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. Little do they know that is not Zagreus’ plan at all, and the reason he wants to leave the Underworld is to find his mother. Besides, without the aid of these gods, Zagreus could not escape the Underworld.
One of the Olympians who helps Zagreus in his Underworld escape attempts is Ares, the God of War, Zagreus’cousin. In this guide, you will get to know Ares’boons to help Zagreus in his 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
Ares’Boons cause Zagreus’abilities to inflict her Status Curse called Doom, which will cause his enemies to receive a huge amount of damage a short while after being inflicted this consuming the Status Curse.
Ares also offers boons that will increase the effectiveness of her Status Curse, Doom, like Dire Misfortune, which increases the Status Curse’sduration. Aside from inflicting Doom, he also offers boons that increase Zagreus’ability damage and create Blade Rifts which can deal rapid damage to his enemies when they walk into them.
The God of War’s boons inflicts high amounts of damage to enemies over time by continuously inflicting Doom on them or keeping them inside Blade Rifts.
Here is a list of Ares’ boons:
| Boon | Description | Rarity | Boon Requirement |
| Curse of Agony | Your Attack inflicts Doom. Curse Delay: 1.1 Sec. | Common: Curse Damage: 50 Rare: Curse Damage: 75 Epic: Curse Damage: 100 Heroic: Curse Damage: 125 | None |
| Curse of Pain | Your Special inflicts Doom. Curse Delay: 1.1 Sec. | Common: Curse Damage: 60 Rare: Curse Damage: 80 Epic: Curse Damage: 100 Heroic: Curse Damage: 120 | None |
| Slicing Shot | Your Cast sends a Blade Rift hurling ahead. Duration: 4 Sec. Damage Interval: 0.2 Sec. Damage Radius: 150 Speed: 250 It cannot be combined with the Aspect of Beowulf. | Common: Rift Damage per Hit: 20 Rare: Rift Damage per Hit: 22 Epic: Rift Damage per Hit: 24 Heroic: Rift Damage per Hit: 26 | None |
| Slicing Flare | Your Cast sends a large Blade Rift hurling ahead for a brief time. | Common: Rift Damage per Hit: 30 Rare: Rift Damage per Hit: 36 Epic: Rift Damage per Hit: 42 Heroic: Rift Damage per Hit: 46 | Unique to Aspect of Beowulf |
| Blade Dash | Your Dash creates a Blade Rift where you started. Duration: 0.7 Sec. Damage Interval: 0.1 Sec. Damage Radius: 150 | Common: Rift Damage per Hit: 10 Rare: Rift Damage per Hit: 12 Epic: Rift Damage per Hit: 14 Heroic: Rift Damage per Hit: 16 | None |
| AAres’Aid | Your Call turns you into an Impervious Blade Rift for 1.2 Sec. Wrath Cost: 50Max Gauge Bonus 6 Sec | Common: Rift Damage per Hit: 30 Rare: Rift Damage per Hit: 38 Epic: Rift Damage per Hit: 45 Heroic: Rift Damage per Hit: 53 | None |
| Curse of Vengeance | After you take damage, inflict Doom on surrounding foes. Effect Radius: 450 Curse Delay: 1.1 Sec. | Common: Revenge Damage: 100 Rare: Revenge Damage: 120 Epic: Revenge Damage: 140 Heroic: Revenge Damage: 160 | None |
| Urge to Kill | Your Attack, Special, and Cast deal more damage. | Common: Attack, Special, and Cast Damage: +10% Rare: Attack, Special, and Cast Damage: +13% Epic: Attack, Special, and Cast Damage: +16% Heroic: Attack, Special, and Cast Damage: +19% | None |
| Battle Rage | After slaying a foe, your next Attack or Special deals more damage. | Common: Damage Bonus: +100% Rare: Damage Bonus: +150% Epic: Damage Bonus: +200% Heroic: Damage Bonus: +250% | None |
| Blood Frenzy | After using Death Defiance, deal more damage that encounter. This boon cannot be upgraded via poms. | Common: Damage Bonus: +15% Rare: Damage Bonus: +22% Epic: Damage Bonus: +30% Heroic: Damage Bonus: +37% | None |
| Black Metal | Your Blade Rift powers deal damage in a wider area. | Common: Bonus Area of Effect: +20% Rare: Bonus Area of Effect: +22% Epic: Bonus Area of Effect: +24% Heroic: Bonus Area of Effect: +26% | Slicing Flare / Slicing Shot, Blade Dash, or Ares’Aid, |
| Engulfing Vortex | Your Blade Rift effects last longer and pull foes in. This boon cannot be upgraded via poms. | Common: Rift Duration: +0.2 Sec. Rare: Multiplier: +0.3 Sec. Epic: Multiplier: +0.4 Sec. Heroic: Multiplier: +0.5 Sec. | Slicing Flare / Slicing Shot, Blade Dash, or Ares’Aid |
| Dire Misfortune | Your Doom effects deal more damage when applied multiple times. This boon cannot be upgraded via poms. | Common: Bonus Damage per Curse: 10 Rare: Bonus Damage per Curse: 12 Epic: Bonus Damage per Curse: 14 Heroic: Bonus Damage per Curse: 16 | Curse of Agony or Curse of Pain |
| Impending Doom | Your Doom effects deal more damage after +0.5 Sec. | Common: Bonus Doom Damage: +60% Rare: Damage Bonus: +65% Epic: Damage Bonus: +70% Heroic: Damage Bonus: +75% | Curse of Agony, Curse of Pain, or Curse of Vengeance |
| Vicious Cycle | Your Blade Rift effects deal more damage for each consecutive hit. Damage Increase per Hit: +2 | Legendary | Black Metal or Engulfing Vortex |
| Curse of Longing | Your Doom effects continuously strike Weak foes. Successive Hit Damage: 50% | Duo (Aphrodite) | One of Ares’ Curse of Agony or Curse of Pain And one of Aphrodite’s Heartbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, Crush Shot / Passion Flare, or Passion Dash |
| Hunting Blades | Your Cast creates a faster Blade Rift that seeks the nearest foe. Seek Duration: 3.3 Sec. It cannot be combined with the Aspect of Beowulf. It cannot be combined with Freezing Vortex. | Duo (Artemis) | One of Ares’ Slicing Shot And one of Artemis’s Deadly Strike, Deadly Flourish, Hunter Dash, or Artemis’Aid |
| Merciful End | Your attacks that can Deflect immediately activate Doom effects. Doom Combo Damage: 40 | Duo (Athena) | One of Ares’ Curse of Agony or Curse of Pain And one of Athena’s Divine Strike or Divine Flourish |
| Freezing Vortex | Your Cast inflicts Chill but is smaller and moves slower. Blade Rift size -15% It cannot be combined with Hunting Blades. | Duo (Demeter) | One of Ares’ Slicing Shot / Slicing Flare And one of Demeter’s Frost Strike, Frost Flourish, Mistral Dash, or Demeter’sAid |
| Curse of Nausea | Your Hangover effects deal damage faster. Damage Rate: .5 sec -> .35 sec | Duo (Dionysus) | One of Ares’ Curse of Agony, Curse of Pain, or Curse of Vengeance And one of Dionysus’ Drunken Strike, Drunken Flourish, Drunken Dash, or Dionysus’Aid |
| Curse of Drowning | Your Cast is a pulse that deals damage to foes around you. Pulses per Cast: 3 It cannot be combined with Mirage Shot or Blizzard Shot. It cannot be combined with the Aspect of Hera. | Duo (Poseidon) | One of Ares’ Curse of Agony, Curse of Pain, Blade Dash, or Ares’Aid And one of Poseidon’s Flood Shot or Flood Flare |
| Vengeful Mood | Your Revenge attacks sometimes occur without taking damage. Auto-Revenge Rate: 3 Sec. | Duo (Zeus) | One of Ares’ Curse of Agony, Curse of Pain, Slicing Shot / Slicing Flare, Blade Dash, or AAres’Aid And one of Zeus’s Lightning Strike, Thunder Flourish, Electric Shot / Thunder Flare, Thunder Dash, or ZZeus’Aid And one Revenge boon: Wave of Despair, Curse of Vengeance, Holy Shield, Frozen Touch, or Heaven’s Vengeance. |
Final Thoughts
One of the best boons in the game is Ares’Battle Rage, as it gives an extremely strong damage bonus by killing only one enemy in the room, then Zagreus’Attack or special will gain a huge damage bonus. This boon can improve Zagreus’s boon build to the point of almost one-hitting enemies.
Ares’sAid is a great Aid boon to have, too, as Zagreus can be impervious to attacks while dealing massive damage with the Blade Rift.
It is also important to note that accepting all of Ares’Boons at least once will complete one of the prophecies in the Fated List of Minor Prophecies called God of War, which will reward 150 Gemstones once completed.
