45 hours and 48 runs so far.....can't beat Hades

[GoulactiX]

So ...I;m pretty good at this game - I feel like Im pretty far into the progression of the story and items that help you with runs . I no longer die to Theseus and the Bull of Minos . however I can't beat Hades . I could only go though half of his second phase before he overwhelms me . Could any of you help ? Im most experienced with the bow and the shield and spear at 3rd place . My favorite keepsakes to use are Evergreen Acorn , Skull Earring , Harpy Feather Duster and Broken Spearpoint

[GoulactiX]

Originally posted by Toxic Coffee:

Just pray that u get an op combo...
This game doesnt value skill past Elysium, you either have a braindead build at that stage or you will have to suffer the bullet sponge hell.
Aim for artemis and demeter blessings, specially the ones that give you crit and slow down or even freeze enemies.
(Hermes blessings also help with dodge and speed)

I've noticed that the catacombs of the temple of Styx are a huge gamble on your health and death defiance charges before facing Hades...I just don't know If they are worth it . Meanwhile there are people that have their first clear early one in the game by 15 hours in and in the 20-30 runs

[Hiragawa]

Eh... not really. The smaller rooms in Styx you should never really get hit. The small rats die in one hit if you just dash around and attack, the larger rats should never get close enough to you with any weapon (including the fists if you use the special or have the range increase from the hammer) for their poison shaking to hit you. The lasers can be blocked by the environment and attacked between bursts, or just flat out dashed behind so you can stop them from casting. And the little bomb launchers are jokes.

Then the Satyr's only have one real attack, which is the frontal dart. Just dash behind them or sidestep the dart. Even the final room of each path is large enough to employ the same tactics, just play hit and run with the armoured mobs until you delete their yellow bar and can stun them.

As for Hades, if you can get to phase two and are having issues, slow down. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but attack *less*. Instead spend your time dodging him and only attack after his animations. When he tosses skulls out, dodge away from them to lure Hades away, then dodge back towards them to kill them.

His long openings are right after he spins (continually dodge away when he dashes towards you and wait for the actual spear spin to end, then dodge back in attacking) and right after his lasers (Which can be blocked by the two pillars). You don't need an OP combo or a powered up mirror at all for him. I recently came over from Gamepass because I wanted to own the game after playing it there for a week, and dropped Hades on my fourth run with terrible boons.

You can do it. Oh, and if you're using the shield remember that you can block nearly every attack in front of you if you hold down the bull rush charge. You can pretty much block block block dash your way through the entire Hades fight without getting hit.

[GoulactiX]

Originally posted by Hiragawa:

Eh... not really. The smaller rooms in Styx you should never really get hit. The small rats die in one hit if you just dash around and attack, the larger rats should never get close enough to you with any weapon (including the fists if you use the special or have the range increase from the hammer) for their poison shaking to hit you. The lasers can be blocked by the environment and attacked between bursts, or just flat out dashed behind so you can stop them from casting. And the little bomb launchers are jokes.

Then the Satyr's only have one real attack, which is the frontal dart. Just dash behind them or sidestep the dart. Even the final room of each path is large enough to employ the same tactics, just play hit and run with the armoured mobs until you delete their yellow bar and can stun them.

As for Hades, if you can get to phase two and are having issues, slow down. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but attack *less*. Instead spend your time dodging him and only attack after his animations. When he tosses skulls out, dodge away from them to lure Hades away, then dodge back towards them to kill them.

His long openings are right after he spins (continually dodge away when he dashes towards you and wait for the actual spear spin to end, then dodge back in attacking) and right after his lasers (Which can be blocked by the two pillars). You don't need an OP combo or a powered up mirror at all for him. I recently came over from Gamepass because I wanted to own the game after playing it there for a week, and dropped Hades on my fourth run with terrible boons.

You can do it. Oh, and if you're using the shield remember that you can block nearly every attack in front of you if you hold down the bull rush charge. You can pretty much block block block dash your way through the entire Hades fight without getting hit.

Alright....I will try your tips

[GoulactiX]

Originally posted by Hiragawa:

Eh... not really. The smaller rooms in Styx you should never really get hit. The small rats die in one hit if you just dash around and attack, the larger rats should never get close enough to you with any weapon (including the fists if you use the special or have the range increase from the hammer) for their poison shaking to hit you. The lasers can be blocked by the environment and attacked between bursts, or just flat out dashed behind so you can stop them from casting. And the little bomb launchers are jokes.

Then the Satyr's only have one real attack, which is the frontal dart. Just dash behind them or sidestep the dart. Even the final room of each path is large enough to employ the same tactics, just play hit and run with the armoured mobs until you delete their yellow bar and can stun them.

As for Hades, if you can get to phase two and are having issues, slow down. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but attack *less*. Instead spend your time dodging him and only attack after his animations. When he tosses skulls out, dodge away from them to lure Hades away, then dodge back towards them to kill them.

His long openings are right after he spins (continually dodge away when he dashes towards you and wait for the actual spear spin to end, then dodge back in attacking) and right after his lasers (Which can be blocked by the two pillars). You don't need an OP combo or a powered up mirror at all for him. I recently came over from Gamepass because I wanted to own the game after playing it there for a week, and dropped Hades on my fourth run with terrible boons.

You can do it. Oh, and if you're using the shield remember that you can block nearly every attack in front of you if you hold down the bull rush charge. You can pretty much block block block dash your way through the entire Hades fight without getting hit.

The catacombs seem to overwhelm me even knowing each enemy's weakness . There are just too many of each enemy on the later chambers in each direction + worrying about the butcher knives . I lose a death defiance almost 100%

[matthew]

Have you tried enabling God mode in settings? it starts with 20% resistance damage, but when you die, it increases it by two, up to 80# It can make the game a fair bit easier.

I also hate those chambers too, some can be really easy with the right weapon, / skill combo, otherwise, it can be really difficulty. I find the sword and the bow to be decent weapons, The bow with its heatseeker ability. The sheild is also a good weapon, the aspect that splits the shield after you bull rush. (try and get the hammer upgrade for faster bull rush)

If you are still having trouble, there is another trick I learned to make the game a lot easier, and its an easy edit as well.

[Hiragawa]

All of the final chambers have multiple pillar sections that you can hide behind. Take them slow and watch for the attacks. Once one fires off, pop out and attack, then dash back behind the pillars if you need it.

Ideally, clear the Centaur Heart path first, and then the Coin path. That will give you the best chance of making use of the fountain you find on the "correct" path, and enough coin to make use of the random stores that might show up in the paths. The shop items that restore health per encounter work on each room there, and if you have at least 200 coins saved in the paths, you could luck upon a death defiance refresh.

If you *need* to skip the extra Styx paths, by all means do it. But the rewards are usually super helpful, and the coin you get from them can help you pick up some extra things from Charon right before Hades.

And remember, your melee weapons will stop any unarmoured monster from attacking you with the poison darts, etc, so long as you're attacking them.

[GoulactiX]

Originally posted by matthew:

Have you tried enabling God mode in settings? it starts with 20% resistance damage, but when you die, it increases it by two, up to 80# It can make the game a fair bit easier.

I also hate those chambers too, some can be really easy with the right weapon, / skill combo, otherwise, it can be really difficulty. I find the sword and the bow to be decent weapons, The bow with its heatseeker ability. The sheild is also a good weapon, the aspect that splits the shield after you bull rush. (try and get the hammer upgrade for faster bull rush)

I'm using the aspect of Zeus ...I just love an independent shield hurtling towards as it gives me buffs .God mode would make the game into a joke .....but so is playing dozens of hours and not being able to finish the game . That's tedious . I might give up eventually all together

[Hiragawa]

Originally posted by GoulactiX:

Originally posted by matthew:

Have you tried enabling God mode in settings? it starts with 20% resistance damage, but when you die, it increases it by two, up to 80# It can make the game a fair bit easier.

I also hate those chambers too, some can be really easy with the right weapon, / skill combo, otherwise, it can be really difficulty. I find the sword and the bow to be decent weapons, The bow with its heatseeker ability. The sheild is also a good weapon, the aspect that splits the shield after you bull rush. (try and get the hammer upgrade for faster bull rush)

I'm using the aspect of Zeus ...I just love an independent shield hurtling towards as it gives me buffs .God mode would make the game into a joke .....but so is playing dozens of hours and not being able to finish the game . That's tedious

If you're using the Zeus shield, you can make every one of the Styx chambers a joke. Wait for the attack, then pop out from around a pillar and toss your shield before dashing back behind cover. It takes a bit to learn the proper distance to prevent your shield from bouncing back at you, but once you have that down you can just safely stay behind cover while your spinning wheel of death destroys trash.

It works on Hades too. Spend the fight dodging through the center of the arena while your shield is spinning dead center.

[matthew]

Yeah I know what you mean, You can switch switch God mode on and off when ever, as its not tied to a run. I found the game frustrating at first, but god mode did help to make things easier. For the shield, do try the aspect of chaos, but its better if the aspect is fully upgraded.

[Toxic Coffee]

trying to unfollow the thread but its fkin impossible

[matthew]

Yeah, I have that trouble too, once you follow a thread, subscribe to forum, that is a real annoyance to unsub from.

[GoulactiX]

Originally posted by Toxic Coffee:

trying to unfollow the thread but its fkin impossible

click on the "Unsubscribe from discussion" button on the right

[Bobywan]

Try to have 400 health by the time you get to Hades and replenish your death defiance at charon's shop if you can to help you.

Have you unlocked any chtonic companion yet ? At first, you can only use Sisyphus companion against hades (1000 damage + give you a little health), you need to give nectars to sisysphus and then ambrosia, it could help you defeat hades.

When Hades does his spin attack, dash towards him, when he does his light ray attack, hide behind pikkars (or use the shield).

you can also use god mode in the options to make the game easier.

[cappie enjoyer]

if you really want a good combo to beat hades with, play spear and try to pick up two hammer upgrades. the first being flurry jab, the second being extending jab. this allows you to play really safely and you'll be able to deal with enemies extremely easily.

also gotta love it when people say this game doesnt value skill past elysium. this just isn't true.

[DarrkPhoenix]

For the Temple of Styx, knockback effects are crazy OP due to the small size of the rooms. Shield can be great here, as it has some inherent knockback effects, and Tidal Dash can be absolutely devastating (if I'm doing a bow run I try to pick it up just for Styx, as the bow doesn't do nearly as well in the small rooms there).

For Hades, as other posters have said, slow down, watch his attacks, and wait for good dps opportunities. Work on the timing for dashing through his spin (use those iframes), as the pause after the spin is one of the best dps opportunities for close-range weapons. Shield vs Hades can be a very easy fight if you take things slow and just block until safe dps chances arise.