Part 18

Aspect of Arthur (Stygius): This hidden Aspect is highly effective, allowing you to square up and tank the entire Hades fight. It is capable of plowing through the toughest fights and works well with most boons.

Complementary upgrades for Aspect of Arthur: Greater Consecration, Shadow Slash, Breaching Slash. Avoid Cursed Slash, Hoarding Slash, and Piercing Wave.

Complementary boons for Aspect of Arthur: Status- and percent damage-based Attack boons (Aphrodite, Athena, Demeter, possibly Artemis), defensive Dash and Special boons (Athena, Aphrodite, Demeter).

Varatha – Eternal Spear General Summary: The Spear's main flaw is its inability to quickly affect broad-radius or area-of-effect damage for crowds. Its dash attack and charged spin attack offer some lateral damage but are not potent or spammable enough. Effective use requires heavy dashing and precise, long-reaching strikes. The Attack and Special do not impact meaningfully different trajectories.

Fixing Varatha's Flaw: The upgrade Triple Jab grants the Attack a wider radius of effect and can be used on any Aspect instead of an Aspect-specific upgrade.

Caution with Varatha Upgrades: Be cautious with Serrated Point, as the dash-strike benefit might not outweigh the risk of shortened dashes leading to punishing blows. It can balance builds low on damage but high on health, especially with Divine Dash, but can be detrimental without durability or Hermes boons like Hyper Sprint. Also, be cautious with Chain Skewer, as it lengthens the Special duration, leaving you without Attack for longer.

Varatha – Most Viable Aspects: Hades, Achilles.

Aspect of Zagreus (Varatha): Provides buffs to Special damage, range, and speed (+25% at max Aspect level). The Special is most effectively spammable with the Exploding Launcher upgrade, allowing more frequent direction changes for throws. This can be combined with a Poseidon Special for spammable area damage, though boss fights may become excruciatingly long.

Complementary upgrades for Aspect of Zagreus: Exploding Launcher, Breaching Skewer.

Complementary boons for Aspect of Zagreus: High-frequency Special boons (Zeus, Demeter, possibly Athena, possibly Poseidon); Divine Dash; Divine Strike or Heartbreak Strike. A Chaos Special damage boon is also recommended.

Aspect of Achilles (Varatha): Special becomes Raging Rush, allowing you to charge toward your thrown spear (with slightly reduced range) instead of it returning to you. Your next 4 Attacks or Casts deal +150% damage at max Aspect level. This offers a tolerable middle ground between damage improvement and not being subject to enemy attacks during charge-up. The Attack buff is most useful in early encounters. It is effective for empowering Casts, especially with a +2 Infernal Soul. Deploying Raging Rush does not significantly help positioning for a Cast.