How to Pause the Game Against Chronos in Hades 2

The big bad in Hades 2 is none other than Chronos, the Titan of Time himself, who even manages to stop you from pausing the game when fighting him. But there’s a way to seal off this ability, and here’s how to do it.

How to Pause During the Chronos Fight in Hades 2

When you finally reach the depths of Tartarus and visit the former House of Hades, the Titan of Time awaits your fated confrontation. Aside from being one of the game’s hardest bosses, summoning endless allies, and having a second, even fiercer battle phase, Chronos won’t let you pause the game when fighting him, having some special dialogue for when you attempt to do so.

But it turns out that the game is all about putting Time itself in its place, and there’s a way to stop Chronos by evoking the Power to Pause and Reflect incantation. Made using three Moly (gathered from Erebus) and three Zodiac Sands (obtained from beating Chronos), this enchant will break Chronos’ power over you, allowing you to pause the game once again when fighting him.

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This incantation is made available after reaching Chronos at least three different times and trying to pause the game repeatedly. Every time you try it, Chronos gives you a new line about how your efforts are useless. Keep triggering these lines during any of your runs, and after your third Chronos visit (regardless of the outcome of the battle), the recipe should reveal itself. If it doesn’t show up, head down to Tartarus once more and try triggering a few more pause lines.

While the recipe can appear rather quickly, you still need to beat Chronos fair and square at least three times, as this is the only way to get Zodiac Sand. I recommend activating this incantation as soon as you can. So, keep focusing on the Underworld for a while before heading to the Surface. You never know when you’ll need to pause during an emergency.

But if one ever comes up during Chronos, players can use a small exploit to pause the game at any point. Simply press Alt-Tab to head to another window, and the game will freeze until you return to it. No incantations are needed. However, this will not work if you’re playing in Fullscreen mode, so make sure to change this setting when fighting Chronos to be safe. Similar methods will probably apply to console releases when the game reaches them.

And that’s all you need to pause against Chronos in Hades 2.