Part of the thrill of any dungeon crawler is the boss fights, and Hades 2 does not disappoint. There are many bosses to take down, and they leave little room for mistakes (even for those playing on God Mode). 

After challenging a boss once or twice, it’s easy to get a feel for how they fight, but it’s another thing to successfully exploit their weaknesses. To beat Hades 2’s bosses, it’s essential to know their weakest points. 

With the game still in Early Access, there are more than likely going to be more bosses added as it’s updated. Right now, there are three major bosses underground and two on the surface. Here’s how to beat them all.
 

The Underground

In the Underground, you’ll encounter a boss at the end of every area. There are technically four areas, so there are four main bosses to beat. 
 

Hecate, Witch of the Crossroads

The first boss in Hades 2 is Hecate, Melinoë’s mentor. Most of her abilities revolve around throwing projectiles, many of which bounce back to her and can hit Melinoë twice. Dodging these is key, and luckily Hecate has lengthy animations before she throws these out. Plus, she almost always hurls her projectiles directly in front of her, so staying behind her is the best thing to do. 

It’s helpful to grab a Boon that does some kind of damage over time with your Cast, like Demeter’s Arctic Ring or Hestia’s Smolder Ring. Since dodging is a key part of this fight, having a way to deal damage while you’re dodging is helpful. 

There are two things to watch out for every run: her initial start and her third phase. At the very beginning of every fight, a circle will radiate from her (that also returns and does damage a second time). Either stay away from her at the start or be ready to dodge.

At the beginning of her third phase (which is when she has about one-third of her health left), she’ll turn Melinoë into a sheep. This lasts for quite some time, and the only thing the player can do during this is jump forward. Besides Hecate, other witches will be spamming attacks at Melinoë, so it’s important to only jump forward when it’s impossible to not get hit by maneuvering around. 
 

Scylla and the Sirens

One of the most intense as well as visually and audibly stunning fights in Hades 2 is the fight against Scylla and the Sirens. Melinoë has to defeat all three members of the band, and then take on a swarm of enemies at the end while defeating Scylla again.

The key here is to focus on taking one member of the band out at a time. For most players, the easiest way to do this is to focus on Roxy, the drummer. She’s stationary, and both Scylla (the singer) and Jetty (the guitarist) will rush Melinoë, so any kind of area-of-effect damage will chip away at their health too. Luckily, their attacks are fairly slow and easy to dodge. 

After Roxy goes down, it’s best to focus on whichever surviving band member is the hardest to dodge. This could change depending on the player and even what weapons or Boons they have during that run. Just keep in mind that Scylla can’t be hit from behind where her shell is, so it’s often easier to leave her for last.

Once all three band members are done, phase two will start. One member will be appointed as the featured artist, and all three will come back to fight. Their attacks get quicker and are slightly altered. Focusing on Roxy first is still a good strategy, then start focusing on the featured artist next if it wasn’t her.

Once all three band members have been defeated again, Scylla will remain and call swarms of fish to aid her. The best strategy is to use burst damage to take Scylla down so that her fish don’t have time to whittle your health away, which isn’t too difficult considering she has very little health at this point. Once the fish get to Scylla and Melinoë, anything that does area-of-effect damage is going to help, particularly on your dash.

There are several Boons that cause damage if you hit enemies while dashing, such as Zeus’s Thunder Sprint or Poseidon’s Breaker Sprint. Boons that do area-of-effect damage during your Cast are also helpful here. At the very least, if you have nothing, you can continue using Cast on the swarms to keep them in place while you try to get Scylla down.
 

Infernal Cerberus

As much as Cerberus didn’t want to fight in the original Hades, his boss fight while he’s enraged seems to imply the same thing in the sequel. The fight with Cerberus in Hades 2 is one of the easier ones in the game, as his moves are very easy to see coming and dodge. 

The biggest thing to do here is to stay behind him because of his fire-breathing. However, it’s still important to dodge when he slaps the ground as it does damage behind him as well.

Anytime the floor starts getting darker, make sure to move until you’re in the light again. This happens a few different ways throughout the fight, but avoiding it is fairly easy, and that’s a main source of his damage. 
 

Chronos, the Titan of Time

Defeating the Titan of Time is one of the hardest challenges in Hades 2. His attacks are relentless, and his ability to control time breaks the fourth wall as you can’t pause the game. It’s an incredibly punishing fight, and any mistake could lead to losing the entire thing. 

With that being said, take this fight as slowly as possible. Strike back in the brief moments where Chronos isn’t attacking, and watch out for his moves. There’s no great place to be in relation to him except for during his pillar of air attack when being behind him avoids the attack completely. It’s also worth remembering that you can dash through all of his attacks during the battle’s first phase.  

When his health bar is depleted once, phase two of the fight will start. There are multiple complete K.O. attacks during this phase, and they’ll make the arena go dark while one area of it is lit up for a few moments. That lit area is where Melinoë can survive, so head there any time things go dark. Just be sure to watch out for any sand traps that pop up; it’s impossible to dodge the insta-kill attacks if you can’t move.

Using a ranged weapon during this fight makes it much easier to dodge Chronos’s attacks. Considering the best way to beat this fight is by taking your time, a ranged weapon helps it go a bit quicker. Boons that do damage over time are also incredibly useful, whether they’re tied to your Cast or attack.
 

The Surface

Compared to the Underground fights, the Surface fights are a bit easier. They play a bit more rushed, which is a bit of a changeup after the Chronos fight.
 

Polyphemus, the Cyclopean Shepherd

Getting through the City of Ephyra brings you face to face with Polyphemus, a Cyclops shepherd who is very upset Melinoë is bothering his precious sheep. 

The biggest thing to avoid here is his jump. When he lands, he does quite a bit of damage, so either dodge it or use some kind of ranged attack. Additionally, if you’re too close, he’ll grab you and dish out a lot of damage. 

Polyphemus will also summon more enemies, and it’s good to get them out of the picture before focusing on the Cyclops. The more enemies there are, the more dodging you have to do. 

As the fight goes on, he’ll start jumping more and more. At this point, it’s almost impossible to dodge every single jump and the damage that radiates from them. Focus on trying to take him down as quickly as possible, even if you have to ignore some other enemies towards the end.
 

Eris, Strife Incarnate

Forget everything you thought you knew about bosses before taking on Eris. She’s incredibly quick, and her attack power grows exponentially as the fight goes on. Her attacks range from a few projectiles to an onslaught of bombs that’s almost impossible to dodge completely. 

In the beginning, staying behind her is the best way to take her down while avoiding damage. This works for her first two phases, but then she starts flying. Once she starts flying, you’ll need to do as much damage as possible when she’s on the ground. 

As you reach the last phases of the fight, her damage is overwhelming. Playing things slow won’t work, and you’ll need to rush her before she does the same to you. 

That’s all the bosses so far in Hades 2! As the game is still in Early Access, these fights may be tweaked and rebalanced in the future. If you haven’t already, you can purchase Hades 2 from the Epic Games Store. Want to know more? Read our feature on the backstory of the series here.