Hades 2: Unravel a Fateful Bond and survive on the surface

How to survive on the surface in Hades 2 is a question with a straightforward answer that takes a while to arrive at. You need a bit of luck, a spell, and a really weird looking plant that only comes from Chaos. It’s worth the trouble, though. Even aside from useful resources, there’s a whole other world up there for Melinoe to explore – or die trying.

Our Hades 2 guide explains how to survive on the surface and where to get the reagents you need to make it work. If you landed here trying to find a way to reach the surface, check out our guide for how to break the wards.

Hades 2: How to survive on the surface

When you first break the wards and reach the surface, Melinoe’s fine for the first location. Her curse kicks in soon after, though, and starts gradually decreasing her health. The curse ignores Death Defiance and the Luckier Tooth keepsake, but you’ll have enough time to rummage around the first part of the City of Ephyra, which is where you can pick up a handful of useful resources for more advanced incantations.

Once you die the first time, speak with everyone at the Crossroads, and Melinoe will come up with a new incantation: Unraveling a Fateful Bond.

Hades 2 Unraveling a Fateful Bond ingredients

This incantation requires:

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

Our Thalamus guide explains where to get that weird little thing. You can dig up nightshade seeds in Erebus – prioritize the shovel before leaving, if you’re having bad luck finding digging spots – and harvest lotus in Oceanus without any tools.

Moss grows on rocks in the overworld. There’s almost always a clump that yields two pieces of moss in the first area before entering the walls of Ephyra, so you should be able to grab that without dying.

Pop it all into the cauldron, let Melinoe work her magic, and boom. No more curse. There are a few things to keep in mind when you do reach the surface, though.

It’s essentially another underworld, with several locations, mini-bosses, and at least one regular boss. Enemies are a bit tougher and more varied, and most have armor. Your goal in Ephyra is to break the wards blocking your progression, which means traveling to six locations, defeating enemies, and claiming rewards.

There’s a fountain in the middle of the square, but you really should leave that until later unless you’re desperate. The boss on the other side of the barrier is tricky, and starting the fight at full health is a wise idea.

Grab some bronze while you're up there, as you'll need it for upgrading weapons and unlocking the Argent Skull.