Give Nectar to an NPC to receive their Keepsake — an equippable trinket you can swap at the start of each biome for a powerful edge. There are 25 standard ones, and each levels up the more you use it: 25 cleared Encounters takes it to rank 2, another 50 to max rank 3. The right one at the right moment shapes an entire run.
Survival & utility
🦴 Old Spiked Collar (Cerberus)
Flat bonus max health at every rank — +25, then +38, then +50 — the go-to early survival keepsake for tough runs and high Heat.
🍀 Lucky Tooth (Skelly)
A free extra Death Defiance for the run; brilliant while you're still learning bosses.
💗 Pierced Butterfly (Thanatos)
Stacks +1%, +1.5% or +2% damage (by rank) for every Encounter cleared without taking a hit — rewards clean play and scales hard on a good run.
⚡ Bond keepsakes
The Myrmidon Bracer, the Black Shawl and others grant flat combat boosts you can lean on all run.
🪶 Lambent Plume (Hermes)
A stacking dodge-chance and move-speed bonus for every Encounter you clear quickly — no guaranteed boon, just a faster, more evasive Zagreus the cleaner you play.
God keepsakes
- Each Olympian's keepsake (e.g. Thunder Signet from Zeus) guarantees that god's Boon appears the first time any god boon is offered — not necessarily in the very first chamber.
- Hermes and Chaos are the exception: neither runs on this guarantee, since Hermes can appear on his own regardless of keepsake, and his own keepsake (Lambent Plume) is a straight stat bonus instead.
- Higher keepsake rank raises the odds of a Rare or better boon from that first offer.
- Rotate to a different god keepsake each biome to steer your build as it develops.
Swapping strategy
- Biome 1: a god keepsake to seed your build, or Lucky Tooth for a safety net.
- Mid-run: Old Spiked Collar or Pierced Butterfly for the Elysium difficulty spike.
- Before the boss room: Eurydice's Evergreen Acorn works with any weapon and absorbs up to six hits against a boss only — useless against regular rooms, so swap it in right before you fight, not before.
- Buy the Rod of Fishing from the House Contractor to reveal fishing spots; the Head Chef pays resources for every catch.
Companions (summon keepsakes)
🦇 Battie (Megaera)
A swarm of rapid hits — earned by maxing Megaera's bond with Ambrosia, and useful for chipping down a whole room at once.
☠️ Mort (Thanatos)
Thanatos drops in and scythes everything on screen for a big burst of damage — a strong panic button mid-Encounter.
🐍 Fidi (Dusa)
Dusa's companion petrifies nearby foes for a breather in a tough room, buying time to reposition or heal.
🎁 Earning them
Fully bond with an ally (Nectar then Ambrosia) to reach their companion tier; each grants a summon you equip alongside your keepsake, usable once per run at first; spending Ambrosia on it raises its rank, up to five uses per run.
Cross-checked
Cross-checked on 6 September 2026 and re-checked on 1 October 2026 against the Hades Wiki (Fandom), the Fextralife Hades Wiki, player-verified trophy breakdowns and the guides of Vandal, EliteGuias and PowerPyx. What is still unverified is the only thing reading cannot settle — nobody here has played it.