Hades II Guide | How To Unlock The Vow of Rivals

Here's a guide on how to unlock the Vow of Rivals in Hades II.

Game Guide by TauxicPandA on Jul 13, 2025

The Vow of Rivals in Hades II converts the standard boss encounters into more challenging battles, perfect if you find the regular difficulty easy and want some challenges.

Hades II Guide, How to Unlock the Vow of Rivals

Initial Setup and Unlock Requirements

To start with the Vow of Rivals, you must first complete a preliminary run in the new update. Your primary objective is to locate and defeat Hecate during your initial playthrough.

They don't need to complete an entire run to unlock this feature - simply defeating Hecate will be enough to trigger the necessary progression in Hades II.

After you've successfully eliminated Hecate, you can head back on the surface and check the Testament between the entry points.

This is your main point of contact for difficulty changes and will now include a new addition: the Vow of Rivals.

You'll notice this feature initially shows only one available use, which applies exclusively to the first region's bosses in Hades II.

Hades II Guide, How to Unlock the Vow of Rivals, Initial Setup, Unlock Requirements

Progressive Unlocking System

Vow of Rivals also has a progressive unlocking system in which you must defeat bosses progressively in various regions.

Initially, you can use the increased level of difficulty for the fights in the first region of Hades II. You must venture on the surface and defeat the Cyclops (the bizarre sleeping boss), and then head underground to encounter Hecate once more.

The order of these confrontations isn't necessary, but completion of both battles is needed to proceed in Hades II.

Completing these initial bosses, you can opt to stop your run or continue - the same decision applies, as the unlocking mechanism is activated regardless of run success.

Hades II Guide, How to Unlock the Vow of Rivals, Progressive Unlocking System

Cauldron Recipe and Progression Further

After your successful encounters with your bosses, you will find that there is a new recipe unearthed in the Cauldron. Cooking this recipe unseals the next level of the Vow of Rivals, and it is now available for two regions instead of one. This opens you up to utilising greater difficulty on boss battles throughout your playthroughs in Hades II.

To continue progressing, you must return to face Hecate in the underground areas while also confronting Scylla and the Sirens - a particularly challenging encounter regardless of whether you are a veteran or a returning player.

Additionally, you'll need to return to the surface to battle Polyphemus and face the upgraded version of Ares.

Complete Unlock Process

The overall unlocking process is finished within four complete cycles of this progression system in Hades II, which aligns with the four principal bosses that are available in each region.

With every successful entry, progressively harder encounters are unlocked, eventually taking you to fight empowered versions of Typhon and Chronos - the game's strongest enemies.

This process enables you to continually develop your skills and refine your builds prior to encountering the most challenging difficulties.

Hades II Guide, How to Unlock the Vow of Rivals

Every level of the Vow of Rivals becomes increasingly complex and needs rigorous preparation, planning, and more advanced combat techniques to advance through it.

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