Patch 025


 * 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)