Fitting right in line with the new more magical and “witchy” tone of Hades 2, Arcana Cards have been introduced as a new upgrade system to further customize your runs.
These unique cards grant you new abilities and buffs on whatever run you take them on, but the system isn’t as simple as activating them and reaping the rewards. Like all things in this game, you will need to slowly unlock them and make choices about which ones you want to equip and which to leave off. The system isn’t as complex as reading real tarot cards, but there are enough of them that it wouldn’t hurt to have a little help deciding which ones are the most effective.
How to unlock and equip Arcana Cards
Before you go on any run in Hades 2, you will pass by the new Altar of Ashes and be prompted to meditate. When you do, you will see the Arcana screen with the initial batch of cards you can unlock. Each one costs a different amount of Ash, and later other materials, to unlock. Each card you unlock then reveals the cards adjacent to it so you can unlock those and, in turn, unlock more cards later.
Once a card is unlocked, you also need to activate it to get its benefits, with each card having a different Grasp cost. Melinoe starts off with only 10 Grasp, though you can upgrade it later using Psyche, and each card costs between 1 and 5 Grasp. There are also special Awakening cards that cost 0 and automatically trigger based on specific conditions.
Best Arcana Cards
Eternity
This card takes a while to unlock, being No. 13, but is one you will want to keep on until you fully master Hades 2. While equipped, Eternity grants you one Death Defiance per run. This means if you die, you will respawn with 40% HP once, giving you another shot at victory.
The Wayward Son
The second card you can unlock is a very powerful one. With it on, each time you exit any room, you will restore a minimum of 2 HP, but if you have below 30% max HP then you regain 4. It’s not a ton, but if you can clear a few rooms flawlessly you can undo some early mistakes and avoid having to go to a healing room or buy health later.
The Fates
What room rewards you get determines your entire run. If you get bad luck, you might not see more than one or two boons in the early few rooms, or have to pick between two bad options. The Fates gives you one Change of Fate at the start of your run you can use to reroll your rewards for something (hopefully) better.
The Huntress
Once you get used to the new Magic system, you will be flinging spells and powered-up attacks all the time since it replenishes between rooms anyway. Take advantage of that by picking this card that increases your attack and special damage by 30% whenever you have anything less than a full MP bar.
The Centaur
For more experienced players, The Centaur can make you completely OP. Every five rooms you clear will increase your max HP and MP by 3. Note that this is your max health and magic, not replenishing healing or magic, so you need to make sure you’re able to stay healthy on your own to make the most of it.
