While Hades 2 fans finally can take their journey through the Underworld on the go on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, the battle continues on PC with the release of the first Post-Launch Patch 1 Preview for the game. Supergiant Games said it is grateful for all the community feedback since the v1 Launch, and those reports have directly inspired a host of new enhancements, most notably to the narrative's True Ending. This preview is now available to brave players who want to jump in early, offering a significant update to Boons, foes, and getting to the heart of Melinoe's quest.
In Hades 2, players step into the role of Melinoe, the sister of the first game's protagonist, Zagreus, on a quest to defeat the titan Chronos, who has overthrown her family's domain. Melinoe's journey is guided by her mentor, Hecate, and supported by a cast of new and returning gods. While the game maintains the same fast-paced action of its predecessor, it introduces a key mechanical shift: Melinoe is less reliant on dashing and more on a new sprint ability, which can be upgraded with boons and even used offensively to encourage a fresh approach to combat. You can check out GameSpot's review here, where we gave it a perfect 10/10 score.
The most significant changes in this preview focus on the game's late-stage narrative, with major enhancements to the True Ending. This includes new events both leading up to and following the ending, increasing the number of Underworld clears required, and revising key True Ending scenes. To help players revisit these moments, a new Cauldron Incantation has been added that lets you return to an earlier point in the story. Beyond the story, players will see a general balance pass to various Boons, Aspects, and Daedalus Hammer Upgrades, along with a Crossroads Renewal that reduces the Kudos cost of many decorative items, refunding any excess Kudos you've already spent.
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In Hades 2, players step into the role of Melinoe, the sister of the first game's protagonist, Zagreus, on a quest to defeat the titan Chronos, who has overthrown her family's domain. Melinoe's journey is guided by her mentor, Hecate, and supported by a cast of new and returning gods. While the game maintains the same fast-paced action of its predecessor, it introduces a key mechanical shift: Melinoe is less reliant on dashing and more on a new sprint ability, which can be upgraded with boons and even used offensively to encourage a fresh approach to combat. You can check out GameSpot's review here, where we gave it a perfect 10/10 score.
The most significant changes in this preview focus on the game's late-stage narrative, with major enhancements to the True Ending. This includes new events both leading up to and following the ending, increasing the number of Underworld clears required, and revising key True Ending scenes. To help players revisit these moments, a new Cauldron Incantation has been added that lets you return to an earlier point in the story. Beyond the story, players will see a general balance pass to various Boons, Aspects, and Daedalus Hammer Upgrades, along with a Crossroads Renewal that reduces the Kudos cost of many decorative items, refunding any excess Kudos you've already spent.
True Ending & Narrative Enhancements:
- Added new events in the lead-up to and after the True Ending.
- Increased the number of Underworld clears required to achieve the True Ending.
- Added to and revised parts of the main True Ending scenes before the end credits. (Note: Changes are primarily to the Underworld route; the Surface route is largely unchanged.)
- Art and dialog have been updated with new artwork, animations, and voice lines for characters such as Chronos, Zagreus, Hecate, and Hades, to support these new events.
- Returning to a Real Possibility: A new Cauldron Incantation lets you return to an earlier point in the story so you can re-experience the True Ending.
- Fated Prophecy Adjustments: Some character-related Prophecies, including the story epilogue one, should now unfold faster than before.
- Fated List of Minor Prophecies: Priority of key events increased for: Melinoe, Help Us, Silk and Spitefulness, and Voice and Vanity. Born to Win is revealed sooner, and the requirements for Denier of Suitors are reduced.
Combat and Balance Changes:
- Witch's Staff (Circe): Smolder Ring (Hestia) now also applies Scorch from the bonus Cast when your Casts overlap.
- Boons and Blessings: Increases to damage/effectiveness for: Anvil Ring (Hephaestus), Controlled Burn (Hestia), Sword Ring (Ares), Carnal Pleasure (Ares x Aphrodite), Shadow Pounce (Artemis), Life Tax (Hades), Last Gasp (Hades), and Fight Fight Fight (Echo).
- Ares: Increased Plasma pickup range.
- Success Rate (Hermes): Now affects Nurture of Hera (Selene x Hera).
- Gigaros Dash (Hades): No longer staggers foes when dealing direct damage.
- Life Tax (Hades): Restorative effect is no longer reduced by Vow of Scars (Oath).
- Daedalus Hammer Upgrades:
- Increased damage for Elephant Rockets (Coat - Shiva) and Chakra Collider (Coat - Shiva).
Foes & Dangers:
- Adjusted hitboxes for Unrivaled Prometheus (Heracles attacks) and Headmistress Hecate (flame attacks).
- Phantom (Fields): Reduced effectiveness and removed the Life-drain effect from some attacks.
Crossroads & Economy:
- Crossroads Renewal: Many decorative items have reduced costs in Kudos. Excess Kudos already spent will be refunded.
- 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.
- Keepsakes: Jeweled Pom (Hades & Persephone)--bonus Hades blessing is no longer kept if you are not at the Fates' Whim; fixed an issue preventing it from granting Last Gasp (Hades).
- Well of Charon: Yarn of Ariadne: Now also raises the chance of finding Duo Boons.
- Mist Veil: Now restores Magick lost for any reason
Miscellaneous, bug fixes, and quality of life:
- Special Encounters: Added a preview icon for Location exits leading to an Infernal Contract (after the True Ending), Nemesis can only show up once per night while battling through the Underworld, and Circe appears slightly more often.
- Settings (New Options): Danger Pulse: New toggle to switch off the persistent flashing at critical Life levels. FPS Limit: New option to limit max fps while VSync is off.
- Bug Fixes: Numerous fixes, including those for Argent Skull not firing reliably, various Boon and Keepsake interactions (e.g., Calling Card and Time Piece), collision issues, and visual/audio errors.
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