Thanks to the aid of Nyx, Zagreus can increase his chances of escaping the Underworld by unlocking upgrades at the Mirror of Night. You won’t have access to them all immediately, but as you earn Darkness and other house upgrades, you’ll grant Zagreus some seriously powerful new abilities. Below, we’ll break down all the Mirror of Night upgrades and prices, as well as giving our advice on which ones you should be grabbing first.
© Supergiant Games
How the Mirror of Night works
The Mirror of Night is found in Zagreus’ bedroom in the House of Hades. By interacting with it, you can spend Darkness collected during runs to upgrade Zagreus with increased powers. Only some powers will be unlocked at the start, and you’ll need to spend Chthonic Keys to unlock later powers.
Additionally, each Mirror of Night power comes with an alternate version you can invest in separately. Default powers are shown in red, while alternate powers are yellow. You’ll need to pick between activating a power or its alternative version, as only one can be used at a time. Eventually you’ll unlock the ability to refund your spent Darkness for the cost of a Chthonic Key, but choose carefully before then!
All Mirror of Night upgrades
Here are all the Mirror of Night upgrades, including price and requirements.
Shadow Presence
Power: Deal +10% damage per rank when hitting enemies from behind
Ranks: 5
Cost: 10/15/20/25/30 Darkness
Alternative Ability: Fiery Presence
Power: Deal +20% damage per rank when you strike undamaged foes
Ranks: 5
Cost: 10/15/20/25/30 Darkness
Chthonic Vitality
Power: Gain +1 health per rank each time you enter a new chamber
Ranks: 3
Cost: 10/20/40 Darkness
Alternative Ability: Dark Regeneration
Power: Recover health by 30% of any Darkness collected
Ranks: 2
Cost: 30/60 Darkness
Death Defiance
Power: Resist death one time per rank, restoring 50% of life
Ranks: 3
Cost: 30/500/1000 Darkness
Alternative Ability: Stubborn Defiance
Power: Restore 30% of life once per chamber when life is depleted
Ranks: 1
Cost: 600 Darkness
© Supergiant Games
Greater Reflex
Power: Gain +1 Dash per rank
Ranks: 1
Cost: 50 Darkness
Alternative Ability: Ruthless Reflex
Power: Dash just before taking damage to gain +50% damage and a chance to dodge for two seconds.
Ranks: 1
Cost: 75 Darkness
Boiling Blood - 5 Chthonic Keys
Power: Gain +10% Attack and Special damage per rank to enemies with Casts within them
Ranks: 5
Cost: 10/30/50/70/90 Darkness
Alternative Ability: Abyssal Blood
Power: Reduce enemy speed and damage by 5% per rank for enemies with Casts within them.
Ranks: 5
Cost: 20/40/60/80/100 Darkness
Infernal Soul - 5 Chthonic Keys
Power: Gain +1 Cast per rank
Ranks: 2
Cost: 20/80 Darkness
Alternative Ability: Stygian Soul
Power: You Cast now recharges but doesn’t drop from enemies. Ranks reduce charge time by one second.
Ranks: 3
Cost: 0/60/120 Darkness
Deep Pockets - 10 Chthonic Keys
Power: Gain 10 Coins per rank at the start of each
Ranks: 10
Cost: 40/45/50/55/60/65/70/75/80/85 Darkness
Alternative Ability: Golden Touch
Power: Gain +5% to your total coins per rank each time you clear an Underworld region.
Ranks: 3
Cost: 70/90/110 Darkness
Read more: How to fish in Hades
Thick Skin - 10 Chthonic Keys
Power: Gain +5 to max life per rank
Ranks: 10
Cost: 40/45/50/55/60/65/70/75/80 Darkness
Alternative Ability: High Confidence
Power: Gain +5% damage per rank while you have 80% health or more.
Ranks: 5
Cost: 50/100/150/200/250 Darkness
Privileged Status - 20 Chthonic Keys
Power: Gain +20% damage per rank vs enemies afflicted by Status Curse effects.
Ranks: 2
Cost: 50/500 Darkness
Alternative Ability: Family Favorite
Power: Gain +2.5% damage per rank per unique Boon you have.
Ranks: 2
Cost: 50/150 Darkness
Olympian Favor - 20 Chthonic Keys
Power: Gain +1% chance per rank for a Boon to be Rare
Ranks: 40
Cost: 50 Darkness per rank
Alternative Ability: Dark Foresight
Power: Gain +1% chance per rank to get Gold laurel rewards.
Ranks: 10
Cost: 250 Darkness per rank
God’s Pride - 30 Chthonic Keys
Power: Gain +1% chance per rank for a Boon to be Epic
Ranks: 20
Cost: 100 Darkness per rank
Alternative Ability: God’s Legacy
Power: Gain +1% chance per rank for a Boon to be Legendary or Duo.
Ranks: 10
Cost: 250 Darkness per rank
Fated Authority - 30 Chthonic Keys
Power: Gain 1 die per rank, used to randomly change the next chamber reward.
Ranks: 10
Cost: 500/750/1000/1500/1750/2000/2250 Darkness
Alternative Ability: Fated Persuasion
Power: Gain 1 die per rank, used to randomly alter Boon and Well of Charon options.
Ranks: 4
Cost: 1000/2000/3000/4000 Darkness
© Supergiant Games
Which Mirror of Night upgrades to get first
While it’ll take a while to unlock all of the Mirror of Night’s powers, there are several well worth investing in as soon as you can. In our opinion, You’ll want to collect at least the first level of Death Defiance as soon as possible. The first level is cheap, but the later ones will require some saving. Next, unlock Dark Regeneration as quickly as you can to allow healing every time you collect Darkness. There aren’t many ways to heal in Hades, so take advantage of them.
With healing and death sorted, one of the main things that’ll help you progress is increasing your health bar, and that means investing in Thick Skin. Thankfully it’s a cheap power to invest in, which will reward your early runs greatly. Once you get used to the game, Golden Touch will massively increase your money income, meaning you can save up for the more valuable items available in later regions.
And that completes our Mirror of Night guide for Hades. Hopefully by reading this guide you’ll better understand what all of the powers offer, and have an idea of what you want to want to invest in early. For more Hades guides, click here to head to our hub page for the game.
