Hades

"Stupid boy. I told you nobody gets out of here, whether alive or dead. Though, how was your wanton ransacking of my domain?"

- Hades Hades is the god of the Underworld and of the mineral riches of the earth, the lord and master of the House of Hades, and the father of Zagreus. He is in charge of maintaining order within the Underworld, determining the placements and punishments of the dead, and hearing the petitions of shades that come before him.

Hades is stern, serious, and dedicated to his work. He is shown, in the Remembrances that play before some escape attempts, to have been strict and often cruel with Zagreus during his childhood. He employed Achilles to teach Zagreus fighting and give him more of a "firm direction in life". Meanwhile, Hades seems to have left much of the caretaking and raising of Zagreus to Nyx.

He is resentful of Zagreus' repeated attempts to escape the Underworld and greets his returns with scorn and mockery. Additionally, he will sometimes order shades to congregate near Zagreus in order to punish him (time trials). He berates Zagreus upon the prince managing to progress from Tartarus to Asphodel, from Asphodel to Elysium, and finally from Elysium to the Temple of Styx. After Zagreus successfully bribes Cerberus with a Satyr Sack to let him by without violence, Hades realizes that he needs to become personally involved and heads off Zagreus at the snowy grounds on the living side of the Temple's archway, having donned his Helm of Darkness and brought the spear that is the basis for his symbol, Gigaros, to vanquish his son and banish him all the way back to the House. He is the final boss of the main game.

Affinity
Until the main story has been completed, Hades' affinity gauge will be locked at 1 heart. If given Nectar, there will be some brief dialogue, but he will not give any Keepsakes.

After the affinity gauge is unlocked and if Hades is given 2 Nectar in total, he will give the Sigil of the Dead.

It is advised to gift him a Nectar before the affinity gauge is unlocked, so only 1 more Nectar is required to obtain the Sigil of the Dead.

Hades' affinity gauge is maxed out at 5 hearts, requiring the gifting of 5 Nectar total. After the fifth Nectar is gifted and the bond is forged, Hades will return all 5 previously gifted Nectar to the player.

Favor
Hades' favor involves getting Persephone to return to the House of Hades. The affinity gauge will be unlocked when Hades expresses his gratefulness for bringing her back.

Codex entry
Unlock the complete Codex Entry by speaking to Hades after reaching the True Ending. This may require an indeterminate number of Escape attempts.

Quotes
"For quotes and dialogue regarding, please refer to /Quotes."

Combat
Hades has two phases, each with their own set of attacks and abilities. During the first phase, he will disappear and reappear if Zagreus uses a Call, removing all status effects. He will also summon wretches when his health is at 50% and 20%. His attacks are as follows:
 * Lunge: Hades moves towards Zagreus, lunging with his spear. At a lower health, he will throw two casts to the side before lunging.
 * Spin Attack: With a wide-reaching range, Hades will move towards Zagreus' position, swiping his spear in a circular motion.
 * Skull Cast: Similar to Zagreus' own bloodstone ability, he can shoot a skull-shaped cast at him with slight tracking. If it hits Zagreus, it will remain on him for several seconds before dislodging, giving him the Boiling Blood debuff, causing him to take +100% damage for the duration; if the skull is not destroyed within 5 seconds after missing or dislodging, it will detonate, creating a damaging wave with a large radius across the arena.

When he is brought to near death for the first time, he will pause for awhile as though defeated, before regaining his strength, refilling his health bar and starting his second phase by unleashing a damaging wave. This phase includes new attacks, as follows:


 * Swipe Combo: He makes 2 swipes with the spear, following up with a Spin Attack.
 * Brimstone Attack: He attacks with a Brimstone like laser that fires in three directions. When he is reduced below half health, it fires every direction instead.
 * Vase Summon: He summons vases distributed evenly around the arena. When a vase is broken by an attack (either Zagreus's or Hades's), it creates a small zone of green hands that stuns and damages Zagreus. This counts as a trap.

Extreme Measures
When Extreme Measures 4 is enabled in the Pact of Punishment, Hades gains new attacks and abilities, as well as a third phase. All Skull Casts that land on the field have an aura that slows Zagreus. During his first phase, he will summon minibosses from any of the first three regions (Doomstone, Wretched Sneak, Megagorgon, Skull-Crusher, Soul Catcher); like Hades, they can cloak into darkness before attacking Zagreus. During the second and third phase, a green vase will always be on the battlefield, no matter how many are shattered.

During the third phase, Hades covers the entire field in darkness, limiting visibility to the immediate area where Zagreus stands.

In addition to the pre-existing attacks that Hades has, the new attacks are as follows:
 * Double Spin Attack: Approaching Zagreus, Hades swings his spear in a wide-ranged circle twice.
 * Spear Throw: Hades launches his spear to the position Zagreus was last standing before sweeping across the arena to retrieve it. (similar to the Aspect of Achilles)
 * Swipe Combo: Can be followed up with either Spin Attack or Spear Throw.
 * Cerberus (2nd Phase): With HP below 50%, Cerberus is called onto the arena, stampeding with a raging quake that fills the arena with falling rocks.
 * Brimstone Pulse (2nd and 3rd Phase): During his Brimstone Attack, Hades releases two waves that pushes Zagreus away if too close.
 * Vase Healing (2nd and 3rd Phase): Remaining stationary, Hades draws in energy from random vases on the battlefield, slowly regenerating lost health.

Relationships
Zagreus: Hades has a bitter relationship with his son, considering him a disappointment. In the past, he had tried various methods to toughen Zagreus up and shape him according to his ideals. He is deeply displeased by Zagreus's attempts to escape. Upon Persephone's return and encouragement, their relationship softens somewhat, coming to something resembling a mutual respect, although Zagreus has yet to fully forgive his father, and Hades not expecting forgiveness for his actions. Hades eventually makes Zagreus' escape attempts an official job description to stress-test the Underworld's security.

Cerberus: Cerberus appears to be Hades's only genuine companion and reprieve from his endless work.

Nyx: Hades and Nyx manage the domain, they mostly tolerate and begrudgingly respect each other, though it seems that Hades holds some power over Nyx, as he controls the punishment of Titans and primordial gods. Nyx appears to have some kind of arrangement with Hades, to have avoided a similar fate for herself.

Persephone: Their relationship fell apart at some point in the past, partly due to the apparent still-birth of Zagreus. Persephone left the underworld, while Hades hid the truth about her to Zagreus and forbade all mention of her in the House.

Olympians: Hades once fought alongside his Olympian siblings to defeat the Titans. Nowadays, he has a low opinion of the Olympians, and has cut off communication with them. In particular he seems to resent his brother Zeus due to past quarrels (and, as is later revealed, the reason behind Persephone initially departing Olympus for the Underworld).