| “ | Life isn't particularly fair, short one. Nor death. I'd have expected you to know as much. But here, have your fair fight. | „ |
| ~ Asterius |
Asterius, also known as the Minotaur, is a bull-headed demi-human who was recruited by Hades to help prevent Zagreus's escape. In life, Asterius was locked in a labyrinth by his step-father, King Minos, only to eventually be slain by Theseus. In death, the two are apparently comrades.
Asterius is a potential mid-boss encounter in Elysium, as well as always appearing as the final boss of Elysium, alongside King Theseus in the Elysium Stadium.
Characteristics and Personality[ | ]
The figure of the Minotaur was feared along the entire coast of Greece. Thrown into the Labyrinth against his will, the terrifying monster persona is actually a lie, as Asterius possesses a chivalrous and intelligent personality.
His formidable appearance doesn't reflect his true nature. Asterius is the complete opposite of his companion Theseus; he is more sensible, he knows how to read him very well and prevents him from acting inappropriately. He remains calm, modest, rational, and emotionally balanced, knowing when to lose and not taking his fights personally like Theseus does.
As Zagreus continues to invade Elysium, he manages to make Asterius laugh with a joke, revealing a more reasonable side. The battles become more competitive, yet cordial and respectful. Zagreus invites Asterius to hang out and have a drink together, but Asterius declines due to work commitments.
A learned and powerful warrior in his own right, Asterius and Theseus form an unbeatable team. Although he swears loyalty to Theseus, he often loses patience because of his lack of listening and carelessness in important matters. Asterius is noble and seems to have found redemption in him, although Theseus' incalculable actions often leave him exasperated with him. He appears to be the only one who can tolerate Theseus, as he is immensely grateful to him. After being defeated by Theseus, he became his vassal, sharing the Champion's title, and an unlikely friendship between the two was formed.
Physical description[ | ]
He and Theseus wear matching outfits, and like Theseus, he wears a short chiton with a large belt around his waist. Asterius is a large, brown humanoid bull. Asterius has a crest with a tuft of hair, adorned with blue laurel wreaths around his massive horns that have magenta colors at the top, and he wields a huge battle axe. He will also switch his cloak for a suit of pure gold armor.
History[ | ]
Before Hades[ | ]
Born out of Poseidon's punishment to Minos, Asterius is the son of Queen Pasiphae and the Cretan bull. Although his mother cared for him for a while, as he grew, he came to be seen more and more as a beast and grew more ferocious, forcing Minos to order Daedalus to construct the famous labyrinth that housed him ever since.
Following the defeat of Athens to Crete in a war, King Minos required that several Athenian youths be brought to Crete to feed the Minotaur. And it was like that for years. Until one time, a young Theseus came among the youths with the intend to kill the Minotaur and save his people from this suffering. With the help of Ariadne, Asterius's half-sister, Theseus managed to find his way around the labyrinth and defeated him bare handed.
Following his death, given his beasty nature, Asterius was sent to Erebus. However, much time later, following Theseus death, the former King of Athens, using his influence, managed to convice Hades to have Asterius in Elysium, arguing that he was his most formidable foe in life. The two have shared the title of Champion ever since.
Hades[ | ]
Zagreus can come across Asterius's solo arena and both engage in a fight. He will always find him in the stadium alongside Theseus, ready to stop him from advancing further.
Taken notice of their disparing personalities, namely Asterius's much more approachable and noble aura in contrast to Theseus boasting, Zagreus will often question why he stays with the King and offer to join him instead. Asterius will always refuse his offer, claiming loyalty to Theseus only since he saved him.
Epilogue[ | ]
Asterius, as well as Theseus, will keep trying to hold Zagreus from reaching the surface.
Affinity[ | ]
Asterius cannot be given Nectar or Ambrosia.
Codex entry[ | ]
Asterius Quotes[ | ]
For quotes and dialogue regarding Asterius, please refer to Asterius/Quotes.
Combat[ | ]
Asterius has the same abilities and attack patterns in both his own arena and the Elysium Stadium encounter. He begins both fights with three abilities: Axe Combo, Leap Combo, and Bull Rush. When reduced to 50% max HP, Asterius enters his second phase, where he gains two additional abilities: Overhead Axe and Crescent Combo.
- Axe Combo: Asterius quickly swings his axe twice in a large arc in front and around him, in Zagreus' direction. After the second swing, he may follow up with a Leap Combo.
- Leap Combo: Asterius leaps into the air and charges at Zagreus' position, smashing the ground with his axe, dealing damage if he comes into contact with Zagreus. After landing, he can repeat this attack up to two more times, or instead follow it up with an Axe Combo.
- Bull Rush: Asterius paws at the ground with his foot, then sprints at Zagreus, chasing him around the arena. He can turn at a reduced rate while charging, and if he comes into contact with a wall or pillar, is stopped and briefly stunned. If he comes into contact with Zagreus, he will stop and do high damage instead. If he comes into contact with a pillar, he will break the pillar, doing damage to himself. When below 50% max HP, when Asterius hits Zagreus, a wall, or a pillar, he creates damaging waves behind him which travel away from him.
- Overhead Axe: Asterius with little warning swings his axe above his head and leaps at Zagreus' current position, creating damaging waves behind him which travel away from him when he lands. Like with Leap Combo, he can repeat this attack up to two more times in a row.
- Crescent Combo: Asterius with little warning swings his axe twice in a large arc in front of him, creating damaging waves behind him which travel away from him as he does. Unlike with Axe Combo, this attack cannot be combined into any other attack, and leaves Asterius stunned for a short duration after it.
When reduced to 50% max HP, Asterius will briefly become invulnerable, and taunt the player, then enter his second phase. When reduced to 20% max HP, he will become briefly invulnerable, and call off the fight, congratulating Zagreus for his victory, and leaving his arena to recover before the Elysium Stadium encounter. Despite this, it is possible to kill Asterius using damage over time effects that outlast the invulnerability: managing to do so will play his death animation and voice line, but has no effect on the Elysium Stadium encounter.
Elysium Stadium[ | ]
Asterius' attack patterns do not change in the Elysium Stadium encounter.
Unlike in his own arena, the pillars in the Elysium Stadium are unbreakable, meaning that Asterius will not do damage to himself when running into them.
If defeated as a mid-boss in the current run, Asterius will begin the Elysium Stadium encounter with 20% reduced health (11200 Health instead of 14000).
While Asterius will still enter his second phase at 50% max HP as well as gain brief invulnerability, he must be killed in order to progress in the Elysium stadium encounter, instead of calling off the fight at 20% max HP.
If Theseus is killed before Asterius, Asterius will become enraged, moving and attacking at a faster rate. If Asterius is killed before Theseus, Theseus will lose access to his Charge attack with Asterius.
Extreme Measures[ | ]
When using Extreme Measures Level 3 from the Pact of Punishment, Asterius will be outfitted in a set of bronze power armor in both his own arena and in the Elysium Stadium.
While in the bronze power armor, the fight with Asterius has notable changes:
- Axe Combo can be chained together in succession, as well as with a Leap Combo.
- Leap Combo and Overhead Axe create a damaging shockwave around Asterius when he lands.
- Bull Rush moves Asterius at a much faster speed. Additionally, when Asterius begins a Bull Rush, he receives a rocket powered burst of speed in Zagreus' direction.
- Asterius gains one new attack which is available immediately: Axe Spin. When used, Asterius will, after a brief delay, begin spinning his axe around him very rapidly, doing damage in all directions if Zagreus comes too close. Additionally, this attack can destroy some of the indestructible pillars in the Elysium Stadium encounter. (It cannot destroy the pillars with spectators in them.)
Reward[ | ]
When defeated in his mid-boss chamber, Asterius will leave the chamber, and Zagreus will be awarded with a god boon of increased rarity, based on the chamber preview when entering.
When both Theseus and Asterius are defeated in the Elysium Stadium, Zagreus will be awarded with Ambrosia if Bounty conditions are met. This means that it must either be Zagreus' first victory against them with a weapon, or the Target Heat must be met for that weapon.
Otherwise, they will drop 120 Darkness. (The Darkness reward is improved by Dark Thirst, Ocean's Bounty, and Eclipse).
Bounties for Theseus and the Minotaur are tracked as a whole for the Stadium fight, and not individually. (This means defeating the Minotaur last at 0 Heat will provide a bounty, but a later defeat of Theseus last at 0 Heat with the same weapon will not provide a bounty, as the 0 Heat victory has already been completed with that weapon.)
Trivia[ | ]
- As an Easter egg, Theseus and Asterius, with identical designs from Hades, were honored at the 2023 DC Comics event 'Lazarus Planet' in 'Lazarus Planet: We Once Were Gods,' appearing as undead, fighting against Wonder Woman and the Amazons.
Additional notes[ | ]
For additional information on Minotaur that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Minotaur
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