Shield of Chaos

Aegis, the Shield of Chaos is an Infernal Arm that can be unlocked for 3 Chthonic Keys.

Codex entry[]

'...Aegis, the Shield of Chaos, predecessor to the very Aegis wielded by Lord Zeus and by Athena, his most favored daughter... the Lord of Thunder defended his brothers and sisters using that very shield when, together, they conspired to drive the Titans back into the lowest reaches of the Underworld. The shield was shattered, yet a burning effigy remains, its power still intact. A power sealed within the visage of a monstrous entity even the titans feared. Its might is uncontrollable, and it scarce functions as a manner of defense. Instead, its writhing maw augments its wielder's might, shattering bone and solid rock with little effort, and considerable zeal. I confess I had to look away from it. The family of weapons used to end the Titan-war, the other members of it seem almost alive in their own way; but, there is no almost about this. It instills in me a feeling I would rather leave unnamed. May the next bearer of Aegis meet it on agreeable terms.'

Fighting style[]

The main attack is a single swing that hits in an arc and knocks enemies back. Holding the attack button will block damage from the front, and releasing will perform a shield bash forwards, dealing damage to enemies hit. The special throws the shield, which bounces between enemies and objects before returning.

It's worth noting that the shield is capable of blocking anything (including attacks from bosses), except for traps and AoE attacks.

Attack	Description	Damage	Notes
Bash	Press Attack button to Strike.	25 Damage	Knockback
Bull Rush	Hold Attack to Defend; Release to Bull Rush.	Partial Charge: 20-39 Damage Max Charge: 40 Damage	Defend Rush
Throw	Press Special to Throw.	Throw: 15 Damage	After a throw, Zagreus cannot Attack / Special until the shield returns to him.
Dash-Strike	Press Attack while Dashing to Dash-Strike.	25 Damage

Aspects[]

The Shield of Chaos has 4 Aspects: Zagreus, Chaos, Zeus, and Beowulf. Like all other weapons, each Aspect has 5 levels that can be unlocked by spending Titan Blood. The higher the level of the Aspect, the more effective its improvement is. Reaching the highest level in all Aspects requires 51 Titan Blood. An Aspect will not only change the appearance of the Shield of Chaos, but will also improve its attacks. The Aspect of Beowulf has a unique move-set which changes the fighting style of the Shield of Chaos.


Aspect	Description	Upgrades	Cost
Aspect of Zagreus	The form in which the shield of chaos first revealed itself. Sometimes the bone-etched visage shudders as though it means to speak.	Attack & Dash-Strike Damage: +3 / +6 / +9 / +12 / +15	1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 Titan Blood (Total: 5)
Aspect of Chaos	After you Bull Rush, your next Special throws multiple shields. All sprang from the primordial depths; only one artifact bore witness.	Bonus Shields Thrown: +1 / +2 / +3 / +4 / +5	1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 Titan Blood (Total: 15)
Aspect of Zeus	Your Special is replaced with the Blitz Disc.* Blitz Disc: Your Special deals rapid damage, returning on command. Your Attack is not disabled. Once he became king of the Olympians, he truly had nothing left to fear.	Blitz Disc Base Damage per Hit: 8 / 13 / 19 / 24 / 30	2 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 Titan Blood (Total: 16)
Aspect of Beowulf	You have Naegling's Board but take +10% damage. Naegling's Board*: Alternate Move Set:* Heavy Attack & Special; Cast empowers Bull Rush (instead of firing). Would that the stalwart warrior-king's sword offered similar protection.	Dragon Rush Bonus Damage & Area: +20% / +40% / +60% / +80% / +100%	3 / 3 / 3 / 3 / 3 (Total: 15 )

*Blitz Disc will move through foes until stopping in place for 10 seconds or until Special is pressed again, at which point it travels back to Zagreus. Deals damage every 0.3 Sec., even when travelling back. You can still Attack before the shield is recalled.

**See below for Naegling's Board's alternate moveset.

Revealing the Aspect of Beowulf[]

Reveal the Aspect of Beowulf by meeting the following requirements:

Reveal the Aspect of Guan Yu (does not need to be unlocked with Titan Blood)
Have a total of 5 or more invested into Shield aspects
If you have not previously received the following dialogue from Chaos, talk to them with the Shield equipped until you do:

“

You come to my domain bearing an all-seeing artifact that sprang from me after the dawn of time. It is considered a defensive instrument, I do believe. Though, I suspect you have discovered, or soon shall discover, it is nothing of the sort.

„

Talk to Chaos (with any weapon equipped) until they give you the waking-phrase ("I see you stand your ground against the serpent's flame")

“

I bear a message for you, Son of Hades. One recorded in an age when certain concepts it describes did not yet all exists. Remember this: I see you stand your ground against the serpent's flame. A waking-phrase, to which you and the all-seeing artifact of my creation may respond.

„

Equip the Shield at the House and then interact with its placeholder to reveal the Aspect of Beowulf

Aspect of Beowulf's Moveset[]

Attack	Description	Damage	Notes
Heavy Bash	Press Attack button to Strike.	40 Damage	Knockback
Bull Rush	Hold Attack to Defend; Release to Bull Rush.	Any Charge: 50 Damage	Defend Rush
Dragon Rush	Press Cast to Load; Hold Attack to Defend; Release to Dragon Rush.	Dragon Rush: 50 Damage (+20% bonus damage per Aspect level) Cast Damage: 50 Damage per Bloodstone	Defend Rush
Heavy Throw	Press Special to Throw.	45 Damage	After a throw, Zagreus cannot Attack / Special until the shield returns to him.
Dash-Strike	Press Attack while Dashing to Dash-Strike.	40 Damage

Upgrades[]


Upgrade	Description	Notes
Dread Flight	Your Special can strike up to 4 additional foes before returning.	Incompatible with Aspect of Zeus With Chaos Aspect's multi-toss special, only the main shield thrown is affected; extra shields won't bounce among foes
Sudden Rush	Your Bull Rush charges much faster.
Pulverizing Blow	Your Attack hits twice, but does not knock foes away.	Only affects Bash. Dash-Strike & Bull Rush are not affected.
Dashing Wallop	Your Dash-Strike deals +50% damage in a larger area.
Explosive Return	Your Special deals 50 damage to nearby foes when you catch it.
Minotaur Rush	Your Bull Rush gains a Power Rush that does +500% damage.
Breaching Rush	Your Bull Rush deals +400% damage to Armor.
Charged Shot	Your Bull Rush instead fires a piercing shot that deals 80 base damage.	The projectile is also unblockable.
Charged Flight	Hold Special to charge your throw for up to +200% base damage.	Cannot be combined with Dashing Flight Incompatible with Aspect of Chaos and Aspect of Zeus.
Empowering Flight	After your Special hits, your next 2 Attacks deal +80% damage.
Dashing Flight	While you Dash, your Special is faster and deals +200% damage.	Cannot be combined with Charged Flight Incompatible with Aspect of Zeus To execute, first use Dash, then Special. Bonus not applied if you first use Special and then Dash.
Ferocious Guard	After blocking a foe, gain +20% damage and move speed for 10 Sec.
Unyielding Defense	After using your Naegling's Board Cast, you are Sturdy for 3 Sec.	Aspect of Beowulf-Exclusive

Gallery[]

Aspect Models

Notes[]

The Shield of Chaos is based on the Aegis from Greek mythology.
Both Charged Shot and Power Shot ignore shields wielded by Greatshields and Theseus. Shield throws can also circumvent shields if homing in from the back.
The bonus shields from Chaos aspect are not affected by Explosive Return. Catching all the shields will only deal area damage once.
The bonus shields from Chaos aspect are not affected by Dread Flight. Only the uncharged shield throw bounces 6 times. If you use Bull Rush to activate the Chaos aspect bonus, all shields thrown will only bounce once.
The bonus shields from Chaos aspect are not affected by Dashing Flight. If you use Bull Rush to activate the Chaos aspect bonus, then activate Dashing Flight, only the center shield will become faster and deal extra damage.
When using the Aspect of Chaos, Chaos will occasionally speak throughout the run.
When using the Aspect of Beowulf, the boons for your cast will have different names. Example: Flood Shot -> Flood Flare
The Aspect of Beowulf notably changes how Casts work:
- Casts get loaded into the shield, with no limit to how many you can stack. When a cast-loaded Bull Rush (i.e. Dragon Rush) is used, all loaded Casts get fired in rapid sequence at the very end of the Rush movement but the Casts are almost universally changed into a radial shockwave effect instead of a long range projectile (including the baseline Cast with no Boon on it); for example, the cast from Ares is a much wider but shorter duration storm.
- The Casts can be loaded while mid-charge of the Bull Rush.
- If the Charged Shot upgrade is taken, any loaded Casts fire at the end of the Charged Shot's flight path
- The Casts no longer appear to be able to embed in any target no matter the Boon, so you will lose access to the bonus effects of Boiling Blood and Abyssal Blood from the Mirror of Night
When using the aspect of Zeus, any boon that upgrades your Special (for example Thunder Flourish), will apply the effect for each tick of damage that the special deals, same is true for the Ares doom effect and Dionysus hangover.