Arcana Cards are a crucial component of Hades 2, which is befitting, seeing as the game casts you as a literal witch.
Like Keepsakes (accessories), Arcana Cards grant you passive perks, based on how much grasp you have. Some cards boost your stats. Some are even more helpful, going so far as to revive you from death. Unlike Keepsakes, though, think of Arcana Cards more like a skill tree. As you unlock more cards, you’ll get access to even better cards.
Here’s how to unlock Arcana Cards in Hades 2, plus a list of all Arcana Cards and their abilities, along details about how to get more grasp.
How to unlock Arcana Cards with grasp in Hades 2
You can unlock Arcana Cards by interacting with the stone slab at the entrance of the room right before you embark on a run.
The primary resource for unlocking new Arcana Cards is ashes, a resource most commonly found as a reward for clearing encounters (the chambers with combat). Look for chambers marked by a gray flourish of sand.
Unlocking an Arcana Card for the first time will unveil the cards adjacent to it, expanding the number of cards you can unlock.
How to increase grasp and equip more Arcana Cards in Hades 2
Your grasp meter determines how many Arcana Cards you can equip at once. Each Arcana Card comes with a grasp cost, ranging from one to five, with the better cards typically associated with a higher grasp cost.
You start Hades 2 with 10 grasp. You can increase your grasp limit by spending psyche, also a resource that’s earned by clearing encounters. Look for the chambers with the little green will-o-wisp as a reward.
Some cards have no grasp cost and are instead activated by an “awakening” — whether or not you’re able to equip it is contingent on whether or not you’ve met a certain set of pre-requisites. We’ve noted such “awakenings” in the table below.
All Arcana Cards and abilities in Hades 2
There are 25 Arcana Cards in Hades 2. Each card is associated with a roman numeral. There are five rows, with five Arcana Cards per row; refer to the image above to see each card’s placement on the Arcana Card board. Note that all card values in the following table show the card’s lowest rank, and don’t factor in upgrades.
| Card number | Card name | Card Effect | Grasp cost | Unlock cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | The Sorceress | Your Omega moves are 10% faster. | 1 | 1 Ash |
| II | The Wayward Son | After you exit a chamber, restore 2 health or twice that if you have no more than 30% health. | 1 | 3 Ash |
| III | The Huntress | While you have less than 100% magick, your attack and special deal 30% more damage. | 2 | 10 Ash |
| IV | Night | Your Omega cast has +50 power whenever it detonates. | 2 | 15 Ash |
| V | The Moon | Your Hex also charges up automatically as though you used 2 magick every 1 second. | 0, Awakening: Activate any surrounding card | 20 Ash, 1 Pearl |
| VI | The Furies | Deal 20% damage to foes in your casts. | 2 | 3 Ash |
| VII | The Titan | Gain 20 max health and +0 max magick. | 2 | 7 Ash |
| VIII | The Messenger | You have a 3% chance to automatically dodge incoming attacks. | 1 | 20 Ash |
| IX | The Unseen | Restore 4 magick every one second. | 5 | 25 Ash |
| X | Death | Your Omega moves have a 9% chance to deal critical damage with each move in an Omega combo. | 3 | 30 Ash |
| XI | The Swift Runner | You sprint 5% faster. | 1 | 10 Ash |
| XII | Eternity | Start each run with one Death Defiance (which revives you when you run out of health). | 4 | 20 Ash |
| XIII | The Centaur | After every five locations, gain +3 max health and +3 Magick. | 0, Awakening: Activate cards that use 1 grasp through 5 grasp | 25 Ash, 1 Cinder |
| XIV | Origination | Deal 25% more damage to foes afflicted with at least 2 curses from different Olympians. | 5 | 30 Ash |
| XV | The Lovers | In Guardian (area boss) fights, you take no damage the first time you are hit. | 3 | 35 Ash |
| XVI | The Fates | Start each run with one Change of Fate, which can alter location rewards. | 3 | 15 Ash |
| XVII | The Boatman | Start each run with +200 gold. | 5 | 25 Ash |
| XVIII | The Artificer | Start each run with one chance to turn any minor find into a random major find. | 3 | 30 Ash |
| XIX | Excellence | Any boons you’re offered have a 30% chance to be rare. | 5 | 35 Ash |
| XX | The Queen | Any boons you’re offered have a 6% chance to be a Duo (whenever possible). | 0, Awakening: Activate no more than two cards that use the same amount of grasp | 40 Ash, 1 Tear |
| XXI | The Seer | You have two bonus Changes of Fate. | 0, Awakening: Activate each surrounding card | 20 Ash, 1 Wool |
| XXII | The Champions | Start each run with one Change of Fate, which allows you to alter boons and other choices. | 4 | 30 Ash |
| XXIII | Strength | If you have no Death Defiance effects, you take 30% less damage and deal 25% more damage. | 4 | 35 Ash |
| XXIV | Divinity | Any boons you’re offered have a 10% chance to be epic. | 0, Awakening: Activate all five cards in any other column | 40 Ash, 1 Golden Apple |
| XXV | Judgement | Activate three random inactive Arcana Cards whenever you defeat a Guardian (area boss). | 0, Awakening: Activate three cards at most | 50 Ash, 1 Zodiac Sand |
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