Unleash the full power of Melinoë’s journey in Hades 2 by mastering the art of Keepsakes-unique trinkets gifted by gods and heroes that can turn the tide of your run. With 27 distinct Keepsakes to discover, each offering game-changing buffs and upgrades, knowing how to obtain and level them is essential for conquering the Underworld and beyond. Dive into our comprehensive guide to unlock every Keepsake, learn how to gift Nectar to your divine allies, and optimize your strategy with these potent relics on PC.
You get Keepsakes by gifting Nectar, a semi-rare resource, to Hades 2’s cast of gods, heroes, and other Ancient Greek notables. If you’ve played the original Hades, a lot of this will be familiar to you: It’s functionally the same system.
Here’s how to get Keepsakes in Hades 2, how to rank up Keepsakes, and a list of every Keepsake we’ve found so far.
How to get Keepsakes in Hades 2
To get Keepsakes in Hades 2, you need to gift Nectar, a semi-rare resource, to various gods, heroes, and other characters you encounter for the first time. Each character will reward you with a unique Keepsake after receiving Nectar from you. Nectar can be obtained by choosing Nectar gates during runs or purchased from the Wretched Broker once his shop is upgraded. You can equip one Keepsake before a run in the Training Grounds, and these trinkets provide passive bonuses that can improve your survival and enhance your chances of encountering specific boons. Keepsakes can be leveled up by using them across multiple runs, making their effects stronger over time. Additionally, after defeating area bosses, you can switch Keepsakes if you have unlocked the Kindred Keepsakes incantation, allowing more strategic use throughout your journey.
When you’re near a character, press RT (on controller or Steam Deck layout) to “gift.” In the menu that pops up, select the “Nectar” option from the grid. (It’s a little jar of honey.) If it’s your first time giving a Nectar to that character, they’ll respond in kind by giving you a Keepsake.
As far as we can tell, you can only get one Keepsake from each character. In other words, if you’re looking to unlock all Keepsakes in Hades 2, you’re better off holding onto your Nectar until you’ve given each character you meet at least one. And since some characters are rare or random encounters in the wild, it’s best to always travel with at least one Nectar until you have every Keepsake.
How to level up Keepsakes in Hades 2
To level up Keepsakes in Hades 2, you need to equip a Keepsake before starting a run and then successfully clear combat encounters while wearing it. Each Keepsake has three ranks, and to upgrade from rank 1 to rank 2, you must complete 25 encounters with that Keepsake equipped. To reach rank 3, you need to clear an additional 50 encounters. Encounters are defined as combat chambers, so surviving and defeating enemies in these rooms while keeping the Keepsake equipped is essential for leveling it up. If you die early in a run, progress towards leveling that Keepsake will be lost, so focusing on clearing as many rooms as possible per run is key. You can only equip one Keepsake at a time until you unlock the ability to swap them after defeating area bosses.
Leveling up Keepsakes in Hades 2 is simple: The more fights you survive while wearing a Keepsake, the stronger it gets.
Based on our testing, you need to clear 25 encounters (chambers that feature combat of some sort) to level-up a Keepsake from rank 1 to 2, and then an additional 50 encounters to level it up from rank 2 to 3.
Ranking up a Keepsake also increases its potency. For instance, at rank 1, the Ghost Onion Keepsake can restore a total of 50 health over the course of a run. Get it to rank 2, and that figure jumps to 75 health before rocketing to 100 health at rank 3.
You can equip Keepsakes at the cabinet in the chamber where you prepare for your runs, as shown in the screenshot at the top of this post. You can only wear one Keepsake at a time, but you can unlock the ability to change Keepsakes between regions. Though once you’ve unequipped a Keepsake, you can’t reequip it on that run.
All Keepsakes in Hades 2
Keepsakes in Hades 2 are special trinkets obtained by gifting Nectar to various gods, heroes, and notable characters encountered during your journey. There are a total of 27 Keepsakes, each providing unique passive buffs or effects that enhance Melinoe’s abilities and survivability in different ways. Players can equip only one Keepsake per run, but after defeating an area boss, they can swap to another. Keepsakes can be leveled up by using them throughout multiple runs, increasing their effectiveness. Some notable Keepsakes include Schelemeus’ Lucky Tooth, which acts like an extra life, and Echo’s Concave Stone, which offers a chance to gain an additional boon after picking one. To acquire Keepsakes, you must first meet characters and then gift them Nectar, which unlocks their Keepsake and strengthens your bond with them.
There are 29 Keepsakes in Hades 2. What follows is a list of all Keepsakes in Hades 2 (as of early access), plus details about who to get them from and what effects they grant.
Note that, while Keepsakes are not numbered, they appear in the Keepsake cabinet in a particular order. The chart below is organized by that order, and all Keepsakes display their values at rank 1.
Hades 2 Keepsakes and effects list
Keepsakes in Hades 2 are special items obtained by gifting Nectar to various characters throughout the game. Each Keepsake provides unique passive effects that enhance your abilities and survivability during runs. There are 29 Keepsakes in total, each with distinct bonuses such as health restoration, damage boosts, armor increases, or special effects like reducing boss health or restoring magick. As you use a Keepsake in runs, it levels up after a set number of encounters, increasing the potency of its effect. For example, the Luckier Tooth from Schelemeus grants an automatic health restore upon death that improves with upgrades, while the Silver Wheel from Hecate replenishes magick over time. Keepsakes can be equipped one at a time before runs and are crucial for customizing your strategy and improving your chances against the challenges of Hades 2.
Character |
Keepsake |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Hecate | Silver Wheel | While you channel your Omega moves, everything moves slower for one second. |
| Odysseus | Knuckle Bones | The next Guardian (area boss) loses 5% health. You take 15% less damage from Guardians. |
| Schelemeus | Luckier Tooth | When you run out of health, automatically restore 51 health once. |
| Dora | Ghost Onion | Whenever you exit a chamber, fully restore your health, up to a total of 50 over the course of the run. |
| Nemesis | Evil Eye | Deal 20% damage to the last foe that defeated you. |
| Moros | Engraved Pin | After you run out of health, become impervious for 10 seconds. If no foes remain, restore 30 health. |
| Eris | Discordant Bell | After each encounter, you deal 0.5% damage, but also take that much more. |
| Charon | Gold Purse | Gain 100 gold once this night. |
| Hermes | Metallic Droplet | You move, strike, and channel 20% faster for the next 200 seconds. |
| Artemis | White Antler | For the next region, gain 20% critical damage chance, but you are limited to 30 max life. |
| Selene | Moon Beam | You’re more likely to get a reward from Selene. The next Path of Stars you find grants three additional upgrades. |
| Zeus | Cloud Bangle | You’re more likely to get a boon from Zeus. You can rarify his common blessings once this run. |
| Hera | Iridescent Fan | You’re more likely to get a boon from Hera. You can rarify her common blessings once this run. |
| Demeter | Barley Sheaf | You’re more likely to get a boon from Demeter. You can rarify her common blessings once this run. |
| Poseidon | Vivid Sea | You’re more likely to get a boon from Poseidon. You can rarify his common blessings once this run. |
| Apollo | Purest Hope | You’re more likely to get a boon from Apollo. You can rarify his common blessings once this run. |
| Aphrodite | Beautiful Mirror | You’re more likely to get a boon from Aphrodite. You can rarify her common blessings once this run. |
| Hephaestus | Adamant Shard | You’re more likely to get a boon from Hephaestus. You can rarify his common blessings once this run. |
| Hestia | Everlasting Ember | You’re more likely to get a boon from Hestia. You can rarify her common blessings once this run. |
| Athena | Gorgon Amulet | While you have no Death Defiance, Athena may appear once this night with at boons of at least common rarity. |
| Dionysus | Fig Leaf | Most encounters have a 50% chance to be free of any foes, once per run. |
| Heracles | Lion Fang | Deal 30% bonus damage, but that value decreases by 5% after each encounter. |
| Medea | Blackened Fleece | After you take 250 damage, your Omega moves deal 20% damage. |
| Circe | Crystal Figurine | After the next Guardian, activate one random Arcana Card. |
| Arachne | Silken Sash | Gain 20 armor. While you have at least 1 armor, gain 2 armor after each chamber. |
| Narcissus | Aromatic Phial | Fountains restore 20% health. The next one turns one of your common boons rare. |
| Echo | Concave Stone | After choosing a boon, you have a 25% chance to randomly take another boon (once per run). |
| Icarus | Experimental Hammer | Gain a random Daedalus Hammer upgrade that lasts for 10 encounters. |
| Primordial Chaos | Transcendent Embryo | Gain a random common Chaos blessing once this night. Every eight encounters, replace it. |
Which keepsakes in Hades 2 offer the biggest boost to rare god boons
The Keepsakes in Hades 2 that offer the biggest boost to rare god boons are those affiliated with specific Olympian gods, as they increase the likelihood of receiving boons from that god and can rarify common blessings once per run. Notable examples include:
-
Zeus’ Cloud Bangle: Increases the chance of getting Zeus boons and can rarify a common Zeus boon to rare, then epic at higher ranks.
-
Demeter’s Barley Sheaf: Similarly boosts Demeter boon chances and rarifies common Demeter blessings.
-
Aphrodite’s Beautiful Mirror, Hephaestus’ Adamant Shard, Hestia’s Everlasting Ember, and Hera’s Iridescent Fan follow the same pattern for their respective gods, making their boons more common and rarer.
Additionally, the Narcissus Aromatic Phial is notable for turning one random common boon you have into a rare boon during a run, regardless of god affiliation.
For Chaos boons, the Cosmic Egg Keepsake increases the chance of Chaos blessings being rare or better by up to 40% at max rank, also providing the benefit of entering Chaos Gates without losing health.
Among these, the god-specific Keepsakes that allow rarification of common blessings are considered the most direct and reliable way to boost rare god boons in Hades 2. The Aromatic Phial also stands out for its ability to upgrade a random common boon to rare, enhancing your build’s power.
Which keepsakes provide the highest chance to rarify common boons in Hades 2
The Keepsakes in Hades 2 that provide the highest chance to rarify common boons are primarily the god-specific Keepsakes, each allowing you to rarify one common boon from that god once per run. These include:
-
Cloud Bangle (Zeus)
-
Barley Sheaf (Demeter)
-
Beautiful Mirror (Aphrodite)
-
Adamant Shard (Hephaestus)
-
Everlasting Ember (Hestia)
-
Iridescent Fan (Hera)
-
Purest Hope (Apollo)
-
Vivid Sea (Poseidon)
Each of these makes boons from their respective god more likely to appear and grants the ability to upgrade a common boon to rare once per run, with the rarity upgrade improving as the Keepsake is leveled up.
Additionally, the Narcissus Aromatic Phial is unique in that it turns one random common boon you have into a rare boon during a run, regardless of god affiliation, offering a flexible rarification option.
Among these, god-specific Keepsakes are the most reliable for targeted rarification, while Aromatic Phial provides a broad upgrade to any common boon you possess. This makes these Keepsakes the best choices for maximizing your chance to rarify common boons in Hades 2.
