In hindsight, this makes Hades somewhat of a violent coming-of-age story – pretty standard as far as puberties go. But in Zagreus’ defense, his Olympian family is the most dysfunctional there is throughout the history of that concept. So in your plight to escape from Hades’ grasp as Zagreus, everything is justified. It’s just that big daddy Hades and his minions make that task too overwhelming. You’ll need to watch out for these toxic family members and their interlopers – they can easily turn your Herculean epic into a Greek tragedy.
10. Wringer
You’ll meet these grabby pests as early as Tartarus. And they have no concept of personal space. Wringers function like mobile booby traps; if they manage to grab you, they’ll keep you immobile long enough for their bitter comrades to pile on you. Luckily, they’re not that tough. These Wringers love to throw hands but they can’t take punches well (pun intended). How to deal with them:
Keep your distance and maximize ranged attacks. Don’t charge them. They’ll come at you and funnel themselves.
9. Voidstone
If you thought those pink Brimstones that shoot lasers were annoying, wait until you see their blue cousins. The blue Voidstones aren’t exactly made for offensive tactics. They merely shield their comrades, making them invulnerable for as long as they want. For Zagreus, this is trouble. The Voidstones are usually paired with high-damage enemies. This combination can easily ruin your day. How to deal with them:
Prioritize killing them. Ranged attacks that chain or Boon dodges that deal area damage work well against them.
8. Gigantic Vermin
It’s a giant rat. At this point, it seems video game developers just love to tap into other people’s phobias for enemy concepts. Sure enough, these repulsive rodents are as menacing as they look. They’re even worse than their real-life counterparts. Apart from being a thousand times bigger, they also have too much filth on them. Even the act of shaking off their grime produces puddles of poison and rancor. This forces you to stand near antidote wells when fighting them. How to deal with them:
Keep your distance and keep moving. Have them chase you away from their poison puddles.
7. Satyr Cultist
Too bad giant poison rats aren’t the worst of it in Hades’ late-game area. Satyr Cultists are the smarter and more agile poison enemies. While they don’t leave puddles of hatred and ickiness, they throw darts that will also poison you. In fact, most attacks these petting zoo rejects do will poison you. How to deal with them:
They retch before they attack, you can interrupt this if they don’t have armor. Stay mobile. Use the Shield of Chaos’ Bull Rush to block them
6. Soul Catcher
Zagreus calls them Butterfly Balls but they don’t deserve such a fancy name. They release pink butterflies that will slowly home in on you. These deal damage on contact. Moreover, they’re hard to dodge. That’s easily made worse by the Soul Catcher’s inherent toughness. That’s probably why one of these exists as an armored mini-boss. The developers likely couldn’t pass up the opportunity to torment their players. How to deal with them:
The butterflies are slow, you can dance around them. Circle around the Soul Catcher if you’re attacking in melee to avoid getting hit in point-blank range.
5. Wave-Maker
Sadly, the kind of waves the Wave-Maker makes will unmake you instead of just rocking your boat. These are the deceptive Bloodless enemies in Asphodel who shoot dark energy waves. That alone will blindside you as you probably expected them to claw you to death instead. The dangerous part about their energy wave is that it goes through obstacles. How to deal with them:
Keep moving while attacking them to avoid point-blank wave damage. Step out of the energy wave’s path, even if you’re behind cover. You can push them into the magma river using knockback attacks.
4. Gorgon
You can’t exclude these moody monsters when making a game about Greek mythology. So here they are complete with their bad hair day. Since they’re in the Underworld, these Gorgons were the slain ones. Thus, they only have their floating heads with which to manage thanks to Perseus. Even so, you’ll do well to not underestimate them. They shoot dark homing projectiles that will turn you into stone upon impact. If you ever happen to be standing on magma after getting hit, then there goes your well-preserved HP bar. How to deal with them:
Use ranged chain attacks such as Zeus’ chain-lightning Boon or the Shield of Chaos’ Special. You can deflect their projectiles using Athena’s Boons, it’s pretty useful.
3. Nemean Chariot
You just have to wonder how these chariots even qualify for a spot in the Underworld. Did their driver’s soul fuse with them upon demise? Because these things weren’t even supposed to be alive. Regardless, they’re really angry. Nemean Chariots are the big ones that don’t explode. They’ll keep charging at Zagreus, and there’s not much you can do about it once they’ve gone into road rage mode. How to deal with them:
Lead them into traps or walls while they’re charging at you. They wind up a bit after stopping from a charge, making themselves vulnerable.
2. Strongbow
Elysium is supposedly reserved for elite heroes and warriors. It’s the country club equivalent of the Underworld. As such, the fallen souls there don’t know when to give up. The worst among them is the Exalted of Elysium; their souls linger when killed. Strongbow variants are some of the most annoying. Strongbow Exalted are practically snipers who can sneakily regenerate off-screen, often coming back for round two. How to deal with them:
Employ delayed damage effects on their souls such as Doom from Ares. Keep an eye out on their lingering souls. Prioritize killing them.
1. Greatshield
When it comes to the worst Exalted of Elysium, however, the Greatshield takes the cake. They’re by far your worst nightmare since they discourage frontal attacks. You’d think that circling around them and giving them a posterior slap would do the trick. But they typically come in squads; they’ll gang up on you as soon as you make that maneuver. So if you go for the back, prepare to get the smack. How to deal with them:
Use Doom Boons from Ares or Jolt Boons from Zeus. Piercing attacks go through their shields. Artemis offers them via Boons. Focus on their lingering souls. Do not let them regenerate at all costs.
