Hades: Complete Walkthrough & Boss Guide
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🗺️ Main Story Walkthrough
Tick off each step as you go — your progress saves locally, no account needed.
Before your first real escape attempt, invest Darkness shards earned in runs into the Mirror of Night back in the House of Hades. Prioritize Death Defiance (extra lives per run) and Shadow Presence (bonus backstab damage) early. The Mirror is your primary permanent-progression system — every stat you unlock carries across all future attempts. Spend time talking to NPCs like Achilles and Nyx between runs to unlock Keepsakes, which provide passive bonuses when gifted by each character. A solid early Mirror foundation dramatically improves your survival odds through Tartarus.
Tartarus is the first biome and your proving ground for Boon synergy. Each room clears enemies and offers a Boon from an Olympian god — Zeus electrifies foes, Ares adds Blade Rift damage, Poseidon blasts enemies away. Focus on picking one or two gods per run to stack their buffs rather than spreading thin. Collect Gemstones and Chthonic Keys from chambers to unlock permanent upgrades and Infernal Arms back at the House. Your first real roadblock is the boss at the end: prepare by hoarding any Healing chambers and Death Defiance charges you find along the way.
Six Infernal Arms become available as you spend Chthonic Keys: Stygius (sword, balanced), Varatha (spear, long reach), Aegis (shield, block mechanic), Coronacht (bow, ranged), Malphon (fists, fast and aggressive), and Exagryph (rail, burst fire). Experiment with all six — each has multiple Aspects unlocked with Titan Blood. Aegis excels at learning boss patterns thanks to its block, while Coronacht keeps you safely at range. Match your chosen weapon to Boon synergies: Zeus and Poseidon pair well with Aegis specials; Artemis and Ares reward Coronacht's high-damage shots.
Asphodel introduces lava floors, flying platforms, and significantly harder enemies including summoners and bonded pairs. Lava damage is constant if you stand on it, so stay mobile and prioritize hitting floating platforms. Collect any Nectar you find to gift to characters and unlock Keepsakes — the Charon's Coin Purse and Evergreen Acorn are especially valuable here. Charon's shop appears between rooms; spend Obols on HP-restoring Centaur Hearts or powerful Boon upgrades. The Bone Hydra boss awaits at the end, so spend Obols wisely before entering the final chamber.
Elysium is the third biome, home to Exalted shielded warriors, Longbowmen, and arena-wide hazards. Many enemies must have their shield broken before taking full damage — prioritise Poseidon's Flood Shot or Ares' Blade Rift specials to pierce shields quickly. The Fated List (Codex objectives) rewards Gemstones and Ambrosia for completing side goals, so check them between runs. Elite enemies called Exalted Champions hit hard; use the environment's edges to funnel them. Elysium concludes with the most mechanically complex boss encounter in the game, requiring coordination against two distinct fight phases.
The Temple of Styx is a short but intense final stretch before confronting Hades himself. It contains poisonous Satyr enemies, traps, and locked chambers accessible only with Skeleton Keys. Here you may encounter the Chaos Gates, which offer powerful temporary curses in exchange for future rewards — take them if your build is strong enough to absorb the penalty. Grab every bit of HP restoration available, spend remaining Obols, and check your Death Defiance count. The surface beyond the Temple holds the true ending, but you must first defeat the final boss reliably enough to unlock the post-game conversations with Persephone.
Once you can clear runs consistently, activate the Pact of Punishment to add Heat (difficulty modifiers) to each run. Higher Heat unlocks more Titan Blood for weapon Aspects and forces strategic adaptation. Key conditions include Tight Deadline (chamber time limits), Lasting Consequences (reduced Death Defiance), and Extreme Measures (empowered boss attacks). Push Heat gradually — jump from 2 to 4 to 8 — unlocking new Aspects and Duo Boons along the way. Duo Boons are rare but powerful combinations between two Olympian gods; chase them by offering Nectar to unlock both gods' Legendary Boons.
The canonical ending requires completing roughly ten successful escapes while progressing dialogue between Zagreus, Hades, and Persephone. Each clear unlocks new conversations that gradually reveal the family's history. After enough runs, Persephone will return to the Underworld, triggering the true epilogue and changing the House of Hades permanently. Continue running afterward to reach 32 Heat (the Extreme Measures maximum), unlock all Aspects with Titan Blood and Ambrosia, and achieve the final Prophecies in the Fated List. The true ending is a narrative reward — the real replayability loop extends well beyond it.
⚔️ Boss Guides
Megaera (The Fury)
Attack Patterns
Megaera opens with a straight whip lash, then escalates to a spreading fan of projectiles and a long-range dash strike. She periodically summons Satyr and Bloodless minions — killing them grants her a speed buff if left alive too long. At roughly 50% HP she calls her sisters Tisiphone or Alecto to join briefly, adding projectile spam to the arena.
Strategy
Stay mobile and circle the arena to bait her dash, then retaliate. Kill minions immediately to deny her the fury stacks. Use your Cast ability to apply pressure from a distance during her recovery frames. A Zeus Boon on your Attack keeps lightning damage ticking even while you dodge. Death Defiance charges let you learn her patterns — after a few encounters you'll read her telegraphs easily.
Bone Hydra
Attack Patterns
The Bone Hydra attacks with lunging bites, wide-sweeping tail slams, and a lava-breath attack that tracks Zagreus across the platform. It briefly becomes invulnerable while regenerating heads. Lava pools persist on the floor after the breath phase, shrinking the safe area. At low HP it accelerates all attacks and adds a spinning tail-whip AoE.
Strategy
Focus damage on the head during bite-lunge recovery windows. Maintain distance during the lava-breath phase and preposition on clean platform sections. Poseidon's Flood Shot — especially on Varatha's special throw — deals enormous burst during the head-vulnerable phase. Avoid the arena edges where lava pools accumulate. Save Death Defiance for the accelerated low-HP phase.
Theseus & Asterius
Attack Patterns
Asterius charges with his axe in sweeping arcs; Theseus hangs back throwing spears and periodically invoking his Olympian Boon (often Poseidon's or Demeter's) for a massive arena-wide attack. Theseus becomes invulnerable while invoking. Both enemies share the same arena and require tracking two threats simultaneously. At half HP for each they gain new attacks — Asterius adds a ground-slam AoE and Theseus throws three-spear volleys.
Strategy
Burn Asterius down first — his charges are dangerous and he never goes invulnerable. Keep the arena's pillars between you and Theseus' spears while pressuring Asterius. When Theseus invokes his god, focus solely on dodging the arena-wide effect. Aegis's block buys breathing room against Theseus' spear volleys. Bring a Patroclus Keepsake if available: it grants a buff that persists even after Asterius falls.
Hades (Final Boss)
Attack Patterns
Hades wields a massive spear and commands the darkness of the Underworld. Phase one features rapid three-hit combos, a ground-crack slam that spans the room, and dark-energy projectile bursts. At 50% HP he ascends and the arena floods with dark energy, forcing constant movement. Phase two adds a Spear Throw tracking shot, summoned wraiths, and a room-filling radial burst that requires precise dodge timing.
Strategy
Stay close during phase one to bait the predictable melee combo, then punish the recovery. Use the perimeter during his slam to bait safe positions. At phase two, never stop moving — dash through projectiles rather than away from them to conserve space. Poseidon Boons on Stygius's special deflect and deal massive damage. Save your strongest Cast or Legendary Boon activation for the phase-two window when his HP is low.
Lernaean Bone Hydra (Heat 4+ Extreme Measures)
Attack Patterns
Under Extreme Measures 2, the Bone Hydra gains a second-head phase where it fights with two active heads simultaneously, each capable of independent bite lunges and breath attacks. The lava zones appear faster and from multiple directions. The tail sweep becomes a spinning 360-degree attack at lower HP thresholds, covering most of the arena in a single sweep.
Strategy
Pre-stack Doom (Ares) or Hangover (Dionysus) damage before the invulnerability phase so ticks continue during regeneration. With two heads active, prioritize the head with lower remaining HP to simplify the fight. Exagryph's special grenade launcher with Hephaestus Boon detonates both heads simultaneously. Stick to the center platform to avoid dual lava-breath corner trapping.