Supergiant Games delivers this roguelike action title based on dungeon dynamics with the most appealing of features. There are no save points, no life regeneration, and you will return to the beginning if you die. Yes, even if you are about to reach the end.
Keepsakes can make or break your run in Hades. Are you missing out on untapped potential?
Keepsakes are accessories that will unlock special effects for your entire game. I actually carry them all as tokens of my friendship with the Greek Gods. Don’t judge me.
This Hades Keepsakes guide dives into Hades and breaks down everything you need to know about Keepsakes.
Games Like Hades
|
|
|
|
4.6
|
4.1
|
4.2
|
TL;DR
You may have just got your first Nectar and simply can’t wait to give it to one of these Greek gods and creatures. Let alone read a thorough guide like this one.
Here’s a short bottom line for you:
- You will get the keepsakes by giving Nectar to the indicated character.
- The keepsakes are equipped in the Keepsake Collection of the courtyard or in the displays at the beginning of each zone.
- You will need help to re-equip an accessory you already have equipped in the same run. You will have to wait to return to the underworld.
- Keepsakes level up and improve their effect the more fights you pass with them equipped.
Hades Keepsakes Guide
Nectar
Keepsakes are a decisive element in Hades. With a bit of knowledge comes a lot of power.
The Hades game will give you these ancient items from supporting characters and gods. They all have something to give you.
They will only be available if you give them something first: Nectar.
You can get Nectar during your runs by
- Going through the nectar-specific doors
- Trading with the Wretched Broker back at the House of Hades.
The first time you give a nectar to a God, they will give you a keepsake. That keepsake will increase the chance of rarity from that specific God’s boons.
Olympian Keepsakes
Each of The Olympian gods has a Keepsake, and most of them have the same effect. So, when equipped, the next boon you find will be from the God whose keepsake you have equipped. It will also have a 10% increased chance of having a rare or better bonus.
Olympian Keepsakes are all about control. Picking the right keepsake at the right time means getting a critical buff at the perfect moment.
Remember, you can’t change out keepsakes between rooms. Once you select it, you’re locked in for that entire section.
Olympian keepsakes are all about creating a build. So if you’re looking for something specific, having one equipped is good. But often times it’s going to be more of a waste than anything else.
Suppose you’re looking for something particular, like a Zeus boon or a Dionysis boon, that will completely transform your build. In that case, it’s the perfect time to equip an Olympian Keepsake.
Keepsake Collection
The Keepsake collection is a glass chest in the armory. You’ll likely walk past it right before you leave the House of Hades. This is where all the keepsakes are stored.
You can actually upgrade the Keepsake Collection with gems. When upgraded, it will appear before every boss during your runs.
All Keepsakes in Hades
Hermes: Lambent Plume
The only Olympian God that’s different is Hermes Lambent Plume. Instead, Lambent Plume increases your dodge chance and movement speed each time you clear a room quickly. This is one of the stronger keepsakes, especially in the later parts of the game. So if you’re looking for extra dodge or move speed, consider picking up the Hermes Kepsake sooner rather than later.
Chaos: Cosmic Egg
The Olympian God Chaos will also give you a keepsake: Cosmic Egg. This keepsake will allow you to go into chaos gates without losing any health. When equipped with Cosmic Egg, Chaos blessings have a 20% chance to be rare or better.
Chaos boons are fantastic, but most of the time you’ll be able to sacrifice that little bit of health. So using this keepsake is a waste. For the most part, there are still better options out there.
Eurydice’s Evergreen Acorn, Sisyphus’ Shatter Shackle, and Patroclus’ Broken Spearpoint
Twins Eurydice, Sisyphus, and Patroclus also give you keepsakes. These are meant for a particular situation.
Sisyphus’ keepsake, the Shattered Shackle, gives your attack unique and casts an extra 40% damage while not empowered by any boons.
As you can imagine, this is very situational. Going into a run with zero boons is not recommended. This one can get if you’re looking for a challenge and want to try a completely off-the-rails build.
Eurydice’s keepsake Evergreen Acorn is fantastic. If you’re struggling with those fights in the final encounter. With Evergreen Acorn, you take 0 damage the first three times a foe hits you.
This is great for fights like Theseus and Hades. But remember it’s only active during the last encounter in an underworld region. This means most of them it is doing something for you only sometimes.
Patroclus’ keepsake is Broken Spearpoint. This one has a little bit of saving power. After taking damage, you become immune to other damage for one second. It refreshes after 7 seconds.
This means that you’re unlikely to get hit multiple times in quick succession. So if you’re prone to taking a lot of damage, Broken Spearpoint is for you. It’s not a top-tier keepsake, but it will get the job done.
Skelly: Lucky Tooth
If you’re looking for a bit of defense, Lucky Tooth is your guy. You get it from Skelly. This keepsake automatically restores up to 50 life when your life total is depleted. But, unfortunately, you can only use one per escape attempt.
This is basically another death defiance. However, instead of wasting death defiance, you will use Lucky Tooth. This could be good if you don’t have all of the Death Defiance unlocked.
This keepsake could give you more utility and a bit more defense, ultimately leading to longer runs.
Dusa: Harpy Feather Duster
The next keepsake comes from Dusa and it’s the Harpy Feather Duster. This one is great. Broken urns have a 5% chance of containing a healing item.
If you’re anything like me, you’re getting hit once or twice in a room, and there’s just no easy way to restore health. Harpy Feather Duster completely changes that dynamic. It allows you to get more utility out there in the rooms. It provides healing items that can keep you going in those tricky situations.
Orpheus: Distant Memory
The Orpheus keepsake, Distant Memory, increases your damage to distant foes by 10%.
It’s good, but it comes with a warning. You want to use a ranged weapon when using this keepsake. Still, the “distant foe” part of the tooltip is essential. Enemies that are even remotely close or mid-range to your character will not gain the additional damage from this keepsake.
Remember, if you’re going to use Distant Memory, do not keep your foes closer.
Megaera: Skull Earring
Megaera’s Keepsake, Skull Earring, is decent on paper but less in practice. With this keepsake, you deal increased damage at 30% health or less.
The problem with Skull Earring is that you have no actual way to control your health. We could easily keep ourselves at 30% or around 30% top off when we needed to.
Because there’s no easy way for us to fluctuate our health pool top off when we need to, this is a risky keepsake.
Hypnose: Chthonic Coin Purse
The next one is interesting: Chthonic Coin Purse. This comes from Hypnos and is pretty straightforward. Receive 100, 125, and 150 opals to spend as you please.
I was using this keepsake going into Elysium to get that extra bump of ovals I could spend with Charon.
This is one of those one-hit-wonder keepsakes. Unfortunately, you only get the benefit one time per escape. So make sure that if you go with the Chthonic Coin Purse, you will make the most out of your increased wealth.
Charon: Bone Hourglass
The Bone Hourglass, which you can obtain from Charon, will extend the effect of the Well of Charon items by a certain number of encounters based on the rank of the keepsake.
This is fantastic. Suppose you’re relying on Well of Charon items. In that case, I recommend the Bone Hourglass for beginning players who need more confidence in their builds. It will vastly improve your play-throughs almost every time.
Thanatos: Pierced Butterfly
If there’s one keepsake on this list you need to get, and you need to get good at right now, it’s the Pierced Butterfly. The Pierced Butterfly gives you 2% damage each time you clear an encounter without taking damage.
This is meant for ranged players, but you can use it to significantly affect melee. As long as you’re careful.
Nyx: Black Shawl
The next keepsake, Black Shawl, comes from Nyx. It rewards certain types of play styles in the game. For example, the Black Shawl increases your damage when you strike undamaged foes or foes from behind.
I’ll admit, I’m not the best at backstabbing enemies, but this is a fantastic keepsake if you are good at it and you want that extra 20%. This is about as much damage increase as you’re going to see from keepsakes, so keep that in mind.
Achilles: Myrmidon Bracer
Myrmidon Bracer, which you get from Achilles, holds a special place in my heart. It reduces the damage you take from enemy hits from the front but increases the damage you take from the back.
The damage reduction is much more significant than the damage amplifier, which makes this one of the better defensive items in the game.
The Myrmidon Bracer is responsible for my first completed run, and I highly recommend you get comfortable with it. Then, rank it up three times and use this in the last room of the game.
This is the go-to for me for most runs. Just keep the enemies in front of you, and you’ll see the benefits from the Myrmidon Brace here clear as day.
Cerberus: Old Spiked Collar
If you’re looking for a rock-solid keepsake, consider the Old Spiked Collar from Cerberus. You’ll gain 50 life points to your maximum life force when maxed out at rank three. And this is an excellent keepsake if you’re a beginning player looking for a little bit more pad and trying to extend your run.
Persephone: Pom Blossom
The Persephone keepsake, Pom Blossom, is one of the strongest in the game. After completing a certain number of encounters, one of your boons will randomly gain a level again.
This is one of the strongest keepsakes in the game, as it directly influences your damage or utility potential.
I’m not going to ruin how exactly you get this keepsake, but it is from Persephone, so stay persistent.
Hades: Sigil of the Dead
The final keepsake comes from the big dog himself, Hades, and it’s called the Sigil of the Dead. This keepsake transforms your call into Hades’ aid, which briefly makes you invisible and preemptively fills up your God gauge a certain amount at every encounter.
You can only unlock this keepsake by giving Hades’ Nectar, which is not an option that’s often available. So you keep an eye out to ensure that you’re always giving your Nectar to Hades when presented with the opportunity.
Calls are some of the most potent abilities in the game, and the added effect of making you invisible is fantastic. Consider the sigil of the dead if you’re looking for just a bit of oomph on your next run.
Which Keepsake is Worth Considering?
Over 20 characters are offering you a keepsake, but you only have 3 nectar, so who should you choose? After all, keepsakes don’t grow on trees. This guide section focuses on determining which Keepsakes is worth your time.
Cerberus’ Old Spiked Collar
The first keepsake we should take as a new player comes from the best boy in the underworld. That’s right; it’s your 3 headed 4, legged furry friend Cerberus.
This adorable monster is so cute we have to give him the first Nectar of our game regardless. Who’s a good boy?
But the item he gives you is also beneficial for new players. It increases your maximum health From 25 to about 35 to 50 at the max rank.
When you’re starting out, that’s a beneficial buff. Unfortunately, you’re probably going to get hit a lot, so having that little bit of extra health to rely on will help you get further as you learn. The primary enemy attacks and how to defeat them.
Sisyphus’ Shattered Shackle
The second keepsake you should get as a new player is the Shattered Shackle from Sisyphus.
I was hesitant about giving Sisyphus Nectar early on, which I regret because the Shattered Shackle is phenomenal. The Shattered Shackle will increase your base attack, special attack, and cast attack damage by a minimum of 40 % as long as there is no boon.
That means he is giving you free boons in those three slots without specific God abilities.
With the Shattered Shackle, all your attacks remain deadly, meaning that you could have a genuinely scary build going on by the time you reach Asheville.
Hypnos’ Chthonic Coin Purse and Skelly’s Lucky Tooth
The third keepsake is a toss-up between the Chthonic Coin Purse and Skelly’s Lucky Tooth. You’ll get the Chthonic Coin Purse from Hypnos, and I prefer it over the Lucky Tooth.
The Chthonic Coin Purse lets me do what I love most: farm resources. It gives you 100, 125, and 150 coins immediately in your run. So you can focus on getting dark gemstones wherever you need them early on instead of trying to accrue enough.
Generally, going to Charon’s shop is more worthwhile because I can choose what upgrade I want.
The Lucky Tooth is perfect as well. You get the Lucky Tooth by giving Skelly one Nectar. It restores 50, 70, or 100% of health.
In other words, it increases your early gain survivability. You’ll be getting hit a lot, so anything that will help you eke out that extra couple of rooms in your run will be a net positive.
Legendary Keepsakes (or Companions)
Battie, Megaera’s Companion
When you give five nectar to Megaera, she’ll task you with the quest of defeating the Furies. Once you’ve beaten the Furies several times, Meg will come to Zagreus in his room. That’s the right time to give her Ambrosia. In exchange, she will grant her companion Battie Keepsake.
Mort, Thanatos’ Companion
After six bottles of nectar, Thanatos will give you another quest. If you beat Thanatos in his little competition, give him Ambrosia, and he will give you companion Mort.
Rib, Skelly’s Companion
He will give you his quest once you’ve given him all the nectar. You also have to have unlocked three non-Zagreus aspects of weapons. Then, he’ll request that you kill him with the level 5 Zagreus aspect of the sword, which costs 5 Titan blood.
The next time you see him, you’ll be able to gift him, Ambrosia. In return, he’ll give you his keepsake.
Shady, Sisyphus’ Companion
When you give Sisyphus nectar the first time, he gives you the Shattered Shackle keepsake. Then after five bottles, he’ll give you his quest.
To complete this quest, you’ll have to do a bunch of talking, purchase a specific item from the House of Contractors, and then continue talking to other characters until the quest line is over. It’s the longest since you only get about one or two dialogues per run.
This one takes a long time, but it’s worth it. Once you’ve completed the quest, speak to him in Tartarus and give him Ambrosia to get Shady.
Fidi, Dusa’s Companon
When you give nectar to Dusa, she gives you the Harpy Feather Duster. After six bottles of nectar, she says that you need to do some lounge renovations through the House Contractor.
This will cost us a certain number of gems. Once you have unlocked 12 displays, Dusa will grant her legendary keepsake Fidi.
Antos, Achilles’ Companion
When you give Achiless the first bottle of Nectar, you will get the Myrmidon Bracer.
Once you have gifted him six bottles of Nectar, he will give you a quest Achilles wants to reunite with Patroclus. There’s a lot of different dialogue that goes back and forth between you and Achilles and between you and Patrick.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to gift him Ambrosia, then he’ll be able to visit Patrick. This is when he’ll grant you Antos.
FAQs
Question: How Much Nectar Does It Take To Unlock Keepsakes?
Answer: You just need one Nectar to unlock a keepsake. You can then improve it twice with two more Nectar.
Question: How Can I Give Nectar to Companions in Hades?
Answer: Before you can give Nectar to a character, you need to max out your relationship with them by interacting with them or giving them Ambrosia.
Question: Can I Equip More Than One Keepsake At The Same Time?
Answer: Sadly, no. Equipping more than one would undoubtedly break the game. You can only equip one keepsake at a time.
Parting Words
One of the most curious things about Hades is that besides being a roguelike, it has a subsystem that could be defined as a “dating sim lite”.
You can have deeper relationships and conversations with your favorite characters through a resource called Nectar. This relationship is not only for the love of being sociable with the Greeks. It also has its rewards: keepsakes.
Keepsakes are one aspect of the game that helps keep it fresh. Zag has the ability for you to experiment with the abilities the gods bestow upon him.
Thanks to keepsakes, you can customize from the start, and third, later in the game, the game gives you the ability to “re-roll” the skills a god gives you. This gives you a lot of control over your builds. The reality is that a build mainly with Ares’s abilities is very different from one with Athena’s. Looking for synergies and experimenting with combinations is as addictive and rewarding as progressing in the game.
Games Like Hades
|
|
|
|
|
4.6
|
4.1
|
4.2
|
- Indies With Great Accessibility Features - June 19, 2023
- Other Games Like Factorio - February 3, 2023
- Hades Keepsakes Guide: How to Get and Exploit Keepsakes - December 24, 2022