Hades Weapons Guide

In Hades, Supergiant Games’ new hack-and-slash dungeon crawler game, you play as Underworld Prince Zagreus. Zagreus has a quest: he wants to escape from his father’s realm and find a way out of the Underworld. For each escape attempt he has a choice of 5 different Infernal Arms, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. But which weapon is best? Which Infernal Arm should you pick? In this article each of the 5 available weapons will be discussed, to help you pick the weapon that suits your playstyle the most.

1. Stygian Blade
2. Heart-Seeking Bow
3. Shield of Chaos
4. Eternal Spear
5. Adamant Rail

Not sure which Keepsake to use? See the Hades Keepsakes Guide.

Stygian Blade

Attacks:

• Left click: normal attack
• 3x left click: combo attack
• Special (Q): Nova Smash – a burst of damage around you on a short cooldown

Stygius, Blade of the Underworld is the starter weapon and will probably be the first weapon you play with. It is a longsword with wide swings as normal attacks and a strike-chop-thrust combo attack when you attack quickly three times in a row. The last hit in the combo has a knockback. Nova Smash, the sword’s special attack, creates a strong burst of AOE damage around you at the cost of being stationary for a second. Nova Smash also knocks back any foes in its zone.

How to get Stygian Blade?

The Stygian Blade is the starter weapon. You will have it automatically when starting a new game.

What aspects does the Stygian Blade have?

• Zagreus Aspect
  • The original aspect that you start with
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Bonus Move Speed (up to 30%)
• Nemesis Aspect
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Bonus Critical Chance (up to 35%)
  • Special Attack (Q) gives increased Critical Chance to normal attack for 3 seconds
• Poseidon Aspect
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Bonus Cast Damage (up to 50%)
  • Special Attack dislodges Bloodstones from foes – this means you can get your Bloodstones back whenever you want

Stygian Blade Strong Points

• It’s the starter weapon, so no Chthonic Keys needed to unlock it
• Highest raw damage output
• Its attacks are fast and allow for lots of dashing and mobility
• Shines in late game because of its strong Titan Blood Upgrades
• Possibility for a Cast Build with Poseidon Aspect

Stygian Blade Weak Points

• It has a limited range, meaning you will need to get close to your enemies
• Being stationary during Special Attack leaves you vulnerable
• No charged attack, not able to deal a large hit
• Zagreus and Nemesis Aspects have no good way of dealing with ranged enemies

Stygian Blade Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

• World Splitter: Your Attack is replaced with a big chop that deals 90 base damage. Cannot be combined with Flurry Blade or Cruel Thrust.
• Flurry Slash: Hold Attack to strike rapidly, dealing 25 base damage per hit. Cannot be combined with World Splitter or Cruel Thrust.
• Cruel Thrust: Your Thrust deals +200% damage and has a +40% Critical Chance. Cannot be combined with World Splitter or Flurry Blade.
• Super Nova: Your Special hits a wider area and deals +20% damage.
• Double Nova: Your Special hits twice in a smaller area; no longer knocks foes away.
• Double Edge: Your Dash Attack hits twice and deals +30% damage.
• Armor Slayer: Your Attack deals +300% damage to Armor.
• Piercing Wave: Your Attack fires a wave that pierces foes, dealing 20 damage.

Which upgrades does the Stygian Blade pair well with?

The Stygian Blade pairs well with flat Attack damage bonus effects, such as Poseidon’s Tempest Strike, Aphrodite’s Heartbreak Strike or Artemis’ Deadly Strike. Poseidon’s boon Tempest Flourish can increase the damage of Smash Nova, which is especially strong when combined with Super Nova. Double Nova’s reduced radius makes the attack drastically smaller, therefore I do not recommend taking it unless you have Super Nova to balance it out.

A noteworthy build is the so-called ‘Stygian Blender’. For this build, you combine the Daedalus Hammer upgrade Flurry Slash with Zeus’ boon Lightning Strike. The result is a lightning fast (literally) barrage of attacks that shoots electricity in all directions.

Heart-Seeking Bow

Attacks:

• Hold left click: Fire
• Hold left click until flashing: Power Shot
• Dash then left click: Fast Shot
• Special (Q): Volley Fire – a wide cone of 9 arrows that each deal low damage

The Heart-Seeking Bow, referred to by the gods as Coronacht, is a ranged weapon that shoots piercing projectiles. Its Attack is an arrow that requires a charge-up time; using Attack right after a Dash reduces the charge time but also its damage. Fully charging Attack makes your bow flash and perform a Power Shot that does extra damage. The bow’s special attack is Volley Fire, which shoots 9 arrows in a cone of about 90 degrees. These arrows each deal considerably less damage than the standard Attack. Note that the projectiles of Volley Fire do not pierce.

How to get Heart-Seeking Bow?

You can unlock the Heart-Seeking Bow in the weapon room for 2 Chthonic keys.

What aspects does the Heart-Seeking Bow have?

• Zagreus Aspect
  • The original aspect that you start with
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Critical Attack Chance (up to +10%)
• Chiron Aspect
  • Volley Fire automatically seeks the foe last struck by your Attack
  • Reduces the amount of projectiles from Volley Fire
  • Good for single target damage
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Increased Projectiles for Volley Fire (up to 7)
• Hera Aspect
  • Your Cast loads Bloodstones into your next attack, firing upon impact.
  • This means: when you Cast, your weapon becomes charged with a Bloodstone. Allows for high damage in a single shot.
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Reduced Bloodstone Drop Time (down to 5 seconds)

Heart-Seeking Bow Strong Points

• Excellent Range, arguably the best of all 5 weapons
• The Special, Volley Fire, has great coverage and amazing AOE potential when combined with the right boons
• Options for high damage in a single shot with Power Shot or Hera Aspect
• Piercing projectiles for Attack and Power Shot

Heart-Seeking Bow Weak Points

• Attacks require some charging time, leaving you vulnerable
• No options for melee combat
• Limited defensive potential

Heart-Seeking Bow Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

• Twin Shot: Your Attack fires 2 shots side-by-side, but has reduced range. Cannot be combined with Triple Shot.
• Triple Shot: Your Attack fires 3 shots in a spread pattern. Cannot be combined with Twin Shot.
• Piercing Barrage: Your Special pierces foes and deals +100% damage to Armor. Cannot be combined with Chiron Aspect.
• Relentless Barrage: Your Special fires 4 extra shots.
• Flurry Shot: Hold Attack to shoot rapidly, but you cannot Power Shot. Cannot be combined with Perfect Shot or Explosive Shot.
• Perfect Shot: Your Power Shot deals +100% damage. Cannot be combined with Flurry Shot.
• Explosive Shot: Your Attack deals +300% damage in an area, but charges slower. Cannot be combined with Flurry Shot.
• Sniper Shot: Your attack deals +300% damage to distant foes.

Which upgrades does the Heart-Seeking Bow pair well with?

The Heart-Seeking Bow has an extremely strong build, the “Volley of Doom”. For this build you take Ares’ Curse of Pain, which makes your special do an extra burst of damage after a short delay. For this build, you basically want to just stand in a corner and spam Volley Fire, killing even the most distant enemies without ever getting near. Dionysus’ poison effects and Artemis’ Critical Chance effect also pair well with the Bow.

A keepsake that is worth mentioning is the Myrmidon Bracer, which you receive after giving Nectar to Achilles. This keepsake reduces your damage taken from the front up to 40%, but increases your damage taken from the back by 10%. Since the Heart-Seeking Bow has an amazing range there is no need to ever not be with your back to the wall, allowing you to benefit from this keepsake’s strength without being bothered by its drawback.

Shield of Chaos

Attacks:

• Left click: Attack, a quick Bash
• Hold left click: Defend
• Release left click: Bull Rush
• Special (Q): Shield Throw – your shield bounces between multiple targets

Aegis, the Shield of Chaos, is a good all-round weapon with great defensive capabilities. Its normal Attack is a Shield Bash, a quick swing in an arc that knocks back. Holding the Attack button creates a defensive areas which blocks any incoming hits or projectiles. Releasing the Attack button after holding makes you charge at your enemies and knock them back quite far. Bull Rush can therefore be used as a slow, but safe way to get to the other side of a room. The Shield of Chaos’ Special makes your shield bounce between multiple enemies and has a decent range. It’s important to realise that during your special, you cannot attack or block until the shield is back in your hands.

How to get Shield of Chaos?

You can unlock the Shield of Chaos in the weapon room for 3 Chthonic keys.

What aspects does the Shield of Chaos have?

• Zagreus Aspect
  • The original aspect that you start with
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Damage Reduction (up to +15%)
• Chaos Aspect
  • After you Bull Rush, your next Special throws multiple shields
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Bonus Shields Thrown (up to 5 extra)
• Zeus Aspect
  • Your Special is replaced with the Blitz Disc: a slowly moving AOE area that hits foes caught in it rapidly. Your attack is not disabled while Blitz Disc is active.
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Blitz Disc Base Damage per Hit (up to 30 extra damage)

Shield of Chaos Strengths

• Very strong defensively
• Not very boon-dependent; works well in multiple builds
• Strong AOE when upgrading the Special
• Bull Rush allows you to safely ‘dash’ through any enemy

Shield of Chaos Weaknesses

• Low raw damage output
• You cannot attack or block during your Special
• Limited ranged potential

Shield of Chaos Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

• Dread Flight: Your Special can hit up to 6 foes before returning. Cannot be combined with Zeus Aspect.
• Explosive Return: Your Special deals 60 damage to nearby foes when you catch it.
• Sudden Rush: Your Bull Rush charges much faster, but does not knock foes away.
• Minotaur Rush: Your Bull Rush gains a Power Shot.
• Armor Shredder: Your Bull Rush deals +400% damage to Armor.
• Charged Shot: Your Bull Rush instead fires a piercing shot that deals 80 damage.
• Pulverizing Blow: Your Attack hits twice, but does not knock foes away.
• Dashing Wallop: Your Dash Attack deals +50% damage in a larger area.

Which upgrades does the Shield of Chaos pair well with?

If you have trouble surviving, combining the Shield of Chaos with Athena’s Divine Dash or one of her other Deflecting boons will help you get much further. The Athena and Artemis Duo Boon Deadly Reversal adds some nice damage to this build as well. When looking for higher damage output, the Shield of Chaos can do substantial damage when taking Ares’ Curse of Pain on the Special. This damage skyrockets when using the Chaos Aspect of the Infernal Arm. Another good boon for this weapon is Poseidon’s Tempest Strike: you can literally knock enemies back to the other side of the room with one simple Attack.

Eternal Spear

Attacks:

• Left click: Strike
• Hold left click: Spin Attack
• Dash then left click: Dash Attack
• Special (Q): Throw – throw the spear forwards, reactivate to recall it

Varatha, the Eternal Spear is the jack of all trades of the Infernal Arms. The spear can be used as both a ranged and melee weapon and can work well with many different boons and upgrades. Your standard Attack is ranged, while the Spin Attack hits all enemies near you. Note that you can Dash during the Spin Attack. The Special, Throw, throws the spear forward, piercing all foes in its path. You can retrieve the spear by either pressing Q again (the spear will damage foes on its way back) or by walking to it and picking it up. You can leave the room without picking up the spear; it will be back in your hands in the next room.

How to get Eternal Spear?

You can unlock the Eternal Spear in the weapon room for 4 Chthonic keys.

What aspects does the Eternal Spear have?

• Zagreus Aspect
  • The original aspect that you start with
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Bonus Special Speed and Range (up to +150%)
• Achilles Aspect
  • After your Special, you can retrieve the spear with Raging Rush. This makes you Dash towards the spear upon reactivating Q, damaging enemies on the way and making your next few Attacks deal extra damage. You can still retrieve the spear normally, but now by pressing Attack after throwing it out.
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Post-Rush Bonus Damage (up to +150%)
• Hades Aspect
  • Your Spin Attack is replaced with Punishing Sweep. Punishing Sweep is very similar to Spin Attack, only now enemies hit also take increased damage from your Attack and Special for about 10 seconds.
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Punishing Bonus Damage (up to +150%)

Eternal Spear Strengths

• Most versatile weapon in the game
• Works well with many different boons and upgrades
• The Eternal Spear’s Hades Aspect has some of the highest damage output in game
• Good option for new players who aren’t too sure of their preferred playstyle yet

Eternal Spear Weaknesses

• Jack of all trades, but master of none; if you have a clear preference for either ranged of melee, you can better pick another weapon that suits that playstyle
• Limited defensive capabilities
• The Spin Attack can be interrupted by enemies

Eternal Spear Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

• Exploding Launcher: Your Special is replaced with a shot that deals 60 damage in an area. Cannot be combined with Multi Skewer or Vicious Skewer.
• Multi Skewer: Your Special bounces up to 7 foes, dealing +30% damage for each. Cannot be combined with Exploding Launcher.
• Vicious Skewer: Your Special deals +50% damage; +50% Critical chance on recovery. Cannot be combined with Exploding Launcher.
• Flurry Jab: Hold Attack to strike rapidly, but you cannot Spin Attack. Cannot be combined with Massive Spin or Quick Spin.
• Massive Spin: Your Spin Attack deals +125% damage and hits a larger area. Cannot be combined with Flurry Jab.
• Quick Spin: Your Spin Attack charges and recovers much faster. Cannot be combined with Flurry Jab.
• Extending Jab: Your Attack has more range and deals +40% damage to distant foes.
• Armor Skewer: Your Special deals +400% damage to Armor.

Which upgrades does the Eternal Spear pair well with?

The good thing about the spear is that it can pair well with virtually any upgrade. You can go for a build focused on your Special with Exploding Launcher and any stacking curse (since the spear hits enemies a second time when returning to you). Especially the Exposed status effect, which increases Backstab damage, works very well: the return of the spear is almost a guaranteed backstab. When taking a Special Build, make sure to also invest some Darkness in the Shadow Presence ability in the Mirror of Night. The Spear also has many viable Attack builds, which can work around basically any Olympian’s Attack boon. Combine with Flurry Jab or Extending Jab to become even more deadly.

Adamant Rail

Attacks:

• Hold left click: Fire
• Dash then left click: Fire 2 fast shots
• R: Reload
• Special (Q): Bombard – throw an explosive that deals damage in an area

Exagryph, the Adamant Rail is a ranged rifle and the only weapon in game that uses ammunition (standard 12 bullets). It has a very high fire rate, but requires a reload of about a second, in which you cannot attack. You can reload manually by pressing R, or you reload automatically when the magazine is empty. Each bullet itself deals low damage; the strength of the weapon comes from all the bullets being fired rapidly. The Adamant Rail’s Special, Bombard, deals high damage in an area. This area does not have to be directly around you, but can also be thrown with a decent range.

How to get Adamant Rail?

You can unlock the Adamant Rail in the weapon room for 8 Chthonic keys. The Adamant Rail will only become available once all other weapons are unlocked.

What aspects does the Adamant Rail have?

• Zagreus Aspect
  • The original aspect that you start with
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Bonus Max Ammunition (up to 12 extra bullets)
• Eris Aspect
  • For 8 seconds after absorbing your Special’s blast, deal more damage. When using this aspect, you do want to be in the Bombard’s area. Your Special deals no damage to yourself, but does make you flinch.
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: More Bonus Damage (up to +60%)
• Hestia Aspect
  • After you manually Reload, your next shot is empowered
  • Titan Blood Upgrade: Empowered Shot Base Damage (up to 150 extra damage)

Adamant Rail Strengths

• Very high burst damage
• Ranged Special that does damage in an area
• If you get the right boons, you can do extremely high amounts of damage
• It’s a gun

Adamant Rail Weaknesses

• For an exclusively ranged weapon, its range is actually not that far
• Firing and reloading require you to remain stationary
• Not the easiest weapon to play with, and therefore maybe not the best choice for new players
• Requires specific boons and upgrades to deal high damage

Adamant Rail Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

• Flurry Fire: Your Attack is faster and more accurate; gain +6 ammo capacity. Cannot be combined with Spread Fire or Infinity Chamber.
• Spread Fire: Your Attack is replaced with a short-range spread of 5 shots. Cannot be combined with Flurry Fire or Infinity Chamber.
• Infinity Chamber: You never have to Reload. Cannot be combined with Spread Fire or Flurry Fire.
• Explosive Fire: Your Attack deals damage in an area and briefly staggers foes. Cannot be combined with Piercing Fire.
• Piercing Fire: Your Attack pierces foes and deals +50% damage to Armor. Cannot be combined with Explosive Fire.
• Inescapable Blast: While firing your Special, foes in the target radius are 75% slower.
• Rocket Bomb: Your Special is replaced with a rocket that deals 80 base damage.
• Triple Bomb: You can use your special 3 times in rapid succession.

Which upgrades does the Adamant Rail pair well with?

The Adamant Rail works very well with boons that deal damage on hit (such as Zeus’ Chain Lightning or Poseidon’s Tempest Strike). The rapid firing can apply stacked curses quickly, making Dionysus’ Blight Strike and Ares’ Curse of Agony + Dire Misfortune combination excellent choices. The Daedealus Hammer Upgrade Infinity Chamber is worth mentioning because it completely negates the weapon’s downside of having to be reloaded.