Part 4

Hades Special Boons guide covering Zeus, Demeter, Dionysus, Aphrodite, and Ares. Learn how to best utilize Thunder Flourish, Frost Flourish, and more.

Zeus, Thunder Flourish

This boon adds a lightning bolt dealing 30 damage to your Special attack. It concentrates area-of-effect damage on primary targets and synergizes well with the Shield of Chaos, especially the Aspect of Zeus. You can place a lightning bolt dispenser in the middle of chambers or at choke points and then focus on your Attack and Cast techniques. The flat damage also works well with most aspects of the Heart-Seeking Bow (except Aspect of Chiron), providing damage in early-game encounters when durability is low.

Demeter, Frost Flourish

Frost Flourish adds +60% damage and the Chill status effect to your Special. It spreads Chill across wide areas and is a key part of the Heart-Seeking Bow's Aspect of Chiron combined with Aphrodite's Attack. This combination can slow opponents and quickly dispatch foes, and is also effective against bosses, especially when incorporating Heat. It's a strong alternative if Thunder Flourish is unavailable for Heart-Seeking Bow or Shield of Chaos builds.

Dionysus, Drunken Flourish

Drunken Flourish applies Hangover (5 damage per 0.5 seconds for 4 seconds) to your Special. The stack limit of 5 significantly limits its viability compared to Zeus and Demeter for high-frequency Special attacks. While Hangover is not a bad effect, it generally fits into another slot with greater impact and is rarely the best option for maximizing Special impact.

Aphrodite, Heartbreak Flourish

Heartbreak Flourish offers +80% damage and the Weak status effect. It is a top choice for the Twin Fists' Aspect of Gilgamesh, facilitating the Maim debuff while mitigating return damage. It's also reliable for the Adamant Rail, providing damage and a useful status after adjusting to the delayed detonation. For Stygius, it offers immediate damage and reduces damage taken when engaging enemies. Weak is almost always useful for avoiding damage, and Heartbreak Flourish provides a strong iteration for various weapons.

Ares, Curse of Pain

Curse of Pain applies Doom (60 damage after 1 second) to your Special. Spreading Doom across multiple enemies with area-of-effect or bouncing Specials makes it more viable for crowd control if your build lacks it. You will still need other methods for boss encounters or excellent dodging skills. It can be applied to most weapons, with exceptions including Stygius (unless using Aspect of Arthur), Eternal Spear (unless upgraded with Exploding Launcher), Shield of Chaos (unless using Aspect of Zeus), Heart-Seeking Bow (unless using Aspect of Chiron), Adamant Rail (unless upgraded with Triple Bomb), and Twin Fists (tolerable but not ideal, except arguably on Aspect of Gilgamesh). It can be a tolerable early-game strategy for dealing damage while retreating due to low vitality.

Artemis, Deadly Flourish

Deadly Flourish provides +40% damage with a 20% chance for a critical hit. It is similar to Deadly Strike, offering improved damage output.