Keepsakes are items you can get from other characters in the game by giving them a Nectar for the first time. Each Keepsake gives you a benefit for your run, and you can only equip one per escape attempt. Once you equip a Keepsake, you cannot remove it, but you can exchange it mid-run after defeating the final boss of each area. For that, you need to purchase the regional keepsake collection from the House Contractor.
Each Keepsake can be upgraded twice. You need to have the Keepsake equipped for 25 encounters to upgrade it to the second rank, and for 50 additional encounters to upgrade it to the third rank.
You can receive a Keepsake from each god. When their Keepsake is equipped, the next Boon you find will be from them, and their blessings have up to 20% more chance to be Rare or better. The only exception to this is Hades, but I will talk about his Keepsake later.
Since all godly Keepsakes have the same effect, I have selected the 10 best Keepsakes to upgrade from other characters. Here is my ranking:
10. Harpy Feather Duster - Dusa
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Isn't it a nice accessory to carry around Hell?
Broken urns have an up to 6% chance to contain healing items.
You have one escape attempt: you die, you go back to square one and climb your way back up from the literal pits of hell. That’s why maintaining your Life Total is important. It is also very hard.
This is a good Keepsake for having in Tartarus. As you will learn after a few runs, Tartarus is the easiest level of the game. Eventually, you will be able to fairly easily clear it without taking any damage, but there is always a chance a stray explosion or an inconveniently located trap will shear a couple of points from your Life Total. That’s where Harpy Feather Duster becomes useful.
Why Harpy Feather Duster Is Great for Upgrading:
Equip any Life Total buffs you can get. This Keepsake would not give you the most Health – that’s why it’s at the bottom of this list – but it is much, much better than nothing.
Breaking urns is easy, and you will probably destroy most urns in the room while fighting. You can get coins from them, but sometimes you need that tiny Health boost, too. A maximum of one urn per room can contain a healing item.
9. Shattered Shackle - Sisyphus
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That's one stylish bracelet!
Your Attack, Special, and Cast each deal up to 100% bonus damage while not empowered by a Boon.
Boons take time to come by, and good Boons take longer. You won’t have Boons for every ability you possess right from the start, so having a Keepsake to boost your base abilities is a worthy investment.
Why Shattered Shackle Is Great for Upgrading:
You don’t need Boons to deal increased damage; good for runs when you want to put all of your points into one specific aspect of fighting.
Like the one above, this is a good Keepsake to have in Tartarus while you are Boonless and fighting weaker enemies.
8. Cosmic Egg - Chaos
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Whoa... shiny!
Enter the Chaos Gates without losing Health. Blessings from Chaos are 40% more likely to be Rare or better.
Chaos is an odd character with even odder Boons. Every Boon you get from them will have a negative effect for a certain number of encounters before becoming helpful.
Why Cosmic Egg Is Great for Upgrading:
Entering Chaos Gates normally costs Health, but with this Keepsake, you can chat with the entity at the heart of creation without any of that extra damage.
If you are doing a completionist playthrough, this Keepsake will let you unlock rarer Boons from Chaos, who is harder to come by than other divine entities.
Chaos blessing are worth their salt once the debuff is out of the way, so it is worth grabbing one while you can.
7. Distant Memory - Orpheus
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Maybe you could use this for storing coins, too?
Deal up to 30% more damage to distant foes (at least 500 units away).
Weapons like the Coronacht and the Adamant Rail are range-only, so you would want to get the most out of the damage they can deal since you can’t really use them for melee or defense. Increasing ranged damage is one way to do it.
Why Distant Memory Is Great for Upgrading:
Great for ranged weapons, or weapons with ranged options; nobody can come close to you if you kill them first.
When fighting multiple foes at once, it’s nice to be able to one-hit the ones far from you so you can concentrate on the immediate dangers.
6. Broken Spearpoint - Achilles
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A little bit useless without the shaft
After taking damage, become invulnerable for up to 1.5 seconds. Refreshes after seven seconds.
Being invulnerable is a rare skill to come by in Hades, so it can be really handy to have a Keepsake like that on hand.
Why Broken Spearpoint Is Great for Upgrading:
Good for fighting crowds or enemies that deal repeated damage without losing too much of your Life Total.
When using weapons with little defense opportunity, such as ranged-only weapons, it’s good to have a way to make sure you aren’t killed by someone stabbing you in the back.
5. Evergreen Acorn - Eurydice
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I would be on the lookout for that squirrel from Ice Age
In the final encounter in each underworld region, take no damage the first 3-5 times foes hit you.
This is another Keepsake that mitigates the damage you take, but specifically for boss fights.
Why Evergreen Acorn Is Great for Upgrading:
Bosses’ attacks hurt really bad, trust me. Avoiding a couple of those is a good start to any boss fight.
If any weapons or Boons grant you stronger close-combat abilities, you can pair those with this Keepsake to take a big chunk out of that boss’s Health bar at the start of the fight.
4. Sigil of the Dead - Hades
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You could maybe wear it as a brooch?
Your Call becomes Hades' Aid, which briefly makes you Invisible; your God Gauge starts at up to 30% full.
This is the only god Keepsake included on this list, and for a good reason. It grants you borderline-OP abilities that will come in handy in any fight.
Why Sigil of the Dead Is Great for Upgrading:
While you are Invisible, for two seconds you can’t be targeted, you move faster, and deal bonus damage.
Once you summon Hades’ Aid, you become Unseen: you move faster, can’t be targeted, and deal 50-100% more damage. The effect lasts for five seconds.
Hades’ aid counts as a Boon, so it can be upgraded to a higher Rarity.
3. Skull Earring - Megaera
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Now that can really spice up your look!
Deal up to 40% more damage while at 35% Health or less.
When the boss fight escalates, you need to get all the bonus damage you can, and Skull Earring is just the way to go.
Why Skull Earring Is Great for Upgrading:
You can deal more damage when low on Health, making it a great Keepsake for the final stages of any area.
Pairing it with damage-increasing Boons will make you a killing machine – as long as your Health is under 35%.
2. Lucky Tooth - Skelly
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If you try hard, you can exchange that for a little coin from the Tooth Fairy, but Skelly would be really offended
Automatically restore up to 100 Health when your Life Total is depleted (once per escape attempt).
In Hades, you start your escape attempt over once you die. So it’s good to have a second chance at life, isn’t it?
Why Lucky Tooth Is Great for Upgrading:
Get as many Death Defiances as you can – they are your “lives” in the game. Every time you defy death, you get to keep going instead of returning to the House of Hades. Lucky Tooth will add another “life” to your arsenal.
Death Defiance restores half of your Health – but what if it’s less than a 100? Lucky Tooth is very generous when it comes to restoring your Life Total.
1. Old Spiked Collar - Cerberus
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Saunter around the Underworld looking like you dress at Hot Topic, emo boy
Gain up to 50 extra Health.
Any Health buff is a good buff, and this is a good buff from a good boy. Your best friend Cerberus will not let you go out there unprotected.
Why Old Spiked Collar Is Great for Upgrading:
The more Life Total you have, the longer you can make it in your escape attempt. This Keepsake is useful at any stage of your run.
Centaur Hearts and other Health-increasing items paired with the Old Spiked Collar will increase your Life Total to the point you don’t even notice damage from foes. Also, it lets you last longer in a boss fight.
