Oath of the Unseen

Pact of Punishment (Hades)Oath of the Unseen (Hades II)

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This article contains detailed information about Hades or Hades II that may spoil your enjoyment of discovering the game's secrets for yourself.
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The Oath of the Unseen in the Training Ground

“

The Oath of the Unseen, I think it's called. Ask me not whence it came... instead ask just how tough you really are!

„

~ Schelemeus

The Oath of the Unseen and its Vows were created by Nyx (with Schelemeus claiming partial credit), using it and enacting its testaments further spreads and deepens Nyx's influence on the world, plunging it deeper into her darkness. The Oath of the Unseen will only appear after Chronos is defeated at least once, and Melinoë has claimed her short-lived victory. When she inevitably retreats to The Crossroads, the Oath of the Unseen is enshrined in the Training Ground, positioned between the Gateways to the Underworld route and the Surface route, enabling Melinoë to customize her Fear before departing.

In-game info[]

Salutations! You are worthy of the Oath of the Unseen, and may now enact the Testaments of Night, if you dare. Thus it is done:

Activate various Vows to raise Fear, a ameasure of adversity.
Then, pursue the marked Guardian using the specified weapon.
Prevail, and earn Nightmare for upgrades in the Silver Pool.

Many Vows can be intensified to raise Fear even more, though you are also free to rescind any Vows without consequence. Your continued service to the realm is appreciated either way.

Hint: Enact available Testaments to reveal more. If one proves to be a struggle, you may switch weapons to attempt another!

Vows[]

The Oath of the Unseen features a total of 16 different Vows which can affect a run. Most of these have differing levels, allowing Melinoë to further increase how effective one Vow is.

Each Vow in the Oath of the Unseen is worth a certain amount of Fear. The amount of Fear displayed in the gauge on the bottom of the Oath's UI represents the "total difficulty" of the vows chosen.

Choose your Vow(s) for a run carefully. Many of the Vows can be nearly ineffective against one particular weapon build, but extremely difficult to another, yet can also run into unexpected difficulties (or lack thereof) based upon a run's Boons.

Vows can be temporarily removed for a night using Circe’s Black Night Banishment. This can significantly reduce difficulty without lowering the total Fear value, making it particularly useful for achieving the Fear thresholds required for the Testaments of Night and The Night's Champion. However, some Vows have unique interactions when removed.

Vow	Description	Ranks	Fear Total	Notes
Vow of Pain	All foes deal +20%/+60%/+100% damage. "Upon this night I writhe, that Fear may spread."	1 2 2	5	Enemies affected by Night Bloom and Sun Worshiper also come under the effects of Vow of Pain. The Vow synergizes with the Devotion upgrade.
Vow of Grit	All foes have +10%/+20%/+30% . "Upon this night my foes shall not fall readily, that Fear may spread."	1 1 1	3	Enemies affected by Night Bloom and Sun Worshiper also come under the effects of Vow of Grit.
Vow of Wards	All foes have 1/2 "Upon this night I strike to no avail, that Fear may spread."	1 1	2	Enemies affected by Night Bloom and Sun Worshiper also come under the effects of Vow of Wards.
Vow of Frenzy	All foes are +20%/+40% faster. "Upon this night I shall be set upon relentlessly, that Fear may spread."	3 3	6	Enemies affected by Night Bloom and Sun Worshiper also come under the effects of Vow of Frenzy. The Vow synergizes with the Rigor upgrade.
Vow of Hordes	Most encounters have +20%/+40%/+60% more foes. "Upon this night I shall be overwhelmed, that Fear may spread."	1 1 1	3
Vow of Menace	Most foes have a 10%/25% chance to be from the next Region (if there is one.) "Upon this night shall distant dangers come, that Fear may spread."	1 2	3
Vow of Return	Most slain foes have a +25%/+50% chance to become a Revenant. "Upon this night my foes shall rise again, that Fear may spread."	1 1	2	Revenant: After 5 Sec., this becomes the foe it came from, unless you collect it first.
Vow of Fangs	Most foes with Armor also have 1/2 random Perk(s). "Upon this night shall newfound terrors manifest, that Fear may spread."	2 3	5	(see Additional Information about Vow of Fangs.)
Vow of Scars	Any effects are 75%/50%/0% effective. "Upon this night my wounds shall never heal, that Fear may spread."	1 1 2	4	Even with Vow of Scars active—particularly at Rank III, where healing is normally fully disabled—several effects can bypass this restriction: Witch's Staff’s Vampiric Cataclysm Apollo's Self Healing Demeter's Plentiful Forage Dionysus' Bounce Back Circe's Old Herbal Remedy Well of Charon's Charity Bottle and Breath of Eros
Vow of Debt	All items that cost are +40%/+80% more expensive. "Upon this night I shall have naught to spare, that Fear may spread."	1 1	2	Vow of Debt affects all purchase from Charon's Shops, Well of Charon, Shrine of Hermes, and Nemesis' Fair Trade.
Vow of Shadow	All Encounters with Wardens contain no fewer than 1 Shadow Servant(s). "Upon this night shall shadows multiply, that Fear may spread."	2	2	Shadow Servant(s): Dangerous apparitions reinforcing the Warden you may be facing each time. (see Additional Information about Vow of Shadow.)
Vow of Forfeit	The first 1 Boon(s) in each Region become instead. "Upon this night shall favors turn to tears, that Fear may spread."	3	3	Vow of Forfeit transfroms the first encounter's Major Find (, ) into a , However, the Olympian Keepsakes abilities will still prioritize Boons during the second Major Find if you avoid choosing a Boon during the first Major Find where the Keepsake effect applies. Vow of Forfeit only affects Boons obtained as Location rewards. Boon and Mystery Boon purchased from the Charon's Shop and Shrine of Hermes, Boons from Family Dispute, and Gifts of the Moon are not affected.
Vow of Time	You have 09:00/07:00/05:00 to fight through each Region (or else...). "Upon this night there shall be not a moment's peace, that Fear may spread."	1 2 3	6	After the time runs out, Melinoë takes 5 every second while the timer is running. That damage cannot be reduced in any way, not even by invulnerability. When Melinoë enters a new biome, Vow of Time will add the stipulated duration to the timer. (see Additional Information about Vow of Time.)
Vow of Void	You have access to 60%/40%/20%/0% of your Grasp for your Arcana. "Upon this night shall my beliefs be gone, that Fear may spread."	1 1 1 2	5	Each rank of Vow of Void provides the following amount of Grasp (starting at 30 ): Rank I: 18 Rank II: 12 Rank III: 6 Rank IV: 0 When Circe's Black Night Banishment removes this Vow, it has no practical effect, as you have no access to the Altar of Ashes during the run.
Vow of Hubris	After you choose a Boon, Prime 3/6 for each Rarity greater than Common. "Upon this night shall my pride of gods fall short, that Fear may spread."	1 1	2	Vow of Hubris will Prime at the following rates: Rare: 3/6 Epic: 6/12 Heroic: 9/18 Legendary: 12/24 Duo: 12/24 Vow of Hubris only applies to the Boons of Olympian Gods. It does not affect Selene's Hex and the Path of Stars Bright and Sublime upgrades, and Chaos's Blessings. Purging a Boon through the Pool of Purging, or sacrificing one via King’s Ransom or Queen’s Ransom, does not remove accumulated Prime. When Circe's Black Night Banishment removes this Vow, any Prime already accumulated remains active. The removal only prevents future Boons from granting additional Prime.
Vow of Denial	After you choose a Boon, 2 unpicked blessings shall not appear again this night. "Upon this night shall blessings be withheld, that Fear may spread."	2	2	With careful planning, Vow of Denial can be advantageous by narrowing the pool of selectable Boons, increasing the likelihood of obtaining desirable ones. However, it does not affect the appearance rates of Legendary, Duo, or Infusion Boons, as they are separate from the regular boon pool. Be cautious about removing too many options from the same god, as this may result in only sacrifice options being available. When Circe's Black Night Banishment removes this Vow, Boons previously removed by Vow of Denial will still not reappear during the night.
Vow of Rivals	The Guardians of the first 1/2/3/4 Region(s) shall be stronger in various ways. "Upon this night shall adversaries rise, that Fear may spread."	2 3 3 4	12	The Vow of Rivals is not initially available and has various requirements to unlock it and all of its ranks: To unlock the first rank you must beat Hecate twice and Polyphemus once. Then speak to Hecate with a +1 in Erebus. After that, head to the Oath of the Unseen and activate it and it will unlock the Vow. To unlock the second rank you must defeat Hecate and Polyphemus with the Vow of Rivals activated, defeat Charybdis once and defeat Scylla and Eris three times. Once the requirements have been met activate the Cauldron to unlock the new Incantation. To unlock the third rank you must defeat Scylla and Eris with the Vow of Rivals activated and defeat Cerberus and Prometheus three times. Once the requirements have been met activate the Cauldron to unlock the new Incantation. To unlock the final rank you must defeat Ceberus and Prometheus with the Vow of Rivals activated and defeat Chronos and Typhon three times and achieve the True Ending. Once the requirements have been met activate the Cauldron to unlock the new Incantation.

Acceptance of Another Fate[]

Normally, re-randomizing the run's seed requires being defeated and returning to the Crossroads, as the Give Up button in the pause menu does not reset the seed. However, players can also alter their fate by offering a salutation to the Oath of the Unseen, allowing them to reseed without needing to lose a run. This enables randomizing rewards to aim for specific boons or upgrades to appear in the first few encounters, or qualifying the unseeded rule for speedrun categories.

To unlock the full potential of the Oath of the Unseen, Melinoë must complete the Incantation "Acceptance of Another Fate", which costs 7 , 7 , and 7 . This process demands a significant investment of both resources and game hours, as it requires:

Unlocking the Insight Into Offerings, Favored of All Keepsakes, and Spreading of Ashes Incantations
Defeating the Final Guardian of each route (Chronos and Typhon) seven times
Obtaining the second statue of the The Night's Champion, which entails completing the Underworld route at 16 Fear and Surface route at 12 Fear

Rewards[]

Testaments of Night[]

In the Oath of the Unseen menu, the left side displays Testament, representing the Guardian bounties that must be defeated. At the top of each card, a purple skull with a number indicates the required Fear level, while an icon at the bottom specifies the weapon Melinoë must wield. To initiate a run, you must equip the designated weapon and meet the required Fear level.

To increase the Fear level, select one or more Vows from the right side of the menu. For example, if a Polyphemus bounty requires Melinoë’s Sister Blades and a Fear level of 2, you must equip the Sister Blades and activate at least 2 Fear to proceed.

Guardian bounties remain locked until all prerequisites are met. If the correct weapon is not equipped or the necessary Fear level is not reached, the Testament will remain inactive.

Defeating an active Testament raises the Fear level requirement for future runs. All Guardians initially start with a Fear level of 1, but as Testaments are completed, some bounties will gradually demand higher Fear levels.

Each weapon has its own progression path, independent of other weapons. For instance, clearing all of the Witch's Staff Testaments does not contribute to progress for any other weapon’s Testaments.

Completing an active Testament rewards you with Nightmare, a material used to upgrade Melinoë’s Nocturnal Arms Aspects after casting Aspects of Night and Darkness. The amount of Nightmare received scales with the intensity of the bounty: 1 Nightmare when Fear requirement is 1-8; 2 Nightmare for 10-12 Fear; and 3 Nightmare for 16-20 Fear).

Weapon	Guardian
Weapon	1	2	4	8	10	12	16	20
Witch's Staff	Hecate	Scylla	Polyphemus	Eris	Cerberus	Prometheus	Chronos	Typhon
Sister Blades	Scylla	Polyphemus	Eris	Cerberus	Prometheus	Hecate	Typhon	Chronos
Umbral Flames	Eris	Cerberus	Prometheus	Hecate	Scylla	Polyphemus	Typhon	Chronos
Moonstone Axe	Polyphemus	Eris	Cerberus	Prometheus	Hecate	Scylla	Chronos	Typhon
Argent Skull	Cerberus	Prometheus	Hecate	Scylla	Polyphemus	Eris	Chronos	Typhon
Black Coat	Prometheus	Hecate	Scylla	Polyphemus	Eris	Cerberus	Typhon	Chronos

The Night's Champion[]

The trophy stands in the Training Ground

After meeting the following requirements:

Obtain the Oath of the Unseen and inspect it.
Complete the Underworld route 5 times or more.
Complete the Surface route at least once or more.

Schelemeus will introduce the Gift of the Veil, a reward bestowed by Night herself to honor her most devoted servants. He then challenges you to conquer both the Underworld and Surface routes at specific Fear thresholds (see below). Meeting these challenges unlocks special rewards from Schelemeus, found beneath the Gift of the Veil.

Stone statue (6 Surface + 8 Underworld): Behold Night's Champion
Silver statue (12 Surface + 16 Underworld): Mercy, Night's Executioner
Gold statue (24 Surface + 32 Underworld): Fear the Nightmare Bringer

These rewards, meant to symbolize eternal glory, turn out to be purely cosmetic statues of The Night's Champion. Each statue depicts Melinoë in her peak form, striking a heroic pose.

While impressive in design, they may evoke a mix of pride and embarrassment for Melinoë, especially when Schelemeus cheekily notes that these eternal glory are strictly non-returnable, ensuring they remain proudly—or awkwardly—displayed in the Crossroads's Training Ground.

Additional Information[]

Vow of Time[]

The timer will pause under the following conditions:

After defeating a region’s Guardian, including during the region’s resting areas and during World Map transitions between biomes.
In the first empty room of a region, except for the first area in Erebus and Mount Olympus if foes are present.
While inside a region’s Fountain room.
While inside Charon’s Shop.
While inspecting the City of Ephyra via the All-Seeing Bats.
While descending from the sky after using a Platform door in Mount Olympus.
During all NPC room encounters, including with Arachne, Narcissus, Echo, Hades, Medea, Circe, and Dionysus.
When certain NPCs, such as Artemis, Icarus, or Athena, are assisting in an encounter.
When Nemesis or Heracles provides a challenge within an encounter.
While choosing a Boon or upgrade.
While using Gathering Tools, except when gathering during an active encounter.
During cutscenes.
While the game is paused.

Vow of Fangs[]

Perk	Description	Notes
Bigger	The afflicted foe has 50% greater size and 20% increased health.
Bruiser	The afflicted foe deals double damage, and their attacks inflict stun (lasting 0.1 seconds with a 1.5-second cooldown.)	Cannot be combined with Burner.
Burner	The afflicted foe occasionally spews molten puddles that deal damage and cause environmental damage upon hitting the floor, similar to Hestia's Family Dispute.	Cannot be combined with Bruiser.
Burrower	The afflicted foe occasionally summons a large patch of vines that inflicts stun, similar to Root-Stalker.	Only occurs in Erebus and the Fields of Mourning.
Clanger	The afflicted foe is impervious until all other enemies in the wave/encounter are defeated.	Max 1 per wave. Cannot be combined with Spiller. Will not occur on Moon Monument.
Downer	The afflicted foe periodically summons clouds of Miasma, which significantly slow Melinoë upon contact, similar to traps and Queen Lamia in the Fields of Mourning.	The miasma is released when the enemy takes damage, with a 2-second cooldown.
Drainer	The afflicted foe emits an aura that drains -3 per second. The drained by Drainer does not count as actively used . As such, it does not contribute toward Hexes or trigger effects that rely on usage or thresholds.	Max 1 per wave. Can only occur on the following: Bloat-Shade, Sky-Dracon, Lurker, Lycaon, Eidolon, Satyr Vierophant, Wailer, and Anchor.
Morpher	The afflicted foe launches a seeking projectile that inflicts Morph, transforming Melinoë into harmless critters, similar to the Twilight Curse, though with a significantly shorter duration.	Max 1 per wave. Can only occur on the following: Bloat-Shade, Sky-Dracon, Lurker, Lycaon, Eidolon, Satyr Vierophant, Wailer, and Anchor.
Scraper	The afflicted foe's strike creates a Dash Trail that triggers a Time Rift, similar to Chronos's Dash Trail.	Can only occur on the following: Auto-Forcer, Wastrel, Bronzebeak, Wretched Thug, Boozer, Pinhead, Harpy Talon, Harpy Raptor, Lycaon, and Cutthroat.
Seeker	The afflicted foe's projectile is enchanted, homing in automatically on Melinoë.	Cannot be combined with Swifter. Can only occur on the following: Blight-Shade, Casket, Blasket, Satyr Hoplite, Satyr Goldpike, Auto-Seeker, and Sea-Serpent.
Shielder	The afflicted foe occasionally gives a 1-hit to nearby enemies, up to a max of 5.	Will not occur on Moon Monument.
Shifter	The afflicted foe occasionally teleports around from time to time.	Cannot be combined with Spinner.
Slicer	The afflicted foe unleashes a continuous beam that moves in a slow, circular motion, similar to Spindle.	Can only occur on the following: Thorn-Weeper, and Tombstone.
Spiller	The afflicted foe hides inside a dome of protective shadows of their own making, similar to Shadow-Spiller. They can only be damaged while Melinoë is inside its shadow barrier.	Max 1 per wave. Cannot be combined with Clanger.
Spinner	The afflicted foe summons a ring of three golden orb projectiles that orbit around them, similar to Chronos's Time Orb.	Cannot be combined with Shifter.
Stopper	When the afflicted foe dies, they will explode after a brief delay, creating a temporary time bubble. This bubble immobilizes everything within it, including both Melinoë and her enemies, for several seconds, similar to Tempus.	Only occurs in the City of Ephyra, Rift of Thessaly, and Mount Olympus. Will not occur on Moon Monument.
Sucker	The afflicted foe occasionally performs powerful long-range vacuum attacks that draw Melinoë into melee range.	Each hit of the vacuum attack, while dealing no damage, is treated as a separate hit. This interacts with Bruiser to inflict an extended stun duration. Cannot be combined with Swifter.
Swifter	The afflicted foe moves and attacks 50% faster.	Cannot be combined with Seeker or Sucker.
Thicker	The afflicted foe has 50% increased health.	Will not occur on Moon Monument.
Tougher	The afflicted foe gains immunity to staggering and stun effects, even if their Armor has been destroyed.

Vow of Shadow[]

Erebus[]

Warden	Shadow Servant(s)
Root-Stalker	Shadow Root-Stalker.
Shadow-Spiller	4 Shadow Wailers (replaces the Thorn-Weepers from the non-Vow encounter).

Oceanus[]

Warden	Shadow Servant(s)
Deep Serpent	Shadow Deep Serpent
"Uh-Oh"/King Vermin	2 Large Shadow Crawlers.
Hellifish	Shadow Hellifish.

Fields of Mourning[]

Warden	Shadow Servant(s)
Queen Lamia	1 Shadow Holeheart.
Phantom	1 Shadow Mourner.

Tartarus[]

Warden	Shadow Servant(s)
The Verminancer	1 Shadow Satyr Hoplite
Goldwrath	2 Shadow Goldwraths.

City of Ephyra[]

Warden	Shadow Servant(s)
Satyr Champion	Shadow Satyr Champion (replaces the Bronzebeaks from the non-Vow encounter).
Erymanthian Boar	3 Shadow Erymanthian Boar

Rift of Thessaly[]

Warden	Shadow Servant(s)
Charybdis	3 Shadow Anchors.
The Yargonaut	Shadow Yargonaut.

Mount Olympus[]

Warden	Shadow Servant(s)
Talos	1 Shadow Auto-Forcer 1 Shadow Auto-Watcher
Mega-Dracon	Shadow Mega-Dracon.

The Summit[]

Warden	Shadow Servant(s)
Spawn of Typhon	1 Shadow Horror.
Twins of Typhon	Shadow Headstones (replaces the regular Headstones from the non-Vow encounter).
Tail of Typhon	2 Shadow Land-Dracon.
Eye of Typhon	Shadow Eidolon (replaces the Polyps from the non-Vow encounter).

Vow of Rivals[]

The Vow of Rivals is the equivalent of Hades' Extreme Measures enhancing the Guardian fights by granting them new moves, extra phases or a new arena.