How to get to the Surface in Hades 2 and break the wards

Unlocking the Hades 2 Surface path is quite a complicated process, requiring a specific spell to unseal the wards in the Crossroads. Despite these wards being visible from the very start of the game, it takes a while to be able to unseal them since you need a specific incantation from Hecate – Permeation of Witching-Wards – and she'll only give it to you once you've met Hermes and learned of the Olympians' war in Hades 2.

Even with the witching-wards broken, the Surface isn't safe for a chthonic nymph like Melinoe, so you'll need another incantation from Moros – Unraveling a Fateful Bond – that lets you survive there. So, bearing all that in mind, here's how I was able to both unlock the Surface in Hades 2 and survive there so that you can battle your way to Mount Olympus.

How to unseal the wards to the Surface in Hades 2

Breaking the seals that block the stairs up to the Surface path in Hades 2 can only be done by casting the Permeation of Witching-Wards incantation, given to you by Hecate. However, you need to meet a few specific requirements across several runs to even unlock the incantation at the cauldron and need some rare ingredients to cast it.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Reach the Fields of Mourning by starting a run and beating the Hades 2 Scylla boss fight found at the end of Oceanus.
2. On your next run, speak to Hermes in Erebus. He should be there to meet you and will tell you about the war on the surface between the Olympian Gods and Chronos' forces.
3. Start another run and reach the Hades 2 Hecate boss fight. Before the fight starts, Hecate will teach Melinoe the Permeation of Witching-Wards incantation, and it will be revealed at the Crossroads cauldron, along with the Shadow Extraction alchemy recipe.

4. Gather 3 Moly, 1 Cinder, and 1 Shadow for the incantation. Your previous journeys through Erebus should mean you already have enough Moly and Cinder, but Shadow Extraction must be brewed by spending 30 Ash, 30 Psyche, and 3 Fated Fabric. All three of these can exchanged for Bones from the Wretched Broker. Shadow Extraction also takes 12 encounters to brew, so start another run to pass the time.
5. Collect the Shadow from the cauldron, then cast the incantation to break the warded gateway to the Surface.

When you head to the Silver Pool area of the Crossroads, you'll see that the Hades 2 Surface path is now available too! However, shortly after starting a Surface run, you'll find that Melinoe can't hang around for long, taking increasingly large chunks of damage every few seconds due to her Chthonic Fate curse. Now you need a second incantation to remove this curse so that Mel can breathe up there.

How to survive on the Surface in Hades 2

To break Melinoe's curse, you need to cast the Unraveling A Fateful Bond incantation, which is taught to you by Moros after your first Surface run. The difficulty in casting Unraveling A Fateful Bond comes from the fact that it requires four different plants, all from different regions across the Surface and Underworld.

Here's what you need:

• 2 Lotus – Gathered in Oceanus.
• 2 Moss – Gathered in the City of Ephyra.
• 2 Nightshade – Dig Nightshade Seeds in Erebus then plant them in the Crossroads garden so that they grow into Nightshade flowers.
• 2 Thalamus – Dig seeds in Chaos to get Hades 2 Thalamus plants.

With all eight plants picked or grown, you can cast the incantation at the cauldron to break Melinoe's Chthonic Fate curse. That means she'll no longer suffer the damage-over-time effect from being on the Surface and can freely run into Ephyra and beyond to take on Chronos' legions. While you're in Ephyra, keep an eye out for Hades 2 Bronze and a few new Hades 2 characters.

Past Ephyra, there are many more valuable resources to collect, such as Hades 2 Iron, and plenty of tough-as-nails bosses, with the Hades 2 Eris boss fight being a major challenge at the halfway point.

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