Hades Keepsakes list: a tier list of the best Keepsakes

Learn the very best Keepsakes to use in Hades

Guide by Ollie Toms Guides Editor

Updated on Aug. 18, 2021

What is the best Keepsake in Hades? Keepsakes are a major aspect of your metaprogression throughout Hades, the fast-paced roguelite from Supergiant Games. Bartered from the various Olympians and Underworld inhabitants you'll meet throughout your journey, these Keepsakes offer powerful passive bonuses that can completely alter your playstyle and the outcome of your runs.

Our Hades Keepsakes guide will walk you through how Keepsakes can be earnt, used, and upgraded, along with a tier list of the very best Keepsakes in the game and the full effects of each one (including two secret Keepsakes!).

On this page:

Hades Keepsakes - how do they work?
Best Keepsakes in Hades (tier list)
Full Keepsakes list & effects

Hades Keepsakes - how do they work?

Almost every persistent NPC in Hades can be compelled to offer you a Keepsake for you to take on your escape attempts through the Underworld. You can get a character to gift you their Keepsake by gifting them a bottle of Nectar. Nectar is a fairly common room reward in Hades, so it shouldn't take long for you to start stocking up on Nectar bottles to give to various characters.

There are a total of 25 Keepsakes currently in the game (two of which are secret, little-known Keepsakes), and each one provides a passive benefit to Zagreus while it is equipped. The effect of each Keepsake can also be upgraded to a maximum of Level 3 by completing encounters while it is equipped.

You can access your collection of Keepsakes via the display case in the courtyard of the Underworld before every run. This display case will also magically appear in the connector-rooms between each realm, so you'll have a chance to switch Keepsakes between realms. But bear in mind that if you switch away from a Keepsake at a certain point during a run, you cannot re-equip that same Keepsake again in the same run.

Best Keepsakes in Hades: Keepsakes tier list

The best Keepsakes to unlock and level up early on are the ones which will give you the greatest chance of survival through the most dangerous encounters and obstacles in the Underworld. I've done my best to organise each of the 25 Keepsakes in Hades into a tier list ranging from best (S-Tier) to worst (D-Tier) so you'll have an idea of where you should spend your starting Nectar.

Click on each Keepsake to skip to a description of its effects and the character who gifts it. Bear in mind that there are spoilers below!

Here are the best Keepsakes in Hades:

S Tier	Evergreen Acorn, Old Spiked Collar, Pom Blossom
A Tier	Black Shawl, Cosmic Egg, Distant Memory, Lambent Plume, Lucky Tooth, Pierced Butterfly, Sigil Of The Dead
B Tier	Chthonic Coin Purse, Frostbitten Horn, Harpy Feather Duster, Owl Pendant, Shattered Shackle, Thunder Signet
C Tier	Adamant Arrowhead, Blood-Filled Vial, Conch Shell, Eternal Rose, Overflowing Cup, Skull Earring
D Tier	Bone Hourglass, Broken Spearpoint, Myrmidon Bracer

As you can see, I very much favour the survival-oriented effects, followed quickly by the damage-dealing effects - as long as they don't come with too many strings attached (looking at you, Myrmidon Bracer). I'd focus on upgrading these Keepsakes first, before grinding through the various Olympian-gifted Keepsakes to give yourself the greatest chances of Rare or Epic Boons (which you can learn much more about by perusing our Hades Boons guide!).

Hades Keepsakes list & effects

Now let's finish off with a complete description of every Keepsake, including how the effect strengthens over time:

Keepsake	Owner	Effect
Old Spiked Collar	Cerberus	Gain +25/38/50 Health.
Myrmidon Bracer	Achilles	Take 20/25/30% less damage from the front, but 10% more from the back.
Black Shawl	Nyx	Deal 10/15/20% damage striking undamaged foes; also striking foes from behind.
Chthonic Coin Purse	Hypnos	Receive 100/125/150 Coin to spend as you please (once per escape attempt).
Bone Hourglass	Charon	Items from the Well of Charon have durations increased by +4/6/8 Encounters.
Skull Earring	Megaera	Deal 20/30/40% more damage while at 30% Health or below.
Pierced Butterfly	Thanatos	Gain +1/1.5/2% damage for each Encounter you clear without taking damage.
Distant Memory	Orpheus	Deal up to 10/20/30% more damage to distant foes.
Harpy Feather Duster	Dusa	Broken urns have a 2/3/4% chance to contain healing items.
Lucky Tooth	Skelly	When you take lethal damage, miraculously survive with 50/75/100 Health (once per escape attempt).
Shattered Shackle	Sisyphus	Your Attack, Special, and Cast each deal +40/60/80% damage while not empowered by a Boon.
Evergreen Acorn	Eurydice	When confronting Underworld Bosses, take no damage the first 3/4/5 times they hit you.
Broken Spearpoint	Patroclus	After taking damage, become invulnerable for 0.5/1/1.5s. Refreshes after 7s.
Owl Pendant	Athena	The next Boon you find will be from Athena. Her blessings have +10/15/20% chance to be Rare or better.
Thunder Signet	Zeus	The next Boon you find will be from Zeus. His blessings have +10/15/20% chance to be Rare or better.
Conch Shell	Poseidon	The next Boon you find will be from Poseidon. His blessings have +10/15/20% chance to be Rare or better.
Eternal Rose	Aphrodite	The next Boon you find will be from Aphrodite. Her blessings have +10/15/20% chance to be Rare or better.
Adamant Arrowhead	Artemis	The next Boon you find will be from Artemis. Her blessings have +10/15/20% chance to be Rare or better.
Blood-Filled Vial	Ares	The next Boon you find will be from Ares. His blessings have +10/15/20% chance to be Rare or better.
Overflowing Cup	Dionysus	The next Boon you find will be from Dionysus. His blessings have +10/15/20% chance to be Rare or better.
Frostbitten Horn	Demeter	The next Boon you find will be from Demeter. Her blessings have +10/15/20% chance to be Rare or better.
Lambent Plume	Hermes	Gain +1.0/1.1/1.2% Dodge chance and move speed for each Encounter you clear quickly.
Cosmic Egg	Chaos	Enter Blood Gates without losing Health. Blessings from Chaos have +20/30/40% chance to be Rare or better.
Pom Blossom	Persephone	After every 6/5/4 Encounters, gain +1 Pom Of Power for a random Boon.
Sigil Of The Dead	Hades	Your Call becomes Hades' Aid, which briefly makes you Invisible; your God Gauge starts 10/20/30% full.

Which brings us neatly to the end of our Hades Keepsakes guide. Hopefully you've emerged with a good idea of the most potent and valuable Keepsakes to start levelling up right away. Now, why not check out our primary Hades strategy guide if you haven't already, which we've packed with top-tier practical tips and strategies to help you beat the game?