Struggling to break free from the Underworld and escape to the green fields of Elysium? Keep getting taken out by Theseus and Asterius? Are you unable to get through the various halls of the Temple of Styx? Never fear, for it takes a while to finally escape Hades and find Persephone on the surface, but you’ll get there.
As a roguelike, Hades tasks you with throwing yourself at the dungeon. In this case, the dungeon is the Underworld. You aren’t going to escape on your first try, and you’ll need to train and level yourself up. Here are some pro Hades tips to give you that final push.
Updated on January 28, 2023, by Kristy Ambrose: More than two years after the release of Hades and the creators at Supergiant are still riding the wave of popularity. Everyone’s favorite roguelike has been the recipient of several awards, a few that were even created just for the game. The legacy of Zagreus’ is poised to continue, with a Hades 2 in the works, and with the release date of the sequel yet to be determined, there’s still plenty of time to get Zagreus out of Hades if you’re new to the game or got distracted by all the other fun experiences the game has besides the escape part. When it’s time to visit mom, however, here are a few more tips and tricks to escape the Underworld.
13 Dash, Dash, Dash
Arguably the most valuable move in Zagreus’ arsenal is dashing, which not only speeds up your movement but also prevents damage for a brief moment. Moving more quickly allows you to evade danger, and your invulnerability while mid-dash is unmatched. Attacking while dashing causes a dash attack, which is probably one of the strongest offensive moves. Add a God boon to your dash, and it becomes even more powerful. The only time you shouldn’t be dashing is when your dash is recharging.
One of the best dash boons, and also a fan favorite, is Tidal Dash from Poseidon. This powered-up dash sends enemies flying into walls and traps, causing them a ton of damage. Another is Athena’s Divine Dash, which is so overpowered that it has spawned memes and jokes since the game’s release. With it, Zagreus sends enemies’ attacks back at them and takes no damage. A good advanced tip for Hades is that you’re almost untouchable with Divine Dash in your arsenal.
12 Use God Mode
It’s similar to an easy mode, but you have to earn it. For those that are losing patience or just want to finish the story, this instantly grants an extra 20 percent to your damage resistance, and every subsequent run that also ends in death gives Zagreas an additional two percent resistance.
Don’t get too excited, as the damage resistance caps out at 80 percent, which should be plenty to get Zagreus out of the Underworld. It should also be noted that, if you’re playing in Hell Mode, this feature will be locked out since the two difficulty modes cancel each other out.
11 Don’t Forget Your Cast
Another strategy for Hades is to remember the Cast ability, which launches a Bloodstone at his enemies, causing damage and lodging in them. While it doesn’t do the most damage, it can be powered up in a variety of ways to make it extremely useful. The Mirror of Night talent Boiling Blood causes enemies with the Bloodstone in them to take more damage. However, while you’re hacking, slashing, shooting, or punching, it can be easy to forget you have this other weapon to use.
God boons can also power up your cast, including transforming how it works and making it do more damage. One of the better cast upgrades is Trippy Shot from Dionysus. This boon allows you to cast your Bloodstone and create Festive Fog, which damages enemies and stuns them when they walk into the field. For a fun option, you could go with Ares’ Slicing Shot, which sends a Blade Rift out instead of the Bloodstone. What’s more fun than mowing through infernal demons with giant circular saw blades that bounce around the room?
10 Grab Daedalus Hammers
Sometimes, you’re presented with a choice between chambers, and one of them is a Daedalus Hammer. Many argue that the best Hades strategy is to choose the Hammer, regardless of the other option. This is because the Daedalus Hammer is arguably one of the best, if not the best, boons for Zagreus. You only get two Hammers per escape run, and they power up your weapon in ways that no other boon can. They’re invaluable, and should almost always be the first goal.
If you’ve found and picked up at least one Daedalus Hammer by the time you reach the Temple of Styx, you may have the chance to purchase an Anvil of Fates from Charon. This special item will give you two Daedalus Hammer upgrades. If you already have two, it deletes one of them. With this Anvil, you can have three weapon upgrades, which isn’t possible otherwise. The only issue is that the chosen upgrades are random.
9 Pay Attention To NPC Dialogue
Sometimes it’s not just about plowing through as many enemies in the dungeon portion of the game as possible. There are also friends to be made, Codex entries to discover, and stories to hear. Some of them give Zagreus information about how he can escape Hades: these tips and tricks include who’s trying to help him, who’s trying to stop him, and why.
NPCs like Nyx, Skelly, and Achilles can tell Zagreus about the best places to go, what weapons to use, and give other valuable clues about the best way out of the Underworld. So be a good listener and don’t skip past the dialogue. It’s one of the best parts of the game, after all.
8 Pick A Weapon Or Don’t
You can spend hours reading about builds, weapon choices, which boons to choose, and how to play to certain setups, much like every other game. At the end of the day, it comes down to what you prefer. If you see a post explaining how an Aphrodite build on the Shield of Chaos is the best, but you hate both the Shield and Aphrodite’s boons, then don’t follow that advice.
It can be wise to figure out which weapon and build you like, and stick to it. Practice with the same weapon, and you’ll get better with it, giving you a better chance of escaping. You’re by no means obligated to only use the weapon you prefer, though. Everything in Zagreus’ arsenal is extremely powerful, and with different weapon aspects to choose from alongside boons, Hammers, and everything else, there is a massive amount of customization. You can practice forever with a weapon and never manage to escape, use a different strategy or find a different one that gets you much further.
7 Swap Keepsakes
One of the best House Contractor upgrades is the Keepsake Collection work order, which adds a Keepsake case to the rooms between each Underworld region. This allows Zagreus to swap which Keepsake he’s currently holding every time he passes into a new realm.
Swapping between the Keepsakes to fit different situations is an important strategy in Hades, and certain combinations can be used to your benefit. Start with the Chthonic Coin Purse to grant you a bit of starting cash before swapping it for the God boon Keepsakes you want as you enter Asphodel and Elysium, then take the Lucky Tooth into the final battle. This is one such combination, but there are many more.
6 Don’t Be Afraid Of Chaos
Sure, Chaos can have some pretty good boons, but they also come with temporary curses. They also might not offer many good boons, and you have to pay in health to enter unless you have the Cosmic Egg equipped, but you shouldn’t fear Chaos.
The boons of Chaos are typically worth the HP loss, and using them as part of your strategy in Hades can make the difference between winning and dying. Some of the most useful include Soul boons, which grant extra max health, Defiance, which offers an additional charge of Death Defiance, and Strike boons, which make your Attack deal more damage.
5 Seek Out Duo Boons And Legendary Boons
Above the regular stock are super-rare boons called Legendary boons and Duo boons. The former requires you to have a certain combination of a God’s other boons and some luck, and are incredibly powerful. The latter requires you to have certain boons from two different Gods and offer a combined set of their powers into one powerful boon. There are 28 possibilities for Duo Boons depending on whatever custom combination or strategy you’re using to escape the dungeon at any given time.
They’re randomly generated, although the Keepsake you’re using influences which gods you meet, and combines the abilities of two boons into one. Cold Fusion, for example, is a boon that combines the power of Demeter’s Frost with Zeus’ static power. The combination of defense and offense makes it one of the best boons you can have. Even more rare and powerful are the Legendary Boons, and Zagreus doesn’t find these very often. They’re distinctly orange and focus on a power that’s related to the patron deity but not always connected to combat. One of Poseidon’s Legendary Boons, for instance, is called Huge Catch and increases Zagreus’ ability to find fishing points.
4 Relax And Go Fishing
Ever get the feeling that you might be trying too hard? It’s possible that these rooms are all starting to look the same and your gameplay has degenerated into mindless button-mashing, so maybe it’s time to take a break and collect your thoughts. Sometimes the best Hades strategy is none at all.
Hades has a lot more to enjoy than just dashing and smashing, which tends to get old, so when the runs get to be too much, stop and drop a line in the water. Most of the best fishing in Hades is in Aspodel, but you can sometimes find valuable fish in the Chaos realm, too. After you freshen up, try again.
3 Use Hermes’ And Thanatos’ Keepsakes
One Hades’ advanced tip you’ll find useful is to equip one of two Keepsakes above all others: Thanatos’ Pierced Butterfly, and Hermes’ Lambent Plume. The effects of these boons are incredible, and if used right, can make you unstoppable.
The Pierced Butterfly increases your damage output whenever you clear an encounter without taking damage. This is hard, to be sure, but not impossible. The Lambent Plume increases your movement speed every time you clear an encounter quickly. These two both have bonuses that can add up to incredible totals.
2 Don’t Neglect The Mirror Of Night
From the beginning of the game to the final few runs of the true ending, no Hades’ strategy is as important as the Mirror of Night. Spending Darkness on the right talents here is essentially what will make Zagreus strong enough to escape.
In the beginning, you’ll want to be investing in the first few talents you can afford. By the end, you’ll want to be swapping around talents as needed to improve your runs. The Mirror of Night is easily forgotten, but it is crucial.
1 Use The House Contractor
Don’t wait until you need a fishing rod or a new painting in your room to visit this speechless NPC, who can make adjustments to the House of Hades. That means changes to the Lounge, Zagreus bedroom, new drapes and carpeting, fresh flowers, and other fun but purely cosmetic details.
It’s not a purely creative exercise, as some of the changes here equal changes in the dungeons as well. Add some underworld fountains, for example, so Zagreus has more places to restore his health during his dangerous escape attempts.
