Hecate is the first Guardian standing in Melinoë’s way in Hades 2. As her fellow witch and teacher, she’s no pushover, so get ready to face her in a toe-to-toe battle.
How to Defeat Hecate in Hades 2
Despite looking intimidating at first, Hecate is quite manageable once you get to know her patterns. True to her title, Hecate chants various hexes and spells at you during her three phases. She gets more aggressive as the battle goes on, summoning clones of herself and smaller witches to serve as minor annoyances.
You can take her on with any weapon/boon combination you want, but I found the Witch’s Staff easier to use when handling her during the early game. Just like other bosses in the game, she changes phases every 33% of HP lost.
Phase 1
During her initial phase, Hecate is at her tamest. Most of her attacks consist of simple magic slashes, an expanding magic circle around her, and occasional multiplication using these same attacks. Dodge them as necessary and keep a good distance. This is easy to do when using the Witch’s Staff, so be careful if you pick the Sister Blades or other melee weapons.
Use a lot of charged attacks as they hit Hecate for a lot of health. If you have a reliable way to replenish your Hex gauge, don’t be afraid to spam them. Hecate always does two consecutive slashes at your direction, so dodge them before retaliating.
Hecate can multiply herself in Hades 2 and use her two clones to attack you, but only the real Hecate can be damaged. But fortunately, there are some ways to know which one is the real one. Pay attention to the speak bubble above her icon when she teleports, as she keeps it for a second when teleporting.
Another method is by marking her with a Boon effect such as Aphrodite’s Weak, Zeus’ Blitz, or Artemis’ Marks. The real Hecate keeps the debuff on her when teleporting, making it an easy job to find the real one. These boons are not necessary to beat her, though.
Phase 2
Once you get her low enough, she’ll become invincible for a second and start summoning some lesser Witches. Hecate remains invincible as long as there are still enemies on the field and will keep summoning hex circles beneath you until you dispose of them, so keep moving and killing. She gets one new ability in this phase, which is completely random.
Related: What Are the Sealed Gates in Hades 2?
One of her new skills might be the 2-sided slash, so you have an even larger area to worry about now. Dodge as soon as you see her windup animation just like with the regular slashes. She only does it once. Aside from a few new tricks, nothing big comes up to you as you continue to wear her down.
Phase 3
Once you wear her down again in Hades 2, Hecate instantly casts the Sheep hex onto you, transforming you into a sheep. You don’t take damage directly, but you cannot run and your attacks are as weak as they can get. However, you can still dodge, so keep evading any incoming hits until her incantation wears off. You can even dodge the sheep enchantment, but it takes a long time until it vanishes, so be careful.
Her other new trick is a barrage of magical slashes in front of her that chase you, then return through the same way they came. This attack leaves Hecate completely unguarded from behind, so this is your chance to strike for a huge chunk of her HP. This is particularly easier with the Sister Blades’ charged Attack, which automatically sneaks behind the target.
Be aware that she tends to multiply much more during this final phase, so dealing with those last few hits is always a struggle. Something I noticed is that the real Hecate tends to be the furthest clone from you when the three spawn. She can (and will) spawn closer to you sometimes, but that seems to be rare compared to spawning far away.
Don’t worry if you can’t beat her at first. It takes some time to get used to her patterns, but they won’t change. The more runs you do, the more Arcana you unlock, which helps you get stronger and better for the next encounter. Once you realize, you’ll be defeating her for breakfast. You’ll be fighting Hecate every Hades 2 run you make, so it gets easier with time.
She gives you a Cinder once defeated, which is used in various incantations back in the encampment. But Hecate’s only the first of the many Guardians you’ll encounter on your way to the underworld, so get ready for even harder challenges!
And that’s how to beat Hecate in Hades 2.
Hades 2 is now available as Early Access on PC through Steam and Epic Games Store.
