Hades II

[Gredival]

just started the 2nd one, weapons arent quite grabbing me like the first but think i just need more reps with them

I finished Hades II and also largely preferred the arsenal in the first.

any tips for things to prioritize early on? rocking the lucky tooth atm because I can't dodge for shit, but no clue what upgrades/boons/whatnot I should be seeking out

A lot of the early game is just getting the reps necessary to upgrade sufficient arcana to progress further, and unlocking the surface. I usually started runs with Charon's purse (can be unequipped after a zone)

I personally am a fan of Hestia's attack modifier and Zeus chain bounces if you can get them.

[Koul]

any tips for things to prioritize early on? rocking the lucky tooth atm because I can't dodge for shit, but no clue what upgrades/boons/whatnot I should be seeking out

I would say prioritize ashes > bones and then buying either psyche or ashes so you can unlock more arcana and have more grasp amount so you can equip more arcana. Then unlock the seed spots and start planting so you'll have plants for later recipes. Once you have the cards you like you can start to ignore ashes and I would focus on nectars and handing one out to everyone to unlock the trinkets

I'm sorta bum rushing my psyche to cap out my grasp and then I'll probably start to focus on getting moon dust to cap my arcana cards out

[Vaspinne]

Don't worry about levelling your keepsakes too much early on. You eventually get an incantation that cuts the cost of levelling them by half. Also, when you get the incantation for changing keepsakes after bosses, do it and use it often. In the first Hades I would just run Pom Blossom the entire time. But Hades II I enjoyed starting with Jewelled Pom -> Calling Card -> Transcendent Embryo. Jewelled Pom is great because even after you remove it, the Boon level bonus and the Hades Boon persist.

But yeah, there are a lot of fun Keepsake combos you can work with and I'm sure others have ones they really enjoy.

And to add, I found the base weapons pretty meh at first too compared to Hades I, but they definitely got a lot better and more enjoyable as you unlock more. The Thanatos Axe (Scythe?) has gotta be my fav, hits hard and fast and just destroys everything, especially when you get good boons and hammer upgrades

Edit: Also the Selene hexes are great too. The 800 power Beam can get super OP if you fully fill the path out, like into the thousands damage wise. Or Moon Water is great for survival early on in the game just to restore health. Total Eclipse seems great but is kinda iffy against bosses/mobs that move around a lot. But against big giant stationary bosses it's fantastic too, especially after filling out the paths.

[chazzyphizzle]

the builds for the big nuke hex are nice too, i am really enjoying the big nuke hex + the cast bomb from icarus. just disgusting damage. was extra awesome against the top side last boss

[chazzyphizzle]

3 heat (or whatever) vow of rivals was pretty intense on both sides, third bosses each way were cool. assume i unlock the 4th boss vow of rivals at some point?

[Gredival]

3 heat (or whatever) vow of rivals was pretty intense on both sides, third bosses each way were cool. assume i unlock the 4th boss vow of rivals at some point?

Yeah, you have to clear the game first.

Spoiler: show

The final story encounter with Chronos features a third phase, but you basically auto-win. With the vow in place, you actually have to fight out the third phase. So you don't get this unlocked without clearing story mode properly at least once.

[chazzyphizzle]

and it was pretty intense, mostly cheesed it with the invincibility form hex. olympus 4 vow is gonna suck

edit; wasnt too bad, but invincibility hex cheese again

[Gabai]

The new dream dives mode is pretty fun