How to reach Olympus in Hades 2 & survive on the surface
Reaching Olympus at the surface is certainly an appealing task in Hades 2, but you'll need to figure out how to survive otherwise you'll be left for toast.
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HIGHLIGHTS:
- You need to unlock the 'Permeation of Witching Wards' Incantation in order to reach the surface
- You will be cursed on the surface unless you activate the 'Unravelling a Fateful Bond' Incantation
Reaching Olympus in Hades 2 is hard enough, but figuring out how to survive on the surface as the curse chips away at your health is really quite the puzzle.
Not only does Olympus hold an abundance of unique resources that you'll need to continue upgrading Melinoë and her weapons, but it also has its own collection of bosses that'll add to the already steep challenge in the game.
How to reach Olympus
In order to reach the surface, you'll need to traverse through the ward that leads up the stairs, which can only be accessed once you have activated the 'Permeation of Witching-Wards' Incantation.
This Incantation isn't available at the beginning, but it was given to me after facing Headmistress Hecate at around my 15th run. I'm not entirely sure what actions trigger this, and whether you need to complete certain other Incantations beforehand, progress to a certain point, or if it's simply based on how many nights have passed.
The 'Permeation of Witching-Wards' Incantation requires the following items in order to be activated:
- 1x Cinder
- 1x Shadow
- 3x Moly
Cinder is earned every time you vanquish Hecate and Moly is the flower that's gathered in the Erebus region, but you'll need to use Alchemy at the Cauldron in order to craft Shadow. Thankfully Alchemy is unlocked at the same time as the Incantation in question, but you'll need to acquire 30x Ash, 30x Psyche, and 3x Fate Fabric - then wait a little while for it to manifest.
Reaching the surface is just the start of it though, as you'll quickly realise that you can't stay up there for much longer, as a curse saps away at your health.
How to survive on the surface
There is thankfully a way to break the curse that plagues you on the surface, and that is activated once you unlock the 'Unraveling a Fateful Bond' Incantation.
This Incantation seems to only become available after you've gone to the surface at least once and then spoken to Moros in the hub area - meaning you'll also need to have completed the 'Fated Intervention' and 'Doomed Beckoning' Incantations.
You'll need the following resources in order to activate 'Unraveling a Fateful Bond':
- 2x Lotus
- 2x Nightshade
- 2x Moss
- 2x Thalamus
Lotus is gathered in Oceanus so it's fairly easy to get your hands on at this point, Nightshade is grown from its seeds - meaning you'll need the 'Flourishing Soil' Incantation and the Silver Shovel for Dig Spots in Erebus.
Moss is only available as a gatherable plant on the surface, so make sure to try and speed through in order to get enough before you die. Finally, Thalamus is grown from Origin Seeds that you get at Dig Spots in Chaos - so make sure to hop down a Chaos gate whenever it does appear. I found that Dig Spots were guaranteed to spawn if I had the Silver Spade equipped, so you should only need to visit once to get the two seeds that are required.
Once you've activated the Incantation you'll be able to survive on the surface without any HP penalties - but what awaits you there is still rather challenging, and takes a strong build to power through.
About The Author
Harry Boulton
Harry is a Guides Writer at GGRecon, having completed a Masters of Research degree in Film Studies. Previously a freelance writer for PCGamesN, The Loadout, and Red Bull Gaming, he loves playing a wide variety of games from the Souls series to JRPGs, Counter-Strike, and EA FC. When not playing or writing about games and hardware, you're likely to find him watching football or listening to Madonna and Kate Bush.
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This is part of the ‘Hades 2’ directory
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