Hades II Second Update Tweaks Major Core Combat Mechanics

Supergiant Games has just released the second update following the early access of Hades II. It is a sizable patch that tweaks several core combat mechanics, and most of the changes came directly from community feedback.

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 Erebus
• Increased invulnerability duration after your Death Defiance effects activate
• Improved rewards of Ash and Psyche can now be found in [spoiler] and the [spoiler]
• 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 [spoiler]
• [spoiler] no longer offers Death Defiance items if you do not need to refill the effect
• Reduced Gold cost of Selene’s Boon and Path of Stars 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 (Medea): improved hit detection on foes near impassable obstacles
• Argent Skull (Persephone): you now earn Glory much faster, but only by using your Omega Cast; improved control responsiveness during Omega Special

Hades II was suddenly launched on early access last month. The game has already attracted around a million players, according to SteamDB, despite the full release being around a year away.