In less than one month since the official release of Hades 2, SugerGiantGames have already given us one bug fix patch, and now our first full update.

The devs have heard the community's cries and have made updates to the game's true ending. The end-game storyline has been the focus of complaints about Hades 2, so these are welcomed changes!

• If you've already completed the story, here's there's a new incantation that resets ONLY story progress. You'll be able to experience the ending again, along with the new edits.

Value changes are unlisted in the Patch Notes. We got you covered with those hidden changes below. Our Wiki is always kept up to date with the most current Patch. You can find all in-game stats and values there.

The changes may seem small individually, but they'll have a notable impact on the meta. Depending on what build strategies you've been implementing, you're going to want to try out these newly improved Boons and Upgrades.

God Boon Stats

Anvil Ring

• Anvil Ring (Hephaestus): increased damage for Common Rarity
• • 50/70/80/90 → 60/70/80/90

Sword Ring

• Sword Ring(Ares): increased damage
• • 80/110/140/170 → 100/140/180/220

Carnal Pleasure

• Carnal Pleasure (Ares x Aphrodite): increased effectiveness
• • +25% → +35%

Shadow Pounce

• Shadow Pounce(Artemis): increased effectiveness
• • +10%/+12%/+14%/+16%

Life Tax

• Life Tax (Hades): increased effectiveness; restorative effect is no longer reduced by Vow of Scars (Oath)
• • 125 →150

Last Gasp

• Last Gasp (Hades): increased effectiveness
• • +8% →+10%

Fight Fight Fight

• Fight Fight Fight (Echo): increased effectiveness
• • +50% → +60%

Daedalus Hammers

• Elephant Rockets
• • (Coat - Shiva): increased Base Power
  • +10% → +30%
• Chakra Collider
• • (Coat - Shiva): increased Omega damage
  • +80% → +150%

QoL

Ares' Wounds screen stop animation has been significantly reduced. No more constant screen shake and freezes when using Vicious Strike or Vicious Flourish!

God Boons

Ares gets even more buffs! Increased Plasma pick up range for Grisly Gain, Profuse Bleeding, & Visceral Impact. Also, increased damage to Sword Ring and more Heart Throbs from Carnal Pleasure.

Top these buffs off with the QoL Wounds screen shake freeze, and Ares runs are feeling much better than they did in v1.0.

Various Changes

Last Gasp now increases global damage by 10% for every Death Defiance used. If you used Gorgon Amulet to get Stalwart Stand early in a run, try to use her DD in as many locations as possible to stack up insane bonus damage by the time you get to the final fight.

Elephant Rockets are looking like they are the new Aspect of Shiva meta! Pair it with Flutter Flourish or Sworn Flourish and spam Specials for an ez dub.

Fight Fight Fight If you run into Echo with a good amount of Max HP, Fight Fight Fight is going to make winning so much easier. 200HP will turn into 360HP and you'll typically only lose about 50-60HP by the time you reach Chronos. Since the bonus is % based, the more health you already have, the more impactful the Boon will be.

Aspect of Circe using Smolder Ring now gets double damage! Previously only one Cast would inflict Scorch if a foe was inside both. Now both Casts will inflict Scorch.

Check HookieDookie's Circe Staff build guide to learn how to create a super OP Scorch Cast build using the new update!

• Although not a direct buff, the increased damage of Anvil Ring also makes it a great pairing with Aspect of Circe.

High Fear Meta

For players who enjoy the challenge of raising Fear levels or have been completing the Oath of the Unseen Testaments, get ready for two MAJOR changes to the staple high Fear strategies.

Starting a run with Jeweled Pom has been the new late-game go to strat. Previously, if you started with -ex: Gigaros Dash- you'd keep the Hades' Boon even after using a God's Keepsake. Now you're going to lose the bonus Gigaros Dash Boon if you deactivate Fate's Whim.

A common plan is using Gorgon Amulet in the 3rd or 4th region for either Stalwart Stand or Renewed Faith. You can still do so, but you'll be giving up the bonus Boon from Hades.

As an example, if the Bonus Boon is Deep Dissent, that's a Major sacrifice to give up going into the Chronos or Typhon fight.

Life Tax is also no longer affected by Vow of Scars! Even at rank 3 you'll still get the full 150 healing! (up from 125 in v1.0, and 100 in EA). If you're low health in Tartarus, Life Tax is going to be a new competitor for best late-game Boon.

How to Play the Patch 1 Preview

First, we recommend backing up your save files, since the Patch 1 Preview may contain more technical issues than would typically be found in one of our full patch launches. To locate them:

• On Windows, navigate to \%USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Hades II\
• On macOS, navigate to \%USERPROFILE%\Library\Application Support\Supergiant Games\Hades II\

Then, to unlock the Patch 1 Preview,

1. Right-click on Hades II in your Steam library and select Properties
2. Select Betas, then select [preview]
3. The game will update. Once ready, you should see Hades II [preview] in your library.

Note: The Patch 1 Preview represents a work-in-progress whose contents may evolve, and some text translations are still in progress. We do not have a release date for the full patch.

What's In the Patch 1 Preview

In addition to various bug fixes and some balance changes, this patch contains...

• True Ending Enhancements: Added new events in the lead-up to the True Ending, and some after. As part of this, increased the number of Underworld clears required, and added to and revised parts of the main True Ending scenes before the end credits. Note: The vast majority of changes are to the Underworld route; the Surface route is mostly unchanged.

New Incantation to Replay the Story

• Returning to a Real Possibility: Added Cauldron incantation lets you return to an earlier point in the story in case you wish to re-experience key events, such as the True Ending.

• Fated Prophecy Adjustments: A number of character-related Prophecies, including the one connected to the story epilogue, should unfold faster than before.

• Crossroads Renewal: Many decorative items have reduced costs in Kudos compared to before. Any excess Kudos you have already spent will be refunded.

The full set of changes currently in Patch 1 is as follows:

Aspects of the Nocturnal Arms

· Witch's Staff (Circe): Smolder Ring (Hestia) now also applies Scorch from the bonus Cast when your Casts overlap

Boons & Blessings

· Anvil Ring (Hephaestus): increased damage for Common Rarity
· Controlled Burn (Hestia): increased bonus from Poms of Power
· Ares: increased Plasma pickup range
· Sword Ring (Ares): increased damage
· Carnal Pleasure (Ares x Aphrodite): increased effectiveness
· Success Rate (Hermes): now also affects Nurture of Hera (Selene x Hera)
· Shadow Pounce (Artemis): increased effectiveness
· Gigaros Dash (Hades): no longer staggers foes when this deals direct damage
· Life Tax (Hades): increased effectiveness; restorative effect is no longer reduced by Vow of Scars (Oath)
· Last Gasp (Hades): increased effectiveness
· Howling Soul (Hades): improved aiming of the projectile
· Fight Fight Fight (Echo): increased effectiveness
· Various other minor fixes and adjustments

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

· 

Elephant Rockets (Coat - Shiva)

: increased damage
· 

Chakra Collider (Coat - Shiva)

: increased damage

Keepsakes

Jeweled PomJeweled (Hades & Persephone)

: you no longer keep the bonus blessing if you are not at the Fates' Whim; fixed an issue causing this to never grant Last Gasp (Hades)

Well of Charon

• Yarn of Ariadne: now also raises chance of finding Duo Boons (as in the original game)
• Mist Veil: now restores Magick that is lost for any reason (not just from using Omega Moves)

Foes & Dangers

Unrivaled Prometheus

: adjusted hitboxes of certain Heracles attacks in this Encounter
· Headmistress Hecate: slightly reduced hitbox of flame attacks to better match the visuals
· Phantom (Fields): reduced effectiveness of Life-drain effect; removed this effect from some attacks

Special Encounters

· Added a preview icon for Location exits leading to an Infernal Contract

 (after the True Ending)
· Nemesis no longer can show up more than once a night while battling through the Underworld
· Circe appears slightly more often

Level Design & Environments

· Various minor fixes and improvements to several Locations

The Crossroads Renewal Project

• Added Primordial Chaos theme to the Music Maker

Crossroads Cauldron

Disintegration of Monstrosity

: you are no longer required to cast this as soon as you can afford to
• Greatest Gift of Gaia: reduced requirements for this to be revealed

Fated List of Minor Prophecies

• Melinoë, Help Us: increased priority of key events, so that this can be fulfilled faster
• Silk and Spitefulness: increased priority of key events, so that this can be fulfilled faster
• Voice and Vanity: increased priority of key events, so that this can be fulfilled faster
• Born to Win: now revealed sooner and more reliably
• Natural Talent: fixed an issue causing this to not appear in some cases
• Denier of Suitors: reduced requirements to fulfill this

Art & Visual FX

· Added artwork to some True Ending scenes before the credits
· Added animations for certain character in some True Ending scenes
· Added portrait variant for Hecate
· Added blinking animation to Melinoë's 'hesitant' portrait
· Added death animation for the Yargonaut
· Updated animations for opening or closing certain menu screens to be smoother than before
· Numerous other minor visual fixes and improvements

Voice & Narrative

· Added new events with Chronos, Zagreus, Hecate, and Hades on the path to the True Ending

· Added new events with Chronos, Zagreus, Hecate, Schelemeus, and Hades and Persephone after the True Ending
· Added more contextual voice lines for Melinoë and Hecate in certain situations
· Adjusted several events after the True Ending in light of other changes
· Scylla now reveals her sensational hit Bewitching Eyes sooner than before
· Icarus now can be persuaded to return to the Crossroads sooner than before
· Other minor fixes and improvements

Music & SFX

· Artemis' singing in the Crossroads no longer cuts off abruptly at a certain distance
· Updated sound effects for Cinerary Circle (Hades)
· Fixed some Keepsake equip sounds playing late
· Other minor fixes and improvements

Settings

• Danger Pulse: new! You now can toggle off the persistent flashing at critical Life levels
• FPS Limit: new! You now can limit max frames-per-second to your preference while VSync is off

Miscellaneous

· Improved compatibility with macOS Tahoe security permissions
· Inventory details for Gigaros and Entropy appear sooner than before
· Updated inventory hints for several resources
· Added feedback when Keepsakes from Athena and Selene cannot be used in a certain situation

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Argent Skull (Hel) not firing reliably while Melinoë is backed against a wall
• Fixed Argent Skull (Medea) text erroneously stating its passive bonus also applied to Omega Special
· Fixed cases where you could claim rewards while using the effect of Time Piece (Chronos)

• Fixed Calling Card (Zagreus) unexpectedly refreshing all uses for the night after ranking up
• Fixed Back Burner (Apollo) not applying its bonus when using certain moves
• Fixed Steady Growth (Demeter) resetting its countdown after being Rarified
· Fixed Rapture Ring (Aphrodite) dragging foes after they are slain
• Fixed Seismic Servo (Hephaestus x Poseidon) not always working as expected on Boons of Hephaestus
· Fixed cases where you could unexpectedly gain Unseen Ire (Hades) twice
· Fixed Corrosion on Sight (Medea) not affecting Lubbers
• Fixed Numbness (Path of Stars) not properly applying its effect
· Fixed Mirrored Thrasher (Daedalus - Staff) disabling your Attacks in certain cases
• Fixed interaction between Inverted Blaze (Daedalus - Flames) and Dividing Blaze (Daedalus - Flames)
• Fixed high-cost Boons of Hermes found in shops not always having improved Rarity
· Fixed projectiles from Charybdis not splitting as expected after striking certain obstacles
· Fixed cases in which Jetty could get stuck while resurfacing
• Fixed several cases where Melinoë could end up out of bounds in a Location
· Fixed Raki occasionally swooping in to peck at already-defeated Guardians
• Fixed an issue where a slowdown effect could persist unexpectedly after Gale blocks an attack
· Fixed visual issues with Demeter's Freeze interacting with other visual effects
· Fixed visual issues with Infernal Troves
• Fixed incorrect text sometimes appearing on the Victory Screen
• Fixed incorrect Gold preview when Nemesis wants to trade for Quick Buck (Hermes)
• Fixed cases where music could stop playing unexpectedly
· Fixed cases where the Past Deeds screen would not show the foe that put an end to your night
· Fixed cases where Odysseus and Dora could appear too close together in the taverna
· Fixed certain visual effects persisting during the Melinoë's Return to Shadow escapes
· Fixed a visual issue where text formatting would not reset after resetting the Oath of the Unseen
· Fixed Play Screen showing your location as The Crossroads despite just having left for the night
· Other minor fixes