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Hades: Charon's Obol, Nectar and Darkness Hades guide, tips
Last update: Friday, October 2, 2020
On this page of our Hades guide you can find a list of all main currencies available in the game. We also inform the player how to earn different kinds of currency and what are their most important uses. With this knowledge you'll be able to handle your resources well.
Charon's Obols
The main currency in Hades are Charol's Obols - gold coins.
Gathering gold
Charon's Obols are simply gold. They can be found by going through doors with a coin symbol on them. After defeating all enemies inside a chamber, the obols will appear.
You can buy work orders involving urns from the House Contractor. They allow you to find more gold by destroying gold-colored urns. Initially you don't get much gold for breaking them, but it's very simple and adds up over time.
An interesting way to earn obols is selling your boons at the Pool of Purging. Use the pools with caution, as you can end up selling a very useful boon, e.g. a high attack increase.
You can be rewarded with obols for completing the challenges of Infernal Troves. Remember, however, that you'll never get the listed amount of coins (on this picture it's 100), since the more time you take, the less you get. If you want a large reward, you need to defeat all the enemies as soon as possible.
Some talents are tied to obtaining more obols. The Deep Pockets talent shown on the picture above allows you to start every run with a certain amount of coins (the amount varies on how high you level up the talent).
Some rewards and boons from gods can also allow you to find more gold. The boon shown on the picture gives you a specific amount of gold after entering each new chamber.
Here's an interesting fact - one of the purchasable items in Charon's Well can be obtaining money in return for some HP. We advise you to only use this option if the well contains a very useful item you can't afford, or if your maximum health is very high and the loss of health wouldn't be too big of a deal.
Spending gold
Charon's Obols don't carry over to subsequent runs and are lost after each death. Therefore we advise you to spend them whenever you can, although it's a good idea to always keep around 100 coins at hand, in case you need to make an important purchase, for example a healing item.
Gold can be spent in Charon's shops and wells. They sell various items, but obviously, the more useful or rare the item is, the more it costs.
Darkness
In Hades, one of the resources is Darkness.
Obtaining Darkness
Darkness is one of the most important resources in the game. It can be obtained mainly by going through doors marked with a purple drop symbol. After defeating all enemies in the chamber, the loot will appear.
It can also be obtained by visiting Charon's shops and wells. Darkness can be on the purchasable items' list, and it can be bought with obols (gold).
You can also be rewarded with Darkness by completing the challenges of Infernal Troves. Remember, however, that you'll never get the listed amount of Darkness (on this picture it's 50), since the more time you take, the less you get. If you want a large reward, you need to defeat all the enemies as soon as possible.
Spending Darkness
Darkness isn't lost after death - you keep it during your subsequent runs.
Obtained Darkness can be spent on talents by interacting with the Mirror of Night in House of Hades. It can be used to buy new talents and upgrading already owned talents - each upgrade level is more expensive than the last, and at times you might have to spend up to 500 or 1000 Darkness for a single upgrade.
Additional note - in the later stages of the game you'll unlock the option to reset your talents and regain all Darkness spent. You can use this option to change your choices. This process, however, isn't free, and requires you to spend a single Chthonic Key.
Chthonic Keys
Cthtonic Keys are one of the currencies available in Hades.
Obtaining keys
Chtonic keys are one of the more important items. They can be obtained primarily by going through doors marked with a key icon. After defeating all enemies in the chamber, the key will appear.
They can also be offered by the Wretched Broker in the House of Hades' Lounge. You need to know that they have to be bought by using other rare currencies.
Using keys
Keys aren't lost after death - you keep them during your subsequent runs.
There are two main uses for keys. In out opinion, the more important one is unlocking new weapons in the armory, which is the last room in the House of Hades. We advise you to unlock all six weapons as soon as possible. Unlocking a weapon is permanent, and they don't need to be bought again for subsequent runs.
Keys can also be used to unlock new talents at the Mirror of Night in Zagreus' Bedroom. It's worth noting that a talent won't be active immediately after you unlock it. You still need to buy it by spending Darkness.
Gemstones
Gemstones are one of the currencies available in Hades.
Obtaining gemstones
Gemstones are one of the more common currencies in the game. They can be obtained primarily by going through doors marked with a gemstone icon. After defeating all the enemies in the chamber, the gemstones will appear.
They can also be offered by Charon's shops and wells. In this case, you need to buy them with the obols (gold).
You can be rewarded with Gemstones for completing the challenges of Infernal Troves. Remember, however, that you'll never get the listed amount of Gemstones (on this picture it's 25), since the more time you take, the less you get. If you want a large reward, you need to defeat all the enemies as soon as possible.
Gemstones can be bought from the Wretched Broker at the House of Hades' Lounge. You need to know that they have to be bought by using other rare currencies.
Using Gemstones
Gemstones aren't lost after death - they carry on to your subsequent runs.
Gemstones are used to buy various projects from the House Contractor, a unique NPC in the House of Hades (he'll appear soon after beginning a new game). Initially, focus only on purchasing Work Orders, as those are the only projects that affect gameplay (e.g. unique items or new chambers start appearing in the underworld). In other tabs you'll find many cosmetic items which don't affect gameplay.
In the later stages of the game, you'll need to buy projects by spending diamonds - a much rarer resource gained by defeating bosses or purchasable from the Wretched Broker.
Nectar
Nectar is one of the currencies appearing in the game.
Obtaining nectar
Nectar will only start appearing in the game after a while. To obtain it, you need to go through doors marked with an icon of a bottle with orange fluid. After defeating all enemies in the chamber, the nectar bottle will appear.
Nectar can also be bought from the Wretched Broker in the House of Hades' Lounge. You need to know that it has to be bought by using other rare currency.
Using Nectar
Nectar isn't lost after death - it carries on to your subsequent runs.
Nectar can be gifted to other characters. These mainly include various deities (e.g. Artemis, as shown on the picture above).
By gifting a bottle of Nectar to an NPC for the first time you'll unlock a new keepsake, an upgradeable item which gives you a passive stat bonus. Gifting more bottles allows you to strengthen your bond with a character.
For more info check the Nectar - who to gift? page.