A new Hades 2 update improves your chances against its final boss fights

Supergiant Games has just dropped a new Hades 2 update, and while it's largely a long list of bug fixes and interaction tweaks, you should feel a little stronger across the game as a result. In particular, adjustments to its recently introduced Dream Dives mode and some tweaks for specific, unintended threats in the roguelike's hardest boss battle should give you slightly more of a chance in your final showdowns. Alongside those are a wide range of solutions to problems that could be caused by specific item, boon, and encounter combos.

The new Hades 2 patch notes come in at an impressive 64 lines of changes. They kick off with a few adjustments specific to Dream Dives, the region-randomizing bonus mode that was snuck into the game with patch two in April. The most important is that Hermes will now drop off any items you've bought from his shrine before your final showdown if they've yet to be delivered, the same way he does in regular runs. Given that you've already paid for them, missing out was quite the frustration.

Supergiant has also solved instances where some effects like Hermes' gold-boosting Quick Buck boon weren't paying out as intended in Dream Dives. It's also fixed cases during that mode where the Jeweled Pom keepsake could sometimes hand you more than one of the same boon (I'm avoiding character name spoilers here for safety, though you probably know what this refers to).

The other boss-impacting bug fixes will also functionally benefit Melinoë's chances against them. The upgraded version of the final surface fight could occasionally cause their extra companion to start attacking more frequently than expected, and also had the chance to cause Demeter's protective barrier from Snow Queen to vanish without being broken. Given that the boss is already the hardest encounter Hades 2 has to offer, either of these could potentially be a run-ender, so fixes are very welcome.

In some cases, Guardians (the official name for Hades 2 bosses) could get an unintended speed boost after being frozen or slowed with Gust. This should no longer happen. The familiar face awaiting you at the end of the Fields of Mourning has also been prevented from tracking you with his fire breath more accurately than planned. There is one player nerf against the last boss of the underworld; you can no longer negate one of his uninterruptible attacks using the Black Coat.

There's a long list of other smaller adjustments, but the important thing to keep in mind is that most of them are good news. Enemies in Oceanus should no longer attack you sooner than expected, and the big damage circles dropped by the anchor-wielding foes now won't unexpectedly move before it explodes. Creatures that were previously able to sneak out of bounds in Tartarus no longer should, and Land-Dracons will actually make the effort to attack others when under your Charm effect.

Supergiant has also included a range of other smaller improvements. Did you know Medea could show up in the Crossroads to offer Curses? She wasn't supposed to, so she's been sent back home. There's a new inventory hint to tell you where to find Mystery Seeds, clearer visual feedback when choosing Path of Stars upgrades, and a more clear description on Apollo's Prominence Flair to avoid potential confusion.

Hades 2 patch 2 hotfix 3 is live now. While I've made it through the epilogue, I'm still in the process of checking in regularly to tick the last few tasks off the Fated List, and I've been enjoying dipping into Dream Dives as well. Perhaps with these latest changes it's finally time to push the Fear up and go for those ultimate final showdowns.