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Early access roguelike Hades 2 just got a massive update packing over 5,000 words worth of patch notes, but now more than ever many fans will likely be eyeing the road ahead as developer Supergiant teases that it's now "starting to prepare" for the long-awaited 1.0 launch.
Hades 2's third major update is, fittingly, The Unseen Update. (Mission failed: I've seen it!) You can read the full patch notes here, or listen to a 38-minute dramatic reading here, but the standout changes and additions are pretty easy to summarize.
- Nocturnal Arms have new "Hidden Aspects" adding additional fighting styles
- The divisive Umbral Flames weapon has been "revamped" entirely with a new "snappier fighting style"
- Stronger Guardians can be challenged at the Oath of the Unseen via the new Vow of Rivals
- You can unlock Godsent Hexes, "dazzling Moon magick upgraded with the power of the Olympians"
- "A variety of characters" have "new optional story events" that advance your bond and bring you "closer than before"
- New Warden enemies may appear in Erebus and Ephyra
- New art and music have been added, including "new visual flourishes such as ambient effects on character portraits"
"After more than a year of Early Access development, we're now starting to prepare for our v1.0 launch!" Supergiant says in its latest Steam post. "We're heading into the final phase of Hades II development, which involves adding the story's true ending and other finishing touches. Please note we do not yet have a v1.0 launch date, though we'll share more as soon as we can. We really appreciate your patience on this!"
The focus of the 1.0 launch will be the true ending to Melinoë's story, Supergiant says, with no plans for "additional regions, encounters, abilities, and so on," though there will be another polish and balance pass on Boons and abilities. Once this is all finalized, the devs can also add achievements to the game, and the good news is "you will not need to start from the beginning" to earn them.
"Sometimes the last stretch of development on a game can make all the difference, so we have always taken this phase seriously and appreciate your continued support," the post adds.
"As we wind down our Early Access phase, our goal remains ensuring we've created our biggest, most replayable, most feature-rich game yet, and — most importantly — a worthy successor to the original Hades.
"We have a big game to wrap up! While we can't yet say when our v1.0 launch will be, we're very excited to be getting close, and to share the complete experience with you. This also means some of the most important work on Hades II is still to come, so may moonlight guide us!"
