The hidden Aspect of Anubis hands you the Ankh Scepter, raising Lone Shades wherever you kill while buffing your Omega Moves.
The Aspect of Anubis is the Witch's Staff hidden aspect, and it turns the weapon into a summoner by raising a Lone Shade every time you slay a foe.
Equipping the Ankh Scepter means kills leave behind shades that fight alongside you, so a busy room snowballs into a growing swarm of allies. On top of that, the aspect raises your Omega Move speed and damage, so your line bursts and radial blasts both hit harder and faster.
It is a kill-to-snowball aspect: the more you clear, the more shades you field, which clears even faster.
This guide covers how Anubis and its Lone Shades work, how to reveal the hidden aspect, its rank scaling, the best build, and when to pick it over the other Witch's Staff aspects.
the Ankh Scepter raises Lone Shades where you slay foes, and buffs Omega Moves.
fast clear and Omega boons to keep the shade snowball rolling.The Aspect of Anubis equips the Ankh Scepter, which raises a Lone Shade wherever you slay a foe, and raises your Omega Move speed and damage on top.
On the Witch's Staff, you are already firing Omega line bursts and radial blasts to clear packs. With Anubis, every kill those moves score leaves a Lone Shade behind to fight for you, so the aspect rewards killing volume: clear fast, field more shades, clear faster.
The Omega Move speed and damage boost feeds directly into that loop, since the staff Omega Moves are your main kill engine. The faster and harder they hit, the more shades you raise per encounter, which is why the aspect scales that stat rather than the shades directly.
Open on the biggest pack you can find. Anubis snowballs from kills, so a crowded room is where it shines; thin it fast with an Omega blast and the resulting shades carry you through whatever comes next.
Anubis is a hidden aspect, so you must unlock it through a short ritual rather than buying it outright.
Per the wiki, get either the Aspect of Circe or the Aspect of Momus on the Witch's Staff to rank 5, then talk to Circe with any weapon equipped until she gives the waking phrase ("I see you guarding graves of mortals passed into the black beyond"). After that, activate the Silver Pool in the Crossroads and the aspect is revealed for purchase.
The requirement to level Circe or Momus first means Anubis is a later-game unlock, not a starting option, so expect to put time into the staff before you can field the Lone Shades.
Push Circe or Momus to rank 5 on a build you already like, then keep talking to Circe between runs. The waking phrase only triggers in conversation, so visiting her each return to the Crossroads is the fastest way to surface it.
The aspect scales Omega Move Speed and Damage together, feeding the kill engine that raises your Lone Shades.
| Rank | Omega Move Speed and Damage |
|---|---|
| Rank I | +10% |
| Rank II | +15% |
| Rank III | +20% |
| Rank IV | +25% |
| Rank V | +30% |
| Rank VI | +45% |
Ranks II through V each cost Nightmare, and the rank VI jump to plus 45 percent unlocks through the Hephaestus Legendary boon Premium Service. The Lone Shade effect itself is fixed; the ranks make your Omega Moves faster and stronger, which indirectly raises more shades by speeding up your kills.
Treat the Omega scaling as the real reward and the shades as a bonus. Even before you field a full swarm, the plus Omega speed and damage makes the staff Omega Moves noticeably snappier, so the aspect pulls its weight on raw clear alone.
The strongest Anubis build maximizes Omega kill speed so the Lone Shade swarm builds as fast as possible.
Take Omega-friendly boons that add a payload to your line burst and radial blast, keep Magick high so you fire Omega Moves constantly, and grab anything that speeds clear. The faster you kill, the more shades you field, so clear-speed boons are effectively summon boons here.
Aspect of Anubis (Lone Shades, faster Omega) Zeus (chain clear on the Omega line)
Poseidon (knockback on the radial blast)
Magick regen sources (constant Omega Moves)
Demeter Freeze (group foes for clean kills)
Apollo Daze (safety while shades build)In practice this build starts slow and ends overwhelming. The first room raises a few shades, and by the later rooms you have a swarm clearing alongside your Omega blasts. Across multiple runs, Anubis rewards aggressive, fast clearing more than careful single-target play.
Anubis wants Omega-clear boons, Magick sustain, and crowd control that sets up clean kills to raise shades.
Zeus chain lightning on the Omega line scores fast multi-kills, each one a new Lone Shade, the cleanest pairing with the snowball. Poseidon adds knockback and resources to the radial Omega Special.
Demeter Freeze groups enemies so your Omega blast kills several at once, and Apollo Daze keeps you safe while the shade count climbs. In practice, anything that raises your clear speed is a summon enabler on this aspect.")
Prioritize multi-kill potential over single-target damage. A boon that lets one Omega blast kill three enemies raises three shades, so area and chain effects out-value pure single-target boons on an Anubis build.
Pick Anubis for a snowballing summon build, and pick a different aspect for burst, sustain, or simple stats.
The Aspect of Momus fires every Omega Move up to three times for the staff highest single-target burst. 
The Aspect of Circe links your Casts to your familiar for a Psychic Leash, and 
the Aspect of Melinoe adds Max Magick and Special Power as the safe default.
Anubis is the late-unlock payoff aspect, best when you want a growing army and faster Omega Moves rather than a single big hit. If you have not yet leveled Circe or Momus to reveal it, those aspects are your build in the meantime. The full Witch's Staff weapon guide compares all four aspects in depth.
On the Witch's Staff, the hidden Aspect of Anubis equips the Ankh Scepter, which raises a Lone Shade wherever you slay a foe to fight alongside you. It also increases your Omega Move speed and damage, up to plus 45 percent at rank VI.
Reveal it by getting the Aspect of Circe or Aspect of Momus on the Witch's Staff to rank 5, talking to Circe with any weapon until she gives her waking phrase, then activating the Silver Pool at the Crossroads to make the aspect available to purchase.
The Aspect of Anubis is the hidden aspect of the Witch's Staff, Descura. It builds on the staff's Omega Move clear by turning kills into Lone Shades, so it suits an aggressive, fast-clearing playstyle.
Maximize Omega kill speed so the shade swarm builds fast. Take Zeus for chain clear on the line burst, Poseidon on the radial blast, Demeter Freeze to group foes, Magick regeneration for constant Omega Moves, and Apollo Daze for safety.
Lone Shades are allied summons the Ankh Scepter raises wherever you kill an enemy while using the Aspect of Anubis. They fight alongside you, so clearing packs quickly builds a growing swarm that adds to your damage.
Yes, especially in long rooms where the shade swarm has time to build. It snowballs from kills and speeds up your Omega Moves, though it is weaker than Momus for raw single-target burst and requires a later-game unlock.
Pick Anubis for a snowballing summon build that grows stronger as you clear, and pick Momus for the highest single-target burst by tripling your Omega Moves. Anubis is also a hidden, later unlock, while Momus is available earlier.
Rank VI gives plus 45 percent Omega Move speed and damage, which feeds the kill loop that raises shades. Lower ranks still work, but ranking up speeds your clears and therefore your shade count, so invest on a run you take deep.
Keep building out your Hades 2 knowledge with these next stops.
Game data and weapon 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.