In this article, we will be taking a look at Hades 2, the follow-up to Supergiant’s successful rogue-like game. Much akin to the first game, you will have access to a myriad of boons from the pantheon of gods on Olympus and more and can be spoiled for choices.
Introduction
Today, we will be taking a look at some of the combinations of boons and buffs that will help you bring out your full potential in your task of taking down the Titan of Time, Chronos or the Father of All Monsters, Typhon.
For this particular build, we will be using Xinth, the Black Coat that can be unlocked once we have gone through a few runs on the surface and obtained the necessary ingredients.
This weapon is a hard-hitting Fist Weapon, with a strong ranged attack option that allows us to fire homing missiles against our foes, making it one of the most interesting weapons among Melinoe’s arsenal.
Arcana
In Hades 2, we can meditate at the Altar of Ashes at the beginning of each night before heading out to increase our strength and upgrade ourselves, but the amount of arcana that we can use is limited by the amount of grasp available to us, which can be upgraded using the Psyche resource.
For this specific build, we will be using arcana that will enhance our damage output as much as possible.
The first arcana available to us and that we will be using for this build is the Sorceress.
This card costs 1 grasp to equip and will increase the charge speed of our Omega versions of our attacking moves, which is important since we will be charging both our attacks and specials quite often with this weapon.
Next, we will use the Wayward Son arcana, which is another card costing 1 grasp and will allow us to recover health points after each encounter. At the base level of the card, it enables us to regain 3 HP.
This card helps with sustain on our runs and is one of the more valuable arcana to use, especially for a melee-heavy weapon since we are prone to taking damage while in melee range.
Then we will be using the Huntress card, which requires 2 grasp to use and will increase the damage of our attack and special when our magick is not at full capacity.
Since we will be using our charged Omega attacks that consume the resource quite often, we will benefit highly from having this card equipped.
Next, we will be using the Unseen Arcana.
This card is one of the more expensive cards to use as it costs 5 grasp to equip but plays a crucial role, especially when using this build, as it will restore our magick by a set amount every second depending on the level of the card.
By having the Unseen card, we will have the Moon arcana card active, as the card will activate whenever we use any of the surrounding cards.
The Moon card makes it so that our hex will charge up automatically regardless of whether we are using magick or not, and when we are using magick actively with our charged Omega attacks, it will greatly speed up our hex build-ups.
The next arcana card we will be using is the Messenger.
This card costs 1 grasp to use, and it will make us immune and impervious to all attacks for a second while speeding us up whenever we cast our binding circle.
This allows us an additional dodging component attached to one of our offensive tools with this build, enabling us to be more aggressive in our approach.
We will also be equipping the Swift Runner Arcana, which also requires 1 grasp to activate with this build.
What this arcana does is increase our sprint speed, making it easier to dodge enemy ranged attacks while also enabling us to pass through enemies when we are sprinting. The added mobility from using this card is invaluable in allowing us to go on the offense using our agility and speed.
Next is another arcana card that is really useful, which will increase both our max life and max magick by 20 when equipped. This arcana card requires 2 grasp to equip, and upgrading this card further increases the bonus we get from using it. Since we will be mostly in melee range with this build, the extra life points and magick really help with our survivability.
Then we will be using the Excellence arcana card.
This card requires 5 grasp to activate and can be a really powerful card because Excellence will grant us a chance for our common boons to be of higher rarity, making them more powerful.
Finally, we will be using the Death arcana.
This arcana card requires 4 grasp to equip, and the high cost is definitely worth it, as it gives us a Death Defiance. This acts as an extra life, which allows you to come back with 40% of your max life and magick upon dying, increasing your chance of successfully finishing a run.
Keepsakes
For this build, we will be taking the Engraved Pin keepsake to use on our run.
We can obtain this keepsake from Moros, the Harbinger of Doom, who will arrive in our base after we have progressed in the story for some time. This pin will allow us some borrowed time whenever we deplete our max life to clear the encounter.
While this does not ensure we will be able to survive through all encounters on borrowed time, it will give us some extra chance to hang on to life.
Boons
Among the plethora of boons offered by the gods, we will have 5 main slots that will affect and upgrade our moves.
First, regarding the boon relating to our regular attacks, we will take one of the boons from Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, by taking the Flutter Strike.
This boon will increase the damage we deal against close-up foes, which is great for the close-range, hard-hitting punch attacks of Xinth.
For our special attack, we will be taking the boon from the Goddess of the Olympians, Hera, by taking the Sworn Flourish.
This allows our special, which fires homing missiles at our foes, to be enhanced with the Hitching abilities. Putting the hitch on our ranged option, when charged, that homes in on our foes is very useful and will allow us to inflict damage against more enemies quite easily.
With our Cast using the binding circle, we will take the Arctic Ring boon from Demeter, the Goddess of the Seasons.
This will enable our circle to freeze enemies in place, granting us the ability to crowd control and giving us an option to prevent being surrounded and overwhelmed.
For our sprint, we will be taking another boon from Demeter with the Frigid Rush.
This will make it so that we are surrounded by a gust of cold wind while sprinting, and the gust, in addition to slowing down projectiles, will also deal damage against enemies, adding to our damage output while we run and send off missiles.
For our special gain slot, we will take the boon from the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, with the Glamour Gain.
This boon will automatically inflict Weak upon any nearby enemies, decreasing the damage they deal against us and allowing us to gradually restore our magick from any foe afflicted by the Weak curse.
These five boons will occupy our core slots when we are on our runs, but they do not necessarily need to be the only boons that we use. There are combinations of boons that can greatly improve the effectiveness of this build, with the first being Sweet Surrender, a boon from the Goddess of Love.
This boon will increase the damage we deal against foes that are inflicted by the Weak curse, and since we will be cursing automatically through our Glamour Gain, the Sweet Surrender boon greatly enhances the damage of this build.
Additionally, we will look for the Weed Killer boon from the Goddess of the Seasons, which will prime damage but also increase the damage of our charged punch. Combined with the Flutter Strike, our close-up charged punch can devastate even the strongest of foes.
Next, if we are granted boons by the Goddess of the Olympians, Hera, we will be taking the Bridal Glow boon.
This will increase the rarity of one of the boons you have to the highest tier, making it more powerful.
Another boon that will improve us over the course of our run is the Steady Growth boon from Demeter.
This boon will increase the rarity of our other boons in our possession after a set number of encounters, and getting this early on can help us become powerful for our final fight on the run.
Regarding our hex, we will be taking the Wolf Howl from the options offered by the Goddess of the Moon.
The Wolf Howl, in addition to dealing damage, can also be used to reposition quickly, as we will rise up and come crashing down on a targeted area. The hex can be upgraded to increase the damage it deals, and we will be prioritizing the damage tree before going for other upgrades.
Additionally, we will have run across the Primordial Originator, Chaos by now. The way Chaos offers boons is different from other Olympian gods, as we will only gain the bonus after passing through a set number of encounters with a random debuff or handicap.
The amount of bonus, handicap, and the combination of these two are all random, embodying the nature of chaos itself with the help they offer.
For this particular build, we will be aiming to enhance our mobility by going for the Celerity buff.
This will increase our normal movement speed and sprint speed, and it will help the build fully utilize both the melee and ranged capabilities of the weapon.
Weapon Upgrade
Regarding the options we get from using the Daedalus Hammer, we will be looking to enhance our attacks, and first, we will be going for the Rapid Frame upgrade.
This will increase our attack speed by 35% and is great for this build with our close-up punches.
Next, we will be taking the Reaper Frame upgrade for Xinth.
This will give our attacks additional power, which will scale with our boons, and will also increase the area of our attacks, adding to the effectiveness of the main focus of our build.
Playstyle and General Tips on Runs
The Black Coat offers another balanced weapon that provides both exceptional melee and ranged attacks at the cost of a little mobility. Compared to other weapons, the attacks have one of the shortest ranges, similar to the Sister Blades, and while the ranged specials are powerful, the attack speed can be found lacking compared to the Umbral Flames. It is important to make full use of the strengths of the charged attacks of Xinth to find success on your runs.
The charged version of the attack will give us an impervious shield that will stop all directed attacks and projectiles coming directly from the front, but it will not provide protection from any other directions.
As such, while it is really powerful if you find yourself in a favorable position where no one can attack you from any other direction aside from the front while you are charging your attack, it can lead to a false sense of security since the shield will not block any area-of-effect attacks.
So, while powerful and capable of dealing hundreds of damage without the help of any boons, the charge time is relatively slow and leaves you wide open to area-of-effect attacks.
At this point in the game, we should be familiar with the attack patterns of the majority of enemies we face on our path, whether on the surface or underground, and that will help in planning our timing to unleash devastating charged attacks.
The strength of the Black Coat lies with its specials, since they allow the weapon to deal consistent damage even when there are few opportunities to go in close with your attacks.
The charged specials will allow our missiles to lock onto our foes and home in on them upon unleashing, allowing us to “fire and forget” and focus on dodging enemy attacks.
This ability to shoot locked-on projectiles gives us room to be mindful of our positioning and mobility during our runs, and it is important to take full advantage of that strength when wearing the Black Coat.
At this point in the game, we have our fair share of runs under our belt, and most likely, we will have all the ashes required to unlock all our arcana cards.
But ashes can still be used to create ingredients, so they are not completely irrelevant in our later runs. Even so, depending on what you are looking to upgrade in the Shadow Grove, we can go for either bones or ashes.
While ashes still have their use, bones will allow us to buy Moondust, which we can use to upgrade our arcana cards. Depending on the level of the arcana cards, it can be favorable to prioritize the ashes around the 20–30th run.
Also, investing in at least three Centaur Hearts so that our max HP can reach 100 is helpful. Even though we will be staying at range and away from damage, the additional health will allow us to make more mistakes.
When faced with choices between an upgrade that is not a boon you are necessarily aiming for and gold coins, it is generally better to go for the coin route, as you will then have access to more options to choose between at the Boatman, Charon, whenever you run into him.
But if you are certain that you will not be able to gain enough coins to afford multiple purchases, you should go for the upgrade route.
Going for Poms of Power will also allow us to level up our boons, and for this build, I suggest upgrading the Sweet Surrender boon.
This will further increase the damage we deal against Weak-cursed enemies.
Conclusion
When using this build with Xinth, it can be tempting to go heavy on the melee attack, as it is extremely satisfying to punch your foes into oblivion, and a well-timed charged attack taking out foes in a single punch is really powerful.
However, it can draw you into precarious situations if you are not careful, owing to the extremely close range of the punches. Being mindful of various attack patterns and planning accordingly goes a long way, especially for this particular build.
Early on in the run, when we are not yet used to the intricacies of the weapon and are relying heavily on our close-up attacks, our keepsake will give us some margin of error and the opportunity to recover from particularly costly mistakes.
This wraps up my article for the Cold Bride build for Hades 2.
I hope you find this helpful in your conquest against Chronos, the Titan of Time, or Typhon, the Father of All Monsters, whichever path you choose to go on, and may you find success in all your runs. If you have any helpful tips, feel free to leave them in the comment section below!!
