You are Melinoë
Hades II puts you in the shoes of Melinoë, sister of Zagreus, training under Hecate to push back Chronos, the Titan of Time, and reach the Surface. The bones are the same as Hades I — a room-by-room rogue-lite where the gods shower you with boons — but the run is built on two new systems: Magick and the Arcana Wheel.
Magick and Omega moves
Magick is the blue resource that separates a normal hit from a big one. Tap Attack, Special or Cast for the standard version; hold it to spend Magick on an Omega move that hits far harder. Every weapon and your Cast has an Omega version.
The mistake most new players make is treating Magick like a finite resource to save. It is not — it regenerates, and some boons refill it faster. Spend it on Omega moves on cooldown, and your damage climbs.
The Arcana Wheel
Before a run you place Arcana Cards on a wheel. Each card costs Grasp to slot, and some can be Awakened by placing the right neighbouring cards next to them. This is the system that replaced the mirror from Hades I. A good Arcana layout is worth more than one extra boon, so read the Arcana guide before you skip it.
Survive the first region
The early region is Erebus. Same rule as every Hades game: keep moving, use cover, and let Omega moves do the work. Die, learn the timing, and the next run starts stronger because your permanent unlocks carry over.
Do not over-focus on one god early. Grab boons that make your current weapon’s Omega move hit harder, then branch out once Magick economy is stable.