Hades 2 does a wonderful job at making Melinoe feel like a witch. Cauldrons, spells, and magic wands (as well as a witchy teacher) all scream ‘WITCH!’ to us. Sadly, unlike most witches, Melinoe doesn’t have an animal companion who helps them do all their witchy things. At least, not at first.
Somewhat early on in your Hades 2 playthrough, you will gain access to Animal Familiars. These helpful animals grant Melinoe all kinds of handy buffs and are well worth hunting down. There are only 2 Animal Familiars as of writing (that we are aware of at least), but in this guide we are going to break down how to unlock them, where to find them, and how to upgrade them.
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
How To Unlock Animal Familiars
To unlock Animal Familiars, you need to go to your cauldon and do an Incantation. Specifically, you need to do the Faith Of Familiar Spirits Incantation. You will receive this off Headmistress Hecate, but the trigger that causes her to give you the Incantation are nebulous at best.
That’s right, this is another system locked behind a requirement we don’t actually know. Hades 2 is nothing if not mysterious. We can offer some guidance based on what we had unlocked when we received the Incantation, however.
- Had beaten Hecate at least once
- Spoke to Frinos the Frog and interacted with the Stray Cat multiple times
- Unlocked every Tool in the game
- Had given Hecate a Nectar and received the Silver Wheel Keepsake
Do all of that (maybe more, maybe less), and you SHOULD get the Incantation.
Once you have the Incantation, head to your cauldron and throw in:
- 2 Nectar
- 1 Lotus
And BOOM, you unlock the ability to give certain animals a Witch’s Delight, a consumable that turns them into a Familiar. You even get a Witch’s Delight when you do the Incantation, which is handy.
You can check out our Nectar guide and Complete Resource Guide for tips on getting your hands on the required materials.
Every Familiar In Hades 2
There are 2 Familiars in Hades 2: Frinos the frog and Toula the cat. You have likely seen both of these animals during your adventure. Frinos is likely to be your first Familiar as they greet you every time you die. Also, Toula has likely vanished to the Surface by the time you can turn them into a Familiar.
Simply approach Frinos or Toula, give them a Witch’s Delight, and you are good to go.
Frinos grants Melinoe +10 Max HP, a Tablet Of Peace charge, and the ability to eat certain projectiles. Not only that, but Frinos will also inflict a small amount of damage whenever they land from a jump. Nice.
Toula can be found after the Polyphemus fight in the transitional zone between the City Of Ephyra and the Rifts Of Thessaly. They give Melinoe an extra Death Defiance, and a Fishing Rod charge.
Both Frinos and Toula are incredibly useful, so experiment with them both. Additionally, if you give either Familiar MORE Witch’s Delight, you can upgrade their unique abilities to make them even more effective.
Other Recipes To Help Your Animal Familiars
As you progress through the game, you will unlock two more recipes that directly help your Animal Familiars. Sadly, both of them require late-game materials like Star Dust. In fact, you likely won’t be able to unlock Toula until you gain access to these recipes.
Beast-Loved Morsel
This recipe will create 2 Witch’s Delight (the items required to upgrade and unlock your Familiars). It requires 1 Star Dust. This is a late game reward from completing Chaos Trials.
Attending A Faithful Beast Incantation
This Incantation lets your Familiars rest in exchange for bonuses to their efficacy the next time you take them out. It requires 1 Tear, 1 Wool, and 4 Wheat. Wool is a reward for defeating the Cyclops, Polyphemus, at the end of the City of Ephyra.
That’s all we have on Familiars for now. Be sure to check out our other guides for Hades 2 tips and tricks.
