Post-Launch Patch 1 Preview & Notes

From all of us at Supergiant Games, thank you for playing Hades II. We've been very excited to see so many of you battling beyond the Underworld since our v1.0 Launch, and we're grateful for all the feedback, which inspired us throughout development and continues to do so. We now have our Post-Launch Patch 1, with enhancements to the True Ending among other improvements, available to preview:

How to Play the Patch 1 Preview

First, we recommend backing up your save files, since the Patch 1 Preview may contain more technical issues than would typically be found in one of our full patch launches. To locate them:

• On Windows, navigate to \\%USERPROFILE%\\Saved Games\\Hades II\\

• On macOS, navigate to \\%USERPROFILE%\\Library\\Application Support\\Supergiant Games\\Hades II\\

Then, to unlock the Patch 1 Preview,

1. Right-click on Hades II in your Steam library and select Properties

2. Select Betas, then select [preview]

3. The game will update. Once ready, you should see Hades II [preview] in your library.

Note: The Patch 1 Preview represents a work-in-progress whose contents may evolve, and some text translations are still in progress. We do not have a release date for the full patch.

What's In the Patch 1 Preview

In addition to various bug fixes and some balance changes, this patch contains...

• AdjustedTrue Ending EnhancementsAdded new events in the lead-up to the True Ending, and some after. As part of this, increased the number of Underworld clears required, and added to and revised parts of the main True Ending scenes before the end credits. Note: The vast majority of changes are to the Underworld route; the Surface route is mostly unchanged.
• AddedReturning to a Real PossibilityAdded Cauldron incantation lets you return to an earlier point in the story in case you wish to re-experience key events, such as the True Ending.

• Fated Prophecy Adjustments: A number of character-related Prophecies, including the one connected to the story epilogue, should unfold faster than before.

• AdjustedCrossroads RenewalMany decorative items have reduced costs in Kudos compared to before. Any excess Kudos you have already spent will be refunded.

The full set of changes currently in Patch 1 is as follows:

Aspects of the Nocturnal Arms

• Witch's Staff (Circe): Smolder Ring (Hestia) now also applies Scorch from the bonus Cast when your Casts overlap

Boons & Blessings

• AdjustedAnvil Ring (Hephaestus)increased damage for Common Rarity • Controlled Burn (Hestia): increased bonus from Poms of Power • Ares: increased Plasma pickup range • Sword Ring (Ares): increased damage • Carnal Pleasure (Ares x Aphrodite): increased effectiveness • Success Rate (Hermes): now also affects Nurture of Hera (Selene x Hera) • Shadow Pounce (Artemis): increased effectiveness • Gigaros Dash (Hades): no longer staggers foes when this deals direct damage • Life Tax (Hades): increased effectiveness; restorative effect is no longer reduced by Vow of Scars (Oath) • Last Gasp (Hades): increased effectiveness • Howling Soul (Hades): improved aiming of the projectile • Fight Fight Fight (Echo): increased effectiveness • Various other minor fixes and adjustments

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

•

Elephant Rockets (Coat - Shiva)

: increased damage •

Chakra Collider (Coat - Shiva)

: increased damage

Keepsakes

•

Jeweled Pom (Hades & Persephone)

: you no longer keep the bonus

Hades

blessing if you are not at the

Fates' Whim

; fixed an issue causing this to never grant

Last Gasp (Hades)

Well of Charon

• Yarn of Ariadne: now also raises chance of finding Duo Boons (as in the original game) • Mist Veil: now restores Magick that is lost for any reason (not just from using Omega Moves)

Foes & Dangers

•

Unrivaled Prometheus

: adjusted hitboxes of certain

Heracles

attacks in this Encounter • Headmistress Hecate: slightly reduced hitbox of flame attacks to better match the visuals • Phantom (Fields): reduced effectiveness of Life-drain effect; removed this effect from some attacks

Special Encounters

• Added a preview icon for Location exits leading to an

Infernal Contract

(after the True Ending) •

Nemesis

no longer can show up more than once a night while battling through the Underworld •

Circe

appears slightly more often

Level Design & Environments

• Various minor fixes and improvements to several Locations

The Crossroads Renewal Project

• 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

Fated List of Minor Prophecies

•

Melinoë, Help Us

: increased priority of key events, so that this can be fulfilled faster • Silk and Spitefulness: increased priority of key events, so that this can be fulfilled faster • Voice and Vanity: increased priority of key events, so that this can be fulfilled faster • Born to Win: now revealed sooner and more reliably • Natural Talent: fixed an issue causing this to not appear in some cases • Denier of Suitors: reduced requirements to fulfill this

Art & Visual FX

• Added artwork to some True Ending scenes before the credits • Added animations for certain characters in some True Ending scenes • Added portrait variant for Hecate • Added blinking animation to Melinoë's 'hesitant' portrait • Added death animation for the Yargonaut • Updated animations for opening or closing certain menu screens to be smoother than before • Numerous other minor visual fixes and improvements

Voice & Narrative

• Added new events with

Chronos

,

Zagreus

,

Hecate

, and

Hades

on the path to the True Ending • Added new events with

Chronos

,

Zagreus

,

Hecate

,

Schelemeus

, and

Hades

and

Persephone

after the True Ending • Added more contextual voice lines for Melinoë and Hecate in certain situations • Adjusted several events after the True Ending in light of other changes • Scylla now reveals

her sensational hit Bewitching Eyes

sooner than before • Icarus now can be persuaded to

return to the Crossroads

sooner than before • Other minor fixes and improvements

Music & SFX

• Artemis' singing in the Crossroads no longer cuts off abruptly at a certain distance • Updated sound effects for Cinerary Circle (Hades) • Fixed some Keepsake equip sounds playing late • Other minor fixes and improvements

Settings

• AddedDanger Pulsenew! You now can toggle off the persistent flashing at critical Life levels • FPS Limit: new! You now can limit max frames-per-second to your preference while VSync is off

Miscellaneous

• Improved compatibility with macOS Tahoe security permissions • Inventory details for

Gigaros

and

Entropy

appear sooner than before • Updated inventory hints for several resources • Added feedback when Keepsakes from

Athena

and

Selene

cannot be used in a certain situation

Bug Fixes

• Fixed

Argent Skull (Hel)

not firing reliably while Melinoë is backed against a wall • Fixed Argent Skull (Medea) text erroneously stating its passive bonus also applied to Omega Special • Fixed cases where you could claim rewards while using the effect of

Time Piece (Chronos)

• Fixed

Calling Card (Zagreus)

unexpectedly refreshing all uses for the night after ranking up • Fixed Back Burner (Apollo) not applying its bonus when using certain moves • Fixed Steady Growth (Demeter) resetting its countdown after being Rarified • Fixed Rapture Ring (Aphrodite) dragging foes after they are slain • Fixed Seismic Servo (Hephaestus x Poseidon) not always working as expected on Boons of Hephaestus • Fixed cases where you could unexpectedly gain Unseen Ire (Hades) twice • Fixed Corrosion on Sight (Medea) not affecting Lubbers • Fixed Numbness (Path of Stars) not properly applying its effect • Fixed Mirrored Thrasher (Daedalus - Staff) disabling your Attacks in certain cases • Fixed interaction between Inverted Blaze (Daedalus - Flames) and Dividing Blaze (Daedalus - Flames) • Fixed high-cost Boons of Hermes found in shops not always having improved Rarity • Fixed projectiles from Charybdis not splitting as expected after striking certain obstacles • Fixed cases in which Jetty could get stuck while resurfacing • Fixed several cases where Melinoë could end up out of bounds in a Location • Fixed Raki occasionally swooping in to peck at already-defeated Guardians • Fixed an issue where a slowdown effect could persist unexpectedly after Gale blocks an attack • Fixed visual issues with Demeter's Freeze interacting with other visual effects • Fixed visual issues with Infernal Troves • Fixed incorrect text sometimes appearing on the Victory Screen • Fixed incorrect Gold preview when Nemesis wants to trade for Quick Buck (Hermes) • Fixed cases where music could stop playing unexpectedly • Fixed cases where the Past Deeds screen would not show the foe that put an end to your night • Fixed cases where Odysseus and Dora could appear too close together in the taverna • Fixed certain visual effects persisting during the Melinoë's Return to Shadow escapes • Fixed a visual issue where text formatting would not reset after resetting the Oath of the Unseen • Fixed Play Screen showing your location as The Crossroads despite just having left for the night • Other minor fixes