In Hades 2, one detail concerning Animal Familiars that many players may overlook is the ability to change or customize the appearance of Melinoë's companions. But how do you do it? It is an interesting feature because, as mentioned, it is not available from the beginning and must be unlocked during your playthrough. In this section of our guide, we quickly explain the requirements you need to meet to unlock it.
To change the appearance of your Animal Familiars in Hades 2, you must learn a Cauldron Incantation at the Crossroads that can only be taught to you by Circe. This character has a chance of appearing in a special chamber while traveling through the Rift of Thessaly on the surface route.
The Incantation in question is called "Alteration of Familiar Forms", and performing it requires the following Reagents: Fate Fabric x6, Wool x6 and Flux x1.
However, Circe will only teach you this Incantation if you visit her while accompanied by an Animal Familiar that has been fully upgraded. This means you must first upgrade one of your companions using Witch's Delights. Bear in mind that you need to upgrade all of its attributes and perks to their maximum level. Fully upgrading only one of its effects is not enough.
Unfortunately, we do not know whether you also need to have unlocked every Animal Familiar in your playthrough, so we recommend doing so beforehand just in case. What you do not need to do is fully upgrade every Animal Familiar. In our case, for example, Circe taught us the Incantation when we had only two fully upgraded companions.
The essential requirement is to speak to Circe while accompanied by the Animal Familiar you have fully upgraded. Some players also claim that you must have used Familiars to gather resources at least 20 times in total and fully upgraded your Arcana Grasp. In any case, you will know Circe is ready to teach you the Incantation when she comments on how well you have cared for your Familiars.
Of course, whether Circe makes this comment is entirely random, even if you have already met the requirements. If she does not teach you the Incantation, return on another night and try again until she finally mentions it.
Once Circe has taught you the "Alteration of Familiar Forms" Incantation and you have performed it at the Cauldron, you can change your Animal Familiars' appearance whenever you like, but only for companions you have already fully upgraded using Witch's Delights.
Simply approach your Animal Familiar at the Crossroads and select the newly available "Change Form" option. This opens a menu where you can choose a different appearance for your companion from a list of available variants or skins.
As with many other features in the game, changing your Animal Familiars' appearance comes at a price. You must spend Prestige and other valuable resources to unlock each appearance for the first time. Once purchased, however, you can select it whenever you like at no additional cost.
Remember that Animal Familiar appearances are purely cosmetic and provide no gameplay advantages, so you can safely ignore this feature if you would rather not spend resources on it.
