The mod turns the final boss, Hades himself, into a mirror image of the player character, whom I call Dark Zagreus. Inspired by similar concepts in other games, like Dark Link from the Zelda series. In each encounter, Dark Zagreus equips the same weapon as the player's previous successful run. What sets this mod apart is that Dark Zagreus takes inspiration from the player's last successful run, decisions and performances, and dynamically adapts to your playstyle.



Requirements

Mod Importer
ModUtil
Max Save With No Run History (Optional, but highly recommended)
StyxScribe (Optinal, unless you would like to export/load record and don't want to use x86 version.)

Installation

Step 1 - Install Mod Importer
Download Mod Importer. Follow the tutorial to install mod importer. We will use this to import mods. Installing it is easy, drag the extracted file modimporter.exe to `{$YourHadesRootFolder}\Content\`. Next, create a Mods folder inside the Content folder. The Mods folder will be the place for the mods you want to import.

Where is the root folder for Hades?
The location varies depending on which platform you are using.
- Steam: Library > Right-click on Hades > Manage > Browse local files > Content
- Epic Games: C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Hades\Content
- Microsoft Store: `<location you chose when installing via the Store>`\Hades\Content\Content

Step 2 - Import ModUtil
Dark Zagreus uses some functions from ModUtil, so installing ModUtil is required. Download ModUtil and place it in the Mods folder.

Step 3 - Import Dark Zagreus
To install the mod, download it and place it in the Mods folder of Hades, which has shown in the previous steps, the folder is located at ${YourHadesRootFolder}\Content\Mods. Next, run the mod importer. Once the importer has finished, you're ready to go.

Step 4 - Import a clean 100% save file (Optional, but highly recommended)
The mod will save some data into your save file. Since it replaces the final boss, you might miss some story elements if you haven't finished the game yet. For the best experience, it is highly recommended to use a save file from a completed game. You can duplicate your save file as a backup. Alternatively, you can add a 100% save file to your game. For this, I suggest using Max Save With No Run History by ellomenop from the speedrun community.

How to import/backup a save file
The save file is located at C:\Users\${YourUserName}\Documents\Saved Games\Hades. The files are named according to the pattern ProfileX.sav, where X is the number of the save slot. To back up a save file, simply copy the file to another location or rename it. To import a save file, rename the file to ProfileX.sav, with X being the number of the save slot you want to use, from 1 - 4. For example, 2nd slot will be Profile2.sav.

Step 5 - Start Hades
In the House of Hades, if you open Codex Menu by pressing C or other corresponding button and see a section titled Dark Zagreus. That means the mod has been successfully installed.

Feature
After installing the mod, you can start a run. At the end of the run, you will see Dark Zagreus standing opposite you, ready to fight. The first attempt of fighting Dark Zagreus will be a default challenge, where he will wield the Stygian Blade and show scripted behavior. Every time you defeat him, he will adapt his weapon and playstyle to your own.

• Note that only successful runs will be considered. If you die during a run, he will not adapt to that run.
• A brief moment of loading might appear when you enter the final boss room, which should not take longer than a few seconds.
  

Unsupported Weapons
Due to the above limitation, the following weapons are currently not supported

• Aspect of Hera (Bow3) - uses Cast to enhance damage
• Aspect of Zeus (Shield3) - Dark Zagreus can't capture frequency
• Aspect of Beowulf (Shield4) - uses Cast to enpower rush
  

Also, avoid using Cast build since Dark Zagreus don't know how to use it.

Commands
This mod also offers debug features. To see the available commands, press C (or the corresponding button for your platform) to open the Codex in the game.
There are a list of commands. To execute them, select a command and press Enter (or X on XBox Controller or the corresponding confirm button).

If you are participating the study(see Asking For Help For My Research above), please do not use these commands except ExportRecordToFile during the study period.



Here are some description about the commands:

Force next room boss room 
This function skips directly to the final boss level, which is useful if you have a successful previous run and want to quickly test fighting Dark Zagreus. It changes your next room to the boss room.

Clear record
This function clears the previous run data, resetting Dark Zagreus to its default state, which is driven by random probabilities. In most scenarios, you won't need to use this function. I use it when my previous data is corrupted, but that shouldn't happen now because I've implemented data version handling. Old version data will be automatically cleared.

Commands x86(32-bit) version only

How to start the x86 version?
When you start the game, there should be several options to choose. x86 is the last option. 



If you don't see it. You can also find it by right click the game on Steam -> Properties -> General -> Launch Options.



Export record to file
This function saves your previous run record to file, it is useful when you want to share your record data with someone. The save file will be located at ${YourHadesRootFolder}\x86\DZRecords, the file name will be the time you save the file as `${time}.log`. The format of time is `YY:MM:DD:HH:MM:SS`.

Load record from file
This function loads record from file, it is useful when you want to load other's record data. It is only avilable in the House of Hades. The file should be placed as ${YourHadesRootFolder}\x86\DZRecords\DZRecord.log. Inside the game, execute `LoadRecordFromFile` command to load file. Dark Zagreus in your next encounter will be driven by this record.

With these features, you can also share your record to other players to update their Dark Zagreus.

Commands StyxScribe only

Load record from file StyxScribe
Same as `Load record from file` but works with StyxScribe, which means that this feature works on any platform as long as StyxScribe is working.



Trobule Shoorting

The mod is not applied. Hades is still the same.
Make sure you run the `modimporter.exe`

When I open the game, a screen shows up saying that save files can't be loaded
Make sure ModUtil and DarkZagreus are imported.

If you have more questions, feel free to contact me.
If you observe any bugs, please write them down in BUGS tab of this mod page.

Email: [email protected]

You can also find me in the SGG modding community discord server. Just tag @huiun.





Limitation

Cast, call, and summon are not supported
Dark Zagreus won't use cast, call, and summon. They are complex systems in Hades, requiring considerable time to implement. Cast might be supported in the future as it is somewhat easier to implement. This also leads to a problem that upgraded weapon powers related to Cast are all missing right now.

Boons and Daedalus Hammer
Dark Zagreus won't have boons and hammer upgrades. These are driven by the trait system in the game code. The challenge in implementing these for non-player characters is that many mechanics are specifically designed for player use. The functions these upgrades introduce are tailored for manipulating the player character, requiring replication and reimplementation of all traits and their functions for Dark Zagreus. This is a substantial amount of work and may be supported in future versions. Other mod developers are welcome to build upon this mod and extend its capabilities.

Frequency
Dark Zagreus can not capture the frequency of the player using the weapon. Take Aspect of Zeus for example, while players often throw and leave the shield away to damage enemies, Dark Zagreus will aggressively throw and return the shield. It is because he only knows players often use special weapons but doesn't know how long they use them again.

Bow Charge VFX
It seems like the bow charge VFX is handled internally, I couldn't make it work. Still looking for a way to fix it.

Known issues

• Bow charge VFX not working. It is handled internally, I couldn't make it work. Still looking for a way to fix it.
• Chaos shield is not handled correctly
• Export record for StyxScribe is not working, temporarily removed
• The shield weapon AI using Aspect of Zeus has awuful behavior, because it doesn't know how long the shield gone. It might aggressively throw and return the shield if the player threw the shield a lot
  

Roadmap

• Cast support
• Hammers support
• Boons support
• Further Improve Dark Zagreus's brain :)
• Call
• More story and dialogues
  

I will try to keep updating my progress on my twitter

Special Thanks

• Thanks to the moding community of Hades for providing thorough tutorials. I also appreciate everyone on the Discord server for answering my questions and providing useful information.
• The command features is inspired by CodexMenu mod by LRevolution.