In this article, we will be taking a look atHades 2, the follow-up toSupergiant’ssuccessful rogue-like game. Much akin to the first game, you will have access to a myriad ofboonsfrom thepantheon of gods on Olympusand more and can be spoiled for choices. Today, we will be taking a look at some of the combination ofboonsandbuffsthat will help you bring out your most potential in your task of taking down theTitan of Time,Chronos.
Introduction
Thisbuildis an “early game” build that we can easily put together during the early runs of the game where we haven’t unlocked everything in the game yet and will be using the second weapon available toMelinoë,Lim and Oros, theSister Blades. With this build, we will be trying to take advantage of the main strength of the weapon, their fastattack speed.
InHades 2, we can meditate at theAltar of Ashesat the beginning of each night before heading out to increase our strength and upgrade ourselves, but the amount ofArcanathat we can use is limited by the amount ofGraspavailable to us, which can be upgraded using thePsycheresource.
For this specific build, which is aimed for early runs and bringing out the best offensive capability early on in the game, we will be focusing on earlyArcana cardsavailable to us to make the most out of the tools available to us.
The firstArcanaavailable to us and that we will be using for this build is theSorceress.
This card costs oneGraspto equip and will increase the charge speed of ourOmegaversions of our attacking moves.
Next, we will use theWayward SonArcana, which is another card costing oneGraspand will allow us to recover health points after each encounter, and at the base level of the card, it enables us to regain 3 HP.
This card helps with thesustainon our runs and is one of the more valuableArcanato use.
TheHuntresscard requires 2Graspto use and will increase the damage of ourattackandspecialwhen ourMagickis not at full capacity, and since we will be using our chargedOmega attacksthat use the resource quite often, we will benefit highly from having this card equipped.
TheEternityArcanacard is the fourth one we will be using with this build, and it requires 2Graspto activate.
Having this card will slow down enemies for a short duration whenever we charge up ourOmega attacks. Although this doesn’t add to our damage directly, the slowdown really helps with taking our bearings in the heat of the battle when a lot of enemies and projectiles are occupying the screen.
The nextArcanacard we will be using is theMessenger.
This card costs oneGraspto use, and it will make us immune and impervious to all attacks for a second while speeding us up whenever wecast our binding circle. This allows us an additional dodging component attached to one of our offensive tools with this build, enabling us to be more aggressive in our approach.
We will also be equipping theSwift RunnerArcana, which also requires oneGraspto activate with this build.
What thisArcanadoes is that it increases oursprint speed, making it easier to dodge enemy ranged attacks with oursprintwhile also enabling us to pass through enemies when we are sprinting. The added mobility from using this card is invaluable in allowing us to go on the offense using our agility and speed.
Finally, we will be using theDeathArcana.
ThisArcanacard requires 4Graspto equip, and the high cost is definitely worth it, as it gives us aDeath Defiance.
This acts as an extra life which allows you to come back with 40% of your max life andMagickupon dying, increasing your chance of successfully finishing a run.
For this early game build, we will be using theLuckier ToothKeepsake, obtained fromSchelemeusin theTraining Ground.
TheLuckier Toothwill allow us to return with a higher amount of hit points after we have used up all of ourDeath Defiancefrom other sources once per night and is an invaluable tool because while we are extremely swift and agile when using theSister Blades, it also puts us in a more dangerous position to get hit by hugearea of effect attacksfrom our enemies because of theclose-rangednature of the weapon.
Among the plethora ofBoonsoffered by the gods, we will have 5 main slots that will affect and upgrade our moves.
First, regarding theBoonrelating to our regularattacks, we will take one of theBoonsfrom theKing of the Olympians,Zeus, with theHeaven Strike.
This will allow us to inflictBlitzon our foes using ourattacks, and thisCursewill call down a lightning strike upon those affected after being dealt 120 damage or 4 seconds' duration, whichever comes first. The fast attack speed of the blades allows us to easily deal the required amount within a short amount of time, adding to our damage output.
For ourSpecial Attack, we will be taking theBoonfrom theGoddess of the Hearth,Hestia,Flame Flourish.
This enhances our special throws to inflictScorchupon our enemies, addingdamage over timeto our ranged attack option when using this weapon. Although the attack speed of using theSpecialis not as fast as using the regularattacks, the added damage fromScorchcan still deal considerable damage, and theOmega chargedversion will send out a fan of shots in front that is great for taking out groups of enemies.
With ourCastplacing ourBinding Ringon the ground, we will be choosing anotherBoonofZeus, theStorm Ring.
This will enable ourCasting Sigil Circleto call down lightning bolts to strike one foe at a time within the circle. Even though this sounds underwhelming, the bolts can quickly take care of small enemies and move on to other targets and can also add up damage against larger enemies.
For ourSprintandRush, we will be enhancing it by taking theBreaker RushBoon, granted by theGod of the Sea,Poseidon.
ThisBoonallows us to knock away the first foe we run into while using ourSprint, preventing damage from accidentally running into or dashing into enemies.
This gives us a defensive option to the high-riskclose-rangednature of the weapon.
For ourSpecial Buff slot, we will take theBoonfrom theGoddess of Love,Aphrodite, with theGlamour Gain.
ThisBoonwill automatically inflictWeakupon any nearby enemies, decreasing the damage they deal against us and allowing us to gradually restore ourMagickaround any foe afflicted by ourWeak Curse.
These fiveBoonswill occupy our core slots when we are on our runs, but they do not necessarily need to be the onlyBoonsthat we use.
There are a combination ofBoonsthat can greatly improve the damage we can deal when using theSister Blades, and the first of them is theSweet SurrenderBoonfrom theGoddess of Love.
ThisBoonincreases the damage we deal againstWeak-afflicted foes, and since we will be automatically inflicting theCurseon any nearby enemies with ourGlamour Gain, it will add to the overall effectiveness of our attacks.
Additionally, we will take theDazzling DisplayBoonfromApolloto give ourattacksthe chance to inflictDaze.
TheDazewill passively help with our survivability as it will increase the chance of enemies to miss their attacks against you, and this works amazingly in tandem with theSwift Runner Arcanathat we’re using with the build.
Finally, we will take anotherBoonfromHestiathat will give us an additional way to easily deal with groups of enemies.
ThisBoonis theFlash FryBoon, and it will cause an explosive blast around enemies whenever they perish, damaging all the nearby foes.
This is great for setting off a chain reaction of explosions that can easily take out a swarm of small enemies, preventing them from overwhelming you.
AnotherBoonthat will help with our survivability is from theGoddess of Love,Spiritual Affirmation.
This will give us additionalmax lifeandmax Magickand will greatly help us withstand attacks from our foes when using the build.
Weapon Upgrade
Regarding the options we get from using theDaedalus Hammer, we will be looking to enhance our overall effectiveness of usingLim & Orosby upgrading both ourAttackandSpecials.
TheWicked Onslaughtupgrade will increase the power of ourattacks, which also scales with the damage effect from theBoonsgranted by other gods, andHidden Kniveswill increase the number of projectiles we fire with our chargedOmega Special, allowing us to take out more smaller enemies or deal more damage against larger foes using our rangedattack.
Playstyle and General Tips on Runs
Your playstyle when using theSister Bladeswill be very fast and aggressive as you will be looking to get close to your enemies and strike as quickly and as much as you can before getting back away to dodge their attacks. Generally, we will be able to get in two to threeattacksbefore needing toSprintaway to avoid any damage.
When fighting againstBosses, it can be tempting to get in close and personal and slice away using the fastattack speed, but more often than not, this is a highly risky affair since you will be trading damage as you will be too close to dodge away from any incoming bigArea of Effect attacks. The safe option is to whittle theBossesdown using theSpecialwhen they are doing theArea of Effectattacks and going in for quick slices at the end of the attack, before they start the next one.
While we are on our early runs, it is generally useful to go forAshesinstead ofBonessince that will allow us to unlock moreArcana cards, giving us more options to use on our later runs.
Also, investing in at least threeCentaur Heartsso that ourMax HPcan reach 100 is also helpful when using the blades, as we are prone to taking damage with ourclose-rangedattacks.
When faced with choices between an upgrade that is not aBoonthat you are not necessarily aiming for andGold Coins, it is generally better to go for theCoinroute as you will then have access to more options that you can choose between at theBoatman,Chaon, whenever you run into him. But if you are certain that you will not be able to gain enoughCoinsto afford multiple purchases, you go for the upgrade route.
Going forPoms of Powerwill also allow us to level up ourBoons, increasing our damage, and for this build, I suggest upgrading theSweet SurrenderBoonas much as possible since the increased damage againstWeak Cursedfoes really helps and quickly adds up to huge amounts.
Conclusion
While playing with theSister Bladeshas a tendency to draw you towards an aggressive playstyle, going in for quick combos can be a weakness instead of a strength, as we really need to be inclose rangefor ourattacks, and relying onSpecialswill help alleviate some of the weakness when using thisbladeand theweapon. But if you are looking for a fast-moving, fast-striking combination ofBoonsthat can also deal a respectable amount of damage, thisbuildwill serve that need reliably.
This wraps up my article for theSisters of Night early buildforHades 2. I hope you find this helpful on your conquest againstChronos, theTitan of Time, and may you find success in all your runs. If you have any tips, helpful tips, feel free to leave them in the comment section below!!
