Part 7

Learn about Hades Cast boons like Crush Shot, Phalanx Shot, Trippy Shot, Slicing Shot, and Crystal Beam. Discover their strengths and weaknesses.

Aphrodite, Crush Shot

Crush Shot deals 90 damage with a short-range blast that inflicts Weak. Its lack of range makes it function like a melee attack, difficult to use safely due to its casting wind-up time. The Blown Kiss supplementary boon doesn't fully compensate. Crush Shot is situational, best suited for weapon Aspects that lack rapid melee damage but can benefit from short-range supplements, specifically the Aspect of Eris and Aspect of Lucifer on the Adamant Rail. The Aspect of Eris allows short-range casts after absorbing your Special for a damage buff, while the Aspect of Lucifer lets you follow its Special's trajectory to damage enemies and trigger Hellfire explosions. Without these Aspects, Crush Shot often goes to waste, as other boons offer safer or more spammable melee damage, or negate the need for close-range engagement. Fortunately, Aphrodite offers many superior boon options.

Athena, Phalanx Shot

Phalanx Shot deals 85 damage and deflects projectiles, damaging a small area upon contact. Its slow ramp-up speed makes it struggle against fast enemies and obstacles, especially in Elysium. While its area-of-effect damage is decent for a Cast, its reliability is questionable. The Duo boon Lightning Phalanx (with Zeus) adds damage to multiple foes but doesn't enhance deflection. Phalanx Shot can serve as an area-of-effect Cast for Aspects like Lucifer but isn't the most dependable deflection tool.

Dionysus, Trippy Shot

Trippy Shot deals 100 damage with a grenade-style area-of-effect explosion, leaving behind Festive Fog that stuns unshielded opponents. It allows free aiming over short obstacles, similar to the Adamant Rail Special. Within the Festive Fog, you can add Chill, Lightning Bolts, and damage resistance. Trippy Shot's aiming can be tricky, but its range prevents you from being in harm's way. It transitions directly from damage to fog to a retrievable bloodstone without sticking in enemies, ensuring consistent benefit.

Ares, Slicing Shot

Slicing Shot fires a blade rift that deals 10 damage within its radius every 0.1 seconds for 4 seconds. On its own, it's ineffective as it glides past enemies, limiting its high damage-per-second potential and ramp-up with the Vicious Cycle Legendary boon. To make Slicing Shot viable, a Duo boon is almost mandatory. The lesser option, Freezing Vortex (Demeter), shrinks the Cast size, slows it down to prevent enemies from outrunning it, and inflicts Chill. The greater option, Hunting Blades (Artemis), speeds up Slicing Shot and makes it track and stick to the nearest enemy. Combining Hunting Blades (a necessity) with Vicious Cycle (a luxury) is a powerful, albeit difficult-to-achieve, combination, even when using the Adamant Arrowhead and Blood-Filled Vial to ensure access to both Artemis and Ares.

Demeter, Crystal Beam

Crystal Beam plants a crystal pylon that fires a beam dealing 8 damage every 0.2 seconds for 5 seconds. This fixed structure slowly seeks out foes at a great range, dealing damage over time. It is useful for players lacking durability, but maximizing its potential requires supplementary boons that can provide its benefits.