As Prince Zagreus fights his way through the underworld time and again in Hades, he'll unlock hidden aspects for his various Infernal Arms. For the Stygian Blade, the is the Aspect of Arthur, and many players regard it as one of the best hidden aspects in Hades.
Drawing its inspiration from the legendary King of Camelot, this sword becomes Holy Excalibur. Its Special creates an aura called Hallowed Ground, in which Zagreus takes less damage and deals more, as well as slowing enemy projectiles. What's more, when wielding this Aspect, Zagreus gets an increase to his life total. These abilities present some interesting potential, and here's how players can use it while fighting their way through Hades.
Best Keepsakes
Because the Aspect of Arthur boosts Zag's health, Keepsakes and Boons that add to his life total or general survivability are often less crucial for this build. Consider foregoing the Old Spiked Collar or Lucky Tooth in favor of trying out these keepsake choices:
- Olympian Gods' keepsakes come in handy for many builds. Carrying these, players are sure to encounter the god in question, and have a greater chance of receiving a higher-rarity Boon from them. When it comes to the Aspect of Arthur, the keepsakes of the gods whose boons are listed below make the best choices.
- The Pom Blossom: Given by Persephone, this keepsake increases the Rarity of one of Zag's boons at random every few chambers, making the player increasingly powerful.
- The Lambent Plume: If Zagreus clears a chamber within a certain timeframe with this keepsake in hand, he'll increase his dodge chance and move speed. Clearing chambers is fairly easy with the Aspect of Arthur, making this a handy keepsake.
Best Boons
As mentioned above, the Aspect of Arthur buffs Zagreus' survivability considerably; thus, players wielding this blade can prioritize offensive boons such as those below.
- Slowed projectiles are easier to deflect; thus, any of Athena's Deflecting boons can provide the player with endless fun diverting enemy attacks back at them. Divine Dash is among the easiest to use, but Divine Strike and Divine Flourish also work well.
- Dionysus' Trippy Shot causes Zag's Cast to explode into Festive Fog, which can stun enemies briefly. Using this with the Aspect of Arthur can allow the player to render foes immobile within the Hallowed Ground aura, and take full advantage of its effects while fighting those enemies.
- Any Ares boons are massively useful for offense, particularly Curse of Pain and Blade Dash.
Best Upgrades
All hidden aspects in Hades have an exclusive Daedalus Hammer upgrade, applicable only to their unique moveset. For the Aspect of Arthur, this is Greater Consecration, which buffs the Hallowed Ground aura created by this aspect's Special. With this upgrade, the affected area is 45% larger and slows enemies 10% more.
In regards to other upgrade choices, Stygius' best general upgrades work well with the Aspect of Arthur as well. These include:
- Double-Edge: Zag's dash-strike hits twice, with +20% damage.
- Breaching Slash: Attack and dash-strike both deal +300% damage to armor.
- Double Nova: Stygius' Special hits twice, but does not knock foes away. The lack of knockback actually works very well for this Aspect, as it ensures they remain within the Hallowed Ground aura.