The Moonstone Axe hits harder per swing than any other Nocturnal Arm, so the whole build is about feeding its slow, magick-hungry Omega Moves.
The Moonstone Axe, Zorephet, swings slower than every other Nocturnal Arm and trades that speed for the highest damage per hit in the game.
That single trait shapes the entire build. You are not chaining quick attacks; you are landing a few enormous hits, so percentage damage boons multiply far more than flat ones, and Magick regeneration becomes the stat that decides how often your Omega Moves fire.
The axe also carries a Cleave that can blanket a whole pack, plus a whirlwind that scales with how long you channel it. Picked aspects bend it toward either raw attack speed or a Cast-bomb playstyle.
This guide covers how the axe plays, every aspect ranked for builds, the best Daedalus Hammer upgrades, and the boons that turn its heavy hits into a finished run.
the Moonstone Axe, Zorephet, a slow, hard-hitting Nocturnal Arm unlocked for 10 Silver.
Aspect of Thanatos for attack speed and stacking Omega crit, with Melinoe as the safe default.
percentage damage boons and heavy Magick regeneration to keep Omega Moves online.The axe is built around big, committed hits rather than fast combos, so it rewards positioning and Magick management over button mashing.
The base Attack is a three-strike combo that ends in a heavy chop, and the wiki notes the final hit can be aimed with dash and movement or canceled into a dash or Special. The standard Special spins the axe in front of Melinoe for light damage. Neither is where the damage lives.
The real output comes from the Omega Moves. The Omega Attack channels a whirlwind for 10 to 20 Magick, and the wiki specifies that channeling longer raises it from 1 hit up to 11. The Omega Special spends 30 Magick to Cleave with three wide blasts that deal 140 each, and positioning a foe so it eats more than one blast is how you delete bosses. Both lean hard on Magick, which is why sustain matters more here than on any other weapon.
Position before you channel. Because the Omega Special fires three overlapping blasts, lining an elite or boss up so it gets clipped by two or three of them roughly doubles or triples the damage from a single cast.
Aspect of Thanatos is the strongest all-round build aspect, with Melinoe as the beginner-safe pick and Charon for a Cast-bomb playstyle.
| Aspect | Effect | Best for |
|---|---|---|
 Melinoe | Bonus Attack Power and Max Life, up to +60 power at rank VI | Safe default, raw damage and survivability |
| Thanatos | Faster Attack, and each strike grants Mortality (+2% Omega crit, up to +20%) until you take damage | Highest ceiling, Omega crit stacking |
 Charon | Your Cast erupts like an Omega Cast when struck by your Omega Special (Cleave-Cast) | Cast-bomb and area control builds |
| Nergal (hidden) | Gives the Rock Lion Mace and turns you Berserk after enough strikes (as few as 4 at rank VI) | Aggressive, sustained melee |
Thanatos wins for most runs because the attack-speed boost partly answers the axe biggest weakness, and Mortality keeps feeding crit to the Omega Moves you fire constantly. The Aspect of Thanatos build leans into that crit loop, while the Aspect of Charon build turns your Cast into a second Cleave for room clear.
Nergal is a hidden aspect. Reveal it by getting Charon or Thanatos to rank 5, talking to Charon until he gives the waking phrase, then activating the Silver Pool at the Crossroads. It changes the weapon entirely, so try it before you commit.
The best Daedalus Hammers either speed up the slow channels or convert the heavy Attack into reliable area damage.
According to the wiki, Furious Whirlwind speeds up your Omega Attack channel and moves you 50% faster while it is active, which directly fixes the weapon clumsiest moment. Sudden Cleaver shaves 25% off the Omega Special channel for faster Cleaves. Rapid Slash makes the base Attack 30% faster.
For raw damage, Seething Marauder adds 60 splash damage to every strike, and Hell Splitter rewrites the Attack into a single 300 Power chop. Executioner Chop doubles the final hit for 20 Magick. Match the Hammer to your aspect: speed Hammers for Thanatos, area Hammers for Charon.
Furious Whirlwind is close to a must-pick on attack-focused builds. The 50% movement speed during the whirlwind lets you reposition mid-channel, which is the difference between landing all 11 hits and getting interrupted halfway through.
The strongest axe build pairs Aspect of Thanatos with one percentage damage god and a hard commitment to Magick regeneration.
Open by picking a single attack god and stacking their percentage boon, since the axe huge base hits multiply best with percentages rather than flat adds. Then prioritize anything that refills Magick so the Omega Moves never go dark. Finish with a defensive or crit layer that matches your aspect.
Aspect of Thanatos (attack speed and Omega crit) Apollo or Hestia (percentage attack damage)
Aphrodite Weak (cuts incoming damage while you commit)
Magick regen sources (keep Omega Moves firing) Furious Whirlwind (faster channel, move speed)
Artemis (stacks with Mortality crit)In practice this build flattens single targets and bosses, because every Omega Attack is already near max hits and Mortality plus Artemis pushes crit chance high. The axe slow start is the price you pay for that mid-run damage spike.
The axe loves percentage damage, Magick sustain, and any boon that interacts with its Cleave.
Apollo is a standout: the wiki notes his Exceptional Talent affects the axe Omega Attack differently, doubling its duration rather than the hit rate, unless you also run the Psychic Whirlwind Hammer, which flips it back to doubling hit rate. Either way you get more whirlwind.
On a Charon Cleave-Cast build, the Cast counts as an Omega Cast, so it benefits from 
Poseidon Geyser Spout, Apollo Lucid Gain and Prominence Flare, and 
Ares Meat Grinder. That stacking is what makes the Charon build clear rooms so fast. Across multiple runs, the axe rewards committing to one or two gods rather than spreading thin.
Magick regeneration is not optional on this weapon. A run that ignores it ends up swinging the slow base Attack while the Omega Moves sit on cooldown, which is the worst version of the axe.
The strongest axe build uses Aspect of Thanatos for attack speed and stacking Omega crit, a single percentage damage god like Apollo or Hestia, Aphrodite Weak for safety, and heavy Magick regeneration so the Omega Moves keep firing. Furious Whirlwind is the priority Daedalus Hammer.
Aspect of Thanatos is the best all-round build aspect because its attack speed offsets the weapon's slow swing and Mortality feeds crit to the Omega Moves. Aspect of Melinoe is the safe beginner pick, and Aspect of Charon enables a Cast-bomb playstyle.
The Moonstone Axe, Zorephet, is one of the Nocturnal Arms and unlocks for 10 Silver. In the first Hades, the same weapon is wielded by Thanatos in his own aspect, which is why his aspect returns here.
Percentage attack damage boons multiply the axe's huge hits best, so Apollo, Hestia, and Aphrodite are top picks. Magick regeneration is essential to keep Omega Moves online. On a Charon build, Poseidon Geyser Spout and Ares Meat Grinder boost the Cleave-Cast.
Reveal the hidden Aspect of Nergal by getting Aspect of Charon or Thanatos to rank 5, talking to Charon until he gives the waking phrase, then activating the Silver Pool at the Crossroads. Buy it for 15 Iron and 5 Serpent Scales.
Yes, the axe is strong once built around. It has the highest damage per hit of any Nocturnal Arm, which makes it excellent against bosses and elites. The trade is speed and Magick hunger, so it needs sustain and positioning to shine.
Furious Whirlwind speeds the Omega Attack channel and adds 50% move speed, fixing the weapon's clumsiest moment. Seething Marauder and Hell Splitter add area and raw Attack damage, and Sudden Cleaver speeds up the Omega Special channel.
The axe is beginner-friendly with Aspect of Melinoe, which adds raw Attack Power and Max Life. The high per-hit damage covers for imperfect boon picks, though new players should still prioritize Magick regeneration to keep the Omega Moves available.
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.