Hades 2 is packed full of weapons, boons, arcana cards, and keepsakes that can make or break your run. This is great in terms of versatility and making sure there is a build to suit everyone’s playstyle, but there are so many combinations that testing them all through trial and error is rather time-consuming.
If you would rather not die night after night in search of your ideal build, you might be playing the wrong game. Death is inevitable in Hades 2, but the right build can make things much easier. Of course, there is an element of surprise in every Hades 2 run. You don’t really know what Gods you will encounter or what boons you will be offered, but here are a few Hades 2 builds you can try to replicate to see what works best for you.
If you are looking for more Hades II content, check out the ones below:
Sister Blades Build
Sister Blades, Apollo, and Hermes.
The Sister Blades are swift and deadly weapons that are perfect for anyone who likes to quickly dodge around the arena. Dashing towards your enemy, landing a few hits, and retreating is what the Sister Blades were made for. If that’s your tactic, focusing on boons that increase your close-range attack power and evasion make the Sister Blades extremely effective.
| Boons | Back Burner, Dazzling Display, Extra Dose, Swift Strike, Nitro Boost, Greater Evasion |
| Keepsakes | Purest Hope, Experimental Hammer |
| Arcana Cards | The Swift Runner, The Messenger, Eternity |
Boons
The Sister Blades have a backstab attack that allows you to dash behind an enemy and rapidly strike them in the back. This move is already brilliant on its own since it places you behind the firing line of most enemies’ attacks and does backstab damage, but the right boons can make it even better. Apollo and Hermes are great Gods to seek out when you’re using the Sister Blades.
Apollo’s Back Burner makes foes inflicted with Daze take more damage when struck from behind. Of course, the first step to making this boon shine is inflicting Daze in the first place. You can do that with other Apollo boons, like Dazzling Display or Light Smite. Extra Dose is another excellent option for the Sister Blades and allows your attacks to sometimes hit twice.
Hermes’ Swift Strike boon makes your attacks faster, which is a formidable pairing with the already swift Sister Blades. Since dashing in and out of the line of fire is a big part of the Blades’ playstyle, increasing your evasion is important in this Hades 2 build.
Hermes has plenty of boons to help in this department. Nitro Boost increases your sprinting speed while also providing a shield, and Greater Evasion allows you to dodge attacks more frequently. Swift Strike, Extra Dose, and Nitro Boost are an epic combination that provides insane damage output and protects you as you retreat.
Keepsakes
Keepsakes are small tokens that endow Melinoe with certain effects when equipped. But, like boons, some are more useful than others. When using the Sister Blades, Purest Hope is a good option, as it increases your chance of encountering Apollo on your run.
Once you’ve successfully summoned Apollo, you are free to switch his keepsake out for another one at the next fountain. The Experimental Hammer from Icarus gives you a random Daedalus Hammer upgrade, which works with your other damage output boons to make the Blades even more deadly.
Arcana Cards
The Sister Blades are all about speed and strength. As such, make sure you have The Swift Runner and The Messenger arcana cards equipped before you leave. These focus on increasing your sprinting speed to make evasion easier and boost your dodge chance. Eternity doesn’t hurt, either, and gives you one (or more) Death Defiances to back you up if you do get overwhelmed in the Underworld.
Moonstone Axe Build
Moonstone Axe, Hephaestus, and Aphrodite.
The Moonstone Axe is a slow and sometimes clunky weapon, but it more than makes up for that in terms of power. The Moonstone Axe delivers insane blows that absolutely obliterate most enemies. If you can learn the art of the Moonstone Axe, you will be a force to be reckoned with on the field. But, like every weapon in Hades 2, your build makes all the difference.
| Boons | Tough Trade, Healthy Rebound, Passion Dash, Fixed Gain, Uncanny Fortitude, Flutter Strike, Volcanic Flourish |
| Keepsakes | Moon Beam, Aromatic Phail |
| Arcana Cards | The Unseen, Night, The Titan |
Boons
The secret to the Moonstone Axe is to make sure you have plenty of magick and health regeneration. The Axe’s attacks take a while to charge up, which leaves you open for retaliation. Tough Trade from Hephaestus mitigates this to an extent by powering up your moves if you take damage while using them.
Aphrodite is also a Godsend if you’re using the Axe. Aphrodite’s boons focus on weakening the enemies around you, which is perfect when you are more vulnerable to attacks. Her Healthy Rebound boon also replenishes your HP as long as you don’t lose too much, so even if you do get hit, your damage will be less, and you might even gain it back in the next area.
Aphrodite has options when it comes to weak inflicting boons, but Passion Dash is the best for this Hades 2 build. Not only does it inflict weak on enemies you run past, but it also blasts them. With a weapon like the Moonstone Axe that takes so long to charge, you will likely need to sprint out of harm’s way once you’ve landed an attack. You might as well damage enemies while you’re doing it.
Keepsakes
Attack power is not the issue with the Moonstone Axe. It’s the weapon’s speed. With that in mind, opting for protective Keepsakes is the way to go here. The Moon Beam from Selene is a good start. Seeking out Selene to get her Moon Water hex adds yet another layer of health regeneration to your build, and the Moon Beam gives you an extra point to power it up. Otherwise, the Aromatic Phail restores additional health at fountains, and Arachne’s Silken Sash gives you armor that builds with every room you enter.
Arcana Cards
The Moonstone Axe has an insanely powerful Omega special. Using that move, as well as your Casts, to lock enemies in place while you’re charging up attacks gobbles up a lot of magick. If you have one of Selene’s hexes equipped, you will chomp through even more. Boons like Hephaestus’s Fixed Gain can help you regenerate magick, but so can the following arcana cards. The Unseen restores 2 magick every 1 second, and Night passively charges your Moon Water hex. The Titan doesn’t help you regenerate magick, but it does boost your attack and defense so you can take more of a beating.
Umbral Flames Build
The Umbral Flames, Hestia, and Hephaestus.
The Umbral Flames are on the slower side but are excellent for players who prefer long-range weapons. The basic attack shoots out balls of flame in a straight line that can travel a fair distance, allowing you to target foes from the safety of the sidelines. The special creates a ring of fireballs that circle you, damaging enemies on impact and providing another layer of protection. Both of these characteristics make the Umbral Flames perfect for a powerful cast and sprint build.
| Boons | Smoulder Ring, Soot Sprint/Smithy Sprint, Flame Strike, Flame Flourish, Glowing Coal, Fixed Gain |
| Keepsakes | Silver Wheel, Metallic Droplet |
| Arcana Cards | The Furies, The Moon, The Sorceress |
Boons
The Umbral Flames excel in damaging enemies without having to get close to them. Enemies will still come for you, however, which is where your Casts come in. Choosing a boon with a powerful Cast effect that causes damage not only holds enemies in place while you attack them but hurts them at the same time. Hestia’s Smoulder Ring is one of the best Cast boons in the game and suits the Umbral Flames perfectly. If you don’t encounter Hesita, Demeter’s Cast damages enemies while freezing them, holding them in place for even longer.
Staying far away from enemies is great in theory, but it doesn’t always work out that way. By pairing the Umbral Flames special with sprint boons, however, moving through seas of enemies becomes much easier. The circle of flames surrounding you is already quite strong, inflicting more damage than the base attack. Combining this with a boon that causes sprint damage lets you absolutely mow through enemies.
Hestia’s Soot Sprint is an excellent option, especially if you already have Smoulder Ring. Hephaestus’ Smithy Sprint creates massive blasts to smite enemies with, and Zeus’s Thunder Sprint strikes nearby foes with lightning. Poseidon’s Breaker Sprint isn’t the best option for this tactic, however. Since it knocks foes away from you, you might not be able to reach them with your circle of flames.
Keepsakes
Using Casts as one of your major lines of defense definitely calls for some magick regeneration. The Silver Wheel from Headmistress Hecate would prove useful for this. The Silver Wheel can only regenerate 2000 magick per run at its highest upgrade, however, so you will need to replace it at some point. In that case, the Metallic Droplet from Hermes allows you to channel your Cast faster.
Arcana Cards
The most important arcana card to equip for this Hades 2 build is The Furies. This deals at least +20% damage to foes in your Casts, more if you’ve upgraded it. The Moon boosts your Omega Cast damage by +50, and The Sorceress slows down time while you’re channeling it. These three arcana cards are essential for any Cast build and will only get better by upgrading them.
The Witch’s Staff: Descura Build
Descura, Demeter, and Hestia.
Descura may be the first weapon you get your hands on in Hades 2, but that doesn’t mean it’s the weakest. The Witch’s Staff is a great all-rounder that can suit many different playstyles. Whether you prefer close or long-range combat, Descura has you covered.
| Boons | Flame Strike, Ice Flourish, Soot Sprint, Arctic Ring, Gale Force, Freezer Burn |
| Keepsakes | Everlasting Ember, Barley Sheaf, Blackened Fleece |
| Arcana Cards | The Moon, The Queen, Eternity |
Boons
Due to Descura’s versatility, you could really take your build anywhere and have success. But if you want the best shot at beating Chronos, choosing boons from both of the most powerful Gods in Hades 2 will give it to you. Hestia and Demeter immediately come to mind. Hestia’s Soot Sprint, for example, not only inflicts scorch on foes but also negates most projectiles hurtling toward you, making boss battles like Scylla and the Sirens or Eris a breeze. Demeter’s freeze effects are also extremely helpful, essentially pinning enemies in place while you wail on them.
Taking one boon each from Hestia and Demeter for your attack and special also unlocks the chance to get their duo boon. Freezer Burn amplifies scorch damage on any enemy that you then freeze. This requires enemies to be scorched before they are frozen, but this is no sweat if you have both Flame Strike and Ice Flourish or vice versa.
Lastly, Casts are easy to forget about if you’re not used to the mechanic, but they are some of the most useful moves in the game. Demeter and Hestia both have excellent Cast boons that inflict curses as well as damage, so you can’t really go wrong with either of them.
Keepsakes
Since this particular build relies on summoning both Hestia and Demeter, their Keepsakes are the ones you should equip. Of course, you can’t equip both at the same time. But if you equip Everlasting Ember to summon Hestia before your run begins, you can switch to the Barley Sheaf at the fountain before entering Oceanus to summon Demeter. These Keepsakes become useless after successfully summoning a God, so you can switch to another after clearing Oceanus. The Blackened Fleece from Medea would be excellent, as it boosts Omega damage by 20% after you take 250 damage.
Arcana Cards
The Moon significantly enhances your Cast, increasing its Omega power by +50. The Queen increases your chance of getting duo boons, which is perfect for optimizing your fire and ice build. The Eternity card isn’t targeted to a specific Hades 2 build or style but is still an essential addition to any deck. Eternity provides you with at least one Death Defiance, which is invaluable in the early game.
Argent Skull Build
The Argent Skull, Hephaestus, and Poseidon.
The Argent Skull is one of the most unique and trickiest weapons to master, but when you do, you will reap the rewards in spades. This deadly canon-like weapon shoots three shells at enemies, dealing massive impact damage. These shells then have to be collected before you can fire them again. This can be troublesome, but you can turn this flaw into an asset with the right build.
| Boons | Volcanic Strike, Wave Strike, Fluid Gain, Breaker Sprint, Fetching Array, Molten Touch |
| Keepsakes | Silver Wheel, Vivid Sea |
| Arcana Cards | The Sorceress , The Huntress, The Unseen |
Boons
You have a few options when it comes to attacking boons with the Argent Skull. Hephaestus’s Volcanic Strike is one of the most powerful ones in the game, creating a blast that does 200-area damage. This, combined with the already powerful blast from the Argent Skull itself, shoots your damage through the roof.
You could also go for Poseidon’s Wave Strike, which knocks foes away from the shells so you can retrieve them safely. You will likely be using magick a lot with the Argent Skull, so boons like Fluid Gain and Fixed Gain will also come in handy.
Since so much time will be spent running around, picking up your spent shells, a good sprint boon is a lifesaver. Having to collect the Argent Skull’s spent shells is the worst part about the weapon. But a boon like Poseidon’s Breaker Sprint, which does damage while also clearing the way to your shells, kills two birds with one stone, literally.
If you come across Daedalus’ Hammer on your runs, don’t skip it. Fetching Array makes your shells automatically return to you, so you don’t have to worry about losing them in the commotion.
Keepsakes
The Argent Skull’s Omega special creates a sweeping attack that hits enemies both in front and to either side of you. It’s an incredible attack that can wipe out the most stubborn of enemies with ease, but it does consume a lot of magick. The Silver Wheel will help you replenish your lost magick, but it can run out fast. Stock up on magick bottles and magick restoring boons as well, if you can.
Arcana Cards
If you are looking to unleash the epic power of your Omega special on your foes, The Sorceress will help you channel it faster. The Huntress is another good pick for this build, boosting your attack and special damage by +30% when you have less than 100% magick. Spending your magick is bound to happen, but The Unseen will help replenish it.
