Despite the title, Hades 2 ups the stakes by introducing the titan Chronos as the new main antagonist of the franchise, with the titular deity getting captured and kicked out of his own throne. In this guide, we will be giving you a few tips to help you beat the current final boss of the game and get your first win in the early access version of Hades 2.
How to Beat Chronos Guide + Tips & Tricks
Before we start, I’m going to preface this by saying that I’m hesitant to give you an exact build suggestion, since everybody has their own distinct playstyle and preferences. We’re going a bit more general with the advice here.
There’s also the fact that this is a roguelite, so RNG is going to be a significant factor throughout each run. This means your setup will likely be very different with each attempt. What I can do is give you a few tips to keep in mind, so let’s get to it!
Which Weapons and Arcana Cards Are Ideal?
It goes without saying, but any weapon is viable. You will get a slight advantage by having ranged attacks, though. Because of this, one of the most well-rounded choices is, funnily enough, the weapon you start with; the Witch’s Staff.
What is more essential, however, is the Eternity arcana card. This will give you at least one Death Defiance, which can come in clutch at this fight, as long as you don’t waste it early on. There is a keepsake for this as well, but we recommend a different one instead.
If you have it, consider swapping to the Knuckle Bones keepsake just before starting the fight with Chronos. This will give you a free burst of damage right off the bat, especially if you’ve been ranking it up.
Moves to Watch Out For
Chronos has two phases, so be ready for a long fight. Also, before we get to his actual moves, you should know that you cannot pause during the fight, unless you have a certain incantation to prevent Chronos from forcing you to play. It makes sense thematically, and it’s pretty funny.
Also, the fight starts with a few adds scattered around the arena. Deal with them immediately before focusing on Chronos himself.
First Phase – Hades’ Former Office
Ranged attacks are going to be a huge advantage for you during the first phase, as getting too close will render you vulnerable to some nasty area of effect attacks.
A handful of his attacks are easily telegraphed and can be avoided with just a bit of common sense, but here are some of the more deadly ones to keep in mind:
- Move #1: Wide Slashing Attack – One of Chronos’ first attack types is a wide slash that hits in a large half-circle arc. This leaves a mark that will explode after a few seconds. Simply dash away.
- Move #2: Boomerang Scythe – Chronos will throw his spinning scythe in a clockwork trajectory. Particularly hard to dodge, but can be avoided if you can somehow get behind him when he does it.
- Move #3: Dashes – Chronos can charge up for a brief moment and dash towards you. In addition to dodging away from him, avoid the mark he leaves behind, as this line will explode after a few seconds.
- Move #4: Shield – Occasionally, Chronos will shield up and summon adds that you have to kill. Following a brief period, he will stop turtling and fire orbs in all directions.
Second Phase – Alternate Dimension
After depleting Chronos’ health bar for the first time, a brief cutscene will play and you will be transported into a new arena. In addition to slightly better versions of his first phase moves, there are a bunch of new things to watch out for, including but not limited to:
- Move #1: Shrouded Blast – When the arena gets shrouded in black, find and go to the safe spot on top of one of the numbers on the clock. You will die if you don’t make it in time.
- Move #2: Shrinking Radius – When a glowing circle starts to shrink towards the middle of the arena, stay within the circle and then dash out of it once the outside isn’t all black anymore so you don’t get sandwiched.
- Move #3: Clock Hands – More of an obstacle than an attack, two clock hands will start spinning around the arena every now and then. Keep your eye on them and dash through when they get too close.
- Move #4: Time Domes – Black circles will appear all over the arena and eventually project a dome on top of them. Touching these will temporarily freeze you in place.
There are various other attacks to keep an eye on, but most of them are very telegraphed and easy to avoid in theory. The issue with this phase comes with the fact that there will be many things happening all at once.
So basically, you just have to get used to dodging each type of attacks that he can execute and try your best to not get hit as he barrages you with several move types at once.
During the second phase, he mostly says in the center of the arena, so it will be easy to abuse any openings to attack him. Focus more on surviving and patiently wait for an opportunity to chip away at his health.
Upon defeating him, all you have to do to proceed is enter Zagreus’ room. Unfortunately, this is where the early access content ends for now. Just like when the first Hades was in early access, the ending you get is a placeholder that will give you an inconclusive forced death.
And those are all of the tips we can give you when it comes to beating Chronos in the game, and since we’re still in early access, things can absolutely change over time. If you still haven’t figured out your own preferred build, consider taking a peek at our best cast build guide for Hades 2 to get some suggestions.
