Keepsakes give you control over which Boons appear in your Hades 2 run, they offer Health and Magick Recovery or give you an edge against the game's many challenging bosses. You collect these Keepsakes by building a relationship to the Crossroad denizens and Olympian gods.
Note: Hades 2 is currently in early access, as development continues expect new content and balance changes. This guide was last updated for Early Access Patch 3.
Keepsakes
Give the gift of Nectar to the Olympians and various NPCs around the Crossroads to earn their Keepsakes. Then, level your Keepsakes up by using them each night to increase the potency of the bonus offered.
Don't mind their simple appearance, right now Keepsakes have filler assets during Early Access. You can equip a Keepsake when you set out each night to gain a bonus.
With the right Incantation, Kindred Keepsakes you can swap them in the room between each region. Rank 3 Keepsakes offer powerful bonuses, swap them out often to maximize your advantage in the fight against Chronos.
Merely collecting these Keepsakes isn't enough. You need to use them to level each up and increase the effect potency. For example, the Knuckle Bones always give a 15% damage reduction in Guardian (boss) battles. At rank 1 they remove 5% health from your next Guardian, but at rank 3 they remove 15% health shortening the fight. It takes 75 total encounters to level a Keepsake from rank 1 all the way up to rank 3.
Early Game Keepsakes
If you want to guarantee a specific Olympian appears in your run be sure to use their Keepsake when entering the first area. Here are our recommendations for general use Keepsakes which are impactful in the early game.
- Luckier Tooth (Schelemeus)
- This acts as a Death's Defiance restoring you to a fixed amount of health when you would otherwise die. Equip it when you're progressing on a boss to give yourself another chance should you make a fatal mistake. Alternatively you can use Dora's Ghost Onion to restore your health between encounters, increasing your odds of reaching the boss.
- You find both Schelemeus and Dora in the Crossroads.
- Silver Wheel (Hecate)
- Continually replenishing your Magick allows you to spam Omega skills. Combine this Keepsake with The Sorceress Arcana, and avoid using it along side The Unseen Arcana. Once you've expended it's Magick, swap to a different Keepsake.
- Locate Hecate at the center of the Crossroads to obtain this.
- Gold Purse (Charon)
- Starting out with more Gold gives you more options. This bonus triggers when you begin a run so be sure to swap off of it afterward to maximize the value you get from your Keepsakes.
- Speak to Charon in his Shop or at the Crossroads.
- Knuckle Bones (Odysseus)
- A lot of your runs end in failure on a boss fight. So equip the Knuckle Bones once reaching a zone you've been struggling with. Depending on how much health you have and how many Death's Defiance, this may outperform Luckier Tooth.
- You find Odysseus in the Crossroads.
- Aromatic Phial (Narcissus)
- Between regions, you heal at the fountain. You equip this before one Fountain and then swap it out after clicking the next to double dip on the effect.
- Encounter Narcissus in Oceanus, look for a room icon with two hands.
Pro Tip: Learn more about what each Arcana does with our dedicated Arcana Guide!
Keepsake Effects
There are 27 total keepsakes in Hades 2 each of which have unique effects. As you upgrade each Keepsake the bonuses they offer increase.
| Keepsake | Source | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Silver Wheel | Hecate | Restore Magick over 3s, up to 1000/1500/2000 a night. |
| Knuckle Bones | Odysseus | The next Guardian loses 5/10/15% Health. You take -15% damage from Guardians. |
| Luckier Tooth | Schelemeus | Restore 51/76/101 health once per night upon reaching 0 health. |
| Ghost Onion | Dora | Fully heal when exiting a Location. This restores up to 50/75/100 health per night. |
| Evil Eye | Nemesis | Deal 20/25/30% damage to the last foe that vanquished you. |
| Engraved Pin | Moros | When you reach 0 health, gain 10 seconds of invulnerability, then defeat all foes to restore 30/45/60 health. |
| Discordant Bell | Eris | After each encounter, you both deal and take +0.5/1/1.5% additional damage. |
| Gold Purse | Charon | Gain 100/125/150 Crowns. |
| Metallic Droplet | Hermes | You move, strike and Channel 20% faster for the next 200/300/400 seconds. |
| White Antler | Artemis | You have +20/30/40% Critical Strike Chance for the next region but you have 30 Maximum Life. |
| Moon Beam | Selene | An encounter with Selene is offered if you have no Hex. You gain 3/4/5 additional upgrades for your Hex from the next Path of Stars you find. |
| Cloud Bangle | Zeus | You are more likely to encounter Zeus. Rarify one of his common/rare/epic blessings once per night. |
| Iridescent Fan | Hera | You are more likely to encounter Hera. Rarify one of her common/rare/epic blessings once per night. |
| Vivid Sea | Poseidon | You are more likely to encounter Poseidon. Rarify one of his common/rare/epic blessings once per night. |
| Barley Sheaf | Demeter | You are more likely to encounter Demeter. Rarify one of her common/rare/epic blessings once per night. |
| Purest Hope | Apollo | You are more likely to encounter Apollo. Rarify one of his common/rare/epic blessings once per night. |
| Beautiful Mirror | Aphrodite | You are more likely to encounter Aphrodite. Rarify one of her common/rare/epic blessings once per night. |
| Adamant Shard | Haphaestus | You are more likely to encounter Haphaestus. Rarify one of his common/rare/epic blessings once per night. |
| Everlasting Ember | Hestia | You are more likely to encounter Hestia. Rarify one of her common/rare/epic blessings once per night. |
| Lion Fang | Heracles | Deal +30/40/50% bonus damage, but lose 5% of this after each encounter. |
| Blackened Fleece | Medea | After you take 250 damage, your Omega Moves deal +20/30/40% damage. |
| Crystal Figurine | Circe | After the next guardian, activate one random Arcana card. Ranks add Insight levels to the activated card. |
| Silken Sash | Arachne | Gain +20 Armor, while you have at least 1 Armor, gain +2/3/4 Armor after each Location. |
| Aromatic Phial | Narcissus | Fountains restore an additional 20% health. The next Fountain Rarifies a random boon to Rare/Epic/Heroic. |
| Concave Stone | Echo | After choosing a Boon, 25/50/75% of the time randomly take one more. |
| Experimental Hammer | Icarus | Gain a random Daedalus Hammer upgrade, it lasts for 10/15/20 Encounters. |
| Transcendent Embryo | Primordial Chaos | Gain a random common/rare/epic Blessing of Chaos. Every 8 encounters, replace it. |
Summary
Give gifts of Nectar to Olympians and crossroad denizens to obtain their signature Keepsake. Then, equip these Keepsakes on your nightly Hades 2 runs to obtain special bonuses and increase their rank. This offers you control over which Olympian appears to offer you a boon and gives you an edge to get past a section you're struggling with.
Pro Tip: To learn more about what each Olympian offers, check out our Boons and Gods Guide.
Written by: Tenkiei
