Thought admittedly Aegis, or more commonly known as the Shield of Chaos, is one of my least favourite Weapons in the game, it’s apparent that it’s play style can be extremely useful for players who are good at rotating their damage out with Defense when they need.
The Shield of Chaos, deals the least damage out of all Weapons, however, due to the fact that players can defend with it, they will find themselves surviving longer than with most other Weapons, especially if players rely on dodging usually instead of bursting down enemies.
The Shield of Chaos has three attacks at it’s base, being a Bash, Bull Rush and Throw which are outlined on my Infernal Weapon’s Guide, though in this post I’m going to be focusing on more of the technical Aspects of the Shield of Chaos, so players are aware of the hidden Aspects for each other the upgrades in order to make a good decision of which ones they upgrade and which one they will want to use or avoid depending on how much Titan’s Blood they have.
Due to the functionality of the Shield of Chaos, players will have higher damage towards close ranged mobs though will want to use their Throw to apply Status Effects mostly, due to its lower damage.
Players will also want to get used to using a Bull Rush to push mobs into walls to deal some extra damage, also using the Bull Rush to defend themselves from incoming damage.
As is with most things in Hades, such as the Mirror of Night, it’s going to be a good idea to upgrade all of your Aspects so you can freely rotate between them all, however, this isn’t always a possibility, especially for players who are struggling to collect enough resources.
As for the upgrades provided by the Daedalus Hammer, you can read more here.
The following guide will take you through everything you need to know in particular to the Aspects of the Shield of Chaos so you can make an educated decision of whether to upgrade certain Aspects or avoid them completely.
A BIT ABOUT ASPECTS
There are a total of 4 Aspects for the Shield of Chaos being Zagreus, Chaos, Zeus, and Beowulf.
Each Aspect requires players to spend Titan Blood to power them up, however, players will not need to upgrade them all in order to move on to the next.
Essentially, players can be picky right from the get go and choose which Aspect they prefer and level that one up as if players want to unlock and upgrade all the Aspects of the Shield of Chaos they will need to fork over 51 Titan Blood.
Each Aspect of the Shield of Chaos will change the look of it and will add to the functionality of the Weapon. It should be noted that all the Aspects simply add to the base of the Shield of Chaos, other than the Aspect of Beowulf which will completely change the way that the Shield of Chaos functions.
ASPECT OF ZAGREUS
The Aspect of Zagreus when it comes to the Shield of Chaos isn’t the best upgrade, though it can be useful to unlock when players don’t have much Titan’s Blood.
With the Aspect of Zagreus players will gain Attack & Dash Strike damage, making it quite a bit more powerful than it’s base form.
Admittedly, the Aspect of Zagreus can be used effectively be used throughout the mid-game, though it falls off by the end game, meaning that a player will want to either switch to another one of the Aspects or will simply want to rush the best Aspect, Beowulf.
The nice thing about the Aspect of Zagreus for the Shield of Chaos is that it provides players with base damage instead of percentage damage, meaning that players will see a very significant increase in damage when they have percentage Boons to amplify their Attack.
I would strongly recommend focusing on Boons that provide you with extra attack damage on your main attack versus Special when running the Aspect of Zagreus because it’s going to be the best way to burst down enemies using this Aspect in comparison to all other damage.
The following is all the information you need to know about the upgrades for the Aspect of Zagreus:
TIER 1 ASPECT OF ZAGREUS
Titan Blood Cost: 1 Titan Blood
Attack & Dash Strike Base Damage: +3
TIER 2 ASPECT OF ZAGREUS
Titan Blood Cost: 1 Titan Blood
Attack & Dash Strike Base Damage: +6
TIER 3 ASPECT OF ZAGREUS
Titan Blood Cost: 1 Titan Blood
Attack & Dash Strike Base Damage: +9
TIER 4 ASPECT OF ZAGREUS
Titan Blood Cost: 1 Titan Blood
Attack & Dash Strike Base Damage: +12
TIER 5 ASPECT OF ZAGREUS
Titan Blood Cost: 1 Titan Blood
Attack & Dash Strike Base Damage: +15
ASPECT OF CHAOS
I find the Aspect of Chaos is extremely powerful when players are dealing with multiple enemies and are running Boons that provide them with Status Curses on their Special.
Essentially, players will have the opportunity to send out more of their shields after every Bull Rush.
Players won’t want to focus all of their damage on their Special, however, this will greatly impact the amount of damage they can deal using their Special, especially if they have ways of making their Shields bounce across multiple enemies.
I find the Aspect of Chaos works the best in the second last stage of a Hades escape when they are being overwhelmed with rats in small places.
Again, the main usefulness for the Aspect of Chaos, in my opinion, is to apply Status Curses, so if you’re not running any Boons with Status Curses on your Special, might as well ignore this Aspect in your run.
The following is all the information you need to know about the upgrades for the Aspect of Chaos:
TIER 1 ASPECT OF CHAOS
Titan Blood Cost: 1 Titan Blood
Bonus Shields Thrown after Bull Rush: 1
TIER 2 ASPECT OF CHAOS
Titan Blood Cost: 2 Titan Blood
Bonus Shields Thrown after Bull Rush: 2
TIER 3 ASPECT OF CHAOS
Titan Blood Cost: 3 Titan Blood
Bonus Shields Thrown after Bull Rush: 3
TIER 4 ASPECT OF CHAOS
Titan Blood Cost: 4 Titan Blood
Bonus Shields Thrown after Bull Rush: 4
TIER 5 ASPECT OF CHAOS
Titan Blood Cost: 5 Titan Blood
Bonus Shields Thrown after Bull Rush: 5
ASPECT OF ZEUS
The Aspect of Zeus somewhat changes the mechanic of the Shield of Chaos only impacting a change in the way the Special works.
Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of the change simply because I’m not a huge fan of how it works and find it makes it quite a bit more difficult to use a player’s Special.
Essentially with Aspect of Zeus players will be able to throw out their Shield of Chaos and it will slowly travel across the map dealing damage until the player recalls it.
The Aspect of Zeus is actually very powerful and is many player’s main Aspect, I just wish I vibed with it more. I find it slow and tricky to use, though if players have good Status Curses on their Special, they can easily apply this damage and in many cases if there is a threshold players must hit before it bursts dealing more damage, this makes it very easy to hit.
Players who are skilled will want to find ways of leading their Blitz Disc into enemies while still dealing damage to enemies using their regular attacks.
The Blitz Disc will remain active in place for 10 seconds or until the Special is pressed again dealing damage every 0.3 seconds, even while in motion.
Unlike all other Shield of Chaos Specials, players will still be able to deal damage while the Blitz Disc is active.
Due to the way that the Blitz Disc works, players would actually benefit from raising the damage of their Special, especially if they have upgraded their Shield of Chaos fully.
The following is all the information you need to know about the upgrades for the Aspect of Zeus:
TIER 1 ASPECT OF ZEUS
Titan Blood Cost: 2 Titan Blood
Blitz Disc Base Damage: 8
TIER 2 ASPECT OF ZEUS
Titan Blood Cost: 2 Titan Blood
Blitz Disc Base Damage: 13
TIER 3 ASPECT OF ZEUS
Titan Blood Cost: 3 Titan Blood
Blitz Disc Base Damage: 19
TIER 4 ASPECT OF ZEUS
Titan Blood Cost: 4 Titan Blood
Blitz Disc Base Damage: 24
TIER 5 ASPECT OF ZEUS
Titan Blood Cost: 5 Titan Blood
Blitz Disc Base Damage: 30
ASPECT OF BEOWULF
The Aspect of Beowulf is pretty tricky to explain for me as it pretty much changes everything about the way the Shield of Chaos functions.
While stat wise the Aspect of Beowulf tends to be the best choice, many players actually prefer using the Aspect of Chaos, as you can deal a great deal of damage. So if you’re someone who isn’t a fan of using your Rush to deal damage, this may be the option for you as it’s going to heavily depend on what Aspect you actually deal damage with more due to your play style over which one has better stats.
Due to the changes I’m going to skip my explanation here that I usually do and cover more details when I cover each move.
HOW TO UNLOCK THE ASPECT OF BEOWULF
Players will not be able to use the Aspect of Beowulf at first and must follow these steps to do so:
First, reveal the Aspect of Guan Yu, though will not need to unlock it using Titan Blood.
Players must then invest 5 Titan’s Blood in their Shield aspects, meaning that players may want to rush this with the Zagreus upgrade or a mixture of others.
Players must either receive the following message(s) from Chaos or must talk to them when they have the Shield of Chaos equipped until they do:
You come to my domain bearing an all-seeing artifact that sprang from me after the dawn of time. It is considered a defensive instrument, I do believe. Though, I suspect you have discovered, or soon shall discover, it is nothing of the sort.
I see you stand your ground against the serpent’s flame
I bear a message for you, Son of Hades. One recorded in an age when certain concepts it describes did not yet all exists. Remember this: I see you stand your ground against the serpent’s flame. A waking-phrase, to which you and the all-seeing artifact of my creation may respond.
WHAT IS THE APECT OF BEOWULF’S MOVESET?
As mentioned, players running with Beowulf Aspect will have a different set of skills and damage than all other Aspects. The following are the changes:
HEAVY BASH
Heavy Bash is going to be the most useful attack for players who are trying to avoid taking a whole lot of damage from enemies as whenever a player strikes an enemy with Heavy Bash they will Knockback that enemy.
Unlike most other Weapons, the Shield of Chaos does not have a Combo, due to this players will also not need to rely on their main attack for the majority of their damage and instead will have to focus on slower dealt damage to deal the most.
If players are planning on dealing the most damage through their basic attacks, then using the Aspect of Beowulf will not feel worth it and I would recommend choosing a different Aspect.
BULL RUSH
Bull Rush is going to be your primary defense when players are using the the Shield of Chaos as players will be able to hold down their Attack to Defend.
While holding down their Attack button they will also begin charging their Bull Rush.
Players will only be charging the distance which their Bull Rush travels as all charges will deal 50 damage and will push enemies into walls.
Although 50 damage doesn’t seem like very high damage, if players are able to successfully shove enemies into walls, essentially being able to deal more damage to enemies and debilitate them.
The Bull Rush is still not going to be the attack that players focus on using the majority of the time as players will now have access to Dragon Rush.
DRAGON RUSH
Dragon Rush is very similar to Bull Rush and is triggered in almost the same way, however, players must begin by using their Cast to load, then hold down their Attack to Defend and charge and once charged to the distance they want to travel can let go to begin their Dragon Rush.
For every Cast that players use to activate their Dragon Rush they will deal 50 Damage per Bloodstone and then will be able to deal 50 damage +20% for every Aspect Level once they attack with the Dragon Rush itself.
I would strongly recommend on waiting for a higher tier of the Aspect of Beowulf before using it simply because it’s really the mid-to-high tiers that are the most effective for players.
Dragon Rush in general is going to be your best rotation with the Aspect of Beowulf, even though it technically takes longer than most rotations.
HEAVY THROW
The Heavy Throw makes the utility of the Special less useful as similar to other versions of the Shield of Chaos players will no longer be able to attack once their Shield is thrown.
Players will have to wait until the shield has been returned to them to use their Rushes or basic attacks.
Similar to many other forms of the Shield of Chaos, the Heavy Throw is useful for applying Status Curses, however is not going to be useful for dealing the most damage unless the player is simply bouncing around to deal damage.
The Heavy Throw will deal 45 damage for each enemy hit.
The following is all the information you need to know about the upgrades for the Aspect of Beowulf:
TIER 1 ASPECT OF BEOWULF
Titan Blood Cost: 3 Titan Blood
Dragon Rush Bonus Damage & Area: +20%
TIER 2 ASPECT OF BEOWULF
Titan Blood Cost: 3 Titan Blood
Dragon Rush Bonus Damage & Area: +40%
TIER 3 ASPECT OF BEOWULF
Titan Blood Cost: 3 Titan Blood
Dragon Rush Bonus Damage & Area: +60%
TIER 4 ASPECT OF BEOWULF
Titan Blood Cost: 3 Titan Blood
Dragon Rush Bonus Damage & Area: +80%
TIER 5 ASPECT OF BEOWULF
Titan Blood Cost: 3 Titan Blood
Dragon Rush Bonus Damage & Area: +100%
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