How to get Shadow in Hades 2

Looking for Shadow in Hades 2? As its name might suggest, Shadow is a nebulous resource in Hades 2, used only for the most potent incantations at your cauldron back in the Crossroads. Unlike most incantation materials, Shadow can't be found during your runs, but must be crafted by hand.

Follow this guide to learn how to get Shadow for the all-important Permeation Of Witching-Wards incantation in Hades 2, which will allow you to dispel the magical seal on the stairway leading up from your home in the Crossroads.

How to get Shadow in Hades 2

To get Shadow in Hades 2, you must craft it in the Alchemy tab of the cauldron at the Crossroads. Shadow takes the following materials to create:

You'll only unlock the Alchemy tab in the cauldron once you've spoken to Hecate about dispelling the Witching-Wards that seal you off from the stairway leading upwards at the end of the Crossroads.

After this conversation with Hecate (which happens during a run, when you meet her at the end of Erebus), you'll unlock both the Shadow Extraction recipe and the Permeation Of Witching-Wards incantation, which consumes Shadow to cast. All Alchemy recipes take time, so you'll need to come back in 12 Whiles to obtain the Shadow.

Ash and Psyche are both easy to obtain in any run in Hades 2; just prioritise rooms which give those items as the reward for clearing encounters. Fate Fabric can be purchased from the Wretched Broker at the Crossroads for 60x Bones, but you can also get one by donning Arachne's Onyx Dress during a run through Erebus.

You can also exchange 3x Obol Points for 10x Fate Fabric using Charon's Gold Rewards box next to the Wretched Broker. You gain 1x Obol Point each time you spend 1000x Coins, and you'll unlock Charon's Gold Rewards box upon receiving your first Obol Point.

What is Shadow used for in Hades 2?

There are two uses for Shadow in Hades 2 so far:

• The "Permeation Of Witching-Wards" incantation.
• The "Moonlit Essence From Shadow" recipe.

Permeation Of Witching-Wards is a one-off story incantation which dispels the barrier leading up to the surface at the end of the Crossroads. You unlock it at the same time as you unlock the Shadow Extraction recipe. The full cost of this incantation is 1x Shadow, 1x Cinder (obtained by beating Hecate), and 3x Moly (found all around Erebus).

After that, the only use of Shadow is the Moonlit Essence From Shadow recipe, which converts 1x Shadow and 1x Cinder into 5x Moon Dust. Moon Dust is required for upgrading your Arcana Cards, so this is a very valuable late-game use for Shadow, and more or less the only reason to keep creating Shadow long after you've unlocked the ability to reach the surface.

That's all you need to know in order to create Shadow for your incantations in Hades 2. If you're struggling to survive long enough to get the resources you need, allow us to help with our guides on the best Boons, best Keepsakes, and best weapons in Hades 2!