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Max Upgrade Guide

by keltin_2002

                                   

                              ;~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~,  
                             /   _____________   \
                            /   /             \   \
       _____           _   |   |          __   |   |   _    _            
      |  __ \         | |  |   |         / _|  |   |  | |  | |           
      | |  \/ ___   __| |  |   |    ___ | |_   |   |  | |  | | __ _ _ __ 
      | | __ / _ \ / _` |  |   |   / _ \|  _|  |   |  | |/\| |/ _` | '__|
      | |_\ \ (_) | (_| |   \   \ | (_) | |   /   /   \  /\  / (_| | |   
       \____/\___/ \__,_|    \   \ \___/|_|  /   /     \/  \/ \__,_|_|   
                           ,  \   \         /   /  ,
                           |\__|   |       |   |__/|
                           |       |       |       |
                           |_______|       |_______|

  .-------------------------------------------------------------------------.
 /  .-.     Title   : God of War � Early Maximum Weapon Upgrades        .-.  \
|  /   \    Purpose : Show how to max all items early in the game      /   \  |
| |\_.  |   Author  : Collaborative Effort by Chris, Paul, & Dario    |    /| |
|\|  | /|   Email   : [email protected]; [email protected];   |\  | |/|
| `---' |           : [email protected]                      | `---' |
|       |   Version : 1.3                                             |       |
|       |-------------------------------------------------------------|       |
\       |                                                             |       /
 \     /                                                               \     /
  `---'                                                                 `---'


                         ___
                        ( ((
                         ) ))
  .::.                  / /(
 'O .-;-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-/| ((::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::._
(o ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( |  )) WARNING � THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS GUIDE   _.>
 `O `-;-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-\| ((::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::'
  `::'                  \ \(
                         ) ))
                        (_((




/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\                            TABLE OF CONTENTS                                /
 \___________________________________________________________________________/


I ---- VERSION HISTORY


II --- GUIDE AT A GLANCE


III -- INTRODUCTION


IV --- THE BASICS

  1. Achieving Max Upgrades - Can you fully upgrade everything during the game?
  2. About Red orbs
  3. About Upgrades 
  4. About Combos � Combo Keepers and Combo Breakers
  5. About Poseidon�s Rage
  6. About Medusa�s Gaze


V ---- EARLY RED ORBS : EARLY GAME STRATEGIES

  1. Grab and O Button soldiers
  2. Extend the Hydra Battle
      a. First Hydra Encounter 
      b. Second Mini-hydra Battle
      c. Climbing the Nets
      d. The Final Hydra Battle
  3. The �Sex� Mini-Game
  4. Infinitely Bounce a Soldier  


VI --- UNLIMITED RED ORBS : A WARRIOR�S WAY

  1. Aphrodite�s Gift 
      a. The Evasion Combo Keeper
      b. The Mini-Game Combo Keeper 
  2. Minotaur Puzzle Room
  3. Temple of the Oracle


VII -- INFINITE RED ORBS : GLITCHING AN ENEMY
  
  1. Challenge of Atlas - The Harpy Fountain


VIII - POSSIBLE BUT UNVERIFIED ENEMY GLITCHES

  1. Aegean Sea 
  2. Gates of Athens 
  3. The Road to Athens 
  4. Rooftops of Athens 
  5. Temple of the Oracle 
  6. Sewers of Athens 
  7. Challenge of Poseidon 


IV --� FUN ENEMY GLITCHES

  1. Rooftops of Athens 


X ---- CREDITS & COPYRIGHTS




/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\                              VERSION HISTORY                                /
 \___________________________________________________________________________/


 Version 1.3 � 3/24/05
 :Added the �Infinitely Bounce a Soldier� section to the Early Red Orbs
 :section.

 Version 1.2 � 12/28/05
 : Corrected some more typos.
 : Added a new possible but unverified glitch to said section.
 : Thanks to HappyKhicken (User at GameFaqs) for submitting this glitch tip.

 Version 1.1 - 12/8/05
 : Corrected some typos and grammatical errors.
 : Added the new �Guide at a Glance� section.

 Version 1.0 � 10/18/05
 : Initial writing of this guide
 : It�s taken much longer to get this together than expected.  So, this 
 : initial version will probably have some typos that we will fix later. For
 : now, we want to get this information in the gamer�s hands.  Enjoy!






/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\                             GUIDE AT A GLANCE                               /
 \___________________________________________________________________________/
  

Here is the abbreviated version of this guide.  It�s a quick look at how to
get Max Upgrades.  If you need more info, look to the appropriate sections
that follow later in the guide.

1. Start a new game and for EVRY soldier you meet, grab it with the
O Button and then repeatedly push the O button to have Kratos beat that 
enemy to death.  This technique releases the maximum number of orbs for
an enemy kill.  Do this with all �grabable� soldiers.  This means to also
lure the soldiers on the mast netting down off the nets so that you can 
do this to them on the mast deck.

2. Get high hitting combos.  After you hit an enemy once, you have 2
seconds to hit it again or to hit another enemy for your combo string to be
counted. That 2 second period is your Combo Timer.  Various combo counts net
you a red orb bonus.  The max count for a red orb bonus is a 1,000 hit combo.
A 1,000 hit combo string nets a total of 1,490 red orbs.

3. Pause the Combo Timer by evading (use the right analog stick). All 
evasions pause the Combo Timer.  So, if you aren�t close enough to hit the
next enemy, evade up to three times in order to preserve your Combo Timer and
get that next hit in.

4. When you get Medusa�s Gaze, do not use it on the Minotaurs, instead
switch to Poseidon�s Rage (PR) to rack up massive combos.  During this part 
of the game, Aphrodite gives you infinite magic so that you can stone the 
Minotaurs.  While it is infinite magic, it refills slowly.  PR actually
uses your magic faster than it can replenish, so cast PR, evade once or
twice so that your magic has time to refill, and then cast PR again in order
to string together high hitting combos.

5. During the Challenge of Atlas, glitch a harpy that you find after passing
through the �shield door�.  This harpy is at the base of the tower that holds
the crank handle for the Atlas Statue.  Make that harpy die on top of the
ladder that is at the base of the tower in order to get it to glitch and shower
you with infinite red orbs.




/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\                               INTRODUCTION                                  /
 \___________________________________________________________________________/


In God of War, you�ll notice that, like many other games, you start with a 
few weapons at minimum level.  As the game progresses, you acquire more
weapons and the ability to upgrade your weapons.  In God of War, this is
accomplished by acquiring Red orbs (a.k.a. experience).  You use your red
orbs to basically purchase your next upgrade.

The game offers you red orbs in a variety of ways from being hidden in chests
to being dropped by enemies (see the �About Red Orbs� section for more info).

Sadly, many gamers have noticed that, on the average playthrough, depending 
on how you played, you don�t get enough red orbs to upgrade all of your 
weapons till the end of the game, and often you don�t have enough red orbs to
fully upgrade everything until AFTER the game is over.  Since God of War
doesn�t have a �new game plus� feature, upgrading your weapons once the 
game is over is a let down since you don�t have a chance to use the upgrades
during actual gameplay.

That�s where this guide comes in.  By using and following this guide, you 
will be able to fully upgrade every weapon and magic spell very early in the
game.  Roughly 50% of your weapons (everything you have at that point in the
game) can be upgraded during the SECOND chapter of the game which is called
the Gates of Athens (shortly after leaving the ship and the Aegean Sea).  In
fact, it is also possible to use this self-same upgrade opportunity to store
red orbs so that you can fully upgrade the remaining weapons once you acquire
them later in the game.

There are also other chances later in the game to fully max out your
weapons, or just get some extra orbs, so you aren�t stuck using just one
possible location.  But hey, early is better right?  Especially on God Mode.
Still, all opportunities will be listed in this guide.

It should be noted that this guide was written for the God Mode difficulty.
It still works for all other difficulties, but some of the enemy drops will
be slightly smaller since the enemies die more quickly in the lower
difficulties.  However, all tricks and tips outside of enemy drops remain
unchanged.

In accomplishing this guide, three of us sat down to build the best guide
possible.  We are:

+--------------------------------------------------+
| keltin_2002 = [email protected] = Chris      |
| Mongoose525 = [email protected] = Paul       |
| Ishtar Dark = [email protected] = Dario |
+--------------------------------------------------+

Feel free to email comments, suggestion, tips, etc, to any one or all of us.

Now, let�s get to the guide.



/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\                                THE BASICS                                   /
 \___________________________________________________________________________/


 ________________________
/ Achieving Max Upgrades \
\________________________/

You have weapons and magic and the ability to upgrade their powers and 
moves. So, the question becomes, can you fully upgrade all your weapons
during regular gameplay.

The short answer is yes it is possible (with proper strategy).

However, the honest and in-depth answer is NO, not on a regular gameplay
where you don�t go out of your way to get those extra orbs you need.

The game gives you red orbs in a variety of ways.  Some are found in chests,
some come from enemy drops (they release red orbs when you kill them), some
come from Boss Battles, and some come from high hitting combos.  The
game is designed to give you enough orbs to upgrade about 90% of your
items during the final battle of the game.  As you play the game you�ll get 
orbs from chest, enemy drops, and boss battles.  This means, if you don�t
concentrate on strategic battle tactics, you will not be able upgrade
everything to the max by the game�s end.

The only way to upgrade everything before the final battle is to make
strong use of the combat system.  Sting together high hitting combos for
big red orb bonuses, or use magic for special kills and red orb bonuses, 
or use special grab and kill techniques for bonuses � or use all three in
order to get enough orbs for complete upgrades.

Further, the player must ask the question of WHEN do you want to upgrade
your weapons and magic.  Do you want to struggle through the most of the
game with low level items, or do you want max upgrades early on so you
can enjoy the full power of Kratos during the whole game?

Read on further for everything you wanted to know about, not only
upgrading all your weapons and magic, but also being able to do so very
early in the game.


 _______________________
/    About Red Orbs     \
\_______________________/

So, what are red orbs.  Basically they are experience, and more to the point
they are the �currency� with which you will purchase the upgrades for your
weapons and magic.

The current amount of orbs is displayed in the upper left hand corner and
is indicated by a red line and a number.  The red line is the �bar� that you
are currently filling.  The number is the total number of full bars that
you have in your inventory.  A bar is worth 300 red orbs, so if your 
display shows a 3, then you have 3 bars and 3 x 300 = 900 red orbs PLUS the
amount indicated by the current red line (bar).  If the red line is halfway
across, it means the current bar you are filling is half full which indicates
approximately 150 red orbs.  So, a 3 plus a half full bar means you have
900 + 150 = 1,050 red orbs.

If you hit the start button and go to your upgrade screen, the total number
of orbs you are carrying is shown in its entirety, so on that screen 
you would see 1,050 as the total.

The game displays red orbs in bar on the main screen in order to free space.
It takes less space to show 28 and a half full bar than it does to show the
number of 8,550.  Once you get used to counting bars (just multiply by 300), 
tracking your orbs is a snap from the main game screen.  For added simplicity,
upgrade costs in this guide will also be converted to total bars as well.
Please see the �About Upgrades� section for more information.

As for acquiring Red Orbs, there are several places to get them.  You
can get them from Chests that are glowing red.  You can get them from SOME
of the unlit chests.  You can get them from Boss Battles.  You can get them
from destroying destructible parts of the scenery such as vase, flower pots,
boxes, etc.  And the biggest supply of red orbs at your disposal is from 
enemy drops.  Every time you kill an enemy they will usually drop red orbs.

More than that however is that if you battle enemies and string together
high hitting �combos�, you also get a combo bonus.  The combo bonus is of
key importance to successfully upgrading your items to the max and doing
so early in the game.  Please refer to the About Combos section for more
information.

--Infinite Enemies�

It should be noted there are a few places in the game where enemies can
re-spawn forever.  This happens when you are required to do something
special in order to solve/pass this enemy puzzle.

An important thing to note is that, while the enemies will re-spawn forever,
they will actually STOP dropping red orbs after a few kills.  They basically
�dry up�.  So, even though they keep coming and you keep killing them, they
will stop giving you red orbs for a simple kill.

HOWEVER, even though they have dried up, you can STILL get red orbs from
combos and the special Medusa stone and smash kill.  So, even though a 
regular kill will stop producing red orbs, you can still obtain red orbs
from a dried up infinite enemy by using Medusa�s gaze and high hitting
combos.


 
 _______________________
/    About Upgrades     \
\_______________________/

To completely upgrade every weapon and every magic in God of War, you will
need a total of 65,650 red orbs.  Remember, there are 300 red orbs per 
red orb bar.

The total number of red orbs for a maximum upgrade of each weapon and magic
is as follows:

Blades of Chaos ----- 16,500 :  55.0 Red Orb Bars
Blade of Artemis ---- 13,750 :  45.8 Red Orb Bars
Poseidon�s Rage -----  6,150 :  20.5 Red Orb Bars
Medusa�s Gaze ------- 10,500 :  35.0 Red Orb Bars
Zeus�s Fury ---------  4,250 :  14.1 Red Orb Bars
Army of Hades ------- 14,500 :  48.3 Red Orb Bars
.................................................

Total Orbs ---------- 65,650 : 218.8 Red Orb Bars



*===============* 
| SYMBOL LEGEND |
*===============*

/\ = Triangle Button
[] = Square Button
O  = O Button
X  = X Button
L3 = Press DOWN on the left analog stick till it �clicks�
R3 = Press DOWN on the right analog stick till it �clicks�

LAS = Left Analog Stick
RAS = Right Analog Stick
(in Air) = Kratos must be in the Air to perform this move
hold = continually hold down the specified button to accomplish this move



*========================================* 
| GIFTS OF THE OLYMPIANS � YOUR ARSENAL |
*========================================*

In this game, just like in all other games of the action/adventure genre, the 
main character has/gets certain interesting, exciting, graphically stunning
and above all else, useful abilities. In God of War, these "gifts" (commonly
referred to as "magic") are given to you sporadically by different Olympians.
This section's goal is to give you information about all the magic, a feat
necessary in our goal of giving you the most out of God of War, making it a
more pleasant experience overall. Let us get moving, then, shall we...



*=================* 
| Blades of Chaos |
*=================*

Quick Tip: Total Orbs Needed To Achieve Maximum Upgrade = 16,500

Forged in the fiery depths of Hades, the Blades of Chaos are your starting
weapon(s), given to Kratos by the God of War, Ares, after Kratos made the
pledge to become Ares's disciple in exchange for Ares saving his life on the
battle field. 


                     LEVEL 1 - starting level
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Icarus Lift          |     X, X        |A double jump.                     |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Ascension            |    hold /\      |A move that launches an enemy (or  |
 |                     |                 |enemies) and Kratos into the air.  |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Orion's Harpoon      |     Tap O       |After launching an enemy into the  |
 |                     |                 |air, do this move to slam          |
 |                     |                 |him/her/it back to the ground.     |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Hades Revenge        |    Tap L1       |A parrying move. Use just before   |
 |                     |                 |the enemy strikes.                 |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Plume of Prometheus  |   [], [], /\    |The all-around useful, quick combo |
 |                     |                 |that knocks enemies off their feet |
 |                     |                 |It also breaks the magic shields   |
 |                     |                 |of certain shielded soldiers.      |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


      LEVEL 2 - 1,500 Red Orbs needed, More Power and Combos Available
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Rage of the Gods     |    L3 + R3      |Can only be used if your Rage of   |
 |                     |                 |the Gods meter is full. It gives   |
 |                     |                 |you temporary invincibility.       |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Apollo's Ascension   |    L1 + X       |Launches enemies and Kratos into   |
 |                     |                 |the air at the same time.          |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Apollo's Offensive   | (in Air)L1 + X  |Powerful attack that slams enemies |
 |                     |                 |back to the ground.                |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Hermes Rush          |      R1         |Simple dash attack.                |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Hermes Stomp         |  (in Air)R1     |A quick stomping attack that       |
 |                     |                 |drives Kratos back to the ground.  |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Tempest of the Fates | [], [], hold[]  |A powerful attack; only during     |
 |                     |                 |Rage of the Gods.                  |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


      LEVEL 3 - 2,250 Red Orbs needed, More Power and Combos Available
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Cyclone of Chaos     |    L1 + []      |A 360 degree spin attack. Good for |
 |                     |                 |fallen enemies, since it leaves    |
 |                     |                 |you open for attack for a couple   |
 |                     |                 |of seconds after it ends.          |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Cyclone of Chaos     | (in Air)L1 + [] |360 degree spin attack in the air. |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Spirit of Hercules   |   /\, /\, /\    |A very powerful but slow combo.    |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Valor of Hercules    |   /\, /\, []    |Ends in a wide chain swipe.        |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Hades Revenge        | [] or /\ or R1  |Use while in parrying mode to      |
 |                     |                 |counter an enemy. After a          |
 |                     |                 |successful L1 parry, hit any of     |
 |                     |                 |these buttons to counter attack    |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


       LEVEL 4 - 3,750 Red Orbs needed, More Power and Combos Available
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Rising Helios        |    L1 + /\      |A one-way rolling attack that      |
 |                     |                 |ends in a powerful slam.           |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Falling Helios       | (in Air)L1 + /\ |An airborne version of Rising      |
 |                     |                 |Helios.                            |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Hermes Fury          |   R1, R1, R1    |Multi-hitting rush attacks.        |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Achilles Flip        |    RAS + X      |Use during a roll evasion (Right   |
 |                     |                 |Analog Stick)                      |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 
       LEVEL 5 (MAX) - 9,000 Red Orbs needed, Power and Combos Available 
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Lance of the Furies  |    L1 + O       |A ground-wave move. The longer you |
 |                     |                 |hold O, the bigger the shockwave   | 
 |                     |                 |is.
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Lance of the Furies  | (in Air)L1 + O  |Airborne version of the Lance of   |
 |                     |                 |the Furies.                        |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Might of Hercules    |   [], hold[]    |The most powerful combo for the    |
 |                     |                 |Blades.                            |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Athena's Blessing    |      N/A        |Infinite magic power during Rage   | 
 |                     |                 |of the Gods.                       |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------



*================*
|Poseidon's Rage |
*================*

Quick Tip: Total Orbs Needed To Achieve Maximum Upgrade = 6,150

The best magic gift for getting extremely high combo hit numbers, given to
you by Poseidon in-between the second mini-Hydra battle and the final one.
Using it properly can bring you massive combo hit numbers, thus bringing you
more Red Orbs, and you can never get too many of those.


                     LEVEL 1 - starting level
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Poseidon's Rage      |      L2         |A bright-blue blast of energy      |
 |                     |                 |surrounds Kratos and damages every |
 |                     |                 |enemy within the radius.           |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Poseidon's Rage      |  (in Air)L2     |Same thing, just airborne.         |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


     LEVEL 2 - 1,650 Red Orbs needed, More Power and Larger Blast Radius
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Poseidon�s Rage    |  L2 + Rapid O   |After using Poseidon's Rage, keep  |
 |                     |                 |mashing the O button to use this   |
 |                     |                 |attack which prolongs and          |
 |                     |                 |empowers the blast.                |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


    LEVEL 3 - 4,500 Red Orbs needed, More Power and Larger Blast Radius
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Poseidon�s Rage    |  L2 + Rapid O   |Most powerful version of Wrath of  |
 |                     |                 |Poseidon, keep pressing the O      |
 |                     |                 |button to use this attack which    |
 |                     |                 |prolongs and empowers the blast.   |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------



*==============*
|Medusa's Gaze |
*==============*

Quick Tip: Total Orbs Needed To Achieve Maximum Upgrade = 10,500

Instant enemy statue.  Technically, it is given to you by Aphrodite, 
although you actually have to fight Medusa to get it.

Stoning an enemy and smashing him/her/it gives you an immediate +15 Red
Orb bonus, while stoning an enemy that is airborne (and letting them come
crashing down) gives you a +30 Red Orb bonus. Don't lag, though, as you
have to smash the stoned enemy quickly, or the enemy shakes off its stoned
state. 

A nice perk to this is that sometimes the other enemies will accidentally
smash their stoned comrade.  Nice helping hand.

Medusa's Gaze doesn't work on Gorgons, or any of the Bosses.


                     LEVEL 1 - starting level
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Gorgon Torrent       |  L1 + hold[]    |Emits a beam that eventually       |
 |                     |                 |stones enemies: the stronger the   |
 |                     |                 |enemy, the longer it takes to      |
 |                     |                 |stone him                          |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


      LEVEL 2 - 3,000 Red Orbs needed, More Power and Moves Available
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Gorgon Flash         |    L2 + /\      |Instant freeze on a single enemy.  |
 |                     |                 |If it doesn't instant-freeze an    |
 |                     |                 |enemy, cast it again because       |
 |                     |                 |stronger enemies require a double  |
 |                     |                 |dose.                              |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Gorgon Flash         |   (in Air) L2   |Activate while in the Air          |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


      LEVEL 3 - 7,500 Red Orbs needed, More Power and Moves Available
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 | Gorgon Rage         |   L2 + hold O   |A wide ground-wave that freezes    |
 |                     |                 |all enemies on screen.             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             
 

*============*
|Zeus's Fury |
*============*

Quick Tip: Total Orbs Needed To Achieve Maximum Upgrade = 4,250

A gift from the ruler of the Gods himself, this is the lightning bolts of
Zeus himself.  Although limited in use and power, it comes in handy on 
occasion.


                     LEVEL 1 - starting level 
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Zeus's Fury          |   hold L2 + []  |A long-range lightning bolt attack.|
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Zeus's Fury          |    (in Air)     |A long-range lightning bolt        |
 |                     |   hold L2 + []  |performed while in the Air.        |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


      LEVEL 2 - 750 Red Orbs needed, More Power and Moves Available
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Might of Zeus        |    hold L2      |A charged lightning bolt attack    |
 |                     |   + hold /\     |that "explodes" on impact, hurting | 
 |                     |   to charge     |surrounding enemies as well as the |
 |                     |  this attack    |targeted one � release /\ to fire. |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


                  LEVEL 3 - 3,500 Red Orbs needed
            Maximizes Zeus's Fury power and shooting rate, 
            Maximizes Might of Zeus's blast range and power



*=================* 
|Blade of Artemis |
*=================*

Quick Tip: Total Orbs Needed To Achieve Maximum Upgrade = 13,750

A gift from the huntress Artemis.  It�s a HUGE blade that can literally cut
enemies in two.  It�s very slow to respond, and the new attack assigned
to the O Button can greatly interfere with all O Button Mini-Games.  
It does have it�s uses, so feel free to experiment.


                     LEVEL 1 - starting level
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Sword Summon         |  hold (L1 + R1) |Summons the Blade                  |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Sword Summon         |  hold (L1 + R1) |Airborne Summon                    |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Sword Sheath         |  hold (L1 + R1) |Summons the Blades of Chaos.       |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Wrath of Artemis     |  hold L1 + X    |A sword-spinning attack.           |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Revenge of Artemis   |  hold L1 + []   |Slow but very powerful.            |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Ascension of Artemis |   hold L1 +     |Launches enemies and Kratos into   |
 |                     |    hold  /\     |the air.                           |
 |.....................|.................|...................................|
 |Retribution of       |  hold L1 + O    |Extremely slow, but it is the most |
 |Artemis              |                 |powerful sword strike.             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


                   LEVEL 2 - 3,750 Red Orbs needed 
                  Increases the Blade's Attack Power

                  LEVEL 3 - 10,000 Red Orbs needed
                  Maximizes the Blade's Attack Power


  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |               Special Note for the Blade of Artemis                       |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |                                                                           |
 |Note: In addition to these specialty moves, the Blade of Artemis also has  |
 |a �regular� attack for each button.  Simply press Triangle, Square, or the |
 |O button to utilize the regular attacks.  The X button is still jump with  |
 |the Blade of Artemis.                                                      |
 |                                                                           |
 |NEW to the Blade of Artemis versus the Blades of Chaos is a new in air     |
 |O Button attack.  Simply jump into the Air and hit O button to perform.    |
 |                                                                           |
 |ALSO new is an R1 attack.  Simply hit R1 at any time to perform.           |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------



*==============* 
|Army of Hades |
*==============*

Quick Tip: Total Orbs Needed To Achieve Maximum Upgrade = 14,500

Given to you by Hades himself; it summons the souls of the underworld to 
battle at your side.  It is very powerful and looks very cool, but it takes
a heavy chunk of magic from your bar.


                      LEVEL 1 - starting level
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |     MOVE NAME       |    CONTROL      |           DESCRIPTION             |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |Army of Hades        |       L2        |Summons souls to attack enemies.   |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


             LEVEL 2 - 4,500 Red Orbs needed, stronger souls
         Stronger souls available, more souls on screen at a time

             LEVEL 3 - 10,000 Red Orbs needed, strongest souls
     Maximum strength of souls available, more souls on screen at a time
     


 _______________________
/     About Combos      \
\_______________________/


So, what are combos?  If you hit an enemy several times in a row, the hits 
get strung together and counted.  This count is displayed in the lower right
hand corner of the game screen. The higher this combo count, the better your
red orb bonus or RoB for short.  Only certain combo counts give you an RoB,
and each of those is named.  Here is a list of all the combo counts that are
named and their corresponding RoB.

It should be noted that after 1,000 hits, the combos are no longer named and
RoBs are no longer given.  So, while hits after 1,000 are still counted, you
gain nothing for anything over 1,000 hits.



Number              Red Orb               Combo
of hits              Bonus                 Name
--------------------------------------------------------
  10 .............. +   2  .............. Vicious
  20 .............. +   4  .............. Gory
  30 .............. +   6  .............. Savage
  40 .............. +   8  .............. Inhuman
  50 .............. +  10  .............. Bloodthirsty
  75 .............. +  15  .............. Relentless
 100 .............. +  20  .............. Merciless
 125 .............. +  25  .............. Pitiless
 150 .............. +  30  .............. Monstrous
 175 .............. +  35  .............. Tyrannical
 200 .............. +  40  .............. Immortal
 250 .............. +  45  .............. Ferocious
 300 .............. +  50  .............. Godly
 400 .............. +  75  .............. Omnipotent
 500 .............. + 100  .............. Olympic
 600 .............. + 125  .............. All-Powerful
 700 .............. + 150  .............. Herculean
 800 .............. + 200  .............. Supreme
 900 .............. + 250  .............. Unearthly
1000 .............. + 300  .............. Impossible


These orb bonuses are cumulative, that is, at each of the listed named
combos, you immediately gain the RoB thus adding to your total stored orbs.
Keep the combo going, and you can reach the 1,000 hit mark which is the
ultimate goal.

Total Orbs per 1,000 Hit Combo = 1,490 Red Orbs ~ 5 bars

Now, once you get to 1,000 hits, as stated early, you no longer get a name
for the combo or an RoB, so it�s best to just stop the combo at that point
and start a new combo string.

Now, the key to the combo is that you must land the next hit on your enemy
in under 2 seconds.  Let 2 seconds pass without landing another hit, and
you�ve broken the combo string and must start over.  In fact, there are a
number of ways to break your combo string.  These various ways are called
�Combo Breakers�.

<O> Combo Breakers <O>

If you�ve got a combo string going, you can break that string and lose your
count in a variety of ways.

1. Wait longer than 2 seconds to land your next hit on the enemy.  This 2
seconds is called the Combo Timer.  It starts at a full 2 seconds and counts
down to 0.  If that timer reaches 0 without Kratos having dealt damage to
an enemy, then the combo string is broken.
Note, this can be ANY enemy and does not have to be the same enemy.  Just
make sure you are continually dealing out damage to an enemy and your combo
string is safe.  Every time you deal damage to an enemy, the 2 second timer
is reset giving you another full 2 seconds to inflict your next bit of
damage.

2. Take a hit.  If the enemy hits you at all (so that you take damage) during
your combo string, then your string is broken. However, you CAN block, but
remember that the time you spend on blocking counts against the 2 second
window for your next hit.  So if you block for 1 second, you�ve only got 1 
second left to land your next blow.  A thing to note here is that it�s not the
hit you take that breaks your combo string, it�s the fact that when Kratos
gets hit, he goes through a 2-3 second damage animation that blows the combo
timer.  That is, Kratos is tied up with the damage animation too long to be 
able to land another successful hit and keep the combo string going.

3. The enemy blocks your hit.  If the enemy blocks your attack, that hit
does not count.  However, if you can somehow mange to throw another hit 
before the 2 second timer has expired, you can save your combo string.
That is, the enemy�s block itself does NOT break your combo, but it does
bite into the time since you last landed a successful hit. So, if the 
enemy�s block animation takes 1.5 seconds then you�ve still got 0.5
seconds to land another hit, otherwise your combo string is broken.

4. Fail a grab.  If you try to grab an enemy and fail, you�ve bitten into
the combo timer.  Since grab animations are long, a failed grab typically
breaks your combo string.  However, as before, it is NOT the failing grab
that breaks the combo, but the time that passes since your last successful
hit.  Also, if you succeed in grabbing an enemy, then you need to quickly
deal that enemy some damage by hitting [], /\, or O.  DON�T hit X as this
will cause Kratos to simply drop the enemy and that much time being wasted
means you�ve blown your combo string.  As long as you deal some damage to
the enemy after a grab with [], /\, or O, then it is considered a hit and
your combo string is safe.
NOTE: It should be noted that the combo timer IS suspended/paused during
a grab animation.  See the Combo Keepers section for more information


<O> Combo Keepers  <O>
- Evasion
- Mini-Games
- Grabs

Now that we understand the combo timer and the ways that the timer can be
reset to a fresh 2 seconds or can expire and break your combo string, let�s
look at some special actions called Combo Keepers.  These are actions that
actually pause the combo timer.  

NOTE: These actions do not RESET the combo timer back to a full 2 seconds,
but instead PAUSE the timer while said action is completed.  Once this 
Combo Keeper has completed, the timer restarts where it left off.  So, for
example, if the timer starts at 2.0 and 0.25 seconds pass and then you
execute a Combo Keeper, the timer (which is counting down to 0) PAUSES at
1.75 which means that when the Combo Keeper is complete, the timer restarts
at 1.75 and continues to count down toward 0. 

1. Evasion.  This is your number 1 best bet for a Combo Keeper since you can
do it any time you need to, and because it is fast and usually leaves you in
an easy position to deal out your next hit to an enemy.
To be clear, evasion is when you use the right analog stick to cause Kratos
to dive and roll to a different position.  Each time you evade, the Combo 
Timer is paused and will only resume after Kratos has fully come back to his
feet.

The evasion maneuver is very quick to activate and pause the combo timer, 
which means you can actually get up to FOUR full evasion maneuvers in before
the combo timer expires.   However, if you try to sneak in a 5th evasion, 
you�re pressing your luck and the combo timer is more than likely to expire.
To be safe, it is best to keep your evasions to 3 or less - but four can
be done successfully.

2. Mini-Games.  Anytime you execute a mini-game on an enemy, the combo timer
is paused and will resume where it left off once the mini-game is complete.
So, if you use the mini-game as a combo keeper, make sure to initiate that
mini-game as quickly after your last hit to an enemy as possible.  It should
be noted that for the mini-games that finish the enemy such as the Minotaur
or Gorgon, the finishing blow at the end of the mini-game that kills them
counts as a hit and resets the combo timer to 2 seconds.

3. Grab animations. Once you hit the O button, a grab animation is initiated.
During that grab animation (the part where Kratos is going through the
motions of attempting the grab but has not yet actually touched the enemy)
the combo timer is paused.  Once the grab has either successfully
completed or utterly failed, the combo timer starts running from where it
was paused.  So, if you attempt to use a grab animation as your Combo 
Keeper, make sure you do it as quickly after your last enemy hit as possible.

Also, it is important to note that once you have made a successful grab, you
must now deal that enemy some damage by either hitting [], /\, or O.  The 
combo timer starts running at the end of the animation, and if you just sit
there holding the enemy or you drop it by hitting X instead of an attack
button, then your combo timer will expire and your combo string is broken.


 _______________________
/ About Poseidon�s Rage \
\_______________________/


This is a very powerful magic, especially at level three.  At levels 2 & 3
you can increase the power and blast radius by furiously tapping the O button.

To get the most out of this, it is best to lay the controller on your leg, and
hold the controller with your left hand.  Now, use your free right hand to 
furiously mash the O Button with your index finger.  This allows for very rapid
button pushing and results in maximum power.


 _______________________
/  About Medusa�s Gaze  \
\_______________________/

Medusa�s gaze is often an overlooked magic, but at levels 2 & 3 it is very
powerful.  At level 2 you gain the flash freeze which is an instant shot that
freezes most enemies.  You can also perform this while Kratos is airborne
which adds many possibilities to your combos such as sending and enemy into
the air and following them up for a flash freeze for a �Ruined� bonus
when they hit the ground and shatter.

Medusa�s gaze also will always give red orbs for breaking a stoned enemy
even if an infinite re-spawning enemy has stopped giving red orbs for regular
kills.  You always get red orbs for a freeze and smash attack.




/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\                     EARLY RED ORBS � EARLY GAME STRATEGIES                  /
 \___________________________________________________________________________/


 _______________________
/   Grab and O Button   \
\_______________________/

The purpose of the Early Red Orbs section is twofold, the first is to 
be able to upgrade either Blades of Chaos, or Poseidon�s Rage to level 2 
before the final hydra boss battle, and the second is to have both 
weapons upgraded to level 2 by the time you battle Medusa.

Early red orbs are acquired at the Aegean Sea by two methods, one, 
using grapple and melee techniques on the undead legionaries and archers, 
and two, prolonging the hydra battles to ensure enough red orbs to do 
both upgrades.  This isn�t going to be a cakewalk, you may die a few 
times if you�re not careful, and the hydras are time consuming. To upgrade 
both weapons will take approximately 10.5 bars or 3150 orbs.  There are 
320 orbs or about 1 bar available from the five orb chests that you can 
obtain between the battles on the first deck to the mini-hydra twins.  

That means that you will have to obtain 1330 or 4.5  bars from combat 
with undead legionnaires, archers, harpy�s, and of course 2 mini-hydras 
before the first upgrade is available.  This will make the beginning of the
game somewhat time consuming, especially with the hydras, but the payoff is
having BoC to level 2 and PR to level 2 before you reach the boss fight 
with Medusa, which is going to make the rest of your game (even in God 
Mode) a lot more interesting.  These are the main tools you will need 
to use to upgrade all available weapons and magic before you reach the 
Athens Battlefield and have enough orbs to spare, (if you want), to 
upgrade the rest of them fully as they come available.

The most important attack, the melee attack, coupled with evasive 
maneuvers and lunges is the most important attack combination that you will
use to secure early red orbs.  The second most important attack method 
is the Blades of Chaos (hereafter referred to as BoC) combos using 
combinations of square ( [] ) and triangle ( /\ ) attacks to either stun 
enemies, or destroy them. Learn to do both well.

There are many enemies in the game that you can just grab outright and
pummel for larger combos rather than simply using the blades, so a balance
between blades and grabs must be struck.

Some enemies can be grabbed immediately while other enemies, mostly larger
or armored enemies, can only be grabbed once they receive enough damage to
invoke a mini-game or you use a combination attack to eliminate some defense
that they have against melee attacks.

There are three grab combinations:

Grab and Toss: Grab circle, square ( O, [ ] ).  Kratos tosses the enemy 
at a nearby enemy highlighted by a blue light.  This attack, though 
impressive, yields the least red orbs and can be combo breaker (you will more
than likely not be able to continue a combo after using it).

Grab and Rip:  circle, triangle ( O, /\ ).  Kratos grabs the enemy and 
rips them in half.  You can also extend this combo by hitting circle 
several times. ( O, O, O, O, /\).   Kratos will hit the enemy several 
times and then rip them in half.  Both attacks look impressive, yield a 
medium number of red orbs, and they both allow you to continue a combo on 
nearby enemies.  An O, /\  attack can also easily be continued into a 
combo but is slightly slower and more complicated to do than the Grab O 
attack combo.

Grab and Pummel:  Mash a series of circles till the enemy yields red 
orbs, (O,O,O,O,O...) to perform a �GBS� combo.  Kratos will grab the enemy, 
punch them several times while standing, and then toss them to the 
ground and beat them senseless.  The GBS attack is the fastest grab combo, 
yields the most red orbs, and is the easiest attack to use for 
continuing a combo on nearby enemies.
Remember, for simplicity, a GBS is a grab followed with continuous circle
attacks until the enemy is dead.


---------- Aegean Sea ---------- 


As the game begins, we find Kratos confronted by 4 undead legionaries 
on the deck of a grounded ship in the Aegean Sea.  Start with a �Shock 
and Awe� attack using the Plume of Prometheus (PoP), square, square, 
triangle on all of them.  This opening move will stun all or most of the 
undead legionnaires on the deck and send them flying into the air.  If 
one is left standing, chose him as your next target since he has not been 
stunned. Lunge or roll to him and perform a GBS, if all of them are 
stunned, pick the nearest one to hit the deck and lunge or roll to him and 
do a GBS.  Lunge only if they are very close.  A lunge and a miss is a 
combo breaker, but you can get in two or three rolls and still continue 
a combo.  Just remember to grab (O) as you come up out of your roll.  

Roll or lunge to the next nearest undead legionnaire and do a GBS on 
him. As you are pummeling one, watch the direction the other undead 
legionnaires move on the deck and pick out your next nearest target while you
are wailing away.  Undead legionnaires will begin pouring over the sides 
of the ship.  Roll or lunge at the next, and the next, and the next 
till they are all dead, or your combo is broken.  If they begin to 
overwhelm you do another PoP to stun and scatter them.

As you are doing this, keep in mind that you can still get hit by them 
if you are too close or to slow in your O attack.  Keep them as isolated 
from one another as possible, the more they are spread out the better 
your chances of larger combos.  Try to keep the soldier you are 
pummeling between you and the other legionaries, if possible grab ones that
are isolated from the rest.  If you get hit, roll away, re-assess your 
attack, do a PoP if necessary to stun them again, and then begin a new GBS 
combo. They can only hit you while you are standing so the faster you 
get them to a ground attack (O,O,O,O...) the safer you are in doing 
this.

About halfway through the battle, the hatch on the right corner of the 
deck opens and another group of undead swarms out.  This can be very 
irritating if you are in the middle of a good combo (as are the 
tutorials) because the cutscene breaks your view and your concentration on
the combo for a moment.  Concentrate on where the undead were when the 
cutscene began and be prepared to react the moment the cutscene ends.  
Depending on where you were when the cutscene started, you may be able to
do a roll and GBS to continue a combo, possibly even several, but if it 
looks like they may be able to overwhelm you do another shock and awe 
with PoP to stun as many as you can and then continue the lunge or roll 
GBS combos till they are all dead.  It is possible to get 100+ hit combos
going on this deck.
  
You can make up for less orbs later if you want, but you shouldn�t have 
to leave the first battle with less than 1 bar (300) orbs.  If you are 
dissatisfied with your progress, go to the menu and restart from the 
last checkpoint.

Note:  It is much easier to watch your bar meter to determine how many 
orbs you have rather than going back to the weapons menu.  Learn to 
think in bars and the number of bars it takes for each weapon or magic 
upgrade.


 __________________________
/ Extend the Hydra Battles \
\__________________________/



---------- First Hydra Encounter ---------- 

Once down the hatch you have to go down a hallway that is blocked with 
debris.  Before doing this, smash everything in the room for extra orbs.  
Remember to break everything that is breakable in the game for extra 
orbs.  If you need health for your life bar there is also a chest full 
where you dropped down.  Take advantage of it if you need it because you 
will not be passing this way again.  The debris in the hall takes a few 
hits, but if you want to clear the way in one combo try a modified PoP 
(square, square, square, square, triangle) as you are moving down the 
hall, with your last hit (triangle) press, aim the attack towards the
debris as you tap the triangle button and watch a Flaming Phoenix clear
the way in one hit. Pass through the bunk-room smashing the bunks on your
way for extra orbs and in the next area be prepared to block.

A note here on blocking, when blocking (L1), wait till the last second 
to block, and press your block towards the attack at the moment of 
impact with your left joystick. Another block to practice here with the 
hydra is a �Pressing Block� in which you block at the last instant and roll
forward at the moment of impact with your right joystick.  This block 
works best if you stay in the middle or slightly off to the left of 
center.  If done correctly you will see a slightly different animation
during the block, and the attack of the hydra will be stopped.  The roll 
(sometimes) buys you enough time to continue a combo on the hydra.

The first mini hydra is simple really. As you block his first attack 
press towards him or do a pressing block and come up with square, square, 
square till he pulls back to strike.  Stay as close to the hydra as 
possible at all times, and always be prepared to block at the last instant 
of his strike.  Practice pressing blocks to continue your combos.  If 
you take damage concentrate on building your life meter back up and then 
go back to concentrating on combos. Prolong the hydra battles by not 
doing a circle game right away. Instead, on the first mini-hydra every 
time you stun him and a circle appears begin hitting him with square, 
square, square, to get a combo going for extra orbs (pause for a second 
because if you start hitting him to soon when you stun him, it will just 
revive him, you have to start a new combo if you are already in the 
middle of one when he gets stunned).  

You should be able to build up to a 20+ combo doing this and a pressing
block.  Be prepared for his double bite attack.  If it looks like he
swallowed Kratos whole, he will bite a second time.  This is going to take
a while because you need to build up to two bars before killing the hydra.
Practice your blocks and combos and as soon as you have two bars you are
ready to do a circle game and move on.  If you have taken hits and need life
build that back up before killing him.  He gives several green orbs when you
first hit him and one when he gets stunned.  Do the circle game and move on
to the first red orb chest and the next hydra.

BTW.  Instead of attempting to negotiate the beams across the room, 
stand at the top of the stairs leap across to the beam in front of them, 
cross the beam, and hop to the far deck.  That makes Kratos look almost 
as agile as the Prince of Persia.


---------- Second Mini-hydra Battle ---------- 


The harpy�s on the deck do not yield any orbs for O attacks but they 
are good for combo attacks with BoC, so practice continuing combos on 
them and the sailors on the deck.  Practice some spin attacks by rotating 
the left joystick rapidly as you hit square, try to hit into groups for 
multiple hits, and roll so that you stay near groups of them.  Once you�re 
done with the harpy�s the second hydra will crash up through the deck.

Start hitting right away with square combos and any time you are near the 
hydra press into him with your right joystick as you attack and be 
prepared at the last instant to block his bite.  You can kill this hydra 
pretty rapidly with several O games which he initiates by snatching you 
off the deck.   He will try and crush you in his jaws.  If you want to 
prolong this hydra, don�t do the circle game, just let him spit you out 
then go back to hitting him with square combos.  He does a little 
damage to you when he spits you out but it is minimal and he will yield 
green orbs when you hit him.  Watch out for his head slams, you can block 
everything he throws at you but that.  He will slam left (your left), 
right, and then the middle.  Just stay out of his way and you�ll be all 
right.  Eventually he will die, with or without the circle games.

There are other references that tell you all the locations of the orb 
chests (Keltin's Chest Guide in particular) so make sure that you know 
all the locations for chests as you play so you do not miss any.  There 
are two red orb chests behind the doors on this deck; other chests 
(green, blue, Gorgons Eyes and Phoenix Feathers) are outside the scope of 
this guide except for this advice.  Don�t use the green, blue, or combo 
chests unless you absolutely have to since you typically CAN back track
to an unused chest later if need be.  Just remember where they are for 
when you do.  The hydras yield red, green, and blue orbs, so you do not
have to go into battle with them with a full charge of life or magic.

The next group of undead to spawn will be on the small deck just before 
you have to cross the broken mast to the next ship.  Do a shock and awe 
PoP on them and then work them over with GBS combos.  Cross to the next 
ship, (don�t forget to open the red orb chest on the mast) save your 
game, do the box puzzle, and take out the archers with GBS combos.


---------- Climbing the Nets ---------- 


A note here concerning Blades of Chaos.  You should be very close to 
the point where you can upgrade BoC to level 2.  My advice is don�t.  You 
will be better served by waiting to upgrade Poseidon�s Rage to level 2 
first for two reasons. One is that by upgrading BoC to level 2 the 
blades become more powerful causing more damage per hit, this is an 
advantage later in the game but it means greater damage per hit to the hydras 
reducing the number of hits you can get per combo before you stun them, 
and two, PR at level 2 is a more effective tool for obtaining orbs with 
the mini and boss hydras.
  
As you begin climbing the netting on the mast, watch for the undead to 
begin climbing down to you.  Climb back down to the deck go through the 
hole in the netting and wait for them.  If they don�t get off the net, 
coax them with a square hit or a PoP combo and then do a GBS combo on 
them. Start climbing the net again and several more will start down after 
you.  Do the same to them.  A note here, if you take some damage there 
are two green orb chests nearby if you haven�t wasted them, but there 
are also 4 sailors on the deck where you did the box puzzle.  You can 
kill a sailor with blades of Chaos and get one green orb, or you can grab 
one and get three green orbs.  Four sailors will fill your life meter 
so my suggestion is to be merciless and pull a Kratos on them.  

Back to the mast.  The third wave of undead is a little different.  
They will not only be climbing down to you, but will be climbing up behind
you.  

Quickly climb past them to the next deck and go through the netting, 
wait for them to climb up behind you and do a PoP, roll, and GBS on them. If
any happen to fall to the lower deck, climb back down and GBS them too 
before continuing up the mast. A couple more will climb down the second 
level of the mast, lure them to the deck in the same way and take them 
out then head up the mast and take out the last two, open the forth red 
orb chest and slide down the rope. 

The last red orb chest is on your left behind the wall.  Bust out the 
walls and the doorway to Poseidon�s altar then head down the stairs and
receive Poseidon�s Rage from Poseidon.  You�ll be tempted to use PR right 
away, but don�t.  Save it for the hydras.  Use roll and GBS to take out 
every undead legionnaire in the room for the extra orbs.  PoP them if you 
have to but don�t waste your magic here.


---------- The Final Hydra Battle ---------- 


There is a save point, a green orb chest, and a blue orb chest at the 
bottom of the netting where you climb to the final hydra battle.  Save 
the chests for later, you may need them after the hydras are dead.  The 
hydras will give you plenty of red and green orbs even if you only have 
25% life left so don�t sweat it.  Save your game, upgrade PR to level 
2, and climb up to meet the twins. (If you still don�t have the five and 
a half bars of red orbs required for level 2 you will shortly, so 
upgrade as soon as you can.)

There are a couple of strategies here that are optional.  As Ishtar 
Dark has pointed out to me, you get lots of red orbs  from the 
mini-hydras, and very little from the boss hydra, I prefer the second 
strategy for that reason.  I see no reason to stand at the top of the mast, 
put up with her roar attacks, and avoid her bites for any longer than I 
have to.  

You have the option here of leaving the boss hydra alone for an extended
battle at the top of the mast, or doing enough damage to her at the bottom
of the mast to reduce her to a couple of hits, the circle games, and several
blasts of PR.  The only difference in the strategy is this; if you want to
reduce her to a whimpering pile of O game in one hit, reserve your Poseidon�s
Rage (at least most of it) for the boss hydra.  

Option 1.  Start with the mini-hydras and a couple of blasts of PR on 
them to soften them up for some combo�s then press in close, hit with 
square attacks till they attempt to bite or spin.  When you are near a 
hydra, always be prepared to block at the last second of an attack (also 
when you are being drawn away from it) and then continue hitting them 
with square combos.  You can block anything that the hydra throws at you 
with no problem, the trick is to time it at the last second so it 
doesn�t break your combo. They will suck you back and forth between them.  

Go with the flow.  When you see one of them pulling Kratos towards it 
roll towards it and come up with a square attack and press in close using 
your left joystick & continuing the attack till you have to block or the 
other hydra begins to suck you back towards it.  I find it much easier 
to avoid the mast (which tends to be a combo breaker) if I work my way 
around to the front of them while I am doing square attacks.  Practice 
getting as big a combo as you can before you stun one of them.  Get a 
rhythm going to avoid bumping into the mast as you are drawn back and 
forth between them and they will begin showering you with green, blue, and 
red orbs.  Use your PR on them when it is available.  Once one is 
stunned, either start attacking the other one, or start climbing the mast
to revive him.  Don�t pin either of them right away.  

You need to get a minimum of 2 bars from here in order to upgrade BoC to
level 2 before Medusa, or 3 bars to upgrade before the Docks of Athens.
This is also open ended, you can get as many bars as you want before pinning
a hydra, I upgraded BoC to level two while fighting with them.

Once you have achieved the number of orbs you want, first, continue 
combos until your magic and life bars are full, and then pin one.  Do a 
combo on the other and pin it.  It�s time to climb the mast and meet mom.   

The first thing she will do is a roar attack on you.  You can avoid a 
second roar attack by holding L1 until she is nearly finished with the 
first one and then begin hitting her with square combos right away.  You 
can avoid all her bite attacks by watching her head. When she pulls 
strait back she bites the middle, when she tilts her head to your right 
her neck will go left) she will bit to your left when she tilts her head 
to your left (her neck will go right) she will bite to your right.
 
Stand between her and the mast, and when she is in close hit her with 
square, square, square as many times as you can, then when she pulls back 
wait till the last second and roll out of her way by rolling right or 
left when she bites straight on or rolling in the direction she tilts her 
head when she pulls back. Roll at the last second and begin combos as she 
bites the deck. You can also stand under her as she bites and do a 
Poseidon�s Rage (when you have magic available) to get good combos. 

There is no reason to extend this part of the game because she does not
yield very many red orbs, and other than using PR on her, it is hard to get
a good combo going.  Just use the circle games and finish her off as soon
as possible.

Option 2.  Rather than using PR on the mini-hydras reserve it for the 
boss.  Start the battle by running to the broken rail between the boss 
hydra and the mast.  You will be on the deck between the two mini-hydra
and standing at the base of the main mother hydra.

Do two back-to-back castings of PR for about a 50 hit combo on the main
Hydra � yes, you CAN hit the main hydra with PR from the deck!

Now, start working the mini-hydras to get combos and build your magic back
up.  Every time your magic is full, head to the rail and do to back-to-back
PRs.  Once you have achieved the number of red orbs you want, make sure your
magic and life is full and then pin the mini-hydras.

If you have done this before and you are any good at the circle game 
you are going to find this insanely easy.  Climb the mast, she may or may 
not do a roar attack, one square hit and she will go down for a circle 
game.  Once she recovers and begins a bite attack stand where she is 
going to bite and blast her with PR as she bites down on you. This will 
probably initiate another circle game, but if not one more PR when she 
bites will do it.  Finish her off in this manner.

Once you have the captain�s key, and before leaving the area, go back and 
get the chests you saved for after the hydra battles. You won�t be back 
this way again.  Get the chests on the exit mast and then slide down the 
rope, save if you want to and then head for the captain�s quarters take out
the archers using GBS and PoP combos.  It�s time to head for Athens.


 _______________________
/  The �Sex� Mini-Game  \
\_______________________/

This part is pretty well known about the game by now, but to be complete, it
will be included here.

After the Hydra Boss Battle, you will be on your ship sailing toward Athens.
After the cut-scenes have finished and you have control of Kratos, you will
see two topless women in your bed.  Jump ONTO the bed, and the O-Button
icon will appear above the two women.  Hit O to initiate the mini-game.
To win, simply hit the buttons that are displayed on screen.  Once you win,
you will be given 400 red orbs (more if you are playing with a special
costume).


 _______________________________
/  Infinitely Bounce a Soldier  \
\_______________________________/

Right after you do the sex mini-game, you arrive in the Port of Athens.
You will fight a few soldiers and then make your way to an elevator that
leads to your first encounter with the Minotaurs.

Now, to the right of the elevator, BEFORE going up, there is a crack in
the wall that leads to some water and a doorway.  If you go here, you will
find a chest that holds a Phoenix Feather and another chest that holds 
green health orbs.

Also in this area three armored soldiers.  These soldiers are not grabable,
but you can death bounce them if you knock them into the air.

Typically, a Death Bounce on an enemy that is not grabable simply leads to
a few bounces and then the chain is broken once the enemy suffers enough
damage to finally display the O Button Grab Icon.

However, to our benefit, the soldiers in this area are susceptible to a
unique death bounce glitch.  That is, you can death bounce them infinitely
in order to rack up an easy 1,000 hit combo.

To do this, carefully kill two of the soldiers and try not to damage the
third one.  Once it is just you and that last soldier, knock that soldier
into the air with either square, square, triangle or the (hold) triangle
move.  Since you MUST have Kratos remain on the ground for this to work, the
square, square, triangle method is preferred, but the (hold) triangle method
also works if you quickly release triangle before Kratos follows the soldier
up into the air.

Once you get the solider in the air and Kratos is on the ground, make sure
you are relatively close to the soldier and then hit the O button.  With 
Kratos on the ground, he will throw out a Blade of Chaos and spear the
soldier and yank him down to the ground.  Once the soldier hits, he will
bounce back up into the air, and you simply hit O Button again to repeat.

As was pointed out, this soldier is glitched and will NOT die from this
death bounce attack (as long as you stay on the ground).  So, simply keep
mashing the O button over and over again to rack up an easy 1,000 hit combo
which grants you 1,490 red orbs!  This is very handy since you will soon
be facing Medusa, and these orbs can nearly completely pay for your first
upgrade to Poseidon�s Rage meaning you can easily face Medusa with Poseidon�s
Rage upgraded to at least level 2 making that challenge much easier.

Now, it should be pointed out that this takes a while.  Each ground slam only
counts as one hit, so to get a 1,000 hit combo, you need to slam him 1,000
times which means pressing the O button a whopping 1,000 times.  It�s
tedious, but it is very easy to do and it is worth it to get those 1,490
red orbs.  In fact, it is so easy, you can actually let go of the controller
with your left hand and simply hold the controller with your right while
you methodically push the O Button with your right thumb.  This frees your
left hand so that you can grab a coke or something.  You don�t even need to
watch the screen for this to work, just keep pressing O button over and over
again.

In fact, if you have a turbo controller, you can tape down the O button and
walk away.  Go take a break and come back in a few minutes.  Just remember
that once you get to 1,000 hits, you will no longer get red orbs, so there
is no reason to let this go past 1,000 hits.

It should also be noted that there are other areas that are inhabited by
this type of armored soldier, and this trick works there as well.  One
area in particular is in the Challenge of Hades during the �Maze� portion
of that challenge.  During the maze, you will encounter this type of soldier,
and some of them are also susceptible to this glitch.




/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\                    UNLIMITED RED ORBS � A WARRIOR�S WAY                     /
 \___________________________________________________________________________/

Getting lots of orbs is very nice.  But, sometimes getting what you want 
means you�ll have to fight for it.  In this section will be listed various
battle strategies that can be used at certain parts in the game to give you
unlimited red orbs.  That�s right, you can have as many as you want as long
as you�re willing to keep the battle going.


 ________________________
/   Aphrodite�s Gift     \
\________________________/

Shortly after leaving the Aegean sea, you come to a small room where you meet
Aphrodite.  Aphrodite has a �gift� for you.  Two actually.  The main gift is
that of Medusa�s Head that you must win by defeating Medusa.  The second and
far more interesting gift is infinite magic after you defeat Medusa so that
you can use Medusa�s Gaze to stone a bunch of Minotaurs.

However, you can actually exploit the infinite magic and get the best gift
of all - Maximum Weapon Upgrades.  That�s right.  Here in this room, and
only during this portion of the game, you can gain enough orbs to max out
everything you have at this point which is the Blades of Chaos, Poseidon�s
Rage, and Medusa�s Gaze.

Now, in order to do this properly, you will be relying heavily on 1,000 hit
combos.  The Minotaurs in this room will re-spawn forever IF you do not 
stone them with Medusa�s Gaze and then smash them (note, they will also shake
off the stone if you don�t smash them in time).  

As noted earlier in this guide, infinite enemies will eventually �dry up�
and stop giving you red orbs for killing them.  That is were the combos
come in.  Even if a set of infinite enemies have dried up, you STILL get 
the RoB from the combos.  Thus, you�re goal is to get the max 1,000 hit 
combo over and over again in order to get all the orbs you need to max
out your weapons.  True, it�s a bit risky since on God Mode the Minotaurs
can kill you in only two hits - and if you die you lose everything and 
have to start over.  Also true is it takes a bit of work - but this is,
after all, the Warrior�s Way.  So, let�s get to the combos.

There are technically two ways to do this.  Both ways rely on a Combo
Keeper.  The easiest of the two is to rely on the Evasion Combo Keeper.
The longer more drawn out way is to use the Mini-Game Combo Keeper.

For the sake of completeness, we will list both strategies.  The Evasion
Combo Keeper method is far easier, but both will be listed so that you
the gamer are fully informed and can decide which method is best for you.


---------- NOTE : Level 2 Poseidon�s Rage Strongly Recommended ----------


It is strongly recommended that you follow the Early Orbs methodology before
getting here.  Having Poseidon�s Rage at LEVEL 2 before attempting this makes
this a LOT easier.  However, it IS possible to accomplish this if you�ve only
got Poseidon�s Rage at Level 1.  It takes a little longer, there is slightly
more risk, but it�s possible none-the-less.  



<O>  The Evasion Combo Keeper  <O>

Of the two methodologies listed here, this is by far the easiest.  As stated
earlier, your combo counter is set for 2.0 seconds once you hit your enemy.
This �hit� is basically ANY damage you deal to them, and that includes your
blades, damage dealing magic, and any mini-game that ends in the death of
your enemy.

It should be noted that Medusa�s Gaze does NOT damage an enemy but instead
simply immobilizes them and thus does NOT reset the Combo Timer nor does it
count as a hit in your combo string.

As for your time investment.  Expect to spend about 45 minutes on this in
order to get all the orbs you need to max out your weapons.

Here�s a quick look at the room you will be in as you do this.

E   = Entrance
A   = Aphrodite
M1  = Spawn Location for Minotaur # 1
M2  = Spawn Location for Minotaur # 2
M3  = Spawn Location for Minotaur # 3
KCL = Kratos�s Center Location Between All Three Minotaurs
EP  = Evasion Point (best position to evade to)
MGP = Medusa�s Gaze blast Point


+--------------------------------------+
|```|                              |```|
| E |                 .----.       | A |
|---'                 | M1 |       '---|
|                     '----'           |
|                                      |
|                                      |
|      .----.                          |
|      | M2 |        -> KCL <-    >EP< |
|      '----'                          |
|                                      |
|                                      |
|                          .----.      |
|                          | M3 |      |
| >MGP<                    '----'      |
+--------------------------------------+

Notice the KCL or Kratos�s Center location.  This is of extreme importance 
once you get Poseidon�s Rage to level 2 and especially at Level 3.  Yet
another reason we strongly recommended using the Early Orbs strategy to 
get Poseidon�s Rage to at least Level 2 prior to this.

Once you gain control of Kratos after defeating Medusa and acquiring her
head, Aphrodite will tell you that you must now use Medusa�s Gaze to stone
the Minotaurs and then smash them to pieces.  You must stone and smash a 
total of nine Minotaurs.  The great thing about this is Aphrodite gives you
free and infinitely refilling magic to accomplish this.  The only downside
is that your magic bar CAN be emptied.  It WILL refill constantly, but it 
does so relatively slowly.  

If at any point during this evasion technique you happen to get hit by a
minotaur, don�t panic, simply cast PR as quickly as possible and make your
way to a safe area and resume this strategy - but keep an eye on the
Minotaurs and look for one to display the O button.  Once you see the O 
button, feel free to grab him and do the mini-game in order to get some
needed health.  On God Mode only TWO Minotaurs hits will kill you, but it
takes two mini-games to restore only ONE hit from a minotaur.  Which means
it takes four mini-games to fully restore your health bar.

Now, for the strategy.

-- Aphrodite's Gift via the Evasion Combo Keeper --

 -- Level 1 Poseidon�s Rage --

Ok, now that you have control of Kratos, switch from Medusa�s gaze back to
Poseidon�s Rage and make your way to KCL.  From this location, you can hit
all Minotaurs with one cast of Poseidon�s Rage (PR).  HOWEVER, if your PR
is only at level 1, you will have to wait for the Minotaurs to approach you
since a level 1 PR does not have the range to reach them at their spawn
points.  So, from KCL, if you are at level 1 for PR, wait for the 
Minotaurs to get close enough for PR to hit them, and then cast PR.  The
reason you wait is that you will get more hits per cast if you allow the
Minotaurs to get close, thus PR hits all three at once, and the simultaneous
hits dealt to each minotaur all count toward your combo.  Also, notice that
PR pushes the Minotaurs back a little bit and slightly stuns them.

Once you cast PR, look at your magic meter.  It has been reduced by half,
but it is slowly refilling. This means you have one more cast of PR until
you are out of magic and must wait a few seconds for it to refill enough
to allow another cast.  So, go ahead and cast PR once more in order to 
push the Minotaurs back and stun them again.

Now you are out of magic, and your combo timer will expire before your
magic refills - or worse you will soon get hit by a minotaur as you wait
for magic.  Never fear - this is precisely where your Combo Keeper comes
in.  After you have cast PR for the second time (or you can just as easily
do this after your first cast), simply evade (use the right analog stick
to have Kratos roll away) to the EP (Evasion Point indicated on the above
map) and THEN evade right back to KCL and cast PR once again.  Once PR has
been cast, simply evade back to EP and then evade right back to KCL and 
repeat with PR.  Do this over and over again to rack up the combos.

Now, note that the EP is the best point of evasion, but not the only point.
Technically, you can evade anywhere in the room as long as you don�t get
hit by a minotaur.  However, if you evade elsewhere, you should try your
best to get back to KCL as soon as possible since you will get more hits
per casts of PR at that point.

Also remember you can evade up to FOUR times (each evasion pauses the combo
timer) before your combo timer expires and you break your combo string.
if you break your combo string, you have to start over and begin working
once more toward the 1,000 hit pay-day.  Now, even though four evasions
are possible, it is best to keep your evasion to a maximum of three since
you are pushing your luck once you do that 4th evasion - but it is possible.

If you are having trouble evading back and forth between KCL end EP with a
level 1 PR, then try evading around the room in a circle.  That is, start
by evading to M1, cast PR, then evade to M2 and cast PR, and then evade to 
M3 and cast PR, and then evade once again back to M1 and cast PR.  Simply
repeat this evasion circle over and over again until you get enough orbs to
take PR to level 2.  Level 2 PR is of the utmost priority.  

It should be noted that it takes 2 evasions to close the gaps between
Minotaurs if you are using the level 1 PR evasion circle technique.  And,
as stated earlier, two evasions is plenty of time to build up enough magic
for another cast of PR, and it is short enough so that you do not allow
your combo timer to expire.

Also, remember that once you get to 1,000 hits on your combo.  Stop hitting
the Minotaurs and allow the combo string to break since you do not get any
RoBs after 1,000 hits.


-- Level 2 Poseidon�s Rage --

Once you have gained enough orbs to level up PR to level 2, do so immediately
as this makes this strategy much easier.  With a level 2 PR you can charge 
the PR blast by tapping the O button so that its blast radius is greater than
that of level 1.  The level 2 blast radius can reach all three Minotaurs at
once from KCL.  However, it WILL push them back so that they actually fall
out of the blast.  This means that each casts will give you combo hits from
all three Minotaurs, but not as many hits as you will get with a level 3 blast
since the Minotaurs actually fall out of the blast radius upon being hit.

You can expect about 25 - 30 hits per casts from KCL.  Also note that as you
are tapping O to charge PR, level 2 PR is actually running LONGER than level 1
PR which means as you are tapping O, your magic is also slowly refilling.

So, the basic strategy here is to have PR at level 2.  Stand at KCL, cast PR
and furiously tap the O button to get the maximum number of hits.  Once the
blast has run its course, evade to EP (or any other safe spot) and then
immediately evade back to KCL and repeat.  Simply do this cycle of PR, evade
away from KCL, evade back to KCL, and cast PR over and over again as you
climb toward the 1,000 hit combo.  Once you reach 1,000 hits, allow the combo
string to break and then start over.  Keep doing this until you get enough 
orbs to take PR to level 3 as this is your new number one priority.


-- Level 3 Poseidon�s Rage --

Once you get PR to level 3, happy days are upon you.  A fully charged
Level 3 PR not only reaches every minotaur from KCL, but the blast extends
PAST them meaning they can not fall out of the blast radius which means 
maximum number of hits per cast.  You can expect about 50+ hits per single
cast of PR.  So 2 casts equal 100 hits which means 20 casts and you are
at 1,000 hits and will have just netted 1,490 orbs.  As you can see, life 
gets a lot easier at level 3 PR.

As with the level 2 PR, the strategy here is to stand at KCL, cast PR and
fully charge the blast by furiously tapping the O button.  Once PR has run
its course, evade away from KCL to a safe spot, then evade back to KCL and 
cast a fully charged level 3 PR once again.  Repeat this cycle over and over
again to rack up the 1,000 hit combos.

At level 3 PR, you will notice that the blast lasts a rather long time when
it�s fully charged.  In fact, it lasts long enough to almost refill your magic
bar completely.  This adds the possibility of yet an even easier strategy
over evasion.  If you are confident and can time it properly, all you need do
is stand at KCL, cast a fully charged PR, count to 2 after PR stops, and then
cast PR once again.  With PERFECT timing, you can simply stand at KCL, 
cast PR, wait, then cast PR again.  You need not evade if your timing is
perfect.  

However, you do run the risk of losing your combo string if your timing is off.
So, to add a bit of certainty to this, it�s advised that you continue with the
evasion technique - but you should be aware that it IS possible to simply stand
at KCL and blast the Minotaurs without ever having to move IF you have perfect
timing - and perfect timing means casting PR again before your combo timer
expires.

So, keep this up until you have enough red orbs to max everything out, or
you simply have gotten all the red orbs you desire.


-- Finishing Up --

Once you are finished orb farming, it is time to kill the Minotaurs once and
for all so that you can move on.  In order to safely do this, it is highly
advised that you at least took Medusa�s Gaze to level 2 (level 3 is even
better).  Now, once you are ready, cast a level 3 PR one final time from KCL
in order to push the Minotaurs back.  Now quickly switch to Medusa�s gaze.  
At level 2, you gain the quick freeze ability which is what you�ll be using.

Now that you�re ready, it is safest to run down to the spot on the room map
marked MGP which is the perfect place for letting loose with your quick
freeze blasts.  You�ll notice this spot is furthest away from the Minotaurs,
and you can back yourself into a corner and use the quick freeze to stone
them as they walk toward you. The key here is to get to a safe spot, quick
freeze the Minotaurs, and then quickly break them to pieces.  Level 5 Blades
of Chaos make this light work.  BUT, beware of where you stand because the 
Minotaurs will immediately begin to respawn once you have smashed them to
pieces which is why it is suggested you move to the point marked MGP for 
this part.

To be honest, this is the most dangerous part, and I have been killed at
this point due to carelessness.  If you get killed at this point, you will
lose all of those orbs you just worked so hard for.

Now, once you have stoned and smashed 9 of them, Aphrodite will finally let
you out of the room - BUT don�t let your guard down yet.  There are FOUR 
heavily armored soldiers waiting for you in the next hallway.  So, it is
strongly advised that you keep Medusa�s Gaze selected and then enter the
hallway.

Stop about halfway down the hall before you get to the ladder.  Two
soldiers will spawn out of the ground, so blast them with a quick freeze
from Medusa�s gaze, smash them, and then hurriedly back up because TWO more
are about to spawn right behind them.  Stone and smash them as well.

Now, climb the ladder and SAVE YOUR GAME!




<O> The Mini-Game Combo Keeper <O>

Now, as said before, there are actually two Combo Keepers that work for
this trick.  The evasion technique is by far the easiest, but if you
want a little extra challenge, or just an alternative to constantly rolling
around that room, here is a strategy that shows you how to accomplish this
trick by using only the mini-game combo keeper.

Expect to spend about 1.5 hours using only the mini-game for this trick.


-- Aphrodite's Gift via the Mini-Game Combo Keeper --

This takes a while and it is a little risky (two hits and you have to 
start over from scratch) but for God Mode I think the time, effort, and 
risk is well worth it because I was able to upgrade every weapon and 
magic that I had at the time to maximum with some orbs to spare for Zeus 
Fury.

In the room where you obtain Medusa�s gaze, kill Medusa to get her 
head, but rather than killing the Minotaurs right away with MG switch to 
Poseidon�s Rage and use it to take them out.  

Depending on how you have played to this point, you may have upgraded 
Poseidon�s Rage to level two already.  This not only shortens the time it 
takes to eliminate Minotaurs, but it also makes Medusa a breeze.  If  you 
have upgraded PR to level two, skip ahead to Section 2.  You need BoC 
for Medusa, but you do not need them for the Minotaurs.

Hints:  Using the mini-game only strategy, three things will reset your
combo to zero:
1 - your magic runs out and you hit L1 (thus allowing your combo timer to
expire before you are able to hit the Minotaurs again with a blast from PR)
2 - you grab at a minotaur and miss (with or without a circle game)
3 - you take more than a couple of seconds to do another Poseidon�s Rage
(which can be caused by you running out of magic).  

If you grab at a minotaur and miss, don�t try to fight him just do another
Poseidon�s Rage immediately, you cannot afford to take a hit.  You can only
get hit twice in God Mode before you�re dead and it takes two circle games to
replenish one hit. (If you do get hit, don�t panic, just launch Poseidon�s
Rage and wait for the most convenient and safe circle game to replenish your
life meter.)  Rolling (right joystick), lunging forward (left joystick) and
grabbing a Minotaur for a circle game does not effect your combo meter as
long as you don�t take to long to start another PR, so feel free to move
about the room, but the best place to stand is in the middle.  If your magic
runs out, roll to the center of the room and wait till you are surrounded by
the Minotaurs and one starts to take a swing at you then launch PR and
continue the cycle.  It is recommended that you do not upgrade any weapon
other than PR at this point, because it is the only weapon that you need to
destroy the Minotaurs.

Section 1:   Poseidon�s Rage (PR at level 1) is not real strong at 
this point but it keeps all the Minotaurs stunned and if you stand near 
one it will eventually kill him or put a circle over his head to your 
advantage. Pause for a second or two between blasts and this will make 
your magic diminish slower. Watch your magic bar and when it gets low 
grab the nearest minotaur with a circle over it.  Your magic will 
replenish at a slightly slower rate than you use it, but by grabbing a
minotaur every once in a while (don�t waste your time trying to do this
with ever one of them) and doing a quick circle game you should even be 
able to make some 500+ to a 1000  hit (or more) combo�s and your magic will
have time to replenish to 100% while you are playing the circle game.  
Watch your orb meter.  As soon as you have six bars, upgrade PR to level 2.


Section 2   (PR at level 2)  You have now become real dangerous to the 
Minotaurs.  A blast will stun and or kill every minotaur in the room 
and it will become much easier to get large combo�s.  The faster you tap 
O during PR the more powerful your attacks are and the more hits you 
will accumulate (while Minotaurs are available).  Make sure that you 
don�t wait longer than a couple of seconds between launching another PR 
otherwise you reset your combo to zero.  If you see you are running low on 
magic, get close to a minotaur and do a Poseidon�s Rage with no taps or 
just a couple of taps until you see an O then grab him and do a circle 
game. Once a circle game is finished launce PR immediately to keep the 
combo going.  

By playing the circle game you can easily get 500 to a 1000 hit combos,
but if you don�t want to play the circle game you can still stand in the
center of the room and get 200 to 300 hit combo�s by timing your PR blasts
and killing every minotaur that shows up. As soon as you see 15 bars on your
orb meter, upgrade PR to level 3.  


Section 3:   At Maximum (level 3) PR becomes extremely dangerous to 
the Minotaurs.  At this point the Minotaurs are so delicate that it is 
hard to keep them alive, but you no longer need to because the circle 
games are useless unless you just want to see just how big a combo you can 
do.  Stand in the middle of the room and do a Poseidon�s Rage within a 
couple of seconds of each other.  Every minotaur in the room will be 
killed almost instantly and 1000+ combo�s are not out of the question.
With one full magic charge, you can get a 1,000 hit combo by just standing
in the center of the room and timing your blasts. Count one second, two 
seconds, then release PR again. 

If you watch your magic meter, this short pause is giving you time to
recharge your magic and gives the three Minotaurs time to begin re-spawning
(it is not necessary to wait for a minotaur to appear since PR will drag them
out of the ground as they re-spawn). You can easily get 1,000 hit combos
before your magic runs out by using this technique and that is all you need
because you do not get extra orbs after 1,000 so it is a waste of time.

Once your magic runs out, wait in the middle of the room for the Minotaurs to
regroup around you and your magic meter to fully recharge (you may have to
do one prime blast just to clear the room so your magic meter has time 
to recharge, to full).  The Minotaurs won't try to hit you until they 
are close but when one starts to swing start the cycle again. A 1,000 hit 
combo gives you about 5 bars of orbs.

If you want to try a combo game, use the following technique (Circle Game
Combos) to grab a minotaur, otherwise keep repeating the above sequence till
you have all the orbs you want, then move on to section four.  Your objective
at this point is lots and lots of orbs.  You need 100 bars to fully upgrade
everything in your present arsenal.

Circle Game Combos:   When your combo is at about five or six hundred, 
choose a minotaur and get nearer to him (not too near because PR is 
very powerful at level 3 and will kill him even without tapping O if you are
too near.  Slow down your attacks by not tapping O, or tapping O very 
slowly.  If you accidentally kill him target another minotaur because 
your magic is getting low at this point and may run out before you can do 
a grab on a minotaur thus resetting your hit meter back to zero.  

Initiate a circle game and immediately after playing the circle game launch
a PR.  Roll to the middle of the room and continue PR�s pausing between
blasts till you have 750 + hits then initiate another circle game (you may be
able to wait longer than 750 hits once you have your timing down). You 
should be able to do a 1000+ hit combo�s easily by initiating a circle 
game every time your magic meter gets low.  


Section 4:   Once everything is upgraded to the Max (or whatever level 
you choose I suggest the minimum you upgrade is BoC to Max, and 
Medusa�s Gaze to at least level two for the flash freeze, the cost is 60 
bars), there is no time for heroics.  You cannot afford to take any hits 
because you have invested a lot of time building your arsenal and two hits 
kills you instantly and puts you back to the beginning of the room.  

The minute you finish your final upgrades and leave the weapons menu, 
launch PR to clear the room.  This gives you a second to change strategy.  
Switch to Medusa�s Gaze, (you can also do this while you are doing PR 
to save time) then immediately launch Rage of the Gods when you finish 
the last PR (L3+R3).  You are invulnerable to almost every enemy while 
in RoG). Don�t worry about casting RoG, you won�t need it for awhile 
anyway.   Flash freeze the room (L2+O) and smash the Minotaurs, (if you 
have only upgraded MG to level 2 then use L1 + Triangle and adjust your 
strategy accordingly) then flash freeze the room again and smash the 
Minotaurs, flash freeze the room a third time if necessary and smash the 
Minotaurs.  You can now leave the room and head for Athens with an 
awesome arsenal, a full health bar, and a magic chest waiting for you by the
exit.  There are several undead soldiers before your next save but they 
are nothing against Blades of Chaos at level five.  Down the hall, and 
up the ladder (don�t forget the hidden orbs on the way) and you can 
save your game.


 _______________________
/ Minotaur Puzzle Room  \
\_______________________/

Just before the Road to Athens you come to a room where you must stone
a minotaur on top of a switch in order to raise the gate.  There is
a magic chest in this room that will infinitely refill itself as long as
you have NOT solved the puzzle (gotten past the gate).  Once you get past
the gate, you can come back here once more and the chest will have one final
bit of magic for you, but after that it stops refilling.

So, before flash freezing a minotaur to escape the room you can get a few 
orbs if you need them.  Do a PR on both Minotaurs. This will take them 
both out for a good combo, and will also make the room more manageable 
because only one will re-spawn. Open the magic chest; it will refill so 
you are not wasting it.  As the minotaur re-spawns hit him twice with 
square and then do a blast of PR.  This will give you a 30+ combo.  
Repeat it as many times as you want before finishing the puzzle. 

Alternatively, use Medusa�s Gaze on the Minotaur once it respawns and
then smash it for a +15 RoB.  If you�re feeling creative, knock the 
Minotaur in the air and then flash freeze it.  it will then fall to the
ground and smash to pieces which is worth a +30 RoB.


 _______________________
/  Rooftops of Athens   \
\_______________________/

Use and abuse the infinite chest at Zeus�s Fury, as well as the chest near
the coward of the bridge.  The chest next to Zeus�s Fury is an infinite
chest and will always refill.  The chest next to the coward of the bridge
will refill IF you go back and talk to him by hitting R2.  Once you kill him,
the chest will no longer refill

So, you can freeze smash harpy's on the roofs of Athens for extra orbs by 
using low level Medusa�s Gaze (L2 + [ ]).  L2 + /\ freezes them quicker, 
but wastes more magic, so reserve L2+/\  for larger targets like 
Minotaurs.  The harpy�s do not regenerate like the ones at the Oracles 
Temple, but Zeus Temple is nearby so you don�t have to go far to replenish 
your magic. Don�t waste the blue orb chests lying around on the rooftops, 
you can use them later when you get to the Oracles Temple it will save 
you a little running time.


 _______________________
/ Temple of the Oracle  \
\_______________________/


Start setting up for the Oracles Temple during The Rooftops of Athens.  
Leave as many of the blue orb and combo orb chests as you can in this 
area.  It will save you some steps when you finally do get to the 
Oracles temple.  Use as many of the green orb chests as you need, but as long 
as you are close to Zeus Temple use the blue orb chest there because it 
continues to refill.  You just have to open it 2 or 3 times to fill 
your magic meter rather that one quick fill from a regular orb chest.

As you are approaching the courtyard of the temple, there is a green 
orb chest and a blue orb chest at the top of the steps before you cross 
the bridge into the courtyard where you will have to fight a few harpy�s 
and talk to the gravedigger.  These are good chests to save for after 
you finish with the harpy�s because they are nearby. You may take a 
little damage at the end of the strategy, and you will be out of magic, so 
these chests will save you a trip back to Athens.  And speaking of 
Athens, if you have depleted your life and magic meter during the battle 
with the harpy�s and gorgons, it would be a good time for your first run 
back to Athens to refill them rather than using the local chests.  Save 
your game before continuing to the Temple.

There are three blue orb chests in the Temple hall.  One is to the left 
of the entrance by the entrance to the upper level, and two are behind 
the statues at the end of the hall on the podium.  Fight your way 
across to the statues, pull them out and push them to where you will be able
to close off the cracked walls quickly after you finish with the 
harpy�s.  Don�t cover the cracks, you are just getting them set up for later.  
The harpy�s will be all over you while you are doing this so you will 
have to stop pushing the statues and fight them quite often.  You may 
even get killed during the setup, but it is better to get killed now 
rather than after you accumulate 50 bars of red orbs and then get killed by 
a harpy while pushing the statues to the cracks. Once the statues are 
in place, it�s time for the kill.

Stand just inside the entrance of the Oracles temple (if you get to far 
inside they will swarm you rather than group up), wait for a group of 
harpy's to form (4 of them) and use Medusa's gaze to smash them for 1800 
and 2000 orbs per full magic bar. Wait for all of them to get in a 
group and aim for one in the back and to the middle of the group (or the 
nearest to the middle that you can aim).  I have found that short bursts 
of low level MG, (L1 + square) depletes your magic slower than freeze 
flash (L1 + triangle) and is the most effective. You can get up to 18 
blasts if you have had one magic bar upgrade(6 Phoenix Feathers) using 
L1+[ ], and about 6 using L1+/\.  If you took damage from the harpy�s 
while you were getting the statues set up, go back to Athens and get your 
life and magic bars refilled after the first time rather than using the 
chests in the temple right away.  

If not, once you have fully depleted your magic use the three chests in the 
temple.  After that you will have to start making trips back to Athens to 
visit the magic chest at Zeus� Fury.

Use the chests you saved on the rooftops first.  You won�t be back this way
after you finish at the temple and they save you a little time on the trip to
Zeus Temple.  

After you have depleted all of them you can start using the unlimited chest 
by Zeus�s altar.  The round trip to Zeus Temple and back to the Oracle�s 
temple takes about five minutes, and another three minutes to use up 
your magic for a cycle time of eight minutes. Freeze & smash harpy's till 
you get bored with it, because they will continuously regenerate till 
you block their entrances.  Assuming that you have already upgraded BoC, 
PR, MG, and ZF to max, you need 46 bars of magic to max out Blades of 
Artemis when they come available, and an additional 48 for AoH.  You can 
get them all here, or just prepare for the BoA upgrade now and get the 
orbs for your AoH upgrade at the Harpy Fountain. Since you started with 
one full bar of magic, and have 3 chests available locally that amounts 
to roughly 8000 orbs, or 26 and 2/3 bars so you will need to make at 
least 3 trips back to Athens for enough to upgrade BoA and another 7 or 8 
for AoH.  

Once you have all the orbs you want, close the cracks and go get the two
chests you saved by the steps to the bridge.  Save your game in the upper
ledge after navigating the beams, and don�t forget to get all the hidden
chests on the way.




/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\                    INFINITE RED ORBS � GLITCHED ENEMIES                     /
 \___________________________________________________________________________/


 _______________________
/  Challenge of Atlas   \
\_______________________/

--- Harpy at the Tower in the Challenge of Atlas ---

Here, we are going to take advantage of a glitch in the game.  Usually
glitches are bad, but this one actually works in our favor.

During the Challenge of Atlas (the first challenge you embark on after
finally entering Pandora�s temple � the challenge where you receive the
Blade of Artemis) there is a spot where you can glitch a Harpy.

After you have used the shields to open the �shield door� you will progress
to a room that has many saw wheels criss-crossing back and forth.  Across the
room is an exit that leads to a bridge and then a tower.  Once you cross that
bridge and reach the base of that tower, you will see a Harpy.  This is your
glitch target.  This Harpy is also, thankfully, your check-point.

If you have been following this guide, then your Blades of Chaos are at
Level 5 now, and are very powerful.  Only 1 � 2 hits is required to kill a
harpy now.  So, start this off by killing that Harpy.  Yes.  Kill it.  Now,
go back onto the bridge and find the break in the wall on your right.  Jump
off the bridge here and die.  Yes.  Die.

Also, if you accidentally kill the Harpy as you are trying to get this glitch
running, simply go back to the bridge and jump off and die so you can try
again.

Again, that Harpy you just killed is your check-point, so you will restart
right there.  Once you restart your game, you will be near the ladder, and
the Harpy will be behind you.  The trick here is to get the Harpy BETWEEN
you and the ladder.  So, walk toward the ladder and do a few double jumps to
lure it over.  Once it is fairly close, double jump over the Harpy so that it
is now between you and the ladder.

Now, do NOT hit it with your Blades, instead, once you have double jumped
over the Harpy, QUICKLY turn to face the Harpy and hit R1 to do a shoulder
slam.  This will knock the Harpy to the ground.  You are using R1 instead
of the Blades of Chaos because your blades are simply too strong and will
quickly kill this harpy.

Once the Harpy is on the ground, walk toward the ladder and use Kratos to
push the Harpy toward the ladder was well.  Just walk into the Harpy as it
is laying on the ground, and Kratos will push it along in front of him.

The goal is to get the Harpy pinned against the ladder.  So walk forward, 
and get as close to the ladder as possible.  Once you have progressed so
far, Kratos will actually grab the ladder and start to climb, STOP moving
at this point.  Now, sit there and wait for the Harpy to revive.  Since it is
pinned between you and the ladder/wall, it must slowly fly straight up above
you to get out.  

Now, this part is the crucial part.  Kratos should have a hold on the ladder,
but he must be LOW on the ladder so that his head is BELOW the top rung of
the ladder.  Now, watch the Harpy. As it revives it will begin to fly up.
Once the Harpy has reached the top rung and is just starting to fly above
the top rung, hold UP on the left analog stick and then press square.  This
will cause Kratos to do his standard wall climbing up strike with the blades
of Chaos.  This strike will kill the Harpy.

Now, if you�ve done it correctly (and it does take a little practice), the 
Harpy will die in mid-air and it�s body will being to fall.  USUALLY when
you kill a Harpy they fall only a very short distance and then disintegrate
in a cloud of smoke.  HOWEVER, in this glitch, the Harpy falls that short
distance but abruptly hits the top of the ladder.  Once the Harpy hits the
top of the ladder, it actually bounces back up a short distance and then
tries to fall again only to hit the ladder again.  

The game is trying to complete the death animation, but it hits the ladder
halfway thorough the death animation, so it tries to move the Harpy away
from the ladder and then re-starts the death animation (and the death
animation begins with a screech and red orbs being released).  Since the 
game doesn�t move the Harpy anywhere but back up with a bounce before 
starting the death animation, the death animation again gets interrupted when
it hits the ladder.  If the harpy could only fall another quarter of an inch,
the death animation would complete - but the top of the ladder interrupts it.

Thus, it gets stuck in this forever loop where it tries to fall and
disintegrate but it hits the ladder, so the game resets the fall and tries
again � over, and over, and over again.  Each time the Harpy begins the fall,
it releases orbs.  Thus, you get showered in a veritable fountain of never
ending red orbs.  

This is what we like to call the �Harpy Fountain�.

Anyway, as said before, the max number of orbs you can carry is 199 red bars.
So, once you reach 199 bars, stop the glitch by either hitting the Harpy
again, or by simply climbing up the ladder.

Some notes. As the glitch is running, you CAN climb down and walk a short
ways away from the Harpy and still get the orbs, but you can NOT climb UP
the ladder as the glitch is running.  Climbing up the ladder will dislodge
the Harpy and stop the glitch.

Also, you CAN pull up your start menu as the glitch is running.  So feel
free to upgrade everything you have while the glitch is running and then 
let the glitch run you up to the max of 199 bars.  It takes about 23 minutes
to reach 199 bars.  So, lay down your controller and go take a break. The 
glitch will run just fine on its own, and you�ll come back to all the orbs
you�ll ever need.

Technically, you don�t need that many orbs, but why not get them while 
they�re available.  After this point in the game, there is only one more
thing left to upgrade and that is the Army of Hades.  So, you will have
a LOT of orbs to spare.

Finally, a VERY interesting thing to note is, once you have received all
the weapons (Army of Hades is the last one) and you have fully upgraded
all weapons and magic, the game STOPS giving you red orb chests (chests
that glow red) and replaces all of them with Blue Magic chests.  This 
means there is a lot more magic available to you for the rest of the game.

-------------------------------- WARNING ---------------------------------
VERY IMPORTANT : Once you have gotten this to work and you have upgraded  
everything, QUICKLY but VERY CAREFULLY back-track to a save point and save
your game.  As was said earlier, this Harpy is the current checkpoint, so  
if you die anytime soon, your game will reset to this Harpy and you will  
have LOST all of those orbs and will have to do the glitch again.         
--------------------------------------------------------------------------




/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\                   POSSIBLE BUT UNVERIFIED ENEMY GLITCHES                    /
 \___________________________________________________________________________/
 

First, a big thanks goes out to Eddy ([email protected]).  If a title were to
be given for all his work, it would have to be �professional glitch 
researcher� as he just has a knack for finding a glitch.

In this section, we will list a number of reported, but unverified glitches.
These are glitches that have been reported by several gamers, but that we 
have yet been able to re-produce.  We list them here for informational and
research purposes so that you, the avid gamer, can experiment with them if
you so desire.  If/when these glitches work, they perform identically to
the Harpy Fountain glitch in they give you massive amounts, if not infinite
amounts, of red orbs.

If you do get any of these to work reliably in a manner that can be easily
re-produced and verified, email us how you did it, and you will be receive
full credit.

First, some theory.  In God of War, each enemy has a limited area in which
it is supposed to be able to roam.  This is something that can easily be 
exploited to save yourself from being killed.  That is, each enemy is
basically confined within an invisible fence of sorts.  It has boundaries
to its scope of movement.  For example, when you receive Poseidon�s Rage
early in the game, you are in a room in which many soldiers spawn and attack
you.  In this room, simply run out of one of the doors in that room.  The
soldiers are bound to that room and can not pass the doorway.

Now, here�s where the theory part comes in, it is possible to glitch an
enemy by forcing them outside of their boundaries so that they either 
can not get back (they will always try to return to there allotted space)
or the technique you use causes them to die outside their boundary.

With the Harpy Fountain glitch, you cause the Harpy to die in the air
which is typically no problem, but the death animation requires that the 
Harpy fall for a bit before disintegrating.  In the glitch, you take away
it�s ability to fall by having it hit the small area of the ladder first
which causes the death animation to reset.

In these possible glitches, you attempt to do the same thing by forcing
the enemy outside of its boundaries so that it can not properly complete
its death animation or its normal AI pattern.  Often, you can accomplish
this with a Death Bounce which is where you knock the enemy into the air, 
Kratos follows the enemy up, and then have Kratos grab the enemy and slam
them to the ground.  However, you will be attempting to slam them outside
of their boundaries.

It should be noted that you can only glitch an enemy that will actually
release red orbs.  That is, there are several instances in the game where
you will be faced with infinite enemies.  Enemies that respawn forever
until you complete some puzzle such as the Medusa Boss Fight.  After you
kill so many of the infinitely spawning enemies, the enemies will stop
dropping red orbs and basically become �dry� enemies.  You can not glitch
a dry enemy.  It is only possible to glitch a fresh enemy that normally
drops red orbs when it is killed.



+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|    Aegean Sea � Harpies on the Ship Deck During 2nd Mini-Hydra Fight      |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

This is similar to the Harpy Fountain glitch in the Challenge of Atlas.
It can occur early in the game right after you first meet and fight the 
first Mini-Hydra.  Once you get past the first Mini-Hydra, you will be on
the deck of the ship where you will eventually meet the 2nd Mini-Hydra.

Here, you will also encounter the Harpy for the first time.  It has been 
reported that you can actually glitch one of these harpies in the small
rooms at the end of the ship.  These are the areas with the doors that you
open in order to find the chests.  To glitch the Harpy, you must get it
into small room with the chest and then kill it in such a manner that it
bounces on top of the chest.  It must not be allowed to fall to the ground
and complete its death animation.


+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|              Gates of Athens � Soldiers Crossing the Rope                 |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Shortly after the Medusa/Minotaur room where you were able to exploit 
�Aphrodite�s Gift�, you will push over the large statue and make your way to
a small rooftop.  On the uppermost rooftop is a crossbow that fires a rope
across to the next building.  When you begin crossing the rope, soldiers will
appear and begin to attack you.

Cross the rope as far as you can, kick the first one you come to in order
to buy time for more soldiers to appear, but don�t kill it.  Once there are 
3 or more soldiers around you, hit X to drop down to the ground and then
go back to the uppermost roof and the rope.  The soldiers will sometimes make
their way back to the building and actually jump off the rope to attack you,
and that�s no good.  If they do get off the rope, then get back on the rope
yourself and try again.

The goal here is to return and have the soldiers stuck on the rope.  You will
know it worked once you get back and see the very first soldier facing AWAY
from the building toward the other soldiers.  Once that is done, they are
stuck.

Now, it�s been reported that to get this to work, the soldiers must be 
bunched up together rather tightly, so you may want to get behind the first
one and hit him with R1 a few times to move him, but don�t kill him.

The trick to this glitch is that you want to use a single triangle attack
aimed at one of the CENTER soldiers on the rope.  This is the attack that
causes Kratos to do a heavy uppercut that send enemies into the air.

Aim this attack at a center soldier.  If they are bunched properly, the
soldier you are attacking will actually display the O Button over his head
as if he were a regular soldier on the ground.  In normal gameplay, these
rope soldiers never display the O Button, even when they are on the ground,
but simply die instead.  If you see the O Button, then you�re halfway
there.

Now, keep using the triangle hit on that O Button soldier.  What you want to
happen is to have the triangle upper cut to kill the soldier and knock him
up into the air above the rope.  As he goes up, the soldier behind him will
move slightly forward closing the gap.  Now, the dead soldier will fall back
down to finish it�s death animation � it must hit the ground in order for
the animation to complete itself.  However, the soldier will instead hit the
other soldiers on the rope thus interfering with the death animation
which causes it to reset and try again.  Thus, the soldier, much like the
Harpy gets stuck in a bounce trying to complete its death animation and the
whole while will shower you with orbs.



+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|              The Road to Athens � A Minotaur in the House                 |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

During the Road to Athens Chapter you will be on a road lined with houses 
that eventually leads to the Athens Courtyard.  Kratos can enter these
houses to search for treasure chests.  However, the enemies are not 
supposed to be in those houses since their boundaries are the street itself.

It has been reported that it is possible to glitch a minotaur by knocking it
into the air and then following it up for a grab and throw.  The thing to
remember about these in air grabs is that they are repeatable.  Once you hit
the O button in the air to do the grab and throw, you can immediately hit O 
again to grab and throw the enemy once more since they actually bounce back 
up after being slammed to the ground.  This is the Death Bounce.

Once you are in the air and grab the Minotaur, you have about a half second
to actually change the direction you are facing.  You have to be very quick,
but you can change the direction Kratos is facing once you do the grab thus
aiming for the spot you wish to throw the enemy down to.  The trick here is
be close to a house that you can enter, and then aim for the door so that
you actually throw the minotaur into the house. It is best to have the 
Minotaur already at the O button before trying this since this throw must 
make the minotaur DIE inside that house.  

Since the inside of the house is outside the Minotaur�s boundaries AND the
death animation has begun, a glitch can occur where the game�s AI tries to
get the minotaur back inside it�s boundaries yet it can not since the
minotaur is dead and is trying to execute the death animation.  Thus you
get a loop of the death animation trying to complete itself while also
releasing red orbs.



+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|              Rooftops of Athens � Harpy Above the Save Room               |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Thanks to HappyKhicken (User at GameFaqs) for submitting this glitch tip.

After you get Zeus�s fury, you will progress through the save room and climb
a ladder to reach a new rooftop area.  Here, you will be attacked by two
Minotaurs and several Harpies.

The Harpies, as usual, are of special interest.  In particular are the 
Harpies that fly in from the left.  These Harpies are off the building and
are flying toward the rooftop you are on.  It has been reported that you can
glitch a Harpy as it approaches the building.

To do so, you will want to kill the Minotaurs and other Harpies that are
on the rooftop with you so that they don�t annoy you as you try this.

Now focus your attention to the left.  There is a break in the wall that
allows you to jump over to the next rooftop which is the natural progression
of the game.  Slightly to the right of that break you will notice the edge
of the rooftop is cracked.  You�ll also notice that there are some Harpies a
short distance away that fly toward you.

So, stand there to the right of the break that leads to the next rooftop and
face the Harpy as it comes in.  The trick here is to kill it just as it 
reaches the rooftop.  Your goal is to have the Harpy die in mid-air and fall
down to hit the EDGE of the rooftop.  You want half of its body hanging off 
the roof, and half should be on the roof.  This confuses the game since it
wants to have the Harpy disintegrate on the rooftop, but it also wants to
have the Harpy fall down into the oblivion of the chasm between the rooftops.

When this succeeds, it should shower you in near infinite red orbs. However,
this particular glitch is more prone to being corrected by the game than
the Harpy glitch in the Challenge of Atlas, so you may not get �infinite�
orbs out of this glitch, but you should get quite a few.



+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|              Temple of the Oracle � The Harpy Puzzle Room                 |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

When you reach the Temple of the Oracle you will be faced with the Harpy
Puzzle.  The puzzle is the Harpies will re-spawn infinitely thus stopping
you from crossing the beams on the second floor.  The solution here is to
block the holes in the sides of the wall that spawn the Harpies with the
Statues you find at the back of the room.  Once the holes are blocked, the
Harpies stop spawning.  However, you CAN pull the statue away from the holes
in order to let more Harpies out.  This can lead to a glitch.

NOTE: These Harpies will spawn forever, but after you have killed so many of
them, they will dry up and stop giving red orbs.  Once you get to the point
where a dying harpy no longer releases red orbs, you can no longer glitch
the Harpies and should either restart to try again, simply move on, or 
exploit the Harpies with Medusa�s Gaze to rack up orbs via the +30 ruined 
red orb bonus you receive for stoning them in mid-air.  See the section
titled Unlimited Red Orbs � A Warrior�s Way for more info on exploiting
Medusa�s Gaze in this room.

Now, on to the reported glitch.

It has been reported that you can glitch a Harpy by causing it to die on top
of one of those statues that you use to block the holes.  Now, since these
harpies can �dry up�, it is advisable that, upon entering this room, you 
immediately run to the back and grab the statues to block the holes WITHOUT
killing any Harpies.  You�ll have to block the occasional attack, but just
block the holes first so that you have several fresh Harpies to work with.

Once the holes are blocked, kill all but one of them and then attempt the
glitch.  Try this with the statue on the RIGHT since Kratos can actually
stand on top of the statue on the left.  Since Kratos can stand on the left
statue, it means there is ample surface area on top allotted to this area
by the game.  This means, with so much surface area available, a Harpy
could actually complete it�s death animation in that space � it would
be similar to a Harpy simply dying on the ground.

The statue on the right however has little to no space allotted to its
top which is verified by trying to have Kratos stand on top of it � he
can�t.

So, go to the right statue and try using L1 + X to knock a harpy into
the air.  Even though the Harpy already IS in the Air, this attack will
knock the Harpy �unconscious� (stun it) so that it goes limp and will
try to fall to the ground.  The minute the L1 + X attack has connected
and the Harpy is limp, try using another attack such as L1 + Triangle
(if your blades are leveled up enough to have earned that attack) in order
to knock the limp harpy toward the statue thus causing it to die on
top of it.

Also, you can try standing in front of the statue with Kratos�s back
to the statue.  As a Harpy approaches, double jump into the air and try
to grab the Harpy.  Normally a grab means an instant kill to a Harpy, but
NOT when the grab is done in the air.  If Kratos grabs a Harpy while she
is in the air, he will turn slightly and sling it to the ground. The
trick becomes aiming for the top of the statue for this throw.  If you
can throw the Harpy onto the statue so that it dies there, you may 
trigger this glitch.  It should be noted that a single throw doesn�t
kill a harpy that has full health, so you need to throw it more than 
once or at least hit it a few times with light square attacks before
attempting the throw.

Also, of interest in this room are the fountains at the rear of the near
the entrance.  You will find two chests back there as well on a ledge.

Go to the ledge on the right and jump up.  Then notice the fountain.
It has two openings, and large lower opening and a smaller upper opening.
Stand on the lower opening and jump occasionally in order to entice
the Harpy into dive bombing you.  As the Harpy dives, hold block and it
will bounce off of you and land in that small opening at the top of the
fountain.  Once it is in there, it is stuck and can�t get out. Attempt
to grab it a few times and torture it a bit.  Its not known if this
trick can lead to a glitch, but the fact that the harpy gets stuck here
is interesting in deed.


+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|               Sewers of Athens � Minotaurs at the Exit                    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

In the Sewers of Athens, as you are nearing the exit, you will fight a number
of enemies, including four Minotaurs.  It has been reported that you can
glitch these Minotaurs.  

To do so, first kill everything in this area except for the Minotaurs.  Next, 
attack the Minotaurs so that you whittle there health down enough to display
the O button icon.  This means they are near death.

Now, lure them to the end of the tunnel.  Here there is a wall that Kratos
must jump and pull himself up to the next ledge in order to progress and
leave the sewers.  The key here is that the upper ledge is outside the
Minotaur�s boundaries. So, you guessed it, you want to throw him into and
on top of that ledge so that he dies there.  

You can try to lure the minotaur over toward the right side and then
quickly run to the left so that the Minotaur hugs the wall and follows you.
If he does, then step away from the wall and face the minotaur, he should 
now have his back toward that wall.  Use L1+X to knock it up into the air.
Follow it up and do a grab and throw to send the minotaur on top of that
ledge.

Also, you may want to try simply launching the minotaur into the air as it
approaches you and the quickly try to have Kratos turn and aim for that
ledge.  Once in the air, you have about a half second after a grab to change
direction and aim for a new landing spot, so be quick.

If done correctly, the minotaur should hit the ledge and die there, but
that ledge is out of its boundaries meaning the game will try to interrupt
the death animation and have the minotaur move back to within its 
boundaries, but since it�s dead, it can�t move and gets stuck in death 
animation loop where it showers you with orbs.

Thanks to HappyKhicken at GameFaqs for submitting this one.


+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|       Challenge of Poseidon � Armored Soldier at Poseidon�s Switch        |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

During the challenge of Poseidon, you come to an underwater part where you
surface to find a small area that has a switch behind a force field.  In
this area there are many armored soldiers and harpies.  It has been reported
that you can glitch a soldier here.

First, kill all enemies except one or two soldiers so that you have room to 
move and work without fear of being constantly attacked.  Next, lure one of
the soldiers over to the edge near the water.  Now, launch it into the air
and do an in air grab and throw on him.  The key is to aim for the water.

What you want to happen is to have the soldier land in the water right as
it dies.  You guessed it, the water is outside of it�s boundaries and the
soldier will get stuck in a death animation loop when the game�s AI tries to
have the now dead soldier get back into its bounded area.




/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\                            FUN ENEMY GLITCHES                               /
 \___________________________________________________________________________/


+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|              Rooftops of Athens � Minotaur Above the Save Room            |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Here�s a verified glitch that doesn�t lead to red orbs, but it is fun to do.

Right after obtaining Zeus�s Fury during the Rooftops of Athens, go through
the save room and climb the ladder.  Once on that rooftop, you will be
attacked by Minotaurs and harpies.  Kill all the harpies so you can
concentrate on the Minotaurs.  

Once you�re ready, head back to the opening where the ladder is and have
your back to the opening.  Let the minotaur approach you, and once it is
near, launch it into the air and follow it for an in air grab and throw.

All first grab and throws for a minotaur always start in the OPPOSITE
direction you were facing when you did the grab, so have your back TOWARD 
the opening that the ladder is in and then do an in air grab on the 
Minotaur.  This will cause Kratos to spin and throw the minotaur down the 
opening to the first floor!

The first floor is way outside the Minotaurs boundaries!  Now, here�s where
it gets fun.  Get back on the ladder and start climbing down.  As you do so
you will hear the minotaur screaming furiously.  He�s obviously very mad
about being thrown down to the first floor.

Once you arrive at the first floor, you won�t see the minotaur.  He�s
there though � but he�s invisible.  You can�t hit him while he�s invisible,
but you can hear him.  Also, you CAN force him to appear briefly.  In order
to see him, once you get off the ladder you�ll be facing the room�s
interior.  The minotaur is invisible and stuck in place just to the left
of the door of the alcove that holds the ladder.  Simply walk a step or two
outside of the alcove where the ladder is, ease over to the left a bit, and
then double jump into the air.  At the peak of the double jump the minotaur
will briefly appear.  And he�s mad!  He�ll try to move toward you, but the
moment Kratos begins his descent, the minotaur will disappear again.

Just keep double jumping as long as you want in order to have the minotaur 
continually re-appear and then disappear again.

It should be noted that you CAN hit him while he is briefly visible.
Just quickly do any of your in air attacks while he is visible and you�ll
land a hit on him.  Keep this up and he dies as usual.  No red orb glitch,
but fun none-the-less.




/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\                           CREDITS & COPYRIGHTS                              /
 \___________________________________________________________________________/


---- Copyright ----

The copyright to this guide belongs to:

+--------------------------------------------------+
| keltin_2002 = [email protected] = Chris      |
| Mongoose525 = [email protected] = Paul       |
| Ishtar Dark = [email protected] = Dario |
+--------------------------------------------------+

If you would like to use a part of it for any non-profit reason, then
drop one of us a line asking permission.

Currently, this Guide has been written to be hosted at:

www.gamefaqs.com




---- Credits ----

For the ASCII Sword on title page
http://www.ascii-art.de/ascii/s/swords.txt
MJP --  Michael J. Penick (mikechat) 

For glitch research a big thanks to: Eddy ([email protected])

For submitted glitches:
HappyKhicken (User at GameFaqs)