GamesRoguelikeHadesHades 2Hades 2 Arcana Cards explained and the best cards to useWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRoguelikeHadesHades 2Hades 2 Arcana Cards explained and the best cards to useWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Supergiant Games)
Using a good selection of Hades 2 Arcana Cards will massively boost Melinoe’s power with passive buffs and new abilities, helping your chances of success each night. You need to unlock cards at the Altar of Ashes in the Crossroads, but the system gets complicated when you have to factor in Melinoe’s Grasp level, forcing you to make tough choices about your build inHades 2. To help you understand how Arcana Cards work, which cards are best in Hades 2, and how you can upgrade them, I’ve laid out everything I know below.
How to unlock and activate Hades 2 Arcana Cards
(Image credit: Supergiant Games)
After finishing your first run in Hades 2,head to the Altar of Ashes at the entrance to the Crossroad’s training areaand here you can start unlocking Arcana Cards from the Altar menu.Arcana Cards cost varying amounts of Ashes and sometimes rare resources to unlock. Buying a card also reveals other cards in the adjacent spaces below and to the right, gradually filling out the entire 5x5 Arcana Card grid.
(Image credit: Supergiant Games)
Hades 2 guidesHades 2 tipsHades 2 charactersHades 2 weaponsHades 2 AspectsHades 2 Iron
Hades 2 guides
Hades 2 tipsHades 2 charactersHades 2 weaponsHades 2 AspectsHades 2 Iron
Hades 2 tipsHades 2 charactersHades 2 weaponsHades 2 AspectsHades 2 Iron
Additionally,some Arcana Cards cost 0 Grasp but will automatically activate if a specific condition is met instead– these are marked asAwakening Cardsand they’re usually pretty powerful. The Awakening conditions are based on the other Arcana Cards you activate (for example, one Awakening Card requires you to activate all five cards in a row while another activates only if the three cards surrounding it are also active), so you can try and build your deck to activate as many Awakening cards as possible, though you might end up with a less focused build.
Best Hades 2 Arcana Cards
(Image credit: Supergiant Games)
Now that you’ve grasped the basics of the Arcana Card system in Hades 2, it helps to know which cards are worth activating to boost Melinoe’s strength. Here are the Arcana Cards I’ve found to be best in Hades 2, thanks to the incredibly useful buffs or extra abilities they provide:
How to upgrade Arcana Cards with Moon Dust in Hades 2
(Image credit: Supergiant Games)
As you keep playing the game, you’ll eventually unlock the"Consecration of Ashes" Incantation at the Crossroads cauldron that grants the ability to upgrade your Arcana Cards with Moon Dust. I learned this Incantation from Hecate on my fifth time defeating her, and it requires these ingredients:
Cast the Incantation then head over to the Altar and follow the ‘Insights’ button prompt to switch to the upgrade mode.When you select a card, you can spend Moon Dust to increase its effectiveness, with higher-Grasp Arcana Cards generally requiring more Moon Dust to upgrade and sometimes rare resources.
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