Hell is Us doesn't really offer character builds, since players can't directly level up the protagonist's stats like HP or Strength; however, players can still customize their approach to combat through skills and abilities tied to gear, mostly via weapon glyphs, drone modules, various defensive gear, and relics. In Hell is Us, relics come in two types: active or passive, and only one relic of each type can be equipped at a time. Passive relics grant constant buffs, while active relics don't directly boost any stats but instead provide powerful, game-changing skills (known as Lymbic Powers) with lengthy cooldowns (usually six or nine minutes) that are meant to be used rarely in the direst combat scenarios.
Players can't change their active relics while a cooldown is in process, preventing them from using such abilities more often.
There are a total of 30 relics in Hell is Us, 15 of each type, and each requires considerable effort to obtain. Players mostly acquire new relics as rewards for completing NPC quests (known as Good Deeds), closing Timeloops, opening Vaults, and solving various mysteries scattered across the dark lands of Hadea. Below are some of the strongest passive and active relics available in the game in no particular order, alongside brief guidelines on how to obtain each.
Hell is Us Review
Rogue Factor's Hell is Us immerses players into a war-torn land that's intriguing to explore but falls short in a few key areas.
Aster's Band of Domination
Active Relic
- Lymbic Power - Towering Authority: Subjugate the enemy, stunning all nearby.
- Cooldown: three minutes
- Stun Duration: 10 seconds
- Radius: 10 m
- How to get: Received during the story, upon opening the coffin in Modus' Tomb, located in the Lymbic Forge beneath Lake Cynon.
Aster's Band of Domination is pretty much unmissable, as players naturally obtain this relic during the main story when exploring the Lymbic Forge for the first time. Despite being acquired fairly early in the game, Aster's Band of Domination is a potent and very useful active relic due to having the shortest cooldown among them all — just three minutes — which allows players to use its Lymbic Power notably more often.
The active skill of Aster's Band of Domination is simple and effective, stunning all targets in a 10-meter radius for 10 seconds. In almost every case, that's more than enough time to finish off every stunned and weakened foe (or a couple of powerful ones), provided players have no issues with Stamina to deliver a non-stop stream of weapon strikes.
Heart of the Griffon
Active Relic
- Lymbic Power - Timeless Rejuvenation: Find yourself born anew with Health, Stamina and Lymbic Energy fully restored.
- Cooldown: six minutes
- How to get: Found inside the Vault of Forbidden Knowledge, located in Acasa Marshes.
Heart of the Griffon, on the other hand, is obtained very late in Hell is Us, found in one of the final Vaults of Forbidden Knowledge that players can access. However, it's a very strong relic for drawn-out combat encounters or boss battles in the late game.
The Lymbic Power of Heart of the Griffon fully replenishes Health, Stamina, and Lymbic Energy, allowing players to get back into the fight with renewed strength or, alternatively, to quickly prepare the already exhausted character for another tough encounter ahead without needing to use limited consumables.
Blessed Hand of Sethyris
Active Relic
- Lymbic Power - Alecto's Might: Your weapons are guided by Sethyris, increasing the damage of regular attacks.
- Cooldown: nine minutes
- Melee Damage Bonus: +100%
- Duration: five minutes
- How to get: Received as a reward from Gildas Broom for closing the Timeloop on the B4 level of the Auriga Museum.
Easily one of the strongest relics for damage in Hell is Us, Blessed Hand of Sethyris is perfect for boss battles or late-game stages full of mighty enemies. It doubles the player's melee damage for a full five minutes, which can be especially devastating when using heavy weapons such as Greatswords or Polearms to shred through enemies with ease.
However, Blessed Hand of Sethyris' long cooldown starts only after the skill's effect wears off, so players need to use this powerful buff strategically to avoid being left without it when it's needed the most.
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Memoria of the Phol
Active Relic
- Lymbic Power - Echoes of War: Your weapon resonates with the frequencies of past battles, increasing their experience gained.
- Cooldown: nine minutes
- Experience Bonus: +100%
- Duration: 10 minutes
- How to get: Found inside the Vault of Forbidden Knowledge, located in Lake Cynon.
Useless for boosting one's combat capabilities, Memoria of the Phol can still be one of many players' favorites if they wish to level up and try out a variety of weapons in Hell is Us, without being restricted to just two primary options for the entire game.
Upon activation, Memoria of the Phol doubles the experience gained by the active weapon, which can be stacked with the passive Entropic Enigma for an even greater bonus of 125%. Interestingly, Memoria of the Phol's skill duration is actually longer than its cooldown, although the cooldown starts only after the effect wears off.
The Entropic Enigma
Passive Relic
- Lymbic Power - Senescent Attunement: Attune your weapons' resonance, increasing their experience gained.
- Experience Bonus: +25%
- How to get: Received as a reward from Gildas Broom for closing the Timeloop in Talju.
Simple and effective, especially for weapon lovers, the Entropic Enigma can be obtained very early in the game, and in fact, it's recommended for players to go to Talju as soon as possible and bring Amine Prism - Theta to be able to close it. After that, leveling up weapons becomes a notably faster process, as it grants a constant 25% bonus to weapon experience gained, allowing players to try out various movesets and glyphs for a much more diverse and engaging combat experience.
One thing that should be noted: experience bonuses from the Entropic Enigma and Memoria of the Phol don't apply when using consumable items for weapon experience, such as various Tuning Stones.
The Heart of Aria
Passive Relic
- Lymbic Power - Pulse of Life: Feel life's heartbeat, greatly enhancing the Healing Pulse ability.
- Healing Pulse Bonus: +100%
- How to get: Received as a reward from Gildas Broom for closing the Timeloop in Pathem Abbey, located in Acasa Marshes.
In Hell is Us, the Healing Pulse ability for quick recovery is strong as is, so when mastering the flow of combat with their preferred weapons, players won't need to use any consumables at all. However, when taking too much damage from elite enemies in the late game, the Heart of Aria relic can prove invaluable.
With this item equipped, players gain double the effectiveness of Healing Pulse when striking enemies, which can be especially beneficial when using Greatswords (25% base heal) or Swords (21% base heal). After that, Remi becomes almost unkillable, provided players manage to use the Pulse at least occasionally during the fight.
Best Order to Get the Keystones in Hell Is Us (Jeljin, Talju, Acasa Marshes)
The Keystones are the main objectives you'll need to find during a hefty section of your time in Hell Is Us, but what order should you get them in?
The Blood Queen's Phalange
Passive Relic
- Lymbic Power - Conqueror's Essence: Grow bolder in your victories, increasing damage dealt for each enemy vanquished.
- Melee Damage Bonus: +25%
- Duration: 30 seconds
- How to get: Received as a reward from Gildas Broom for closing the Timeloop in Vyssa Hills.
The Blood Queen's Phalange is a great passive relic for raw melee damage, although it's not suitable for single-enemy encounters or bosses. This relic grants a notable melee damage bonus with each defeated enemy for 30 seconds, allowing players to breeze through battles with hordes of enemies, which are quite common during story missions in Hell is Us.
Typically, most gear in the game grants a 25% to 50% melee damage bonus, so when combining the Blood Queen's Phalange with other offensive relics or defensive gear for damage, it's possible to boost weapon damage to whole new heights — something for fans of the game to experiment with.
The Bloodseeker
Passive Relic
- Lymbic Power - Hunter's Essence: Revel in victory over your foe, restoring Health and Lymbic Energy.
- Endurance Restoration: 500
- Lymbic Restoration: 100
- How to get: Solve the “Protector” Mystery of the Jova Graveyard, located in Acasa Marshes (requires the Golden Clover from Pathem Abbey).
The Bloodseeker works similarly to the Blood Queen's Phalange, requiring players to defeat enemies to trigger its effect. However, it's not an offensive relic, but one for quick restoration. The best thing about Bloodseeker is its perk of restoring Lymbic Energy alongside Health (which can already be restored through Healing Pulse).
Once again, this relic can be combined with the Heart of Aria to ensure that Remi is almost impossible to kill. Even better, players won't need to use consumables to restore a weapon's Lymbic Energy, allowing them to constantly spam powerful glyph skills or heavy charged attacks in combat.
Hell Is Us
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 78 /100 Critics Rec: 79%
- Released
- September 4, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Rogue Factor
- Publisher(s)
- Nacon
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
