Zagreus travels between Chambers in the Underworld which contain enemy Encounters or non-combat meetings with other characters. The reward for each chamber is visible on its entrance door, and is obtained after clearing the chamber. A total number of 73 chambers may be encountered in a run.
Boss Chamber Number (without Chaos rooms and troves):
- Tartarus Boss: 14
- Asphodel Boss: 24
- Elysium Boss: 36
Encounters[ | ]
| “ | The dangerous kind. Underworld chambers where you must slay your foes to proceed. | „ |
Most of the Chambers during an escape attempt will be Encounters with waves of enemies. Once all waves of enemies have been defeated, the room's reward will appear for Zagreus to collect, and entrance doors to the next chamber(s) will unlock.
Some encounters are more difficult than others, denoted by a skull underneath the reward symbol on the room's door. These are encounters with increased rewards such as double Darkness rooms, Trial of the Gods, and mini-boss / boss encounters.
All normal encounters have a chance of spawning an Infernal Trove, Well of Charon, Pool of Purging, Chaos Gate, or Infernal Gate, which will open after the reward has been collected. Some of these can be forcefully spawned in with items from the Well of Charon.
Rewards[ | ]
Chamber rewards are denoted on their entrance door by a symbol surrounded by an either blue or yellow laurel wreath. Blue Laurels accompany persistent resources (Keys, Darkness, Gemstone, and Nectar) that can be traded or used to unlock new weapons, power up the Mirror of Night, or earn Keepsakes. Gold Laurels represent rewards that impact the current run, such as Obols, Boons, and Centaur Hearts.
The presence of a skull symbol on a room reward indicates increased difficulty and enhanced rewards. Persistent rewards and Pom strength are doubled, while Boons are more likely to be of higher rarity.
Spending a Fated Authority will reroll an upcoming room reward with one from the same pool, e.g. a Boon can replace a Daedalus Hammer, but not Gemstones. NPC Encounters, Charon's Shop, and Bosses cannot be re-rolled.
| Blue Laurels | |
|---|---|
| Reward | Effect |
| Gain 10 Darkness.
(For purchasing Mirror of Night upgrades.) | |
| Gain 1 Chthonic Key.
(For unlocking Infernal Arms and reseting Mirror of Night upgrades.) | |
| Gain 5 Gemstones.
(For House Contractor renovations.) | |
| Adds 1 Nectar to the player's inventory.
(For gifting to friendly Characters.) | |
| Yellow Laurels | |
|---|---|
| Reward | Effect |
| Upgrades Zagreus in a variety of ways, including augmenting his Attack, Special, Cast, Dash, and Aid abilities. | |
| Increases your maximum health by 25. | |
| Adds 100 Obols to the player's inventory. | |
| Upgrades an aspect of Zagreus' weapon. | |
| Increases the effectiveness of an existing Boon. | |
Unique Encounters[ | ]
There are also some unique encounters you may find in your travels. Most unique encounters are specific to certain biomes, and are typically mini-boss or boss encounters. More information for all of these encounters can be found on the specific biome pages.
Tartarus[ | ]
Tartarus features one mini-boss encounter which pits Zagreus against 2 armored Bloodless such as Slam Dancers or Inferno Bombers, a Doomstone, or a Wretched Sneak.
It also features three potential boss encounters: The Furies - Megaera, Alecto, and Tisiphone. Each of them has their own unique chamber to fight in, but only one will appear per run.
Asphodel[ | ]
Asphodel features three mini-boss encounters: The Megagorgon chamber, the Witches' Circle chamber, and the Barge of Death encounter (previously named the River Crossing chamber). In the first, Zagreus will fight a Megagorgon (an enemy exclusive to this encounter) and an Elite Skull-Crusher. In the second, he will fight five special Elite Spreaders. In the third, Zagreus will fight waves of enemies protected by Voidstones as he crosses the river of fire beneath him.
It features only one boss encounter, the Lernaean Bone Hydra, which has its own unique chamber.
Elysium[ | ]
Elysium also features two mini-boss encounters: The Elite Soul Catcher chamber and the Asterius arena chamber. In both of these chambers, Zagreus will have to fight either an Elite Soul Catcher, as well as any reinforcements it has, or Asterius (The Minotaur), respectively.
Elysium features only one boss encounter, which is Theseus' Arena, where Zagreus will fight both Theseus and Asterius. Like all other boss encounters, it has its own unique chamber.
Other Unique Encounters[ | ]
Thanatos[ | ]
After encountering him for the first time in Elysium, Thanatos has the ability to appear in a chamber, changing it drastically. In a Thanatos chamber, there will be an increased number of enemies, and Thanatos will help the player clear the room. If the player manages to score as many (or more) kills than Thanatos, he will reward the player with a Centaur Heart at the end of the chamber, in addition to the chamber's reward. If the player fails to score more kills, there is no extra penalty, besides some slightly disapproving commentary from Thanatos.
Thanatos can appear in any room which is not already a unique encounter or chamber. He can only appear once per run and is not guaranteed to appear every run. He can also be gifted Nectar or Ambrosia after the encounter, before he leaves.
Trial of the Gods[ | ]
A Trial is denoted by a pair of boons along with a skull marker indicating a difficult room. Two boons are offered and Zagreus must choose one over the other. The spurned god becomes displeased and summons waves of enemies, as well as an effect unique to each god.
After completing the Trial, the spurned god forgives Zagreus and offers their boon. There is no penalty or advantage for spurning either god.
Survival[ | ]
Exclusive to Tartarus, occasionally Hades will change a standard encounter into a survival encounter. In a survival encounter, Zagreus must survive for 45 seconds against increasing numbers of enemies, which are spawned constantly instead of in waves. After 45 seconds, Hades himself will destroy every spawned enemy, and the room's reward will spawn. Although you are not required to kill any of the enemies that spawn, it is recommended that you do. Enemies will still drop Obols, and rooms may be too cramped to easily avoid damage if there are lots of enemies.
The mandatory 45 seconds of a survival encounter are not counted towards the total time of the run. However, survival encounters are disabled when the Pact of Punishment condition Tight Deadline is enabled.
Erebus[ | ]
Erebus encounters can only be found by using Infernal Gates. In an Erebus encounter, waves of enemies will spawn in a unique room. Zagreus is challenged to defeat all the waves of enemies without being hit once. If he is successful, he is rewarded with the Infernal Gate's reward, which is always an amplified reward (a god boon of increased rarity, a Pom of Power that upgrades by two levels instead of one, double obols, or a double max health drop). If he fails, the reward will be replaced with a Red Onion, which heals one Health when taken. Regardless of the outcome, three exit gates will spawn, leading Zagreus back to the biome he was currently in.
Other Chambers[ | ]
Not all chambers are Encounters specifically. There are several rarer chambers in the Underworld that can offer brief respite, which lack enemies. These rooms still offer rewards to the player. It is important to note that all non-combat chambers do not count towards items and boons timed around Encounters, such as Chaos boon debuffs or consumable items. (The only exceptions are HydraLite and HydraLite Gold, which will activate and be consumed as if it were an Encounter.)
Non-Encounter chambers cannot spawn Infernal Troves, Wells of Charon, Pools of Purging, Chaos Gates, or Infernal Gate (with a couple exceptions detailed below).
Charon[ | ]
The most common type of combat-free chamber are the shops run by Charon. Charon's shops are denoted by his special symbol (a bag of his coins). In it, Zagreus will meet Charon, who will always be selling three random rewards. Charon can be gifted with Nectar.
Free Room[ | ]
Free rooms can be found if the player chooses the alternative door to Charon before a boss chamber. If so, they will enter the same chamber that Charon would have spawned in, but instead of Charon appearing, the reward of that room will simply appear in the center of the room for Zagreus to take.
Free rooms also spawn as the first chamber of each biome (with the exception of Tartarus, as its first room has enemies in it). However, these free rooms do not offer rewards, and only offer passageway to the next chamber. These specific opening free rooms can also spawn Chaos Gates and Infernal Gates. When in Asphodel, the player cannot choose where to go, for there is only one option. In Elysium, however, there are generally two options.
It has also been noted that the two encounters found when entering Elysium have a much higher chance of spawning a Daedalus Hammer.
Fountains[ | ]
Fountain rooms can be found in any biome. When encountered, the reward for the room will be sitting near a large fountain. After Zagreus collects the room's reward (which can be any reward offered by a combat encounter), he must then drink from the fountain to open the room's exit gates. Drinking from the fountain restores a percentage of your health. (You must drink from the fountain even if you are at max health, or if it would offer you no health due to the Pact of Punishment.)
Stairways[ | ]
Stairway chambers spawn after boss chambers, and separate two separate biomes. Stairway chambers will always contain a fountain which heals a percentage of your health. After using the fountain, a Well of Charon and Pool of Purging will unlock in the shop, as well as a Keepsake Cabinet, allowing you to swap to a different keepsake for the next biome.
NPC Chambers[ | ]
Some biomes have various NPC chambers which can be found while exploring. Currently, there are three NPC chambers in Hades: Sisyphus, Eurydice, and Patroclus. Sisyphus can only be found in Tartarus, Eurydice in Asphodel, and Patroclus in Elysium. Each chamber can be encountered in a run, but each chamber can only be encountered one time in a run. For more detail on what these chambers offer, visit their NPC's respective pages.
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