Hades 2 Best Gods (Ranked)

Updated:

01 Jan 2025

Hades 2 Best Gods (Ranked)

In many roguelikes you acquire your abilities that will strengthen your run and give you powerups that contribute to your build, and the cornerstone of the Hades games are the gods from Greek Mythology. These wonderful interpretations of the gods give you boons that allow for different styles and techniques of gameplay.

However some gods are more consistently powerful than others, and this list will give you the best idea of what gods to prioritize no matter what Nocturnal Arm you choose to fight against Chronos’s forces.

The gods on this list don’t specifically have all the best boons, rather they are gods who you would want to always find and pick on your run. However no god is weak, it’s just a matter of your specific playstyle and preference.

14. Hades

I think it's a bit too late to be unseen Hades

Hades boons are all fantastic, but since he only appears close to Chronos he doesn't tend to factor into builds. Rather Hades provides an overall buff to the boss fight. Either taking 20% of Chonos's health outright, giving you more damage for spent death defiance, even decreasing enemy reinforcements. There's never a good reason not to take a Hades boon.

Reasons to choose Hades:

Provides direct nerfs to the game’s final boss.
Grants abilities that can make you invulnerable temporarily.
Can boost your damage by a lot.

13. Zeus

Zeus really takes shots at the underworld whenever he can huh

I find Zeus's chain lightning is one of the strongest reasons to pick his boon, as the delay with his curse blitz can feel lackluster. Now Zeus can be strong going into the late game, but requires heavy investment. Zeus is often best taken as a secondary boon, since a lot of his boons work great alone.

Reasons to choose Zeus:

Has strong boons to take as a secondary god to your main.
Decent AOE capabilities with Blitz and Chain lightning.
Particularly good for stacking up damage in boss fights.

12. Hephaestus

Calling the nocturnal arms "piss-poor" is wild

Hephaestus is an interesting god, in that his main damage source is on a timer. This can feel very weak in the early game as you don't have consistent damage, but this boon can do great into the late game as you upgrade it. Hephaestus also has a good amount of defense boons for if you're struggling and taking a lot of hits. This will largely depend on how defensive or offensive your playstyle is, but Hephaestus isn't bad to pick up by any means.

Reasons to choose Hephaestus:

Has great defensive options into the early and late game.
His base attacks need quite a bit of investment but can be very powerful late game.
Can work with any Nocturnal Arms.

11. Icarus

Are you sure you're not the god of anxiety Icarus?

Icarus boons typically range from highly situational to quite useful if not niche. Boons like Supply Chain that provide healing and pom slices for every 5 encounters cleared, to Ingenious strike that gives 10 extra power for 20 primed magick. The boons themselves aren't bad, but nothing that will define your build. You can still make some great strides if you get lucky with the right one.

Reasons to choose Icarus:

Provides a few decent boons that give a noticeable power up.
Doesn’t require any drawbacks and typically pairs nicely with any build.
Can either provide some decent damage or good armor for sustainability.

10. Selene

I think Melinoe is even more fond of the cycle than you are

Selene is an unique case, providing an entire new ability in the from of Hexes. These hexes are dependent on how much magick you're using. So picking up Selene early when you don't plan on using Omega moves could leave it not being too useful.

There are amazing hexes to use, ones that slow down time, or make you invulnerable temporarily. These hexes can also be powered up the more times you take Selene's boon. These can be great during boss’s, as well as clearing up weaker encounters, but often times it's much more useful later when you have more Magick.

Reasons to choose Selene:

Gives you another ability to use which only requires the use of magick.
Good for any build setup providing both damage and healing options.
Really good late game against bosses as another damage source.

9. Hestia

Hestia's main damage source is the curse scorch, allowing for damage to be dealt over time. This is a decent curse for all weapons, however this tends to be more useful for enemies with shields and early bosses. Hestia has a lot of great duo boons, but requires quite a lot of boon investment to be strong. It’s particularly a good idea to pickup Hestia for specific builds.

Reasons to choose Hestia:

Is a good boon path to take if you have trouble with armored enemies.
Decently pairs with any nocturnal arms.
Has really powerful cohesion with Duo Boons.

8. Poseidon

Poseidon's slip curse can be particularly useful for ranged weapons, while for melee weapons a lot more niche. His boons are good for crowded combats where you'll want to push enemies off you and keep distance. Where Poseidon really shines is his other boons like Hydraulic Might providing a fantastic early burst of damage for any build. And other boons that make finding gold or healing more lucrative.

Reasons to choose Poseidon:

A great god to round out a build with strong boons.
Particularly good for playing safe and keeping enemies at a distance.
Fantastic for collecting more resources to gather more boons and health.

7. Demeter

I think freezing hell is a bit counter productive

Demeter’s damage values are the lowest in the game, but that's really where the drawbacks end. Her attacks are very effortlessly good for any build as the Freeze curse is very powerful. Being able to stun lock enemies for a short amount of time is a strong ability in any game, especially Hades 2. Making quite a lot of boss and enemy encounters noticeably easier. She also has great cohesion with different gods making her always a decent pickup.

Reasons to choose Demeter:

The freeze curse is amazing for boss and enemy encounters alike.
Especially powerful in the early game, while still being useful late game.
Works with both ranged and melee Nocturnal Arms.

6. Apollo

Really Apollo light puns at a time like this

Apollo's main attack and special boons can be great in the right build, but where he really shines is his boons that increase the sizes of attacks, specifically boons powering up cast.Daze can be pretty good for mitigating damage, especially if you were to run a melee build. Though daze isn't as useful for guardian fights. However Apollo's boons can be highly adaptable to any gods, which makes a solid pick if you need more offensive boons.

Reasons to choose Apollo:

Adds great utility and damage to Cast with his boons.
Daze can be a decent curse for consistently dodging damage.
His base boons allow for outstanding AOE capabilities.

5. Hera

Take me under your wing, because you're dressed like a peacock right?

Hera is definitely the best god for AOE damage, being able to quickly dispatch large groups of enemies. Which can be particularly helpful in the late game where large groups are a lot more numerous and powerful. Her curse hitch isn’t useful against guardians, however you can easily offset this with other boons from gods. She also has the best magick regeneration boon in the game with Born Gain.

Reasons to choose Hera:

Typically a great god for early to late game as her boons are always good for wiping out groups.
A great god to find if you’re running a magick build with Born Gain.
Has good capabilities late game for boosting the power of boons temporarily.

4. Chaos

Being around for all existence sure widens the vocabulary

Chaos has it's drawbacks forcing you to take damage to go they’re realm, forgoing a room's rewards, and a temporary infliction that makes the run harder for a few rounds. However I find the drawbacks to be worth the reward, as many different boosts can be undeniably useful throughout the game. Whether it's boosts for attack or special, or health and magick boosts. You can always find something that works for your specific build or run.

Reasons to choose Chaos:

Once you know the trick to dealing with the drawbacks the benefits greatly outweigh the disadvantages.
The boons are great at any point in the game.
Can greatly power up and factor into any build.

3. Hermes

Didn't think swallowing pride was possible for gods

Hermes is the every-man of the god Pantheon, specializing on boosting the speed of all your attack and magical capabilities. The speed of Nocturnal Arm attacks can often define how you'll fight with them, and giving that speed a boost can be more helpful than most people realize. Not only that Hermes having a boon that powers up dodge capability can be invaluable in every build. It is always a pleasant sight to see Hermes that's for sure.

Reasons to choose Hermes:

Has the capability to completely reduce magick consumption.
Gives an outright boost to attack speed powering up any nocturnal arm.
Has fantastic defensive options either slowing enemy attacks or dodging them outright.

2. Aphrodite

Aphrodite's acting like she owns the surface... I won't argue with her

Aphrodite’s base attack and special boons deal fantastic damage, and are especially good when paired with melee weapons. Has one of the best curses in weak, forcing enemies to do less damage, and overall making runs a lot easier. Boons like Life Affirmation and Healthy Rebound are great defensive options. There's just typically always a good reason to pick up Aphrodite for your runs.

Reasons to choose Aphrodite:

Has the best healing boons in the game.
Is great as a secondary boon to round out a build, or a main boon for attacks.
Specializes in both damage and defense with boons you don’t need to invest heavily in.

1. Artemis

Artemis I don't think anyone has used the word squirrel like that

Artemis can feel like a niche god because at the moment she only rewards one boon per run, but her boons are extremely powerful and always useful. Being able to make enemies vulnerable to deal more damage, boosting your critical rate, even fire seeking arrows that home in on your enemies after each hit. She might not have build defining boons, but finding her will always make your build more powerful.

Reasons to choose Artemis:

Her boons fit into any build you might be running.
The amount of damage added with crit can be extremely helpful against guardians.
Her boons are great at any point in the game.