Want an up-to-date Hades 2 Gods tier list? Then you’re in luck, as I’ve spent hundreds of hours in early access and dozens more during the 1.0 release, exploring what every Hades God has to offer.
With over 13 Gods and 6 weapons with unique aspects, trying to determine which are the best and worst Hades 2 boon-givers is a tough task. What works best for you will highly depend on your general playstyle and which weapons you favor the most. Still, there are some Gods that offer blessings far superior that can work with every build.
In this guide, I’ll try to make a fun tier list to help you as a starting point, particularly during your early runs. Let’s begin. While you're here, consider checking out how to enable cross-save if you're planning on playing on Nintendo Switch.
Hades 2 Boon Tier List (1.0)
This tier list will rank the Hades 2 Gods and their Boons based on the following criteria: versatility, fun factor, and general utility. With that said, I think Zeus, Hera, and Hephaestus are the best Gods in Hades 2.
Do note that tier lists are not an exact science and are mostly a fun exercise to see how opinions vary from player to player. With a game like Hades 2, in particular, this topic becomes a bit more complex, considering the unique weapons and aspects each has, which makes some boons more effective than others under different contexts. Also, won't take into consideration any Arcana upgrades.
Furthermore, this tier list will only include gods you can create builds around or that can show up more than once per run, which means Athena, Artemis, Dionysus, and Hades will not be taken into consideration. Hermes is also in a weird in-between as most of his boons offer support to your builds, but I’ll include him regardless.
S Tier
- Zeus
- Hera
- Hephaestus
What Zeus, Hera, and Hephaestus have in common is one thing: they can work with virtually any weapon. Well, every God to a certain extent can, but finding ways to maximize builds featuring this trio is much easier.
Take, for instance, Zeus; his Blitz effect can be triggered easily by high APM weapons like the Sister Blades or by beefier ones such as the Moonstone Axe, as it's based on damage output. You can go for Magick builds with Arc Flash and Power Surge or easy attack-focused ones by stacking things such as Heaven Strike, Static Shock, Double Strike, and Electric Overload. Imagine all of that put into your Witch’s Staff with the Mirrored Thrasher hammer upgrade? Insanity. If you want to get a bit more technical, going for duo boons like Thermal Dynamics (adds Scorch to your Blitz effects) or Master Conductor (your chain-lightning can bounce more times and does more damage) are also super easy boons to utilize.
Hera is another absolutely must-try Goddess. If you want top-tier crowd control, look no further than her Hitch curse. Hitch makes every enemy afflicted by it take 30% of the damage you apply to other enemies, so you can see how it can rack up damage extremely fast with the right build, which should include Extended Family, Dying Wish, and Hereditary Bane. While her duos are not as good, barring Incandescent Aura if you’re going for a Magick build, Hera’s Legendary is one of the best in the game, as All Together will grant you one element of each available plus one Infusion boon for each (a total of four). Infusion boons take advantage of how many boons with the same element you have. For instance, Poseidon’s Infusion boon, Water Fitness, will grant you 15 Max HP per water boon you own.
Hephaestus was tinkered with (no pun intended) a lot during early access, and as of 1.0, he’s still one of the best Gods in the game. Again, if you want big crowd control and make your attacks pack a serious punch, his blast effects from Volcanic Strike, Volcanic Flourish, or Smitty Rush will be your friend. They can be on hefty timers, triggering as slow as once every 14 seconds; however, you can make them more effective with boons like Grand Caldera and Furnace Blast. He also has access to a ton of useful duo boons, including Seismic Servo, Love Handles, Chain Reaction, Cryo Pounder, and the list goes on. Versatile, simple and fun to use, great damage output, can’t go wrong with the legendary blacksmith.
A Tier
- Aphrodite
- Hestia
- Apollo
- Ares
These three Gods are solid, but they lack some of the versatility you find in my top picks.
Aphrodite can dish out the damage, but if you’re looking at a proper build around her boons, then you’ll want to stick close to enemies, eliminating a few of the weapon options. Her basic attack boons revolve around doing more damage to nearby foes; the bump is substantial as the common version of Flutter Strike starts at 80% extra damage. She also has Secret Crush, which buffs your base attack number (the base damage that then gets multiplied by your boons). Her Infusion boon grants you a dodge chance per Air boon so that’s a way to mitigate the risk of always playing close to enemies, especially against bosses, and her Legendary does make things go wild as you’ll inflict three extra curses when you apply Weak (this debuff is not tied to her attack boon so you’ll have to pick up things like Rapture Ring, Passion Rush, or Glamour Gain). My favorite Aphrodite builds involve her Hearthrob effect, which creates a pink sphere around you that deals damage upon contact with an enemy. Go for a Magick build, pick Heart Breaker, and look for duos such as Sunny Disposition, and you’ll be set for a very fun, explosive build.
Hestia’s Scorch received significant upgrades during early access and now sits at a nice place in my tier list. She’s a solid Goddess that pairs extremely well with the Umbral Flames. She also has my favorite Magick replenisher boon in the entire game: Cardio Gain. Solid support boons include Flash Fry, Highly Flammable, and Pyro Technique. Her Infusion boon is also solid, as it grants you +2 base damage per Fire boon you own to both Attack and Special. The duo boon I would also love to highlight is Burning Desire, which makes your Scorch effect not diminish when applying it to foes afflicted by Aphrodite’s Weak curse.
I’ve discussed closed-combat Goddesses; now it’s time for the opposite with Apollo. If you want to keep opponents at bay, Apollo focuses on adding extra range to your weapons and cast. He’s also a very defense-centric God, as his Daze effects give enemies a 20% chance of missing their attacks. Pair this with the Warm Breeze Hestia duo, and you’ll gain HP instead of taking it when they miss. The big downside is that he doesn’t have a ton of offensive-oriented boons, so do take that into consideration; you’ll have to take things slower with him. However, if you’re looking for a Magick-based run, his Exceptional Talent legendary boon is a must-have.
Ares is in a weird spot, as depending on who you ask, he’s either top 3 or bottom of the barrel. For me, he sits right in the middle. His basic attack boons don’t give a high % buff, but they apply Wounds, which gives you +50 base power when you apply said curse, which can then be reapplied every 3 seconds. Think of it as a guaranteed crit of sorts, just not as strong. Pair this with Grievous Blow, and you have a solid chance to do incredible damage each time you apply Wounds. Beyond that, his Plasma effects don’t really appeal to me (they buff your strike and movement speed), and his Infusion, which requires 8 Earth boons is incredibly hard to trigger. The lack of must-have duos is also a big detriment, with perhaps Fourth Degree being his best one to go for.
B Tier
- Poseidon
- Hermes
I might be harsh on the God of the Sea. His attack boons are fantastic, especially if you want to play the keep-away game.
His Froth curse also makes you deal more damage for a set amount of time. If you want a cast build, then Geyser Spout is perhaps the best boon in the game for it, a solid Infusion boon that gives you more HP per Water boon, and a great Legendary that buffs damage vs bosses. So why is he on B? Well, most of his utility is quite frankly not up to par. Things like Sea Star are only good to add extra Water Boons to your build. Buried Treasure is good if you want the Coin and extra healing. Hydraulic Might only works for the first 10 seconds of each encounter, making it a frustrating buff that could make you lose focus as you try to maximize it by going gung-ho in each encounter. Beyond that, he’s got some of the worst duos in the game; stay clear of things like Natural Selection or Beach Ball, please.
I’m putting Hermes on B, but I won’t overtly criticize him as he’s not a proper God in the same sense as the others. He functions as a support specialist. Do you want your attack to be faster? Get a barrier that protects you from damage while sprinting? A boon that makes you receive extra Coin? He’s got it all. Don’t neglect Hermes, but don’t make him a priority. Use him when you already have some type of build in mind and target a specific boon that will help you with it.
C Tier
- Demeter
Demeter is the worst God in the game by virtue of being too straightforward and lacking damage. Unlike other Gods, her Freeze effect can’t be buffed with good support boons; you don’t deal more damage to Freeze-afflicted foes, and there are no boons to help you with it. all she does is freeze enemies. You can mitigate this with good duo boons like Hail Storm or Cryo Pounder, but relying on them is not ideal. Demeter is a solid support Goddess; however, my recommendation is to treat her as a secondary pick if you want to fill some elemental boon slots with things such as Plentiful Forage, Steady Growth, and Snow Queen. If you want to use plenty of Magick, then Weed Killer or Local Climate are incredible. Stay away from her Magick replenisher, as it’s by far the worst in the entire game, requiring you to sit still for half a second to regain Magick over time.
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