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As expected of a roguelite action game, success in Hades depends largely on player skill.
Roguelites thrive on procedural gameplay. As the best of its kind, one of the biggest factors that make Hades enthralling is its unpredictability. Even with the unupgraded infernal arms at Zagreus' disposal, the right combination of critical boons could bring together the fabled 'God runs'.
There remain three things in Hades that a player can arrange as a loadout: their mirror upgrades, their keepsake, and most importantly, their weapon aspects. Zagreus can also get a companion in Hades for additional minor buffs, but this comes into play much later on.
Different weapon aspects can radically shift the playstyle of a weapon, and enhance its damage potential and useability greatly.
The following weapon aspects are the top Hades community favorites
1) Poseidon - Stygian Blade (with Exit Wounds)
Most Hades players would nominate the hidden Arthur aspect as the sword aspect of choice. Arthur's aspect imbues the Stygian Blade with an alternate, meatier moveset, grants Zagreus a raw HP bonus, as well as damage reduction with 'Hallowed Ground' on its special usage.
Poseidon, on the other hand, adds a fun gimmick of its own. When a target is struck with the bloodstone(s), melee attacks dislodge them and return them to Zagreus. With Artemis' cast boon, Exit Wounds, each cast incurs 160 damage (for the heroic version of the boon) when dislodged. The obvious synergy, therefore, is to empty all three casts into the target, and then dislodge them for a huge burst of damage.
2) Achilles - Eternal Spear
Achilles' is considered the prime aspect to pad out cast builds. Spears in Hades can be hurled with its special, which afterwards return to them, or picked up in person. With the Achilles aspect, Zagreus instead rushes forward to grab the spear on successive special usage.
Named 'Raging Rush', this maneuver grants a 150% damage boost to the next four attacks and casts. The base attack type of spears makes it only a so-so upgrade for melee. On the other hand, it is an unparalleled bonus towards bloodstone casts, for which straight damage buffs are hard to come by.
3) Rama - Heart-Seeking Bow
Out of all the aspects in Hades that change the regular playstyle of the weapon, Rama reigns on top. With Rama, the bow's special becomes a precision move instead of a shabby AoE - which other aspects try to retool in less effective ways. Regular attacks, on the other hand, become heavier, slower projectiles that cover a wider area in their wake. Thanks to the boon enhancements, each of these attacks can become a reliable build.
4) Demeter - Twin Fists
On paper, the aspect of Demeter will seem like great busywork to any Hades player not familiar with the Twin Fists of Malphon. In practice, the fists hit at a rapid rate - enough to charge the special within three seconds worth of melee spam.
As with most aspects in Hades, the key point is to get used to the rhythm of charging the special before each use. In return, the Special hits 6 separate times at the max upgrade level. The six hits all proc their own boon effects, including Zeus' lighting and Ares' doom, for example, resulting in possibly the highest single-target DPS potential in Hades.
5) Zeus - Shield
The Zeus aspect for the Shield of Chaos boasts the highest average DPS in Hades.
Instead of a shield throw, the special throws out a large spinning disc that reaches the target area and continues to spin, much like Timbersaw's Chakram in Dota 2, and proc boon effects. For example, if it is infested with lightning, it continues to zap everyone with bonus lightning damage. Moreover, Zagreus can continue to use melee, block, and charge attacks as usual while the disc is still out.
Note: The list is subjective and reflects the views of the writer.
