The Most Overpowered Builds In Hades 2

After nearly a year and a half of Early Access, Hades 2 fans have a pretty good idea of what the best builds in Hades 2 are. Building off its predecessor and then some, the hell-flavored roguelike grants its protagonist Melinoë a plethora of various tools to mix and match, chief among them the Nocturnal Arms and the various Boons from the Olympian relatives.

These five Boon types are Attack, Special, Cast, Dash, and Magick; save for exceptions like Hermes and Artemis, every Olympian provides one of each kind of Boon. Additional kinds of Boons, such as those that Prime a certain amount of the player's Magick at the start of each encounter, will also be listed in this guide to the most overpowered Hades 2 builds for each weapon.

Updated September 30, 2025 by Erik Petrovich: With the release of Hades 2 1.0, numerous changes and balance updates have been made to the game's various weapons and Boons. As such, this list to the best Hades 2 builds has been updated to correct outdated information, recommend new Boons to replace those that are no longer useful for each build, and explain the exact effects of each Boon listed below.

1 Descura, The Witch's Staff

Olympians: Demeter, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Zeus/Hestia

Boon Type	Boon Name	God	Effect (Baseline)
Attack Boon	Ice Strike	Demeter	Your Attacks deal more damage and inflict Freeze.
Special Boon	Volcanic Flourish	Hephaestus	Your Specials can cause a blast that deals 500 damage in the area.
Cast Boon	Rapture Ring	Aphrodite	Your Casts inflict Weak, and damage foes while dragging them toward the center.
Dash Boon	ANY
Magick Boon	ANY
Other Boons	Cryo Pounder	Demeter/Hephaestus Duo	Your blast effects from Hephaestus deal more damage to Freeze-afflicted foes.
	Glowing Coal	Hestia	Hold Cast to aim a fireball that explodes on impact. The binding circle forms there.
	Lightning Lance	Zeus	Hold Cast to aim where the binding circle appears. Foes within are struck by lightning.
	Static Shock	Zeus	Your strikes emit chain-lightning that bounces up to 4 times, but you Prime 50 Magick.

As the first weapon available to the daughter of Hades, Descura sets the bar fairly high for the rest of the Nocturnal Arms, providing quick, reliable, and far-reaching DPS that can handle foes up close just as well as it can at range. This particular build highlights Descura's versatile nature through a choice of either close or long-ranged attacks combined with a Cast that will keep enemies bunched together.

Hades 2 Witch Staff Guide Codex Entry Descura

This build is all about grouping nearby enemies together using Melinoë's Cast, then freezing them all at once using a Boon from Demeter - either Ice Strike or Arctic Ring works nicely here. After that, a Volcanic Flourish courtesy of Hephaestus is lobbed at the now bunched-up frozen statues to deal a massive burst of damage between them - and (if the powerful Duo Boon Room Temperature has been obtained) immediately reset the timer on her freeze effects. Rinse, repeat, and enemies will shatter like glass.

The biggest highlight of this build is its incredible flexibility, as it is as much at full strength up close as it is from a safe distance away. Additionally, there is no pressing need for Magick in any of this build, save for perhaps use in Omega Attacks, which frees up the Magick Bar to be used on Boons that Prime powerful effects (such as Aphrodite's Secret Crush). Lastly, the fourth Olympian needed to complete this build can be either Zeus or Hestia, provided the player obtains either the Glowing Coal or Lightning Lance Boon. With either, the player can now fire off their Casts from a distance, enabling them to safely group enemies without risking melee damage.

Pros	Fairly high damage and flexible playstyle; excellent for dealing with massive hordes of enemies; trapping melee-focused monsters from afar with Cast and freeze effect reduces risk of taking damage
Cons	Bosses and other enemies unaffected by freeze condition can still attack; Volcanic Strike's lengthy cooldown leaves potential gaps for non-frozen enemies to exploit

2 Lim And Oros, The Sister Blades

Olympians: Zeus, Hestia, Apollo, Aphrodite

Boon Type	Boon Name	God	Effect (Baseline)
Attack Boon	Flutter Strike	Aphrodite	Your Attacks deal more damage to nearby foes.
Special Boon	Ice Flourish	Demeter	Your Specials deal more damage and inflict Freeze.
Cast Boon	ANY
Dash Boon	Heart Rush	Hestia	Your Sprint leaves a cinder trail, and any damage you take from burning is reduced to 1.
Magick Boon	Cardio Gain	Hestia	Whenever your Attack or Special deals damage, restore Magick.
Other Boons	Super Nova	Apollo	Your Casts expand in size until they expire.
	Static Shock	Zeus	Your strikes emit chain-lightning that bounces up to 4 times, but you Prime 50 Magick.
	Glorious Disaster	Apollo/Zeus Duo	You can channel 30 Magick into your Omega Cast to repeatedly strike foes with lightning bolts.
	Molten Touch	Hephaestus	Your Attacks and Specials deal more damage to Armor.

For the most part, Lim and Oros are a close-range multi-attack duo that rack up damage through a continuous barrage of Attacks and Specials. This build capitalizes on the weapon's rapid-fire offense by pairing it with Boons only made stronger the more times they hit their target.

The Best Black Coat Aspects in Hades 2, Ranked

The new Olympic Update for Hades 2 brought with it the Black Coat, a powerful new weapon. Here are its best aspects, ranked.

Posts

By Christopher Norman Worcester

Key to this build's success is the frequent use of the weapon's Special, which when fired off at point-blank range can deal massive burst damage to single targets. Combined with the effects of Hestia's Flame Flourish or Demeter's Ice Flourish, Melinoë can Dash towards enemies and riddle them with holes.

Though this build has high risk due to its melee nature and isn't the best at dealing with large hordes of enemies, it also has plenty of tools that let it mitigate at least some of those risks. Soot Sprint can gobble up nearby projectiles as Melinoë closes the distance between herself and her target, and well-timed execution of Lim and Oros's Omega Attack can let players dodge attacks altogether by teleporting behind the enemy.

Pros	Very high single-target damage, with plenty of tools to help evade attacks
Cons	Not great at crowd control; evading attacks from enemies can prove tricky with incorrect timing

3 Ygnium, The Umbral Flames

Olympians: Poseidon, Hephaestus, Zeus, Aphrodite

Boon Type	Boon Name	God	Effect (Baseline)
Attack Boon	Wave Strike	Poseidon	Your Attacks hit foes with a splash that knocks other foes away.
Special Boon	Flutter Flourish	Aphrodite	Your Specials deal more damage to nearby foes.
Cast Boon	Rapture Ring	Aphrodite	Your Casts inflict Weak, and damage foes while dragging them toward the center.
Dash Boon	ANY
Magick Boon	Lucid Gain	Apollo	Whenever your Casts expire, restore Magick.
Other Boons	Static Shock	Zeus	Your strikes emit chain-lightning that bounces up to 4 times, but you Prime 50 Magick.
	Lightning Lance	Zeus	Hold Cast to aim where the binding circle appears. Foes within are struck by lightning.
	Seismic Servo	Hephaestus/Poseidon Duo	Any Boon effects that recharge over time recharge faster.
	Secret Crush	Aphrodite	Your Attacks gain Power, but you Prime 20 Magick.

Ygnium is a tricky weapon to master, shining exceptionally well as a ranged attacker with the downside of being perhaps the most Magick-dependent weapon in the game thus far. This next build can reliably shred enemies from a safe distance without ever needing to get too close.

To make the best use of this build, players will need to accumulate a lot of Magick over the course of a single run - Uncanny Fortitude is strongly recommended here for this reason, as it will shore up overall defense with a weapon that can prove difficult to dodge with.

Fighting enemies with Umbral Flames weapon in Hades 2

The reward, however, is well worth it: An ongoing Omega Attack that whacks foes away with the force of a heavy machine gun. Poseidon's Wave Strike is the star of the show here - though it may seem counter-intuitive to add water to fire, it grants Ygnium a power boost that scales comparatively well to the weapons's low base attack and keeps the enemy far away thanks to its knockback effect.

Furthermore, Volcano or Flutter Flourish rip through anyone who gets too close, and Lightning Lance lets players sling a Cast at range, either grouping enemies together using Rapture Ring or unleashing a burst of damage with Geyser Ring.

Pros	High, continuous ranged damage with added survivability thanks to Uncanny Fortitude
Cons	Heavy Magick investment; comparatively lackluster close-range options and defense; enemies immune to knockback effects can still advance on Melinoë fairly easily

4 Zorephet, The Moonstone Axe

Olympians: Aphrodite, Apollo, Hephaestus/Zeus, Demeter

Boon Type	Boon Name	God	Effect (Baseline)
Attack Boon	Flutter Strike	Aphrodite	Your Attacks deal more damage to nearby foes.
Special Boon	Sworn Flourish	Hera	Your Specials deal more damage and inflict Hitch.
Cast Boon	Arctic Ring	Demeter	Your Casts inflict Freeze and repeatedly deal damage to foes in the binding circle.
Dash Boon	Smithy Rush	Hephaestus	If a foe is near after you Dash, you can cause a blast that deals 200 damage in the area.
Magick Boon	Glamour Gain	Aphrodite	You automatically inflict Weak on nearby foes and gradually restore Magick near them.
Other Boons	Secret Crush	Aphrodite	Your Attacks gain Power, but you Prime 20 Magick.
	Weed Killer	Demeter	Your Omega Attack deals more damage, but uses +10 Magick.
	Static Shock	Zeus	Your strikes emit chain-lightning that bounces up to 4 times, but you Prime 50 Magick.
	Hasty Retreat	Hermes	Gain Dodge chance and move speed that increase the more Boons you have.

Much like the Silver Blades, Zorephet excels at close-quarters combat. The weapon may have a relatively slow attack speed, but its massive damage numbers and wide reach make it perfect for carving through encounters with brutal force. This build can be adjusted to accommodate players' personal preferences, whether they wish to slowly hack away at opponents or simply plow through them.

Best Action Roguelikes (Featured Image) - Hades + Post Void + Enter The Gungeon

10 Best Action Roguelikes

Fans who enjoy chaotic action in their roguelikes can't go wrong with these games.

Posts

By Harry Ted Sprinks

Flutter Strike is the main draw for this build, as its massive damage boost will make every Attack land like a freight train. One of this build's most powerful tools is its Omega Attack - a lethal spin attack that racks up damage fast at the cost of Magick.

Hades 2 Best Moonstone Axe Build Guide Prometheus Slam

Boons like Static Shock, Secret Crush, and Weed Killer can make this attack's power positively skyrocket, though implementing these tools will require hefty investment in Magick upgrades in order to work (in which case picking up Uncanny Fortitude is an excellent idea).

Pros	Absurdly high damage against both single targets and multiple enemies
Cons	Slow attack speed; requires decent investment in Magick; close-quarters combat increases the likelihood of getting hit

5 Revaal, The Argent Skull

Olympians: Apollo, Hephaestus, Demeter, Hestia

Boon Type	Boon Name	God	Effect (Baseline)
Attack Boon	Nova Strike	Apollo	Your Attacks deal more damage in a larger area.
Special Boon	Ice Flourish	Demeter	Your Specials deal more damage and inflict Freeze.
Cast Boon	Arctic Ring	Demeter	Your Casts inflict Freeze and repeatedly deal damage to foes in the binding circle.
Dash Boon	Heart Rush	Hestia	Your Sprint leaves a cinder trail, and any damage you take from burning is reduced to 1.
Magick Boon	Cardio Gain	Hestia	Whenever your Attack or Special deals damage, restore Magick.
Other Boons	Weed Killer	Demeter	Your Omega Attack deals more damage, but uses +10 Magick.
	Cryo Pounder	Demeter/Hephaestus Duo	Your blast effects from Hephaestus deal more damage to Freeze-afflicted foes.
	Geyser Spout	Poseidon	Your Omega Cast gains Power and knocks foes away.
	Trusty Shield	Hephaestus	Whenever you enter a Location, gain Armor for that location, but you Prime 30 Magick.

Revaal offers perhaps the most unique playstyle of all Nocturnal Arms thus far, having Melinoë fire off a limited number of spectral skulls at range before needing to retrieve them in close quarters. This build makes the most of each strike and retrieval, letting players dish out great damage whilst minimizing risk to themselves. Apollo Boons can greatly improve the Argent Skull's area of effect, while the cooldown intrinsic to Hephaestus's Boons can synergize well with the weapon's relatively slow attack speed. Melinoë only gets three skulls at a time before needing to reload, so each and every strike really needs to count.

Fighting enemies with Argent Skull weapon in Hades 2

As for ammo retrieval, there are ways to make it far less painless, chief among them making the best use of the weapon's Special - a forward lunge that deals great damage when charged, albeit at the cost of Magick. Pairing Frost Flourish and Soot Sprint works wonders here, letting players freeze nearby enemies at them while incinerating wayward projectiles shot from afar. Mixing in a Cast here and there isn't a bad idea either, as it will immobilize enemies and/or knock them away (granted Geyser Ring was picked up at some point along the way).

Pros	High area-of-effect damage; extra padding makes retrieving skulls relatively safer
Cons	Juggling Hephaestus cooldowns can prove tricky; Magick restoration needed to continuously use Omega Moves and Casts

6 Xinth, The Black Coat

Olympians: Poseidon, Zeus, Hestia

Boon Type	Boon Name	God	Effect (Baseline)
Attack Boon	Wave Strike	Poseidon	Your Attacks hit foes with a splash that knocks other foes away.
Special Boon	Heaven Flourish	Zeus	Your Specials inflict Blitz
Cast Boon	Rapture Ring	Aphrodite	Your Casts inflict Weak, and damage foes while dragging them toward the center.
Dash Boon	Heart Rush	Hestia	Your Sprint leaves a cinder trail, and any damage you take from burning is reduced to 1.
Magick Boon	Lucid Gain	Apollo	Whenever your Casts expire, restore Magick.
Other Boons	King Tide	Poseidon	Your splash effects from Poseidon are larger, and deal more damage to Guardians.
	Slippery Slope	Poseidon	Your splash effects from Poseidon also inflict Froth, and Froth deals more damage.
	Static Shock	Zeus	Your strikes emit chain-lightning that bounces up to 4 times, but you Prime 50 Magick.
	Nimble Limbs	Hermes	Your Attack, Special, and Cast are faster.

The Black Coat was a new weapon in Hades 2 as of the Olympic Patch for the Early Access. This weapon is essentially a mech suit for Melinoë: her attacks become powerful close-range punches, and her specials launch missiles that lock onto targets.

Her Omega Attack charges up her fists with Magicka for a single, enormously powerful punch that deals a base 200 Damage in a small area. Her Omega Special lets her load up more missiles to fire and lock onto more targets.

The best Black Coat build in Hades 2 revolves around Poseidon and Zeus' Wave Strike and Heaven Flourish boons, which deal immense extra damage with Attacks that push enemies back, and cause your missiles to inflict Blitz (which works differently now as of the Olympic patch).

Rapture Ring keeps enemies close together so you can hit more with your rapid punch Attacks or deal more damage to more enemies with your Missiles. Soot Sprint essentially makes you immune to ranged attacks, but Breaker Sprint is a powerful alternative that works well with your other Poseidon boons. Though Magicka is not too important for this build, Born Gain is always worth picking up if you come across Hera.

For additional boons, you should pick up King Tide (which makes your Splash damage even more powerful against Guardians), and Slippery Slope (which inflicts Froth, which lets you deal bonus damage) from Poseidon. Static Shock lets you Prime Magick to make your attacks deal chain lightning damage, and the Hermes boon Nimble Limbs increases your attack speed across the board, significantly boosting your DPS potential with your already-fast attacks.

Pros	Extremely fast and nimble, capable of dodging into and out of combat with ease, Poseidon and Zeus boons make it a powerhouse depending on which Boons you can get
Cons	Can be boon-reliant, meaning that the Black Coat can struggle if you don't have an optimal boon selection like the one listed above. Can be difficult to avoid taking damage in melee.