With Supergiant’s bombastic game Hades recently releasing onto Switch and PC with its 1.0 version, it’s a good time to take a look into its mechanics and help the newer players out. The game has been selling extremely well since it left early access and tons of people are discovering it and falling in love. In Hades, players take the role of Zagreus, Prince of the Underworld, as he desperately tries to escape it and see the outside world.
To help in his escape, Zagreus can use a variety of different weapons such as a sword, bow, shield, spear, gauntlets, and even a gun. All of these weapons have an Attack, a Special, and a Cast. These “Infernal Arms” play incredibly differently and have a variety of different “Aspects” to them, but today we’re focusing on which upgrades (called boons) work best for each one. That said, be careful with your Nectar! A lot of these builds need specific rare boons, so collect all the Godly Keepsakes as quickly as possible if they can.
Updated February 26, 2021 by Jacob Buchalter: This incredible title by Supergiant Games has only grown in popularity since this piece first came out. Since then, Hades has won awards, scored obscenely well on most game critic sites, released on Switch, announced an upcoming physical edition of the game, and more. So, it’s time to re-look at all of Zagreus’ favorite weapons and go a bit more in-depth with what Olympic boons work with each one of them.
Now including every single Olympus God (except Hades himself, sadly enough), which of their boons tend to blend well with all six of Hades’ weapon choices?
Disclaimer: Combat actions with each weapon in Hades are broken down into their Attack, Special, and Cast. So, buffing a weapon’s Attack isn’t the same as buffing the weapon’s entire damage output.
7 The Stygian Blade – “Stygius”
Zagreus’ main weapon is up first, the Stygian Blade. It’s what you’re forced to use in the tutorial run and it’s as basic as they come. This Infernal Arm has a medium attack range, medium damage, and some pretty basic strikes. The only truly unique part about it is the Special — which does an area-of-effect burst. Typically, you’ll want to use boons that capitalize on boosting the raw damage of the special and the speed of the attack. Use the attack to inflict statuses like Jolt, Chill, or Hangover and use the special for burst damage or for statuses like Doom and Weak. Some examples of fantastic boons for the Stygian Blade are:
- Zeus: Works well with almost all of Zeus’ boons, but in particular boons like Electric Shot, Lightning Strike, Thunder Flourish, and Storm Lightning work best.
- Poseidon: Tempest Flourish combined with Breaking Wave does wonders for most Blade Aspects, especially if one finds Razor Shoals or Hydraulic Might. Flood Shot sounds good, but because of the Blade’s short Attack range, it actually hurts more than it helps.
- Athena: Obviously, any of the Divine-centric boons work, but, Divine Flourish is amazing on the Blade, in particular, because of how often Zag tends to use his Special with it. Phalanx Shot is also good, but not amazing.
- Aphrodite: Blown Kiss lets players stick enemies with the Cast from across the room, while Crush Shot is more dangerous with a higher payoff. Either Heartbreak Strike or Flourish will help too, especially if one manages to get Sweet Surrender.
- Artemis: Frankly Artemis’ boons all work well for the Blade since they just innately buff damage and crit chance. For the Aspect of Poseidon especially, the Exit Wounds boon is incredible.
- Ares: Basically, grab boons that make it easy to spread the Doom Effect. Because of how often players want to be using the Cast with the Blade, Slicing Shot doesn’t come recommended. Rather, focus on getting Curse of Pain, then use whatever boons come after to buff it.
- Dionysus: If players aren’t using the Aspect of Poseidon, getting Trippy Shot is okay. If they already are using it, try to avoid it. Instead, go for Drunken Flourish with Drunken Strike as a backup. If players get Bad Influence, use the Special to inflict groups of enemies with Hangover easily, then do extra damage for the rest of the Encounter.
- Hermes: The God of Swiftness has boons that are by far the best for the Stygian Blade. Why? Because many of them, such as Flurry Cast, Auto Reload, and Swift Flourish, focus primarily on increasing the speed at which Zag uses either his Cast or Special.
- Demeter: Do not get Crystal Beam while using the Aspect of Poseidon, it sort of ruins it. Honestly, just go for the Demeter boons that buff damage and inflict Chill, like Frost Flourish or Frost Strike. Arctic Blast is good too since the pure speed of the Blade means you’ll get 10 stacks quickly.
6 The Heart-Seeking Bow – “Coronacht”
Coronacht, the Heart-Seeking Bow, is the weapon players might expect to like the least in Hades (bow-wielding characters can be polarizing), but it has a lot of potential. Early on, the bow has some of the weakest damage, but the safety it gives Zag by letting him attack from afar shouldn’t be underestimated. While the shotgun spread of arrows that the basic-version Special displays might seem weak at first, with the right boon, hammer, and Aspect it can become insane. In general, focus the single-stacking status effects on the Attack (like Doom and Weak) and the multi-stacking statuses on the Special (like Hangover, Jolt, and Chill). Some examples of boon choices are:
- Zeus: Lightning Strike is incredible on Coronacht, on any aspect, and so is Double Strike. But, for specific Aspects like Chiron’s, Thunder Flourish becomes insanely powerful. The Stygian Blade was centered around the Special and Cast, while the Bow is more Attack-focused.
- Poseidon: Poseidon’s boons have the worst Synergy with the Bow since most of them tend to knock an already distant enemy even further. So, grabbing Flood Shot for the Cast or any of the innate buffs like Ocean’s Bounty or Sunken Treasure is actually the best benefit.
- Athena: It’s as simple as Divine Strike for most Aspects and Divine Flourish for the Chiron build. Because players will usually be firing in right at the enemy firing at them, Divine Strike tends to actually hit enemies with their Deflected strikes more often than other weapons. For that reason, getting Blinding Flash is usually a safe bet as well.
- Aphrodite: There’s no insane combination with Aphrodite’s boons and the Bow exclusively; they’re just all relatively beneficial to grab. Heartbreak Flourish/Strike, in general, are helpful, especially with Sweet Surrender.
- Artemis: Unsurprisingly, the Goddess of the Hunt has fantastic synergy with the Bow. All of her boons are good grabs for it, and commonly ignored boons like Support Fire become much better. Specifically, Deadly Flourish is overpowered with the Chiron Aspect will Deadly Strike is amazing with all Aspects.
- Ares: Battle Rage is especially good with the Bow since Zag doesn’t have to dash up to each individual enemy with this weapon. Obviously, Curse of Agony and Curse of Pain are good grabs too. But, in particular, Dire Misfortune or Impending Doom works much better with the Bow than most other weapons.
- Dionysus: Trippy Shot actually works quite well with the Bow, since Zag can litter the room with Festive Fogs then pepper enemies with Arrows. But, Drunken Flourish and Drunken Strike are the real MVPs, since the attack speed of the bow works well to build max Hangover stacks rather quickly.
- Hermes: Hermes actually doesn’t synergize with the bow in any incredible way, but his boons are still helpful. Swift Flourish is good, but Hyper Sprint and Greatest Reflex just help make positioning easier in general.
- Demeter: Crystal Beam This works well here since Zag can put it down immediately, then stack extra damage on top of the beam with the regular Bow attacks. Frost Strike is the clear winner here, but with the Chiron Aspect Frost Flourish and Artic Blast really shine together.
5 The Shield of Chaos – “Aegis”
Aegis is the safest (and most commonly used) weapon to use in Hades, which makes sense for a shield. Its default ability allows players to Bull Rush, which is where Zagreus charges up and blasts toward enemies while blocking incoming damage. It essentially means that Zag can defend while attacking, and it’s the only weapon that straight-up has a block mechanic. Here are some of our favorite boons for it:
- Zeus: A lot of the Shield Aspects are built around the Special. So, if that’s what you’re looking for, Thunder Flourish, Storm Lightning, and Static Discharge work rather well. If players like to Bull Rush, then Dash and Attack boons like Lightning Strike and Thunder Dash are must-haves.
- Poseidon: Poseidon works amazingly with the Shield of Chaos, as this weapon works immensely well in slamming enemies against walls. Breaking Wave, Typhoon’s Fury, and Tempest Strike obviously help with that, but players will get a lot more use out of Tidal Dash than players were likely expecting.
- Athena: The Shield of Chaos is already incredible at blocking attacks, but Athena’s boons just help make Zagreus feel even more invincible. In particular, all the Divine-centric boons enable that. Sure Footing is actually more helpful than it seems since players might accidentally charge while on traps or land on them after a Bull Rush.
- Aphrodite: Zagreus is up close and personal with enemies a lot while using the shield, so Aphrodite boons like Crush Shot, Passion Dash, and Wave of Despair are great to get. Obviously, the Heartbreak line of boons are great too, and Different League is fantastic just for pure survivability.
- Artemis: Deadly Flourish is incredible on the Shield, especially with the Aspect of Chaos. All the Deadly-centric boons are good, but that one is especially overpowered. The dash-Attack with the shield also gets used a lot, so Hunter Dash is a lot more useful here than it would be on other weapons.
- Ares: Anything Blade Rift related is a good grab for the Shield, since players tend to stay close to enemies more often than not. The Curse-centric boons are good, though Curse of Pain is likely the best. Curse of Vengeance is also great to grab for the same reason Different League is for Aphrodite.
- Dionysus: Again, Trippy Shot is good to rely on for Shield builds. Other than that, not many of Dionysus’ boons specifically synergize with the shield. That said, grabbing any of the Drunken-centric boons doesn’t hurt either.
- Hermes: Move speed boons are key for Hermes. The Shield is one of the slower weapons by default, so the faster Zag can attack, the more potential damage he does. Though, Swift Flourish is by far the standout boon to grab in general.
- Demeter: Grab any Frost-Centric boon, no questions asked. Also, Mistral Dash finds more use with the shield typically. Finally, Frozen Touch, Ravenous Will, and Snow Burst work well since the shield isn’t a Cast-based weapon.
4 The Eternal Spear – “Varatha”
Much like the sword, the Varatha is a speedy Infernal Arm that’s meant to steadily poke enemies down. But, rather than doing an AOE burst like the Stygian Blade, the spear has a Special where Zag throws it at enemies. It’s probably the weapon people find to be their least favorite, but that doesn’t at all mean it’s underpowered. The Varatha builds very similarly to the sword, but with less emphasis on the Special and more on the Attack (except for when Zag uses the Aspect of Achilles). A few examples are:
- Zeus: Out of all the Thunder and Lightning-centric boons, Lightning Strike is the best to grab for the Varatha. The Special on all the Aspects is basically single target, so Thunder Flourish isn’t nearly as good as it usually is. Anything that buffs the spears admittedly weak Attack damage is worthwhile.
- Poseidon: The charge Attack for Varatha actually helps make a lot of Poseidon’s boons more viable for it. For example, Breaking Wave and Typhoon’s Fury actually work decently since Zag can knock all enemies away from him with the spinning swing. The best boon to grab in general is likely either Tempest Flourish or Tidal Dash.
- Athena: The spear has some pretty high attack speed, so Divine Strike is the most useful boon to grab. That said, Divine Flourish also works decently well, since it makes Zag’s Special much better for single target Encounters.
- Aphrodite: Much like most of the boon recommendations for the spear, grab anything that buffs Varatha’s attack, such as Heartbreak Strike. Players end up Dashing around the enemies a lot with the spear, so Passion Dash is also quite useful.
- Artemis: Support Fire and Deadly Strike are the two obvious grabs from the Olympic Goddess. Support Fire because of Varatha’s speed will spawn a lot of seeking arrows, while that same speed also gives Deadly Strike more chances to trigger critical damage. That said, True Shot is a good backup as well.
- Ares: The primary goal for Ares boons is to grab whatever makes stacking Doom easiest. Dire Misfortune is the easiest way to work towards that goal, especially if players can get both that and Curse of Agony. But, Curse of Pain gives players an easy way to inflict sizeable damage with the spear from across the room, so there’s that option as well.
- Dionysus: Peer Pressure is the stand-out boon from Dionysus, which likely isn’t what players were expecting. But, because the spear is so nimble, it lets Zag apply the Hangover status to all enemies in a room rather quickly. So, getting Peer Pressure, Drunken Dash, and Bad Influence is a pretty fantastic combination in of itself.
- Hermes: Getting around the room quicker is what matters for Hermes’ boons in regards to Varatha boons like Greatest Reflex or Greater Haste. The Cast-based ones don’t hurt either.
- Demeter: Like the sword, Arctic Blast and Frost Strike work well with the Varatha’s attack speed. Mistral Dash shouldn’t be overlooked either.
3 The Twin Fists – “Malphon”
Now we move on to the Twin Fists of Malphon, the weapon for those who want to get up close and personal in Hades. Players certainly won’t want to pet Cerberus in these! These gauntlets let Zag unleash a flurry of lightning-fast punches by holding down Attack, a devastating uppercut Special, and it’s also the only Infernal Arm with a dash-Special. Obviously, because of how fast the punches are, stacking statuses are incredible on them. Now, here are some ways to build these things:
- Zeus: Lightning Strike is, without doubt, the strongest Zeus boon for the Malphon Fists. Even on the slowest of the Aspects, the Aspect of Gilgamesh, this boon is amazing. Zagreus’ gauntlets are all about chaining an uppercut with a flurry of punches, leading to a lot of chain lightning from each and every attack. Stacking this boon with either High Voltage, Static Discharge, or both easily set players up for the rest of the run.
- Poseidon: Yet, oddly enough, the same sort of boon, Tempest Strike, is not nearly as good as Lightning Strike is. Why? Well, because it knocks foes away, and the Fists of Malphon have an even smaller attack range than the Stygian Blade. No, if anything, aim for something like Haudraulic Might, since Zagreus can easily kill a couple of enemies in 10 seconds with the additional attack buff from this boon.
- Athena: If you’re unlucky and can’t seem to get Lightning Strike from Zeus, then Divine Strike makes a great alternative. It doesn’t have the chain damage that Zeus’ boon does, but Divine Strike buffs each Attack and basically makes Zagreus immune to damage from the front while he’s punching. If not Divine Strike, then for sure Divine Dash.
- Aphrodite: The Fists of Malphon aren’t really centered around Cast builds, but Crush Shot is still a good pick. Why? Because players can get close, unleash a bunch combo, uppercut, then throw out all your Casts to do an insane amount of damage in a very short amount of time. Otherwise, any of the Heartbreak-centric boons work, since inflicting the Weak status is super helpful for hyper-aggressive weapons like the fists.
- Artemis: Other than on the literal gun, Support Fire is best on Malphon’s Fists simply because it’ll always get triggered. And, while these seeking arrows don’t do a lot of damage by themselves, if there is a nonstop flurry of them, individual damage won’t matter. Other options include Hunter Dash, Deadly Flourish, Deadly Strike, and Pressure Points.
- Ares: Unless players can get both Dire Misfortune and Curse of Agony in the same run, we recommend grabbing Curse of Pain instead, and saving the attack buff for a boon from a different God. Otherwise, just grab anything Blade Rift-related or Battle Rage since it’s always a useful one to get.
- Dionysus: Much like Chill or Doom stacks up, Hangover also stacks up, so getting Drunken Strike is an easy recommendation. That said, Numbing Sensation is also a good grab since players can be easily hit while in the middle of a combo or uppercut. Otherwise, it’s the same boons that would work for any weapon, such as Trippy Shot, Strong Drink, or Positive Outlook.
- Hermes: Speed and dodge chance are the name of the game when using Hermes boons with the Fists. boons like Greater Haste, Greater Evasion, Greatest Reflex, and even Swift Flourish. Some Fist Aspects, like the Aspects of both Talos and Demeter, benefit greatly from a faster Special.
- Demeter: Players might’ve missed it in the Codex Entry, but Demeter is actually the only Goddess who wasn’t afraid to use the Twin Fists. So, it makes sense that her boons work rather well with them. boons like the Frost-centric ones, Mistral Dash, Artic Blast, and even Killing Freeze.
2 The Adamant Rail – “Exagryph”
Finally, we come to the Adamant Rail, the literal cannon that Zagreus carries around through the Underworld and the last of the Infernal Arms. Exagryph has even lower starting damage than the bow and actually forces players to reload quite often, but its Attack speed is the fastest in the game, and its Special is a giant AOE bomb. Overall, Exagryph is the best weapon to build stacking effects on because of its Attack speed, while the Special is amazing for single-stack spread. Here are our recommendations:
- Zeus: It’s all about triggering lightning as much as possible with Exagryph, so of course Lightning Strike, Double Strike, High Voltage, Storm Lightning, and Static Discharge are all great suggestions.
- Poseidon: Much like how Coranocht didn’t benefit from the knockback of Poseidon’s boons, neither does the Rail. But, luckily, its Special does synergize rather well with it. With that in mind, getting Breaking Wave, Razer Shoals, Tempest Flourish, Wave Pounding, or Typhoon’s Fury is a pretty smart choice.
- Athena: Not a lot of amazing combos here. But, Divine Dash, for example, is rarely a poor choice. And, Divine Strike can actually be insanely good if the enemy projectiles come at players in just the right way.
- Aphrodite: This ancient gun is all about stacking status effects, and Weak doesn’t stack. But, getting Heartbreak Flourish and Sweet Surrender makes a pretty decent combo overall.
- Artemis: Artermis’ boons just work really well for Exagryph. Getting any of the Deadly-centric boons is a good idea, of course. But, the real standout boons are Pressure Points and Support Fire, considering just how often you’re hitting enemies with this thing
- Ares: Without Dire Misfortune, Ares is kind of an awful God for the Adamant Rail. With it, he’s one of the best. Get this Doom stacking boon and then grab anything and everything related to the Doom status effect.
- Dionysus: This next class of boons is probably the most middle-of-the-road in terms of quality for the Adamant Rail. They’re not amazing, but they’re definitely good since Hangover stacks. So of course, get any Drunken-centric boons, but also look out for Peer Pressure and Trippy Shot as well.
- Hermes: Nothing about Hermes’ boons are particularly good on the Rail, but they’re still helpful. Getting any of the Cast-related boons like Flurry Cast won’t hurt but in general just aim for any boon that affects movement speed or dodge chance.
- Demeter: Once again, Arctic Blast does wonders on the Adamant Rail, but so does Frost Strike, Mistral Dash, and even Ravenous Will. Players can get the Crystal Beam cast, target enemies with them, then add your own Chill damage on top of it with the Rail.
1 The Hidden Aspects – “The Waking Words”
A separate section for all the 4th Aspects of each weapon seems prudent, as they have a different method of being unlocked through “Waking Words.” These Waking Words are found out through some amazingly unique interactions you’ll hopefully stumble upon throughout their runs. Frankly, the blending of storytelling and gameplay elements is one of the ways Hades has innovated on the roguelike genre. They’re all modeled after a famous historical, religious, or mythological figure such as King Arthur, Guan Yu, Lucifer, Beowulf, Rama, and most recently, the Aspect of Gilgamesh. As such, they also build pretty differently from each other so we can’t really recommend specific boons for each god that will apply to all 6 of them. But, in general, keep an eye out for any boons that help with healing or health like Aphrodite’s Life Affirmation or Demeter’s Nourished Soul. Every single one of these Hidden Aspects is overpowered in their own way, it’s just about living long enough to get the right boons so they can strut their stuff.
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