To get started in Hades II, we have 5 tips for you that will make it easier to dive right in. We wish we had known this earlier!
Hades II celebrates its release after a long time in Early Access. We have already spent many dozens of hours in Hades II and experienced a large part of the game – therefore, we are also sure that Hades II is one of the major games of 2025. However, Hades II does not explain everything and leaves many details out that you can only find out through experimentation.
That’s why we have here 5 tips for you that we wish we had known before playing Hades II, as they make the experience much more enjoyable.
1. Enemies are stunned as long as you attack them, except …
In Hades II, there is basically a constant “panic” state, as your health points are limited and the enemies are numerous. Every hit can cause (sometimes irreversible) damage and ensure that the run ends prematurely.
Being calm is much better than panicking – especially when you know one thing: The vast majority of enemies are stunned as long as you attack them. This means: If you overwhelm a single enemy or a small group with attacks, they cannot retaliate during this time. Because each hit from Melinoë resets the enemy’s attack animation and stuns them for a brief moment.
But caution, there are some exceptions: The respective bosses of a level (such as Hecate or Scylla) continue to attack while you are hitting them.
The same applies to all enemies that have armor, which means a yellow health bar that protects their normal health points. As long as enemies have armor, they can attack you unhindered and even cross your ban circles without being significantly delayed.
2. Synergy is better than epic rewards
When you receive gifts from the gods, especially epic gifts stand out clearly. Through countless games, we are trained: “Epic” or “Purple” means “extremely good” and is always to be preferred.
This is not necessarily the case in Hades II. It is true that an epic gift, in isolation, fundamentally has a higher value than a normal or rare one – but the gifts do not exist in a vacuum.
When choosing a gift, you should always pay attention to which gifts and effects you already have active in this run.
A small example: You get a gift from Zeus and have the choice whether to add a powerful, epic lightning strike for 160 damage to your ban circle or a normal gift that adds a mini-chain lightning for 10 damage to all your attacks.
If you have previously increased your attack speed or are using a weapon that makes many small hits in a short time, then the chain lightning can be much more powerful than the epic alternative.
Synergy is more important than rarity, even if epic purple is tempting.
3. Focus on resources is important
Especially at the beginning, the great appeal of Hades II (and all roguelike games) is that you want to progress as far as possible. But that should not be the focus at the beginning. At first, it is much more efficient to concentrate on gathering resources.
Bones, ash, psyche, and nectar are particularly important at the beginning to provide you with permanent upgrades. By using ash and psyche, you can expand your Arcana collection, which are permanent buffs that are active in every run.
Nectar, in turn, is needed to give gifts to other characters. You should do this at least once for every character, as in exchange they will give you a lucky charm that also improves your abilities or grants special bonuses.
Bones serve as “all-rounders” because you can exchange them for other resources at a merchant you unlock early on – including psyche and ash.
So if you have the choice between a new blessing or some resources at the beginning, prefer the resources, as it pays off in the long run.
4. Daedalus Hammer is more important than (almost) anything else
Even though resources are important, there is one upgrade that you should choose almost every single time: the Daedalus Hammer. This golden hammer offers you the choice between 3 options that can drastically modify your weapon.
In most cases, the effects of a Daedalus Hammer are so strong that it can outweigh 2 or 3 gifts from other gods. Some upgrades can increase your attacks by up to 300% or increase the attack speed so drastically that you deal more than double the damage in the same time.
Whenever you see a Daedalus Hammer as a potential reward: Take it. You won’t regret it.
Of course, an exception would be if you are completely satisfied with your build and do not want any modification to your weapon attacks. Generally, however, the Daedalus Hammer is an upgrade that offers you many “gain faster” improvements.
Another exception could be when you have to choose between the Daedalus Hammer and Charon’s shop. Since Charon always offers you 3 items (with some blessings even more), a visit to Charon can be more valuable here than the hammer.
5. The Book of Shadows is “smart”
A final tip that has nothing to do with combat or resources but will still save you time. The Book of Shadows is your collection of important information. Whether it’s about the gods of Olympus, the servants of the Underworld, enemies, or resources – in the Book of Shadows, you see everything that matters.
However, it can sometimes be annoying to find what you’re actually looking for in the Book of Shadows. If you want to see how popular you are with the High Witch Hecate, you have to click through several pages to find the entry.
But the Book of Shadows is “intelligent”. When you open it (on PC: C key) while standing in front of a character or object, it automatically opens the correct page related to that character or object. This way, you can quickly see whether it would be worth giving a character another nectar or other gift.
Do you have any other tips and tricks that one should know before starting Hades II? What mistakes did you make at the beginning that you would avoid on a second playthrough? Are you focusing on resources at the beginning or do you want to progress as far as possible?
If you are not yet sure whether Hades II is for you – take a look at what we think of the game.
