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Hades 2is no pushover in terms of difficulty, but there is no greater challenge than the poster villain of this adventure: Chronos himself. The Titan of Time is arguably far harder than the game’s preceding final battle, and resetting the clock on the underworld is going to take a lot more than base skill.
When defeating Chronos, preparation through multiple attempts and Crossroads upgrades will absolutely be required. What those preparations should be and your study-guide for Chronos’s playbook can all be found in this deepdive on Tartarus’s most dangerous escaped convict.
What To Know Before Fighting Chronos
Chronos is atime-manipulating titanwho will laugh at your puny attempts to control time. While facing him, youwill not be able to:
You’ll wantevery boon you may get your hands onfor Chronos, especially with his beefy healthpool, buthere are a few things you should strive to getbefore matching Chronos in the House of Hades:
While increasing your health is always a boon here, adamage cap from Demeter will do more heavy liftingfor you.
But why is Demeter’s boon so important? Because some ofChronos’s second phase attacks are one-hit-kills without it.With Demeter, you’ll turn ensured one-hit-kills into a more manageable 15 damage.
You canhave your choice of other boons, damage types, and weaponsfor Chronos. Every person has their own perfect playstyle and fit for combat.What matters is a weapon you’re comfortable withfor your first attempts.
As you navigate your way to Chronos, there is one other important step to take:visit Hades.
Hades almost always spawns on your trip to the bottom of Tarturus and isindicated by the golden hands sigilas with any other friendly NPC.Enter, and speak with him for a special boon.
Hades' boons will give you theability to greatly weaken Chronosby, for example:
You do not want to miss out on these boons if you can help it.
The summoned enemy reduction also works on the banners that Chronos summons to bolster his health. Instead of four banners generating protection for Chronos and his allies, there will only be two.
Wind-Up Tells And Attack Description
Scythe Slashes
Horizontal Sweep
Chronos brings his scythe back and cuts horizontally from his right to his left. The remaining black slash has a delayed detonation.
He can chain this attack up to three times once reduced to 50 percent health in Phase One or infuse it with the below slash type.
Dash inward toward Chronos.
Dashing Slash
Chronos crouches with his scythe pulled back and to his right. After a white flash and brief shake, he dashes forward and slices the length of his dash. The remaining black slash has a delayed detonation.
He can chain this attack up to three times once reduced to 50 percent health in Phase One or infuse it with the above slashing type. This also appears in a combo with the Spiraling Orbs.
The slash hitbox and detonation zone is off-center with Chronos’s actual body, favoring a slight right to Chronos. By dashing to Chronos’s left, you are almost guaranteed an evasion of this attack.
Orb Ring
Chronos spins with a flash of white and generates a single ring of orbs around him. They remain until they are removed by hitting the player, a wall, or a projectile or dissipate after a short time.
Keep your distance and prepare for a possible Dashing Slash.
Non-Combo Moves
Cyclone Slash
Chronos raises his blade to his left and throws out his scythe in a whirling projectile that arcs in front of him and returns to his right hand.
Dodge forward and then dash behind Chronos before the blade returns to his hand. If not safe, dash through the blade and keep your distance.
Spiraling Orbs
Chronos surrounds himself with a golden barrier. As it disappears, he generates four arms of spinning orbs that spread in rotating arms clockwise around him and then pull back inward.
Sprint away and keep distance.
Time Zone
Chronos creates a gold-trimmed black circle around him before forming a dome. If caught inside the dome, the player will be frozen in time and unable to move for a short duration.
Projectiles cannot enter this dome.
Chronos disappears after the circle’s formation and reappears at a random point on the map.
When spying the black circle, dash away and keep your distance. Anticipate Chronos’s reappearance elsewhere.
Vacuum Slash
Chronos begins to spin his scythe in front of him, creating a sucking vortex that pulls the player into the whirring blade. This vortex (and Chronos) slowly spins clockwise.
Sprint around Chronos clockwise to his back, attacking briefly when the opportunity presents itself.
Minion Summons
Chronos summons a group of satyr cultists after forming a golden bubble and raising a shield.
These minions are summoned first with no armour and summoned with armour when Chronos is below 30 percent health.
Begin aggressively attacking the minions.
Flag Summons
Chronos slams the base of his scythe on the ground to summon four flag pillars in the hall. Each flag has its own health bar and generates protection in an aura for Chronos and his allies.
First 60 percent
Last 40 percent
The only difference between these stages is the number of attacks he’ll make in quick succession. Phase One will teach you the moves, and Phase Two will have you face those moves as they appear in combos.
Phase One, Stage One
As you enter the room, there will befour satyrs(two if you took the relevant boon from Hades), and Chronos will take a few seconds before he’s able to be struck. Use this opportunity tobegin immediately and furiously attacking the minions.
It is best touse your Omega Cast on these enemiesto prevent them from firing their ranged projectiles and summoning vermin to complicate your fight.
Chronos is slow in the first half anyway, so you’ll have the opportunity to sprint away from him while dealing with his minions.Ignore him where you may, and don’t be too greedy.
With the minions gone,begin watching Chronos. Don’t get overly greedy and begin wildly attacking. This phase is meant to teach, so learn.
Be patient.
Keep these facts in mind:
The best way to avoid the Cyclone Slash is simply tokeep an eye on Chronos’s body languageas much as possible.
This attack is the only attack thatbegins with Chronos raising his scythe to his leftside.
As you push toward and past the halfway point,Chronos will summon four flag postson a normal run thatgenerate auras of protection. This aura can spread to his minions and absorb damage.
When Chronos begins to summon them,take them outas he transitions into the second stage of Phase One.
Phase One, Stage Two
After the flag posts have been summoned, Chronos will be officially in the second stage of this phase.
His slashing attacks from the first phase will now appear in combos of three attacks. Some slashes will be horizontal while others dash forward, but the combo will never exceed three attacks.
Dash through themas you learned from the first stage.
At the 30 percent health mark,Chronos will automatically teleport to the golden sigiltoward the back of the hall and summon his reinforcements.
These reinforcements all have shields, making them a little hardier than the last fight.Take them out as quickly as possibleas you did in the first stage. But be warned he prefers to do hisSpiraling Orb attack shortly aftersummoning these allies.
Chronos willteleport to the sigil at 30 percent health,even if he is in the midst of an attack. The hitbox will travel with them and can unintentionally strike you if you are not prepared for the teleport.
When all reinforcements are dealt with, you canfocus on Chronos again.
There’s nothing else special about this stage, so give it your all and conserve your energy for the much trickier Phase Two.
Suggested Counters
Gathering Time
The arena goes black as Chronos gathers time into himself. His wings are spread, and a golden aura forms around him. Any player caught in the darkness will suffer an instant death.
Dash toward Chronos and stay against him until this attack passes.
Phase One Attacks
All attacks from Phase One reappear but do not appear as combos. The Spiraling Orbs have additional arms of orbs but remain the same in concept.
Marked by Time (Melinoe)
Chronos will raise his scythe and spread his wings as he charges his attack. Then, the screen will blur as a circle appears around the player.
After, the arena will darken around an untouched circle. Standing outside the circle will result in massive damage.
Spring toward the unmarked circle and stand still, casting projectiles toward Chronos if possible.
Marked by Time (Chronos)
Appears like the above but without the blurred screen and concentration on the player.
The greater area around Chronos is marked as the safe spot, while the immediate space around him is still dangerous. Dark areas will explode.
Dash toward and stay beside Chronos during the length of this attack but not against him.
Detonating Hands
A crossing, golden X will appear. Shortly after, it will detonate.
Once Chronos is reduced to half-health, this shape becomes a 12-handed star pattern instead of an X.
Do not stand on the golden lines.
Enclosing Time
A ring of gold will appear outside the arena and begin to close in around the player.
Dash through the outside of the ring.
Mass Time Zone
Chronos will spawn several black circles around the arena that form into golden domes. Like the original Time Zone, any player within will be suspended and motionless in time.
Avoid the black circles and do not attempt to fire projectiles.
Hands of Time
Two golden and shimmering lines like the hands on a clock will appear and begin moving clockwise and slightly staggered.
Dash through and avoid the spinning hands.
Use Omega Casts to restrain them while focusing on Chronos.
Rings of Orbs
Several red rings will appear on the ground. Shortly after, they will populate with several spinning orbs.
Use projectile casts to strike Chronos from afar and use special effects and projectiles to clear orbs where needed.
Phase Two Chronos takes everything you learned about him in Phase One and turns it into a trial of zoning.
Every attack in Chronos’s arena will overlap, starting small and working its way until an average of three of the moves in the table above are happening simultaneously. However, thecombo chains from the first phase will no longer be present.
As a result of these facts, thegeneral strategy for the fight is much like the first phase:
The most dangerous attacks in this fight are Chronos’s arena attacks, such as his ‘Marked by Time’ and ‘Gathering Time’ attacks. These attacks will deal massive amounts of damage thatoften result in an instant loss of a lifeif not using the ‘Coarse Grit’ boon.
To mitigate these possibilities and increase your chances of survival overall, the best advice to give is:keep your eyes on the floor.
The floor will always be your marker for the safest place in the arena.Clear, uncolored areas are your friend.
Chronosalmost always opens his fight with some form of an arena attack. As soon as you enter the arena, be on guard and ready to dash to the circle of safety.
Once you reachChronos’s final 50 percent, he’ll summon the Hourglasses.These pesky things will create a zoning nightmare.
The best thing you can do to avoid these little run-killers is touse your Omega Cast to stall them while being extra aggressive with Chronos.All stakes are on the line now.
Once Chronos summons the Hourglasses, they will continue to be re-summoned on each of the time sigils on the face of the arena clock. Thus, there isn’t much use in trying to defeat them before engaging Chronos. Best to end the fight as quickly as possible.
You’ll be holding your breath for the final 20 percent health as the zoning becomes increasingly ludicrous. There isno further advice here except that:
Do not be afraid of failingthis section with Chronos.Practice, and upgrade what you canas you learn to move through his patterns through instinct.
You will eventually come out on top, and there is - we can guarantee 100 percent - no greater feeling of accomplishment.
