Hades 2 Boons and Gods Guide
Last Updated:October 18, 2024|Changelog
At the beginning of each Hades 2 run, you obtain a Boon, this is one of the 3 Godly systems you interact with each night to further customize your build. Boons from the various Olympian gods, the Hammer of Daedalus which enhances your weapon's innate properties and Selene's Hex which is further bolstered by the Path of Stars. Complete the Insight into Offerings Incantation to see a list of every God's offering in the Book of Shadows.
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Olympian Boons
Within each run, you encounter 3 Olympians by default. Whenever you encounter an Olympian, they offer you their Boon. Pick from 3 options to enhance your Attack, Special, Cast, Dash or give yourself a passive bonus. Boons are cleared at the end of each run, so each time your build is slightly different. In this example, Volcanic Flourish enhances the Special, Smithy Sprint enhances the Dash and Fixed Gain is a passive.
You can only have 1 Boon on your Attack, Special, Cast and Dash but you can have as many passives as you want. Boons have different rarity tiers, Common, Rare, Epic, and Heroic. The higher a Boon's tier, the more potent its effects are. Each Olympian has their own unique theme. For example, Hephaestus offers proc based enhancements on a cooldown and interacts with Armor. On the other hand, Aphrodite offers bonuses against close enemies and allows you to inflict Weak on your foes, reducing the damage they deal.
Pro Tip: If you want to build around a specific Olympian, use their Keepsake to ensure they appear at the next possible opportunity.
Legendary and Duo Boons
Legendary Boons offer special unique effects, a normal boon cannot be upgraded into a Legendary. For example the Boon Close Call from Hermes gives you a special Death Defiance that gives you some breathing room when it activates.
As you collect the favor of multiple Olympians, you'll be offered a special type of boon called a Duo Boon. This triggers a synergistic effect when you combine statuses from two different Olympians. For example Room Temperature is a Hephaestus / Demeter Duo Boon where your Blast effects clear the debuff left on an enemy after Freezing them so they can immediately be re-Frozen.
Elemental Synergies
Once you unlock the Divination of the Elements incantation, you reveal a Boon's elemental nature. Some Boons grant bonuses for having enough Boons of the same element.
These Infusion boons activate when you reach the correct Elemental threshold. Apollo's Self Healing requires 3 Fire type Boons, which come from Gods like Apollo, Hestia and Hephaestus.
Chaos Boons
In addition to the Olympians, Primordial Chaos offers you their Boons in Hades 2. These function a bit differently, first up you need to pay blood (health) to enter the Realm of Chaos.
Once you do, each Boon offers a bonus and a curse. you need to endure the curse for a set number of rounds before the Boon transforms into a bonus. The passive bonuses from Chaos Boons are powerful but you need to carefully consider if you can endure the risk. In this example, Fixed Creation Primes your Magick, Sealing it until you reach the net location, Enshrouded Talent hides Location rewards, and Hobbled Celerity penalizes your Dash.
Hammer of Daedalus
Lastly, there's one more Boon not tied to any deity, the Hammer of Daedalus. The Hammer offers bonuses which apply to and directly modify your equipped weapon's move set. Because of the power offered by Daedalus upgrades you should take the Hammer whenever it is offered to you.
The bonuses offered by Daedalus are unique to each weapon. Some of them, like Triple Comet from the example above offer transform a Move to make it vastly more powerful. Others like Melting Coil and Sustained Spark are numerical bonuses.
Check out our Daedalus Upgrades Guide to learn more about the upgrades available.
Hex and Path of Stars
Interact with Selene, the moon goddess to obtain a powerful Hex. This is charged by spending Magick, once the icon fully illuminates you're ready to unleash its effects. You pick from 3 options, the top option offers you 3 Skill Points for the Path of Stars, the middle 4 and finally the bottom 5.
In this example the Moon Water Hex restores 25 heath and stores 3 uses. Each time you interact with a Fountain these uses are restored. Health is a tightly controlled resource in Hades and this Hex helps you recover from your mistakes.
When you encounter Selene again, she grants you points to use in the Path of Stars. This is a series of bonuses which enhance your current Hex. The Path of Stars includes cost reduction, additional damage or mechanical changes. For example causing Fountains to give Moon Water uses each time, even when you already have 3, allowing you to stack them up for a tough fight.
Check out our Hex Guide to learn more about following the Path of Stars.
List of Gods and Allies
The following Gods offer you their Boons throughout Hades 2. Most you're able to encounter from the start, but access to a few unlocks through progressing certain events in the story. When encountering an Olympian for the first time give them the gift of Nectar to obtain their Keepsake.
The Olympians
- Zeus, super charges your weapons with lightning and gives you access to Blitz. A curse that shocks foes after they take damage.
- Hera, offers many boons revolving around her curse Hitch. When a Hitched enemy takes damage, all other enemies with the curse take a portion of the damage.
- Poseidon, knocks foes away splashing damage across a wide area. In addition he enhances your ability to gather rewards.
- Demeter, Freezes foes solid with icy blasts. This slows bosses and prevents normal foes from moving for a short duration.
- Apollo, increases your area of effect and Dazes foes, giving them 20% chance to deal no damage.
- Aprodite, empowers your Moves to Weaken foes, reducing the damage they deal. Her Boons also offer a large damage bonus when striking at close range.
- Hephaestus, provides Armor and empowers your Moves to unleash a Blast of damage with a short cooldown.
- Hestia, gives access to the Scorch curse which deals damage over time and a variety of other fiery effects.
- Artemis, offers her aid in dealing Critical Damage to dispatch foes with ease.
- Hermes, is all about Speed and his favor provides you with a chance to dodge enemy attacks.
- Athena gives you an ability to deflect the next strike that comes your way.
- Dionysus offers a variety of buffs and Move enhancements including the ability to inflict Hangover on your foes, causing them to take damage over time.
The Rest
In addition, the following NPCs offer you help in your journey. Chaos grants you their Boon, Selene enables powerful Hexes and the others offer unique effects.
- Primordial Chaos, grants unique Boons with both an upside and a curse. Endure it for enough encounters to witness the effect transform.
- Selene, the ephemeral moon goddess appears and offers Hexes which you enhance via the Path of Stars.
- Daedalus, you never meet the mysterious craftsman but his hammer is sure to make your weapon better than ever.
- Arachne, weaves beautiful silken garments which provide Armor and a variety of effects.
- Narcissus, spends his time staring at his reflection in Oceanus and he's all too willing to give you a gift to make you leave him alone.
- Echo, this Nymph resides within the Fields of Strife and offers you many things including a copy of the last thing you received.
- Hades, encounter him within Tartarus to gain his blessing against Chronos.
- Charon, make purchases from the Wells of Charon located throughout each region to gain aid from the boatman of the underworld.
Trials of the Gods
If you see a location with 2 Olympians present, this is a Trial of the Gods. Choose carefully, you obtain the Boon from one Olympian immediately at the cost of angering the other. You then need to defeat several enemies while dealing with whatever the angered Olympian throws at you to complete the trial.
Summary
Gather aid from the Olympians as you set out each night. In Hades 2, this comes in the form of Boons. Pick between the choices offered to enhance your Attack, Special, Cast and Sprint then unleash this Godly power upon your foes. But the Olympians aren't the only one helping Melinoe on her journey, she also receives aid from Primordial Chaos, Daedalus and the Moon Goddess, Selene.
Written by: Tenkiei
