Hades 2 is here, and with it comes a bevvy of new characters to interact with. Now, not all interactions are positive – I mean, several of these entries are looking to eat you alive – but they are all interesting. From the mysteriously mischievous Eris to the self-absorbed Narcissus, you have a bevvy of lads, ladies, and everything in between and beyond to converse with.
Of course, these are just the characters we have encountered so far, so there could be others we have yet to meet, and more still who haven’t been added to the game due to the Early Access period. But here’s every new character added to Hades 2 – kind of. There do be SPOILERS ahead. You have been warned.
Note: Do be aware that Hades 2 is still in Early Access, so anything and everything is subject to change.
More Hades 2 content:
Beginner Tips | How To Reach The Surface | How To Survive The Surface | How To Get Nectar | How To Unlock Every Tool | How To Upgrade Your Tools | How To Unlock Every Weapon | How To Unlock Weapon Aspects | Complete Incantation Guide | How To Unlock Every Keepsake | Complete Resource Guide | How To Unlock Every Arcana | Obol Points Guide | Chaos Trials
Apollo
Apollo is the god of a lot of things, and he is quick to point that out. He is primarily known for being the Sun God, and boy does he dazzle in every aspect of his design. Donning golden hair and equally golden armour, Apollo is packing as much swag as his father, Zeus.
Apollo’s Boons have a variety of benefits, but one recurring trend is larger AOEs, small increases in damage, and debuffs. We often found Apollo to be more of a supplementary god when we were building our run, but we were never unhappy to see his icon appear on our rewards selection.
Arachne
Arachne is the Silk Weaver and she performs a support role for Melinoe. Being a spider, she weaves powerful (and temporary) garments for Melinoe to wear that grant various buffs. The stronger the buff, the weaker the item of clothing, so it’s always a balancing act between raw power and prolonged use.
Narratively Arachne is in hiding and is in no way a fan of the Gods (or Frinos). Once she realises Melinoe is in cahoots with Olympus she starts to lean towards the cold end of the relationship spectrum, but she’s always happy to hand over the swag. As far as we know at least!
Chronos
Chronos is Time. Unlike the Gods who oversee an aspect of creation, Titans simply are. When you are fighting Chronos, you are fighting time, which frankly, is pretty darn unfair. Hades is a powerful foe in the first game, but it took Hades and five other gods to defeat Chronos last time. And even then, they couldn’t kill him.
Chronos is petty, vindictive, and has grander designs for the world than is initially revealed. There is more going on than the Early Access would have you believe, and slaying Chronos truly seems like an impossible task. Even his design shows the scars of his immortality. Veins of gold are strewn over his entire body showing where he was torn asunder and scattered in Tartarus.
Circe
Circe’s design is vibrant and incomplete. She is the Witch Of Changing, and she offers Boons that reflect the title. Many of Circe’s Boons alter how Melinoe looks. Several change her size making her more powerful or more nimble based on the transformation. Circe is encountered late in the game, and will likely take players many hours to find. This is likely why Circe’s art is closer to concept art than most other characters. Still, with what we can see now, she looks rather fantastic and a far cry from the darker Witches we have seen so far.
Dora
Dora is a mystery – one of the bigger mysteries in Hades 2. She is a shade with the unique ability to talk. She starts as a bit of a gag character, but she slowly transitions into someone who wants to understand who she was before she died. What little we know of Dora indicates she is very old – one of the oldest things ‘here’. This ambiguity could imply one of the oldest shades, or literally, older than some of the gods and titans that exist within the Crossroads. Only time will tell.
Visually she transitions between her somewhat ‘gothic’ ghost look and her ‘spooky’ spirit guise. It’s a great design for a character we are itching to know more about.
Echo
Echo, as the name implies, only speaks in Echos. She repeats parts of what you say back, although she is also capable of mixing words around and even adding some of her own from time to time. She appears to be a heartbroken spirit who was spurned by Narcissus – ironically because she spent too much time talking about herself. Funny how that works, Narcissus.
Eris
Eris is a perpetual thorn in your side. When you first meet her she gives you a Boon that does nothing but make the game substantially harder. From there, she appears at the Crossroads and leaves her junk lying around everywhere. Throw in a personality that is like nails on a chalkboard and it’s clear why Melinoe doesn’t vibe with the Incarnation Of Strife. Oh, and she turns out to be a late-game boss, so she’s actively trying to kill you.
Despite her rather annoying ways, Eris is someone who wants disorder and freedom. She grinds our gears but we are interested in seeing where her story ends up.
Hecate
Hecate is the Witch Of The Crossroads and adoptive mother of Melinoe – just don’t let her hear you say that. She is a powerful Witch who is directly responsible for Melinoe and all of the Crossroad’s survival. Without her, the rebellion against Chronos would have ended long ago.
She has trained Melinoe from infancy to be the bane of Chronos, and whilst her ways are harsh, she does wish the best for the daughter of Hades. Unfortunately, this does come out in rather violent ways as she is the first boss of the game. She will straight up kill you without batting an eye, so be on your guard and prove yourself to your mentor.
Hephaestus
The disabled God Of Forging. Hephaestus is very suspicious on first contact. He likes to make things, so when Melinoe strolls on with weaponry, not of his design, well, he has his doubts. He is happy to help though, and he ends up being one of the stronger gods in the game.
Bringing forth mightier AOE damage and powerful defensive abilities, Hephaestus can support a build as much as he can be the foundation of one. We are a huge fan of his design, but we are a sucker for a good beard and a huge stonking hammer.
Heracles
Heracles is one of the few characters in Hades who is not a God or a Titan. Heracles is a man – albeit a man who is long dead. Not that you could tell as he was stomping around the surface slaughtering everything in sight. Those are the perks of being a demi-god after all.
You are told on numerous occasions that Heracles is dangerous, and during your first few encounters, he is not friendly. However, over time, he provides valuable support. He’s not quite the threat people made him out to be. Oh, and he is rocking an awesome design. He even has the Nemean Lion on his shoulder.
Icarus
Icarus might be the last character you meet in Hades 2. He only appears in the Rift of Thessaly – and only briefly. Sadly, as of writing, we don’t know much about him other than he is flying around doing strafing runs. He is a huge help when he appears, and his buffs are very useful. It does appear that he is being pushed as an inventor, which explains his rather awesome mechanical wings. Those things aren’t going to melt in the sun any time soon.
Sadly his art is not yet finished, but his concept art is rather wonderful.
Medea
Medea is the second witch you are likely to encounter, and she is rather awkward to meet. That’s because she can only be found in the City Of Ephyra, and you have to spend one of your precious rooms to meet her. Throw in the fact that her buffs are kinda middling compared to other characters, and we found ourselves choosing to bypass her every now and then.
Her whole shtick is her trying to stymie the flow of undead, although she is having some trouble pulling it off. They are functionally immortal and the Gates Of Hell are wide open anyway. Her visual design is far darker than even Hecate, and this is because she is the Witch Of Shadows. Like with Icarus, her design is not finished yet, although it looks pretty darn snazzy regardless.
Moros
Moros might be our favourite character in Hades 2 simply because he is such a nice guy. For the incarnation of DOOM, the herald of literally everything bad that will ever happen and slave to the three fates, Moros is wonderfully chill. He actively goes against the will of the Fates for Melinoe on multiple occasions, helps Dora when he can, and is an all-around standup guy.
Throw in a fantastic visual design with funky horns and musculature to die for, and you have yourself the complete package. Oh, and his Keepsake is wonderfully thematic giving you a timer on death to clear a room. Do it, you live, fail, you die. Can’t get more Doomy than that.
Narcissus
Narcissus is a tit. He loves himself more than we love beans on toast and he has zero tolerance for anyone else. Funnily enough, he finds his own personality repulsive, he just hasn’t figured it out yet. This is because he couldn’t stand Echo repeating what he was saying back at him, which is just icing on the cake.
His visual design is not finished at all – we don’t even have concept art in the game for him yet, but he’s a fun dude to encounter while strolling through Oceanus. He gives you his rejected gifts from his admirers which just so happen to be very useful.
Nemesis
Nemesis is the Incarnation Of Vengeance. She can’t help but want to get out there and get some payback on the people who have wronged her, her friends, and her family. It’s simply in her nature. Sadly, this also puts her at odds with Melinoe, as she feels like she is more worthy of the task of killing Chronos.
So sure of herself, Nemesis breaks the rules and ventures out to kill Chronos almost as much as you do. Her failures weigh heavy on her, and this comes out in bursts of anger. Keep at it and she will warm to you eventually. You will encounter Nemesis more than most characters in Hades 2, and you will bump into her for several events.
Sometimes she wants to kill more than you. Other times she wants to trade with you. Heck, from time to time she asks you to punch her in the face really, really hard. She’s a tough cookie and her design represents that. She is built like a house and wears armour well-suited for combat. We love Nemesis.
Odysseus
The ‘Achilles’ of Hades 2, Odysseus offers all kinds of kind words and advice. He is a mortal who was granted some form of immortality in exchange for service. Unlike other dead people in Hades, Odysseus retains all of his memories and even his physical form (unlike Dora).
Odysseus was a tactician in life and he directs your forces in death. He is acutely attuned to his scouts and gives you useful tidbits as you play. Sadly, he also offers information a bit too late more often than not as you tend to progress faster than his scouts can relay that information. Plus, if you are talking to Odysseus, you are already dead. Whoops.
Odysseus is pleasant on the eye, ear, and soul. Give us more.
Polyphemus
Polyphemus is a cyclops who likes sheep, eating, and sleeping. That’s it. He’s a big lad who does damage simply by walking. He is also a character Melinoe can’t kill as he is too tough to put down. He just falls asleep until you next encounter him.
According to other characters, Polyphemus helped the gods defeat the Titans way back when so seeing the Cyclops indirectly (or directly) aid them now is somewhat concerning.
Scylla (and the Sirens)
Scylla is a really big clam, just avoid saying that to her face. She is the boss of Oceanus and one of the first real roadblocks in Hades 2. This is because you are not just fighting Scylla, you are fighting her band, The Sirens.
Scylla and her band have some killer music in their lineup and it will inevitably get ingrained into your soul. You have been warned.
Visually Scylla is rather repugnant with tentacles for hair and teeth that could skin a tree. It’s awesome.
Selene
The final new addition to Hades 2 is Selene, the Incarnation of the Moon. She is the guiding light whom Melinoe follows. As for many characters, although this does seem to be in secret.
Selene grants Melinoe powerful Hexes that can be upgraded during a run to become far more powerful. These can grant healing, damage, and even invincibility. As Selene is the gatekeeper to a key mechanic, you should seek her out at the earliest of opportunities every run. Visiting her again will allow you to upgrade your Hex, with every subsequent visit allowing you to upgrade it even further.
Have her Keepsake equipped and you can quickly power up any Hex, granting buckets of power and utility very quickly.
Visually, Selene has a transcendent beauty to her that is emphasised by her heavy use of silver. She is as glorious as the moon itself.
That’s all we have on Hades 2 for now. Be sure to check out our other content for more guides, tips, and tricks.
