In Hades 2, your Cast isn’t just another attack — it’s your ultimate crowd control tool and the backbone of some of the strongest builds in the game. From locking down enemies to unleashing explosive Omega eruptions, mastering Casts lets you control the battlefield and melt Guardians with style.
This guide breaks down everything you need to know: how Casts work, which God Boons to chase, and how Weapon Aspects can turn a simple binding circle into a screen-clearing powerhouse. If you’re ready to trap, blast, and outsmart your foes, let’s dive in.
Casts Explained
Cast Basic Effect
Casts are your primary crowd control tool. You don't need any Boons to start manipulating enemy movement and spacing. Melinoë creates a binding circle on the ground, which ensnares foes. An enemy inside of your Cast cannot walk out of it until the ability expires.
Guardians cannot be trapped by your Cast. However, all other effects, buffs, damage, and Curses inflicted by your Cast still apply.
Your Cast can ensnare enemies by activating it while they are within the AoE, or if they move into the Cast at any point during its duration.
Omega Casts
Similar to your Attacks and Specials, your Cast can also be channeled to improve its effect. Omega Casts explode when the Cast expires, dealing 150 base damage.
Omega Cast damage is increased by all global modifiers such as The Furies (VI) and Strength (XXIII).
Multiple Boons directly buff Omega Cast damage. These Boons do not affect your standard Cast or the damage of Ring Boon.
Local Climate, Geyser Spout, Shadow Pounce, Hostile Environment
The following Boons do not affect the damage of your Omega Cast. Instead, they add a powerful effect every time you use an Omega Cast.
every time Prominence Flare, Meat Grinder, Glorious Disaster, Easy Shot
Cast Duration
Casts last for 3 seconds. There are two ways to shorten their duration: Winner's Circle not only increases Omega Cast channel speed but also reduces Cast duration by the same amount, and the Aspect of Charon can be used to explosively end your Cast early.
When to Use Your Cast
Cast Uptime
You should aim for near-constant Cast uptime. If you’re leaving long gaps without casting, you’re doing something wrong.
The primary purpose of your Cast is controlling enemy movement. Many foes have quick dashes and rapid attacks that are hard to react to. Keeping them locked inside your Cast means you won’t have to worry about them chasing you down until the binding circle expires.
Cast Damage
Next, consider damage. Even if you don’t yet have a Cast or Ring Boon, if you’re using The Furies (VI), your priority should be keeping your targeted enemies inside your Cast. Don’t waste a Cast on one foe only to run off and attack another — doing so means missing out on valuable bonus damage.
The specifics of optimizing Cast damage depend on your Weapon Aspect and Cast Boons. In general, all Ring Boons provide solid damage, so be intentional with both frequency and placement. If you drop a Cast with no foes nearby, you’ll be stuck waiting out the cooldown — about four seconds. That may sound short, but in the Underworld it’s an eternity.
Cast Timing
Casts can always be dropped in the middle of Attack/Special combs. Casts don't interrupt Attack/Special animation, but you can use Attacks/Specials to cancel the recovery animation of your Cast.
Some Weapon Aspects even allow you to drop your Cast while channeling your Omega Moves. These are generally the Aspects that also allow you to Dash without interrupting. If you can hold the Omega Attack/Special indefinitely, you should also be able to drop the Cast while channeling.
Only one Omega Move can ever be channeled at a time, so attempting to channel your Omega Cast during one of these Omega Attack/Special will cancel the prior.
Avoiding Damage When Using Casts
Your go-to deployment technique should be to Dash to evade an enemy attack, then immediately counter by activating Cast, canceling the recovery animation with an Attack or Special.
Another option is to step forward until the enemy is just inside your Cast’s max range, drop the Cast, and Dash away before beginning your onslaught.
Finally, The Messenger (VIII) provides a brief window of Impervious every time you activate Cast. Combined with its movement speed buff, this makes avoiding damage while casting significantly easier.
Ring Boons
God Boons
Cast Boons are all labeled as "X" Ring if they take up your Core slot. You can only have a single Ring Boon at a time. Other Boons that buff your Cast, such as Arctic Gale or Prominence Flare, can be paired together on top of your Ring Boon.
Every God offers one Cast Ring Boon, so there are nine possible Ring Boons to use in your build:
Anvil Ring
Arctic Ring
Engagement Ring
Rapture Ring
Smolder Ring
Solar Ring
Storm Ring
Sword Ring
Tidal Ring
No matter which Ring Boon you use, they all maintain the same effect of ensnaring enemies. Also, your Omega Cast is not altered by your Ring Boon.
Every Ring Boon has a place and purpose. There aren't any inherently bad Boons, but there will always be some that are more optimal for your current build than others.
Storm Ring offers high damage over time. Tidal Ring instantly blasts foes with a burst damage splash. Rapture Ring and Arctic Ring are the best Casts for CC. Depending on your needs and preferences, you can plan to aim for a specific God's Ring Boon as long as you get them in your God pool for that night.
Non-Core Cast Boons
Cast Buffs
On top of Ring Boons and Omega Cast damage, there are a few more ways to add damaging interactions to your Casts.
Arctic Gale adds an additional Curse, and creates a damaging cyclone around your Cast's binding circle. As long as you also have an Apollo Core Boon in your build, you'll also have the chance to be offered Tropical Cyclone. Once you get the Duo Boon, the damage is incredible!
Rousing Reception causes enemies to take damage as long as you have an active Cast when they spawn.
While very rare, Chasm can be offered by Chaos and increases all Cast damage based on its rarity.
Although Lethal Snare doesn't directly buff your Cast, it does add a strong new mechanic. Artemis gives you the chance to deal critical damage with your standard and Omega Attacks to all foes inside the binding circle.
Silken Armor
The greatest Cast buff is also the most volatile. Arachne's Fuchsia Dress grants +20 Armor and +100% Cast damage for both standard and Omega Casts. If your Armor breaks at any point during the run, you permanently lose the effect for the night.
Ranged Cast
Image: Visual indicator of aiming Lightning Lance Cast placement
Lightning Lance and Glowing Coal are the two Boons that transform your Cast into a ranged attack. Both offer some nice damage with each use. More significantly, they allow you to aim your Cast from a distance, which can help keep you safe from enemy attacks.
The Moonstone Axe’s Aspect of Charon Omega Special strikes your standard Cast, causing it to erupt with the same effect as your Omega Cast. The size and damage of the eruption scale with the Aspect’s rank.
With the Aspect of Charon you can instantly trigger Cast eruptions. Due to the high Magick cost of Omega Specials and the control this Aspect gives over Cast expiration, Lucid Gain is the ideal Magick Boon to pair with this powerful Axe.
The Witch's Staff Aspect of Circe allows your Animal Familiar to perform the same Cast. Additionally, a Psychic Leash forms between you and your familiar, damaging any foes caught in its line. All damage from Boons and Omega Casts is effectively doubled. The only factor you need to manage is your Animal Familiar’s positioning, as it won’t always be next to your targeted enemy.
The Witch's StaffAspect of Momus doesn’t directly affect your Cast, but it can be a strong choice if you want to build around Omega Cast damage. Activating one Omega Cast triggers two additional eruptions, each carrying the same effects as the first.
Since you’ll generally be running Night (X), you’ll also have a chance to deal critical damage with the first explosion of each Omega Cast.
Another crucial component of this build is Winner's Circle, as it speeds up Omega Cast eruptions and helps maximize overall damage output.
