How to Beat Cerberus in Hades 2

On your way to reach Chronos in the Underworld in Hades 2, you’ll face off against several tough guardians, including the Infernal Beast in the Fields of Mourning, Cerberus. He may be a good boy, but he’s also a tough boss, so here’s how to defeat Cerberus in Hades 2.

How to Defeat Infernal Cerberus in Hades 2

Cerberus is the third boss you’ll encounter in the Underworld, so beating him can be a challenge. Cerberus uses a number of area-of-effect moves that can quickly send Melinoe right back to the crossroads if you aren’t careful.

Thankfully, if you approach the battle with some strategy, you can learn to breeze past Cerberus and move on to the next objective. By the time you reach him, you’ll have battled through two previous Guardians and will likely have wracked up a number of useful boons. Personally, I like to have a boon that does Cast damage for Cerberus, as well as a longer-range weapon. The strategy here is really more in evading his powerful attacks, so bring your preferred weapons to the battle. If you can, gather boons and Centaur Hearts to increase your HP to better withstand his powerful moves when they hit.

Phase 1

During the first phase of the fight, Cerberus will be rooted in place. This makes it easier to dodge his area-of-effect attacks. You’ll want to keep a bit of a distance from him without getting too far away, as some of his ranged attacks can be tricky to dodge if you’re too close to the edge of the arena.

Watch out for the glowing circles with tendrils in them, which indicate fiery hell hounds are about to leap from the ground. You’ll also want to avoid his powerful vacuum breath, which draws you towards him and these circles of doom. Try to sprint quickly to the side when this move begins, and you should be able to break free and avoid the attack.

I find it best to try to stay behind Cerberus as much as possible since many of his attacks will come from his mouth and paws. Use your sprint to evade flame attacks and stay out of range while dodging in quickly to do some damage. This is where leaving a damaging cast boon comes in handy, along with weapons that pack a punch.

Once you get Cerberus to half-health, he’ll dive underground and summon some Shades to battle. This is the beginning of Phase 2.

Phase 2

In Phase 2, Cerberus is no longer rooted in place, making dodging his frontal attacks more difficult. Cast circles become less useful as well, since the massive Infernal Beast isn’t held by the circle.

You’ll need to keep moving as much as possible during this phase. Besides Cerberus moving around the map a bit more, the strategy doesn’t change too much. Continue to watch out for area-of-effect moves and avoid being in front of Cerberus as best you can. He will summon more baddies to contend with in this phase and attack more viciously.

To defeat Cerberus in this phase, you want to deal as much damage as possible to dispatch him quickly, as his moves increase in strength as his HP depletes. Predicting and reacting quickly to his actions is key here. Stay in unmarked areas and behind him as much as possible while hitting him with the highest damage moves you’ve got, and you’ll take out Cerberus and earn some Tears in no time.

Once you defeat Cerberus, you’ll get to see his true, adorable doggo form. It also means you’re well on your way to facing off against Time himself, aka Chronos, as he lurks in the next area you’ll enter.