Here is a God of War 3 walkthrough by Ryne Gardner (Axel17174)
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| God of War III Guide |
| Created by: Axel7174 |
| FAQ and Walkthrough |
| Copyright 2010 Ryne Gardner |
|_____________________________|
TABLE OF RAGE...... AND CONTENTS (pick a section)
You can use CTRL + F to find something quickly.
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1|Introduction
|+ About This Guide
|+ Using This Guide
2|Basics
|+ Controls....................................................... [bctr]
|+ Orbs and Items................................................. [bcim]
|+ Kratos' Arsenal and Movelist................................... [bmov]
|+ Kratos' enemies................................................ [benm]
3 Walkthrough
|+Gaia, Mount Olympus, and Heart of Gaia.......................... [gw01]
|+River Styx, Realm of Hades, and Judges of the Underworld........ [gw02]
|+The Forge, Palace of Hades, and the Forge Pt. 2................. [gw03]
|+The City of Olympia, Path of Eos, and The Chain of Balance...... [gw04]
|+The Caverns and the Flame of Olympus............................ [gw05]
|+Olympian Citadel, The Flame of Olympus, and The Forum........... [gw06]
|+Poseidon's Chamber, The Upper Gardens, and Aphrodite's Chamber.. [gw07]
|+Tartarus, Gates of Tisiphone, and The Pit of Tartarus........... [gw08]
|+The Forge Pt. 3, The Upper Gardens, Daedalus' Workshop.......... [gw09]
|+Hera's Garden and The Caverns................................... [gw10]
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4|Extras
|+ Special Chest Locations........................................ [exsc]
|+ Godly Possession Locations..................................... [exgp]
|+ Challenges..................................................... [excl]
|+ Trophies....................................................... [exth]
5|Miscellaneous.................................................... [misl]
|+ Frequently Asked Questions..................................... [fak4u]
|+ Credits/Special Thanks
|+ Contact Info
|+ Legal Hoopla
Version History --------------- Version 0.70 - 3/18/10 - 3/23/10 --Greetings all! Welcome to the first (incomplete) edition of my first guide of 2010. After a long lay off, I've finally gotten back to doing a guide. What better game to pick than this? The guide is partially complete up to the start of The Caverns (second visit). More to come very soon. Version 0.75 - 3/24/10 --I wasn't able to make much of an update, just added a tiny bit more. But I'm working on it. Today is my Birthday though. I probably won't be able to update (for Thursday) and I have a paper to write too, so an update might have to wait until next week but I'll see what I can do.____ ____ ____ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | =============================================================== | | | | | | INTRODUCTION | | | | | | =============================================================== |____|____|____| [About This Guide] Welcome, one and all. Assuming you're not lost, you must be here to get your rage on with God of War III and are hoping for a little bit of help. Well if you want some small tips or a lot more help than that, I hope you will find it here. I'm aiming to help as much as I can. I can hardly believe that it's been two years now since I started making guides! Wow, time flies. I debuted with my Devil May Cry 4 guide roughly around this time in 2008, and now here we are. Well I'm far from the best guide creator, but I try to do what I can. This God of War III guide marks my first guide of 2010. I had taken such a long break, mostly because I needed to. I've been up to my eyeballs in schoolwork for college and so on. When I'm not doing that, I'm pretty much hanging out with my friends, spending time with my girlfriend (that's right, I'm taken, sorry ladies!), or at home playing games. So guide writing has taken a slight backseat but I'm hoping this will be the start of another good year for that. Welcome to the table, God of War III. If you're a fan of the series, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this entry. Hopefully you enjoy and hopefully you find any help you might need with the game from this guide. Thanks! [Using This Guide] If you need to jump quickly around the guide, the Table of Contents (above) has small codes at the end of each item called quickjumps. Use these in the ctrl+f function of your web browser to jump around. You can also use it to search for key words that may be relevant to what you're looking for. If you have questions or want to submit something to me, I implore you to read the Frequently Asked Questions section first for questions, and the Contact Info section for submissions as I have important rules for such things. ____ ____ ____ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | =============================================================== | | | | | | BASICS [bscs] | | | | | | =============================================================== |____|____|____| Here you can get information about some very basic stuff in God of War III. This includes controls, and other helpful information that will be useful for newcomers to the series. ======== Controls ======== [bctr] _______________________________________________ |Button |Action | |-------------------|---------------------------| |Start |Pause Menu | |-------------------|---------------------------| |Select |Options/Pause* | |-------------------|---------------------------| |Left Analog Stick |Move Kratos | |-------------------|---------------------------| |Right Analog Stick |Evade | |-------------------|---------------------------| |L1 |Block/Parry | |-------------------|---------------------------| |L2 |Use Item (L2 + X/Sq/Tr) | |-------------------|---------------------------| |R1 |Interact/Grapple | |-------------------|---------------------------| |R2 |Magic attack | |-------------------|---------------------------| |Triangle |Heavy Attack | |-------------------|---------------------------| |Square |Normal Attack | |-------------------|---------------------------| |Circle |Grapple | |-------------------|---------------------------| |X/Cross |Jump | |-------------------|---------------------------| |D-Pad Up |Select Blades of Exile | |-------------------|---------------------------| |D-Pad Left |Select Nemesis Whip | |-------------------|---------------------------| |D-Pad Right |Select Claws of Hades | |-------------------|---------------------------| |D-Pad Down |Select Nemean Cestus | '-----------------------------------------------' *At the end of the game there will be certain sequences where you can't pause with Start and instead need to use Select. ============== Orbs and Items ============== [bcim] There are several different items that Kratos can find to help him along his journey. If you're new to God of War it might be helpful to know what these are and what to do with them. Red Orbs - Kratos' "blood money", quite literally actually. You will get Red -------- orbs from slain enemies and from Red Orb Chests. The amount you get from enemies will depend on how you defeat them. Red Orbs are used to purchase upgrades for Kratos' weapons and abilities. Green Orbs - Green Orbs restore Kratos' health. Some enemies drop them, but ---------- they are mostly recovered from Green Orb Chests. Blue Orbs - Blue Orbs restore Kratos' magic. A few enemies will drop them, but --------- you'll find them most in Blue Orb Chests. Gold Orbs - These restore some of Kratos' Rage of Sparta meter. They aren't --------- found very often, coming only from a few enemies and not in chests. Gorgon Eyes - Collect these to add to extend Kratos' life meter. You only need ----------- to collect three to increase the life meter, unlike previous God of War games. Phoenix Feathers - Phoenix Feathers increase Kratos' magic meter. For every ---------------- three you collect, you'll extend the magic meter. Minotaur Horns - New to God of War III, these increase the length of the Item -------------- Meter which determines how much Kratos can use special items. Three Minotaur Horns will net you an upgrade to the meter. ============================ Kratos' Arsenal and Movelist ============================ [bmov] As you progress through the game, conquering baddies, ripping each boss a new one, and so on, you'll gather up new items for Kratos to wield and also, more red orbs to spend on those items! ***Note: this section does contain some slight spoilers!*** [Weapons] Blades of Athena - The powerful blades that Kratos received from Athena at the ---------------- conclusion to God of War. You'll use them briefly and they are fully upgraded. Blades of Exile - These are the blades you'll be using for the near entirety --------------- of the game. They are Kratos' primary weapons and have his most basic combos and attacks. While wielding these he can use the Army of Sparta spell. Claws of Hades - The grappling hook-like claws wielded by the lord of the -------------- lord of the underworld himself. These give Kratos new combos and the ability to summon brief souls of creatures to attack his enemies. Nemean Cestus - Large and heavy lion head-shaped gauntlets that pack a powerful ------------- punch. Capable of sending powerful shockwaves through the ground. Nemesis Whip - Several small blades attached to whips, infused with the power ------------ of electricity. This thing is a combo machine! It lets Kratos attack enemies with its spinning blades for interesting new combos, as well as electrifying them. [Items] ***Some God of War 2/3 spoilers below!*** Golden Fleece - Received from Jason's (of the Argonauts) corpse, the Golden ------------- Fleece allows Kratos to deflect enemy projectiles and energy if his block is timed correctly. Icarus Wings - Ripped off from the back of Icarus himself, the wings allow ------------ Kratos to glide for a short period of time. New to God of War III Apollo's Bow - Shoots fire arrows that deal small damage. If the button is held ------------ the flame is stronger and is capable of burning enemies and objects in the environment. Head of Helios - The head of the Sun God. It allows Kratos to shed light to -------------- dark areas and stun enemies with its light. It can unleash a powerful Solar Flare to blind a wide number of enemies. Hermes Boots - These boots allow Kratos to move much faster but they can not be ------------ used liberally. They allow Kratos to run straight up or along only CERTAIN walls. A shame, really. In battle, the boots can let Kratos run head long into enemies, throwing them into the air. [Movelist and Upgrades] Here you can see the moves Kratos has at his disposal with some brief notes on each. This will include how to use certain items and perform certain special actions and abilities, etc. To be able to use certain moves, Kratos needs to upgrade his weapons and items and you can see how many Red Orbs are needed for each below. =============================== BLADES OF EXILE =============================== -|Level 1 --|Plume of Prometheus: (Square, Square, Triangle) Perhaps the most trusty and reliable move Kratos has in his arsenal. Short and packs a punch. Can be extended into a longer combo if you add more square hits. --|Olympic Fury (Square x6): A good but slightly less powerful combo. It ends with a wide swipe of Kratos' blades that has decent range. --|Olympic Ascension (Hold Triangle): An attack that can be tacked on into any combo. Hold Triangle at any time while attacking to launch an enemy up into the air. Hold Triangle even longer to have Kratos follow them up to start an aerial attack! --Hyperion Ram (L1 + Circle): Also referred to as the Combat Grapple. Kratos will use his blades to grab a nearby or distant enemy and pull himself toward them to ram them. Good way to extend combos when enemies are distant. --Army of Sparta (R2): A spell that summons the spirits of the Spartan soldiers to attack in a phalanx position, hitting all surrounding enemies. Great to use when in a jam. Consumes magic. -|Level 2 - Red Orb cost: 4000 --|Increased Damage: Blades of Exile deal more damage to enemies --|Cyclone of Chaos (L1 + Square): Kratos spins his blades around him in a continuous circular motion. An excellent combo to use when surrounded. Great at building combos and dealing quick damage. --|Cyclone of Chaos (Air): The same move as above except performed airborne --|Argo's Ram (L1 Parry + Square): A parry move for the Golden Fleece. Time your block correctly and hit Square to counterattack. -|Level 3 - Red Orb cost: 7000 --|Increased Damage: Blades of Exile deal more damage to enemies --|Valor of Hercules (Triangle, Triangle, Square): Your new best friend after the Plume of Prometheus. Kratos launches two heavy attacks, finishing with crossing his blades in a horizontal slash. --|Hyperion Fury (Hold Square): Add this at the end of a combo and Kratos will lunge forward with a fast combo of jabs and then with a rising slash. --|Athena's Wrath (Evade, Triangle): After Evading, hit Triangle to use this attack. Kratos strikes back quickly, stabbing his blades into the ground. It will send a fireball along the ground to any enemies in front of him. --|Army of Sparta Level 2 (R2): More soldiers and slightly better range and power than before. -|Level 4 - Red Orb Cost: 8000 --|Cyclone of Chaos Level 2 (L1 + Tap Square): The Cyclone of Chaos combo gets more destructive. Tap Square after holding L1 to keep swinging. --|Tartarus Rage (L1 + Triangle): --|Tartarus Rage (Air): The above move except performed in the air. -|Level 5 - Red Orb cost: 10000 --|Increased Damage: The Blades of Exile deal extra damage to enemies --|Tartarus Rage Level 2 (L1 + Hold Triangle): --|Army of Sparta Level 3 (R2 + Tap Circle): =============================== BOW OF APOLLO =============================== -|Level 1 --|Flame Burst (L2 + Square): Shoots a flaming arrow from the bow. Can be done repeatedly for very small damage. Can also be done in the air. --|Fiery Inferno (L2 + Hold Square): Shoots a much more powerful arrow that has the power to burn objects and enemies. Enemies hit with the arrow can set fire to surrounding enemies. -|Level 2 - Red Orb cost: 2500 --|Increased Damage: The Bow of Apollo can deal more damage =============================== CLAWS OF HADES =============================== -|Level 1 --|Hades Agony (Square x5): A good combo that has Kratos swinging the claws in wide range and powerful strikes. --|Hades Curse (Triangle x3): Kratos uses one claw to pull at the ground, hitting enemies in front of him, then uses another claw, followed by using both claws in a rising motion. --|Hades Ascension (Hold Triangle): Add this at the end of other combos to launch an enemy into the air. Hold Triangle longer to have Kratos jump up with them. --|Soul Rip (L1 + Circle): Looks similar to the Combat Grapple at first. Kratos uses the claws to rip an enemy's soul out. The soul takes the form of flying skulls that will attack nearby enemies for small damage. Totally badass. --|Soul Summon (R2): Summons a soul of an enemy that appears as an apparition. It will attack enemies with a predetermined attack. The souls available depend on how high leveled the Claws of Hades are. Also, the souls need to be "aimed" a bit, as they do not act really on their own but have a predetermined attack animation. ---|Souls Available at Level 1: Cerberus Mongrel, Olympus Sentry, Olympus Archer -|Level 2 - Red Orb Cost: 3000 --|Increased Damage: Claws of Hades deal extra damage to enemies --|Tormenting Lash (L1 + Square): A cool attack in which Kratos sends the claws flying around his body. Similar range to Cyclone of Chaos, but perhaps slightly less. --|Tormenting Lash (Air): The airborne version of the above move -|Level 3 - Red Orb Cost: 5000 --|Increased Damage: Claws of Hades deal extra damage to enemies --|Hades Bane (Evade + Triangle): --|Soul Summon Level 2 (R2): You gain the souls of the Chimera, Gorgon, and Olympus Fiend -|Level 4 - Red Orb Cost: 6000 --|Increased Damage: Claws of Hades deal extra damage to enemies --|Unending Sorrow (L1 + Triangle): --|Unending Sorrow (Air): -|Level 5 - Red Orb cost: 9000 =============================== HEAD OF HELIOS =============================== -|Level 1 --|Solar Beam (L2): After selecting the head, holding L2 lets Kratos hold the ghastly Head of Helios out and cast its light ahead of him. The light can be aimed with the Right Analog Stick. Casting the light at secret objects reveals them. --|Solar Flash (L2 + Triangle): Hits a targeted enemy with a small flash of light. The light is strong enough to stop the enemy for a very brief moment and hit them with a small amount of light that makes them more visible. --|Solar Flare (L2 + Hold Triangle): Unleashes a blinding flash of light that stuns all surrounding enemies for a few seconds. Also lights up dark areas significantly. -|Level 2 - Red Orb Cost: 2500 --|Increased Damage - Head of Helios deals extra damage to enemies =============================== BOOTS OF HERMES =============================== -|Level 1 --|Hermes Dash (Evade in the air): --|Hermes Rush (L2 + X): -|Level 2 - Red Orbs cost: 2500 --|Increased Damage: Boots of Hermes deal extra damage to enemies --|Hermes Jest (L2 + Hold X): =============================== NEMEAN CESTUS =============================== -|Level 1 --|Triumphant Labor (Square x3): --|Erymanthion Rage (Triangle x2): --|Augean Stampede (Hold Square): --|Augean Stampede (Air): --|Brutal Ascension (Hold Triangle): --|Ferocious Bite (L1 + Circle): --|Fercoius Bite (Air): --|Nemean Roar (R2): -|Level 2 - Red Orbs cost: 3000 --|Vicious Maul (L1 + Square): --|Vicious Maul (Air): The same move... but performed in the air, duh! -|Level 3 - Red Orbs Cost: 5000 --|Increased Damage: The Nemean Cestus deals extra damage to enemies --|Savage Charge (Evade + Triangle): --|Nemean Roar Level 2 (R2): -|Level 4 - Red Orbs cost: 5000 =============================== NEMESIS WHIP =============================== -|Level 1 --|Furious Contempt (Square x5): --|Harsh Penance (Triangle x2): --|Righteous Tirade (Hold Square): --|Righteous Ascension (Hold Triangle): --|Sugring Lash (L1 + Circle): --|Surging Lash (L1 + Circle): Airborne version of the previous attack --|Nemesis Rage (R2): Hits an enemy in front of Kratos with a surge of electricity that deals decent damage over a short period of time. Consumes magic. -|Level 2 - Red Orb Cost: 3000 --|Increased Damage: The Nemesis Whip deals extra damage to enemies --|Severe Judgment (L1 + Square): --|Severe Judgment (Air): --|Increaseed Righteous Tirade Duration (Hold Square): --|Increased Righteous Ascenion Duration (Hold Triangle): -|Level 3 - Red Orb cost: 5000 =============== Kratos' Enemies =============== [benm] COMING SOON ____ ____ ____ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | =============================================================== | | | | | | Walkthrough [gw00] | | | | | | =============================================================== |____|____|____| I have to warn you, there's a lot of rage contained below! Ha, just kidding. In any case, welcome to what can accurately be called the meat of the guide. Here I'll be providing detailed help for getting through the game. I will not spoil any cutscenes or events in the game at all. I will be saying names of characters and so on, but only AFTER you should have met them, etc. For that purpose, I can't call this guide "Spoiler Free" but you don't have to worry about being spoiled on the story. I would not do that to you, my friend. After the opening cutscene, you will see Kratos pull out those trusty blades. It's go time, baby! ====== Gaia ====== [gw01] The game will start off in a very tutorial-esque fashion, much like the first two games have. Just to ease you back into the swing of things or to accomodate newcomers. If you are new, just follow the tutorial tips you see on screen to learn more. I'll occasionally repeat what they say but for the most part you can trust the game to help teach you if you need it. Basically, if this is your first time, try out the different attacks with Kratos and see how they work. Try out different combos of Square and Triangle and see the power difference. Try to extend your combo as long as possible. Kratos has good range with his blades, but you want to move him in a way that allows him to face all surrounding enemies. Don't just face or move in one direction, as enemies that are hit hard enough will be knocked back. Let the range of the blades hit as many enemies as possible and rotate Kratos' position to hit more in one combo. The first group of sentries are nothing to get worked up above. Just freely explore the attacks available and you'll beat this without any sweat. After a scene, you'll be able to move on, but more enemies show up so deal with them first to practice more or just to get more Red Orbs. Proceed forward when you're readu to the overturned tree with the small sparkle of light. Interact with R1 and tap Circle to lift it out of the way. You'll be doing this method a lot to lift doors and such so I won't be repeating how to do it. Up ahead, you'll see three more soldiers. Take them out easily, then move on. Before you get to gorge your blade into even more enemies, a new beast appears! Could it be? The first mini-boss! Leviathan ---------- This water horse... crab... thing is not tough, which isn't surprising considering you've only be playing for what, three minutes now? It has a breath attack that is hard to time or prepare for since it doesn't emote much when it's about to use it. The creature will slow the movement of its head a little and it will be sort of tilted, if that helps. That means the attack is coming. Luckily, the attack does not hurt much at all. Let loose with some attacks on its body which is in front of Kratos. Focus on ending most of your combos with Triangle, as those deal the highest damage. Eventually, a short interjectory cutscene will play and you'll resume fighting, only from a different angle. Doing a ceiling climb, you can still attack (pay attention to the tutorial messages). Let loose with more attacks on the creature and don't worry too much about damage. You can hit X and use the Left Analog Stick to move quickly to another spot to avoid its leg attacks but it won't be necessary on normal or lower difficulty. The perspective will change again and now you'll be climbing up toward it. If you have an SDTV you might possibly lose track of Kratos for a moment. Just hit Square and you should see his attack. Climb up to the creature and attack some more. Just focus on attacking constantly. You'll be back on level ground again next. Run up to the creature and continue your assault. Try to evade or block the claw attacks, especially one where it rears back and attacks with all of its left side claws. Use Kratos' magic spell too to help deal a good amount of damage, but remember its use is limited by your magic meter. Deal enough damage and a circle (grapple) prompt appears above the creature's heads. If you're new to God of War, this is your cue to hit Circle and you'll initiate a QTE (Quick Time Event) minigame to finish it off. The buttons are usually always pretty randomized so I can't really help much here. The buttons will appear on sides of the screen relative to their layout on the PS3 controller (i.e. Square is on the left, Circle on the right, etc). Once it's finished, you'll get a quick scene. =============== Mount Olympus =============== Climb across the vines to Kratos' right using the Left Analog Stick. When you reach a gap, look for Kratos to lean his body toward it. Hit X at these moments to jump over the gap and continue climbing. Simply climb to the left, then up. Pull yourself up onto the ledge from there by hitting X again. Up ahead, you'll see your first Red Orb chest. Open it for some delicious goodness. Approach the narrow ledge and you can guide Kratos along the side of the mountain with the Left Analog Stick. An impressive scene will be going on at the same time. On the other side, lash out at the enemies here. They're not much to worry about. You might want to consider taking out the archers first if they annoy you. Jump to the higher ledge and then climb the ladder on the wall which will give way to climbable vines. Take this up to the next ledge where more enemies lay in wait. Again, not much to worry about. Go with quick combos that deal a lot of damage like the Plume of Prometheus (Square, Square, Triangle) and remember to attack all opponents to keep your combo going. Once they're dead, you can replenish your health using the Green Orb Chest off to the left. Next, jump up and climb onto the tall platform here. There is a pedestal that has an inscription and an interesting view to look at if you care to take a moment. Note the grapple hook that the game points you to. Step close enough to it to see the R1 button prompt and hit it to grapple onto it. Hold R1 to swing. At the end of your forward swing, jump and double jump to reach the next platform. More enemies materialize and attack. Try to get the archers in the back first if you want to possibly get a decent combo here as they can mess you up. Climb up the vines here and then lean to the left. Kratos can jump over to the next ledge so hit X to do so. Continue to shimmy to the left as you get a cool view of some action nearby. Contine to the left and then hit X to pull Kratos onto the ledge so he's standing. When you've gone as far left as you can go, climb straight up the wall. Once you're up there, move the Left Analog Stick down so Kratos will go toward the camera. He should flip onto the adjacent wall and start climbing it. Continue up to the next ledge. A scene will start up but you'll get control back soon. As you try to move across the bridge, it will be destroyed. The game tells you to use the Icarus Glide by double tapping X and then holding X to glide using the Icarus Wings. Before you do that though, drop into the gap. Don't worry, it's not bottomless. Below, you should find another Red Orb Chest. Schwing! Climb back up and then glide over. Feel free to restore lost magic or health using the Blue and Green Orb chests ahead. If you don't need them, then you don't need to open them as there will be no benefit. Keep in mind though that there will be times where if you don't need a chest at the moment, you might be better off leaving it shut in case a nearby battle leaves you hurting and you need to refill. Enter the building ahead and approach the door. Interact with it just as you did with the overturned tree at the start. Enter the following room and a Centaur will appear. If you played the demo you might be familiar with these guys. They don't hit terribly hard but they can take a little practice. Their attacks aren't hard to time and therefore deflect, it just takes some practice. Focus on just slashing away and using Plume of Prometheus and other attacks and then trying to block when he's about to strike back. If you have some distance between you and the Centaur, it will use the attack it opens up the fight with, where it tries to stab Kratos with the spear. A Left Analog Stick prompt appears in these moments with a half rotation. Basically, move or rotate the stick in the indicated direction. That's the Left Analog Stick, not the right one. Do it in time and you'll counter the attack. It might take practice though. As the fight progresses, more undead soldiers will attack you while you deal with the Centaur. Feel free to use the magic attack to disperse them. Don't take your eyes off the Centaur and focus on him. Try to use attacks that will hit him and the surrounding enemies. Try to weaken the Centaur to get the Grab icon to appear and start the minigame. Try to finish him off this way rather than just attacking him constantly. It will pay off later. When the fighting is over, the game will give you a hint at what to do next. First, go over to the lever with the sparkling light on it and interact to pull it down. This moves a platform over to the right. Very quickly, run over there and climb the ladder. Hit X to jump up faster and get on top of this ledge. Board the platform from here and let it take you up and over. Double jump to the ledge ahead of you. You'll see a Red Orb Chest and a save point. Make use of both. Proceed through the next doorway. Up ahead will be a gate. Raise it as Gaia begs you to hurry. Once raised, another beast will attack. Quickly tap Circle to ward off its attack and hitch a ride. Leviathan Part II ----------------- The creature has some new attacks. It's mostly the same as before, the claws and occasional breath attack. Some are easy to see coming, others are harder to predict. Make use of the Evade manuever with the Right Stick. When you see th creature rear back its head for a few seconds, back away immediately as it strikes the ground hard in front of you. Focus on attacking its chest with Plume of Prometheus or the extended version (5 or 6 square hits then triangle). Avoid its attacks and also make use of the magic Kratos has when you're standing right next to its chest for more damage. Eventually, the creature will weaken. Grapple it with Circle to initiate the QTE. You'll get a few standard button prompts, followed by one where you must tap Circle repeatedly. Continue your attack. Vary small combos with evades to avoid the incoming attacks. You'll have regained a bit of health and magic after the first QTE so use that to your advantage. Spam the magic spell a few times to really put the hurting on it, because you'll get Blue Orbs back from it when it dies. When the beast falls again, initiate another QTE by grappling it. This time you will have to tap L1 and R1 simultaneously to rip open its chest. Once you accomplish that, run back to the claw that was severed earlier (the camera will show you). Interact with it with R1 to finish the beast off once and for all. When you regain control, climb straight up Gaia and onto the above flat ground. You'll automatically drop inside. Go forward, and press up against the wall near the opening. Guide Kratos through the narrow passage into the next area. Climb the vine wall to the ceiling and move across the ceiling to the adjacent wall. When you get to this wall, hold R1 to slide down fast. Drop down when you can and then glide over the following gap. =============== Heart of Gaia =============== You can see the heart in front of you, guarded by some strange dark blue rocks. The game shows you the wall on the right side. Inspect it and you can pull out a part of the wall, but leave it be for now. Instead, go to the left of the wall slab and you'll find vines. Climb this up and to Kratos' right and up again. You'll be able to reach a platform up here. Inspect the blinking object in the corner to get ZEUS' EAGLE x-----Godly Possession 1/10: Zeus' Eagle-----x This artifact is one of ten found in hidden locations throughout the game that when collected, will unlock special bonuses for replays of the game on that same difficulty. They carry over on the same difficulty but not between different difficulties. This artifact for example gives Kratos infinite Rage of Sparta. The trick is that you can only use this and the other items after you have beaten the game once on this difficulty. With that in hand, drop back down. Pull that piece of wall out now and drag it to the other side. Rotate it with the right stick. You should only need to do it once. Plug it into the left wall and then climb the vines to Kratos' left. Climb up, to the right, up and lean over on the right wall. You can jump out toward the glowing grapple hook. Immediately hit R1 when you get airborne and swing to the far wall. Do a double jump to be sure you reach the vines and climb up. Go forward and you get a new combat tutorial, the Battering Ram technique. Grab an enemy with Circle, then hit Square and Kratos will grab them and use their body to plow through other foes. Very sweet and effective! Try it out on the upcoming sentries. Finish the remainders off with a few quick, stylish combos, then continue on. At the corner, climb the vine wall and go over to Kratos' right. Jump when he leans out and he'll just barely make it to the next platform. A grapple prompt appears so let that take you up above to another vine wall. Climb up and engage the enemies that try to attack you. Use Circle to grapple them for quick kills if you want. Climb up and then jump up when you can't go any further. Hit the quick Grapple prompt to swing out of Gaia and up to her head. Continue to climb up further and watch the scene that unfolds. Epic opening boss fight? Check. ______ _ _ | ___ \ (_) | | | |_/ /___ ___ ___ _ __| | ___ _ __ | __// _ \/ __|/ _ \ |/ _` |/ _ \| '_ \ | | | (_) \__ \ __/ | (_| | (_) | | | | \_| \___/|___/\___|_|\__,_|\___/|_| |_| This fight has three phases. First, your task as Kratos is to dislodge the Leviathan claws from Gaia's head. You accomplish this by attacking them over and over. While you're trying to do this, Poseidon will show you what moves he has arsenal. He can attack the area with the Leviathan tentacles in the background but they are easy to avoid. The other more dangerous attack is when he summons lightning to surge through the ground. You can see this coming as the light appears on the ground, or rather on top of Gaia's head. You only have a moment to react however. Try to make your combos short and sweet. Plume of Prometheus works fine so stick with that. Whenever you see the lightning coming, stop attacking and jump or roll out of the way immediately. If you get airborne, you should avoid it. Continue attacking the claws and they will come loose one by one. Use Plume of Prometheus or other quick combos as well as your magic spell. You'll get back a few Blue Orbs soon so feel free to use that a couple times. It will help. Once all the claws are gone, Gaia grabs Poseidon and a grappling point will appear on Gaia's hand. Hit R1 to zoom over there and the second phase of the fight begins. Pinned down, Poseidon's attacks change. He'll stab his trident down and release a short electrical burst. Again, jump to avoid this but he only stabs in two places and one of them will be past you when you get up close to attack him. The second attack has him slamming his fist down. This hurts a little and can't be blocked either. He'll also swipe you away with his arm and this pushes you back a little. In this phase, just unleash attacks constantly. Don't worry too much about his attacks since a lot of them will miss. If you want to avoid damage, dodge or unleash Kratos' magic attack just before he hits you. This will save you and also hurt Poseidon. Feel free to use longer combos now too. Eventually Poseidon will stagger and a grab icon will appear. Climb the adjacent vines on Gaia's finger and from there grab Poseidon to start the QTE. It will be two normal button presses, followed by tapping Circle, and then another button press to finish it off. Back to the first phase, you gotta get the claws off again. Poseidon will still attack with the claws of the Leviathans. His lightning attack changes though. It will start on one side of Gaia's head and then move to the other making it tougher to avoid. Lightning bolts also hit down so you can't avoid it simply by jumping in the air this time. When the lightning appears, time it so that you can run or roll out of the way to the opposite side so that when it moves to where you were you'll already be out of its range. The lightning bolts can be tough to dodge though. Just focus on attacking the claws and the fight will go to its final phase. After what I can call one of the most badass and amazing cinematic shots in games, Kratos will take Poseidon over to a platform. This will basically be one last final QTE sequence. There are a few buttons and a tapping sequence. If you mess up, no worries, you get to try again. At the end, hit L3 and R3 at the same time, by pushing in the two sticks to finish him off. Ouch. With the fight's bloody conclusion, you'll be treated to a scene. After that, you'll regain control in... ============ River Styx ============ [gw02] The only way to go is forward. Swim through the water of the river and along the way, some creatures will grab Kratos and begin sapping away his powers. Yep it's that time again. Stripped of magic and a lot of health, you'll be able to climb out of the river eventually. Slowly stagger forward and you'll get another scene. After that you earn the Blades of Exile. ================ Realm of Hades ================ Of all the places to end up... Well been there, done that, right? Kratos certainly has. In any case proceed along the path ahead and you'll come to a large gap. Grapple and swing across but don't land on the tall platform ahead. Drop down to the lower ledge below it. There are some shambling souls here that can be killed. More importantly there are two RED ORB CHESTS nearby as well as some pots you can bust open for more Red Orbs. Before climbing up, go around the other side of this platform and you'll find a much more ostentatious looking chest. Pry this one open for a Gorgon Eye! Three will extend your life bar. Only two more to go. Climb up the pillar and you'll encounter some enemies. You have to get used to the fact that you no longer have many of the combat moves you had before. Plume of Prometheus is still there though, always there to help you. The game tells you about the Combat Grapple, which lets you pull yourself toward enemies to deliver a powerful driving blow and also keep combos going easier. Try it out. The bridge to the right leads to an area that can be used yet so take the other bridge. Knock the souls out of your way and then you'll come to another split. Go left first, grappling across the gap. Defeat the souls here and then open the four RED ORB CHESTS. Schwing! Go back across the gap and go to the right side of the path now. There are four pots to break open and a Green Orb chest if you need health. Jump to the large platform ahead and listen to the haunting voice of the big man himself. A fight begins and you get to learn how to use the Army of Sparta, Kratos' new magic which is very badass I might add. Hit R2 to deploy a phalanx attack that will hit surrounding enemies. Feel free to spam it as much as you want here as your magic will replenish each time. Don't get used to it though, using it after this time will cost some of your magic meter. Look for the chain off to the right and grab onto it by jumping. Make your way across, hitting X to go faster. You'll encounter enemies but the game will tell you how to handle them. If they grab you, rock the Left Analog stick left and right repeatedly to free yourself. On the following platform, there are many pots to break open and two chests, one for Blue Orbs and one with Blue Orbs and Red Orbs mixed in. There's also a note on the ground if you care to read it. Proceed down the next corridor when you're done. You'll drop down a gap. Immediately go toward the camera to find two RED ORB CHESTS ripe for the picking. Go the other way now and interact with the door. Inside this area, a Gorgon will attack. It will ensnare Kratos with its body, but just jam on L1 and R1 to break free. Do this any time it tries to grab you. Attack with Plume of Prometheus and avoid its attacks to weaken it for a QTE. It will be two button presses, followed by the tapping of Circle. Be ready to tap circle right after the second button because if you're too slow, the Gorgon will slip free. One down and another one will appear, along with other enemies. Focus on the Gorgon, using the Blades of Exile and the Army of Sparta spell. You can maybe get a good combo going using both and finishing off the Gorgon without any error. Once the room is clear, exit out the way opposite you came in from. Go down this path, breaking a few pots along the way. You'll come to a short gap. Drop down inside it and walk toward the camera to find a hidden area with two RED ORB CHESTS. Climb out and continue on your merry way. Replenish your health and magic with the Green and Blue Orb Chests, then continue on. The path immediately ahead is blocked by bramble. No good. Take a left instead and enter the next area. Meet Peirithous. Not very important but he has an important item that he offers to give to Kratos. How generous! All he asks is that Kratos free him. Oh, he'll free you alright. You have a minor puzzle on your hands. First, climb the rubble around the trapped Peirithous to the platform above him. You can jump onto this hanging fire basket of sorts which will weigh it down (and freak out Peirithous). It's actually a switch that raises a gate on the far wall. From this platform, jump and glide to the opening on the left wall. Kratos should just grab on. Pull yourself up and go inside to find a pot of Bramble. Push this out through the small gap and it will fall to the floor below. Now push it toward the far wall. A small cerberus here will breathe fire on the bramble if you let it. Push the bramble pot as close to it as possible and let it light it up. This creates an Icarus Vent. Now return to Peirithous' side and climb onto that hanging switch again and weigh it down. This opens that gate again. Quickly run back to the Icarus Vent you made and as long as the bramble pot is leaning right up against the wall, this should work. Jump into the hot air above the pot and hold X to activate the Icarus Wings and Kratos should be taken up into the air. This should let you get up to the platform above. Use the lever here to free the cerberus. Jump down and fight the beast. It's not very hard to kill. You can use Army of Sparta a bit liberally since there is a chest in this room that will give you Green or Blue Orbs depending on when you open it. Once you weaken it, hit the grab button to start up a few prompts. Succeed and you'll wrangle the beast under your control. Let the games begin! Use Square and Triangle to use different attacks and decimate all the enemies in your path as you slowly make your way toward Peirithous. Hit Triangle near him to set him free. Sorry, man. Grab the item he had, the Bow of Apollo. Schwing! The bow gives you a nice ranged attack. The damage is only significant if you hold down Square before releasing. It has another very helpful usage and we'll get to that. First, take out the enemies that have appeared. These include two archers on a high ledge. Try shooting one with a charged shot from the Bow of Apollo (hold Square) and if you get the right angle, you can hit one of the archers. Hitting one with a charged shot should kill both. When the enemies are dispatched, you'll see the bramble on the wall in the corner. Shoot this with a charged shot of the bow to burn it. Aha! Go back to the bramble pot from earlier, and move it as far left as possible. Jump into the Icarus Vent and let the air take you up a bit, then move to the opening you just created. In here you'll find a RED ORB CHEST and another chest with a PHOENIX FEATHER. The Phoenix Feathers raise your magic meter when you have three. Exit now and return to the entrance, going back across the bridge. Return to the fork where the bramble is. You can now get past this. Burn the bramble down and continue. Up ahead are some souls, a note, and some chests with Blue and Green Orbs. Between them is some seemingly inconspicuous patch of bramble. Burn this to reveal another special chest, this one containing a MINOTAUR HORN. Three Minotaur Horns extend the Item Meter which lets you use items like the Bow of Apollo more. Go off to the left and jump up a small ledge. Crack open the pots on your immediate left and right and then continue on. The next room has some Harpies enter and attack you. They're not much of a threat but damn are they annoying! Use the Combat Grapple and some arrows from your new bow to deal with them. Feel free to kill off the souls that are in worship, though they won't give you anything. Jump and glide carefully across a gap to a low platform. Open the chest here for some Green and Red Orbs. Begin to sidle along the wall here and jump the gap. Continue moving and climbing up the walls. You'll have to drop down and hang from a ledge to get by an obstacle. Keep going and the path should be pretty easy to follow. When you near the top near a waterfall, instead of going right, have Kratos pull himself up and go left. He should lean to the left. Jump across this gap to reach a chest with a GORGON EYE. Go back now and to the right. Once you're done climbing, jump and latch onto the vines on the ceiling above. Make your way across the ceiling and you should be able to drop down by hitting R1 if you're in the right position, safely landing on the platform below. Jump and glide to the viney pillar ahead. Climb straight up and you'll get an interesting view of the following area. ========================== JUDGES OF THE UNDERWORLD ========================== Open the Green Orb Chest if you need health. Grab onto the grapple point and swing, then jump and glide to the platform below. Take a look around here first if you'd like. There isn't much to do though. There is some treasure to find however. Go to the bottom of the circular stairs, where all the torches are and go off to the left side of the screen. There should be a broken staircase here. Jump this gap and continue toward the left. Here you should find two RED ORB CHESTS and one special chest with another GORGON EYE. This should be your third and extend your life bar! Schwing! Return to the main area now. Step on the plate in the center and read the message with R1. It guides you to an altar in the foreground. Read this to begin three trials you must pass to proceed. Trial 1: The Condemned ---------------------- This is very easy. Just kill all the people and the hands of Hades that will try to convert them into souls. It will take a while but there's really nothing dangerous about this trial. Just keep hacking away when the hands appear and then the people. You can grab them with Circle and rip them apart with Triangle to go faster. Return to the altar for the next one. Trial 2: The Lost ----------------- Not too tricky. The goal is to defeat the enemies while preventing the souls from walking up to the glowing fire ahead. If they do, they'll turn into Hades soldiers. The minotaur provides the biggest challenge. You'll want to focus your attacks on the souls, but let the harder hitting parts of your combos hit the Minotaur too. The Minotaur gets extremely annoying with his high health and his attacks. His attacks are hard to predict and parry without enough practice. Letting the souls turn into enemies isn't the worst thing that can happen. They can give you health when defeated and you can also use the Battering Ram move to hit other enemies. A second Minotaur will show up. Use Army of Sparta but try not to use it too much, as well as combos to finish it off. Trial 3: The Chosen ------------------- This is the first more challenging fight of the game. Start by focusing on the Gorgon. The Harpies will get annoying but try to defeat the Gorgon first and quickly. Try to keep saving your magic if you can. Defeat the Gorgon, then focus on the Minotaurs and the Harpies. Use Combat Grapples to keep the Minotaurs off balance so they don't gang up on you. If you saved enough magic, use Army of Sparta here a few times to help. Once the fighting is done, step on the plate again in the center. The judges open a doorway for you off to the right. Head over there. Notice to the left of the opening, there is a strange little area here with dust, some sort of distorted space. It might be hard to notice without an HDTV but if you can see it, keep this phenomenon in mind for later. Open the chests inside this alcove, then step through the blue portal. You'll arrive at another portal. From here, go right (there's nothing to the left) and you'll see a few pots you can bust open for Red Orbs. There is another little area of distorted space but again, you can't do anything about it yet. Head along the path and you'll come to an area with a tunnel nearby. Coming down the tunnel are two Minotaurs, taking their sweet time I might add. There are two oil pots in the tunnel. Take aim at them with the Bow of Apollo and fire a charged shot to set them off like proximity bombs that will deal good damage to the Minotaurs. Flick the Right Analog Stick to change your target so you can hit both pots. Fire a few arrows at the Minotaurs to further weaken them, then finish them off when they get close. Break open some pots here, then go down that tunnel they came from. Turn right immediately when you clear the tunnel. There will be another portal here. Use it to arrive at a closed off area with a special chest containing a MINOTAUR HORN, as well as a note and a lever. Use the lever to make a quick shortcut. Go back through the portal you just emerged from. Proceed forward, toward some breakable pots. Ahead, double jump and glide over the large gap to reach a platform with a RED ORB CHEST. Jump to the nearby walkway platform next. Walk to the left for a cutscene. Break the two pots here after the scene, then jump onto the chain here and make your way across. No enemies will attack, fortunately. On the other side, drop down, then slide down the vines here. On the floor below, break open some pots before entering the next corridor. Read the note if you wish, then break some more pots. Slide through the narrow passage here and on the other end, break the pots in the foreground. In the next area, some female soldiers will attack. They explode when defeated so keep your distance and shoot the oil pots near them to help you. You can also weaken them a bit, then finish them off with a special Grab move. Be sure to break the pots off to the right of where you enter and the RED ORB CHEST on the left. In the next room, you'll find a Green/Blue Orb Chest, as well as two sets of pots in the foreground, and a note. Start by shooting the bramble in the back with the Bow of Apollo to create a large Icarus Vent. When you're ready, jump in and activate your wings to rise up. On the second level, two more of those soldiers will attack. The Bow of Apollo works well, as do grapples. Finish them, then activate the nearby lever. Immediately turn around and jump to reach the platform which will quickly start to rise up and away from you. On this level, pull out one of the bramble pots from the left. Three more of the soldiers attack, so use this pot against them by shooting it. Finish them off, then grab a new pot from the wall. Pull it to the right, where the elevator stopped when you got here. Leave it there and then jump back down to the previous level. Use the lever again and board the elevator. While it's up here for a limited time, pull the bramble pot onto it. Ride back down with the pot and two more soldiers attack. Avoid shooting the pot and just shoot them instead. Kill them then go back to the bramble pot. You may be unsure of what to do with it, but just pull it toward the back wall. There is an opening here where you glided up with the Icarus Wings. Push the bramble pot off this ledge. This will make the vent even stronger. Jump back in and use the wings to glide up even higher. You'll latch onto a platform and bring it down with you. While attached to the bottom of this platform, move toward the camera to have Kratos flip onto the adjacent side and climb on top of it. You should be level with a door here in the wall. Open it up to find a secret area with many, many hands of Hades. Destroy them with some combos to get Red Orbs. Open the RED ORB CHEST in the back, as well as the special chest with the PHOENIX FEATHER. You should also get the "Mr. Hand" Trophy here. Jump back into the vent and let the air take you all the way up to the top. Enter the opening and take this winding hall to a new area. Restore your health and magic reserves with the Green and Blue Orb Chests nearby, then ascend the staircase. Go off to the right to find some pots and a RED ORB CHESt. Head to the left now. A new enemy will emerge in a pair of stone statues with hammers. They pack a punch but their attacks can be parried with just a little practice and timing. Try to time your blocks at the moment of impact to parry. Other than that, unleash powerful combos on them (remember that combos ending in Triangle make enemies stagger and deal the most damage). Army of Sparta will help too if you need to use it. When they're weakened, grab them for a two button prompt QTE finisher. Defeat the undead soldiers that emerge, as you wait for another statue enemy to appear. One is much easier to take on than two, so have a blast. Once he's dead, open the pots and then venture off to the left. Go down the stairs and then jump into the opening and glide all the way forward to reach the platform with the Green Orb Chest. Use it, then run down a short passage to reach a new area. Drop down here and open some pots, then ascend the stairs to the very large figure ahead of you. =========== The Forge =========== [gw03] Watch the cutscene. Hephaestus isn't much help, but that's ok. Explore the right side to find a save point and some pots to break open. Activate the lever here to open a gate at the bottom of the stairs. Go over to the far left side of his workshop first to find a door with the design of Hades on it. You can't open it but there are some pots and a special chest containing a GORGON EYE. Go back down the stairs you took to reach Hephaestus and go through the newly opened gate. Take this to an area with a rotating platform that can be moved using the crank in the center. Rotate the platform by holding R1 and turning the stick. Focus on Kratos and his position since the statues and pillars can block your view a bit. Align the opening of this platform with the right side of the area. Follow this path. It leads to a dead end with a large pack of cerberus pups. There's a lot of them so you can get a good combo, but they make it hard when they grab on and bite Kratos. Use Army of Sparta since there's so many but don't waste it. If you grab them, you can use that to get more Red Orbs, especially if you get a good combo. Open the RED ORB CHEST tucked away to the right here and head back. Operate the crank again to place the opening in line with the bramble in the back. Shoot it to burn it and go through this opening. There's an alternating Green/Blue Orb Chest ahead. Open it at the right time to get what you need, be it health or magic. Break a few pots along this path and you'll end up getting a cutscene eventually. You get the Blade of Olympus back. Schwing! Let the enemies here feel its fury by activating Rage of Sparta with L3 + R3. Once it's over, finish off any that remain. Drop down to the ledge below. Pilfer these chests if you didn't before. Use the grapple hooks to return to the near-entrance of Hades. Make your way to the large platform where two guardian Cerebus dogs are waiting. This fight can be tough. You want to try to focus most of your attacks on one. Since Kratos' blades can hit with a wide range, you will probably hit both of them with some of your attacks anyway. Try to kill one off as fast as possible though, since you can regain health. Each time you weaken one, you can use a QTE to sever its heads. Its flame attack is easy to dodge, you have a quick moment to evade. The headbutt attack is too fast to time properly. Avoid the flame attacks and keep letting them have it with the Blades of Exile. Once one goes down, it gets a lot easier. Finish off the other one with ease, then focus on the far wall. Burn down the bramble, then lift the door open and enter. A few enemies will get in your way, but they're not too much to worry about. Try to get a good combo on them. Open the chest in the corner to get what you need more, health or magic, then enter the next door. ================= Palace of Hades ================= Before going any further, let's say we upgrade, shall we? If you haven't already, that is. You should hopefully have somewhere in the neighborhood of 8500 to 9000 Red Orbs. Hopefully. You only have two things to upgrade at the moment. The Blades of Exile are a no brainer, 4000 orbs for that. The Bow of Apollo is 2500 orbs and it only has one upgrade so you might as well get that too if you can afford it. Spend whatever is left on the Blades of Exile or save them for later when you have more stuff. Start by going off to the right side of the room and slipping into the alcove here. Destroy the scaffolding and the pots for Red Orbs, then use the Green Orb Chest if you need to. Grab the wooden cart with the stones on it and push it out into the main room. Push it over to the left side of the room where there is a big wheel. Harpies will attack you so deal with them first. Use your bow and blades to deal with them. Turn your attention back to the wheel when done. Interact with it to spin it and open a gate above. This "switch" is timed so to keep it open, grab the cart with the stones and place it under the wheel. With the wheel rigged to not move, you can move on. Climb the tree in the center and then jump to the platform on the right. Go through the opened gate to encounter some Minotaurs and dogs. Grab the dogs to kick them at the Minotaurs (that's cruel, but effective!) and soften them up. Army of Sparta will also help a lot because the Minotaurs are just really annoying. Finish them off and then pry open the nearby Blue Orb chest. Go up the ramp on the right and head down the long corridor to reach a new area. Operate the crank to raise up the casket of Persephone. If you'd like some back story on that, play Chains of Olympus on the PlayStation Portable. Anywho, start by taking a look around. The far right corner has a RED ORB CHEST and a chest with Red and Blue Orbs. The far left corner holds some pots and a ladder. Climb the ladder to reach a pair of RED ORB CHESTS and some pots. To the right of these chests is a special chest with a PHOENIX FEATHER. It should be your third one, so score an upgrade to the magic meter. Return to the front of the room now. Your goal here is to get inside Hades' chamber which is located conveniently enough inside the statue. Therefore, Persephone's casket becomes your battering ram. Go up to the pedestal and hit R1 to try it out. The arms of the Hades statue prevent you from doing anything, but it will release two ladders on the sides of the room. That's a start. A wave of enemies will crowd you. Start fending them off with your blades, using the Bow of Apollo on the Harpies. When that's over, head over to the left and climb that ladder. To solve this puzzle, you need to place the arms of the statue in the cuffs on the walls and trap them there. We'll figure out how to do this. After you climbed the ladder, ignore the wheel up here and look for the lever in the corner. Operate this to ride an elevator down. Look for a gate you can open here. Grab that cart you used to rig the wheel switch here and pull it out. You don't need it here anymore with that shortcut you just opened. A large group of Harpies get in your way. Slowly try to take them down with the Bow or air attacks like air Cyclone of Chaos. They get annoying but will go down eventually. Take the cart into the previous room and load it on the elevator. Restore your health using the Green Orb Chest, then take the elevator back up. Push the cart near the wheel, but don't use it yet. Drop back down to the main room and use the crank in front of the statue. This will open the cuffs but only for a limited time so get moving! Climb back up the left ladder and turn the wheel up here. The cuff will eventually close on the arm. This keeps it there, but you need to open the cuffs again to get the other arm and this would free the first arm. By pushing the stones underneath the wheel, you'll keep this arm in place, so make sure you do that. With that accomplished, head back to the crank and operate it again. The cuffs open. If you pushed the stones underneath the wheel, the first arm won't move. Quickly head over to the right ladder and climb it. Find the wheel up here and use it to move this arm into place. This will trap both arms and solve the puzzle. Well, there is one last step. Break open pots up here and open the Blue Orb Chest if necessary. Return to the front of the room and approach the altar to have some fun with the casket again (that sounds wrong...). Kratos shows his insensitive side by using it to break open the statue and gain entrance to the next big boss fight! _ _ _ | | | | | | | |_| | __ _ __| | ___ ___ | _ |/ _` |/ _` |/ _ | __| | | | | (_| | (_| | __|__ \ \_| |_/\__,_|\__,_|\___|___/ Now that's a big one! The lord of the Underworld won't pull any punches and he shows that, opening the fight by digging his claws into you, literally! Jam on L1 and R1 to avoid Hades ripping out your soul. Now the fight truly begins. Hades will use his weapons, the Claws of Hades to attack you and they have good range. He'll start by slamming them into the ground every so often and that can be a little tough to dodge while you're attacking him. He will also use a stomp attack too though and he pauses before using it, giving you ample time to evade. The Claw attacks can be dodged too without too much practice. You can try to stay behind him to give you more room to avoid him while you attack. Stick with the Plume of Prometheus as well as the Cyclone of Chaos to do good damage to him. Keep evading his attacks and then coutner when you get an opening. His stomp attack leaves him open for a few seconds. The Army of Sparta will also do some damage if you're close. Deal enough damage and Hadeswill jump to the back of the arena. He uses his claws to sweep the floor. Jump over these attacks and get close to him. He'll still do the attack, so keep airborne and use the Cyclone of Chaos. When you have the chance, perform the Plume of Prometheus on the ground. He'll use a few other attacks while you're right in his face but just focus on attacking. Once weakened, grab onto Hades to start a QTE. Mash Circle to pry off a piece of his flesh. Strangely enough, Hades will try and summon it back to him and also summon the hands of Hades. Ignore them and attack the flesh picee so that it doesn't return to him. It's a slippery devil so keep your attacks short and don't let it get away from you. Succeed and you'll have made a good first step in this fight. Only problem is... Hades grows even bigger! He introduces a new and very impressive attack. The ground will become covered in darkness. A few moments later, a small patch of the ground will be freed, a "safe zone" if you will. Run to this area and stand there to avoid the onslaught of chains that will punish the arena. When he returns to fight, unleash some more combos. He'll use his Claws to pluck at the ground and this attack is hard to avoid unless you keep moving. Just keep hitting him to make him retreat to the back again. He'll use a more linear attack with his Claws, so dodge to the sides as you get closer to him. Use Cyclone of Chaos, Army of Sparta or even Rage of Sparta to start hurting him again. Hades might pick you up and throw you away from him, so just run back. Weaken him again to start another QTE and pry off another piece of flesh. Stop this one from getting to him too. After that, he will use the chain attack again so be ready to flee to the safe spot. You're almost there. Hades will use a new attack, making Claws spring up from the ground where you are standing. If you keep moving, you'll avoid these easily. When it's over, he'll be open to attack for a few seconds so let him have it. Keep this up to weaken him again for another QTE. The fight moves on to its final and most impressive phase, a good ol' tug-of-war match! To win, you have to pull Hades into the River Styx. You won't be able to just pull him in though. You have to hit him enough first. Meanwhile, he'll be pulling on you the entire time and attacking you. Dodge his attacks with the Right Analog Stick, it's not too hard. In between his attack bursts, get in some hits of your own. Keep the Left Analog Stick pulled back so that he doesn't pull you into the river. If you fall in, you can still hit Circle repeatedly to climb out. Keep hitting him again and again and dodge until eventually he weakens. Hit Circle to grab him and then tap Circle when prompted to finish him. You gain the Claws of Hades! Schwing! A very cool looking weapon. Try it out on the enemies that appear, but don't get too comfortable. Look who's back! Bigger and uglier! Ew, you should keep your helmet on. In this form he is pretty easy. He'll swipe platform with his arms, or slam it with his fist. Most of these attacks don't cover much of the area, so you can dodge or even just avoid them without doing much. When he leans his body back and charges up a breath attack, go to the sides of the platform and grapple to the other side. Start attacking again and just repeat this until he weakens. You'll get another QTE that ends with you hitting L1 and R1 repeatedly. Check. Mate. With the Soul of Hades, you can now go into the River Styx without penalty. Well that's certainly good. Wouldn't want to undo the hard work we've already made in restoring Kratos' abilities. Take a swim and dive right in. Before going anywhere, dive straight down to the bottom and you should find an item. The Helm of Hades. x-----Godly Possession 2/10: Hades' Helm-----x Swim forward and you can go through Hades' corpse which is both cool and disgusting. On the other side, rise to the surface and jump out onto dry land. Here you'll get a tutorial on the special ability of the Claws of Hades. You can use them to summon apparitions of enemies to attack for you for a very brief moment. The default one now is the Cerberus. Try them all out since you have temporarily unlimited magic. To switch, hit Start and then Triangle to bring up a list of souls. Select one and then you can summon it with R2. To get new souls available, you need to spend Red Orbs to upgrade the Claws of Hades. Once the enemies are dead, jump into the next stretch of water. Swim for a long while through a tunnel. You'll eventually emerge in a large room with a gate blocking your way. Jump out of the water to reach a lever above the gate which of course, opens it. Swim through. Rise up to return to... =========== The Forge =========== After a scene, you can move on. The cutscene showed you a gate in Hephaestus' workshop but don't be confused. You can't reach it now, period. Instead, use the save point if need be and then proceed down the stairs leading away from Hephaestus. This takes you back to a familiar area. Try to use the crank and some of the statues will come to life (you were probably wondering why they didn't before). Joining them will be some dogs. Use Cyclone of Chaos, but sparingly since it's a long attack and leaves you open to the statues. Use Plume of Prometheus on them and also Army of Sparta or your new Claws of Hades summoning if you wish. Once they're all dead, turn the crank so that the opening is aligned with the top exit. Head down the familiar path to where you recovered the Blade of Olympus. Grapple your way across the gap again. You can see a newly opened portal near the entrance. Head that way. Two groups of archers try to stop you but they are a minor annoyance. Step through the portal. ===================== The City of Olympia ===================== [gw04] You'll be dropped right into the start of the sequence from the God of War III demo. There will be a host of changes however, one of which is just around the corner. Head that way now. An old friend appears and needs a "hand". Instead of giving Gaia a hand, Kratos would rather take one. Strike at the roots holding Gaia's hand together and slice them off one by one until one remains. When given the chance, hit Circle to pull out the Blade of Olympus, then hold L2 and R2 to finish the job. Lift Gaia's severed hand out of the way after that. You'll get the "Handy Man" Trophy for your effort. Approach the door here and hit R1. The doors will open if you can kill all the enemies. They are heavier armored foes, and will not yield to grab moves until weakened. When those opportunties arrive, don't waste them. Make use of the Battering Ram attack. Also use Army of Sparta and the Claws of Hades if you are so inclined. Head through the doors into another familiar area from the demo. Shoot the Harpy with the Bow of Apollo to bring it close and use the Combat Grapple to latch onto it and hitch a ride. Jump to the next platform when you get close enough. Turn the corner and you'll see another Harpy. Don't use it yet though. Drop down the pit to find a RED ORB CHEST. Climb back up and ride on the Harpy. When you get close to another Harpy, it will have a blue targeting glow. Jump to it to grab onto this one and take this one over to the next platform. There's an easy to miss platform right here that holds some goodies. You should see it ahead and a bit to the right after that second Harpy ride. To reach it, wait for one of the Harpies to follow you onto the platform. Try to lure it closer and then grapple it. Ride it toward the platform and then jump to reach it. Here you can reward yourself with the plunder of a RED ORB CHEST and a GORGON EYE and MINOTAUR HORN. Schwing! Near a save point you will find a Blue Orb chest and Green Orb Chest. Stock up and save, then head into the next area. Glide over the gap and meet the enemies here. Try to build a good combo by using Cyclone of Chaos and then Battering Ram when it becomes available. A Centaur will appear soon after, along with more enemies. Focus on him and hopefully you won't have too much trouble. Use Army of Sparta or summons from the Claws of Hades to help yourself out if necessary. Try your hardest to perform the QTE on the Centaur like you hopefully did the first one. Finish off any remaining foes, then proceed down the path on the left. A new area should be blown open as you see Helios harrassing the fire titan like a noisy fly. Try to operate the ballista here and a new frightening foe will emerge from the shadows. The Chimera is a tough customer. If you've played the demo you have an advantage, hopefully. You want to basically abuse Plume of Prometheus on this thing. It will swipe at you and attack with its tail but it might give you ample time to attack, especially if you can corner it. After a while, you can grab it and hit a one button prompt to chop off its tail. The Chimera stands on its hind legs and starts breathing fire in three bursts. When it does this, just get out of its way and let it attack all three times before going back in. Keep attacking and then dodging and eventually you can do another QTE by tapping Circle to stab it repeatedly. Back on all fours, the beast will swipe at you and also unleash a wide fire attack that moves out at you. Dodging it is not hard, it's just that you won't be able to if you are constantly attacking. Keep up your assault on the beast and eventually it should go down though. Perform the last QTE and finish it off in epic fashion. Recharge using the nearby Green Orb Chest. Now, about that other fight... Operate the ballista and release it when Helios passes in front of you and goes back toward the titan. You should hit him. If not, try again and alter your timing. Uberpwned, Helios winds up far away. Return to the center area. Shoot the Harpy closest to you and bring it over. Use the Combat Grapple to hitch a ride and make your way over. Jump from one Harpy to another and you'll make it to the other side. Here, a few enemies are waiting but they prove to be no threat. Cyclone of Chaos and Plume of Prometheus work fine. Use grab moves when they're weakened, etc. Also, see if you can get better at your parrying skills, timing your blocks when the enemies strike. There are a few pots and a Green Orb Chest here for you. There's also two gates to raise. One has an oil/bramble pot behind it, the other is your exit. You can free the pot and take it with you but it's not necessary at all. If you do, push it through the other gate when you open it and toward the intersection in the next hall. There's tons of pots to break here. Turn left at the intersection for more as well as a RED ORB CHEST. Now go the other way. If you brought the explosive pot, push it down the hall as a horde of enemies come at you. Push it so that it's close enough to them and fire a quick charged arrow to set it off. It will weaken the enemies, but again, it's really not necessary that you use it. Using Battering Ram here will work wonders so use that. Finish the rest off and then continue. At the next intersection, break open some more pots and baskets containing Red Orbs, then hang a left again for more and yet another RED ORB CHEST. Go to the right next and out the door. Cross the bridge, at the end of which you will find two chests for Green and Blue Orbs to restore yourself. Start climbing up the wall, jumping up on the right side to grab the ledge. Climb up and then start to sidle along the wall here. A poor citizen climbs out by Kratos lends him a hand. Whoopsie. Keep going and jump the gap to a new wall. Just climb straight up from here to find your man. Helios has certainly seen better days. Before Doctor Kratos can attend to his medical needs, a group of heavily armored sentries protect him in a Phalanxing position. Try to attack them and it won't work; their shields are just too tough. What to do...? If only solutions just fell out of the sky! Oh wait, apparently they do, in the form of a giant cyclops! How can this beast help you? Well, you'll find out soon. It's the only thing you can attack now anyway and if you don't, it'll turn you into a slab of meat. The Cyclops is an enemy you don't want to get too aggressive with. Mashing on the attack buttons constantly will only get you hurt. Keep your combos short and sweet (Plume of Prometheus) and then evade his attacks. The Cyclops has a two hit combo comprised of a kick, then a club smash. If the kick hits you, you can still evade the club so be sure to do that. Attack in between evades and weaken it for a QTE. Succeed and you'll gain control over the Cyclops. Awwwww yeah! Set your sights on the phalanx group. Smash any enemies in your way and then break down Helios' protection. Start swinging away the other clustered enemies. This ride won't last very long so make the most of it. Eventually, you'll have to finish the Cyclops off. Tap Circle repeatedly when that happens. Mop up the enemies that remain and use the Green Orb Chest nearby to refill any lost health. Approach Helios when you're ready for a quick scene. Helios decides to flash Kratos. Err, I mean, he blinds him. In this little unique sequence, you'll control Kratos' right arm and hand with the Right Analog Stick. You need to use his hand to block the light so that Kratos can get closer. It's a little tricky at first, but try to get a feel for how his arm moves when you use the stick. To be most successful, get Kratos' palm centered in front of the light. Eventually he'll get closer and closer. You get a QTE with Helious. You'll jam on Circle a few times, then hit L1 and R1 repeatedly, followed by Circle again to finally rip that sucker's head off. With the Head of Helios in hand, you now have a new nifty item. Switch to it by holding L2 and hitting Triangle. That "equips" it. From there, you only have to hold L2 to use it. To switch back to Apollo's Bow, you need to hit L2 and Square. The far wall here is a special secret entrance. Use the Head of Helios and then move the Right Analog Stick to aim the light to reveal the entrance. The Head can also reveal other secrets that we'll get to later. Before heading in though, let's take care of a few things first. First, search just to the right of Helios' beheaded body for an item. x-----Godly Possession 3/10: Helios' Shield-----x Next, there is something on the right side of this platform. Go over to the right, and walk a little bit toward the foreground. You should barely notice another one of those strange distorted spaces I've been pointing out. You now have the means to reveal what it is. Point the Head of Helios at it and it reveals a special chest! This one has a MINOTAUR HORN. Scwhing! Keep your eye out for these, or just let me tell you where they are. Now, one last thing before we move on... upgrading! If you have the orbs for it, I'd recommend getting an upgrade to the Blades of Exile and the Claws of Hades. The Claws of Hades upgrade can wait though, so that's up to you, if you like using them. The Head of Helios upgrade is cheap at 2500 orbs but it won't make as big of an impact as other upgrades. Anyways, open the doors and enter the cave. Hold the Head of Helios as you go, to keep some light in this dark place. Two sentries will attack you. As the game suggests, stun them by tapping Triangle when you're holding the head. You can also try the Solar Flare by holding Triangle. When enemies have been hit with the light, you'll be able to see them a lot easier and not need the head until they're dead. Proceed ahead into a new open area. ============= Path of Eos ============= As you exit the corridor and approach this more open room, hug the left wall. Before you actually get out into the open, you should see a well hidden niche on the left holding a special chest. Open it for a GORGON EYE. Ahead is a Green Orb Chest if you need it. There's also an altar near by if you want to get a view. Keep moving, using the save point if needed. In the next room are some pots and scaffolding for Red Orbs. Go down the next hall, clutching the Head of Helios. You'll encounter two more enemies. Defeat them, using the Head to help you. You'll be sealed off in the next area and some Harpies will attack you in the darkness. Try using Solar Flare to stun them all and light things up. Start picking them off with Combat Grapples, aerial attacks or the Bow of Apollo. Shine the Head of Helios on the far left wall to reveal a secret passage. Go inside and you'll come to a gap and a chain to climb across. Don't jump on it yet though. Instead push forward as if you were gonna just jump into the chasm below the chain. Kratos should climb down the wall below. Slide down and you will find a RED ORB CHEST and another chest with a PHOENIX FEATHER. Climb back up. Cross the chain and deal with the baddies in your way. If they grab you, be sure to rock the Left Analog stick back and forth to free yourself. Drop down once you get to the far end. Open the Green Orb Chest, then climb the platforms. Defeat the lone enemy inside the next passage. You'll come to a gap after that. Use the Solar Flare move to get some steady light in here. Next, jump the gap and glide with the Icarus Wings. Another enemy will attack on the other side, so just deal with him. Proceed through to finally reach a lighted area and also a cutscene. After this, find the Harpy and shoot it with an arrow to bring it over. Grapple onto it and ride it back towards its original perch. Jump off at the last moment to get onto the platform. Run across this platform and you can see an adjacent rocky platform above. Don't jump to this just yet though. Jump to the right across a gap that isn't immediately apparent. On the other side are two RED ORB CHESTS. Jump back across and continue. Up ahead, you'll come under attack from two Wraiths. Yes, they're back. These God of War staple enemies are not quite as annoying anymore thanks to the Combat Grapple. Wraiths attack with their blades, both close and long range. They also have an annoying habit of burrowing through the ground to attack, making them temporarily unhittable. No longer! Use the Combat Grapple when they are in the ground to snatch them right out. It works better when they're not right next to you. Wraiths take a lot of hits. Be sure to keep pulling them out of the ground and then attacking. A good way to really put the hurting on them is to launch them into the air with Olympic Ascension and then spam Cyclone of Chaos on them in the air. Once one dies another will appear. Kill the last two and move on. Up ahead, you'll come to a bridge area. To the right are two chests with Green and Blue Orbs. Further right, are some pots and scaffolding to break for Red Orbs. Pay close attention to the wall behind the scaffolding. If you get close, the camera should shift to give you a better view. Cast the Head of Helios on this wall and aim the light around to reveal a secret chest. Open this up for a GORGON EYE. Now go left, across the bridge. You'll be attacked by more Wraiths, as well as Archers on the far bridge. I suggest trying to take out the archers first by aiming at the nearby explosive pots with your bow. It might be tough though to aim at them. Deal with the Wraiths as you did before and note that if you knock them off the bridge, you won't get any Red Orbs. Once the barrier is down, walk to the left side. You'll find two chests with Green and Blue Orbs. Here there is a very well hidden chest though that I found amazingly, by accident. To the left of the two chests there are some wooden beams and stuff. Well walk toward these, hugging the back wall. Kratos will no longer be in view but there will be an R1 button prompt. Hold R1 to open the chest here for a PHOENIX FEATHER. The next area has a large chain and an Icarus Vent. Before spreading your wings, take a look around. Off to the right are some pots and a RED ORB CHEST. Behind the chain is a false wall you can reveal by using the Head of Helios. This one also has a RED ORB CHEST. Use the save point and then deploy the Icarus Wings to fly! ====================== The Chain of Balance ====================== This flying sequence is fun, but perhaps a bit tricky the very first time. If you don't like the flight controls, you can always play with them in the menu until you're comfortable. You'll have to dodge pillars, platforms and other debris as you zip quickly through this tunnel. There are many gaps though so it shouldn't be too hard. Obviously, the more health you have, the better off you will be. When you reach the top, get ready for an epic button prompt sequence. After that, you'll land on a platform. The next platform threatens to crumble under your feet so when you land on it, proceed quickly to the next one. Get to the wall at the end and climb straight up. From here, keep your eyes pointed above and watch for the flaming rocks falling from above. Jump to the sides quickly with X and the Left Analog Stick to avoid getting hit. Proceed to climb the wall over to the left and then hop across a few more platforms. You'll have to look for a grapple hook to swing across to reach a new platform. From there, climb the next wall. Again watch out for the rocks. Climb this big wall up and then over to the right. It'll take a little bit to get all the way over. Climb down and set your feet on the next platform eventually. Before going any further, cast the light of the Head of Helios on a nearby distorted space. It reveals a hidden chest with a PHOENIX FEATHER. Continue on to find some more grapple points. Hit R1 as necessary and you'll take to the sky again. This flight is a little tougher than the first. Luckily, if you played the demo this is pretty much the exact tunnel from there so that might help perhaps. Look for the gaps in the columns you want to slip between and other escape routes. When you get to the areas where the tunnel is blocked by platforms, watch carefully for debris to creat openings for you to go through. In the final area, you need to dodge flaming rocks. This isn't too hard, but you need to account for the fact that the rocks will bounce off the walls. Just get past those and you're home free. ============= The Caverns ============= [gw05] Take note of the gold dust on the right side of this large platform you land on. Explore this area and use the Head of Helios to reveal the chest in the dust. It has a MINOTAUR HORN. Now turn your attention to the bramble in the back. Shoot it with the Bow of Apollo to start a mechanism that will move you around a bit. When it's over, use the grapple point above you. Swing from here and try to land on the small platform to the right. You can hit another grapple point. Swing and jump to the next one which will be behind Kratos. This last swing is a little trickier but try to land on the large platform ahead of you. Shoot the bramble here too and things start moving again. You won't be alone anymore though. Some enemies come out of the woodwork and attack. They should be easy to handle by now. Try to get a good combo going and use Battering Ram, Cyclone of Chaos and so on. Don't forget about the Head of Helios either. Eventually, two armed Minotaurs appear. They'll set their sights on the chain holding this large cube up in the air and start hitting it. They're trying to cut it off and if they succeed, it's game over. Stop this at all costs. Hit them with Plume of Prometheus, Valor of Hercules or Combat Grapples. Keep them off the chains at all costs. Army of Sparta will come in handy too. If you've become better at parrying with the Golden Fleece that will help too when they attack you. Parrying them and countering knocks them away which helps keep them back. Once you've killed them, pay attention to the platform you're approaching. There are archers perched on top. Try to slay them fast by aiming at them with your own bow. There are some archers grouped in three on both sides and if you aim at the center one with a charged arrow, the others will die too. Try to take them out before two more Minotaurs appear. Again, the focus is to prevent either one from attacking the chain. Combat Grapple helps pull them away if you're at a distance. Parrying, will again, help a lot if you've gotten better at it. Use Army of Sparta if they get too close and just lay it on with Plume and Valor of Hercules. After they fall, more sentries and a Cerberus appear. Attack the Cerberus and weaken it to start the QTE. Suceed and you can ride it. As soon as that happens, several Minotaurs appear. Use the Cerberus' flame attacks, especially the Triangle attack when they are all bunched up together. This will slay the Minotaurs fast and easy. Anyone order flame broiled beef? If any Minotaurs are left, finish them off yourself with combos and Army of Sparta. After that, the cube platform comes to rest near another. On the adjacent one is a mysterious figure. Jump over the gap and approach for a scene. Boy, there's someone who loves hearing himself talk. In any case, begin climbing the chain. It will be a long climb, luckily circumvented by some time lapses. Eventually, you'll reach the top and... ====================== The Flame of Olympus ====================== At the top, jump off the chain. Enter the large room ahead and then approach the object in the center. A scene will start up. After that, take a look around. To the left is a locked door with two chests beside it for Green and Blue Orbs. Use these if you wish. Search more toward the back and look for an area with a chain much like where you came in from. The back wall has frame-like sections like for paintings. If you shine the Head of Helios on the left section, you will reveal a mini motherlode. Inside are three RED ORB CHESTS and a special chest containing a GORGON EYE. Schwing! There are also some cobalt blue rocks blocking you from something else. Hmm, we can't do anything about it just yet but remember it for later. Return to the entrance and pay attention to the left wall. It has more frames and altars. Shine the Head of Helios on the frames to reveal paintings. After that you can read the inscriptions on the altars. After you read a few of these, a scene will start up. Follow Hermes out the door, using the save point if you'd like. Another scene will start up when you get close enough. And so begins what you could consider an extravagant game of cat and mouse. The ever agile Hermes will flee down the side of the building and escape. Follow him by jumping from the opening in the railing and gliding with the Icarus Wings. Approach the wall here and climb on. Proceed to slide down and you'll enter a new area. ================== Olympian Citadel ================== [gw06] When you can't slide down any further, hold down on the Left Analog Stick and hit X to jump down lower. Slide until you see a gap in the railing on your right. Lean over and then jump. While in the air, hit the grapple point. On the bridge, jump over the two gaps. The bridge will collapse after that and you'll have to climb. This part can be a bit annoying because it requires you to be fast. Hit any people ahead of you with Triangle or else you can't climb any higher. Hit X to climb up faster and keep moving. Once you reach the top, pull yourself up and give chase to Hermes again. Follow him up the wall, climbing from ledge to ledge and then moving over. Climb the ladder up and keep moving after him, going to the right. Pull yourself up to get past the statue, then drop down again to get under the low overhang. Drop down to a lower ledge and then from here, you'll need to jump a few gaps but as with others in the climbing sections, they're all automatic so all you need to do is lean Kratos and hit the X button. Eventually you come to another bridge. Follow Hermes along as he does his best Flash impression. At some point you will encounter a few enemies. Slay them with a few combos, then jump to the next platform with the grapple point on it. Grab on as you and Hermes are taken to a new area. Up here, look for the nearby lever and operate it. This sends Hermes safely to a bridge. Use the chain and swing from it by grappling. Time your jump at the end of your forward swing and quickly double jump and glide to make it over. Give chase and the bridge will collapse--of course. Hit two grapple points to make it across. Run forward a bit, then jump and swing again on the next grapple point. Double jump and glide again. Here you'll find some people and a few enemies. Kill them if you wish, but find Hermes eventually. Climb the ladder after he seals himself off from you. When you can't climb any higher, jump across to the right. Climb up, then jump back and pull yourself up from there. Chase Hermes to the catapult area. Operate the crank here to position it. Then jump up and interact with it to launch it. Hit the one button QTE prompt to hitch a very impressive ride. After the scene, you'll be in a room with all the debris. Approach the statue's head in the back. Walk around the right side of the head and search the area between the back of the head and the wall. You should find an item. x-----Godly Possession 4/10: Hermes' Coin-----x Walk over to the left and note the trail of blood. Follow it out of this room. A Green Orb Chest is waiting downstairs. Turn right and jump over the next gap. Turn right again and enter the next room above. _ _ | | | | | |_| | ___ _ __ _ __ ___ ___ ___ | _ |/ _ \ '__| '_ ` _ \ / _ | __| | | | | __/ | | | | | | | __|__ \ \_| |_/\___|_| |_| |_| |_|\___|___/ Hermes be nimble, Heremes be quick. Hermes couldn't avoid Kratos' Spartan Kick. Sorry about that. In any case, Hermes is indeed fast. He's hard to hit because of it. He'll run around the room and fly past you to get in a few quick jabs. Flailing endlessly will not produce much results. Try to aim precisely at where he is going and hit him with the end attack of a Plume of Prometheus. The hard hitting parts of your combo can stop him in his tracks. Also, Cyclone of Chaos works well since it has the range to hit Hermes even if you can't pinpoint him. Hermes will also sometimes jump and try to kick you. At these moments, time will slow and you'll be given a chance to do a Left Analog Stick prompt. Move it in the right direction to counter Hermes. Every time you hurt him enough, he'll give you Green Orbs. Considering Hermes isn't much of a damage threat already, that makes this fight significantly easy. Just keep attacking and weakening him until a short scene starts up. If you could draw a thought bubble next to Kratos' head in this scene, it would say "Nice boots. I think i'll take them." And so he does. Grab Hermes when prompted and you'll start with a Left Analog Stick prompt. After that, you need to move Kratos to slowly and dramatically walk toward the cowering Hermes. When you get close, grab him again. Hold Circle to prepare your swing, then release it to lop off his second leg. Behold, the boots of Hermes! With the boots, you now have the ability to sprint toward your enemies, knocking them into the air. Holding X at the end of this allows you to jump up with them to start some nice aerial combos. Even cooler is the ability to walk up certain walls. Sadly these opportunities, especially the horizontal wall run, do not appear as often as I would have liked. When you see a wall with the gold footprints on it, you can use the boots to run up or across. Try it out by running up the scaffolding, then across the next few walls. Eventually you'll come to some chests with orbs. Engage the enemies here too, using the boots' abilities if you'd like. You can also perform an aerial evade now with the boots, as the game will tell you. Head out into the next area. Open the Green Orb Chest if you need health, and the RED ORB CHEST for some more experience. Up the wooden walkway is another RED ORB CHEST. Turn right and use the Boots of Hermes to run up the wall. Jump to the next platform and run across this wall to the other side. After that wall run, look for an area in the bottom left corner of this platform to shine your Head of Helios on. It should reveal a chest with a PHOENIX FEATHER inside. Move toward the wall and look for another wall to run up. At the top, move toward the camera and there will be another spot on the right. From here, jump out into the open and glide off to the right, toward the platform with the chest you see. Head off to the left from there to see some enemies harassing more people. After the soldiers, an armored Cyclops will appear to attack you. It attacks by lunging or throwing its spiked ball at you. The timing for the latter can be difficult since as it prepares the attack, you might evade immediately. This will just get you hit though. When it prepares the attack, wait a moment, then dodge. Hammer this beast with Plume of Prometheus to keep it off balance and it will eventually weaken enough to begin the four button QTE sequence to finish it off. Two more will appear along with a few sentries. Focus on the Cyclopses and use your heavy attacks and Army of Sparta on them. Remember not to get too caught up in attacking and be ready to evade a lot. Eventually they will fall. The camera points you to the center door but ignore it for now. You might have noticed there was a barrier covering the left side of the area during the fight so there must be something over there. Head down that way to find two chests. One is a RED ORB CHEST, and the other has a MINOTAUR HORN. Return to that door and open it. ====================== The Flame of Olympus ====================== Step inside and use the save point. Go off to the left and defeat the archers. Plunder the chests ahead of you if you need health or magic. Keep going around, killing more archers. You'll come to an open corridor. Ignore it and go past to the left to find two RED ORB CHESTS. Now go down that corridor and you'll meet the Siren. Another returning customer. The Siren will hide in a sort of spirit form until you hit it with the light from the Head of Helios. Start by doing that, then attacking normally. If you are aggressive enough and hit with heavier attacks, the Sirens are easy to keep down. You have two grab options, the second of which finishes them for good. Defeat the next Siren and the other enemies, then continue down the hall. At the end, open the RED ORB CHEST, then ascend the spiral staircase. In this next room, before doing anything else, look around. Take the experience from the RED ORB CHEST on the left, and Green Orbs if necessary from the chest on the right. There are two Icarus Vents on either side too. Use the one on the left to find two platforms. One has a chest with a PHOENIX FEATHER, and the other has a RED ORB CHEST. To reach the opposite side, just jump onto the long platform in the center and take it across. The opposite side has a RED ORB CHEST toward the foreground. Return to that center platform up top now. It has four devices that can be shifted to rotate the panels below. The panels have pictures of a sword on them and need to be aligned properly. To solve this puzzle you'll need to spin these devices to align the right picture. So starting with the leftmost device here, do as follows: o Turn the leftmost device once. o Turn the third device (second from the right) three times o Turn the fourth device (rightmost) three times Now step on the small stage below and approach the machine with the button designs on it. Start this little minigame up and you'll have to hit the correct buttons as they pass the center section. You'll want to hit the button depicted just as it enters that center piece. This will become helpful for when the "notes" come in sucession. It gets tricky though. Sometimes there will be two buttons you have to hit at once. The first pair is Square and X, and the other is Triangle and Circle. Don't be fooled like I was initially at the position of the buttons on screen. The top to bottom positioning alsmost gives the illusion you need to hit Triangle and X but it's Square and X. Keep that in mind and practice it until you get it right. Pass this musical challenge and you'll solve the puzzle. The center platform becomes an elevator so use the new lever to operate it. When the elevator stops shielded enemies attack. Once again, you're completely helpless against these shields. Wait it out until a Gorgon appears. Attack her and get the QTE finisher to use the Gorgon's head and turn them to stone. Quickly destroy them and then another round appears. Again, use the Gorgon to your advantage. The elevator moves again after that is done with. The doors ahead of you open and so head on through to the main chamber. A staircase has appeared, which will take you to the new resting place of the Flame of Olympus and Pandora's Box. Approach the crank in front of it and try to move it to the left. Trying to rotate the crank ends in failure however as it gets stuck. The mechanism relies on the Chain of Balance, which is unfortunately held tightly in place by the three Judges down in Hades. Oh well. A new door opens though, so head over there. Slice your way through some archers to go deeper into the corridor. There, two Wraiths are waiting. Deal with them as you did the others. When they hide, pull them out of the ground, and try to keep them in the air and combo them to death. Descend the spiral staircase. When you reach the bottom look for the gold dust in the center. Use the Head of Helios on this spot to reveal a chest with a GORGON EYE inside. Proceed down the next corridor and out into the open arena for a scene. =========== The Forum =========== After the scene, prepare for yet another interesting looking boss fight. _ _ _ | | | | | | | |_| | ___ _ __ ___ _ _| | ___ ___ | _ |/ _ \ '__/ __| | | | |/ _ | __| | | | | __/ | | (__| |_| | | __|__ \ \_| |_/\___|_| \___|\__,_|_|\___|___/ The fight will start off with a bunch of undead soldiers. Cyclone of Chaos and Battering Ram will work very well, as will Army of Sparta, but don't use that too much. You want to save your magic here for the real fight. Once you've dealt with enough of them, Hercules steps down with his mighty gauntlets, the Nemean Cestus. Look familiar, demo players? First, he'll order his soldiers to grab you, which is tough to avoid. Break free and try to dodge Hercules' initial charge. From there, try to keep some distance between you and him and lash out at him. You'll want to keep some of the surrounding enemies from being a nuisance, so area attacks like Cyclone of Chaos and Army of Sparta will help hit them as well as Hercules. For Hercules himself though, you want to lay down pain with Plume of Prometheus and Valor of Hercules (how ironic) and so on. Feel free to mix things up a bit, using Claws of Hades to summon (I wouldn't get too crazy with that though), and the Boots of Hermes to knock all the lower soldiers up into the air. Hercules attacks with the gauntlets and they pack a mean punch. It's recommended you have your finger ready on that Right Analog Stick to evade. He starts with some regular punches and a two hit combo which later extends to three hits. It always ends with a ground pound. When he starts to attack, just back away and wait for it to end. Strike back with Plume or Valor to do some damage and just repeat. If he hits you with a hard jab it can send you flying into one of the spiked walls in the arena. You need to dislodge yourself by hitting L1 and R1 simultaneously in two consecutive sequences or else your health will drain out of you. Hit Hercules after evading his attacks and he should prepare a running attack. When he grabs you, mash Circle to reverse his momentum and you'll grab him instead. Now your movement will be fixed but you need to control the direction using the Left Analog Stick. Steer Hercules' body into one of the spike walls to deal damage. You'll need to repeat the process again. This time, Hercules extends his combo. It will have two ground pounds so don't get fooled and walk in after the first one because he'll hit you. Be very patient and wait for the second ground pound, then attack him. This isn't a bad time to deploy Rage of Sparta either. Pull out all the stops. Avoid his attacks and damage him enough again to have him lunge at you. Mash Circle again, reverse him and steer his body into one of the spiked walls. Hercules loses more armor and changes tactics yet again. This time he'll do a two punch combo followed by a ground pound, or just a ground pound on its own. Both are easy to avoid if you're not in a button mashing frenzy. Keep some distance and just lash out at him carefully. It will take a while to weaken him again so just keep at it. Eventually, Hercules will bang the Cestus together for a loud, disrupting and apparently blinding attack. He'll go off to boast in front of Hera, not taking the chance, for whatever reason to attack Kratos. Run up to him and grab him. Hit the QTE button prompt to steal one gauntlet, then a Left Analog Stick prompt to take the other. In this stage of the fight, you will use the Cestus to pound on Hercules but he is not defenseless. Vary between quick two or three jab combos and then evading his attacks. Just stay in long enough to hit him a few times before he punches back or grabs you. If he does, mash Circle to break free. He'll grab you at one point and throw you to the back railing. After that, Herc will grab a chunk of the wall and throw it at you. This isn't too hard to dodge though. Besides standard punches, you can also expend some of your magic meter to hit Hercules with a ground shockwave from the Cestus. Try it out. Just steer clear of his attacks and lunges and strike back and you should have no problem getting to the end. Hercules will throw you back and Kratos will almost fall off the platform. Mash Circle, followed by L1 and R1 to climb up. As Herc lifts the arena, Kratos runs up and leaps into the air. Hit the three buttons as the appear on screen and then mash Circle to give Hercules a facelift. If you're a bit squeemish, you might not want to look, it's gruesome. --- With the conclusion to that fierce battle, you'll have earned the Nemean Cestus. Probably the best weapon to use after your Blades of Exile. You'll end up in a sewer-like area. If you go over to Hercules' body, you can look again upon his fate. Yikes. Anyway, if you dive underwater beneath his body and swim to the bottom, you can find another item. x-----Godly Possession 5/10: Hercules' Shoulder Guard-----x Before going any further, let's spend more of those hard earned Red Orbs. I decided to go with an upgrade for the Blades of Exile and then the Head of Helios. Go with what you want though. I could have upgraded the Boots of Hermes or the newly acquired Nemean Cestus but I prefer to not upgrade something just after getting. I like to get a feel for the weapon/item as it is in the beginning, then see how it progresses with upgrades, if that makes sense. Head down the hall and turn right, then proceed up the slope to a room where you'll get to practice with the Cestus. The Nemean Roar is a move I already mentioned during the Hercules battle. Try it out some more here since your magic is unlimited in this fight. Afterwards, go over to the rock in the back. It's called onyx and it can now be broken with the Cestus. You've seen onyx rocks a few times, and now you have the means to clear them. Throw the lever cleared by the onyx and it opens a gate back at the start. Some soldiers with onyx shields show up. Haha, payback time boys! Use the Cestus to break their shields, after which you can freely attack them with other weapons if you so desire, but the Cestus works pretty damn well. Go back down the slope to Hercules' defaced corpse and dive back into the water. Enter the opened gate and swim through the tunnel. ==================== Poseidon's Chamber ==================== [gw07] When you surface, you'll arrive in a totally new area. Jump out, but instead of going forward, turn around and walk toward the foreground. Behind the tunnel exit are two chests. One is a RED ORB CHEST and the other has a MINOTAUR HORN. Proceed into the chamber. More shielded enemies will emerge, along with dogs, so bust out the Cestus on them. The Nemean Roar works wonders on this large group so use that once or twice. Finish off the rest after that. There's only one way to go from here so go to the top left corner and interact with the lever here to open two gates. You get under the first one easily, but the second closes before you can reach it. Turn right from here and you'll see the Poseidon Princess. Approach her for a wonderful chat. After that, turn left from there and you'll find a chamber with a lot of portals. The only one you can reach is to the right, which you can get to by jumping over there. Enter and you'll come out of the one in the center, onto a platform. You want to reach the portal below you though. The platform is weighed down by Kratos, but not enough. You should be able to see a ledge near you, up and to the left on your screen. Jump and glide over here to reach a lever. Pull it and a few things will change in the room. Platforms extend and some dogs appear. Drop down to the platform below and collect the reward from two RED ORB CHESTS. Cross back over to the center now and you'll encounter the dogs. Don't fight them though. Instead, walk over to the first portal you entered and lure the dogs over. Grab one and Kratos will automatically kick them through. The first dog will appear where you were and weigh down the platform. Get the picture? Kick a few more of them through the portal (which feels cruel to even type) and then when there are no more, step through it yourself. This should weigh down the platform enough to enter the lower portal. On the other side you'll find the Poseidon Princess again. After the scene, have a look around. There is a RED ORB CHEST on the left side of the room. On the right side, there is a sparkling object on the ground. It's another Godly Possession. In the nook next to it is a chest containing a GORGON EYE. x-----Godly Possession 6/10: Poseidon's Conch Shell-----x Step back through the portal and you'll see the princess cornered by the hounds you left behind. Take care of them but one will knock her over the edge. Try to help her up immediately by hitting Circle near her. Wait too long and she'll fall. After this, take care of the dogs. When all the dogs are gone, hit Circle near the princess again to get her moving through the portal again. She'll exit the chamber but Kratos will be locked in with the statue enemies. Try the Cestus or just use the Blades of Exile against them. Go up the stairs and find some more of the shield enemies. Use the Cestus and the Nemean Roar against them, then mop up the mess from there. Go back to the princess and push her along again. Lift the gate up for her and return to the first room. A statue and two more shielded sentries appear. Nothing to worry about by now. Use the Cestus and have fun. After that, go to the corner and operate the door switch again. Kratos will automatically make the princess hold it. Though she begs him not to leave, do so anyway. You'll notice the second gate almost close but then stop. If you go back you can see what happened to the princess. Eww... Anyways, beyond the second gate you get a cutscene. After that, search the right side of this small room. You should see a spot you can use the Head of Helios on to reveal a hidden chest. This one contains a PHOENIX FEATHER. Now go left from there and down the hall. Run up the stairs to enter a new area. =================== The Upper Gardens =================== Go forward and operate the crank on this wierd electrical machine. It rotates the sections of the bridge. Jump the gap and glide over to the other side. Use the crank here to rotate this section again. You can now cross the next gap too. The next machine doesn't live up to the expecations though. It doesn't work for some odd reason. Maybe not surprising considering the condition of the bridges. No choice but to go back. Return to the second machine and operate it again. It will rotate and point toward the building. Head over in that direction. Nothing to do except open the door and proceed into the next room. ===================== Aphrodite's Chamber ===================== You'll hear some... "interesting" sounds coming from within. Use the save point if you wish, then head up the stairs. Your eyes and your mind might be focused on one thing, but there are a few things to search for around here if you'd like. Of course you can also do the searching... after... On the left side of the chamber (don't get confused by the camera change), there are a few pots to break. There's also two RED ORB CHESTS here. In the top left corner, to the left of Aphrodite's bed, there is a curtain. If you jump over toward this curtain, you'll reach a hidden platform. Here you will find another Godly possession. x-----Godly Possession 7/10: Aphrodite's Garter-----x Go the other way to get back. Be careful jumping as there's a giant pitfall surrounding this platform. Yeah, makes a lot of sense, of course. Anyways, on the other side, you can find some more pots and a nook containing a special chest. Inside is another MINOTAUR HORN. Once you're done, you can approach the bed and Aphrodite will ask you if you will stay. Choose yes if you wish to do the sex minigame. It's worth it if for nothing else than the Red Orbs you get. Regardless of whether you do or not, Aphrodite will open up the curtain revealing a portal. When you're ready to go, step through. After the scene, Hephaestus will open the previously closed doors at the far left side of his workshop. Head over there and go through, but the doors will close. Damn, a trap... Oh well. Welcome to... ========== Tartarus ========== [gw08] Take a look around if you'd like, otherwise start down the path to the right. You'll encounter more of the souls like from Hades. There's also a special chest off to the right with a PHOENIX FEATHER within. Follow the path to a larger room now where you'll encounter a horde of enemies led by a Centaur. The number of undead soldiers allows for a chance to get a pretty high combo. Use some stronger attacks, including any magic or Cestus attacks to help you weaken the Centaur. Try to weaken it for the special QTE move. If you have killed the other two Centaurs this way and do the same here, you'll be rewarded with the "No Guts No Glory" Trophy. After that, climb out of here in the top right corner. It's kind of hard to tell exactly where, but there's one rock on top of the rubble that serves as a platform. From there, try to jump to the ledge above, but for some reason you might not grab onto it. Just keep trying and you'll get it eventually. Take Green Orbs from the alternating Green/Blue chest since the chest right next to it has Red and Blue Orbs. Head into the next chamber. ==================== Gates of Tisiphone ==================== Before even dealing with the obvious puzzle here, you got to take care of the Chimera. You can use a few of the explosive pots to help you out if you'd like. The Cestus helps a lot too though. Use the same tactics as you did before, making liberal use of the Right Analog Stick to evade when it changes attacks. When you begin to weaken it, a second Chimera shows up! Try to focus exclusively on the first one you've already weakened, but start to incorporate some more area attacks into your fighting as well. There are also the explosive pots to help you out. Once that's done, head off to the top left and top right corners. Interact with the chains you find to change the wall configuration around a bit. There are also two cubes sticking out that you push back inside to change more things around so do that. Climb up the left side by jumping as high as you can to reach the lowest part of the cubes that are sticking out. Climb up to the top here and wait for a Harpy to come back. Pay attention to the right side now. You'll notice that one block slides in and out over another one. You want to ride the Harpy so that you will land on the block when the other one above is is inside the the wall. When you do, wait for the other block to slide out again and then quickly jump on top of it. Jump across the platforms from here back to the left side and find a switch you can press inside. Another Harpy appears as the wall changes around again. Ride this Harpy back over to the right, again watching your timing so that you land on the platform at the right time. Push this switch in too and then jump and glide you way over to the center platform. Interact with the device here to finish this little puzzle. Once the doors open, proceed on through. There is a save point ahead. Almost exactly across from it is a special chest with a PHOENIX FEATHER inside of it. March onward to the cliff ahead. ===================== The Pit of Tartarus ===================== Run straight ahead, out toward the cliff. A few enemies will greet you here, but nothing to worry about. Take a look around at the altar if you wish, then head off to the left. A few more skeletal warriors will attack, so just combo them to death and recharge using the nearby chests. Go down the adjacent slope now. Basically, each time the path turns a corner, you'll encounter more enemies. Let them have it, using whatever you wish. At the end you'll come to a large gap. Glide over it using the Icarus Wings. As soon as you get across, look for a well hidden nook in the right-hand wall. Inside is a chest with a MINOTAUR HORN. Keep moving straight ahead from here. You'll come to a slightly different platform where you can interact with something on the ground. Doing so starts up a cutscene. _____ / __ \ | / \/_ __ ___ _ __ ___ ___ | | | '__/ _ \| '_ \ / _ \/ __| | \__/\ | | (_) | | | | (_) \__ \ \____/_| \___/|_| |_|\___/|___/ Holy epic sized boss battles, Batman! Cronos may have an advantage of size, but Kratos has... well, tenacity. As soon as you gain control, Cronos will be attempting to crush you with his fingers. Mash Circle to fend him off. As soon as you do, bust out the Head of Helios. Hold L2 and Triangle to prepare a Solar Flare. Launch it and Cronos will be helpless. As Kratos falls through the air, you'll be given one button prompt. Hit it to successfully land on Cronos' right hand. Here some more skeletal warriors will emerge and attack you. Use Cyclone of Chaos, Battering Ram, and the other moves you've grown to love to fend them off. After a while, Cronos moves his arm, changing your perspective. If any enemies are left over, deal with them before climbing straight up. Jump a small gap above, then look for a blemish (ew...) on Cronos' forearm. Smash it with some attacks and the "ground" will become level again. As the enemies continue to throw themselves at you, Cronos will do one of two things. He'll perform a small breath attack which is just a minor inconvenience, or he will slap his fingers down. Your goal is to attack his finger nail, as strange as that sounds. Whenever he puts his fingers down, attack the nail with your heavier attacks to break it off. It will take a few times until you finally get a grab prompt. Hit it and then rotate the Left Stick as indicated to pull it off. After recovering, Cronos will slap his fingers across his arm. Shadows will appear, showing you where you stand safely and not get hit. Stand in a safe spot and wait. When he slaps his fingers down, jump onto the leftmost one and you'll be able to climb it. Cronos will pull back and bring you in front of him again. You know what that means. Whip out the Head of Helios again for another Solar Flare. Say... blindness! Blindness! Another button prompt, if hit, will land you on a climbing section on Cronos' body. A few enemies will be there so deal with them. If you want to gain a few extra Red Orbs, be sure not to throw them. Jump a small gap to the left, then climb up. Another large gap is here but for some reason, it can be tricky to reach the other side sometimes. Once you get it though, cross over to the right, then prepare to jump and hit the following grapple point. Swing and then jump and glide to the platform ahead. Two statues attack along with several skeleton warriors. Use heavy attacks from your Blades of Exile, or the Cestus (the Nemean Roar again, works well). Slowly bring the statues down to weakened states and finish them off. Magic works well in this confined space but is not necessary to win this fight. Once all enemies are down, you can interact with the center object. Jamming on L1 and R1 reveals a fleshy compartment holding an onyx pillar. Hmm.. Start attacking to remove the flesh but eventually, a giant army of skeletons descend on the platform. Use Cyclone of Chaos and some other quick attacks to see if you can build a quick combo for some Red Orbs. Cronos will quickly come and scoop all of you up though. When he opens his hand, the fight will still be on! You'll be in a climbing position, so get used to moving that way and attack the enemies. Eventually it will become a level perspective again, but Cronos will try and crush you. When prompted, mash Circle to save your skin. You'll be upside down next. Move off to the right and eventually Cronos will clasp his fingers down, expelling you into the air. You need to hit several grapple points and swing from one to the next. This will inevitably bring you onto his other arm. Using his hand though, Cronos threatens to sweep you off. Run forward, sort of toward the screen as Cronos brings his hand across behind you. If he gets you, it's game over so keep moving. The first thing you'll encounter are enemies. Ignore them! Just run past them and keep going. Jump over the rocks and then you'll soon see a grapple point. Hit it immediately to escape. Up here you will find more skeletons. Just lash out at them with your blades or whatever else. Eventually a new enemy will emerge. A... Zombie Cyclops? Whatever it is, it's not much different from a normal one. Focus your heavier attacks on it, using the Cestus if you're so inclined. Eventually you can use QTEs to get control of it. Attacking the skeletons is tempting but try to focus on attacking Cronos' shoulder, the fleshy area where the Cyclops came out of. Attack this a few times to get his attention. From here, you'll get some more QTE prompts, including the mashing of Circle to stab the Cyclops repeatedly. Eventually Cronos decides to take matters into his own hands, by taking Kratos into his stomach. Down the hatch! Once you have control, immediately plunge downward by holding R1. You'll come to two different obstacles blocking your way so just quickly shift over so that you can pass them. Some object of some sort will threaten to fall down on you and reward you with a game over, so keep going down. Eventually you'll make it safely. What occurs next is just ripe for jokes. Cronos bit off more than he could chew, Cronos needs some industrial size Pepto-Bismol. Cronos is about to get a really bad case of indigestion, and on and on and on. When you see the button prompts hit them. There will be one to hit L3 + R3 at the same time. After that, mash Circle and Kratos will free himself and deal a deadly blow to Cronos. You now have the Omphalos Stone, which is what Hephaestus asked for. Climb up Cronos' two fingers and then jump over to that platform again. Without interruption, you can now attack the onyx pillar with the Nemean Cestus. As soon as it breaks, get ready to hit two separate button prompts which culminate into another impressive and somewhat gruesome attack. Attack the onyx pillar yet again to break it. From here, walk across Cronos' face, up to his forehead. Wait for the grab command to appear, then initiate it. Hold L2 and R2 to prep the Blade of Olympus, then let go and let him have it! =========== The Forge =========== [gw09] Where you emerge, go forward and break the onyx stones with the Cestus. Drop down into the pit to return to a familiar locale and get a scene. Hephaestus will craft the weapon as promised, but as Kratos tries to take it... betrayal! What happens next I won't really call a boss fight. You'll get two QTE prompts though. The first is to tap Circle repeatedly to ward off the electricity. After that, mash on L1 and R1 again. You'll see the device at the top-right of the platform. Attack this with your new toy to send an electrical charge into it. Eventually this will bring an end to the fight. For your efforts, you keep the Nemesis Whip which is a nifty weapon. It has some very flashy attacks. If you hold Square or Triangle in a combo, the blades will spin in position, extending a combo. Takes a bit of time to master, but it's an interesting weapon. It also has a puzzle benefit to it which we'll get to in just a moment. Before leaving, head over to the far left area of Hephaestus' workshop, where you entered Tartarus. Look around here for another item to pick up. x-----Godly Possession 8/10: Hephaestus' Ring-----x Use the Boots of Hermes to run up the wall to reach the portal and return to Aphrodite's Chamber. You can initiate the sex minigame again. It will yield a decent amount of Red Orbs. After this, let's upgrade again. Again, choose whatever floats your boat. I decided to go with an upgrade to the Boots of Hermes, the Nemean Cestus, and the Claws of Hades. What was left over I split between the Nemesis Whip and the Blades of Exile. Use the save point if you'd like then open the door and return to... =================== The Upper Gardens =================== Here you'll get the obligatory tutorial on the Nemesis Whip's special magic ability. The way this works is similar to God of War II's magic spell, Cronos Rage. The electricy cast from the Nemesis Whip overwhelms enemies and it has the ability to chain together between enemies. Feel free to spam it endlessly here since the magic is unlimited for now. You'll get a great combo out of it. Jump across the gap here between the bridges again. Use the crank on the device here to spin it back to the left. Jump over this gap to return to the device that wasn't working earlier. Now you can make it work. Hit it a few times with the Nemesis Whip and it should move eventually. Jump to the next bridge and then approach the door, opening the Green Orb Chest first if you need it. ==================== Daedalus' Workshop ==================== The first thing you'll probably notice is that this room plays host to a number of chests, all of which you will want. There are also breakable pots around the room for a few more Red Orbs, and plenty of things to interact with and read. Start by approaching the ballista. Grab it from the side and turn the Right Analog Stick to rotate it to the left. Pull on the back lever of the ballista and let go to fire it. This casts a rope through several portals in the room. Jump on and climb on the rope, going through each portal. Note that to actually go through the portals, you might need to hit X as simple movement might not let you through. Eventually, you'll come to a barred off platform with a RED ORB CHEST. Open it up and then notice that the rope extends past the bars. To keep going, you'll have to jump out into the open and glide with the Icarus Wings and quickly steer Kratos back toward the rope. He should hopefully latch back on. Take the rope to the left side of the room with two more chests to plunder. One is another RED ORB CHEST, while the second contains a MINOTAUR HORN. Drop down now and look for a lever on the right side of the room. Throw it to raise the ballista higher. Fire it again and the rope will pass through but be higher and eventually get stuck in an alcove where another special chest is. Follow the rope again and it will lead you to the chest which has a GORGON EYE. There's one last puzzle to solve here for rewards and it is a little bit trickier. First, turn the ballista so it faces straight ahead again. Fire it and it will lower a gate (and create an exit for you). Now, go to the right and look for the golden footprints on the right wall. Run straight up these with the Boots of Hermes to go through a portal above you. This portal takes you to a caged area with another lever. Throw this and it will lower the two special chests that are hanging above by a chain. This is a timed mechanism though so quickly leap back through the portal. Return to the ballista and fire it immediately. If you lowered the gate, the bolt should go through the portal at the far end and then hit the chain, lowering the two chests for you. Schwing! Plunder them for another Godly Possession as well as a PHOENIX FEATHER. x-----Godly Possession 9/10: Daedalus' Schematics-----x With everything in hand, go down the ramp revealed by the opened gate. There is a pole that you can slide down to a new room below. Drop down and then walk toward the camera. Two chests await. One is a RED ORB CHEST, and the other has a MINOTAUR HORN. Go up the ramp to find plenty of pots and vases to break open. Go up the next ramp to reach a new area. Follow the next path to eventually wind up at a scene. =============== Hera's Garden =============== [gw10] After that, head off to the right. Now this maze can be a bit confusing and it could be easy to get confused even reading this, but hopefully you can stay with me. If I have the skill and patience to make a simple ASCII map, I'll try and do that at some point. At the right, you basically get a three way intersection: left, straight, right. Go right where you should see a few enemies bouncing around. Use the Blades or the Cestus to take them down, or try out the new Nemesis Whip some more. Defeat them all, then open the two RED ORB CHESTS here for a wealth of experience. Return to the fork and go straight for another lone RED ORB CHEST. Go left after that and you'll find a dead end, or so it would appear. Use the Head of Helios to reveal a hidden chest at the end. This chest will have a PHOENIX FEATHER if you didn't get all of them yet. If you did, it will just have a bunch of Red Orbs. Head to the left now, past the save point. You'll get a scene and automatically acquire the last Godly Possession. x-----Godly Possession 10/10: Hera's Chalice-----x Assuming you didn't miss any, you'll be rewarded with the "Priceless" Trophy for this. Not bad. Turn the corner and you'll be presented with two paths: straight and right. Go straight first and you will find an alternating Green/Blue Orb Chest as well as a RED ORB CHEST at the end. Return to the intersection and go right this time. Defeat the enemies here, using some area attacks to take advantage of the narrower space here. The Cestus as always, proves helpful. Go around the corner to find a gate which you can't do anything with yet. Run past this and also a weird staircase that is just a few steps and doesn't go anywhere. Head down to a Green Orb Chest. Be sure you have full health before continuing. Proceed left from here and enter the corridor. Prepare yourself. Oh yes, they're back. My most hated enemies from the first two God of War games, the Satyrs. If you hated them as much as I do you'll be happy to know they're as annoying as ever this time around. There's a few key things to keep in mind as you fight them. Whenever they jump on the walls, get ready to evade because they will unleash an unblockable attack that is really annoying. Use the Cestus just for the sake of dealing quicker damage. Vary combos with some grabs but be careful since the other Satyr can possibly hit you during it. Obviously, use some magic, as much as you need to, to slay these fiends. Army of Sparta and Nemean Roar work fine. The Nemesis Rage spell also does decent damage. If you can weaken a Satyr enough you can grab it at any time and hopefully Kratos will perform a killing blow on it. Once you're done, go to the other end and lift up the door to reach a new area of the garden. Start by going to the left and then turning left again. You should find a RED ORB CHEST. Go back to the center, ignoring the large goblet shaped object covered in vines. Go to the right to find a Blue Orb Chest. Face this and go right again and around the corner to find two RED ORB CHESTS and a special chest which is hidden by the gold dust. Bust out the Head of Helios to uncover the chest with a GORGON EYE. Return to the Blue Orb Chest and go left from it (up). A gate will seal you in. Go forward and step on the round switch in the courtyard here. A short scene will show you what it does. When depressed, the switch activates a stone which changes the enviornment based on perspective. As you see, that dwarfed staircase you saw earlier, when viewed from the right angle actually looks like a full staircase. If you go over there, you can actually walk all the way up. The effect only lasts for a little while though. Quickly interact with the gate in front of you (toward the bottom of the screen in this new perspective). Jump over it and then turn to the left of the screen and ascend the stairs. If the effect wears off, just go back and step on the switch again. Go along this walkway to a gate. Interact with it to raise it step through. Slide down the ladder here and then walk toward the camera to find a RED ORB CHEST. Go the other way now toward a large gap. Jump and glide over to an opening on the left. Here you'll find a chest containing a MINOTAUR HORN. Now, go back and cross the gap straight ahead. You'll find a pillar with a staircase on top. It's important so grab hold and push it into the courtyard on your left. Leave it be for a moment and check out the large goblet-like object. Jump inside and you'll discover it's a pressure switch that, when weighed down, lowers a platform and also a gate below you. When you get out though, they both revert back to their original positions. To weigh this switch down permanently, grab that pillar again and rotate it once clockwise. The higher steps of the staircase should be on the right. Now push the pillar into the space between the goblet and the right wall where there is a waterfall. If done successfully, the switch should be pressed down by the water. The gate lowers again so head over that way. When you get to the ramp, a scene starts. You're back in the previous area. Go over to Hera's body and pick it up. You can use this to weigh down the round switch which activates the Hyperion Gaze. This will keep the effect on permanently so throw her body on top of it. This makes the water flow down in an area above you. Before going there, look for a grassy wall with bramble on it toward the top left. Shoot it with the Bow of Apollo to burn it. Return to that pillar and grab it. Pull it over toward the left where the water is flowing down. Without rotating it, push it into the space under the water and it should flow the water onto the pressure switch. You only have one more to do. Grab the pillar and push it down the ramp where you found Hera during the scene. Push it all the way toward the bottom right where there is a space between two platforms. Before pushing it in, rotate the pillar 180 degrees so that the higher steps are on the left. When you put it in this space, the effect of the Hyperion Gaze makes it so that the illusion of a continuous staircase comes to life. Return to Hera's body, still weighing down the switch. Grab it and before the effect runs out, bring it across your newly made illusion platform to an area where you can reach the pressure switch. Interact to drop Hera's body inside. All the platforms will be raised, letting you move on. However, you need something new to weigh down the switch that activated the Hyperion Gaze. Go find that trusty pillar again and pull it onto the switch. Now exit toward the bottom, go left and ascend the stairs. Follow this path all the way up to get a brief scene. After that, move to the end of the walkway. Get the attention of the Harpy by using the Bow of Apollo. Ride it and several other Harpies across this chasm. On the other side, replenish your meters by opening the chests. Turn this crank at the bottom of the stairs to open the door at the top. Before entering, be sure to investigate the area to the left from the top of the stairs. A hidden chest revealed by the Head of Helios will give you a GORGON EYE or Red Orbs. You can find a RED ORB CHEST across from the save point. You won't get very far into the next corridor before you encounter your newest foe... scorpions? They're pretty weak and go down without much effort. So even as more and more appear, you shouldn't fret. Break open a few pots, then kill some more and continue on your merry way. In the next room, you'll see an impossible-to-miss special chest that will hold a PHOENIX FEATHER or Red Orbs if you got all the feathers. Straight ahead from there is a large gear you can interact with to move the platform or rather, the elevator, down. Go straight into the cave ahead. Use the Head of Helios to keep some light. There are pots to break and scorpions to decimate. Continue on into the next area where more scorpions attack. From there, go left and you'll see light. Head out into the open area and you'll return to... ============= The Caverns ============= Grab some health from the chest if you need it, then jump and glide to the platform ahead of you. After a scene, it's time to duke it out with some armored cyclopses. You'll start with two, but more will appear. They shouldn't be too tough to defeat though. You've probably noticed that heavy attacks like the Plume of Prometheus cause them to stagger, which allows you to stay offensive. Still, dodge when you need to and strike back, then finish them off with the QTEs. When the normal Cyclops appears, make that your immediate target. If the other Cyclops become annoying, use Army of Sparta once or twice to help you out. Weaken the normal Cyclops and then ride it by using the QTE prompts. Several more Cyclopses appear. Use this one to damage and hopefully kill a few of them. Once it's useless, finish it off and then finish off any remaining enemies. Before proceeding, be sure to grab the two special chests in the foreground area of the platform. One will have a GORGON EYE and the other a MINOTAUR HORN. Both will give Red Orbs if you've maxed out the respective meters. Jump to the platform in the back left. There is a chest to restore your health with Green Orbs. Use the save point too if needed. It appears this nook is a dead end. Take a closer look however. Bust out the Head of Helios to reveal a fake wall. The next chamber is large and just screams puzzle (it does to me at least). First, pry open the two RED ORB CHESTS tucked away on both the left and right as you enter. After that, let's upgrade again. I meant to do it earlier but forgot. I don't expect you to do it exactly when I do it anyway but I just make suggestions. I had roughly 22k Red Orbs which was a very nice amount. I got the last Blades of Exile upgrade, then upgraded the Cestus, Claws of Hades, and the Nemesis Whip. What was left over I put into the Nemesis Whip. Drop down into the chamber now. Take a look around first, as always. There are some pots in a corner over toward the right. Right next to them is a nook that is hard to see unless you get close enough. Inside is a special chest with either a PHOENIX FEATHER or Red Orbs. In the top left corner is a lever. Pulling it will cover a drain and raise the water level. Using this, you can swim to the platform in the top left where you will find a RED ORB CHEST. Next to it is a strange device you can't do anything with... yet. Swim to the top right corner and climb the mesh grating here to enter the next corridor. This takes you to a elevator. Throw the lever This will take you to a dark cavern you with some precarious walkways. Do yourself a favor and use the Head of Helios to light the way. Make your way over to the left to find an alternating Green/Blue Orb chest. Go up from there and light the area ahead. There's a gap to jump to reach a climbable wall so be just a bit careful. You'll find two Gorgons and a few other enemies. Try to counter their gaze with the Golden Fleece and hit the button prompt to turn all surrounding enemies to stone. To the right, light the way first and see there is a gap to jump. Before running up the wall, go to the right, using the Head of Helios to light your way and carefully walk right and down. Turn right to a platform and climb up to two RED ORB CHESTS and and a chest with a MINOTAUR HORN or more Red Orbs. Return to the wall with the footprints and run up with the Boots of Hermes. Around the next corner more scorpions attack, but they are no match for the Cyclone of Chaos, or what have you. Jump a fiery pit and break a few pots, then head up the stairs. Walk forward and find two chests with Green and Blue Orbs. Over to the right you can find a RED ORB CHEST. Head to the left now, and carefully glide to the hanging platform and from there to the large cube platform. Here, a horde of scoprions attack. Start flailing away at them until... the big one shows up! _____ _ / ___| (_) \ `--. ___ ___ _ __ _ __ _ ___ _ __ `--. \/ __|/ _ \| '__| '_ \| |/ _ \| '_ \ /\__/ / (__| (_) | | | |_) | | (_) | | | | \____/ \___|\___/|_| | .__/|_|\___/|_| |_| | | |_| It starts off by trying to make Kratos a tasty snack. Mash L1 and R1 repeatedly to break free. As you no doubt noticed, its legs are made of onyx. Use the Nemean Cestus and nothing else this fight and aim for the legs. It can be tough to consistently attack the legs when the boss moves. It will also be constantly swiping at you with its claws, hitting you or trying to eat you again. There are also the offspring scorpions. Try to focus on the legs and using quick but powerful combos. If the boss moves around, just keep going to stay away from its claws. Focus on one side and break the onyx on all of its legs. Also watch out for its tail which is a pain to avoid and it hurts a lot. After you hurt it enough, the boss will collapse. Make your way to his mouth and start punching away with the Cestus. It won't take long before the grab icon to appear. Start the minigame to have Kratos the dentist perform a little surgery. After this, the boss will temporarily disappear. Defeat the small scorpions that appear. If you need health, grab them to get a few Green Orbs. From here on, the boss will show up again and stay on the platform temporarily, then disappear again. Each time he disappears you can recharge health from the mini scoprions. When he is on the platform, take care of his other legs. Eventually you can attack his mouth again, beginning a new sequence after that. Here you'll have to steer Kratos as he flies upward, dodging as many of the chunks of ice he throws down at you. Get hit by too many and you'll have to start over. At the end be prepared to hit a button prompt. Back on the platform, rotate the Left Stick to finish the boss off. The boss freezes over. Shatter it with the Cestus, then shatter its tail to reveal the Boreas Icestorm. Use this on the red device in the center of the platform and watch what happens. An air vent opens on the platform. Go over and deploy the Icarus Wings to fly up to a new platform. Take this down and go past the second device, jumping on the platform behind it. Go over to the left and shine the Head of Helios to find a special chest. It will have Red Orbs if you've gotten everything. Return to the device and use the Boreas Icestorm again and this lowers a grapple point near where you got off the vent so head back there. You'll have to hit a sequence of grapples and swings so time your jumps well. Eventually you can land on another platform with another plate to use the Boreas Icestorm on. This gets the current platform moving, but several enemies will join you. These include shielded enemies, Minotaurs and Gorgons. Try to have the Gorgons do the work for you by keeping them alive. Try to grab them and they instantly counter with the stone gaze. If you raise the Golden Fleece against this you can hit the button prompt and freeze the enemies. More will show up so use the Cestus on them or have the Gorgon help you again. After that, a new grapple point will eventually appear. Use this to swing out of here and return to the point where you entered. MORE COMING SOON ____ ____ ____ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | =============================================================== | | | | | | EXTRAS [exra] | | | | | | =============================================================== |____|____|____| COMING SOON ____ ____ ____ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | =============================================================== | | | | | | Miscellaneous [itro] | | | | | | =============================================================== |____|____|____| Frequently Asked Questions [fak4u] -------------------------- 1) How come there is no New Game+ this time around? A) The game was made a bit more puzzle-y so you'd be starting with items that let you get to certain areas much earlier, or so on. 2) Do Godly Possessions carry over? A) On the same difficulty yes. They do not carry over on runs on other difficulties. 3) I heard Godly Possessions disable Trophies. Is that true? A) Yes. 4) If I am trying to look for remaining Godly Possessions to get the Trophy, is it ok if I use the ones I already have? A) Absolutely not. They DISABLE Trophies. 5) Can I activate a Godly Possession, then turn it off when I'm about to earn a potential Trophy? A) I'm not 100% sure but, I'd say the answer is no. Activating them most likely disables Trophies for the entire playthrough. You'd have to start a New Game to earn Trophies again. I could be wrong though. 6) How am I supposed to get the "Maxed Out" Trophy when there is no New Game+ and using the Hermes Coin would disable Trophies? HOW?! A) It's not THAT hard. Getting more practice with the game will help you get better at combos to earn more orbs from enemies. Also, try to find as many Red Orb Chests and special chests as possible. Credits ------- None yet! Special Thanks -------------- -Sony Santa Monica for making a great series as the God of War games -All readers who have gotten helped from any of my guides and thanked me for it Contact Info ------------ If you have questions, please read the FAQ section just above. Also try using ctrl+f to search for a keyword in your question. If you still have questions or have comments, feel free to e-mail me. I will try to get back to you within a day or two. A few guidelines below for e-mails, please read. First, I prefer e-mails that have clear and helpful subject titles. Things that are straight to the point like "God of War guide" "GOW Help" or so on are very appreciated. Subjects like "HELP!!!!!" and other ones in all caps like that, I tend to ignore these for a while so avoid it, please. I will always consider submitted information and decide if it's good enough to include in the guide. I unfortunately can't accept everything. If you have something, let me know but please, please leave me with a screen name or an alias you use. I do not use real names or e-mail addresses to credit people. So please give me an alternate name to use for crediting you. If you don't I will try to reply back to you. If you don't get back to me after that, I will not be using your tip. That's just how it is. The more detailed and the more comprehensive your tips or strategies are, the better. I do not credit for small things like typo fixes or information corrections. E-mail: [email protected] Legal Hoopla ------------ This guide is solely my creation. Please do not copy this and pass it off as your own work or post it on your site without permission. If you wish to host, please contact me first for approval, unless you've already been preapproved by me. I ask that all information in this guide remain completely unchanged.