I spent my first 30 Hades runs picking Poseidon boons because water powers looked cool. Do you know how many times I knocked an enemy into a wall and thought "wow, that did nothing"? Too many. Poseidon is great for clearing rooms in Tartarus but falls off hard against bosses with no walls to slam into.

After 100+ runs and every weapon maxed, here's my ranking of every god from "take this every time" to "only if you're desperate."

Athena (S-Tier) — I Was An Idiot For Avoiding Her

I thought Athena was boring because she's defensive. Then I realized Divine Dash is the single best boon in the game. It does 30 damage, deflects projectiles, and makes you immune to ranged attacks. I was dodging bullets like a regular person when I could've been deflecting them back into enemy faces.

Must-pick: Divine Dash — every build needs this. Divine Strike (deflect on attack) is great on slow weapons like Shield and Bow. Bronze Skin (+20% damage resistance) seems boring but it's basically a free health upgrade. Brilliant Riposte (crit after deflect) pairs with Artemis for massive damage.

Legendary — Divine Protection: After taking damage, invincible for 1 second. Triggers once per room. This has saved more runs than any other boon.

Artemis (S-Tier) — The Damage Queen

Once I stopped picking Poseidon and started picking Artemis, my clear rate doubled. Crit damage is the best damage in Hades because it scales with everything.

Must-pick: Deadly Strike (+20% crit on attack) is the best damage boon in the game for attack-based weapons. Support Fire (homing arrow after every offensive action) is free damage on everything you do — attack, special, cast, even dash. Pressure Points (+3% crit on everything) works with no conditions.

Legendary — Fully Loaded: +2 casts. Enables cast-focused builds entirely. If you have this and Poseidon's Flood Shot, you can stunlock most enemies.

Aphrodite (A-Tier) — I Slept On Her For Too Long

Aphrodite's boons have the highest base damage percentages in the game. Her Weak status reduces enemy damage by 30%, which is basically a permanent defensive upgrade. I ignored her for 20 runs and regret every one.

Best picks: Heartbreak Strike (+50% damage at common, highest raw attack bonus), Passion Dash (huge damage + AoE), Broken Resolve (+10% Weak effect, makes enemies hit even softer). Her call is also amazing — invincibility for 2 seconds at full gauge.

Zeus (A-Tier) — Great on Fast Weapons, Meh on Slow Ones

Zeus lightning is incredible on fast weapons (Fists, Rail) because lightning procs on every hit. On slow weapons (Bow, Shield) it's mediocre. I learned this after forcing a Zeus bow build that did less damage than a basic attack.

Best picks: Thunder Flourish (lightning on special) with Chiron Bow or Rail special is S-tier. Static Discharge (jolted — enemies take 10 damage when attacking) is free damage. Lightning Phalanx (cast that zaps in a line) is the best cast in the game for room clearing.

Dionysus (A-Tier) — The Sustain King

Dionysus hangover damage (4 damage per stack per 0.5s) is amazing on fast weapons. Stack it 5 times on Fists and you're doing 40 DPS from status alone. But his real value is Nectar of the Gods — +1 pom level to a random boon per room. In long runs this gives you +15-20 free levels across your build.

Ares (B-Tier) — Situational But Strong

Doom is great on slow weapons (hit once, wait for 50 damage proc). Impending Doom (+100% damage but delayed) makes it even better. But Doom has a problem: it doesn't stack. You hit an enemy, wait for the proc, then hit again. Meanwhile a Zeus build is zapping 5 times in the same window.

Best build: Ares on Special + Athena on Attack = Merciful End duo boon (deflects trigger doom immediately). This combo melts bosses. Without the duo, Ares is solid but not amazing.

Poseidon (C-Tier) — I Defended Him For 30 Runs. I Was Wrong.

Look, I love Poseidon's theme. Knockback is fun in tight rooms. But against bosses with no walls? Useless. His damage is middling and his special effects don't work on the fights that matter. Poseidon's best use is Ocean's Bounty (+20% gold/gem find) for early-run economy. Take it, get rich, then sell it before Elysium.

Exception: Sea Storm duo (Poseidon + Zeus) makes knockback also trigger lightning. This turns Poseidon from C to A tier. But you shouldn't build around a duo boon you might not get.

Demeter (C-Tier) — Too Slow For Most Builds

Chill (40% slow) is good for kiting but bad for damage. Demeter's best boon is Ravenous Will (+30% damage when you have no casts) — that's an S-tier damage boost if you build around it. But most of her boons are outclassed by Athena or Aphrodite.

Duo Boons Worth Building Around

Deadly Reversal (Artemis + Athena): After deflecting, +20% crit for 5 seconds. Best duo in the game. Deflect → crit → everything dies.

Merciful End (Ares + Athena): Deflect attacks trigger doom immediately. Turns Athena's attack into a doom machine gun.

Sea Storm (Poseidon + Zeus): Knockback also triggers lightning. The only way to make Poseidon good in boss fights.

Curse of Nausea (Dionysus + Ares): Doom stacks hangover. Stack two status effects for Privileged Status (+40% damage).

Here's my rule now: always take Athena's Divine Dash, build around Artemis for damage, and only touch Poseidon if I'm doing a meme run. Picking the right god doubled my clear rate. Pick the wrong one and you'll spend 30 minutes slowly losing to [REDACTED] like I did.

Go ahead, take nothing but Poseidon boons for your next 10 runs. I dare you. You'll last about as long as I did — but at least now you know why.