Hades II Keepsakes Guide: All 33, Best Picks, and How to Unlock Them

Hades II has 33 Keepsakes in the full game. Most are unlocked by giving a character Nectar for the first time, then equipped from the display case in the Crossroads before a run. Three late-game Keepsakes use different unlock rules and are separated behind a spoiler warning below.

For a new player, Luckier Tooth is the safest first pick, Knuckle Bones helps with Guardians, and an Olympian keepsake can guide a build toward the god you want. Spread early Nectar across several characters before investing heavily in one relationship.

This guide lists every Keepsake, its owner, its normal three-rank effect, how ranking works, and what Nectar, Ambrosia, Bath Salts, and other relationship gifts actually change.

Hades II Keepsakes: Quick Answer

• Total Keepsakes: 33.
• Normal unlock: Give the matching character one Nectar.
• Rank 2: Clear 25 encounters while the Keepsake is equipped.
• Rank 3: Clear 50 more encounters after Rank 2.
• Best first survival pick: Luckier Tooth from Schelemeus.
• Best build-control picks: The Olympian keepsakes for the god whose Boons your weapon needs.

Best Keepsakes to Unlock First

Luckier Tooth for a simple extra life

Luckier Tooth restores Health once when Melinoë falls. It is easy to understand, useful with every weapon, and gives a beginner more time to learn a boss instead of restarting immediately.

Knuckle Bones for the next Guardian

Knuckle Bones removes part of the next Guardian’s Health and reduces damage from Guardians. Equip it when one specific boss is stopping progress.

A god keepsake for build direction

Cloud Bangle, Vivid Sea, Barley Sheaf, Harmonic Photon, and the other Olympian options make their god more likely. They are stronger when you already know which Attack, Special, Cast, or Omega plan your weapon needs.

Gold Purse for an immediate shop budget

Gold Purse gives its value at the start of the night. It is useful when an early shop or planned purchase matters more than a long effect.

How to Unlock and Equip Keepsakes

• Carry Nectar, approach an eligible character, and choose the Gift prompt before taking a god’s Boon or leaving the conversation.
• The first Nectar given to most characters unlocks their Keepsake. Later Nectar usually advances the relationship rather than improving the Keepsake.
• Use the display case in the Crossroads Training Grounds to equip one Keepsake before leaving.
• Cast the Kindred Keepsakes Incantation to make the display case appear between regions.
• After changing Keepsakes between regions, you cannot switch back to one already used during that night.

All 33 Hades II Keepsakes and Effects

The three numbers in each entry show the normal Rank 1, Rank 2, and Rank 3 values. A separate late-game Duo Boon can temporarily push a Keepsake beyond its normal maximum, but it is not required to complete the collection.

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Crossroads and Frequent Characters

• Silver Wheel — Hecate: Adds 50/75/100 Magick for the night.
• Knuckle Bones — Odysseus: The next Guardian loses 5/10/15% Health, and Melinoë takes 10% less damage from Guardians.
• Luckier Tooth — Schelemeus: Restores 51/76/101 Health once after Melinoë reaches zero Health.
• Ghost Onion — Dora: Fully heals after locations until it has restored a total of 50/75/100 Health.
• Evil Eye — Nemesis: Deals 20/25/30% more damage to the last enemy that defeated you.
• Gold Purse — Charon: Starts the night with 100/125/150 extra Gold Crowns.
• Engraved Pin — Moros: Makes Melinoë Doomed the first time she reaches zero Health; clear the encounter in time to recover 30/45/60 Health.
• Discordant Bell — Eris: Adds 0.5/0.75/1% damage dealt and received after every cleared encounter.

Gods and Divine Encounters

• Metallic Droplet — Hermes: Makes movement, strikes, and Omega channeling 20% faster for 200/250/300 seconds.
• White Antler — Artemis: Adds 20/25/30% Critical chance for the next region but limits maximum Health to 30.
• Moon Beam — Selene: Makes Selene more likely and adds 3/4/5 upgrades to the next Path of Stars.
• Cloud Bangle — Zeus: Makes a Zeus Boon likely and can raise the rarity of one offered blessing once that night.
• Iridescent Fan — Hera: Makes a Hera Boon likely and can raise the rarity of one offered blessing once that night.
• Vivid Sea — Poseidon: Makes a Poseidon Boon likely and can raise the rarity of one offered blessing once that night.
• Barley Sheaf — Demeter: Makes a Demeter Boon likely and can raise the rarity of one offered blessing once that night.
• Harmonic Photon — Apollo: Makes an Apollo Boon likely and can raise the rarity of one offered blessing once that night.
• Beautiful Mirror — Aphrodite: Makes an Aphrodite Boon likely and can raise the rarity of one offered blessing once that night.
• Adamant Shard — Hephaestus: Makes a Hephaestus Boon likely and can raise the rarity of one offered blessing once that night.
• Everlasting Ember — Hestia: Makes a Hestia Boon likely and can raise the rarity of one offered blessing once that night.
• Sword Hilt — Ares: Makes an Ares Boon likely and can raise the rarity of one offered blessing once that night.
• Gorgon Amulet — Athena: Can make Athena appear while you have no Death Defiance; the minimum Boon rarity improves with the keepsake.
• Fig Leaf — Dionysus: Can remove one combat encounter from 1/2/3 regions during the night.

Regional Characters and Chaos

• Silken Sash — Arachne: Starts with 30 Armor and adds 2/3/4 Armor after each location while at least one Armor remains.
• Aromatic Phial — Narcissus: Improves Fountain healing and upgrades one random Common Boon at the next Fountain.
• Concave Stone — Echo: Has a 25/50/75% chance to grant an extra random Boon after a choice, once per night.
• Lion Fang — Heracles: Starts with 30/40/50% bonus damage and loses five percentage points after each encounter.
• Blackened Fleece — Medea: After taking 250 total damage, makes Omega moves deal 20/30/40% more damage.
• Crystal Figurine — Circe: Activates two random inactive Arcana Cards after the next Guardian; their rarity improves with the Keepsake rank.
• Experimental Hammer — Icarus: Grants a random Daedalus Hammer upgrade for 10/15/20 encounters.
• Transcendent Embryo — Chaos: Grants a random Chaos blessing whose rarity scales by rank and replaces it every eight encounters.

Late-Game Keepsakes — Story Spoilers

The next three entries reveal characters and systems available after major story progress.

• Jeweled Pom — Hades and Persephone: At Fates’ Whim, grants a random Hades blessing and adds 1/2/3 levels to most Boons.
• Calling Card — Zagreus: At Fates’ Whim, lets you raise Olympian blessing rarity 2/4/6 times during the night.
• Time Piece — Chronos: At Fates’ Whim, lets you purge most rewards for Gold 2/3/4 times during the night.

What Fates’ Whim Means

Jeweled Pom, Calling Card, and Time Piece work only while Fates’ Whim is active. For that night, you must avoid Olympian-summoning Keepsakes and cannot have Arcana equipped that provide Changes of Fate, the rerolls used to alter rewards or Boon choices.

Their effects can continue after you switch to another compatible Keepsake. Equipping an Olympian Keepsake breaks Fates’ Whim and removes unused benefits, so check your Arcana and Keepsake plan before starting the run.

How to Unlock the Three Late-Game Keepsakes

• Jeweled Pom: Finish the main story, meet Hades and Persephone during later runs, and give them Nectar when gifting becomes available.
• Calling Card: Reach the Contest of Champions and defeat Zagreus twice.
• Time Piece: Finish the main story, encounter Chronos in his later location, and give him Nectar.

If one of these spaces is still empty, continue story and postgame conversations instead of spending Nectar randomly at the Crossroads.

How to Rank Up Keepsakes

Keepsakes gain rank by clearing encounters while equipped. Reaching Rank 2 requires 25 encounters. Reaching Rank 3 takes another 50, for 75 cleared encounters from a new Keepsake to the normal maximum.

The Quickening of Sentimental Value Incantation halves those requirements. Rank progress stays with the Keepsake between runs, so a failed night still contributes encounters already cleared.

Level the keepsakes you actually plan to use. A maxed situational Keepsake is less useful than a Rank 2 option that solves the boss or build problem in front of you.

What Nectar, Ambrosia, Bath Salts, and Twin Lures Do

• Nectar: Unlocks most Keepsakes on the first gift and advances relationships on later gifts.
• Ambrosia: Appears later in relationship paths and deepens selected bonds.
• Bath Salts: Invite eligible Crossroads characters to the Hot Springs after that feature is unlocked.
• Twin Lures: Invite eligible characters to fish after the relevant Crossroads upgrades.

These later gifts unlock conversations, scenes, prophecies, and relationship progress. They do not replace the encounter clears required to rank up a Keepsake.

Best Nectar Strategy for New Players

• Give one Nectar to Schelemeus for Luckier Tooth.
• Give one to Odysseus for Knuckle Bones if Guardians are the problem.
• Gift gods whose Boons work with your preferred weapon.
• Gift frequent Crossroads characters so your display case gains several practical options quickly.
• After you have a useful shelf, spend later Nectar on the relationships you want to follow.

Breadth first gives immediate run tools. Depth later gives more story. You can ignore that order when a favorite character matters more to you; it changes efficiency, not whether the relationship can eventually progress.

How to Track Relationship Progress

Empath’s Intuition adds relationship information to the Book of Shadows after it becomes available. Use it to see when a character wants another gift or when story progress is blocking the next heart.

A locked heart does not always mean you chose the wrong item. Some relationships need another conversation, region, Incantation, prophecy, or main-story step before gifts are accepted again.

Final Answer

Unlock several Keepsakes with first-time Nectar gifts, start with Luckier Tooth or Knuckle Bones for survival, and use Olympian keepsakes when you want a specific build. Equip favorites long enough to reach Rank 3, then use later gifts for relationships rather than expecting them to level the Keepsake.

If the wider progression system is still new, begin with the Hades II Beginner Guide, then use the Arcana Cards and Grasp guide to build the loadout that works with your Keepsake choice.