Though Supergiant Games largely has its head down as it works on Hades 2’s first major update coming later this year, the already phenomenal sequel is still getting patched throughout early access. Its latest update isn’t focused on any one thing, but aims to fix a lot of issues that have been observed since the previous patches, and issues a significant amount of balance changes ahead of its first big content drop.
The most impactful changes this time around are actually the outright removal of some features from the game. For example, the boon Family Trade, which granted a boon of higher rarity upon the sacrifice of one you already had, is no longer in Hades 2. Instead, it’s been replaced by a brand new boon called Rousing Reception, which allows your cast to cause damage to enemies as they enter an encounter.
A Daedalus Hammer upgrade to the Sister Blades has also been snuffed from the game, which is a bit of a blow. The upgrade, known as Escalating Ambush, would grant a bonus to the Sister Blades’ Omega Attack after using the technique to successfully kill an enemy. Considering the popularity of Escalating Ambush builds, the upgrade’s removal is definitely hurting fans of the Sister Blades.
Funnily enough, though, not only did the Sister Blades get a buff to their backstab damage, but Chronos’ behavior in his boss fight has been adjusted to make it easier to stab him in the back. Before, his sequencing of moves made him a bit of a pain in the ass to get behind, meaning it was difficult, if not impossible, to score backstabs, which enjoy a significant damage multiplier, on him. Now, the fucker should go down more readily as long as you can sneak up on him.
Otherwise, there have been some balance changes to encourage more build variety. Of particular note is the Golden Rule boon, which got a nerf of sorts. Golden Rule, which granted a flat damage bonus to your attack and special moves based on how much gold you had, now has a lesser multiplicative damage modifier on all types of damage. In essence, you shouldn’t be able to two-shot bosses based on how wealthy you are anymore.
Here are the entirety of the latest Hades 2 patch notes:
Aspects of the Nocturnal Arms
- Sister Blades (Melinoë): increased damage striking foes from behind
Boons & Blessings
- Lightning Lance (Zeus): improved targeting while using gamepad controls
- Spirit Surge (Zeus): reworked; now whenever you use magick, a surrounding foe is struck by lightning
- Sworn Strike (Hera): slightly reduced bonus from Poms of Power
- Engagement Ring (Hera): reworked; inflicts Hitch on foes, and any slain in the circle deal area damage
- Family Trade (Hera): cut from game; replaced with…
- Rousing Reception (Hera): new! Your Casts damage foes as they enter the Encounter, wherever they appear (this effect was previously innate to Engagement Ring)
- Golden Rule (Hera X Poseidon): now applies a multiplicative global damage bonus, rather than a flat bonus only to Attacks and Specials
- Beach Ball (Poseidon x Apollo): added greater damage and area scaling over a brief charge-up duration
- Mint Condition (Hephaestus): invulnerability effect now resets between Encounters in same Location
Daedalus Hammer Upgrades
- Mirrored Thrasher (Staff): removed Life penalty; now requires Magick instead
- Skulking Slice (Blades): reduced bonus damage striking foes from behind
- Escalating Ambush (Blades): cut from game; replaced with…
- Wicked Onslaught (Blades): new! Adds power to Attacks
- Melting Shredder (Axe): increased damage to Armor
- Inverted Spark (Flames): now also causes projectiles to linger for longer
- Whirling Coil (Flames): projectiles no longer spin in place; renamed from Origin Coil
- Crushing Comet (Flames): cut from game; replaced with…
- Triple Comet (Flames): new! Your Special fires more projectiles
- Destructive Array (Skull): now deals a percentage of your Attack damage whenever your Shells drop
- Rocket Bombard (Skull): increased damage
Hexes of Selene
- Phase Shift: rescaled some Path of Stars upgrades
- Lunar Ray: rescaled damage over a shorter duration
Foes & Encounters
- Chronos: adjusted sequencing of some moves; now easier to strike from behind after certain moves
- Headmistress Hecate: now easier to strike from behind after certain moves
Oath of the Unseen
- Vow of Haunting: Revenants can no longer spawn others; you now collect them from farther away
- Damage penalties from Vow of Blood and Vow of Suffering now are added, rather than multiplied
Bug Fixes
- Fixed several later narrative events related to Nemesis and Moros never playing
- Fixed interaction between Witch’s Staff (Momus) and Mirrored Thrasher (Daedalus – Staff)
- Fixed visual shield from The Lovers (Arcana) not appearing while using Sister Blades (Artemis)
- Fixed some hit-stun effects applying unexpectedly during Riposte from Sister Blades (Artemis) Fixed Ionic Gain (Zeus) not working correctly while Icarus is around
- Fixed Glorious Disaster (Zeus x Apollo) using Magick without activating the bonus effect
- Fixed Hail Storm (Zeus x Demeter) sometimes not working on Chronos
- Fixed interaction between Bridal Glow (Hera) and Heavy Metal (Hephaestus)
- Fixed Golden Rule (Hera x Poseidon) not applying a global damage bonus as the description states
- Fixed Hydraulic Might (Poseidon) unexpectedly granting invulnerability at the start of Encounters
- Fixed Water Fitness (Poseidon) unexpectedly restoring Life whenever you gained Water essences
- Fixed Freezer Burn (Demeter x Hestia) sometimes not working on Chronos
- Fixed Icarus Armor boosts not correctly adding to Hephaestus Armor boosts
- Fixed Burnt Offering (Hestia) sometimes selecting a different Boon to sacrifice if Rarified
- Fixed Hard Target (Hermes) not affecting Sea-Serpent shots and other splitting shots
- Fixed Atrophic (Chaos) sometimes displaying incorrect values
- Fixed Aetheric Moonburst (Daedalus – Staff) not restoring Magick when your Magick is full
- Fixed Inverted Spark (Daedalus – Flames) sometimes preventing Attacks from destroying urns
- Fixed interaction between Phase Shift (Selene) and Alacrity upgrade not resetting properly
- Fixed Lunar Ray (Selene) firing indefinitely if you collected a reward while firing
- Fixed interaction between Experimental Hammer (Icarus) and Full Salvo (Daedalus – Skull)
- Fixed several Keepsakes not correctly showing up as expired when switching between regions
- Fixed Headmistress Hecate shadow copies being vulnerable to Aphrodite’s Charm Curse
- Fixed upgraded Warding Circles in Erebus sometimes recharging your Hex multiple times
- Fixed instances where time-slow effects could unexpectedly persist if quickly chained together
- Fixed Guardians appearing to restore Life after taking heavy damage from Hestia’s Scorch Curse
- Fixed cases where using Change of Fate on a reward preview would not offer a different result
- Fixed Witch of the Crossroads and Natural Talent Prophecies not appearing as expected
- Fixed Moon Beam (Selene) sometimes unexpectedly displaying as expired in Boon Info
- Fixed several Boons not appearing in their respective Olympians’ Fated List Prophecies
- Fixed Breath of Eros (Charon) not appearing in the Valued Customer Fated List Prophecy
- Fixed a display issue in the Fated List with the prompt to view more requirements
- Fixed Reset option in the Oath of the Unseen not always resetting all Vows as expected
- Fixed instances where camera motion could push Melinoë offscreen in the Rift of Thessaly
- Fixed an issue preventing the use of the Book of Shadows while Icarus is around
- Fixed occasional visual issues with special deliveries from Shrines of Hermes
- Fixed several text and voiceover errors
- Fixed several rare crashes
- Other minor fixes
