Tips/Advice for the Final Boss? (Possible Spoilers)

[roymaster45]

So, I'm consistently able to get to Temple of Styx, where I either die in one of the chambers or make it out to the final boss... where I pretty much always get curb stomped.

I can't even get him to the second phase of the fight before dying, and it seems like unless I have 3 or 4 Death Defiances (counting the one that you get from Skelly's keepsake), at least 80-90% of my max health, and a really good build, I might as well just let myself get killed in Temple of Styx and save myself the time.

I found this video, which does give a few good tips (particularly using the shield), but I'm still struggling. Any advice?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc-vMDon0m8

Couple of specifics:
1) I haven't unlocked the 30-key upgrades for the Mirror of Darkness yet, but I do have all the other upgrades maxed out (apart from Olympian Favor, which I think is at like 20-30%).
2) I typically start with Chaos' keepsake for Tartarus, one of the Olympians' for Asphodel, and Skelly's for Elysium onward. Although since I don't die too much in Elysium, I suppose it might be smart to save Skelly's for Temple of Styx...
3) Whenever I have a choice between a Daedalus Hammer or something else, I always go with the hammer. Is that smart, or should I prioritize other stuff based on what's available?
4) Is there a certain point in Asphodel and/or Elysium where I should just stop spending Obols (unless I really need health) and save them up for Charon's shop in Temple of Styx?

EDIT - if anybody's wondering why I don't have this game in my Steam library, I'm on the Switch version.

[West Dragon]

I never use Chaos gates personally and the Lucky Tooth is alright for beginners and maybe at higher heat levels, but it isn't necessary unless you really need that extra death defiance at Styx.

Consider starting your run with a keepsake from one of the gods based on your weapon and play style.

If you aren't sure which god is best for your weapon or style then default to Athena's keepsake so that you can get a deflect boon as soon as possible.

If you want a curse build then go for Aphrodite for weak effects to mitigate damage or Dionysus for hangover damage if you are confident in your ability to avoid taking hits.

Then, for Asphodel, swap to a keepsake from another god who's given you a boon in Tartarus to increase your odds of getting a Duo boon. Try doing the same for Elysium.

Then, for Styx, I suggest taking Spiked Collar, Lucky Tooth, or Coin Purse.

If you are using the twin fists, however, then always run with the Lambent Plume. With it and the fists, do not concern yourself with getting hurt, just kill things as fast as you can. It will make killing Hades easy.

Daedelus Hammer is always a good option.

Carefully spend your gold. Consider what pairs well with your weapon and current build before purchasing boons. Charon's final shop prices are high; so, no need to play as a miser unless you want to save up for a diamond or titan blood.

[lieutenantkirtar]

Boons that give a flat damage reduction and the hermes one that gives you a chance to dodge were helpful for survival to learn how to dodge his attacks.

[nickpresley]

There are a couple of things I'd recommend. I would say get Ruthless Reflexes, or whatever it's called, from the mirror, since it gives you both a 50% boost to damage AND dodge chance after dashing through an attack. Hermes' dodge chance boon stacks well with that, if you can find it, and Zeus's Lightning Relfexes boon makes it easier to pull off, and adds a bit of lightning damage on top.

For weapons, that comes down to how you prefer to play. You can upgrade Malphon (the fists) to give you greater dodge chance off the bat, so that's good. I prefer to use the spear's special, since its range is really good, alongside a doom boon, or lightning, to do damage at a safe distance. But, you could use the bow, or Exagryph to do that too.

Boons. I just covered a few really good ones, but I hear getting the Lightning Rod boon (electric shot + Artemis boons) makes Hades absolutely trivial, even more so if you pick up Fully Loaded, and some chaos boons that increase your bloodstones. With lightning rod, the more bloodstones that are on the ground, the more lightning strikes there are, and the more damage they do. Add on to that Splitting Bolt, Double Strike, Jolt, and the crit boon from Artemis, and you're looking at EZ mode.

Another good one is Scintillating Feast (Trippy Shot/Flare + Zeus boons). It works a lot like Lightning Rod, but has smaller area, and stuns enemies caught in the fog.

I hope that helps.

[DarrkPhoenix]

The Evergreen Acorn and Broken Spearpoint are both good keepsakes for the fight (much better than Skelly's keepsake IMO, unless you're rocking 400+ life); Acorn is better while you're still learning the fight, and Spearpoint is better to have once you're more comfortable with it.

The Shield can be one of the easiest weapons when you're first learning the fight, as you can mostly just alternate between blocking and bullrush and take very little damage, plus since it's less hectic it gives you a chance to slow down and watch Hades move set a bit more closely.

A technique you'll want to get down as you learn the fight is dashing through Hades spin attack- this is very counter-intuitive at first (you see a big attack coming and you want to get away from it), but once you get the timing down it's actually the best way to deal with the spin, and it puts you right behind Hades as he finishes the attack, which is the safest time to dps during the fight.

When Hades summons shades during the first phase try to keep your distance from Hades while taking out the shades- this is because for many players the shades add an extra level of distraction, which makes you more likely to take one of Hades attacks. Getting rid of the shades means you can again devote your focus solely to Hades. A similar consideration applies to the skulls Hades spawns- if your dps is good it can be worthwhile to quickly take them out so you don't have to worry about dodging the waves they create. If you don't have enough dps to do this comfortably then note when they're going to explode and focus on dashing through the wave to avoid damage from it (trying to run away from the waves can get you boxed into corners).

In the second phase it can be worthwhile to intentionally destroy most of the urns Hades summons to clean up the arena before focusing back on Hades. This is especially true if you have damaging dash abilities that can get up breaking urns left and right without you intending to do so. In the second phase a good time to dps is when Hades is summoning the urns, as well as right after his spin (same as in the first phase).

I'll also note that a lot of this advice changes once you're dealing with the EM4 version of the fight, but you're still a ways off from that.

[roymaster45]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! Will take another crack at it when I get home this afternoon.

(I did get enough Titan’s Blood to unlock the Zeus upgrade for the shield, so that should hopefully help quite a bit).

[ATalksToSelf]

I personally took 80 hours to get my first clear so don't worry if you're taking a while.

As for tips, most everything here everyone else has said I agree with, the ones I don't are personal preference lol. I'd say the most important part of every run is deciding what you're trying to build before you start. For example, since you just unlocked Zeus Shield, you could go for Zeus Special, hope for charged shot (goes through shields on those enemies and Theseus btw), get an Aphrodite boon if possible, and then try for her duo with Zeus with a good spammable call. Or, if you get Artemis early on, you could try for pressure points and support fire to gain extra damage from your shield, etc etc. Keep in mind what options you enjoy/find powerful and narrow down which you choose as things pop up.

I'd also max out the mirror soon, the final option gives you rerolls on either room rewards via the starting door or boons/well items which makes getting what you want easier.

[roymaster45]

Update: Finally managed to beat him for the first time! I got REAL lucky - managed to purge Poseidon's fishing boon after Elysium for 450 coins and replenish one Death Defiance at Charon's Well, giving me a total of 3 extra lives heading into Styx - but still super proud of myself.

Thank you all for the tips and advice! I really appreciate it. (Now to just keep bashing my head against the wall until I get to the ending...)

[ATalksToSelf]

Originally posted by roymaster45:

Update: Finally managed to beat him for the first time!

Congrats! Good luck with future clears too, they're all just as satisfying.

[spammy]

Originally posted by Noodles:

I never use Chaos gates personally and the Lucky Tooth is alright for beginners and maybe at higher heat levels, but it isn't necessary unless you really need that extra death defiance at Styx.

Consider starting your run with a keepsake from one of the gods based on your weapon and play style.

If you aren't sure which god is best for your weapon or style then default to Athena's keepsake so that you can get a deflect boon as soon as possible.

If you want a curse build then go for Aphrodite for weak effects to mitigate damage or Dionysus for hangover damage if you are confident in your ability to avoid taking hits.

Then, for Asphodel, swap to a keepsake from another god who's given you a boon in Tartarus to increase your odds of getting a Duo boon. Try doing the same for Elysium.

Then, for Styx, I suggest taking Spiked Collar, Lucky Tooth, or Coin Purse.

If you are using the twin fists, however, then always run with the Lambent Plume. With it and the fists, do not concern yourself with getting hurt, just kill things as fast as you can. It will make killing Hades easy.

Daedelus Hammer is always a good option.

Carefully spend your gold. Consider what pairs well with your weapon and current build before purchasing boons. Charon's final shop prices are high; so, no need to play as a miser unless you want to save up for a diamond or titan blood.

a bit late to this but i personally highly recommend taking chaos gates whenever possible unless you're in a very bad situation with your health, not only are the bonuses that chaos can give usually worth it, extra max hp among other things, if you're lucky then chaos can give you a legendary boon that gives you an extra death defiance for the current run that can also be restored by athena and kiss of styx. (assuming you already have a boon from chaos because that's actually required for chaos defiance to even be available to be offered lol)

[West Dragon]

On normal, the game is so easy that Chaos doesn't offer all that much for success. On Hell Mode, healing is cut so the health cost for a chaos gate is a death wish. So, I don't use them.

[zoutzakje]

Health is a resource. Not going into Chaos gates because you're afraid of hell mode healing is a mistake. Chaos boons can have some great stuff, adding a high amount of life or a significant amount of damage. I've had several runs where I increased the amount of darkness and gemstones I'd get several times just to speed up the grind a little bit. 1500-2000 darkness from 1 escape attempt was pretty sweet. Once you have some dice rolls you have more control over the chaos boons as well.
The downsides from the chaos boons are potentially worse than the little bit of life loss, but they only last for a few rooms/encounters. Just know what you're getting and know how far away from the boss you are.
I'd experiment with it more. And if you really dislike the health loss, you can always wear his keepsake.

Also, gratz roymaster45 on beating him! So satisfying. May you beat him many more times.

[West Dragon]

Originally posted by zoutzakje:

Health is a resource. Not going into Chaos gates because you're afraid of hell mode healing is a mistake. Chaos boons can have some great stuff, adding a high amount of life or a significant amount of damage. I've had several runs where I increased the amount of darkness and gemstones I'd get several times just to speed up the grind a little bit. 1500-2000 darkness from 1 escape attempt was pretty sweet. Once you have some dice rolls you have more control over the chaos boons as well.
The downsides from the chaos boons are potentially worse than the little bit of life loss, but they only last for a few rooms/encounters. Just know what you're getting and know how far away from the boss you are.
I'd experiment with it more. And if you really dislike the health loss, you can always wear his keepsake.

Also, gratz roymaster45 on beating him! So satisfying. May you beat him many more times.

How I choose to play the game is not a mistake; it is a choice, a preference. I have tried using chaos gates before and I found the boons provided entirely too lacking for the amount of risk involved.

[zoutzakje]

Fair enough. To each their own.