HADES I · ZAGREUS / POST-LAUNCH PC
Mirror of Night
Compare 24 red and green talents in 12 pairs: their targets, incompatible setups, Key unlock costs, revives and rerolls.
Scope: Hades I, post-v1.0 PC release. Official update announcements checked through February 2022. Current executable version numbers on each platform are unconfirmed / Source check: 2026-10-02
Unlocking, switching and refunding the Mirror
- Spend Darkness on ranks of unlocked talents. Open the hidden lower rows with Keys in 4 payments of 5→10→20→30, totaling 65.
- Collect Darkness and progress related Nyx conversations to unlock alternate-color talents. Dialogue may take several visits. The cumulative Darkness threshold awaits further checking.
- Use the left-hand switch to choose red or green. Switching does not erase purchased ranks on the other side.
- To redistribute resources, reset the Mirror for 1 Key. Reinvest the refunded Darkness in the talents you need before leaving.
- Do not count the cost of unlocking 2 rows separately for each row. The 24 Keys for weapons and 65 Keys for all Mirror rows are separate budgets.
Shadow Presence / Fiery Presence
Choose backstabs or the first hit against an undamaged foe.
| Talent | Effect | Check before using |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow Presence | Adds 10% Attack and Special damage from behind per rank. | Still applies from behind after the enemy has lost health. |
| Fiery Presence | Adds 15% Attack and Special damage against undamaged foes per rank. | Does not continuously boost the second hit and later hits. |
- Check Fiery Presence's target condition for bows or heavy opening hits. Compare Shadow Presence for prolonged boss fights when you can reach the rear.
Chthonic Vitality / Dark Regeneration
They heal at different times.
| Talent | Effect | Check before using |
|---|---|---|
| Chthonic Vitality | Restores 1 Life per rank when leaving a chamber. | Provides small repeated healing without choosing Darkness rewards. |
| Dark Regeneration | Restores Life equal to 30% of collected Darkness per rank. | Can work with boss Darkness rewards after the relevant bounties are already collected. |
- Bosses at a new bounty level award Blood, Diamonds or Ambrosia; do not assume every boss will provide Darkness healing.
Death Defiance / Stubborn Defiance
Revives shared across a run versus 1 revive per chamber.
| Talent | Effect | Check before using |
|---|---|---|
| Death Defiance | Revives you at 50% maximum Life after a death. Up to 3 charges. | Ranks cost 30, 500 and 1000 Darkness. |
| Stubborn Defiance | Revives you once per chamber at 30% maximum Life. | Dying twice in the same boss chamber gives no further revive from it. |
- Compare Stubborn Defiance for attrition in successive chambers and Death Defiance for multiple revives at the final boss. They cannot be active together.
Greater Reflex / Ruthless Reflex
An extra Dash versus a bonus triggered by a near-miss dodge.
| Talent | Effect | Check before using |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Reflex | Adds 1 consecutive Dash. | A single rank costs 50 Darkness. |
| Ruthless Reflex | Dodging just before a hit grants 50% damage and dodge chance for 2 seconds. | Does not grant an extra Dash. |
- For a first escape, Greater Reflex gives more movement room. To use the alternative, check whether you can reliably trigger its dodge condition.
Boiling Blood / Abyssal Blood
Both require a Bloodstone lodged in the enemy.
| Talent | Effect | Check before using |
|---|---|---|
| Boiling Blood | Adds 10% Attack and Special damage per rank against that enemy. | Does not increase Cast damage itself. |
| Abyssal Blood | Reduces that enemy's movement speed and damage by 6% per rank. | Does not last permanently after the Bloodstone leaves. |
- Casts such as Demeter's crystal or Ares's blade do not lodge Bloodstones in foes and therefore do not meet either talent's condition.
Infernal Soul / Stygian Soul
Compare consecutive Cast ammunition with regeneration instead of retrieval.
| Talent | Effect | Check before using |
|---|---|---|
| Infernal Soul | Adds 1 Bloodstone per rank, up to 2 extra. | The normal 1 becomes 3 available for consecutive Casts. |
| Stygian Soul | Regenerates Bloodstones over time instead of requiring retrieval. | Does not fit Lightning Rod's requirement for Bloodstones on the ground. |
- Cast count and regeneration still matter for crystal and blade Casts. Do not confuse them with the Blood talents' lodged-stone condition.
Deep Pockets / Golden Touch
Starting Obols versus interest after a region.
| Talent | Effect | Check before using |
|---|---|---|
| Deep Pockets | Adds 10 starting Obols per rank, up to 100. | Provides money for early shops. |
| Golden Touch | Adds 5% to held Obols per rank at a region's end, up to 15%. | Spending everything immediately beforehand leaves little interest. |
- At 15%, holding 100 Obols adds 15; holding 500 adds 75. Weigh the cost of skipping purchases against late-run shopping.
Thick Skin / High Confidence
Maximum Life versus damage at high Life.
| Talent | Effect | Check before using |
|---|---|---|
| Thick Skin | Adds 5 maximum Life per rank, up to 50. | Maximum Life also affects percentage healing on revival. |
| High Confidence | Adds 5% damage per rank while at 80% Life or above. | The bonus stops applying below 80%. |
- With 100 maximum Life, you need at least 80 current Life. Do not count it as constant damage if the run lacks reliable healing.
Privileged Status / Family Favorite
Compare 2 Status Curses with the number of different gods.
| Talent | Effect | Check before using |
|---|---|---|
| Privileged Status | Adds 20% damage per rank against an enemy with at least 2 Status Curses, up to 40%. | Ordinary lightning or knockback alone does not establish an added Status Curse. |
| Family Favorite | Adds 2.5% damage per rank for each different Olympian whose boons you have. | More boons from the same god do not add another god. |
- Choose Privileged Status after arranging 2 maintainable curses across main and supporting attacks, such as Weak and Hangover.
Olympian Favor / Dark Foresight
Rare boon chance versus run-upgrade room rewards.
| Talent | Effect | Check before using |
|---|---|---|
| Olympian Favor | Adds 1 percentage point of Rare boon chance per rank. | Does not directly satisfy Epic or Duo requirements. |
| Dark Foresight | Adds 2 percentage points per rank toward gold-laurel rewards such as boons, Hammers, Obols and Poms. | Its purpose differs from increasing retained-resource rooms. |
- Choose between more escape-run upgrades and higher Rare chance on offered boons. Neither guarantees a particular god or Hammer.
Gods' Pride / Gods' Legacy
Compare Epic chance with Legendary/Duo chance after meeting prerequisites.
| Talent | Effect | Check before using |
|---|---|---|
| Gods' Pride | Adds 1 percentage point of Epic chance per rank. | Useful when targeting rarity for a main attack. |
| Gods' Legacy | Adds 1 percentage point of Legendary/Duo chance per rank. | If prerequisite boons are missing, extra chance alone cannot make the boon eligible. |
- Before choosing the Mirror side for a Duo, check required slots and exclusions.
Fated Authority / Fated Persuasion
Separate functions for room rewards and displayed boon/Well offers.
| Talent | Effect | Check before using |
|---|---|---|
| Fated Authority | Rerolls the next chamber's reward. | Does not change an already-open set of 3 boon choices. |
| Fated Persuasion | Rerolls boon offers or the Well of Charon's stock. | Cannot be freely spent on items displayed in Charon's shop. |
- After buying the House Contractor's Fated Keys order, a Key chamber reward adds 1 reroll charge for the currently active talent.
Progress the 2 Mirror achievements separately
- Nyx's Mirror requires at least 1 rank in each of the 24 talents. Buying one side does not purchase the other.
- For Dark Reflections, check the Fated List and escape successfully with each talent active. A purchased but inactive talent does not count as used.
- Both colors cannot be active together. Switch to unfinished entries and spread them across multiple successful escapes.
Paid ranks and full purchase costs for 24 talents
The table budgets purchases on both colors. Red and green in a pair are bought separately, and only one can be active. “Paid ranks” counts payments and excludes a free initial setting.
| Talent | Color | Paid ranks | Each payment (Darkness) | Total from unpurchased (Darkness) | Check after buying |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Presence | Red | 5 | 10→15→20→25→30 | 100 | Up to +50% rear Attack/Special damage; no frontal bonus |
| Fiery Presence | Green | 5 | 10→15→20→25→30 | 100 | Up to +75% Attack/Special damage against undamaged foes; the condition ends after the first hit |
| Chthonic Vitality | Red | 3 | 10→20→40 | 70 | Heals 3 HP on chamber transitions; does not prevent a single heavy hit |
| Dark Regeneration | Green | 2 | 30→60 | 90 | Heals for 60% of acquired Darkness; rewards without Darkness do not trigger it |
| Death Defiance | Red | 3 | 30→500→1000 | 1530 | 3 revives per run, each at 50% maximum Life |
| Stubborn Defiance | Green | 1 | 600 | 600 | 1 revive per chamber; no repeated revives in the same chamber |
| Greater Reflex | Red | 1 | 50 | 50 | 1 extra Dash; no second rank to buy |
| Ruthless Reflex | Green | 1 | 75 | 75 | A near-miss dodge bonus, separate from extra consecutive Dashes |
| Boiling Blood | Red | 5 | Starts at 10, increases by 20; final payment 90 | 250 | Up to +50% Attack/Special damage while a Bloodstone is lodged in the foe |
| Abyssal Blood | Green | 5 | Starts at 20, increases by 20; final payment 100 | 300 | Up to -30% movement speed and damage from the Bloodstone-holding foe |
| Infernal Soul | Red | 2 | 20→80 | 100 | Adds 2 Bloodstones; 3 including the original 1 |
| Stygian Soul | Green | 2 (paid upgrades) | 60→120; initial setting 0 | 180 | Regeneration goes from an initial 5 seconds→4 seconds→3 seconds; do not count the free setting as a payment |
| Deep Pockets | Red | 10 | Starts at 30, increases by 5; final payment 75 | 525 | Up to 100 starting Obols; Darkness spent and Obols received are different resources |
| Golden Touch | Green | 3 | 70→90→110 | 270 | Up to +15% held Obols after a region; does not grant 100 starting Obols |
| Thick Skin | Red | 10 | Starts at 40, increases by 5; final payment 85 | 625 | Adds 50 maximum Life; remove that bonus from your plan if switching colors later |
| High Confidence | Green | 5 | Starts at 50, increases by 50; final payment 250 | 750 | Up to +25% damage at 80% Life or above |
| Privileged Status | Red | 2 | 50→500 | 550 | Up to +40% damage against a foe with 2 Status Curses |
| Family Favorite | Green | 2 | 50→150 | 200 | Up to +5% per different Olympian whose boons you own |
| Olympian Favor | Red | 40 | 50 per rank | 2000 | Up to +40 percentage points of Rare chance; rank costs do not increase |
| Dark Foresight | Green | 10 | 150 per rank | 1500 | Up to +20 percentage points toward gold-laurel rewards; constant cost per rank |
| Gods' Pride | Red | 20 | 100 per rank | 2000 | Up to +20 percentage points of Epic chance; separate from Rare-chance ranks |
| Gods' Legacy | Green | 10 | 250 per rank | 2500 | Up to +10 percentage points of Legendary/Duo chance; boon prerequisites still required |
| Fated Authority | Red | 8 | Starts at 500, increases by 250; final payment 2250 | 11000 | 8 room-reward rerolls; do not call the cost table's 8 payments 10 ranks |
| Fated Persuasion | Green | 4 | 1000→2000→3000→4000 | 10000 | 4 boon/Well rerolls; not used to change doors |
- Rank costs and effects are reference values for the release version; totals are sums of those costs. Key unlock costs are excluded.
- Buying both colors fully totals 35,365 Darkness. The last 2 reroll talents alone cost 21,000; the other 22 total 14,365. This is not the minimum needed for a first escape.
- Stygian Soul separates its 0-Darkness initial setting from paid upgrades of 60 and 120. Regeneration times of 5, 4 and 3 seconds are not counts of 5, 4 and 3 purchased ranks.
Example: redistributing 1,500 Darkness
This calculation assumes the necessary lower Mirror rows are unlocked with Keys and the following 4 talents are unpurchased. It is not a weapon- or enemy-specific strength ranking.
- First inspect purchased ranks and add only missing-rank costs. Do not budget another 625 for 10 ranks of Thick Skin already owned.
- Allocating 775 of 1,500 Darkness to the table's 4 talents leaves 725. Decide between 500 for another revive and shortages in Bloodstones or offense.
- Death Defiance's third rank costs another 1,000. With 225 left, you are 775 short. Keep shop revive refills separate from permanent Mirror purchases.
- After refunding, recheck active colors and purchased ranks for revives, Dashes and maximum Life before leaving. Holding refunded Darkness alone does not reactivate removed talents.
| Purchase | This payment | Running total | Darkness remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 ranks of Thick Skin | 625 | 625 | 875 |
| 1 rank of Death Defiance | 30 | 655 | 845 |
| 1 rank of Greater Reflex | 50 | 705 | 795 |
| 3 ranks of Chthonic Vitality | 70 | 775 | 725 |
| 1 further rank of Death Defiance | 500 | 1275 | 225 |
- The 1 Key refund cost and the allocation of 1,500 Darkness are separate accounts. Unlocking Mirror rows with Keys is also separate.
Decide spending by what the next rank adds
- Separate problems into reaching enemies, chamber attrition, repeated deaths at one boss and inability to choose needed boons. Compare another rank in talents whose effects match the problem.
- Check current rank and the next price. Constant-price chance upgrades and increasingly expensive revives/rerolls do not share the same cost curve.
- Before changing colors, remove red-side Bloodstones, Obols and maximum Life assumptions from the plan. Recount required resources with green active.
| Purchase comparison | Extra Darkness | What increases | What the purchase does not solve |
|---|---|---|---|
| Death Defiance rank 1→2 | 500 | 1 more revive available in that run | Does not improve dodge inputs or extend post-revive invulnerability |
| Thick Skin rank 0→10 | 625 | 50 total extra maximum Life | Do not expect the red maximum-Life bonus to remain after switching to green |
| Fated Persuasion rank 0→1 | 1000 | 1 boon/Well reroll | Buying rerolls cannot make a Duo eligible without its prerequisites |
| Olympian Favor rank 39→40 | 50 | 1 extra percentage point of Rare chance | The fortieth rank does not suddenly cost 100 or 200 |
| Gods' Legacy rank 9→10 | 250 | 1 extra percentage point of Legendary/Duo chance | Does not directly add 1% damage to Attack |
Version differences and the scope checked
This supplement checks references for the original Hades PC release. Official original-PC announcements were checked through February 2022; the currently installed executable version and actual gameplay behavior remain unconfirmed. These costs do not apply to Hades II's Arcana.
- The 24 talent names match the existing list. Added here are purchase counts, costs and budget calculations, not 24 newly added talents.
- Early guides can label Fated Authority as 10 ranks while listing only 8 payments, or retain different upgrade rates. Purchase ranks were checked together with matching costs and effects.
- Full Mirror costs budget completion. They do not guarantee a minimum viable escape budget, fastest route or a current version shared by all platforms.