Just like in the firstHadesgame, beating the final boss inHades 2doesn’t mean the game is over, not even close. The first time you beat Chronos, which granted, is going to take a while probably, you’ll grab his resource (Zodiac Sand) and head into Zag’s room only for the game to tell you this is the end of the early access progression at the moment and kick Melinoe back to the Crossroads.
After getting back here,you’ll unlock a new systemthat gives you access to a new resource called Nightmares. For those of you who have already sunk a ton of time inHades 2, let’s go over exactly what Nightmares are, how to get them, and what they’re used for.
What The Nightmare Reagent Is
And Where It’s Used
For those who don’t know, in Greek Mythology, the Goddess Melinoë has a couple of domains that she’s in charge of, just like most other deities. However, the two primary ones that she’s associated with are Ghosts and Nightmares. That first domain explains why the Shades seem to gravitate to her so much, especially Dora, but we haven’t exactly seen this concept of ‘Nightmares’ integrated into her gameplay all too much yet, outside of one specific example.There is a resource inHades 2called Nightmares that Melinoë can collect and use to upgrade her Nocturnal Arm Aspects.
The Aspects in this game work a bit differently to the Infernal Arm Aspects in the firstHadesgame (though the overall system is basically the same). They can be upgraded just like the Infernal Aspects, but they don’t use Titan Blood anymore, which is a bit ironic considering you’re actually trying to kill a Titan in this game.Instead, the Nocturnal Arm Aspects use Nightmares, requiring more and more of them (as well as other resources) the more you upgrade said Aspect.So, let’s go a bit more into how exactly you’re meant to obtain these Nightmares and the best way to go about grinding them.
Unlocking & Obtaining Nightmares
The Best Way to Collect a Whole Bunch of Nightmares
To unlock access to the Nightmare Reagent overall, you’re going to need to beat Chronos first.We know this is a big ask, especially considering how recently the Early Access launched (at the time of writing this at least). However, once you do, you’ll gain access to the Oath of the Unseen Interactable in Crossroad right near the stairs leading up or down. Interacting with this ‘monolith’ allows you to enable different modifiers for your runs that make the game harder, which is incredibly similar to the Heat System in the first game that Zagreus would enable through the Pact of Punishment.
Every modifier that’s enabled equals another level of ‘Fear’ (AKA Heat) added to your runs. And, the table on the left-hand side of this menu will tell you which boss to go and beat withyour currently equipped weaponto get 1 Nightmare as the one you’ll need to fight isn’t greyed out and has your weapon symbol underneath it.
Follow the instructionsand beat that bosswith that weapon on that Fear level, and they’ll drop a Nightmare (as well as their usual resource) after being defeated. As you enable more Fear levels and switch between weapons, that game will require you to go entirely different routes (AKA up or down) to fight the boss it assigns to you, again in a very similar way to how you would gather Titan Blood in the first game.
Farming Nightmares
How To Get a Lot of Them
Now to ‘farm’ Nightmares, it’s actually pretty simple, just pick the weapon you feel the most confident with and add a Fear level. You should see a boss portrait on the left light up, and if you don’t that means you’ve already received the Nightmare tied to this Fear Level. If that’s the case, turn on another Modifier (attempt to go up by 1 only each time for maximum Nightmare farming) until a portrait does light up. After that, head out in whichever direction that boss is in, progress through the run until you reach there, and beat said boss.
Technically, it’s fastest to then go into the next room and purposely die to quickly return to Crossroad and go up to the next Fear level, but we’d recommend just taking the run as far as you may every time, as you’re limiting your overall story progress otherwise.
Whenever you do return to Crossroad, just head back to the Oath of the Unseen monolith, turn on another +1 modifier, and rinse and repeat.This equals out to about a Nightmare per run, which may not seem all that quick but it’s really the only method to go about getting these things.Additionally, as you collect them and upgrade your Aspects, you’ll likely find that the runs become a bit easier to clear each time as well since the innate passive of your weapon Aspects are getting stronger and stronger and you’recompleting more and more Incantations.
Alternatively, you could also go to the Wretched Broken and spend 1000 Bones to get a Nightmare.But, frankly, the number of Bones it’s asking for here is absurd and heavily implies that the game only intends for you to get Nightmares this way after you’ve farmed all the ones possible from the Oath of the Unseen. Still, if you enjoy playing the base game more and really don’t want to get involved with the Vow of the Unseen, then just make sure to grind as many Bones as possible each Night and you should be able to afford a Nightmare every couple of hours or so.
