Hades 2 is a rougelite, which means that while you're expected to confront great dangers and tough challenges during your excursions into the underworld, you're not expected to stay the weakling that you are at the beginning of the game. As you make attempt after attempt at Chronos, you'll acquire plenty of resources that you can spend at the Crossroads to give Melineo an edge.
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PostsMany of these are spent at the cauldron in the centre of the Crossroads. Here, you can obtain permanent upgrades to your game, whether they be alterations to the dangerous regions, new characters to meet, or simply story progression.
Hades 2 is currently in Early Access, the details below may change over the course of development. This is also an article in progress - we will add every incantation and alchemy recipe we find here once we have them.
Updated May 11, 2024: We've updated the tables in this guide to include more incantations and alchemy recipes that we have since unlocked.
How To Unlock Incantations
The cauldron at the Crossroads will become available for use after your second attempt at the underworld. The first attempt is where the game begins, and the second is the first time you enter it yourself.
From then on, incantations will be unlocked after hitting certain progress benchmarks, whether they be reaching a certain area, casting previous incantations, or defeating certain bosses a number of times.
These requirements will feel quite random, so the only advice we can provide is to keep playing the game and unlocking the incantations you have - the new ones will show up eventually.
We've listed the incantations below in the order we unlocked them, based on the type of incantation they are. You can expect a similar, but probably not identical order, based on the way you play.
Every Feature Unlock Incantation
These incantations will unlock new features, be they more ways to spend or earn resources, a new character to meet, or a power that stays with Melinoe.
Incantation
Recipe
Description
Fated Intervention
1 Silver, 2 Ash, 2 Moly
Unlocks the Fated List, which will provide you with rewards for your achievements. This gives you your first meeting with Moros.
Summoning of the Mercantile Fortune
10 Bones
Unlocks the Wretched Broker, who will sell you items in exchange for Bones.
Night's Craftwork
1 Moly
Unlocks Gathering Tools, which allow you to gather resources in the underworld.
Reagent Sensing
1 Moly
Activates a visual notifier that there are resources to claim after clearing an encounter.
Kinship Fortune
60 Bones
Unlocks Exotic goods at the Wretched Broker. At first, you can only buy Nectar, but more will become available as you upgrade the Crossroads. Also grants one Nectar for free.
Gathering of Ancient Bones
2 Limestone
Blesses one of your weapons per night. This blessed weapon will give you a bonus of 2 Bones per room you clear.
Doomed Beckoning
3 Fate Fabric, 1 Nightshade
Summons Moros a second time, after which he will start regularly appearing at the Crossroads near the Fated List.
Divination of the Elements
5 Psyche
Allows you to see the Elements of the god Boons you acquire, and lets you use Infusions.
Flourishing Soil
1 Moly
Adds two Soil Plots to the Crossroads, unlocking Gardening. Also grants you one Nightshade Seed.
Forget-Me-Not
1 Moly
Unlocks the ability to track recipes, giving you visual reminders whenever you have a choice between resources/tools.
Floral Fortune
1 Ash, 1 Nightshade
Unlocks the ability to sell plants to the Wretched Broker for Bones.
Rich Soil
3 Lotus
Adds two more Soil Plots to the Crossroads.
Permeation of Witching-Wards
1 Cinder, 1 Shadow, 3 Moly
Unlocks the Ward to the surface path, which gives you an alternate path.
Rite of Vapor-Cleansing
2 Moly, 2 Lotus, 2 Nightshade
Adds a Hot Spring to the Crossroads, where you can take baths with certain characters. Gives you one free portion of Bath Salts and unlocks the purchase of Bath Salts from the Wretched Broker.
Rite of Social Solidarity
2 Nectar, 2 Garlic
Adds a Taverna to the Crossroads, where you can socialise with certain characters. Gives you a free Ambrosia and unlocks the purchase of Ambrosia from the Wretched Broker.
Faith of Familiar Spirits
2 Nectar, 1 Lotus
Grants a Witch's Delight, which in turn unlocks Familiars.
Consecration of Ashes
6 Ash, 1 Cinder, 6 Fate Fabric
Enhances the Altar of Ashes and allows you to upgrade your Arcana cards. Also grants you 3 Moon Dust for free.
Unraveling a Fateful Bond
2 Lotus, 2 Moss, 2 Nightshade, 2 Thalamus
Allows Melinoe to breathe on the surface, removing the constant damage.
Verdant Soil
1 Wheat, 1 Garlic
Unlocks two more Soil Plots. This is the final Garden upgrade.
Abyssal Insight
2 Fate Fabric, 2 Pearl, 2 Moly, 2 Nightshade
Activates the Pitch-Black Stone and unlocks Trials which you can attempt for Star Dust.
Rite of River-Fording
4 Driftwood, 2 Cattail
Adds a Fishing Pier to the Crossroads, allowing you to fish with certain characters. Also grants you a Twin Lure for free.
Aspects of Night and Darkness
5 Bronze, 1 Nightshade
Unlocks Weapon Aspects and Weapon Upgrades.
Attending a Faithful Beast
1 Tears, 1 Wool, 4 Wheat
Allows your Animal Familiars to work for you when left at the Crossroads.
Greater Favor of Gaia
2 Marble, 4 Bronze, 4 Iron
Allows you to upgrade your Gathering Tools
Empath's Intuition
1 Fate Fabric, 3 Myrtle
Upgrades the Book of Shadows to relay relationship progress information with each character.
Observance of Gaia's Secrets
7 Moly, 7 Lotus, 7 Moss
Gain a 20% chance to gain one extra resource whenever you pick one up.
Insight Into Offerings
2 Ambrosia, 2 Poppy, 1 Golden Apple
Reveals a complete list of Olympian Boons in the Book of Shadows.
Power to Pause and Reflect
3 Zodiac Sand, 3 Moly
Allows you to pause the game during the Chronos fight. Requires an attempt to pause the game during the fight to unlock.
Dissolution of Time
??? Zodiac Sand, ??? Entropy
Stops Chronos being immortal.
It is not currently possible to acquire Entropy, so the Dissolution of Time incantation is impossible to cast.
Every Run Upgrade Incantation
These upgrades will affect the underworld and surface paths, rather than the Crossroads or Melinoe herself.
Incantation
Recipe
Description
Rise of Stygian Wells
1 Moly, 1 Nightshade
Enables the spawning of Wells of Charon during a run, allowing you to buy minor boons.
Woodsy Lifespring
3 Silver, 1 Moly
Unlocks rest areas in Erebus where you can restore life.
Briny Lifespring
3 Limestone, 3 Lotus
Unlocks rest areas in Oceanus where you can restore life.
Cleansing of Fountain-Waters
1 Moly, 1 Lotus
Improves fountain healing by 10%.
Kindred Keepsakes
4 Limestone, 2 Moly, 1 Lotus
Enables you to switch Keepsakes in the transition areas after bosses.
Surge of Stygian Wells
3 Moly, 3 Cattail
Wells of Charon also now appear in the transition areas after bosses.
Purification of Fountain-Waters
1 Nightshade, 1 Cattail
Improves fountain healing by 10%.
Propensity Toward Gold
1 Lime, 1 Fate Fabric
Unlocks golden urns, which drop gold when destroyed.
Reviving a Mournful Husk
1 Myrtle
Allows you to revive Golden Boughs in the Mourning Fields, which will point you towards the goals of the current room.
Necromantic Influence
5 Psyche, 5 Nightshade
Melinoe will summon shade allies to attack enemies automatically if she sprints through Lone Shades during a run.
Unearthed Troves
5 Limestone, 1 Nightshade
Unlocks Infernal Troves, which allow you to fight extra enemies under a time limit to gain gold.
Summoning a Colony of Bats
3 Moss, 3 Rubbish
Unlocks the cages of All-Seeing Bats in the City of Ephyra, which provides a map to the city.
Circles of Protection
1 Moly, 1 Lotus, 1 Mandrake
Unlocks Warding Circles throughout Erebus.
Rush of Fresh Air
3 Fate Fabric, 1 Wool, 2 Driftwood
Unlocks Shrines of Hermes on the surface route.
Golden Lifespring
3 Marble, 3 Shaderoot
Unlocks rest areas in Tartarus where you can restore life.
Sandy Lifespring
3 Iron, 3 Driftwoof
Unlocks rest areas in the Rift of Thessaly where you can restore life.
Surge of Fresh Air
2 Fate Fabric, 2 Garlic, 2 Mandrake
Makes Shrines of Hermes appear in the transitional areas between regions on the surface.
Every Alchemy Recipe
Eventually, you'll unlock the ability to create items at the cauldron. These work a little differently to incantations - after paying the requisite amount of resources, the cauldron will shut for a certain number of time units. While the cauldron is creating your requested item, you will be unable to cast incantations.
Time units are spent either by socialising with characters using exotic items (such as Bath Salts) or by clearing rooms in the underworld or on the surface.
Incantation
Item
Recipe
Time
Shadow Extraction
Shadow x1
30 Ash, 30 Psyche, 3 Fate Fabric
12
Beast-Loved Morsel
Witch's Delight x2
1 Star Dust, 2 Lotus
14
Moonlit Essence from Shadow
Moon Dust x5
1 Cinder, 1 Shadow
8
Moonlit Essence from Stars
Moon Dust x3
1 Star Dust
4
Sweet Nectar
Nectar x3
1 Golden Apple
8
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