Nine Tips & Tricks to Bring Death to Chronos in Hades II

Hades II is officially out of its Early Access state, and players all around the world will be beginning their first journey. As a person who doesn't interact with Early Access (I've been burnt too many times), I — painstakingly — waited for the full launch before delving into the Underworld to free the House of Hades... and even more.

Throughout my descent, I gathered nine tips and tricks for those starting their journey! Here's what you need to know to bring death to Chronos.

#1 — Make All Incantations

Supergiant Games' sequel is what happens when you put roguelite at the front and centre of everything that you do in development, making it the primary genre rather than secondary. While it's an uncanny and rare sight in the videogame industry, the way the developer handles this title means that it feels roguelite through and through, and it's the main point and purpose of your entire experience.

To this end, there are dozens of meta upgrades you'll come across that are meant to make your experience easier through each of your runs. Some of these are simple changes that might not affect your descents a lot, but others offer massive changes that can be game-changers in the late-game. To get them, you'll need to go through all of the Incantations so you can unlock some of the substantial ones.

#2 — Use the Recommended Weapon

Shortly after you begin your Incantations with the cauldron at the Crossroads, you'll come across the Gathering of Ancient Bones Incantation that will offer you the ability to get three Bones per Encounter clear. Whenever equipping the weapon with Grave Thirst, you'll be able to slowly accrue your supply without having to sacrifice much-needed minor rooms for better meta upgrades, like Ash or Nectar.

Bones aren't a necessary resource that you must hoard at all costs, but using the Grave Thirst weapon slowly builds up your supply of surplus Bones, which means that you can exchange them with the Wretched Broker for any items you actually might need. Even beyond in-game reasons, learning to use all of the Nocturnal Arms will reveal to you different ways to fight characters that should make your runs easier with your preferred weapon.

Plus, I would've never tried Revaal without Grave Thirst, and it turned out to be my favourite weapon! Win-win.

#3 — Try All Fated Choices

Once you've unlocked the Fated List of Minor Prophecies from the Three Fates, you'll be tasked with trying everything at least once. This includes getting Boons from specific Olympians, using different Daedalus Hammer upgrades, and even buying things from the Well of Charon to complete the prophecies.

While this isn't something necessary for the completion of the narrative, this is Supergiant Games' expert way of getting players comfortable with trying to adapt to builds. Much like using the Grave Thirst, selecting different Boons or upgrades thanks to Fated Choices means that you'll learn to adjust and, possibly, find new favourite upgrades to play with.

#4 — While We're At It... Try Everything.

Experimenting is chief in Hades II, as learning to change, adapt, or even finding new Boons you might not have discovered is a great way to familiarise yourself with the world. You might find that upgrades you thought were useless work perfectly with a specific weapon, or different combat modes (like charged attacks) might be a preferable battle path.

Some of the builds that came in most clutch and became my favourites were desperate bids and attempts at seeing how to get out of a slump in a specific area. Trying different weapons — even the ones I never thought I'd like — led me to find other builds and viable Boon setups that would decimate foes or make quick work of bosses; it's never a bad idea to try something, because failure still leads to progression.

#5 — Change Keepsakes and Prioritise Builds

Once you've begun handing out Nectar to Olympians, you'll start unlocking their unique Keepsakes, which increases your chance to get a specific god's Boon, and even upgrade it to become a rarity higher. This is where you can start reliably completing runs, as switching around to get consistent builds and powerful setups means you can consistently pass Regions and complete runs.

Keepsakes also tie in with trying everything — after you've already got comfortable with specific builds, Boons, and weapons, this is the best way to start weaponising the knowledge you've been acquiring. Find the weak points of your specific build and supplement it with Boons from other Olympians you might have never experimented with had you not been trying everything. There were several times an obscure Hephaestus or Aphrodite pick-up became my go-to run-savers.

#6 — Fill Your Basic Skills with Boons

Each Boon can alter something specific in your build: your Attack, Special, Cast, and Dash are prioritised by the game first. If you actively avoid taking something because you don't interact with it (say, not changing your Dash/Sprint because they're not strong abilities to buff), you'll keep getting Boons specific to that before you acquire passive ones.

Whenever you come across a specific Olympian's Boon that you don't fancy or get a loadout of "okay" upgrades, filling your slot is excellent to ensure that afterwards, you get the strongest passives from other Olympians. Until you fill all the mandatory slots, Passives always take a backseat and are offered secondary to ability-altering boons.

#7 — Adapt

If you're midway through a run and find yourself lacking something, it's the opportunity to start trouble-solving and thinking. A run is never over until you're sent back to the Crossroads, and there's always the opportunity to clutch up and find something that can alter your build towards favourable, salvaging your descent.

After familiarising yourself with all of the builds, you should start learning what they can add to your specific weapon or situation. Aphrodite works best with her Weak passive and melee-ranged attacks, while Zeus or Poseidon can help you deal with groups of enemies if you're getting swarmed too easily. Knowledge is one of your most valuable meta upgrades in Hades II, and weaponising it mid-run, especially with Keepsakes and critical thinking, is going to make your time easier.

#8 — Try and Try Again

Hades II is a roguelite, which means that not only are you not expected to complete the game in your first run, it'll likely be dozens — if not over a hundred — before you see the credits roll. You might defeat the final boss for the first time and find that you can't consistently get a build going again, but part of it being a roguelite-first game means that you'll succeed when you can, with sometimes intentional blockers along the way with meta upgrades to facilitate your descents.

Consistent failure is still natural growth in Hades II — whether you learn a new boss move, find more reliable ways to get through the hardest Regions, or even unlock an upgrade that makes your descents easier, there's always something to attain. Failure is part of the Hades II journey and it's hard-coded into the game: you'll need to get used to this being a part of your experience far before you can consistently finish runs.

#9 — Have Fun

Ultimately, Hades II is a for-fun game that you should experience in your own way. If you find you prefer going for a Hephaestus build, even if he can sometimes feel suboptimal, then that's what you should be doing.

Truer than in pretty much every other game, Hades II is something you can and will beat eventually: you're fighting the same few bosses, the same areas, with the same Boons, and given time, you'll learn what you need to get through it or bang your head against the wall until you succeed. If you find something unconventional that causes the grind of the descent to feel more like an enjoyable game and less like a chore, then that is — ultimately — the right decision for you, damned be stat-crunching, best in slots, and optimal builds.