Hades 2 Infernal Cerberus boss guide, how to beat the Infernal Beast

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Once you’ve bested Hecate and made it deep enough into Oceanus to defeat Scylla, you’ll be thrown into the Fields of Mourning, where you’ll eventually meet Infernal Cerberus, the third major boss in Hades 2. As with the two previous guardians, Cerberus stands as a hulking, and in this case fiery, skill check that’s designed to get your combat skills up to scratch for the dangers ahead, notably Chronos.

Other than being the largest boss you’ll have encountered so far in the Underworld, the three-headed dog hits hard, makes the most of his large arena, and likes to chain multiple attacks to keep you on your toes. Here’s how to beat the Hound of Hades.

Cerberus move list

Below, you’ll find a table listing out all of Infernal Cerberus’ move set. Hades 2 doesn’t have set names for each attack, so we’ve penned our own for clarity’s sake. Compared to Scylla and especially Headmistress Hecate, Cerberus’ attack patterns can quickly become overwhelming, mainly because he has a tendency to combo attack so you’ll have to track and manage them simultaneously. The moves themselves are typically well-telegraphed, so this fight is very much one that benefits from repetition and optimum placement within the arena to avoid damage but dish out enough of your own to get the fight over and done with quickly.

Move	Description	Strategy
Paw Stomp	Cerberus raises his paws and slams them into the ground, creating a damaging shockwave. There’s also a one paw variation of this move. You can see it coming when the dog raises one or two paws and holds them in the air for a short time.	Dash as far away from the Cerberus as you can or dodge as the paws hit the ground.
Charged Vines	Cerberus cast a ring of vines around himself that explode upwards after a short timer.	Keep an eye out for the vine ring of the ground and dash away as soon as it appears. The window is fairly generous so this shouldn’t be too hard to avoid.
Flames	Cerberus emits a short stream of flames from each head in Melinoe’s direction. This attack is telegraphed by Cerberus lurching forward then pulling back before casting the flames.	Dash away from the flames.
Flaming Swipe	Cerberus swipes with his right hand, leaving behind a trail of flames.	Watch out for Cerberus pulling back his right paw as the signal that the attack is coming. Dash either to the side or away of the swipe.
Triple Vine Rings	Similar to the Charged Vines attack, except that Cerberus casts three rings around him that charge then explode after a short time.	The rings show up well before they explosion, so simply dash out of their radius to stay safe.
Flaming Fangs	Cerberus casts several flaming orbs shaped like fangs that explode into a large-radius flame explosion after a couple of seconds. Cerberus pulls back then jolts his head forward just before the orbs start flying.	Look out for the flaming orbs then stay as far away from them as you can to avoid the explosions.
Miasma Smoke	Cerberus throws small orbs from his back that expand into damage-dealing miasma smoke clusters when they hit the ground. The flying orbs are the best indicator that the clouds are on the way.	When the orbs land, dash away from the smoke clusters to avoid damage.
Minion Summon	Cerberus disappears into the ground and summons several minions, including werewolves, floating dog heads, and Medusas with yellow armor health bars.	The move typically happens at the start of phase 2 when Cerberus’ health dips below 50% Before disappearing Cerberus slumps forward. Defeat all the minions to get Cerberus to reappear.
Vine Ring Spam	Cerberus casts a succession of vine rings around the arena that explode after a short period. Like the other ring attacks, look for the vine patterns on the ground to track this move.	Sprint to the edges of the arena where the rings don’t spawn.
Burrow	Cerberus burrows into the ground then a vine ring appears before a wolf head charges out upwards. The attack is well-telegraphed by Cerberus furiously digging at the ground before disappearing.	Track the arena for the ring, then dash away from it to avoid damage from the head.
Safe Ring	Cerberus casts a safe space barrier around himself, while the rest of the arena goes red before exploding.	The tell for this attack is Cerberus putting his paws at the ground and leaning forward. Stay near Cerberus inside the safe ring to avoid damage.
Inhale	Cerberus spawns a stream of backward moving air that pulls Melinoe towards him. Watch for the wind as the best way to track this move.	Dash or sprint out of the way of the air stream.
Fireballs	Cerberus emits a barrage of fireballs from his mouths that track Melinoe’s movement around the arena.	Sprint in one direction and keep moving in a circle around Cerberus until the attack ends.
Flame Arc	Cerberus pounces a short distance then emits a flame arc that travels in one direction. Watch for the pounce to anticipate this attack.	Dodge out of the way of the arc to avoid damage.

Hades 2 Infernal Cerberus boss guide: three-headed dog standing in a dark arena with a small character at his feet. — He’s not one for talking. Captured by VideoGamer.

Cerberus boss fight strategy

The general strategy to beat Infernal Cerberus in Hades 2 is to make the most of his limited mobility and long wind-ups. He’s slow compared to Hecate and Scylla and, for the most part, his moves are well-telegraphed, so use the dodging skills you’ve picked up so far to stay as close to him as often as possible while avoiding his moves. Most of his attacks come from the front so if you can stay behind up, you’ll give yourself plenty of openings for short-range melee attacks that compound over time into massive damage.

While most of the massive AoE attacks, namely the vine rings, are visually impressive, the window between them appearing and causing damage is long by boss fight standards. As long as you get out before they explode, get to grips with his melee attacks, and learn how to avoid them, there’s very few instances where Infernal Cerberus can cause substantial damage unless he lands a direct hit. At least that’s the case in theory. The first few attempts should be used as learning opportunities to figure out his patterns before going for a true attempt.

As things ramp up for phase 2, the fight shifts to finding opportunistic openings between and during attacks like the Safe Ring and after short-range attacks like Inhale. Again, you’ll fare much better by staying up close and behind the boss then unleashing as many melee attacks as possible when you’re out of danger’s way. Charged Cast works particularly well here as well. Dash in, set up the cast, then dash out.

As a general rule, you can always find some breathing space by sprinting to the borders of the arena. They tend to represent a safe space, at least for while, and are useful if Cerberus goes hard on the combos and the centre arena gets chaotic.

Cerberus phases

The Cerberus boss fight consists of two phases. The first runs as long as Cerberus’ health is above 50%, while the second starts once you reduce his health to below 50%. The two phases are night and day. The first is very much designed for you to get to know how Cerberus attacks and moves, while the second is a full on assault where every attack increases in intensity, damage output, and frequency.

The tell tale sign that phase 2 is starting is when Cerberus disappears from the arena and spawns several minions. Once you’ve dealt with the minions, you’ll see the change to his move set, which not only uses those you’ve seen so far but also throws in a few new ones like Fireballs and Safe Ring to really test your skill set.

Phase 1 – typical moves include Paw Stomp, Charges Vines, Flames, Flaming Swipe, Flaming Fangs, Miasma Smoke, and Triple Vine Rings.
Phase – starts with Minion Summon, then generally includes a chained succession of Safe Ring, Burrow, Flame Arc, and Vine Ring Spam.

Best weapons and Boons to beat Infernal Cerberus in Hades 2

Because the Infernal Beast boss fight is all about staying close to Cerberus, it’s best to avoid range-heavy weapons like the Umbral Flames. Instead, favour a versatile alternative like the Witch’s Staff or a full-on melee option like the Sister Blades or Moonlight Axe. The Sister Blades is likely the best pick, given that it’s fast and produces decent damage especially when paired with Boons that offer a close-range melee boost.

As for the best Boons, Aphrodite’s Flutter Strike, which increases damage at close-range, matches the type of fight perfectly. An HP-focused Boon like Selene’s Moon Water is useful if you’re struggling to avoid Cerberus’ attacks as it allows you to restore 25 HP up to three times mid-fight. It’s also worth having a Boon focused on boosting your Cast like Apollo’s Solar Ring which rapidly deals damage in an area after your Omega Cast explodes. To round things off, Boons like Apollo’s Blinding Spirit or Hermes’ Nitro Boost, or others that offer buffs to Melinoe’s sprint and movement speed, are well worth having because of how mobile you’ll need to be during the fight.

Hades 2 Infernal Cerberus boss guide: in-game inventory detailing a resource called Tears. — We’re not sure if they’re Cerberus’ Tears, though. Captured by VideoGamer.

Cerberus boss fight rewards

All going well, defeating Infernal Cerberus grants you Tears, the reward for vanquishing the Guardian of the Mourning Fields. The resource is used to unlock The Queen Arcana card, which boosts the chance of Duo Boons by 6%. It’s also part of the recipe for Attending a Faithful Beast and other incantations at the cauldron in the Crossroads.