The Immortal Throne - Act 4 Story Quest
The Immortal Throne is the final quest in Act 4 of Titan Quest: Immortal Throne and it starts by speaking with Persephone in Hades Palace. As with almost all previous story quests, you will begin this one immediately after you complete the previous one, The Battle for Elysium.
For this quest you will need to venture through Hades Palace and defeat the lord of the underworld himself. Along the way there are two very important Side Quests for you to do that you do not want to miss. Hades Generals is the only quest in the entire game that gives you a permanent flat % damage boost which makes it one of the most important Side Quests to do in the game.
Side Quests In Area:
The Shards of Erebus (Argolis)
Hades' Generals (Argolis) (+5% Total Damage)
Hades' Treasury (Lower City of Lost Souls)
Aside from the The Shards of Erebus and Hades Generals you'll also find the final piece of the Hades' Treasury quest in this dungeon as well. You can skip Hades' Treasury if you want but definitely do not skip the other two quests, they both give rewards that you will definitely want if you plan to keep playing the game after you beat it.
While adventuring through this palace you'll also come across an enemy by the name of Warden of Souls; he will drop the Key of the Warden of Souls. This key has no practical use, it's not used in any side quest or the main quest. All it does is allows you to open up the many prison cells throughout the Prison of Souls area in Hades Palace. Depending on what version of the game you're playing there may be an Achievement for opening up all of the prisons and freeing the ghosts inside.
Hades is the final boss of Hades Palace (duh) and can be quite challenging depending on your build and gear. For the most part, almost all of the damage that Hades deals is Vitality damage with a small portion of Physical. This is why Vitality Resistance is not only recommended, it's required for this boss fight.
Out of all the attacks Hades uses the only one that you need to memorize and to always avoid is Shadow Star. The rest of Hades attacks, assuming you have 80% Vitality Resistance, will deal moderate to heavy damage to you but can be survived if you're hit. Shadow Star is different and will one shot you if you take the full brunt of the attack.
Note: On Normal Difficulty Hades has a 10% chance to drop The Overlord item which is used in opening the gate that leads to the Secret Passage. If you'd like to learn more about this item and how it is used check out my How to Access the Secret Passage Guide.
Below is a list of all the abilities you should expect to see from Hades and a little bit of information about each one.
(Phase 1 and 3) Shadow Star: This is Hades most deadly ability and it comes with a very distinct animation. Hades will slowly lift his right hand and he will lob a red ball at you. When this ball makes contact with the ground it will split into 8 Shadow Bolt projectiles, all of which can damage your character. If this attack hits you then you will take full damage from ALL of the projectiles - which will one shot you. During Phase 3 this ability will change slightly and the Shadow Stars will fly in random directions instead of their original predictable trajectory.
(Phase 1 and 2) Sickle Sweep: Hades melee attack, he'll do a sweep with his Sickle that deals Physical and Vitality damage to anyone hit by it.
(All Phases) Shadow Bolt: Looks similar to Shadow Star but it flies through the air much faster and is smaller. There is also a different cast animation for this ability. Learn the difference between this ability and Shadow Star if you wish to survive.
(Phase 2) Shadow Balls: I'm bouncing off the walls again Woah-oh. Hades tosses a few Shadow Balls that bounce around the room erratically. Hard to avoid so Vitality Resistance helps to eat the damage.
(Phase 2) Death Vortex: Another one of Hades very deadly abilities. He will summon a vortex on the ground that resembles a small whirlpool and it will follow you around very slowly for 12 seconds. The vortex itself deals Vitality and Physical damage and a lot of it at that.
(Phase 3) Expanding Ring: A circle of Spirits will expand from Hades position; anyone hit by it will take Vitality and Physical damage.
(Phase 3) Uber Shadow Bolt: Like the Shadow Bolt ability from previous phases just much more powerful. It will deals "Reduction to Enemy's Health" damage as well as high Vitality damage.
If you have the Titan Quest: Ragnarok expansion pack then after you defeat Hades Persephone will appear and open up a Portal that takes you to the City of Corinth, the first town of Act 5. After going through the Portal you'll automatically accept the first Story Quest of Act 5, Troubles Of A New Age and the first Side Quest of Act 5, Festivities.