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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →In Hades II, the pets are called Animal Familiars. To recruit one, unlock the Faith of Familiar Spirits incantation, craft it at the Crossroads, then give an eligible animal a Witch’s Delight. The five familiars are Frinos, Toula, Raki, Hecuba, and Gale; each is found in a different part of the game.
Unlock the familiar system first
The recruitment item is Witch’s Delight. According to GameSpot’s familiar guide, Faith of Familiar Spirits becomes available after progression involving Hecate, the Woodsy Lifespring incantation, and gathering tools. These are reported playthrough conditions, not an official, exhaustive trigger checklist, so continue progressing and check the cauldron if the incantation has not appeared.
- At the Crossroads, check the cauldron for Faith of Familiar Spirits once you have advanced through the reported prerequisites.
- Gather 2 Nectar and 1 Lotus, then craft the incantation. Lotus can be gathered in Oceanus. The recipe and route are reported by GameSpot; requirements may vary with game updates.
- Use the Witch’s Delight granted by the incantation on an eligible animal to recruit it.
The first treat recruits an eligible animal. Further treats can let you choose or upgrade its abilities, according to GameSpot. After recruiting a first familiar, the guide reports that the Beast-Loved Morsel recipe provides two more Witch’s Delights for 2 Lotus and 1 Star Dust.
Where to find each familiar
| Familiar | Where to look | Recruitment note |
|---|---|---|
| Frinos | At the Crossroads, where Melinoë returns between runs. | Interact with the frog and use Witch’s Delight. GameSpot describes him as the most readily encountered familiar. |
| Toula | At the docks on the Surface route, after the City of Ephyra and the Cyclops Polyphemus encounter. | Bring another Witch’s Delight and progress far enough to reach this point on the route. (GameSpot) |
| Raki | Fountain rooms in Erebus. | Expect to encounter Raki more than once before the treat option appears. GameSpot reports repeat encounters; an Epic guide’s Olympic Update-era account describes three. (GameSpot; Epic Games) |
| Hecuba | Echo’s rooms in the Fields of Mourning. | GameSpot reports repeat encounters. The Epic guide also describes story progression and upgrades to initial familiars as prerequisites before Hecate permits recruitment; these are reported progression conditions, not a definitive current checklist. (GameSpot; Epic Games) |
| Gale | On the Surface route, near the Prometheus fight. | GameSpot reports that you may need to encounter Gale repeatedly before recruitment becomes available. |
The specific repeat-encounter and story gates above come from gameplay guides, not Supergiant’s announcements. If a treat prompt does not appear, keep progressing and revisit the animal on later runs rather than assuming the familiar is unavailable.
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What familiars help with
Familiars offer a mix of survival, resource-gathering, and combat support. The published guide accounts describe Frinos as adding maximum health and helping activate the Tablet of Peace; Toula can support an extra Death Defiance, fishing action, or attack. Raki, Hecuba, and Gale also have resource, defensive, and combat abilities. The precise effects and upgrade behavior depend on the familiar’s available abilities in your current game version, so inspect the familiar and its upgrades in-game before planning around a specific bonus.
You can pursue all five rather than choosing one permanently. The roster expanded over time: Supergiant’s October 16, 2024 Olympic Update announcement introduced two new Animal Familiars, and its February 19, 2025 Warsong Update announcement said players could recruit all five. Those notices establish the roster, but do not publish every individual recruitment trigger.
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Does the unlock process differ by platform?
Supergiant announced on April 14, 2026 that Hades II was available on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, and said the patch’s new bonus content and quality-of-life changes were available across all versions. The announcement does not explicitly compare familiar unlock mechanics by platform, so the documented recruitment route above should not be read as a platform-by-platform verification. See Supergiant’s platform announcement.
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