Hades: Beginner's Guide & Best Tips

Introduction

Look, I’ve got 400+ hours in Hades. I’ve speedrun it, I’ve done 32-heat runs, I’ve cried over Zagreus’s relationship with his mom, and I’ve yelled at the screen when a Chaos boon gave me -40% damage right before the Theseus fight. This game is not just a roguelike. It’s a masterpiece of pacing, story, and mechanical depth that somehow makes dying feel rewarding. You know a game is special when you actually want to die just to see what new dialogue Dusa has.

But here’s the thing: Hades will absolutely punish you in the first 10-20 runs. Not because it’s unfair, but because the game expects you to fail. The progression system is built around you dying, collecting Darkness and Keys, and slowly turning Zagreus from a glorified punching bag into a god-killing machine. I spent my first three runs trying to stack poison (Dionysus hangover) on everything and got annihilated by the Bone Hydra every time because I didn't realize stacking DoTs doesn't stack damage infinitely. Rookie mistake.

This guide is everything I wish someone had told me on Run #1. No fluff. No corporate "leverage your build synergy" garbage. Just real talk from someone who’s been melted by the Lava in Asphodel more times than I care to admit.

Getting Started / First Steps

When you first start, you have zero upgrades. Your sword does pathetic damage, your dodge roll feels sluggish, and Meg will probably steamroll you in Tartarus. That’s fine. Here’s what you actually need to do first:

• Spend your first 3-5 Keys on unlocking the other weapons. The Stygian Blade is okay, but the Shield of Chaos is a god-tier beginner weapon. You can block everything (including Meg’s spin attack) with its bull rush. I cleared my first run with the shield. It’s that good.
• Darkness goes into the Mirror of Night. Prioritize Death Defiance (extra lives) and Chthonic Vitality (healing when you clear a room). These two upgrades single-handedly turned my runs from "die in Asphodel" to "consistently reach Hades." Do not waste Darkness on cosmetic house upgrades until you’ve maxed those.
• Gemstones? Spend them on the Contractor in the lounge. The first thing you should buy is the Pom Blossom companion trinket (it levels up a random boon each zone). Run past the Lyre. It’s a joke. Don’t fall for it.
• Talk to everyone. Every single NPC after every run. Give nectar to everyone until they give you a keepsake. Cerberus’s keepsake (+HP) and Skelly’s Lucky Tooth (one extra Death Defiance) are lifesavers for early players. I literally kept Skelly’s tooth on for 15 runs straight.

Also, do not ignore the codex. Each time you run into a god, their boon pool is fixed until you reach a certain level of "favor" with them. The game does not tell you this. But if you keep getting bad boons from Zeus, it’s because you haven’t given him nectar or talked to him enough back at the House.

Core Mechanics & Progression

Let’s talk about how the game actually works past the surface level. The tutorial tells you about boons, poms, and hammers. It doesn’t tell you about the hidden mechanics that make or break runs.

• Boon rarity matters way more than you think. A Common boon from Artemis gives ~30% crit chance. A Rare gives ~45%. Epic gives 60%. But a Heroic (which you only get from Eurydice or rare rooms) can hit 80%. I’ve one-shot the final boss with a Heroic Artemis crit build. Prioritize Yarn of Ariadne from the Well of Charon (guarantees next boon is at least Rare). That 50-gold investment has saved more runs than I can count.
• Duo boons are the key to broken builds. My favorite is Merciful End (Ares + Athena): your Doom effects trigger instantly when you deflect. Pair that with the fists and you run around like a blender. Most Duos require specific boon combinations. Use the Codex to check prerequisites. For example, Sea Storm (Poseidon + Zeus) requires their core boons. I spent 10 runs wondering why it never showed up until I checked the wiki.
• Hammer upgrades are the single most impactful decision in a run. They’re weapon-specific. For the shield, Charged Shot (fires a projectile with your bull rush) turns you into a sniper. For the bow, Focused Volley (power shot on special) melts bosses. I will literally reroll a run if I don’t get a hammer by Asphodel. They’re that good.
• Darkness and Ambrosia are the long-term grind. Maxing the Mirror of Night takes about 200 Darkness per upgrade late-game. Don’t stress about it. Just keep playing. The game’s story has 10+ epilogues that only unlock after you’ve done 50+ runs. The progression is the story.

Expert Tips & Tricks

Alright, you’ve got 20 runs under your belt. You’ve beaten Meg consistently. Maybe you’ve even seen the final boss once. Here’s the stuff that separates "I beat the game" from "I can clear a run with my eyes closed."

• Learn to use your dash-strike. Dash-strike (attack + dash at the same time) does 50% more damage than a normal attack for most weapons. For the sword and fists, it’s your bread and butter. I used to just spam dash and attack separately until I realized I was losing 30% DPS. On the railgun (Exagryph), dash-strike lets you fire while moving, which is basically cheating.
• Cast builds are sleeper OP. Most new players ignore the Cast (right-click). Don’t. Crystal Clarity (Demeter + Artemis) gives you homing laser beams that track enemies through walls. I beat the final boss on 16 heat with just cast damage while dodging everything. Ice Wine (Demeter + Dionysus) turns your cast into a grenade that chills and does AOE. Pair it with Glacial Glare and you can stunlock bosses.
• Use the Forced Overtime pact condition (for experienced players). It makes enemies move 20% faster, but it also increases your Dark Thirst (bonus Darkness on weapons you haven’t used). It sounds scary, but the speed increase is manageable after 10 runs. It’s the easiest way to farm Darkness for endgame mirror upgrades.
• Never skip the mid-shop rooms. The rooms with the golden purse icon let you buy boons/hammers/poms. If you see a Purple heart (boon) in the shop, and you have 150 gold, buy it. Even if it’s a duplicate god. You can sell boons later for 50-100 gold at the end of each zone. The game’s economy rewards hoarding gold early for late-game power spikes.
• Styx chambers (the final area) have a hidden mechanic. Those small rooms with tiny enemies? They spawn infinitely until you break the legendary urns. Don’t fight forever. Rush the urns. I once spent 4 minutes in a Styx room because I was trying to clear all enemies, only to realize the exit doesn’t open until you destroy the glowing pots.

Advanced Strategies

Once you’re comfortable beating the game on zero heat, it’s time to crank it up. Here’s how the endgame really works:

• Heat selection is tactical. Don’t just max out everything. The worst heat conditions (in my opinion) are EM3 (Extreme Measures Theseus) and BP2 (Bonus damage from armored enemies). These are run-enders for 90% of players. Stick with Hard Labor (more enemy damage) and Lasting Consequences (less healing) — these are easier to play around with good dodging.
• Weapon aspects change everything. The Hidden Aspects (like Excalibur for the sword or Rama for the bow) are locked behind specific dialogues. To unlock them, you need to invest 5 Titan Blood into a weapon’s normal aspects. Then talk to Nyx or Achilles. Excalibur’s slow but massive hammer swings can one-shot most enemies in Tartarus. Rama bow lets you charge up a volley that hits every enemy on screen. These are endgame toys that make the game feel fresh.
• Call boons are high-risk, high-reward. Zeus’s Call (lightning bolt) is the strongest because it does massive damage and stuns. But Poseidon’s Call (tidal wave) is actually better for survivability — it gives you invincibility frames while you’re riding the wave. I’ve used it to dodge Hades’s sweep attack multiple times. Don’t sleep on it.
• The Companion system (pet items) is broken. You get them after maxing out a character’s affinity. Megaera’s companion (summons her to do an AOE attack) is the best for crowd control. Thanatos’s (big damage on a single target) is great for bosses. I use Meg’s almost every run. It kills all the poison rats in Styx instantly.

One thing nobody tells you: the game’s difficulty curve is backwards. The first 10-20 runs are brutal. Runs 20-40 get easier as you unlock mirror upgrades. Runs 40+ become about chasing specific Duo boons and speedrunning. And then you hit 32 heat and cry. That’s the cycle.

FAQ

• Q: Which weapon is best for first clear? A: The Shield of Chaos. Blocking, bull rush damage, safe play. I cleared my first run with it at run #27. The bow is also good if you like kiting. Don’t try the fists until you have good boons — they force you to get close and get punished.
• Q: How do I unlock more story content? A: Just keep playing and always talk to everyone after every run. Give nectar to Persephone (your mom) when you find her in the final boss fight. The story progresses based on number of successful encounters, not runs. Some dialogues take 50+ encounters to unlock. It’s meant to be a slow burn.
• Q: Is there a way to reroll boons? A: Yes. The Fated Persuasion mirror upgrade lets you reroll boon choices once per room. Max it out. Also, the Midnight Shard from the Well of Charon gives you a free reroll. I always buy it if I see it.
• Q: I’m stuck on Hades (the final boss). Help? A: His phase 2 is the real fight. His spin attack does 80 damage even with max HP upgrades. Learn the tell (he pauses for a second). Dash through him when he swings. Use the pillars to block his laser beam. Also, equip Skelly’s Lucky Tooth for an extra death defiance. And for the love of Zeus, don’t stand in the green pots he throws — they summon those skulls that drain your health.
• Q: What’s the point of fishing? A: You get Diamond and Ambrosia from fishing (if you catch a rare fish). These are used for endgame upgrades and story items. Plus, it’s a nice break from the murder. Just hit the button when the bobber goes under — no timing needed.
• Q: How do I unlock the hidden companion called "The Shade"? A: That’s a meme. There is no Shade companion. But if you see a red shade cheering for Theseus in Elysium, you can wave at him by pressing the emote button. It does nothing. But I do it every time out of respect.

And that’s it, really. Go die a bunch. Talk to your dad. Pet Cerberus. Try the stupid build where you stack Zeus lightning with Poseidon knockback and watch everything die in a sea of lightning bolts. Hades rewards experimentation and persistence. I still find new boon combinations after 400 hours. That’s what makes it special.

Now get out there and escape. I’ll see you in Elysium.