Best Hades 2 Arcana Cards and all effects

What are all the Hades 2 Arcana Cards and their effects? Melinoë starts off severely underpowered as she hunts down Chronos; that is until you get your hands on Hades 2 Arcana Cards, one of the game's new mechanics. These special sets of cards contain power-ups capable of turning Melinoë into a killing machine.

Along with Arcana Cards, there's plenty you need to know about to construct the best Hades 2 builds. You should definitely check out our Hades 2 Boons and Hades 2 Keepsakes guides to see what the best ones are to match with this mechanic. Here's a breakdown of the best Hades 2 Arcana Cards, including a list of every Arcana Card in the roguelike game, how they work, and how you can upgrade them.

Here are the best Hades 2 Arcana Cards:

II - The Wayward Son: After you exit a Location, restore 2 Life (1 Grasp).
VII - Persistence: Gain 20 Max Life and 20 Max Magick (2 Grasp).
XI - The Swift Runner: Your Sprint is faster and lets you pass right through most dangers in your way (1 Grasp).
XII - Death: You have 1 Death Defiance (4 Grasp).
XXIII - Strength: While you have no Death Defiance, you take -20% damage and deal +20% (4 Grasp).

Our picks for the best Hades 2 Arcana Cards provide you with better survivability to give you the strongest chance to stay alive for the duration of your run. The Wayward Son keeps your health topped up whenever you defeat a room of enemies, and Persistence is a great card for making you tougher to defeat.

Though it may not seem like a big deal, The Swift Runner ability that lets you dodge through attacks is a game-changer, especially as you reach the endgame levels where you'll need to rely on this to avoid taking damage. Lastly, we have Death, providing you with extra lives when you need them, and Strength, which makes you extra powerful on your final life.

Here are all the Hades 2 Arcana Cards and their effects:

Card Name	Description	Unlock Cost	Cost (Grasp)
I - The Sorceress	Your Omega Moves are 20/25/30% faster.	1x Ash	1
II - The Wayward Son	After you exit a Location, restore 2/4/5 Life.	3x Ash	1
III - The Huntress	While you have less than 100 Magick, your Attack and Special deal 30/40/50/60% damage.	15x Ash	3
IV - Eternity	While you channel your Omega Moves, everything moves slower for 0.8/1.0/1.2/1.5 seconds.	30x Ash	3
V - The Moon	Your Hex also charges up automatically as though you used 1/2/3/4 Magick every second. Awakening: Activate any surrounding Card.	30x Ash 1x Pearl	0
VI - The Furies	You deal 20/25/30% damage to foes in your Casts.	3x Ash	2
VII - Persistence	Gain 20/30/40 Max Life and 20/30/40 Max Magick.	10x Ash	2
VIII - The Messenger	You Casts momentarily make you Impervious and move 50/60/70% faster.	20x Ash	1
IX - The Unseen	You restore 6/8/10 Magick every second.	30x Ash	5
X - Night	You have 9/12/15% chance to deal Critical damage with each move in an Omega combo.	35x Ash	2
XI - The Swift Runner	Your Sprint is 5/7/10% faster and lets you pass right through most dangers in your way.	15x Ash	1
XII - Death	You have 1/2/3 Death Defiance.	25x Ash	4
XIII - The Centaur	After every 5 Locations, gain 3/4/5 Life and 3/4/5 Magick. Awakening: Activate Cards that use 1 - 5 Grasp.	25x Ash, 1x Cinder	0
XIV - Origination	You deal 25/38/50% damage to foes afflicted with at least 2 Curses from different Olympians.	35x Ash	5
XV - The Lovers	You take 0 damage the first 1/2/3 time(s) you are hit in Guardian Encounters.	40x Ash	3
XVI - The Enchantress	You have 1/2/3 Change of Fate, and can alter Location Rewards.	25x Ash	3
XVII - The Boatman	Start each run with 200/250/300 Gold.	30x Ash	5
XVIII - The Artificer	You have 1/2/3 chance(s) this night to turn any Minor Find into a random Major Find.	35x Ash	3
XIX - Excellence	Any Boons you are offered have a 30/40/50% chance to include Legendary or at least Rare blessings.	35x Ash	5
XX - The Queen	Any Boons you are offered have 6/8/10% chance to be a Duo (whenever possible). Awakening: Activate no more than 2 Cards that use the same Grasp cost.	45x Ash 1x Tears	0
XXI - The Fates	You have 2/3/4 Change of Fate. Awakening: Activate all surrounding Cards.	30x Ash 1x Wool	0
XXII - The Champions	While you have no Death Defiance, you take -20/-30/-40% damage and deal +20%.	40x Ash	4
XXIII - Strength	While you have no Death Defiance, you take -20/-30/-40% damage and deal +20%.	40x Ash	4
XXIV - Divinity	Any Boons you are offered have 10/15/20% chance to be improved to Epic. Awakening: Activate all 5 cards in any other row.	45x Ash 1x Golden Apple	0
XXV - Judgement	After you vanquish a Guardian, activate three random inactive Arcana cards. Awakening: Activate no more than 3 Cards.	50x Ashes 1x Zodiac Sand	0

What are Hades 2 Arcana Cards?

The first power-up mechanic you access in Hades 2 is the Arcana Cards. These power-ups can help improve your survivability and damage output, so it's a case of picking what suits you best. It's worth pointing out that your Arcana Card picks aren't permanent; you can disable each card if you want to try out something you just unlocked.

While you can use multiple Arcana Cards at once, you need to keep an eye on your Grasp gauge, which determines how many power-ups can be active at any given time. You can spend Psyche to upgrade the maximum Grasp by highlighting the portrait of Melinoë and pressing the upgrade button.

How do you unlock Hades 2 Arcana Cards?

After dying for the first time, you will find an Altar located in the Underworld. Meditate at the Altar to unlock the first Arcana Card, revealing two more that can be unlocked once you obtain the required resources.

How to upgrade Hades 2 Arcana cards

After you defeat the Infernal Beast in the Mourning Fields, you'll get the Consecration of Ashes incantation at the cauldron in your hub area. It costs six ash, one cinder, and six fate fabrics to invoke this ritual, and it allows you to unlock the cauldron's full potential, rewarding you with three Moon Dust for your trouble.

Moon Dust is vital for unlocking buffs for each of your Arcana Cards. You can improve an Arcana Card multiple times, so long as you have the required items, including Moon Dust, Hades 2 G-Rock, and other rare items.

You can acquire Moon Dust by purchasing it from the Broker at the hub area for 80 Bones or by using the Moonlit Essence from the Shadow Alchemy incantation to convert one Cinder and one Shadow. To get the top-tier upgrades for your Arcana Cards, you'll also require Star Dust, which you can get by converting two moly, two nightshades, two fate fabrics, and two pearls in the Abyssal Insight incantation.

That's all you need to know about the best Hades 2 Arcana Cards. Be sure to check out our Hades 2 Hecate boss guide if you require help taking down the Headmistress. We also have a Hades 2 review, where you can read our thoughts about Supergiant's epic sequel.