In Supergiant Games’ Hades, the gods of Olympus or Olympians will help Zagreus in his pursuit of escaping the Underworld. This is because they think that Zagreus wants to leave the Underworld in order to join them in Olympus. Spoiler alert: that’s not true at all but what they don’t know won’t hurt them. Besides, it would probably be impossible for Zagreus to escape the Underworld without their help.
The Olympians help Zagreus by giving him boons which are upgrades that can make him stronger. Boons can be obtained by completing chambers as chamber rewards or by purchasing them from Charon’s Shop for 150 Obols. These boons, however, are only effective on the current escape attempt they were obtained and will disappear once Zagreus dies and goes back to the House of Hades.
One of the Olympians that helps Zagreus in his Underworld escape attempts is Zeus himself. Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder, is Zagreus’ uncle and the ruler of the Olympian Gods. In this guide, you’ll get to know Zeus’ boons to help you in your Underworld escape attempts.
Boons
Zeus’ boons mostly have lightning bolts or chain lightning effects which can deal great damage to a group of enemies because the lightning bolts also deal damage in an area around the enemy it strikes and the chain lightning effects bounce to other enemies. Zeus’ Status Curse is Jolted. If an enemy is Jolted, it consumes the Curse by inflicting damage to itself when it attacks.
Here is a list of Zeus’ boons:
| Boon | Description | Rarity | Boon Requirement |
| Lightning Strike | Zagreus’ attack emits chain-lightning when it damages an enemy. Bounces: 4 Bounce Range: 520 Deals reduced damage per bounce. | Common: Lightning Damage: 10 Rare: Lightning Damage: 12.5 Epic: Lightning Damage: 15 Heroic: Lightning Damage: 20 | None |
| Thunder Flourish | Lightning strikes nearby enemies as part of Zagreus’ special. Has an internal cooldown of .2 per target. (Bolt only triggers, at most, 5 times per second per enemy) Damage Radius: 200 | Common: Lightning Damage: 30 Rare: Lightning Damage: 38 Epic: Lightning Damage: 45 Heroic: Lightning Damage: 60 | None |
| Electric Shot | Zagreus’ Cast is a burst of chain-lightning that bounces between foes. Bounces: 5 Bounce Range: 720 Cannot be combined with Aspect of Beowulf | Common: Cast Damage: 60 Rare: Cast Damage: 70 Epic: Cast Damage: 81 Heroic: Cast Damage: 90 | None |
| Thunder Flare | Zagreus’ Cast causes a lightning bolt to strike nearby foes. | Common: Cast Damage: 60 Rare: Cast Damage: 72 Epic: Cast Damage: 84 Heroic: Cast Damage: 96 | Unique to Aspect of Beowulf |
| Thunder Dash | Zagreus’ Dash causes a lightning bolt to strike nearby foes. Range: 500 Damage Radius: 200 | Common: Lightning Damage: 10 Rare: Lightning Damage: 15 Epic: Lightning Damage: 20 Heroic: Lightning Damage: 25 | None |
| Zeus’ Aid | Zagreus’ Call makes lightning strike nearby foes repeatedly for 1.5 Sec. Max Gauge Bonus: 9 Sec. Duration | Common: Lightning Damage: 50 Rare: Lightning Damage: 55 Epic: Lightning Damage: 60 Heroic: Lightning Damage: 65 | None |
| Heaven’s Vengeance | After Zagreus’ takes damage, the enemy who attacked is struck by lightning. Damage Radius: 120 | Common: Revenge Damage: 80 Rare: Multiplier: 1.3–1.5 Epic: Multiplier: 1.8–2.0 Heroic: Multiplier: 2.3–2.5 | None |
| Lightning Reflexes | After Zagreus Dashes just before getting hit, a bolt strikes nearby enemies. | Common: Lightning Damage: 20 Rare: Lightning Damage: 30 Epic: Lightning Damage: 40 Heroic: Lightning Damage: 50 | None |
| Storm Lightning | Zagreus’ chain-lightning effects bounce more times before expiring. Electric Shot gains 3, 6 or 9 jumps from this boon instead. | Common: Lightning Bounces: +2 Rare: Multiplier: +4 Epic: Multiplier: +6 Heroic: Multiplier: +8 | Lightning Strike or Electric Shot |
| High Voltage | Zagreus’ lightning bolt effects deal damage in a larger area. | Common: Bolt Area of Effect: +60% Rare: Multiplier: +72% Epic: Multiplier: +84% Heroic: Multiplier: +96% | Thunder Flourish, Thunder Dash, or Zeus’ Aid |
| Double Strike | Zagreus’ lightning bolt effects have a chance to strike twice. | Common: Strike Chance: 25% Rare: Multiplier: 30% Epic: Multiplier: 35% Heroic: Multiplier: 40% | Thunder Flourish, Thunder Dash, or Zeus’ Aid |
| Static Discharge | Zagreus’ lightning effects also make foes Jolted. | Common: Jolt Damage: 60 Rare: Multiplier: 1.3–1.5 Epic: Multiplier: 1.8–2.0 Heroic: Multiplier: 2.3–2.5 | Lightning Strike, Thunder Flourish, Electric Shot, Thunder Dash, Zeus’ Aid, Heaven’s Vengeance, or Lightning Reflexes |
| Clouded Judgment | Zagreus’ God Gauge charges faster when he deals or takes damage. | Common: Faster Wrath Gain: +10% Rare: Multiplier: +12% Epic: Multiplier: +14% Heroic: Multiplier: +16% | Aphrodite’s Aid, Ares’ Aid, Artemis’ Aid, Athena’s Aid, Demeter’s Aid, Dionysus’ Aid, Poseidon’s Aid, or Zeus’ Aid |
| Billowing Strength | After using Call, Zagreus deals more damage for 15 Sec. | Common: Bonus Damage: +20% Rare: Bonus Damage: +22% Epic: Bonus Damage: +24% Heroic: Bonus Damage: +30% | Aphrodite’s Aid, Ares’ Aid, Artemis’ Aid, Athena’s Aid, Demeter’s Aid, Dionysus’ Aid, Poseidon’s Aid, or Zeus’ Aid |
| Splitting Bolt | All of Zagreus’ lightning effects create an additional burst. Lightning Damage: 40 The additional burst is a slow-moving spark. Spark Speed: 500 Bounces: 5 Bounce Range: 520 | Legendary | Storm Lightning, High Voltage, or Double Strike |
| Smoldering Air | Zagreus’ Call charges up automatically but is capped at 25%. Auto Gauge Gain: 1% every .2 seconds Cannot be combined with Sigil of the Dead | Duo (Aphrodite) | One of: Zeus: Lightning Strike, Thunder Flourish, Electric Shot, Thunder Dash, or Zeus’ Aid Aphrodite: Heartbreak Strike, Heartbreak Flourish, Crush Shot, Passion Dash, or Aphrodite’s Aid |
| Vengeful Mood | Zagreus’ Revenge attacks sometimes occur without taking damage. Auto-Revenge Rate: 3 Sec. | Duo (Ares) | One of each: Zeus: Lightning Strike, Thunder Flourish, Electric Shot, Thunder Dash, or Zeus’ Aid Ares: Curse of Agony, Curse of Pain, Slicing Shot, Blade Dash, or Ares’ Aid, Revenge boon: Wave of Despair (Aphrodite), Curse of Vengeance (Ares), Holy Shield (Athena), Frozen Touch (Demeter), or Heaven’s Vengeance (Zeus) |
| Lightning Rod | Zagreus’ collectible Cast Ammo strikes nearby foes with lightning every 1 Sec. Lightning Damage: 70 Requires the Infernal Soul Mirror Ability. Lowers the range at which you can pick up Cast Ammo. | Duo (Artemis) | One of each: Zeus: Lightning Strike, Thunder Flourish, Electric Shot, Thunder Dash, or Zeus’ Aid Artemis: Deadly Strike, Deadly Flourish, True Shot, Hunter Dash, or Artemis’ Aid |
| Lightning Phalanx | Zagreus’ Phalanx Shot Cast bounces between nearby foes. Max Bounces: 3 Cannot be combined with Aspect of Beowulf | Duo (Athena) | One of each: Zeus: Lightning Strike, Thunder Flourish, Thunder Dash, or Zeus’ Aid Athena: Phalanx Shot |
| Cold Fusion | Jolted status does not expire on the enemies’ attacks. Jolted Duration: 10 Sec. | Duo (Demeter) | One of each: Zeus: Static Discharge Demeter: Frost Strike, Frost Flourish, Mistral Dash, or Demeter’s Aid, |
| Scintillating Feast | Zagreus’ Festive Fog effects also deal lightning damage periodically. Lightning Damage: 60 | Duo (Dionysus) | One of each: Zeus: Lightning Strike, Thunder Flourish, Electric Shot, Thunder Dash, or Zeus’ Aid Dionysus: Trippy Shot or High Tolerance |
| Sea Storm | Zagreus’ knock-away effects also cause foes to be struck by lightning. Lightning Damage: 40 | Duo (Poseidon) | One of each: Zeus: Lightning Strike, Thunder Flourish, Electric Shot, Thunder Dash, or Zeus’ Aid Poseidon: Tempest Strike, Tempest Flourish, Flood Shot, or Poseidon’s Aid |
Final Thoughts
If you plan on obtaining Zeus’ boons, use weapons that can attack enemies rapidly like the Twin Fists of Malphon and the Adamant Rail to stack up the damage on enemies (as Zeus’ boons’ damage are not that great). Setting your build-up to obtain Zeus’ Legendary boon Splitting Bolt is also definitely worth it as improves all of Zagreus’ lightning effects.
Zeus’ boons are great for an all-around type of playstyle. He may be a bit of a jerk according to Greek mythology, but his boons are great for escaping the Underworld.
