Hades II Familiar Tier List

All five familiars ranked with per-meta-build assignment

By BrokenBuilds WikiMay 3, 2026Updated May 3, 2026

Hades II Familiar Tier List (Post-Launch Patch 2)

Five familiars, ranked by how much they shape a real run. Toula and Raki anchor the speedrun and burst meta. Hecuba carries sustain pushes. Gale and Frinos sit further down because they help the run rather than build it.

TL;DR

item:toula is the strongest pick if you have a Medea Skull or Argent Skull build queued. item:raki is the default for every Witch's Staff and Moonstone Axe omega-cast setup. Both are S tier and the rest of this list is about when to break from those defaults.

How Familiars Work

Pick one familiar at the Crossroads before each run. The chosen familiar grants its passive effect for the whole run, with no in-combat ability. Befriending each one takes Nectar gifts plus a unique ritual, often tied to a specific resource the familiar already favors. Once befriended, a familiar slot opens permanently. Swapping between runs costs nothing, so the question is always which passive matches the build you are about to play.

S Tier

Toula

Effect: Increases Fishing Point spawns Best for: Medea Skull Speed-Crit, any Argent Skull aspect run Toula turns the long Argent Skull setup into a short one. Fishing Points feed the keepsake economy that the speed-crit build leans on, and the extra spawns mean Cloud Bangle and Engraved Pin rotations land on schedule instead of one biome late. On a sub-12 minute clear that timing is the run.

Raki

Effect: Increases Outcropping spawns (metals for crafting) Best for: Charon Axe Omega-Cast Launcher, Circe Staff Always-Be-Casting, Moros Flames Raki feeds three of the eight named meta builds. Charon Axe needs the keepsake and arcana progression that crafting funds, and the Circe Staff caster path runs through the same metals to keep magick regen items stocked. Pick Raki for any run aiming at a stationary-boss kill where omega-cast scaling matters more than wave-clear speed.

A Tier

Hecuba

Effect: +Max Magick; increases digging spots for seeds Best for: Circe Staff sustain pushes, long-vow Anubis fields The flat Max Magick lift is the only familiar effect that scales with a build mid-run. On a Circe Staff run that lives or dies by magick pool size, Hecuba buys roughly one extra omega-cast per low point in the rotation. Pick Hecuba over Raki when the goal is a 65-Fear underworld clear rather than a 50-Fear speedrun. Seed digging is a side benefit for garden upkeep.

Gale

Effect: Boosts dodge chance, speed, and flora spawn rate Best for: Nyx Coat Nightspawn wave-clear, Nergal Axe Berserker, any high-Fear face-tank run Gale is the only familiar with a direct combat effect. Dodge chance and speed compound with Swift Runner arcana and Cloud Bangle, and on Black Coat sprints between packs the speed bonus shows up immediately. The flora bonus also covers the same garden role that other familiars split across two effects, which is why it sits above Frinos despite the dodge value being modest.

B Tier

Frinos

Effect: Increases Lost Shade spawn rate (Psyche farming) Best for: Psyche grinding sessions outside meta runs Frinos is the farming familiar. Lost Shade spawns convert to Psyche, which feeds arcana upgrades, but no S or A tier build needs more Psyche mid-run. Use Frinos on dedicated farming runs at 0 to 16 Fear, then swap back to Toula or Raki for the real attempts. Strong tool, narrow window.

How to Pick a Familiar by Build

Build	Familiar
Medea Skull Speed-Crit	Toula
Charon Axe Omega-Cast Launcher	Raki
Circe Staff Always-Be-Casting (speed)	Raki
Circe Staff Always-Be-Casting (sustain)	Hecuba
Moros Flames Ghost-Detonation	Raki
Anubis Staff Zoning Fields	Hecuba or Gale
Nyx Coat Nightspawn Wave-Clear	Gale
Nergal Axe Berserker Lifesteal	Gale
Melinoe Staff Balanced All-Rounder	Toula on flex runs, Gale on first 32-Fear push

The pattern holds across the post-launch Patch 2 meta: Toula on Argent Skull, Raki on omega-cast scalers, Hecuba on magick pool builds, Gale on movement and face-tank aspects, Frinos when the run is about resources rather than fear.