Hades unveiled: Expert tips for your opening odyssey

Incredible run-based video game Hades is set in the Hellenistic underworld. Hades can be somewhat intimidating when you first enter it. There are many factors to consider and many choices to be made, and the game purposely withholds some of the information you require.

Although learning how the game functions is a big part of Hades’ appeal, there are still a few things to bear in mind as you set out on your quest. The following nine suggestions will assist you throughout your first few hours in Hades.

• Priority First: Keys

You may see the reward for a subsequent room on the door that leads out after winning a combat in the underworld by looking at it. Some of these bonuses—like Boons—help the run you’re currently on. However, some, such as Darkness and Keys, allow you to enhance Zagreus for your next visit to the Underworld.

Focus on Keys when you first start out because they are quite difficult to miss because they resemble keys. Keys let you choose among new skills at the Mirror of Night and new weapons at the House of Hades.

You’ll have lots of opportunities to score runs to secure the victory, so think ahead and seize those Keys quickly. Prioritise collecting every weapon in Hades. It’s a good technique to add variety to each run of your games.

• Search Around for Keepsakes with your Nectar

Nectar is one of the several random objects that can be discovered in the underworld. It’s like giving the many Hades characters who cannot be controlled a present. Giving Nectar to figures like Nyx or Cerberus will make you more popular with them. 

It’s preferable to provide Nectar to a variety of characters initially. A character will give you a Keepsake the first time you feed them nectar. These appreciation gifts have gameplay repercussions as well, such as extra wealth, health, or damage under specific circumstances. Make sure you have options. Before giving the same character the nectar more than once, give each character once with nectar.

• For Partroclus, Eurydice, Thanatos, and Sisyphus, Keep Some Nectar

Till you have all the Keepsakes, keep one Nectar in your pocket at the very least.

Only randomly selected Hades characters can be seen. We haven’t seen Patroclus, Eurydice, Thanatos, or Sisyphus in five or more runs. Keep some Nectar with you in case you run across them because you never know when you’ll encounter them.

An event room can be identified by its door preview, which is marked with a grey rock with an exclamation point. Once you’ve encountered Thanatos in Elysium, he will emerge randomly in any location, along with Sisyphus in Tartarus, Eurydice in Asphodel, Patroclus in Elysium, and Eurydice in Tartarus.

• Choose experimentation over winning

You should obtain Keys as soon as possible so that you can access a wealth of skills and weapons right away. You’ll still be figuring out how everything works while playing during those early hours, and every new Boon and monster will be a surprise.

Before you defeat the ultimate boss, you’ll lose quite a few times. Spend more time experimenting and less time getting after people. Although you’ll eventually pass through bosses and places, choose weapons and boons early on to get a sense of Hades’ potential. Who knows? You might come across a surprising combination.

• Contact Everyone

Hades places a strong emphasis on narrative, unlike the majority of roguelikes. Typically, the gameplay and the story are kept quite distinct. But if you want to get some late-game goodies, you’ll need to maintain your relationships with the characters. Yes, you can use Nectar for this, but you can also just talk to people.

You’ll come across a variety of NPCs each time you visit the House of Hades. Some people’s heads are marked with exclamation points. These people have fresh ideas to share. Talk to your friends for a little while before returning to hell. It will have an impact.

• Don’t treat your materials with too much reverence

Any of the six weapons in the game will reward you with a rare substance when you successfully defeat a boss for the first time. The three main components are ambrosia, titan blood, and diamonds. 

These are all helpful objects, even though you won’t utilise many of them until later in the run:

• Weapons are improved by Titan’s Blood.
• Diamonds aid in enhancing the House of Hades.
• After you’ve already given characters a ton of nectar, ambrosia strengthens your bonds with them.

In the House of Hades lounge, an exchange shop will become available as you advance. When you can actually use your Titan’s Blood and Diamonds, they can give you some fairly significant gameplay advantages. The Ambrosia won’t be used by you for a while. Keep one or two with you, but if they’re really piling up, think about trading them for something like Titan’s Blood that will affect your gameplay sooner.

• Frequently replace your keepsakes

While exploring Hades, you’ll gather gems that you can exchange for cool upgrades with the contractors working for the House of Hades. A Keepsake Collection is one of those early upgrades that you should obtain as soon as you can from the level’s completion.

Many of these keepsakes, such as the Lucky Tooth or the Chthonic Coin Purse, are one-time use items. If you use them, the rest of your run will be effectively wasted. However, you can switch out your Keepsake after each boss if you have the Keepsake Collection. You may practically target a build you want by switching mid-run thanks to the Boon Keepsakes, which raise the rarity of an impending Boon and ensure that it comes from a particular god.

A number of Keepsakes can be upgraded in this fashion, and each one gets better the more encounters you finish while wearing it. Just keep in mind that you won’t be able to utilise the same Keepsake again for the remainder of your run if you swap Keepsakes and then leave the menu.

• Establish your objectives for each run

In Hell, not every run ends in victory. Every time you venture into the Underworld, choose an objective and stick with it.

A list of prophecies, which function like a quest’s objectives, is another early update from the Contractors. You must at least once obtain each god’s boon in order to complete these. Knowing if your goal is to complete your run or simply find money is helpful in these circumstances. It’s not always a good idea to try and get a Boon if you’re just trying to get as far as you can.

• Select the Dark Weapon at all Times

One weapon in the inventory will have a purple aura around it before each run of Hades. This indicates that if you utilise it this run, you will receive additional Darkness.

Every time you run, grab and utilise this purple weapon. It gives your money a significant boost and allows you to try out some of Hades’ special boons and weapons early on.