Hades II has five recruitable animal familiars: Frinos the toad, Raki the raven, Toula the cat, Hecuba the hound, and Gale the polecat. Each offers a different mix of survival, combat, and resource-gathering benefits, but Melinoë can bring only one familiar on a night.
All five Hades II familiars at a glance
| Familiar | Role | What it contributes |
|---|---|---|
| Frinos | Toad | More maximum Life, better chances of finding Lost Shades, and support against ranged attacks. When directed, he can compel a shade for Psyche without the usual minigame; he can also leap at foes. |
| Raki | Raven | More critical-hit chance and better odds of finding outcroppings. When directed, he can mine an outcropping; he also pecks enemies. |
| Toula | Cat | A Death Defiance benefit and better chances of finding fishing points. When directed, she can catch fish; sprinting near her activates an attack. |
| Hecuba | Hound | More maximum Magick and better odds of finding digging spots. She can retrieve resources from those spots and stun nearby foes. |
| Gale | Polecat | Provides separate combat and resource utility. Exact rank values are not consistently established in available guides. |
The roster and role descriptions are drawn from the familiar roster guide and the guide to familiar roles. Gale completes the five-companion roster, but her precise upgrade values should not be treated as settled: a guide discussing upgrades notes that some rankings are based on datamining, not official percentages.
How to choose a familiar
For staying alive
Frinos boosts maximum Life and can absorb some ranged attacks, making him a straightforward defensive choice. Toula’s Death Defiance benefit is another survival-oriented option, particularly if you value an extra chance to recover from a lethal mistake.
For combat support
Each familiar can contribute directly to a fight, though in different ways: Frinos leaps at foes, Raki pecks, and Toula attacks when you sprint nearby. Hecuba adds crowd control by stunning nearby enemies. The guides describe Gale as having combat utility, but do not establish exact rank values for it.
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For gathering resources
Raki helps locate and mine outcroppings, while Toula improves the chance of finding fishing points and can catch fish when directed. Hecuba helps find digging spots and retrieve their resources. Frinos improves the chance of finding Lost Shades and can compel a shade when directed, letting you collect Psyche without the usual minigame.
These benefits serve different needs, so there is no supported universal “best” familiar. Choose according to the run’s priority—survivability, combat support, or gathering—and remember that only one can accompany Melinoë each night.
Rank #2
- Battle beyond the Underworld to vanquish the Titan of Time as the Princess of the Dead in this bewitching sequel to the original rogue-like dungeon crawler. Hades II lets players explore a bigger, deeper mythic world with the full might of Olympus at their call in a story that reacts to their every setback and accomplishment.
How to recruit familiars
Recruitment follows a shared progression rather than five wholly separate systems. Hecate eventually offers the Faith of Familiar Spirits incantation; completing it unlocks familiar recruitment and provides Witch’s Delights, the treats used to bond with familiars. A further incantation enables upgrades, and additional treats can be crafted through the cauldron.
The following encounter locations are a practical guide, not a guaranteed unlock checklist: prerequisites and dialogue requirements are unevenly documented and may vary with game version.
Rank #3
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- Saint Seiya: Meiou Hades Juunikyuu Hen [ ]
- Number of Local Players: 1 to 2
- Frinos: Meet him around the Crossroads.
- Raki: Encounter him in Erebus.
- Toula: Find her on the surface route after Polyphemus.
- Hecuba: Find her in Echo’s room in the Fields of Mourning.
- Gale: Find her in the final Olympus room before the boss.
Some recruitment accounts describe repeat encounters and conversations with Hecate as part of the process. If a familiar does not become available after an encounter, continue progressing and speaking with Hecate rather than assuming the location alone completes recruitment. The locations and shared incantation-and-treat system are summarized in the recruitment guide.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Upgrade values and version caveats
A roster guide updated October 17, 2025 identifies its information as current to the v1.0 release. Another guide published August 5, 2026 says some bonus rankings come from datamining and cautions that Supergiant has not published exact percentages in official patch notes. Treat precise bonus figures as version-sensitive and distinguish community-reported values from developer-confirmed mechanics; the role descriptions above avoid presenting unsupported percentages as authoritative.
Rank #4
- A Good Smile Company import
- From the popular video game
- Includes two face plates; brooding and smiling expressions
- Includes her signature weapons, the dagger "Lim" and the sickle "Oros"
- Enjoy recreating all kinds of poses
Cosmetic familiar forms reported for April 2026 do not add to the recruitable roster: the companions remain Frinos, Raki, Toula, Hecuba, and Gale.
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