Hades is built to be beaten over many runs. These are the systems that turn repeated deaths into steady power — the permanent upgrades you buy at home, the boons you stack in a run, and the difficulty tools you unlock once you've escaped.
Between runs
🪞 Mirror of Night
Permanent upgrades bought with Darkness — Death Defiance, Shadow Presence, Deep Pockets, Greater Reflex and more. Two options per talent; swap freely.
💀 Death Defiance
Revives you mid-run with partial health. The single most important early Mirror upgrade.
🗝️ Chthonic Keys
Unlock new weapons at the courtyard and open locked Mirror talents.
🔨 Titan Blood & Aspects
Upgrade weapons and unlock Aspects (alternate forms) at the Arsenal with the hammer icon.
🍷 Nectar & Keepsakes
Gift Nectar to NPCs to receive Keepsakes — equippable trinkets you can swap each biome.
💎 Diamonds & Contractor
Rare Diamonds fund House Contractor projects: fountains, resource nodes and Fated List slots.
During a run
✨ Boon Rarities
Common → Rare → Epic → Heroic. Higher rarity means a stronger effect; Poms of Power level them up.
🤝 Duo Boons
Special boons that require boons from two specific gods equipped at once — often build-defining.
🌟 Legendary Boons
Powerful single-god boons with prerequisites — build toward them by taking the right earlier boons.
🌀 Chaos & the Pool of Styx
Chaos gates give a curse now for a big blessing after a few rooms; fountains and wells refresh you.
🔟 God Gauge / Call
Your first god's Call fills a gauge as you fight — unleash it for burst damage or a defensive save.
After your first escape
🔥 Heat & the Pact of Punishment
Add Heat to make runs harder for better rewards; each level unlocks new modifiers and higher resource caps.
🛡️ God Mode
Optional accessibility toggle — grants scaling damage resistance that grows every time you fall, so persistence guarantees progress.
🎯 Wretched Broker
Trade surplus currency for the resource you're short on — a key economy lever late-game.
Reading a Boon offer
- Check the rarity (Common → Rare → Epic → Heroic) and which slot it lands on — Attack, Special, Cast, Dash or Call.
- Prioritise boons that reinforce your core god over a scattershot of unrelated effects.
- A Pom of Power that levels an existing key boon often beats a mediocre new one.
- Note prerequisites — some boons unlock a Duo or Legendary you can then build toward.
💬 Community Strategies & Discussion
Did you find a hidden chest? Struggling with a boss? Share your tips and questions with other mercenaries below!