Hades 2 hit Early Access on May 6, giving those eager for a sequel to the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning action RPG roguelike a chance to jump in. We’ve already covered some starting Hades 2 tips, whether you’re a newcomer or a Hades vet, as well as some essential info for taking down Headmistress Hecate.
You may also want to fiddle with a few of the settings to tailor Hades 2 to your liking. From difficulty adjustment, to options that’ll relax your mouse-button finger, and more, here are some settings you should certainly draw your attention to.
If the game is too hard, try God Mode
The second you fire up God Mode, you’ll gain a 20-percent damage reduction. That number will go up each time you die, so the worse you do, the stronger you’ll get. God Mode is an accessibility option, so you won’t be missing out on anything in the game’s narrative or other content by doing it. Plus, by making the game easier, it may be easier to understand its fast-paced, multi-layered action, so over time you may wish to turn it off once you want a tougher challenge.
You can find God Mode in Options > Gameplay > God Mode.
If you want to time your runs, try out the Timer Display
As you get stronger and stronger, you’re probably going to want to improve the time it takes for you to complete a run. Turning on Timer Display is a great way to see how much time has passed. As you play, it will continue to tick up, letting you know exactly how long you’ve been running for. And, yes, the timer will pause if you pause the game.
You can find the Timer Display in Options > Gameplay > Timer Display.
Try out Autofire if you’re tired of constantly clicking the mouse
Autofire is an easy way to simplify Hades 2’s controls (and it’ll prolong the life of your mouse). Once enabled, you only need to hold down the left mouse button to go through your base attacks. Tapping the attack button still works when Autofire is on.
You’ll find Autofire in Options > Accessibility > Autofire.
Turning off Screen Shake makes the game feel less jittery
Screen shake can definitely help make a game more immersive. But if you don’t enjoy Hades 2’s implementation of this standard feature, you can turn it off in Options > Accessibility > Screenshake.
For a hands-free narrative, try Auto-Advance Dialogue
By default, Hades 2 asks you to click the mouse button every time you want story dialogue to progress. You can automate this by toggling “Auto-Advance Dialogue.” It’s not for everyone, but it might make the game feel a bit more seamless during the talky bits.
You’ll find this option in Options > Gameplay > Auto-Advance Dialogue.
Other settings worth considering
Hades 2 has a decent amount of settings that let you tweak the game to your liking. Here are a few I think you should consider:
You can toggle Damage Numbers on/off
I’m personally not a fan of constantly seeing numbers on screen. If you share my discomfort with that, might I suggest turning off Damage Numbers in Options > Interface > Damage Numbers.
There are two mouse cursor options
Hades 2’s mouse cursor has some colors running underneath it. As this is a pretty colorful game, this can make it a little hard to see. In Options > Accessibility > Bright Cursor, you can change the mouse cursor to be a slightly more visible silver color.
If you’re using a controller, consider messing with the Reticle Speed
Controllers aren’t as fast as mice in a game like Hades 2. But you can alter the speed at which your thumbsticks move a cursor in Options > Gameplay > Reticle Speed. The game defaults to 1800, but you can crank it up way past that (or lower it, if you want).
There’s a generous amount of audio options too
To my ears (and with my sound system), Hades 2’s audio mix sounds pretty good. But if you want to adjust it further, there are separate settings for Music, Ambience, Sound Effects, and Speech; you can find these settings in Options > Audio.. You’ll find Subtitles settings (as well as Music Subtitles for lyrics, which is super cool) in Options > Accessibility.
Hades 2 is out now in Early Access via Steam and the Epic Games Store on PC. The game is expected to wrap development toward the end of 2024. As per the Early Access information on the game’s Steam listing, developer Supergiant Games doesn’t have a firm release date right now, but there’s already plenty to experience in its current form.
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