Hades guide: Heroic, Legendary, and Duo boons

Hades might take you to the depths of the underworld, but that depth might also coincide with the gameplay. It has additional complex mechanics when figuring out your build. These include Heroic, Legendary, and Duo boons, the blessings from the Olympian gods. Most of the information has already been shared by contributors in Hades‘ community-driven wiki, so here’s our guide to help you out further.

Note: This guide is intended for Hades’ early access stage and certain mechanics may change in due course. For more information, check out our Hades guides and features hub.

Hades: Obtaining Heroic, Legendary, and Duo boons

It’s time to get heroic

Throughout your adventures in Hades, you’ve probably noticed how an Olympian is offering you a boon that would take the place of another. For example, if you already have Artemis’ True Shot (a casting skill), then one of Aphrodite’s selections later might offer to replace it with Crush Shot (also a casting skill). That’s all well and good, but you’ll have to remember that you can also get Heroic-type boons. These have a red outline to distinguish them from common (white), rare (blue), and epic (purple) quality skills.

Heroic boons are not unique, new skills. Instead, they’re the highest rarity for any given tier 1 skill due to higher base capabilities. If an epic rarity True Shot had 90 base damage, then the Heroic version will have 100 base damage.

In order to get Heroic boons, you’ll need to take note of the following:

• One of your tier 1 skills is already of epic rarity (purple). Only tier 1 skills can have Heroic versions.
• The next god you encounter will be able to offer a replacement for that skill.
• This is completely dependent on RNG though, so try to have perks that can help increase your chances. Examples include Keepsakes, the Yarn of Ariadne (from the Well of Charon), Eurydice’s Refreshing Nectar, or, even better, Poseidon’s and Dionysus’ Duo boon (Exclusive Access).
• Since a Heroic boon is a replacement from a different god, it’s possible that the skill you get isn’t the type you’d like to focus on or build towards during your Hades run.

I am Legend(ary)

Next up, let’s talk about Legendary boons in Hades. These are extremely unique skills (orange outline) that are considered as the top-tier blessings provided by a single god.

In order to get them, you need to have any tier 1 skill plus a tier 2 skill from one god. In some cases, it has to be a specific skill as well. Keep in mind that, just like Heroic boons, Legendaries are also dependent on RNG. They’re not always guaranteed to appear in the selection pool despite meeting the requirements.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

A combination of Ares’, Artemis’ and Hermes’ Legendary boons will turn Zagreus into a projectile-spamming machine. Poseidon and Zeus, meanwhile, would spam a lot of knockback effects and electric shocks respectively. As for Athena’s legendary boon (Divine Protection), you can see the barrier around Zagreus in the image below:

The Duo boons system

The Duo boons system in Hades also adds another layer of strategy. How does this work? Well, you’ll need to have specific boons from two different gods.

The most common instance is having a tier 1 skill from one god (ie. an attack skill), and then a tier 1 skill from another (ie. a special skill so that it doesn’t replace your current attack skill). However, there are a specifics that need to be considered since some Duo boons might require, say, a god’s casting skill rather than just anything from their tier 1 list.

Note: Hermes and Primordial Chaos aren’t part of Hades‘ Duo boons system since their buffs work independently from the other Olympians.

We’ve got a full breakdown for you in the next few pages for each god (and their counterparts):

• The Olympian gods are arranged in alphabetical order starting with Aphrodite and then the remaining gods in column 2.
• This is followed by the Duo boon, its effects, and the required skills from the two gods.
• The order in which you encounter the gods during your Hades playthrough wouldn’t matter.
• You’ll only need at least one skill even if several are listed.
• RNG still applies and you’re not guaranteed to find a Duo boon early on in your selection panel unless you’re very lucky during your Hades run.
• You’ll know that a Duo boon is part of a selection when two gods converse with you when you select a reward.

Refer to each page below for a specific Olympian’s Duo boons with other gods:

• Aphrodite
• Ares
• Artemis
• Athena
• Demeter
• Dionysus
• Poseidon
• Zeus

You can also head back to the main page of our Hades skills and boons guide.