Hades is the roguelike that converted people who hate roguelikes. Supergiant Games created a game where dying is genuinely fun because each death advances a rich story with fully voice-acted dialogue that changes based on how you died, what weapons you used, and which gods you interacted with. The gameplay loop sends Zagreus through four distinct regions of the Underworld, collecting boons (power-ups) from Olympian gods that synergize in wildly creative ways. Over 300 unique boon combinations mean every run feels different, and the weapon Aspect system adds another layer of build diversity. Even after your first successful escape, the Pact of Punishment adds escalating difficulty modifiers for hundreds of hours of replayability.
Starting Hades can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Hades is a roguelike game built around boon selection and mirror upgrades. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Build
| Build | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Stygian Blade | Excellent for beginners | Dash in, use special for the crit buff, then spam attacks on the boss. Artemis boons stack crit to 30%+ making your DPS extremely high. |
| Heart-Seeking Bow | Excellent for beginners | Tag enemies with one charged attack, then spam special to auto-home 4+ arrows on the tagged target. The Ares Doom procs stack devastatingly. |
| Shield of Chaos | Good (but demanding) | Throw the shield and let it bounce between all enemies while blocking with bull rush. Add Zeus lightning for massive AoE clear speed. |
| Adamant Rail | Good (but demanding) | Fire your special grenade, dash into the explosion to trigger Eris buff, then empty your magazine into the boss with +75% damage for 4 seconds. |
| Twin Fists of Malphon | Excellent for beginners | Pull enemies in with Talos special, then rapid-punch to stack Hangover. The fast attack speed means status effects apply faster than any other weapon. |
Our recommendation: Start with Heart-Seeking Bow. Coronacht (the bow) excels at safe, ranged damage with charged power shots. Aspect of Chiron causes your special to automatically target the last enemy hit by your attack, creating a reliable damage loop. Pair with Aphrodite attack for massive power shot damage and Ares special for stacking Doom on auto-target specials.
Avoid Twin Fists of Malphon as your first pick. Malphon (the fists) have the fastest attack speed in the game, making them ideal for on-hit effects.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn boon selection
Olympian gods offer boons (abilities) after clearing rooms. Each god has a theme: Zeus adds chain lightning, Artemis adds critical hits, Aphrodite adds damage weakness, Ares adds damage-over-time, etc. Boons attach to your attack, special, cast, dash, or call. Combining two gods' boons can trigger Duo Boons — rare, powerful hybrid effects like Merciful End (Ares+Athena) that trigger Doom on deflected attacks.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how boon selection works before worrying about anything else.
Step 2: Head to Tartarus
The first region with relatively weak enemies but dangerous traps (spike floors, lava). Contains 14 chambers before the first boss: Megaera (or her sisters, depending on story progression). Focus on building your core boon loadout here. The Chaos Gates in Tartarus are worth entering for powerful Chaos boons.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Varatha — it's the most accessible early upgrade. The Eternal Spear with long range poke and a thrown special. Aspect of Guan Yu trades max HP for a massive spinning attack that heals on hit. It's a high-risk high-reward aspect that rewards skilled play. The standard spear is a safe, reliable weapon for learning the game.
Step 4: Understand mirror upgrades
The Mirror of Night in Zagreus's bedroom provides permanent meta-progression upgrades purchased with Darkness currency. Key upgrades include Death Defiance (3 extra lives per run), Greater Reflex (extra dash), and Privileged Status (bonus damage to enemies with 2+ status effects). Each mirror talent has two options — the alternate options unlock later and enable different playstyles.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early — it pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Asphodel
A lava-flooded region with ranged enemies and magma hazards on the floor. Contains ~10 chambers before the Bone Hydra boss (Lernaean Bone Hydra). The Hydra is a DPS check — it spawns additional heads at 66% and 33% HP that must be killed. Asphodel is where bad builds start to struggle.
Essential Mechanics Explained
boon selection
Olympian gods offer boons (abilities) after clearing rooms. Each god has a theme: Zeus adds chain lightning, Artemis adds critical hits, Aphrodite adds damage weakness, Ares adds damage-over-time, etc. Boons attach to your attack, special, cast, dash, or call. Combining two gods' boons can trigger Duo Boons — rare, powerful hybrid effects like Merciful End (Ares+Athena) that trigger Doom on deflected attacks.
mirror upgrades
The Mirror of Night in Zagreus's bedroom provides permanent meta-progression upgrades purchased with Darkness currency. Key upgrades include Death Defiance (3 extra lives per run), Greater Reflex (extra dash), and Privileged Status (bonus damage to enemies with 2+ status effects). Each mirror talent has two options — the alternate options unlock later and enable different playstyles.
weapon aspects
Each of the six weapons (called Infernal Arms) has four Aspects that fundamentally change how they play. For example, the Stygian Blade's Aspect of Nemesis adds +15% crit after special, while Aspect of Arthur transforms it into a massive slow sword with a 50-HP shield aura. Aspects are unlocked with Titan Blood from boss encounters.
keepsake system
Keepsakes are equippable trinkets earned by giving Nectar to NPCs. Each keepsake provides a unique passive effect — Cerberus's Shattered Shackle adds damage in special-less rooms, while Zeus's Thunder Signet guarantees a Zeus boon at the next eligible door. You can swap keepsakes between regions, allowing strategic planning.
relationship building
Giving Nectar and Ambrosia to NPCs advances relationship storylines with unique dialogue at each stage. Some relationships unlock powerful Companion summons — Megaera's companion deals 2500 damage on use. The story advances through dozens of runs, with dialogue trees that reference your specific gameplay choices and death circumstances.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Not taking Death Defiance from the Mirror — three extra lives per run is the difference between clearing and failing
Always max it first.
2. Ignoring the Duo Boon prerequisites — grabbing random boons instead of building toward a specific Duo Boon like Merciful End or Ice Wine wastes your build potential
3. Selling boons at Charon's Well that have synergies with your build — always read what Privileged Status and your current effects need before selling
4. Ignoring Daedalus Hammer choices — the hammer modifies your weapon's core mechanics (like adding rocket to the rail or chain bounce to the shield)
It's usually the most impactful choice in a run.
5. Fighting Hades without at least two Death Defiance remaining — his phase 2 has several near-unavoidable attacks that will catch even experienced players off guard
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand boon selection and mirror upgrades
- Choose Heart-Seeking Bow as starting build
- Clear Tartarus main content
- Acquire Varatha or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Asphodel
- Privileged Status from the Mirror (+40% damage to enemies with 2+ status effects) is the single strongest mirror upgrade. Build around applying two different status effects (e.g., Aphrodite Weak + Dionysus Hangover) to trigger it.
- Duo Boons require having prerequisite boons from both gods. Check the Codex (hotkey available in-run) to see each Duo Boon's requirements so you can plan your build.
Tips for New Players
- Privileged Status from the Mirror (+40% damage to enemies with 2+ status effects) is the single strongest mirror upgrade. Build around applying two different status effects (e.g., Aphrodite Weak + Dionysus Hangover) to trigger it.
- Duo Boons require having prerequisite boons from both gods. Check the Codex (hotkey available in-run) to see each Duo Boon's requirements so you can plan your build.
- The Pom of Power upgrades one random boon — prioritize it when your core attack boon is already selected. A level 5 Aphrodite Heartbreak Strike does 130% bonus damage vs. 50% at level 1.
- Athena's Divine Dash (deflect during dash) is the best defensive boon in the game. It blocks nearly every projectile in the game and trivializes several boss attacks. Take it whenever offered.
- When facing Theseus and Asterius in Elysium, always kill Asterius first. Theseus stays on his chariot throwing spears until 50% HP, then calls in an Olympian god's attacks. Fighting both plus god attacks is a nightmare.
- Keepsake swapping between regions is powerful strategy. Use a god keepsake in Tartarus to guarantee your core boon, then swap to Broken Spearpoint (invincibility after hit) for Elysium bosses.
- Stubborn Defiance (Mirror alternate to Death Defiance) restores 1 life per room instead of 3 per run. It's better for high heat runs where you expect to die repeatedly but worse for boss attempts where you want multiple lives.
- Chaos boons from the Chaos Gates in Tartarus apply a curse for a few rooms then give permanent buffs. The best Chaos boons add extra dashes, increase boon rarity, or give flat damage boosts. Always enter Chaos Gates in Tartarus.
- The fishing minigame appears randomly at room-cleared markers. Always fish — the catches trade for valuable resources (Diamonds, Titan Blood, Ambrosia) at the Head Chef in the lounge.
- At Heat 16+ on the Pact of Punishment, Extreme Measures 4 transforms the Hades boss fight with new attacks and a full arena redesign. Practice lower heats extensively before attempting EM4.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many runs does it take to beat Hades?
Most players escape for the first time between runs 20-40, depending on skill and weapon choice. The story continues through 10 successful escapes to reach the 'credits' ending, and the full epilogue requires dozens more runs plus max relationship levels with key NPCs.
What is the best weapon in Hades?
The Shield of Chaos (Aspect of Zeus) and Adamant Rail (Aspect of Eris) are generally considered the strongest. The Zeus shield bounces indefinitely dealing passive damage, while Eris rail gives a 75% damage boost with a simple combo. That said, every weapon is viable at every heat level with the right boon build.
Does Hades have an ending?
Yes, Hades has a full narrative conclusion. After 10 successful escapes, you see the main story credits. Continuing beyond that unlocks the epilogue questline involving reuniting the Olympian gods, which requires maxing relationships and completing specific events. The full story payoff is worth the investment.
What carries over between runs in Hades?
Darkness (Mirror upgrades), Keys (weapon unlocks), Gemstones (House renovations), Diamonds (contractor upgrades), Titan Blood (weapon Aspects), Ambrosia (NPC relationships), and Nectar (keepsakes) all persist permanently. Your boon build resets each run. Story progress and dialogue are also permanent.
What to Read Next
- Hades Builds — Optimize your build once you've learned the basics
- Hades Walkthrough — Full progression path
- Hades Tips — Advanced strategies for when you're ready
