Boons

Boons are upgrades given by the gods to help Zagreus in his attempts to escape the underworld. They can be obtained as rewards for clearing a room marked with the respective god's symbol or purchased for 150 from Charon's shop. Boons only last for the duration of a run; they disappear when Zagreus dies and is sent back to the House of Hades.

Gods[ | ]

Aphrodite gives boons that inflict Weak and Charmed on opponents, as well as improve survivability.
Ares gives boons that inflict Doom, create Blade Rifts, or increase the damage of your attacks.
Artemis gives boons that grant Critical hits and improve Cast abilities.
Athena gives boons that allow abilities to Deflect projectiles and improve Calls and defensive options.
Chaos gives boons that grant a variety of bonuses after inflicting a debuff for multiple encounters.
Demeter gives boons that add Chill to abilities, improve healing, and various debuffs.
Dionysus gives boons that inflict Hangover, create Festive Fog, and improve survivability.
Hermes gives boons that increase your mobility, ability speed, evasion and dash capability.
Poseidon gives boons that add Knockback to abilities and improve room rewards.
Zeus gives boons that add chain lightning to abilities, or cause lightning to strike nearby enemies.

More information on specific boons from each god can be found on their respective pages.

Equipping a keepsake given by one of the gods (except Hermes or Chaos) ensures that the next time a boon is offered, it will be from that specific god. It does not guarantee that the very next reward will be a god boon - only that, the first time one appears, it will be from that god. Chaos and Hermes boons can appear before any other god boon regardless of the keepsake you are using.

Slots[ | ]

Zagreus' Attack, Special, Cast, Dash, and Call abilities have one boon slot, and cannot hold multiple ability boons.

For example, you cannot have both Aphrodite's cast boon Crush Shot and Dionysus's cast boon Trippy Shot. However, a god may offer to replace another god's ability slot Boon with their own. Exchanges increase rarity of the boon by one, keeping the level the same. In the above example, Dionysus may offer to replace your Epic Crush Shot (Rank 2) with Heroic Trippy Shot (Rank 2).

There are no other limits to how many other boons Zagreus can have.

Boon Rarity[ | ]

There are four 'standard' rarities of boon available, each more powerful than the last:

Common
Rare
Epic
Heroic

"More powerful" has a similar meaning as leveling the boon up (i.e. the same numbers get bigger), but +1 rarity and +1 level will have different results. The exact formula is currently unsolved.

Heroic rarity is available through exchanging an Epic-rarity boon, choosing Ambrosia Delight from Eurydice, or from cultivating boons with Rare Crop from Demeter. Note that the Yarn of Ariadne from the Well of Charon, and the Refreshing Nectar from Eurydice, cannot offer a heroic boon, even with the Exclusive Access duo boon from Poseidon and Dionysus, which makes every future boon to be at least an Epic-rarity boon.

Boons that are rewarded from Erebus encounters, mini-boss encounters (both types are denoted with a small skull on the chamber preview) or bought at a higher price from Charon in the Temple of Styx are more likely to have higher rarities.

Gods' Boons[ | ]

Aphrodite Boons
Boon	Effect
Heartbreak Strike	Your Attack deals more damage and inflicts Weak.
Heartbreak Flourish	Your Special deals more damage and inflicts Weak.
Crush Shot	Your Cast is a wide, short-range blast that inflicts Weak.
Passion Flare	Your Cast damages foes around you and inflicts Weak.
Passion Dash	Your Dash inflicts damage where you end up, inflicting Weak.
Aphrodite's Aid	Your Call fires a seeking projectile that inflicts Charm.
Dying Lament	When foes are slain, they damage nearby foes and inflict Weak.
Wave of Despair	After you take damage, damage nearby foes and inflict Weak.
Different League	Resist some damage from nearby foes' attacks.
Life Affirmation	Any chamber rewards are worth more.
Empty Inside	Your Weak effects have a longer duration.
Sweet Surrender	Weak-afflicted foes are also more susceptible to damage.
Broken Resolve	Your Weak effects are more potent.
Blown Kiss	Your Cast shoots farther and is stronger against undamaged foes.
Unhealthy Fixation	Your Weak effects also have a chance to Charm foes.

Ares Boons
Boon	Effect
Curse of Agony	Your Attack inflicts Doom.
Curse of Pain	Your Special inflicts Doom.
Slicing Shot	Your Cast sends a Blade Rift hurling ahead.
Slicing Flare	Your Cast sends a large Blade Rift hurling ahead for a brief time.
Blade Dash	Your Dash creates a Blade Rift where you started.
Ares' Aid	Your Call turns you into an Impervious Blade Rift for a short time.
Curse of Vengeance	After you take damage, inflict Doom on surrounding foes.
Urge to Kill	Your Attack, Special, and Cast deal more damage.
Battle Rage	After slaying a foe, your next Attack or Special deals more damage.
Blood Frenzy	After using Death Defiance, deal more damage that encounter.
Black Metal	Your Blade Rift powers deal damage in a wider area.
Engulfing Vortex	Your Blade Rift effects last longer and pull foes in.
Dire Misfortune	Your Doom effects deal more damage when applied multiple times.
Impending Doom	Your Doom effects deal more damage, after a slightly longer time.
Vicious Cycle	Your Blade Rift effects deal more damage for each consecutive hit.

Artemis Boons
Boon	Effect
Deadly Strike	Your Attack is stronger, with a chance to deal Critical damage.
Deadly Flourish	Your Special is stronger, with a chance to deal Critical Damage.
True Shot	Your Cast seeks foes, with a chance to deal Critical damage.
Hunter's Flare	Your Cast damages foes around you, with a bonus Critical chance.
Hunter Dash	Your Dash-Strike deals more damage.
Artemis' Aid	Your Call fires a seeking arrow with a large Critical chance.
Pressure Points	Any damage you deal has a chance to be Critical.
Exit Wounds	Your foes take damage when your stuck in them is dislodged.
Hide Breaker	Your Critical effects deal even more damage to Armor.
Clean Kill	Your Critical effects deal even more damage.
Hunter Instinct	Your God Gauge charges faster when you deal Critical damage.
Hunter's Mark	After you deal Critical damage to a foe, a foe near it is Marked.
Support Fire	After you Cast, or hit with an Attack or Special, fire a seeking arrow.
Fully Loaded	Gain extra for your Cast.

Athena Boons
Boon	Effect
Divine Strike	Your Attack is stronger, and can Deflect.
Divine Flourish	Your Special is stronger, and can Deflect.
Phalanx Shot	Your Cast damages foes in a small area, and can Deflect.
Phalanx Flare	Your Cast damages foes around you, and can Deflect.
Divine Dash	Your Dash deals damage and can Deflect.
Athena's Aid	Your Call briefly makes you Invulnerable and Deflect all attacks.
Holy Shield	After you take damage, damage nearby foes and briefly Deflect.
Bronze Skin	Resist damage from foes' attacks.
Sure Footing	Resist damage from Traps.
Proud Bearing	You begin each Encounter with your God Gauge partly full.
Blinding Flash	Your abilities that can Deflect also make foes Exposed.
Brilliant Riposte	When you Deflect attacks, they deal more damage.
Deathless Stand	Death Defiance makes you Impervious longer. Replenish a charge immediately.
Last Stand	Death Defiance restores more than usual. Replenish a charge immediately.
Divine Protection	You have a barrier that negates incoming damage.

Demeter Boons
Boon	Effect
Frost Strike	Your Attack is stronger and inflicts Chill.
Frost Flourish	Your Special is stronger and inflicts Chill.
Crystal Beam	Your Cast drops a crystal that fires a beam straight ahead for a few seconds.
Icy Flare	Your Cast damages foes around you and inflicts Chill.
Mistral Dash	Your Dash shoots a gust ahead that inflicts Chill.
Demeter's Aid	Your Call creates a winter vortex for a few seconds that deals damage and inflicts Chill.
Frozen Touch	After you take damage, damage and completely Chill your foe.
Rare Crop	Your Boons become Common, then gain Rarity every few Encounters.
Ravenous Will	While you have no , take less damage and deal more.
Nourished Soul	Any Health effects are more potent. Restore some health now.
Snow Burst	Whenever you Cast, damage nearby foes and inflict Chill.
Arctic Blast	Applying 10 stacks of Chill causes a blast, clearing the effect.
Killing Freeze	When all foes are Chill afflicted, they become Slow and Decay.
Glacial Glare	Your Cast fires longer and inflicts Chill.
Winter Harvest	Chill-affected foes shatter at low hp, inflicting Chill nearby.

Dionysus Boons
Boon	Effect
Drunken Strike	Your Attack inflicts Hangover.
Drunken Flourish	Your Special inflicts Hangover.
Trippy Shot	Your Cast lobs a projectile that bursts into Festive Fog.
Trippy Flare	Your Cast damages foes around you, leaving behind Festive Fog.
Drunken Dash	Your Dash inflicts foes near you with Hangover.
Dionysus' Aid	Your Call inflicts Hangover to foes all around you for a few seconds.
After Party	If your is low after Encounters, restore to the threshold.
Positive Outlook	Take less damage while at low .
Premium Vintage	Gain when you pick up Nectar. Receive a Nectar now.
Strong Drink	Using a Fountain restores all and gives you bonus damage.
Bad Influence	Deal more damage while multiple foes are Hangover-afflicted.
Numbing Sensation	Your Hangover effects also make foes move slower.
Peer Pressure	Hangover-afflicted foes contaminate other nearby foes.
High Tolerance	Take less damage while standing in Festive Fog.
Black Out	Hangover-afflicted foes take bonus damage in Festive Fog.

Poseidon Boons
Boon	Effect
Tempest Strike	Your Attack deals more damage and knocks foes away.
Tempest Flourish	Your Special deals more damage and knocks foes away.
Flood Shot	Your Cast damages foes in an area and knocks them away.
Flood Flare	Your Cast damages foes around you and knocks them away.
Tidal Dash	Your Dash damages foes in an area and knocks them away.
Poseidon's Aid	Your Call makes you surge into foes while Impervious for a few seconds.
Typhoon's Fury	You deal more damage when slamming foes into barriers.
Hydraulic Might	Your Attack and Special are stronger the first few seconds of an Encounter.
Ocean's Bounty	Any , or chamber rewards are worth more.
Sunken Treasure	Gain an assortment of , , and .
Razor Shoals	Using knock-away effects also Rupture foes.
Boiling Point	Your God Gauge charges faster when you take damage.
Breaking Wave	Slamming foes into walls or corners creates a watery blast in the area.
Wave Pounding	Your boons with Knock-Away effects deal bonus damage to bosses.
Rip Current	Your Call pulls in foes and the effect lasts longer.
Huge Catch	You have a greater chance to find Fishing Point in each Chamber.
Second Wave	Your knock-away effects shove foes a second time after the first.

Zeus Boons
Boon	Effect
Lightning Strike	Your Attack emits chain-lightning when you damage a foe.
Thunder Flourish	Your Special causes a lightning bolt to strike nearby foes.
Electric Shot	Your Cast is a burst of chain-lightning that bounces between foes.
Thunder Flare	Your Cast causes a lightning bolt to strike nearby foes.
Thunder Dash	Your Dash causes a lightning bolt to strike nearby foes.
Zeus' Aid	Your Call makes lightning strike nearby foes repeatedly for a few seconds.
Heaven's Vengance	After you take damage, your foe is struck by lightning.
Lightning Reflexes	After you Dash just before getting hit, a bolt strikes a nearby foes.
Storm Lightning	Your chain-lightning effects bounce more times before expiring.
High Voltage	Your lightning bolt effects deal damage in a larger area.
Double Strike	Your lightning bolt effects have a chance to strike twice.
Static Discharge	Your lightning effects also make foes Jolted.
Clouded Judgement	Your God Gauge charges faster when you deal or take damage.
Billowing Strength	After using Call, you deal more damage for a short time.
Splitting Bolt	All your lightning effects create an additional burst.

Special Boons[ | ]

There are four types of special boons that are only offered after meeting certain requirements:

Duo
Legendary
Chaos
Bouldy

Special boon requirements include clearing a curse or acquiring specific standard boons. Special boons cannot be upgraded with Pom of Power.

Duo Boons combine the powers of a pair of gods, and require Zagreus possess certain boons from both gods. They can be offered by either god, and trigger dialogue between the pair when obtained. These cannot be obtained in a Trial of the Gods room, even if the requirements have been met, though one god may offer to exchange already obtained boons from the other god.
Legendary Boons are top-tier blessings offering unique skills, and require Zagreus possess certain boons from one god. Each god has at least one.
Chaos Boons require the player enter a Chaos Gate and overcome a curse before the boon activates. Unlike other boons, Chaos blessings can be taken more than once in a run, and effects stack. Chaos boons cannot be sold.
Bouldy Boons require the player to converse with Sisyphus a number of times until he can 'speak' with Bouldy and gift him Nectar. Bouldy boons cannot be sold.

Notes[ | ]

Before Patch 037, the price for a boon in Charon's shop was 200 .