The Umbral Flames, Ygnium with the Aspect of Melinoe puts you at the center of an icy vortex which Freezes enemies while burning through their health pool. This build makes up for the fact that Ygnium's Special does not inherently interrupt enemies by Freezing them solid, but you may need to use your Attack to interrupt foes from time to time. As a result, the playstyle is much more relaxed than Aspect of Moros or Aspect of Eos, both of which require careful positioning to combo your Attack and Special for maximum damage. There are many ways to build, the Umbral Flames, Ygnium so feel free to experiment with different Arcana, Boons and Keepsakes!
Note: Hades 2 is currently in early access, as development continues expect new content and balance changes. This guide was last updated for Early Access Patch 2.
Weapon Aspect
The Aspect of Melinoe increases the duration of flames from your Omega Special. You can maintain more of them by spamming the Omega Special, or have a few flames orbiting you while you spam the regular Special (weaving in Attacks as needed to interrupt enemies) for optimal damage. With that said, the Umbral Flames tend to be lower damage than other weapons unless you obtain strong Boons.
There are no required Daedalus Hammer upgrades for this build, but two do provide significant upgrades. Crushing Comet solves all your damage issues by giving your special +50 base Power. However it lowers your AoE making you more reliant on a good Cast or your Omega Special. Triple Helix on the other hand adds a third flame to your Omega Special causing it to strike enemies more frequently.
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, Frinos provides some defenses and Toula adds a Deaths Defiance plus some damage. You have the option to switch up Keepsakes between each region but the remaining choices are fixed for the entire run.
Arcana
Start with general purpose staples like The Titan and Eternity. The Huntress provides you a reliable damage bonus, just remember to spend Magick by weaving your Omega Special between normal Specials
Aspect of Melinoe needs a reliable source of Magick recovery so be sure to grab The Unseen. From there, focus on activating The Centaur and Divinity. These are powerful 0 cost Activations which provide significant bonuses.
After that, allocate your remaining Grasp based on personal preference, you can take additional damage, defenses, or utility. Because this weapon struggles so much for damage, Origination is a great option for this build. The Campions provides much needed control over the Boons offered.
Learn more about the Arcana in Hades 2 with our guide.
Keepsakes
- Start out with the Barley Sheaf from Demeter to ensure you have access to Ice Flourish.
- For the final zone, Knuckle Bones from Odysseus gives you a damage reduction and reduces the final boss's health.
- Alternative Keepsake options:
- Aromatic Phial from Narcissus, use this to rarify Ice Flourish if you obtain it at Common rarity.
- Use Concave Stone from Echo to give yourself a chance of obtaining additional Boons.
- Everlasting Ember from Hestia gives access to area of effect, Scorch for an alternative playstyle or a ranged Cast.
- Adamant Shard from Hephaestus provides Volcanic Strike, a powerful burst of damage on your Attack.
Pro Tip: Learn more about Keepsakes in Hades 2 with our dedicated guide.
Hex
Twilight Curse provides a second form of crowd control, ensuring you don't get overwhelmed by beefier armored foes when your Freeze wears off. Otherwise, use Phase Shift to slow enemies or Total Eclipse for a burst of damage on demand.
Boons and Upgrades
The Umbral Flames, Ygnium struggle from a clunky Attack mechanic and low base damage. Aspect of Melinoe solves this by eschewing the Attack for Special and Omega Special spam then using boons from Demeter to Freeze enemies. So long as you have enough damage to kill a foe before they unfreeze this build remains quite safe. If you don't get high rarity Boons you need to use a proc from Hephaestus on your Attack, or a damaging Cast to ensure you have enough damage.
Ice Flourish is your main source of damage, as the flames from your Special spiral out they Freeze and damage foes. Pair this with Smolder Ring from Hestia, Anvil Ring from Hephaestus or Arctic Ring from Demeter to boost your single target damage.
If you want an alternative playstyle that's less safe but has higher damage potential, instead use Poseidon's Wave Flourish, Hestia's Flame Flourish or Aphrodite's Flutter Flourish. Then use Demeter's Arctic Ring as a supporting effect to Freeze foes.
Additional Boons
In addition to the recommended Boons, here are a few things to keep an eye out for when playing Aspect of Melinoe.
- Gale Force from Demeter creates a Cyclone on your Cast which slows enemies and their Projectiles, this enables Origination against Frozen foes.
- Demeter's Frigid Sprint instead creates a Cyclone as you Sprint past enemies and is a great alternative if you can't find Gale Force.
- Cold Storage from Demeter extends your Freeze duration, making it easier to kill enemies before they can move or act.
- Your Special hits frequently, making it easy to use Poseidon's Fluid Gain for near infinite Magick.
- Volcanic Strike from Hephaestus gives you reliable access to an additional damage proc on your Attack.
- If you take Volcanic Strike, pair it with Furnace Blast from Hephaestus to amplify the damage and apply an additional Curse.
- Room Temperature, a Duo Boon from Demeter and Hephaestus empowers your blast effects to clear Freeze allowing you to permanently Freeze enemies.
- When playing the Poseidon version of this build, take his Slippery Slope Boon for an additional Curse to activate Origination.
Note: Glowing Coal from Hestia or Lightning Lance from Zeus allows you to aim your Cast and project it at a distance, this is a matter of personal taste but can be extremely helpful.
Playstyle
Open by using a Move with Demeter's Boon to Freeze enemies. From there, use your Omega Special so you have orbiting flames then spam your Special until all the enemies are dead. If they unfreeze, weave some Attacks in to interrupt them, or use your Omega Cast to root hinder dangerous armored foes. You need to be more careful on bosses as it's easy to take damage while spamming your Special.
- On most normal enemies, drop your Omega Cast then use your Attack for additional damage or crowd control.
- On swarms of enemies, use your Cast then Omega Special, if you don't have Crushing Comet you can use your Special as well.
- Against Armored foes, Freeze them or look for an opening in their attack pattern then use your Omega Special and Special to burst them down, if they unfreeze play more defensively until they can be Frozen again.
- Try to keep your Cast down against Armored foes.
- Treat bosses similarly to Armored foes, Freeze them as you activate your Omega Special, drop your Cast then unload as many Specials as you can during the freeze duration.
- Don't forget your Hex on boss fights!
- Remember, The Sorceress won't slow time when fighting Chronos. This leaves you vulnerable while channeling your Omega Special so watch his attack pattern and time your damage carefully.
Damage can be a struggle on this build, particularly when you don't get high rarity boons. If you're struggling, pick up an item to increase Special damage from the Well of Charon or hope for a Chaos Boon which increases your Special damage. Make sure Demeter's Barley Sheaf is rank 3 so you can Rarify a wider range of Boons.
Overworld
Dodge Polyphemus's jump by standing behind him whenever possible. You're likely to get spotted due to the persistent nature of your Special and Omega Special, so get ready to dodge some rocks. Regular enemies in the overworld don't pose too much of a challenge but Eris is a bit more difficult to deal with, if you're struggling try to get Hestia's Soot Sprint to negate her projectiles.
Video
Check out this video from Tenkiei using the Aspect of Melinoe.
Summary
Combine the Aspect of Melinoe with Boons from Demeter to trap foes at the center of an icy vortex. This build Freezes foes to make up for the lower innate damage from the Umbral Flames. If an enemy unfreezes you need to weave Attacks between your Specials to interrupt them.
Written by: Tenkiei
