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latespringI've been trying to write this post for far too long, but here it is finally. Some brief thoughts on Hades (2018) the video game, specifically re: boons and weapons I like. I have thoughts about the story, but they're not really coherent? So no post there.
So first of all, I think some important context is this image lmao:
I have more wins with spear (12 now, at the time of this post) and shield than anything else, so my boons are naturally going to lean towards ones that work well with those two weapons. To give you even more context, I use aspect of Zeus on shield and aspect of Hades on spear*.
*Rip to the aspect of Achilles but I had the worst time trying to adjust to raging rush. Maybe I'll try it again later!
I also suck at maneuvering--I'm a button masher gamer at heart; I've never been skilled in avoiding attacks when I can take them and hit back twice as hard instead.
The list below has a pretty wide variety of boons, I think they all have their uses, except possibly Poseidon. I don’t really like his boons in any of the main slots except for cast or dash, mostly because the knock-away effects make it harder, not easier, for me to hit things. Rip to people who know how to use them, but I’m different.
Shield Build
Attack On shield, which knocks things away anyway (a feature I don’t really like), I don’t really care which attack I have--I find that it isn’t that important when I’m fighting.
Special This is specific to aspect of Zeus, but Dionysus special is so good!! You can stack the DoT aspect of it with the shield and just kind of sit back behind it and let the damage stack up. Other than that, anything that stacks is my choice on special: ares, zeus, demeter.
Cast With shield, I really like casts that continue to output damage over time. Demeter is ideal there, as well as Ares. Artemis is good too because of the lack of aiming it requires.
Dash Athena is the ideal here, because I cannot dodge for the life of me. Best after that are boons that apply status effects or damage.
Call Demeter is my favorite but honestly anything not Poseidon or Ares is fine here.
Spear Build
Attack Compared to shield, my attack boon is what I worry more over with spear. Especially if I can get a good Daedalus upgrade, it can be really easy to stack Dionysus effects here! Athena is my favorite for the ability to deflect things.
Special I don’t use my special as much on spear, so I value something that can apply damage/status effects that don’t need to be stacked. Ares, for the doom effects, is a favorite.
Cast Since I’m running around more with spear, I value more mobile casts (I’m still flipping between picking up or generating bloodstones). Artemis is a favorite, as is Poseidon--his cast gives me a little more room to work with in cramped spaces, and unlike his boon in an attack slot, lets me control how I’m knocking foes away.
Dash The mirror boon I have is the one that gives you +40% damage against enemies with two status effects on them, so I like to have either my special or my dash apply a different effect from my attack. If I can’t get Athena dash, I’ll go for Dionysus/ Demeter/ etc. Maybe Poseidon if I have to.
Call Same thoughts as with shield, with the bonus that I think artemis boons are good!! Athena is useful for not dying, but I don’t quite have the timing down on using it yet.
So! Other boons.
I won’t list all of them I like by name, because quite frankly that’s too much effort, so this section will be a little bit shorter than the other two.
Generally I like revenge boons a lot, no matter which god it is. I also like ones that enhance effects that I have already, ie the poseidon boon that applies rupture to foes you knock away.
I like a lot of the Hermes boons as well, side hustle is a favorite.
Chaos Idk, as long as the curse isn’t -health on attack, I’m usually fine with any of them. Still debating how useful the rewards are in some respects though.
Duo Boons I haven’t unlocked all of these, put the most useful one I have has been Crystal Clarity which is the Artemis and Demeter boon, which makes Demeter’s cast track your foes.
Daedalus Upgrades My favorite Daedalus upgrade by far has been Serrated Point which does the following: Your Dash-Strike hits 3 times, but your dash has -25% range. It’s incredibly useful given that dash-strike is half of my spear strategy, and paired with athena boons, it deals a lot of damage and keeps me alive at the same time.
Other than that, there are Daedalus upgrades that I like more than others, but none that I would classify as particularly necessary to a great run, unlike Serrated Point. I generally find Daedalus upgrades to be less useful on shield, with Charged Shot* (the upgrade that turns your Bull Rush into a projectile shot) being actively unhelpful.
*Once, I got to the temple of styx, chose the anvil upgrade from Charon, and got Charged Shot as a Daedalus upgrade to fight Hades with. I died so quickly it was unreal.
I’d love to talk about this game more with anyone!
So first of all, I think some important context is this image lmao:
I have more wins with spear (12 now, at the time of this post) and shield than anything else, so my boons are naturally going to lean towards ones that work well with those two weapons. To give you even more context, I use aspect of Zeus on shield and aspect of Hades on spear*.
*Rip to the aspect of Achilles but I had the worst time trying to adjust to raging rush. Maybe I'll try it again later!
I also suck at maneuvering--I'm a button masher gamer at heart; I've never been skilled in avoiding attacks when I can take them and hit back twice as hard instead.
The list below has a pretty wide variety of boons, I think they all have their uses, except possibly Poseidon. I don’t really like his boons in any of the main slots except for cast or dash, mostly because the knock-away effects make it harder, not easier, for me to hit things. Rip to people who know how to use them, but I’m different.
Shield Build
| 1st choice | 2nd choice | 3rd choice | |
| attack | |||
| special | dionysus | zeus | ares |
| cast | demeter | ares | artemis |
| dash | athena | aphrodite | zeus |
| call | demeter |
Attack On shield, which knocks things away anyway (a feature I don’t really like), I don’t really care which attack I have--I find that it isn’t that important when I’m fighting.
Special This is specific to aspect of Zeus, but Dionysus special is so good!! You can stack the DoT aspect of it with the shield and just kind of sit back behind it and let the damage stack up. Other than that, anything that stacks is my choice on special: ares, zeus, demeter.
Cast With shield, I really like casts that continue to output damage over time. Demeter is ideal there, as well as Ares. Artemis is good too because of the lack of aiming it requires.
Dash Athena is the ideal here, because I cannot dodge for the life of me. Best after that are boons that apply status effects or damage.
Call Demeter is my favorite but honestly anything not Poseidon or Ares is fine here.
Spear Build
| 1st choice | 2nd choice | 3rd choice | |
| attack | athena | artemis | dionysus |
| special | ares | aphrodite | demeter |
| cast | artemis | poseidon | |
| dash | athena | ||
| call | demeter | artemis | athena |
Attack Compared to shield, my attack boon is what I worry more over with spear. Especially if I can get a good Daedalus upgrade, it can be really easy to stack Dionysus effects here! Athena is my favorite for the ability to deflect things.
Special I don’t use my special as much on spear, so I value something that can apply damage/status effects that don’t need to be stacked. Ares, for the doom effects, is a favorite.
Cast Since I’m running around more with spear, I value more mobile casts (I’m still flipping between picking up or generating bloodstones). Artemis is a favorite, as is Poseidon--his cast gives me a little more room to work with in cramped spaces, and unlike his boon in an attack slot, lets me control how I’m knocking foes away.
Dash The mirror boon I have is the one that gives you +40% damage against enemies with two status effects on them, so I like to have either my special or my dash apply a different effect from my attack. If I can’t get Athena dash, I’ll go for Dionysus/ Demeter/ etc. Maybe Poseidon if I have to.
Call Same thoughts as with shield, with the bonus that I think artemis boons are good!! Athena is useful for not dying, but I don’t quite have the timing down on using it yet.
So! Other boons.
I won’t list all of them I like by name, because quite frankly that’s too much effort, so this section will be a little bit shorter than the other two.
Generally I like revenge boons a lot, no matter which god it is. I also like ones that enhance effects that I have already, ie the poseidon boon that applies rupture to foes you knock away.
I like a lot of the Hermes boons as well, side hustle is a favorite.
Chaos Idk, as long as the curse isn’t -health on attack, I’m usually fine with any of them. Still debating how useful the rewards are in some respects though.
Duo Boons I haven’t unlocked all of these, put the most useful one I have has been Crystal Clarity which is the Artemis and Demeter boon, which makes Demeter’s cast track your foes.
Daedalus Upgrades My favorite Daedalus upgrade by far has been Serrated Point which does the following: Your Dash-Strike hits 3 times, but your dash has -25% range. It’s incredibly useful given that dash-strike is half of my spear strategy, and paired with athena boons, it deals a lot of damage and keeps me alive at the same time.
Other than that, there are Daedalus upgrades that I like more than others, but none that I would classify as particularly necessary to a great run, unlike Serrated Point. I generally find Daedalus upgrades to be less useful on shield, with Charged Shot* (the upgrade that turns your Bull Rush into a projectile shot) being actively unhelpful.
*Once, I got to the temple of styx, chose the anvil upgrade from Charon, and got Charged Shot as a Daedalus upgrade to fight Hades with. I died so quickly it was unreal.
I’d love to talk about this game more with anyone!
no subject
Date: 2020-12-04 03:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-12-05 02:29 am (UTC)I'm so impressed you've got wins with gun/fists, I've died in tartarus every time with them.