‘Hades 2,’ the Game You Likely Forgot Was in Early Access, Introduces Animal Familiars and Much More in Latest Major Update

A startling number of people had no idea that Hades 2 was currently in Early Access. Then again, many folks aren’t terminally online, so I can’t exactly blame y’all. To get you up to speed: Hades 2 recently received its second major update! The Warsong update brings many insane new features into the mix. So, if you’re curious, take a peek down below and see what’s poppin’!

‘hades 2’ warsong update details

‘Hades 2’ General Gameplay

• You no longer prioritize Gathering Tools in the Training Grounds, though still can harvest any type of resource as long as you have unlocked each Tool; resource appearance rates adjusted as part of this
• Psyche can no longer be found as a Location Reward; Bones may now be found sooner instead
• All Guardians and Wardens with Guardian-style Life Bars now are resistant to the slowing effect of your Casts; previously this applied only to some of them
• Any damage resistance effects you have no longer affect any Armor you have
• Adjusted requirements for certain key events early on; as a result, it should be possible to reach the surface earlier than before

Nocturnal Arms And Abilities

• Witch’s Staff: Attack sequence is faster and the final strike is stronger; Omega Attack is stronger; reworked Special is a fast powerful shot that pierces foes
• Argent Skull: reworked Attack fires straight ahead; Omega Attack is stronger; Special now retrieves Shells in the surrounding area
• Black Coat: increased Omega Attack damage; your Dash no longer cancels channeling your Omega Attack and causes you to perform the move right after

‘Hades 2’ Altar of Ashes

• All Cards now have unique illustrations; swapped or adjusted themes of several Cards, noted below
• Eternity: theme changed from Night; reworked — now makes everything slower while you channel Omega moves; note this effect is no longer on Silver Wheel (Hecate)
• The Messenger: reworked — your Casts briefly make you impervious and move faster
• The Swift Runner: your Sprint now also makes you phase through foes
• Night: reduced Grasp cost; theme changed from Death
• The Wayward Son: no longer provides doubled recovery at low Life; base recovery improved
• Death: theme changed from Eternity
• Persistence: theme changed from The Titan
• The Enchantress: theme changed from The Fates
• The Fates: theme changed from The Seer
• Grasp upgrade costs re-scaled as part of changes to resource gathering

Oath of the Unseen

• Added new Testaments for the final confrontation
  · Vow of Shadow: adjusted various encounters with this
• Vow of Fangs: removed certain combinations of Perks that were unusually cruel…
• Fear requirements for some Testaments re-scaled to reduce jumps in difficulty; reduced Fear requirements in some cases

‘Hades 2’ Boons And Blessings

• Added Ares, with many of his own blessings, including a new Duo with each other primary Boon-giver
• Zeus: his Blitz Curse now activates at the end of the duration if not activated by dealing damage
• Storm Ring (Zeus): slightly reduced rate of lightning strikes
• Thunder Rush (Zeus): no longer requires Magick to strike foes with lightning; formerly Thunder Sprint
• Electric Overload (Zeus): reworked — your chain-lightning effects are stronger and bounce to more foes
• Toasting Fork (Zeus): cut from game; replaced with…
• Arc Flash (Zeus): new! Your Omega Moves activate your Blitz effects and make them stronger
• Romantic Spark (Zeus x Aphrodite): reduced damage bonus
• Hera: the Queen of the Olympians now has Boons of all four elemental affinities, not solely Earth
• Engagement Ring (Hera): reworked — now deals immediate damage for each foe in the binding circle
• Bridal Glow (Hera): reworked — upgrades a random Boon to Heroic Rarity and gives it bonus Pom Lv.
• Nasty Comeback (Hera): cut from game; replaced with…
• Extended Family (Hera): new! Your Olympian damage is stronger for each Olympian you met this night
• Proper Upbringing (Hera): increased activation requirement to include all four elements
• Breaker Rush (Poseidon): reworked — whenever you Sprint, damage and knock away the first foe you run into; formerly Breaker Sprint
• Geyser Spout (Poseidon): reworked — your Omega Cast gains Power and knocks foes away
• Buried Treasure (Poseidon): now also drops Bones, not Ashes or Psyche; formerly Ocean’s Bounty
• Flood Control (Poseidon): cut from game; replaced with…
• High Surf (Poseidon): new! Hit surrounding foes with a splash as they strike, but prime some Magick
• Phoenix Skin (Apollo x Hestia): cut from game; replaced with…
• Warm Breeze (Apollo x Hestia): new! Whenever Dodge or Daze makes foes miss, restore some Life
• Demeter: her Gust effects no longer destroy trees in Erebus or other such obstructions

Boons And Blessings (2)

• Local Climate (Demeter): reworked — your Omega Cast is stronger; bonus doubled in the binding circle
• Plentiful Forage (Demeter): now restores Life whenever you gather any resource
• Rare Crop (Demeter): cut from game; replaced with…
• Steady Growth (Demeter): new! Whenever you clear enough Encounters, a Boon gains Rarity
• Secret Crush (Aphrodite): now also affects Omega Attack
• Tough Gain (Hephaestus): reworked — whenever you take damage, shrug some off and restore Magick
• Flash Fry (Hestia): no longer requires foes to have Scorch to explode when slain; no longer requires a Scorch-related Boon to be offered; formerly Natural Gas
• Burnt Offering (Hestia): reworked — gain max Magick whenever you collect Ashes, and gain some now
• Mean Streak (Hermes): damage bonus no longer automatically ends after Encounters
• Tall Order (Hermes): updated elemental requirement; slightly increased damage bonus
• Travel Deal (Hermes): new! Your first purchase each Location costs less; another item appears after
• Saved Breath (Hermes): cut from game; replaced with…
• Winner’s Circle (Hermes): new! You channel your Casts faster and your Casts expire faster
• Witty Retort (Hermes): cut from game; replaced with…
• Hasty Retreat (Hermes): new! Gain more Dodge chance and move speed the more Boons you have
• Greater Evasion (Hermes): cut from game; replaced with…
• Stutter Step (Hermes): new! You can Dash more frequently
• Midnight Oil (Hermes): cut from game; replaced with…

Boons And Blessings (3)

• Success Rate (Hermes): new! Your chance-based effects are more likely to occur, except Dodge or Daze
• Close Call (Hermes): cut from game; replaced with…
• Paid Dues (Hermes): new Legendary! Whenever you take damage, you lose Gold before you lose Life
• Mental Block (Athena): reduced duration of Impervious effect
• Righteous Pike (Athena): new! Whenever you use enough Magick, several foes are struck by spears
• Killing Stroke (Artemis): new! Your Specials may deal Critical damage, but you prime some Magick
• The Marked Curses inflicted by Artemis and Raki the Raven now will never choose the same target
• Unseen Ire (Hades): the Dark effect and its damage bonus no longer expire after you strike
• Barren (Chaos): reduced Curse duration
• Neurotic (Chaos): no longer slows your Dash but still makes it use Magick; formerly Hobbled
• Life Savings (Narcissus): now gives Lotus instead of Deathcaps
• Wealth from the Dead (Medea): you now automatically absorb bonus Gold from slain foes on approach
• Supply Drop (Icarus): slightly reduced frequency of drops, and provides one fewer Pom Slice
• Adjusted names and elemental affinities of some Boons
• Additional minor adjustments to some bonuses from Rarity and Poms of Power
• Further clarifications to descriptions for various Boons
• Other minor fixes and adjustments

‘Hades 2’ Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

• Spiral Knives (Blades): cut from game; replaced with…
• Hidden Knives (Blades): new! Specials are stronger and Omega Special fires more shots than usual
• Fetching Array (Skull): Shells now also automatically return faster; removed penalty to total Shells
• Looming Ignition (Skull): now also affects your Omega Attack; reaches full strength faster
• Possessed Array (Skull): increased Magick cost
• Rocket Bombard (Skull): cut from game since this effect is now innate; replaced with…
• Boosted Ignition (Skull): new! After your Dash or Specials, your Attacks are faster and gain Power
• Counter Barrage: now launches more rockets, more often
• Adjusted names and descriptive text for several Daedalus Hammer upgrades

Keepsakes

• Added a new Keepsake now that Ares decided to show up, which you can gain in the customary way
• Silver Wheel (Hecate): reworked — adds to your Magick limit for the rest of the night
• Fig Leaf (Dionysus): now can only affect one Encounter per Region, but still works if you unequip it
• Engraved Pin (Moros): now counts as a Death Defiance effect
• Evil Eye (Nemesis): now targets Prometheus if his Eagle Aetos is the one to vanquish you

‘Hades 2’ Animal Familiars

• Gale the Polecat: new! Grants Dodge chance and move speed, blocks damage a few times per Region
• Toula the Cat: attacks more times successively; falls asleep faster (so she can wake back up faster!)

Resources and Reagents

• Added several new collectable resources found around the final confrontation
• Removed Deathcaps from the game as part of broader changes to resources described further above

Well of Charon

• Yarn of Ariadne: no longer consumed when meeting Hades, on whom this has no effect

Shrine of Hermes

• Fresh Sustenance MAX: reduced Life recovery
• Reduced chance of offering Minor Finds over other types of items

Foes And Dangers

• Added a variety of foes for the final surface Region, including new Wardens and a new Guardian
• Prometheus: adjusted behaviors; reduced damage for several moves; now sometimes foresees and dodges attacks, yet overall should be somewhat less punishing than before
• Aetos: reduced viciousness to some extent…
• Sky-Dracon: slightly reduced tracking speed
• Auto-Seeker: slightly reduced tracking speed
• Eris: improved previews of her various attacks
• The Yargonaut: new! Warden added to the Rift of Thessaly
• Charybdis: adjusted Tentacle behaviors; reduced overall difficulty 
• Harpy Talon: slightly reduced radius of ranged attack
• Stickler: reduced damage
• Seesword: increased damage
• Blasket: reduced damage
• Infernal Beast: slightly increased Life
• Scylla: slightly increased Life
• Hellfish: new! Warden added to Oceanus
• Lurker: gained a defensive back-step maneuver after getting hit
• Headmistress Hecate: slightly increased Life
• Root-Stalker: adjusted behavior of tail; grew a second one
• Various other minor changes to foes and combat encounters

‘Hades 2’ Special Encounters

• Reworked Heracles combat encounters — vanquish specially-marked foes for a bounty in Gold
• Aetos will no longer swoop in to attack more than once prior to facing Prometheus
• Slightly increased appearance rate of Moon Monuments and Unseen Sigils on the surface
• Slightly increased difficulty of Moon Monument foes
• Moon Monuments no longer offer Path of Stars rewards if your Hex is fully upgraded
• Athena more consistently vanquishes Revenants from the Vow of Return (Oath)
• Minor adjustments to Artemis, Heracles, and Icarus appearance rates on the surface route
• Two Arachne Cocoon encounters can no longer occur very close together in some cases
• Family Disputes, formerly called Trials of the Gods, now can include Ares; several Olympians put up more of a fight than before…

Level Design And Environments

• Added the final confrontation on the surface route and various new Locations within it
• The Olympus Region has one fewer Location to traverse before the Guardian
• Encounters in the Rift of Thessaly that had too many waves (of foes) should now be more reasonable
• Optional rooms in Ephyra become more likely if you haven’t found many that night
• Reduced damage of Lone Shades freed from Ephyra Pylons
• You now must use the Fountain if you haven’t already done so prior to leaving the Ephyra main square
• Resources can appear in more places in the Ephyra main square
• Removed Bat Cage nearest to the initial entrance to the Ephyra main square
• Added another Location that can randomly appear in Erebus
• Added another Location that can randomly appear in Oceanus
  · Added another Location that can randomly appear in Ephyra
• The final battle prior to the Guardian of each of Region should no longer get replaced by Fountain chambers or character encounters
• Adjusted resource points in some Locations, especially those close enough to exits that you could leave by accident while trying to harvest
• Various minor fixes and improvements to various Locations

Chaos Trials

• You now reappear before the Pitch-Black Stone upon returning from a Chaos Trial
• Trial of Thunder: new! Zeus-themed Trial set in Erebus
• Trial of Glory: new! Hera-themed Trial set on Olympus
• Trial of the Fall: new! Demeter-themed Trial set in the Mourning Fields
• Trial of Slaughter: new! Ares-themed Trial set in Ephyra
• Trial of Destiny: new! Chaos-themed Trial set on Olympus
• Trial of Strife: new! Eris-themed Trial set in Thessaly
• Minor fixes and changes to several Trials

‘Hades 2’ The Crossroads Renewal Project

• Updated Crossroads main grounds with new points of interest; the taverna now is easier to traverse
• Artemis now sometimes provides musical accompaniment in the Crossroads
• Added numerous new unlockable decorative items once the Renewal Project is available
• Some decorative items now unlocked from a new spot in the taverna
• Various forms of wildlife now may appear throughout the Crossroads
• Some groups of Shades in the Crossroads now have captions when you Salute them
• Recently-pacified Shades that appear in the Training Grounds now have varying appearances
• Melinoë will sometimes cover up the family portrait in her tent after brooding too much
• Odysseus will sometimes offer resources you may need; can sometimes be found seated in the taverna
• Eris will no longer litter in the midst of conversation with others
• The witch attendants of Hecate now are absent when she is
• Improved presentation around plants that can be harvested in the Garden
• Supply Shipments no longer prompt you to interact as frequently
• The moon now shows different phases in the Training Grounds vista scene

Cauldron Incantations

• Rage of the Elements: new! Lets you activate the statues on Olympus to defend you
• Path to Desired Blessings: new! Lets you track requirements for Boons listed in the Book of Shadows
• Acceptance of Another Fate: new! Salute the Oath of the Unseen to reset that night’s random events
• Shuffling of Noted Ballads: new! Lets the Music Maker make music choices for you if you wish
• Deathly Fortune: now introduced later and no longer lets you exchange plants for Bones(only fish…)
• Psychic Slivers of Clarity: removed from the game as part of resource system changes
• Bones of Arcane Wisdom: now makes Bones raise Magick limit rather than adding Armor; formerly Bones of Burnished Bronze

‘Hades 2’ Fated List of Minor Prophecies

• The Arms of Night: new! Rewards you for unlocking each of the Main Weapons
• Master of War: new! Rewards you for choosing various Boons of Ares
• Storm in the Heavens: new! Rewards you for prevailing on the surface route
• Sword of the Night: new! Rewards you for clearing the surface route with each Main Weapon
• Power Beyond Legend: new! Further rewards you for choosing all Legendary Boons; these are no longer included with each Olympian’s Boon prophecy

Book of Shadows

• Added new entries for various additions in this update
• Updated relationship status display for relevant characters after the Incantation Empath’s Intuition

‘Hades 2’ Menus And UI

• Updated Main Menu to reflect this Major Update
• Added art for all Arcana and adjusted layout in the Altar of Ashes screen
• Added animations for the Crossroads Cauldron screen
• Added animations for the Pitch-Black Stone screen
• Added animations for the Wretched Broker screen
• Added animations for the Fated List screen
• Added animations for the Inventory screen
• Added art for the Crossroads Renewal screen
• Added art and adjusted layout for the Music Maker screen
• Added art and adjusted layout for the Archived Trivia screen
• Added art and adjusted layout for the Past Deeds screen
• Added art for the Gifts of the Moon screen
• Added animations for info banners, such as when entering Locations or vanquishing Guardians
• Added animations to the Main Menu and related sub-screens such as the Pause menu
• Updated art and animations for Book of Shadows prompts
• Updated art and animations for Fated List prompts
• Updated art and animations for Incantation Learned and similar prompts
• Updated look of many in-world status icons
• You now can see your Change of Fate count when choosing Boons
• You now can exchange resources for Prestige more freely, with a new warning if you still need them
• The Victory Screen now has theming differences depending on which route you cleared
• Improved feedback in the Altar of Ashes for when you fully upgrade your Grasp
• Improved presentation when multiple Incantations are revealed at once in the Crossroads Cauldron
• Improved text descriptions for Animal Familiar upgrades
• Adjusted Godhood Gained presentation after failing in God Mode; the presentation no longer occurs once you reach the damage resistance limit
• Damage numbers that come from environmental effects and traps now have a distinct color
• Updated prompts on a number of menu screens
• Various other fixes and improvements

Art And Visual FX

• Updated environment art in various places in the Crossroads
• Updated the look of Shades in various Regions, including ones you can pacify with the Tablet of Peace
• Updated some visual FX for improved clarity in the heat of battle (this work is ongoing)
• Updated visual FX for Scalding Vapor (Poseidon x Hestia)
• Updated visual FX for when foes with Armor are struck
• Updated teleportation visual FX for Animal Familiars, Artemis, and others
• Updated some visual FX for Umbral Flames (Moros)
• Updated presentation during narrative flashback sequences
• Updated narrative background art in Erebus
• Added narrative background art for Selene
• Added character animations for Hermes
• Added alternate portrait for Melinoë
• Added alternate portrait for Odysseus
• Adjusted portrait for Zeus
• Adjusted portrait for Artemis
• Added death animations for Charybdis Tentacles
• Various other minor visual improvements

‘Hades 2’ Voice And Narrative

• Added more than 2,000 new voice lines, including new dialogue events for many characters
• Added more narrated Homer outcomes after a successful clear
• Chronos will give you a piece of his mind in more situations when leaving Erebus
• More characters react to resource-gathering and other interactions
• Numerous minor adjustments to requirements and content for various events

Music And SFX

• Added new music pieces for the final confrontation and the lead-up to it
• Added music theme for Icarus
• Added music theme for Echo
• Added a song from 
• Added unlockable versions of each of these to the Music Maker
• Added new victory music stingers for each of the two routes
• Music from the Music Maker now grows softer during dialogue events
• Added new sound effects for the Main Menu
• Added new sound effects for the Crossroads Cauldron
• Added new sound effects for the Wretched Broker
• Updated sound effects for Staff Special
• Updated sound effects for some foes and encounters
• Other minor changes and improvements

Settings

• God Mode Limit: new! You now can reduce the effect of God Mode if you wish

‘Hades 2’ Miscellaneous

• Updated Development Roadmap to reflect our progress and plans for the next Major Update
• Clear times in the Past Deeds screen for the Surface route have been reset now that it is extended
• Adjusted presentation when Death Defiance effects activate
• Adjusted presentation when leaving the Training Grounds for the night
• Adjusted presentation when trying to attack while out-of-Shells with the Argent Skull
• Some Wardens’ Life Bars now follow their movements more closely
• Improved timing of Polyphemus knockout sequence
• Minor improvements to Charybdis fight intro
• Improved presentation choosing Boon Boon Boon (Echo)
• Added several Commendation messages that may appear on the Victory Screen
• Added more error messaging we hope no one will ever see
• Updated Credits with several additional contributors
• Updates and fixes to translations in all languages

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Rapture Ring (Aphrodite) not damaging foes at the edge of the binding circle
• Fixed Moon Monuments sometimes appearing unexpectedly if you had no Hex of Selene
• Fixed Icarus missing his targets unexpectedly (unless you’re his father and expect disappointment)
• Fixed optional rooms in Ephyra counting against Encounters needed to clear Chaos Curses
• Fixed unexpected delays prior to pre-fight dialogue against Hecate, Polyphemus, and Eris
• Fixed Gameplay Timer not pausing in some instances while pacifying Lost Shades
• Fixed Moonstone Axe (Thanatos) full-charge sound re-playing when entering new Locations
• Fixed Nemesis sometimes getting stuck wandering the Mourning Fields
• Fixed Evil Eye (Nemesis) switching targets after clearing Chaos Trials
• Fixed Dual Moonshot (Daedalus – Staff) sounds not playing for each shot
• Fixed foes playing hurt sound effects when taking damage to their Armor rather than their Life
• Many other minor fixes