How to survive on the surface in Hades 2, explained

You finally removed the wards leading to the surface of Hades 2, laughing in the face of doom due to the curse on your bloodline. Who is Hecate to say that you’ll die? Someone correct, that’s who. So, how do you survive on the surface in Hades 2?

Much like her brother Zagreus, the equally pallid Melinoë crumples like a cheap camping chair on the Earth’s surface. It’s a conundrum, as she now faces a battle against Chronos on two fronts. Down below, the Titan of Time squats his bony ass on her father’s throne. While doing so, he commands an army above that’s laying siege to Mount Olympus, and the gods, proud as they may be, need assistance. It’ll take some work, but you can achieve the latter.

Hades 2: How to survive on the surface

First things first, you’ll need to remove the wards stopping you from ascending to the surface area. If you need help in that matter, be sure to check out our guide. It requires the use of an incantation, which needs the right materials to cast. Sadly, even though the surface is open to explore, it takes almost no time for Melinoë’s health to drop to zero and she zaps herself back to the Crossroads.

To survive the surface in Hades 2, you will need to do exactly as I said: Go up there and fail spectacularly. Doing so will cause Moros to bring you something useful among the Doom. He gives you a new incantation: ‘Unraveling a Fateful Bond’, which promises to remove the curse that drains your life while above.

The incantation isn’t cheap, mind. It requires:

• 2 Lotus
• 2 Moss
• 2 Nightshade
• 2 Thalamus

Tracking down half of these items is simple. The Lotus can be collected by hand in the Oceanus Region, while the Nightshade can be grown using Nightshade Seeds. These are rather plentiful and can be unearthed from Digging Spots in Erebus using the Silver Spade tool. They’re just about everywhere, though. Check out our plant guide to learn more.

The other two items are a bit tougher to manage. For Moss, you will need to collect them by hand on the surface in the City of Ephyra. Look for clumps of the stuff in the area, but be quick about it. Time is not on your side.

“What the hell is Thalamus?”, you, like me, must have asked. Thalamus, the bizarre white and pink plant(?), is grown from Origin Seeds unearthed from Digging Spots in Chaos. I also believe Chaos will hand you seeds one time after you get the incantation.

After you have everything, you can cast Unraveling a Fateful Bond, which lets Melinoë survive on the surface. Good luck; ’tis an unfriendly place.