Hades: Complete Guide

Everything you need to escape the Underworld in Supergiant's Hades: what to spend each currency on, the Mirror of Night, the six Infernal Arms and their Aspects, how Boons and Duo Boons fit together, boss tips for all four regions, and the road to the true ending and high Heat.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final v1.0 build (last patched February 2022 for Steam Deck support). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Status: Hades (full release September 17, 2020) is finished. Its last patch in February 2022 made it Steam Deck Verified. Supergiant's sequel, Hades II, launched v1.0 on September 25, 2025. This guide covers the original.

Quick Start

• Dying is progress. Every run earns currencies and story. Don't reset runs early. Push as far as you can.
• Talk to everyone in the House after each run and give Nectar to characters. Relationships unlock Keepsakes, companions and story.
• Buy Mirror of Night talents with Darkness first. Death Defiance is the single most important early upgrade.
• Use Chthonic Keys on new weapons and Mirror slots. Try every weapon once, since each one plays differently.
• Read door rewards. Each chamber's door shows its reward (a god's boon, Darkness, Gemstones, Keys, Pom of Power, Centaur Heart, Daedalus Hammer, Charon's shop and so on). Plan your route.
• Pick one attack and one special boon early. A strong Attack boon plus a Special boon from a god is the backbone of nearly every build.
• Use Cast. Your Bloodstones (Cast) apply god effects and give free damage. Pick them up after firing.
• Dash through everything. The Dash has invulnerability frames. Dash-strike is one of the strongest moves in the game.
• Pom of Power upgrades a boon's level. Put it into your core damage boon.
• Equip a Keepsake before every run. Rotate them between regions to guarantee a specific god.

Currencies and What to Buy

Currency | Where from | Spend on

Darkness | Runs, chamber rewards | Mirror of Night talents

Chthonic Keys | Chamber rewards, Hades's bounties | Unlocking weapons and Mirror talent slots

Gemstones | Chamber rewards | House Contractor renovations (Fountain Chambers in the Underworld, House cosmetics, and utilities like the Wretched Broker)

Nectar | Chamber rewards, Charon, the Wretched Broker | Gifts. The first Nectar to a character gives a Keepsake

Diamonds | Late bosses, bounties | Major House Contractor projects

Ambrosia | Late bosses, bounties | High-affinity gifts, companions

Titan Blood | Bosses (first clears, Heat bounties) | Weapon Aspects

Obols (Charon's) | During runs only | Charon's shop, Wells of Charon

Contractor priorities: the Fountain Chamber upgrades (healing fountain rooms in each region), the Wretched Broker (a currency exchange), the Fated List of Minor Prophecies, and later the Rod of Fishing.

Mirror of Night

Each slot has two alternative talents, which you can swap at will once both are unlocked.

Slot | Option A | Option B

1 | Shadow Presence (damage when striking from behind) | Fiery Presence (damage on first hit)

2 | Chthonic Vitality (heal on entering chambers) | Dark Regeneration (heal when picking up Darkness)

3 | Death Defiance (extra lives) | Stubborn Defiance (revives once per chamber)

4 | Greater Reflex (extra dash) | Ruthless Reflex (bonus damage on dash-dodge)

5 | Boiling Blood (bonus vs. Cast-stuck enemies) | Abyssal Blood (enemies with Cast are weakened)

6 | Infernal Soul (more Cast ammo) | Stygian Soul (Cast regenerates)

7 | Deep Pockets (starting Obols) | Golden Touch (interest on Obols)

8 | Thick Skin (max health) | High Confidence (damage at high health)

9 | Privileged Status (damage vs. enemies with two status curses) | Family Favorite (damage per god boon)

10 | Olympian Favor | Dark Foresight

11 | Gods' Pride | Gods' Legacy

12 | Fated Authority | Fated Persuasion

Slots 10 and 11 improve your odds of higher-rarity rewards (Gods' Pride targets Epic boons; Gods' Legacy targets Duo and Legendary boons). Slot 12 gives you Fate rerolls, which reroll chamber rewards or the boons and items you're offered. Check each talent's in-game tooltip before choosing.

Beginner order: Death Defiance, Chthonic Vitality, Greater Reflex, Thick Skin, then Shadow Presence or Fiery Presence, then the rest.

The Infernal Arms

Weapon | Unlock | Playstyle | Beginner-friendly aspect

Stygius (Sword) | Default | Fast combos, strong special | Aspect of Zagreus (default), later Aspect of Arthur

Varatha (Spear) | Chthonic Keys | Reach, a charged spin, and a throw that returns | Aspect of Zagreus, later Aspect of Guan Yu

Aegis (Shield) | Chthonic Keys | Block, charged Bull Rush, and a shield throw that bounces | Aspect of Zagreus, Aspect of Beowulf

Coronacht (Bow) | Chthonic Keys | Charged shots, volley special | Aspect of Chiron (special homes in on targets hit by your attack), Aspect of Hera (your Cast loads into your shots)

Twin Fists of Malphon | Chthonic Keys | Very fast melee, uppercut special | Aspect of Talos, Aspect of Gilgamesh

Adamant Rail | Chthonic Keys | Automatic fire with reloads, bomb special | Aspect of Hestia, Aspect of Lucifer

Aspects are unlocked and levelled with Titan Blood. Each weapon has a hidden aspect (Arthur, Guan Yu, Beowulf, Rama, Gilgamesh, Lucifer) that you unlock through specific story conversations once you've invested in that weapon's other aspects.

Boons and Gods

God | Signature effect | Why take it

Zeus | Lightning (chain, bolts) | Great ranged or AoE damage and chain-hits

Poseidon | Knockback, bonus damage on impact with walls | Wall slams, crowd control, money boons

Athena | Deflect | The best defense in the game. Divine Dash is a top pick

Ares | Doom (delayed big hit), Blade Rift | Strong burst, good with slow heavy hits

Aphrodite | Weak (enemies deal less damage) | High damage and safety

Artemis | Critical hits | Crit builds, strong on fast weapons

Dionysus | Hangover (poison stacks) | Damage-over-time and Festive Fog dodge

Demeter | Chill (slow, then shatter) | Control and big AoE on shatter

Hermes | Speed, dodge, attack speed | Not a damage god, but his boons make any build better

Chaos | Temporary curse, then a permanent boon | High risk, high reward. Pick curses you can live with

Useful Duo Boons (require at least one qualifying boon from each god):

• Merciful End (Ares + Athena): deflects trigger Doom instantly.
• Curse of Longing (Aphrodite + Ares): Doom repeats.
• Heart Rend (Aphrodite + Artemis): crits on Weak enemies deal bonus damage.
• Sea Storm (Poseidon + Zeus): knockback triggers lightning.
• Lightning Rod (Zeus + Artemis): Bloodstones zap nearby foes.
• Deadly Reversal (Athena + Artemis): crit chance after deflects.
• Cold Fusion (Zeus + Demeter): Jolted no longer wears off when the foe attacks.
• Ice Wine (Demeter + Dionysus): Festive Fog also chills.

Legendary Boons have prerequisites (for example, Zeus's Splitting Bolt and Athena's Divine Protection). Chasing them is how you get very powerful runs.

Region and Boss Tips

Region | Boss | Tips

Tartarus | Fury Sisters: Megaera, then Alecto and Tisiphone on later runs | Dodge the whip lines, stay mobile, punish after each dash-attack

Asphodel | Bone Hydra (Lernie) | Kill the extra heads it summons. Stay off the lava edges and dodge the slam

Elysium | Theseus and Asterius | Focus one of them. Killing either one enrages the other, so save burst for the second. Watch Theseus's spear throws and the god he calls for help

Temple of Styx | Hades (reached with the Satyr Sack from the Styx tunnels) | Two phases. Dodge his spin and cast, and save a Death Defiance for phase two

Styx tip: each tunnel may hold the Satyr Sack. A Pom or Healing reward in the Styx hub is often worth a detour.

Extreme Measures (a Pact condition) gives each boss new mechanics at higher Heat.

Endings and Endgame

• First escape: your first win is not the end. Keep escaping to see the story continue.
• True ending: escaping 10 times plays out the full epilogue. It also requires progressing specific relationships and story beats along the way.
• Pact of Punishment (Heat): unlocked after your first clear. Raise Heat to earn bounties (Titan Blood, Diamonds, Ambrosia) for each weapon.
• Prophecies (Fated List): a to-do list that rewards Darkness, Gems, Diamonds and more.
• Companions: after maxing some relationships you get summon items (such as Battie and Antos) for a big hit mid-fight.
• Fishing: the Rod of Fishing from the House Contractor lets you fish in special pools. Fish trade to the Chef for rewards.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Resetting runs because the first boons are bad. You still earn resources.
• Taking boons from five gods at once with no focus. Build around your Attack and Special.
• Ignoring Hermes's boons. Greatest Reflex, Quick Recovery and Hyper Sprint are huge.
• Never spending Nectar and Gemstones.
• Skipping Chaos gates entirely. They're one of the best ways to scale a run.
• Not using Cast or forgetting to pick up your Bloodstones.

Advanced Tips

• Dash-strike (attack right after a dash) often has different or better properties. Many top builds revolve around it.
• Mix Keepsakes by region: switch Keepsakes between regions to force a second god, or take Pierced Butterfly-style damage keepsakes for boss floors.
• Spend Fate rerolls on key boon choices and route-defining doors, not on minor rewards.
• Bow runs: Aspect of Hera loads your Cast into your shots, so a strong Cast boon matters more; Aspect of Chiron turns the volley special into homing boss damage.
• High Heat: Hard Labor, Extreme Measures and Tight Deadline are the main difficulty spikes. Start with low-impact Pact conditions like Jury Summons or Calisthenics Program, and add the spiky ones last.

FAQ

How many escapes for the real ending? Ten successful escapes play out the epilogue. Your first escape is only the beginning.

What's the best weapon for beginners? Stygius (sword) or Aegis (shield). Both are forgiving, and the shield's block is very safe.

How do I unlock hidden aspects? Invest in a weapon's standard aspects, then progress the related story conversations. Each hidden aspect is revealed through dialogue.

What does Heat do? Each Pact of Punishment condition makes runs harder and adds Heat. Bounties reward escaping at new Heat levels with each weapon.

Is there a God Mode? Yes. God Mode (in settings) gives damage resistance that grows each time you die. It doesn't lock you out of anything.

Should I play Hades or Hades II first? Hades first. Hades II (v1.0 since September 2025) is a direct sequel and builds on its story, though it stands on its own.

Sources

• Hades on Steam
• Steam news: Post-Launch Patch (Feb 2022), Hades II v1.0 announcement
• Wikipedia: Hades (video game)