We're very grateful for all your support of Hades II since our v1.0 launch last fall, and all through our Early Access development before then! With that in mind, we're pleased to present our second Post-Launch Patch, which includes some bonus content and quality-of-life improvements we've been working on.
Highlights
• Fated Prophecy Updates: Prophecies about characters such as Odysseus and Arachne now have new narrated conclusion scenes, which can be viewed in the Fated List once those Prophecies are fulfilled.
• Forever Gifting: Most Crossroads characters now can be gifted Bath Salts, Twin Lures, or Ambrosia indefinitely after forging a bond with them, in various brief new scenes.
• Going Steady: Characters with whom Melinoë can have non-Platonic relations may occasionally show interest in continuing to have such relations.
• New Dialogue Events: Many of the game's characters have new things to say at various points throughout the story.
• ...And More! Look for dreamy new decorative items in the Crossroads Training Grounds, a new alternate form for each Animal Familiar, and additional surprises we hope you'll enjoy!
Aspects of the Nocturnal Arms
• Aspect of Artemis (Blades): Riposte effect now recharges faster between uses
• Aspect of Pan (Blades): now also works with Dancing Knives (Daedalus)
• Aspect of Hel (Skull): Omega Attack now channels faster; now hits cocoons more reliably
Boons & Blessings
• Tidal Ring (Poseidon): now hits multiple foes more reliably
• Seismic Servo (Poseidon x Hephaestus): now applies its bonus to several additional Boons
• Snow Queen (Demeter): the barrier is no longer negated by attacks that deal no damage
• Fire Away (Hestia): now works with all Casts, not just Hestia's
• Sword Ring (Ares): increased damage
• Grievous Blow (Ares): increased bonus from Rarity and Poms of Power
• Grisly Gain (Ares): increased chance of weapon strikes spilling Plasma; Rarity and Poms now affect how much Magick is restored by collecting Plasma
• Profuse Bleeding (Ares): reworked — now creates a falling blade over a surrounding foe whenever you collect Plasma or inflict Wounds
• Sanguinary Savor (Ares): reworked — now increases Wounds damage, in addition to drawing in Plasma automatically; adjusted offering requirements
• Winner's Circle (Hermes): now works more consistently with all Cast effects, speeding up how quickly they deal damage then expire; effect re-scaled to compensate
• Various other minor fixes and adjustments
Hexes & Path of Stars
• Tribulation (Moon Water): now activates your 'after you take damage' effects multiple times in a row
• Decline (Twilight Curse): reworked — now increases direct damage from the projectile
Resources & Reagents
• Resources obtained using Gathering Tools now offered more consistently
• Minor changes to inventory descriptions of some resources
Foes & Dangers
• Sorrow-Spiller (Fields): slightly reduced appearance rate
• Charybdis (Thessaly): fixed cases where this Encounter would not initially occur for longer than expected; tentacles no longer susceptible to Morph, consistent with the Vow of Rivals Encounter
Level Design & Environments
• Various minor fixes and improvements to several Locations
Fated List of Minor Prophecies
• Updated several character-related Prophecies with additional instructions as you make progress; adjusted at which points some of these Prophecies are foretold or fulfilled
• Melinoë, Help Us: increased priority of key events; the narrated epilogue scene now can be re-viewed
• Silk and Spitefulness: increased priority of key events; added narrated conclusion
• Voice and Vanity: increased priority of key events; added narrated conclusion
• Haunted by the Past: increased priority of key events; added narrated conclusion
• Unfinished Business: increased priority of key events; added narrated conclusion
• Soundest of Sleepers: added narrated conclusion
• Denier of Suitors: reduced requirements to fulfill this
• Original Virtues: reduced requirements to fulfill this
• Born to Win: increased priority of event in which Chaos introduces this
Art & Visual FX
• Updated some Fated List artwork and added artwork for the character-related Prophecies noted above
• Added new banner animation when fulfilling most of the character-related Prophecies noted above
• Added new greeting animation when you confront Infernal Cerberus after a certain point
• Added ambient animations for Hecate while she stands in the Crossroads
• Added ambient animations for Moros while he stands in the Crossroads
• Added animations for Selene when she greets or salutes in the Crossroads
• Added portrait variant for Heracles for a particular context
• Updated some transition animations using Aspect of Supay (Flames)
• Updated visual FX for bombing runs by Icarus
• Updated visual FX for Mental Block (Athena)
• Updated visual FX for Colossus Slash (Daedalus - Axe)
• Updated visual FX for Dashing Heave (Daedalus - Axe)
• Updated some visual FX for Aspect of Circe (Staff)
• Updated some visual FX for King Vermin (Oceanus)
• Updated Hecate sticker on her Keepsake after forging a bond with her
• Updated artwork where Chronos can appear in Erebus after the True Ending
• Various other minor graphical fixes and improvements
Voice & Narrative
• Icarus now is less painstakingly reluctant when it comes to trying to forge a bond with him
• Characters in the Crossroads now will accept an initial gift of Bath Salts earlier than before
• A key scene later in the relationship with Moros now may occur under less-restrictive circumstances
• A key scene later in the relationship with Nemesis now may occur under less-restrictive circumstances
• Moros now may appear in additional circumstances while Melinoë returns to shadow
• Hecate now has more to say about each Hidden Aspect of the Nocturnal Arms, among other things
• Poseidon now becomes increasingly enthusiastic as Sea Star activates more times
• The audience watching Scylla and the Sirens has new responses after a certain point
• Zagreus now has more to say about the Supportive Shade after a certain point
• Heracles now can somehow be persuaded to visit the feast of Dionysus after a certain point
• Melinoë has new voice lines when choosing Sacrifice Boons
• Melinoë has new voice lines for Lone Shades summoned by the Aspect of Anubis (Staff)
• Melinoë now has more to say to the gigantic severed statue head in the Fields of Mourning
• Melinoë now has things to say about the unlockable Abandoned Statue in the Training Grounds
• Melinoë now gives due credit if Toula vanquishes a Guardian
• Melinoë now comments when choosing Keepsakes near the end of the Prophecy Melinoë, Help Us
• Melinoë now may comment when she can gift Nectar to Echo if she has not already done so
• Melinoë now may comment when new Chaos Trials are available in the Pitch-Black Stone
• Dora now has more to say while in the Crossroads Training Grounds
• Eris now has opinions about the decorative Warning Sign pointing to her, among other things
• Odysseus now has more resources to give you at various points
• Nemesis may lighten up a little in her Encounters after a certain point
• Hecate and Odysseus may sometimes be chatting when no urgent matters require their attention
• Moros and Odysseus may sometimes be chatting when no urgent matters require their attention
• Narcissus and Echo may sometimes be chatting in the Fields of Mourning after a certain point
• Hera won't act like she never met you if you reach the Palace of Zeus before you find her Boon
• More characters now have voice lines when re-offering their blessings using Change of Fate
• Adjusted priorities and requirements for various voice lines and narrative events
• Other minor additions, fixes, changes, and improvements
Music & SFX
• Updated sound effects for Elephant Rockets (Daedalus - Shiva)
• Updated sound effects for collecting Gifts of Night after the Incantation Bounties of the Infinite Abyss
• Added sound effect of Moonstone Axe hitting the ground after the full attack sequence
• Added sound effect when setting the Express Route in Tartarus
• Adjusted volume of several sound effects
• Other minor fixes and improvements
Settings
• Zoom In: new! Set the camera a bit closer to the action. Recommended for smaller displays. Look for this in the Accessibility menu.
Miscellaneous
• You may now skip most of the narrated Homer outcomes after a successful clear (he won't really mind)
• You may now sort the Archived Trivia menu by Animal Familiar
• The Argent Skull Special now destroys trees in Erebus in one hit
• Added Reward preview icon when entering Locations just before a Region's Guardian
• Updated text if you just so happen to lose to Zagreus
• Updated Path of Stars menu selection art to make unpicked upgrades easier to see
• Updated Seed-planting menu to only show Seeds; selection now defaults to last chosen Seed
• Updated Inventory hints for several resources
• More Boons of Hestia now will ignite oil slicks in Thessaly
• Arachne now responds if you take a swing at her
• Added more-festive atmosphere to the Crossroads during the night after the True Ending
• Adjusted Book of Shadows entry for Persephone
• Adjusted camera during Taverna sequences with Icarus to make him easier to see
• Updates and fixes to translations in all languages
Bug Fixes
• Fixed controller vibration not working while petting Cerberus (once you can do so)
• Fixed a rare case where you could avoid finding Hades on the path to the True Ending
• Fixed Aspect of Nergal (Axe) sometimes missing if you changed direction during a Dash-Strike
• Fixed visual issue where Melinoë could get stuck in the Special animation for the Moonstone Axe
• Fixed Vampiric Cataclysm (Staff) not being improved by Old Herbal Remedy (Circe)
• Fixed the effect of Phase Shift (Selene) persisting unexpectedly after entering a Chaos Gate
• Fixed Lunar Ray (Selene) ending unexpectedly if Athena happened to arrive
• Fixed additional cases where you could end up out of bounds after using Wolf Howl (Selene)
• Fixed Moon Water (Selene) affecting controls for the Aspect of Persephone (Skull) Omega Special
• Fixed interaction between Arctic Ring (Demeter) and Hostile Environment (Demeter x Ares)
• Fixed interaction between Rapid Onslaught (Daedalus - Blades) and Aspect of the Morrigan (Blades)
• Fixed Pride of Poseidon regeneration being canceled by Zeus arriving in the battle against Typhon
• Fixed cases where Gold taken from Personal Loan (Dionysus) would not be re-paid when expected
• Fixed Slothful (Chaos) causing an unexpected burst of speed if it expired while affected by Miasma
• Fixed Expiring (Chaos) dealing its burst of damage despite having the effect of Breath of Eros (Charon)
• Fixed an issue that could cause the Prophecy Natural Talent to not appear in the Fated List as expected
• Fixed cases where you could unexpectedly accept the same Boon twice
• Fixed cases where you could unexpectedly interact with Athena twice as she arrived
• Fixed Engraved Pin (Moros) sometimes unexpectedly resetting its effect in a Location
• Fixed Ghost Onion (Dora) not quite fully healing when possible in certain situations with Vow of Scars
• Fixed several Keepsakes not having added feedback when their effects have expired and can be replaced
• Fixed an issue that could cause Magick not to regenerate as expected in Family Dispute Encounters
• Fixed Lone Shades sometimes failing to hit Polyphemus when expected
• Fixed Gale not blocking the ink effect from a Hellifish along with the damage
• Fixed cases where Boons of Ares could be offered before you properly met
• Fixed a case where the Incantation Beast-Loved Morsel would not be available when expected
• Fixed a case where the Crossroads Renewal Project would not become available when expected
• Fixed Golden Boughs in the Fields of Mourning sometimes not showing Athena if she was present
• Fixed Location Rewards unexpectedly appearing in the Crossroads after a failed Encounter with Nemesis
• Fixed song subtitles sometimes getting stuck onscreen while Melinoë and Artemis sing together
• Fixed contextual interaction with the Hot Springs not being available right away
• Fixed unexpectedly being able to open the Book of Shadows while being warped out of Asphodel
• Fixed visual issue where Zagreus could remain tinted if affected by Freeze during Death Defiance
• Fixed Talos sometimes throwing his shields straight through walls
• Fixed Eris sometimes throwing Rubbish where it could not be reached
• Fixed various voice lines not playing as expected
• Fixed several text errors
• Other minor fixes
Quote of the Patch
'Sleep, you are lord of all, lord of blessed gods and of mortal men, of every living thing the broad earth nurtures, for you alone are master of all, you do visit all, building their bodies with fetters unforged.'
~The Orphic Hymns (Anonymous; A. Athanassakis translation)
