How to unlock the Wretched Broker in Hades 2

Among many of the friendly faces returning from the original game, few are more welcome to the Crossroads than the Wretched Broker. The shopkeeper is back and ready to exchange useful goods for Bones. First, though, you need to know how to unlock the Wretched Broker in Hades 2.

Luckily for those overladen with purple Bones, the Wretched Broker shows up quite early in Hades 2. The jolly Shade won’t be there right from the get-go, as you’re meant to learn how to play the game first. Mostly, you’ll first learn about losing a run. And you’ll need to do so at least twice before you can invite our merchant friend to the Crossroads.

Hades 2: How to unlock the Wretched Broker

The Wretched Broker will appear in Hades 2 after you unlock the Incantation for it. You unlock new features in the game by learning Incantations to use at the Cauldron in the Crossroads. For the most part, Incantations seem to appear after making progress in the game, which can include having enough conversations, discovering certain Regions (the levels in the game), or finding the right materials.

In this case, the Wretched Broker incantation won’t be available until you return to the Crossroads a second time. This will happen sooner than you think, as the game does put some tough barriers in your path early on. You are meant to die and retry again.

On your second trip back to the Crossroads, check the Cauldron for the Incantation ‘Summoning of the Mercantile Fortune’. It’ll appear with the icon of the Wretched Broker. The incantation costs 10 Bones to activate, which is easy enough to do. Bones can be found as common rewards for many Encounters.

Once you activate the incantation, the Wretched Broker will appear south of the Cauldron and next to the pier.

The Broker will exchange your Bones for many in-game items, ranging from Reagents like Psyche to Exotic Goods such as Nectar.

How to get more Bones in Hades 2

Bones are an important resource in Hades 2, allowing you to trade with the Wretched Broker for materials. You can usually get them as common rewards for clearing Encounters, but there are ways to hurry the process along.

Here’s how to get even more Bones in Hades 2:

• Unlock and cast the Incantation ‘Gathering of Ancient Bones’ to give a random weapon Grave Thirst for a night — this gives you bones per cleared Location.
• Sell excess materials at the Wretched Broker for Bones.

The Wretched Broker’s stock will expand as you progress through the game, so be sure to drop by to check their list of goods often.