This patch improves numerous Olympian Boons to further enhance core combat and related choices. It also adds new UI icons, Cauldron incantations, and more. Though we'll continue monitoring your feedback, we're now focusing on our first Major Update slated for later this year. Thank you for playing!

Note: 📢 indicates changes inspired by community feedback!

📢 Many Duo Boons and some Legendary Boons should be offered more frequently
📢 Charon's Gold Rewards now include Nightmare after a certain point
· Reworked Gathering Tool upgrades; now let you find +1 Elemental Essence for your Infusion Boons
· Entering Chaos while in the Mourning Fields no longer causes you to skip a Location in that region
· Slightly increased the minimum number of Boons and similar rewards you can find past Erebus
· Warding Circles in Erebus now stagger foes that touch them

· Witch's Staff (Circe): indirect damage from Omega Moves now contributes to activating Serenity
· Sister Blades (Artemis): you now are immune to hit-stun effects during Riposte
· Umbral Flames (Eos): improved Omega Attack tracking, though slightly increased Magick cost and reduced max damage from upgrade path; Attack sequence now continues after using it
· Argent Skull (Persephone): now any Cast damage (not just Omega Cast) extends your Omega Special

· Rearranged Grasp costs and positions of several Cards; you may need to reset your Arcana loadout
· Swapped the names and theming of The Moon and Night
· Death: reworked; Omega moves have a chance to deal Critical damage if the last one used was different
· The Moon: now costs 0 Grasp but has an Awakening requirement to activate any surrounding Card
· The Unseen: improved Magick restoration
· Divinity: Awakening requirement expanded to include activating a column of Cards (not just a row)
· Origination: now specifies that Curses from different Olympians are required; this is relevant with Demeter, whose Cyclone now is considered a Curse (along with her Freeze)

· Temporal Fluctuation: new! Lets time-slow effects such as Phase Shift (Selene) work vs. Chronos
· Circles of the Moon: new! Activating Warding Circles in Erebus fully charges your Hex
· Ashen Memories of Life: new! Whenever you claim rewards of Ash, slightly raise your Life limit
· Psychic Slivers of Clarity: new! Whenever you claim rewards of Psyche, slightly raise your Magick limit
· Bones of Burnished Bronze: new! Whenever you claim rewards of Bones, gain some Armor
· Nectar of Godly Savor: new! Whenever you claim rewards of Nectar, gain +1 Lv. for a random Boon

· White Antler (Artemis): reworked; now provides Critical bonus for one Region, but reduces Life limit
📢 Silken Sash (Arachne): you no longer lose your Armor from this if you switch to a different Keepsake
📢 Moon Beam (Selene): now also causes Selene or a Path of Stars to be offered soon
📢 Olympian Keepsakes are now even more likely to make their respective Olympian Boons appear

· Heaven Strike (Zeus): increased bonus from Poms of Power
· Heaven Flourish (Zeus): increased bonus from Poms of Power
· Storm Ring (Zeus): now deals damage from all Casts (not just Omega Cast)
· Ionic Gain (Zeus): reworked; now spawns an Aether Font nearby that fully restores Magick when used
· Spirit Surge (Zeus): increased bonus from Poms of Power
· Double Strike (Zeus): increased effect chance and bonus from Poms; renamed from Second Strike
· Shocking Loss (Zeus): increased effect chance; now activates when foes first take damage
· Glorious Disaster (Zeus x Apollo): reduced damage; fixed Magick not deducting correctly
· Apocalyptic Storm (Zeus x Demeter): cut from game; replaced with...
· Hail Storm (Zeus x Demeter): new! Your Freeze effects also cause lightning bolts to strike afflicted foes
· Master Conductor (Zeus x Hephaestus): increased damage
· Hera: Slaying a foe now can afflict them with the Hitch Curse and spread that damage accordingly
· Sworn Strike (Hera): increased bonus from Poms of Power
· Sworn Flourish (Hera): increased bonus from Poms of Power
· Engagement Ring (Hera): now also inflicts Hitch when dealing damage, though reduced direct damage to compensate; no longer increases Cast duration
· Nexus Sprint (Hera): now damages and inflicts Hitch on unafflicted foes
· Born Gain (Hera): increased Primed Magick cost
· Keen Intuition (Hera): cut from game; replaced with...
· Blood Line (Hera): new! Your Omega Moves also create a damaging rift for an added Magick cost
· Bridal Glow (Hera): Boons that are already Heroic can no longer be chosen for this
· Soul Mate (Hera x Aphrodite): cut from game; replaced with...
· Ecstatic Obsession (Hera x Aphrodite): one foe always has Charm (formerly Aphrodite's Legendary)
· Cherished Heirloom (Hera x Demeter): increased power level when upgrading max-rank Keepsakes
· Funeral Pyre (Hera x Hestia): cut from game; replaced with...
· Elementary Particles (Hera x Hestia): new! Gain +1 each Elemental Essence and an Infusion Boon for it
· Wave Strike (Poseidon): increased bonus from Poms of Power
· Tidal Ring (Poseidon): new! Your Casts also immediately hit foes in front of you with a splash
· Geyser Spout (Poseidon): now a second-tier Cast Boon; renamed from Geyser Ring
· Crashing Wave (Poseidon): cut from game; replaced with...
· Splash Fount (Poseidon): new! Your Omega Moves also create a watery blast near the first damaged foe
· Ocean's Bounty (Poseidon): merged with Sunken Treasure, which was removed as a stand-alone Boon
· Water Fitness (Poseidon): effect now scales with each Water Essence
· King Tide (Poseidon): increased size bonus and damage bonus
· Beach Ball (Poseidon x Apollo): increased damage
· Natural Selection (Poseidon x Demeter): increased chance of improved Rarity
· Scalding Vapor (Poseidon x Hestia): increased damage
· Nova Strike (Apollo): increased bonus from Rarity and Poms of Power
· Solar Ring (Apollo): reworked; now inflicts Daze and deals a burst of damage
· Prominence Flare (Apollo): now a second-tier Cast Boon; renamed from the earlier Solar Ring
· Lucid Gain (Apollo): reworked; now restores Magick if you are standing in your Casts when they expire
· Perfect Image (Apollo): reworked; damage bonus now resets if you avoid taking damage for a duration
· Torrential Downpour (Apollo x Demeter): cut from game; replaced with...
· Boreal Gust (Apollo x Demeter): new! While standing in Cyclones, you randomly fire damaging gales
· Stellar Slam (Apollo x Hephaestus): cut from game; replaced with...
· Rude Awakening (Apollo x Hephaestus): new! Hephaestus blasts clear Daze and deal more damage
· Tranquil Gain (Demeter): now restores Magick based on a percentage of your current total
· Gale Force (Demeter): your Cast's Cyclone now can follow you if you also have Local Climate
· Frosty Veneer (Demeter): now scales with Water Essence rather than Earth; renamed from Coarse Grit
· Freezer Burn (Demeter x Hestia): reworked; inflicting Freeze on a foe with Scorch deals damage and removes Scorch
· Aphrodite: Increased power and duration of her Weak Curse
· Rapture Ring (Aphrodite): now deals damage as it drags foes in
· Passion Rush (Aphrodite): reworked; now deals damage when you press Dash and again when you stop pressing Dash; renamed from Passion Dash
· Glamour Gain (Aphrodite): now makes all nearby foes Weak, rather than one randomly
· Shameless Attitude (Aphrodite): reworked; the damage bonus doubles if you haven't lost much Life
· Wispy Wiles (Aphrodite): effect now scales with each Air Essence
· Heartthrobs from Aphrodite now spawn behind Melinoë and no longer detonate on obstacles
· Nervous Wreck (Aphrodite): new Legendary! Inflicting Weak inflicts other random Curses
· Soft Caress (Aphrodite x Hephaestus): cut from game; replaced with...
· Love Handles (Aphrodite x Hephaestus): new! Hephaestus blasts also create Heartthrobs
· Burning Desire (Aphrodite x Hestia): cut from game; replaced with...
· Hot Flash (Aphrodite x Hestia): new! Scorch does not diminish as it deals damage to Weak foes
· Hephaestus: Improved activation speed of the Vent Curse
· Volcanic Flourish (Hephaestus): improved blast recharge time
· Anvil Ring (Hephaestus): no longer reduces Cast size
· Fine Tuning (Hephaestus): significantly increased bonus to upgraded Aspects
· Tough Trade (Hephaestus): cut from game; replaced with...
· Grand Caldera (Hephaestus): new! Hephaestus blasts become even bigger and stronger
· Chain Reaction (Hephaestus x Hestia): timing to activate the multi-blast effect now less restrictive
· Hestia: Increased damage rate of the Scorch Curse
· Flame Strike (Hestia): increased Scorch damage
· Flame Flourish (Hestia): increased bonus from Poms of Power
· Smolder Ring (Hestia): increased Scorch damage
· Controlled Burn (Hestia): increased damage
· Glowing Coal (Hestia): increased damage
· Hearth Gain (Hestia): reworked; now restores Magick when you hit with your Attack or Special
· Pyro Technique (Hestia): no longer a Legendary Boon; now can scale with Rarity and Poms of Power
· Fire Extinguisher (Hestia): cut from game; replaced with...
· Highly Flammable (Hestia): new! Inflicting Scorch on a foe for the first time inflicts more
· Spontaneous Combustion (Hestia): cut from game; replaced with...
· Fire Walk (Hestia): new Legendary! You take minimal fire damage, and leave flames where you Sprint
· Swift Strike (Hermes): cut from game; replaced with...
· Nimble Limbs (Hermes): new! Your Attack, Special, and Cast are faster
· Swift Flourish (Hermes): cut from game; replaced with...
· Nimble Mind (Hermes): new! Your Omega Moves are faster
· Silver Streak (Artemis): increased damage
· Easy Shot (Artemis): increased damage
· First Blood (Artemis): increased Critical chance
· Lethal Snare (Artemis): increased Critical chance

📢 Executioner's Chop (Axe): no longer prevents you from striking if you have insufficient Magick
· Possessed Array (Skull): blast-on-retrieval effect now automatically uses some Magick

· Phase Shift: reduced Magick-spend requirement; slightly reduced effect duration; fixed text incorrectly stating this duration; now works vs. Chronos, after a certain point...
· Total Eclipse: greatly reduced Magick-spend requirement
· Dark Side: increased ability damage; slightly reduced Magick-spend requirement
· Lunar Ray: greatly reduced Magick-spend requirement; improved targeting using gamepad controls
· Moon Water: slightly reduced Magick-spend requirement
· As part of these changes, you can no longer recharge Hexes while their effects are still ongoing

· Growth (Dark Side): new! Makes your Hex passively recharge over time
· Preparation (Total Eclipse): new! Start Encounters with your Hex partially charged
· Extinction (Twilight Curse): reduced effectiveness
· Upgrades of Sublime quality now also raise your Hex's recharge cost (to compensate for many recharge costs having been reduced; Hexes should now be more usable throughout each night)

· Breath of Eros: new! Similar to the now-cut Soft Caress (Aphrodite x Hephaestus), this causes the next instance of damage you would take to instead restore that much Life

· Infernal Cerberus: various adjustments to better align how scary he is with how scary he looks
📢 Charybdis: improved visibility in this encounter
📢 Hippo: reduced how long they tend to retreat after attacking
📢 Harpy Talon: reduced frequency of wind vortex attack
· Heracles: reduced average number of foes you'll face in this Encounter
· Icarus: reduced average number of foes you'll face in this Encounter

📢 You now can use Change of Fate to alter the reward vs. Charybdis in the Rift of Thessaly
· A certain Location in Tartarus no longer immediately fires a trap at Melinoë as soon as she enters

· Updated some Prophecy fulfillment requirements based on above changes to Boons

· Vow of Panic: reduced penalty to Magick at the start of Encounters

· Added UI icons for Boons of Artemis
· Added UI icons for Blessings and Curses of Chaos
· Added UI icons for Gifts of Narcissus
· Added UI icons for Blessings of Echo
· Added UI icons for Boons of Hades
· Added UI icons for Curses of Medea
· Added UI icons for Enchantments of Circe
· Added UI icons for Offerings of Icarus
· Added UI icons for effects such as Grave Thirst, Chthonic Fate, and Special Order
· Added borders to upgrade icons on the Path of Stars screen
· Damage preview from Hestia's Scorch Curse now appears on Guardian Life Bars
📢 In the Past Deeds screen, cleared Chaos Trials no longer appear as failures
📢 Improved legibility of damage numbers on the Victory Screen that shows when you prevail
📢 Clarified when clear conditions for certain Fated List Prophecies are listed on more than one page
📢 You now can press Esc to exit the map view while using City of Ephyra Bat Cages
· Updated content of Grasp Upgrade Tutorial in the Altar of Ashes in cases where it repeats

· New visuals for Solar Ring (Apollo)

· Added SFX for when the benefit from Mint Condition (Hephaestus) is about to expire

· Improved performance in the Rift of Thessaly on systems close to the minimum system requirement
📢 All timers now pause while using the City of Ephyra Bat Cages
📢 Improved visibility of visual FX when Demeter is spurned in Trial of the Gods encounters
· Adjusted names of several Boons
· Made some optimizations to save files

· Fixed Daedalus Hammers sometimes being offered on the very first night, introduced in Patch 2
· Fixed the deadliest attack of Chronos being easier to evade than intended, introduced in Patch 2
· Fixed Vow of Abandon not deactivating The Swift Runner (Arcana)
· Fixed certain Moonstone Axe moves not playing their correct animations if queued up
· Fixed cases where Moonstone Axe Omega Special could be used repeatedly after a Dash
📢 Fixed incorrect damage in some cases using Witch's Staff (Circe) and Silver Streak (Artemis)
📢 Fixed interaction between Witch's Staff (Momus) and Exceptional Talent (Apollo)
📢 Fixed Sister Blades (Artemis) Parry effect not activating as expected after choosing a Boon
📢 Fixed Sister Blades (Artemis) visual FX not syncing with when it recharges
📢 Fixed interaction between Umbral Flames (Eos) and Split Spark (Daedalus)
📢 Fixed interaction between Frosty Veneer (Demeter) and Engraved Pin (Moros)
📢 Fixed interaction between Howling Soul (Hades) and Orchestration (Night Curse - Selene)
📢 Fixed Blitz effects from Zeus not reliably activating Origination (Arcana)
📢 Fixed interaction between Storm Ring (Zeus) and time-slowing effects such as Phase Shift (Selene)
📢 Fixed Air Quality (Zeus) not affecting Suffering on Sight (Medea)
· Fixed Double Up (Poseidon) sometimes doubling unique valuables from early encounters with Eris
📢 Fixed Rarify not working on Quick Buck (Hermes)
📢 Fixed Scalding Vapor (Poseidon x Hestia) not showing Hestia's symbol in the Offerings list
📢 Fixed Magick regeneration effects from Chaos not working together as expected
📢 Fixed Lunar Ray (Selene) sometimes not dealing damage at very close range
📢 Fixed Night Bloom (Selene) preventing certain moves from working; fixed error in the description
📢 Fixed Gold Purse (Charon) not displaying as having Expired when expected
📢 Fixed Change of Fate unexpectedly becoming unavailable after using Hexes near exits
📢 Fixed cases where using Change of Fate on a Boon near an exit also unexpectedly altered the exit
📢 Fixed Sea-Serpents sometimes becoming invisible
📢 Fixed Headmistress Hecate's Lunar Ray attack becoming invisible if blocked
📢 Fixed Headmistress Hecate's Lunar Ray attack sometimes tracking Melinoë unexpectedly
📢 Fixed an issue activating Engraved Pin (Moros) during the phase change in the battle vs. Chronos
📢 Fixed Heracles sometimes rudely vanishing during Gift interactions
📢 Fixed Chronos sometimes rudely chiding you on successive Encounters in Tartarus
📢 Fixed an extra reward sometimes appearing unexpectedly in Charon's Shop in Tartarus
📢 Fixed an issue where Nemesis could drop rewards too far away in the Mourning Fields
📢 Fixed Eris sometimes leaving Rubbish in the Crossroads even while absent
📢 Fixed Odysseus commenting on the Garden while preoccupied in the Taverna
📢 Fixed cases where Omega Moves could be used in the Training Grounds without enough Magick
📢 Fixed instances where you could not Sprint after using Dash to interrupt certain moves
📢 Fixed Frinos Strength Bonds not scaling properly
📢 Fixed Frinos overreacting after clearing all the witches summoned by Headmistress Hecate
📢 Fixed Toula dozing peacefully amid Burning Oil Slicks in the Rift of Thessaly
📢 Fixed Shrines of Hermes sometimes offering fewer items than expected
📢 Fixed quitting the game unexpectedly negating Spark of Ixion (Charon) damage protection
📢 Fixed an issue in the Altar of Ashes trying to navigate to the Grasp gauge from the bottom row
📢 Fixed control mapping overlap between Rarify and Offerings commands on the Boon Choice menu
📢 Fixed discrepancies in how seconds and milliseconds displayed in certain timers
📢 Fixed background artwork appearing unexpectedly during Fishing Pier scenes in the Crossroads
📢 Fixed Rod of Fishing indicator sometimes remaining visible after you miss your mark
📢 Fixed Olympian portrait positions if you spurned them and fail in a Trial of the Gods encounter
📢 Fixed Reagent Sensing (Cauldron) not detecting Darkness
📢 Fixed cases where Melinoë did not appear to switch weapons as expected in the Training Grounds
📢 Fixed an issue where you could senselessly squander your Rarify effect on the Spare Wealth offering
📢 Fixed text overlap issue when a Hex's recharge cost was reduced
📢 Fixed further miscellaneous issues when playing in ultrawide resolutions
📢 Fixed several text and voiceover errors
📢 Fixed various rare crashes
📢 Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch

'Late Classical writers identify Artemis and Hecate to some degree with the moon, but it is not certain how ancient this connection is.'

~Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology (E. Tripp)

Among the improvements in this patch, look for many new UI icons as well as weapon-related balance changes aimed at enhancing core combat and related choices. Your feedback and volunteered gameplay data help inspire our changes, so thank you for playing! Stay tuned for Boon updates in our next patch.

Note: 📢 indicates changes inspired by community feedback!

· You now can encounter up to one additional Olympian each night (as in the previous game)
· You now are likely to find one more Boon or other major reward while in Erebus
📢 Increased invulnerability duration after your Death Defiance effects activate
📢 Improved rewards of Ash and Psyche can now be found in Oceanus and the Rift of Thessaly
📢 You now can press-and-hold to harvest repeatedly from Crescent Pick Outcroppings
📢 Toula should now stay closer to you in Encounters, especially in the Fields of Mourning
📢 Nemesis no longer offers Death Defiance items if you do not need to refill the effect
· Reduced Gold cost of Selene's Boon and Path of Stars in Charon's Shop
· Minor adjustments to the order in which Olympians may first appear early on
· Normalized chances of finding Fishing Points in various regions

📢 Witch's Staff: Special knocks foes away, but is slightly slower; Omega Special is faster
📢 Sister Blades: Special staggers standard foes longer; Attack visual FX better match the hitbox
📢 Umbral Flames: Attacks are stronger and faster; Omega Attack channels faster and uses less magick; Special gives a speed boost, but has reduced damage; Omega Special can be channeled while moving
📢 Moonstone Axe: reworked Special provides a lingering barrier; Omega Attack channels slightly faster; Omega Special channels faster
📢 Argent Skull: Omega Attack channels faster and hits a larger area

· Witch's Staff (Circe): adjusted activation and duration of Serenity effect; Serenity now adds Omega bonus damage that scales with this Aspect's rank
· Witch's Staff (Momus): reworked; each of your Omega Moves automatically fires several times in succession from where you use them
📢 Sister Blades (Artemis): you will Block again if the effect recharges while you are channeling; Block now takes priority over Dodge and similar effects
· Umbral Flames (Eos): reworked; Omega Attack now fires a slow shot that occasionally creates damage blasts and also copies your Specials
· Moonstone Axe (Melinoë): reworked; now adds Power and Max Life
· Moonstone Axe (Thanatos): reworked; faster Attack adds Critical chance to Omega moves
· Argent Skull (Medea): improved hit detection on foes near impassable obstacles
· Argent Skull (Persephone): you now earn Glory much faster, but only by using your Omega Cast; improved control responsiveness during Omega Special

📢 Moon Beam (Selene): increased bonus to Path of Stars upgrades

· Marauder Wallop (Staff): cut from game; replaced with...
· Rapid Thrasher (Staff): new! All your Attacks become faster
· Double Wallop (Staff): cut from game; replaced with...
· Wicked Thrasher (Staff): new! All your Attacks gain bonus Power
· Double Cataclysm (Staff): cut from game; replaced with...
· Mirrored Thrasher (Staff): new! All your Attacks hit twice, but you take more damage
· Rapid Moonshot (Staff): also affects Omega Special
· Dual Moonshot (Staff): also affects Omega Special; reduced range; renamed from Double Moonshot
· Shimmering Moonshot (Staff): also affects Omega Special
· Aetheric Moonburst (Staff): increased Magick restoration from Power Shots
· Concentrated Flurry (Blades): cut from game; replaced with...
· Melting Dart (Blades): new! Your Special destroys a large percentage of a foe's Armor
· Flick Knives (Blades): new! Your Dash-Strike also fires several Special knives in a fan pattern
· Rapid Onslaught (Blades): reworked to also affect Omega Attack; renamed from Marauder Slice
· Hook Knives (Blades): removed damage bonus; slightly reduced speed of knives returning to you
· Furious Fire (Flames): cut from game; replaced with...
· Mega Spark (Flames): new! All your Attacks travel farther and deal more damage
· Inverted Spark (Flames): new! Dash to make shots from Attacks reverse direction and hit foes again
· Leaden Spark (Flames): new! Your Attacks knock foes away and have bonus Power
· Sustained Spark (Flames): also increases move speed, instead of reducing; formerly Sustained Fire
· Melting Coil (Flames): no longer fires straight; also affects Omega Special; formerly Melting Comet
· Origin Coil (Flames): also affects Special
· Rapid Slash (Axe): reworked to also affect Omega Attack; renamed from Marauder Slash
· Giga Cleaver (Axe): removed two-stage channeling (it always double-fires but uses more Magick)
· Dashing Heave (Axe): removed damage bonus; instead, it now hits twice
· Sidelong Crash (Skull): cut from game; replaced with...
· Mega Driver (Skull): new! Your Specials travel farther and deal more damage
· Colossus Driver (Skull): also affects Omega Special

· Wolf Howl: reduced Magick-spend requirement
· Twilight Curse: greatly reduced Magick-spend requirement; reduced foes afflicted; reduced cast time
· Night Bloom: reduced Magick-spend requirement, effect duration, bonus damage, and cast time
· Lunar Ray: greatly reduced Magick-spend requirement; reduced damage; reduced cast time
· Moon Water: slightly increased Magick-spend requirement; slightly reduced healing
· Dark Side: slightly increased Magick-spend requirement; slightly reduced cast time

📢 Chronos: various fixes and adjustments; there should be fewer cases where he's patently unfair
· Infernal Cerberus: minor adjustments to some attack patterns in the first phase
📢 Eris: grenade attacks no longer wildly bounce around
📢 Polyphemus: reduced effectiveness of Mutant Sheep
📢 Goldwrath: reduced accuracy and tracking of beam attack
· Queen Lamia: slightly increased Armor; increased speed; other minor changes
· Reed-Stalker: increased projectile speed and target distance; reduced rotation speed
· Mourner: slightly increased rotation speed; slightly increased speed while attacking
· Lamia: slightly increased life and Elite armor
📢 Dire Shambler: reduced tracking speed between attacks
📢 Hippo: self-destruct area should more closely match the visuals

📢 Driftwood resources are more common in the Rift of Thessaly (a further increase since last patch)
📢 Burning Oil Slicks in the Rift of Thessaly will extinguish after Encounters, though may be reignited
📢 Adjusted Oil Slicks in some locations in the Rift of Thessaly
· Minor fixes to several locations

· Clearing Original Sins no longer requires choosing the very rare Barren curse from Chaos

📢 Trial of Heartache: reduced difficulty and adjusted based on Aspect changes
📢 Trial of Haste: reduced difficulty and adjusted based on Aspect changes

· Vow of Forsaking: no longer helps ensure you quickly get Duo and Legendary Boons

· Added many new UI icons for Keepsakes, Weapons, Well of Charon offerings, and more
📢 Insight Into Offerings (Cauldron) now also lets you check each Olympian's list of offerings in the Book of Shadows while choosing their Boons (or the equivalent with other characters)
· [/]With the prior change, adjusted default key binding for Rarify; some custom bindings have been reset
📢 Added a warning when you are down to your last use of Death Defiance
📢 Opening the Book of Shadows should show entries for nearby characters more reliably
📢 Removed the Unused Grasp notification when exiting the Altar of Ashes while at a high Grasp limit
· Updated Pitch-Black Stone screen to use Aspect-specific icons
· Adjusted input action bar layout at the bottom of the Boon Screen and similar
· Added borders to icons for Selene Hexes on the Gifts of the Moon screen
· Added informational pop-up when using F10 to report bugs
· Other minor changes

📢 Reduced some full-screen flashing or strobing, such as from time-slow effects

· Added SFX for when certain active abilities such as Serenity are ready to use
· Updated placeholder SFX for various Keepsakes
· Updated SFX for projectile collisions with Umbral Flames (Moros)

· Unique voice lines should play more reliably when certain incantations are revealed in the Cauldron
· Added voice lines when using Phase Shift (Selene) vs. Chronos (or trying to...)
· More voice lines should play when confiding in Frinos in certain contexts

📢 While brooding over the family portrait in the Crossroads, you may now snap out of it sooner
📢 You now can fully control the game using keyboard only if you rebind Attack and Special
📢 All timers now pause while in the presence of Charon
📢 An Anvil of Fates will no longer be offered in Tartarus if you have not found a Daedalus Hammer
📢 In the Hades Flashback, adjusted timing of hint for players who don't realize they are in control
· Reduced requirements for the incantation Power to Pause and Reflect to be revealed
· Melinoë now respawns in the center of her magick circle near her tent (she was a bit off before...)
· Improved compatibility with more types of controllers
· Updated text for various upgrades and abilities

· Fixed Double Up (Poseidon) sometimes doubling Mystery Boons; clarified description
· Fixed Nightmare resources dropping unexpectedly in Chaos Trials
📢 Fixed Omega moves occasionally becoming unresponsive after being chomped on by Polyphemus
📢 Fixed deadliest attack of Chronos occasionally hitting when Melinoë was in a supposedly safe point
📢 Fixed Umbral Flames Attack preventing Magick regeneration before channeling Omega Attack
📢 Fixed The Queen and Judgment (Arcana) appearing active while no others Arcana are active
📢 Fixed Hearth Gain (Hestia) no longer restoring Magick if chosen as a Sacrifice Boon
📢 Fixed certain later Oath Testaments for the Sister Blades sometimes not appearing as expected
📢 Fixed cases where you could go out of bounds using the Argent Skull in the battle vs. Chronos
📢 Fixed more cases of some visual effects vs. Chronos lingering between phases or after the fight
📢 Fixed Toula unceremoniously vanishing after you vanquish Chronos
📢 Fixed additional issues with Sun Worshiper (Apollo)
📢 Fixed additional issues with Dark Side (Selene)
📢 Fixed additional issues with Twilight Curse (Selene)
📢 Fixed a visual issue where Headmistress Hecate could appear to slide after snared by your Cast
📢 Fixed Spark of Ixion (Charon) causing a Chaos Gate to appear in Asphodel?
📢 Fixed Golden Boughs sometimes not marking all available rewards in the Fields of Mourning
📢 Fixed several narrative events that could play out of sequence
📢 Fixed Odysseus rather rudely walking away while in conversation with Nemesis
📢 Fixed Heracles sometimes leaping away forever
📢 Fixed Melinoë's voice reverting during her return sequence despite certain Circe enchantments
📢 Fixed incorrect Echo portrait in the Book of Shadows
📢 Fixed incorrect music playing in some Chaos Trials, or not playing as intended in some instances
📢 Fixed rare cases of a looping sound playing indefinitely
📢 Fixed a rare instance when objectives in the Training Grounds could overlap
📢 Fixed several minor issues on the Victory Screen that shows when you prevail
📢 Fixed additional miscellaneous issues when playing in ultrawide resolutions
📢 Fixed a rare crash in which the effect of Winter Harvest (Demeter) could repeat forever
📢 Fixed various other rare crashes
📢 Fixed several text errors
📢 Other minor fixes

'Hecate was the Goddess of the Dark of the Moon, the black nights when the moon is hidden. She was associated with deeds of darkness, the Goddess of the Crossways, which were held to be ghostly places of evil magic.'

~Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes (E. Hamilton)

Here's our first patch in Early Access!! We're very grateful for all the feedback so far, which inspired this first set of targeted improvements and fixes. Next, we'll be working on a patch with balance changes and additional improvements based on what we've observed. Thank you for playing!

Note: 📢 indicates a change inspired by community feedback! (Almost everything in this case...!)

📢 Your Sprint is innately faster and turning is more responsive; re-scaled abilities that boost this
📢 You now can Dash out of many attack recovery animations more reliably
📢 You now can gather from any resource point once you have unlocked the corresponding Gathering Tool; you now can Prioritize any available Tool in the Training Grounds to make its resources appear as often as before, while resources for Tools you do not Prioritize will appear far less often

📢 The Swift Runner: now also makes your Dash immediate (note the faster speed means you are invulnerable for very slightly less time); re-scaled Sprint speed bonus since Sprint is innately faster now

📢 It is easier to Dash across chasms in Oceanus
📢 Driftwood resources are more common in the Rift of Thessaly

📢 Using a Well of Charon displays your current Gold without the need to check your Boon Info
📢 The Grasp Upgrade Tutorial in the Altar of Ashes will repeat if ignored
📢 Added Patch Notes option to the Main Menu (where you can read this!)

📢 Early encounters with Eris are less likely to occur; she also drops something of value...
📢 Related, if this already occurred, look for a one-time bonus in the Crossroads while Eris is present
📢 Entries in the Book of Shadows are generally easier to reveal
📢 You can gift Echo without having to wait around as long after conversing
📢 Adjusted Animal Familiar upgrades invalidated by the Gathering Tool changes above
📢 In the Hades Flashback, a hint will eventually play for players who don't realize they are in control
📢 Improved mouse selection in various cases
📢 Improved support for some additional controllers
• Abilities that boost Sprint speed display more-accurate numbers (generally lower than before)
• Updates and fixes to translations in some languages

📢 Fixed several issues with Dark Side (Selene)
📢 Fixed Sun Worshiper (Apollo) sometimes preventing new foes from spawning
📢 Fixed Fire Extinguisher (Hestia) not dealing damage as expected
📢 Fixed Sister Blades Omega Attack not hitting Chronos reliably from certain angles
📢 Fixed Satyr Hoplites retaining the ability to block while afflicted with Twilight Curse (Selene)
📢 Fixed various cases of foes sometimes spawning out of bounds
📢 Fixed camera zoom-in getting stuck vs. Polyphemus in certain situations
📢 Fixed cases where you could Dash out of bounds in the Crossroads
📢 Fixed Fishing Pier events in the Crossroads not passing Whiles like other similar events
📢 Fixed autolock not clearing as expected while using mouse controls
📢 Fixed keyboard inputs sometimes getting stuck unexpectedly
📢 Fixed several input issues switching from gamepad to mouse-and-keyboard controls
📢 Fixed several issues playing in ultrawide resolutions
📢 Fixed some visual effects vs. Chronos lingering between phases or after the fight
📢 Fixed a Melinoë voice line repeating unexpectedly around the City of Ephyra Bat Cages
📢 Fixed various rare crashes
📢 Fixed several text errors
📢 Other minor fixes

'...now plain to the eye, now shadowy, now shining in the darkness—
all this in unnerving attacks in the gloom of night.'

~The Orphic Hymns, 71: To Melinoë (Anonymous; A. Athanassakis translation)

Thanks so much to everyone who's taken the time to play Hades II in Early Access so far! We've been delving into all your impressions and feedback, and we're very excited to move forward in this new phase of development. In this post, we wanted to share our short-term plans.

Following our launch, we've deployed several small hotfixes that alleviated rare crashes and progression bugs. We typically don't provide patch notes for small technical hotfixes such as this, though they help us make sure we're building on a solid foundation. We are continuing to watch for error reports closely.

Impressions posted here on Steam, our official Discord, and beyond are letting us gauge how everyone's feeling about the game and how that aligns with our goals. With the help of our translators, we're getting feedback from players all over the world! We're also collecting anonymous gameplay data voluntarily submitted by players, which helps us identify opportunities to improve the balance of Boons, weapons, foes, and so on. This is an ongoing process that's just getting started.

Our first patch should be coming later this month, though note we don't have a more-specific timeline. With it, we're looking for improvements we can make in the near term, in a way that makes Hades II better for everyone and come closer to realizing our goals. For example:

• Resource Gathering: We want Hades II players to focus on goals that are important to them, though don't want resource gathering to feel too frustrating, such as if you didn't bring the right gathering tool along for the ride.
  
  
• Getting Around: It's important to us that Melinoë have her own distinct style, and for players to be able to navigate her battles and other interactions in a nimble, responsive, expressive way. We have ideas for how to improve her Dash and Sprint.

Our first patch will likely have a few other enhancements and fixes, and we'll have comprehensive patch notes when the time comes. So stay tuned!

If you were with us for the Early Access development of the original game, you know we love making balance changes! We're always looking for opportunities to make the content and choices in the game as interesting as we can. However, we're still gathering feedback and data that helps inform the kind of changes we like to make, so don't expect too many such changes just yet.

We will likely have at least one more patch after our first, to make additional improvements and fixes in the short term. From there, we will focus on the development of our first Major Update planned for some months from now, which will contain various new features and content.

Early Access has already been incredibly instructive to us about ways in which we might make Hades II the best it can be. We really appreciate you playing and taking the time to share your impressions with us! Death to Chronos!

After more than three years in development, our first-ever sequel is now available in Early Access!! Watch our new gameplay showcase to see it in action. Note this contains some spoilers!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1145350/Hades_II/

We hope you enjoy discovering all that Hades II in Early Access has to offer! It already includes more environments, foes, and fully-voiced characters than the full version of the original game, and we have more in the works. An in-game development roadmap provides additional details about our update plans.

Note for owners of Steam Deck, we're pleased to report Hades II is Deck Verified!

Hades II is a rogue-like dungeon crawler in which you'll battle beyond the Underworld of Greek myth using dark sorcery to take on the sinister Titan of Time. It builds on the best aspects of the award-winning original in an all-new, action-packed, endlessly replayable experience rooted in Greek myth and its deep connections to the dawn of witchcraft.

As the immortal Princess of the Underworld, you'll explore a bigger, deeper mythic world, vanquishing the Titan's forces with the full might of Olympus behind you, in a sweeping story that continually unfolds through your every setback and accomplishment. New locations, challenges, upgrade systems, and surprises await as you delve into the ever-shifting Underworld again and again. For more information, check our Hades II FAQ[www.supergiantgames.com].

This Early Access launch is an extraordinarily exciting moment for our team as we begin the process that we expect will help us realize this game's potential. As with the original, we designed Hades II for Early Access from the ground up, and look forward to hearing your feedback about all that we've built so far, and integrating that feedback into our plans for the rest of production! This is a game with many interconnected parts, and your feedback helps us ensure everything from the balance to the narrative are working as well as possible.

Should you play in Early Access, or wait for the full game? For many players, it's a good idea to wait for the complete v1.0 before diving in, as Hades II will grow and improve during Early Access, and the true ending of the story won't be available until then. But, if you like the idea of seeing the game evolve over time, and watching the story unfold more gradually, then Early Access is probably for you!

Music has always been essential to the experience of each title from Supergiant Games, and Hades II is no exception, with an original soundtrack by our award-winning composer Darren Korb crafted to fit the bewitching theme and variety of all-new characters and environments.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2950840/Hades_II_Original_Soundtrack/

Now available alongside the game, the soundtrack is already nearly as expansive as the original, with close to two-and-a-half hours of new music... and still more tracks to be added as development continues. Note: We recommend first experiencing our soundtracks in-game!

We're planning our first Major Update for later this year! Please note while we'll be monitoring feedback and reports carefully, this Major Update will take some months following our initial launch. Beyond that, we expect to be in Early Access at least through the end of 2024 in order to build out the remaining content we have planned.

As we take stock of the state of the game and what you think of it, we'll gain a clearer sense of just how close we are to the finish line. For now, it's too early to say when our v1.0 launch will be. Yet even though Hades II won't be complete for some time, we hope you really enjoy it as soon as you start playing.

Lastly: Thank you. This year our studio turns 15 years old, and for all this time we've remained small and independent, working on one major new project after another. None of this would have been possible without the support of our players over the years. So, whether Hades II is your first Supergiant game, or you've been with us since the Bastion days, we're grateful you could join us.

Update, April 26: Thank you very much for your patience as we conducted the Hades II Technical Test. The Test helped us identify and address a number of key technical issues we weren't able to find before, in preparation to launch Hades II here in Early Access.

We plan to start winding down the Technical Test on Monday, April 29, after which point it will no longer be available in participants' Steam libraries. However, we plan to launch Hades II in Early Access relatively soon after, so please stay tuned! We hope you share our excitement for Early Access, and really appreciate your support and encouragement during the Test!

* * *

April 16: We're getting close to launching Hades II in Early Access! As noted in our latest Development Update, a key step prior to that is our Hades II Technical Test, which we plan to begin shortly.

We're conducting the Hades II Technical Test prior to our Early Access launch to help us find and solve any technical issues we might have missed thus far, to ensure anyone who tries Hades II in Early Access can have a smooth play experience from the start. The Technical Test contains much less content than what's in store for the Early Access launch, and may be available only to a relatively small subset of players who express interest in participating.

We are using Steam Playtest to run the Hades II Technical Test. If you'd like to be considered for participation, you can sign up right now simply by clicking 'Request Access' on our Steam page:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1145350/Hades_II/

A subset of players who request access will be invited to participate via an email from Steam with download instructions. We expect to start with a small player population, then grow it over time. So, even if you aren't invited to the Technical Test right away, you may still be invited later. Our process boils down to: invite some players, fix any problems they run into, invite more players, and so on. Once we're sufficiently confident that things are stable, we will wind down the Technical Test, then launch the game in Early Access relatively soon after.

As the purpose of the Technical Test is to test the game with a relatively small audience, we may not be able to honor individual requests to participate. We will do our best to conduct the Technical Test as expeditiously as possible, then launch in Early Access, at which point the game will be available for anyone to purchase and play.

The nature of the Test is such that we don't know exactly how long it will last, though our estimate is 'longer than a week, shorter than a month'. We likewise don't know exactly when we will launch Hades II in Early Access, since that will depend on how long we end up running the Technical Test.

Here are the minimum system requirements for the Technical Test:

OS: Windows 10 64-bit (or Steam Deck)
Processor: Dual Core 2.4 Ghz
Memory: 8GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GTX 950, Radeon R7 360, or Intel HD Graphics 630

The Technical Test contains the first major area of the game, and other early-game characters, systems, and content. (If you played the original game, imagine a version where you couldn't get past Tartarus even if you vanquished its guardian.) If you end up clearing the first major area a number of times, the game will gently suggest that you discontinue play, as Early Access shouldn't be far behind!

Note that due to structural differences with the Early Access version of the game, save data from the Technical Test will not transfer.

Just play! If you encounter crashes or other technical issues, the game will provide instruction on how to report those to us.

Thank you for your interest in Hades II and this Technical Test! It's important to us to start our forthcoming Early Access with as few technical issues as possible, so that the focus can be on getting your feedback on the game itself. We're very excited to share that game with you soon, and appreciate your patience and support as we prepare!

Back when we first revealed Hades II at The Game Awards in 2022, we said to expect more information on our plans for Early Access sometime in 2023. It's time we shed some light on those plans!

We now can confirm we're planning for Hades II to launch in Early Access in Q2 2024. We'll have more details on the exact date, pricing, and system requirements closer to that time.

Thank you for your patience as we gear up for this launch! You may be wondering, why can't we launch in Early Access, like, right now?! The game looked pretty far along in the first trailer! The reason is, Hades II will have at least as much content from day one in Early Access as the original game did back when it launched in Early Access on Steam. And, even though Early Access inherently means a game is not yet complete, we still want to do everything we can to make sure Hades II is worth your while as soon as you can play it in any capacity.

Also in Q2 2024, shortly before we launch in Early Access, we're going to run a technical test with a limited sample of players. The purpose of this test will be to find and solve any technical or compatibility issues we might have missed, to ensure anyone who tries Hades II in Early Access can have a smooth play experience. To that end, this technical test will contain much less content than what's in store for the Early Access launch, and likely be limited only to a relatively small subset of players who express interest in participating. We'll announce more details about the Hades II Technical Test closer to when it's ready.

Early Access was vitally important to the entire idea behind the original Hades -- we decided it would be an Early Access game before deciding literally anything else about it, such as the Underworld setting. We've approached development of Hades II knowing Early Access will be no less important this time, though now knowing a bit more of what to expect from Early Access development, as well as more about what a Hades game needs to be. We believe the timeframe we're planning for will be the "sweet spot" where the game is far enough along that player feedback won't mostly consist of stuff we already know isn't there yet, but isn't so far along that it's too late in development for us to act on the feedback we receive.

Similar to how we approached Early Access with the original, following our Hades II Early Access launch, we'll have several Major Updates adding the rest of the game's core content and refining what's there based on player feedback. The story will expand with each update, as we introduce more characters, and deepen relationships with existing ones. This process will culminate in our v1.0 launch, which will feature the conclusion to the story and any other finishing touches.

We don't yet know exactly how long it will take us to get to v1.0 of Hades II, as our experience developing in Early Access has taught us (among many things) to expect the unexpected. For now, our focus is to keep building core content -- environments, characters, weapons, Boons, story events, music, and more -- as we gear up for our Technical Test and Early Access launch in Q2 this coming year. Thank you again for your patience and support as we work to ensure our first sequel meets our standards, and hopefully yours, too!

Note: For all the latest details we can share about Hades II, please check our Hades II FAQ[supergiant.games].

We are so excited to announce Hades II, our studio's fifth game and first-ever sequel! Meet the Princess of the Underworld in our 4K reveal trailer, which premiered tonight at The Game Awards:
Like its predecessor, Hades II will be available in Early Access here on Steam for some time leading up to its full v1.0 launch. Add Hades II to your wishlist for a handy reminder when the time comes:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1145350/Hades_II/
Feedback from our player community through the course of development was foundational to the design and vital to the quality of the original game, so we plan to reprise that type of process with Hades II. Expect more information about our Early Access sometime in 2023.

In Hades II, you'll battle beyond the Underworld using dark sorcery to take on the sinister Titan of Time in an all-new, action-packed, endlessly replayable experience rooted in the Underworld of Greek myth and its deep connections to the dawn of witchcraft.

This is a direct sequel taking place sometime after the events of the original game. No prior knowledge of the original Hades is needed, though there are plenty of connections!

As Melinoë, the immortal Princess of the Underworld, you'll explore a bigger, deeper mythic world, vanquishing the Titan's forces with the full might of Olympus behind you, in a sweeping story that continually unfolds through your every setback and accomplishment. New locations, challenges, upgrade systems, and surprises await as you delve into the ever-shifting Underworld again and again.

Like her brother Zagreus from the original game, Melinoë is not a character of our own invention, and is based on an ancient Underworld deity thought to be related to Hades. What little ancient mythology exists about her was more than enough to make us want to explore her story and connection to her family, and in so doing, expand on our vision of the Underworld!

For more details, check our Hades II FAQ[http//%26quot%3Bhttps]. Please note, much like with our past titles, we plan to leave many details for you to discover!

We are a small independent game studio based in San Francisco, CA. Since 2009, we have strived to make games that spark your imagination like the games you played as a kid.

We now have more than 20 people on our team (a few more than on the original Hades), including all seven of the original members of the team that created our first game, Bastion[http//%26quot%3Bhttps], who have worked together in their respective roles on all our games ever since.

We work on one main new game project at a time, and Hades II is that project for the foreseeable future. The original Hades earned more than 70 Game of the Year awards following its v1.0 launch in 2020, and grew into our most successful game. Now, we are doing our best to make a sequel that lives up to its predecessor, and stands strong on its own merits.

Your generous support is the reason we've been able to stick together as a team all this time, so thank you very much for believing in us and for your patience as we develop this game!