Hades II can be extremely fast paced with a lot of things going on in every encounter which can be difficult to keep up with. If you don’t have enough damage, your fights are prolonged which increases your chances of taking damage. Following a proper build is key to a successful run in Hades II. In the early access version, there are five weapons out currently.

With how many Boons, Hexes, Arcana, and Keepsakes there are, it is quite easy to feel lost or overwhelmed. Plus, with the amount of builds possible in this game, it can be tough to come across a synergistic build purely by chance; especially If you don’t have a particular build in mind before you start. Worry not! This guide covers the bread-and-butter combos of each weapon found in the game that will help you beat the game without the help of aspects.
 

Prerequisites

Arcana

Before you set off in your runs, you must first have a few decent Arcana cards equipped. We recommend that you unlock these Arcana and get as much Grasp as possible so you can equip more cards that further supplement your runs. You want to have at least one Death Defiance effect unlocked and it is recommended to use The Origination as well. Remember that for this card to be effective, you must have a way of inflicting two curses on your enemies consistently.

The Huntress or The Wayward Sun are good cards to use, although the former does not affect your Omega Damage. While usually, you can get away with passive Magick regeneration from a Boon, it doesn’t hurt to have The Unseen equipped as well if you feel like you need it. In summary, The Sorceress, The Furies, The Titan, Eternity, Origination, The Huntress, The Queen, and The Wayward Sun are the cards we recommend in most builds.
 

Keepsakes

As you give out Sweet Nectar to the characters you come across you will have a good number of Keepsakes to choose from. Skelly’s Tooth is an excellent choice as it provides an extra Death Defiance for your runs. If you are particularly unlucky with the rarity of your Boons, Aromatic Phial from Narcissus is quite helpful because it enhances the HP restore from fountains as well as upgrades a random common Boon into Rare/Epic/Heroic.

Transcendent Embryo from Chaos is one of the strongest since you can keep their Boon even after you take it off, but the effect is random. Silken Sash given by Arachne is also worth considering as a defensive option as it gives you armor each time you enter a new location.
 

Hexes

Hexes, a new addition to the game, is a modification of the Call ability that was found in the original Hades. We believe most of the Hexes are so-so in terms of contributing to your runs in Hades II. However, one Hex in particular stands out from the rest: Moon Water. Between every fountain, it grants you 25 health of healing up to 3 times for very little Magick. The amount of utility this provides is absolutely a game-changer.
 

Weapons

With the prerequisites out of the way, here are the best builds for each weapon.

Witch’s Staff

The Witch’s Staff is a well-rounded weapon that lets you deal great damage from a safe distance when built a certain way. For a starting weapon, this is good enough to carry you to the end of the game If you don’t have any qualms against the playstyle. The best modification for the Witch’s Staff that you can get from Daedalus’ Hammer is the Double Moonshot which makes you fire two projectiles from your special. This essentially doubles your damage output.

A close runner-up is the hammer that doubles your attacks, which has a much larger range than your special, allowing you to play it safe. Wave Flourish from Poseidon is ideal for this weapon as it gives your specials bonus damage as well as knockback. To increase the chances of encountering Poseidon, it is recommended to equip his keepsake. Rapid Moonfire and Shimmering Moonshot are decent second hammers for this weapon.

As you go on with your run, Slippery Slope from Poseidon would be the perfect addition as it adds a curse to your special. Then, you can get Smoldering Ring from Hestia or Scalding Vapor, a duo. However, you would need to have Slippery Slope in advance for this duo which can be a little unlikely. Lastly, if you don’t happen to encounter Hestia in your run, Zeus' Boons for your attacks or special are great options. His Boons are so flexible that they can work with just about any build and weapon.

Moonshot Axe

Many players consider the Moonshot Axe to be one of the strongest weapons in the game because of its easy-to-pick-up play style and large AoE. This was also the weapon I got my first win with. The best and one of the most fun builds for this weapon is the spin-to-win build which prioritizes your Omega Attack. Since the Omega Attack requires a moment to charge up, it is a must to have The Sorceress Arcana equipped which slows down time as you charge up your Omega Attacks.

The best hammer for this build is Advancing Whirlwind which allows you to throw your whirlwind ahead of you along with bonus damage. With this, you want to get Apollo’s Nova Strike or Demeter’s Ice Strike which enhances your attacks. The next step in your build is to get Psychic Whirlwind which lets you attack while you unleash your Omega Attack or Furious Whirlwind which allows your Omega Attack to charge up faster. Following that up, you can use Aphrodite’s Flutter Strike to further enhance your damage since you will be in close range.

Demeter has a great Boon for when you're using Omega attack a lot, but you'll need even more Magick regen so be careful and make sure you take something decent for that. Lastly, to account for the aggressive playstyle, Demeter’s Freeze Boons or Chaos’s Boon that increases Omega charge rate are excellent options.

Sister Blades

The Sister Blades is a stylish weapon with some great build paths. It is probably one of the easiest to clear with when you don’t have any aspects. The strongest hammer upgrade for this weapon is the Hook Knives built with Omega Special spam. This hammer upgrade makes your specials return to you, doubling your special damage already, plus they do backstab damage now. With Aphrodite’s Flutter Strike, your Omega Special at close range deals a massive burst of damage.

This build also works quite well at range when you’re dealing with smaller enemies, but you need a decent amount of Magick regen for it to keep up. Boons from Zeus, Poseidon, Hestia, and Hera are the best for this situation. Aphrodite’s Heartthrob and Hestia’s Controlled Burn are excellent follow-ups. Getting one specific hammer upgrade can be quite difficult though, so you can pick Skulking Slice or Final Slice as well. While these play a lot differently, they are still great upgrades with really good build paths. The Sister Blades is a well-rounded weapon overall.

Argent Skull

The Argent Skull is one of the flashiest weapons that can be found in Hades II. The weapon has decent damage output with just about any build. One thing to keep in mind though, is that you should abuse its Omega Special. The best way to use it is by shooting your shells in the direction you are about to dash into so you can retrieve them.

You are invulnerable during the dash so you can safely spam this given you have a good amount of Magick regen. For hammer upgrades, Bolstered Array and Twisting Crash are great options. Zeus’ attack Boon alongside a cast from Aphrodite, Demeter, or Hestia makes for excellent combos because you get another curse alongside Blitz. If you don’t encounter Zeus, Aphrodite’s special Boon is also a great substitute.

Umbral Flames

Umbral Flames is a little underwhelming and hard to make work without aspects, but it can be fun to work with. The weapon’s vanilla attacks don't work well no matter what Boons you have on it. So instead, it is recommended to spam the specials and ignore the attack entirely. However, it's important to note that the specials on the flames do not stagger enemies so they will freely try to attack you, so it may be best to grab Demeter's cast and or dash to slow and freeze enemies while you hug them.

The best hammers are going to be Triple Helix and Growing Coils to get those specials hitting as often as possible. You might notice a trend here, but Poseidon on the special is probably the best at this point. However, Zeus' blitz should work well too if you get some follow-up Boons from him. Another useful tidbit is that Demeter's Cyclone effect does count as a curse even though the game does not specify it as one.

That covers all the weapons in Hades II for now. The key takeaway is to have a decent Arcana and Keepsake base and abuse whatever aspect of the weapon you are using that seems convenient or powerful. It is recommended to have ways to apply at least two curses on your enemies and lastly, you can rarely go wrong with Boons from Poseidon and Zeus.

Also, check out my Hades II Review and other guides below:

- Hades II: How To Increase Max Magick
- Hades II: How To Increase Max Health
- Hades II: How to Increase Grasp
- Hades II: Learning How Armor Works
- Hades II: What is Magick, How to Use it and More!

Ahnaf Tajwar,
Editor, NoobFeed