After spending almost two years in early access development, Hades is finally out properly, and it’s gotten a surprise release on the Nintendo Switch as well. As an action roguelite game, there are tons of variables that can change with each run, including the Boons you get along the way. Here’s everything you need to know about how the Boons system works in Hades.
How Boons Work in Hades
First things first, Boons are obtained by talking to gods that you meet along the way while you’re making your way through the chambers of hell. At the start of each run, you’ll encounter a random god, who will then offer you a choice between three Boons that you can choose from.
These will affect your basic abilities in some way; for instance, Aphrodite can enhance your cast so that it creates an AoE effect that inflicts Weak on enemies that wander into its radius. All of the gods in the game will bestow different types of effects on your abilities, which means that there are a ton of different synergies and combinations that you can experiment with, offering the game a lot of replay value.
It’s important to note, however, that Boons are not permanent unlocks, and neither are the Daedalus Hammer upgrades that you get to upgrade them in Hades. All your Boons will be lost upon death, and you’ll need to rebuild your loadout when you start up another run.
How to Get Them
As mentioned before, Boons in Hades are obtained by talking to gods. You’ll get a free one at the start of each run, and after that, it’s a matter of looking at the symbols on the chamber doors to see what’s on offer.
If you see a god’s symbol, that means you’ll be able to get a Boon from that specific god after clearing the next encounter. It’s probably best to try to get a couple of Boons early on in the game so that you have more tools at your disposal in the early stages.
As you accumulate Nectar, you can also gift them to the different gods in exchange for Keepsakes that will guarantee that god’s spawn chance the next time you come across a Boon room.
Gods and Boons
Listed below are all of the gods currently available in Hades, along with the types of Boons they can offer you:
- Aphrodite: Inflicts Weak and Charmed.
- Ares: Inflicts Doom.
- Artemis: Improves cast abilities and increases critical rates.
- Athena: Lets you deflect attacks.
- Chaos: Debuffs you for a set number of encounters before granting you a bonus.
- Demeter: Inflicts Chill.
- Dionysus: Inflicts Hangover.
- Hermes: Increases mobility and improves your dash abilities.
- Poseidon: Adds knockback effect to your abilities.
- Zeus: Lets you chain lightning in your abilities.
That’s all you need to know about how the Boons system works in Hades. Be sure to search for Twinfinite for more tips and information on the game.
