Patch 032

Early Access Patch 032

The WELCOME to HELL Update - December 3, 2019

Welcome to our eighth Major Update, filled with new content and features for our early adopters as well as new players delving into the Underworld for the first time! As with all such updates, we plan to follow up with several smaller patches, closely monitoring your feedback as we go. Thank you for playing!

Highlights[ | ]

Hell Mode: a more challenging way to play for veterans of the cycle of death & rebirth
God Mode: a more forgiving way to play for those struggling to progress through the story
Underworld Renovations: the House Contractor has many new improvements available for commission
The Fated List: acquire this special parchment, & fulfill the Fates' prophecies! (for a reward, naturally)
Forge Bonds: you now can deepen your relationships with several key characters...
New Keepsakes: ...& if you do, you might just get something special!
Extreme Measures: engage the Pact of Punishment, & face Theseus & the Minotaur like never before!
New Story Events: we have added more new narrative events & voice lines than any previous update!

General Gameplay[ | ]

Updated requirements for when many characters and game systems are introduced, to pace out the early-to-mid-game better; Orpheus, Chaos, Alecto, Tisiphone, and Thanatos can be revealed sooner
Updated Gifting System: several characters' Affinity Gauges can now be maxed out; this involves achieving certain conditions to unlock their gauges past Lv.6
Wretched Broker: now presents a consistent set of offers plus a Limited Time Offer
Death Defiance: most items and Boons that previously added charges now replenish spent charges
Infernal Troves: now lose reward value faster over time while you slay foes summoned to guard them
Bounty rewards are no longer random; they are now specific to clearing each Underworld region
Removed Valuable Urns from inter-region chambers

Infernal Arms & Abilities[ | ]

Eternal Spear: increased damage of second and third thrusts in the Attack sequence
Adamant Rail: Bombard special can no longer deal backstab damage
Increased bonus to Darkness collected while using a weapon imbued with Dark Thirst

Boons & Blessings[ | ]

Tidal Dash (Poseidon): slightly increased damage
Sunken Treasure (Poseidon): now can also drop Gemstones
Divine Flourish (Athena): removed brief invulnerability period
Last Stand (Athena): now replenishes a spent charge of Death Defiance (rather than giving you an extra)
Deathless Stand (Athena): same as above
Passion Dash (Aphrodite): now deals damage only at the start of the dash; increased damage
Ares' Aid: increased damage
Artemis' Aid: arrow shot now has a chance to deal Critical damage
Nasty Dash (Dionysus): now deals damage only at the start of the dash; increased damage
Dionysus' Aid: increased damage; reduced power scaling from improved rarity
Numbing Sensation (Dionysus): this and other Slow effects now affect bosses (to a reduced extent)
Merciful End (Athena x Ares): reduced power level
Deadly Reversal (Athena x Artemis): reduced chance of Critical damage
Heart Rend (Artemis x Aphrodite): increased power level
Black Out (Dionysus): reduced requirements, making this more likely to appear
Defiance (Chaos): rarity set to Legendary (still adds a charge of Death Defiance as before)
The gods no longer offer 'Exchange' Boons from the start (they will after several escape attempts)
Several Boons have updated scaling for Heroic rarity

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades[ | ]

Double Nova (Blade): reduced damage radius
Double Edge (Blade): increased damage bonus
Super Nova (Blade): reduced damage bonus

Foes & Encounters[ | ]

Theseus and The Minotaur: they challenge you to confront them using Extreme Measures (Pact)...
Adjusted foe compositions in Thanatos encounters
Erebus challenge chambers now have varied foe compositions based on which region you came from
'Trial of the Gods': reduced duration of Athena shield effects
Updated several mini-boss encounters under the effects of Middle Management (Pact)
Megaera: increased damage of her whip attack; slightly increased speed of her tackle attack
Megaera and the Furies: adjusted their encounters under Extreme Measures (Pact); expect to face the Furies in a variety of combinations (sometimes in pairs as well as all together)
Gorgon: less inclined to fly out onto lava
Bone Hydra: increased lunge damage; attacks slightly less often under Extreme Measures (Pact)
Temple Poison Trap: improved hit box; fixed an issue where they could keep spewing after combat
Temple Axe Trap: improved hit box
Snakestone: added mini-boss variant in the Temple of Styx
Bother: added mini-boss variant in the Temple of Styx
Gigantic Vermin: added mini-boss variant in the Temple of Styx
Satyr Cultist: added mini-boss variant in the Temple of Styx
Final Boss: slightly reduced duration and frequency while Unseen
Other minor changes and improvements to encounters
Bosses now absorb excess damage between phases; previously, very damaging attacks such as Aphrodite's Aid could be used to bypass phases of these fights

Mirror of Night[ | ]

Death Defiance: reduced cost of first rank; increased cost of subsequent ranks
Additional adjustments to ordering and costs of some upgrades

Keepsakes & Items[ | ]

Legendary Keepsakes: newly added! See if you can discover all four currently available.
Shattered Shackle (Sisyphus): now also increases damage foes take from traps
Lambent Plume (Hermes): now gives you a bit more time to clear Thanatos encounters
Kiss of Styx (Well): reduced cost; now replenishes a spent charge of Death Defiance
Tinge of Erebus (Well): now yields more Darkness, as does the Darkness item sold by Charon
HydraLite (Well): reduced cost
A third Daedalus Hammer can no longer be purchased in the Temple of Styx
The Fallen Warrior now offers a Kiss of Styx Premium, which replenishes all Death Defiance charges
Skeleton Keys: functionally replaced with Chthonic Keys
Resource Formerly Known as Chthonic Keys: functionally replaced with Titan Blood
Resource Formerly Known as Ambrosia: now called Nectar
Ambrosia: newly added Bounty resource used with gifting, Wretched Broker, and more

House Contractor[ | ]

The House Contractor can now be used to permanently upgrade certain resource pick-ups, such as...
Darkness: can now be upgraded to also slightly increase your life total
Gemstones: can now be upgraded to also give you some Charon's Obol
Chthonic Keys: can now be upgraded to also give you a charge of Fated Authority
Nectar: can now be upgraded to also give a random Boon 1 Lv. (as though you used a Pom of Power)
The House Contractor is now also the key to upgrading certain aspects of the Underworld, such as...
Breakable Urns can be upgraded to contain Charon's Obol (and must first be unlocked)
Infernal Troves can be upgraded to contain greater riches (and must first be unlocked)
Fountain Chambers in each Underworld region now must first be unlocked
Reduced costs for some outrageously priced House Decor

Fated List of Minor Prophecies[ | ]

You are destined to obtain this newly added system from the House Contractor

Pact of Punishment[ | ]

Increased max. Heat threshold for earning Bounties (doubling the previous cap)
The max. Heat threshold for earning Bounties is even higher in Hell Mode
Snake Oil: cut from game as a stand-alone Condition; its effect is now part of...
Extreme Measures: now affects bosses region-by-region, from Tartarus through Elysium
Middle Management: reduced to one rank; now affects each mini-boss encounter in a distinct way
Tight Deadline: countdown pauses at the same times as the 'Show Timer' setting; adjusted timers per each region; the out-of-time effect now can deal lethal damage
Personal Liability: newly added! Limited to Hell Mode, this removes your post-damage invincibility
Increased Heat clear requirements for earning Skelly's unlockables; these are now introduced later, after several successful clears (so you can first get used to the Pact)

Level Design & Environments[ | ]

Added four new chambers to the Temple of Styx
Some Chaos chambers now have multiple exits; the exits now have Chamber Reward previews
Exits from Chaos chambers can now be altered using Fated Authority
Reduced appearance rate of Pools of Purging; they no longer appear in Tartarus
Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

Art & Visual FX[ | ]

Map of the Underworld: updated look and presentation when traveling between regions
Sisyphus: now has a new portrait and character model!
Added portrait variants for Zagreus, Megaera, Thanatos, Theseus, and The Minotaur
Updated portraits for Megaera and Hypnos
Minor changes to portraits for Eurydice, Aphrodite, and Zagreus
Added various emote animations to some narrative events
Added several new expressive character animations for Megaera, Thanatos, and Zagreus
Updated look of Brimstones
Updated look of Satyr Cultist mini-boss
Valuable Urns now glint in a tastefully attention-grabby way
Death Defiance: updated effect presentation to be clearer and more dramatic
Toned down the look of Zeus lightning effects (don't tell him)
Added a new screen effect for when foolishly trudging through lava in Asphodel
Further visual improvements to various chambers, such as the final chamber in Elysium
Some of the shades in Asphodel now writhe for eternity
Updated look of narrative panels and tooltips
Updated visual FX for the Throw special using the Chaos Shield
Updated visual FX for the Raging Rush using Achilles' Spear Aspect
Minor improvements to Heart-Seeking Bow charge-up recovery animation
Optimized textures and animations on the Bloodless
Other minor visual changes, fixes, and improvements

Menus & UI[ | ]

Hell Mode: added option when starting a new game. Makes you have to use the Pact from the start
God Mode: added to Settings Screen. Instantly makes you tougher; effect increases when you die
Boon Info Overlay: minor presentation improvements; changed default hotkey; can now be accessed while interacting with characters such as Eurydice
Updated look and screen position of subtitles (formerly called 'captions' but they are officially subtitles now)
Subtitles now have a unique color depending on which character is speaking
Subtitles now enabled by default on new save slots (a majority of players were toggling them on)
Wretched Broker: screen has an updated look
'Play' Main Menu Screen: updated look; added one additional Save Slot
Underworld Codex: screen has an updated look; updated alert prompt
Updated look for the Affinity Gauge in the Codex (for characters you can give gifts to)
Other additional presentation changes around Gifting
The House Contractor may prompt you to stop by from time to time
Additional minor improvements to Pact screen feedback and usability
Minor improvements to Weapon Aspects screen feedback and usability
Added distinct Chamber indicators for elite, mini-boss, and boss chambers
Minor updates to the sorting of resources on the right side of the screen
Added Fated List indicator when choosing Boons and Upgrades tied to Prophecies
Added keyword tooltips to distinguish types of Well of Charon items
Improved feedback when trying to Cast while out of Bloodstone ammo
Improved feedback when trying to enter Infernal Gates with too little Heat
Added keyboard selection input in Well of Charon
Other minor fixes, changes, and improvements

Music & SFX[ | ]

The song of Eurydice does not always start from the beginning when you find her
Added many new sound effects to accompany new and updated systems, such as the Fated List
Added new sound effects for the Map of the Underworld
Added new sound effects for Death Defiance activation
Added new ambient sound in and around the final chamber of Elysium
Added sound effects for Hera's Bow Aspect special ability
Updated some sound effects for the Bone Hydra
Added different sounds while choosing Boons or Upgrades based on the god or upgrade type
Added impact sounds to Support Fire (Artemis) arrow shot
Added impact sounds to Nasty Dash (Dionysus) and Dionysus' Aid
Updated impact sounds for Tidal Dash (Poseidon) and Poseidon's Aid
Added ambient sound to the Lounge in the House of Hades
Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative[ | ]

Added many new narrative events (including with Megaera, Thanatos, Sisyphus, Skelly, Lord Hades, Achilles, Theseus, the Minotaur, Ares, Dionysus, and more)
Extended Affinity Gauges for Megaera, Thanatos, Sisyphus, and Skelly (you can give them more gifts)
Normalized the Affinity Gauges for some other characters, capping them to Lv.6
Updated Affinity Gauges for certain characters.
Added many new Zagreus voice events for various gameplay contexts
If Meg blames her losses on the Mirror and you face her without its effects, she will acknowledge it
Added Codex entries for Titan Blood and Ambrosia
Added to Codex entries for Megaera, Thanatos, Sisyphus, and Skelly
Updated Codex entries for Nectar and Chthonic Keys
Added presentation the first time you enter a Chaos Gate
Updated requirements and other minor changes to various narrative events
Fixes and tuning to various contextual voice events

Miscellaneous[ | ]

Updated Development Roadmap to reflect our plans for our January 2020 Major Update, and beyond
The final chamber in Elysium is now quite a bit livelier
A certain letter written to a certain god appearing in a certain scene has a new look
Sisyphus: we are investigating reports of unusual interactions with an inanimate object in his chamber
Orpheus: you now have to do something to 'unlock' him (if you haven't met; he can be unlocked sooner now)
When you first get the Codex , it now is back-filled with any entries you would have already unlocked
The alert prompt to open the Codex will no longer play during combat (it will show up after)
Zagreus has lost the will to senselessly somersault in the House (reminder: no fighting in the House!)
Adjusted Thanatos entrance and exit interacts during his encounters
Added an animation for when Zagreus is stunned by certain attacks
Pausing the game now reliably pauses any voiceover in progress
Pausing the game now possible while Boon Info Overlay is displayed
Damage numbers from Deflect attacks show up in Athena's colors
Added a custom weapon objective hint in the Courtyard after equipping Achilles' Spear Aspect
When starting a new escape attempt, a perfect landing must be executed with greater precision
Updated Credits; including with some more exceptional Community Contributors (Cheers!!)
Various text fixes, updates, and clarifications

Bug Fixes[ | ]

Fixed a crash that could occur while rapidly switching pages in the Codex
Fixed several additional scripting issues with the Eurydice & Orpheus story subplot
Fixed an issue where deflecting attacks from Skull-Crushers could still deal damage
Fixed various issues that could occur while exiting a chamber during an Infernal Trove battle
Fixed an issue causing the special shot of Hestia's Rail Aspect to fire unexpectedly
Fixed Hestia's Rail Aspect not interacting properly with certain Boons and Hammer Upgrades
Fixed Tipsy Shot (Dionysus) not interacting properly with Flurry Cast (Hermes)
Fixed Divine Dash (Athena) sometimes hitting twice unexpectedly
Fixed Battle Rage (Ares) not benefiting from improved rarity
Fixed several issues with switching between different Weapon Aspects
Fixed some obstacles in Asphodel not having impact feedback
Fixed Tight Deadline (Pact) timer appearing in the House
Many other minor fixes

Bug Additions[ | ]

Will get back to you next patch

Quote of the Patch[ | ]

“	And I saw Sisyphus too, bound to his own torture, grappling his monstrous boulder with both arms working, heaving, hands struggling, legs driving, he kept on thrusting the rock uphill toward the brink.	„
	~ The Odyssey (Homer; R. Fagles translation)

Note: You should see v0.23617 in-game once you have the update.