Umbral Flames Starter Build

Mastering Ygnium's Aspect of Melinoë requires more resource management than most other Weapons. You'll need to track Magick usage, Omega Special timing, and the different optimal spacing for the various distances of Omega Special, standard Special, and Attacks.

This Umbral Flames Build stacks up critical chance with Hitch damage from Sworn Flourish as its primary source of damage. The wide radius of Omega Specials works exceptionally well with Hitch to make quick work of clearing standard encounters.

Building around Hitch Specials unlocks multiple following build options even if you are not able to get one of the target Attack Boons. This is a great build to go with when you feel RNG has been botching your previous runs.

Another great option for Aspect of Melinoë, is Zeus's Static Shock. The chain-lightning gets triggered on every hit, making it a really powerful secondary Boon.

Aspect

Standard Specials have limited range, but they are quick-hitting and can be Dash cancelled at any point. You move quite slow while channeling Omega Specials, so be careful and watch for enemy Attacks. Try keeping some distance by dashing away, charging Omega Special, then Dash back in.

Anytime you are using the Attack, hold Attack to simultaneously fire and channel Omega Attacks.

Alternatively, you can build around Poseidon or Hestia Special Boon, and spin to win. The fast-hitting combination of Omega and standard Specials is excellent for the on-hit effect of Splash and Scorch. When using either of these Special Boons, it's best to not waste time with Attacks and focus on standard Specials between Omega uses.

Animal Familiar

Start with Hecuba for the increased starting Magick and her ability to dig up more Magick during each encounter. Then you will be able to utilize Omega Specials early in the run.

Listen for Hecuba's "Bark" and try to hit the stunned enemies with your Omega Special.

Arcana

Priority: Night (X), Persistence (VII), The Sorceress (I), The Wayward Son (II), The Swift Runner (XI), Death (XII), Origination (XIV), The Furies (VI)

Optional: The Huntress (III), The Boatman (XVII), The Artificer (XVIII), The Enchantress (XVI), Eternity (IV)

For Arcana, take everything that boosts damage (Origination, Huntress, The Furies) as well as The Sorceress, since you'll be using Omega Specials frequently.

If you're having trouble getting hit while charging Omega Moves, you can opt for Eternity to give yourself more time to reactively dodge.

Night will be important for increased damage with this build. Aspect of Melinoë Flames already has an innate Crit damage chance. Combined with Night, you'll be inflicting Critical Damage often!

• Note: When your Omega Special lasts longer enough to get out multiple Omega Attacks, only the first Attack will benefit from Night (X). Assuming you just use Omega Attack or Cast, the entire duration of the following Omega Special maintains the added 15% Crit chance.

Primary God

Start with Sworn Flourish so you immediately get he crowd damage necessary to clear encounters quickly. Remember, the focus of this build is utilizing Omega Specials, so we want to increase their lethality as soon as possible.

Ideally, before the first boss, you will grab a Gain Boon. If you get offered Hera a second time before then, take Born Gain as it is the perfect combo of easy and strong for Magick.

You don't require anything else from Hera for this build, but Bridal Glow, Dying Wish, and Hereditary Bane are all good for increasing total damage output.

God Pool

Either Demeter or Hephaestus should be the god you look for next. For Demeter, both her Attack and Cast will work well. Because you're channeling Omega moves often, Freeze will help make it easier to do so safely.

Heph's Attack or Ring will also be good to take. If you get his Attack, start Pomming it ASAP. You can also spend more time using Standard Specials, and just Attack when his Blast has recharged.

Target Boons

A good Gain Boon is a must! If you are unable to get Born Gain, look for Lucid Gain, Grisly Gain, or Ionic Gain.

Cold Storage from Demeter will make every fight easier with increased Freeze time. Furnace Blas increased global damage after every Heph Blast. Especially if you get it early in the run, Spiritual Affirmation from Aphrodite helps you maximize total Magick and Health.

Poms

This build doesn't rely too heavily on Poms. If you are offered two doors and one has Pom, and the other has either Health or Magick, you should take the latter. When you do grab Poms, try to hit Volcanic Strike. If that's not an option, Sworn Strike or any other damage increases are next in line.

Hammers

The best Hammers are Hidden Helix and either Enduring Coil or Clean Coil. The extra Special Flame from Hidden Helix is OP and will greatly increase your damage output. You don't need to do anything different, just enjoy the extra damage.

Endruing Coil makes your Omega Specials last longer. You'll use less Magick overall, have more time to spam Omega Attacks, and don't have to stop to channel Omega Specials as often.

Clean Coil is another good choice, as it increases your Channel Speed. You can position a bit more aggresively near the enemies since you'll be able to activate and dodge quicker.

Hermes

From Hermes, the most useful boons will increase Omega Move channel speed so you can activate Night more often. Winner's Circle will add Omega Casts into the Mix as another incredible source of AoE damage. Once you have this Boon, you should alternate between Special and Cast Omegas, then only use Attack when neither of these are available.

Whenever you get Winners Circle, look for Local Climate from Demeter to increase Omega Cast damage.

Magick and Health Requirements

Because we started with Hecuba and are taking a high Magick Gain, you can take a balanced choice of Hearts and Magick. If you find yourself running out of Magick from priming, then you know you need Magick.

When you do find yourself without Magick, standard Specials will be your go-to. Only use Attack if you need to keep your distance.

Hexes

Thanks to our high Magick use, we'll be activating our Hex frequently. Unleash an Omega Special, then activate Dark Side. Your Omega Specials will persist and keep damaging the enemy while you're invincible and using the alternate moveset.

Start with a Special, Omega Cast, then hold Attack until you can Special again. By then Darkside will be over and you need to start dodging again.

If you did get Aphrodite during the run, you'll be able to Path to her Godsent Allure of Aphrodite. Stay right on top of your target when using the Godsent to hit them with every Heartthrob.

NPC

Shadow Pounce enables critical damage after Dashing for Omega Special, Attack, and Cast. The crit chance stacks with Aspect of Melinoë and Night (X) so you'll have 3 different methods of dealing Critical damage on your Omegas!

Thanks to the rapid hit of Omega Specials, Support Fire would also be a great Artemis Boon to have. Especially in standard encounters, the auto-firing arrows help deal with groups of enemies.

Combat Loop

• Channel Omega Specia
• Move in and drop Cast
• Dash to safety, keeping enemies in the Omega Special arc
• Spam Attack
• Repeat

Omega Specials should be permanently activated. After a bit of practice, you'll be able to get a feel for the distance of Omega Specials and become more consistent with hitting your targets.

The rapid and wide circle of the flames allows quick Hitch linking of every enemy in your vicinity.

Start by channeling Omega Special, then moving around to hit as many enemies as possible. Once the Omega Special is activated, you can channel Omega Attacks with a bit of movement.

Don't forget to focus on Dodging even while holding Attack.

Switching between Omega Speicals and Attacks activates Night Arcana and stacks Critical Hit chance on top of the Aspect's base Crit chance.

Early in the run, when running out of Magick is a concern, prioritize Omega Specials. Fire two standard Attacks, then a Special, until your Omega Special runs out.

Alternatively, when you have Rapture Ring or Arctic Ring, you can swap steps 1 & 2. Start by using the CC Cast to stun the foes, then use that time to channel your Omega Special. Both methods work great, try them out and see which suits you better.