guide
Hades II: make boon choices fit the run you have
Choose a main damage method, read what a boon actually supports, and keep a useful goal when the exact combination you wanted never arrives.
A run of Hades II rarely supplies the exact collection of gifts you pictured before leaving the Crossroads. That uncertainty is part of the decision-making. You can still have a plan, but it should begin with the weapon and abilities currently in your hands. Build outward from something you use reliably, then let the available boons improve that plan or give you a sensible reason to change it.
Name the action doing most of the work
In the first few rooms, compare your weapon's Attack and Special at their useful ranges. Cast adds another kind of action: Melinoë places a binding area around herself that can restrain enemies. Try catching an approaching ordinary enemy in it, move away from immediate contact, and use the space to test a charged Omega move. Watch the Magick bar as you do so. An Omega option spends that resource, so it cannot replace regular attacks indefinitely without a way to recover Magick. Choose the action you can land comfortably and identify which of the others helps set it up.
The answer can change with the weapon. Give a new one some room to show its range and commitment before assuming it should reproduce the previous weapon's rhythm. Test its familiar actions against ordinary enemies, then check how they behave when several threats are present.
If the main method leaves you exposed, fix the positioning question as well as looking for a boon. An upgrade cannot always compensate for beginning a long action in the middle of an enemy attack. Think about the space you need, the point where the move lands, and where you will be when it finishes.
Read a boon as a sentence about your next room
Before choosing, finish this sentence: "This helps because I will use it when..." A gift that strengthens your frequent attack has an obvious application. An effect tied to an action you rarely use needs either a reason to change your routine or a more careful comparison with the alternatives.
Check whether the offered effect names Attack, Special, Cast, or a particular Omega action. If a description restricts a bonus to Omega Attack, do not assume tapping regular Attack will receive it. An effect for Cast also deserves a different test from a weapon upgrade: place the circle, watch what it changes, and check whether the result fits the room. For a Magick-related boon, read the recovery trigger as well as the amount. A benefit that requires a behavior you rarely perform may leave your charged-move plan short of fuel.
