Success in Hades 2 depends upon myriad variables. From the Keepsakes you equip to the Boons you encounter during your run, there are so many avenues to a winning (or losing!) run. Your choice of weapon may be the biggest variable here, with your comfort and skill with the weapon being the major factor above all others.
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PostsThe Witch's Staff is Melinoe's default weapon, and it's a very adaptable, flexible one. As a result, it's the easiest to get used to and likely going to be the source of many of your initial victories over the harder fights that the game has to offer.
Hades 2 is currently in Early Access. As a result, the details below may change over time.
Updated June 9, 2024: We've updated this guide to reflect the changes made by Early Access Patch 2.
Witch's Staff Moveset
The Witch's Staff has a very adaptable moveset that allows Melinoe to be effective at many ranges.
Attack
Description
Attack
The Witch's Staff regular combo involves two quick jabs in the direction you're facing, followed by a stronger, larger finisher. It's possible to fit a dodge in between the second jab and the finisher, as long as you keep mashing the attack button.
Omega Attack
After charging up this attack, a long-range linear attack will erupt in a line towards Melinoe's front and back. You cannot hold this charge, it will fire as soon as the charge bar is filled. This uses 20 Magick.
Special
This weapon's special is a simple projectile. It has a slight homing effect, though this is rarely seen if you have Aim Assist turned on. This also has a slight knockback.
Omega Special
Charging up this attack will create a large projectile that travels in a straight line and explodes upon contact with an enemy or a wall, dealing large damage in an area. This attack can be held upon fully charging and costs 10 Magick.
With such a wide range of attack ranges, the Witch's Staff excels in flexibility. As a result, it gels really well with all sorts of strategies and Boons, reducing the need to rely on random chance to be effective with it.
Of note is how far the regular attack combo reaches - while ostensibly a melee attack, the staff has a long reach that turns the combo into a mid-range offence. This is important in many cases, making it possible to attack enemies from outside their dangerous ranges (Wailers from Erebus come to mind - it's easy to trap them in a Cast and attack them from far away).
The Staff's specials aren't too damaging, so it's not the best idea to rely on them as a main source of damage, but they work really well with certain Boons that inflict status effects due to how rapidly they can be fired out at enemies.
Witch's Staff Aspects
There are currently three aspects to the Witch's Staff in-game, each making significant changes to the weapon's abilities:
Aspect
Description
Aspect of Melinoe
This aspect has no special abilities to begin with, but with upgrades, it receives a charging speed boost to all Omega Moves.
Aspect of Circe
This aspect grants you a buff called Serenity after landing a certain number of attacks. This buff will increase your Omega Move damage and also restore your spent Magick.
Aspect of Momus
This aspect will make your Omega Moves trigger up to three times, as long as Melinoe doesn't use another Omega Move shortly after the first. They fire from the original casting spot. Upgrading this aspect will decrease the time between successive bursts.
As you can see, the Witch's Staff's upgrades and aspects focus on improving Omega Moves, which will encourage you to take on Boons that are best used with them and those that improve your Magick regeneration abilities.
The Aspect of Melinoe is as close to a 'default' as you can get, with upgrades only improving charging speed and thus providing generic boosts to your playstyle. The other aspects, on the other hand, encourage quite different playstyles:
- The Aspect of Circe promotes a very aggressive playstyle that revolves around getting as many regular hits in as possible and then taking advantage of Serenity with a flurry of Omega Moves.
- The Aspect of Momus encourages a magickal playstyle that encourages upgrading your Omega Moves. This aspect relies on getting complementary Boons to be the most successful and will require a good Magick restoration Boon.
Overall, the Aspect of Circe promotes a riskier playstyle, and the Aspect of Momus serves ranged tactics, with Melinoe's aspect serving as a healthy middle ground.
Best Boons And Upgrades
The Witch's Staff is a very powerful weapon with lots of potential, but it will shine the most with the right upgrades.
The most significant upgrades come from the Daedalus Hammers you can pick up twice per run (or more times, if you're very lucky). Some shine brighter than others:
Upgrade
Effect
Melting Swipe
Your Dash-Strike has a larger area and also destroys 60% of an enemy's Armour.
Any Armor melting abilities are instantly top-tier in this game, as they work on percentages rather than raw amounts. This can turn minibosses and late-game areas into very easy encounters.
Mirrored Thrasher
Your attacks hits 2 times but you also take extra damage.
This synergises perfectly with statuses inflicted by regularattacks, such as Hestia's scorch and Zeus's blitz. It will require a more careful playstyle than usual, and works best if you have a source of health regeneration.
Vampiric Cataclysm
Slaying a foe with your Omega Attack restores 5 Life.
While this is obviously a good benefit for all forms of the weapon, this is particularly amazing for the Aspect of Circe, which should be using Omega Attacks very often during Serenity periods.
Aetheric Moonburst
Your Omega Special deals +20% damage and restores 5 Magick.
As above, this is a generally helpful enchantment, but is particularly useful for the Aspect of Momus, which focuses on Omega Specials.
Extending Wallop
Your regular attack has more range and deals +50% damage to distant foes.
The opposite of an Aphrodite buff, this is a great general buff for all purposes. As long as you play a bit more distantly from your foes (which should come naturally with the Witch's Staff's natural range), this will be a huge damage increase.
Upgrades that don't prove as useful include Wicked Thrasher (it's a damage increase, but does little else), and Giga Moonburst (which adds a very large explosion to a channeled Omega Special, but is so expensive in terms of Magick so as to be not worth it).
As for Boons, here's how the Witch's Staff stacks up with the various gods of Hades 2:
God
Evaluation
Zeus
This weapon isn't the best at reliably triggering Blitz thanks to its somewhat hit-and-run tendencies, but it works very well with lightning bolt and chain-lightning effects.
Hera
Hitch is a wonderful status that synergises well with this weapon thanks to the high number of hits it can output in a short amount of time. Pair Hitch with something like Apollo's area of effect boosts and you have a perfect combination.
Poseidon
Splashes work very well with this weapon thanks to the speed of its attacks and how many of them you can make in a short amount of time. Fluid Gain (gain spirit bubbles to restore Magick) work well with all Aspects.
Demeter
Freeze is an all-around winner when it comes to status effects, and the damage boosts Demeter can provide are very good. Demeter doesn't provide much to Omega Moves, but is a good all-rounder.
Apollo
Apollo's area of effect boosts make this weapon a far better weapon when dealing with crowds and should be considered for any Witch's Staff run.
Aphrodite
With bonuses to close-range damage, Aphrodite's upgrades are mostly a last resort. Weak is also, ironically, a weak status effect for such a mobile weapon archetype.
Hephaestus
With how constant your attacks are, the explosive blasts will add a significant amount of damage over the course of a run. These are easy, thoughtless upgrades to grab.
Hestia
Scorch is a wonderful status effect and easy to build up to massive amounts with this weapon.
A particular Duo Boon to look out for is Freezer Burn, which combines Demeter and Hestia's effects. You will need either Ice Strike or Ice Flourish and either Flame Strike or Flame Flourish to unlock this.
NextHades 2: How To Unlock Every Keepsake
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