9 things you should know before starting Hades 2

Hades 2 Is now in Early Access, ready to overwhelm your evenings, lunch breaks and weekends for the foreseeable future. As Melinoë, you are tasked with defeating Chronos, also known as Time itself, to save her family and defend Olympus. It’s a lot to take in, especially if you’re unprepared.

As for sequels, Hades 2 is based heavily on its predecessor, so familiarity is an advantage here. But even if you played the first entry, developer Supergiant Games has added a number of new mechanics and features to explore. If you’re looking for beginner tips without indulging in big surprises, here are X things you should know before you get started Hades 2.

Gathering resources is less stressful than you think

One of the biggest new features you’ll notice right away Hades 2 The focus is on collecting materials using tools. At this point in Early Access, you can use tools like a pickaxe and a shovel to obtain various items that are used in the Cauldron primarily for summoning.

If you’re not a big fan of survival mechanics in games, this might put you off at first. Other than that, it’s less tiring than you might imagine. You can only equip one tool at a time, reducing the time you spend doing things like digging a hole or mining ore.

The actions themselves are also relatively short and provide variety in some rooms with each run, similar to fishing in the first game (yes, you can fish in this game too). In other cases it is enough to pick up a flower from the ground, which takes a short second.

Don’t forget to chat with everyone

This is a rule of thumb that might sound obvious if you already know it Hades, but it’s worth remembering. Whenever you find yourself at the crossroads, the hub-like area of Hades 2Be sure to walk around and talk to anyone who has an exclamation mark over their head.

For one thing, that’s a big part of the charm of these games: you get to know the backstories of various characters while also hearing their reactions and opinions on your progress so far, including more recent exploits and discoveries.

On the other hand, it is also a good way to advance certain conversations that can lead to breakthroughs in story-related events. If you haven’t met a particular character in a while, either in or out of Crossroads, you should make the effort to visit them. If you’re stuck on a goal and don’t yet have a spell or item you need, there may be someone who can help you.

Give everyone nectar at least once

Speaking of which, you’ll start seeing nectar as a reward for clearing rooms pretty early on. This item is part of a mechanic that allows you to develop your relationships with key characters. Similar to the first game, this also gives you access to Keepsakes, which are equippable items that add a passive bonus on each run.

It’s important to start collecting memorabilia as soon as possible. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on some powerful benefits on top of the bonuses you already get from Boons, Tarot Arcanas, etc.

Some recommendations: Keepsake of the Nemesis is great for getting revenge on an enemy type that killed you in your previous playthrough (including bosses), while Arachnes gives you a big head start by giving you 20 armor right from the start added. All in all, you should give nectar to everyone you meet at least once.

Focus on incantations

Incantations may seem quite rudimentary at first glance, but this is a central aspect of Hades 2 as a whole. Without getting into spoiler territory, unlocking incantations should be a priority if you want to see everything the game has to offer at this point in Early Access.

Some incantations, so to speak, refer to main tar gets that are relatively easy to distinguish from the rest. Others bring back a few features from the first game, such as Wells of Charon and a Crossroads merchant. However, most of the incantations are completely new.

Even if you aren’t that interested in your current incantations, you can unlock them if you have the necessary materials. It may not happen immediately after, but once you’re back at the crossroads after the next few runs, you’ll see new incantations to unlock. Who knows? Some of them may unlock entirely new features.

Take care of your garden

Because of important incantations, Melinoë is able to sow seeds at the crossroads. This new mechanism is pretty simple: once you have seeds, you have to go near the garden and plant them. They all have a timer that shows how many rooms you have to go through before they are ready to harvest. In short, if you see that a seed has the number eight, you don’t have to complete eight complete runs, but instead you have to traverse at least eight rooms or more during a run.

Gardening is a great way to get certain flowers without having to randomly come across them while running, especially some rare flowers that are used for later incantations. Before you head to Erebus, be sure to pay a quick visit to your garden.

It’s worth unlocking new weapons

Small spoiler: Five weapons are included in the current Early Access state Hades 2. It will probably take you a while to get the fifth one, as it requires some materials that you won’t find until much later. However, the first three unlockable weapons are quite affordable.

You may have gotten used to the Witch’s Staff or Sister Blades early on, and that’s fair. That being said, the next two weapons available are quite versatile and can wreak havoc if you manage to combine a decent set of boons. Without spoiling anything, the melee weapon combines great with burn damage for its attack, while the ranged weapon benefits greatly from weakening damage for its special attack. But of course you are welcome to experiment. It’s part of the charm.

Get the Death Defiance Arcana as soon as possible

Whenever you leave Crossroads while preparing for a run, you have the opportunity to meditate and improve or change your current selection of Tarot Arcana. Perhaps one of the most important is the XII. Arcana, Eternity, which grants one death resistance.

If you don’t recognize the name, know that you essentially get an extra life. Whenever your HP reaches zero, Death Defiance activates, restoring some of your life while giving you a second wind.

There are ways to get more Death Defiances during runs after you’ve made some progress in the game and gained access to later areas. But until then, having that extra chance up your sleeve will prove fruitful, to say the least, while also taking some of the pressure off of fighting boss battles with low health.

To access the Arcana of Eternity, go through The Wayward Son and The Titan, which are also a good pair if you just want to keep your health under control as much as possible during runs.

This time terrain kills are much more useful

Terrain kills were already present in the first game, but Hades 2 reworks them to make them much deadlier than before. In each area you pass through there are some structures that, if hit enough times, will trigger an area attack. For example, this could be a cloud of steam that deals damage to anyone who approaches it, or a statue that creates a large attack blast that hits anyone within range.

In Erebus, for example, trees can be very powerful against enemies. Make sure to always hit them from behind when aiming at an enemy. Otherwise, they will “fly” in that direction and will hit more than one enemy if they are close enough to each other. From the second area onwards, some mechanisms can be very complicated and will cause you damage if you get in the way. Be sure to keep an eye on your surroundings, although Melinoë will often say something as soon as a trap is triggered.

Yes, there is a way to open the station at the crossroads

This isn’t a huge spoiler as it’s pretty hard to miss. Whenever you enter Erebus, you will notice another rampart in the opposite direction leading to a staircase. Contrary to what one would believe, this protection can be opened in the current Early Access build.

For now, all you need to know is that the characters will eventually start talking about this protection spell, to the point where they later set in motion a spell associated with it. This will take some time, and maybe a few dozen runs depending on how things go, so don’t worry about it too much. There is much more than meets the eye Hades 2and the second district is just one of many surprises that await you in the underworld.