Hades II Guide | Best A-Tier Boons

Here's a guide on the Best A-Tier Boons in Hades II.

Game Guide by TauxicPandA on Jul 21, 2025

To get the Legendary Boons in Hades II, you have to prove your dedication to the gods by collecting three specific Boons from their arsenal. You'll unlock the Legendary Boons ranked from S to D.

Hades II Guide, Best A-Tier Boons

Aphrodite's Nervous Wreck

Aphrodite's mythic Boon, Nervous Wreckk, is the strongest Boon available in Hades II, short of S-tier, because of its extremely high synergy potential.

Requirements and Build Path

To get the Nervous Wreck in Hades II, you will need to fulfil three standalone requirements that complement Aphrodite-themed builds. Your first requirement is getting one of Aphrodite's essential Boons: Cast, Dash, or Gain.

They are her main way of imposing Weak status on foes. You will choose either Cast or Dash types because they provide a more consistent Weak imposition than the Gain option, which creates a risky close distance with foes in Hades II.

Your second requirement involves Aphrodite's Attack or Special core Boons. These skills are damage foundation blocks to any Aphrodite build and are therefore mandatory elements irrespective of your Legendary Boon ambitions.

The requirement points to the need for acquiring steady Weak application strategies before the Legendary step in Hades II.

The third requirement does have some viable options available: Broken Resolve, Sweet Surrender, Shameless Attitude, or Secret Crush.

Broken Resolve offers extra damage reduction when foes are Weak, offering great defensive synergy. Sweet Surrender offers bonus damage against Weak foes, which is a fine natural damage boost.

Shameless Attitude provides direct damage boosts at all times, whereas Secret Crush provides situation-based but potentially significant damage boosts that are not always the Prime investment on Hades II.

Hades II Guide, Best A-Tier Boons, Requirements, Build Path

Mechanical Benefits

Once you acquire Nervous Wreck, you get to have random bonus curses that boost your fighting power in Hades II.

The variety of potential curse effects includes Poseidon's Slip for additional damage output, Demeter's Freeze for enemy immobilisation, Hephaestus' Vent for extra damage application,

Hera's Hitch, when successfully applied to multiple targets, and Zeus' Blitz for overall damage improvements.

The Boon becomes particularly powerful when you already possess one or more curse effects in your build, as Nervous Wreck allows more frequent application and creates additional synergy opportunities in Hades II.

Beyond the Origin boost, which serves as the primary attraction, you consistently inflict multiple adverse effects on enemies, making encounters considerably more manageable.

Strategic Considerations

Despite its impressive capabilities, Nervous Wreck remains in the high A-tier rather than the S-tier due to concerns about build flexibility.

Sometimes your Attack and Special slots benefit more from other gods' Boons, and inconsistent Weak application can limit the frequency of triggering the Legendary effect in Hades II.

These cooldowns contribute to several Legendary Boons, so strategy is necessary to maximise their use.

Hermes' Close Call

Hermes' Legendary Boon, Close Call, defies the trend of typical Legendary Boons with its innovative mechanics and very low show rate. This skill serves as an insurance policy that can mitigate challenging runs in Hades II.

Acquisition Requirements

Close Call has straightforward requirements compared to other Legendary Boons. You need only one Hermes Boon, excluding Quick Buck and Tall Order in Hades II.

Exclusion from the Tall Order makes sense because infusions generally do not address Legendary demands. That Quick Buck not being among non-infusion Boons is strange, perhaps to prevent unnecessary use of income bonuses or a game design flaw.

Quick Buck is the only Hermes Boon that does not use speed boosts in any form of cost reduction, movement speed, or rate of fire.

Although it qualifies, Close Call never actually appears in Hermes rewards. It's one of the game's toughest-to-find skills.

Hades II Guide, Best A-Tier Boons, Acquisition Requirements

Defensive Capabilities

Close Call provides an additional Defiance with enhanced properties. When triggered, this special Defiance slows time around you for eight seconds at a significantly better rate than Phase Shift, which only reaches 75% effectiveness with the Stillness Sublime upgrade.

The Boon functions primarily as insurance against run failure. If your escape attempt proceeds smoothly without triggering the extra Defiance, the Boon provides minimal active benefit.

However, when you need the additional life, you'll appreciate having the safety net and time manipulation advantages in Hades II.

Synergy Considerations

You can trigger Close Call to fuel Hades' Last Gasp Boon for an additional 8% boost, though this represents a relatively modest benefit overall.

Suppose you're utilising the Strength Tarot card. In that case, you typically want to avoid this Legendary Boon since it removes both your damage reduction and damage boost while active, potentially conflicting with your build strategy in Hades II.

The optimal scenario for Close Call involves struggling runs where you've exhausted all standard Defiances, your Cat Defiance, your Tooth, and this additional Defiance.

If you subsequently encounter Echo offering Survive, you can replenish all six Defiances and significantly improve your survival prospects. Finding Last Gasp in the Hades event afterwards provides damage boosts for all triggered Defiances.

Demeter's Winter Harvest

Demeter's Winter Harvest occupies the lower end of A-tier, nearly falling into B-tier territory but distinguishing itself sufficiently to maintain its current ranking. While excellent in capability, this Legendary Boon isn't typically worth building toward specifically.

Prerequisites and Build Integration

Your first requirement involves obtaining one of Demeter's core Freeze Boons: Attack, Special, or Cast. You should select the option that allows a reliable Freeze application in your combat style in Hades II.

The second requirement offers Plentiful Forage (a mild but inoffensive boost), Snow Queen (excellent but potentially expensive to Prime), or Rare Crop (preferably acquired early in runs, though sometimes worth later gambles).

Your third requirement includes Weed Killer (facing similar challenges to Apollo's Exceptional Talent but to a lesser degree), Cold Storage (highly desirable in Freeze builds), or Local Climate (situationally useful). Once you satisfy these three requirements, Winter Harvest becomes available in Demeter rewards.

Instant Kill Mechanics

When Winter Harvest references Freeze-afflicted enemies "shattering," it means instant death regardless of remaining health.

This effectively reduces enemy health by 10% when you can apply Freeze at optimal moments. With sufficient damage output, you can typically freeze enemies and eliminate them quickly enough to trigger the shattering effect. In large enemy groups, this creates cascading elimination effects.

The Boon's most significant advantage lies in its effectiveness against guardians. Even Chronos himself becomes susceptible to shattering at 10% health, as does Prometheus.

Only Chronos' second phase appears vulnerable to shattering based on available testing. Still, the ability to eliminate 10% of guardian health instantly provides substantial value throughout your run, functioning as a reverse Knuckle Bones effect in Hades II.

Optimal Usage Scenarios

The best-case scenario involves eliminating enemies while they're already frozen, allowing even faster kills through the shattering ability.

Builds incorporating Hephaestus and Demeter's duo Boon for reliable refreezing create particularly effective synergies.

Regardless of your specific build composition, the utility of skipping the final 10% of boss health provides significant strategic value, especially against Chronos and when using Engraved Pin.

When fortunate enough to acquire this Boon before encountering the Sirens, remember that shattering considers each Siren's health rather than their collective health bar, requiring strategic timing for maximum effectiveness.

Hades II Guide, Best A-Tier Boons, Optimal Usage Scenarios