How to Beat Polyphemus in Hades 2

For those players who have put a few good hours into Hades 2, there comes the delightful realization that there’s a second run to fight through.

After getting a good bit through the main route and completing an incantation that lets players breathe the surface air without dying, players can begin their journey to Olympus, complete with its unique series of combat rooms and bosses. The first of these bosses is the Odyssey’s own cyclops, Polyphemus.

Given his spot as the first boss on the surface, he isn’t necessarily the most mechanically intensive boss out there. Still, there are some moves players should be aware of, to make their journey across the surface as smooth as possible. This guide will go over the boss’ moves, as well as the best times to take advantage of them so that players can make the most out of their surface runs.

Polyphemus’ Moveset

Befitting a big, bulky cyclops, most of Polyphemus’ moves are large, slow, and heavy on the shockwaves. Once players understand the startup animations for the moves, it should be fairly easy to avoid them.

• Jump Slam – Polyphemus’ most common attack. Polyphemus jumps in the air, creating a shockwave where he lands.
• Palm Slam – Polyphemus slaps the ground in front of him, creating a small shockwave at impact.
• Forward Kick – Polyphemus kicks forward, creating a fast-moving shockwave that surges out from him.
• Boulder Shockwave – Polyphemus grabs a boulder, then makes a jumping attack in Melinoe’s direction. Creates four shockwaves that originally form a circle, but they grow separate as they travel further from Polyphemus.
• Feasting Grab – Polyphemus spreads his arms before grabbing in front of him. If Melinoe is grabbed they will be chewed on, becoming uncontrollable for a few seconds and taking heavy damage.
• Phase Change Summon – At 66% and 33% Polyphemus becomes invincible and summons Lubbers to help in the fight. At 33% the Lubbers he summons will have armor.
• Regular Summon – Polyphemus takes slow steps around the arena, generating small shockwaves and summoning a Shambler with each step. Shamblers that spawn in later stages of the fight will spawn with armor.
• Sheep – Four different types of sheep circle the arena, each with different effects:
  • White Sheep – Polyphemus begins to eat a sheep, healing a significant portion of health.
  • Golden Sheep- These sheep will run around Polyphemus, blocking Melinoe’s cast attack in the area. Polyphemus will also try to eat this sheep, though he will lose health if he does.
  • Green Sheep – These sheep are aggressive, attacking Melinoe and causing the Daze effect if they hit her. Polyphemus will lose health if he eats this type of sheep.
  • Black Sheep – Black sheep will explode if Melinoe gets too close, dealing damage. Polyphemus will take damage if he eats this sheep.

Strategy

Befitting the first boss of a run, Polyphemus isn’t the most difficult or mechanically intensive fight. He uses the jump slam more often than anything else, and the pattern of combat is simple to manage. Players should stand apart from Polyphemus, letting him jump towards them. After he lands, players should give a moment for a shockwave to start to form, then dash over it. This will be the easiest time to deal damage. 

Players do need to be aware that Polyphemus’ feet hit players when he jumps. As such, players should stop attacking and move away before he jumps again.

Beyond this, players will need to be aware of his other shockwave attacks. The leg kick and boulder slam are the most common. Both can be dashed through, though the leg kick is fairly narrow, which means it can be dodged side to side. The boulder creates a much larger set of shockwaves. These must be dashed over if players are close. If the player is far away the shockwaves start to separate, and players can instead move between them.

The Feasting Grab can do heavy damage but is easy to dodge. The animation of Polyphemus spreading his arms is long, and he doesn’t turn to follow players’ movement. More often the problem occurs when Polyphemus uses this move to heal from a sheep. Polyphemus isn’t invulnerable as he eats the sheep. While he is healing, players can usually get close and deal just as much damage as he heals.

The final mechanic to deal with is the summons. The Shamblers he spawns are fairly weak, and Polyphemus generates almost no threat as he summons them. Depending on the weapons the players are using, it should be fairly easy to burst them down with Specials while still hitting Polyphemus.

The Lubber summon is more dangerous. The Lubbers throw barrels across the arena that can also spawn areas of fire on the ground, making it hard to move. As such, they need to be dealt with as soon as possible. While Polyphemus does an animation while he summons them, he often becomes active again before players have had a chance to deal with them all. Players with AoE should make sure they kite Polyphemus near the Lubbers so that they can be dealt with in tandem. Players without AoE attacks may want to kite Polyphemus away, being wary of the Lubbers’ barrels, before coming back and dealing with them. 

That’s all players need to know! The fight remains similar the entire way through, with only the addition of other monsters mixing it up. Once players get used to the shockwaves, they’ll find themselves moving across the surface in no time.

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