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The sixth and final weapon ofHades 2, Black Coat Xinth, is a beautiful combination of the knuckles and gun weapons from the original game. Beautifully blending strength and agility, the Black Coat is a welcome alternative for fans of the Sister Blades who want something a little sturdier.
But mastering this weapon will require study of its aspects, its tricky benefits asking a player to pay attention to the fine text. Without understanding the mechanics of this surprisingly complex mech-suit of a weapon, you might just end up making decisions you’ll want to rewind time to undo.
Hades 2 is currently in Early Access, meaning that the details below may change over the course of development.
Description
Attack
Melinoeunleashes a flurry of punchesthat ends in a large, horizontal sweep.
Omega Attack
A blocking attack in much the same fashion as the shield from Hades or the pre-patch Moonstone Axe special, Melinoeholds her blockand unleashes it witha powerful but short forward blow.Damage dealt is scaled to a growing Magicka consumption.
Special
Melinoe unleashestwo, untrained projectilesin a short burst in front of her.
Omega Special
Within a cone on the ground, Melinoelocks onto any targetswithin range with six nodes. She releasesan equal amount of missilesto nodesthat track the target, even if they move out of the initial range.
There aretwo important takeawaysfrom the Black Coat moveset:
This means thatthe Black Coat has theflexibilityto serve playerswell in close-quartersas well as at medium distance.Aggressive playstyles and hit-and-run playstyles can both work very well with this weapon.
Blocking is also a great assetfor this weapon and makes it stand out in the crowd of weapons as one of the few weapons with defensive options (especially after the Moonstone Axe lost its shield in early patches). The block servesboth a means for protecting against projectileswhile alsocharging up a powerful attacking strikethat can deal significant damage.
Xinth’s block is diamond shaped, and because of its narrow nature, it can sometimes be difficult to consistently block projectiles that have a curve. Misaligning a block even slightly can be punishing. Therefore, it is recommended to use this blocking feature sparingly until one gets accustomed to its odd shape.
Aspect of Melinoe
This is thedefault incarnation. It has no special effects to begin with, but upgrading it willincrease your sprinting speed, attack speed,andattack power.
Aspect of Selene
This incarnation will grant you the special Hex,Sky Fall.Having this aspect willprevent you from having any other boon of Selene, but you’ll be able to upgrade it via a special path on the Moon of Stars.
Aspect of Nyx
This aspect will include aspecial new attack by Dashing.Holding Dash, you cancharge your sprintandthen ram into an enemytounleash a shockwave.Afterward, you’ll gain a special effect that results in your attack (special or normal) becoming split into two damage instances at slightly reduced damage individually. This effectlasts five seconds.
All of these incarnations will be available to you with the Coat of Night, butthey’ll require extra-rare resourcesto properly unlock. Likewise,upgrading both the Aspect of SeleneandNyxwill requirea large amount of Nightmares.Melinoe’s is much easier to upgrade, allowing you to play with the Black Coat in the long interim to get used to the coat’s playstyle.
The Aspect of Nyx is incrediblydifficult to obtain due to the necessity of Plasma.You willneed four pieces of Plasma and one Darknessto unlock this aspect. Unfortunately,Plasma is extremely rare.In our experience, it took 56 runs to acquire two Plasma without intentional farming.
To get this aspect, you will have to intentionally look for Plasma.To increase your chancesto the maximum,we recommend the following strategy:
Each aspect has its pros and cons. None of them have a claim to being the best, butone might be a better fit for your playstyle than another:
Scorn
Rare
Each time the hex hits the same foe, itdeals an additional +50 percent damage(stacking).
Prism
Epic
Rather than targeting one nearby foe each strike, yourhex targets three nearby foesfor each strike.
This special boon from Selene, inherent to the Aspect of Selene, has its own Path of Stars tree.You will not be able to change the type of hex Selene grants youwhile donning this aspect, nor does it appear to give any post-hex status bonuses like other hexes.
As such,it is recommended to liberally use your Magicka and your hexto get the maximum benefit from this aspect.
What Are The Best Boons and Upgrades For The Black Coat?
There arethree general rules of thumb to followwhen making any build for the Black Coat:
Your specialsbounce twice more between foes.
Launcher Frame
Whenever you strike a foe with a normal attack, youhave a 25 percent chance to fire your special.
Your Omega Speciallocks on fasterandcosts 20 percent less Magicka.
Ripper Rockets
Your Specialdeals +5 Powerfor each hit against the same foe, stacking up to five times.
Exhaust Riser
Your Dash Strikehits three timeswith one attack.
While the Black Coat has several great aspects, thesix above shine the mostfor theirability to synergizewith the most amount of boons for the least amount of effort. Likewise, there are certain boonsthat can sabotage builds, such as theSiege Frame, which could potentiallysabotage Aphrodite’s Flutter Strike.
World Collider (charged Omega Attack deals +100 Power) could be a very fun build, and it’s been tested and proven capable of destroying the entire first and second phase healthpool of the Siren Sisters in a single blow each. However, it comes at the great cost of large damage intake and requires clever boon-hunting to pull-off. It should be considered a high-effort, high-risk, and high-reward ability.
Evaluation
Aphrodite
She is hands-down theabsolute best choice for this weapon.Almost every boon in her repertoire will benefit a Black Coat user. The best boons will be the Flutter Strike (increase Close-Up damage) and the Glamour Gain (inflict Weak on nearby foes and restore Magicka when near them).
Apollo
Apollo canserve two phenomenal purposes:evasion builds and Cast support. With Super Nova,your casts will be largerandhelp stop mobs from swarminguntil you’re ready to face them (which can also stack with your choice of Cast type, such as Demeter’s Freeze Cast or Hestia’s Scorch Cast).
Additionally, hisDaze effects can limit damage intakewhile alsogiving Air InfusionsforAhprodite’s Evasion Infusion Boon: Wispy Wiles.As icing on the cake, the Back Burner boon allows forincreased Backstab damagewhileDazed.
Hera
Hera’s Hitch effects canallow your chaining attackstohit multiple mob enemies- something Black Coat can struggle with. This is especiallybest on the Special Attackwhich is best for setting up damage rather than building up status effects.
Zeus
With so much outgoing damage with this fast and hard weapon,Blitz effects will trigger often.His Sprint can also be a benefit, dealing additional damage when you have to dodge out of an enemy’s range for some reason (though the downside is an even higher Magicka cost).
The best boons you can take from the gods are those that slow your opponents, raise your own speed, and increase your defenses.
When it comes to the remaining gods:
Dionysus would be a great god for the Black Coat with the Hangover Strike, but his help is so short-lived it isn’t fair to place him in the list. Only available for the end of the road as of the Olympic Update, both Dionysus and Athena (with her amazing Deflect ability sorely enjoyed by this weapon) cannot be fairly judged yet.
How To Best Use The Black Coat In Combat
The Black Coat is all about attack, attack, and attack. Weaving in-and-out of the line of fire, the Black Coat’s fast-paced action will require you tostrategically plan your assault to avoid unnecessary damage.
When using this weapon,follow these general tips:
It is very easy to forget your Omega Attack with how long its charging takes and how much damage you can take during that charge. While it is generally poor for mobs, there are certain enemies where it can function very well at certain points.
For Guardians and minibosses, this list includes:
Your high-Magicka cost will be the greatest downfallfor this build, so getting a steady supply of it will be your ticket to success. In fact, it could be more Magicka-costly than even the torches.
Manage your Magicka wisely, picking boons that best fit your strategy to prioritize the amount you have at all times.
As long as you have a solid magic regeneration and a good head for knowing where you should be on the battlefield, the Black Coat’s raw potential will do the rest of the heavy-lifting for you and punch through every barrier between you and success.
