by theygamesGodly boons are the backbone of your build in Hades 2, but not all boons are created equal. Some mythological gifts are much more useful than others, especially for certain playstyles.
While you’re still at the mercy of RNG for your godly boons during a Hades 2 run, you can use certain Keepsakes and other upgrades to encounter your favorite gods more frequently. You can even upgrade their boons and re-roll certain options if you have the right Arcana Cards.
Best Artemis Boons in Hades 2
Unlike other gods, Artemis is encountered randomly during combat. When she appears, the screen will flash green and “the hunt is on” will pop up at the top of the screen.
Most of Artemis’ boons are incredibly useful, but there are a few in particular that are super strong. Lethal Snare is arguably the best Artemis boon since it gives foes in your Casts a chance to take critical damage. Pressure Points is another solid choice since it makes any damage you deal have a chance to be critical. Finally, Death Warrant is great sicne it marks random foes and debuffs them.
Best Apollo Boons in Hades 2
Apollo has a ton of great boons and specializes in Daze, a debuff that gives enemies a chance to deal zero damage with their attacks. He’s not the greatest god for most builds, but his boons still come in handy.
The best Apollo boon is Nova Strike, which increases the hitbox size for each of your attacks and causes them to deal more damage in a larger area. There’s also Nova Flourish for Special builds since it makes your Specials deal more damage in a larger area. Finally, Blinding Sprint is a great evasive boon since it makes your sprint faster and also causes it to apply Daze to nearby foes.
Best Aphrodite Boons in Hades 2
Surprisingly, Aphrodite is one of the strongest gods in Hades 2. The Goddess of Love’s boons inflict Weak upon your foes, making them deal less damage to you. Her other boons are great for aggressive play styles, too.
The best Aphrodite boon is Flutter Strike, which makes your attack deal more damage to foes that are close to you. When paired with Heartbreaker, which creates a Hearthrob projectile when you use 30 magic, you can dash in and out of crowds to deal massive damage. There’s also Glamour Gain, which marks one enemy with Weak at the start of an encounter and causes you to restore magic near weak foes.
Best Demeter Boons in Hades 2
Demeter is one of the more common gods that you’ll encounter during your Hades 2 runs, but the Goddess of Seasons still has plenty of powerful boons to bestow upon you. Demeter’s main specialty is Freeze, which can easily give you the upper hand in combat.
The best overall Demeter boon is Tranquil Gain. This rapidly restores your magic (25 every second) after you stand still and remain inactive for one second. This is insanely useful for every Hades 2 build. There’s also Ice Strike, which increases your basic attack damage and makes your attacks inflict Freeze. Cold Storage is another solid choice since it just makes your Freeze effects last even longer.
Best Hestia Boons in Hades 2
Hestia, Goddess of Flame, is a very powerful ally in Hades 2. Her specialty is Scorch, one of the strongest status effects in Hades 2. If you like to use the Sister Blades, then Hestia is the goddess for you.
The best overall Hestia boon is Flame Strike, which makes your basic attacks inflict Scorch. The key to Scorch is attack speed, so slow weapons like the Moonstone Axe aren’t ideal here. If you have a slower weapon, then try using something like Smoulder Ring which makes your Cast repeatedly inflict Scorch to all foes caught inside. Soot Sprint is also a really strong Hestia boon since it causes your spring to destroy most ranged projectiles near you while also inflicting Scorch on those that fired them.
Best Hephaestus Boons in Hades 2
Hephaestus not only has one of the best designs in Hades 2, but also some of the best boons for every build. Hephaestus has boons that make your attacks deal massive burst damage with blasts, so he’s perfect for every type of Hades 2 build no matter what weapon you’re running.
The best overall Hephaestus boon is Volcanic Flourish. This makes your Specials occasionally deal 400 bonus damage with a blast. If you’d rather get up close and personal, then Volcanic Strike does the same thing to your basic attacks. If you need more defense, then Uncanny Fortitude is a remarkably strong boon that grants you bonus HP based on your maximum magic limit. Molten Touch is another great choice that helps you shred armor (yellow health bars).
Best Hermes Boons in Hades 2
As the God of Swiftness, Hermes bestows boons that are all about speed. He can help you dodge attacks and clear rooms much faster as long as you maintain an agressive play style.
The best Hermes boon is Hard Target, which slows down all incoming projectiles and makes them easier to dodge. Since some later Hades 2 stages can start to feel like bullet hells, this boon will make things much more manageable. Depending on your weapon of choice, Swift Strike or Swift Flourish can make your life easier with faster Specials or normal attacks respectively.
Best Poseidon Boons in Hades 2
Poseidon is a very common god that you’ll become super familar with throughout the course of Hades 2. To nobody’s surprise, the God of the Sea has water-based boons that grant your attacks knockback power and help you find more treasure after each encounter.
Poseidon’s boons aren’t too exciting, but the knockback power provided by Geyser Ring, Wave Flourish, and Wave Strike are surprisingly helpful. In our experience, however, the best overall Poseidon boon is Fluid Gain. This occasionally spawns Spirit Bubbles that restore magic after landing attacks. If you want to find more items during your runs, there’s also Sunken Treasure and Ocean’s Bounty as well.
Best Selene Boons in Hades 2
Selene, Moon Incarnate, provides special boons called Hexes that are basically ultimate abilities that you can activate after using enough magic. Every player should aim to meet Selene at least once per run regardless of their build since Hexes are unique abilities that don’t take up a boon slot.
The best Selene Hex is Moon Water, which allows you to heal up to 25 HP three times (and this resets when you reach a fountain). Getting three free heals is huge in Hades 2, even if it comes at the cost of more powerful offensive abilities. If you’re confident in your survivability, then you can take the devastating Lunar Beam or the crowd-clearing Twilight Curse instead.
Best Zeus Boons in Hades 2
Zeus, God of Lightning and King of the Olympians, has some of the best boons that you can get in Hades 2. He’s also incredibly common in the early stages of the game, so his electric powers can help carry you through some of the tough fights in Erebus.
Zeus’ boons grant your attacks Blitz, which causes enemies to get struck by lightning after being hit. After choosing Heaven Flourish or Heaven Strike to add Blitz to your Specials or basic attacks, the best Zeus boon to pick is Electric Overload. This causes a chain-lightning effect after Blitz activates, so it’s perfect for clearing rooms of enemies. On the other hand, Double Strike is great for bosses and single target damage since it causes lightning to strike twice when Blitz is triggered.