Not only Melinoë faster and more efficient, but resource gathering is also significantly improved in the new Hades 2 patch.
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Supergiant Games ' roguelike Hades 2 has been in early access for about a week and a half now , and it's been a pretty good experience so far. However, some players have been having trouble with protagonist Melinoë's dash, as well as her running ability. Luckily for them, Supergiant Games has already taken action, and the first patch for Hades 2 is all about speed first and foremost.
As of today's patch, Melinoë's running speed (which did seem a bit slow) has been increased to be "intrinsically faster." Her running is also much more direct, as some players found it a bit difficult to turn while running, which was definitely annoying in some areas of the game where chaos reigns supreme.
Melinoë's dash has also been tweaked slightly so that players can dash out of recovery animations more quickly. It's not that Melinoë would be " stuck " from damage, but perhaps she was a little slow to dash away from enemies after a hit. Now, she should have the same sense of urgency I get when hitting the dodge button to avoid missing one of her "death defiances" in an otherwise seemingly smooth game.
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Melinoë's dash in Hades 2 was a bit of a controversial one, as it's significantly slower than Zagreus's from the first game. His dash leaves a trail that needs to be restored before he can dash again, which is a pretty drastic change from Zagreus, who could dash again almost instantly. He could even collect boons that gave him multiple extra dashes before he got tired. Although, no one would mind if Supergiant tweaked Melinoë's kit. I think this difference makes the characters unique and promotes different playstyles. I wouldn't want to see Melinoë's identity disappear from the game because of the studio's response to the reviews.
Speaking of speed, Hades 2's first patch also speeds up resource gathering. The sequel introduces crafting and various gathering tools that must be unlocked to obtain the resources you need to craft what the game refers to as "summons," which often enhance Melinoë's abilities and add mechanics and features, such as farming. However, you can only use one gathering tool at a time, which means you have to choose whether to prioritize plants, fish, minerals, or other materials for each run. In my experience, a good run that culminates in a fiendish showdown with Time at the end could take around 40-50 minutes, meaning that's a significant amount of time to not gather other materials.
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Now, Hades 2 players will be able to harvest from any resource point they find during a run, as long as they have unlocked the corresponding harvesting tool. So, if you have unlocked the shovel or pickaxe, you don't need to have them equipped to collect seeds or mine minerals, respectively. Toggling a specific harvesting tool will allow you to earn as many resources from the harvesting points as you could before this patch, while "resources for tools you don't prioritize will appear much less frequently," according to the patch notes.
Additionally, Supergiant has made small (but important) fixes, such as making the coin appear when you're in a Well of Charon, or redoing the tutorial for Grasp upgrades in Altar of Ashes. Strangely enough, players are getting as far as the third area of the game without upgrading their Grasp to get more passive buffs because they simply didn't know how to do it. If you've been there, you know that this area is extremely difficult even with upgrades, and players have reported that the game doesn't explain the system well. With this patch, more players will know how to upgrade their Grasp and get stronger for their battle with Chronos.
For the full patch notes, which are largely driven by feedback the team has received since launch, check them out here. Supergiant says that with this first patch out of the way, they'll be working on balance changes going forward, which tells me I better get a win soon before the team takes down my favorite boons/builds.
Source: kotaku
