Hades II’s beefy new update just shadow-dropped, featuring a new and improved godlike-roguelike experience. Melinoe’s perpetual quest to stop time has taken her to places not to be traversed with her demigod curse.
The Olympic Update adds a breadth of new content to the Surface, adding in more challenges to Melinoe’s quest to thwart the Titan of Time’s plans. The Gods of Olympus have their own battles in the mortal realm, and getting to the top is not an easy task.
Here’s how to reach Mount Olympus in Hades II.
Dispel Melinoe’s Curse
If you’ve been playing Hades II since its Early Access launch, you should be familiar with how to dispel Melinoe's curse that prevents her from surviving the surface realm. If you’re new, you can easily do this by doing a few runs in the Underworld. It doesn’t matter if you win or fail, you just need to wait for Moros, the Doom Incarnate to appear on the game over screen.
Once he intervenes, he will appear on the Crossroads and will help you lift the curse. You must unlock the ‘Unraveling a Fateful Bond’ Recipe in Hecate’s Cauldron. To do so, you must gather the required ingredients:
- 2x Lotus - Can be found in Oceanus
- 2x Moss - From short visits to the Surface
- 2x Nightshade - Can be dug up using the Silver Spade in Erebus
- 2x Thalamus - Acquired using the Silver Spade tool inside Chaos’ realm
While these may seem like tedious tasks, it is doable within a few runs. Keep note that you must equip your Silver Spade so you can dig these items in the wilds. Once everything is in place, simply return to the Cauldron and concoct the recipe.
Survive The City of Ephyra and the Rifts of Thessaly
Once you’re out on the Surface, it’s time to face off against a gauntlet of powerful bosses. This is no easy feat, so there’s a lot of trial and error before you can make it to the third area on the Surface, Mount Olympus.
The City of Ephyra is the first area you need to survive on the Surface, it is a labyrinthine city packed with enemies. Each Gate has randomly generated Boons and Rewards you can acquire, and you must eliminate all enemies inside each room to get it. The final boss of this area is the Cyclops, Polyphemus, so you need to prepare yourself for his strong attacks.
The second area on the Surface is the Rifts of Thessaly. This once thriving place was flooded by Poseidon to prevent Cronos’ armies from reaching the Mountain. The final boss in this area is Erys and she can be quite a challenge for the uninitiated.
Mount Olympus
Once Polyphemus and Erys are defeated, it’s time to finally enter the latest area of Hades II. Mount Olympus is a once revered place where the Greek Pantheon resides. Now, it’s a war-torn place overrun by Chronos’ lackeys and covered in a blanket of ice.
This is endgame territory so players must be prepared to brave through its myriad of challenges. Watch out for the falling debris as there seems to be a huge battle atop the Mountain’s Summit.
The final boss of this area is Prometheus, the Titan who stole the Olympian Fire. He is a formidable foe and you must be familiar with his moveset before taking him down. It might take a few runs to beat him, but at least you know who’s waiting at the end. Using the new Nocturnal Arms, the Black Coat, might help.
This isn’t the final area of Hades II’s Surface, the Summit awaits where Zeus and the rest of the Olympians are fighting against Chronos’ armies. Unfortunately, we won’t get to explore it until its next major update early next year.
For now, Olympus beckons.