Moonstone Axe, Aspect of Charon Build Guide

The Moonstone Axe, Zorephet with the Aspect of Charon enables a powerful Cast-focused playstyle with very few mandatory Boons and upgrades. You drop your Cast then combo it with your Omega Special to nuke foes. This playstyle is all about burst damage. You are vulnerable while you channel your Omega Special but can make up for that by Freezing foes or executing it from a safe distance. There are many ways to build, the Moonstone Axe, Zorephet so feel free to experiment with different Arcana, Boons, and Keepsakes!

Weapon Aspect

As you rank up the Aspect of Charon you increase the size and damage of your Cleave-Cast. This is the special effect that triggers when your Cast is struck by an Omega Special. Extending your cast by +3 Sec gives you a generous window within which to execute the combo. Pair this with a Cast that actively damages foes to chip away at your target as you channel.

You can play the Aspect of Charon as a pure Cast build, this is a much more passive playstyle but doesn't deal as much damage as actively Cleave-Casting. Ranking the aspect up amplifies the damage bonus, but it doesn't cause the Aspect to further extend your Cast's duration.

Arcana, Keepsakes and Familiar

Before you set out each night, you need to choose your active Arcana, Keepsakes, and Familiar. Which Familiar you use is up to you, but Frinos is a great choice for beginners due to the extra health and ability to block enemy projectiles. You have the option to switch up Keepsakes between each region but the remaining choices are fixed for the entire run.

Arcana

The following Arcana are particularly impactful for this build.

• As most of your damage comes from dropping your Omega Cast and then using an Omega Special, The Sorceress and Night are high impact Arcana cards with low Grasp costs. The Unseen is also crucial so you have a way to restore your Magick and continually use your Omega Special.
  • You can also use The Furies to boost your Omega Special, when enemies are in your Cast.
• You also want The Titan for bonus Health and Magick plus Eternity for the Death Defiance effects.
• Excellence and Divinity ensure you get higher quality Boons during your run.
• If you're willing to target 2 Curses from different Olympians, the Origination card offers a massive damage bonus!
• After that spend your remaining Grasp on additional Arcana cards, you can learn more about what each of the cards do with our dedicated guide.

Keepsakes

• Start out with a Keepsake for Demeter, Hestia, or Zeus depending on which Cast boon you're targeting.
• Since this is an Omega Special focused build it benefits significantly from Hecate's Silver Wheel.
• The Transcendent Embryo from Chaos, Concave Stone from Echo, Moon Beam from Selene and Blackened Fleece from Medea are all good Keepsakes to use when you don't need the favor of a specific Olympian.
• For the final zone, Knuckle Bones from Odysseus gives you a damage reduction and reduces the final boss's health.
  • Alternatively, use Skelly's Luckier Tooth for an additional Death Defiance.

Boons and Upgrades

You can play Aspect of Charon with a variety of Boons, but this build focuses on using either Demeter's Arctic Ring for Underworld runs or Smolder Ring from Hestia for Surface runs. The goal is to use a Cast that deals persistent damage to enemies as you channel your Omega Special. Arctic Ring is particularly nice, because it Freezes foes, preventing most enemies from hitting you while you channel your Omega Special.

On the other hand for your Special, you want something that inflicts heavy damage or crowd controls foes. For Surface runs select Ice Flourish from Demeter. When venturing into the underworld target Hera's Sworn Flourish, Apollo's Nova Flourish, or Aprodite's Flutter Flourish (only take this last option if you're comfortable playing at close range).

There are no mandatory Daedalus Hammer upgrades for this build, but several provide damage or increase your quality of life. Sudden Cleaver helps you channel your Omega Special faster which helps make the skill feel more responsive. Siege Shredder boosts your Special damage and gives you even more range from which to nuke foes. If you get Melting Shredder, channel your Special at point-blank range to rapidly burn through enemy Armor. Last but not least, Giga Cleaver amplifies your burst damage but costs a fair bit of extra Magick.

Additional Boons

In addition to the recommended Boons, here are a few things to keep an eye out for when playing Aspect of Charon.

• Apollo's Purest Hope gives you a larger Cast AoE making it easier to keep enemies in your Cast.
  • You can use Solar Ring with Prominence Flare in place of Arctic Ring here.
• Hephaestus provides great damage burst through Volcanic Strike or Volcanic Flourish.
  • Grand Caldera and Furnace Blast greatly amplify the damage you deal with blast effects!
• Ice Strike and Ice Flourish from Demeter provide a way to Freeze enemies, so they can't escape from your Cast.
• Picking up Heaven Strike or Heaven Flourish from Zeus boosts your single target damage by inflicting Blitz.
• Soot Sprint from Hestia allows you to destroy enemy projectiles as you run around while your Cast deals damage before setting up for a cleave.
• If you're struggling to clear groups of enemies you can boost your area of effect with a boon from Hera. Hitch duplicates damage to multiple foes. This is especially effective when paired with the high single target damage from Storm Ring.

Playstyle

Your basic gameplay loop is pretty simple. Drop your Cast then channel your Omega Special to proc the Cleave-Cast and wipe out every foe unlucky enough to be in front of you. This combo works from a surprising distance, so one of your best defenses against enemies can be standing back and nuking them. While the Cleave-Cast playstyle lacks safety it makes up for that with impressive burst damage.

• Against normal enemies, open with your Cast, then fully channel your Omega Special for maximum damage.
  • If you have a Demeter Boon on your Attack or Special instead of your Cast, weave this in between to Freeze foes.
• When you're fighting Armored enemies, be extra careful as they are likely to hit you if they become unfrozen.
• Your Omega Special hits everything in a massive area, which makes it super easy to deal with large groups of enemies.
• If you run out of Magick, the Moonstone Axe has a great base toolkit, the Attack and Special are more than enough to deal with most regular enemies and can even get you through a mini-boss fight in a pinch.
• When you have a Hephaestus Boon, watch the cooldown and remember to proc it to maximize your damage. In the same vein, weave your Attacks between Cleave-Cast to maintain Curses on enemies and get in a bit of extra damage and maintain Origination.
• Bosses, especially Prometheus are more difficult. This is where you really need to drop your cast then run away and fire the Omega Special from a safe distance.

Bosses

Chronos in particular is a bit tricky unless you can slow time against him (unlocked via the Temporal Fluctuation Incantation). Luckily, you can often get behind him after slowing him with Freeze stacks to channel your Omega Special. If you're not comfortable with the timing, drop your Cast on the boss then play from a distance while you charge your Omega Special.

In the Surface, even normal enemies from the Olympus zone can be a challenge. This is because they have a massive number of highly lethal projectiles! Prometheus is also a considerable challenge due to his highly aggressive move set. Use the Hestia version of the build and target her Sprint boon to defend yourself against projectiles. In addition, consider a Vortex effect from Demeter or Hermes's Hard Target to further slow enemy projectiles. Use Aphrodite on your Special at your own risk as in many cases getting close to these enemies when they are unfrozen is a death sentence! Hecate's Silver Wheel is strongly advised for the Surface.

Summary

The Aspect of Charon enables a unique playstyle for the Moonstone Axe. You begin by dropping your Cast to deal damage to your foe, then use your Omega Special to detonate it in a Cleave-Cast explosion that mirrors your Omega Cast. This creates incredible AoE burst damage that is highly effective in the underworld. With the right Cast, you get a lot of single target damage while waiting for the Omega Special to finish channeling. This is all on top of Zorephet's amazing base Moves which come in handy should you ever run out of Magick. Overall this build struggles a bit in the Surface due to its reliance on Channeling but master the Aspect and you are rewarded with a fun and powerful playstyle.

Written by: Tenkiei