The same four bosses guard each escape. Learn their patterns once and they stop being roadblocks and start being checkpoints. Here's how each fight works and what changes as you add Heat.
Megaera — Tartarus
- Dodge the whip sweep (telegraphed by a wind-up) and the expanding ground-circle AoE.
- She retreats and summons spike traps or ranged skulls — clear space and keep punishing between attacks.
- At higher Heat and later in the game she can be joined or replaced by her sisters Alecto and Tisiphone.
- Save your cast and Call for the second half when she speeds up.
The Bone Hydra — Asphodel
- Destroy the smaller heads as they emerge while dodging the main head's sweeping fire beam.
- Rising lava geysers punish standing still — keep circling the arena.
- The more side heads are active, the more projectiles fly; AoE and knockback shine here.
- Reposition to a safe corner during the beam, then burst the exposed main head.
Theseus & Asterius — Elysium
- Two foes at once: drop Asterius the Minotaur first — his Bull Rush charge is the bigger threat.
- Theseus calls down a random Olympian ultimate (a beam, a rain, a summon) — watch the ground markers and dodge out.
- Use pillars for cover and keep the two enemies from sandwiching you.
- Once Asterius falls, Theseus is far easier; bait his spear charge and punish the recovery.
Hades — Temple of Styx
- Phase one: bait the big spin and the pillar slams; stay mobile and never fight with your back to a wall.
- He summons braziers and adds — clear them or reposition so you aren't overwhelmed during his combos.
- Phase two ramps the speed and adds a ground-shockwave; keep dashing through attacks, not away from them.
- Enter with at least one Death Defiance and full casts — this is the run's final exam, so play patient.
How bosses change at high Heat
- Extreme Measures gives each boss a new, tougher moveset — learn the added attacks one weapon at a time.
- Megaera may bring her sisters, the Hydra's safe ground breaks up into islets in the lava, and Theseus charges in on an armoured war chariot while Asterius wears golden armour.
- Hades gains a third phase and faster combos — bank Death Defiances and casts for the finale.
- Match your damage type and keep defensive boons up; high-Heat bosses punish greed hardest.
Sources
Cross-checked on 1 October 2026 against Vandal's guide and the Hades Wiki. What is still unverified is the only thing reading cannot settle — nobody here has played it.