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Hades: The High Speed Update Patch Notes

By Supergiant Games June 14th, 2019

Hades is in Early Access, which means we're actively working on it based on our plans and your feedback. We expect to keep adding features, characters, weapons, foes, powers, environments, and more, while expanding the story and fine-tuning all aspects of the experience.

Note: ๐Ÿ“ข indicates a change inspired by community feedback! Our patch notes for the High Speed Update are below:

Early Access Patch 024 - June 14, 2019

This small patch contains a few additional fixes and improvements before we move on to building out the next Major Update, slated for early August. What lies beyond Elysium? Find out then!


Weapons & Powers

Eternal Spear: reduced damage of Spin Attack (rolling back yesterday's change, which introduced new issues)


Boons & Blessings

Positive Outlook (Dionysus): reduced benefit from Poms of Power


Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Massive Spin (Spear): reduced damage (it is still greater than before the last change)


Foes & Encounters

๐Ÿ“ข 'Trial of the Gods': reduced damage of foes blessed by Aphrodite, Artemis, and Dionysus


Miscellaneous

๐Ÿ“ข Gameplay timer now pauses during the brief outro sequence after the Minotaur mini-boss fight


Bug Fixes

๐Ÿ“ข Additional fixes to some rare crashes
๐Ÿ“ข Fixed an issue where Piercing attacks did not always apply Boon effects against shield-bearing foes
Fixed an issue where the effect of Empowering Nova (Daedalus - Blade) did not expire consistently
Fixed an issue with Flurry Blade (Daedalus - Blade) sometimes attacking an extra time unexpectedly
Fixed an issue where Doom visual effects could linger onscreen during the boss-defeated presentation
Other minor fixes


Quote of the Patch

'Hermes I call, whom Fate decrees to dwell in the dire path which leads to deepest hell'
~The Hymns of Orpheus - "To Hermes Khthonios" (T. Taylor translation)


Early Access Patch 023 - June 13, 2019

This patch makes several fixes and balance changes based on initial feedback following the High Speed Update earlier this week. We are planning for one more patch later this week. Thank you for playing!


General Gameplay

Dodge passive ability from Hermes no longer works while petrified


Weapons & Powers

Eternal Spear: increased damage of Spin Attack
Improved input buffering of Stygian Blade Nova special after a Dash Attack
Improved input buffering of Heart-Seeking Bow Dash Attack in some instances


Boons & Blessings

Thunder Flourish (Zeus): reduced damage
Slicing Shot (Ares): reduced damage at higher rarity levels
Black Metal (Ares): reduced effectiveness at higher rarity levels
Hunter's Mark (Artemis): Status Curse now clears consistently after a Critical attack
Hunting Blades (Artemis Ares): reduced effectiveness
Greatest Reflex (Hermes): removed penalty to recovery time


Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

Sniper Shot (Bow): greatly increased damage to distant foes; increased min. distance of damage bonus
Minotaur Rush (Shield): increased damage of Power Shot
Quick Spin (Spear): reduced recovery time of Spin Attack
Massive Spin (Spear): increased damage
๐Ÿ“ข Vicious Skewer (Spear): increased damage


Foes & Encounters

๐Ÿ“ข 'Trial of the Gods': reduced effectiveness of foes blessed by Dionysus
๐Ÿ“ข Exalted reinforcements in the Soul Catcher mini-boss encounter are now Elites


Level Design & Environments

๐Ÿ“ข Minor fixes to some Tartarus chambers


Menus & UI

Updated some color variants for god-specific damage numbers


Bug Fixes

๐Ÿ“ข Fixes to some rare crashes
๐Ÿ“ข Fixed a rare progression blocker while fighting the Bone Hydra
๐Ÿ“ข Fixed an animation issue caused by dash-canceling the start of the Eternal Spear Spin Attack
๐Ÿ“ข Fixed some issues with preview text showing up incorrectly for 'Exchange' Boon choices
Fixed an issue where the music could transition abruptly during region text presentation
Fixed Boon icon for Relative Speed (Hermes)
๐Ÿ“ข Fixed a controller D-pad navigation in some contexts in the Codex
Fixed a timing issue with the last few seconds of Survival encounters
Fixed Shatter Shot (Aphrodite) sometimes causing ammo to appear out of bounds
Fixed Battle Rage (Ares) visual effect being visible during the boss-defeated presentation; and persisting after encounters are complete
Fixed an issue where Bone Hydra death animations could follow Zagreus around (spooky...)
Fixed an issue where some Hermes Boon effects could carry over into the House of Hades
Minor fixes to some narrative event requirements
๐Ÿ“ข Minor text fixes
Other minor fixes


Quote of the Patch

'Hail, Hermes, giver of grace, guide, and giver of good things!'
~Homeric Hymns (Anonymous; H. G. Evelyn-White translation)


Early Access Patch 022: The HIGH SPEED Update - June 11, 2019

Our fifth Major Update is here, so get ready to pick up the pace in a big way! As always, we'll be monitoring feedback and making follow-up changes for several days before switching focus to our next big update -- which will introduce the next biome after Elysium! Check our Roadmap for details.


Highlights

Hermes: the god of swiftness arrives to give you a serious boost!
New Foes: beware the Soul Catcher and the Flame Wheels up in Elysium!
New Chambers: step inside dangerous, new Elysium environments!
New & Updated Boons: look for new powers from the god of war, plus many balance changes!
Updated 'Trial of the Gods': spurning any of the Olympians is a bigger deal!
New Music: fight your heart out to Thanatos' theme, 'Last Words'!


General Gameplay

Updated input buffering on basic moves (should result in a smoother feel, with fewer dropped inputs)
๐Ÿ“ข Enhanced Poms of Power found in Erebus now increase Boon level 2 (rather than changing rarity)
Power Shot damage bonuses now additive instead of multiplicative
Damage Reduction effects such as Different League (Aphrodite) now additive instead of multiplicative
Lava in Asphodel deals less damage to foes


Weapons & Powers

Cast: shots now bounce off when blocked by shield-bearing foes, so ammo can be retrieved
Stygian Blade: chop attack now can more reliably hit enemy projectiles; Nova special's blast speed lined up with visual effect (rather than hitting instantly)
๐Ÿ“ข Heart-Seeking Bow: Volley special can stagger foes
๐Ÿ“ข Adamant Rail: reduced scatter while firing


Boons & Blessings

Added Hermes, God of Swiftness, with a variety of his unique Boons
Re-balanced Attack, Special, and Cast damage bonuses for each Olympian
Reduced effect of Boons that help build up Wrath Gauge
๐Ÿ“ข Artemis no longer offers Exit Wounds and Quick Reload if your Cast is not compatible
Static Discharge (Zeus): increased Jolted effect damage
Thunder-God's Fury (Zeus): increased damage
๐Ÿ“ข Tidal Dash (Poseidon): increased damage radius; now can briefly stagger foes
Typhoon's Fury (Poseidon): increased damage
Breaking Wave (Poseidon): increased damage
Razor Shoals (Poseidon): increased damage
Ocean's Bounty (Poseidon): re-scaled bonuses from higher rarity levels
Sea Storm (Poseidon + Zeus): increased damage
Last Stand (Athena): reduced healing effect
Divine Protection (Athena): shield effect no longer consumed when successfully blocking attacks
Wave of Despair (Aphrodite): reduced area of effect
Shatter Shot (Aphrodite): reworked; increased range, now deals a single instance of damage per foe
True Shot (Artemis): can no longer be blocked by shield-bearing foes
Burst Shot (Artemis): now affects Cast Boons from other Olympians
Quick Reload (Artemis): reduced effect
๐Ÿ“ข Barbs of the Master Huntress (Artemis): can no longer be blocked by shield-bearing foes
Black Metal (Ares): reduced area-of-effect bonus
War-God's Thirst (Ares): reduced damage
Curse of Eternity (Ares): cut from game
Battle Rage (Ares): newly added!
Vicious Cycle (Ares): newly added!
Curse of Longing (Ares Aphrodite): restored this previously-cut Boon; reduced successive damage
Merciful End (Ares Athena): newly added!
Bad Influence (Dionysus): increased damage
Black Out (Dionysus): increased damage
๐Ÿ“ข After Party (Dionysus): healing effect now scales with life total; no longer upgradeable using Poms
Wine-God's Stupor (Dionysus): increased damage
๐Ÿ“ข Stabbing (Chaos): reduced self-damage
Atrophic (Chaos): now reduces health as well as life total
๐Ÿ“ข Enshrouded (Chaos): now counts down in each Chamber (not just each Encounter)


Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

๐Ÿ“ข Piercing effects can no longer be blocked by shield-bearing foes
Piercing Fire (Rail) and Explosive Fire (Rail) now mutually exclusive
Instant Nova (Blade): replaced with Double Nova
๐Ÿ“ข Explosive Shot (Bow): reduced charge-time penalty
Sudden Rush (Shield): now also removes Bull Rush knock-away effect
Explosive Return (Shield): reduced damage


Foes & Encounters

Added a new mini-boss encounter variant in Elysium
Trial of the Gods: enhanced foes blessed by spurned gods; the spurned god's Boon has reduced rarity
Wretched Thug: increased Elite armor
Wretched Witch: increased Elite armor
Wretched Lout: increased Elite armor
Skull-Crusher: attack can no longer be blocked
Exalted Strongbow: removed duration variance from pre-attack
Exalted Longspear: slightly reduced leap attack damage radius
๐Ÿ“ข Exalted Greatshield: reduced health
The Minotaur: starts fighting sooner once the encounter begins
๐Ÿ“ข Theseus: adjusted his Poseidon Wrath variant; increased spin attack recovery time; Chariot reinforcements reduced to one at a time; other minor timing changes


Keepsakes & Items

Lambent Plume: newly added!
Skull Earring: reduced active threshold
Kiss of Styx (Well): increased shop cost
Ranking up a Keepsake now refreshes its on-equip effect if it has one
Minor rearrangements to the ordering of Keepsakes in the Display Case


Pact of Punishment

Vicious Torment: now also increases damage from inferno-bombs from Caustic (Chaos) effects


Level Design & Environments

Added two new Elysium chambers
Adjusted spawn points and object positions in Asphodel 'river crossing' encounter
Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers


Art & Visual FX

Updated visual effects for weapon upgrades with an explosive property
Updated attack animations for Heart-Seeking Bow; updated visual effects for its Power Shot
Updated some Bone Hydra effects and animations
Updated some Exalted visual effects and animations
๐Ÿ“ข Updated artwork for Theseus' thrown spear
Updated visual effects for Ares' Doom hitting foes
Updated visual effects for Invigorating Blast (Daedalus - Rail)
Updated main menu based on new Major Update
Updated animation for ambient butterflies in Elysium
Updated aspects of Hypnos portrait
Other minor changes, additions, and improvements


Menus & UI

๐Ÿ“ข Updated text for various Boons; clarified some Status Curse tooltips
Added more color variety to damage numbers (based on each god)
Reduced duration of region text presentation when warping to new regions
Improved controller D-pad navigation in some menus
Other minor changes and improvements


Music & SFX

'Last Words': added new music track to Thanatos encounters
๐Ÿ“ข Added distinct sound when Infernal Troves unlock after encounters
๐Ÿ“ข Added distinct sound when Wells of Charon unlock after encounters
Updated sound for Wretched Pest mine-fling attack
Updated sound for Ares' Doom hitting foes
Updated sound from taking lava damage
๐Ÿ“ข Improved timing on audio chime as Wrath effects are expiring
๐Ÿ“ข Reduced how often hurt vocalizations play from boss foes
Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements


Voice & Narrative

Added narrative events with several characters
Added more Zagreus voice lines for various gameplay contexts
Added Codex entries for Hermes, Soul Catcher, and Flame Wheels
Updated requirements for some narrative events
Fixes and tuning to some contextual voice events


Miscellaneous

Updated Development Roadmap to reflect our plans for our next Major Update, and beyond
๐Ÿ“ข Reduced the delay before the Chamber Reward appears after the Minotaur mini-boss fight
Improved feedback when manually picking up the Eternal Spear after the Throw special
Improved feedback when catching the Shield of Chaos after the Throw special
Renamed Titan Toppler (Athena) to Divine Dash (it no longer reduces your mobility like it used to)
Renamed Sick Status Curse to Poison
Wrath effects and other effects on Zagreus should stop more reliably after defeating bosses
Credits: Hermes added to Voice Cast


Bug Fixes

๐Ÿ“ข Fixes to some rare crashes
๐Ÿ“ข Fixed a rare progression blocker in the Prince's Bedchambers when the Pact is first revealed
๐Ÿ“ข Fixed a rare progression blocker with the Fallen Warrior
Fixed an issue where True Shot (Artemis) could not deal backstab damage
Fixed issues with some weapons not applying knock-away effects consistently
Fixed an issue where you could reload the Adamant Rail while using Ares' or Poseidon's Wrath
Fixed an issue where life total could be higher than expected after unequipping Old Spiked Collar
Fixed an issue where Bone Hourglass could apply to some effects unexpectedly
Fixed issues where some sound effects could loop indefinitely after encounters
Fixed an issue that could cause music not to resume in some chambers
๐Ÿ“ข Many other minor fixes


Quote of the Patch

'"Thanks to Hermes the guide, who gives all work
of our hands the grace and fame that it deserves,
no one alive can match me at household chores"'
~The Odyssey (Homer; R. Fagles translation)