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In this Hades guide, we explain how to activate and improve Talents so you can journey further into your runs and stock up on late-game loot that will eventually enable you to escape the underworld.
Early in Hades, the Mirror of Night is the easiest way to upgrade Zagreus. It’s located in your Bedchambers, against the left wall as you arrive from the Great Hall.
You can spend Darkness shards at the Mirror of Night to purchase permanent character skills known as Talents. These Talents improve attributes such as the amount of damage dealt to undamaged foes or the amount of damage dealt when striking them from behind. Some of the more powerful Talents even allow you to revive one or more times in the middle of a run, or to start with some of Charon’s Obol already in your possession.
Initially, you won’t have access to many Talents. By spending Chthonic Keys, you can eventually expand the list to include 12 unique skills. Continue enhancing your Mirror of Night to gain an additional 12 beyond that. However, you can only activate 12 of them at once.
To improve a Talent you see listed, highlight the “+” icon, which appears next to the cost of that upgrade in Darkness shards. You can upgrade most skills only a few times before it will max out. The process requires some time, since shards aren’t awarded generously in the game’s early areas. If you make some improvements that upon reflection seem imprudent, you can spend a single Chthonic Key to reset the list and reclaim spent shards.
Once you gain access to more than 12 Talents, look to the left of a particular Talent to find an icon depicting two arrows pointed inward toward one another. Highlight and press that icon to expose the alternate version of that Talent, which you must pay more shards to upgrade separately.
In general, the secondary Talents (listed in green text instead of red) are more useful to skilled players and will allow them to clear regions more efficiently. However, the risk is greater. Be careful that you equip Talents that complement your play style.