Hades: Best Weapon Aspect and Boss Guide To Clear Asphodel

Hades may think that you just can’t take the heat, but you know better—after all, you’ve made it this far, right? After clearing Tartarus, the first region in Hades, your next step is to hop on a bony raft and float through molten lava into the fiery pits of Asphodel. You’ll start in chamber 15 and encounter the region boss in chamber 24.   

Aside from the damaging lava pits you shouldn’t fall into, the flaming hellscape will also sometimes spew out damaging fireballs onto the ground. Smoke vents will occasionally release dark fog that can obscure your vision, so overall, Asphodel is just an absolute *cough* delight.

Tartarus Extra Bosses: How to Defeat Alecto and Tisiphone in Hades

Before you start out in Asphodel, you’ll need to clear Tartarus first. During your first few attempts, only Megaera will show up to stop you in your tracks. After a few tries, however, Alecto and Tisiphone will start bugging you as well. By now, you’ll likely have made enough attempts to make these two other Furies appear, so here’s a quick strategy guide on how to beat them.

Alecto will actually be easier to defeat than Meg, mainly because her attack patterns are more predictable. Her arena will also have spike traps on the ground, so keep an eye on those to avoid getting impaled when you least expect it. As for Alecto herself, she leaves herself open to attacks whenever she tries to build up Rage; she kind of just stays in place and practically invites you to land some pretty serious blows. Be wary of her Blood Bolts during this time, as they can spread out in different directions to try and get you. You can still dodge them since they have a pretty clear path—just use whatever Dash Boon you have from the gods.

Eventually, she’ll cast red circles on the ground that will follow you around the room. She will also foolishly follow you around at this point, so a good Dash Boon that deals damage (Zeus, Ares, even Dionysius can be good choices) can help you deal with her head-on. Just be careful when she starts casting her Whirling Blades, which follow you around too and can cause multiple hits. This is the only real threat from Alecto, but if you keep moving and time your hits right, she’ll go down eventually.

Tisiphone will be a very different fight from Meg and Alecto, as she doesn’t summon mobs to help her out. Instead, the room you’re in gets progressively smaller as the fight goes on. She’s also I think the most “furious” of the Furies—she thinks you’re a murderer or something for some reason.

Anyway, there won’t be any distractions like mobs and stuff that’ll lure your focus away from Tisiphone, so you can really concentrate on dealing damage. Her attacks include a forward lunge in a cone-shaped area and a linear attack that causes green fires to erupt from that direction. They’re linear, so you can avoid them with a quick Dash (the Greater Reflex upgrade from the Mirror of Night can be really useful here). The most dangerous thing she does is a lunge attack using her whip that stuns you when you’re hit, rendering you immobile for a few seconds—this can be really deadly if you’re low on health. Because the room gets smaller over time, using your Cast attacks can be pretty effective, since it gives you range and allows you to retrieve it easily once used.  

Best Hades Weapon Aspect to Use in Asphodel

After clearing either of the three Furies, you’re home free—almost. Asphodel presents an entirely new challenge from Tartarus, mainly because the battlefield is boiling hot. Recharge at the fountain in the transition room between Tartarus and Asphodel, swap out Keepsakes if you want to, and cleanse your existing Boons if you’re short on Obols. 

You can keep whatever Dash Boon you have, but you might not be able to use them as much in Asphodel. Dashing away too often may just land you in a tight spot and have you falling into the lava, which can rapidly drain your health. Until you master how to use the Dash in a more controlled manner, you’d best have the Greater Reflex upgrade from the Mirror of Night—this lets you perform a quick second dash right after your first one, so just in case you accidentally dash past a platform and fall into the lava, you can quickly dash a second time and speed right back onto solid ground to safety.  

By now, you’ll probably have made a few escape attempts enough to earn you a Titan Blood, which is a reward you can get from defeating a Tartarus boss with your chosen weapon the first time. You can use this Titan Blood to unlock Weapon Aspects for your Infernal Arms. Now, I mentioned in my guide to clearing Tartarus that the spear or the bow is the best choice since they don’t need a lot of Chthonic Keys to unlock. Once you’ve earned enough keys, however, I suggest that you unlock the Twin Fists of Malphon for eight Chthonic Keys. Then, use your Titan Blood to unlock the Aspect of Talos.

In my opinion, this is the fastest (literally) way to get through the mobs in Asphodel with the right balance between range and damage. The Aspect of Talos turns your regular uppercut Special into a Magnetic Cutter, which will hook an enemy from a decent range and pull it toward you (you may or may not yell out “Get over here!” while doing so). Once you reel an enemy in, it’s pretty much helpless against the lightning-quick jabs from your regular attack. Keep wailing on it non-stop and it’ll easily get locked and unable to move until its health drops down to zero.

I say this is especially effective in Asphodel because it’s a great way to bring the enemies to you rather than have to dash over to them, effectively reducing the need to keep dashing around and accidentally falling into the lava. Enemies in Asphodel also have a nasty habit of leaping around everywhere, so it can be hard to lock them in place. The Magnetic Cutter can easily do just that—of course, you still have to be wary of your surroundings as you’re pounding on a locked-in enemy, because you can’t just stay in one place for too long. Enemies like the Inferno Bomber can lob grenades at you, while a Wavemaker can cast shockwaves in your direction to knock you back.

Look out for the Megagorgon, which is a huge floating Medusa-esque head that casts homing projectiles. Getting hit by one of these inflicts a petrify status on you and renders you immobile, so you have to move around to break free from the stone effect. 

Encountering Eurydice, The Only Good Thing Inside Hades’ Asphodel

Just like Sisyphus in Tartarus, you may stumble upon a room in Asphodel that’s filled with the lovely melody of Eurydice’s voice. If you know about her tragic backstory, her appearance here can be pretty heartbreaking—but if you’re just here to get through the game, then having her here is a huge relief.

Eurydice spends her time in hell just singing and cooking, and her assistance is invaluable, especially amid all the hellish heat. She will offer you three choices to help boost your existing Boons, namely, the Ambrosia Delight (which upgrades up to two random Boons to the next Rarity), Pom Porridge (which boosts up to four random Boons to one level higher), and Refreshing Nectar (which ensures that the next three Boons you find will have a higher Rarity).

While you’re here, I suggest that you gift her with Nectar to get the handy Evergreen Acorn in return. The Keepsake guarantees that you take zero damage from Bosses for the first 3/4/5 times you’re hit (this increases the more you clear encounters with the Keepsake equipped). Thanks, Eurydice!

Asphodel Boss: How to Defeat The Bone Hydra in Hades

After braving the boiling heat, you’ll encounter the final boss in the area: the Lernaean Bone Hydra. It summons extra heads around you as you whittle down its health, so you have to move around the small platform (be wary of the lava as always) to get rid of the extra heads before you can damage the main head again.

The platform does give you ample space to move around, so a Dash that deals damage (Poseidon’s Tidal Dash can deal damage and knock foes back at the same time) can be handy. The additional skeletal heads will also periodically summon mobs, so again, a Dash Boon that can knock back foes (or Deflect, as with Athena’s Divine Dash) can be a literal godsend. 

The main head itself will chomp at you and pound on the ground if you are within range, but it can be pretty slow, so once it does its thing, you can use your weapon of choice to give that head a little whomping. It will occasionally spit fireballs at you, as well as lava that can cover the ground in molten patches. The purple flames it fires home in on you, so Deflect them with your Divine Dash and you can give that bony head a taste of its own medicine.

Again, all of these strategies are based on your playstyle, but my personal preference here is still the Aspect of Talos for the Twin Fists. The Magnetic Cutter can really be a huge help when it comes to pulling those hydra heads in. Coupled with the Thunder Flourish Boon from Zeus—which gives your Special a lightning effect that damages foes in an area—it can help you break the hydra heads’ armor easily while getting rid of mobs at the same time.

My second choice would be the Adamant Rail if you’re more of a ranged attacker. The rapid-fire weapon can help you deal consistent damage from a safe distance so that the hydra heads can’t get you. And then, when you finally defeat the Lernaean Bone Hydra, you get rewarded with a diamond, which you can offer the House Contractor back in the House of Hades for some interesting construction upgrades.

Finally, it’s time to move on to the lush greenery of Elysium. Congratulations! 

We hope this guide helps you get the hell (heh) out of that scorching place. If you have any personal tips and tricks of your own, feel free to share them with us!