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What would Greek Mythology be without its monsters? From the hundred-handed Hecatoncheires to the half-human-half-bull Minotaur, it has all kinds of them. But the one who is an obstacle in Melinoe’s journey inHades 2is none other than the son of Poseidon, Polyphemus.
His most notable feud was with Odysseus. After the Trojan War, when Odysseus and his men were heading home, they decided to enter Polyphemus’s cave for some provisions. But the monster traps them instead and starts eating two men of the crew daily.
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Odysseus claims his name is “nobody” and offers the beast a very strong wine to get him drunk and make him fall asleep. He then uses this chance to blind the cyclops by driving a wooden stake in the monster’s eye. Polyphemus’s cries of help to his fellow cyclops fall on deaf ears because he tells them that nobody hurt him.
The next morning, when he lets out his sheep from the cave, Odysseus’s men tie themselves on the undersides of the flock to hide themselves from the cyclops and successfully manage to escape the monster.
Ever since that incident, the monster has been careful, no matter if he is dealing with mortals, demigods, or gods, and sadly, Melinoe won’t get an easy pass. Time to show Polyphemus that no caution can help him, because I’m going to teach youhow to beat the cyclops Polyphemus in Hades 2.
How To Prepare For The Polyphemus Fight
While preparing for the fight against the Cyclops Polyphemus,you should try collecting as many Centaur Hearts as you can. Almost all of his attacks are relatively slow, so you should be able to dodge them quite easily once you get familiar with them.
However, if you do end up getting hit by them, you end up taking quite a lot of damage; hence, having more health can help you last longer in the fight.
In the area where you need to destroy multiple pylons, look for rooms that have double Centaur Hearts. Additionally, you could also enter the huts or other rooms within the Boon area to see if you get extra hearts.
Aside from health,you may also consider equipping the Silken Sash. This is akeepsakeyou get from Arachne if you give her Nectar.It gives you +20 Armor just for having it equipped, and after you enter a new location, you get +2 Armor if you have at least 1 Armor left. This is one of the best keepsakes to upgrade, as a fully upgraded Silken Sash gives you +4 for entering locations.
For Boons, there aren’t any particular go-to options that you must get. Since this fight happens quite early on, unlike when you faceCerberusorChronos, there is a chance you will not get a chance to pick a lot of them. So,go for the typical strong options, like Demeter, Hestia, Poseidon, Aphrodite,or any of the ones with high rarity that you stumble upon.
How To Beat Polyphemus In Hades 2
The best strategy to beat Polyphemus is to attack him after he uses his shockwave attacks.When the cyclops jumps for his shockwave attacks, he doesn’t immediately use other moves, at least in the early phase of the battle. This is your cue to dash and get a few hits in.
Overall, this is a rather slow fight, soit is best if you don’t rush just to get a little extra damage, because if you get hit, you end up losing a lot more than what was worth the risk.
His second and third phases also don’t have many new moves, so the strategy remains the same. This time, you should prioritize eliminating the enemy mobs first before fighting Polyphemus.
If you get Lunar Ray or Wolf Howl as Gift of the Moon, you can pick them up to get some extra damage.
You can use your Omega Casts if you have a good Boon, like Poseidon’s Tidal Ring, Hestia’s Smolder Ring, or Demeter’s Arctic Ring.
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Depending on your weapon, be sure to use Omega strikes or specials. Descura’s Omega Strike deals long-range damage in a straight line. Black Coat’s Omega Special also makes this fight very easy.
Keep up with your attacks without getting greedy to get the damage in, and you should defeat Polyphemus without any problem.
Polyphemus Phase 1
Description
Jump Shockwaves
Polyphemus jumps toward Melinoe. This creates a red-colored shockwave that spreads out around the cyclops.
Dodge inside the shockwave when the ring is just about to hit you.
Charged Kick
Polyphemus kicks at Melinoe if she gets too close. This kick launches a red arc in her direction that deals damage if it hits her.
Dodge or run to either side of the arc to avoid it.
Ground Punch
Polyphemus punches the ground in front of him. This is an AoE attack, and if you are too close to him when he uses it, you will take some damage.
Dodge or run away from Polyphemus when he is about to punch.
Grab Attack
Polyphemus tries to catch Melinoe if she is standing in front of him while attacking. If you don’t dodge in time, you will take a lot of damage.
Dodge when Polyphemus raises his hand before he gets to grab you.
Boulder Throw
Polyphemus stops moving and puts his hand to his ear to hear where you are attacking from. Once you use an attack, he will throw a boulder in that location, which will create several shockwaves that fire off in all directions.
Run away from the location where you attacked Polyphemus. Once you see the shockwave, dodge in and avoid getting hit.
The first phase of the fight is very important as this is the main moveset, and he will be using these moves throughout the fight.
Initially, the cyclops will mostly attack with its jump shockwaves, ground punch, and charged kicks. As the fight progresses, he will occasionally go for the grab and boulder-throw attacks.
Since he moves slowly, it is easy to be tempted to attack more than needed. attempt to get the feel of when and how frequently he uses his attacks to know when you should stick to spamming your attacks and when you should run away.
Once he shields himself, the second phase will start.
Polyphemus Phase 2
Summoning Enemies from the City of Ephyra
Polyphemus summons enemies like Shamblers and Lubbers to help him during the fight. Shamblers are zombie-like former citizens of Ephyra, and Lubbers are the monsters that throw explosive barrels at you.
Eliminate the mobs before resuming the fight with Polyphemus.
Walking Shockwaves
Polyphemus creates a shockwave each time he steps on the ground. These waves expand further from the back of his foot.
It is best if you use long-range attacks or clear any summoned mobs while he uses this attack and resume fighting once it is over.
From the second phase, the fight gets more annoying. Polyphemus has 2 new moves, and neither of them is something that will insta-kill you, but rather make the fight more tedious.
To deal with summons, you can ignore the Shamblers, but leaving Lubbers with their barrels of explosion is not a good idea. Since you are already dealing with a lot of shockwave attacks from Polyphemus, the last thing you want is to dash to an area covered in fire.
As for the walking shockwaves, this move can be easily dealt with if you run in front of Polyphemus. But unless you have access to good ranged attacks, you will not be dealing much damage and will have to wait for this attack to get over.
Chip Polyphemus’s health away when you get a chance or while he uses his attacks from the first phase. When he shields himself again, this will start the third and final phase of the fight.
Polyphemus Phase 3
Charged Stomp
Polyphemus stomps on the ground and creates multiple waves of shockwaves that expand while moving forward.
Dodge toward the shockwaves when it is about to hit you.
The third phase isn’t really much of a phase, and rather, he gets one new attack. Since the shockwaves from the charged stomp come in waves, it may feel a bit trickier to deal with the first few times, compared to his regular shockwaves. Since you simply have to dodge, you should be able to avoid being hit by it after facing this move a few times.
The only other noticeable change in the fight is that Polyphemus gets slightly more aggressive. Look out for when he uses his jump shockwaves and spam your attacks, and the fight should be over soon.
Polyphemus Rewards
For defeating Polyphemus, you get the following reward:
Since you can get this reagent quite early in the game, it has multiple uses. You can farm it by defeating Polyphemus repeatedly.
You can use Wool to upgrade the Aspect of Pan for the Sister Blades. It uses 2x Wool and 2x Shaderot. It can also be used to upgrade the Arcana Card: The Fates.
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