Unrealistic expectations for new players
I know what I am writing is probably a rant. Apologies for cluttering the subreddit, but I want to get it off my chest.
I played Hades I, loved it, platinumed it but was not a super-high-heat player. I waited for Hades 2 to be fully released, I got it a couple of months back, dived into it, loved it even more, and re-emerged happy and satisfied.
I think I am a decent-to-good Hades 2 player. I am confident in doing fear 32 underworld runs with my favourite aspects (Circe and Medea, admittedly very strong aspects). I have all achievements, completed all Chaos trials, cleared every single corner of the game. I am no speed-runner and haven't tried my hand at fear > 32, I struggle with Vow of Frenzy + Vow of Rivals on Scylla and on Prometheus, so I am not a "pro" by any stretch, but I still think that I sit in the top half of all the people who played the game.
I completed my first underworld run on night 47. I opened the subreddit and looked for "first night completion" and the consensus was "Oh I did it in around 15-20 nights".
And I ask myself: how? How the hell do you manage to beat Chronos in 15 nights?
To gauge my surprise, here is an account of my journey to the first victory:
- First night I almost cleared Oceanus, was killed by Scylla
- As soon as I reached the surface I tried 3-4 times to go as high as possible without lifting the curse, since I wanted to farm bronze (don't ask me why, idk)
- I tried most aspects, leveled first the ones I thought were most broken... so yeah, Aspect of Persephone and Thanatos were leveled waaaaaay before Circe or Medea
- For each boss beyond Erebus it took me 2-5 tries before I killed them: seeing the moves, etc etc
- I killed Chronos almost by chance with the Skull Aspect of Melinoe on a random run
So putting everything together, leveling keepsakes, trying all hammers, all boons, etc, it took me 47 nights. And I think this is a rather average journey for a player that, in the end, I think turned out to be at least decent. How can one clear for the first time in 15-20 nights without heavy guiding? Sure, knowing which aspects to invest into, which keepsakes, which boons, having seen all boss moves, all phases, and how to avoid Chronos one-shot-kills, then yeah, 15-20 nights is realistic. I'd estimate if I started a clear file now, focussed on Circe early on, getting Toula/Raki, leveling Death Defiance or Strength, getting Zeus's and maybe Schelemeus/Arachne/Hercules keepsakes right away, I'd probably clear Chronos around night 15.
But why should we fool new players? That is a target WITH HEAVY GUIDING. You have to know which aspects to pick. Which hammers. At least know in advance how the Scylla boss fight works, and Chronos phase 2. Is it doable? Yes. But can you do it if you are exploring the game alone, by yourself, trying things? No, that's an optimized path without any mistakes, or any misallocation of resources.
I apologize, I find this subreddit overall wholesome and friendly, but also I think a bit intimidating. I know it's normal -- usually, gamers who post tend to be more experienced, and overall better than average; but isn't the perception one gets extremely skewed?