Hades 2 Arcana Cards: All Altar Cards and the Best Ones

One of the most interesting new features in Hades 2 is the Altar of Ashes, also known as the Arcana Altar. This system offers a series of powers and perks through Arcana Cards that you can unlock and upgrade as you progress, making Melinoë permanently stronger. In this section of our guide, we will explain exactly how this mechanic works, everything you need to know about it, how many Arcana Cards there are and which ones are the best to activate.

How does the Arcana Altar work?

The Altar of Ashes, also known as the Arcana Altar, is an upgrade system for Melinoë that you will find at the Crossroads from your very first visit. You will always pass it before reaching the Silver Pool and the training grounds, and its menu allows you to view the available Arcana Cards and their benefits.

• The Altar contains a total of 25 Arcana Cards, which can be unlocked by spending Ash.
• As you unlock new cards, the locked cards surrounding them will gradually be revealed.
• Each card has a Grasp cost that must be paid to activate it.
• Your maximum Grasp is initially limited to 10 points, but you can increase it by spending Psyche.

Basically, Arcana Cards provide Melinoë with permanent passive perks. In other words, these benefits will already be active from the beginning of each run, making her stronger and helping you progress more easily.

However, Arcana Cards must be activated for their effects to work, so you will need to carefully choose which ones you want to equip before each run and which ones you want to leave inactive.

All Arcana Cards and their effects

Below, we will show you every Arcana Card and power available to unlock and activate at the Altar of Ashes in Hades 2. This will allow you to check their effects, Grasp costs and the materials required to unlock them.

Arcana I - The Sorceress

• Unlock requirement: Ash x1
• Grasp required: 1 point
• Effect: While you Channel your Omega Moves, everything moves slower for 2 seconds.

Arcana II - The Wayward Son

• Unlock requirement: Ash x3
• Grasp required: 1 point
• Effect: After you exit a Location, restore 2 Life, or twice that amount if you have less than 30% Life.

Arcana III - The Huntress

• Unlock requirement: Ash x10
• Grasp required: 3 points
• Effect: While you have less than 100% Magick, your Attack and Special deal +30% damage.

Arcana IV - Death

• Unlock requirement: Ash x15
• Grasp required: 3 points
• Effect: Your Omega Moves have +3% chance to deal Critical damage.

Arcana V - The Messenger

• Unlock requirement: Ash x20 and Pearl x1
• Grasp required: 0 points (requires you to activate at least 3 Arcana Cards with the same Grasp cost)
• Effect: Gain +6% chance to Dodge.

Arcana VI - The Furies

• Unlock requirement: Ash x3
• Grasp required: 2 points
• Effect: Deal +20% damage to foes in your Casts.

Arcana VII - The Titan

• Unlock requirement: Ash x7
• Grasp required: 2 points
• Effect: Gain +20 max Life and +20 max Magick.

Arcana VIII - The Unseen

• Unlock requirement: Ash x20
• Grasp required: 5 points
• Effect: Restore 2 Magick every second.

Arcana IX - Night

• Unlock requirement: Ash x25
• Grasp required: 4 points
• Effect: Your Hex charges up automatically as though you had used 2 Magick every second.

Arcana X - The Lovers

• Unlock requirement: Ash x30
• Grasp required: 2 points
• Effect: In Guardian Encounters, you take no damage the first time you are hit.

Arcana XI - The Swift Runner

• Unlock requirement: Ash x10
• Grasp required: 1 point
• Effect: Your Sprint is +20% faster.

Arcana XII - Eternity

• Unlock requirement: Ash x20
• Grasp required: 4 points
• Effect: Set forth each night with 1 Death Defiance.

Arcana XIII - The Centaur

• Unlock requirement: Ash x25 and Cinder x1
• Grasp required: 0 points (requires you to activate Arcana Cards with Grasp costs ranging from 1 to 5)
• Effect: Every 5 Locations, gain +3 max Life and +3 max Magick.

Arcana XIV - The Moon

• Unlock requirement: Ash x30
• Grasp required: 3 points
• Effect: Your Omega Cast deals +50 base damage when it detonates.

Arcana XV - Strength

• Unlock requirement: Ash x35
• Grasp required: 5 points
• Effect: While you have 30% Life or less, you deal +30% damage and take -30% damage.

Arcana XVI - The Fates

• Unlock requirement: Ash x15
• Grasp required: 3 points
• Effect: Set forth each night with +1 Change of Fate. You can alter Location Rewards.

Arcana XVII - The Boatman

• Unlock requirement: Ash x25
• Grasp required: 5 points
• Effect: Set forth each night with +200 Gold.

Arcana XVIII - Origination

• Unlock requirement: Ash x30
• Grasp required: 3 points
• Effect: Deal +25% damage to foes afflicted with at least 2 Curses.

Arcana XIX - Excellence

• Unlock requirement: Ash x30
• Grasp required: 5 points
• Effect: Any Boons you are offered have +30% chance to be improved to Rare.

Arcana XX - The Queen

• Unlock requirement: Ash x40 and Tears x1
• Grasp required: 0 points (requires you to activate no more than 2 Arcana Cards with the same Grasp cost)
• Effect: Any Boons you are offered have +6% chance to be Duo Boons whenever possible.

Arcana XXI - The Seer

• Unlock requirement: Ash x20 and Wool x1
• Grasp required: 0 points (requires you to activate all surrounding Arcana Cards)
• Effect: Set forth each night with +2 Change of Fate.

Arcana XXII - The Champions

• Unlock requirement: Ash x30
• Grasp required: 4 points
• Effect: Set forth each night with +1 Change of Fate. You can alter Boons and certain Location Rewards.

Arcana XXIII - The Artificer

• Unlock requirement: Ash x35
• Grasp required: 6 points
• Effect: Set forth each night with 1 chance to turn a Minor Find into a random Major Find.

Arcana XXIV - Divinity

• Unlock requirement: Ash x40 and Golden Apple x1
• Grasp required: 0 points (requires you to activate all 5 Arcana Cards in any other row)
• Effect: Any Boons you are offered have +10% chance to be improved to Epic.

Arcana XXV - Judgement

• Unlock requirement: Ash x50 and Zodiac Sand x1
• Grasp required: 0 points (requires you to activate no more than 3 Arcana Cards)
• Effect: After you defeat a Guardian, activate 3 random inactive Arcana Cards.

Which Arcana Cards should you unlock first?

Since there are so many different Arcana Cards to unlock at the Altar of Ashes and you can only activate a limited number at once, you are probably wondering which ones are the most useful and which you should purchase and activate during your first few hours.

Below, we recommend unlocking the following Arcana Cards first, in this order:

• Arcana I - The Sorceress
• Arcana II - The Wayward Son
• Arcana VII - The Titan
• Arcana III - The Huntress
• Arcana XII - Eternity
• Arcana VIII - The Unseen
• Arcana XIV - The Moon
• Arcana VI - The Furies

Bear in mind that this Arcana build is designed for when your maximum Grasp has reached at least 21 points.

In any case, you do not have to follow our recommendations to the letter. You can experiment with the Arcana Cards and choose the ones that best complement your playstyle, so feel free to try different combinations.

How do you upgrade Arcana Cards?

If you have not progressed far enough into the game, you may not know that Arcana Cards can be upgraded to make their effects even more beneficial for Melinoë. Here is what you need to know:

• At a certain point in the story, after one of your battles against Headmistress Hecate, she will give you the "Consecration of Ashes" Cauldron Incantation.
• This Incantation upgrades the Altar of Ashes and allows you to unlock the Arcana Cards' full potential, giving you access to the "Insight" system at the Altar.
• Performing this Incantation requires the following Reagents: Ash x6, Cinder x1 and Fate Fabric x6.

After performing this Incantation, you will receive your first 3 Moon Dust. You can use this Reagent to increase the Rank of whichever Arcana Cards you prefer.

To do so, visit the Altar and select the Arcana Card you want to upgrade, then press the "Insight" button. Remember that each Arcana Card has its own Moon Dust requirements for increasing its Rank, and additional materials may also be needed for subsequent upgrades.

Upgrading Arcana Cards is a fantastic way to become stronger, so we recommend improving some of the best ones as soon as you have the opportunity. For example, you can upgrade "The Titan" to gain more maximum Life and maximum Magick, or "Eternity" to begin each night with more than one Death Defiance.