Hades 2 Early Access Patch Notes 4

On July 16, 2024 Supergiant Games dropped Patch 4 for the Hades 2 early access period. This time they focused on a few balance changes which didn't make it into the previous updates to prepare for the game's first major patch. Check out our key takeaways or read more from the official Hades 2 Early Access Patch 4 announcement below.

Key Takeaways

Here are our key takeaways from the Hades 2 Patch 4 early access update which brings more adjustments to Weapon ASpects, Boon and Daedalus.

• Boons & Upgrades - Hera's boons got some love with her Cast modifier "Engagement Ring" getting a full rework!
  • The new version now curses foes with Hitch and causes slain within the circle to deal AoE damage.
  • Hera's Family Trade has been removed and replaced with Rousing Reception.
  • Mint Condition from Hephaestus now resets the invulnerability between encounters in the same Location.
• Daedalus Upgrades - Crushing Comet for the Twin Flames has been removed.
  • and replaced with Triple Comet which makes your Special file more projectiles.
  • Several other upgrades got buffs.
  • Skulking Slice on the Blades lost a bit of bonus damage.
• Lots of general bugfixes!

This smaller patch addresses various issues we've observed since our previous patches, which we wanted to alleviate before our first Major Update later this year. Thank you for your feedback and support!

Note: *indicates changes inspired by community feedback!

Aspects of the Nocturnal Arms

• Sister Blades (Melinoë): increased damage striking foes from behind.

Boons & Blessings

• Lightning Lance (Zeus): improved targeting while using gamepad controls.
• Spirit Surge (Zeus): reworked; now whenever you use magick, a surrounding foe is struck by lightning.
• Sworn Strike (Hera): slightly reduced bonus from Poms of Power.
• Engagement Ring (Hera): reworked; inflicts Hitch on foes, and any slain in the circle deal area damage.
• Family Trade (Hera): cut from game; replaced with...
• Rousing Reception (Hera): new! Your Casts damage foes as they enter the Encounter, wherever they appear (this effect was previously innate to Engagement Ring). 
• Golden Rule (Hera X Poseidon): now applies a multiplicative global damage bonus, rather than a flat bonus only to Attacks and Specials.
• Beach Ball (Poseidon x Apollo): added greater damage and area scaling over a brief charge-up duration.
• Mint Condition (Hephaestus): invulnerability effect now resets between Encounters in same Location.

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

• Mirrored Thrasher (Staff): removed Life penalty; now requires Magick instead.
• Skulking Slice (Blades): reduced bonus damage striking foes from behind.
  Melting Shredder (Axe): increased damage to Armor.
• Inverted Spark (Flames): now also causes projectiles to linger for longer.
• Whirling Coil (Flames): projectiles no longer spin in place; renamed from Origin Coil.
• Crushing Comet (Flames): cut from game; replaced with...
• Triple Comet (Flames): new! Your Special fires more projectiles
• Destructive Array (Skull): now deals a percentage of your Attack damage whenever your Shells drop
• Rocket Bombard (Skull): increased damage.

Hexes of Selene

• Phase Shift: rescaled some Path of Stars upgrades.
• Lunar Ray: rescaled damage over a shorter duration

Foes & Encounters

• Chronos: adjusted sequencing of some moves; now easier to strike from behind after certain moves.
• Headmistress Hecate: now easier to strike from behind after certain moves.

Oath of the Unseen

• Vow of Haunting: Revenants can no longer spawn others; you now collect them from farther away. Damage penalties from Vow of Blood and Vow of Suffering now are added, rather than multiplied.

Bug Fixes

• *Fixed several later narrative events related to Nemesis and Moros never playing.
• *Fixed interaction between Witch's Staff (Momus) and Mirrored Thrasher (Daedalus - Staff).
• *Fixed visual shield from The Lovers (Arcana) not appearing while using Sister Blades (Artemis).
• *Fixed some hit-stun effects applying unexpectedly during Riposte from Sister Blades (Artemis).
• *Fixed Ionic Gain (Zeus) not working correctly while Icarus is around.
• *Fixed Glorious Disaster (Zeus x Apollo) using Magick without activating the bonus effect.
• *Fixed Hail Storm (Zeus x Demeter) sometimes not working on Chronos.
• *Fixed interaction between Bridal Glow (Hera) and Heavy Metal (Hephaestus).
• *Fixed Golden Rule (Hera x Poseidon) not applying a global damage bonus as the description states.
• *Fixed Hydraulic Might (Poseidon) unexpectedly granting invulnerability at the start of Encounters.
• *Fixed Water Fitness (Poseidon) unexpectedly restoring Life whenever you gained Water essences.
• *Fixed Freezer Burn (Demeter x Hestia) sometimes not working on Chronos.
• *Fixed Icarus  Armor boosts not correctly adding to Hephaestus Armor boosts.
• *Fixed Burnt Offering (Hestia) sometimes selecting a different Boon to sacrifice if Rarified.
• *Fixed Hard Target (Hermes) not affecting Sea-Serpent shots and other splitting shots.
• *Fixed Atrophic (Chaos) sometimes displaying incorrect values.
• *Fixed Aetheric Moonburst (Daedalus - Staff) not restoring Magick when your Magick is full.
• *Fixed Inverted Spark (Daedalus - Flames) sometimes preventing Attacks from destroying urns.
• *Fixed interaction between Phase Shift (Selene) and Alacrity upgrade not resetting properly.
• *Fixed Lunar Ray (Selene) firing indefinitely if you collected a reward while firing.
• *Fixed interaction between Experimental Hammer (Icarus) and Full Salvo (Daedalus - Skull).
• *Fixed several Keepsakes not correctly showing up as expired when switching between regions.
• *Fixed Headmistress Hecate shadow copies being vulnerable to Aphrodite's Charm Curse.
• *Fixed upgraded Warding Circles in Erebus sometimes recharging your Hex multiple times.
• *Fixed instances where time-slow effects could unexpectedly persist if quickly chained together.
• *Fixed Guardians appearing to restore Life after taking heavy damage from Hestia's Scorch Curse.
• *Fixed cases where using Change of Fate on a reward preview would not offer a different result.
• *Fixed Witch of the Crossroads and Natural Talent Prophecies not appearing as expected.
• *Fixed Moon Beam (Selene) sometimes unexpectedly displaying as expired in Boon Info.
• *Fixed several Boons not appearing in their respective Olympians' Fated List Prophecies.
• *Fixed Breath of Eros (Charon) not appearing in the Valued Customer Fated List Prophecy.
• *Fixed a display issue in the Fated List with the prompt to view more requirements.
• *Fixed Reset option in the Oath of the Unseen not always resetting all Vows as expected.
• *Fixed instances where camera motion could push Melinoë offscreen in the Rifts of Thessaly.
• *Fixed an issue preventing the use of the Book of Shadows while Icarus  is around.
• *Fixed occasional visual issues with special deliveries from Shrines of Hermes.
• *Fixed several text and voiceover errors.
• *Fixed several rare crashes.
• *Other minor fixes.

Quote of the Patch

~Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds

 (D. Ogden)

Early Access Updates

That's it for the Hades 2 early access patch 4. As early access continues, Supergiant plans to move on to their first major update. The last 3 patch notes have been significant so "major update" probably indicates new content! This small patch aimed to address community pain points before dedicating the time to a major update.

Written by: Tenkiei