Heracles is the strongest hero in myth, and in Hades 2 he turns up on the Surface to race Melinoe for kills, whether she wants the contest or not.
The greatest hero in Greek myth shows up in Hades 2 mostly to tell you to get out of his way.
Heracles is the Mightiest of Men, a demigod son of Zeus who appears along the Surface route and challenges Melinoe to a contest: beat him to a set of marked enemies for Gold. He is gruff, works alone, and is openly skeptical of witches, though he warms up over time.
He also carries a high-risk keepsake and a late-game role where he fights you alongside Prometheus. He is more rival than helper at first, but the rewards are worth the friction.
This guide covers who Heracles is, his Surface challenge, the Lion Fang keepsake, and the Prometheus fight that earns his Trust. Expect light story spoilers.
the Mightiest of Men, a demigod son of Zeus who aids Melinoe on the Surface.Heracles is the most famous hero of Greek myth, a demigod son of Zeus renowned for his strength and his twelve labors.
The wiki notes he was so beloved by Zeus 
that he ascended to Olympus after death. In Hades 2 he appears along the Surface route to aid Melinoe 
, though aid is a strong word for a man who greets her coldly and tells her he works alone.
He is rugged, weary, and bitter toward the Olympians who kept demanding labors of him. He feels more kinship with the punished Titan Prometheus than with his own father, a tension that drives his late-game role. He is voiced by Matthew Waterson.
His prejudice against witches makes him harsh with Melinoe at first. The wiki notes his respect grows once he learns she shares his part-mortal lineage and sees her skill in combat. His step-mother Hera 
is his lifelong enemy, true to the myth.
Heracles helps Melinoe by competing with her, daring her to slay marked enemies before he does for a Gold reward.
The wiki states he appears during encounters in the City of Ephyra, the Rift of Thessaly, and on Mount Olympus along the Surface. When he shows up, he marks a set of enemies, and each one Melinoe kills first awards 20 Gold, up to a maximum of 180 Gold per challenge. It plays much like a Nemesis contest, a friendly rivalry with a payout.
In practice the challenge rewards fast, aggressive clearing. The faster you delete the marked targets, the more of the 180 Gold you claim before Heracles gets to them, so a high-area-damage build cashes in best.
Treat a Heracles sighting as a reason to play aggressively. The marked enemies pay Gold to whoever kills them first, so prioritize the marks and use your widest, fastest damage to beat him to the punch.
The Lion Fang is Heracles keepsake, and it is a front-loaded damage tool that rewards ending fights fast.
You earn it by gifting Nectar to Heracles. Once equipped, the wiki states you deal +30%, +40%, +50%, or +70% more damage by rank, but you lose 5% of that bonus after each encounter. It sits in the wider keepsake pool with the other character keepsakes.
That makes it a snowball-in-reverse: it is at its strongest the moment you equip it and slowly fades as the run goes on. It suits an early region where you want a big damage lead, then it is best swapped out once the bonus decays.
Equip the Lion Fang at the start of a region you want to blitz, then swap it between regions once the bonus has decayed. Because it starts at its maximum and only falls off, the value is all in the first few encounters.
Heracles affinity caps at 7 hearts, and earning his Trust runs through one of the game harder optional boss fights.
The wiki states that Heracles joins forces with Prometheus in the Mount Olympus Guardian fight if you set the Vow of Rivals to Tier 3, revealing his loyalty to the Titan over his father. To earn his Trust, Melinoe must face both Heracles and Prometheus with that vow active, then have a conversation with him after a regular challenge.
It is a fitting arc for a hero who respects strength above all. Beating him at his hardest is what finally wins his respect, and the Prometheus pairing makes the fight one of the tougher tests on the Surface.
Heracles is the Mightiest of Men, a demigod son of Zeus and the most famous hero of Greek myth. In Hades 2 he appears on the Surface route to challenge Melinoe to kill races, and he later fights alongside Prometheus on Mount Olympus.
He challenges Melinoe to beat him to marked enemies for Gold. When he appears in an encounter, each marked foe she kills first pays 20 Gold, up to 180 Gold per challenge. He also has a late-game boss role with Prometheus.
The Lion Fang, earned by gifting him Nectar. It grants +30% to +70% more damage by rank, but you lose 5% of that bonus after each encounter. It is strongest right when equipped and decays over the run.
Kill the marked enemies before he does. Each one you slay first awards 20 Gold, up to 180 Gold total. A fast, high-area-damage build claims the most, since you want to delete the marks before Heracles reaches them.
Set the Vow of Rivals to Tier 3 and face both Heracles and Prometheus in the Mount Olympus Guardian fight. After defeating them, Heracles has a conversation with Melinoe that unlocks his bond. It is one of the tougher Trust requirements.
Optionally, yes. With the Vow of Rivals at Tier 3, Heracles joins Prometheus in the Mount Olympus Guardian fight, and you must beat both to win. Without the vow, he is a challenger rather than a boss.
He is gruff and prejudiced against witches, and he prefers to work alone. The wiki notes his respect grows once he learns Melinoe shares his part-mortal lineage and sees her combat skill, so his coldness softens over time.
Heracles appears during encounters in the City of Ephyra, the Rift of Thessaly, and on Mount Olympus, all along the Surface route. He is not a Crossroads resident, so you meet him out on runs.
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Game data and character art adapted from hades.fandom.com, used under CC BY-SA 3.0. Original content remains the property of the wiki contributors and Supergiant Games.