Headmistress Hecate serves as the first true boss who will put all of your skills to the test in Hades 2. It’s time for the student to take on the master and claim the victory. Hecate’s boss fight can be broken down into three phases; each phase will include a new type of attack that you must learn quickly to dodge and attack. We are going to break down every Hecate phase and attack to help you put her to rest in Hades 2.
Hecate: First Phase Attacks
Remember, each phase will start with the boss saying a line. Even if you don’t pay attention to the HP bar of the boss, looking at the subtitles or hearing her say something in combat could mean the next phase of the fight is about to trigger.
Circle of Fire
Here, the boss will spin around and release a circle of fire all around her; it’s a slow-moving circle of fire that expands and then contracts. When Hecate performs this move, she stays idle in the center of the circle until she decides to pull another move. The best tactic here is to dash towards Hecate once the circle is far away from the boss (Expands phase), land a few hits, and then dash away from the boss to avoid getting hit by the circle of fire(Contracts phase). Since it is a slow-moving circle of fire, it gives you ample time to land a few hits before going back to the defensive position.
Fire Slash
It’s a slash of fire that will move towards your location. The range of the attack is small, so a simple dash could help you get out of harm’s way. You must pay attention to the boss’s movements. Every time she tries to pull a fire slash, she will lift one of her staffs at the back to release a single fire slash.
Sometimes she will lift both her staves for two fire slashes at the same time. The tactic doesn’t change much; dash away from the slash radius, and if you are feeling confident and have seen this move a couple of times, quickly go in and hit her before her next move.
Clone Attack
There are two different types of clone attacks of Hecate that you must deal with in the first phase. One where she spins around clockwise and launches force blasts from her hands, and the other where she launches projectiles in your direction.
Clones #1
Hecate here will spread both of her arms in a T position and launch force moves in both directions of her hands. She will also rotate clockwise; the same goes for both of her clones. Getting stuck between any two of her clones is a bad idea. Here, you also have to move perfectly so you can move away when the hand is reaching in your direction.
Clones# 2
She will create two clones of herself in the area, each discharging a projectile (in a straight line) in your direction. Just run around in circles and hit the real boss. If you hit the boss, then she will take damage. When you attack one of the clones, they will instantly disappear, which will put an end to the projectiles.
Explosion AoE
Hecate will create stars on the ground, which will lead to AoE damage; think of them as air strike symbols on the ground. The best way to dodge is by running in circles; don’t stay in the same spot for too long. Constantly be on the move to run away from all of the attacks.
Hecate Second Phase Attacks
The second phase will begin once you have taken down a quarter of Hecate’s health. She will start summoning enemies around the map. They will launch purple projectiles, but they are slow. The best thing to do here is to take out all of them first, as they all have low HP. But never let your guard down, when she summons the enemies, she will also use all of her attacks. So make sure to dodge them while taking out her minions.
Morph Ball
The deadliest attack in phase 2 is a ball that will turn you into a sheep. The ball attack will act like a guided missile that will follow you all around the map. Here, use your dashes to run away from the ball. You can also dash through the ball, play the cat and mouse game until the ball disappears. If you do get morphed into a sheep, while you will not be able to deal any damage, you can still run around to revert to your original self.
Hecate Third Phase Attacks
Just like the second phase, phase 3 will begin with reinforcement and the Morph Ball chasing you around the arena. Not only do you have to eliminate all the minor foes, but you need to keep the Morph Ball in check, or you will turn into a sheep.
Barrage of Fire Discs
Hecate will launch a barrage of fire discs at your location. You just need to move to the side to dodge them. The best option is to get to the boss’s blind side. Once the boss releases the fire discs, they will eventually return to the boss once the discs reach the border of the boss’s arena. The neat little thing about this attack is that all the fire discs will go back in the same direction they went out.
The best way to counter this attack is to get to the other side of the boss’s attack. If she attacks from her left, then get to her right and keep on hitting. The same goes for all the other directions. Always go with the opposite of her attack direction.
Clone Attack
Phase 3 introduces a different type of Clone attack, where Hecate will spawn two clones of herself and start releasing circles of fire (Three at the same time). Again, the tactic stays the same, just dash through the circle and try to hit the real Hecate. If you take the impostors, you will reduce the rate of attack.
Tips for Defeating Hecate
- The best tip is to dash away; almost all the attacks can be dashed through. The boss attacks do give you a good amount of time to go through her attacks to land a hit.
- Offensive play is highly rewarded; it is a great combat encounter to get a grip on the dashing move and find its true potential in boss arenas. Once you are able to dash through attacks, you can get close to the boss and hit a few times before repeating the same tactic over again.
- When you see the Morph Ball heading your way, make sure to move quickly and use dashes to create some distance between you and the ball. The last thing you want is to turn into a sheep in the middle of a combat arena.
- When the boss spawns minions, don’t attack them right away; wait for the boss to release another attack on the side. Dodge the attack and then go after the minions in the arena.
Follow the tips and tactics mentioned in the article to leave Hecate in the dust in Hades 2.
