The Pitch-Black Stone, waiting at Melinoë’s Training Grounds in Hades 2, offers Melinoë exciting new challenges set by Chaos. While a conflict rages between titans and gods, Chaos is eager to really test Mel’s limits.
Experience the thrill of speedrunning in Hades with the Trial of Haste, where you have just five minutes to complete the Fields of Mourning. You’ll be equipped with the Witch’s Staff in the Aspect of Melinoë, Hermes’ Metallic Droplet, and an array of stellar boons. This trial opens up after you unlock the Pitch-Black Stone and introduces challenges known as the Vows of Fear.
Hades 2 is currently in early access. The details below may change as the game develops.
What Is the Vow of Time?
The Trial of Haste is known for its tricky challenges, particularly the Vow of Time, which is one of the Vows of Fear you can choose through the Oath of the Unseen. At Rank three, it allows you five minutes to finish each Region and defeat its boss fight—specifically, battling through the Fields of Mourning and taking on Infernal Cerberus.
If the time runs out, you can keep fighting, but you will not complete the trial. Although five minutes seems short, it is achievable with quick thinking and a solid grasp on your abilities. The countdown starts when you step into the first room.
The timer in the game pauses during menu and selection screens, such as when picking boons or engaging in dialogue. However, be aware that it continues to run while you’re in the world, including during non-combat situations.
What Is the Loadout?
The Trial of Haste gives you a remarkable starting build—there isn’t much more you could wish for. Your entire setup aims to enhance your speed. The Witch’s Staff with the Aspect of Melinoë boosts your Magick Channeling rate, complemented by your Keepsake, Hermes’ Metallic Droplet. The Metallic Droplet accelerates your movement, attacks, and Channeling.
As with previous Trials, if your weaponry, keepsakes, or Arcana are enhanced, those upgrades will apply in the Pitch-Black Stone, so remember this before embarking on the trial.
Your singular Arcana card, the Swift Runner, enhances your sprint speed, while Apollo’s Blinding Sprint boon deals Daze damage. Dazzling Display also inflicts Daze with your attacks, and Apollo’s Back Burner boon does extra damage to foes that are Dazed when attacked from behind. These features collectively aid in the “defeat everything rapidly” objective of speedrunning.
Daze gives affected enemies a twenty percent chance to deal no damage, making it a solid addition to any build.
Both the Extra Dose boon from Apollo and the Mirrored Thrasher upgrade from the Daedalus Hammer allow your attacks to hit twice (or provide a chance for this), although the Hammer consumes Magick to do so. Fortunately, you start with Poseidon’s Fluid Gain boon, which creates Spirit Bubbles upon landing attacks to restore your Magick when you collect them.
This setup makes it easy to swiftly dispatch enemies—you deal heavy damage frequently. What’s more intriguing is your movement strategy, since the Fields of Mourning demand more exploration than any other Region; you must locate each reward in each area to trigger combat and advance. You’ll be doing a lot of running, and all your speed enhancements will greatly assist in minimizing travel time.
What Boons Are Best?
With a solid build to start, you don’t have many essentials missing, but including the right boons can certainly enhance your abilities.
- Light Smite (Apollo): Deals Revenge damage when you take damage and Dazes all enemies. This pairs exceptionally well with the Back Burner for bonus damage against Dazed foes. Revenge damage is a valuable addition, especially during timed challenges where every hit counts.
- Hydraulic Might (Poseidon): Strengthens your Attacks and Specials for the first ten seconds of an Encounter.
- Saved Breath (Hermes): Reduces the Magick cost of your Cast, which is helpful when your only way to replenish Magick is through Fluid Gain.
- Nitro Boost (Hermes): Increases your Sprint speed and offers instances of ignored damage—always a reliable choice, particularly during timed challenges.
Rewards in the Fields of Mourning
The Fields of Mourning have a unique rewards system: each Location offers two or three significant rewards (or just one if it’s a miniboss), displayed as you choose your path, alongside smaller rewards that have a chance of dropping. Each substantial reward initiates combat when you attempt to claim it, while smaller rewards are typically surrounded by a few shades.
Don’t stress about the small rewards if you are worried about the timer. They usually consist of Gold Crowns, Ashes, or Psyche, occasionally a baby Centaur Heart.
If you happen upon them, your increased speed allows for a quick grab, but they’re seldom worth the detour, and definitely not worth the fight.
The clock keeps ticking while you’re deciding on which room to enter. If you’re unsure, pausing is always an option. Reflect on your options while paused. If you find yourself hesitating, it’s wise to halt the game to stop the timer, especially if timed playing or speedrunning is new to you.
If you prefer to dive in and play without breaks, be prepared for swift decision-making. Maintain a mental list of what you want to prioritize—would you prefer Apollo or Poseidon boons? Do you want to avoid minibosses? Use these preferences to quickly decide as soon as you see the routes to your next battle. Even with the tight timer, the Trial of Haste is quite forgiving; given your strong starting build, you’ll likely find that no single decision drastically affects your trajectory.
Fighting Infernal Cerberus
Your agility will be critical in this fight: Cerberus unleashes large shockwaves and fireballs that you’ll need to evade, hauls himself around the arena, and can burrow and erupt from the ground with explosive force. It’s crucial to keep pace with him since the Witch’s Staff, enhanced with Extra Dose and Mirrored Thrasher, excels at attacks; however, you still need to remain agile enough to dodge most of his wide-reaching attacks.
Don’t spend too much time just dodging—this is when the timer can become daunting. If you focus solely on avoiding Cerberus’s strikes, you won’t be able to deal damage. If you selected Light Smite, this will be the encounter where it shines. By staying close, your attacks will not only strike Cerberus but also deal damage when he attacks you.
Midway through the fight, Infernal Cerberus will burrow underground, becoming impervious to attacks. He will reappear only after you deal with any reinforcements he sends your way. Keep moving during this time to eliminate those reinforcements quickly.
This is a prime opportunity to restore your Magick. You should find plenty of Spirit Bubbles floating around; make sure to collect them as you fight Cerberus’s minions.
Don’t waste any time! You should be constantly unleashing attacks, Casts, and Hexes if you have them. Your speed allows for easy maneuvering around Cerberus, so stay behind him as often as you can. Not only will this shield you from some of his strikes, but it will also grant you bonus damage from Back Burner.
If there’s ever a battle where you should go all out, it’s this one. Should the timer count down too low, it’s best to forget about ‘strategy’ and ‘calculation’ and just indulge in the primal instinct of smacking anything larger than you!
This rewrite maintains the information while using casual American English and ensuring uniqueness. The language is straightforward, and complex jargon is avoided, keeping the reader engaged and informed.
