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May. 10th, 2024 11:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schneefinkDays 2-5 of playing Hades II. Total playtime so far, ~19 hours. …I was going to take fewer notes, ahem. And then I was going to sort my thoughts and expand on them but that would take time so here's just my brief run notes.
Day 2, run 10: Right after I finally beat Hecate this time I almost thought I'd die in the first few chambers! It was close – I blame it on switching weapons, back to the sister blades. (Arachne definitely seems like she could have a crush on Melinoe, js.) I met Nemesis along the way: she offered to help, and Melinoe was so confrontational, accusing her of arrogance and abandoning her duty, that it ended up in a "who kills more" wager for money.
Charon says Hypnos is more useful asleep, hmm.
I beat Hecate again, go me, and then met a strange shade between Erebus and Oceanus, hmm. Then in Oceanus I met Narcissus. He gives Melinoe gifts from his suitors that he doesn't need, and one of them is a god boon, delightful implications here ^^ I made it to Scylla again and, unsurprisingly, died.
I took the tablet of peace this time, but both times failed to compel the shades, need to try again.
Back at the crossroads I unlocked the hot springs! Would upgrading fountains have been more useful, probably, but I wanted hot springs. I then offered bath salts to the Headmistress like the teacher's pet Melinoe is, but Hecate declined, saying she's too busy. I didn't want to offer them to Nemesis after the recent fight, and not Odysseus either as that seemed awkward, so after the next run.
Day 3, runs 11-15
Run 11: Hermes! Finally! He calls her M, that's adorable. Hermes wants Melinoe to come up to Olympus! Selene warns against it though… I died to Hecate.
Run 12: Chaos! That is another cool redesign. Nemesis appeared again with an offer of assistance, unfortunately I didn't have enough coins :( I didn't even make it to Hecate this time, while trying out the axe. Back at the crossroads Melinoe complains to Nemesis that she didn't ask for assistance; Nemesis: "Because you're weak." Mel also admires Hypno and calls him beautiful.
Run 13: Met Chaos again, and Artemis, and Arachne. Hecate agreed for Melinoe to go to Olympus if she wants.
Run 14: Chaos asked after Zagreus! They call him amusing, and Mel dissimilar, heh. Nemesis also shows up again and talks about the time she and Melinoe used to spar. This time I could accept her trade offer, so I did. I still died to Hecate, but I did a lot better this time.
Back at the Crossroads Hecate asks Nemesis if she plans to defy her like her sister, Eris, and shudders to think what Nyx would say of her daughters. Nemesis says Hecate failed her duty as Handmaiden to warn of the danger.
Run 15: Chaos again. Arachne said she fears the gods of Olympus more than Chronos. Hermes warns that "gramps" got a hold of someone he is sure will give him the upper hand, uh-oh…
I won against Hecate again, my best win yet, thanks to very good boons by Chaos and Zeus. I got the Book of Shadows! And ooof. Who is writing that. Melinoe's entry, I know everything about you, I know you are weak? Whoa.
Melinoe also met the mysterious figure between Erebus and Oceanus again, and Narcissus. I had no choice but to take the path to the Oceanus mini-boss, the water serpent, and died soon after.
Back at the crossroads Melinoe asked Charon to look out for Arachne, aww. Though Charon said Arachne is resourceful, so clearly knows (of) her. After the third time, this time I finally got the "you bested me" talk with Hecate ^^ And now was finally a good time to invite Nemesis to the hot springs. She refused though because she's on duty, but still. I finally unlocked the umbral flames.
16: I tried out the torches, almost died very early but then did make it to Scylla after all. And, more importantly, I finally found limestone. …which I then couldn't use because I decided to brew Shadow essence and that occupies the cauldron, heh.
17: Died to Hecate again, but it was close. Hecate I can handle, most times it's the witches she summons to help her that are the most annoying.
After that I unlocked the gateway to Olympus!
18: First visit to the surface. Very cool! The family curse, yes, but fortunately Moros is helpful.
19: Second visit to the surface, finally got garlic eeds. Also got my first look at the city inside, looks very cool.
20: Third visit to the surface, managed to get bronze this time.
21: Another run in the underworld, with the axe this time because I haveDark Grave Thirst with the weapons now. Arachne found out Mel is aiding the Olympians and is not happy about it. Nemesis showed up again to help. I died to Hecate again.
I had an interesting conversation with Hecate about Nemesis afterwards. Mel asked why it was her chosen for the task and not Nemesis, who also trained hard and is very strong, and Hecate basically said Nemesis is insubordinate and if she hadn't promised Nyx to look after her daughters Hecate would have sent her away a long time ago. Ouch, poor Nemesis.
I have a fishing rod now, exciting! I also had garlic, so I opened the Crossroads tavern :) And then encountered Eris! Cool. …I feel like there's something about how the daughters and sons of Nyx are treated differently but I want to see more first.
Mel offered both Moros and then, when he rejected her, Odysseus bath salts, but they both said no, and now I suspect that you first have to give someone a few nectars before they'll agree. But I don't have that many nectars! I've given a few extra to Artemis, and also Nemesis and Arachne; I'll try giving a few more to Nemesis I guess.
Day 4: 22 – 30 (a bank holiday, conveniently.)
22: First trip fishing! Got two mopers. Died to Hecate.
23: The torches aren't my favorite. Arachne is still unhappy, predictably. Died even before Hecate iirc, but I got the seeds I need for the overworld incantation from Chaos.
Eris says Mel is the only one who tried to make her feel welcome, nobody else seems to like her, I feel a bit sorry for her tbh. Buut she's Strife Incarnate, I'm pretty sure I'll be mad at her soon enough.
24: Finally the staff again, and I finally made it past Hecate again, got some more limestone, and made it to Scylla's second phase this time thanks to some good Hestia boons. I can upgrade my arcana with moondust now, convenient, just need to wait until the broker trades for more of it. I wanted to give Nemesis more nectar but she rejected it :(
25: The torches had grave thirst but I don't like them that much so I went with the staff again instead, and made it to Scylla's second phase again. I found the fountain in Oceanus, sadly this one has no cat. The figure in the area between Erebus and Oceanus was also revealed to be Chronos, iiinteresting…
And then I finally had enough to make the incantation to go to the surface! I could also give Nemesis nectar, that was nice.
…I just remembered I could use god mode. Hmmm. You know what, I might, because at this point I am mostly playing to find out more and ideally before I get spoiled for everything, and even with god mode it'll still take me a while but I'm less likely to get stuck.
26: my first trip with the incantation to the surface is a good opportunity to engage god mode :) The enemies there are tough though. I died after only deactivating one pylon and decided to focus on the underworld for now.
27: Hera! Very cool.
Odysseus mentioned that Penelope and Telemachus are down in Elysium somewhere, that he and Penelope "drifted apart." …I'm not sure if I trust that tbh? It's a very famous love story and Penelope is quite crafty, she might be around spying, idk.
28: Got sent to Asphodel by Chronos! And escaped. Go me. Also got confirmation from Nemesis that Artemis helps her out sometimes, and Nemesis was mad about the insinuation that she leaves her post to canoodle in the woods, heh.
29: Finally beat Scylla! Made it past the Mourning Fields to Cerberus, poor guy. (I'm glad I wasn't spoiled for that.) I also got my first duo boon, from Zeus and Hera.
30: Beat Scylla again (with the staff, again), made my way through the Mourning Fields meeting Echo along the way, and this time I beat Cerberus too! Cerberus was actually easier than Scylla. Then, through Tartarus, which has many of the same enemies it did in Hades 1 but with some adaptions, it fits well. Not sure if I was already powered up by that point or if I just had an easier time with them in general. Finally I faced Chronos himself in the House of Hades. I lost pretty quickly, unsurprisingly, but it was still cool to come this far. (Also, the Poseidon and Apollo duo boon is called Beach Ball. xD)
With the new ingredients I finally unlocked the Pitch-Black Stone back at the crossroads. Chaos trials!, exciting, I look forward to trying those out.
I also unlocked the next weapon, the argent skull, I'm looking forward to trying that out.
Day 5, 31-33
31: My first chaos trial! …that seemed really easy? I assume they become more difficult later. Also, this is an alternate path/illusion/something like that and yet there is still dialogue with the gods and Arachne, I didn't expect that.
32: First run with the argent skull. I'm not used to it yet but I think it could become quite strong if used correctly. I met Arachne again, she's been very friendly again, it's a bit odd that apparently the thread of her resenting the gods seems to have been dropped/paused for now. Died to Scylla.
33: Another run on the surface because I needed bronze. I met Heracles! So he has his own mission, hmm. I died to Polyphemus.
Weapon aspects unlocked! Well, some of them. I upgraded Mel's aspects on staff and axe and look forward to trying those out.
I'm at about 30% damage resistance from god mode now. My worst runs are definitely when I become impatient and stop being cautious and take a lot of damage.
I haven't really encountered any bugs yet, only one typo and one instance of awkward dialogue timing. Almost 20 hours in and I know, partially from context and partially from spoilers, that there's plenty of characters I haven't even met yet, exciting.
Day 2, run 10: Right after I finally beat Hecate this time I almost thought I'd die in the first few chambers! It was close – I blame it on switching weapons, back to the sister blades. (Arachne definitely seems like she could have a crush on Melinoe, js.) I met Nemesis along the way: she offered to help, and Melinoe was so confrontational, accusing her of arrogance and abandoning her duty, that it ended up in a "who kills more" wager for money.
Charon says Hypnos is more useful asleep, hmm.
I beat Hecate again, go me, and then met a strange shade between Erebus and Oceanus, hmm. Then in Oceanus I met Narcissus. He gives Melinoe gifts from his suitors that he doesn't need, and one of them is a god boon, delightful implications here ^^ I made it to Scylla again and, unsurprisingly, died.
I took the tablet of peace this time, but both times failed to compel the shades, need to try again.
Back at the crossroads I unlocked the hot springs! Would upgrading fountains have been more useful, probably, but I wanted hot springs. I then offered bath salts to the Headmistress like the teacher's pet Melinoe is, but Hecate declined, saying she's too busy. I didn't want to offer them to Nemesis after the recent fight, and not Odysseus either as that seemed awkward, so after the next run.
Day 3, runs 11-15
Run 11: Hermes! Finally! He calls her M, that's adorable. Hermes wants Melinoe to come up to Olympus! Selene warns against it though… I died to Hecate.
Run 12: Chaos! That is another cool redesign. Nemesis appeared again with an offer of assistance, unfortunately I didn't have enough coins :( I didn't even make it to Hecate this time, while trying out the axe. Back at the crossroads Melinoe complains to Nemesis that she didn't ask for assistance; Nemesis: "Because you're weak." Mel also admires Hypno and calls him beautiful.
Run 13: Met Chaos again, and Artemis, and Arachne. Hecate agreed for Melinoe to go to Olympus if she wants.
Run 14: Chaos asked after Zagreus! They call him amusing, and Mel dissimilar, heh. Nemesis also shows up again and talks about the time she and Melinoe used to spar. This time I could accept her trade offer, so I did. I still died to Hecate, but I did a lot better this time.
Back at the Crossroads Hecate asks Nemesis if she plans to defy her like her sister, Eris, and shudders to think what Nyx would say of her daughters. Nemesis says Hecate failed her duty as Handmaiden to warn of the danger.
Run 15: Chaos again. Arachne said she fears the gods of Olympus more than Chronos. Hermes warns that "gramps" got a hold of someone he is sure will give him the upper hand, uh-oh…
I won against Hecate again, my best win yet, thanks to very good boons by Chaos and Zeus. I got the Book of Shadows! And ooof. Who is writing that. Melinoe's entry, I know everything about you, I know you are weak? Whoa.
Melinoe also met the mysterious figure between Erebus and Oceanus again, and Narcissus. I had no choice but to take the path to the Oceanus mini-boss, the water serpent, and died soon after.
Back at the crossroads Melinoe asked Charon to look out for Arachne, aww. Though Charon said Arachne is resourceful, so clearly knows (of) her. After the third time, this time I finally got the "you bested me" talk with Hecate ^^ And now was finally a good time to invite Nemesis to the hot springs. She refused though because she's on duty, but still. I finally unlocked the umbral flames.
16: I tried out the torches, almost died very early but then did make it to Scylla after all. And, more importantly, I finally found limestone. …which I then couldn't use because I decided to brew Shadow essence and that occupies the cauldron, heh.
17: Died to Hecate again, but it was close. Hecate I can handle, most times it's the witches she summons to help her that are the most annoying.
After that I unlocked the gateway to Olympus!
18: First visit to the surface. Very cool! The family curse, yes, but fortunately Moros is helpful.
19: Second visit to the surface, finally got garlic eeds. Also got my first look at the city inside, looks very cool.
20: Third visit to the surface, managed to get bronze this time.
21: Another run in the underworld, with the axe this time because I have
I had an interesting conversation with Hecate about Nemesis afterwards. Mel asked why it was her chosen for the task and not Nemesis, who also trained hard and is very strong, and Hecate basically said Nemesis is insubordinate and if she hadn't promised Nyx to look after her daughters Hecate would have sent her away a long time ago. Ouch, poor Nemesis.
I have a fishing rod now, exciting! I also had garlic, so I opened the Crossroads tavern :) And then encountered Eris! Cool. …I feel like there's something about how the daughters and sons of Nyx are treated differently but I want to see more first.
Mel offered both Moros and then, when he rejected her, Odysseus bath salts, but they both said no, and now I suspect that you first have to give someone a few nectars before they'll agree. But I don't have that many nectars! I've given a few extra to Artemis, and also Nemesis and Arachne; I'll try giving a few more to Nemesis I guess.
Day 4: 22 – 30 (a bank holiday, conveniently.)
22: First trip fishing! Got two mopers. Died to Hecate.
23: The torches aren't my favorite. Arachne is still unhappy, predictably. Died even before Hecate iirc, but I got the seeds I need for the overworld incantation from Chaos.
Eris says Mel is the only one who tried to make her feel welcome, nobody else seems to like her, I feel a bit sorry for her tbh. Buut she's Strife Incarnate, I'm pretty sure I'll be mad at her soon enough.
24: Finally the staff again, and I finally made it past Hecate again, got some more limestone, and made it to Scylla's second phase this time thanks to some good Hestia boons. I can upgrade my arcana with moondust now, convenient, just need to wait until the broker trades for more of it. I wanted to give Nemesis more nectar but she rejected it :(
25: The torches had grave thirst but I don't like them that much so I went with the staff again instead, and made it to Scylla's second phase again. I found the fountain in Oceanus, sadly this one has no cat. The figure in the area between Erebus and Oceanus was also revealed to be Chronos, iiinteresting…
And then I finally had enough to make the incantation to go to the surface! I could also give Nemesis nectar, that was nice.
…I just remembered I could use god mode. Hmmm. You know what, I might, because at this point I am mostly playing to find out more and ideally before I get spoiled for everything, and even with god mode it'll still take me a while but I'm less likely to get stuck.
26: my first trip with the incantation to the surface is a good opportunity to engage god mode :) The enemies there are tough though. I died after only deactivating one pylon and decided to focus on the underworld for now.
27: Hera! Very cool.
Odysseus mentioned that Penelope and Telemachus are down in Elysium somewhere, that he and Penelope "drifted apart." …I'm not sure if I trust that tbh? It's a very famous love story and Penelope is quite crafty, she might be around spying, idk.
28: Got sent to Asphodel by Chronos! And escaped. Go me. Also got confirmation from Nemesis that Artemis helps her out sometimes, and Nemesis was mad about the insinuation that she leaves her post to canoodle in the woods, heh.
29: Finally beat Scylla! Made it past the Mourning Fields to Cerberus, poor guy. (I'm glad I wasn't spoiled for that.) I also got my first duo boon, from Zeus and Hera.
30: Beat Scylla again (with the staff, again), made my way through the Mourning Fields meeting Echo along the way, and this time I beat Cerberus too! Cerberus was actually easier than Scylla. Then, through Tartarus, which has many of the same enemies it did in Hades 1 but with some adaptions, it fits well. Not sure if I was already powered up by that point or if I just had an easier time with them in general. Finally I faced Chronos himself in the House of Hades. I lost pretty quickly, unsurprisingly, but it was still cool to come this far. (Also, the Poseidon and Apollo duo boon is called Beach Ball. xD)
With the new ingredients I finally unlocked the Pitch-Black Stone back at the crossroads. Chaos trials!, exciting, I look forward to trying those out.
I also unlocked the next weapon, the argent skull, I'm looking forward to trying that out.
Day 5, 31-33
31: My first chaos trial! …that seemed really easy? I assume they become more difficult later. Also, this is an alternate path/illusion/something like that and yet there is still dialogue with the gods and Arachne, I didn't expect that.
32: First run with the argent skull. I'm not used to it yet but I think it could become quite strong if used correctly. I met Arachne again, she's been very friendly again, it's a bit odd that apparently the thread of her resenting the gods seems to have been dropped/paused for now. Died to Scylla.
33: Another run on the surface because I needed bronze. I met Heracles! So he has his own mission, hmm. I died to Polyphemus.
Weapon aspects unlocked! Well, some of them. I upgraded Mel's aspects on staff and axe and look forward to trying those out.
I'm at about 30% damage resistance from god mode now. My worst runs are definitely when I become impatient and stop being cautious and take a lot of damage.
I haven't really encountered any bugs yet, only one typo and one instance of awkward dialogue timing. Almost 20 hours in and I know, partially from context and partially from spoilers, that there's plenty of characters I haven't even met yet, exciting.
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Date: 2024-05-11 12:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-05-11 01:28 pm (UTC)