As he traverses his father's realm and fights his way to the surface time and again, Zagreus, protagonist of Hades, can eventually unlock hidden aspects of his various Infernal Arms. The first of these is Varatha's Aspect of Guan Yu. Belonging to an ancient Chinese god-emperor, this Aspect replaces two of Varatha's main attacks. The spin attack becomes a whirling bladed projectile, and the Special becomes a non-retrievable firework. In exchange for this power, this Aspect cuts Zagreus' total Life.
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Considering its different moveset and reduced health, fighting through Hades with this weapon aspect requires a bit of clever strategizing. Below, players can find tips and tricks on which keepsakes, Olympian Boons, and Daedalus Hammer upgrades will allow them to make the most of Guan Yu.
Best Keepsake
By far the greatest drawback of the Aspect of Guan Yu is the decrease to Zagreus' health. Thus, the best keepsake to take along is the one that increases max life: the Old Spiked Collar, obtained by giving nectar to Cerberus.
If the player builds up enough extra health, switching to the Evergreen Acorn partway through their run can also be beneficial. This keepsake from Eurydice will completely shield Zagreus from the first 3-5 hits from each boss he faces while holding it. It's incredibly useful to have, given the fragility that Varatha imposes on the player.
Best Boons
There's hardly a bad boon that Zagreus can pick up, but those below work particularly well when it comes to this aspect of Varatha.
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Life Affirmation (Aphrodite): As with the Old Spiked Collar, this boon is essential to help Zagreus increase his Life total and prevent an early return to the House of Hades. It increases the amount by which certain items increase Zag's Life total.
- Premium Vintage (Dionysus), Strong Drink (Dionysus), and Nourished Soul (Demeter) are useful with Guan Yu for similar reasons.
- Bronze Skin (Athena): Athena's boons are fantastic for increasing defense. This one reduces damage taken — simple, but essential considering the reduced health.
- Boons that affect Zag's Special are useful here, since Guan Yu's special can fire off repeatedly in quick succession. Ares' Curse of Pain is great for boosting damage. If players can snag his Dire Misfortune boon as well, they can stack Doom damage, which is fantastic for bosses and mini-bosses.
Best Daedalus Hammer Upgrades
Each Hidden Aspect has an exclusive upgrade, designed to make that aspect's unique moveset even more powerful. For Varatha, this upgrade is the Winged Serpent, which allows the Spin Attack to travel for 80% longer. Like most aspect-exclusive upgrades, the Winged Serpent adds a lot of utility to the Aspect of Guan Yu. The whirling Frost Fair Blade slices enemies, while Zagreus can use his Attack and Special to damage enemies elsewhere.
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As for other options, many of Varatha's useful upgrades aren't compatible with the Aspect of Guan Yu. Thus, other good Daedalus Hammer upgrades for this aspect tend to be simple ones that increase damage:
- Breaching Skewer allows Varatha's Special to deal +400% damage to Armor.
- Massive Spin increases both damage and area of the Spin Attack.
- Extending Jab increases the Attack's range, and allows it to deal more damage to enemies farther away.