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)