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Early Access Patch 025
The BIG BAD Update - August 6, 2019

Welcome to our sixth Major Update, where at last you can rise to the very top of the Underworld and face what awaits! We've packed a lot into this one, so we'll be keeping a close eye on your feedback and making follow-up changes for several days before we change focus to our next big update.

Highlights[ | ]

  • Temple of Styx: an all-new, labyrinthine biome awaits at the very edge of the Underworld
  • Final Battle: there is no escape from the Underworld; at least not without a fight
  • Sinister New Foes: beware of Gigantic Vermin, Satyr Cultists, and more; plus deadly new traps!
  • Wrath Rework: now you can call upon divine aid from Olympus much more often during battle
  • Pool of Purging: rid yourself of the occasional unwanted Boon, in exchange for some coin
  • New Boons & 'Duo' Boons: the Olympians have a slew of powerful, new blessings on offer
  • New Story Events: more of the Underworld Prince's story unfolds if you can reach the Temple
  • New Music: not one but two blood-boiling new tracks to accompany the new setting

General Gameplay[ | ]

  • Boss foes switch between phases faster (their invulnerability periods are shorter)
  • Knock-away effects now work against boss foes
  • 'Trial of the Gods': spurned gods' Boons no longer have reduced rarity; they may offer 'Exchange' Boons for Boons from the other god
  • Slightly reduced the length of each biome (since completing a run now takes longer than before)
  • Increased healing from Death Defiance effects
  • After clearing Encounters, Chamber doors should unlock slightly faster than before
  • Pool of Purging: newly added! Look for these in chambers from time to time
  • Increased value of Charon's Obol Chamber Rewards and gifts from Sisyphus
  • Wall Slam damage scales up in each successive biome
  • Health pick-ups no longer block projectiles

Weapons & Powers[ | ]

  • Heart-Seeking Bow: increased damage of main Attack (Dash Attack is unchanged)
  • Shield of Chaos: returns sooner after the Throw special if there are no other foes near it
  • Various improvements and fixes to input buffering

Boons & Blessings[ | ]

  • Reworked and renamed Wrath and all Wrath Boons: now you can Call for Olympian aid more often, or use your entire God Gauge for an ultra-powered effect like before
  • Billowing Strength (Zeus): newly added!
  • Thunder Dash (Zeus): normalized base power level
  • Tempest Strike (Poseidon): slightly reduced power level
  • Tempest Flourish (Poseidon): slightly reduced power level
  • Divine Strike (Athena): slightly increased power level
  • Proud Bearing (Athena): increased power level
  • Heartbreak Strike (Aphrodite): slightly increased power level
  • Life Affirmation (Aphrodite): newly added!
  • Impending Doom (Ares): newly added!
  • Clean Kill (Artemis): reduced power level
  • Fully Loaded (Artemis): no longer upgradeable using Poms
  • Tipsy Shot (Dionysus): now enhanced by Rapid Cast (Hermes)
  • Second Wind (Hermes): newly added!
  • Greater Recall (Hermes): newly added!
  • Greater Evasion (Hermes): reduced power level of Rare and Epic rarity
  • Passing Through (Hermes): reduced power level
  • Second Wind (Hermes): reduced power level
  • Lightning Phalanx (Zeus x Athena): newly added!
  • Vengeful Mood (Zeus x Ares): newly added!
  • Freak Accident (Zeus x Artemis): cut from game; replaced with...
  • Lightning Rod (Zeus x Artemis): newly added!
  • Sweet Nectar (Poseidon x Aphrodite): newly added!
  • Exclusive Access (Poseidon x Dionysus): newly added!
  • Merciful End (Ares x Athena): reduced power level
  • Heart Rend (Artemis x Aphrodite): newly added!
  • Hunter's Mark (Artemis): Status Curse now applies to a nearby foe (instead of the one you hit)
  • Ocean's Bounty (Poseidon): yields greater rewards; no longer affects Centaur Hearts
  • Razor Shoals (Poseidon): reworked; Rupture damage no longer scales with move speed
  • Vicious Cycle (Ares): effect no longer stacks from separate sources
  • Grasp (Chaos): reduced max. possible bonus

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades[ | ]

  • Sniper Shot (Bow): reduced min. distance for damage bonus; reduced damage bonus
  • Twin Shot (Bow) and Sniper Shot (Bow) are now mutually exclusive
  • Pulverizing Blow (Shield): fixed an issue causing on-hit effects not to trigger from the second hit
  • Exploding Launcher (Spear): now increases base damage of the Throw special
  • Invigorating Blast (Rail): power-up effect is applied more reliably

Foes & Encounters[ | ]

  • Beware of a variety of all-new foes and sinister traps in the Temple of Styx
  • Thanatos: reduced frequency of his area attack; also increased preattack duration and recovery time
  • 'Trial of the Gods': Athena effects no longer harm you as foes spawn
  • Slam-Dancer: attacks more frequently
  • Alecto: increased damage of Whip Shot attack
  • Bone Hydra: increased health and armor
  • Soul Catcher: butterfly projectiles can no longer be deflected (only destroyed)
  • The Minotaur: reduced health
  • Theseus: reduced health; removed Chariot reinforcements

Keepsakes & Items[ | ]

  • Lambent Plume: clear-times required to gain the benefit now vary by encounter type
  • Kiss of Styx (Well): increased shop cost

Level Design & Environments[ | ]

  • Added Temple of Styx chambers
  • Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

Art & Visual FX[ | ]

  • Added new Temple of Styx environment set
  • Updated textures for Megaera
  • Updated look of Witch variants in Asphodel and Elysium
  • Added slight animation to portraits for Dionysus and Ares
  • Added visual effect for Exit Wounds (Artemis)
  • Updated visual effects for Shatter Shot (Aphrodite)
  • Updated UI and visuals for Death Defiance effects
  • Updated some artwork in the House of Hades
  • Updated visual effect for spurned god's Boon vanishing in Trials of the Gods
  • Updated visual effect for Gorgon and Megagorgon projectiles
  • Updated shadows on some House of Hades characters
  • Updated main menu based on new Major Update

Menus & UI[ | ]

  • Updated Wrath Gauge UI *(now called the God Gauge) *as part of the Wrath system rework
  • Updated biome map with the Temple of Styx
  • Updated text for various Boons and interactions
  • Added visual timer when using Lambent Plume (Hermes)
  • Improved feedback on active Heat UI when using the Pact
  • Text clarifications to some Boons and upgrades
  • Other minor changes and improvements

Music & SFX[ | ]

  • Two new music tracks, for the Temple of Styx and final battle!
  • Added many new sound SFX for the Temple of Styx
  • Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative[ | ]

  • Added narrative events with several characters
  • Added more Zagreus voice lines for various gameplay contexts
  • Added new Storyteller events for successfully clearing runs; removed some that no longer apply
  • Added Codex entries for new Styx foes, as well as Asphodel and Elysium Witches
  • Updated requirements for some narrative events
  • Fixes and tuning to some contextual voice events

Miscellaneous[ | ]

  • Updated Development Roadmap to reflect our plans for our next Major Update, and beyond
  • Updated Credits; including with some exceptional Community Contributors (Thank you!!)
  • Cerberus: now permits Zagreus to pet him in certain contexts

Bug Fixes[ | ]

  • Fixed an issue where foes could deal extra damage to you after Charm effects on them expire
  • Fixed an issue where Poms of Power sometimes offered no visible changes in Boon power
  • Fixed issues with the effects of Light of Ixion (Well) and Trove Tracker (Well) not stacking correctly
  • Fixed an issue with exiting Chambers just as the last foe is slain in a Trove Trial
  • Fixed an issue preventing Wrath Boons from being offered as Pom of Power upgrades
  • Fixed Ares' Blade Rifts getting stuck in walls in some contexts
  • Fixed Tipsy Shot (Dionysus) creating multiple Ammo drops due to Burst Shot (Artemis)
  • Fixed Battle Rage (Ares) activating from Thanatos kills or Exalted respawns
  • Fixed Dying Lament (Aphrodite) hitting the player in rare instances
  • Fixed Sudden Rush (Daedalus) sometimes causing the Shield's Bull Rush to have reduced range
  • Fixed Drift Dash (Hermes) sometimes causing the Shield's Bull Rush to have reduced range
  • Fixed a rare issue with the next chamber not unlocking in the Fallen Warrior's chamber
  • Fixed being able to gift Ambrosia to the Fallen Warrior before learning his name
  • Fixed pre-boss Shop Chamber previews sometimes appearing alterable by Fated Authority
  • Fixed incorrect footstep sounds sometimes occurring in the House after multiple consecutive runs
  • Fixed the center-most projectile in Tisiphone's flurry attack being invisible
  • Fixed Skull Earring (Megaera) visual feedback not clearing after healing above the activation threshold
  • Fixed a graphical issue where Elysian Arrow Trap projectiles did not always dissipate correctly
  • Fixed gameplay timer briefly counting up between Olympians speaking and the Boon screen opening
  • Fixed 'Petrified' status icon sometimes not displaying correctly
  • Fixed music state sometimes advancing incorrectly after returning from Erebus
  • Fixed an issue causing the save indicator to show in the Main Menu after quitting right after saving
  • Fixed instances where Bone Hydra's neck segments could sort in front of the head
  • Fixed various other graphical sorting issues
  • Many other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch[ | ]

Hades' name...probably meant 'Unseen One.' Even though this was less a name than a title, the Greeks were hesitant about using it in speech, apparently out of fear of attracting the attention of the awesome lord of the dead.
~ Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology (E. Tripp)



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