Just a month into Hades 2‘s Early Access launch, the acclaimed action-RPG is already getting its second update, and it’s a major one. Patch 2 is full of dozens of buffs and bug fixes, as well one change that reduces how often final boss Chronos is “patently unfair.”
Developer Supergiant Games wrote in the Hades 2 patch notes that all of the changes were driven by community feedback. “Among the improvements in this patch, look for many new UI icons as well as weapon-related balance changes aimed at enhancing core combat and related choices,” the team wrote. “Your feedback and volunteered gameplay data help inspire our changes, so thank you for playing!”
Top-level changes include players now encountering one additional Olympian each night as they did in Hades 1, which means more Boons for you. Ash and Psyche rewards have been improved in Oceanus and the Rift of Thessaly, and fishing points have become more predictable. Death Defiance invulnerability lasts longer now as well, and Selene’s Boon is cheaper to buy from Charon’s Shop.
On the weapon-balancing front, lots of equipment just got stronger. That includes Melinoë’s Nocturnal Arms and their abilities: Witch’s Staff, Sister Blades, Umbral Flames, Moonstone Axe, and Argent Skull. Several of their Aspects, which upgrade and enhance each weapon in different ways, were reworked too. Argent Skull now earns Glory faster when using Omega Cast and has a much more responsive Omega Special. There’s also a long list of Daedalus Hammer upgrades that have been changed or completely replaced.
Read More: Hades 2 Is An Unbelievable Sequel To One Of The Best Games Ever
Perhaps most importantly for players still working on their first successful run of the Early Access version, Chronos should be slightly easier to beat now. One of his huge AOE attacks will no longer hit Melinoë when she’s seemingly in a safe zone, along with other “various fixes and adjustments.”
Infernal Cerberus received minor adjustments, while Polyphemus’s Mutant Sheep attack was made weaker. Eris’ grenade attacks should be less chaotic and the Hippo self-destruct is less likely to randomly kill you. But my favorite patch note of all is the following: “While brooding over the family portrait in the Crossroads, you may now snap out of it sooner.”
Here are all the latest Hades 2 patch notes:
Hades 2 Early Access Patch 2 Notes
General Gameplay
- You now can encounter up to one additional Olympian each night (as in the previous game)
- You now are likely to find one more Boon or other major reward while in ErebusIncreased invulnerability duration after your Death Defiance effects activate
- Improved rewards of Ash and Psyche can now be found in Oceanus and the Rift of Thessaly
- You now can press-and-hold to harvest repeatedly from Crescent Pick Outcroppings
- Toula should now stay closer to you in Encounters, especially in the Fields of Mourning
- Nemesis no longer offers Death Defiance items if you do not need to refill the effect
- Reduced Gold cost of Selene’s Boon when available in Charon’s Shop
- Minor adjustments to the order in which Olympians may first appear early on
- Normalized chances of finding Fishing Points in various regions
Nocturnal Arms & Abilities
- Witch’s Staff: Special knocks foes away, but is slightly slower; Omega Special is faster
- Sister Blades: Special staggers standard foes longer; Attack visual FX better match the hitbox
- Umbral Flames: Attacks are stronger and faster; Omega Attack channels faster and uses less magick; Special gives a speed boost, but has reduced damage; Omega Special can be channeled while moving
- Moonstone Axe: reworked Special provides a lingering barrier; Omega Attack channels slightly faster; Omega Special channels faster
- Argent Skull: Omega Attack channels faster and hits a larger area
Aspects of the Nocturnal Arms
- Witch’s Staff (Circe): adjusted activation and duration of Serenity effect; Serenity now adds Omega bonus damage that scales with this Aspect’s rank
- Witch’s Staff (Momus): reworked; each of your Omega Moves automatically fires several times in succession from where you use them
- Sister Blades (Artemis): you will Block again if the effect recharges while you are channeling; Block now takes priority over Dodge and similar effects
- Umbral Flames (Eos): reworked; Omega Attack now fires a slow shot that occasionally creates damage blasts and also copies your Specials
- Moonstone Axe (Melinoë): reworked; now adds Power and Max Life
- Moonstone Axe (Thanatos): reworked; faster Attack adds Critical chance to Omega moves
- Argent Skull (Persephone): you now earn Glory much faster, but only by using your Omega Cast; improved control responsiveness during Omega Special
Keepsakes
- Moon Beam (Selene): increased bonus to Path of Stars upgrades
Daedalus Hammer Upgrades
- ·Marauder Wallop (Staff): cut from game; replaced with…
- ·Rapid Thrasher (Staff): new! All your Attacks become faster
- ·Double Wallop (Staff): cut from game; replaced with…
- Wicked Thrasher (Staff): new! All your Attacks gain bonus Power
- Double Cataclysm (Staff): cut from game; replaced with…
- Mirrored Thrasher (Staff): new! All your Attacks hit twice, but you take more damage
- Rapid Moonshot (Staff): also affects Omega Special
- Dual Moonshot (Staff): also affects Omega Special; reduced range; renamed from Double Moonshot
- Shimmering Moonshot (Staff): also affects Omega Special
- Aetheric Moonburst (Staff): increased Magick restoration from Power Shots
- Concentrated Flurry (Blades): cut from game; replaced with…
- Melting Dart (Blades): new! Your Special destroys a large percentage of a foe’s Armor
- Flick Knives (Blades): new! Your Dash-Strike also fires several Special knives in a fan pattern
- Rapid Onslaught (Blades): reworked to also affect Omega Attack; renamed from Marauder Slice
- Hook Knives (Blades): slightly reduced speed of knives returning to you
- Furious Fire (Flames): cut from game; replaced with…
- Mega Spark (Flames): new! All your Attacks travel farther and deal more damage
- Inverted Spark (Flames): new! Dash to make shots from Attacks reverse direction and hit foes again
- Leaden Spark (Flames): new! Your Attacks knock foes away and have bonus Power
- Sustained Spark (Flames): also increases move speed, instead of reducing; formerly Sustained Fire
- Melting Coil (Flames): no longer fires straight; also affects Omega Special; formerly Melting Comet
- Origin Coil (Flames): also affects Omega Special
- Rapid Slash (Axe): reworked to also affect Omega Attack; renamed from Marauder Slash
- Giga Cleaver (Axe): removed two-stage channeling (it always double-fires but uses more Magick)
- Dashing Heave (Axe): removed damage bonus; instead, it now hits twice
- Sidelong Crash (Skull): cut from game; replaced with…
- Mega Driver (Skull): new! Your Specials travel farther and you take less damage while using them
- Colossus Driver (Skull): also affects Omega Special
Hexes of Selene
- Wolf Howl: reduced Magick-spend requirement
- Twilight Curse: greatly reduced Magick-spend requirement; reduced foes afflicted; reduced cast time
- Night Bloom: reduced Magick-spend requirement, effect duration, bonus damage, and cast time
- Lunar Ray: greatly reduced Magick-spend requirement; reduced damage; reduced cast time
- Moon Water: slightly increased Magick-spend requirement; slightly reduced healing
- Dark Side: slightly increased Magick-spend requirement
Foes & Encounters
- Chronos: various fixes and adjustments; there should be fewer cases where he’s patently unfair
- Infernal Cerberus: minor adjustments to some attack patterns in the first phase
- Eris: grenade attacks no longer wildly bounce around
- Polyphemus: reduced effectiveness of
- Goldwrath: reduced accuracy and tracking of beam attack
- Queen Lamia: slightly increased Armor; increased speed; other minor changes
- Reed-Stalker: increased projectile speed and target distance; reduced rotation speed
- Mourner: slightly increased rotation speed; slightly increased speed while attacking
- Lamia: slightly increased life and Elite armor
- Dire Shambler: reduced tracking speed between attacks
- Hippo: self-destruct area should more closely match the visuals
Level Design & Environments
- Burning Oil Slicks in the will extinguish after Encounters, though may be reignited
- Adjusted Oil Slicks in some locations in the
- Minor fixes to several locations
Fated List of Minor Prophecies
- Clearing Original Sins no longer requires choosing the very rare Barren curse from
Chaos Trials
- Trial of Heartache: reduced difficulty and adjusted based on Aspect changes
- Trial of Haste: reduced difficulty and adjusted based on Aspect changes
Oath of the Unseen
- Vow of Forsaking: no longer helps ensure you quickly get Duo and Legendary Boons
Menus & UI
- Added many new UI icons for Keepsakes, Weapons, Well of Charon offerings, and more
- Insight Into Offerings (Cauldron) now also lets you check each Olympian’s list of offerings in the Book of Shadows while choosing their Boons (or the equivalent with other characters)
- With the prior change, adjusted default key binding for Rarify; some custom bindings have been reset
- Added a warning when you are down to your last use of Death Defiance
- Opening the Book of Shadows should show entries for nearby characters more reliably
- Removed the Unused Grasp notification when exiting the Altar of Ashes while at a high Grasp limit
- Updated Pitch-Black Stone screen to use Aspect-specific icons
- Adjusted input action bar layout at the bottom of the Boon Screen and similar
- Added borders to icons for Selene Hexes on the Gifts of the Moon screen
- Added informational pop-up when using F10 to report bugs
- Other minor changes
Art & Visual FX
- Reduced some full-screen flashing or strobing, such as from time-slow effects
Music & SFX
- Added SFX for when certain active abilities such as Serenity are ready to use
- Updated placeholder SFX for various Keepsakes
- Updated SFX for projectile collisions with Umbral Flames (Moros)
Voice & Narrative
- Unique voice lines should play more reliably when certain incantations are revealed in the Cauldron
- ·Added voice lines when using Phase Shift (Selene) vs. (or trying to…)
- More voice lines should play when confiding in Frinos in certain contexts
Miscellaneous
- While brooding over the family portrait in the Crossroads, you may now snap out of it sooner
- You now can fully control the game using keyboard only if you rebind Attack and Special
- All timers now pause while in the presence of Charon
- An Anvil of Fates will no longer be offered in if you have not found a Daedalus Hammer
- In the Flashback, adjusted timing of hint for players who don’t realize they are in control
- Reduced requirements for the incantation Power to Pause and Reflect to be revealed
- Melinoë now respawns in the center of her magick circle near her tent (she was a bit off before…)
- Improved compatibility with more types of controllers
- Updated text for various upgrades and abilities
Bug Fixes
- Fixed Double Up (Poseidon) sometimes doubling Mystery Boons; clarified description
- Fixed Nightmare resources dropping unexpectedly in Chaos Trials
- Fixed Omega moves occasionally becoming unresponsive after being chomped on by
- Fixed deadliest attack of occasionally hitting when Melinoë was in a supposedly safe point
- Fixed Umbral Flames Attack preventing Magick regeneration before channeling Omega Attack
- Fixed The Queen and Judgment (Arcana) appearing active while no others Arcana are active
- Fixed Hearth Gain (Hestia) no longer restoring Magick if chosen as a Sacrifice Boon
- Fixed certain later Oath Testaments for the Sister Blades sometimes not appearing as expected
- Fixed cases where you could go out of bounds using the Argent Skull in the battle vs.
- Fixed more cases of some visual effects vs. lingering between phases or after the fight
- Fixed Toula unceremoniously vanishing after you vanquish Chronos
- Fixed additional issues with Sun Worshiper (Apollo)
- Fixed additional issues with Dark Side (Selene)
- Fixed additional issues with Twilight Curse (Selene)
- Fixed a visual issue where could appear to slide after snared by your Cast
- Fixed Spark of Ixion (Charon) causing a to appear in
- Fixed Golden Boughs sometimes not marking all available rewards in the
- Fixed several narrative events that could play out of sequence
- Fixed Odysseus rather rudely walking away while in conversation with Nemesis
- Fixed sometimes leaping away forever
- Fixed Melinoë’s voice reverting during her return sequence despite certain enchantments
- Fixed incorrect portrait in the Book of Shadows
- Fixed incorrect music playing in some Chaos Trials, or not playing as intended in some instances
- Fixed rare cases of a looping sound playing indefinitely
- Fixed a rare instance when objectives in the Training Grounds could overlap
- Fixed several minor issues on the Victory Screen that shows when you prevail
- Fixed additional miscellaneous issues when playing in ultrawide resolutions
- Fixed a rare crash in which the effect of Winter Harvest (Demeter) could repeat forever
- Fixed various other rare crashes
- Fixed several text errors
- Other minor fixes
It’s clear Super Giant Games is meticulously monitoring every aspect of the game ahead of its full launch on PC and console in 2025. The studio said the next update will re-balance Boons. Until then, there’s plenty for players to dig into and begin testing with Patch 2.
