Hades 2 Familiars and How to Open All of Them

Animal companions in Hades 2 offer unique buffs, gathering shortcuts, and combat help. To unlock them, Melinoë must cast incantations, complete runs, and offer Witch’s Delight. Each familiar brings a special passive or active skill, ranging from projectile blocking to free Death Defiance. Fully upgrading them requires repeated offerings and certain milestones. Every run feels better with a loyal companion at your side — even if it’s just a cat stealing the spotlight.

All Familiars in Hades 2

Familiars are beast allies who travel with Melinoë into the Underworld or on the Surface. They enhance survivability, speed up gathering, or provide combat assistance, but only one can join per night.

All Hades 2 Familiars available are:

• Frinos (toad)
• Toula (cat)
• Raki (raven)
• Gale (polecat)
• Hecuba (hound)

Note: All require Witch’s Delight to recruit and level up.

How To Get Every Hades 2 Animal

Familiars unlock through incantations, repeated encounters, and giving Witch’s Delight. To see them all, focus on completing early incantations like Faith of Familiar Spirits and Bravery of Familiar Spirits, while actively using each familiar’s resource skill at least once.

Frinos

Frinos is the first Familiar and serves as Melinoë’s shield and early support. He blocks projectiles, boosts max health, and increases Psyche gain from Lost Shades.

Frinos unlocks after casting Faith of Familiar Spirits, gathering equipment, and defeating Hecate. Offer him a Witch’s Delight at the Crossroads to recruit, then continue offering treats to max his abilities.

Toula

Toula grants an extra Death Defiance, helps with fishing, and claws enemies when triggered. She’s a survival-focused option.

Toula appears after fishing once and revisiting the docks. She later shows up on the Surface pier after defeating Polyphemus. Offer Witch’s Delight to recruit and upgrade her abilities fully.

Raki

Raki adds Crit chance, mines Outcroppings automatically, and marks enemies with pecks. He is ideal for offensive builds.

Raki appears after visiting Erebus fountains multiple times. Speak with him over several runs until bonding is available. Offer Witch’s Delight to recruit and fully develop his abilities.

Gale

Gale is Hecate’s polecat and emphasizes speed, dodge, and retaliation scratches. She also increases Flora gathering chances.

Gale requires the Bravery of Familiar Spirits incantation and prior Familiar recruitment. Find her on Mount Olympus before Prometheus, then feed Witch’s Delight on a second encounter to recruit.

Hecuba

Hecuba, another of Hecate’s hounds, specializes in Magick, digging seeds, and stunning foes. She also provides emergency healing and Magick bubbles.

Unlock Hecuba by recruiting other familiars and upgrading them, then triggering Hecate’s Crossroads dialogue. Meet her again in the Fields of Mourning and gift Witch’s Delight to fully unlock her abilities.

Hades Beginner Tips

S-tier Aspects like Medea and Circe should be prioritized for their versatility and strong scaling, making them effective across nearly all playstyles. These Aspects outperform most others due to their wide-ranging abilities and synergy with common boons. Focusing on them maximizes efficiency and reliability in both early and late runs.

Hidden Aspects require specific incantations and Waking Phrases to unlock, transforming weapons with entirely new mechanics rather than simple stat boosts. Each Hidden Aspect, such as Nergal for the Moonstone Axe or Hel for Argent Skull, introduces unique combat effects that redefine playstyles. Unlocking them demands rare materials and careful experimentation, rewarding dedicated players with powerful alternate forms.

Gods tier list helps players match Olympian boons with weapon Aspects for optimal performance, with S-tier gods like Zeus and Hera offering broad compatibility. Their scalable boons enhance offense, defense, and utility, benefiting almost any build. While mid- and lower-tier gods can work in specialized setups, consulting the tier list ensures smarter, more efficient runs.