Fully Loaded: Mastering Artemis’ Legendary Boon in Hades
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The “Fully Loaded” boon in Hades is a Legendary boon offered by the goddess Artemis. It dramatically enhances your Cast, the ranged attack fueled by Bloodstones, by granting Zagreus two extra Bloodstones. This effectively triples your Cast capacity, allowing for more frequent and devastating ranged assaults. Securing this boon requires a specific build path, making it a coveted prize for those who favor Cast-focused strategies.
Understanding the Fully Loaded Boon
To get your hands on this powerful Legendary boon, you need to have at least two of the following boons from Artemis already active in your run:
- Hunter’s Mark: After hitting an enemy with your attack, special or cast, the next source of damage they receive has a greater chance to crit.
- Exit Wounds: After your cast dislodges from an enemy, it deals bonus damage.
- Support Fire: After you use your attack or special, launch a seeking arrow at the nearest foe.
Once you have satisfied the condition, Artemis may offer you the Fully Loaded boon in your travels. Like all boons, there is no guarantee that it will appear, adding a layer of chance to obtaining this useful ability.
The Power of Increased Bloodstones
The value of two extra Bloodstones cannot be overstated. It provides the player with the following key benefits:
- Sustained Damage Output: With more Bloodstones available, you can constantly bombard enemies with your Cast, making it a primary source of damage, especially against bosses.
- Strategic Placement: Additional Bloodstones allow for more strategic positioning of your Casts, particularly useful with Casts like Trippy Shot that create persistent area-of-effect zones.
- Enhanced Synergies: Several boons synergize exceptionally well with having more Bloodstones in play. A prime example is the Exit Wounds boon mentioned earlier, which deals additional damage when a Bloodstone dislodges. The more stones you have, the more often this bonus is triggered.
- Flexibility: Having a larger pool of Bloodstones provides a buffer, allowing for errors in placement or recovery without significantly impacting your sustained damage output.
How to Build for Fully Loaded
Building for the Fully Loaded boon requires a specific approach. First, you must decide on a weapon and aspect that complements a Cast-focused strategy. Some popular choices include:
- Beowulf Aspect (Shield): This aspect enhances Cast damage significantly, making Fully Loaded even more potent.
- Hera Aspect (Bow): This aspect allows you to load your Cast into your attack, providing a unique playstyle and allowing you to cast multiple at a time.
Once you have selected a suitable weapon and aspect, you should focus on acquiring at least two of the three prerequisite Artemis boons listed above. Prioritize rooms that offer Artemis as a reward. Using the Artemis keepsake in Tartarus can improve your chances.
After getting the two requisite boons, focus on rooms that offer a boon as a reward. It helps if you use the God’s keepsake that you are looking for, and only switch it out if it is not what you want.
Is Fully Loaded Worth It?
Absolutely. Fully Loaded can transform your runs, turning Cast from a supplementary attack into a powerful primary damage source. It offers a substantial increase in damage output, strategic flexibility, and synergy potential with other boons. For players who enjoy a ranged playstyle or want to experiment with new strategies, Fully Loaded is an excellent boon to pursue.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What are boons in Hades?
Boons are essentially skills, buffs, and curses that are gifted by the Olympian Gods and Chaos. These boons will change the way you use your weapons in numerous ways, making each attempt at escape unique. They can enhance your Attack, Special, Cast, Dash, and Call, providing unique effects and stat bonuses.
2. Are there other Legendary boons in Hades?
Yes! There are 12 Legendary Boons shared between 10 different gods, including Aphrodite, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Demeter, Poseidon, Zeus, Hermes, and Chaos. Poseidon and Hermes each offer two Legendary Boons.
3. Can I have multiple boons from the same god?
Yes, you can have multiple boons from the same god. However, you can only have one boon active for each of your core actions (Attack, Special, Cast, Dash, and Call). If you pick up a second boon that affects the same action, it will replace the first one.
4. How do I increase the rarity of a boon?
You can increase the rarity of a boon by exchanging it at a Well of Charon or through specific rooms that offer boon upgrades. These exchanges increase the rarity (Common, Rare, Epic, Heroic) of the boon by one level, keeping the effect the same.
5. What are Duo Boons?
Duo Boons are special boons that require you to have specific boons from two different gods. They combine the effects of both gods, often creating powerful and unique abilities. You can’t stack Duo boons.
6. What is the best boon from Athena?
Many consider Divine Dash to be Athena’s best boon. It grants your dash the ability to deflect enemy attacks, allowing you to turn enemy projectiles back at them. Divine Dash grants players the most control over when, where, and how they deflect.
7. Do Chaos boons count as normal boons?
Chaos Boons are unique and function differently from Olympian god boons. They provide a curse (debuff) for a set number of encounters, followed by a blessing (buff) that lasts for the rest of the run.
8. What is the best weapon in Hades?
The best weapon is subjective and depends on playstyle. However, the Twin Fists of Malphon are fan favorites, especially with the Aspect of Demeter, which rewards aggressive gameplay.
9. Are Daedalus Hammer upgrades permanent?
No, the effects of Daedalus Hammer upgrades are reset upon Zagreus’s death. Daedalus Hammer upgrades are run-specific and cannot be re-rolled using Fated Persuasion.
10. How long does it take to fully complete Hades?
Completing the main story of Hades takes around 22½ hours. Obtaining 100% completion, including all achievements and story elements, can take around 95½ hours.
11. What is the “Splitting Headache” boon?
Splitting Headache is an Artemis/Dionysus Duo Boon that increases the likelihood for an attack to deal critical damage based on how many stacks of Hangover the targeted enemy has.
12. Are boons random in Hades?
Yes, the boons offered during a run are randomly generated. You cannot guarantee the appearance of specific gods or boons, which is part of the roguelike nature of the game.
13. What is the best keepsake to use in Hades?
Again, this is subjective, but the Lucky Tooth, which restores health upon death, is considered one of the most useful keepsakes for survivability. The Evergreen Acorn, which protects Zagreus from damage during boss fights, is also useful.
14. What is the point of Artemis?
Artemis is one of the Olympian gods in the game who can offer boons to Zagreus. Her boons are typically focused on improving critical hit chance and damage, enhancing ranged attacks, and creating synergistic effects with other gods’ boons. This helps to increase Zagreus’ damage potential, helping him make it further in his escapes.
15. How does the Games Learning Society influence game design and education?
The Games Learning Society (GamesLearningSociety.org) works at the intersection of games and education. The organization promotes research and best practices for using games as tools for learning and engagement. This can be related to Hades because the game’s design, including its boon system and narrative structure, can be analyzed from an educational perspective. It offers valuable insights into player motivation, strategic thinking, and storytelling. Understanding these elements can inform both game design and educational strategies. By analyzing games and education, the Games Learning Society creates educational value through games.