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
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)

Note: You should see v0.19784 in-game once you have the update.