There are six planned weapons for Hades 2, but none hit as hard in a single swing as the Moonstone Axe. Available in the early game, you might be put off by its slower speed or the strange deviation from Melinoe’s magical style, but don’t be fooled. The Moonstone Axe is an S-tier weapon you don’t want to set aside.
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With an incredibly wide range for its Omega Special and ability to cleave through armour and empowered bosses like they’re your average Shade, the Moonstone Axe is the epitome of ‘BONK.’ If you want to earn some style points and become an axe-wielding witch of nightmares, we have everything you need to know to make it happen.
Hades 2 is currently in Early Access, meaning that the details below may change over the course of development.
Updated March 10, 2025 by Alexis Campbell: We’ve updated this guide to reflect numerous Olympian and War Song changes affecting the significant changes to Moonstone Axe movesets and upgrade abilities. Revisions to reflect new Olympian boons and their synergies with the axe have been made.
Moonstone Axe Moveset
|
Attack |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Attack |
Melinoe swings the axe three times, scaling from 40 damage and doubling damage with each hit for a total of 160 damage on the final strike (or 320 damage for the entire combo). It swings left, then right, and then slows to charge a final, mighty overhead swing. You can dash through this final swing to suddenly move it to another location within dashing distance. |
|
Omega Attack |
Holding the attack button to charge, Melinoe will begin to spin, increasing speed until fully charged and erupting with several quick spinning attacks once unleashed. |
|
Special |
A quick, forward, and short-range attack that throws and slightly spins the axe. It deals a quick amount of damage before returning. |
|
Omega Special |
Melinoe charges while the axe spins in front of her. When fully charged, it releases a massive wave of strikes forward and across the arena in a straight line. The wave spreads outward as well, potentially damaging enemies on the fringes. |
The Moonstone Axe is a slow but extremely sturdy weapon that makes up for its terrible speed with incredible damage.
Its normal attack is impressive enough with its damage output and wide, arcing range and a rapid-spinning Omega Attack, but it shines the most with its Omega Special.
The Moonstone Axe special no longer blocks attacks or interrupts projectiles.
Dishing out massive damage in a wide area ahead, the axe Omega Special shuts down most enemy mobs and has great synergy with almost every damage-infusing god boon. In Erebus, this attack can one-shot most standard enemies.
With the Patch 2.0 updates, this Omega Special has an additional lingering barrier for the few frames between the finished charge and the use of the Omega Special attack for more reliable blocking.
Aspects Of The Moonstone Axe
|
Aspect |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Aspect of Melinoe |
This is the default incarnation. It has no special effects to begin with, but upgrading it will increase your Max Life as well as grant additional power for all your attacks. |
|
Aspect of Charon |
This aspect will empower your Casts, by lengthening their staying time. However, you can detonate your Casts as well sooner by hitting your Cast with your charged Omega Special. |
|
Aspect of Thanatos |
This aspect gives you the chance to build a Critical Hit chance while also increasing your Attack speed. Each time you hit an enemy with an attack, you will gain one percent Critical chance up to a certain threshold. This Critical chance only affects your Omega attacks (Attack, Special, or Cast). Your built Critical chance resets to zero when you take damage. |
You won’t be able to unlock the chance for aspects until you unlock them via their incantation, but once you do, the only aspect available to start will be Charon’s.
The Aspect of Thanatos is gained after several instances of dialogue with Chaos. Eventually, he will grant you access to this aspect, turning your axe into a scythe. It requires a piece of Darkness granted by Chaos himself to unlock.
Each aspect has its pros and cons. None of them have a claim to being the best, but one might be a better fit for your playstyle than another:
- The Aspect of Melinoe favors players who like to be a bit bulkier with the added survivability and greater outgoing damage.
- The Aspect of Charon is for those who like to play the field with their casts and stay out of their opponent’s face. It especially has a phenomenal synergy with Apollo’s special cast.
- The Aspect of Thanatos is for those who are willing to bend the odds in their favor and deal massive, quick damage. Phenomenal synergy with Artemis, Ares, and Raki (the familiar).
Best Boons and Upgrades For The Moonstone Axe
In general, you can assume that any upgrades or boons that increase the axe’s ability to quickly attack or increase survivability are coveted.
You want to cover the possible deficiencies of this weapon while playing on its strengths as far as you can.
Weapon Upgrades
|
Weapon Upgrade |
Effect |
|---|---|
|
Giga Cleaver |
Your cleaving attack will strike twice for an additional 15 magic cost. This takes everything great about the Omega Special and doubles it on a budget. You’ll be able to mass-curse mobs of enemies (if they even survive) while saving magic and sneaking in a second attack in a fraction of the time. |
|
Psychic Whirlwind |
Allows you to use your Omega Attack while dashing, attacking, or casting. This makes the Omega Attack far more viable and less risky to use. With a wider range of versatility, you can use this devastating attack without worrying about canceling attacks to dodge or taking damage from beefier enemies. |
|
Executioner’s Chop |
Makes the final attack in your Attack combo chain hit twice in exchange for 20 magic. Although a costly upgrade, this upgrade means that the final move of your Attack combo will deal 320 damage alone. It does require building a steady source of magic regeneration, but the payoff can be tremendous. |
|
Rapid Slash |
Your Attack speed is increase by 30 percent. This upgrade is pretty straightforward but can make an enormous impact on your gameplay, especially if you’re using the already speed-boosting Thanatos Axe and any of Apollo or Hermes’s speed boons. It was originally the Marauder’s Slash, but the Patch 2.0 upgrade moved this ability from “niche” to a firm recommendation in our books as it has dropped its negative points and now also increases your Omega Attack speed as well. |
While there are several good boons for the axe, the four above stick out amidst the rest with the first two being the ones you’ll be dying to get for most of your runs (pun intended).
There are two boons for the axe, however, that we realized are not always the best options for successful runs and fall into the niche category:
- Hell Splitter Axe: This attack deals 20 less damage than a full combo and has far less maneuverability. You’ll often get trapped in animations and be dealt large amounts of damage you can’t avoid. Can be fun to use, but its risk makes it too unstable to list above.
- Furious Whirlwind: Pairs well with the Psychic Whirlwind attack and can be a golden ticket to creating a “Beyblade build.” Makes Olympians with stacking damage boons more viable for this slow weapon.
God Boons
|
God |
Evaluation |
|---|---|
|
Demeter |
Being able to freeze enemies will be a massive benefit for a slow weapon. It’s a massive benefit and a way to get even more devastating blows in. |
|
Zeus |
Blitz’s damage threshold for activation is no hard achievement for the axe. With a single blow, the axe can trigger Blitz and then reapply it (if your enemy is even still standing) with your next. The Arc Flash boon introduced in the War Song update also increases the damage of Blitz when activated by Omega moves, making it a perfect mold for the Omega-heavy axe. |
|
Hephaestus |
The exploding attack can be a devastating addition to an already powerful weapon. An additional 200 or 400 damage with your swings cannot be scoffed at. Likewise, additional armor is nice for a build likely to get penalized for poor speed. But the greatest benefit of Hephaestus is his Invulnerability boon which allows the set-up for catastrophic attacks like Charon Axe’s Omega Special or the axe’s Omega Attack without risking your health. |
|
Apollo |
Apollo is the premium option for Charon Axe builds thanks to the wider Special ranges and devastatingly important Cast boons, Super Nova and Prominence Flare (increased Cast size and detonation damage). Additionally, Daze’s chance to help you dodge is a benefit for this slow weapon. Additionally, Apollo’s Exceptional Talent boon stacks with Giga Cleaver, allowing your Omega Special to fire four times. The total Magicka cost, however, is 65. |
|
Ares |
The Wounds mechanic substantially increases the already impressive damage output of the axe. Subsequently, Blood Drop boons, Grievous Blow, and Single Elimination just add to the potential damage total – especially Blood Drops that help the axe’s lackluster speed. |
The best boons you can take from the gods are those that lean into your damage and raise your own speed.
When it comes to the remaining gods:
- Poseidon is decent, just not the best option. Increased damage area is nice for the already impressive range of the axe, but it comes with the risk of potentially sabotaging groups that would have best been removed with an Omega Attack. However, King Tide, Sea Star, and Breaker Sprint could be worth that risk.
- Aphrodite is lackluster for the axe compared to other gods and weapons. However, her magic restoration boon can come in handy, and Wispy Wiles (Dodge chance per Air Element boon) is helpful for any build.
- Hera is the least helpful of the axe’s potential partners as a result of the axe’s ability to hit multiple targets at once anyway. Her unique boons for upgrading others are useful for any build, but she’s more useful to the axe by sacrificing her boons to upgrade Zeus’s with their Duo boon: King’s Ransom.
- There are cases to be made for Hera’s and Hestia’s boons, but they’re more niche and don’t always perform the same for all bosses across the board. They do work well for mobs, and Hestia gets points for style.
- Chaos and Hermes are always good no matter what weapon you’re using.
- Artemis is only great for the Thanatos Aspect. Other aspects simply can’t make proper use of her great skills which are generally more useful for faster weapons.
The Thanatos Axe can create a deadly Critical build with Artemis’s boons, Artemis’s White Antler keepsake, and Raki the familiar – best used to in the first area of any run. This type of build can burn through entire entry areas in under two minutes, making it the easiest and most reliable way for speedruns.
How To Best Use The Moonstone Axe In Combat
The Moonstone Axe requires a balance of melee and distanced combat. While it’s tempting to come in hot, it’s actually best to juggle your melee Attack and distant Omega Special.
Instead, follow these tips:
- Where an opening reveals itself, use your melee Attack.
- Once your welcome has expired, leave your Cast on the ground to trap enemies and then retreat.
- When your enemies are trapped within your cast, you can get off a solid Omega Special.
Of course, there are always minor changes in playstyle when using different aspects. The most notable for the axe is Charon’s Axe, meaning you’ll want to focus primarily on setting up your Cast first and only then attacking from afar with the Omega Special.
Some bosses will have attacks that prevent you from getting close or require a retreat to survive, so your Omega Special will be key. This means that you’ll have to watch your magic bar at all times.
When it comes to general strategy in choosing boons:
Finding a way to increase or create self-sustaining magic will be key.
Keep in mind that when it comes to magic consumption, the axe is second only to the torches.
As long as you have a solid magic regeneration and can manage this juggling style, the Moonstone Axe will never betray you. Your enemies will quake in fear as you raise the gleaming, moonlit blade above your head.
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