The gods of Olympus or Olympians will aid Zagreus in his quest to escape the Underworld in Supergiant Games’ Hades. The Olympians help Zagreus because they believe he wants to leave the Underworld to join them in Olympus, which is not true; however, their ignorance will not hurt them. Without the aid of these gods, Zagreus could not escape the Underworld.
One of the Olympians that helps Zagreus in his Underworld escape attempts is Aphrodite. Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, is Zagreus’ cousin-in-law. In this guide, you will get to know Aphrodite’s boons to help you in your Underworld escape attempts.
Zagreus gets help from the Olympians in the form of boons, which are upgrades that make him stronger. A boon can be obtained from completing chambers as a reward or by purchasing it from Charon’s Shop for 150 Obols. Boons, however, are effective only during the current escape attempt, after which they vanish once Zagreus has died and returned to the House of Hades.
Boons
Aphrodite’s Boons cause Zagreus’ abilities to inflict her Status Curse called Weak which will make Zagreus’ enemies inflict at least 30% less damage for four seconds.
Aphrodite also offers boons that will increase the effectiveness of her Status Curse, Weak, like Empty Inside, which increases the Status Curse’s duration.
The Goddess of Love and Beauty’s boons offer the largest additive damage boosts for Zagreus’ Attack and Special, increasing his damage significantly. Not only this, but it can also help in surviving combat chambers due to, as mentioned above, the Status Curse’s effect of making enemies attacks less effective. As Weak effects are easy to inflict, Aphrodite’s boons work well with the Mirror of Night Upgrade, Privileged Status, which can inflict Punished on an enemy and take additional damage while inflicted with two or more different Status Curses.
Here is a list of Aphrodite’s boons:
| Boon | Description | Rarity | Boon Requirement |
| Heartbreak Strike | Your Attack deals more damage and inflicts Weak. Weak Duration: 3 Sec. | Common: Attack Damage: +50% Rare: Multiplier: 1.3–1.5 Epic: Multiplier: 1.8–2.0 Heroic: Multiplier: 2.3–2.5 | None |
| Heartbreak Flourish | Your Special deals more damage and inflicts Weak. Weak Duration: 3 Sec. | Common:Special Damage: +80% Rare:Multiplier: 1.3–1.5 Epic:Multiplier: 1.8–2.0 Heroic: Multiplier: 2.3–2.5 | None |
| Crush Shot | Your Cast is a wide, short-range blast that inflicts Weak. Range: 300 Weak Duration: 3 Sec. It cannot be combined with the Aspect of Beowulf | Common: Cast Damage: 90 Rare: Cast Damage: 100 Epic: Cast Damage: 110 Heroic: Cast Damage: 120 | None |
| Passion Flare | Your Cast damages foes around you and inflicts Weak. | Common: Cast Damage: 80 Rare: Cast Damage: 96 Epic: Cast Damage: 112 Heroic: Cast Damage: 128 | Unique to Aspect of Beowulf |
| Passion Dash | Your Dash inflicts damage where you end up, inflicting Weak. Weak Duration: 3 Sec. Damage Radius: 180 | Common: Dash Damage: 20 Rare: Dash Damage: 24 Epic: Dash Damage: 28 Heroic: Dash Damage: 32 | None |
| Aphrodite’s Aid | Your Call fires a seeking projectile that inflicts Charm. Full Gauge Bonus: 2500 damage The charm projectile pierces foes. | Common: Charm Duration: 5 Sec. Rare: Charm Duration: 5.5 Sec. Epic: Charm Duration: 6 Sec. Heroic: Charm Duration: 6.5 Sec. | None |
| Dying Lament | When foes are slain, they damage nearby foes and inflict Weak. Damage Radius: 200 | Common: Death Blast Damage: 40 Rare: Multiplier: 1.3–1.5 Epic: Multiplier: 1.8–2.0 Heroic: Multiplier: 2.3–2.5 | None |
| Wave of Despair | After you take damage, damage nearby foes and inflict Weak. Damage Radius: 700 | Common: Revenge Damage: 50 Rare: Multiplier: 1.3–1.5 Epic: Multiplier: 1.8–2.0 Heroic: Multiplier: 2.3–2.5 | None |
| Different League | Resist some damage from nearby foes’ attacks. Proximity Threshold: 400 | Common: Reduced Damage from Foes: 10% Rare: Reduced Damage from Foes: 13% Epic: Reduced Damage from Foes: 15% Heroic: Reduced Damage from Foes: 18% | None |
| Life Affirmation | Any Health chamber rewards are worth more. This boon cannot be upgraded via poms. This boon does not affect Thanatos encounters or items bought from Charon’s shop. | Common: Reward Value: +30% Rare: Multiplier: +36% Epic: Multiplier: +42% Heroic: Multiplier: +48% | None |
| Empty Inside | Your Weak effects have a longer duration. | Common: Weak Duration: +5 sec. Rare: Weak Duration: +7.5 sec. Epic: Weak Duration: +10 sec. Heroic: Weak Duration: +12.5 sec. | Either Heartbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, Crush Shot, or Passion Dash |
| Sweet Surrender | Weak-afflicted foes are also more susceptible to damage. It does not get increased by Broken Resolve | Common: Damage vs. Weak: +10% Rare: Multiplier: 1.3–1.5 Epic: Multiplier: 2.0–2.5 Heroic: Multiplier: 2.5–2.7 | Either Heartbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, Crush Shot, or Passion Dash |
| Broken Resolve | Your Weak effects are more potent. This boon cannot be upgraded via poms. | Common: Weak Damage Reduction: +10% Rare: Weak Damage Reduction: +12.5% Epic: Weak Damage Reduction: +15% Heroic: Weak Damage Reduction: +17.5% | Either Heartbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, Crush Shot, or Passion Dash |
| Blown Kiss | Your Cast shoots farther and is stronger against undamaged foes. Cast range is doubled and is also 30% wider. This boon cannot be upgraded via poms. | Common: First-Hit Bonus Damage: +50% Rare: Multiplier: 1.5 Epic: Multiplier: 2.0 Heroic: Multiplier: 2.5 | Crush Shot |
| Unhealthy Fixation | Your Weak effects also have a 15% chance to Charm foes. Charm Duration: 4 Sec. | Legendary | One of each: Heartbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, Crush Shot, or Passion Dash And one of each: Empty Inside, Sweet Surrender, or Broken Resolve |
| Curse of Longing | Your Doom effects continuously strike Weak foes. Successive Hit Damage: 50% | Duo (Ares) | One of Aphrodite’s: Heartbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, Crush Shot, or Passion Dash And one of Ares’: Curse of Agony or Curse of Pain |
| Heart Rend | Your Critical effects deal even more damage to Weak foes. Bonus Critical Damage vs. Weak: +150% | Duo (Artemis) | One of Aphrodite’s: Heartbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, Crush Shot, or Passion Dash And one of Artemis’: Deadly Strike, Deadly Flourish, or True Shot |
| Parting Shot | Your Cast gains any bonuses you have for striking foes from behind. Bonus Backstab Damage: +35% It cannot be combined with Trippy Shot | Duo (Athena) | One of Aphrodite’s: Heartbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, Crush Shot, Passion Dash, or Aphrodite’s Aid One of Athena’s: Divine Strike, Divine Flourish, Phalanx Shot, Divine Dash, or Athena’s Aid |
| Cold Embrace | Your Cast crystal fires its beam directly at you for 4 seconds. Bonus Cast Damage: +30% It cannot be combined with Crystal Clarity. It cannot be combined with the Aspect of Beowulf. | Duo (Demeter) | One of Aphrodite’s: Heartbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, Passion Dash, or Aphrodite’s Aid And Demeter’s: Crystal Beam |
| Low Tolerance | Your Hangover effects stack even more times against Weak foes. Bonus Hangover Stacks: 3 | Duo (Dionysus) | One of Aphrodite’s: Heartbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, Crush Shot, or Passion Dash And one of Dionysus’: Drunken Strike, Drunken Flourish, Drunken Dash, or Dionysus’ Aid |
| Sweet Nectar | Any Poms of Power you find are more effective. Bonus Lv. from Poms: +1 | Duo (Poseidon) | One of Aphrodite’s: Heartbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, Crush Shot, Passion Dash, or Aphrodite’s Aid And one of Poseidon’s: Tempest Strike, Tempest Flourish, Flood Shot, Tidal Dash, or Poseidon’s Aid |
| Smoldering Air | Your Call charges up automatically but is capped at 25%. Auto Gauge Gain: 1% every .2 seconds It cannot be combined with Sigil of the Dead | Duo (Zeus) | One of Aphrodite’s: Heartbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, Crush Shot, Passion Dash, or Aphrodite’s Aid One of Zeus’: Lightning Strike, Thunder Flourish, Electric Shot, Thunder Dash, or Zeus’ Aid |
Final Thoughts
Although Aphrodite does not offer the best boons in the game, her Attack boon, Heartbreak Strike, can be a great one to have on your build. Heartbreak Strike will allow you the control during combat chambers where it is almost certain that Zagreus will take damage like the Temple of Styx as Weak will reduce the enemies’ damage output. Additionally, Heartbreak Strike’s boost in damage is as strong as the other god’s Attack boons damage boost.
It is also important to note that accepting all of Aphrodite’s Boons at least once will complete one of the prophecies in the Fated List of Minor Prophecies called Goddess of Love which will reward 150 Gemstones once completed.
