A new rule has been added to the Unseeded subcategory for Any Fear, 32 Fear, and 50 Fear, and in general to the All Regions, 3 Weapons, and All Weapons categories.

Rerolling the random seed using the Acceptance of Another Fate incantation is now required for runs in the top 50 (or top 3 for an aspect) in Any Fear, and in the top 10 for any other category.

This rule is in place to prevent highly custom save file prepping to force certain beneficial circumstances during a run (e.g. Custom BoonBoonBoon rewards from Echo) . This is not practiced by most players, and is not easily performed by console players. The community voted to enact these rules in this way. If you have questions or concerns, please post in the forum here or join us in the community Discord server linked in the header.

Please read the updated rules for each category in detail before submitting any new runs to be sure you're following the updated rules!

For access to a maxed save file with Acceptance of Another Fate unlocked, you can get one from the resources page.

For how to use the Acceptance of Another Fate incantation view the video demonstration here.

Thanks for your attention, and good luck on your runs!

Hey gang! We sincerely appreciate your patience with us with the boards recently. As we know, the most recent Patch 1 being now live caused some changes that affect our runs. For the most part, the changes involved will on average make your runs faster, and those do not require any attention relating to a board split.

However, the change to Nemesis no longer being able to appear more than once does warrant the requirement of a board split due to how runs that involved two Nemesis encounters are now no longer comparable.

Due to SRC limitations, we can't just split the boards for only Surface subcategory runs and Fresh File category runs, that this change does not affect, without a major overhaul to how the leaderboards currently operate.

However, while we will be doing a full board split, I will personally undertake the task of backfilling those unchanged categories, so your PBs will retain! (As long as it is not in a category affected by the Nemesis changes, sorry!) We ask that you do not reupload your v1.0 runs if it is Surface or Fresh File run, please allow us to refill those runs to avoid any confusion.

We found this to be the best solution for as many of you as possible, as we strive not to board split unless necessary. We appreciate your patience in the matter.

Good luck on your runs, runners

Hey all, Category Extensions for Hades 2 are now live and ready! When you're on the main leaderboard for Hades 2, you will see a button near the top that says 'Category extensions', that will take you to the other leaderboard! When there, you can click the button the says 'Base game' in the same location to return to the base game's leaderboard.

As mentioned previously we do have two Category Extensions currently approved, with Rivals 4 and Dash/Sprint Only ready for submissions!

The Dash/Sprint Only thread voting reached an outcome of Yes, but only as a split subcategory. As a result of the poll, if you submit a run with the Aspect of Supay, please ensure that you denote it in the relevant subcategory when submitting.

With any new categories, you may submit any runs used to create the category in the first place if you wish.

Please note that new runs must be played on the most recent live version of Hades II available at the time, as per the Game Rules. This may be re-evaluated at a later date.

If you have any more new category ideas, feel free to share them in⁠ #h2-category-suggestions on the Discord ! We look forward to seeing what else y'all can cook up.

Good luck with your runs, runners!

Hey all, we've got new categories! We've set up All Regions and One Weapon Only (OwO) as full game categories! These are both RTA runs, as they are multi-runs.

A brief rundown of each:

All Regions

• Achieve a Victory on the Surface and in the Underworld, in either order, with the same aspect
• Typical RTA category rules
• Being a multirun, up to a 5 minute break is allowed, regular break rules apply

One Weapon Only (OwO)

• Achieve Victory four times, with each victory using a different aspect of the same weapon
• Typical RTA category rules
• This category must be completed either entirely in the Underworld, or entirely on the Surface. You must not switch during your run
• Being a multirun, up to a 20 minute break is allowed, regular break rules apply

We do also have some Category Extensions in the works! Please look forward to Rivals 4 and Dash/Sprint Only coming Soon ™! We're just awaiting on some minor details (and a community discussion for one of them) for these to be available.

Rivals 4

• Achieve Victory while the Vow of Rivals 4 is active
• Similar to Any Fear rules, with the requirement of Vow of Rivals 4 active
• IGT by default, with optional RTA

Dash/Sprint Only

• Achieve Victory using any amount of Fear
• You may only move, "Dash", "Gift", or "Interact" during your run. You are not required to unbind all other controls, but it is recommended to prevent accidental usage
• Boons and other sources of damage that are not directly related to Attack/Special/Cast/Hex are allowed
• IGT by default, with optional RTA

There is the matter of whether we allow the Aspect of Supay into Dash/Sprint Only, as it automatically has your Attack and Special firing. Please discuss within ⁠the thread '#Hades 2 - Dash and Sprint Only' in the Discord with your thoughts. After some discussion, a poll will be posted in the thread on Discord for voting on whether to allow the aspect. Please visit the DIscord if you wish to vote and/or discuss!

Rivals 4 will be available as soon as possible as a Category Extension for submission, and Dash/Sprint Only will become available after the discussion and poll have been reached.

These were all from the ⁠#h2-category-suggestions channel in the Discord, so feel free to submit your suggestions there if you have any fun ideas!

Good luck with your runs!

Hey all, Patch 11 is even more likely to be the final patch before 1.0 release. Enough balance changes were introduced in this patch to necessitate hopefully one last leaderboard split before v1.0. Runs performed on v0.125553 and onwards are currently denoted by the subcategory "Unseen Update - Patch 11".

Please do not submit new runs to the "Unseen Update - Patch 10" subcategory. You may still submit old runs that were performed on the previous release.

The default variable for submissions will now be "Unseen Update - Patch 11".

As a reminder, new runs must be played on the most recent live version of Hades II available at the time, as per the Game Rules. This may be re-evaluated at a later date.

Good luck with your runs!

Hey all, Patch 10 is likely the final patch before 1.0 release. Enough balance changes were introduced in this patch to necessitate a leaderboard split. Runs performed on v0.123392 and onwards are currently denoted by the subcategory "Unseen Update - Patch 10".

Please do not submit new runs to the "Unseen Update - Patch 9" subcategory (Now renamed). You may still submit old runs that were performed on the previous release.

The default variable for submissions will now be "Unseen Update - Patch 10".

As a reminder, new runs must be played on the most recent live version of Hades II available at the time, as per the Game Rules. This may be re-evaluated at a later date.

Good luck with your runs!

Hey all, another major patch means another split in the leaderboards. Runs performed on v0.121907 and onwards are currently denoted by the subcategory "Unseen Update".

Please do not submit new runs to the "Warsong Update" subcategory. You may still submit old runs that were performed on the previous release.

The default variable for submissions will now be "Unseen Update".

As a reminder, new runs must be played on the most recent live version of Hades II available at the time, as per the Game Rules. This may be re-evaluated at a later date.

Good luck with your runs!

Leaderboard

Hey all, we've created another split in the leaderboards. Runs performed on v0.110656 and onwards are currently denoted by the subcategory "Warsong Update".

Please do not submit new runs to the "Olympic Update" subcategory. You may still submit old runs that were performed on the previous release.

The default variable for submissions will now be "Warsong Update".

As a reminder, new runs must be played on the most recent live version of Hades II available at the time, as per the Game Rules. This may be reevaluated at a later date.

Rules Update

With this patch comes the addition of the cauldron incantation Acceptance of Another Fate. This allows Melinoe to salute the Oath of the Unseen to reroll the starting seed of the run. It becomes available after defeating the 4th Guardian of the Underworld & Surface routes 7 times each, among some other requirements.

After reviewing and testing its mechanics, we are confident that this suits the requirements for an unseeded speedrun. Starting in this patch, you no longer are required to show a death before your run, as long as you use this new feature instead. Your run video must contain the visual of saluting and the doors up/down getting the "reroll" icon, visible here: ().

Salute can be rebound in the controls menu if you do not currently have it bound. If you do not show this sequence, and do not show a death, your run will be considered seeded.

Updated rule text for unseeded runs:

Unseeded Rules

Show, in your video, prior to the run's start: the previous run's death; a run completion with a "death" after victory; or, if the Acceptance of Another Fate incantation is unlocked, Melinoë saluting the Oath of the Unseen at the start of the video. For an example of the salute method, view here:

Previous rule text for unseeded runs:

Unseeded Rules

Show the previous run's death (or a run completion with the death) at the start of the video.

Regarding Boon Boon Boon

Echo's reward Boon Boon Boon offers the player a choice of 3 boons they had during the previous Night. With the current way the seed reroll works, it will not reset Boon Boon Boon offerings. This means that a previous run can be "setup" to guarantee certain offerings from Boon Boon Boon. After some discussion within the verification team, it was decided to allow salute seed rerolling despite this.

It is not set in stone, and action may be taken on this in the future if the community decides it is unhealthy for competition to allow this. Because the game is still in early access and likely has multiple board wipes in its future, we are allowing this to mature on its own for the time being. If you would like to discuss potential abuses or future mitigating rules, please do so in the designated discussion thread in the discord.

Regarding the Argent Skull Buff & Nerf

In the past few days, Supergiant pushed a couple of patches that buffed the Argent Skull so significantly that they reverted the changes very quickly in a new patch. The verification team has decided not to make a mid-patch split to ensure that runs on this version are stored separately. Patch version will still be recorded, so if the community decides overwhelmingly that for the posterity of this Major Update's leaderboard these runs should not be included, we can always address it later. If you would like to discuss this decision (we serve the community so any ruling decision can be reversed!), please do so in the designated discussion thread in the discord.

A new leaderboard category: All Weapons, has been added! You can see the rules on its board and get submitting your runs as soon as possible.

All Weapons is a real time category where you try to complete 6 runs in a row with each different weapon as fast as you can, allowing you to demonstrate your mastery over consistent clearing across different weapons.

Both categories are available to run on the Surface or the Underworld. If you have any questions, the forums here or the Discord are the places to go. Additionally, if you'd like a new category added, visit the Discord to chime in on category suggestions, we have a formal process in place for adding new boards.

Good luck on your runs, Death to Chronos.

We now have IL (Individual Level) speedruns! Welcome to The Chaos Trials!

With the Abyssal Reflection incantation (unlocked by completing 5 separate Chaos Trials), you may now re-challenge Chaos Trials, and it even tracks your fastest time!

Standard Game Rules apply (with an special exception to Rule 3), but please ensure you check out the Category rules found here.

Enjoy these bite-sized runs with pre-built loadouts!

Good luck with your runs, runners!

Hey all, we've created another split in the leaderboards. Runs performed on v0.102084 and onwards are currently denoted by the subcategory "Olympic Update".

Please do not submit new runs to the "Patch 4" subcategory. You may still submit old runs that were performed on the previous v0.95285 release.

The default variable for submissions will now be "Olympic Update".

We've added Xinth, the Black Coat's aspects as variables when submitting.

With official Mac support included, this is also a new variable available when submitting.

Lastly, we are taking into consideration allowing the submission of The Chaos Trials as Individual Levels (or ILs) speedruns on Speedrun.com. We're in the process of finalising details, but please look forward to that!

As a reminder, new runs must be played on the most recent live version of Hades II available at the time, as per the Game Rules. This may be reevaluated at a later date.

Good luck with your runs, runners!

New leaderboard categories: 50 Fear and 3 Weapons, have been added! You can see their rules on their respective boards and get submitting your runs as soon as possible.

• 50 Fear is a challenging speed run with all the same rules as Any Fear with one additional stipulation: have at least 50 Fear points active on the Oath of the Unseen! It's primarily based on In Game Time like all of the other single run categories.
• 3 Weapons is a real time category where you try to complete 3 runs in a row with 3 different weapons as fast as you can, allowing you to demonstrate your mastery over consistent clearing across different weapons.

Both categories are available to run on the Surface or the Underworld. If you have any questions, the forums here or the Discord are the places to go. Additionally, if you'd like a new category added, visit the Discord to chime in on category suggestions, we have a formal process in place for adding new boards.

Good luck on your runs, Death to Chronos.

Hey all, we've created another split in the leaderboards. Runs performed on v.0.94522 and onwards are currently denoted by the subcategory "Patch 4".

Please do not submit new runs to the "Patch 3" subcategory. You may still submit old runs that were performed on the previous v0.93884 release.

The default variable for submissions will now be "Patch 4".

As a reminder, new runs must be played on the most recent live version of Hades II available at the time, as per the Game Rules. This may be reevaluated at a later date.

Good luck with your runs, runners!

Hey all, we've created another split in the leaderboards. Runs performed on v.0.93644 and onwards are currently denoted by the subcategory "Patch 3", as seen below.

Please do not submit new runs to the "Patch 2" subcategory. You may still submit old runs that were performed on the previous v0.92350 release.

The default variable for submissions will now be "Patch 3".

As a reminder, new runs must be played on the most recent live version of Hades II available at the time, as per the Game Rules. This may be reevaluated at a later date.

Additionally, some of you may have noted with the new patch that with the adjusted Grasp costs, you may be overloaded on your total Grasp limit, as seen below.

Please ensure you have a maximum of 30 Grasp allocated for runs to be considered valid. We recommend you completely refresh the Arcana Cards on your Altar of Ashes to prevent any oddities. Thank you!

Good luck with your runs, runners!

With the first major balance patch (Patch 2) released, we've created a split in the leaderboards. Previous runs performed on v0.91027 or older are now denoted by the subcategory "Patch 1", as seen below. Please do not submit new runs to the "Patch 1" subcategory. You may still submit old runs that were performed before yesterday's v0.92170 ease.

The default variable for submissions will now be "Patch 2" until a patch is considered major enough to cause another wipe. We will inform and/or poll everyone as swiftly as we can whenever a decision to create another split is needed.

As a reminder, new runs must be played on the most recent live version of Hades II available at the time, as per the Game Rules. This may be reevaluated at a later date.

Good luck with your runs, runners!