Octopus Overlords

Another spoiler one... My favorite is the Persephone keepsake. When ranked up you get a level boost to a boon every 4 encounters. That translates to a big old bunch by the end. I usually keep it on all the way thru Elysium.

Zaxxon wrote: ↑Wed Oct 14, 2020 2:06 pm Another spoiler one... My favorite is the Persephone keepsake. When ranked up you get a level boost to a boon every 4 encounters. That translates to a big old bunch by the end. I usually keep it on all the way thru Elysium.

That one is a bit harder to use right now

coopasonic wrote: ↑Wed Oct 14, 2020 2:08 pm

Zaxxon wrote: ↑Wed Oct 14, 2020 2:06 pm Another spoiler one... My favorite is the Persephone keepsake. When ranked up you get a level boost to a boon every 4 encounters. That translates to a big old bunch by the end. I usually keep it on all the way thru Elysium.

That one is a bit harder to use right now

Quit yer bitchin'.

LOL.

I've only recently started swapping trinkets between areas and I think it helps, depending on your goal.

Otherwise, if I chose just one for all time, I'd probably go with Hermes feather. It is also a stacking trinket that gets more and more useful as you get deeper.

Once you hit three stars, a quick clear for the first 4 encounters is no effort, so at the worst you are 4.8% speed and dodge bonus. The amount of time you get to clear encounters scales with difficulty, so it is not unrealistic to expect near 30% speed and dodge at the end game. As far as I know stacks with other bonuses. Get bonus damage for speed? Take another 30%. Have a 20% epic dodge, make the 50%.

My theory tends to be life is an unreliable refill, so damage reduction/negation is importante.

while I'm thinking of it, I also always choose the mirror options to give +5 life from Dark Chambers (or was that a contract?) and picking up dark replenishes life at max. That way you get a lot of options for healing and you get extra healing every time you have to repeat a boss that you have successfully defeated in the past and it doubles your chances for healing at troves and you get both healing and dark when you talk sysiphus (unless you chose the 15% cash increase at every interlude option. Then you gotta take the cash)

My priorities for chambers settled into something like a tendency toward:

Hammer
two boons
! (This can drop considerably depending on my status needs, more than any other choice)
(am I flush with cash? Yes then) Chiron (else)
Hermes
One boon plus skull difficulty
one boon
heart
chaos
(am I hunting money, usually because 15%) Cash (else)
nectar (as I'm hunting it now, less so after I progress, I think)
dark
Pom
Cash
Keys
Gems
Chiron

I think that's all of them. There are two spoiler choices I am aware of that I did not include. One based on heat I haven't reached yet. The other has historically been a suicide run for me.

I had a really good run with the {chiron) bow this morning, but ran into the issue Skiny mentioned, having only fought Hades once I don't have his attacks down at all and several of his attacks do massive damage and I don't see them coming. I still got to the second phase... but died really fast there. I thought there was a lot of promise as it handled the bull and the shield really well.

The good news is I am getting to the bull pretty much every run now regardless of weapon (still always choosing the bonus darkness weapon). The bad news is most runs end there. Theseus is a pain.

I finished the last story line quest I had last night, so now all NPCs have their happy ending. After many many failed attempts I also pulled off my 32 heat run to unlock the final statue. That was a nightmare and I literally had 1 hp left when Hades went down. At this point I think I can say I've "finished" the game.

...and as Lordnine's journey comes to a close, mine finally opens. I finally escaped on my 40th attempt. I had a spear build that was brutal, It's a shame I have little idea of what made it so brutal really. I think the main item was an upgrade that trades the spin attack to make the main attack a rapid strike. I also had armor destruction on the special and a higher rarity Poseidon's call, the latter being very helpful against the big guy. I took a screenshot but forgot to upload it. I'll get to that this evening.

Oh I forgot to mention... I had TWO death defiance left at the end. I should get some reward for that. I never even equipped the skelly keepsake since I had 3 defiance going into Styx (not a refill, seriously never died -- thank full heal from fountains boon!). I used the collar instead figuring it was more total health.

I now understand and appreciate the heat mechanic and I can see how you guys keep going.

One day I will also get a companion. One day.

Congrats, coop. And 32 heat, Jesus.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:47 pm One day I will also get a companion. One day.

Do you want a recommendation? I've unlocked four of the six. (No idea what the other two are or how to get them)
(And no on the 32 heat. That will never happen)

I just unlocked a third companion--from an unlikely source...

And run #42 gives me my second escape (Heat: 1), Rail this time primarily using special with Hazard Bomb for 500+ damage AoEs.

Zaxxon wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 11:27 pm I'm up to five wins, across three weapons. Unlocking the other aspects is fun. I've found two of the hidden aspects so far.

Best time so far is 39 minutes.

My first escape was 26 minutes.

Motherf**ker!!!! I had Hades this close on the second round, and that gorram “lasers in every direction” got me.

I honestly thought I had beaten him when the screen flipped to black...then I saw it was me who died.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 9:17 pm Motherf**ker!!!! I had Hades this close on the second round, and that gorram “lasers in every direction” got me.

I honestly thought I had beaten him when the screen flipped to black...then I saw it was me who died.

He always winds up before that one. Hide!

Also...

Four escapes now with four different weapons. Oddly enough the one some of you call the easiest is one I have yet to escape with (shield). Of course my thirst hasn't had me use the shield in a bit. Also blocking is not in my nature!

This last escape was my first with a companion and... I only remembered to used it on Alecto.

I had a boon that caused chilled foes to go boom at 10% health. I was very pleased to see that apparently work on Hades.

I love that boon.

Tisiphone... The best...

I just had a run that was basically tragic all the way through. Twin Fists, never got any decent ANYTHING the whole way. In Styx the food was in the last area and one of the areas had a freaking boss that was my crappy build wasn't really ready for. Luckily I was able to buy a defiance back and got a boon that gave another back, but the build just wasn't up to killing Hades. I was able to use the anvil since my hammers were crap and look at that, it got worse!

I may never use the fists again.

But Magnetic Cutter is so kick-ass*.

* - I hope you weren't talking about a Magnetic Cutter build...

I find the fists to be very weak on damage, their speed doesn't make up for slow damage. I need to find a better build that presumably multiplies their power as concentrating on defense is good enough to counteract their weak hit.

I think my best weapon is the rail gun (so far with the power special). It allows me to do range and spaz fighting at the same time, however inaccurate.

Literally the only success I've had with the bow is with hammer that removes the need to hold and release at the cost of the wide aim, so I can treat the bow as melee weapon.

I have my first five-escape streak going. Highest heat is still only 6, so far.

and I have 5 escapes total. I just tied my best streak... 1. Oh and my highest heat is also 1.

Sword is the only one I haven't made it out with.

I think I've turned a corner on getting decent at the game. Streak's up to 7, with 29 total in about 100 attempts. Best time sitting at 31:17 with the blade, worst-best at 37:48 with the rail. I haven't gotten to significantly higher heat yet, but I think I'm about ready.

Last one was fun. Combined Veratha's Zagreus aspect with maxed-out range/speed for the special with Doom for the special and pushback for the attack/cast, and topped it off with Artemis' butt-casting arrow. Allowed me to keep everyone away while keeping the damage coming down hard.

...and I finally made it out with the sword, build was special/pushback focused with a side of Demeter's placed laser cast and Poseidon's call that was boosted by every random pom I got and was doing around 700 damage a hit.

That was also 3 consecutive escapes and 8 total. I might be able to put the game away soon.

I really like Demeter's cast. Passive damage is the best damage. I just wish I would stop getting it as a common.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Mon Oct 19, 2020 10:26 am I really like Demeter's cast. Passive damage is the best damage. I just wish I would stop getting it as a common.

I always feel like it is slow to find a target and it feels like a waste. Maybe I should give it more of a chance.

LordMortis wrote: ↑Mon Oct 19, 2020 10:28 am

coopasonic wrote: ↑Mon Oct 19, 2020 10:26 am I really like Demeter's cast. Passive damage is the best damage. I just wish I would stop getting it as a common.

I always feel like it is slow to find a target and it feels like a waste. Maybe I should give it more of a chance.

There is another boon (Artemis Duo) that makes it faster to align, though I didn't have it in that run. I pretty much target it at what I want and then see what I can do to keep the target in place.

There is another Demeter boon that makes it last longer as well.

Streak ended at 3. I made a run with the hidden aspect of the spear and honestly I am amazed I made it to dad. I didn't pay attention to how it actually works. After a couple rooms noticed my max health was like 32 and had a panic attack. A bit later noticed I was healing somehow but didn't see how. Now that I read up after the fact it all makes much more sense and I think I could do better.

I also remember initially thinking dad was an easier fight than Theseus and Asterius... now that I don't panic against the duo, I find it fairly easy as long as I have some mobility. I still try to take the bull down first because I don't want to deal with both him and Theseus' call and getting Theseus back with a bull on my back is annoying. Just the idea I have a choice who goes down first is an amazing change after the first few times I fought them. The progression in this game may be more the player than the upgrades.

Streak's up to 10. And man, the Pact of Punishment choice to upgrade Theseus and Asterius... Well worth it.

Zaxxon wrote: ↑Mon Oct 19, 2020 8:50 pm And man, the Pact of Punishment choice to upgrade Theseus and Asterius... Well worth it.

I actually think that Pacts makes the fight significantly easier. I wish there was an option to choose to leave the first two off and turn that one on.

Hidden aspect of the shield went super smooth. Hidden aspect of the sword was also going super smooth, but I was worried about Hades. I went in with all 3 defiances still up and... it was my 10th escape.

Credits roll and now I am thinking about stopping playing, but not quite ready. I'll need to move past 1 heat to get much further. I haven't really done much of anything other than Jury Summons 1 so far...

Congrats. My escape streak ended at ten last night. Hades got me. I guess my 7-heat Adamant Rail wasn't quite adamant enough.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Tue Oct 20, 2020 8:45 am Hidden aspect of the shield went super smooth. Hidden aspect of the sword was also going super smooth, but I was worried about Hades. I went in with all 3 defiances still up and... it was my 10th escape.

Credits roll and now I am thinking about stopping playing, but not quite ready. I'll need to move past 1 heat to get much further. I haven't really done much of anything other than Jury Summons 1 so far...

I had been doing runs to try and fulfill prophecies. In particular the prophesy I was working on last was 1) Chaos Legendary and 2) Escape with all of the pacts at least once. I think I have four more to go, in total. Possibly all 1 heat. I'm nigh convinced it's impossible to get after so many runs where I set my Dart to increase odds. I choose the trinkets to increase odds and I go for Chaos again and again.

There is a prophesy to beat Theseus with one of the pact and then seek Poseidon. I beat Theseus three times with that pact and never fulfilled the prophesy. I even set myself up once to make sure I'd see Poseidon in the Satyr caves and through Chiron before facing Hades. Still never finished the prophesy.

I'll probably pick up the game again this weekend. I'm still not sure when they end will be for me. I've got all six companions, though they're not all upgraded. The game still throws a few curves with developing story lines that I've been enjoying and I have a shitton of ambrosia to collect to keep those stories advancing. I haven't even given a single bottle of Ambrosia to an Olympian nor have I given any bottles to anyone to advance the >--<3=> meter, whatever that will accomplish. Now that two story lines seems to have advanced, Hades should become much easier, making the final incorrect satyr rooms the hardest part of all runs not using the stupid bow.

LordMortis wrote: ↑Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:20 am There is a prophesy to beat Theseus with one of the pact and then seek Poseidon. I beat Theseus three times with that pact and never fulfilled the prophesy. I even set myself up once to make sure I'd see Poseidon in the Satyr caves and through Chiron before facing Hades. Still never finished the prophesy.

You beat Theseus with that pact set to level 3 or higher? (If it's the one I'm thinking of)

Zaxxon wrote: ↑Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:24 am

LordMortis wrote: ↑Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:20 am There is a prophesy to beat Theseus with one of the pact and then seek Poseidon. I beat Theseus three times with that pact and never fulfilled the prophesy. I even set myself up once to make sure I'd see Poseidon in the Satyr caves and through Chiron before facing Hades. Still never finished the prophesy.

You beat Theseus with that pact set to level 3 or higher? (If it's the one I'm thinking of)

The prophesy was not specific about heat level of the specific that I remember but maybe that's the problem. Whatever the pact was, I only had it set to it's first level. It's the pact the makes all the bosses tougher (which is especially cool against the furies).

Now that you mention it that might be problem with another prophesy. One of the prophesies is for the pact that give armored enemies a bonus. I've defeated them all but one. Maybe I have juice that pact level higher to manifest that last bonus trait to fulfill the prophesy.

I'm fairly sure I'll play again this weekend.

Edit, wiki says

https://hades.gamepedia.com/Pact_of_Punishment

Extreme Measures

Also it implies I need level 3. As each level only increases 1 boss. That was not clear to me. So yeah, I guess I need to set it to level 3 and that is the problem.

The other one is Benefits Package.

I was gonna say, you would definitely know if you beat that pair with that Pact set high enough. It's awesome.

Heat 2 complete with my old standby the Chiron Bow. Amusingly I barely used it toward the end. I had a BEASTLY setup with the blade rift cast. Double, seeking rifts with increasing damage per hit. Dad was not pleased.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:29 am Heat 2 complete with my old standby the Chiron Bow. Amusingly I barely used it toward the end. I had a BEASTLY setup with the blade rift cast. Double, seeking rifts with increasing damage per hit. Dad was not pleased.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:29 am Heat 2 3 complete with my old standby the Chiron Bow.

I actually had a run end in Tartarus earlier... I decided to see how Chiron scaled and tried to steal from him... not advised early in a run.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Thu Oct 01, 2020 4:41 pm

Zaxxon wrote: ↑Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:05 am I've completed 59 escape attempts, with 7 clears (5 shield, 1 spear, 1 gun).

Zaxxon wrote: ↑Thu Oct 01, 2020 4:35 pm I'm up to 13 escapes in 69 attempts. Best time 35:42 with the twin fists.

Your escape rate has significantly improved.

This weekend, well some time not that long ago I ALMOST got past Theseus (with the 6th weapon). I had the bull down and Theseus at like 5% and got cocky. I was so damn mad.

Going back to this for funsies. I think I got my 13th escape on run #70. It took me longer to get going, but I am catching up.

Now that I say that, I think I am starting to lose interest. Making the Olympians all my friends feels like it will take years (mostly because I forget to gift them). There are a couple of other storylines I think might wrap up soon so I may keep at it for those.