next to her keepsake, I think I rejected her? can't remember

[zenith wedge]

Yeah there's one more convo in zag's room with her that gives you the bond

(aka the sticker)

[dreamy zodiac]

OHHHH okay thanks so much

[mental lance]

Than's hair make a little heart after the bond it's so cute

[dreamy zodiac]

just got the Duza bond yayyy

[safe marlin]

Is there a lore reason the Asphodel Meadows is Minecraft Nether instead of Asphodel Meadows?

[zenith wedge]

Magma river flooded the place

A bunch of characters comment on it

[indigo hatch]

The Phlegethon overflowed and toasted the entire place

Environmental disaster, that

[dim plank]

Ah yes, duza

Dusa*

Not dusa, duza

Definitely

[dreamy zodiac]

oh right I play in my mother language and forget sometimes how some names are pronounced differently

[wary atlas]

OOOO

[nocturne prawn]

Holy hell, when that moment in story comes when even his mother is apparently abandoning him (again), it's heartbreaking. We're all Zag.

[dreamy zodiac]

you mean when she was leaving temporarily to Olympus? :((

[nocturne prawn]

She told him not to come again. :((

So he has the primal urge to best his father, finally somehow managed to scrape himself to find the lost mother and she tells him to leave her.

This would be too much even for a psychoanalytical therapist, the whole of underworld doesn't have enough goods to pay for that. 😭

[dreamy zodiac]

ah, so you meant one of their scenes on the surface, I get it now it was so very sad

[nocturne prawn]

Yeah, very, very sad. At that moment he is completely alone in the world.

He hates his dad, both him and Myx lied to him, his mother told him not to come back and he's not even aware of Dusa's feelings.

Fcken hell, literally.

[wanton crystal]

Greetings guys
Is it true that i must finish the game 10 times in order to get the true ending ?

[heavy slate]

yep!

[wanton crystal]

Oh lord...

[heavy slate]

it's not as bad as it sounds. once you win a couple of times, you start getting consistent. you can also always turn god mode on in the settings if you need a little help with the difficulty.

[fathom knot]

It’s the credits like

you still have a lot left in the game by the time you get there

Epilogue, individual npc stories, the whole heat system so you can get all the resources to max out your weapons and house

[wanton crystal]

I got you guys

And it seems i unlocked something that ressembles a hard mode

Maybe you're right it will feel easier for me
Even tho 10 times is a little bit long..

[vocal osprey]

Give it a chance... There's so much story left!

[wanton crystal]

Ofc i'll do
I was just impatient to start the sequel

I didnt even unlock the other weapons yet it seems so i have more things to discover

[vocal osprey]

You can start the sequel whenever you'd like, honestly! Nothing about the story of H2 really "spoils" the events of H1. Me explaining why that is WOULD involve spoilers, though.

[wanton crystal]

Its not abt the story
I was impatient to discover the new gameplay

Cuz it took me way long to beat hades idk how much tries i had

[vocal osprey]

Ah gotcha
In that case, definitely give H2 a try and see what you think!
Fair warning: it's harder, imo.
H1 runs on three buttons, pretty much. (Cast, Attack, Special). H2 has a long-press version of each that you truly must get used to using, but like H1 you can turn god mode on and off more or less whenever you want.

[broken kernel]

Very excited to have finally hit the credits last Friday! I started playing H1 when H2 went to early release, lol

[dire thicket]

a run is pretty quick anyway, that's the beauty of rouge like games :D

[wanton crystal]

Its not abt that i just dont have the level yet to beat hades 2 times in a row
It took me too much time and an op build to finally beat him

[wanton crystal]

I see !
But as you adviced me earlier i should finish H1 first it seems that there are sm things that i didnt discover yet

[zenith wedge]

Is not 10 times in a row fwiw

Just 10 overall escapes

[wanton crystal]

Yh yh ik i just meant that beating the last boss is a huge difficulty for me
Not because he's hard to beat but whenever i face him i have no revives
Only managed to beat him once (low diff ironically)

[indigo hatch]

Hey, don't sweat it! It took me 76 times to beat Hades the first time

And not nearly half that to beat him the second time

[mental niche]

It took me 12 on my 2nd playthrough 😭

though tbf, I had played the game before and I had recently switched back to it after finishing hades 2

[indigo hatch]

I was stuck in Tartarus for a long time 😔

But I didn't mind it so much. I was having fun, and every time I went back to the house there was new dialogue to enjoy

[last helm]

I think it took me around 30 attempts on my first play through before I even reached Hades. I still remember it was Lernie of all bosses that kept killing my runs😭

[indigo hatch]

Meg kept me out of Asphodel for a long long time, but after her it was just the regular guys in Elysium keeping me down

[limber pond]

my main early game opp was theseus

[formal lotus]

REAL

hate that guy

[wild seal]

Hey if you fight hades but lose does he not show up at his desk on respawn?

[dreamy zodiac]

he doesn't unfortunately

I've wanted to buy furniture to piss him off multiple times but were unable to because I've had lost the run 💔

[orchid wing]

Hey guys I need help my father sold my steamdeck how do I sue the developers because this is a massive serious issue

[dim plank]

Father sold your steamdeck?

Sounds like a you problem
cringe ahh music and whooping offstage
Thank you thank you

Ok my bad

[orchid wing]

Yes

😭

[dim plank]

But I have no idea I mean… come in

[orchid wing]

Dad soled steamdeck lord

[dim plank]

On*

[orchid wing]

oled*

[dim plank]

I mean… why would you sue the devs for that

[orchid wing]

The bug

[dim plank]

Shouldn’t you sue ur dad

Ohhhhhk

I guess that makes sense

[orchid wing]

the big where your dad sells your steamdeck

Makes hades 2 unolaybked

Unplayable

🥶

[dim plank]

Yes, that bug is annouying

But

[orchid wing]

Fr

[dim plank]

I’m sure customer service will have some advice

[orchid wing]

okay

thank you

[dim plank]

No problem

[orchid wing]

Father sold the steamdeck only the box is still here 😢

This sucks

Prob cuz I use it too much

[dim plank]

So you don’t have anything else to play on?

Me neither!

Luckily my switch is holding up

[harsh geode]

You can have 'tutoring' sessions with ||Meg||? The further I get in this game the more I'm surprised by it lol.

[west briar]

||You'll be surprised by who will join in later with her||

It takes three to tango

[neat vapor]

Ok for someone who's made it out of HADES, is it true that ||you have to make it out of HADES several times because you keep stepping on a rake and killing yourself?||

[fathom knot]

not really?

the curse of the styx is what inevitably causes Zag to die when he’s in the overworld

but after the main story is complete, the narrator either makes up how he he gets done in by the curse or he actually does just die of those forms and it’s just part of the styx but it’s never intentional on Zags behalf

[crisp chasm]

how I wish there are more of those cut scenes and not just the one...

[west briar]

Kinda wish we could still see Persephone's hut and garden before we die though

Now we just dies

[harsh geode]

Yeah really wish there was a gardening mini game or something there. At the very least I’d love to be able to just see the asset from time to time.

[harsh geode]

Same w the house too, now that I think about it. A gardening minigame w the underworld garden would’ve been fun.

[dim plank]

Grow a (hades) garden

[summer hawk]

I always used to thought Zeus was the big brother when it was actually Hades. I blame Disney for how I interpreted Hades.

[thorny furnace]

||I'm not sure if this is the right channel, but if I kill skelly with the maxed blade, is that how you deepen your relationship? I dont wanna get rid of him and then not be able to do it?||

[zenith wedge]

Do it 👍

You can't miss out anything permanently

[summer hawk]

Zagreus: breathes

Shades in the Adminstrative chamber: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETo5l_RFgPY

[thorny furnace]

I maxed out the blade and I killed him a bunch of times and nothing has happened

[zenith wedge]

Did you have the prophecy when you killed him?

Also is specifically zagreus blade that needs to be maxed

[thorny furnace]

Yeah I even went and maxed out every zagreus aspect of each weapon and killed him with every single one 😭

[thorny furnace]

Yes it was after I first got it

[zenith wedge]

Huh

After you got him with zag sword a different cutscene should have played

Do another run and try again ig?

[thorny furnace]

That's what I'm gonna do,and just hope that it works eventually

[thorny furnace]

It's still not working...

[lofty nexus]

why wont persephone just come to the hades underworld or just close enough that zagreus doesnt die

[thorny furnace]

Then she'd have to leave behind her pretty garden

[copper fossil]

Why does Zag call the Hydra Lernie?

[atomic onyx]

Simply the short form of "Lernaean Hydra". 😁

[copper fossil]

Only so much ik of Greek myth

[thorn prairie]

What did hercules do to piss off hades jesus that was actual WTF moment I just had lol

[atomic onyx]

I believe right at the beginning of the encounter, the full name is shown at the top of the screen. Otherwise I wouldn't have any clue either. 😂

[fathom knot]

I mean that was the name of the boss fight until zag gives him the nickname

[copper fossil]

That’s a sweet detail!

[thorn prairie]

Just beat the game! I think? getting credits rolling but oh boy... I might of kicked a hornets nest...

[fathom knot]

You finished the main story but there’s still like the epilogue and like 10 clears really is missing a lot of the rest of what Hades has to offer gameplay wise I think

If you’re in it for the story you should probably stick around at least to finish the epilogue

[thorn prairie]

that was the goal

this game is in my vains and i've loved it

[fathom knot]

I really liked it so I’ve ended up like

Some 450 clears down?

idk high heat and speedrunning really spoke to me

after the main story got me into it

[thorn prairie]

I do have a question how do I unlock the companions..?

[fathom knot]

You’ll need to max relationship with each character who gives them

So meg/skelly/dusa/than/achilles/sisyphus

[thorn prairie]

Oh.....

Which one is the best companion?

[fathom knot]

each npc has their own specific “favor” you need to unlock their final hearts

Battie (Meg)

[thorn prairie]

welp now i need to get more nector..

[fathom knot]

Eh if you really enjoyed the gameplay I reckon you’ll be in it for a while longer

if you’re even a little bit completitionist, completeing all your bounties is 126 escapes at a minimum

[thorn prairie]

gotcha

[safe lava]

Does anyone have tips for completing the divided by death prophecy? Or is it pure RNG (once you meet the triggering requirements)?

Its the final achievement I need (in addition to the companion one) and despite having everything that people say you need, I've probably done 20 + runs with it not triggering

[fathom knot]

Like you’ve gotten all the dialogue from achilles and patroclus that lets you ask nyx to find the contract, Nyx found the contract, your purchased it and didn’t get the achievement?

[safe lava]

No I haven't gotten the dialogue, thats what I'm stuck on. They both have 6 hearts, all the other characters required in the quest line are 6 hearts or maxed and despite doing 20 + runs the dialogue to start the quest hasn't triggered

[fathom knot]

And you already have sisyphus and orpheus’s contracts completed?

just checking

Like it’s a shoe-in if this is your last achievement you need

[safe lava]

Yep! I have all achievements except divided by death and the companion you get from Achilles. Everyone's friendship is up except two gods locked at 6

[safe yew]

just finished the epilogue!

super happy!

now i have 20 ambrosia, i'll finally max everyone lol

[blazing plume]

Hola buenas necesito que alguien me ayude no se me guarda el progreso del juego cuando voy a salir me sale como que se ha guardado pero al entrar a partita todas las están vacías alguien sabe algo?

Es el HADES

[fathom knot]

I’ve never heard of this issue before

In 4 years

I’d check if your game is installed properly first

[blazing plume]

En steam he verificado los archivos del juego y me sale que se an validado correctamente

[zenith wedge]

I'd ask on the tech support channel first of all

[blazing plume]

ok

[cinder pelican]

How do I give the 7th nectar to meg?

Do I need to 3 star her keepsake

[safe yew]

is the 7th heart locked?

i forgot

but if yes, you need to keep talking to her

[cinder pelican]

Yeah

Wait do I ask that in story here or discussion

I think I clicked the wrong channel

[safe yew]

i think story is fine

[zenith wedge]

Either is fine

[zenith wedge]

Her "favor" is just getting certain dialogues

So nothing in specific, just keep talking to her

[cinder pelican]

Okay

So just getting lucky or do I do anything in specific

Or just comes with time

[zenith wedge]

luck/time

[sharp ginkgo]

heys guys, im really having a bad time trying to get max affinity with zeus, in the wiki just says i need to hear the other gods opinion on him, but how?
i just finished the epilogue

[zenith wedge]

basically just rng

you need a zeus boon with you and then talk to another god to get the dialogues iirc?

[cinder pelican]

So I just had a custacene where zag got fired by Hades why is this relevant?

Or flashback I suppose

By resting

[fathom knot]

It lets you know about the administrative chambers

and just fleshes out zag a bit more

[safe yew]

tells you about their relationship, gives more of a reason as to why zag wants to leave

also sets up that you need to earn (cough buy) your way back into that room

[bitter nova]

wow i really didn't expect this game to have ||such a happy ending. however ive heard there's an epilogue so let's see if that lasts||

[atomic forge]

How to romance nyx

[vast cloak]

You can’t

Well, with mods maybe

But considering she’s your adoptive mother, and Zagreus thought she was his mother for a while, that’d be very weird

[safe yew]

uh well. she is the player character's mom, adoptive.

[dreamy zodiac]

BRO??? 😭

[dim plank]

why did i hop on to chat after a month, i should have after a year

[sleek wigeon]

for greek god standards thats pretty tame

[blazing egret]

If the player reaches the Temple of Styx before they've met Tisiphone, does his dialogue change?

[zenith wedge]

I assume you mean persephone, but no.

The sequence where zag learns about her is a flashback to before your 1st run

Otherwise I don't see the correlation of tisiphone and styx

[blazing egret]

The enemies of Temple of Styx feature living, breathing creatures.

Enemies of Hades (and ultimately a good thing), but murder nonetheless.

Zagreus denies having murdered anyone when first meeting Tisiphone.

Only true if they player has never ventured to region 4 yet.

[zenith wedge]

Hmm
I don't think so?

I don't remember many tisiphone convos though

[cinder pelican]

Uhhhhh
I just went to meg instead of easing off...
Did she just whip me 😭

As well as...

Yk

[empty pilot]

What's this board that Thanatos refers to when I walked out of the Styx? Apparently I made a board?

[fathom knot]

Employee of the day in the lounge?

[empty pilot]

Does it do anything?

[woeful mulch]

how do i get thanatos companion after i give him 6 nectars?

[zenith wedge]

make zag himself proud

[chilly slate]

"Hmm, spear is glowing, may as well try it out, don't use it often."

||oh this is the one time Hades just, lets me go and I forgot that was a thing||

[west briar]

Wait until they get to the part of Romancing your own daughter or sons in Greek mythology lmao

[blazing egret]

How come the Furies are so weak that they're the first boss?

[safe yew]

i mean, don't quote me, but they are kinda supposed to be punishing MORTAL souls. not gods. but idk really

[safe yew]

why does dusa need so much ambrosia?

[zenith wedge]

Restocking the lounge

[safe yew]

i suppose

[summer hawk]

Oh Zagreus they can never make me hate you

https://x.com/z4greusbff/status/2007992855458120162?s=46

coni ☆ (@z4greusbff)

this will never not be funny oh my god

X · Jan 5, 2026, 1:49 AM

[supple falcon]

i find it incredibly interesting that if you stand next to hades long enough while at the house you can actually witness him speaking to the long line shades about underworld business. i love this lol

[heavy slate]

only if you've already talked to him. you can also speed it up by going in and out of your chambers! 😄

[uncut wadi]

"Next." "Get to the point."

[summer hawk]

I always cheered whenever he denied a shade

[dry moat]

"Denied"

[summer hawk]

Me when Hades denied a shade: YEAAAAHHH

[spark drum]

its rather hype inducing

[summer hawk]

In the family portrait, I just love Hades lovingly look at Persephone as she does the same.

You can see the love in their eyes

[native bough]

Dusa is so cute

She makes me happy

[supple ridge]

You know the really messed up thing about the ending? ||Persephone asks you to tend to her garden and then you can't|| 😭

[safe yew]

im sure zag tries

and dies trying

🥲

[summer hawk]

The best and cutest gorgon head

My favorite dialogue between Than and Zag

Zagreus: Hey, what is it you're always staring at out there, anyway, Than? I don't see anything

Thanatos: The River Styx is right in front of you, and you don't see anything, Zag?

[lethal shale]

Hiii I was wondering if there is a script for Hades 1 (that isn’t on the fan wiki). It is for a school project and it’s completely fine if there isn’t one, I have a second solution but I was just wondering.

[reef thistle]

you mean a list of all the story dialogue?

[glass hearth]

||Syphilis|| didn't really deserve his punishment tbh, you can't just torture a guy for bein smart

[lethal shale]

Yes

If it’s possible it exists

Ik the dialogue for the game is a lot

[zenith wedge]

I'd ask in the modding discord (pinned in #self-promotion )

[reef thistle]

uhhh, I don't want to be rude, but aren't the greek gods known for being extremely petty to any mortals who are "just being smart"

[reef thistle]

uhhh, you're gonna have a hard time, the game has so many voicelines that I'm pretty sure that to this day, there's some voicelines that haven't been found in game

[glass hearth]

my message was clearly a stupid joke

[lethal shale]

Thank you!!!

[lethal shale]

About 19k😭

Worst case scenario is me writing an email asking

[reef thistle]

yeah...

[lethal shale]

I’d be very interested to see them all

But I just need those specific ones and

Yeah

[summer hawk]

You mean Sisyphus

[summer hawk]

I hate when Dusa got fired

[summer hawk]

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/hades_gamepedia_en/images/6/6b/Zagreus_hurt.png/revision/latest?cb=20230803100533

This had to be one of the hottest sprite ||along with Prometheus defeated sprite||

Help Zag. He’s dying

[reef thistle]

I mean... him dying isn't really the hottest for me personally. I really like his pissed off look tho

[summer hawk]

Not really

[dreamy zodiac]

omg literally

bro your takes are always so real

btw I think that (H2 post game spoiler) ||Zag's H2 sprite and outfit are such a downgrade||

[summer hawk]

I honestly agree with you

[summer hawk]

||Maybe because he’s not wearing a toga meaning we can’t see him half shirtless anymore||

||His H1 design is better||

||His H2 design isn’t bad. But I wish he had more black in his outfit instead of gray.||

[dreamy zodiac]

||oh yeah that too. I'm just so in love with him it's insane||

[dreamy zodiac]

||yes, also why is his arm so weird now 😭||

||probably to make it more visible, still it looks weird||

[blazing egret]

Aren't there several mentions from the narrator & Zagreus tending to the garden, if obviously not as successful as Persephone? I'm sure the mortals that will build Ephyra will tend to her garden just fine during Zagreus' leave.

[heavy slate]

||no, he only succeeds in reaching the garden the first time you win after the credits. he tells his mother that her absence significantly shortened the time he has on the surface and persephone assures him that she has enchanted her plants to be able to survive by themselves.||

[blazing egret]

Oh yeah. Now I remember.

Damn. Felt like a flashback when you told me.

[supple ridge]

I think one or two - but it's still very distinct from something the player actually gets to do

[blazing egret]

I remember the rake & bear ending.

And the banana peel one.

Why doesn't Melinoe comically die/return to shadow in the post-game like Zagreus?

[fathom knot]

Is Hades 2 narrater by Homer as well?

Actually might not be the best channel to ask that but

One of the ideas was just that it was Homer making stuff up

but it also might just be the way the curse of styx plays out

is that Zag is able to go to the overworld, but fate will make him return to the underworld sooner rather than later, using whatever it can

idk since I’ve been too busy sticking to Hades to go play Hades 2

[blazing egret]

I suppose. There was that Vsauce reference & that "Oh gods! Watch out!" line, but not nearly enough funny "deaths" from Meli just yet.

[dreamy zodiac]

also Homer clearly ||likes Melinoe more so he makes her die her heroically and clowns on Zagreus lmao||

[summer hawk]

He’s so mean to Zag

[dreamy zodiac]

and the shades are fed up with him too 😭 he's sometimes cringy and annoying but like leave the king alone

[serene sundial]

Hello everyone, I'm currently aiming for 100% completion of the game on Steam, but I'm encountering a problem. The prophecy related to ||Sisyphus ||isn't progressing, even though|| he's full of nectar||.|| I've spoken to him and given nectar to his rock.|| All my characters also have maximum hearts... I've spent hours and hours going back to ||Sisyphus||, but nothing is happening. I don't understand it, and it's frustrating.

[fathom knot]

You need Nyx

She’s the one who finds his and the other story-room npcs contracts or sentences

So you can modify or anull them

[serene sundial]

So what should I do then, please?

[fathom knot]

Talk to her and Sisyphus until zag has her go look for it and then she will after a few runs

[serene sundial]

But I talk to both of them as soon as I can; it's strange that I still haven't had this conversation.

[fathom knot]

Then you can buy it from the housing contractor

[fathom knot]

Might just be stuck on rng dialogue

[serene sundial]

I also think so because I have at least 10 hours of gameplay just for this achievement which isn't progressing.

[fathom knot]

Hmm

Checking the Hades wiki mentions Meg and Hades dialogue lines

That might be bottlenecking you

[serene sundial]

Meg and Hades ?

[fathom knot]

Yep

[serene sundial]

hmm

[fathom knot]

"Sisyphus, I know you tend to be in remarkably good spirits, all things considered, but there must be something I can do to help with your predicament, isn't there?"
After this you will need to have:

Access to the Administrative Chamber (purchased through the House Contractor)
Conversations with Megaera (who needs to be at 5 hearts) and Hades about Sisyphus' situation
A conversation with Nyx (who must be at 5 hearts) about the Admin Chamber (which can also be triggered by advancing Orpheus and Eurydice's storyline)
A follow-up conversation with Nyx about Sisyphus' plight, in which she tells you the location of his file in the Admin Chamber

[serene sundial]

Yes, I see, I honestly don't know where the problem lies.

It's been 10 or 15 runs since Sisyphus has said anything more to me than his line before I choose my loot. Meg is rarely around now, and Nyx doesn't mention him.

[fathom knot]

I’d make sure to check in with Hades and Meg then

I think meg’s only in the house after you fight her in a run? mmm

that might just be Than thou

[serene sundial]

Yes, I'll probably have to persevere and keep doing runs to make progress, although it's starting to get really boring.

[serene sundial]

Where can I find that?

[fathom knot]

Maybe add an extra goal to be trying for instead

A speed or heat record while letting relationship stuff boil in the background

You’re going to need to do this for orpheus and achilles as well so

[serene sundial]

After more than 120 hours of gameplay, this is unfortunately one of my last objectives.

[serene sundial]

Yeah, I did them haha

[fathom knot]

That’s why I say having a speed or heat goal for your run-to-run gameplay might make it more interesting if you don’t want it to just be hitting your head against the wall until your rng works out

Like a goal to win in under 10 minutes or do a new heat record with a weapon etc

[serene sundial]

Yes, these are challenges I've done before, but I imagine I can try to do even better, I imagine.

It's just a shame because I've been stuck on this quest since the beginning of the game and now it's preventing me from progressing in the second installment.

because I'm stubborn

[fathom knot]

Time to raise the bar higher then

9 minutes

[serene sundial]

yeah

[fathom knot]

It’s just nice to be aimming for a skill based goal if you’re dependent on an rng one in the meantime

[celest thunder]

just got the conversation where Theseus and Asterius reignite their bond
But I didn't realize it would also unlock their Bros Attack. I'm never getting past Elysium again

[zenith wedge]

You can dodge it easily by dashing through it

[remote breach]

you can simply disable the bros attack by turning on extreme measures 3!

[fathom knot]

you can disable the bros attack by simply killing them first

[summer hawk]

Than doesn’t want to talk about Eris

We don’t talk about Eris no no no no

[cinder pelican]

Wdym

Wait NVM idk why I said that

[summer hawk]

She’s Strife that’s why

[solar breach]

||there is a shades in hade's bedroom, and its asking for 10 keys, and 1000 darkness, what is it for?||

[exotic pelican]

||The game communicates pretty clearly what it does. It's just a resource dump to "rank up" that otherwise does nothing gameplay wise.||

[celest iris]

Was there a lore reason specifically as to why Achilles, Theseus, Patroclus and co aren't just...

like every other shade?

Because 99% of shades aren't able of proper speech nor do they maintain their selves

[heavy slate]

the shades are capable of proper speech, as you can see when zagreus interacts with the gossiping shades in the house. it's probably just less practical and immersive if they need to write dialogue for every instance that a shade talks or reacts to something.

as for their appearances, eurydice actually explains this. when shades get registered in the underworld, they get to select and "lock in" their appearance (their appearance can be from any point in their life... or they can just choose to be a green blob for whatever reason)

[dreamy zodiac]

||once I reached the sigma rank I instantly knew I would never upgrade further. I'm certain Zagreus would love it the most||

[remote breach]

[summer hawk]

https://x.com/smtorama/status/2012996773044703728?s=46

s.m. (@smtorama)

I can't believe how different Hades and the House looked during really early EA but Zag was already his handsome self

X · Jan 18, 2026, 9:13 PM

Huh I never noticed this

Final Concept:

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/fkQAAOSww3tmFe6c/s-l1200.jpg

[celest thunder]

they already knew his design was perfect

though the new angle they gave him is a lot better; feels more humble, bc the game does a very good job at humbling you

[summer hawk]

I love how his concept look proud and but in final concept he straight up sarcastic and annoyed (sarcasm is in his veins)

Oh Zagreus never stop being sassy.

[compact fulcrum]

stupid thought i just had but do y'all think asterius could be considered zag's cousin (as well as cousin of all of zeus' kids) since poseidon made the cretian bull

[frank helm]

Asterius was born to the Cretian bull and Pasiphae

I am not sure if the Cretan bull counts as Poseidon's son, but if he does, then the bull is Zagreus' cousin. Asterius would be a nephew in that case.

[compact fulcrum]

i think technically that itd make asterius zag's first cousin once removed but yes i was getting at the idea of technically counting the cretian bull as a son of poseidon

simply cuz it'd be funny

[blazing egret]

What did Heracles do that makes him so apparently heinous in Hades' eyes that he wishes to cast him to Tatarus even before he's done completing the 12 Labors?

[fathom knot]

Stole Cereberus that one time

or did he try to help someone else kidnap Persephone

I may be getting my myths mixed up

[zenith wedge]

Latter was theseus and friend iirc

[fathom knot]

oh he set the dudes that tried to steal persephone free after the fact

[fathom knot]

why is theseus in Elysium then

[zenith wedge]

Oh if it was hades choice you bet he wouldn't be there

[fathom knot]

Poseidon said yadayada

[compact fulcrum]

he set theseus free not pirithous, at least in the actual myth

[zenith wedge]

Hades is basically a retail worker

[compact fulcrum]

pirithous was who tried to seduce persephone theseus was just with him

[zenith wedge]

He's exploding all the customers in his mind

[fathom knot]

“Hey bro wanna be my moral support for stealing Hades wife”

“Sure ”

[blazing egret]

Isn't he rather the ultimate bureaucrat in all of Greek myth if he accounts for every dead being on Earth?

[fathom knot]

Yeah

Also the only olympian who actually works and has a job

Up there with Helios snd Selene for the small subsection of employed gods

[zenith wedge]

ELYSIUM

Hades : "Elysium? It isn't for the good; it's for the great. Great kings or killers. Oft one and the same. They left their mark upon the world. Shall you?"

This + the convo about heracles is just him not liking what you need to enter it

[fathom knot]

I actually don’t remember this heracles stuff at all

from Hades

[zenith wedge]

Hades : "How goes your heated rivalry against the greatest king of Athens lately, boy? Your battles with him and the Minotaur must be the talk of the Underworld of late."

Zagreus: "Admit it, Father. Theseus was the only hero you were able to recruit to stand against me. All the while he gets to boast about being the champion. What, was Heracles too busy for the task?"

Hades : "Speak not to me of Heracles. You know these heroes by their deeds, not by their character. Heracles is fortunate he's in my brother's favor. Else he would be in Tartarus where he belongs. The mortal concept of what constitutes a hero is absurd."

Zagreus: "They should have asked the expert I suppose."

Idk if the hate for Heracles is just being favored by zeus or if he's judging him for killing his family (which was hera's fault anyways)

[fallen hazel]

Patroclus also has a great monologue about Elysium

"What qualifies a man to this eternity in so-called paradise? Even in death, there is no justice. I knew so many peaceful, decent men, but none of course are here. Instead, it is the warriors. The kings. The slayers. Great men? The standard for greatness is low, indeed."

[fathom knot]

how do you think King Minos and the other 2 judges

get the news about topside

and figure out who is a hero

[zenith wedge]

Isn't that somewhat hypnos's job

Ik he checks how someone died so I assume the house is gathering that info
Prob help of charon (and hermes by extension)

[fathom knot]

Hypnos just files how they die right?

[zenith wedge]

Hades spin off of working as an admin chamber shade when

[fathom knot]

highkey do mortals have boon portfolios on their paperwork lmao

like Ares gives his favourite guys urge to kill

cuz clearly this is information hypnos gets and files away for Zag

[blazing egret]

There are at least folks who move from Tartarus to Asphodel, however few there are. Fewer still those who move from Asphodel to Elysium.

[zenith wedge]

There's also the funny witches that magic their way to better regions

Or attempt

[fathom knot]

those guys who casually mog Meg with 0 boons

[zenith wedge]

I don't think any tartarus shade can even reach meg

Too maze like

Zag has benefits

[fathom knot]

zag gets there in 12 chambers every time

[zenith wedge]

And (hades 2)
||Melinoe uses her authority as princess to form a quick path of 5 chambers||

[cinder pelican]

i mean sometimes 11 if you count chaos? a shade couldnt go there right

[fathom knot]

same amount of chambers

[cinder pelican]

well, chambers in tart

not in general

[fathom knot]

Chaos just puts you 1 closer because he's chill like that

they're

[cinder pelican]

but surely a shade cant open chaos gate

[blazing egret]

In my 300 hours of Hades 1 & 2 combined, I never would've guessed.

[fathom knot]

ofc Melinoe gets nprincess treatmentr

[blazing egret]

Royal blood + actually knowing the damn command.

[fathom knot]

I like to think they can that'd be funny

[zenith wedge]

hades removed zag's prince privileges lol

[fathom knot]

no Zag surely lost authority when he

bruh same idea

[blazing egret]

What happens when a god loses a limb or appendage? Does it grow back or do they need to kill themselves to regenerate it?

[fathom knot]

like it's possible but the average shade probably has like 25 hp

[blazing egret]

Selene apparently has ||been so thoroughly killed once, she still bears the scars of Typhon||.

[cinder pelican]

id assume it grows back but im not exactly a greek mythology expert

or like get apollo

[zenith wedge]

depends how chopped up probably?

ask the titans

[zenith wedge]

chaos could also just reject you I think

[blazing egret]

Well it took 6 divine weapons to kill Chronos so thoroughly as to separate him into a thousand pieces.

[zenith wedge]

hades 2
||they mention allowing nemesis to stay due to her resembling nyx||

[zenith wedge]

also somewhat mentioned when talking about the eldest sigil

[blazing egret]

I'm just talking about getting a god getting their hand chopped off by a non-Fate Forged, regular-ass divine weapon.

[zenith wedge]

hades mentions only a few can use it and zag is not on that list lol

[fathom knot]

poseidon seems to be pretty healthy

so do all the gods who dealt with Typhoon

[zenith wedge]

I can see the olympians just regenerating it?

[blazing egret]

It would seem the scars Selene describes are blemishes on her otherwise perfect skin.

[zenith wedge]

zag prob has to die?

it sounds very funny when put like that

gets a minor cut > see you at the house!

[blazing egret]

Dionysus off-handedly talks about not being threatened by violence when he can grow it back.

[fathom knot]

"zag u have cthonic vitality you don't need to reset SD"

[blazing egret]

Or... come right back. Dunno.

[zenith wedge]

SIGIL

Hades : "The Eldest Sigil shall never work for you, boy. Only a privileged few have unconstrained authority to traverse this realm, and you are not among them, I'm afraid."

[fathom knot]

Zag would find a way to misuse it

[zenith wedge]

he fixes it for nyx at least

is a fun mental image for hades too

doing his paperwork all 7:48 then having to go to the sigil cuz zagreus is at styx already

Checking Sundial

"Looks like it's about 7:50."
"Let me guess ... 7:48? It was."
"It's 48 past seven."
"I think it says it's 48 minutes past the seventh hour."
"It's almost 8 o'clock?"

[blazing egret]

"all 7:48". That got a laugh put of me.

[fathom knot]

mfw when the lighting in thw house of Hades is static but Zag doesn't understand how sundials rely on the sun

[zenith wedge]

Zagreus: "I ... I'm sorry, Father, I just overslept. I must have overslept. How am I even supposed to know exactly where to be here, I mean, every moment every day and night, here, it's all the same!"

Hades : "It's not at all the same! The hue of Ixion's green light takes on an obviously lighter hue when it is time! You're an embarrassment not just to me, here, boy, but to this entire operation. Now get back to work!"

(from the admin chamber flashback)

👆 🤓 ehrm actually we know when is time to work - hades

[fathom knot]

clearly Zag cann't tell then

too busy being colourblind with his heterochromi eyes

[blazing egret]

It's a real shame I was finally disillusioned Hades' "I thought Achilles told you to be quick!" voiceline isn't contextually significant.

[formal ivy]

yall do i just keep talking to meg until i can gift her ambrosia
zag already wants to get back together

[zenith wedge]

Yeah

[summer hawk]

Anyone ever notice the first few line of Zagreus. His voice was pretty softer in the beginning until later his voice became more confident during the runs

[slender jungle]

guys i just heard the

thanzag banging scene

why are they like that 😭

and the fact that than just teleports with u into the bedchambers like- girl chill i just died and came back-

[formal ivy]

yall i just got to credits but should i get to the 3sum before i move on to h2?

[fathom knot]

at least get the epilogue beforehand

[shy saffron]

Your choice.

[formal ivy]

how many clears is that

[heavy slate]

reaching the epilogue depends on relationship progression, not the amount of clears.

[exotic pelican]

It's still of course tied to doing a lot of runs to work on those relationships. You can't meet everyone during any single run and they might take their sweet time to unlock their locked heart even when its condition is met etc.

[formal ivy]

does it require all the locked hearts?

[exotic pelican]

||Not all, no.||

[fathom knot]

6/8 regular olympians but it’s effectively 5/7 since Demeter counts at her soft-cap

[undone cargo]

Question is dusa like, THE medusa? Or just a random gorgon?

[zenith wedge]

She does react to athena if you use a greater call while her summon is out

Also
Maid dusa

[wind flax]

Oho

[wind flax]

Its time 😏

Zagreus who came to Achhilles for some relationship advices

I was waiting for this moment

[real vapor]

Bruh I’m so confused is zag and meg sibilings or dating bruh

Also why they trying to stop zag from meeting his mom bro that’s just sad

[fathom knot]

They are very much not siblings

this is not a Than situation

they are ex’s at the start of the game as far one can interpret

[real vapor]

So is Meg stopping zag because revenge

Or dm tbh

Smth

I shouldn’t have skipped all the dialogue lol

[fathom knot]

It is meg and her sisters job to enforce punishment in tartarus and prevent anyone from leaving

Zag keeps trying to escape Tartarus -> Meg’s job is to stop anyone from leaving

[wind flax]

The situation with Persefona is a secret for most of them. Above that first try of zagreus is just to go out, cos he hate his father his job and his situation overall. When he discovered via dream about Prrsefone, he got an aim, still didnt share it widely. Meg is one of the best Hades' employee, although she got her relationship arc, from "you stiupid week rat" to "i probably respect you a little". On the other side there is Than who inspite of his own feelings and obligations, found time to help Zag with their little murder competition. And they at least so close, that Zagreus was felt free to tell him about his mother. For Meg he had only "you wouldnt understand"

[wind flax]

What do you think - did Patrokles sit just next to achilles sculpture? There are this huge legs with pots...

🧐

[glad zephyr]

Dusa is a Gorgon ?

[fathom knot]

Maid Dusa

[glad zephyr]

No like, the monster type, a Gorgon?

[fathom knot]

Yes

[ruby portal]

should i finish hades epiloque before starting hades II?

[old horizon]

I’d recommend it, but if you really wanna go onto hades 2 you’ll be fine

[forest sparrow]

<@&456908176877551658>

[dire plank]

I have a question, how do I complete the epilouge?

I think I have to get a bond with every God that would take ages so please tell me thats not the case

Or maybe I have to give 6 nectar to each wich would still take long but not as long as getting a bond with each one

[fathom knot]

Forge bond with 6/8 (really more like 5/7 since demeter counts at the heart before her bond) regular olympians

[dire plank]

well I have 1 and thats Artemis got a long way to go I guess

[fathom knot]

Ares is pretty simple and rngless since it’s just 10k kills into one rng dialouge like acknowledging it iirc

aphro requires bonds forged with meg, dusa and than so maybe don’t aim for her

[dire plank]

sweet I'll focus on him next I know I have more then 10k kills so ez pz

[fathom knot]

If your only goal is speed at which you reach the epilogue

[dire plank]

I got a bond with Choas, do they count?

[fathom knot]

No

[dire plank]

darn

[fathom knot]

It’s just the 8 normal ones

[dire plank]

2 down

do upgrading the companions count as gifting ambrosia?

[fathom knot]

No

[wind flax]

Fish fo possaidon

For me Artemist was the hardest cis I didnt chose her boons at all at the begining of game

[sweet epoch]

is persephone dead?

[fathom knot]

No

[sweet epoch]

then why is demeter in winter mode

demeter is only in winter mode when persephone is with hades

[fathom knot]

Persephone went AWOL

Demeter doesn’t know where she is

None of the olympians do

[cinder pelican]

play the game and all will be explained

[sweet epoch]

damn

[wind flax]

One of tthe best part of storyline. Keep playing ❤️

[odd meadow]

Story wise Is there a reason to roamece both ||Meg and than||? I already romanced ||than||

[fathom knot]

you just do what you want for the romances

neither need to happen

purely your choice

No overarching effect on combat gameplay or profound impact on the wider story

[vocal osprey]

I mean, "if you want to romance both" .. you can, and you get unique dialogue. It doesn't change the ending, if that's what you mean.

[wind flax]

https://tenor.com/view/both-is-good-gif-24288319

😏

[warped solar]

🌒 🌕 🌘

[reef thistle]

So I unlocked the secret aspect of the gun and I just had the realization that Christianity is canon to the past or future of the Hades franchise

which is not the kind of realization I want to have at 7 am lmao

[topaz night]

So are a bunch of competing religions by this logic

But also just because some popular figure from a religious framework is extant doesn't say anything about how accurate any interpretation of that framework is

(there's lots of Luciferians that'd take a very different from "Christian" worldview too, saying nothing of Gnostics, etc.)

It might be closer to accurate to say Unitarian Universalism is canon lol though this itself would be a specific framing of what could also be said to be a very polyphilosophical "all myths are true" implied universe

[atomic forge]

I believe all hidden aspects in both Hades games come from different cultures/myths/religions

[rancid lichen]

Moving the conversation here from #h1-high-heat-strategies
#h1-high-heat-strategies message
Alright, so, I don't have to feed 10 nectar to a character to max out their hearts? I do like five nectars to fill it half way, and then the rest is filled up through completing their quest?

[solar mango]

No it's more like you fill it up half way do their quest which then unlocks the rest where now you have to give them ambrosia instead of nectar

[rancid lichen]

Aren't there like ten hearts per character? How on earth am I going to get that many nectar and ambrosia within another eight runs?

[solar mango]

just keep playing and youll get more than enough eventually

[fathom knot]

?!

You only do their favour at the end of their hearts

[solar mango]

i mean yea i meant that

[fathom knot]

at their 7th heart because the last 1-3 are locked

[solar mango]

but the last heart is locked

for the olympians

[fathom knot]

Most npcs just have 1 heart after the favour and you use ambrosia for that instea of nectar

[fathom knot]

For every npc (aside from Hades) their last 1-3 hearts after their 7th heart tbf

[solar mango]

yeah

[fathom knot]

“Within another 8 runs”?

[rancid lichen]

Well, I have to clear Hades ten times, right?

[fathom knot]

Game doesn’t end atp

there’s no cut-off point for a Hades savefile

until you have thousands of runs saved to memory then the game starts breaking down and you need to do a wipe on run history to keep the game functional

You can’t even get demeter favour completed until after the epilogue, which is post credits

The whole getting the Olympians last hearts thing is for the epilogue btw, it’ll come together after the 10 wins

[solar mango]

yeah i probably shouldve worded things better

im not that good at explaining things my bad

[rancid lichen]

Oh, whew, okay, so i just need to clear ten runs (Any or no heat) and I get the credit roll. But i can keep going to witness the epilog.

[fathom knot]

To be fair

one of the two of us has 4 years of experience explaining this kind of stuff

the other doesn’t

Don’t be too hard on yourself

[warped solar]

Hey. Hey. Hey. 😎

[rancid lichen]

One of my friends says there's at least three credit rolls. But doing the ten clears is the main one, right?

[zenith wedge]

That's the only credits roll

[reef thistle]

there's technically 3 endings to this game, but only one credit roll
ending 1: kill hades for the first time
ending 2: kill hades 10 times(also gives you dredits)
ending 3: achieve a bond with all the gods and invite them to the underworld for a reunion

[zenith wedge]

I wouldn't even call the 1st kill an ending

[rancid lichen]

It's certainly the one ending you can't avoid. 🤭

[solar mango]

Heheheheh

[rancid lichen]

I think I have only one more run before I get a credits roll. On my last run, I told Persephone about the portrait that Hades still has of her.

[reef thistle]

it's technically an ending, but yeah, it's definetly not on par with the other 2

[sleek wigeon]

64 heat true ending

[rancid lichen]

And d-o-n-e! 🎉 I've got the credits roll!

What else is there to do in this game, other than working to fill up the gods with ambrosia to get the epilogue, or continuing to do runs to test my skills?

[reef thistle]

heat 32 for skelly's sttue

getting everyone's bond

working towards all the steam achievements

maxing all keepsakes

in hades' chamber, you can spend some leftovers for swag

there's a lot to do

[sleek wigeon]

high heat and ff are really fun

id concider around 50 to be the most a casual player (me) should push to

[rancid lichen]

What are these objects covered in tarps next to the Pact of Punishment door?

id concider around 50 to be the most a casual player (me) should push to
Ya girl had to use God Mode to get this far, so I'm probably good.
high heat and ff are really fun
What's "ff"?
in hades' chamber, you can spend some leftovers for swag
How's that work? I was placed there after the credit roll, but all I could do was look at the painting.

[zenith wedge]

Fresh file runs

Ideally winning on the 1st one

[zenith wedge]

Awesome displays of your one and only zagreus, awarded by those willing to turn up the heat

Skelly should tell you about it

As for the thing in dad's room, is basically a resource dump

[zenith wedge]

Also fwiw I truly believe everyone can do 32 heat

[rancid lichen]

Maybe! I doubt I have the enthusiasm for it. I love this game, but I had to press myself to stick around for ten clears to see the main ending

[zenith wedge]

Fair enough!

[sleek wigeon]

i also think doing x clears for story is pretty dumb

[sleek wigeon]

Astral assent has this but way worse

There is also an incremental difficulty system and you can only go up one by one

Appernantlyit's only level 6 you need for the ending so 7 clears total but it felt like quite a slog to me

Imo atleast in Hades is better in this aspect since if you don't care about story you have access to all gameplay and difficulty stuffs after your first clear but in astral the final boss' last phase is locked behind 7 clears

[zenith wedge]

I'm glad hades doesn't require the difficulty system for its story lol

flashbacks to dead cells

[fathom knot]

I feel like in the case of the Hades story it just makes sense

[sleek wigeon]

I think it's a bad gameplay decision

Hades1 does have a story that tries to justify this and they are mostly successful

H2 doesn't handle this that well imo

Literally just farming resources

[reef thistle]

thing is, hades 1 couldn't relatively handle it's story any other way, it also kept it fresh by unlocking more gameplay mechanics after you have your first clear so it's not a slog

also, it's not a universal negative, NIER: Automate is an example that comes to mind as a game that actually gets better because you have to replay it

[pseudo stump]

NieR: Automata doesn't get better: it beats you up and makes you cry

[sleek wigeon]

weak argument

the part where zag keeps drowning or whatever on the surface while talking was clearly writen that way to justify making the player clear more times

but that doesnt detract from the fact that it is well done, like going up 10 times showing resolve from zagrius or whatever

[sleek wigeon]

it is a slog if you dont chose to engage with a meaningful amount of heat

[sleek wigeon]

ive not played that but ok

• many games have replay value, hades being one of them, but i dont see any benifit in locking content behind replay with minimal variation (if you dont chose to use heat yourself)

hades isnt super bad in this aspect because its just story that is locked behind replay + you can put on as much heat as you want

[sharp magnet]

I have a question. No rush.
So I went into the codex and read that Malphone was made by cyclopean smiths.
But chaos says that Aegis sprang from them after the dawn of time. And Zag mentions how the infernal arms were born from the dawn of time.
So are different weapons made from different people? Is Zag wrong? Or is Achillies wrong cause he wrote the codex?
I'm more inclined to believe Choas because they built the beginning of everything.
Just curious if I missed a line of dialog or something.

[shy saffron]

Sounds like the game is about as consisent as its source material :KEKW:

[sleek wigeon]

family reunited (without chaos) after 454 runs

999358269422321774

[reef thistle]

that's... a pretty weak argument, it's like saying a dark souls game only has one weapon type to play if you ignore all the other weapons, heat is a core mechanic of the game after you beat hades once, arguing that it's a slog if you don't use it is not a fault in the game design, that's a fault in the way a player approaches the game

[reef thistle]

look, I cried too but it's a GOOD GAME OKAY

[sleek wigeon]

...

so what about the large subset of players that dont play with the intent to push difficulty and just want to see the story

[reef thistle]

Or it was designed to make you test out other weapons and their aspects, or it was designed to make you test out your skills with the heat gauge, or it was designed so the player would test out other boons. Look, I'm not gonna say that the roguelike genre doesn't have issues, but saying that beating hades 10 times is a slog is just not a complaint that makes sense

[sleek wigeon]

the devs clearly didnt intend for the average player to engage that much with the difficulty since the max heat statue is only at 32

[reef thistle]

with god mode, it's ridiculously easy

[sleek wigeon]

yea and its a slog

lol what

[reef thistle]

considering how many people ask for help beating 32 heat, it is difficult for the average player

[sleek wigeon]

yea so fun for players who dont want to engage with diffuclty to put down minimum 9*20min of the same gameplay

[sleek wigeon]

yes hence the developer intent is for most players to not push the difficulty that high even

[reef thistle]

are you seriously arguing that with all the weapon and their aspects + the boon variety in this game that clearing it 10 times is the "same gameplay"?

[sleek wigeon]

are you sriously so dence that you cannot see the difference between a replayable game and locking content behind replay lol

you can play minecraft in any number of ways but you dont need to beat the game 10 times to see creddits

[reef thistle]

Are you that dense that you can't see the difference between encouraging the player to explore what the game has to offer and a slog for more content?

[sleek wigeon]

i can tell you that even while pushing heat at the same time in h2 getting the ending was quite a slog

it is just very demotivating that there is a demand for x clears

999358269422321774

[pseudo stump]

Eh. The average player has a lot of room to grow even after half a dozen clears

[reef thistle]

and that's not an issue since it's made to be a different experience(at least in 1) EVERY RUN

[sleek wigeon]

skull i have already said that hades handles it quite well however fundementally locking content behind x clears is lame

the content that is locked has to be motivating enough for the player to go though the slog

heat already offers alot of replayability