The top-tier keepsakes in Hades II are Olympian god keepsakes (Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Hestia), Luckier Tooth for survivability, Silver Wheel for Magick regeneration, and Transcendent Embryo for free Chaos boons. These keepsakes offer the most consistent power boosts and help control RNG by guaranteeing specific boon types. For beginners, start with Luckier Tooth (free death defiance) or any god keepsake to build your desired synergies.
| Keepsake Category | Best Options | Primary Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| God Keepsakes | Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Hestia | Guaranteed boons + rarity boost |
| Survivability | Luckier Tooth, Silver Wheel | Death defiance + Magick regen |
| Chaos/Special | Transcendent Embryo | Free Chaos boons |
| Boss Fights | Knuckle Bones | Reduced boss damage |
Keepsakes are powerful trinkets that fundamentally shape your runs in Hades II. Unlike the first game where Zagreus collected these items, Princess Melinoë obtains keepsakes by gifting Nectar to various characters she encounters throughout her journey to defeat Chronos, the Titan of Time.
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These aren't just minor buffs—keepsakes can determine whether you're building a devastating Scorch setup with Hephaestus or a defensive Deflect build with Athena. They're the cornerstone of consistent, powerful runs that let you progress through the game's increasingly challenging regions.
Before embarking on a run from the Crossroads, you'll access the keepsake display case in the Training Grounds. Here's what you need to know:
Core Mechanics:
Important Rule: If you unequip a keepsake mid-run, you cannot re-equip it during that same attempt. Choose wisely when making switches between regions!
To unlock the ability to swap keepsakes between regions, you'll need to unlock the Kindred Keepsakes Incantation at the Crossroads. This quality-of-life upgrade is essential for advanced strategies.
The process of unlocking keepsakes is straightforward but requires strategic resource management:
Nectar is a valuable resource in Hades II, especially in early game, so prioritize characters whose keepsakes align with your preferred playstyle. You'll find Nectar by:
Some characters offer even more powerful legendary keepsakes, but these require deeper relationships:
These legendary keepsakes typically summon the character to aid you in combat, offering game-changing abilities during critical moments.
After analyzing hundreds of runs and community feedback from the official Supergiant Games Discord and Reddit communities, here's the definitive tier list for Hades II keepsakes in October 2025.
These keepsakes offer unparalleled consistency and power, making them essential for both casual and high-Fear runs.
Why S-Tier: All Olympian god keepsakes (except Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, and Hermes) function identically with different god pools. They guarantee you'll receive a boon from that specific god in your next boon encounter, completely eliminating RNG from your build planning.
Additionally, these keepsakes offer a "Rarify" option that increases Common boons to Rare, Rare to Epic, and Epic to Heroic. At Rank 1, you can rarify Common boons; Rank 2 works on Common and Rare; Rank 3 affects all rarities except Heroic.
Pro Strategy: Equip a god keepsake in the first region (Erebus) to force their core boon early, then switch to a different god in the second region (Oceanus) to guarantee their boon and unlock powerful duo boon synergies.
Best God Choices:
Effect: Receive a random Chaos boon after every few encounters (frequency increases with rank)
Why S-Tier: Chaos boons are among the most powerful effects in the game, offering massive percentage increases to your damage, survivability, or utility. The Transcendent Embryo gives you these for free without visiting Chaos Gates, saving you the health cost and ensuring you get multiple Chaos boons per run. There's literally no downside—equip this whenever you're not forcing specific god boons.
Best Region to Use: First region (Erebus) to stack Chaos boons early, or third region (Mourning Fields) if you've already secured your core build.
Effect: Automatically restore 51 Life when you reach 0 Life, once per run (amount increases with rank)
Why S-Tier: This is essentially a free Death Defiance, and in a roguelike where one mistake can end your run, having an extra life is invaluable. Unlike the Engraved Pin (Moros), which only activates after clearing all foes in a location, the Luckier Tooth triggers immediately upon death—crucial for boss fights where you might die mid-battle.
Best Use: Keep this equipped during challenging Guardian fights, especially when learning boss patterns or attempting high-Fear runs.
Effect: Restore Magick over 3 seconds after using it, up to 1,000 total Magick per run (increases with rank)
Why A-Tier: Omega moves are the heart of Hades II's combat system, and the Silver Wheel ensures you can spam them consistently. This is particularly powerful for builds that rely heavily on Omega casts or special attacks. The 1,000 Magick limit might seem restrictive, but in practice, it's enough to carry you through most runs.
Best Builds: Omega-focused builds, Cast-heavy strategies, or when using weapons like the Moonstone Axe that benefit from frequent Omega moves.
Effect: Restore more Life from fountains between regions + next Common boon is upgraded in rarity
Why A-Tier: The increased fountain healing is underrated—it can be the difference between entering a Guardian fight at full health or limping in at 50%. The boon rarity upgrade is a nice bonus that helps improve your build's power curve.
Best Use: Equip this before reaching fountain rooms if you're low on health, or in the first region if you want an early rarity boost.
Effect: Small chance to receive an additional random boon when gaining a boon (chance increases with rank)
Why A-Tier: Getting two boons for the price of one is incredible value, but the random nature means you might get stuck with unwanted boons that force you into suboptimal choices. The nightmare scenario: you have a perfectly curated build, then Concave Stone forces you to take a boon that conflicts with your core strategy.
Best Strategy: Use this early in runs to quickly fill out your boon slots, then switch it out once your build direction is established.
Effect: Guarantee your next Daedalus Hammer encounter
Why A-Tier: Daedalus Hammers fundamentally transform your weapon, often making or breaking builds. Getting an extra hammer—especially before the final boss—can provide the power spike needed to secure victory. The Experimental Hammer essentially gives you three hammers per run instead of two.
Best Use: Equip this in the final region (Tartarus) right before facing Chronos to get that crucial third hammer upgrade.
Effect: Next Guardian loses 5% Life + you take 15% less damage from Guardians
Why B-Tier: This is a straightforward "make bosses easier" keepsake. The damage reduction helps you learn boss patterns, and shaving 5% off their health adds up over a long fight. However, experienced players who can already avoid most boss attacks won't find this as valuable as other options.
Best For: Players still learning Guardian patterns or attempting difficult boss-focused challenges.
Effect: Start with 100 Gold Crowns
Why B-Tier: While 100 gold sounds nice, you're at the mercy of RNG regarding what Charon's shops actually offer. Sometimes you'll find amazing boons or life-saving items; other times, you'll see nothing useful. The inconsistency makes this less reliable than other B-tier options.
Best Use: Early game when you desperately need that first shop purchase, or when combined with economy-focused builds.
Effect: Gain Armor at the start of runs + gain more Armor after each location (only while you have at least 1 Armor remaining)
Why B-Tier: The catch here is brutal—if you lose all your Armor at any point, the keepsake stops working for the rest of the run. This forces extremely defensive play and punishes single mistakes. However, if you can maintain your Armor, it snowballs into massive tankiness.
Combo Strategy: Pair this with Arachne's Silken Armor boons (like Fuchsia Dress for +100% Cast damage) to create armor-focused builds.
Effect: After taking 250+ damage, your Omega moves gain increased damage
Why B-Tier: The requirement to take 250 damage before activation makes this awkward—you want to avoid damage, not seek it out. In high-Fear runs where enemies hit harder, reaching the threshold becomes even riskier.
Best Use: Omega-focused builds where you're confident you'll accumulate damage naturally over the course of a run.
Effect: Gain bonus Sprint speed + increased dash speed
Why B-Tier: Speed is useful for clearing rooms faster and dodging attacks, but it doesn't directly increase your damage output or survivability. This is more of a quality-of-life keepsake than a power-boosting one.
Best For: Speedrunners or players who prioritize mobility-based playstyles.
Effect: Start with high bonus damage that gradually decreases after each encounter
Why B-Tier: You'll lose over half the bonus damage by the time you reach the region's Guardian, making this a poor choice for boss fights. It's excellent for blitzing through early encounters quickly, but falls off hard in value.
Use Case: First region speedclears or if you're confident you can end the run quickly.
Effect: Activate two random Arcana cards
Why B-Tier: While there are no "bad" Arcana cards, getting two random ones rarely provides meaningful synergy with your build. You've already activated your four best Arcanas in your loadout, so these extras are just marginal bonuses.
Effect: Restore 50 Life after exiting each location (limited to 100 total healing per run)
Why C-Tier: The 100 Life cap is too restrictive for a full run, and you'd be better off taking Gold Purse to buy healing or Luckier Tooth for a death defiance. The one advantage: Ghost Onion still works even with Vow of Scars active, making it the only healing option in no-heal challenge runs.
Niche Use: Vow of Scars challenge runs where it's your only healing source.
Effect: Gain +20% critical chance when at 30 Life or below
Why C-Tier: Requiring low health to activate makes this a "win-more" keepsake—if you're already at 30 Life, you're likely in danger of dying. The critical boost can help you clutch out fights, but it's too risky for consistent use.
Best Combo: Pair with Ghost Onion to trigger White Antler deliberately, heal back up, then repeat.
Effect: Gain extra upgrade points for Selene's Hex skill tree
Why C-Tier: This keepsake is completely useless if you don't encounter Selene during your run. When it works, it's decent for Hex-focused builds, but the RNG dependency makes it unreliable.
Best Use: First region if you're building around Hex abilities and hoping for early Selene encounters.
Effect: Death Defiance that only triggers after clearing all enemies in a location
Why C-Tier: Luckier Tooth does the same thing but better—it activates immediately upon death, even during boss fights. The Engraved Pin's delayed trigger makes it far less useful in the situations where you actually need it.
Effect: Increased damage against the enemy that previously defeated you
Why C-Tier: This is purely a revenge tool for when you're stuck on a specific boss. Once you learn their patterns, the keepsake becomes obsolete.
Effect: Increase your damage output + enemies deal more damage to you
Why D-Tier: The absolute worst keepsake in Hades II. Your damage increase is minimal (+8% at max rank for a full region) while enemies become significantly more dangerous. The risk-reward ratio is completely lopsided.
Verdict: Never equip this unless you're attempting a meme challenge run.
Best Keepsakes:
Strategy: Use this region to establish your build foundation. God keepsakes ensure you get the exact boon you need to start your synergy (e.g., Zeus's Static Shock for fast-hitting weapons). Alternatively, Transcendent Embryo gives you free Chaos boons without the health cost.
Best Keepsakes:
Strategy: If you started with Zeus in Erebus, switch to Aphrodite to unlock powerful duo boons like Blinding Sprint. This is also where Silver Wheel shines for Magick-heavy builds.
Best Keepsakes:
Strategy: Focus on surviving the challenging enemies and the Guardian. Knuckle Bones helps you learn Hecate's patterns while reducing incoming damage.
Best Keepsakes:
Strategy: Equip Experimental Hammer before the final encounters to get that crucial third Daedalus Hammer upgrade. Save Luckier Tooth specifically for the Chronos fight—it can save your entire run when he enters his brutal second phase.
Keepsakes automatically rank up based on encounters cleared while equipped:
Important: You don't need to clear 25 encounters in a single run—progress carries over across all runs. This means your most-used keepsakes will naturally reach Rank 3 over time.
The duo boon Cherished Heirloom (Demeter + Hera) upgrades all your equipped keepsakes to Rank 4 (Heroic). This unlocks even more powerful effects and makes god keepsakes' Rarify option work on Heroic boons. If you're running a god keepsake, actively seek out this duo boon for maximum power.
Cast-Focused Builds:
Omega Move Builds:
High-Risk Glass Cannon Builds:
Defensive/Learning Builds:
Don't waste the regional swapping system! After defeating each Guardian, take a moment at the keepsake case to evaluate your build and switch accordingly.
The random second boon can destroy carefully crafted builds. Switch out of Concave Stone once you've established your core synergies.
Unless you're specifically running Vow of Scars, Luckier Tooth is almost always the superior survivability option.
You won't accumulate enough damage to activate it in the first region. Save this for later regions if you're committed to Omega builds.
Always check if you can Rarify boons when using god keepsakes—the power difference between Common and Rare can be game-changing.
Want to dive deeper into Hades II strategies and stay updated with the latest meta shifts? Join these communities:
These communities are invaluable for staying current with the meta, especially after major updates that rebalance keepsakes and boons.
Yes, but only between regions after defeating a Guardian. You'll need to unlock the Kindred Keepsakes Incantation first. Important: if you remove a keepsake, you cannot re-equip it during that same run.
Start by unlocking Luckier Tooth from Schelemeus (the practice guardian in the Training Grounds). It's available immediately and provides a free death defiance. Next, focus on god keepsakes that match your preferred playstyle—Zeus for general-purpose builds, Hestia for Scorch builds, or Hera for Cast builds.
Yes! All keepsakes function regardless of which Nocturnal Arm or weapon aspect you're using. However, certain keepsakes synergize better with specific weapons—for example, Silver Wheel pairs beautifully with Magick-intensive aspects.
Keepsakes gain experience based on encounters cleared while equipped, not time spent. To rank up quickly, equip the same keepsake for multiple full runs. Progress carries over between runs, so you'll eventually hit Rank 3 even if you switch keepsakes frequently.
Nothing! Keepsakes are permanent unlocks. Once you've obtained a keepsake by gifting Nectar, it remains in your collection forever and can be equipped in any future run.
Absolutely, especially in the final region before Chronos. That third Daedalus Hammer can provide the power spike needed to overcome his two-phase boss fight. Hammer upgrades fundamentally alter your weapon's capabilities, making this keepsake incredibly valuable.
Focus on characters whose keepsakes fit your playstyle first. God keepsakes are universally useful, while specialized keepsakes like Moon Beam only benefit specific builds. Nectar is limited early on, so prioritize accordingly.
Yes, but only with the Cherished Heirloom duo boon (Demeter + Hera). This upgrades your keepsake to Rank 4 (Heroic), providing even stronger effects. Without this boon, Rank 3 is the maximum.
No, keepsakes don't directly impact Fear levels or Pact of Punishment modifiers. However, strong keepsakes make high-Fear runs more manageable by providing consistent power and survivability.
God keepsakes only guarantee one boon per run, not per region. After you receive your first guaranteed boon from that god, the keepsake still increases the chance of seeing their boons and allows you to Rarify them, but it won't force another guaranteed encounter.
Keepsakes are one of the most impactful systems in Hades II, transforming how you approach each run. By understanding which keepsakes excel in different situations and learning when to swap them between regions, you'll dramatically increase your success rate—especially in high-Fear challenges.
Key Takeaways: ✓ God keepsakes offer the most consistency for build-crafting ✓ Luckier Tooth is the best survivability option for both beginners and experts ✓ Transcendent Embryo provides free power with zero downsides ✓ Regional swapping is essential—don't forget to use it ✓ Rank up your favorite keepsakes through repeated use
Remember, Hades II is about experimentation and discovery. While this tier list provides a strong framework, the "best" keepsake is ultimately the one that fits your playstyle and current build. Don't be afraid to try unconventional combinations—some of the most powerful strategies come from unexpected synergies.
Bookmark this guide and check back regularly as we update it with new strategies following balance patches and meta shifts. The journey through the Underworld is ever-evolving, just like Melinoë's arsenal of mystical keepsakes.
May the moonlight guide your path, and may Chronos fall before your might!