In Hades, Darkness is an artifact primarily used to purchase upgrades from the Mirror of Night in addition to limited-time offers from the Wretched Broker, a quest to earn Nyx's favor and a few other unlockables. Especially at the start, collecting a meaningful amount of Darkness during runs can be difficult.
However, with the right preparation and a little know-how, players can drastically increase the amount of Darkness they take back to the House of Hades. Here's where to harvest Darkness and how to make the most out of Zagreus' runs.
A little preparation can go a long way when attempting to farm Darkness. Though some of these tips require completing a full run, players can still increase their Darkness gains regardless of how far they've made it in the game. One of the most important steps to obtaining more Darkness each run is choosing the weapon afflicted with Dark Thirst.
Dark Thirst is randomly applied to one Zagreus' weapons before he embarks on his escape attempt. It will award a 20 percent increase to Darkness gained during that run. It'll be easy to spot by the purple aura emanating from the weapon, and its effects are noted next to the prompt to equip. In addition to the extra Darkness gained, Dark Thirst is a great way to encourage players to practice using different weapons.
Another great way to make the most out of Darkness gained is with Poseidon's Sunken Treasure and Ocean's Bounty Boons. Initially, Sunken Treasure will provide an assortment of resources, including Darkness. Ocean's Bounty will increase chamber rewards for Gemstones, Obols and Darkness by 50 percent. Both can be improved by upgrading the rarity, and Poseidon's Keepsake (Conch Shell) will increase the chances of encountering Rare or better perks from the God of the Sea. Namely, Ocean's Bounty can increase chamber rewards up to 65 percent with the Heroic version of the Boon.
There's another Boon that can help with Darkness: Chaos' Eclipse. This will provide a percentage increase to Obols and Darkness obtained based on the Boon's rarity. It's 75-100 percent at the Common level, Rare is 112.5-150 percent and Epic offers a whopping 150-200 percent increase. Just keep in mind that, to take these Boons, you'll need to trade off some survivability or something else for the next few chambers.
For players wondering how they can help tip the odds in their favor for coming across one of these Boons, the Fated Persuasion upgrade from the Mirror of Night will do just that. Found on the bottom of the upgrade list's green side, it'll allow for rerolls on the Boons offered from encountered Gods and significantly increase the chance a specific Boon will appear. After upgrading this to max level, players can get four possible rerolls on their Boons.
Additionally, encountering Sisyphus during a run will allow players the option to choose Darkness, among other rewards. While it's not an absurd amount on its own, it can be helpful and adds up across multiple runs. In addition to the free Darkness obtained by talking with Sisyphus, if players have gotten their relationship high enough with him, he'll offer a helpful companion; Shady will drop an assortment of resources for Zagreus on top of dealing some damage to foes.
Fishing is also a surprisingly great way to obtain Darkness. Each region's fish will trade for different Head Chef rewards in the House of Hades. Specifically, fish that are caught while in the realm of Chaos can be exchanged for Darkness. The Common Mati is worth 100, the Rare Projelly is worth 250 and the Legendary Voidskates are worth an impressive 500 Darkness.
Heat will also award Zagreus with Darkness when defeating bosses. After completing at least one run, players can adjust the difficulty by changing Heat via the Pact of Punishment before starting their run. An important note is that players will need to select a Heat level they've already cleared to benefit from this option.
Sticking to these tips, alongside making the most out of any Infernal Troves and Wretched Broker sales Zagreus comes across, will soon have you earning thousands of Darkness each run. If you haven't completed a run yet, the tips you can follow will eventually net you enough Darkness to buy upgrades from the Mirror of Night that can make a meaningful impact on your attempts to escape the Underworld.