Am i missing something with the Sword?

[TheWorstOS]

I feel like the sword is just flat out underwhelming, its special is alright, however it is slow which goes completely against the grain of the fluid gameplay of the sword, attack damage wise it has lower dps than the shield which is a fkin shield.... hopefully im missing something, if I am can you guys clue me in?

[wwwJam]

The Sword's strengths lie in its aspects and its hammer upgrades, some of which, like Flurry Slash and Piercing Wave, are flat busted (especially both combined!). I don't know if you're far enough along to know what the aspects are, but suffice to say, they're quite strong. The baseline aspect though, what you start with, is indeed rather underwhelming, I'll admit. However, it's probably the ultimate "Learn the Game" weapon. It takes a bit of finesse, but keep practicing and you'll see the Stygian Blade's beauty.

Also, keep something in mind about Aegis- it's got 3 giant godforsaken blades attached to it. It's much more than just a tool to block things.

[K. the Land-Surveyor]

I initially bounced off the Sword super hard, but I cleared the game for the first time on my 38th try yesterday, and cleared it again on heat 1 again today. The special isn't that slow, and it's a pretty fluid weapon once you get into the rhythm of things, though I think it might be tied with the Fists for the weapon that benefits the most from a good Dash. The two critical mirror skills are the backstab damage one and the double dash.

I use the Nemesis aspect, start with whatever keepsake (Usually Coin Purse, then a god-specific keepsake in Asphodel) switch to the Acorn keepsake in Elysium (I won with Skelly's tooth yesterday, but never actually popped it, and I'm finding the Acorn to be much better). I prioritize Attack boosts from Chaos/Hermes, and I generally prefer Poseidon, Dionysus, and Artemis for my boons. I really like Poseidon for every weapon, Dionysus offers some great "support" boons, and Artemis works really well with the native crit chance on the Nemesis aspect.

Here's my victory screen from yesterday. Good luck!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2167609086

[Qain]

Tbh I found a lot of the weapons a bit lackluster except the bow and arrow. It's probably just me and my playstyle (I like to kite enemies and move a lot), but I find that, overall, it's rather difficult for me to dish out damage effectively until later on when I get a lot of upgrades. The shield is also a nice combo, but I find it a bit too aggressive for my taste.

[TwoTonTuna]

I got my first escape with the sword. I was lucky enough to get the hammer upgrade that cuts your hp down to 40% while allowing you to leech +2 health with each attack.

I coupled this with Demeter's boon that regenerates HP when you run out of second chances. I just whittle down the last boss' HP, relying on leech and regen to keep myself alive.

[Zikh]

The final form of the sword is broken as ♥♥♥♥. Especially when combined with Aphrodite's attack blessing and attack speed upgrade. If you get both, you simply win automatically.

[Shoepots]

Originally posted by Zikh:

The final form of the sword is broken as ♥♥♥♥. Especially when combined with Aphrodite's attack blessing and attack speed upgrade. If you get both, you simply win automatically.

Basically this. the hidden final aspect does an insane amount of damage.

[RaddMuffin]

The sword's hidden Aspect of Poseidon increases cast damage by X% per level, making it great for cast builds once upgraded.

A strong damage cast with a runs worth of "+1 Cast" upgrades and Artemis's boon that damages enemies on Cast crystal dislodge, absolutely melted Hades for me

[7 Barrels Of Tea]

If you can't use first three forms of sword(or just feel uncomfortable with it) use fourth form, it's easy and op.

[Washing Machine]

The first form's special is a bit lackluster, all the other forms feature some perk to make it way more worthwhile.

Outside that it's a mobile weapon with slightly better range and wider arc than the shield. And as said, the hammer upgrades for the sword tend to make it way better, while the shield upgrades don't do quite as much usually. I still find myself relying on dashing and mashing with the shield either way.

[Qain]

I am definitely missing something then. How do you get access to these forms? I beat the game just once.

[wwwJam]

Originally posted by Qain:

I am definitely missing something then. How do you get access to these forms? I beat the game just once.

Eventually you'll be able to use the Titan's Blood you've acquired to awaken different "Aspects" for each weapon. These Aspects alter the functionality of the weapon in some way. Some of these changes are small, some are drastic. Try picking out a weapon, and then selecting it again while holding it, you may already be able to awaken an aspect.

[Qain]

Originally posted by wwwJam:

Originally posted by Qain:

I am definitely missing something then. How do you get access to these forms? I beat the game just once.

Eventually you'll be able to use the Titan's Blood you've acquired to awaken different "Aspects" for each weapon. These Aspects alter the functionality of the weapon in some way. Some of these changes are small, some are drastic. Try picking out a weapon, and then selecting it again while holding it, you may already be able to awaken an aspect.

Thank you!!

[Specific Beef]

Anything with a slow Attack and/or Special is the reason why Hermes's speed-up boons exist. The early game on high Heat is going to be tougher than it is with some of the other weapons, but once you get speed improvements, Daedalus hammers and a decent number of boons, you will absolutely rip through the later stages of the game. Until then, you just need good timing and good judgement of distance.

This kind of thing is the joy of Hades but also demoralising until you've experienced it enough. There will be runs that feel hopeless and make you want to quit, and chains of unsuccessful runs that might make you think a weapon is flatout bad or not good for you, but really it's just this thing about reaching a tipping point where you flip sides as hunter and hunted with the enemy.

[Kiibo]

At first, I absolutely hated the sword once I got my hands on the bow and spear. The sword just seemed so weak compared to those weapons. However, I realized that sword's aspect of Zagreus fit perfectly with my playstyle that revolved around Ares' Doom effect.

I would use the bonus movespeed and dash range in order to strike each enemy once before dashing off to another. The doom damage was usually enough to kill. I got some other boons along with it and got some insane DPS if I focused a single target.

I nuked the final boss so fast it was actually kinda sad. My very first win came from that sword build just today in fact. Don't sleep on the sword if you love speed in your playstyle!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2168675616

[Washing Machine]

Originally posted by Luxury Malcolm:

This kind of thing is the joy of Hades but also demoralising until you've experienced it enough. There will be runs that feel hopeless and make you want to quit, and chains of unsuccessful runs that might make you think a weapon is flatout bad or not good for you, but really it's just this thing about reaching a tipping point where you flip sides as hunter and hunted with the enemy.

Yeh, I just lower heat down to shut Hadey up once when he keeps chuckling at my chain of failed attempts.

Higher heats are apparently just about kiting and patience. And I will gladly say that patience is not my strong point.