Hades II: Best Builds for Each Aspect

Steam Community guide by hambubba.

Descura / Witch's Staff

Aspect of Melinoë

Effect: Gain +0/+10/+20/+30/+40/+50 Max Magick and Special Power.
Recommended Familiar: Raki
Top Boon Priority: Ares, Hera
Bonus Power for your Specials lends the Aspect of Melinoë well to long-range sniping with Ω Specials. While Aphrodite's Flutter Flourish can capitalize on the added base Power, it requires you get close. Vicious Flourish from Ares will give your Ω Special virtual one-shot potential for most unarmored enemies from any range, while Sworn Flourish also gives a very respectable % damage increase as well as inflicting Hitch on survivors. Bringing Raki as your familiar will give you sporadic chances for critical damage to bosses, and the bonus Magick from the Aspect means Hecuba isn't as necessary, even with an Ω-centric playstyle.

Aspect of Circe

Effect: Whenever you use Casts, so does your Animal Familiar, forming a Psychic Leash which deals 10/15/20/25/30/45 damage every 0.2 seconds for 5 seconds.
Recommended Familiar: Gale
Top Boon Priority: Demeter, Aphrodite
The Psychic Leash is surprisingly powerful. At max investment, it can deal as much as 750 damage each time you Cast, to as many enemies as you can get stuck in it. I recommend Gale for this Aspect because he tends to follow Melinoë closely, which makes managing the beam a little easier than it is with the other familiars. Demeter is an excellent goddess to follow with this Aspect because she offers not only Arctic Ring, but also Arctic Gale to effortlessly inflict two curses and crowd control everything in your Cast. This makes confirming the Psychic Leash damage easier. Local Climate and her duo boon with Ares, Hostile Environment, are also excellent. Aphrodite is a solid second choice as a lot of your fighting will be done in and around your Casts. Rapture Ring is a decent enough alternative to Arctic Ring.
Poseidon gets honorable mention for Tidal Ring and Geyser Spout, but you do not need to use Ω Cast to get benefit out of this Aspect. He also offers nothing to immobilize targets in order to maximize Leash damage.

Aspect of Momus

Effect: Whenever you use Ω Moves, each fires in place up to 3 times until you use it again, with a 4/3.5/3/2.5/2/1 second delay between refires.
Recommended Familiar: Hecuba
Top Boon Priority: Demeter, Poseidon, Apollo
Hecuba gives you a solid Magick pool to work with while you look for a Gain boon. Apollo's Lucid Gain will retrigger each time your Ω Cast expires while being refired, which makes it a great option. While a powerful effect in some cases, note that Prominence Flare will prevent you from Casting until it expires. Poseidon's Flood Gain is decent, but your Magick consumption can easily outpace its regeneration.
As the label suggests, this Aspect is all about spamming Ω Moves. Demeter's Weed Killer and Poseidon's Geyser Spout are your two best boons, period.

Aspect of Anubis

Effect: You have the Ankh Scepter, and raise Lone Shades wherever you slay foes. +10/+15/+20/+25/+30/+45% Ω Move Speed & Damage.
Recommended Familiar: Frinos
Top Boon Priority: Hera, Apollo
The Ankh Scepter completely replaces Descura's normal Attack and Special behavior. Your Attacks instead create damaging pulses in the earth, and Specials pull enemies in.
Hera's Nexus Rush is the single most important Boon for Aspect of Anubis. The combination of burst damage, Hitch, and Lone Shades lets you clear many encounters simply by Rushing. Apollo takes second place for expanding the size of the Ankh Scepter's slow, radial attacks.
Despite the bonus to Ω Moves, Ankh Scepter's Ω Attack and Special can be difficult to use. The Lone Shades are the real central mechanic of the Aspect. Hera and Apollo both offer decent upgrades to Ω Cast, which is likely to be your most-used Ω Move. Use a Special to draw enemies into your Ω Cast and Attack, then sprint through to apply Hitch and burst damage with Lone Shades.

Lim & Oros / Sister Blades

Aspect of Melinoë

Effect: Attacks and Specials deal +0/+40/+60/+80/+100/+200% damage by striking foes from behind.
Recommended Familiar: Raki
Top Boon Priority: Aphrodite, Zeus
This Aspect is straightforward but effective. Hit enemies from behind to deal increased Weapon Damage. The Special should virtually always score a backstab on the return hit, making it very efficient and safe early on while you lack Boons. Raki is recommended to further increase the damage of backstabs with critical hits.
Because backstabs do not affect the damage of on-hit effects like Scorch or Splash, Aphrodite's Flutter Strike is highly recommended as an Attack Boon. It will scale further with bonuses to your Power, such as from Secret Crush and the Daedalus Hammer upgrade Wicked Onslaught. While there is no direct synergy with the Aspect, the high attack speed of the Sister Blades makes Zeus boons very efficient; getting Heaven Strike or Flourish and Static Shock will make quick work of common enemies and bosses alike.
A burst damage Rush Boon, like that from Ares, is generally better than a sustained DPS option like Thunder Rush. You will typically be dashing through and behind your target over and over to keep up your backstab opportunities.
Specials are viable with this Aspect, but lose raw efficiency over time, as it becomes harder to keep something still long enough to fully charge an Ω Special from behind. Quick Specials with an on-hit Curse are preferable.

Aspect of Artemis

Effect: Whenever you Channel your Ω Attack, you occasionally Parry, then Riposte right after. +20/+30/+40/+50/+60/+90% Ω Attack Speed.
Recommended Familiar: Raki
Top Boon Priority: Aphrodite, Apollo
Aspect of Artemis is markedly similar to Aspect of Melinoë, except rather than dashing behind your target, you want to use your Ω Attack to block a predictable move and then unleash attacks with +50% critical hit chance. Raki is obviously recommended to further increase your critical hit odds.
Just as before, Flutter Strike is your clear winner for an Attack Boon. Stack power and deal incredible damage in the blink of an eye. Ares's Vicious Strike is much better for Aspect of Artemis than it would be for Aspect of Melinoë, but shouldn't be your first choice.
Weed Killer may sound tempting because of this Aspect's focus on Ω Attack, but it is a defensive tool that should be used frequently but not spammed. If you get a number of Ω Move bonuses, incidentally or otherwise, then 9 critical Ω Attacks will do a lot more damage than 9 Attacks or Specials, just be mindful of your Magick and the opportunity cost - if you still have critical strikes loaded when Parry refreshes, you are not spending your Ripostes optimally.
Apollo's Extra Dose and Exceptional Talent Boons benefit from Riposte but do not consume charges, lending them exceptional synergy. Normal Specials also consume only 1 charge but strike twice, with increased critical chance on both hits; Nova Flourish makes this a decent poke / trash cleaner, though really any Special Boon is fine.

Aspect of Pan

Effect: Your Specials seek foes in your Casts, and fire +1/+2/+3/+4/+5/+8 additional shots if you Channel longer.
Recommended Familiar: Hecuba
Top Boon Priority: Zeus, Hestia
This Aspect is a straight downgrade if you don't abuse Ω Specials, so you will need improved Magick economy. Hecuba is a good start.
While I normally dislike ranged Cast upgrades, Lightning Lance or Glowing Coal are incredibly effective with Aspect of Pan, turning your Sister Blades into targeted hellfire missile strikes. Obliterate your enemies from a good, safe distance and watch the fireworks. Hestia's Cardio Gain is also synergistic with the amount of individual hits you can land, though Born Gain is arguably the best Magick regen option. Add in Heaven Flourish and maybe Static Shock if your Magick pool can handle it, and nothing should give you a terrible amount of trouble.

Aspect of The Morrigan

Effect: You have the Crow Cutters, which can perform the ritual of Blood Triad to inflict 333/444/555/666/777/999 damage.
Recommended Familiar: Frinos, Toula, Gale
Top Boon Priority: Apollo, Hera
Honestly, I feel these things are so busted that the specifics aren't terribly important. They need no help dealing extra damage, and aren't especially Magick-hungry, so Raki and Hecuba aren't necessary. Get your favorite flavor of survivability from your Familiar and slap on whatever boons you come across.
Apollo is probably the overall best bet for increasing your attack range, making it easier to hit multiple enemies with Blood Triad at once. Alternatively, Hera can spread the burst damage of a completed ritual to other foes. Zeus Blitz is your best bet for bursting down bosses. Get in a good rhythm with it, and Blood Triad will do most of your damage for you, everything else is just gravy.

Revaal / Argent Skull

Aspect of Melinoë

Effect: Attacks have +0/+3/+6/+9/+12/+21 Power for each Shell fired and not yet retrieved.
Recommended Familiar: Raki
Top Boon Priority: Zeus, Hera
Revaal's default Aspect is centered around spamming Attacks. It isn't the highest DPS thing in the world, so Raki helps capitalize on the increased Power with big critical hits.
Zeus enjoys the high volume of strikes, with Heaven Strike and Static Shock performing well. Hera turns the small explosions into a nexus of chaos, giving this Aspect great field clearing potential. It will struggle against bosses, however.

Aspect of Medea

Effect: Your Attack stays within reach, and explodes after landing your Specials or 3 Sec. +30/+45/+60/+75/+90/+135% Attack & Special Damage.
Recommended Familiar: Raki
Top Boon Priority: Aphrodite, Ares
Medea turns the Argent Skull into a burst damage machine, loading as many shells as you choose into one big explosion, and amplifying both the damage of the Attacks and the Special that sets them off. Predictably, Raki is your go-to Familiar to make those bursts even bigger.
The Aspect does not interface with Ω Moves in any meaningful way, so Prime all the Magick you like. Flutter Strike and Secret Crush are perfect, as your attack can only hit directly on top of you. Vicious Strike is a fine alternative, amplifying the burst damage with bonus Power through Wounds. Even better, use Flutter Strike, Secret Crush, and Vicious Flourish all together. Add an easily-applied Curse like Glamour Gain (you shouldn't need the Magick, but free Weak is nice) to trigger the Origination Arcana Card and tear apart most enemies in the game with minimal effort.

Aspect of Persephone

Effect: Your Ω Special is Sprouted, and lets you change direction; Boons start with ↑Lv. Max Random Bonus Lv. for Boons: +2/+3/+4/+5/+6/+9
Recommended Familiar: Hecuba
Top Boon Priority: Zeus, Hera
"Sprouted" means that applying damaging effects from Olympians extends the duration by up to 2 seconds on next use. As such, you will want to quickly and easily apply Olympian damage with your Attacks before launching your Ω Special - Zeus and Hera are great options, like always. Trigger Blitz with your Ω Special damage or cause widespread mayhem with Hitch.
Any Familiar should be fine, but Hecuba offers Magick economy which is always appreciable when using an Aspect that's all about Ω Moves. Persephone often feels like a direct upgrade to Aspect of Melinoë and you can play it largely the same way.

Aspect of Hel

Effect: You have Frost Mane, which grants the way of the Valkyrie after your Ω Special. Valkyrie Attack Speed: +5/+10/+15/+20/+25/+35%.
Recommended Familiar: Raki
Top Boon Priority: Zeus, Hephaestus
Frost Mane eschews the ammo system of the other Aspects, and instead Attacks in a burst of up to three strikes, while Specials launch a homing projectile rather than a dash attack. Using Ω Special removes the burst limit on your Attack while also raising attack speed, making it a full-auto stream, but disables the use of any Ω Moves for its 3 second duration.
Heaven Strike and Static Shock will do excellent damage with Valkyrie mode active. The Ω Special does cost 50 Magick, and for most room encounters one is more than enough, but sustained use of Valkyrie mode will require some Magick gain. Ionic Gain serves dutifully, as this Aspect lends itself to a mobile playstyle.
Hephaestus's Volcanic Flourish suits this Aspect well, as the Ω Special is costly and should only be used every, say, 8 seconds or so at most. The rest of the time, you should be unleashing Hel with your Attacks. Add in Furnace Blast to pile on another Curse and a hefty damage amp to your Valkyrie onslaught. With the relative safety of the Aspect, Heavy Metal can also further increase your Weapon Damage by quite a bit for quite a long time.

Xinth / Black Coat

Aspect of Melinoë

Effect: Your Attacks, Sprint, and move speed are +0/+5/+10/+15/+20/+35% faster.
Recommended Familiar: Raki
Top Boon Priority: Aphrodite, Ares
Straight to the point, but feels good to use. Bop people with your fists, shower them with rockets, or shield yourself before kicking their faces to another planet. Raki helps turn those big Ω Attack numbers into hilarious Ω Attack numbers, if only on glorious occasion.
Aphrodite's Flutter Strike or Ares's Vicious Strike are the best bets for an Ω Attack-centric style. In the case of Ares, it is best done by not first inflicting Wounds with a standard Attack, so that the Ω Attack inflicts the Wounds and gains the bonus Power. For the same reason, I would almost never take Vicious Flourish on the Coat. Flutter Strike remains efficient for normal Attacks, as there is no real way to deal damage with them outside of "close range".
This is an overall solid Aspect that shouldn't demand too much to become effective. These are my recommendations, but anything would work out fine. Specials can be a bit awkward with certain Boons, or especially without one at all, but if you get a good one they can be really effective.

Aspect of Selene

Effect: You start with Sky Fall, a hidden Hex that strikes multiple foes and inflicts Shine. Hex Ready After: 100/90/80/70/60/40 Magick spent.
Recommended Familiar: Raki, Hecuba
Top Boon Priority: Aphrodite, Ares
All the same stuff above applies here. Shine further increases your Ω Attack damage, so a Flutter Strike, Raki crit, World Collider full charge Ω Attack can rip giant chunks out of the worst bosses the game has to offer. Get Path of Stars upgrades when available, and make liberal use of Sky Fall; otherwise this is flatly worse than other Aspects.
The Coat is always a bit Magick hungry, but Selene is especially so. Consider Hecuba for a more consistent performance, and take Glamour Gain for an easy Magick regen option. If you can manage to get Sanguinary Savior, Grisly Gain, and one or both of Profuse Bleeding (better for bosses) and Visceral Impact (better for rooms), your stats will skyrocket and you'll have essentially unlimited Magick. Note that this does require Vicious Strike or Flourish, and this is a Legendary Boon setup so it simply is not going to happen every run, no matter how much you want it to. But it is impressive when you get it going.

Aspect of Nyx

Effect: You have Ω Boost, which lets you produce Nightspawn after you activate it. Nightspawn Damage: 15/30/45/60/75/100%.
Recommended Familiar: Hecuba
Top Boon Priority: Hera, Zeus
After colliding into an enemy with Ω Boost, gain the Nightspawn effect for 5 seconds. This splits your Attack and Special into 2 hits which deal reduced damage, unless you get Premium Service from Hephaestus. Until the Aspect is rank 4, this represents a significant drop in normal weapon damage DPS, but terms and conditions apply.
The split-attacks do not benefit from Boons, but they are affected by certain non-Boon upgrades such as those from NPCs encountered during a run, and some Daedalus Hammers. And while they can't benefit from Boons, they can trigger them - such as Static Shock and Cardio Gain.
Nexus Rush with Ω Boost will do impressive damage and clear out a lot of mobs, and if you can manage to get Static Shock, your Nightspawn Attack flurries will crank out DPS. This is a lot of Magick spent and Magick Primed, however, so bring Hecuba and look for Max Magick increases and either Born Gain or Cardio Gain, if you have to take a Hestia and she offers it to you.

Aspect of Shiva

Effect: You have Purifying Grace, which absorbs Ω Special blasts to grow Destruction. Max Destruction Stacks: 2/3/4/5/6/8.
Recommended Familiar: Hecuba
Top Boon Priority: Apollo, Aphrodite
While the Attacks of Aspect of Shiva are more or less the same - the Ω Attack flies farther but is otherwise what you'd expect - the Specials change significantly. The Ω Special charges almost instantly but costs a hefty 45 Magick. Rather than a barrage of rockets, it slings a giant, bouncing orb that repeatedly deals damage in a wide area. Stand in these explosions to build Destruction. Each stack adds +75% damage to your next Ω Attack, and is then spent. This will turn your little princess feet into the Arrow of Indra and make you fly across the screen, dealing thousands of damage to everything in front of you.
Ω Specials are room-cleaners on their own, even with no Boons, early on in a run. Raise your Magick economy, because using several Ω Specials and Ω Attacks gets costly, quickly. Nova Flourish has extra utility in making it easier, and safer, for you to hit multiple enemies with your expensive Ω Specials while still charging your Destruction. They become absolutely massive. It would be hard to not hit yourself. Aphrodite's Flutter Strike should be familiar to you by now as the single best damage buff for Ω Attacks, but Ares remains a viable alternative. Do note that using Nova Flourish and Flutter Strike means outsourcing your Curses for Origination to your Rush and Cast Boons.

Ygnium / Umbral Flames

Aspect of Melinoë

Effect: Your Attacks and Specials may deal Critical damage. Critical Chance: +1/+2/+3/+4/+5/+8%.
Recommended Familiar: Raki, Hecuba
Top Boon Priority: Zeus, Hera
When we see the chance to crit, we consider Raki. However, Ygnium in all its Aspects is a ravenous Magick consumer, so Hecuba makes the early game more forgiving.
With the high concentration of relatively low-damage strikes, Zeus boons work admirably. Static Shock is great if you can tolerate the Primed Magick. Hera's Hitch effects make Ygnium a top-tier room-cleaning device, but nothing special against bosses. Born Gain, however, is an excellent way to make sure your Magick stays full throughout a fight, trash mobs or otherwise.
As with other Aspects of Melinoë, this is the most basic and straightforward option and is a good way to get used to the ins and outs of the Umbral Flames. Absolutely nothing wrong with it, but you will likely look to the other Aspects most of the time; 5% critical strike chance just can't compare to some of the other effects.

Aspect of Moros

Effect: Your Attacks linger for 6 Sec., and explode in a blast if struck by your Specials. Blast Damage: +0/+15/+30/+45/+60/+105%.
Recommended Familiar: Raki, Hecuba
Top Boon Priority: Zeus, Hera
The detonations are based on the damage of the attack, so Ω Attack, Ω Special bombs will hit significantly harder. But unlike other Aspects of Ygnium, Moros can do great DPS without draining your Magick constantly with Ω Moves. Rhythmically alternating one Special per three Attacks - 1, 2, 3, Special - will make good use of practically any Olympian's Boons and curses, apply debuffs consistently, and just do really solid damage.
The King and Queen of Olympus are arguably the best Boon-givers in the game, a pattern I'm sure you've picked up on by now. Zeus offers an excellent combination of single-target DPS and decent area damage, while Hera offers unrivaled screen-clearing power and the best room-to-room Magick sustain Gain Boon. But really, any Boons will be