Hades II Master Companion

Nocturnal Arms & Guide Directory

⚔️

Nocturnal Arms Selection

Select Nocturnal Arm
🪄

Witch's Staff

Descura

Signature Aspect Aspect of Momus
Unlock Cost Unlocked (Starting)
Pacing Strategy Drop Cast [B], stand back, and spam ranged Special [Y].

Strategic Philosophy

Descura shines with rapid ranged spells and safe, zoning toolkits. Because its basic hits have lower individual scaling but super fast cast rotations, flat values on ranged Specials keep you perfectly healthy.

Baseline Stats & Properties

Primary Attack Target Apollo

Nova Strike

Adds large area scaling to normal strikes keeping monsters safely at bay.

Primary Special Target Poseidon

Wave Flourish

Applies high impact water pushbacks. Clears waves from range easily.

🔨 Priority Daedalus Upgrades
  • Double Moonshot: Ranged Special fires double projectiles.
  • Double Cataclysm: Instantly charges and repeats Omega Specials.
🌟 Ideal Duo Target
  • Glorious Disaster (Zeus + Apollo): Your Omega Cast calls down continuous thunderstorm lightning bolt waves automatically.

Recommended Altar Arcana Cards

🔮

Arcana Synergy Calculator

Applying two status curses to an enemy triggers the legendary Card XIV: Origination, activating a massive global damage bonus. Select your boons and card rank below.

Origination Card Rank Rank III (+50% Dmg)
Origination Bonus Modifier

No Buff Triggered

Inactive
Choose at least two different gods with status curses above to achieve optimal damage bonus thresholds.
Detected Duo Boons:
No specific Duo match drafted.
🌙

Hex System (Selene)

Hexes are Melinoë's ultimate abilities, granted by Selene, the Moon Incarnate. They function as the spiritual successor to Calls from the original Hades.

How They Work

Hexes charge passively as you spend Magick throughout a run — using Omega moves fills the Hex meter. Once charged, a Crescent Moon symbol appears; press the Hex button to unleash it. The meter resets on entering a new room.

Acquiring & Upgrading

On your first Selene encounter, choose one of three Hexes. Subsequent visits grant Path of Stars upgrade points to enhance the chosen Hex's effects in a skill tree. Hexes do not carry over between runs.

Moonglow Tier: Crescent = 0 bonus points, Half Moon = +1, Full Moon = +2. Equipping Selene's Keepsake Moon Beam grants +1 additional upgrade point per visit.

🌟 Godsent Hexes (Unseen Update)

Godsent Hexes are the Hex equivalent of Duo Boons. A chosen Selene Hex can be infused with an Olympian god's power via the Path of Stars upgrade tree, provided you carry a Boon or Keepsake tied to that god. Every Olympian can produce a Godsent variant, and they can typically be used once per Encounter (upgradeable via the Lineage node).

Hex List (v1.0)

Hex Magick Cost Effect
Phase Shift 150 Everything else moves 80% slower for 5 seconds
Twilight Curse 140 Launches a seeking projectile that Morphs up to 10 susceptible foes into harmless sheep
Lunar Ray 120 Fires a continuous beam dealing up to 1,200 damage over 3 seconds
Wolf Howl 80 Jump and crash down on an area for 200 damage
Moon Water 70 Restore +25 HP (3 charges, reset at fountains)
Night Bloom 100 Resurrect a random slain foe to fight for you for 12 seconds
Total Eclipse 200 Blast a target area for 1,000 damage after a 4-second delay
Dark Side Variable Transform into a powerful alternate form
🔱

Guardian Strategies

Execution patterns, phases, and direct counters for massive region bosses.
Underworld Route
Sheep Hex: Do not attack during the homing hex projectile. Run in broad circles to outmaneuver it until it expires.
Spot Clones: Attack clones; only the true Hecate sustains status curses and shows active damage numbers.
Discipline Over Greed: Hecate punishes long combos and panic dashes. Attack after her patterns end, then retreat before the arena fills with hazards.
Reset When Confused: If the screen becomes chaotic, stop attacking entirely and reposition before re-engaging.
Kill Order: Focus Roxy (Drummer) first to stop shockwaves, then Jetty (Guitarist) to stop chasing spins, leaving Scylla for last.
Laser Backstab: When Scylla uses her music laser, dash behind her shell for a massive backstab opportunity.
Don't Chase: Pick the safest target from your current position; if you lose sight of Scylla, secure your position before returning to center.
AoE on Scylla: Scylla is relatively stationary — lure her toward you and use Cast circles or AoE Boons to maximise damage.
Hind Leg Safety: Stay close to his hind legs. Frontal bites and fire bursts will overshoot you completely.
Lava Rings: Stand in safe visual grid gaps; avoid panicked dashing into hazards.
Patience Over Greed: His attacks are slow and telegraphed but hit extremely hard. Dash in for a few hits after he commits, then back off immediately.
Summon Phase: When he summons smaller enemies he may burrow underground — use this window to clear the ads and recover.
Dash Forward: Dodge through physical slashes to get behind him, rather than dashing away into his weapon sweep range.
Clock Instant-Kill: In Phase 2, stand in the lit slice of the clock face immediately or suffer 999 damage.
Golden Time-Stop Circles: Avoid these at all costs — being caught inside means instant vulnerability.
Clear Adds First: Area-attack weapons and Boons make quick work of the regular enemies that spawn in the arena; targeted builds must retreat and pick them off one by one.
Surface Campaign
Stay at Range: Most of his attacks are short-range; a ranged weapon or build keeps him at a safe distance for the entire fight.
Dash Through Shockwaves: All red shockwaves from his jump and stomp attacks can be safely dashed through.
Sheep Management: White sheep heal him when he eats them; black and green sheep damage him. Kill white sheep immediately and use black/green to your advantage.
Fire Barrel Summons: When he calls in Lubbers carrying exploding fire barrels, eliminate them quickly before they ignite the ground.
Stay Close: Eris is a ranged specialist — staying behind her makes most of her attacks far easier to dodge and gives you free melee windows.
Shotgun Attack: Do not run away from her wide spread fire; dash directly at her and get behind her, as the spread covers too large an area to escape at range.
Damage Buff Phases: At 75%, 50%, and 25% health she becomes invulnerable and buffs her own damage by 100%. Stay outside the red circle and charge an Omega move so you can burst immediately when the shield drops.
Pillar Cover: The two pillars in the arena can block her single-shot attack, but each is destroyed after one hit — use them sparingly.
Dash Through Fire: All of Prometheus's lines of fire can be safely dashed through — stay close and use this aggressively.
Memory Flame: Memorize one safe zone and run to each eruption point in sequence; don't try to track the full pattern on the fly.
Watch for Glowing Limbs: When his fists or feet light up with fire, an enhanced flame version of the next attack is coming — the AoE is massively increased, so get clear immediately.
Eagle Phase: When his eagle Aetos or summoned foes are on the field, prioritize dodging over attacking. They leave on their own after a few attacks — don't get baited into fighting through the chaos.
No Health Bar: Typhon has no visible health bar at any point — you cannot track his remaining health, so commit to sustained damage output throughout.
Priority Attacks: His two most dangerous attacks are a head slam (stuns Melinoë briefly) and a red whip/tongue laser — learn to identify each and dodge accordingly.
Egg Phase: When Typhon retreats into a dark storm, he becomes invulnerable and spawns monster eggs. Destroy them immediately before they hatch and overwhelm you.
Zeus Window: In a later phase Zeus arrives and strikes Typhon with lightning, briefly collapsing him. This is your burst damage window — go all in while he's down.
⚔️

Combat Mechanics

Combat on Mooks (Unarmored)

  • Interrupt Attacks: Any health bar that is not yellow is vulnerable. Every single strike immediately staggers the enemy and resets their startup frames.
  • Tap & Execute: Initiate unarmored mob encounters with a quick poke to secure hit-stagger control before chaining heavy finisher animations.
  • Area-of-Effect: Leverage wide Cast seals to group, slow, and stun-lock entire packs in clusters.

Combat on Wardens (Armored)

  • Stagger Immunity: Yellow armor health caps are completely immune to hit-stagger. Play defensively until the yellow meter cracks completely.
  • Targeted Breakers: Select Daedalus Hammer upgrades targeting armor damage to quickly smash difficult Warden shields.
  • The Torches Exception: Umbral Flames struggle to land heavy individual armor breaks. Play with extreme caution.
🎮

Steam Deck Optimization

Essential hardware tweaks, button remaps, and system configurations to maximize comfort and readability on handhelds.
  • Rear Grip Mapping: Map Dash [A] or Cast [B] to the rear paddles (L4/L5, R4/R5). Keeps your right thumb resting cleanly on the analog sticks while aiming spells.
  • Audit Runs Mid-chamber: Press the left [View] button to pull open the active build monitor to check active status conditions, curse stacks, and item levels.
  • Screen Comfort: Access settings to deactivate Screen Shake entirely. Preserves high visual tracking sharpness during small-screen encounters.
🔱

God Influence & Element Registry

💖

Aphrodite Percent

Inflicts Weak (foes deal 30% less damage). Best for slow, massive swings needing close-quarters protection.

🌊

Poseidon Flat

Inflicts Froth via Splash (foes take increased damage from Waves and Splash effects). Best for wide crowd control.

🔥

Hestia Flat

Inflicts Scorch (stacking fire damage over time). Spectacular on rapid, multi-hit armaments.

⚡

Zeus Flat

Inflicts Blitz (detonates a lightning strike after reaching a threshold). Highly aggressive poke tool.

❄️

Demeter Utility

Inflicts Freeze (completely halts action cycles). Essential crowd controller and defense engine.

🦚

Hera Percent

Inflicts Hitch (distributes damage to linked enemies). Unbeatable for fast room sweeps.

☀️

Apollo Percent

Inflicts Daze (gives foes a chance to miss attacks). Greatly expands the surface area of moves.

🌋

Hephaestus Flat

Inflicts Glow (foes take +15% increased damage for 5 seconds after being hit).

🪽

Hermes Utility

No status curse. Boosts Melinoë's speed, attack speed, evasion, and Magick efficiency. Does not offer Duo Boons. Encountered by chance; not part of the standard 4-god door pool.

💝

On Boons & Curses

Learn how elements and mana gain tiers synergize to form powerful endgame runs.

Magick Gain Boon Tier List

  • Top Tier: Aphrodite, Hestia, Demeter, Hera (Extremely reliable recovery loops).
  • Mid Tier: Apollo (Lucid Gain requires standing in Casts).
  • Poor Tier: Zeus, Hephaestus, Poseidon (Require manual pickup, taking damage, or prime your maximum Magick reserves).

God Door Reward & Element Matrix (Ares replaced with Hephaestus)

God Glow Color Element
Aphrodite Hot Pink Water + Air 💧💨
Apollo Solar Yellow Air + Fire 💨🔥
Demeter Frost White Earth + Water 🪨💧
Hera Peacock Purple All Elements
Hestia Flame Orange Fire 🔥
Hephaestus Forge Coral Earth + Fire 🪨🔥
Hermes Golden Wing Air + Earth + Fire + Water
Poseidon Ocean Blue Water 💧
Zeus Electric Cyan Air 💨
🔮

Full Arcana Card Reference (I–XXV)

Complete reference table of the Crossroads Altar Arcana Cards (I–XXV).
# Card Name Key Effect
IThe SorceressWhile you Channel, time moves slower
IIThe Wayward SonHeals Melinoë between chambers
IIIThe HuntressBonus damage on first hit of each encounter
IVEternityGain 1 Death Defiance; time slows when using an Omega move
VThe MoonBoosts the power of your Hex
VIThe Furies+20% damage to foes inside your Cast
VIIPersistencePermanently increases Max HP and Max Magick
VIIIThe MessengerIncreases sprint speed and evasion
IXNightBoosts damage dealt in darkness or obscured rooms
XThe UnseenEnhances stealth and flanking damage
XIThe Swift RunnerIncreases sprint speed
XIIDeathBonus damage when at low HP
XIIIThe CentaurIncreases Max HP
XIVOriginationDeals bonus damage to foes afflicted by 2+ curses from different gods (+25/38/50/63%)
XVThe LoversGrants damage negation during Guardian Encounters
XVIThe EnchantressEnhances boon effects
XVIIThe BoatmanBoosts Gold and resource rewards
XVIIIThe ArtificerImproves Daedalus Hammer upgrade quality
XIXExcellenceIncreases Power of Epic+ boons
XXThe QueenIncreases Duo Boon chance
XXIThe FatesGrants a re-roll on boon offerings
XXIIThe ChampionsImproves boon effects after defeating a Guardian
XXIIIStrengthIncreases base damage output
XXIVDivinityEnhances Legendary Boon effects
XXVThe JudgmentAfter clearing a Guardian Encounter, activates 3 random Arcana Cards

Note: Effect descriptions above are summaries. Several cards have rank-scaling values and interaction nuances — consult the Mobalytics or Fandom Arcana pages for exact per-rank numbers.

🐈

Kekeepsakes & Familiars

Biome rotation planning, gifting, and animal companion summons.
Item Rank 1 Rank 3
Silken Sash (Arachne) +20 Armor +40 Armor
Knuckle Bones (Odysseus) -5% Guardian HP, -10% Guardian damage -15% Guardian HP, -10% Guardian damage *(max rank: -25% HP)*
Silver Wheel (Hecate) Restores Magick over time (moderate) Restores Magick over time (enhanced) *(exact values subject to patch; verify in-game)*
Animal Familiars
  • Frinos (The Frog): Provides +10 Max HP and physically blocks enemy projectile shots for you.
  • Toula (The Cat): Grants an extra **Death Defiance** charge and deals **99 damage** to a nearby foe in combat.
🔮

Crossroads Altar & Gathering

Cauldron brewing recipes, pins, and gathering configurations.
  • "Forget-Me-Not" Tracker: Pin recipes in the cauldron so chamber doors housing those materials display a hand icon.
  • Persistence (Card VII): Essential card granting permanent base additions to total Max HP and Magick reserves.
  • Eternity (Card IV): Crucial early pick granting a free Death Defiance charge.

Biome Gathering Matrix

Biome Tool Required Key Resources
Erebus Crescent Pick / Spade Silver, Moly, Cattail Seeds
Oceanus Crescent Pick / Spade Limestone, Lotus
Fields of Mourning Crescent Pick / Spade Glassrock, Myrtle
Tartarus Crescent Pick Marble
Ephyra Crescent Pick / Spade Bronze, Garlic
Thessaly Rift Crescent Pick / Spade Iron, Driftwood
Mount Olympus Spade / Rod of Fishing Lavender (Spade), Olives (Spade), Fish (Rod)
The Summit Crescent Pick / By Hand Serpent Scales (Crescent Pick), Fangs (by hand)
The Surface Campaign
  • Zone Scaling: Surface zones are generally more challenging than Underworld depths (Ephyra corresponds roughly to Oceanus difficulty; Thessaly scales with Fields of Mourning). *Note: This parity is an approximate community guideline, not an official Supergiant statement.*
  • Medea is Notable: Medea encounters in Ephyra can provide valuable armor-shattering or physical support boons worth prioritizing.
  • Hermes Deliveries: Hermes shrines are not instant. Deliveries require clearing several chambers, unless you pay a steep rush fee.