The clean House of Hope route is: open the Devil’s Fee portal → accept Hope’s Debtor disguise → explore the House and Archive while neutral → obtain access to the Boudoir and the password from Raphael’s safe/notes → take the Orphic Hammer (or retrieve/destroy the Soul-Sworn Contract if that is your deal state) → use the Boudoir rejuvenation faucet if needed → enter Hope’s prison → use the Hammer on both crystals → return to the foyer → fight Raphael.
Quick route: explore while disguised, steal last, rescue Hope before walking back to Raphael
The ordering matters because taking the central Archive objective turns the House hostile. Do not steal the Hammer as the first thing you do and then discover that the password, side loot, restoration point and prison route were never mapped.
The House of Hope begins at Helsik’s Devil’s Fee ritual. Prepare this like a long dungeon, not a quick shop detour.
Step 1 — Open the portal at the Devil’s Fee
Helsik’s upstairs blood circle uses five ritual components: Skull, Coin of Mammon, Diamond, Incense and Infernal Marble. If you bought or received her ritual instructions, follow that layout exactly. The Infernal Marble goes in the centre; the other items occupy the marked ritual points. Once the arrangement is correct, the portal opens.
Step 2 — Accept Hope’s disguise and use the peaceful phase
Approaching the main door summons Hope’s projection. Agreeing to help gives Debtor’s Attire for the party. While disguised and before the Archive objective is stolen, Eternal Debtors do not immediately treat you as intruders. Use that window to learn the route between the Foyer, Archive, Boudoir, Outer Portals and Hope’s prison hatch.
There is also an Inert Infernal Gem / hidden treasure route in the House. It is optional to the Orphic Hammer, but the House contains enough permanent gear that a “sprint to Hammer and leave” route misses some of the dungeon’s best value.
The Inert Infernal Gem / staircase area is optional loot territory; use the neutral phase to explore before the House turns hostile.
The Archive has three important pedestals. The centre holds the Orphic Hammer or your Soul-Sworn Contract depending on the Raphael deal state, protected by a magical shield that requires the Boudoir password. The side pedestals hold Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength and Amulet of Greater Health. Their pressure plates can alert the House if you simply lift the items; detect/disarm the traps or deliberately accept the transition to hostility.
Step 3 — Archive: Hammer or Contract, plus two major stat-setting items
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| Archive item | Why it matters | Trap / route note |
|---|---|---|
Orphic Hammer / Soul-Sworn Contract | Main heist objective: Orpheus/Hope route or escape from Raphael’s deal | Central barrier requires the password from Raphael’s Boudoir notes. |
Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength | Sets Strength to 23; +1 Strength saves | Side pedestal has an alarm pressure plate. |
Amulet of Greater Health | Sets Constitution to 23 and grants Advantage on Constitution saves | Side pedestal has an alarm pressure plate. |
The Archivist controls access/social flow in the Archive; do the talking and scouting before touching the objective pedestal.
Step 4 — Boudoir: get the password and remember the faucet
The Archivist can provide or be pickpocketed for the Boudoir Invitation. Inside the Boudoir, the safe behind the painting contains Raphael’s notes, including the phrase used to remove the Archive barrier around the central objective. Resolve Haarlep according to your route, but the practical goal is the password and knowledge of the rejuvenation faucet.
After the Archive goes hostile, you can return to the Boudoir faucet at roughly X -6482 / Y 2977 and restore the party before the prison/final fight. That makes the House unusual: it contains a powerful in-dungeon recovery point, so resource planning should include a deliberate refill rather than assuming every spell slot must last from the entrance through Raphael.
Step 5 — Take the Orphic Hammer / deal objective
Use the Boudoir password to drop the Archive barrier, then take the central objective. If you refused Raphael’s deal, this is the Orphic Hammer. If your run signed the contract, the heist state also involves the Soul-Sworn Contract. Once the objective is taken, the House enters its hostile escape phase.
The Orphic Hammer is the central heist objective and the tool required to break Hope’s two binding crystals.
Hope’s prison is reached from the eastern side of the House, with a hatch just south of the Outer Portals; there is also an outside/balcony passage route. Inside, expect two Spectators and multiple Vengeful Imps. The imps are dangerous around the open platforms because Eldritch Blast can turn a normal hit into a lethal fall.
1. Clear or control the Spectators and Imps so the platform is safe enough to cross.
Step 6 — Free Hope
4. Cross to the second crystal and repeat.
3. Reach one red crystal and use the Hammer’s Unshackling Strike.
2. Equip the Orphic Hammer on the character who will break the bindings.
5. Hope joins as an attached follower. Protect her on the return trip and in the Raphael fight if you want her reward.
Step 7 — Raphael: understand what the Soul Pillars are doing
Raphael meets the party in the foyer with four Soul Pillars, six Vengeful Cambions, Korrilla and conditionally Yurgir. The pillars feed Raphael’s spell economy and defenses; on Tactician+ he can heal while consuming souls. They are vulnerable to Bludgeoning and Force, so destroying some or all of them is often valuable — but in Honour Mode pillar destruction also interacts with Raphael’s additional legendary/ascended mechanics. Read his current tooltip rather than treating “always destroy all four immediately” as a universal script.
Yurgir can be an ally depending on the Act 2 route, or can be persuaded to switch sides with a DC 30 Persuasion check in the common hostile setup. Hope is a powerful temporary Cleric; keeping her alive also preserves the Gloves of Soul Catching reward.
Raphael’s foyer is a mechanics fight: Soul Pillars, Cambions, Hope and Yurgir matter before raw boss DPS does.
Honour Mode: do not copy a Tactician pillar script blindly
Enter with the party you actually want for Raphael; changing members mid-heist can complicate disguise/state handling.
Bring mobility, control and Bludgeoning/Force options for the final arena.; Do not spend every recovery resource before entering — the Boudoir contains a rejuvenation faucet that can restore the party during the hostile phase.
Raphael has Honour-specific legendary actions. Inspect Beguiling Rebuke / Soul Ascension and his current form before committing multi-hit burst.
Soul Pillars can grant charges/resources and influence his defenses, but destroying pillars can change the Ascended Fiend phase. Plan the order instead of treating the pillars as scenery.; Keep party spacing. The arena punishes clumping and the fight contains many simultaneous enemies.
Use the Boudoir fountain before the final return if the route allows it. Entering Raphael half-empty because “the Hammer is already stolen” is unnecessary.; Hope can provide exceptional support. Protecting her is both combat value and a reward condition.
What you can leave with
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| Objective | Result |
|---|---|
Orphic Hammer | Enables the Orpheus route later and frees Hope’s bindings. |
Hope survives Raphael | Hope rewards Gloves of Soul Catching. |
Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength | 23 Strength build-enabler from Archive side pedestal. |
Amulet of Greater Health | 23 Constitution + Advantage on Constitution saves. |
Raphael defeated Contract handled if signed | Loot includes the Helldusk Armour and resolves the House confrontation. Breaks / resolves the Raphael deal state. |
Keeping Hope alive through Raphael earns the Gloves of Soul Catching, one of the strongest unarmed rewards in the game.
Common failure points / FAQ
Taking the central Archive objective before getting the Boudoir password and scouting the House.
Forgetting the side-pedestal traps while stealing the Gauntlets/Amulet.; Entering Hope’s prison without the Hammer equipped and wasting movement in an open knockback arena.
Letting Hope die during the final fight and losing the Gloves reward.; Following old “spam radiant damage” advice without reading Raphael’s current Punish Divinity / Honour mechanics.
Ignoring the Boudoir restoration faucet and reaching Raphael with an unnecessarily depleted party.; Is House of Hope mandatory? No, but it is the major alternate route to the Orphic Hammer if you do not want to live with Raphael’s deal.
When does the House turn hostile? Taking the central Archive objective is the main heist transition; side-pedestal alarms can also cause trouble.; Do I need the Hammer to free Hope? Yes. Use Unshackling Strike on both binding crystals.
How do I get the Gloves of Soul Catching? Free Hope and keep her alive through Raphael.; Should I destroy all Soul Pillars? They are important targets, but in Honour the decision interacts with Raphael’s legendary/ascended mechanics; inspect the current fight rather than using an unconditional script.