River Hags for a Harcore game

Game Mode: HC SSF
Hours on Record: 483
Character: 72 Chronomancer (dead, River Hag), 55 Chronomancer (dead, River Hag)

This topic has likely been raised before, but the near-instant drown mechanic has made me hesitant to continue playing, as I exclusively play HC SSF.

First Death: At level 55, I died to a River Hag. I had no idea what the water globe mechanic did, even though I was 20 levels over-leveled (returning to kill the Lava Boss). The encounter came as a nasty surprise.

Second Death: At level 72, while mapping T4, I was killed by what I assume was an offscreen Hag near water at the edge of the map. I couldn’t see anything, just noticed my screen flash. I instantly used Roll and Time Freeze, but it made no difference—I was dead in an isntant.

I understand that avoiding the Hag’s mechanic is relatively straightforward under normal circumstances, but eventually, situations arise—like offscreen Hags or odd map layouts—that feel fundamentally unfair.

As a hardcore player, I heavily invest in defenses. A mechanic that bypasses all defenses and kills almost instantly feels counter to the spirit of hardcore mode.

Despite being hyper-vigilant after my first death to a Hag, dying again in such a way drained my enthusiasm to continue. I strongly urge you to consider changing this mechanic. Avoiding entire areas of the game because of one mechanic isn’t enjoyable. I wouldn’t mind if it dealt significant damage, but an instant drown mechanic is incredibly frustrating.

For now, I’ll be stepping away from the game until this is addressed.

I’ve always appreciated how GGG understands what hardcore, SSF, and Ruthless modes are all about—the gritty struggle where difficulty feels steep, but always fair. This mechanic, however, seems to deviate from that philosophy and feels cheap.

Legit problem.


If there was a charm of 'holding breath' to counter it I would never unequip it.