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 Instead, it’s been replaced by a brand new boon called Rousing Reception, which allows your cast to cause damage to enemies as they enter an encounter.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
