As he attempts to escape his father's realm, Prince Zagreus of Hades is willing to take all the help he can get. Fortunately, his uncles, cousins, and other distant relatives on Mount Olympus can lend him their aid in the form of Boons.
Among these divine blessings, certain boons occupy a specific "slot," and Zagreus can have only one of these at a time. One such slot concerns his Cast, the reliable ranged attack involving his bloodstones. As Zag can only have one of these at a time, it behooves Hades players to learn which are the best choices. All players have their own preferences, but certain effects tend to be more useful than others.
8 Aphrodite: Crush Shot
One of the benefits of Zag's cast is that it ensures that the player always has an option for a ranged attack, even when using weapons with limited ranged options. Crush Shot, however, removes that option. Its reduced range is incredibly short, and it becomes hard to land a Cast at any distance farther than point-blank range.
The Weak effect that this boon inflicts can be useful for Zag's survivability, as it decreases the damage that enemies deal. However, the incredibly reduced range that Crush Shot offers often isn't worth the trade-off. Players are better off using Heartbreak Strike or Heartbreak Flourish to inflict this status curse.
7 Athena: Phalanx Shot
Many of Athena's Deflecting boons serve Zagreus well, but this one gives players the least control over their deflections. Phalanx Shot puts up a deflecting barrier around Zag's bloodstone, allowing enemy projectiles to bounce off it and strike foes. However, since the player cannot steer it once they've taken the shot, it's rare for a single cast to deflect more than one hit.
If players are looking to turn enemy attacks against them, they're much better off with Divine Strike, Divine Flourish, or Divine Dash. These all allow Zagreus to time their deflections appropriately, and leave his Cast slot open for one of the better boons below.
6 Artemis: True Shot
There's nothing strictly wrong with True Shot; it simply ranks on the lower end because it doesn't offer additional effects like other Cast boons do. With this Artemis boon, Zagreus' Cast will seek foes, and has a small chance to deal Critical damage.
The aiming effect can be useful, but it's really not that difficult to hit foes with the Cast under normal circumstances. As for the Critical damage, plenty of other Artemis boons offer this boost as well, and players will likely use their Attack and Special more often than their cast.
5 Poseidon: Flood Shot
Uncle Poseidon provides the power of the seas, the driving force of crashing waves. Many of his boons, including his offering for Zag's Cast, allow the player to knock foes away. Players can use it to dodge attacks, or to knock enemies into traps or magma.
Though it ranks on the lower end of this list, Flood Shot is still a solid pick, as Knockback is a useful effect to have in Zag's pocket. Other Cast-type boons, however, provide even more useful effects and more opportunities for increased survivability or DPS, and thus outrank Poseidon's boon.
4 Ares: Slicing Shot
Befitting the God of War, this Boon turns Zag's Cast into a spinning blade vortex, identical to those produced by Blade Dash or Ares' Aid. It can be a handy way to deal passive damage to one foe, while Zagreus focuses on fighting another in a different area of the chamber.
The drawback to Slicing Shot is that once it's let loose, the player has no control over where their blade rift travels. Other damaging casts offer effects that are a bit easier to direct, allowing the player to use them more strategically.
3 Zeus: Electric Shot
A few of Zeus's boons can be unreliable, but the best ones are incredible. With Electric Shot, Zag's Cast produces chain lightning that bounces from foe to foe, ensuring that several enemies are struck with electric damage. Electric Shot doesn't pack quite as big a punch as other damaging Cast boons, but it can certainly help give Zagreus an edge if he's overwhelmed by foes.
What's more, unlike Slicing Shot, Crystal Beam, and Festive Fog, Electric Shot still allows Zag's bloodstone to lodge itself in an enemy. This allows players to take advantage of the Mirror of Night talentsBoiling Blood or Abyssal Blood, either dealing more damage to or slowing foes afflicted with bloodstones.
2 Demeter: Crystal Beam
With this boon from the Goddess of Seasons, a beam of energy shoots out from the bloodstone where it lands, damaging anything in its path. Usually, the bloodstone will rotate slowly, sweeping the beam across the battlefield; however, it will lock on and do constant damage to a static target. Crystal Beam is even better than Slicing Shot for dealing passive damage — Zagreus can simply set it and forget it while he wails on other foes.
The one downside to this boon is that it has a hard time targeting highly mobile opponents, such as the Fury sisters or certain enemies in Asphodel. However, it's incredibly effective against the Bone Hydra, or areas with densely-packed enemies.
1 Dionysus: Trippy Shot
Hades players can always count on the God of Wine to liven things up. When he picks this boon, Zagreus can lob his cast to create a burst of Festive Fog. Within this purplish haze, foes may become stunned, allowing Zag to wail on them while avoiding damage himself. In this way, Dionysus' Cast boon both increases Zag's chances of survival and gives him the opportunity to deal more damage.
Trippy Shot is especially effective when Zagreus has access to AoE attacks or other moves that can hit several targets at once, such as Exagryph's and Coronacht's Specials. Stun a group of foes with Festive Fog, and use one of those attacks to decimate them all.