30% Butterfly Achievement tips

[Evil Chancho]

I have all the weapons unlocked, all the hidden aspects, maxed mirror, and I think I have to have it minimum 5 heat

What weapon, keepsake (besides butterfly of course), and aspect should I choose?
Also what boons should I be looking for and what should I focus on building up first (cast, attack, dash, special, etc.)

[Askeladd]

Standart bow or fists are fine.

[LT2483]

It's more about getting good. That said, here are a few tips:
1. Early game is the easiest to build the butterfly, so if you get hit before the first boss, it's easier to reset. Note that trove combats don't build the butterfly, so you can get hit in them fine, and you don't have to try them, although you should for the resources.
2. Range or damage. Either you want to stay out of harms way with long range attacks, or kill things before they can hurt you.
3. Athena dash. Makes it so much easier to dodge, and the extra damage it can inflict is good too.
4. Dash and kite. You can't trade hits, so make sure to avoid them. Walk past attacks where you can, then dash past where you can't.
5. No heat. No need to make it harder than it has to be :)

[⭕TheSodaman]

I think for this, I ended up using the Shield: Beowulf, then using the Special with Athena / Demeter / Artemis.

I also adjusted the mirror upgrades to +damage to undamaged foes and also +damage when Zag's life is above 80% just so that the specials hurt more.

And then tried to keep distance, take time, and Special enemies to death. Athena Dash would have made this a lot easier / safer as well.

Having the keepsake at 3 stars also helps.

The Skelly companion might help a bit on mini bosses or bosses.

I don't think you have to have heat for this. Although you could take 5 heat just for Erebus in Tartarus. You can pick things like Hard Larbor, Lasting Consequences, and the price one if you need - since the goal of this run is less to clear the run and more just to get the keepsake bonus to 30%.

[Psyringe]

Fair warning, massive wall of text incoming. ;)

Originally posted by Beanfalo:

I have all the weapons unlocked, all the hidden aspects, maxed mirror, and I think I have to have it minimum 5 heat

I'm not sure I understand the last of these statements. If you're thinking that you need a minimum heat level to unlock the achievement, then I don't think that's correct.

Originally posted by Beanfalo:

What weapon, keepsake (besides butterfly of course), and aspect should I choose?

Also what boons should I be looking for and what should I focus on building up first (cast, attack, dash, special, etc.)

Weapon:

- I'd take something ranged, like Exagryph with its powerful special and Aspect of Eris, especially if you get the Triple Bomb upgrade. Targeting System slows down enemies so that they won't reach you as fast. Seeking Fire can help if enemies get too close, but is just a consolation prize if you can't get either of the previous ones.

- Alternatively you could take the Hestia Aspect and hope for Hazard Bomb - it seems counter-intuitve to take an upgrade that makes you vulnerable to your own weapon's damage, but it's usually easy enough to avoid the AoE, and the damage is so massive that enemies die before they can wound you. That's more of a gamble though.

- The shield is also an option, since it lets you block attacks. Using the Aspect of Chaos gives you a viable ranged attack; you can do mini-Bullrushs far away from enemies to have 6 projectiles with every throw. Dread Flight and Dashing Flight help making the special more deadly.

- If you're comfortable using the Aspect of Beowulf, then that's also an option, as its downside (increased damage taken) won't affect you when your objective is to take no damage to begin with.

- Spear with Aspect of Hades is another way of killing enemies before they get too close, especially with Massive Spin and Quick Spin. You'll have to master the technique of dashing towards the enemies right when you unleash the spin, so that your attack reaches more enemies. You'll generally be closer to enemies than with a ranged build though, so this seems more risky.

- The bow could in theory also be an option, but personally I find that its power shot charges too slowly and impedes mobility. That said, the special is quite good for clearing enemy projectiles like the witches' purple balls.

- In short, many weapons can be used in _some_ form for a take-no-damage build, and you can choose the one you feel best with. Only the fists and the sword wouldn't work well imho, since they focus on melee, where it's hard to prevent getting hit occasionally.

Keepsake:

- I'd take the butterfly from the start, the first rooms are the easiest to get through without taking damage. That precludes using any other keepsake until you get the achievement, though (as you can't switch and go back to the butterfly).

- In theory you could choose an Olympic's keepsake for Tartarus, to make sure that you can run the build you have in mind, and then switch to the butterfly from the second act onwards. But I think that wastes too many opportunities for easy no-damage rooms to be worthwhile.

- The Chthonic companions Rib (makes enemies attack a decoy) and Fidi (petrifies enemies) can help preventing damage, but since they have a limited number of uses, you'll probably only use them in difficult fights where the main priority (for the purpose of getting the butterfly achievement) is to stay alive rather than taking no damage at all. If you want the help of e.g. Mort or Battie in the boss fights, take those.

Boons:

- Caster builds are very good if your objective is to kill enemies at range while safely staying back. Demeter's Crystal Beam does huge amounts of damage if leveled up a few times. Glacial Glare makes the beams last longer and chills enemies, so they stay in the beams longer and approach you slower.

- Athena is amazing for preventing damage, especially with Divine Dash. Her other boons can help as well, but that depends on the exact build you're running. I'd give Divine Dash top priority.

- Artemis is a good choice for Aid, since she does a seeking ranged attack (so you don't have to risk going near enemies to make the attack hit them). You can simply activate the seeking arrows when they are ready, while still concentrating on avoiding damage. Most importantly though, Artemis's Aid together with Demeter's Crystal Beam is one possible path to the Crystal Clarity Duo Boon, which makes crystals seek enemies much faster.

- Alternatively, Ares' Aid makes you invulnerable while doing damage. Athena's Aid makes you invulnerable as well, but isn't as useful if your character is built to prevent taking damage in the first place. Either of these two boons could help getting you out of a tight spot, though.

- Dionysos and Aphrodite or good choices for the special, since they inflict a status effect. If you also use Glacial Glare to inflict Chill, then you can keep enemies at two status effects most of the time, which gives you +40% damage with "Privileged Status" from the mirror.

- If you can't get Crystal Beam, then Dionysos's cast is also quite strong, but you have to aim it. Artemis's cast seeks its targets automatically, but doesn't inflict a status effect.

- Hermes is always useful to give you more dashes, speed up your special (or other main damage dealer), or bring crystals back to you quicker.

- The Attack boon isn't as important if you're doing most damage with your special, but I'd fill it quickly anyway, to prevent attack boon choices from clogging up the selections of other boons (the game prioritizes attack / cast / special / dash over other options). You could use Dionysos or Aphrodite to inflict another status effect (whomever you didn't choose for the special). Ares lets your attack do good damage even if you don't buff it up otherwise, since he does a flat amount of damage rather than adding a percentage.

Mirror of Night:

- Most of the choices won't specifically affect a take-no-damage run, but Stygian Soul might be worth considering, since it gives you a constant ammo supply without having to go to wherever your crystals dropped. But personally, if I go for a Crystal Beam build, I'd rather have more crystals for more damage. (Regardless of which option you take, getting +1 crystal from Chaos is always good for caster builds.)

- The +25% damage bonus from High Confidence might be useful. You won't get the health boost from Thick Skin, but as long as you _do_ get through the difficult fights, you won't need the extra health if your goal is to avoid damage.

- If you're going for a Duo Boon like Crystal Clarity, then Gods' Legacy is a better choice than Gods' Pride.

- Fated Persuasion and Fated Authority will both be very helpful. Whichever you take, having it at max level will make your run much easier. Without any of these, the inability to "force" gods to appear by choosing their keepsake will feel much more limiting.

[ATalksToSelf]

I ended up getting the achievement myself with Hera, using either Poseidon's or Dionysus' cast (don't remember which but I picked something with good aoe) and got it in a few tries. You can probably do it with whatever weapon/aspect you're most comfortable with, but I would recommend range since trying to keep your distance helps. If you go with a cast weapon, take Stygian Soul. Having it regenerate instead of needing to go pick it back up is a much safer option, and while you do lose two cast stones, you can get more via Chaos curses or Artemis' legendary.

Honestly, the most important tip here is knowing how to plan on the fly with what you're given, as you won't be taking other keepsakes to force boons/give defense/etc, and don't be ashamed to give up and try again if you take damage.

[tyrone shoelaces]

best tip is don't get hit.

dodge helps with that.

[NorthernDruid]

Also note that you should avoid non-combat rooms (stores, chaos, and NPC rooms) as they don't give you an opportunity to charge the butterfly.

And don't worry too much if you end up missing it in a boss or miniboss chamber, that's pretty much to be expected.

[gilbert12113]

Not to boast about it, but yes a little bit. I missed the achievement a number of times (5-10) before reaching 42% - even though I am not a top player. Twin fist Zagreus, Fidi, with Divine Dash and then later in the game Divine Protection and Hyper Sprint. I believe Divine Protection helped more than once.

[Quyzbuk]

I mean if your sole goal is to just get that achievement, and you're on a hell mode save file from the sound of it, just leave everything off and take a ranged weapon and see if you can snag a nice cast like floodshot to help you keep enemies far away from ever touching you.

Edit: Oh and for further security, take skelly's chtonic companion to taunt enemies away from you.

[Phex]

For me this was less about getting good and more about remembering the main things that tended to damage me.
Which for me were traps and witches/splitters - the enemies who fire ranged orbs.

Ranged weapons are a lot of help, certainly.
I would opt for the Rail Gun rather than the bow though.
The bow is slow and forces you to be static for far too long.
For the gun, I'd suggest making a build around the cast.
If you can get the dedalus upgrades for either triple cast or the upgrade that increases the damage but can damage you as well (if you stand in it) - then you're well on your way.

I also agree with one of the previous posters (sorry, terrible memory for names) in that going with the athena blessings is a very good idea.
If you can get her legendary blessing, which gives you a one-hit negation shield, then that's a very good backup to have for this achievement.

Apart from that, practice and hope for luck. Focus on maps and enemies where you tend to fail and do your best to improve. It will happen eventually.

Oh and yes - Do pick up the trinket before starting the run rather than after, in case that wasn't obvious. It's also highly recommended to level it up to three starts as well.

Best of Luck! Here's hoping you get it done!