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.