New Hades Update Out Now, Adds New Area And Final Boss

Supergiant Games has released a new update for Hades. Still in early access, the game receives a bunch of content in this update–including new weapons and powers as well as gameplay changes to certain enemies and items.

This latest patch is Hades’ sixth major update, adding a brand-new location at the very edge of the Underworld for you to explore. “We’re actively working on [Hades] based on our plans and your feedback,” Supergiant Games wrote in the patch notes. “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.”

Supergiant Games hasn’t announced when Hades will leave early access, but this latest update suggests the game could possibly officially release soon. The new area, Temple of Styx, adds more story elements and includes the game’s final battle, so Hades now has both a beginning and an end. Other notable highlights in the update include gameplay reworks, such as the ability to call upon divine aid more often and the addition of new Boons and “Duo” Boons. The update also adds two new pieces of music to the game’s soundtrack.

Hades is an Epic Games Store exclusive, offered for free on the PC digital storefront from day one as an incentive to download the launcher. The full patch notes for Hades’ latest update can be found below.

Hades August 6 Update Full Patch Notes

General Gameplay

• Boss foes switch between phases faster (their invulnerability periods are shorter)
• Knock-away effects now work against boss foes
• Trial of the Gods: spurned gods’ Boons no longer have reduced rarity; they may offer ‘Exchange’ Boons for Boons from the other god
• Slightly reduced the length of each biome (since completing a run now takes longer than before)
• Increased healing from Death Defiance effects
• After clearing Encounters, Chamber doors should unlock slightly faster than before
• Pool of Purging: newly added! Look for these in chambers from time to time
• Increased value of Charon’s Obol Chamber Rewards and gifts from Sisyphus
• Wall Slam damage scales up in each successive biome
• Health pick-ups no longer block projectiles

Weapons & Powers

• Heart-Seeking Bow: increased damage of main Attack (Dash Attack is unchanged)
• Shield of Chaos: returns sooner after the Throw special if there are no other foes near it
• Various improvements and fixes to input buffering

Boons & Blessings

• Reworked and renamed Wrath and all Wrath Boons: now you can Call for Olympian aid more often, or use your entire God Gauge for an ultra-powered effect like before
• Billowing Strength (Zeus): newly added!
• Thunder Dash (Zeus): normalized base power level
• Tempest Strike (Poseidon): slightly reduced power level
• Tempest Flourish (Poseidon): slightly reduced power level
• Divine Strike (Athena): slightly increased power level
• Proud Bearing (Athena): increased power level
• Heartbreak Strike (Aphrodite): slightly increased power level
• Life Affirmation (Aphrodite): newly added!
• Impending Doom (Ares): newly added!
• Clean Kill (Artemis): reduced power level
• Fully Loaded (Artemis): no longer upgradeable using Poms
• Tipsy Shot (Dionysus): now enhanced by Rapid Cast (Hermes)
• Second Wind (Hermes): newly added!
• Greater Recall (Hermes): newly added!
• Greater Evasion (Hermes): reduced power level of Rare and Epic rarity
• Passing Through (Hermes): reduced power level
• Second Wind (Hermes): reduced power level
• Lightning Phalanx (Zeus x Athena): newly added!
• Vengeful Mood (Zeus x Ares): newly added!
• Freak Accident (Zeus x Artemis): cut from game; replaced with…
• Lightning Rod (Zeus x Artemis): newly added!
• Sweet Nectar (Poseidon x Aphrodite): newly added!
• Exclusive Access (Poseidon x Dionysus): newly added!
• Merciful End (Ares x Athena): reduced power level
• Heart Rend (Artemis x Aphrodite): newly added!
• Hunter’s Mark (Artemis): Status Curse now applies to a nearby foe (instead of the one you hit)
• Ocean’s Bounty (Poseidon): yields greater rewards; no longer affects Centaur Hearts
• Razor Shoals (Poseidon): reworked; Rupture damage no longer scales with move speed
• Vicious Cycle (Ares): effect no longer stacks from separate sources
• Grasp (Chaos): reduced max. possible bonus

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

• Sniper Shot (Bow): reduced min. distance for damage bonus; reduced damage bonus
• Twin Shot (Bow) and Sniper Shot (Bow) are now mutually exclusive
• Pulverizing Blow (Shield): fixed an issue causing on-hit effects not to trigger from the second hit
• Exploding Launcher (Spear): now increases base damage of the Throw special
• Invigorating Blast (Rail): power-up effect is applied more reliably

Foes & Encounters

• Beware of a variety of all-new foes and sinister traps in the Temple of Styx
• Thanatos: reduced frequency of his area attack; also increased preattack duration and recovery time
• Trial of the Gods: Athena effects no longer harm you as foes spawn
• Slam-Dancer: attacks more frequently
• Alecto: increased damage of Whip Shot attack
• Bone Hydra: increased health and armor
• Soul Catcher: butterfly projectiles can no longer be deflected (only destroyed)
• The Minotaur: reduced health
• Theseus: reduced health; removed Chariot reinforcements

Keepsakes & Items

• Lambent Plume: clear-times required to gain the benefit now vary by encounter type
• Kiss of Styx (Well): increased shop cost

Level Design & Environments

• Added Temple of Styx chambers
• Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

Art & Visual FX

• Added new Temple of Styx environment set
• Updated textures for Megaera
• Updated look of Witch variants in Asphodel and Elysium
• Added slight animation to portraits for Dionysus and Ares
• Added visual effect for Exit Wounds (Artemis)
• Updated visual effects for Shatter Shot (Aphrodite)
• Updated UI and visuals for Death Defiance effects
• Updated some artwork in the House of Hades
• Updated visual effect for spurned god’s Boon vanishing in Trials of the Gods
• Updated visual effect for Gorgon and Megagorgon projectiles
• Updated shadows on some House of Hades characters
• Updated main menu based on new Major Update

Menus & UI

• Updated Wrath Gauge UI (now called the God Gauge) as part of the Wrath system rework
• Updated biome map with the Temple of Styx
• Updated text for various Boons and interactions
• Added visual timer when using Lambent Plume (Hermes)
• Improved feedback on active Heat UI when using the Pact
• Text clarifications to some Boons and upgrades
• Other minor changes and improvements

Music & SFX

• Two new music tracks, for the Temple of Styx and final battle!
• Added many new sound SFX for the Temple of Styx
• 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 new Storyteller events for successfully clearing runs; removed some that no longer apply
• Added Codex entries for new Styx foes, as well as Asphodel and Elysium Witches
• 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
• Updated Credits; including with some exceptional Community Contributors (Thank you!!)
• Cerberus: now permits Zagreus to pet him in certain contexts

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where foes could deal extra damage to you after Charm effects on them expire
• Fixed an issue where Poms of Power sometimes offered no visible changes in Boon power
• Fixed issues with the effects of Light of Ixion (Well) and Trove Tracker (Well) not stacking correctly
• Fixed an issue with exiting Chambers just as the last foe is slain in a Trove Trial
• Fixed an issue preventing Wrath Boons from being offered as Pom of Power upgrades
• Fixed Ares’ Blade Rifts getting stuck in walls in some contexts
• Fixed Tipsy Shot (Dionysus) creating multiple Ammo drops due to Burst Shot (Artemis)
• Fixed Battle Rage (Ares) activating from Thanatos kills or Exalted respawns
• Fixed Dying Lament (Aphrodite) hitting the player in rare instances
• Fixed Sudden Rush (Daedalus) sometimes causing the Shield’s Bull Rush to have reduced range
• Fixed Drift Dash (Hermes) sometimes causing the Shield’s Bull Rush to have reduced range
• Fixed a rare issue with the next chamber not unlocking in the Fallen Warrior’s chamber
• Fixed being able to gift Ambrosia to the Fallen Warrior before learning his name
• Fixed pre-boss Shop Chamber previews sometimes appearing alterable by Fated Authority
• Fixed incorrect footstep sounds sometimes occurring in the House after multiple consecutive runs
• Fixed the center-most projectile in Tisiphone’s flurry attack being invisible
• Fixed Skull Earring (Megaera) visual feedback not clearing after healing above the activation threshold
• Fixed a graphical issue where Elysian Arrow Trap projectiles did not always dissipate correctly
• Fixed gameplay timer briefly counting up between Olympians speaking and the Boon screen opening
• Fixed ‘Petrified’ status icon sometimes not displaying correctly
• Fixed music state sometimes advancing incorrectly after returning from Erebus
• Fixed an issue causing the save indicator to show in the Main Menu after quitting right after saving
• Fixed instances where Bone Hydra’s neck segments could sort in front of the head
• Fixed various other graphical sorting issues
• Many other minor fixes

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-hades-update-out-now-adds-new-area-and-final-b/1100-6468965/