Nectar in Hades II is an Indulgence item whose primary job is gifting — give it to a comrade and your affinity with them improves. A character receiving their first Nectar from Melinoë returns the favour with a Keepsake, which is the mechanic that dictates gift order: one Nectar per character buys one Keepsake.
Not every character behaves the same way. The wiki notes that Hypnos can be given Nectar but will not give a Keepsake, because he has no affinity bond, while Hades requires story progression before his bond begins. Do not wait on Hades — the gate is narrative, not Nectar.
All values below come from the Hades Wiki’s Nectar page.
What Nectar costs in total
| Use | Nectar required |
|---|---|
| Gifting to comrades to max affinity | 192 |
| Activating Cauldron incantations | 7 |
| Unlocking Crossroads Renewal Project decorations | 11 |
| Brewing Beast-Loved Morsel (repeatable) | 1 per brew |
The 192 figure is the benchmark for a full affinity run. The 7 spent on incantations breaks down as Faith of Familiar Spirits (2), Nectar of Godly Savor (2) and the taverna upgrade (2).
The decorations line is entirely optional and costs 11 in total: Sculpture Amphibian, Raven and Feline at 1 each; Wagon Scavenger’s at 4; Birdhouse Luxurious, Habitat Canine, Habitat Feline and Habitat Amphibian at 1 each.
Every source of Nectar
| Source | Yield |
|---|---|
| Chamber Reward | 1 |
| Sub-room reward in City of Ephyra | 1 |
| Option reward in Fields of Mourning | 1 |
| Charon’s shop | 1 for 75 Gold |
| Wretched Broker (once per night) | 1 for 30 Bones |
| Completing the Kinship Fortune incantation | 1 |
| Prophecies — Harbinger of Doom | 1 |
| Prophecies — Home in the Crossroads | 10 |
| Cauldron Sweet Nectar alchemy | 6 for 1 Star Dust + 1 Golden Apple + 8 Whiles |
| Bonus reward from Unseen Sigil, Moon Monument, Infernal Trove or Witch Circle | 1 at 5% chance |
| One-time gift from Odysseus | 2 |
Three of these are worth planning around. Home in the Crossroads alone pays 10 Nectar — nearly 5% of the full affinity cost from a single prophecy. The Sweet Nectar alchemy converts one Star Dust, one Golden Apple and eight Whiles into 6 Nectar, which is the highest-yield single craft. And the Wretched Broker sells one per night for 30 Bones, but only after you complete the Kinship Fortune incantation — so that incantation pays for itself immediately, since completing it also grants 1 Nectar directly.
Why the first Nectar matters more than the rest
The Keepsake return is front-loaded: only the first Nectar a character receives produces one. Every Nectar after that buys affinity progress, which is valuable but slow, and which does nothing to change what a given run can offer you. That asymmetry is why spreading early beats saving.
It also means a wasted Nectar is one given to a character whose Keepsake you will never equip. If you already know which gods and tools your build depends on, those characters are the ones worth unlocking first.
Recommended gift order
Because the first Nectar buys a Keepsake, the efficient opening is the same principle as in the first game:
- Spread the first Nectar widely. One Nectar to as many different characters as possible unlocks the widest Keepsake pool fastest, and Keepsakes are what let you force a god or boon in a run.
- Skip anyone without an affinity bond if you are Keepsake-hunting. Hypnos takes Nectar but returns nothing.
- Do not hold Nectar back for Hades. His bond is gated by story progression, not by how much you have saved.
- Then push individuals for affinity itself, once you have the Keepsakes you actually use.
The 192 total covers maxing affinity with everyone, which is a much longer project than collecting Keepsakes — treat it as the endgame sink rather than the first goal.
Nectar versus your other currencies
Nectar competes with Gold and Bones in a way that is easy to misread. Charon sells it for 75 Gold and the Wretched Broker for 30 Bones, so both are live options mid-run — but at 192 needed for full affinity, purchasing is a supplement, not a strategy. The bulk has to come from chamber rewards, prophecies and alchemy.
The Sweet Nectar alchemy is the standout for a reason: 6 Nectar per craft against 1 per shop purchase. If you are accumulating Star Dust and Golden Apples with no other sink, that craft is the fastest legitimate path to a large Nectar stack.
Where gifts meet the rest of a run
Keepsakes are the real payoff, and they interact directly with your god and boon planning — a Keepsake can guarantee a god appears, which is how you plan a build rather than hope for one. Selene’s Moon Beam keepsake is a specific example worth knowing: it prioritises Selene’s appearance and adds upgrades to your next Path of Stars, which is why it is often the early pickup for Hex-focused runs. Hex choice itself is covered in best Hex.
For the characters and bonds behind the gifting, see the romance guide and the keepsakes guide. The incantations that consume Nectar — including Kinship Fortune, which unlocks the Broker sale — are in the incantations guide, and familiar-related Nectar use is covered by the familiars guide. For farming the Bones and Gold that buy Nectar, see the resources guide.