Best Ares boons in Hades 2 ranked

The Warsong update brought a series of major improvements and additions to Hades 2, which included the debut of a new wave of boons spearheaded by Ares himself. But as expected of the God of War, it was a given that some of his boons would be game-changing, to say the least. Here are the best Ares boons in Hades 2.

The best Ares boons in Hades 2

Hades 2 players have in the boons of Ares one of the game’s best. Especially when the subject is dealing heavy damage. Although unable to apply the fan-favorite Doom effect, Ares’ new Wounds mechanic will allow you to perform “Criticals” fairly quickly and early on.

Without further ado, here are the best Ares boons in Hades 2:

10. Visceral Impact

• Base effect overview: A Blood Drop is produced each time you perform kills or suffer damage, with both actions having a 25/35/45/55% chance of producing an extra drop. After acquired, each drop will boost Melinoe’s strike and movement speed by 1% during the encounter (no stack limit).
• Requirements: None

The first boon in our list, Visceral Impact allows you to get a huge boost in movement speed by acquiring Blood Drops. Unfortunately, though, the boon’s specifics make it way less impressive when facing Guardians, as Melinoe will need to sacrifice a lot to build up enough stacks.

9. Rallying Cry

• Base effect overview: Your boon-related effects will deal 50% more DMG when carrying at least 8x Earth tokens.
• Requirements: Having at least 3x Earth-tokens equipped

A must-have if you are either heavily investing in Ares or prefer to go to the field while pairing his boons with Hephaestus’s, Rallying Cry will boost the damaging effects of your remaining boons by a stunning 50%. There’s not much to be said here, as even if tricky to trigger, extra DMG will always be a welcome addition.

8. Mutual Destruction

• Base effect overview: Each missing health point will boost your chances of dealing 200% when attacking by 0.1/0.12/0.14/0.16%. For example, when missing 100 HP with the boon at Heroic, you will have a 16% chance of triggering the effect.
• Requirements: None

The best boon for those who like to either live on the edge or are looking to clutch when in high fear, Mutual Destruction will boost the chances of your attacks dealing 200% DMG based on how low your health is. It’s like they say right? High risk, high reward. Before you ask, yes, boon-related DoTs such as Zeus’s bolts can also trigger the effect.

7. Single Elimination

• Base effect overview: You will deal +20/25/30/35% DMG against isolated targets.
• Requirements: None

Like Rallying Cry, Single Elimination is another straightforward boon that provides a massive overall DMG boost, this time when facing either lone targets or those away from the pack. Even if situational, I don’t believe we need to highlight how impactful this boon can be, as pretty much all Guardians (except for the Sirens), will be eventually targeted by it. To add to that, its lack of requirements makes it a great joker pick no matter your build of choice.

6. Vicious Strike / Vicious Flourish

• Base effect overview: Your attacks/specials will deal +20/30/40/50% DMG and apply Wounds on foes (the effect will last for three seconds and can be reapplied). The strike applying the effect will also boast 50+ Power.
• Requirements: None

The foundation behind all of the Ares-focused builds in Hades 2, both Vicious Strike and Flourish will allow Melinoe’s attacks to carry more weight and apply the Wounds effect on targets. Although we know their low DMG and the single damage focus of Wounds might make the boons unimpressive at first, don’t let that fool you, as the effect was never the star of the show and instead will only enable what is to come.

5. Blood Spree

• Base effect overview: When below 40 health, your attacks and specials will restore 1/2/3/4 HP per hit.
• Requirements: None

Remember the Aspect of Guan Yu in the original Hades? Blood Spree will offer pretty much the same effect, but better, as Melinoe will be able to use it no matter her weapon of choice. I cannot see a single downside for this boon, as having it at hand can allow you to save your Death Defiances and hex stacks for the moments where they will count the most. If you are looking to rock this boon, make sure to also get Mutual Destruction for a match made in heaven.

4. Meat Grinder

• Base effect overview: Your cast will produce a Blade Rift and deal 30/40/50/60 DMG per second to all enemies within its AoE.
• Requirements: Having any kind of Ring boon equipped (ex Storm Ring).

A must-have when looking for a casting-focused build, Meat Grinder will add a much-needed punch to your Cast, all while allowing you to use other top-tier DoT boons like Zeus’ Storm and Demeter’s Artic Ring. If paired with the Hostile Environment duo boon, Meat Grinder can also allow Melinoe to get access to her own makeshift Impervious Blade Rift call.

3. Profuse Bleeding

• Effect overview: Each hit against enemies afflicted with Wounds will have a 10/15/20/25% chance of producing Blood Drops.
• Requirements: Having either Vicious Strike or Vicious Flourish equipped

The best boon for those looking to build around Blood Drops, Profuse Bleeding will give you a chance to generate them after each strike against targets affected by Wounds. This boon shines the most when paired with multi-hit weapons capable of generating dozens of drops per Omega move performed — aka the Moonstone Axe, Black Coat, and the Sister Blades.

2. Sanguinary Favor

• Effect overview: Blood Drops will be automatically drawn to Melinoe. Their effect will also be boosted by 100%.
• Requirements: Either Mortal Gain, Vicious Strike, Vicious Flourish, Sword Ring, or Stabbing Ambush + Visceral Impact or Profuse Bleeding + either Meat Grinder, Grievous Blow, Mutual Destruction, Blood Spree, or Cut Above

The finishing touch when looking to clear a run through the power of the God of War, Sanguinary Favor will allow you to double your Blood Drop effects for an unholy movement boost. As a Legendary boon, getting this will demand a heavy investment and a lot of luck. I am not kidding, it took me 40+ runs and dozens of rerolls to finally get it.

1. Grievous Blow

• Effect overview: Foes with Wounds will have a +10/18/20/25% chance of suffering 200% damage.
• Requirements: Having either Vicious Strike or Flourish equipped

The best Ares boon in Hades 2 and my go-to when looking to see huge numbers on the screen, Grievous Blow allows you to massively boost the damage of all of your attacks when striking targets affected by the 3-second uptime of Wounds. I know the proc chance for the effect might be low when below Epic, but believe me, pairing it with the right Omega moves and DoT cast effects will allow Melinoe to make short work of all Guardians on her path.

The best Ares duo boons in Hades 2

Regarding duo boons, Ares has Demeter, Hera, Apollo, and Hephaestus as his best partners, with the Goddess of the Harvest also giving you access to one of the game’s best casting-focused boons. You can check out an overview of each of their duo boons below:

If you want to get a duo boon early on, activate and equip The Queen Arcana Card as soon as possible. You can unlock the card by activating any cards at the bottom right of the board and then expending 40x Ashes and 1x Tears.