Patch 011

Early Access Patch 011: The GOOD TIMES Update - Feb. 12, 2019

Our second Major Update is here, featuring a mighty new Olympian and weapon, and much more. We'll likely post several smaller patches after this, then shift focus to next month's big update!

Highlights

 * Dionysus: the god of wine offers his intoxicating blessings! Seek his aid and encouragement during your escape attempts
 * Exagryph, the Adamant Rail: this legendary forebear of firearms presents an all-new playstyle! Own all four other weapons to reveal it
 * Fated Authority: new Mirror upgrade lets you alter the rewards you'll earn in each chamber (to whatever the Fates decide...)
 * Infernal Gates: seasoned players may earn greater rewards within (provided they use the Pact of Punishment, and can clear the challenges inside)
 * New Story Events: expect new narrative plus new contextual gameplay quips, with hundreds of newly recorded voice lines
 * Roadmap: press the Next Major Update button on the Main Menu to learn more about what else we're working on

General Gameplay

 * 'Perfect Clear' encounters no longer occur in random Chambers; now occur when you enter the new Infernal Gates
 * Centaur Hearts no longer a reward option in the first chamber
 * Codex unlock requirements reduced in most cases
 * Improvements to auto-aim selection in various contexts
 * Added Superior-quality Chamber Reward variants (for Infernal Gates)
 * Wretched Broker deals offer better value (sometimes...)
 * Infernal Troves retain their full value longer before decay-over-time

Balance - Weapons & Powers

 * Adamant Rail: added to the game, with its own Daedalus Upgrades
 * Stygian Blade: Thrust recovery time slightly reduced; Special recovery can be reduced by attacking
 * Heart-Seeking Bow: Special recovery time slightly reduced
 * Eternal Spear: Special damage and range slightly increased; returns slightly faster; improved input buffering
 * Shield of Chaos: Attack recovery slightly faster; improved input buffering; now can block petrifying projectiles
 * Cast: improved input buffering when linking shots

Balance - Boons & Upgrades

 * Thunder Dash (Zeus): reduced max. damage
 * Ocean's Bounty (Poseidon): no longer affects shop items
 * Titan Toppler (Athena): no longer interrupted by Spike Traps
 * Hungry Blades (Ares): reduced duration scaling; scales with rarity
 * Deadly Strike (Artemis): reworked; adds bonus damage and a fixed +15% chance of a Critical hit
 * Deadly Flourish (Artemis): reworked; adds bonus damage and a fixed +20% chance of a Critical hit
 * Hunter Dash (Artemis): reduced power level; various fixes
 * Burst Shot (Artemis): now scales with rarity
 * Fully Loaded (Artemis): now scales with rarity
 * Dying Lament (Aphrodite): increased power level
 * Wave of Despair (Aphrodite): increased power level
 * Unhealthy Fixation (Aphrodite): increased effect chance
 * Empty Inside (Aphrodite): now scales with rarity
 * Remedy (Chaos): cut from game; Soul (Life Gain) still offered;
 * Grasp (Chaos): now scales with rarity
 * Atrophic (Chaos): increased negative effect
 * Pom of Power: upgrades can now have improved rarity

Balance - Daedalus Hammer

 * Cruel Thrust (Sword): added to the game
 * Sudden Sunder (Sword): faster recovery time
 * Piercing Shot (Bow): replaced with Piercing Barrage
 * Point-Blank Shot (Bow): replaced with Twin Shot
 * Triple Shot (Bow): widened attack arc
 * Rapid Shot (Bow): removed damage penalty
 * Dread Flight (Shield): hits more targets before returning
 * Voracious Flight (Shield): replaced with Mirage Flight
 * Assault Flight (Shield): reworked; now faster and fully automatic
 * Minotaur Rush (Shield): reduced charge-time penalty
 * Trick Toss (Spear): replaced with Flurry Jab
 * Impact Blast (Spear): replaced with Exploding Launcher
 * Cruel Skewer (Spear): replaced with Vicious Skewer
 * Multi Skewer (Spear): bounces between more targets, including foes
 * Quick Spin (Spear): now charges much faster

= Balance - Foes & Encounters =


 * Pest: now flings mines; mines eventually expire; reduced Elite armor
 * Thug: no longer turns during attack; reduced Elite armor
 * Numbskull: no longer spawn one-by-one in some encounters
 * Skullomat: reduced Elite armor; reduced spawn cap
 * Megaera: reinforcement spawns no longer yield unlimited money
 * Slam-Dancer: no longer immune to knockback while leaping
 * Gorgon: attack expires slightly sooner
 * Skull-Crusher: reduced health, size, and spawn cap; Elite rises faster
 * Megagorgon: now immune to stun and knockback;
 * Hydra: no longer slows you with its slam attack; improved feedback on some of its attacks; other minor changes
 * Asphodel Lava Puddles take longer to damage you (like other lava)
 * Brimstones can now appear in the Asphodel 'river crossing' encounter
 * Area attacks (such as the Skull-Crusher's) now briefly stun other foes
 * Various other minor fixes and improvements

= Balance - Mirror of Night =


 * Fated Authority: added to the game
 * Death Defiance: healing now scales with Life Total

= Balance - Keepsakes & Items =


 * Overflowing Cup (Dionysus): added to the game
 * Chthonic Coin Purse (Hypnos): reworked; gives a fixed money amount
 * Light of Ixion (Well): no longer loses charges in ineligible chambers
 * Trove Tracker (Well): no longer loses charges in ineligible chambers
 * Olympian Keepsake effects won't expire before you take their boon

= Balance - Pact of Punishment =


 * Whipped Frenzy (NEW!): raises foe movement speed and attack speed
 * Convenience Fee (NEW!): raises item costs
 * Pain Tolerance: reduced effect at max rank
 * Increased Darkness bonus when using the Pact
 * Adjusted Skeleton Key costs for some unlocks

= Level Design & Environments =


 * Added chamber for when you dare enter the new Infernal Gates...
 * Charon's Shop in Tartarus has a new look
 * House of Hades: the Wretched Broker has a new location
 * Several chambers in Tartarus now have multiple exits
 * Art and collision fixes in some chambers

= Art & Visual FX =


 * Improved art for Chaos Gates (formerly called Blood Gates)
 * Improved art for Asphodel pillar
 * Improved visual FX for Asphodel smoke traps
 * Olympian portraits now have some animated visual FX
 * New visual FX for new Superior-quality Chamber Rewards
 * New art for Superior-quality healing items
 * Updated visual FX for Poseidon effects
 * New art for Enshrouded (Chaos) Chamber Reward previews
 * Gorgon petrification projectile easier to see
 * Move animations now sped up proportionally with upgrades
 * Charge-up animations now sped up proportionally with upgrades
 * Improved spawn-in animations for some foes
 * Various other graphical improvements

= Menus & UI =


 * Death Defiance and similar effects now represented distinctly in the UI
 * In the Mirror and Pact, you can press-and-hold to quickly modify stats
 * Formatting improvements in the Mirror and Pact
 * Added visual timer for Cast ammo auto-returning to you
 * Tenebrous Veil (Pact) now shows you removed choices
 * Death Insurance (Pact) now has improved feedback on foes
 * Boon Info command now shows how many chambers deep you are
 * Added support for wrapping in many menus using gamepad
 * You can close the Codex using the command to open it
 * Main Menu selection improvements with gamepad
 * Visual distinction between 'resource' and 'upgrade' Reward previews
 * Layout changes in Controls screen
 * Improvements to Victory Screen
 * Improvements to interact text presentation
 * Various other minor improvements

= Music & SFX =


 * A certain court musician may now be persuaded to sing another tune...
 * Keepsakes now have unique sounds when equipped
 * Added audio cue for when Chaos Gates unlock
 * Added various new ambient sounds
 * Various minor SFX changes and improvements

= Voice & Narrative =


 * Added Zagreus voice events for various gameplay contexts
 * Added new narrative events with various characters
 * Added new Storyteller lines for successfully clearing runs
 * Added Codex entries for Dionysus and Exagryph
 * Voiceover timing improvements and minor fixes

= Miscellaneous =


 * Improved consistency across various boon and upgrade descriptions
 * You can Dash into the House Bedchambers more reliably
 * Added interaction if you can get all Pact unlockables in the Courtyard
 * Credits: Dionysus added to Voice Cast

= Bug Fixes =


 * You sometimes took damage blocking with the Shield unexpectedly
 * Hunter Dash (Artemis) no longer a prerequisite for Critical boons
 * The Spear Special did not benefit from Boiling Blood (Mirror)
 * The Shield Bull Rush could sometimes deal damage while petrified
 * Asphodel foes sometimes appeared in the first chamber unexpectedly
 * Vicious Torment (Pact) boosted Deflect damage unexpectedly
 * Pain Tolerance (Pact) was not applying the stated values
 * 'Last Kill' presentation was not occurring in 'Perfect Clear' encounters
 * Your Life Total appeared incorrectly when choosing Chaos boons

= Quote of the Patch = "[W]hen the crude grapes which Dionysus gave to men -- a joy and a sorrow both -- begin to colour, in that season they fought and loud rose the clamour. ~Shield of Heracles"

- Hesiod; H. Evelyn-White translation

You should see V0.14026 In-Game once you have the update