Arcana Cards in Hades 2 Guide, Best One, Loadouts & Tier List!

Arcana cards in Hades 2 are one of the most important systems you’ll interact with during your runs. They grant powerful passive bonuses, shape your playstyle, and can even decide how smooth or difficult a run feels.

Choosing the right cards and understanding which ones are worth the grasp investment will make a huge difference as you push deeper into the Underworld or the surface.

This guide will break down some of the best cards, explain their uses, and suggest loadouts that work for both new players and veterans. Also check out our Hades II Animals Tier List and Weapon Aspect for new players!

Best Arcana Cards to Prioritize

• The Sorceress – Speeds up your Omega moves by 30%. This is one of the strongest picks early on and should be active most of the time. It’s cheap and keeps your core combat options strong.
• Wayward Sun – Restores health after leaving a room. Excellent for beginners since it provides much-needed sustain while learning biomes and enemies. Later, you can turn it off when you have better healing sources.
• The Furies – Increases damage against enemies trapped in your cast. Cheap, reliable, and useful in nearly every build.
• Persistence – +40 health and +40 magic for only two grasp. This is a near auto-include card.
• Origination – A must-have for the long term. Grants +50% damage to cursed foes, similar to Privileged Status from Hades 1. Once unlocked, it becomes the foundation of most loadouts.
• Strength – One of the best endgame cards. Replaces Death Defiances with -40% damage taken and +20% damage dealt. Much stronger than it looks and makes healing more effective.

Suggested Loadouts for Those New to The Games!

Arcana Cards in Hades 2 Guide, Best One, Loadouts & Tier List!

Beginner-Friendly Loadout

• Sorceress
• Wayward Sun
• Furies
• Persistence
• Death Defiance

This gives you survivability, consistent damage, and safety nets while learning the game.

Core Damage Loadout (Mid-Game)

• Sorceress
• Furies
• Persistence
• Origination
• Huntress

Focuses on dealing heavy damage and pairs well with almost every weapon and boon setup.

Endgame Power Loadout

• Sorceress
• Furies
• Persistence
• Origination
• Strength
• Divinity

This setup sacrifices Death Defiance for stronger defense and offense scaling. Works well in high-heat or late-game challenge runs.

Hades 2 Arcana Card Tier List

S-Tier (Must-Have)

These cards define builds, are efficient for their cost, and shine in almost every run.

• Sorceress – Faster Omega charge = smoother gameplay and stronger combos.

• Persistence – Huge value (+40 HP/+40 MP) for just 2 grasp.

• Origination – +50% damage to cursed foes, central to late-game builds.

• Strength – Swaps Death Defiance for reduced damage taken and boosted output. Excellent scaling.

• Divinity – Increases rarity of boons and offers long-term power scaling.

A-Tier (Strong & Reliable)

Powerful but either situational or slightly costly.

• Furies – Bonus damage to cast-trapped foes. Reliable for cast builds.

• Huntress – Great synergy with ranged and cast-heavy setups.

• Wayward Sun – Health regen per room. Best for beginners or survival-focused runs.

• Champions – Grants rerolls. Essential for boon optimization.

• Enchantress – Another source of rerolls; strong for hunting specific gods.

B-Tier (Solid but Situational)

Good in the right builds, but not universally strong.

• Knight – Omega attack buffs that shine with specific weapons.

• Seer – Useful vision mechanics, but not a must-have.

• The Tower – Boosts structures like traps, but too inconsistent.

• The Lovers – Extra sustain with boons, but weaker than Wayward Sun in most runs.

C-Tier (Niche / Fun Picks)

Work in special builds but not worth investing grasp for serious attempts.

• Eternity – Slows time during Omega moves; clunky to use effectively.

• Unseen – Passive magic regen, but better solved with boons or playstyle.

• Excellence – Better boon rarity, but five grasp is too expensive compared to Divinity.

• Judgment – Random card activations after bosses. Fun gimmick, not consistent.

D-Tier (Skip These)

Not worth the grasp in almost any situation.

• The World – Overly costly for minimal payoff.

• Hermit – Extremely weak effects that don’t impact runs.

• Justice – Too random and underwhelming compared to other cards.

Tips for Managing Arcana

• Always plan around Divinity when possible, since activating rows/columns for bonus rarity can be worth the grasp cost.
• Adapt your cards to your weapon aspect. For example, Knight pairs well with aspects that encourage cycling through Omega moves.
• Unlock reroll-focused cards (Enchantress, Champions, Fate) as soon as possible—they give you the flexibility to chase key boons.

Arcana cards are the backbone of your runs in Hades 2, and understanding them is just as important as weapon choice or boon selection. Some, like Origination and Strength, are simply too strong to ignore, while others are better left untouched except for experimenting. As you expand your grasp capacity, you’ll unlock the freedom to experiment with fun builds, but these recommended loadouts will carry you consistently through most situations.