All Animal Companions (& How To Unlock, Upgrade, And Use Them)

As Melinoe battles her way into the Underworld in Hades 2, she’ll come across several animal companions that can help her defeat the Titan of Time and save her family. These animals are able to fight alongside her in combat, farm for better materials, and provide passive buffs to Melinoe herself.

However, Melinoe can only bring one familiar with her during each of her runs through the surface or the underworld. Players will have to choose their favorite companion wisely and get to know which ones will best compliment their current build or which familiar will help them gather some much-needed materials.

Updated February 20, 2025, by Christopher Norman W: Supergiant Games has officially released the Warsong update for Hades 2, the second major update of the game’s Early Access period. Along with a variety of other content, this massive expansion brings yet another Animal Familiar into the war against Chronos. In this update, we’ll explain how players can recruit Gale the Polecat, and what perks they will provide.

Unlocking Familiars In Hades 2

A Few Steps To Finish First

Melinoë must cast an Incantation at the Cauldron in the Crossroads to unlock familiars. Specifically, the player will need the Faith of Familiar Spirits incantation. To unlock this incantation, players must prioritize each gathering equipment and use it at least twice. Once that’s done, Melinoe has to defeat Hecate. If done correctly, Hecate will have a dialogue with Melinoe before the fight about familiars.

After returning to the Crossroads, interact with the pot to find the incantation. To cast this incantation, Melinoe will need 2x Nectar and 1x Lotus Flower. To find Nectar, look for rooms that have the Nectar symbol on them, or purchase it for 50 bones from the Wretched Broker. Lotus flowers are found in various rooms throughout Oceanus. After casting Faith of Familiar Spirits, Melinoe will receive 1 Witch’s Delight. Give this treat to an animal, and they will join Melinoe in her future runs as a familiar.

In Hades 2, players have 5 animal companions to choose from – Frinos, Toula, Raki, Hecuba, and Gale. Each one represents a different material Melinoe can gather during her adventures in the Underworld or the Surface. As a result, choosing the best familiar to go after a specific material will not only increase the probability of that material appearing, but it will also circumvent the need to play a minigame in order to gather that material. For example, Toula makes fishing easier and more likely to appear. If Melinoe fishes while Toula is with her, then Toula will automatically catch the fish instead of having the player go through the minigame.

How to Get Frinos The Frog in Hades 2

Loves To Eat Projectiles And Find Psyche

Frinos can be found near Melinoe’s tent. Not only can he boost Melinoe’s maximum HP, but he can also be used to block projectiles. This is particularly useful against Hecate since Frinos can eat the polymorphing curse.

How to Get Toula The Cat in Hades 2

An Extra Life And More Fish

After casting the Woodsy Lifespring Incantation, Melinoe will encounter Toula in the fountain room of Erebus. After interacting with her, Toula will disappear from Erebus and reappear later on the Surface.

Start a surface run, defeat Polyphemus in Ephyra, and head into the Pier area. Before jumping through the exit, keep an eye out for Toula on the far left side of the pier. Give her a Witch’s Delight and she’ll join Melinoe as a familiar.

How to Get Raki The Raven in Hades 2

More Pecking, More Mining, and More Crits

Raki can be found in the fountain room of the Crossroads. Head past the fountain, and there will be a white raven to the left of the path just before the exits. The first time Melinoe talks to Raki will make Raki disappear.

After that run, jump into another Underworld run until Melinoe comes across the fountain room in Erebus with Raki in it. Raki will disappear one more time after Melinoe interacts with it. In the next Underworld run, find the fountain room one more time in Erebus, and Raki will have the option to bond with Melinoe. Give the adorable white raven a Witch’s Delight, and it’ll join Melinoe as a familiar.

How to Get Hecuba The Hound in Hades 2

Bigger Magic Pool And Plenty Of Digging For Seeds

To find Hecuba, head to the Underworld and find Echo in the Fields of Mourning. Follow the road toward the exit, and Hecuba will sometimes be waiting near the exit doors. Be careful not to miss the adorable canine — her black fur makes her blend into the floor.

Talk to Hecuba, and she’ll disappear. Repeat this process and level up the other familiars at the Crossroads until Hecate has an exclamation mark over her head. Speak to the Titaness, and she’ll allow the recruitment of her familiars — Hecuba and Gale — through the “Shared Familiar Bonds” permission.

Jump into one more Underworld run, find Hecuba again in the Fields of Mourning, and this time, Melinoe will have the option to give Hecuba a treat. Give the faithful hound a Witch’s Delight, and she’ll join Melinoe as a familiar.

How to Get Gale the Polecat in Hades 2

Increased Dodge Chance and Move Speed, more Flora, and Extreme Scratching:

To recruit Gale, you will need to make sure you’ve completed both the Faith of Familial Spirits and Shared Familiar Bonds incantations. Players returning to the game for the Warsong Update will most likely already have these completed, as they are required to recruit all previous animal familiars.

To find Gale the Poelcat in Hades 2, you’ll need to begin a surface run. Gale is located in the final chamber before reaching Prometheus. This means you’ll need to complete the City of Ephyra and the Rift of Thessaly, then scale the lower levels of Mount Olympus. When you reach the end of Mount Olympus, you’ll find Gale in the same chamber as the shop, on the right of the path just before the door to Prometheus.

We were not able to recruit Gale the first time we encountered him. We spoke to the polecat, then they disappeared. However, we were able to recruit Gale with a treat the second time we encountered them.

Gale’s main ability is blocking attacks, then immediately retaliating with a scratch attack. It appears that Gale will block a certain number of attacks per encounter, though it is hard to tell which attacks specifically will be blocked. As we learn more about the mechanics, we will add our findings here.

We recruited Gale with a returning save file, having progressed through all available content up to the Warsong Update. We are currently checking to see if there are any differences when starting from the beginning with a new save file. While there likely won’t be, should any arise, we will include them here as soon as possible.

Gale Upgrades:

Upgrading Familiars In Hades 2

Magical Cookies For Your Favorite Animal Companions

To upgrade a familiar, approach it in the Crossroads. To upgrade the familiar traveling with Melinoe, head over to that familiar’s spot in the training area and tell it to rest. From there, give the familiar a Witch’s Delight to upgrade one of its skills to the next rank.

To craft more Witch’s Delight, use the Beast-Loved Morsel Alchemy recipe at the Cauldron. This recipe can be used once Melinoe has cast the Faith of Familiar Spirits incantation. The ingredient that may be a little difficult to find is the Star Dust. To get it, cast the Abyssal Night Incantation, which can be obtained from Chaos at the Crossroads near the Pitch-Block Stone. Alternatively, Star Dust can be obtained by completing Chaos Trials, or purchased from the Broker for 600 Bones.