Introduction
Hades 2 is now in Early Access, and will be taking over your evenings, lunch breaks, and weekends for the foreseeable future. Playing as Melina, you must defeat Chronos, or time itself, to save your family and protect Olympus. It’s quite a lot, especially if you go unprepared.
As far as sequels go, Hades 2 builds heavily on its predecessor, so familiarity with it will do you good. But even if you played the first part, the developer Supergiant Games added a lot of new mechanics and features that you should discover for yourself. If you’re looking for some tips for beginners so you don’t spoil yourself with big surprises, here are X things you need to know before playing Hades 2.
Gathering resources is less of a chore than you think
One of the biggest innovations you’ll notice right away in Hades 2 is the focus on gathering materials with tools. Currently in early access, you can use tools like the pickaxe and shovel to get various items that are primarily used in the spell cauldron.
If you’re not a big fan of survival mechanics in games, this might scare you off at first. However, it is not as difficult a job as you might imagine. You can only equip one tool at a time, which reduces the amount of time you spend digging a hole or mining ore, for example.
The actions themselves are also quite short, adding some variety to the multiple rooms during each round, similar to fishing in the first game (yes, you can fish in this game too). In other cases, you only need to lift the flower from the ground, which takes a few seconds.
Don’t forget to chat with everyone
This rule may seem obvious if you’re already familiar with Hades, but it’s worth mentioning. Whenever you find yourself at the Crossroads, which is like the city center in Hades 2, be sure to walk around and talk to anyone with an exclamation point above their head.
On the one hand, that’s a big part of the charm of these games: getting to know the backstories of all the different characters, and hearing their reactions and thoughts on the progress you’ve already made, including recent exploits and discoveries.
On the other hand, it’s also a good way to advance certain conversations that can lead to breakthroughs in the development of events related to the story. If you haven’t met a certain character in “Crossroads” or outside it for a long time, be sure to visit him. Whenever you’re stuck on a task and don’t have the right spell or item, there’s probably someone out there who can help you out.
Give everyone nectar at least once
By the way, you will start receiving nectar as a reward for cleaning rooms quite early. This item is part of the mechanics for developing your relationships with key characters. Just like in the first game, you’ll also gain access to souvenirs, which are equippable items that add a passive bonus with each run.
It’s really important to get your collection of relics together as soon as possible, or you’ll lose out on some powerful benefits that add to the bonuses you already get from Bones, Tarot Arcana, and more.
Focus on spells
Spells may seem pretty primitive at first glance, but they’re a key aspect of Hades 2 as a whole. Without going into spoiler territory, unlocking spells should be a priority if you want to see everything the game has to offer right now in early access.
Some spells are associated with primary goals, so to speak, which are fairly easy to distinguish from the rest. Others bring back some features from the first game, such as Charon’s Wells and the merchant at the Crossroads. However, most of the spells are brand new.
Take care of your garden
According to important spells, Melinoi can plant seeds at the Crossroads. This new mechanic is pretty simple – when you have a seed, you need to go to the garden and plant it. They all have a timer that tells you how many rooms you have to go through before they are ready to harvest. In short, if you see that the seed is number eight, you don’t need to do eight full runs, but rather go through at least eight rooms or more in one run.
Gardening is a great way to get certain flowers without accidentally coming across them while traversing, especially rare ones that are used for later spells. Always check the garden before you go to Erebus.
Unlocking New Weapons is worth investment
Minor spoiler: In the current state of Early Access, Hades 2 has five weapons available. Getting the fifth one will take some time as it requires some materials that you can only find later. However, the first three unlockable weapons are quite accessible.
You may already be used to the Witch’s Staff or Sister Blades, and rightfully so. The next two weapons are pretty versatile and can be devastating if you manage to combine a decent set of abilities. Without further ado, melee weapons pair nicely with flash to attack, while ranged weapons benefit greatly from the damage from the weakness for their special ability. But, of course, feel free to experiment. That’s part of the charm.
Get the Death Defiance Arcana ASAP
Each time you leave the Crossroads in preparation for your run, you will have the opportunity to meditate and update or change your current set of Tarot cards. Perhaps one of the most important is Arcana XII, Eternity, which gives the ability to defy death.
If you are unfamiliar with this name, know that you will actually get an extra life. Whenever your health reaches zero, Death Resistance activates and restores some of your life, giving you a second wind.