Hades 2 Keepsakes & Companions Guide 2026: Every Keepsake Ranked, Best Upgrades & Which Companion to Use Per Zone

2026-06-26·Guides

I wasted my first 30 hours using the same keepsake from start to finish because I didn't know you could swap at each zone transition. You can change keepsakes between every biome. Here's how to exploit that.

The keepsake swap strategy

Zone 1 (Erebus): Start with a god keepsake to guarantee your build-defining boon first. If you're running a Zeus attack build, start with Zeus Keepsake. The first boon you encounter is guaranteed to be from that god.

Zone 2 (Oceanus): Switch to Chaos Keepsake. Chaos gates appear roughly 50% of rooms in Oceanus. The +1 Chaos boon from the keepsake stacks with natural spawns — you'll average 2-3 Chaos boons per Oceanus.

Zone 3 (Fields of Mourning): Switch to defensive keepsake — Cerberus Collar (+health) or Arachne's Keepsake (+armor per chamber). Enemies hit hardest here; glass cannon builds that worked in Erebus get one-shot.

Tartarus (Zone 4): Switch to Knucklebone of Moros if you have Thanatos's favor active (bonus damage <50% HP enemies). Otherwise Knucklebone of Charon (bonus damage to armor).

Chronos fight: The exact keepsake depends on your build, but do NOT bring a god keepsake to Chronos — you won't find boons in the boss room. Combat keepsakes only.

Every keepsake ranked

S-Tier (always worth the swap):

  • Zeus Keepsake (Thunder Signet): Guaranteed Zeus boon next room. Zeus attack boon alone is +35% DPS on fast weapons. Best opening keepsake in the game.

  • Hestia Keepsake (Ever-Burning Ember): Guaranteed Hestia boon. Hestia attack turns any weapon into a scorch-applying machine. Scorch builds start here.
  • Chaos Keepsake (Cosmic Egg): +1 Chaos boon in first gate entered. Chaos boons last the entire run. +40% attack damage from one Chaos boon is not unusual.
  • Arachne's Keepsake (Silken Sash): +5 armor per chamber cleared. By Chronos, this is 50+ armor. Armor absorbs health damage 1:1 — functionally 50+ extra HP.

A-Tier (strong, situation-dependent):

  • Cerberus Collar: +50 starting health, +5 per chamber. +100 health by Chronos. Best pure defensive option.
  • Knucklebone of Moros: +25% damage to enemies below 50% HP. Makes boss phase 2 melt.
  • Knucklebone of Charon: +30% damage to armor. Crucial for high-Fear runs where everything has armor.
  • Demeter Keepsake (Frost Crown): Guaranteed Demeter boon. Freeze is the best defensive boon in the game.

B-Tier (niche but good):

  • Aphrodite Keepsake: Guaranteed Aphrodite boon. Weak is good but not as universally applicable as Zeus/Hestia.
  • Apollo Keepsake: Guaranteed Apollo boon. Daze is strong on slow weapons (axe, skull).
  • Hephaestus Keepsake: Guaranteed Hephaestus boon. Blast damage doesn't scale as well as flat damage into late game.
  • Hermes Keepsake: +10% dodge +10% move speed permanently. Solid but boring.

C-Tier (skip unless specific build):

  • Artemis Keepsake: Guaranteed Artemis boon. Crit builds are RNG-reliant. Better as a 2nd or 3rd keepsake swap than opener.
  • Selene Keepsake: Hex upgrades are weak compared to boon consistency.
  • Hecate Keepsake: Mana regen is almost never a bottleneck.

D-Tier (don't use):

  • Skeleton Key: +1 reroll at Wretched Broker. One extra reroll is meaningless.
  • Lucky Tooth: One extra death defiance. If you need this, your build is wrong — fix the build, not the keepsake.

Companions (animal familiars)

Erebus: Rib (the frog) — 30 HP heal, short cooldown. Best sustain familiar. Use it. Oceanus: Frinos — armor shred on grouped enemies, essential for armored crab rooms. Fields of Mourning: Toula — critical strike buff stacks with Artemis boons for 70%+ crit rate. Tartarus: Raki — backstab damage shreds armored mobs. Chronos: Rib — survivability beats damage.

Upgrade priority: Zeus Keepsake → rank 3 first (guaranteed Epic+ rarity on boon). Hestia Keepsake → rank 3. Arachne's Keepsake → rank 3 (+8 armor/chamber instead of +5). Max one keepsake before spreading upgrades. Rank 3 matters; ranks 4-5 are marginal.

Keepsake upgrade material: Star Dust from Wretched Broker (80 Bones each). Complete Prophecies in bulk — they're the best source. Do NOT buy Star Dust with Obol at Charon's shop — extremely inefficient.