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God Mode Survival Guide

by Andre de Leon

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God of War:
God Mode Survival Guide 
v1.4

Author: Andre de Leon
Email: [email protected]
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Table of Contents
I.   Introduction 
     A. Priorities
     B. Game Mechanics
II.  Enemy Classes and Weaknesses
III. Survival Guide
     Act 1: Aegean Sea
     Act 2: Athens
     Act 3: Desert of Souls
     Act 4: Pandora's Temple
     Act 5: Underworld
     Act 6: Return to Athens
     Act 7: Battle with a God
IV.  Legal
V.   Version History
VI.  Credits


Legend:
L = light attack (normally, square attack)
H = heavy attack (normally, triangle attack)
G = grab attack (normally, circle attack)



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I. Introduction
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Wow. I honestly never thought I'd see so many people not only play God of War,
but also play it in God Mode. Hats off to all you, brave souls. This guide is
most definitely made for the crazy lot. 

This is my first guide, so do expect some irregularities, update and format
wise. 

For the record, I've beaten the game in god mode at around 5:30 am, third of
April. The guide was originally meant to help people beat the 2nd sequence in
the last battle with Ares, considered by many to be the hardest and most 
challenging battle in the entirety of the game. Ever since I've beaten it, 
a multitude of submissions have been sent, detailing how they beat the 
sequence themselves. Many of these strategies are more expedient and effective
than the one I used, so I'll try and list as many of these as possible.

I'm not about to tell you what you get exactly by beating the game, as much of 
it is already outlined in the TREASURES menu, so don't worry about spoilers 
related to that. I'm also assuming that you've finished the game at least once 
so I won't be going over a lot of puzzle solutions, telling you where to go,
etc. This is merely a guide to ensure that you get to Ares with everything 
you're going to need to survive the battle with him. Nothing more. 


--A. Priorities--

If you plan on beating God Mode, you really should prioritize all of the
following. 


   1. Max out your weapons and magic in this order:

	- Blades of Chaos
	- Army of Hades
	- Poseidon's Rage

      You can level up everything else in whichever order you prefer after you 
      maxed out those 3 things. The Blade of Artemis is utterly useless, so 
      that should be the last thing you max out. Suffice it to say, it'd be 
      best if you know where all the red orb chests are. 


   2. Know where both Muse Keys are, and use them to enter the secret room at 
      the lower levels of Pandora's Temple. This is the only way you can max 
      out both your health and magic bar. You'll be needing all the health and
      magic you can get. You won't necessarily need to find all Gorgon's Eyes
      and Phoenix Feathers, but it helps if you possess as much health and 
      magic before you get to the secret room.


   3. Save the Rage of the Gods as much as you can. Filling the meter for it is
      plenty involved already. I only used it 3 times throughout the entire 
      game, and when I did,  I REALLY had to. You can use it as much as you 
      want though, just be sure you have a full meter once you fight Ares.


   4. Know your enemies. Know your game mechanics. I'll be outlining these, 
      just in case you didn't know about them. Familiarize yourself with what
      you can exploit, because it will make things easier for you.


--B. Game Mechanics-- 

   1. Damage Index --God Mode--
      You only inflict half as much damage to your opponents. On the other
      hand, you take 5 times as much damage from enemy attacks. DON'T get hit.
      Opponents are suppose to be more aggressive, but, honestly, I couldn't
      tell the difference. Either way, use this to your advantage; parry and
      reverse a lot. 
      Besides these, everything else stays the same. Bosses will fight the same
      way, puzzles will be solved the same way, etc. 


   2. Effective "Arena"
      All your opponents are only suppose to attack you within a pre-determined
      area. This is true for all difficulty levels. This means that an enemy
      will not be able to follow nor attack you if you backtrack enough. If you
      notice the opponent unable to follow you back to a doorway, then you'll
      know you're beyond his "arena" of influence. Use your distance attacks to
      painlessly dispose of hordes of enemies this way. If a room is sectioned
      off by the red, monster gates, you really can't use this trick. You'll
      have to kill all the monsters within that area before you can proceed.


   3. Doublecast --Army of Hades, Poseidon's Rage--
      As you know, you can cast as much magic as possible WITHOUT draining your
      magic meter when you activate the Rage of the Gods after maxing out your
      Blades of Chaos. The problem is you can only cast one magic at a time. 
      Not only that, your casting time is still the same for all magic attacks.
      It doesn't help that the Rage of the Gods doesn't last very long, so 
      you'll have to cast as much magic as possible within a short amount of 
      time. The key is casting one magic, then switching and casting something 
      else while the first one is still in effect. The best one I've found 
      starts off with the Army of Hades, followed by Poseidon's Rage. You can
      do this doublecast twice per use of the Rage of the Gods. You WILL need
      to utilize this if you are to ever beat the 2nd sequence in the battle
      with Ares.

      Alternate Doublecast:
      Contributor:
        Ben Baxter

      You can cast 5 spells during Rage of the Gods if you cast the spells in
      this order: Army of Hades, Poseidon's Rage, Poseidon's Rage, Army of
      Hades, Poseidon's Rage. 

      I haven't tried this myself, so confirm it for me if you guys have time.
      

   4. Best Combo Strings --Blades of Chaos--

        Set 1: use these to knockout entire groups of opponents	
           L, L(hold)
           L, L, L(hold)

        Set 2: use these to inflict massive damage to opponents; possible 
               juggle starter on second hit of both strings
           L, H, H, H
           H, H, H

        Set 3: you're only meant to chip away at an enemy with these; meant
               to be cancelled to parry/block
           L, L ... 

      You really shouldn't be using any of the other attacks available to you
      in the game besides these. Execute short, effective combos to decrease 
      likelihood of counterattack from opponents. The above combos will tide
      you over most situations you'll be encountering throughout the game, so
      use them accordingly. 


   5. Attack Analysis

        L = light attack
          You're not really meant to inflict damage with any of the L attacks.
          What they lack in power, they more than make up for in speed, both
          execution-wise and recovery-wise. Canceling to parry/block is meant
          to be instantaneous during L attacks, so if you're expecting your
          opponent to counter, be sure to be doing these. Many of the L attacks
          end up knocking away, but not juggling, your opponents. Effective
          radius of L attacks are much larger too, due to the wide, horizontal 
          arcs they make. 

        H = heavy attacks
          These are your juggle starters and damage dealers. You inflict about
          2 to 5 times more damage compared to L attacks, but canceling to 
          parry/block takes forever. Execution is normally slower as well, 
          giving your opponent an opportunity to interrupt you. High risk, high
          reward. Effective radius is mostly limited, rectangular, and in a
          straight line. 
      
        G = grab attack
          These deal even more damage than H attacks surprisingly enough, and
          is the only way to start off the various mini-games in the game. You
          deal about 2 to 5 times more damage than your strongest H attacks 
          with these. G is your best option after a juggle starter because of 
          the shear amount of damage you inflict. You are normally invincible 
          from attacks during throw animations and mini-game sequences, so use 
          G often when surrounded. G won't always work, but when it does, 
          it's inescapable, and could mean instant death to one or more 
          opponents. 


    6. Herding
       All of your opponents have a bad habit of trying to surround you, more 
       notably the faster ones. 


    7. Enemy Strings
       Enemies also have a bad habit of attacking one after the other, so if 
       you fail to block one attack, subsequent attacks will hit you too, which
       could mean instant death for you. Reversals can be interrupted too, so
       expect to get hit a lot this way.
 
   
    8. Alternate Costumes
       If you were as stupid as I was, then you would have thought that you 
       could use the Dairy Bastard in God Mode. Boy, how wrong I was. Nothing
       gets past David Jaffe and his team apparently--they made sure that you
       can't pick any of the specialized costumes in God Mode. Fiddlesticks. 


    9. Friendly Fire
       Certain enemy attacks will inflict damage to you and surrounding 
       enemies. 

    
   10. Avenues of Helplessness
       You are most vulnerable, gameplay-wise, whenever you're scaling walls or
       moving via horizontal rope. Not only can you not cast magic, you can't
       block nor do most of your combos. You'll have to pass through these
       obstacles as quickly as possible, most notably the rope ones. 

       You're assailed left and right during these obstacles, with very little
       room to maneuver. Only 2 enemies can attack you at a time, but when they
       do, they inflict a tremendous amount of damage to you.  
       
       Keep heading the way you want to go without stopping. Once within range 
       of the enemy in front of you, use only L attacks. It normally takes
       8-9 L attacks for an opponent to fall off, so start hitting them early. 
       The range of L attacks is pretty good too while on the rope, so hitting
       them early shouldn't be too hard. If done right, the opponent behind you
       should keep missing, while you keep moving forward.

       If the ones behind you ever catch up to you, you'll have to hit both
       left and right opponents, one after the other, taking care to hit each
       only once. This way, both opponents are always stunned and getting   
       damaged at the same time. Once both fall off, proceed onwards. 

       When scaling walls, try to use G as much as you can. You can't G the
       ones that are far away or below your legs, so use L attacks instead.


   11. Platforms
       If you're opponent is on a higher platform, he can't hit you at all--not
       unless he's an Archer. Use the Set 2 strings to inflict damage to 
       opponents on higher platforms. 


   12. Angled Walkways
       If you end up having to fight in steep places, like stairs, your G
       function becomes really glitchy. Most of the time, you end up missing
       the G after a juggle. You get a regular G instead, which could mean
       your opponent auto-escaping the attempt and getting up faster than 
       usual. 


   13. Swimming
       No one else can swim. No opponent will attack you if you're in a deep, 
       body of water. 


   14. Precipice
       Opponents can be thrown or sent spinning towards chasms. You can fall 
       victim to some of these chasms, but they're always deadly to enemies.
       You have to remember that the game sets where you can and can not go,
       and it so happens that many of the places you can't go to are chasms.

       Opponents that die this way, don't give out red orbs, but you do end up
       killing them instantly in the process. Heavier opponents are sometimes
       susceptible to this too, so try to knock them off to chasms as much as 
       you can. 

       Opponents that fall off from ropes ALWAYS give you an orb of some form. 
       Opponents that fall off after scaling through walls won't give you orbs,
       not unless you slam them to the wall first, or you're near where they
       land when they do fall. 


   15. Skip Cinemas
       You can only skip over a cinema/cut scene/cg sequence when you've 
       somehow watched it already within the same playthrough. It doesn't count
       if it's a different save, or a different playthrough. This means that,
       once you play through a new game, you'll HAVE to re-watch all the  
       cinemas, even though, technically, you've watched it already when you 
       played the game before. That's a different playthrough though, hence why
       you're forced to watch it again. All the cinemas are very good, mind 
       you, but, more than likely, you're tired of seeing it by now. 
     
       Skip cinemas by pressing X.


   16. Enemy Weight
       Opponents have set weights that determines how easy it is to juggle
       them. There are 3 main weight classes:

       Small
          These are the easiest to juggle. Juggle starters always work on them.
          When they're airborne and you perform a G attack, you make them
          bounce up again, which means you can perform another G attack. Keep
          doing this until you've disposed of the opponent. 

       Medium
          Juggle starters work on them still, but they don't bounce up after
          you perform a G attack while they're airborne. Your opponent should
          still be grounded after the G attack though, so use your Set 2
          attacks as soon as you slam it to the ground. 

       Large
          You simply can't juggle these opponents. Stick to short, quick combos
          or perform the heaviest Set 2 attacks FROM A DISTANCE, whenever you
          encounter these. Dodge as soon as you end your combos. 

       For details on the weight of each enemy in the game, go to Enemy Classes
       and Weaknesses Section of this faq.


   17. Enemy Invincibility
       When an enemy performs an attack, you can no longer interrupt it with
       a melee attack. Use a magic attack, like Poseidon's Rage, if you intend
       to interrupt an enemy. 
  
       Be mindful of this, especially when performing juggle starters. If you
       try to juggle an enemy that's attacking you, then you WILL get hit. 

       If you're hitting an enemy in mid-strike, your hits still count 
       damage-wise, but it doesn't mean you'll be interrupting his attacks. 


   18. Mini-Game Alternative
       When an enemy becomes groggy, a mini-game becomes available, but it 
       doesn't really mean you should initiate it. Sometimes, it's more 
       advantageous for you to NOT go through the mini-game. A prime example
       would be the Minotaurs. If you kill them by attacking them instead of
       going through the throat-stab mini-game, you get red orbs instead of
       the green orbs you'd normally get when you finish the mini-game. 

       To kill an enemy when a mini-game becomes available, perform H attacks,
       Set 1 attacks, or magic attacks.  


   19. Juggle Starters
       An opponent can only be juggled once you've inflicted a certain amount
       of damage to it. Some opponents require only one hit for you to juggle 
       them. Others might require more. Good rule of thumb is, the bigger an
       opponent is, the harder it is to juggle them.

   
   20. Limits of the Rage of the Gods
       Do realize that you're NOT offered invincibility when you cast Rage of
       the Gods. It does increase your armor, but not by much. 

       Try not to initiate mini-games, throw, or GET thrown, when you cast it
       because your meter is STILL depleting in mid-animation. You'll just end 
       up wasting it. Again, you're better off with a doublecast of some sort
       while you're in this mode.  

      
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II. Enemy Classes and Weaknesses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There's 2 major classes of enemies--Airborne and Grounded. The Grounded ones
are definitely tougher and more prevalent. How you fight them determines how
much life you end up with till the next time you see a health chest. Just 
remember that you want to kill your opponent as quickly and as painlessly as
possible. I wouldn't suggest performing long strings of combos at all. Don't 
bother with air combos that don't involve the G attack. You still want to 
juggle your opponents. Just don't do anything fancy afterwards. Grab them while
they're in the air, and keep at it if possible. You kill your opponents faster
this way. Try not to do any of L1+(any attack button), because they leave you
open to attack, and they tend to inflict minimal damage, despite the high
number of hits you inflict. Save your magic till you get surrounded. Save your
Rage of the Gods till you get to the harder portions of the game, which is
outlined in the Survival Guide Section of this faq. 

Though your opponents vary aesthetically and skill-wise, their A.I. divides
them in distinct subclasses. Enemies within a subclass should be handled the
same way you would handle any one else within that subclass. That means, a
Cyclops Brute will always fall for the same tactics that you'd use against
Cyclops Enforcers or Desert Kings, because they all fall under the same 
subclass--namely, the Cyclops subclass. 

Here's a detailed breakdown on how your enemies are divided. Right next to the
subclass name is their weight. 


--A. Airborne Class--

     Harpies --Small--
        Best attacks: G, Set 2

        These are the only true, naturally, airborne opponents in the game. 
        They're always susceptible to G attacks, so as soon as you're near 
        them, grounded or in mid-air, perform a G attack and you instantly kill
        one. Just remember that you don't earn any orbs this way.
        
        Certain variations of these perform an unblockable ground strike. A
        red circular target of sorts appears on the ground and tries to follow
        you within a certain amount of time. When time runs out, the Harpy
        performs the attack, inflicting damage to anything within the target.
        Dodge as often as you can when you see the target. Don't try to 
        interrupt or parry this because you'll just get hit.  

                
--B. Grounded Class--
     
     Cyclops --Large--
        Best attacks: Set 2
        Weakness: Zeus' Thunderbolts

        Stick to distance attacks, but make sure you're not so far away that
        the Cyclops might perform a shoulder tackle. The best time to attack
        is after they perform their attacks. When the opportunity arises, 
        perform Set 2 attacks. 

        Cyclopes are suppose to be weak against Zeus' Thunderbolts. Poseidon's
        Rage works well enough though. If you're going to use the thunderbolts,
        charge them before you throw them at a Cyclops. 

        I can't remember a time when I've successfully parried nor blocked any
        of their attacks, so, more than likely, NONE of their attacks is 
        blockable to begin with. Again, dodge when they attack, and attack 
        accordingly. 

        When a mini-game becomes available, try to initiate it. You want to 
        dispose of them as fast as possible. 


     Satyr --Medium--
        Best attack string: G(mini-game), Set 2(juggle), G, G(mini-game)...etc
        Best attacks: Set 1, Set 2
        Weakness: Army of Hades 

        These are definitely the most skilled opponent you'll face in the game.
        They actually HAVE reversals. They can throw you, push you far back 
        if you block certain parts of their strings, and are quick and burly in
        general. 

        The one thing you should watch out for is his reversal, which starts 
        off with him taunting you almost, by standing on his pole. NEVER 
        attack him while he's taunting you. You can parry the reversal itself
        by making sure you cancel your initial attack into a parry. The Satyr's
        reversal is rather quick though, so it's not always advisable to do
        so. This is actually the best time to attack someone else seeing as
        the taunt lasts for a short time, and seeing as the Satyr himself is
        not attacking you anyway. 

        His throw attempt starts off with a quick staff spin, followed by a
        staff thrust that is blockable. If you fail to block any part of the 
        2 hit string, you WILL be thrown.  

        I found the Satyr susceptible to a certain sequence of attacks that 
        starts off with a G attack.  Most people don't know it, but Satyrs are
        easy to throw. This starts a mini-game that doesn't do much damage
        at all. All it does is knock him off of his feet, so it doesn't seem
        like much, when in actuality, you set him up for an almost infinite set
        of juggle starters.

        Here's how it works. First off, do a G attack. This should initiate a
        mini-game where you fight for the Satyr's staff. Just hit the circle
        button as much as you can and you should win every time. The Satyr ends
        up knocked down, facing upwards with his feet AWAY from you. Normally,
        when you attack a knock downed Satyr, he'll perform a spring back 
        attack that hits you. But the spring back attack only works IF his feet
        is facing TOWARDS you. In this string, however, his feet is AWAY from
        you. If you try to attack him in this grounded state, he performs the
        spring back attack but ends up MISSING you AND standing up but facing
        AWAY from you. In this state, he CAN'T BLOCK ANYTHING. He's open to 
        just about ANYTHING you can throw at him. 

        At this point you could opt for another throw attempt OR perform a 
        juggle starter, using the various Set 2 attacks--the latter is your
        best option. Do a G attack again to slam him down on the ground. Do
        another G attack and you'll initiate the mini-game again. 

        Rinse and repeat. It's that simple. The most skilled opponent in the
        game beaten using 3 sequences of attacks, done over and over again; 
        it's sad almost, if these guys weren't so annoying.  


     Minotaur --Medium-- 
        Best Attack String: Set 2(juggle), G, Set 2
                            Medusa's Gaze(L1+L), Set 2
        Best Attacks: Set 1, Set 2
        Weakness: Medusa's Gaze

        Yeah I know. It doesn't look like it, but they're actually considered
        Medium, weight-wise, because you can actually juggle these. They can
        block, and if you hit them enough, they'll perform a push-back attack 
        that does a laughable amount of damage, even in God Mode.  

        If your Blades of Chaos is leveled up enough, you can parry anything
        they can throw at you--even their powerful downward strikes.     

        Medusa's Gaze works surprisingly well enough against them. Just be 
        sure to use H attacks to shatter them as fast as possible. 

        When the mini-game becomes available, you have a choice of attacking
        it or going through the mini-game. Try to kill them instead, just 
        because they give out a lot of red orbs. If you're low in health,
        proceed with the mini-game.   


        Alternative Strategy:
        Contributor:
          [email protected]
           
        It's common knowledge to most of us that by holding H at any point in
        any combo, you end up performing a juggle starter that takes BOTH
        Kratos and his opponent up to the air. 

        Minotaurs are still susceptible to this. Not only that, if you perform
        a G while in the air, you start an infinity juggle because the 
        Minotaur will keep bouncing back up after every G attack. 

        Now, it's quite possible that this attack string might work on lighter
        opponents BESIDES the Minotaurs. I haven't tried this combo myself, so
        if you guys have time, confirm it for me. 

                   
     Centaur --Medium--
        Best Attack String: Set 2(juggle), G, Set 2
        Best Attacks: Set 2
        Weakness: Blade of Artemis

        Stick to distance attacks when you encounter these. As far as I can 
        remember, you don't encounter them a lot, but when you do, you can
        always take advantage of the Effective Arena trick to dispose of them
        easily. 

        You can't use G attacks on them, not unless the mini-game becomes 
        available. They actually auto-reverse when you attempt to throw them.

        Watch out for the ground wave attack. It does about 40% of damage to 
        you and it's unblockable. Their arrow attacks are blockable, however. 

        They're supposedly weak against the Blade of Artemis, but you have to
        remember how limited your defense and offense is when you do use it. 
        You have to be fairly near one just so you can hit them, which works 
        wonders for Centaurs because they need you to be that close so that 
        they can hit you with their melee attacks--in groups, that is. For the
        most part, it's not worth using it, especially if it means you'd have 
        to give up your distance. 

        Juggle starters do work on them, it just takes a while. As usual, 
        perform a G attack on a successful hit. 


     Cerberus Breeder --Medium--
        Best Attack String: Set 2(juggle), G, Set 2
                            Medusa's Gaze(L1+L), Set 2
        Best Attacks: Set 2
        Weakness: Medusa's Gaze

        These are the full-grown, 3-headed ones. This should be last thing you
        should prioritize. Set your sights on the smaller, one-headed versions
        first, seeing as you don't want too many of them running around and
        growing up to the 3-headed version.

        Their leaping melee attacks are their most dangerous attacks. All of 
        their other attacks are blockable, even the fireballs. 

        These are still susceptible to Medusa's Gaze, so if you're going to
        kill these quickly, use that magic. 
        
        It takes a while before you can juggle these, so be careful. 


     Cerberus Offspring/Seed --Light--
        Best Attacks: Set 1
        Weakness: Medusa's Gaze

        These are incredibly annoying, and you normally fight a slew of these
        at a time. Watch out for their leap attacks, most notably, the 
        incendiary version. Parry/reverse as soon as you see these--you want to
        knockdown groups of them as much as you can. 

        Use Medusa's Gaze if possible. When petrified, they crumble easily, 
        so this is the fastest way you can kill them. 

        Note that as soon as you kill one of these, another one replaces it, so
        battles with these are quite involved. It doesn't help that they don't
        give you much in terms of orbs. 

        You fight so many of these that it's hard to perform infinite G attacks
        when your juggle starter does connect, due to all the interrupts you
        are susceptible too. Set 1 attacks should knock away groups of these,
        so use it often. 


     Gorgon --Light--
        Best Attack String: Set 2(juggle), G, G...etc
                            Poseidon's Rage, Set 2(juggle), G, G...etc
        Best Attacks: Set 2
        Weakness: Poseidon's Rage

        By now, you should know that these are invincible to Medusa's Gaze, but
        are really weak against Poseidon's Rage. After you cast this, they're
        normally stunned enough that a Set 2(juggle) is guaranteed. 

        These tend to dodge a lot after the first or second hit, so be ready to
        parry their attacks. Their dodge-to-claw-swipe inflicts an incredible
        amount of damage, so parry/block this particular attack as soon as you
        see the Gorgon dodge.

        In their case, I'd rather go through the mini-game. More than likely, 
        I've cast Poseidon's Rage anyway, so I know I've lost a good deal of 
        magic by now. These are the only opponents that are guaranteed to give
        you magic orbs once you finish the mini-game, so take advantage of the
        mini-game as much as you can. 

        These opponents are light enough that you can infinitely bounce them up
        after each G attack, so if you want red orbs instead, this is the 
        fastest way to kill them.
        

        Alternative Strategy:
        Contributors:
          [email protected] 
          [email protected]

        Much like the Minotaurs, Gorgons are also susceptible to infinite air
        throw juggles.          


     Siren --Light-- 
        Best Attack String: Set 2(juggle), G, G...etc
        Weakness: Zeus' Thunderbolts

        These things are really, really weak. None of their attacks are worth
        noting, seeing as most of them are blockable. They are pretty fast, 
        but really light as well, to the point that you can infinitely bounce
        them. If a mini-game becomes available, I'd just go through with it.  


     Wraith --Light--
        Best Attack String: G, G...etc
        Best Attacks: G
        Weakness: Medusa's Gaze

        These are way too easy to throw, so just block their attacks and throw
        them as often as possible. All their attacks are blockable. Don't even
        bother wasting your magic on these. 


     Archer --Light--
        Best Attack String: G, L

        These are also way too easy to throw. Not only that, if you press 
        L after G, you end up swinging the Archer around, and killing the
        Archer and every one else you hit while swinging the Archer. If you
        target heavier, more burlier, sets of opponents, you do an incredible
        amount of damage to that opponent. 

        When you're near, they do perform a melee attack, but you should be 
        able to grab them faster than they can melee you.

       
     Undead Legionnaire --Light--
        Best Attack String: Set 2(juggle), G, G...etc
                            G, L 

        These are the undead soldiers that are not wearing much armor. You see
        them for the first time in Act 1. Throw these around like the Archers
        as much as possible.
  
        If you attack these while they're grounded, they perform a helicopter
        attack similar to the one that Kratos has, so be ready to parry as soon
        as you attack. 

        If you perform H after you grab these, you don't get any red orbs at 
        all. 


     Fallen/Cursed Legionnaire --Light--
        Best Attack String: Set 2(juggle), G, G...etc
                            (inflict damage)mini-game, G, L

        These have more armor than their undead brethren. Their attacks are
        much more powerful too. Most notable of which is their jumping attack
        with the tell-tale blue-slash fx. Watch out for this, because you'll
        be wanting to reverse as soon as you see it. The enemy itself is only
        damaged by the reverse, but you do end up knocking away just about 
        everyone else around you. 

        These auto-escape your initial G attempts. You can only grab them as
        soon as the mini-game becomes available. Once you do grab them, treat
        them as if they're Archers and throw them towards everyone else. 

        If you perform H after you grab these, you don't get any red orbs at 
        all. 


     Magic Legionnaire --Light-- 
        Best Attack String: L, L, H, Set 2(juggle), G, G...etc
                            L, L, H, (inflict damage)mini-game, G, L

        Once you destroy their shield, treat them as if they're Fallen/Cursed
        Legionnaires.


     Legionnaire Captains --Light--
        Best Attack String: Set 2(juggle), G, G...etc
        Best Attack: Set 1, Set 2

        These are second only to Satyrs, skill-wise. They have a wide variety
        of attacks, most notable of which are their stabbing attacks and their
        3-hit string. You can not escape nor block their throw attempts either,
        so keep your distance. These auto-escape your initial G attempts as
        well, but because they always attempt a stabbing attack afterwards,
        you're given a free parry/reverse opportunity every time too, so take
        advantage of this as much as you can. 
 
        Your best recourse is to fight them defensively. Perform short Set 2
        attacks, and quickly block if need be. If the juggle's successful, 
        finish them off with an infinite string of G attacks. If it's not
        successful, get ready for retaliation. 

        They always perform a stab attack right after you attack them when
        they're grounded, so be sure to parry/reverse every time they do. 
        

        
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Survival Guide
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mt. Olympus is considered the last act, and we all know we don't need to do 
much there, so I won't be going over it. I'll be detailing what you need to
watch out for in the rest of the acts, particularly what you'll probably have
trouble in, enemy-wise. 


--Act 1: Aegean Sea--

This is the perfect time for you to practice fighting Undead Legionnaires and
Archers. Just remember how useful those grab attacks are, and you'll be fine. 

You'll be encountering Harpies for the first time as well, so grab them out 
of the air as often as you can or perform short Set 2 attacks. 

There's also a quick way to solve the box puzzle. Just kick the box to the 
furthest side of the boat, either to the extreme left or extreme right. Once
the box is flush to the side of the boat, start kicking it forward. 

Your opponents targeting system is a little off when you're on the side of the
ship. They get into the habit of targeting you, heading-wise--that is, they
try to predict where you are going, and hit you on the way to your destination.
Of course, this would work if you could go past the side of the ship, but you
won't. The Archers end up over-estimating and missing you completely. Just
time your dodges to ensure your safety.

Once you get the box near the high platforms, the Archer's aim degrades even 
more, so you should be safe until you can position it near the netting. 

Soon after this, you should be scaling walls. Note the amount of damage you
take the longer that you stay in one place. Move up as fast as you can. Attack
opponents only when necessary. 

Soon after this, should be the boss fight with the Hydra.


Hydra Boss Strategy
    The smaller hydra heads give out so much health and magic orbs once you hit
    them that they don't really pose a threat. Do a lot of Set 3 attacks, parry
    when they attack, and use as much magic as you want. Even if you get hit,
    chances are, they'll heal you with all orbs that you'll be getting. Just
    remember that you get more orbs just by casting Poseidon's Rage on the 
    head. 

    Once you battle the 3rd head, keep in mind the safe spot behind the wooden
    pole. The monster doesn't have anything he can hit you with when you're 
    behind it, save his roar attack that just pushes you back, so it's more of
    a taunt than an attack, really. 

    Try not to get hit by his bites as they do 95% of damage to you. 

    The hydra will keep using his roar attack on you, not unless you try and 
    hit him. Don't worry about missing him. You just want to coax him to bite 
    the platform, so that once he misses, he'll be within range of your 
    attacks. 

    Attack when he bites the N side of the circular platform. Start with 
    Poseidon's Rage, then end with a full, Set 3 combo. Every time you end with
    this string, you end up gaining so much magic and health in the 
    process. If you're careful enough, I wouldn't worry about both magic and
    health at this point--just end this battle as soon as possible. 

    
--Act 2: Athens--

Don't forget to do the Sex mini-game after the cg sequence. 

Once you do leave the boat, you end up facing the Fallen Legionnaires for 
the first time. You will be facing them often throughout the game, so I'd
start getting used to parry/reversing their attacks and killing them as 
quick as possible. 

You should meet the Minotaurs and the Cyclopes soon after. Start getting 
used to their attacks and the fastest way to kill them. Soon afterwards is
the battle with Medusa. 


Medusa Boss Strategy
    This fight will last too long if you don't cast Poseidon's Rage. I suggest
    casting as much of it as soon as possible. Run up to the chest, get magic
    orbs, then, again, cast Poseidon's Rage as much as possible. By then, you
    should have inflicted an incredible amount of damage to her. 

    At this point, parry/block as much as you can, carefully performing short
    Set 3 combos on Medusa. You can block all of her attacks, save the gaze, 
    so you should be fine if you just hold L1 a lot. 

    The problem really is the amount of damage she can inflict on you if you 
    mess up on your parry/block. If she succeeds with her dodge-to-claw-swipe
    attack, she inflicts about 80% of damage to you, so be careful. 

    If you feel like risking it, do L, H. You might just get lucky and end up
    juggling her. 

    Once you do beat her, you'll have to kill a bunch of Minotaurs, which is
    made easy by your newly acquired skill AND by a temporarily infinite magic
    bar. This sequence is pretty fun, so I'd enjoy it while it lasts. 


    Eventually, you'll meet regular Gorgons for the first time. They're not as
    strong as Medusa, but they can REALLY inflict a lot of damage on you still,
    so be mindful of how they attack and parry a lot. Cast Poseidon's Rage if
    possible. 

    The first horizontal rope walkway appears here. This is going to be really
    difficult the first run through, so remember your game mechanics.  

    You should reach a series of houses after a quick puzzle that involves
    petrifying a Minotaur. There's tons of chests in the houses so I'd check
    each and every single one of them. 

    Archers are all over the place, so throw them at other enemies as much as 
    possible. 

    Once you get to the Town Square, you should meet the Cyclopes Brutes. 
    There's a lot of bystanders when you fight them, so health shouldn't be
    an issue, but do familiarize yourself with their attacks at this point, as
    you'll be fighting a lot of these soon.

    An old woman with a key that you need should die soon, so you'll end up 
    backtracking and meeting more Gorgons and Magic Legionnaires, which you
    should see for the first time. Again, treat them as regular Fallen 
    Legionnaires as soon as you destroy their shields. 

    When you get to the rooftops, prepare yourself for your first encounter
    with the Wraiths. You'll be fighting Wraiths, Fallen Legionnaires, and
    some Archers downstairs. Once you go up, you'll be fighting Wraiths and
    some Cyclopes. *POSSIBLE USE OF RAGE OF THE GODS* The battle upstairs
    CAN be taxing, so you should probably use the Rage of the Gods, once
    you start seeing the Cyclopes. 

    After climbing a series of pillars, you should reach the fork that leads to
    Zeus' Thunderbolts. I'd take that first, then proceed upstairs. Once you do
    get upstairs, don't forget all forks in the pathway and get all the chests.

    Before you reach the Temple of the Oracle, you end up fighting a series of 
    Harpies and Gorgons. Dispose the Harpies as fast as you can before you
    attack the Gorgons--it's easier this way. 

    After the long puzzle with the Oracle, you should reach 2 branching 
    pathways. I suggest going upstairs for an item, then proceed down the 
    sewers. If possible, remember the chests you pass by, and save them for
    later use. You might need them. 

    You'll eventually fight a series of enemies that starts off with 2 
    Cyclopes and Fallen Legionnaires, then ends with Minotaurs, Archers, and
    more Legionnaires. If possible, employ the Effective Arena trick, 
    especially if you're low in life/magic. You will be facing a lot of 
    enemies at a time, so more than likely, you'll sustain a lot of damage. 
    Backtrack to the chests you passed by, if need be. 
    

--Act 3: Desert of Lost Souls--

The hunt for the Sirens is deceptive to begin with. Even though Athena tells 
you there's 3 Sirens, there's only 1 Siren in the ENTIRE desert at a time. 
There's also a precise order to where each subsequent Siren appears. A Siren
will appear in the NE, SE, and W side of the map, in that order. The Sirens DO
move a lot, so they won't always be in the same location, but they normally 
move near or around their spawn points. Jumping enlarges your view of the 
horizon, so jump a lot if need be.

Tons of chests hidden in this area, by the way. If you feel up to it, go look 
for all of them.

Once you're in the middle of the conveyor belt puzzle, just remember to 
prioritize knocking down opponents, and not so much trying to kill them. 


Alternate Strategy:
Contributor:
  [email protected]

He points out that you could actually destroy the spiked cylinder at the very
end of the conveyor belt. The puzzle itself isn't too hard or that taxing that
you'd employ this, but it's something neat, nonetheless. 


The group of Sirens you'll meet soon after shouldn't be a problem. Just
remember to block often. If a mini-game becomes available, go for it.


--Act 4: Pandora's Temple--

Before you enter the temple, you'll meet the Cyclops Desert Kings for the first
time. Their mini-game makes them easy to dispose off, unlike the green Cyclops
Brutes, so they shouldn't be too hard. Keep your distance, and, from there, 
perform Set 2 attacks early, until you hit them with the last, most powerful
part of the combo. 

You'll fight a group of Archers and Wraiths afterwards, but they're all 
susceptible to throws, so I really wouldn't worry about them too much. 

At the beginning of the Challenge of Atlas, you'll be fighting Undead 
Legionnaires followed by a large group of Gorgons. The Gorgons shouldn't give
you too much trouble once you perform Poseidon's Rage. Initiate the mini-game
often to regain some of that lost magic. 

Upstairs is a bunch of Fallen Legionnaires and Archers. These shouldn't be a 
problem for you now.

A new branch in the pathway opens up for you. I suggest going down first, just 
because it's harder. Not only do you have to pass through the horizontal rope,
you have to deal with a tremendous amount of opponents, made up mostly of 
Undead and Fallen Legionnaires, soon after you procure the puzzle item. 

Once you do get the puzzle item, get ready. *POSSIBLE USE OF RAGE OF THE GODS*
Now when I played, my meter wasn't full at all so I couldn't use Rage of the
Gods, and I STILL beat this portion, so it's not entirely impossible to beat
it. Your priority should be to throw as many opponents at each other as much as
possible before the Fallen Legionnaires start spawning. It's a little hard
to target who you really want to throw, so you'll have to change tactics
mid-way through this onslaught. Once you start seeing the Fallen Legionnaires,
knock everyone out to ONE side of the walkway, as much as you can. This way, 
your backside isn't too exposed, and at the same time, your Set 1 or Set 2
attacks will be hitting as many opponents as possible. I spent most of the time
hitting my opponents to the RIGHT side of the pathway, while the spikes are on
my LEFT side, so you should probably do the same. The spikes won't hurt you at
all--not until you get squashed in the middle of that AND the right wall, that
is. You are racing against time, so try and kill as much of them as quickly as
possible. 

When you do survive this, head back, and go through the other door on the
higher level. Solve the puzzle to proceed to the room with the gigantic
circular saws. 

I suggest solving the saw puzzle first, before proceeding anywhere else. Head
to the door on the N side, BUT back track as soon as you enter that door. This
effectively KEEPS the N door open for the duration of the game. Once the 
puzzle is solved, head to the E door. You'll eventually scale up walls to a
room housing a puzzle item. 

For you to gain access to the item, you need to defeat a bunch of Sirens and
Magic Legionnaires within a set amount of time. Fail, and you fall to your 
doom. *POSSIBLE USE OF RAGE OF THE GODS* I'd cast the Rage of the Gods just to 
ensure that you defeat all of your enemies as quickly as possible.

Go back to the saw blade room and solve the Atlas puzzle. There's plenty of
chests upstairs, so try to get all of them. Don't forget the first Muse Key
behind Atlas. 

Soon after this and the rolling cylinder, is Poseidon's Challenge. You'll meet
the Cerberus Breeders and Seeds for the first time. Kill the Breeders first, 
as quickly as you can. Medusa's Gaze should make this easy for you. After this
is a pair of Desert Kings. The actual block in the middle of the pathway slows
these down, so I wouldn't move it too much. 

After the small rotating room puzzle, you'll meet the Legionnaire Captains for 
the first time. I wouldn't underestimate these. They're quite skilled and tend
to inflict a boat-load of damage to you. Get used to their attack pattern 
because you'll be fighting a lot more of these soon after. 

When you climb up the walls, don't forget the other Muse Key which you can find
at the rightmost side of the highest, climbable part of the wall. 

You'll meet Minotaurs soon after, and the walkway you'll be fighting them on is
a little narrow, so try and make sure that you juggle or knockdown all of them
as often as you can. 

Whilst dragging the caged human legionnaire up the slope, be aware that you'll
be fighting what seems to be an endless amount of Legionnaire Captains. 4 of
these spawn at regular intervals after you kill preceding waves. I know it
sounds like a great way to wrack up on red orbs, but realize that these 
opponents are pretty tough themselves, so it's quite a risk. After a few waves
of these, you STOP getting red orbs, or any orbs, for that matter. There's 
plenty of better opportunities to gain experience too, so I'd just drag the
cage up the slope as quickly as possible if I were you.  Less headaches that 
way. 

After you've procured Poseidon's Trident and headed to the pool on the right,
you'll emerge within a cave filled with Cerberus Seeds. This is going to be
pretty tough. *POSSIBLE USE OF RAGE OF THE GODS* There's a significant amount
of these Seeds popping out, and you will be overwhelmed eventually, so I'd
cast the Rage of the Gods. I didn't have this luxury when I played, so it 
REALLY sucked for me, so I'd save up my Rage of the Gods for this if I were 
you. 


Alternate Strategy:
Contributor:
  Brandon Miller of Crossville, AL

Lance of the Furies (while in the air, L1 + G) works really well against 
the seeds apparently. If you double jump THEN do the move at the peak of your
jump, it's a lot harder for the seeds to hit you. I haven't done this myself,
but it is a very plausible strategy, given the evasion properties of your 
jump. 

Of course, you'd have to have maxed out your Blades of Chaos BEFORE this move
becomes available, but that shouldn't be a problem if you read Priority #1.


You'll be underwater most of the time after this, so there's nothing much to
worry about; until you have to start re-surfacing, that is. At one point,
you'll encounter some Legionnaire Captains protecting a large group of pots, 
and at another juncture, you'll have to fight a bunch of Harpies and various
Fallen Legionnaires to get access to the puzzle lever. Don't forget to
search for and ogle the Nyads while you're around here. Note that if you fail
to complete your set of Muse Keys by now, you'll get one if you open the chest
behind the large group of pots.

Soon after this is Hades' Challenge. You'll be meeting the Centaurs for the 
very first time as soon as you enter the grand hall. This sequence can be 
difficult. Centaurs themselves are fairly burly as it is, and they're not
suppose to stop spawning until after you've "sacrificed" 4 of them in each of
the sacrificial areas. The hardest sacrificial area is the one furthest from 
the long, ascending stairs. As far as I know, there's no Effective Arena around
the sacrificial area, so you'll just have to learn to herd and kill the 
Centaurs. There's an Effective Arena near the long, ascending stairs, however.
All you need to do is ascend the stairs until the Centaurs stop following you.
When they do stop, they'll be near the sacrificial area, while you're safely
beyond their reach. I don't remember them even trying to use the arrow attack
on you while you're up in the stairs, so don't worry about getting hit. Just
pummel them from a distance and you'll be fine. 

What follows is a simple maze filled with Gorgons, Archers, Centaurs, and 
Fallen Legionnaires--none of which should pose any real threat to you. Just
watch out for the Gorgon's melee attacks. They're still as potent as ever. 

After the room with the gigantic incendiary boulders (exit is 3rd left door 
from the ravine) some Minotaurs and Archers assail you. These Minotaurs are a
little tougher than usual, so just be mindful of their attacks. You'll be 
facing more of these, some Centaurs, and some Fallen Legionnaires in a smaller
circular arena. The arena is big enough that you should be able to maneuver 
yourself to more advantageous positions. I had to perform some simple 
hit-and-run tactics, just so it was harder for my opponents to surround me, so
consider how important your spacing and position is. 

After a series of beam-balancing puzzles, you'll eventually have to fight 
Pandora's Guardian. 


Pandora's Guardian Strategy
    Just remember to be always on the platform, near the lever for the log
    cannon, which is on the left side. The Undead Guardian should then run 
    towards the platform. Every time he reaches it, he'll pummel it, inflicting
    damage to anything that's on the platform. Time your jump to avoid this.

    He has a different set of attacks, depending on your location in the 
    platform: one set when you're on the left; one set when you're on the 
    middle; one set when you're on the right; you should be on the leftside
    by now if you followed my advice. 

    When you're on the left side, he has but one attack--a really slow and
    linear ground punch. It's really up to you how you want to attack the 
    Guardian's hand. Any combo is fine really as long as you're fairly safe
    right afterwards. Use Zeus' Thunderbolts if you can. The Guardian is 
    suppose to be weak against it. 
      
    This boss tends to give out a ton of health and magic orbs once you've 
    connected with the log cannon though, so he's not that hard really. There's
    plenty of room for mistakes, so I'd just take my time with this one. 


Eventually, you'd have procured all the puzzle items that you need and the
Army of Hades. Once you're back into the rotating room, go to the Muse Room and
claim your reward. Once you finish the final puzzle in the rotating room, 
you'll meet the Satyrs for the very first time. Remember your mechanics and 
this fight should be a breeze. From this point on, you'll be encountering a lot
of them, so get used to knocking these down as quickly as possible. 

There's not much to watch out for in the Cliffs of Madness, except for the
horde waiting for you in the caves and the lack of save points. For some reason
there's not a whole of these. Even if you find one, they're inconveniently
placed. It's critical that you survive these hordes before you reach the next
save point, unless you enjoy backtracking and fighting the same horde over and
over again. The most difficult horde involves Satyrs, mostly because of the
other enemies BESIDES the Satyrs--mostly Fallen Legionnaires. It takes a while
before you can throw these, so expect long battles. Throwing them around will
make things easier, but don't expect to kill a lot of Satyrs this way.

Once you get to the crane at the top of the Architect's Tomb, you will be
assailed by Desert Kings and some Cerberus Seeds. Employ the Effective Arena 
trick to make short work of them. 

You'll be fighting a great horde of Harpies and Archers before you get your 
hands on Pandora's Box. They can be quite a handful, so just remember that 
throwing the Archers around works really well here. Throw them at the other
Archers. Once they're all dead, work on the Harpies. Just stay away from the
gears and the flamethrowers, as you grab each Harpy. Remember that the 
flamethrowers only activate if you stay on a stationary platform for far too
long. Grab an enemy and move around as much as you can.


--Act 5: Underworld--

I really wouldn't suggest trying to get all of the chests in here. By now, you
should be strong enough that you don't need any of it anyways. Just breeze 
through this act. I wouldn't try and take too many of the pathways either. 
You can employ the Effective Arena trick in here a lot, thanks to the 
differences in the height of platforms. None of the Satyrs nor Minotaurs should
pose a threat to you as much as the Harpies, that is. They actually inflict
more damage than usual here, so don't get caught in the splash damage. Grab 
them as much as you can. If they're too far away, use Set 2 attacks. The H
portions of your attacks should hit them still. 


--Act 6: Return to Athens--

You'll be encountering just about all monster types once you get to the temple.
They'll come in waves--one set of a monster class after the other. If you're
strong enough, and you should be by now, this shouldn't be too hard. The 
Gorgons upstairs are easily disposed off through the Effective Arena trick. 
What follows is a hall filled with a series of Fallen and Undead Legionnaires. 
Proceed onwards to a save point and the Oracle herself. 


--Act 7: Battle with a God--

Once you get here, fill up on both your magic and health through the chests
found beyond the dying Oracle. Go back and save up right afterwards because 
this is going to be a long, grueling battle.

      Ares, Form 1
            If you die here and continue, you'll start back to the save point.
            More than likely you'll die, which is good actually. Once you come
            back to the save point, save up, so that you can skip the cinema
            every time, and just go right ahead with this battle.

            Here are all the attacks you need to watch out for, and your best
            recourse when you do encounter them.

            1. Double Hammer
            He summons the hammer, slams it down hard on the ground, then 
            swings it horizontally right afterwards. Once he slams the hammer
            down, it creates an unblockable stunning ripple. Once you're hit by
            the ripple, the second hammer attack is guaranteed IF you're 
            within range, inflicting 90-100% worth of damage to you. 

            This attack means instant death to you pretty much, so this should
            be the one thing you would watch out for. He only does this when
            you're near, or when he catches up to you once he runs. This is the
            FIRST attack he does when you try to hit him soon after the cinema 
            ends. 
   
            Parry the first hit, then QUICKLY dodge away from the second hit.
            DO NOT try to reverse this. Be sure you're not dodging to a nearby
            wall, because you WILL still get hit by the second attack. Use a
            quick Set 3 combo right afterwards. 

            2. Claw/Tentacle Attack
            He uses the claws on his back in this one, inflicting 60-80% worth
            of damage to you. He does the attack in multiples of 2. If he 
            swings left, he'll then swing right, and vice versa. If he starts
            blocking your combos, STOP attacking. He's about to parry and
            reverse with the claws. 
 
            The claws are blockable. You can parry it, but if you try to 
            reverse, the rest of the claws will hit you out of it anyway, so
            don't even try. Block the claws, then use L twice in between left
            and right groups of claw strikes. 

            3. Hammer Spin, Flamethrower
            He summons the hammer, spins it around, thrusts it once towards 
            you, then casts a flamethrower on you. The flamethrower itself 
            inflicts 100% of damage to you, depending on how early it hits you.
            If the flamethrower hits you at any point in time while it's being
            cast, the rest of the hits is guaranteed. 

            The hammer spins and thrust attack are predictable and slow, so I
            wouldn't worry about this. The flamethrower is the real problem, 
            because you have to be FACING Ares when you start blocking the
            flamethrower. Otherwise, the flamethrower will hit you, despite the
            fact that you blocked. You can parry any of these hits, just don't
            bother reversing. Attack right after you block the flamethrower.

            4. Axe combos
            As far as I can remember, he has 3 versions of this, but he only
            performs 2 of them often enough. If one strike hits you, Ares will
            finish off the combo, and inflict 50-100% of damage to you, 
            depending on which strike in the combo hits you. 

            One combo starts of with a quick horizontal strike, so get ready to
            parry this. Don't bother reversing any of these. Once you block 2 
            strikes, he'll stop attacking. At which point, perform L1+L
            (the helicopter spin). This is one of the few instances when this 
            attack is useful. You end up getting bonus health and magic orbs 
            this way. 

            Stop doing helicopter spins once Ares' life is less than 50%. Just
            do Set 3 attacks instead. He'll start parrying and using his claws
            at this point, hence the change in tactics. 

            5. Dash Grab
            He dashes towards you, thrusts the claws at you, and combos you. 
            If you block the entire dash sequence, then the combo ends. If you
            try to reverse after parrying the dash, the rest of the combo is
            guaranteed. 

            This move would have been good if it was faster and unblockable, 
            and it's a good thing that it's not. He raises both arms when he
            does this so do Set 3 combos, and parry the moment he dashes in. 
            Do more Set 3 combos while he recovers from the attack. I'm pretty
            sure the helicopter spin won't work, but go try anyway. The 
            recovery on that attack is terrible, so I wouldn't even chance
            using it, really.

            6. Air Fireball
            He'll stop, and his claws will start glowing and rise up. After a 
            certain point, he becomes invincible and teleports to the south
            side of the arena. He'll then hover, and unleash a series of 
            unblockable fireballs at you. He only casts these when his life is
            below 30%, but once he does, he casts it often. 

            You can get in a few hits with Set 3 combos as he casts this magic 
            and as he slowly hovers to cast the fireballs. You can dodge the
            fireballs, but be sure to dodge away from the south side of the 
            arena. Ares catches you with the fireballs when you're near him,
            so be sure to keep your distance, and move in different directions;
            preferably, away from walls. 

            
            Alternative Strategy:
            Contributors:
              [email protected]

            He points out that Zeus' Thunderbolts will knock Ares out of the 
            air, so if you have spare magic, just go ahead and use it.  


            General Strategy:
            Try not to get cornered, because Ares' attacks are more lethal that
            way. You don't double jump as high as you use to be, due to an 
            invisible ceiling the game set for you, so just use dodges. 

            Once you see Ares recoil from an attack string, keep attacking. 
            He'll end up dropping a few magic or health orbs this way. 

            Ares reacts based on the damage you inflict on him. Inflict enough
            and he'll stagger backwards, providing you with a ton of magic and
            health orbs. Once he does, he'll keep taunting you and stand in
            place for a while. This is the best time to inflict an incredible
            amount of damage on him using the Blades of Chaos, so take 
            advantage of this, because it doesn't happen very often. 

            Ares is supposedly weak against Army of Hades, so cast this WHEN
            your magic meter is full. Why you ask? Well, do realize that you 
            can only cast the Army of Hades twice, despite how long your magic
            meter is. The fact of the matter is, the magic itself costs a lot.
            You WILL need a bar close to full when you get to the sequence 
            after this, so save up your magic, and cast the Army of Hades ONCE
            every time your bar is full. More than likely, by that point, Ares
            will be providing you with some magic orbs, thusly replenishing 
            some of the magic you lost beforehand. 

            Once Ares is whittled down to nothing, the mini-game for him 
            begins, while at the same time providing you with a lot of magic
            and health orbs. His mini-game starts off with a lot of presses 
            with the circle. Once you see Kratos jump on Ares, stop pressing 
            circle, and follow the next 2 button presses. If you fail in the 
            mini-game you'll die instantly. If you succeed, you'll be rewarded 
            with 33 full bars of red orbs, and the right to go to the next 
            battle sequence.


       2nd Sequence
            The odds are stacked against you during this sequence. And when I
            mean stacked, I mean STACKED. Here's a list of what you need to 
            somehow overcome. 

            1. BOTH Kratos and his family takes 5 times more damage than usual.
               His family doesn't have much hit points to begin with, so expect
               them to die more than Kratos.

            2. Your family has a weird hit box. It's wide enough that if you're
               close enough to them while getting hit, THEY get hit too! They
               tend to be in the way of your attacks as well, sometimes 
               nullifying the hit box of YOUR attacks. You'll notice this a lot
               when your family is between you and an enemy. 

            3. You get a special G attack in this sequence, that takes forever
               to execute, even though it kills an opponent instantly. You 
               can't throw your opponents at each other either.

            4. All your opponents are hard to stun. It takes time for a combo
               to make your opponents to stagger or to juggle. 

            5. Once an opponent commits to an attack, you can't interrupt the 
               attack anymore.

            6. Once the battleground shrinks, everyone will be spawning around
               you. This means that they will always start off surrounding you
               already.

            7. Your opponents don't give you that much orbs--both magic and
               health.

            
            General Strategy:
            There might be other ways of surviving this sequence, but I think
            luck does factor in on this, in that, the conditions have to be
            favorable to you if you are going to win. Luck, in itself, is an
            uncontrollable variable, so here's a list of what you can do, so
            you'd end up lasting longer than usual.

            1. Again, be sure to have as much magic as possible. Make sure your
               Rage of the Gods is full. 

            2. The only combo you'll be using are the Set 1 strings, preferably
               the L, L(hold) one. 

            3. Ideally, you want to kill as much opponents as you can within a
               small amount of time. You want as much of them spawning once
               you activate your Rage of the Gods and doublecast. 

            4. Remember that a new opponent starts spawning after you kill one.
            
            5. You want to get to the point where you only fight the ones
               wielding the Blade of Artemis. They're slower, but their range
               and damage dealt is higher than their other brethren. You'll
               know you're close to ending the sequence once you only see these
               guys popping out.

            6. Don't worry about the guy throwing the thunderbolts. Concentrate
               on everyone else in the stinking rock you're on. 
            
            7. Attack your opponents as soon as they spawn. 
            
            8. Parry and reverse as often as you can. Reverse using the L
               attack. 

            9. Use your magic sparingly. Use the Army of Hades if you do. If 
               you think your family is in danger, cast it. In the beginning,
               if your meter just became full, just cast it anyway. Start 
               saving up magic orbs for later use. Do NOT ever cast the magic
               unless you really need to do. 
   
            The first thing you should do is run up to your family, face SW, 
            then perform L, L(hold) on the one just spawning. Then face NE to
            hit the enemy there with the last part of your string to knock him
            out. 

            From here on out, try and kill as many opponents as you can. The
            key is performing L, L(hold) WHILE changing directions, depending
            on where the opponent is. Don't move too far from you family. Keep
            swinging your Blades of Chaos in a circular pattern. 

            You'll be overwhelmed soon after, so cast Army of Hades once. Keep
            killing your opponents until you're overwhelmed again. Cast Rage of
            the Gods, and doublecast Army of Hades and Poseidon's Rage. Do this
            twice. 

            You're kind of screwed after this, so you have to rely on L, 
            L(hold) in circular patterns near your family in the mean time.
            Cast Army of Hades sparingly, because it just costs way too much. 

            When I played, I couldn't fill my Rage of the Gods enough, even 
            though it was close to full, so I wouldn't rely on it soon after 
            you use it. 

            Again, this is all said easier than done. Too many things are 
            working against you, so do hope that you catch some breaks while
            fighting, more notably reversal-wise and magic-wise. 

            Killing everyone as fast as possible or, at least, knocking them
            away is your number one priority. Do this well enough and you might
            just make it to the next sequence. 


            Alternative Strategy:
            Contributors: 
              [email protected] 
              [email protected] 
              [email protected]

            Apparently, your Rage of the Gods meter goes up substantially every
            time you heal your family! That's great news, considering how much
            easier this sequence can be, IF you can cast Rage of the Gods more
            than once, that is. 

            This does mean that you'll have to let the doppelgangers hit your 
            family, because your meter won't go up, not unless you're healing
            your family whilst you lose some of your health in the process. 

            This strategy poses some obvious risks, so hope to catch some 
            breaks along the way. 

            One also points out that L, L, H works better than the Set 1 
            attacks as well. If you find this better for you, go ahead and use
            it. I didn't find this particularly useful myself, but it might
            work for some, so just try either and see what works for you. 

            A combination of this and what's on the general strategy SHOULD
            tremendously help everyone out there. 
            

      Ares, Form 2
            This form is harder to beat, only because you lose your Blades of
            Chaos and get a much crappier weapon. 

            The weapon doesn't allow you to grab, but you do get an extra 
            attack button instead. Here are your best combos:

            square, circle, circle
            square, square...

            Do NOT attempt any of the other combos, mostly because they're 
            slow recovering. Here are the attacks you need to watch out for:
            
            1. Guard Break, Claw Attack
            Ares extends his hand, creates an unblockable small explosion that 
            stuns you, then hits you with his claws. The entire combo kills you
            instantly.

            You can't parry or interrupt him during this entire string, so just
            be sure to run away whenever he tries to come close to you, because
            that's the only time he'll be doing this. 

            2. Sword Plunge, Earth Attack
            He teleports to the N side of the arena, slowly plunges his sword 
            on the ground, and 4 tall earthen structures come out and crush
            anything in between all 4 of them. They come out at your current
            location and kill you instantly, even though you're blocking. 
            Dodge is your only way out. 

            His execution is slow though, so quickly strike him with the 
            combos, when he plunges the sword and when you dodge away from the 
            earthen structures. This is one of the few and best times to attack
            him.
             
            3. Sword Combo, Taunt
            He performs a series of sword attacks on you, then end with a 
            taunt. The sword strikes are not that quick so you should be able
            to block this. Attack him during his taunt. 

            4. Guard Break, Army of Hades
            Instead of the Claw Attack, he casts the Army of Hades. The magic
            attack is blockable, but Ares sometimes rushes towards you to 
            to perform another guard break. 

            Either way, the first part shouldn't have hit you anyway. Dodge
            when the opportunity arises. 

 
            General Strategy:
            This form is easy. Just play defensively, and you should be fine.
            Don't get careless with your attacks--attack when you know he can't
            retaliate. Try not to attack while he's blocking. 

            When you get the parry "time stopping" animation and the long
            blade-clash sound fx, then a mini-game starts. Just press circle a
            lot and you'll win every time, whilst taking out a good chunk of 
            his life. If you DON'T hear the sound, you're in a world of hurt,
            not unless you block in time. 

Well I won't be boring you with what happens once you do beat Ares' final 
form. Just be glad you did, and congrats for a job well done. Enjoy your reward
in the Treasures menu. 



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. Legal
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
This file may not be reproduced, quoted, or posted by any other website aside 
from www.gamefaqs.com, and those that specifically asked and received my 
permission. Proper notification via email and credit to me, Andre de Leon, is 
necessary to attain said permission. 

I, Andre de Leon, wrote this faq and, thusly, own the copyrights to it. 



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V. Version History
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Version 1.0 - 4/5/05
    - added everything in the Introduction
    - added guide to Act 7

Version 1.1 - 4/9/05
    - added enemy classes and weaknesses
    - added guides to Act 1-4
    - corrected minor errors

Version 1.2 - 4/19/05
    - added contributed material
    - corrected minor errors

Version 1.3 - 5/19/05
    - added LONG overdue guides for Act 5-6 
    - finished guide to Act 4, finally
    - re-write on intro
    - corrected minor errors
    - added contributed material, updated credits

Version 1.4 - 6/23/06
    - added extra strategy against the room full of Cerberus Seeds
    - corrected minor errors



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VI. Credits
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prima Strategy Guide for God of War
     - for the Damage Index numbers
     - for the act numbers
     - for writing an all-too vague God Mode guide

David Jaffe and his staff
     - for meeting all of our expectations
     - for raising the bar

To these contributors
     - [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
        for alternative strategy for 2nd sequence in the Ares boss battle
     - [email protected]
        for air juggle infinite with Minotaurs
     - [email protected], [email protected]
        for air juggle infinite with Gorgons
     - Ben Baxter
        for alternative Doublecast
     - [email protected]
        for pointing out that you can destroy the spiked cylinder at the end
        of the conveyor belt puzzle. 
     - [email protected]
        for pointing out that you CAN bolt Ares' butt out of the air
     - Brandon Miller of Crossville, AL
        for another way to clear the room full of Cerberus Seeds

To the readers

To an unbelievable time in my life and back to nothing again...
       

If you wish to contribute, ask questions, etc, feel free to email me. You'll be
credited accordingly if you do contribute.