______________________________________________________________________________ GOD OF WAR II: BOSS FAQ Version 1.2 ______________________________________________________________________________ by Godheval (http://www.godheval.com) Questions/Comments/Requests can be sent to my name at my gmail dot com. Last Updated 3/23/2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT THIS WALKTHROUGH ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a set of instructions and strategies on how to beat the major and minor bosses in God of War II for the Playstation 2. It also includes tactics for some of the harder "regular" fights in the game. This FAQ was written based on playing through the game in God and Titan Modes. If you are playing on an easier setting, it is possible that some of the information here simply won't apply to you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COPYRIGHT INFO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This FAQ is the exclusive IP of Godheval, used with permission by GameFAQs, Gamerhelp.com, and Neoseeker. Any other use, reproduction, hosting, or distribution of this document without consent is expressly prohibited. Linking, however, is permitted. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW TO USE THIS WALKTHROUGH ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This walkthrough is pretty straightforward. But to make things easier, next to each section in the contents there is an abbreviation (Example: [CR5]) that you can use to jump right to that section in the walkthrough without reading the whole thing. Just use CTRL + F to search for that abbreviation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VERSION CHANGES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.0 - Original 1.1 - Formatted for Style - Changed enemy names to official names - Got rid of ASCII art because it looked bad - Fixed some grammar & typing errors 1.2 - Changed "Abomination" to Kraken - Altered a few details in Colossus and Inner Sanctum battles - Made a correction in the Zeus battle - Made a correction to Barbarian King battle - Made a correction to Lakhesis battle - Made a correction to the Stone Minotaur battle ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Colossus of Rhodes [CR] A) First Encounter [CR1] B) Second Encounter [CR2] C) Third Encounter [CR3] II. Theseus [THS] A) Phase 1: Hand to Hand Combat [THS1] B) Phase 2: Coward on the Roof [THS2] II. The Barbarian King [BK] A) Phase 1: The Horse Problem [BK1] B) Phase 2: Crazy Hammer and Barbarian Mercenaries [BK2] C) Phase 3: Giant King [BK3] D) Phase 4: Final King [BK4] III. Mini-Boss: Stone Minotaur [SM1] IV. Mini-Boss: Hairy Cerberus [CERB] V. Euryale [EURY] A) Phase 1: Battle on the Ground [EUR1] B) Phase 2: Pillar Vantage Point [EUR2] C) Phase 3: She's Really Pissed [EUR3] VI. Mini-Boss: Stone Minotaur II [SM2] VII. Perseus [PRS] A) Phase 1: Invisible Perseus [PRS1] B) Phase 2: Swordsman Perseus [PRS2] C) Phase 3: Shield-Bearer Perseus [PRS3] VIII. Mini-Boss: Stone Minotaur III [SM3] IX. The Kraken [ABM] A) Phase 1: Fly in the Face of Evil [ABM1] B) Phase 2: The Setup [ABM2] X. Lakhesis [LKH] A) Phase 1: On the Ground [LKH1] B) Phase 2: In the Air [LKH2] XI. Atropos [ATR] XII. Lakhesis, Atropos & the Mirrors [LATR] XIII. Quasi-Boss: Inner Sanctum Legions [SCT] A) First Wave: Legionnaires and Juggernauts [SCT1] B) Second Wave: Sirens and Gorgons [SCT2] C) Third Wave: Satyrs and Minotaurs [SCT3] D) Fourth Wave: The Nightmare [SCT4] XIV. Klotho [KLT] A) First Tier: Two Gates [KLT1] B) Second Tier: Pinning the Arms [KLT2] C) Third Tier: Face to Face with Ugly [KLT3] XV. Zeus [ZS] A) Phase 1: Giant Zeus [ZS1] B) Phase 2: Kratos Has the Blade [ZS2] C) Phase 3: Zeus Has the Blade [ZS3] D) Phase 4: Lightning Shield [ZS4] E) Phase 5: Kratos's Gambit [ZS5] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COLOSSUS OF RHODES [CR] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = First Encounter = [CR1] While you're facing off against the Colossus, you'll also have to deal with some pesky Rhodes soldiers. They're easy to kill, even on Titan Mode, but they also serve another purpose - temporary invincibility. If you didn't already know, Kratos cannot be hurt when he is in the midst of a grapple attack animation. So one strategy for avoiding the Colossus's fists is to grab a soldier right as the blow comes. Otherwise, the fight here is simple. First off, if you notice it yourself before the scene cuts to it, IGNORE the catapult on the left side of the area. If you try to use it, the Colossus will just catch the boulder and crush it. If you're silly enough to try and catapult yourself at him after that, then he'll catch you too and slam you on the ground. So just wait. Avoid his attacks by rolling or grabbing soldiers, then either use Rage of Poseidon or light combos to damage his hands after they hit. Once you've done enough damage, the Colossus will roar in pain and be stunned. THAT is your cue to go use the catapult, which will do heavy damage and KEEP him stunned. Use the catapult again to initiate a button-pressing sequence, where Kratos stabs one of the Colossus's eyes, and the battle is over. For now. = Second Encounter = [CR2] After climbing up the wall, staying to the right to avoid the colossus's wall punches, you'll come face to face with him again. Move to the left immediately and time your jump so that you're in the air as he strikes the platform. Jump down to the level below and get ready to follow a specific pattern. If you do this correctly, you can beat him without even getting hit. This is especially important for Titan Mode, since he can kill you with 3-4 hits at full health. The Colossus will put his right hand (the one on your left) down on the ground. Positioning yourself to the right of it, wail on it with light combos. Chances are that he will use his other hand to try and smash you. Move left to avoid it, then get in a couple of whacks against it before he lifts it again. He will put his other hand back down afterwards, so repeat the pattern. As long as you are to the right of the hand placed on the ground, he will only attack with the other hand. If by chance he does attack with the hand on the ground, it's a dangerous attack that covers almost the entire area and is normally hard to avoid. However, if you're in the right position, described above, a simple roll to the right will avoid it altogether. If you're confused about the position, just place yourself at the center of the Colossus himself - between his two hands. If you are too far to the left on the left platform (or right on the right platform), you risk being hit by a downward punch which does a lot of damage and stuns you. It also makes it impossible to avoid his forearm strike. If you are too far to the right on the left platform (or left on the right platform), the colossus will follow up the hammering fist with a sweeping backhand that hits multiple times for heavy damage and is impossible to avoid. This is why I suggest being in the position BETWEEN the two hands and right in front of the Colossus. If you want to, you can use Poseidon's Rage for any of your attacks, because it does more damage. This strategy assumes the worst - that you have no magic at all, so if you do have it, it's even easier. Personally, I don't use magic unless I absolutely have to - it's good insurance for desperate situations. Once you've done enough damage - which is only about 10-15 Athena Blade hits, the Colossus will scream and leak magic orbs. IMMEDIATELY start to run to your right towards the end of the platform. Jump and use the hook to swing across to the other side before he does the double-fist pound attack. You should have plenty of time to do this. ++ Titan Mode Note: If you are on the ground when this attack hits, you are automatically dead. ++ Once on the other side, quickly run all the way to the far right side of the platform and stay close to the water. The Colossus's next move is a wide sweeping attack that trashes everything but will not hit you if you are close to the water and all the way in the right corner. After he does this, he will put his hand down on the ground like before. Follow the same pattern described above, but this time be to the LEFT of the hand. Again, just remember that you're going to be positioned between the hands. Once he screams again and leaks magic orbs, run to the left and use the hook to swing to the other side to avoid the double-fist again. Move all the way to the left corner to avoid the sweeping attack again as well. After the third time of doing this (Left side, Right Side, Left Side), the Colossus will be stunned and put his fist down on the ground. Follow the button prompts to have Kratos climb up the Colossus and gash both of his cheeks. It should be Triangle-Triangle-X-X if the Colossus is on the left side, and Circle-Circle-Square-Square if he's on the right. After this, resume the attack pattern above for three more rounds. After he's weak enough, he'll place his fist down on the opposite side from the last time, and you just have to follow the button prompts to finish this part of the battle. = Third Encounter = [CR3] This is really easy. When it starts, do NOT try to grab the Blade of Olympus. You'll get hit before you can do anything, guaranteed. The Colossus has three different attacks. If you are far away, he will either pound the ground, releasing a shockwave - avoidable by jumping - or he will use his severed wrist to create the blazing energy channels. The channels follow the same routes every time, and there are obvious places to stand and not get hit by them. Do NOT try to jump over them, or you will be hit by the blue fire. Just wait. If you are close to him, he will do two sweeping punches. First thing to do - time it so that you are moving in to attack with Athena's Blades as he is starting to do the blazing channels. This will ensure you enough time to get 3-4 hits in before you have to run away to avoid the sweeping punches. Repeat until he's stunned again, then go to the Blade of Olympus to channel your red orbs into it. Once this is done, the Colossus will snap out his daze and start his pattern again. Next, wait until he starts to reach back to do the blazing channels and move right next to him to unleash Poseidon's Rage. DEFINITELY USE POSEIDON'S RAGE for the second set of attacks. You'll see why in a minute. The timing on this is important, because you don't want to be near him while the channels aren't there, because he'll do the two sweeping punches. After you've attacked, get away to avoid the punches. Follow this pattern until he's stunned again. Go back to the Blade of Olympus and hold R1. This time you'll channel all your magic into the sword. This is why I said to use it for the second set, because otherwise it goes to waste. For the third set, get to the severed fist. Press R1 to throw it at the Colossus's head and stun him again. Quickly move to the Blade of Olympus and hold R1 to channel your health into it. Kratos will pull the blade out of the ground and unleash a ray of light and blast a hole in the Colossus's abdomen. For the rest of the battle, you have to use the Blade. The fourth part is the easiest of all. The Colossus will have his arm down on the platform. Move close, get in a few quick hits, but move away quickly as he starts to use the severed wrist to spit out blue energy. Stay out of its range, and as he starts to move right with it, make your approach. Use the L1 + Square attack to get a quick ten hit combo, then immediately back away again. Repeat this pattern until you are prompted, then hit circle to have Kratos jump and smash his way through to the inside of the Colossus. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THESEUS [THS] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = Phase 1: Hand to Hand = [THS1] This is a VERY easy phase to win. Simply go at Theseus full blast with your light combos and whenever you see him about to attack you, parry it. Hold the block button down the first few times until you get the timing down, because even if you miss the parry, his attacks will still be blocked. Occasionally he will grab you with his spear, prompting you to do a half circle motion with the left stick which causes Kratos to throw Theseus to the ground. The more of these the better, because if you miss they do next to no damage, but if you succeed, they do a ton of damage to him. After about 10-15 seconds of pounding him, his spear will glow bright blue. Don't be afraid, because the battle is still exactly the same, but he does a bit more damage. The only change is that occasionally he will run to one of the corners and make giant ice thorns come out of the ground. Just stay away from him and resume the attacking once he's done. ++ Titan Mode Note: If the Ice Thorn hits you, you're automatically dead. ++ = Phase 2: Coward on the Roof = [THS2] This battle is just one of endurance and following an easy pattern. If you're playing on Titan Mode, it just means that you have very little room for error. After you've hammered him enough, Theseus will climb to the roof of the building. Hold down L2 to ready the Typhon's Bane while he's climbing, and then immediately after he gets there, start firing. Do NOT just rapid fire at him, but instead fire with a slight delay between each shot - about half a second. Otherwise he will start blocking them and you'll be wasting your magic. If you notice that your hit counter is not going up while shooting, it means he's blocking them, and you're wasting your magic. Once you run out of magic, or mess up the timing of the shots, Theseus will start shooting ice bolts at you. There are two different waves of these - fast and slow, each one consisting of 6 consecutive shots. If they're fast, just roll left and right constantly to avoid them. Even if you get nipped by one or two of them, they don't do much damage, but you want to conserve as much health as possible. During the slow wave, just delay your roll until the bolt is close to you. Otherwise they may "heat-seek" you and hit you anyway. ++ Titan Mode Note: The slow bolts sometimes hit the ground and circle back to try and hit you again. Be on the lookout for this. ++ After the two waves of ice bolts, Theseus summons two minotaurs. They're very easy to kill just by striking from a distance with combos and parrying their strikes. All of their attacks - the charge, the horizontal double swing, and the downward strike are parryable and blockable. BEWARE of the downward strike because it does a ton of damage and stuns you. While you're fighting minotaurs, Theseus will shoot ice bolts three at a time - fast if you're close to the building, slow if you're far away. Roll to avoid them, because they stun you for less than half a second, which may be enough time to get you smacked by a Minotaur attack. While all of this is going on, he is also making the ice thorns come out of the ground. Remember that these are his most dangerous attacks, and if you're on Titan Mode, THEY WILL KILL YOU WITH ONE HIT. It is okay sometimes to take an ice bolt to the face to avoid the thorns or the minotaurs, because they don't do much damage. every time you kill both Minotaurs, Theseus will do the two waves of slow and fast ice bolts again. After those, he'll summon two more minotaurs and start the pattern all over again. I recommend killing 6-8 Minotaurs to replenish a good amount of magic before firing Typhon's Bane at him again. Remember to delay your shots. Once you've done enough damage, he will scream with rage and start attacking with more intensity. This means the ice thorns will be coming out of the ground in random places constantly, and if he's not raising them, he's shooting ice bolts and summoning Minotaurs. Just stick it out, following the same pattern, and eventually he'll fall off the roof. Hit circle when prompted to yank him down, and then be ready to pound circle rapidly to finish him off. This is one of the funniest kills in the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE BARBARIAN KING [BK] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: If you are playing in Titan Mode, SAVE SAVE SAVE your magic and Rage of the Titans, because they are critical to winning in the third phase. = Phase 1: The Horse Problem = [BK1] This is a simple battle disguised as a hard one. Just move to the left to evade the first charge, then circle around to attack him from the horse's front. Keep on hammering him with light combos and every few seconds block or parry his hammer strike. As long as you are in front of the horse, he'll stay in one place and almost never use the bow. As long as you don't get hit and keep hammering him, he won't move away. Hit circle when prompted to kick the King off and kill the horse. = Phase 2: Crazy Hammer and Undead Freaks = [BK2] As this phase starts, get away from the edges of the ring, because they will fall into the bog and you'll die if you fall in with them. The King will summon weak Barbarian Mercenaries in droves of 4. Use the circle-circle grab to kill them instantly and get health and mana. The circle-circle grab is quick and you are invincible while the animation is playing out. Be careful while trying to grab, though, because the Barbarian King will be trying to hit you with ground waves from the hammer, which do lots of damage and stun you long enough for the undead mercs to grab YOU instead. They do the annoying grabs that require you to wiggle the stick to get out of, which put you in a dangerous position to get messed up by the Barbarian King. The good news is that the ground wave and his double hammer swing are both easily blocked or parried, but the problem with it is that it keeps you at a distance while having to worry about the mercs. Focus your attacks on the king, grabbing the mercs if they wander too close. A lot of the times, though, if you're using weak combos on the King, the undead mercs will get caught up in the storm and die too. Just remember - AVOID OR BLOCK THE GROUND WAVE at all costs, especially on Titan Mode. = Phase 3: Giant King = [BK3] ** Note: In Easy and Normal Modes, the King grows giant, but shrinks back down immediately. The battle skips to Phase 4 in those modes ** This part is a checkpoint, so if you die, you get to start from here again, which is wonderful. Unfortunately, it is also the hardest part of the fight. The Barbarian King is HUGE and does tons of damage. He has two moves - a sweeping hammer swing that is very hard to avoid and stuns you, followed by a ground slam that releases a shockwave. The other is a double sweep followed by the shockwave. One goes from right to left, the other from left to right. Circling him to his left or to his right will avoid one or the other of the attacks, placing you behind him during the ground slam, but unfortunately it seems impossible to determine which he will do. My strategy is to hammer him relentlessly while he's still growing. This may or may not do any damage; it seems not, because there is no hit counter. However, it does build up some extra rage for Rage of the Titans if you haven't filled the meter up yet. ** Note: The meter does NOT have to be filled completely to use Rage of the Titans ** As soon as he is finished growing, activate Rage of the Titans and go to town on him with square attacks. The triangle combo does more hits, but it also has a high chance of missing him entirely if his ground slam maneuvers him out of the way. Try to circle him while doing the square combo which increases your chances of not being hit. The great thing about Rage for this battle is that it greatly reduces the damage you receive, you can't be stunned or knocked back, and it does a ton of damage. It is also dangerous for that same reason, because you may neglect your health meter, so be cautious. As your meter gets close to running out, roll away from him. ROLL BEFORE THE METER RUNS OUT. The reason for this is that if you are caught in a combo as the meter ends, you are vulnerable to his attack. If he does the double sweep, you're probably dead. So use that last bit of rage defensively to get out of his range. If you don't already have Cronos's Rage up to Level 2, and you have the orbs to upgrade, then do it. If you can't upgrade it, then...this becomes a bit harder. If you have Cronos level 2, just release an orb near the King and move away, wait until he gets close again, then use another, and keep doing this until either you run out or he shrinks down again. If you don't have rage level 2, follow the same strategy above. Chances are, though, that he won't shrink down. If he doesn't, you have to fight him the same way you fight the green giants. Hit him twice and roll away. Hit and run, hit and run, over and over until he shrinks down. It may take awhile, depending on how well you did with Rage of the Titans and how much Cronos you were able to use. = Phase 4: Final King = [BK4] By now you may be low on health. If you are, then you have to be SUPER CAREFUL on this phase, because it is very annoying to die here and have to fight the Giant King again. He has the same attacks he did in Phase 2, except instead of summoning undead, he has a VERY FRUSTRATING summon soul move that sends those blue spirits at you in a wave. They seek you out, so they are very difficult to avoid. But of course there's a trick to it. If the King holds the hammer up in front of his face, he is going to do the summon soul. Position yourself close to him, but not too close and start to circle him. The souls will not hit you. If you are too close, though, their release hits you for minor damage. Because of the strange camera angle, rolling becomes unpredictable, so if you try to avoid them any other way, they are likely to hit you. If you are in the midst of a combo as he starts the summon soul move, hold block to get out of it, then start circling him. His other attacks - the hammer swing and the ground wave - are both easily blocked or parried. So just hammer away at him with light combos, block when necessary, circle to avoid the summon soul. Eventually you'll be prompted to hit circle and finish the battle. Be careful, because although the circle signals the end, the King is still able to attack you like normal. You don't want to die when it's almost over. After you hit circle the first time, IMMEDIATELY start mashing the circle button to pull the hammer out of the King's hands. You have ZERO margin for error on this. If you hit the wrong button, or fail to start mashing in time, the King will throw you to the ground. After you've got the hammer, you have to hit several other random buttons to finish him off. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STONE MINOTAUR I [SM1] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This guy has three attacks. The first, which he'll always use at the start of the battle, is to pound the ground ferociously. If you get caught by these hits, not only do they do heavy damage, but they stun you and for some reason start to suck you back towards the Minotaur to get hit by more of them. Just avoid them altogether by staying back. His second attack occurs when he starts to turn his back to you. He will start spinning in place and slamming you with his fists. If you get hit by these, they do heavy damage and they can't be parried or blocked. They also stun you, so if you get hit by one, you'll probably get hit by all of them. So when you see him turn, just back away. His third attack, done if you get medium-to-long distance from him, is to throw huge boulders at you. Wait just about a second before you start your evasion roll, because he tracks you until he actually throws the boulder. It's not fun to come out of a roll and find a boulder in your face. No one likes a boulder in the face. If you're confident in your timing, they can also be parried. Just keep doing light combos, backing away when necessary. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. He's dead. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAIRY CERBERUS [CERB] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This battle is a lot easier than it may seem, even on Titan Mode. The same strategy used for Theseus Phase 1 also works here. Just attack relentlessly and block when you see that it's about to attack. There are several cues. It's first and most dangerous attack is the paw swipe, which early in the battle it will almost always do twice in a row. The cue for this is obvious; it lifts its paw up. You have plenty of time to block or parry. Its second attack is dangerous because it's not as obvious. If it pauses and seems to be doing nothing for half a second, then it is probably going to do its charge attack. The general rule for this battle is that if you're unsure, block just to be safe. Its third attack is the fire breath. When I played the game for the first time on God Mode, I rolled around like a lunatic trying to avoid it, but then I found out during Titan Mode that swords can block fire. It can even be parried. Go figure. The cue for this is also obvious. It cocks its head back a little and... Its final attack is the barrage of fireballs. If you are at a good distance from it and it pauses and shrinks back a little, then it is going to shoot 5 fireballs at you. THEY ARE NOT BLOCKABLE. In any case, they're easy to avoid simply by rolling out of the way, or moving to an even further distance, making them fall short. Once you've done enough damage, you'll be prompted to hit the circle button. That's the end. No sequence or anything. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EURYALE [EURY] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In spite of her gruesome appearance, Euryale is one of the easier bosses in God of War 2. On Titan Mode, like with everything else, you just have a smaller margin for error. = Phase 1: Battle on the Ground = [EUR1] Euryale uses four attacks in this phase. In between and during all of them you should be wailing on her with light combos. If she raises up and you see red light in her eyes, it means she's going to do her stone gaze. Time your parry and then start hitting circle rapidly to deflect it back at her. You'll receive a tiny bit of health and magic orbs. If she raises up but you do NOT see red light (and this one's faster) then she's going to try to bite you. Parry or block it. Rarely she will stand at her normal height and do a horizontal tail swipe. Parry or block it. Her most dangerous attack is when she goes low to the ground and starts wriggling. It means she's going to do a horizontal tail swipe, followed immediately by a downward tail slam. You can parry the swipe, but not the slam, so immediately roll out of the way. My recommendation, depending on how good at defense you are, is to NOT WASTE your magic or Rage of the Titans. They're more useful later. Once you've gotten her low enough, she'll cough up more health and magic orbs. = Phase 2: Pillar Vantage Point = [EUR2] Euryale climbs one of the two pillars. Move right up to her and start using light combos. If it's the left pillar, stand to the left of it, if it's the right pillar, stand to the right of it. This way you'll connect with more of your attacks instead of hitting the pillar. You SHOULD NOT jump to attack her, because it sets you up to get hit by her tail. She will do a double tail swipe, both of which can be parried or blocked as long as you're on the ground. Her second attack is to shoot red orbs at you. These orbs do ZERO damage, but have a percentage chance of changing you to stone that seems to increase the more you get hit by them. If you're close, chances are they'll miss you anyway. If you get hit, don't worry about it. If you get turned to stone, just wiggle QUICKLY, because her next instinct is to crush you to pieces with her tail or to do her third attack. The third attack is where she climbs to the top of the pillar, jumps off and smashes the ground, unleashing a shockwave. Time it so that you are jumping as she comes down, then double jump to make sure you don't get hit by it. You don't even have to leave the pillar to do this. Her third attack is to do a massive stone gaze that fills the area near the pillars, then flows forward across the whole room in a wave. This wave can be parried with the right timing. It's usually a half-second SOONER than you think. Even if you're stoned by it, just wiggle to get out of it, and get ready to double jump to avoid her body flop shockwave. Once you've gotten her low enough, you'll be prompted to hit circle to attach your chain blades to her, then whirl the stick to yank her down. Get a few more hits in, block if necessary, and then she'll climb onto the other pillar. Follow the same strategy until you yank her down off of that one too. = Phase 3: She's Really Pissed = [EUR3] She starts off this phase by coming at you fast and slamming the ground. After the first two, she lunges to do two more. These attacks CANNOT be blocked or parried, so be careful and keep your distance while she's doing this. If you have a good amount of health, now would be a good time for Rage of the Titans. Just take the reduced damage she'll deal to you, and go to town on her. But be careful and don't let your health get too low. You could also just not attack as much and block where possible, but personally I like to get in as many attacks as I can with rage, taking advantage of the increased defense. This phase is also a great time for Cronos's Rage, because it enables you to keep your distance and do a good amount of damage. Start dropping shock orbs and keep your distance if she starts ground pounding. Her second attack this phase is to start unloading tons of those red orbs. The same rules apply. They do no damage, but have a higher chance of turning you to stone. And since there are so many of them, that chance only increases. Do a combination of rolls and parries to avoid them, because they're too fast to parry all of them. Once you've wittled her down enough, you'll be prompted to do several button presses to finish her off. An ironic death. Not only does she NOT avenge her sister, but she dies the same way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STONE MINOTAUR II [SM2] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This one has the same attacks as the last one. Unfortunately, this one also has an unlimited supply of Hades harpies that come to annoy you two at a time. The best way to win this battle is to go full fury and kill the minotaur as soon as possible. Just like before, he'll wake up swinging and pounding the ground. If you use light combos and attack under his arms to the left, you can avoid those attacks while dealing heavy damage. If you have magic, use Cronos Rage as well, to hit the minotaur AND keep the harpies at bay. As soon as he starts to turn his back to you, it means he's going to do the spin move, so back away. Keep doing this and throwing harpies that manage to survive your attack flurry. If/When you get low on health, go back and use the chest for green orbs. Back away enough so that the minotaur turns back into a pile of rocks. This is so that he starts off with the ground pound pattern, enabling you to attack without being hit again. Move back in under his arm and resume your attack. If you have Rage of the Titans at this point, use it to do extra damage and to have good defense just in case you do get hit. After enough of this, the circle will appear. Follow the prompts and destroy him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PERSEUS [PRS] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is arguably the hardest boss battle in the game. If not, then it's second only to the last battle. The key to winning, especially in Titan Mode, is blocking constantly and parrying well. And patience. = Phase 1: Invisible Perseus = [PRS1] He isn't QUITE invisible. If you look carefully you'll see a faint shadow moving around or the splashing of his feet. But it's not even worth it to try and seek him out to attack. It's better to just block all the time - ALL THE TIME - and wait for him to do his 7-hit combo. When it's done, while still holding L1 to block, hit Circle to do the Rampage of the Furies Attack. Make sure you're facing the direction the hits were coming from, and make sure to do it IMMEDIATELY after Perseus's seventh hit, or he'll move. You should be able to get anywhere from 5-14 hits with it. BLOCK right away after it's done. You can try to get in a few light attacks in between the Rampages if you see him nearby, but just be careful and keep blocking, because he can turn the tides of this battle in a few moves. If you get caught by one of his hits, chances are he'll follow it up with another and combo you. Once you've gotten in a good number of hits (somewhere around 50 for Titan Mode, so probably less for the easier modes), Perseus will appear with a circle over his head. Grab him to crush the invisibility helmet and start Phase 2. IMPORTANT: You must grab him QUICKLY when the circle appears. It is only there for a second or less. If you're too late, he'll turn invisible again, and you'll have to hit him 30-40 more times. The key to this is not to overdo it. Use the Rampages of the Furies first to get your hit count up, then start using light attacks. You don't want to be in the midst of a Rampage combo when the circle appears, or you'll never get him in time. ** Note: Don't bother using magic during this phase. Typhon's Bane is inconsequential. Cronos's Rage won't be able to find him. And obviously you'll never see him, let alone have enough time to do Euryale's Gaze. ** Phase 2: Swordsman Perseus [PRS2] Without his invisibility helmet, Perseus starts attacking more ferociously. He has several slash combos and lunging strikes, all of which can be blocked. Parrying them requires precision timing, but it can be done, and is very effective, especially with the Argo's Revenge counter attack. Did you know that you're invincible while doing the counter? VERY useful in this battle. This is the part that requires patience, because Perseus allows practically ZERO openings to do any major combos, so you have to peck at him where you can, while evading and blocking his attacks. He's also got a new move. When you see him jog backwards to the rear of the room, he's going to use his shield. It shines bright and blinds you, and you have to wiggle the stick to get out of the daze. Roll immediately, because while you're stunned, Perseus is preparing to hit you with a heavy attack. I've never gotten hit by it, but I assume that it's devastating. It may even auto-kill you in Titan Mode. In any case, I highly suggest you don't let it hit you. Once you've gotten him low enough, the circle will appear again briefly. Grab him and Kratos will break his sword in half, leaving him only with his shield and sling. **Note: Turns out that magic is mostly useless in this phase too. He's too fast for Euryale, and he mostly blocks Chronos and Typhon. ** Phase 3: Shield-Bearer Perseus [PRS3] This is the easiest phase, but don't get careless. Whereas before you had to constantly block to avoid Perseus's attacks, now you need to attack him non-stop. He will try to hit you with his sling, but you can stop it simply by hitting him during his swing. He still has the shield-blinding move, which he'll follow with either a sling-attack or a shield bash. Wiggle out and roll away like before. The key is to just be careful, so that you don't die after getting through the hard parts. Once he's been weakened enough, he'll move to the back of the room and become slightly more aggressive with the sling. Just wail on him until you're prompted to do the awesome finishing sequence. It involves button presses, a stick wiggle and another button press, so be prepared. I think this battle was personal for Kratos, because the way he kills this guy is brutal even for him. No fancy-pants nancy-boy's gonna come in here and talk crap on the GHOST OF SPARTA! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STONE MINOTAUR III [SM3] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By now you should know what to expect. The third minotaur doesn't throw rocks at you, but instead uses the ground pound attack far more often, and the cues for it and the spinning attack are similar so be careful. If you get caught up in the storm of fists, it's over for you, especially on Titan Mode. The other difference is that it is not stationary. However, it will only move but so far, and there is always enough space along the edges of the platform to stay out of range of its attacks. Keep circling it and attacking - the best time being in the midst of its ground pound attack. Once you've done enough damage, it will do a double fisted pound and cause the rear wall to crumble, revealing a climbable surface. Jump and glide over to it right away before the ground sinks beneath the lava. While clinging to the wall, the Minotaur will NOW throw rocks. Delay about a second to let him home in on you, then jump to the left or right. If you jump too early, he'll lead you, and the boulder will hit you. I've heard that you can hit the boulders out of the air, but I've never tried it, and it seems awfully risky. I don't recommend it. Once he's had enough target practice, the ground will resurface, and you can jump back over. Follow the same pattern above and eventually you'll kill him. There's not even a timed-button sequence for this one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOMINATION [ABM] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I really didn't know what else to call this thing. I'm sure it has an official name at SCEA SM headquarters, but I have no idea what that is. = Phase 1: Fly in the Face of Evil = [ABM1] The very first thing you should do at the start of this battle is to pick up the corpse of the Spartan and carry it straight down the middle towards the Kraken. Drop it off close to the button, but not too close or you'll get tentacle stabbed for sure. Despite the look of it, the Kraken is predictable and simple to defeat. It has three types of attacks. There's a lashing tentacle whip with the right or left, depending on which side you're on. If you see either of the tentacles suddenly uncoiling from the pillar, back away immediately. Then there's a three-hit tentacle stab that knocks you down. If you see movement behind/above its head, move to the opposite side of him. The stab doesn't track you, it just hits in three places on the side you're on. The third attack is some kind of acid breath with nasty green chunks. It blows you back, but doesn't seem to do much damage. Added to that, the chunks are parryable and can be sent back at him. Now, to the killing part. Its weakspot is the jewel in its forehead, but unfortunately, Kratos can't jump or fly that high. So you must wail on the left tentacle, being careful to avoid the lashes and stabs. Once the tentacle lifts up a bit, you can put the Spartan's body on the button, which opens the vent in the center of the area. Run over to it, use the Icarus wings to fly up and glide into the Kraken's face. Unleash a Rampage of the Furies (L1 + O) and mash the circle button to sustain the attack. Depending on what level your Blades are, it may take one or two flurries. Once you've done enough damage, the Kraken will stab one of its stony tentacles into the ground. Run over to it, climb it, and start hacking away at the protective coating. There will be a button prompt (usually circle) that you must hit for Kratos to sever the tentacle. Repeat. It will take more damage the second time, but once its hurt enough it will stab its other stony tentacle into the building behind you. Move to where its lower and jump up to cling to it. Scale along the tentacle until you reach the stony covering and hack it to pieces. Another button prompt and then another tentacle severed. = Phase 2: The Setup = [ABM2] Believe it or not, it's already almost over. The Kraken will eat the Spartan, so that's the end of the flying face attacks. It's desperate now and will use more deadly attacks. If you get too close it will do a flurry of tentacle slams in front of its body, which on Titan Mode will probably kill you instantly. It also still has its acid breath, which is still just as easy to parry or block. The goal now is to do enough damage to one of the tentacles coiled around the pillar. Once that's done, the Kraken will start falling off of the platform. QUICKLY move to the other tentacle and hack at it until it uncoils as well. Once it has fallen again, move to the switch in the center and pull it. A bridge will extend and...good night. Battle over. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakhesis [LKH] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = Phase 1: On the Ground = [LKH1] Lakhesis has four attacks. The first is a looping triple staff swing that starts slow enough to be parried, but to be safe I'd recommend just rolling out of the way of it. If you get hit by one, you'll get hit by all three, and you'll be more than half-dead. She blocks the Argo's Revenge Counter, so it's really not worth it. Her second and more common attack is to fire a green orb at you. This is what you WANT her to do, and what makes the battle so fun. Parry it and send it back at her to knock her down, stun her for two seconds, and make her leak magic orbs. BE CAREFUL though, because sometimes - more often as you weaken her - she'll parry your reflection and send it back at you again. On Titan Mode, I've gone back and forth with her as many as 12 times. The game is very forgiving on the timing of the parry, so you shouldn't have much trouble. It's easier if you put some distance between you, but it's faster, more fun and more intense if you do it from close range. As soon as she's down, move to her and do a light 7-8 hit combo. Roll away right afterwards, because she'll probably come out of her daze with a triple staff swing. Her third attack, which she'll almost never do, is to send her staff spinning towards you. The staff's not the problem, it's the barrage of green orbs that come out of it. Just roll towards the staff and you'll be able to avoid them. Once you've done enough damage, she starts to take you seriously. Her fourth attack, done rarely in this phase but more often in later phases, is to send three green orbs along the ground in two consecutive waves. If the first wave hits you, the second wave will too. But if you parry/reflect the first wave, then you'll be impervious to the second wave. The trouble with this attack is that the cue looks very similar, if not identical, to her triple-staff swing. If you roll expecting the staff swing, you'll get hit by the ground orbs, so parrying really is the key. = Phase 2: In the Air = [LKH2] In this Phase, Lakhesis adds a few attacks to her arsenal. She spends most of her time in the air, so you can forget about hitting her with your blades, but a jumping Cronos Rage will do the trick. Her most common attack will be to dive from the air to the ground, creating a small radial energy well around her. As long as you're not in its range on impact, it can't hurt you. So as soon as she lands, move in and start attacking. Still beware of the triple staff swing. Another common attack, and the most dangerous of all, occurs when she starts twirling her staff rapidly in the air and a small bolt of green energy appears. That is your cue to IMMEDIATELY use one of the air hooks to get off of the ground. The whole floor becomes covered with green energy and does a TON of damage. On Titan Mode I didn't get hit by it, but given the pattern of this game so far, I'm guessing its auto death. It is not enough to get off of the floor, though. Lakhesis will try to knock you down by shooting an energy orb at you. Delay a half second, then jump to next air hook to make her miss. After the third shot, the green energy on the floor will disappear and you can drop down safely. She still has her flying staff trick, which she will use a bit more often in this phase. Just watch out for the orbs. She will also still be shooting single orbs at you, which you can still reflect back at her. Her parrying ability is much better in this phase, so be prepared for a tennis match, especially on Titan Mode. Use plenty of Cronos Rage, combo her when she dives down, and avoid the attacks as described, and eventually a circle will appear over her head. Quickly use the nearest air hook, then jump and glide towards her to activate the prompt. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Atropos [ATR] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After giving Lakhesis the work, she'll talk more of her trash, then summon Atropos to deal with you. You'll be sucked into one of the mirrors and back into the past. If you played the first God of War, you'll recognize the time and the place - the final battle between Kratos and Ares. The objective here is to take out Atropos before she can break the giant sword. There will be an endless spawning of weak minions. You can use Atlas Quake on them, or you can try holding block and parrying one of their attacks, followed by an Argo's Revenge to knock them all back. Meanwhile, Atropos will be shooting slow and tracking green orbs at you. Forget about avoiding them. It's really a hassle, especially with the minions attacking you at the same time. They also do damage within a certain radius, so even when you think you've avoided them, you probably haven't. The best thing to do is to parry them and reflect them back at Atropos. After 3 or 4 of them, or after enough time has passed and minions have been killed she'll laugh and fly closer to the sword, either in the center, the far left, or the far right. Move to where ever she is and hit her with a Cronos Rage. If you get too close, you'll be hit by the green energy she's channeling into the sword in her attempt to break it. So be careful. Once you've hit her, she'll stop channeling, and you can jump right in her face and use an Air Rampage of the Furies. Like always, mash the circle button to stay in the air longer and dish out more hits. She'll laugh again and fly to her favorite position out of your reach. This is the pattern. Keep on reflecting her orbs, Chronos Raging, and Fury Rampaging, and eventually she'll get winded and fall over on the sword. Hit circle and follow the button prompts to finish her off. Brutal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakhesis, Atropos, & the Mirrors [LAA] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = Phase 1: Bringing Lakhesis to Her Knees = [LAA1] After stabbing Atropos in the forehead, you're returned to the Temple of the Fates for part 4 of this epic battle. The sisters are really pissed now and will both be attacking you. Fortunately, Atropos is stuck in the past and can only attack you from the left or right mirrors. She has two attacks - firing green orbs, and an area-sweeping green beam. Neither does much damage, but they can add up if you're careless. If you're nervous, take solace in the fact that this battle is a checkpoint, and if you die, you won't have to go back to the beginning. You'll want to focus most of your attention on Lakhesis, who is still doing the same attacks from the earlier phases. You start this battle with full health and magic, so don't be stingy with the Cronos Rage. She loves it, so give her a full dose. It's best to hit her with it when she's near Atropos, so you can damage them both and keep Atropos from using her sweeping green beam. And about the beam - it can be avoided in two ways. By using the Icarus Wings (L1 + X) to leap over it as soon as she starts firing. Or by moving to the far opposite side of the area from where she started the beam. Rolling will not work. Lakhesis will spend most of her time doing dive bomb attacks, so move out of the way and combo her as soon as she lands. Once you've done enough damage to her, she'll fall to her knees and start glowing green. This is your cue to use the Amulet of the Fates (L1 + R1) to freeze time. Move over to Atropos and wail on her. Two doses of Air Rampage of the Furies, and she'll fall to the ground. When time unfreezes and you have control again, immediately attack the mirror and shatter it. Be careful of Lakhesis, who almost certainly will be dive bombing you right after time unfreezes. Maintain the pattern, freeze time when Lakhesis kneels again, then attack Atropos in the other mirror. Once you've broken that mirror, Lakhesis will move to the one in the center. = Phase 2: The Finale = [LAA2] Atropos is finished, so now all you have to deal with is Lakhesis. She will hover near the center mirror the whole time, making this pretty simple. Just parry/reflect her green orbs when she shoots them at you. She will also send them along the ground in two waves like before. They're particularly hard to parry when you're close to her, so be cautious. She also has yet another new attack. She'll summon a group of green energy columns, which will spread out as they come towards you. They move along the same paths every time, so they're easy to avoid as long as you keep your distance. They cannot be blocked or parried, and do a lot of damage. They're only difficult to avoid if you're close up and attacking Lakhesis. So don't be greedy. Get in a good number of hits (7-8), then back away. You have plenty of time to avoid the columns. Lakhesis will go down surprisingly quick, and you'll have to hit circle to start a sequence. Atropos makes one final desperation appearance during the sequence, and really pays the price for it. After a stab to the head for Lakhesis, Kratos traps them both in the center mirror. Break it to finish the battle and open a path to the next area. How great was that battle?! Pretty great. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INNER SANCTUM LEGIONS [SCT] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- While technically this isn't a boss battle, on Titan Mode it's harder than all three Sisters of Fate, so I decided to include it. As you proceed down the ramp leading to Klotho, you'll be faced with wave after wave of monsters. There will be a barrier blocking you from returning to the save point once the battle starts and it won't come down until you've defeated everything. Let me tell you in advance that this battle SUCKS. You will die. Often. And sometimes after getting SO close to winning. Stick with it. My strategy for this required: Blades of Athena (MAX) Euryale's Gaze (MAX) Atlas Quake (at least level 2) = First Wave: Legionnaires and Juggernauts = [SCT1] As you run down the ramp, the serious music starts, and a cursed legionnaire (red guys with swords) will drop down and immediately attack. Ignore him and keep running, also moving past the second one waiting for you. Back yourself up near the second barrier (has a face on it) and get ready to parry. Right about the time that you parry the legionnaire(s) attack, another barrier will appear to block off your retreat. Two Fates Juggernauts will appear right near you as well. Immediately use Gorgon's Rage with the Head of Euryale (Hold L2 and Hold Circle, then release circle after 1-2 seconds). It will flash freeze everything near you - most importantly, the juggernauts. Use Tartarus Rage (L1 + Triangle), aiming to hit both juggernauts at the same time. If you followed these instructions precisely, then you'll already be in the right position to do it. You'll definitely crush one, and if you miss the other, quickly do another Tartarus Rage before he recovers. If done correctly, you should've shattered both juggernauts and 2-3 legionnaires. A third juggernaut will come out of the ground. Keep your distance and watch for the jumping flash attacks of the legionnaires. They're your best friend because they're easily parried, and the Argo's Revenge counter will knock any others backwards and damage the juggernaut if he's nearby. But the real key to this is rolling. Roll to avoid the flash attacks, roll to avoid the juggernauts. Keep moving up and down the ramp, and the temporary barriers will often separate the legion into more manageable groups. Whenever you're able to, use the circle-square grab on the sentries to toss them at the juggernaut. The juggernaut will almost always be the target of the throw automatically if he's in range. This does a good amount of damage, often knocks a chunk of his armor off, and always staggers him. You should - and really need - to come out of this wave with no damage and with that first Gorgon's Rage being the only magic used. If you took a few minor hits, don't worry about it. But do NOT get hit by the juggernauts, because a fifth of your bar in this madness can make all the difference in the world. In the next section - the brightly lit one with windows - Fates Sentries (gray axe-wielders) and Legionnaires will drop down. There are two good ways to tackle these guys. They'll all come at you at once, so if you parry one attack (and even with poor timing you're bound to parry at least one of them), Argo's Revenge will send the whole lot of them flying away. With breathing room, move for the gray ones and use the circle-square grab. Be quick in your button pressing so that your grab is not interrupted. This grab is especially useful because you're invincible while doing it, and it hits at least two enemies. When the red ones are weak, also use the circle-square grab. It's the swinging one from the first GoW, and is very effective at clearing the room. I'm sure you're used to dealing with these kinds of enemies by now, so why am I even giving you a strategy for them? Because the objective is to NOT GET HIT at all. You really need to conserve as much health and magic as possible for the third wave. = Second Wave: Sirens and Gorgons = [SCT2] Others on the GF boards seem to disagree with me, but this is a very difficult wave. The enemies themselves present problems, but the real danger they present is weakening you too much for the third wave. So you need to be close to perfect here. Sirens are easy to kill, but their ground-fount spell and the little energy balls are a distraction and sometimes set you up for a nasty combo by other enemies. The Gorgon Queens are the real problem, though. They dodge almost everything, counter constantly, and can attack from a distance in a split-second. Just when you think you're at a safe distance, they're in your face with a claw or two. And of course there's the Gorgon Ray and the Gorgon Orbs, which make them the only regular enemies in the game that can instant kill you. So whatever you do, never jump anywhere near them. Falling while stone equals instant shatter death. If you parry the ray or the orbs, then you can flash freeze everything around you. If you catch the sirens, then shatter them immediately. Attacking the Gorgons can be risky, because they unfreeze very quickly, and attack immediately after recovering. A few readers told me that if you use the Barbarian Hammer's "Might of the King" attack (L1 + Triangle), they shatter easily, but I haven't confirmed this. Atlas Quake is your friend here. A few of these, even at level 2, will definitely critical the sirens, and will bring the Gorgons pretty close. If you have an instant kill prompt on any of them, use it immediately, because it gives you a break, and always causes them to release magic orbs. If you're feeling conservative, you can try doing a few light attacks against either the sirens or gorgons, but be careful of their counter-attacks. Be constantly aware of the Gorgon rays and the Sirens' ground-fount. The ground fount does considerable damage and opens you up to other attacks. If you have to grab either of the two chests to stay alive or replenish magic, then use Rage of the Titans before opening them so that you won't be interrupted by any attacks. Turn Rage off again once you've gotten what you need. Finish off whoever is left. Moving on, you'll see Rage/Magic chest. Grab it. Magic is the more important of the two. A little further ahead you'll have to face another wave of Cursed Legionnaires. Use the same strategy as before. = Third Wave: Satyrs and Hades Minotaurs = [SCT3] This wave can be tough, especially if you've already been weakened or depleted of magic by earlier waves. If you've been doing well, you should have at least 3/4 of your health, 3/4 of your magic, and a full (or almost full) Rage of the Titans meter. Ignore the first Satyr to appear, rolling to avoid his attack as you go by, and two minotaurs will appear, along with another satyr. Immediately use Atlas Quake until it's all gone. The minotaurs will be ready for the kill sequence so take them out. A third minotaur will appear. If you have any Atlas Quake left, use it. If you don't have enough for a Quake, but do have enough for Cronos Rage, then use that. There's no point at all in saving magic - this is the wave you need it for. There will also be a chest for the last wave. Once you're out of magic, get moving. Put some distance between yourself and the enemies. Block if a Satyr gets too close or if you have to wait for a barrier. What you want to try and do is get a barrier to pop up between a satyr and anyone else remaining. One on one, Satyrs can be taken out easily in two ways. The first is just to block their flurry, then immediately grab them. After you knock them to the ground grab them again. Do this while they're still on the ground, because they rise with an attack. 4-5 of these will kill a satyr at full health, but chances are that they were weakened by the Atlas Quakes anyway. The second is to throw them down first or use a Chronos Rage to stun them, then immediately hold triangle to launch them into the air, Kratos jumping up with them. Use and Air Rampage of the Furies (L1 + O) and mash the circle button to stay in the air longer. As you come close to the ground, tap circle to do an air grab. If this doesn't kill it, then one more grab on the ground should do it. If you see a minotaur coming, do not try to grab the Satyr, or the Minotaur will just smash you. If you're able to clear out the Satyrs and only have Minotaurs remaining, then there's a simple strategy for them. They have four attacks. There's the horn charge, which is quick and hard to see coming, but it also doesn't do much damage. The Minotaur will do it after blocking several of your attacks. So if you see it blocking, just roll away. The second attack worth noting is the unblockable flaming hammer strike. If the Minotaur starts to turn around slowly to do a big swing, then get out of range. It's easy to see coming, and easy to avoid but becomes tricky when you're also dealing with Satyrs or another Minotaur. If it hits you, it does a ton of damage and grounds you. Avoid it at all costs. Its third attack is to jab you with the club, followed by two very long and wide range swipes. If you parry the jab, you'll knock the Minotaur back and it won't do the swipes at all. If you roll - not recommended - then be sure to be ready to parry or block the swipes. This is another one that you DO NOT want to hit you. Is fourth attack is a downward vertical club slam, which is blockable and parryable. It is immediately followed by a surprisingly quick horizontal swipe, so be ready to parry that as well. Parrying really is your friend against the minotaurs. Learn their attack cues and you don't even have to hit and run with them too much. They spend most of the time roaring and breathing harmless fire, so you can get off full combos before having to parry, block, or roll. They're also surprisingly weak, and it won't take too many combos to get them ready for the instant kill. If you get low on health (and for this 50% or anything less is low), then use Rage of the Titans as a last resort to up your defense and finish them off. = Fourth Wave: The Nightmare = [SCT4] As you run towards the end of the ramp, you'll see two lovely chests - health and magic. Make your way to them quickly if you need them, which you almost certainly will, ignoring the sentries and legionnaires that drop down. You should have just enough time to grab both before the Cyclops Brutes drop down and start attacking you. Use a little Rage of the Titans if a pesky grunt follows you, to avoid interruption. In this wave there will be 4 cyclops, two at a time, and a whole horde of sentries and legionnaires. Focus your attacks on the sentries/legionnaires, getting in a few whacks on the cyclops at the same time if they're nearby. But most importantly, avoid AVOID AVOID the cyclops' attacks. You'll want to spend most of this battle staying out of their reach. Right off the bat, use Atlas Quake - or if Chronos Rage is level 3, you can use that instead. The Quake is strong and has a wider range, but it also uses more magic each time. Either one is good, but if both are level 2, then the Quake is better. Once you're out of magic, parrying the legionnaires' attacks and using Argo's Revenge gives you a very short moment of invincibility, but there is also a slight delay following it that leaves you open to a strike. This game has the uncanny ability to let horrible attacks slip in these openings. So just be aware of the cyclops at all times. Any time you get a chance to throw an enemy, use the circle-square toss to hit the cyclops with the body. This is a good way to kill the sentries/legionnaires and damage the cyclops at the same time. You are also invincible while in the throw animation. As with the last wave, use Rage of the Titans if your health gets too low, but do not make the mistake of thinking that it makes a difference against the Cyclops. Their attacks will still do considerable damage, and they are still unblockable, and they will still ground you, causing you to waste valuable rage time. I recommend using the standard square attacks while in rage, because they are strong and fast and easy to block or roll out of just in case you have to avoid a cyclops attack. The final hit of the regular square attack will send smaller enemies flying, and will even stagger the cyclops. Prometheus' Torment (Holding Square) is actually VERY WEAK, and is only useful for building up the hit count for Prometheus' Inferno (Hold L1). It may be worth doing once you have less than half of your rage meter remaining, to go out in a fiery blaze. Use it in the last second of the meter, because the effect will keep going until the hit counter runs down, even if the meter should've already been depleted. The SECOND you see a cyclops ready for a kill sequence, GO FOR IT! The sooner you get the first two done, the faster you can deal with the second pair. If you can get rid of these guys, then the worst is over. If there are any sentries/legionnaires remaining - which there shouldn't be - then play it conservatively so that you don't lose it all at the very end. There are going to be all kinds of variations to this strategy, but this is just how I beat it on Titan Mode - after trying for literally a whole day. Good luck. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KLOTHO [KLT] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = First Tier: Two Gates = [KLT1] After that terrible, terrible downramp to get to the loom, you'll be glad to know that this battle is one of the easiest in the game. It's just as much of a stage as it is a fight. After entering the door and getting past the swinging blades, walk around the circle to your left. Use an Air Rampage of the Furies (or your combo of choice) to take out the baby arm. Use the switch to pull up the gate. Take out the arm again if it has recovered, then use the stairs to glide to the place under the gate. Grab the chest if you need it. Climb the wall to the left to get up to the ceiling and scale all the way around the ring until you reach the gate on the other side. Chances are that you'll get grabbed by the right baby arm, so be prepared to wiggle out of it. This will disable the arm. Destroy the two corpses that are attached to the gate, then drop down. Use the switch to raise the gate, take out the baby arm if needed, then use the stairs to glide to the spot with the magic chest. Use the rope to climb up. = Second Tier: Pinning the Arms = [KLT2] Once you come up, move to the right. Block any attacks from the baby arm, and disable it if you want to. Ignore the strange device and keep moving to the nearby switch. Pull it and a trap door will open. Grab the red orb chest. Come back out, disable the nearest arm, then pull the switch again to trap it inside the compartment. Keep moving right. Disable the next arm you come to, then climb the rope to pull the switch to drop the blade and pin the arm. Go back to the strange device and start to pull it around the perimeter, until you get to another blade on a rope. You'll have to disable the last arm to do it. Then wait for the arm to recover and disable it again, which will make it hit the blade and get pinned. Use the rope attached to that blade to climb up to the platform with the other switch and it will take you up. = Third Tier: Face to Face With Ugly = [KLT3] Immediately roll to avoid her first attack. Use the Amulet of the Fates to freeze time. Go to work on her right arm - 12 regular hits with Maxed Blades will disable it, but use whatever you want. Once it's down, move to the far right, jump, and use Chronos Rage. It will hit some corpses that are stuck to a beam above you. Grab the nearby lever and use it to slide the beam left around the ring. You'll only be able to move it a slot or two before the right arm recovers. Freeze time again and take it out. What you want to do is get the switch that is three slots away from the lever to line up with the center of the ring. If you need health, move all the way to the left of the ring, disable the left arm, and pull that switch. A corpse will be lifted and placed in front of Klotho. If she hits it at all, it will explode with a ton of green orbs. Disable the right and left arms, freezing time to make it so that one's not recovering while you're taking out the other. Once both arms are down, use the center switch to raise one of the giant swinging blades from below. The arms should still be disabled so move to the blade, press R1 when prompted, and rotate it so that the blade is pointing towards Klotho. Disable the arms again to be safe. Then get behind the blade, pull it back and be prepared to do a button-pressing sequence. It will end with a rotation of the joystick and... GOODNIGHT. Too easy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ZEUS [ZS] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = Phase 1: Giant Zeus = [ZS1] At the start, keep your distance so you don't get hit by the energy from Zeus's weird summoning spell. Then immediately focus your attacks on the Siren Widows. I recommend Atlas Quake since it hits them all at once. When they have circles over them, finish them. If you're using the quake, you can jump from one to the next - up to 3 if they're close to one another. Once their death cries have done enough damage to Zeus, he'll put his hand down on the ground. Press circle to finish this phase. = Phase 2: Kratos has the Blade = [ZS2] Checkpoint. Zeus has three attacks. He'll throw lightning bolts most often. They can be parried and thrown back at him with the fleece. If your counter hits him, he will ALWAYS follow with a charging palm thrust. If you keep your distance, it won't even touch you. If you're close to him, then roll to the left or right of his path. The palm thrust is also a part of his second attack - a three hit punch combo ending with a ground slam that has a small radius on impact. On Titan Mode, a direct hit by this final shot will kill you instantly. It's very easy to avoid by just staying away from him. His third attack is completely ineffective and easy to avoid. He calls lightning from the sky, pounds the ground in front of him, then sends a shockwave running along the ground. If you're circling him - as you should be - then this thing has zero chance of ever hitting you. It's only dangerous when you're close to him and the first ground slam hits. In addition to parrying lightning bolts, you should use the distance attack on the Blade of Olympus (L1 + Triangle). Whenever it hits, Zeus is momentarily stunned. If you make sure that you're lined up with him so that it will hit, you can actually take advantage of his stun and hit him repeatedly. The problem is that each one moves you a bit closer to him, so backing away and doing it again can allow you to do it multiple times with no threat. Once you've done enough damage (how many times have I said that?) Zeus will start ONLY charging you. Let him hit you, because it's part of the process, and it does no damage. He'll take the Blade from you. = Phase 3: Zeus has the Blade = [ZS3] With the Blade, Zeus has four new attacks. He has a double swing which can be blocked or parried/countered. It is the least predictable, so if you're ever close to him, be sure to block. If he brings the sword up near his face, pointing it at you, then he will unleash a ray of light towards you. Just keep circling him and it won't hit you. But if you're too close, you may get hit by the horizontal swing that releases it. For his third attack he jumps towards you and swings down, releasing a ray of light. Another attack that's easy to avoid by continuing to circle him. His final attack is to call lightning down into the blade and then unleash it in...you guessed it...another ray of light. This one's the most powerful, but it's also very easy to see coming and easy to avoid. You want to hit him with the Blades of Athena from a distance - 2 or maybe 3 hits before backing away. He will be moving lightning-fast and may sometimes trick you into walking right into him. If you find yourself suddenly close to him, block immediately. If you see him jump or point the sword, then start circling him again to avoid the light rays. Your BEST friend in this fight, though, is Chronos Rage. It does good damage, keeps him stunned, and prevents him from phase-shifting away from it. Use as much as you have. Eventually Zeus will tire out and will do a few clumsy desperation strikes. Just stay back like usual and a circle will appear over his head. Press and get ready to mash it afterwards to take the sword back from him and throw him against a pillar. Run over to the shining spot and press R1 to smash him with the pillar. "I will not let you destroy Sparta!" Indeed. The battle then returns to Phase 2. Repeat the process until Zeus takes the blade again. And here's where things get a little more serious. = Phase 4: Lightning Shield = [ZS4] Zeus will be circled by electrical orbs. If you get too close you'll get hit by them repeatedly. Zeus will be coming for you like usual, phasing all over the place, so it's easy to get caught in the shield's proximity. Once again Chronos Rage is helpful, but be careful not to get too close. Rage of the Titans and Prometheus' Torment (Hold Square) is your best bet, though, as it will keep Zeus stunned, reduce the damage of the lightning shield to almost nothing, and prevent you from getting stunned or staggered. Build up the hits, and if you need it, unleash Prometheus' Inferno (Hold L1). A circle will appear over Zeus's head, and you'll have to mash it to take the sword back yet again and throw Zeus into the pillars on the opposite side. Run over and hit R1 to drop them on top of his head. = Phase 5: Kratos's Gambit = [ZS5] This isn't really a phase, but be careful not to botch it. Zeus will grow big again and unload streams of electricity. Press circle rapidly to resist them, and Kratos will tell Zeus that he surrenders. Zeus will move to finish Kratos with the Blade of Olympus, but a button prompt will pop up. YOU MUST PRESS IT IMMEDIATELY or you will die instantly. Press it in time and you'll trigger a button-pressing sequence. Random buttons and then ending with mashing circle. Congratulations. After a little bit of running around, you've beaten God of War II. FAQ (c)2007 Godheval God of War II (C) 2007 Sony Computer Entertainment All Rights Reserved.