Hades II: How to Beat Chronos

Death to Chronos is a bit easier said than done, but it certainly can be done.

After you've proven yourself to Hecate in Erebus, silenced the Sirens in Oceanus, and freed Cerberus in the Mourning Fields, you'll finally be able to head back through Tartarus towards the House of Hades. After making your way through an army of Satyrs and traitors to your father, you'll meet Hades II's antagonist face-to-face.

As you'll probably expect, Chronos is not an easy foe to take down, but if you're losing hope of getting a clear run each time you meet him, we've got some tips to help you out. Firstly, before we get to the fight itself it's worth making the most of your Keepsakes and Arcana Cards. Maxing out The Lovers and Death will allow you to ignore some of Chronos' hits and give you three Death Defiances. The Knuckle Bones can chip away some of his health and make you take less damage from him, and the Evil Eye from Nemesis is actually how we brought him down the first time with a ridiculous amount of damage from Zorophet AKA the Moonstone Axe.

We can't really recommend the Moonstone Axe if you're looking to beat Chronos for the first time, unless you get a hell of a lot of extra health and damage, as you're essentially entering a war of attrition with this build. Instead, we'd recommend grabbing the Argent Skull, Umbral Torches, or using the special primarily on the Witch's Staff (Aspect of Momus still goes hard). These ranged tools let you play keepaway with Chronos, who can get on top of you but often does so with a telegraphed dash you can see coming from a while away. Keeping him at bay also means you won't get suddenly blasted by the orbs he surrounds himself with or a quick slash of his scythe.

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Chronos is packed with moves that can chip away at your health, and it doesn't help that he starts the fight with a gang of satyr allies ready to beat you up too. Whether you have AoE in your weapon or not, we'd recommend getting an upgrade or two to your cast in the course of your run, so you might be able to wipe them out in the first few seconds of the fight and get them off your back. It doesn't make Chronos less deadly, but it does allow you to focus entirely on him.

Note the Satyrs here. You'll want them gone ASAP.

Chronos' big sweeping scythe attacks will damage you on impact and after a second. Never dash along the line he's swiped through, and instead back away if you must. These swipes reach a mid-range at most, but his dash can cut right through an arena. When he starts pulling you in towards his whirling scythe, sprint in a circular motion around the arena and you'll be able to avoid taking damage from the projectile he throws at the end of that attack. Keep away again when he shows a circle around him, otherwise you'll get stunned in the sands of time.

If you're able to keep up your damage, you'll bring Chronos low. Sadly, just as with the final boss of the first game, he's got a second phase and full health bar. There, you'll be transported to a circular arena shaped like a clock face, where Chronos will immediately highlight a number on the ground. Run to that small circle or be killed. It's as simple as that. Again, ranged weapons come in handy here as they'll be able to keep damage up while you're far away from Chronos. He'll then proceed to shower the arena in effects, from burning clock hands that'll tick around the arena to an overload of circles that stop you in time. Keep mobile and stay moving, otherwise you'll be caught out easily by these attacks. Also, Chronos is still going to be swinging at you the whole time here.

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Avoid this move at all costs.

Midway through his second phase, he also summons hourglasses that can heal him. If you've got a lot of damage you could honestly ignore these minions, but otherwise you can dash around the arena clockwise, dealing with them as you go. They don't have a lot of health and shouldn't be too much of a challenge. At this point, it's really just trusting in your build and avoiding the instant-kill moves Chronos has. Keep up your damage and you'll be collecting your first Z-Sand in no time.

One final recommendation before we sign off: Make sure you're using different Keepsakes throughout a run. The Crystal Figurine from Circe and Concave Stone from Echo can give you extra Arcana cards and an extra boon from a god if you make use of them earlier in the run, giving you that little extra boost to take on Chronos.