Despite the repetitiveness of the game Hades, there are a whole host of ways that you can customize Zagreus to suit your playstyle. One of these ways is through equipping Keepsakes. These are special items that are granted to you by the various characters in the game that improve your stats and abilities in many different ways.
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In addition to Keepsakes, there are Legendary Keepsakes, which grant you companions that can be summoned during a run. These are separate from normal Keepsakes and have different unlock requirements, each of them necessitating that you complete a quest for the character in question.
Keepsakes
Acquiring Keepsakes is easy. You simply need to gift a character some Nectar for the first time and they will pay you back with their personal Keepsake. This is still true for the Olympian gods such as Poseidon and Zeus, you just need to offer Nectar to their symbols when you come across them during a run.
- This is not true for Hades and his Keepsake. To get his Sigil of the Dead you have to gift him two Nectars after the completion of the main storyline.
Keepsakes will level up with regular use. After 25 encounters with a Keepsake equipped it will reach the second level of effectiveness, and after a further 50 encounters, it will be fully powered.
The following table lists every regular Keepsake and its effects as it levels up.
| Character | Keepsake | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Cerberus | Old Spiked Collar | Increases Zagreus' health by 25/38/50. |
| Achilles | Myrmidon Bracer | Makes Zagreus take 20/25/30% less damage from the front but 10% more damage from the back. |
| Nyx | Black Shawl | Makes Zagreus deal 10/15/20% more damage when targeting undamaged enemies. |
| Thanatos | Pierced Butterfly | Increases Zagreus' damage by 1/1.5/2% for each encounter completed without taking any damage. |
| Charon | Bone Hourglass | Items from Wells of Charon have their durations increased by 4/6/8 rooms. |
| Hypnos | Chthonic Coin Purse | Gives Zagreus 100/125/150 obols once per run. |
| Megaera | Skull Earring | Makes Zagreus deal 20/30/40% more damage while at low health — 35% HP or less. |
| Orpheus | Distant Memory | Makes Zagreus deal 10/20/30% more damage to distant enemies. |
| Dusa | Harpy Feather Duster | With this Keepsake, urns have a 3/5/6% chance to drop healing items when broken. |
| Skelly | Lucky Tooth | Saves Zagreus from death with 50/75/100 health once per run. |
| Zeus | Thunder Signet | Guarantees that the next boon is from Zeus. Boons from Zeus have a 10/15/20% chance to be Rare quality or better. |
| Poseidon | Conch Shell | Guarantees that the next boon is from Poseidon. Boons from Poseidon have a 10/15/20% chance to be Rare quality or better. |
| Athena | Owl Pendant | Guarantees that the next boon is from Athena. Boons from Athena have a 10/15/20% chance to be Rare quality or better. |
| Aphrodite | Eternal Rose | Guarantees that the next boon is from Aphrodite. Boons from Aphrodite have a 10/15/20% chance to be Rare quality or better. |
| Ares | Blood-Filled Vial | Guarantees that the next boon is from Ares. Boons from Ares have a 10/15/20% chance to be Rare quality or better. |
| Artemis | Adamant Arrowhead | Guarantees that the next boon is from Artemis. Boons from Artemis have a 10/15/20% chance to be Rare quality or better. |
| Dionysus | Overflowing Cup | Guarantees that the next boon is from Dionysus. Boons from Dionysus have a 10/15/20% chance to be Rare quality or better. |
| Hermes | Lambent Plume | Increases Zagreus' dodge chance and movement speed by 1/1.1/1.2% for each encounter cleared "quickly". |
| Demeter | Frostbitten Horn | Guarantees that the next boon is from Demeter. Boons from Demeter have a 10/15/20% chance to be Rare quality or better. |
| Chaos | Cosmic Egg | Allows Zagreus to enter Chaos Gates without losing health. Boons from Chaos have a 20/30/40% chance to be Rare quality or better. |
| Sisyphus | Shattered Shackle | Increases Zagreus' damage by 50/75/100% when using an Attack, Special, or Cast that is not empowered by a god's Boon. |
| Eurydice | Evergreen Acorn | Prevents damage up to 3/4/5 times during the final encounter of a region. |
| Patroclus | Broken Spearpoint | Gives Zagreus an invincibility period of 1/1.25/1.5 seconds after being damaged. This effect refreshes after seven seconds. |
| Persephone | Pom Blossom | Improves a random Boon by one level for every 6/5/4 encounters cleared. The Boon is chosen at random. |
| Hades | Sigil of the Dead | Changes your Call to Hades' Aid which briefly makes Zagreus invisible. The God Gauge begins at 10/20/30% full. |
Legendary Keepsakes
The Legendary Keepsakes are adorable plushies that are gifted to Zagreus by characters who have formed a really close bond with him. To acquire these, you need to complete a favor for the character in question after giving them enough Nectars, usually five or six. Once the favor is complete, gift them an Ambrosia to get the Keepsake. There are six Legendary Keepsakes.
- Megaera's favor resolves automatically after a set amount of encounters with her and her sisters. You can gift her an Ambrosia after a conversation where she states that she's only trying to prevent your escape because she has to.
- Thanatos' favor is resolved after gifting him six Nectars and is randomly prompted. You can gift him an Ambrosia after a conversation regarding Zagreus having enough strength to escape the Underworld.
- Skelly's favor is unlocked after unlocking four different aspects for your various weapons. He will request that you slay him with the Stygian Blade with its level five Zagreus Aspect, which can be unlocked for a total of five Titan Blood. Once completed, you can gift Skelly an Ambrosia for his Legendary Keepsake.
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Sisyphys' favor is quite involved. The quest begins with Zagreus wondering how to help Sisyphus with his predicament after reaching six hearts with him.
- After this, you must purchase access to the Administrative Chamber from the House Contactor, speak to Megaera about Sisyphus' situation, and have two separate conversations with Nyx about the Administrative Chamber and Sisyphus.
- Once these conversations have happened, you can find Sisyphus' file in the Administrative Chamber.
- When you have the file, you can purchase the Knave-King's Sentence for four Diamonds from the House Contractor. This will complete the quest and allow you to gift Sisyphus some Ambrosia.
- To complete Dusa's favor you simply have to purchase Lounge renovations from the House Contractor. You need to have purchased 12 Lounge renovations and these must include at least one rug and cleaning up the mess that Cerberus made.
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Achilles' favor is another longer quest. To begin it, you must become close with both Achilles and Patroclus, until the latter asks you to deliver a message to the former.
- Achilles asks Zagreus to alter the pact that has him serving Hades.
- Locate the pact with the aid of Nyx and then purchase the alteration at the House Contractor for the cost of five Diamonds.
- Achilles will next be found at Patroclus' side in Elysium. When he returns to the House of Hades you can gift him an Ambrosia.
The following table details the effects of each Legendary Keepsake. Each of them grants a summon that can be used to great effect numerous times during a run.
| Character | Keepsake | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Megaera | Companion Battie | Your summon deals damage in an area near the closest enemy. This summon cannot be used against Megaera or her sisters. |
| Thanatos | Companion Mort | Your summon deals a lot of damage in an area in front of you. This summon cannot be used during an encounter with Thanatos. |
| Skelly | Companion Rib | Your summon creates a decoy distraction with 250 health. |
| Sisyphus | Companion Shady | Your summon deals some damage in an area and drops some health, Darkness, and Obols. |
| Dusa | Companion Fidi | Your summon travels with you for a while, firing petrifying shots. |
| Achilles | Companion Antos | Your summon deals damage to two enemies, one after another. |