Like the original Hades game, Hades II allows players to encounter various gods and goddesses as they battle through enemies. This list contains all the new Gods found in Hades II and some familiar faces from the first game.
Every God in Hades 2
These are all 11 gods and goddesses in Hades 2 in the game during the technical test. If more are added as the game develops, we'll update this list to include them all!
Apollo
Status Effect: Dazzle
Apollo is the twin of Artemis and one of the new Olympian gods available in Hades 2. He appears when you take his goodies, which are in the shape of a sun. Looking through his goodies, he felt like a variation of Hermes from Hades to me. Several of his Perks are quality-of-life upgrades, such as making your sprint faster, while others increase damage and apply the “Daze” status effect to enemies. The Daze Effect gives enemies a chance to deal 0 damage.
| Example Boons |
|---|
| New Strike – Attacks deal more damage in a larger area. |
| Lucid Gain – Gradually restore mana while standing inside your casters. |
Aphrodite
Status Effect: weak
Aphrodite is a returning Olympian goddess from the original Hades. Her Boon is a pink heart and her status effect, Weak, causes afflicted enemies to take less damage. Her Perks center around both decreasing enemy damage and increasing your damage.
| Example Boons |
|---|
| Flutter Flourish – Specials deal more damage to nearby enemies. |
| Shameless Attitude – Do more damage when you have 80% health or higher. |
Related: All Voice Actors in Hades 2 (So Far)
Hestia
Status Effect: Burn
Hestia is one of the new Goddesses added to the franchise in Hades 2. While her appearance is a mystery, her flame-shaped Boon and fire references make it clear that she is all about increased firepower. Her “Scorch” status effect deals damage to enemies over time. Her Perks add this status effect to your attacks and fire projectiles to some of your specials, among other uses.
| Example Boons |
|---|
| Smolder Ring – Casts repeatedly inflict the Scorch status effect on enemies. |
| Supervised Burn – Your special fires a fireball after use, costing you an extra 10 mana. |
Poseidon
Status Effect: to slide
Poseidon is the second returning Olympian God from the first game. His status effect has changed from Knockback to Slip, which causes enemies to be knocked back further and take extra damage. This will be especially useful in combination with his Perks that repel enemies, such as Wave Strike. He also provides some damage reduction and resource-gathering Bounties.
| Example Boons |
|---|
| wave shock – Attacks hit enemies with a splash that knocks away the other enemies nearby. |
| Flood control – When entering a new room, drain 30 mana to reduce any damage you take. |
Demeter
Status Effect: to freeze
Demeter was one of the last Goddesses encountered in the first game, but she's now one of the first you'll find in Hades 2. Her new status effect is “Freeze”, which causes enemies to freeze for a few seconds. I have found this to be one of the most helpful status effects for close combat. Many of her Boons apply this effect, but she also has a useful Boon that restores mana while inactive during battle.
| Example Boons |
|---|
| Ice Blast – Attacks deal more damage and cause the effect of Freeze status. |
| Ice Flower – Specials deal more damage and cause Freeze. |
Hecate
Status Effect: No one
Hecate is another of the new Goddesses in Hades 2. She does not provide the player with Boons but takes on a mentoring role similar to Nyx's relationship with Zagreus. Players will not receive Goodies from Hecate. Instead, they will actually have to defeat her in battle to get past the first area of Hades 2.
| Example Boons |
|---|
| Hecate currently does not give Boons. |
Zeus
Status Effect: Blitzkrieg
As the King of the Gods, it's no surprise that Zeus is back in Hades 2. His new status effect Blitz will strike enemies with lightning once they've taken a set amount of damage. His Goodies will be similarly flash-themed, just like in the first game. He also has a mana restoration method among his boons, which I expect to be a common theme among most of the gods and goddesses available.
| Example Boons |
|---|
| Thunder Sprint – Causes nearby enemies to be struck by lightning when using sprint. |
| Ionic Gain – Gradually restores your magic, but decreases your magic bar by 70%. |
Hypnos
Status Effect: No one
Hypnos was the excitable and sleepy god who would greet Zagreus dying during a run in Hades. In Hades 2, he blissfully sleeps for years with no sign of awakening. You will only encounter a few grunts when you talk to him in the Crossroads.
| Example Boons |
|---|
| Hypnos does not currently give Boons. |
Related: Hades 2 First Impressions: A huge step up from an already masterful game
Selene
Status Curse: Morph
Selene is the third Goddess to be added to Hades 2. As the Moon Incarnate, she gives players “Gifts of the Moon” rather than boons. After meeting her, players can use Hex against their enemies. These do a lot of damage, but they have extremely long cooldowns. Her status effect, Morph, turns afflicted enemies into little sheep! This leaves them unable to attack, allowing you to mow them down before they transform back into their original form.
| Example Boons |
|---|
| Phase change – Hex makes everything else move 80% slower for 5 seconds. |
| Lunar Ray – Hex fires a beam that deals up to 1,200 damage over 3 seconds. |
Artemis
Status Effect: marked
Artemis makes her return to Hades II. Rather than donning the player Boons as her twin brother Artemis, she takes on a role similar to Thanatos of Hades. She will randomly join the player to kill the enemies of a level. Unlike Thanatos, I found it easy to kill enemies faster than her. When the level is complete, you can grab the prize of the level. Afterwards, she'll talk to Melinoe and let you choose between three of her goodies. Her status curse is Marked, just like in the first game. It increases the chance of delivering a critical hit to an enemy. Since she is the Goddess of the Hunt, many of her Boons deal with applying the Marked effect and using projectiles.
| Example Boons |
|---|
| Easy Shot – Fires a piercing arrow at any enemy damaged by your Cast. |
| First Blood – Enemies with at least 80% health or armor have a higher chance of taking critical damage. |
Hephaestus
Status Effect: wind
Hephaestus is another god in Hades II that was unavailable in the original game. His status effect, “Vent”, deals delayed damage to disturbed enemies. His perks center around applying Vent to enemies, dealing burst damage, and increasing the player's armor.
| Example Boons |
|---|
| Volcanic strike – Attacks sometimes create an explosion dealing 200 damage in the area. |
| Fixed Income – You take -10% damage and restore magic when you take damage. |
Want to hear more about Hades 2? Check out Who is the new protagonist of Hades 2? here in Pro Game Guides.
