Hades player pulls off ‘impossible’ run with just 0.41% chance of success

A speedrunner pulled off an incredible feat that defies all odds. Hades. The run — which was a 64 Heat run on an unmodded and unseeded version of the game — was previously declared by some in the community to be “impossible,” because the odds of rolling the correct combination of powers are so low and the technical ability required is so high. At least it appeared so.

The following are some of the ways to get in touch with us HadesYou play the role of Zagreus the son of the God of Underworld. Zagreus is a hacker and slasher who must escape his father, hell, and the dungeons. Players can adjust the level of difficulty in the game by selecting different combat modifiers. This allows someone with less experience with action-combat games to have a more challenging time. Hades In a wide range of options, players can customize the game to suit their needs and tastes. The developers have also given the option to players to increase the level of difficulty to near impossible levels.

The Heat level can be used to increase Zagreus’ difficulty by imposing Pacts of Punishment. Zagreus’ maximum Heat is 64. By increasing the level, you can add a ton of challenges to Zagreus. Examples of the added challenges are no healing, enemies attacking 100% harder and enemies moving 40% faster. Additionally, Zagreus doesn’t get any revives, so any damage you take is essentially permanent.

Hades is a rogue-like game, so each time Zagreus dies, he has to restart his escape back at the beginning — meaning that players will repeat the same series of dungeons over and over, collecting power-ups and learning more each time. The fact that every run-through has different builds and modifiers keeps gameplay interesting. Zagreus is given different Boons by gods who sympathize with his escape attempt. This variation is what makes replaying the same dungeons so enjoyable time after time, but it’s also what makes the Heat 64 run so difficult.

Haelian, a YouTuber who has authored a video essay on the subject, explained that certain pacts place limitations and require Zagreus receive specific Boons for him to succeed. You need to use specific power-ups in order to finish each challenge within the time frame.

With a condition called Approval Process turned on, you don’t get to choose which power-up Zagreus gets from a short list. To complete the challenge, you’ll have to roll lucky and get the power-ups that are needed. By Haelian’s estimates, a player has a roughly 0.41% chance of receiving the first two basic powers needed to complete the run. If we factor in the odds of also receiving another damage source that’s really helpful but perhaps not necessary, the odds are 1 in 1,700.

Supergiant Game via Polygon

Next, Wednesday is the day. HadesA speedrunner by the name of Jade posted a video completing the entire run. She not only rolled the perfect attacks to finish the run but was also gifted with an enjoyable fight against the final boss Hades. She completed the run on her first attempt, just a few short hours after starting.

“I didn’t really believe it as it was happening,” Jade told Polygon via Discord. She’s been doing high-difficulty runs of Hades for two-and-a-half years, and has roughly 3,000 hours in the game in total. Still, she didn’t even expect to complete this challenge. She completed a run with the correct boons, and then tried the run in order to feel the challenge.

“Even right at the end, Hades can spawn several mini bosses, essentially as additional enemies to help him in the first phase. You still lose if you ignore every RNG except for that. Just at the end. That can be heartbreaking, which didn’t happen to me. I got essentially a middle outcome, which was good enough.”

This feat is truly impressive. The build is a combination of luck, determination and technical skill. In my years of covering games, I’ve talked to dedicated players who grind games for years in the hopes of finding a super-rare Pokémon or people who scour games for the right bugs, but pulling this off is like a mix of all kinds of luck and skill.

Jade stressed that although the feat represents an enormous accomplishment by a single individual, the bigger picture is still important. HadesShe is a speedrunner and she knows what the community of the speedrunners means.

“I would also really like to thank the HadesSpeedrun Community, thank you for all your support and love over the last 2 1/2 years. They are the ones who have provided you with all of your knowledge and motivation. […] There’s no emotions left to describe what I’m feeling. I’m just be so happy to have had the honor of participating both in this community and in this game’s history.”