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_____________________________ God of War III Guide Created by: Axel7174 FAQ and Walkthrough Copyright 2010 Ryne Gardner _____________________________

Version History---------------Version 0.70 - 3/18/10 - 3/23/10--Greetings all! Welcome to the first (incomplete) edition of my first guideof 2010. After a long lay off, I've finally gotten back to doing a guide. Whatbetter game to pick than this? The guide is partially complete up to the startof The Caverns (second visit). More to come very soon.

Version 0.75 - 3/24/10--I wasn't able to make much of an update, just added a tiny bit more. But I'mworking on it. Today is my Birthday though. I probably won't be able to update

(for Thursday) and I have a paper to write too, so an update might have to waituntil next week but I'll see what I can do.

Version 1.00 - 3/26/10--So I had a good birthday, thanks in part to my girlfriend. The day after,that is, yesterday, I managed to find the time to both finish the walkthroughand write my paper so kudos for me! So yes, the main walkthrough is finished.I plan to probably edit some things here and there, possibly trim it a bit. Ialso don't have any extras up just yet and I hope to get started on them thisweekend. Hope the guide is helpful though, guys!

Version 1.05 - 3/29/10--Finally on Spring Break. Huzzah! Well, not much of an update, sadly. I added

the Challenge of Olympus section however. I might add more to it later. I alsohave received a few e-mails about small additions and I plan to add them verysoon. More to come.


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Version 1.10 - 3/30/10--Hey all. I have another small update. I added the Godly Possessions section.I also added a few tips I received. Let me just say here that a lot of peopleare e-mailing me WITHOUT leaving me a screen name for credit. Please READ theContact Info section. Don't just go "Oh I found something he doesn't have!!!"and immediately make a beeline for my e-mail address. Please read that section,

I implore you. I don't think my rule is a very restricting one in my opinion,so please follow it. And on that happy note, I also proofread the guide and madea few changes here and there. More to come soon.

Version 1.15 - 4/1/10--So, I have some sad news. I'm moving to London this summer, having to be tornaway from my friend and family and th-- oh who am I kidding? Sorry, that's myreally lame attempt at an April Fool's joke. Sorry about that! In any case, Ihave yet another small update (slow but steady?). I added the Trophies sectionand also a few tips on some Trophies that readers sent me. Check it out!

TABLE OF RAGE...... AND CONTENTS

___________________________________________________________________________1Introduction..................................................... [itro]+ About This Guide+ Using This Guide2Basics........................................................... [bscs]+ Controls....................................................... [bctr]

+ Orbs and Items................................................. [bcim]+ Kratos' Arsenal and Movelist................................... [bmov]+ Kratos' enemies................................................ [benm]3Walkthrough...................................................... [gw00]+Gaia, Mount Olympus, and Heart of Gaia.......................... [gw01]+River Styx, Realm of Hades, and Judges of the Underworld........ [gw02]+The Forge, Palace of Hades, and the Forge Pt. 2................. [gw03]+The City of Olympia, Path of Eos, and The Chain of Balance...... [gw04]+The Caverns and the Flame of Olympus............................ [gw05]+Olympian Citadel, The Flame of Olympus, and The Forum........... [gw06]+Poseidon's Chamber, The Upper Gardens, and Aphrodite's Chamber.. [gw07]+Tartarus, Gates of Tisiphone, and The Pit of Tartarus........... [gw08]+The Forge Pt. 3, The Upper Gardens, Daedalus' Workshop.......... [gw09]+Hera's Garden and The Caverns................................... [gw10]+The Labyrinth, Judges of the Underworld, The Flame of Olympus... [gw11]+Heart of Gaia................................................... [gw12]4Extras........................................................... [exra]+ Special Chest Locations........................................ [exsc]+ Godly Possession Locations..................................... [exgp]+ Challenges..................................................... [excl]+ Trophies....................................................... [exth]5Miscellaneous.................................................... [misl]+ Frequently Asked Questions..................................... [fak4u]+ Credits/Special Thanks+ Contact Info

+ Legal Hoopla


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____ ____ ____ ===============================================================

INTRODUCTION [itro] ===============================================================____________

[About This Guide]

Welcome, one and all. Assuming you're not lost, you must be here to get yourrage on with God of War III and are hoping for a little bit of help. Well ifyou want some small tips or a lot more help than that, I hope you will find ithere. I'm aiming to help as much as I can.

I can hardly believe that it's been two years now since I started making guides!Wow, time flies. I debuted with my Devil May Cry 4 guide roughly around thistime in 2008, and now here we are. Well I'm far from the best guide creator,but I try to do what I can.

This God of War III guide marks my first guide of 2010. I had taken such a longbreak, mostly because I needed to. I've been up to my eyeballs in schoolworkfor college and so on. When I'm not doing that, I'm pretty much hanging outwith my friends, spending time with my girlfriend (that's right, I'm taken,sorry ladies!), or at home playing games. So guide writing has taken a slightbackseat but I'm hoping this will be the start of another good year for that.Welcome to the table, God of War III. If you're a fan of the series, I don'tthink you'll be disappointed with this entry. Hopefully you enjoy and hopefully

you find any help you might need with the game from this guide. Thanks!

[Using This Guide]

If you need to jump quickly around the guide, the Table of Contents (above) hassmall codes at the end of each item called quickjumps. Use these in the ctrl+ffunction of your web browser to jump around. You can also use it to search forkey words that may be relevant to what you're looking for.

If you have questions or want to submit something to me, I implore you to readthe Frequently Asked Questions section first for questions, and the ContactInfo section for submissions as I have important rules for such things.

____ ____ ____ =============================================================== BASICS [bscs] ===============================================================____________

Here you can get information about some very basic stuff in God of War III.This includes controls, and other helpful information that will be useful for

newcomers to the series.

========


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Controls========[bctr]

_______________________________________________Button Action ----------------------------------------------

Start Pause Menu ----------------------------------------------Select Options/Pause* ----------------------------------------------Left Analog Stick Move Kratos ----------------------------------------------Right Analog Stick Evade ----------------------------------------------L1 Block/Parry ----------------------------------------------L2 Use Item (L2 + X/Sq/Tr) ----------------------------------------------

R1 Interact/Grapple ----------------------------------------------R2 Magic attack ----------------------------------------------Triangle Heavy Attack ----------------------------------------------Square Normal Attack ----------------------------------------------Circle Grapple ----------------------------------------------X/Cross Jump ----------------------------------------------D-Pad Up Select Blades of Exile

----------------------------------------------D-Pad Left Select Nemesis Whip ----------------------------------------------D-Pad Right Select Claws of Hades ----------------------------------------------D-Pad Down Select Nemean Cestus '-----------------------------------------------'

*At the end of the game there will be certain sequences where you can't pausewith Start and instead need to use Select.

==============Orbs and Items==============

[bcim]

There are several different items that Kratos can find to help him along hisjourney. If you're new to God of War it might be helpful to know what these areand what to do with them.

Red Orbs - Kratos' "blood money", quite literally actually. You will get Red-------- orbs from slain enemies and from Red Orb Chests. The amount you get

from enemies will depend on how you defeat them. Red Orbs are used

to purchase upgrades for Kratos' weapons and abilities.

Green Orbs - Green Orbs restore Kratos' health. Some enemies drop them, but


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---------- they are mostly recovered from Green Orb Chests.

Blue Orbs - Blue Orbs restore Kratos' magic. A few enemies will drop them, but--------- you'll find them most in Blue Orb Chests.

Gold Orbs - These restore some of Kratos' Rage of Sparta meter. They aren't--------- found very often, coming only from a few enemies and not in chests.

Gorgon Eyes - Collect these to add to extend Kratos' life meter. You only need----------- to collect three to increase the life meter, unlike previous God

of War games.

Phoenix Feathers - Phoenix Feathers increase Kratos' magic meter. For every---------------- three you collect, you'll extend the magic meter.

Minotaur Horns - New to God of War III, these increase the length of the Item-------------- Meter which determines how much Kratos can use special items.

Three Minotaur Horns will net you an upgrade to the meter.

============================Kratos' Arsenal and Movelist============================

[bmov]

As you progress through the game, conquering baddies, ripping each boss a newone, and so on, you'll gather up new items for Kratos to wield and also, morered orbs to spend on those items!

***Note: this section does contain some slight spoilers!***

[Weapons]

Blades of Athena - The powerful blades that Kratos received from Athena at the---------------- conclusion to God of War. You'll use them briefly and they

are fully upgraded.

Blades of Exile - These are the blades you'll be using for the near entirety--------------- of the game. They are Kratos' primary weapons and have his

most basic combos and attacks. While wielding these he canuse the Army of Sparta spell.

Claws of Hades - The grappling hook-like claws wielded by the lord of the-------------- lord of the underworld himself. These give Kratos new combos

and the ability to summon brief souls of creatures to attackhis enemies.

Nemean Cestus - Large and heavy lion head-shaped gauntlets that pack a powerful------------- punch. Capable of sending powerful shockwaves through the

ground.

Nemesis Whip - Several small blades attached to whips, infused with the power------------ of electricity. This thing is a combo machine! It lets Kratos

attack enemies with its spinning blades for interesting newcombos, as well as electrifying them.


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[Items]

***Some God of War 2/3 spoilers below!***

Golden Fleece - Received from Jason's (of the Argonauts) corpse, the Golden------------- Fleece allows Kratos to deflect enemy projectiles and energy

if his block is timed correctly.

Icarus Wings - Ripped off from the back of Icarus himself, the wings allow------------ Kratos to glide for a short period of time.

New to God of War III

Apollo's Bow - Shoots fire arrows that deal small damage. If the button is held------------ the flame is stronger and is capable of burning enemies and

objects in the environment.

Head of Helios - The head of the Sun God. It allows Kratos to shed light to-------------- dark areas and stun enemies with its light. It can unleash apowerful Solar Flare to blind a wide number of enemies.

Hermes Boots - These boots allow Kratos to move much faster but they can not be------------ used liberally. They allow Kratos to run straight up or along

only CERTAIN walls. A shame, really. In battle, the boots canlet Kratos run head long into enemies, throwing them into theair.

[Movelist and Upgrades]

Here you can see the moves Kratos has at his disposal with some brief notes oneach. This will include how to use certain items and perform certain specialactions and abilities, etc. To be able to use certain moves, Kratos needs toupgrade his weapons and items and you can see how many Red Orbs are needed foreach below.

===============================BLADES OF EXILE

===============================

-Level 1

--Plume of Prometheus: (Square, Square, Triangle) Perhaps the most trusty andreliable move Kratos has in his arsenal. Short and packs a punch. Can beextended into a longer combo if you add more square hits.

--Olympic Fury (Square x6): A good but slightly less powerful combo. It endswith a wide swipe of Kratos' blades that has decent range.

--Olympic Ascension (Hold Triangle): An attack that can be tacked on into anycombo. Hold Triangle at any time while attacking to launch an enemy up into theair. Hold Triangle even longer to have Kratos follow them up to start an aerialattack!

--Hyperion Ram (L1 + Circle): Also referred to as the Combat Grapple. Kratos

will use his blades to grab a nearby or distant enemy and pull himself towardthem to ram them. Good way to extend combos when enemies are distant.


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===============================

-Level 1

--Flame Burst (L2 + Square): Shoots a flaming arrow from the bow. Can be donerepeatedly for very small damage. Can also be done in the air.

--Fiery Inferno (L2 + Hold Square): Shoots a much more powerful arrow that hasthe power to burn objects and enemies. Enemies hit with the arrow can set fireto surrounding enemies.

-Level 2 - Red Orb cost: 2500

--Increased Damage: The Bow of Apollo can deal more damage

===============================CLAWS OF HADES

===============================

-Level 1

--Hades Agony (Square x5): A good combo that has Kratos swinging the claws inwide range and powerful strikes.

--Hades Curse (Triangle x3): Kratos uses one claw to pull at the ground,hitting enemies in front of him, then uses another claw, followed by using bothclaws in a rising motion.

--Hades Ascension (Hold Triangle): Add this at the end of other combos tolaunch an enemy into the air. Hold Triangle longer to have Kratos jump up withthem.

--Soul Rip (L1 + Circle): Looks similar to the Combat Grapple at first. Kratosuses the claws to rip an enemy's soul out. The soul takes the form of flyingskulls that will attack nearby enemies for small damage. Totally badass.

--Soul Summon (R2): Summons a soul of an enemy that appears as an apparition.It will attack enemies with a predetermined attack. The souls available dependon how high leveled the Claws of Hades are. Also, the souls need to be "aimed"a bit, as they do not act really on their own but have a predetermined attackanimation.---Souls Available at Level 1: Cerberus Mongrel, Olympus Sentry, OlympusArcher

-Level 2 - Red Orb Cost: 3000

--Increased Damage: Claws of Hades deal extra damage to enemies

--Tormenting Lash (L1 + Square): A cool attack in which Kratos sends theclaws flying around his body. Similar range to Cyclone of Chaos, but perhapsslightly less.

--Tormenting Lash (Air): The airborne version of the above move




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--Hades Bane (Evade + Triangle):

--Soul Summon Level 2 (R2): You gain the souls of the Chimera, Gorgon, andOlympus Fiend



--Unending Sorrow (L1 + Triangle):

--Unending Sorrow (Air):

-Level 5 - Red Orb cost: 9000


--Soul Summon Level 3 (R2): You gain the souls of the Cyclops Berserker,Siren Seductress, and Centaur General

===============================HEAD OF HELIOS

===============================

-Level 1

--Solar Beam (L2): After selecting the head, holding L2 lets Kratos hold the

ghastly Head of Helios out and cast its light ahead of him. The light can beaimed with the Right Analog Stick. Casting the light at secret objects revealsthem.

--Solar Flash (L2 + Triangle): Hits a targeted enemy with a small flash oflight. The light is strong enough to stop the enemy for a very brief moment andhit them with a small amount of light that makes them more visible.

--Solar Flare (L2 + Hold Triangle): Unleashes a blinding flash of light thatstuns all surrounding enemies for a few seconds. Also lights up dark areassignificantly.


--Increased Damage - Head of Helios deals extra damage to enemies

===============================BOOTS OF HERMES

===============================

-Level 1

--Hermes Dash (Evade in the air):

--Hermes Rush (L2 + X):


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-Level 2 - Red Orbs cost: 2500

--Increased Damage: Boots of Hermes deal extra damage to enemies

--Hermes Jest (L2 + Hold X):

===============================NEMEAN CESTUS

===============================

-Level 1

--Triumphant Labor (Square x3):

--Erymanthion Rage (Triangle x2):

--Augean Stampede (Hold Square):

--Augean Stampede (Air):

--Brutal Ascension (Hold Triangle):

--Ferocious Bite (L1 + Circle):

--Fercoius Bite (Air):

--Nemean Roar (R2):


--Vicious Maul (L1 + Square):

--Vicious Maul (Air): The same move... but performed in the air, duh!

-Level 3 - Red Orbs Cost: 5000

--Increased Damage: The Nemean Cestus deals extra damage to enemies

--Savage Charge (Evade + Triangle):

--Nemean Roar Level 2 (R2):



--Crushing Strike (L1 + Triangle):

--Crushing Strike (Air):



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--Nemean Roar Level 3 (R2):

===============================NEMESIS WHIP

===============================

-Level 1

--Furious Contempt (Square x5):

--Harsh Penance (Triangle x2):

--Righteous Tirade (Hold Square):

--Righteous Ascension (Hold Triangle):

--Surging Lash (L1 + Circle):

--Surging Lash (L1 + Circle): Airborne version of the previous attack

--Nemesis Rage (R2): Hits an enemy in front of Kratos with a surge ofelectricity that deals decent damage over a short period of time. Consumesmagic.

-Level 2 - Red Orbs Cost: 3000

--Increased Damage: The Nemesis Whip deals extra damage to enemies

--Severe Judgment (L1 + Square):

--Severe Judgment (Air):

--Increased Righteous Tirade Duration (Hold Square):

--Increased Righteous Ascension Duration (Hold Triangle):



--Avenging Strike (Evade + Triangle):





--Deadly Reprisal (L1 + Triangle):

--Deadly Reprisal (Air):


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--Nemesis Rage Level 3 (R2):



===============Kratos' Enemies===============

[benm]

COMING SOON

____ ____ ____ =============================================================== Walkthrough [gw00]

===============================================================____________

I have to warn you, there's a lot of rage contained below! Ha, just kidding.In any case, welcome to what can accurately be called the meat of the guide.Here I'll be providing detailed help for getting through the game.

I will not spoil any cutscenes or events in the game at all. I will be sayingnames of characters and so on, but only AFTER you should have met them, etc. Forthat purpose, I can't call this guide "Spoiler Free" but you don't have toworry about being spoiled on the story. I would not do that to you, my friend.

After the opening cutscene, you will see Kratos pull out those trusty blades.It's go time, baby!

======Gaia======

[gw01]

The game will start off in a very tutorial-esque fashion, much like the first

two games have. Just to ease you back into the swing of things or to accommodatenewcomers. If you are new, just follow the tutorial tips you see on screen tolearn more. I'll occasionally repeat what they say but for the most part you


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can trust the game to help teach you if you need it.

Basically, if this is your first time, try out the different attacks with Kratosand see how they work. Try out different combos of Square and Triangle and seethe power difference. Try to extend your combo as long as possible. Kratos hasgood range with his blades, but you want to move him in a way that allows himto face all surrounding enemies. Don't just face or move in one direction, as

enemies that are hit hard enough will be knocked back. Let the range of theblades hit as many enemies as possible and rotate Kratos' position to hit morein one combo.

The first group of sentries are nothing to get worked up above. Just freelyexplore the attacks available and you'll beat this without any sweat. After ascene, you'll be able to move on, but more enemies show up so deal with themfirst to practice more or just to get more Red Orbs.

Proceed forward when you're ready to the overturned tree with the small sparkleof light. Interact with R1 and tap Circle to lift it out of the way. You'll bedoing this method a lot to lift doors and such so I won't be repeating how to

do it.

Up ahead, you'll see three more soldiers. Take them out easily, then move on.Before you get to gorge your blade into even more enemies, a new beast appears!Could it be? The first mini-boss!

Leviathan----------This water horse... crab... thing is not tough, which isn't surprisingconsidering you've only be playing for what, three minutes now? It has a breathattack that is hard to time or prepare for since it doesn't emote much whenit's about to use it. The creature will slow the movement of its head a littleand it will be sort of tilted, if that helps. That means the attack is coming.

Luckily, the attack does not hurt much at all. Let loose with some attacks onits body which is in front of Kratos. Focus on ending most of your combos withTriangle, as those deal the highest damage. Eventually, a short interjectorycutscene will play and you'll resume fighting, only from a different angle.

Doing a ceiling climb, you can still attack (pay attention to the tutorialmessages). Let loose with more attacks on the creature and don't worry too muchabout damage. You can hit X and use the Left Analog Stick to move quickly toanother spot to avoid its leg attacks but it won't be necessary on normal orlower difficulty.

The perspective will change again and now you'll be climbing up toward it. Ifyou have an SDTV you might possibly lose track of Kratos for a moment. Just hitSquare and you should see his attack. Climb up to the creature and attack somemore. Just focus on attacking constantly.

You'll be back on level ground again next. Run up to the creature and continueyour assault. Try to evade or block the claw attacks, especially one where itrears back and attacks with all of its left side claws. Use Kratos' magic spelltoo to help deal a good amount of damage, but remember its use is limited byyour magic meter.

Deal enough damage and a circle (grapple) prompt appears above the creature'sheads. If you're new to God of War, this is your cue to hit Circle and you'll

initiate a QTE (Quick Time Event) minigame to finish it off. The buttons areusually always pretty randomized so I can't really help much here. The buttonswill appear on sides of the screen relative to their layout on the PS3


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controller (i.e. Square is on the left, Circle on the right, etc).

Once it's finished, you'll get a quick scene.

===============Mount Olympus===============

Climb across the vines to Kratos' right using the Left Analog Stick. When youreach a gap, look for Kratos to lean his body toward it. Hit X at these momentsto jump over the gap and continue climbing. Simply climb to the left, then up.Pull yourself up onto the ledge from there by hitting X again.

Up ahead, you'll see your first Red Orb chest. Open it for some deliciousgoodness. Approach the narrow ledge and you can guide Kratos along the side ofthe mountain with the Left Analog Stick. An impressive scene will be going onat the same time.

On the other side, lash out at the enemies here. They're not much to worry

about. You might want to consider taking out the archers first if they annoyyou.

Jump to the higher ledge and then climb the ladder on the wall which will giveway to climbable vines. Take this up to the next ledge where more enemies layin wait.

Again, not much to worry about. Go with quick combos that deal a lot of damagelike the Plume of Prometheus (Square, Square, Triangle) and remember to attackall opponents to keep your combo going.

Once they're dead, you can replenish your health using the Green Orb Chest offto the left. Next, jump up and climb onto the tall platform here. There is a

pedestal that has an inscription and an interesting view to look at if you careto take a moment.

Note the grapple hook that the game points you to. Step close enough to it tosee the R1 button prompt and hit it to grapple onto it. Hold R1 to swing. Atthe end of your forward swing, jump and double jump to reach the next platform.

More enemies materialize and attack. Try to get the archers in the back firstif you want to possibly get a decent combo here as they can mess you up.

Climb up the vines here and then lean to the left. Kratos can jump over to thenext ledge so hit X to do so. Continue to shimmy to the left as you get a coolview of some action nearby.

Continue to the left and then hit X to pull Kratos onto the ledge so he'sstanding. When you've gone as far left as you can go, climb straight up thewall. Once you're up there, move the Left Analog Stick down so Kratos will gotoward the camera. He should flip onto the adjacent wall and start climbing it.Continue up to the next ledge.

A scene will start up but you'll get control back soon. As you try to moveacross the bridge, it will be destroyed. The game tells you to use the IcarusGlide by double tapping X and then holding X to glide using the Icarus Wings.Before you do that though, drop into the gap. Don't worry, it's not bottomless.Below, you should find another Red Orb Chest. Schwing! Climb back up and then

glide over.

Feel free to restore lost magic or health using the Blue and Green Orb chests


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ahead. If you don't need them, then you don't need to open them as there willbe no benefit. Keep in mind though that there will be times where if you don'tneed a chest at the moment, you might be better off leaving it shut in case anearby battle leaves you hurting and you need to refill.

Enter the building ahead and approach the door. Interact with it just as youdid with the overturned tree at the start. Enter the following room and a

Centaur will appear.

If you played the demo you might be familiar with these guys. They don't hitterribly hard but they can take a little practice. Their attacks aren't hardto time and therefore deflect, it just takes some practice. Focus on justslashing away and using Plume of Prometheus and other attacks and then tryingto block when he's about to strike back. If you have some distance between youand the Centaur, it will use the attack it opens up the fight with, where ittries to stab Kratos with the spear. A Left Analog Stick prompt appears inthese moments with a half rotation. Basically, move or rotate the stick inthe indicated direction. That's the Left Analog Stick, not the right one. Do itin time and you'll counter the attack. It might take practice though.

As the fight progresses, more undead soldiers will attack you while you dealwith the Centaur. Feel free to use the magic attack to disperse them. Don'ttake your eyes off the Centaur and focus on him. Try to use attacks that willhit him and the surrounding enemies. Try to weaken the Centaur to get the Grabicon to appear and start the minigame. Try to finish him off this way ratherthan just attacking him constantly. It will pay off later.

When the fighting is over, the game will give you a hint at what to do next.First, go over to the lever with the sparkling light on it and interact to pullit down. This moves a platform over to the right. Very quickly, run over thereand climb the ladder. Hit X to jump up faster and get on top of this ledge.Board the platform from here and let it take you up and over. Double jump to

the ledge ahead of you.

You'll see a Red Orb Chest and a save point. Make use of both. Proceed throughthe next doorway. Up ahead will be a gate. Raise it as Gaia begs you to hurry.Once raised, another beast will attack. Quickly tap Circle to ward off itsattack and hitch a ride.

Leviathan Part II-----------------The creature has some new attacks. It's mostly the same as before, the clawsand occasional breath attack. Some are easy to see coming, others are harderto predict. Make use of the Evade maneuver with the Right Stick. When you seethe creature rear back its head for a few seconds, back away immediately as itstrikes the ground hard in front of you.

Focus on attacking its chest with Plume of Prometheus or the extended version(5 or 6 square hits then triangle). Avoid its attacks and also make use of themagic Kratos has when you're standing right next to its chest for more damage.

Eventually, the creature will weaken. Grapple it with Circle to initiate theQTE. You'll get a few standard button prompts, followed by one where you musttap Circle repeatedly.

Continue your attack. Vary small combos with evades to avoid the incomingattacks. You'll have regained a bit of health and magic after the first QTE

so use that to your advantage. Spam the magic spell a few times to really putthe hurting on it, because you'll get Blue Orbs back from it when it dies.


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When the beast falls again, initiate another QTE by grappling it. This time youwill have to tap L1 and R1 simultaneously to rip open its chest. Once youaccomplish that, run back to the claw that was severed earlier (the camera willshow you). Interact with it with R1 to finish the beast off once and for all.

When you regain control, climb straight up Gaia and onto the above flat ground.You'll automatically drop inside.

Go forward, and press up against the wall near the opening. Guide Kratosthrough the narrow passage into the next area. Climb the vine wall to theceiling and move across the ceiling to the adjacent wall. When you get to thiswall, hold R1 to slide down fast.

Drop down when you can and then glide over the following gap.

===============Heart of Gaia===============

You can see the heart in front of you, guarded by some strange dark blue rocks.The game shows you the wall on the right side. Inspect it and you can pull outa part of the wall, but leave it be for now.

Instead, go to the left of the wall slab and you'll find vines. Climb this upand to Kratos' right and up again. You'll be able to reach a platform up here.Inspect the blinking object in the corner to get ZEUS' EAGLE

x-----Godly Possession 1/10: Zeus' Eagle-----x

This artifact is one of ten found in hidden locations throughout the game thatwhen collected, will unlock special bonuses for replays of the game on thatsame difficulty. They carry over on the same difficulty but not between

different difficulties. This artifact for example gives Kratos infinite Rage ofSparta. The trick is that you can only use this and the other items after youhave beaten the game once on this difficulty.

With that in hand, drop back down. Pull that piece of wall out now and drag itto the other side. Rotate it with the right stick. You should only need to doit once. Plug it into the left wall and then climb the vines to Kratos' left.Climb up, to the right, up and lean over on the right wall. You can jump outtoward the glowing grapple hook. Immediately hit R1 when you get airborne andswing to the far wall. Do a double jump to be sure you reach the vines andclimb up.

Go forward and you get a new combat tutorial, the Battering Ram technique. Graban enemy with Circle, then hit Square and Kratos will grab them and use theirbody to plow through other foes. Very sweet and effective! Try it out on theupcoming sentries. Finish the remainders off with a few quick, stylish combos,then continue on.

At the corner, climb the vine wall and go over to Kratos' right. Jump when heleans out and he'll just barely make it to the next platform. A grapple promptappears so let that take you up above to another vine wall. Climb up and engagethe enemies that try to attack you. Use Circle to grapple them for quick killsif you want.

Climb up and then jump up when you can't go any further. Hit the quick Grapple

prompt to swing out of Gaia and up to her head. Continue to climb up furtherand watch the scene that unfolds.


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Epic opening boss fight? Check.

______ _ _ ___ \ (_) _/ /___ ___ ___ _ __ ___ _ __ __// _ \/ __/ _ \ / _` / _ \ '_ \

(_) \__ \ __/ (_ (_) \_ \___/___/\____\__,_\___/_ _

This fight has three phases. First, your task as Kratos is to dislodge theLeviathan claws from Gaia's head. You accomplish this by attacking them overand over.

While you're trying to do this, Poseidon will show you what moves he hasarsenal. He can attack the area with the Leviathan tentacles in the backgroundbut they are easy to avoid. The other more dangerous attack is when he summonslightning to surge through the ground. You can see this coming as the light

appears on the ground, or rather on top of Gaia's head. You only have a momentto react however. Try to make your combos short and sweet. Plume of Prometheusworks fine so stick with that. Whenever you see the lightning coming, stopattacking and jump or roll out of the way immediately. If you get airborne,you should avoid it.

Continue attacking the claws and they will come loose one by one. Use Plume ofPrometheus or other quick combos as well as your magic spell. You'll get back afew Blue Orbs soon so feel free to use that a couple times. It will help.Once all the claws are gone, Gaia grabs Poseidon and a grappling point willappear on Gaia's hand. Hit R1 to zoom over there and the second phase of thefight begins. Pinned down, Poseidon's attacks change. He'll stab his trident

down and release a short electrical burst. Again, jump to avoid this but he onlystabs in two places and one of them will be past you when you get up close toattack him. The second attack has him slamming his fist down. This hurts alittle and can't be blocked either. He'll also swipe you away with his arm andthis pushes you back a little.

In this phase, just unleash attacks constantly. Don't worry too much about hisattacks since a lot of them will miss. If you want to avoid damage, dodge orunleash Kratos' magic attack just before he hits you. This will save you andalso hurt Poseidon. Feel free to use longer combos now too. Eventually Poseidonwill stagger and a grab icon will appear. Climb the adjacent vines on Gaia'sfinger and from there grab Poseidon to start the QTE. It will be two normalbutton presses, followed by tapping Circle, and then another button press tofinish it off.

Back to the first phase, you gotta get the claws off again. Poseidon will stillattack with the claws of the Leviathans. His lightning attack changes though.It will start on one side of Gaia's head and then move to the other making ittougher to avoid. Lightning bolts also hit down so you can't avoid it simply byjumping in the air this time. When the lightning appears, time it so that youcan run or roll out of the way to the opposite side so that when it moves towhere you were you'll already be out of its range. The lightning bolts can betough to dodge though. Just focus on attacking the claws and the fight will goto its final phase.

After what I can call one of the most badass and amazing cinematic shots ingames, Kratos will take Poseidon over to a platform. This will basically be onelast final QTE sequence. There are a few buttons and a tapping sequence. If you


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mess up, no worries, you get to try again. At the end, hit L3 and R3 at the sametime, by pushing in the two sticks to finish him off. Ouch.

With the fight's bloody conclusion, you'll be treated to a scene.

After that, you'll regain control in...

============River Styx============

[gw02]

The only way to go is forward. Swim through the water of the river and alongthe way, some creatures will grab Kratos and begin sapping away his powers. Yepit's that time again. Stripped of magic and a lot of health, you'll be able toclimb out of the river eventually.

Slowly stagger forward and you'll get another scene. After that you earn theBlades of Exile.

================Realm of Hades================

Of all the places to end up... Well been there, done that, right? Kratoscertainly has. In any case proceed along the path ahead and you'll come to alarge gap. Grapple and swing across but don't land on the tall platform ahead.Drop down to the lower ledge below it. There are some shambling souls here thatcan be killed. More importantly there are two RED ORB CHESTS nearby as well assome pots you can bust open for more Red Orbs.

Before climbing up, go around the other side of this platform and you'll finda much more ostentatious looking chest. Pry this one open for a Gorgon Eye!Three will extend your life bar. Only two more to go.

Climb up the pillar and you'll encounter some enemies. You have to get used tothe fact that you no longer have many of the combat moves you had before.Plume of Prometheus is still there though, always there to help you. The gametells you about the Combat Grapple, which lets you pull yourself toward enemiesto deliver a powerful driving blow and also keep combos going easier. Try itout.

The bridge to the right leads to an area that can't be used yet so take theother bridge. Knock the souls out of your way and then you'll come to anothersplit. Go left first, grappling across the gap. Defeat the souls here and thenopen the four RED ORB CHESTS. Schwing! Go back across the gap and go to theright side of the path now.

There are four pots to break open and a Green Orb chest if you need health.Jump to the large platform ahead and listen to the haunting voice of the bigman himself.

A fight begins and you get to learn how to use the Army of Sparta, Kratos' newmagic which is very badass I might add. Hit R2 to deploy a phalanx attack thatwill hit surrounding enemies. Feel free to spam it as much as you want here

as your magic will replenish each time. Don't get used to it though, using itafter this time will cost some of your magic meter.


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Look for the chain off to the right and grab onto it by jumping. Make your wayacross, hitting X to go faster. You'll encounter enemies but the game willtell you how to handle them. If they grab you, rock the Left Analog stick leftand right repeatedly to free yourself.

On the following platform, there are many pots to break open and two chests,one for Blue Orbs and one with Blue Orbs and Red Orbs mixed in. There's also

a note on the ground if you care to read it. Proceed down the next corridorwhen you're done.

You'll drop down a gap. Immediately go toward the camera to find two RED ORBCHESTS ripe for the picking. Go the other way now and interact with the door.

Inside this area, a Gorgon will attack. It will ensnare Kratos with its body,but just jam on L1 and R1 to break free. Do this any time it tries to grabyou. Attack with Plume of Prometheus and avoid its attacks to weaken it for aQTE. It will be two button presses, followed by the tapping of Circle. Be readyto tap circle right after the second button because if you're too slow, theGorgon will slip free.

One down and another one will appear, along with other enemies. Focus on theGorgon, using the Blades of Exile and the Army of Sparta spell. You can maybeget a good combo going using both and finishing off the Gorgon without anyerror.

Once the room is clear, exit out the way opposite you came in from.

Go down this path, breaking a few pots along the way. You'll come to a shortgap. Drop down inside it and walk toward the camera to find a hidden area withtwo RED ORB CHESTS. Climb out and continue on your merry way.

Replenish your health and magic with the Green and Blue Orb Chests, then

continue on. The path immediately ahead is blocked by bramble. No good. Take aleft instead and enter the next area.

Meet Peirithous. Not very important but he has an important item that he offersto give to Kratos. How generous! All he asks is that Kratos free him. Oh, he'llfree you alright.

You have a minor puzzle on your hands. First, climb the rubble around thetrapped Peirithous to the platform above him. You can jump onto this hangingfire basket of sorts which will weigh it down (and freak out Peirithous). It'sactually a switch that raises a gate on the far wall.

From this platform, jump and glide to the opening on the left wall. Kratosshould just grab on. Pull yourself up and go inside to find a pot of Bramble.Push this out through the small gap and it will fall to the floor below. Nowpush it toward the far wall. A small cerberus here will breathe fire on thebramble if you let it. Push the bramble pot as close to it as possible and letit light it up. This creates an Icarus Vent.

Now return to Peirithous' side and climb onto that hanging switch again andweigh it down. This opens that gate again. Quickly run back to the Icarus Ventyou made and as long as the bramble pot is leaning right up against the wall,this should work. Jump into the hot air above the pot and hold X to activatethe Icarus Wings and Kratos should be taken up into the air. This should letyou get up to the platform above. Use the lever here to free the cerberus.

Jump down and fight the beast. It's not very hard to kill. You can use Army ofSparta a bit liberally since there is a chest in this room that will give you


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Green or Blue Orbs depending on when you open it.

Once you weaken it, hit the grab button to start up a few prompts. Succeed andyou'll wrangle the beast under your control. Let the games begin! Use Squareand Triangle to use different attacks and decimate all the enemies in your pathas you slowly make your way toward Peirithous. Hit Triangle near him to set himfree. Sorry, man.

Grab the item he had, the Bow of Apollo. Schwing! The bow gives you a niceranged attack. The damage is only significant if you hold down Square beforereleasing. It has another very helpful usage and we'll get to that. First,take out the enemies that have appeared. These include two archers on a highledge. Try shooting one with a charged shot from the Bow of Apollo (holdSquare) and if you get the right angle, you can hit one of the archers. Hittingone with a charged shot should kill both.

When the enemies are dispatched, you'll see the bramble on the wall in thecorner. Shoot this with a charged shot of the bow to burn it. Aha! Go back tothe bramble pot from earlier, and move it as far left as possible. Jump into

the Icarus Vent and let the air take you up a bit, then move to the openingyou just created. In here you'll find a RED ORB CHEST and another chest with aPHOENIX FEATHER. The Phoenix Feathers raise your magic meter when you havethree.

Exit now and return to the entrance, going back across the bridge. Return tothe fork where the bramble is. You can now get past this. Burn the bramble downand continue.

Up ahead are some souls, a note, and some chests with Blue and Green Orbs.Between them is some seemingly inconspicuous patch of bramble. Burn this toreveal another special chest, this one containing a MINOTAUR HORN. ThreeMinotaur Horns extend the Item Meter which lets you use items like the Bow of

Apollo more.

Go off to the left and jump up a small ledge. Crack open the pots on yourimmediate left and right and then continue on. The next room has some Harpiesenter and attack you. They're not much of a threat but damn are they annoying!Use the Combat Grapple and some arrows from your new bow to deal with them.Feel free to kill off the souls that are in worship, though they won't give youanything.

Jump and glide carefully across a gap to a low platform. Open the chest herefor some Green and Red Orbs. Begin to sidle along the wall here and jump thegap. Continue moving and climbing up the walls. You'll have to drop down andhang from a ledge to get by an obstacle. Keep going and the path should bepretty easy to follow.

When you near the top near a waterfall, instead of going right, have Kratospull himself up and go left. He should lean to the left. Jump across this gapto reach a chest with a GORGON EYE. Go back now and to the right.

Once you're done climbing, jump and latch onto the vines on the ceiling above.Make your way across the ceiling and you should be able to drop down by hittingR1 if you're in the right position, safely landing on the platform below.

Jump and glide to the viney pillar ahead. Climb straight up and you'll get aninteresting view of the following area.

==========================


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JUDGES OF THE UNDERWORLD==========================

Open the Green Orb Chest if you need health. Grab onto the grapple point andswing, then jump and glide to the platform below. Take a look around here firstif you'd like. There isn't much to do though. There is some treasure to findhowever.

Go to the bottom of the circular stairs, where all the torches are and go offto the left side of the screen. There should be a broken staircase here. Jumpthis gap and continue toward the left. Here you should find two RED ORB CHESTSand one special chest with another GORGON EYE. This should be your third andextend your life bar! Schwing!

Return to the main area now. Step on the plate in the center and read themessage with R1. It guides you to an altar in the foreground. Read this tobegin three trials you must pass to proceed.

Trial 1: The Condemned

----------------------This is very easy. Just kill all the people and the hands of Hades that willtry to convert them into souls. It will take a while but there's really nothingdangerous about this trial. Just keep hacking away when the hands appear andthen the people. You can grab them with Circle and rip them apart with Triangleto go faster. Return to the altar for the next one.

Trial 2: The Lost-----------------Not too tricky. The goal is to defeat the enemies while preventing the soulsfrom walking up to the glowing fire ahead. If they do, they'll turn intoHades soldiers. The minotaur provides the biggest challenge. You'll want tofocus your attacks on the souls, but let the harder hitting parts of your

combos hit the Minotaur too. The Minotaur gets extremely annoying with his highhealth and his attacks. His attacks are hard to predict and parry withoutenough practice.

Letting the souls turn into enemies isn't the worst thing that can happen. Theycan give you health when defeated and you can also use the Battering Ram moveto hit other enemies. A second Minotaur will show up. Use Army of Sparta buttry not to use it too much, as well as combos to finish it off.

Trial 3: The Chosen-------------------This is the first more challenging fight of the game. Start by focusing onthe Gorgon. The Harpies will get annoying but try to defeat the Gorgon firstand quickly. Try to keep saving your magic if you can. Defeat the Gorgon, thenfocus on the Minotaurs and the Harpies. Use Combat Grapples to keep theMinotaurs off balance so they don't gang up on you. If you saved enough magic,use Army of Sparta here a few times to help.

Once the fighting is done, step on the plate again in the center. The judgesopen a doorway for you off to the right. Head over there. Notice to the leftof the opening, there is a strange little area here with dust, some sort ofdistorted space. It might be hard to notice without an HDTV but if you cansee it, keep this phenomenon in mind for later. Open the chests inside thisalcove, then step through the blue portal.

You'll arrive at another portal. From here, go right (there's nothing to theleft) and you'll see a few pots you can bust open for Red Orbs. There isanother little area of distorted space but again, you can't do anything about


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it yet.

Head along the path and you'll come to an area with a tunnel nearby. Comingdown the tunnel are two Minotaurs, taking their sweet time I might add. Thereare two oil pots in the tunnel. Take aim at them with the Bow of Apollo andfire a charged shot to set them off like proximity bombs that will deal gooddamage to the Minotaurs. Flick the Right Analog Stick to change your target

so you can hit both pots. Fire a few arrows at the Minotaurs to further weakenthem, then finish them off when they get close.

Break open some pots here, then go down that tunnel they came from. Turn rightimmediately when you clear the tunnel. There will be another portal here. Useit to arrive at a closed off area with a special chest containing a MINOTAURHORN, as well as a note and a lever. Use the lever to make a quick shortcut.Go back through the portal you just emerged from.

Proceed forward, toward some breakable pots. Ahead, double jump and glide overthe large gap to reach a platform with a RED ORB CHEST. Jump to the nearbywalkway platform next. Walk to the left for a cutscene.

Break the two pots here after the scene, then jump onto the chain here andmake your way across. No enemies will attack, fortunately. On the other side,drop down, then slide down the vines here. On the floor below, break open somepots before entering the next corridor.

Read the note if you wish, then break some more pots. Slide through the narrowpassage here and on the other end, break the pots in the foreground. In thenext area, some female soldiers will attack. They explode when defeated sokeep your distance and shoot the oil pots near them to help you. You can alsoweaken them a bit, then finish them off with a special Grab move. Be sure tobreak the pots off to the right of where you enter and the RED ORB CHEST onthe left.

In the next room, you'll find a Green/Blue Orb Chest, as well as two sets ofpots in the foreground, and a note. Start by shooting the bramble in the backwith the Bow of Apollo to create a large Icarus Vent. When you're ready, jumpin and activate your wings to rise up.

On the second level, two more of those soldiers will attack. The Bow of Apolloworks well, as do grapples. Finish them, then activate the nearby lever.Immediately turn around and jump to reach the platform which will quickly startto rise up and away from you.

On this level, pull out one of the bramble pots from the left. Three more ofthe soldiers attack, so use this pot against them by shooting it. Finishthem off, then grab a new pot from the wall. Pull it to the right, where theelevator stopped when you got here. Leave it there and then jump back down tothe previous level.

Use the lever again and board the elevator. While it's up here for a limitedtime, pull the bramble pot onto it. Ride back down with the pot and two moresoldiers attack. Avoid shooting the pot and just shoot them instead. Kill themthen go back to the bramble pot. You may be unsure of what to do with it, butjust pull it toward the back wall. There is an opening here where you glidedup with the Icarus Wings. Push the bramble pot off this ledge.

This will make the vent even stronger. Jump back in and use the wings to

glide up even higher. You'll latch onto a platform and bring it down with you.While attached to the bottom of this platform, move toward the camera to haveKratos flip onto the adjacent side and climb on top of it. You should be level


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with a door here in the wall. Open it up to find a secret area with many, manyhands of Hades. Destroy them with some combos to get Red Orbs. Open the REDORB CHEST in the back, as well as the special chest with the PHOENIX FEATHER.You should also get the "Mr. Hand" Trophy here.

Jump back into the vent and let the air take you all the way up to the top.Enter the opening and take this winding hall to a new area. Restore your health

and magic reserves with the Green and Blue Orb Chests nearby, then ascend thestaircase. Go off to the right to find some pots and a RED ORB CHEST. Head tothe left now.

A new enemy will emerge in a pair of stone statues with hammers. They pack apunch but their attacks can be parried with just a little practice and timing.Try to time your blocks at the moment of impact to parry. Other than that,unleash powerful combos on them (remember that combos ending in Triangle makeenemies stagger and deal the most damage). Army of Sparta will help too if youneed to use it. When they're weakened, grab them for a two button prompt QTEfinisher.

Defeat the undead soldiers that emerge, as you wait for another statue enemyto appear. One is much easier to take on than two, so have a blast. Once he'sdead, open the pots and then venture off to the left.

Go down the stairs and then jump into the opening and glide all the way forwardto reach the platform with the Green Orb Chest. Use it, then run down a shortpassage to reach a new area. Drop down here and open some pots, then ascendthe stairs to the very large figure ahead of you.

===========The Forge===========

[gw03]

Watch the cutscene. Hephaestus isn't much help, but that's ok. Explore theright side to find a save point and some pots to break open. Activate the leverhere to open a gate at the bottom of the stairs.

Go over to the far left side of his workshop first to find a door with thedesign of Hades on it. You can't open it but there are some pots and a specialchest containing a GORGON EYE.

Go back down the stairs you took to reach Hephaestus and go through the newlyopened gate. Take this to an area with a rotating platform that can be movedusing the crank in the center. Rotate the platform by holding R1 and turningthe stick. Focus on Kratos and his position since the statues and pillars canblock your view a bit. Align the opening of this platform with the right sideof the area. Follow this path.

It leads to a dead end with a large pack of cerberus pups. There's a lot ofthem so you can get a good combo, but they make it hard when they grab on andbite Kratos. Use Army of Sparta since there's so many but don't waste it. Ifyou grab them, you can use that to get more Red Orbs, especially if you get agood combo. Open the RED ORB CHEST tucked away to the right here and head back.

Operate the crank again to place the opening in line with the bramble in theback. Shoot it to burn it and go through this opening.

There's an alternating Green/Blue Orb Chest ahead. Open it at the right timeto get what you need, be it health or magic. Break a few pots along this path


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and you'll end up getting a cutscene eventually.

You get the Blade of Olympus back. Schwing! Let the enemies here feel its furyby activating Rage of Sparta with L3 + R3. Once it's over, finish off any thatremain.

Drop down to the ledge below. Pilfer these chests if you didn't before. Use

the grapple hooks to return to the near-entrance of Hades. Make your way to thelarge platform where two guardian Cerberus dogs are waiting.

This fight can be tough. You want to try to focus most of your attacks on one.Since Kratos' blades can hit with a wide range, you will probably hit both ofthem with some of your attacks anyway. Try to kill one off as fast as possiblethough, since you can regain health. Each time you weaken one, you can use aQTE to sever its heads. Its flame attack is easy to dodge, you have a quickmoment to evade. The headbutt attack is too fast to time properly. Avoid theflame attacks and keep letting them have it with the Blades of Exile.

Once one goes down, it gets a lot easier. Finish off the other one with ease,

then focus on the far wall. Burn down the bramble, then lift the door open andenter. A few enemies will get in your way, but they're not too much to worryabout. Try to get a good combo on them. Open the chest in the corner to getwhat you need more, health or magic, then enter the next door.

=================Palace of Hades=================

Before going any further, let's say we upgrade, shall we? If you haven'talready, that is. You should hopefully have somewhere in the neighborhood of8500 to 9000 Red Orbs. Hopefully. You only have two things to upgrade at themoment. The Blades of Exile are a no brainer, 4000 orbs for that. The Bow of

Apollo is 2500 orbs and it only has one upgrade so you might as well get thattoo if you can afford it. Spend whatever is left on the Blades of Exile orsave them for later when you have more stuff.

Start by going off to the right side of the room and slipping into the alcovehere. Destroy the scaffolding and the pots for Red Orbs, then use the GreenOrb Chest if you need to. Grab the wooden cart with the stones on it andpush it out into the main room.

Push it over to the left side of the room where there is a big wheel. Harpieswill attack you so deal with them first. Use your bow and blades to deal withthem. Turn your attention back to the wheel when done.

Interact with it to spin it and open a gate above. This "switch" is timed soto keep it open, grab the cart with the stones and place it under the wheel.With the wheel rigged to not move, you can move on.

Climb the tree in the center and then jump to the platform on the right. Gothrough the opened gate to encounter some Minotaurs and dogs. Grab the dogsto kick them at the Minotaurs (that's cruel, but effective!) and soften themup. Army of Sparta will also help a lot because the Minotaurs are just reallyannoying. Finish them off and then pry open the nearby Blue Orb chest.

Go up the ramp on the right and head down the long corridor to reach a newarea. Operate the crank to raise up the casket of Persephone. If you'd like

some back story on that, play Chains of Olympus on the PlayStation Portable.

Anywho, start by taking a look around. The far right corner has a RED ORB CHEST


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and a chest with Red and Blue Orbs. The far left corner holds some pots anda ladder. Climb the ladder to reach a pair of RED ORB CHESTS and some pots. Tothe right of these chests is a special chest with a PHOENIX FEATHER. It shouldbe your third one, so score an upgrade to the magic meter.

Return to the front of the room now. Your goal here is to get inside Hades'chamber which is located conveniently enough inside the statue. Therefore,

Persephone's casket becomes your battering ram. Go up to the pedestal and hitR1 to try it out. The arms of the Hades statue prevent you from doing anything,but it will release two ladders on the sides of the room. That's a start.

A wave of enemies will crowd you. Start fending them off with your blades,using the Bow of Apollo on the Harpies. When that's over, head over to the leftand climb that ladder.

To solve this puzzle, you need to place the arms of the statue in the cuffs onthe walls and trap them there. We'll figure out how to do this. After youclimbed the ladder, ignore the wheel up here and look for the lever in thecorner. Operate this to ride an elevator down. Look for a gate you can open

here. Grab that cart you used to rig the wheel switch here and pull it out.You don't need it here anymore with that shortcut you just opened.

A large group of Harpies get in your way. Slowly try to take them down withthe Bow or air attacks like air Cyclone of Chaos. They get annoying but will godown eventually. Take the cart into the previous room and load it on theelevator. Restore your health using the Green Orb Chest, then take the elevatorback up.

Push the cart near the wheel, but don't use it yet. Drop back down to the mainroom and use the crank in front of the statue. This will open the cuffs butonly for a limited time so get moving! Climb back up the left ladder and turnthe wheel up here. The cuff will eventually close on the arm. This keeps it

there, but you need to open the cuffs again to get the other arm and this wouldfree the first arm. By pushing the stones underneath the wheel, you'll keepthis arm in place, so make sure you do that.

With that accomplished, head back to the crank and operate it again. The cuffsopen. If you pushed the stones underneath the wheel, the first arm won't move.Quickly head over to the right ladder and climb it. Find the wheel up here anduse it to move this arm into place. This will trap both arms and solve thepuzzle. Well, there is one last step.

Break open pots up here and open the Blue Orb Chest if necessary. Return tothe front of the room and approach the altar to have some fun with the casketagain (that sounds wrong...). Kratos shows his insensitive side by using itto break open the statue and gain entrance to the next big boss fight!

_ _ _ _ __ _ __ ___ ___ _ / _` / _` / _ __ (_ (_ ____ \\_ _/\__,_\__,_\______/

Now that's a big one! The lord of the Underworld won't pull any punches and heshows that, opening the fight by digging his claws into you, literally! Jam onL1 and R1 to avoid Hades ripping out your soul. Now the fight truly begins.


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Hades will use his weapons, the Claws of Hades to attack you and they have goodrange. He'll start by slamming them into the ground every so often and that canbe a little tough to dodge while you're attacking him. He will also use a stompattack too though and he pauses before using it, giving you ample time to evade.The Claw attacks can be dodged too without too much practice. You can try tostay behind him to give you more room to avoid him while you attack.

Stick with the Plume of Prometheus as well as the Cyclone of Chaos to do gooddamage to him. Keep evading his attacks and then counter when you get anopening. His stomp attack leaves him open for a few seconds. The Army of Spartawill also do some damage if you're close. Deal enough damage and Hades will jumpto the back of the arena. He uses his claws to sweep the floor. Jump over theseattacks and get close to him. He'll still do the attack, so keep airborne anduse the Cyclone of Chaos. When you have the chance, perform the Plume ofPrometheus on the ground. He'll use a few other attacks while you're right inhis face but just focus on attacking.

Once weakened, grab onto Hades to start a QTE. Mash Circle to pry off a piece of

his flesh. Strangely enough, Hades will try and summon it back to him and alsosummon the hands of Hades. Ignore them and attack the flesh piece so that itdoesn't return to him. It's a slippery devil so keep your attacks short anddon't let it get away from you. Succeed and you'll have made a good first stepin this fight. Only problem is... Hades grows even bigger!

He introduces a new and very impressive attack. The ground will become coveredin darkness. A few moments later, a small patch of the ground will be freed, a"safe zone" if you will. Run to this area and stand there to avoid the onslaughtof chains that will punish the arena. When he returns to fight, unleash somemore combos. He'll use his Claws to pluck at the ground and this attack is hardto avoid unless you keep moving. Just keep hitting him to make him retreat tothe back again.

He'll use a more linear attack with his Claws, so dodge to the sides as you getcloser to him. Use Cyclone of Chaos, Army of Sparta or even Rage of Sparta tostart hurting him again. Hades might pick you up and throw you away from him, sojust run back. Weaken him again to start another QTE and pry off another pieceof flesh. Stop this one from getting to him too. After that, he will use thechain attack again so be ready to flee to the safe spot.

You're almost there. Hades will use a new attack, making Claws spring up fromthe ground where you are standing. If you keep moving, you'll avoid theseeasily. When it's over, he'll be open to attack for a few seconds so let himhave it. Keep this up to weaken him again for another QTE.

The fight moves on to its final and most impressive phase, a good ol' tug-of-warmatch! To win, you have to pull Hades into the River Styx. You won't be able tojust pull him in though. You have to hit him enough first. Meanwhile, he'll bepulling on you the entire time and attacking you. Dodge his attacks with theRight Analog Stick, it's not too hard. In between his attack bursts, get in somehits of your own. Keep the Left Analog Stick pulled back so that he doesn't pullyou into the river. If you fall in, you can still hit Circle repeatedly to climbout. Keep hitting him again and again and dodge until eventually he weakens. HitCircle to grab him and then tap Circle when prompted to finish him.You gain the Claws of Hades! Schwing! A very cool looking weapon. Try it out onthe enemies that appear, but don't get too comfortable. Look who's back! Bigger

and uglier! Ew, you should keep your helmet on. In this form he is pretty easy.He'll swipe platform with his arms, or slam it with his fist. Most of theseattacks don't cover much of the area, so you can dodge or even just avoid them


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without doing much. When he leans his body back and charges up a breath attack,go to the sides of the platform and grapple to the other side. Start attackingagain and just repeat this until he weakens. You'll get another QTE that endswith you hitting L1 and R1 repeatedly. Check. Mate.

With the Soul of Hades, you can now go into the River Styx without penalty.

Well that's certainly good. Wouldn't want to undo the hard work we've alreadymade in restoring Kratos' abilities.

Take a swim and dive right in. Before going anywhere, dive straight down tothe bottom and you should find an item. The Helm of Hades.

x-----Godly Possession 2/10: Hades' Helm-----x

Swim forward and you can go through Hades' corpse which is both cool anddisgusting. On the other side, rise to the surface and jump out onto dry land.

Here you'll get a tutorial on the special ability of the Claws of Hades. You

can use them to summon apparitions of enemies to attack for you for a verybrief moment. The default one now is the Cerberus. Try them all out since youhave temporarily unlimited magic. To switch, hit Start and then Triangle tobring up a list of souls. Select one and then you can summon it with R2. Toget new souls available, you need to spend Red Orbs to upgrade the Claws ofHades.

Once the enemies are dead, jump into the next stretch of water. Swim for a longwhile through a tunnel. You'll eventually emerge in a large room with a gateblocking your way. Jump out of the water to reach a lever above the gate whichof course, opens it. Swim through. Rise up to return to...

===========The Forge===========

After a scene, you can move on. The cutscene showed you a gate in Hephaestus'workshop but don't be confused. You can't reach it now, period. Instead, usethe save point if need be and then proceed down the stairs leading away fromHephaestus.

This takes you back to a familiar area. Try to use the crank and some of thestatues will come to life (you were probably wondering why they didn't before).Joining them will be some dogs. Use Cyclone of Chaos, but sparingly since it'sa long attack and leaves you open to the statues. Use Plume of Prometheus onthem and also Army of Sparta or your new Claws of Hades summoning if you wish.

Once they're all dead, turn the crank so that the opening is aligned with thetop exit. Head down the familiar path to where you recovered the Blade ofOlympus. Grapple your way across the gap again. You can see a newly openedportal near the entrance. Head that way. Two groups of archers try to stop youbut they are a minor annoyance. Step through the portal.

=====================The City of Olympia=====================

[gw04]

You'll be dropped right into the start of the sequence from the God of War III


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demo. There will be a host of changes however, one of which is just around thecorner. Head that way now.

An old friend appears and needs a "hand". Instead of giving Gaia a hand, Kratoswould rather take one. Strike at the roots holding Gaia's hand together andslice them off one by one until one remains. When given the chance, hit Circleto pull out the Blade of Olympus, then hold L2 and R2 to finish the job. Lift

Gaia's severed hand out of the way after that. You'll get the "Handy Man"Trophy for your effort.

Approach the door here and hit R1. The doors will open if you can kill all theenemies. They are heavier armored foes, and will not yield to grab moves untilweakened. When those opportunities arrive, don't waste them. Make use of theBattering Ram attack. Also use Army of Sparta and the Claws of Hades if youare so inclined.

Head through the doors into another familiar area from the demo. Shoot theHarpy with the Bow of Apollo to bring it close and use the Combat Grapple tolatch onto it and hitch a ride. Jump to the next platform when you get close

enough. Turn the corner and you'll see another Harpy. Don't use it yet though.Drop down the pit to find a RED ORB CHEST. Climb back up and ride on the Harpy.When you get close to another Harpy, it will have a blue targeting glow. Jumpto it to grab onto this one and take this one over to the next platform.

There's an easy to miss platform right here that holds some goodies. You shouldsee it ahead and a bit to the right after that second Harpy ride. To reach it,wait for one of the Harpies to follow you onto the platform. Try to lure itcloser and then grapple it. Ride it toward the platform and then jump to reachit. Here you can reward yourself with the plunder of a RED ORB CHEST and aGORGON EYE and MINOTAUR HORN. Schwing!

Near a save point you will find a Blue Orb chest and Green Orb Chest. Stock up

and save, then head into the next area. Glide over the gap and meet the enemieshere. Try to build a good combo by using Cyclone of Chaos and then BatteringRam when it becomes available.

A Centaur will appear soon after, along with more enemies. Focus on him andhopefully you won't have too much trouble. Use Army of Sparta or summons fromthe Claws of Hades to help yourself out if necessary. Try your hardest toperform the QTE on the Centaur like you hopefully did the first one.

Finish off any remaining foes, then proceed down the path on the left. A newarea should be blown open as you see Helios harassing the fire titan like anoisy fly. Try to operate the ballista here and a new frightening foe willemerge from the shadows.

The Chimera is a tough customer. If you've played the demo you have anadvantage, hopefully. You want to basically abuse Plume of Prometheus on thisthing. It will swipe at you and attack with its tail but it might give youample time to attack, especially if you can corner it. After a while, you cangrab it and hit a one button prompt to chop off its tail.

The Chimera stands on its hind legs and starts breathing fire in three bursts.When it does this, just get out of its way and let it attack all three timesbefore going back in. Keep attacking and then dodging and eventually you cando another QTE by tapping Circle to stab it repeatedly.

Back on all fours, the beast will swipe at you and also unleash a wide fireattack that moves out at you. Dodging it is not hard, it's just that you won'tbe able to if you are constantly attacking. Keep up your assault on the beast


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and eventually it should go down though. Perform the last QTE and finish itoff in epic fashion. Recharge using the nearby Green Orb Chest. Now, aboutthat other fight...

Operate the ballista and release it when Helios passes in front of you and goesback toward the titan. You should hit him. If not, try again and alter yourtiming. Uberpwned, Helios winds up far away. Return to the center area.

Shoot the Harpy closest to you and bring it over. Use the Combat Grapple tohitch a ride and make your way over. Jump from one Harpy to another and you'llmake it to the other side. Here, a few enemies are waiting but they prove tobe no threat. Cyclone of Chaos and Plume of Prometheus work fine. Use grabmoves when they're weakened, etc. Also, see if you can get better at yourparrying skills, timing your blocks when the enemies strike.

There are a few pots and a Green Orb Chest here for you. There's also two gatesto raise. One has an oil/bramble pot behind it, the other is your exit. Youcan free the pot and take it with you but it's not necessary at all. If you do,push it through the other gate when you open it and toward the intersection in

the next hall.

There's tons of pots to break here. Turn left at the intersection for more aswell as a RED ORB CHEST. Now go the other way. If you brought the explosivepot, push it down the hall as a horde of enemies come at you. Push it so thatit's close enough to them and fire a quick charged arrow to set it off. It willweaken the enemies, but again, it's really not necessary that you use it. UsingBattering Ram here will work wonders so use that. Finish the rest off and thencontinue.

At the next intersection, break open some more pots and baskets containingRed Orbs, then hang a left again for more and yet another RED ORB CHEST. Go tothe right next and out the door.

Cross the bridge, at the end of which you will find two chests for Green andBlue Orbs to restore yourself. Start climbing up the wall, jumping up on theright side to grab the ledge. Climb up and then start to sidle along the wallhere. A poor citizen climbs out by Kratos lends him a hand. Whoopsie. Keepgoing and jump the gap to a new wall. Just climb straight up from here to findyour man.

Helios has certainly seen better days. Before Doctor Kratos can attend to hismedical needs, a group of heavily armored sentries protect him in a Phalanxposition. Try to attack them and it won't work; their shields are just tootough. What to do...? If only solutions just fell out of the sky!

Oh wait, apparently they do, in the form of a giant cyclops! How can this beasthelp you? Well, you'll find out soon. It's the only thing you can attack nowanyway and if you don't, it'll turn you into a slab of meat.

The Cyclops is an enemy you don't want to get too aggressive with. Mashing onthe attack buttons constantly will only get you hurt. Keep your combos shortand sweet (Plume of Prometheus) and then evade his attacks. The Cyclops has atwo hit combo comprised of a kick, then a club smash. If the kick hits you, youcan still evade the club so be sure to do that. Attack in between evades andweaken it for a QTE.

Succeed and you'll gain control over the Cyclops. Awwwww yeah! Set your sights

on the phalanx group. Smash any enemies in your way and then break down Helios'protection. Start swinging away the other clustered enemies. This ride won'tlast very long so make the most of it. Eventually, you'll have to finish the


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Cyclops off. Tap Circle repeatedly when that happens.

Mop up the enemies that remain and use the Green Orb Chest nearby to refillany lost health. Approach Helios when you're ready for a quick scene.

Helios decides to flash Kratos. Err, I mean, he blinds him. In this littleunique sequence, you'll control Kratos' right arm and hand with the Right

Analog Stick. You need to use his hand to block the light so that Kratos canget closer. It's a little tricky at first, but try to get a feel for how hisarm moves when you use the stick. To be most successful, get Kratos' palmcentered in front of the light. Eventually he'll get closer and closer.

You get a QTE with Helios. You'll jam on Circle a few times, then hit L1 andR1 repeatedly, followed by Circle again to finally rip that sucker's head off.

With the Head of Helios in hand, you now have a new nifty item. Switch to itby holding L2 and hitting Triangle. That "equips" it. From there, you onlyhave to hold L2 to use it. To switch back to Apollo's Bow, you need to hitL2 and Square.

The far wall here is a special secret entrance. Use the Head of Helios and thenmove the Right Analog Stick to aim the light to reveal the entrance. The Headcan also reveal other secrets that we'll get to later. Before heading inthough, let's take care of a few things first.

First, search just to the right of Helios' beheaded body for an item.

x-----Godly Possession 3/10: Helios' Shield-----x

Next, there is something on the right side of this platform. Go over to theright, and walk a little bit toward the foreground. You should barely noticeanother one of those strange distorted spaces I've been pointing out. You now

have the means to reveal what it is. Point the Head of Helios at it and itreveals a special chest! This one has a MINOTAUR HORN. Scwhing! Keep your eyeout for these, or just let me tell you where they are.

Now, one last thing before we move on... upgrading!

If you have the orbs for it, I'd recommend getting an upgrade to the Blades ofExile and the Claws of Hades. The Claws of Hades upgrade can wait though, sothat's up to you, if you like using them. The Head of Helios upgrade is cheapat 2500 orbs but it won't make as big of an impact as other upgrades.

Anyways, open the doors and enter the cave. Hold the Head of Helios as you go,to keep some light in this dark place. Two sentries will attack you. As thegame suggests, stun them by tapping Triangle when you're holding the head. Youcan also try the Solar Flare by holding Triangle. When enemies have been hitwith the light, you'll be able to see them a lot easier and not need the headuntil they're dead.

Proceed ahead into a new open area.

=============Path of Eos=============

As you exit the corridor and approach this more open room, hug the left wall.Before you actually get out into the open, you should see a well hidden nicheon the left holding a special chest. Open it for a GORGON EYE.


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Ahead is a Green Orb Chest if you need it. There's also an altar near by ifyou want to get a view. Keep moving, using the save point if needed. In thenext room are some pots and scaffolding for Red Orbs. Go down the next hall,clutching the Head of Helios. You'll encounter two more enemies. Defeat them,using the Head to help you.

You'll be sealed off in the next area and some Harpies will attack you in thedarkness. Try using Solar Flare to stun them all and light things up. Startpicking them off with Combat Grapples, aerial attacks or the Bow of Apollo.

Shine the Head of Helios on the far left wall to reveal a secret passage. Goinside and you'll come to a gap and a chain to climb across. Don't jump on ityet though. Instead push forward as if you were gonna just jump into the chasmbelow the chain. Kratos should climb down the wall below. Slide down and youwill find a RED ORB CHEST and another chest with a PHOENIX FEATHER. Climb backup.

Cross the chain and deal with the baddies in your way. If they grab you, be

sure to rock the Left Analog stick back and forth to free yourself. Drop downonce you get to the far end.

Open the Green Orb Chest, then climb the platforms. Defeat the lone enemy insidethe next passage. You'll come to a gap after that. Use the Solar Flare move toget some steady light in here. Next, jump the gap and glide with the IcarusWings. Another enemy will attack on the other side, so just deal with him.

Proceed through to finally reach a lighted area and also a cutscene. Afterthis, find the Harpy and shoot it with an arrow to bring it over. Grapple ontoit and ride it back towards its original perch. Jump off at the last momentto get onto the platform.

Run across this platform and you can see an adjacent rocky platform above. Don'tjump to this just yet though. Jump to the right across a gap that isn'timmediately apparent. On the other side are two RED ORB CHESTS. Jump back acrossand continue.

Up ahead, you'll come under attack from two Wraiths. Yes, they're back. TheseGod of War staple enemies are not quite as annoying anymore thanks to theCombat Grapple. Wraiths attack with their blades, both close and long range.They also have an annoying habit of burrowing through the ground to attack,making them temporarily unhittable. No longer! Use the Combat Grapple when theyare in the ground to snatch them right out. It works better when they're notright next to you.

Wraiths take a lot of hits. Be sure to keep pulling them out of the ground andthen attacking. A good way to really put the hurting on them is to launch theminto the air with Olympic Ascension and then spam Cyclone of Chaos on them inthe air. Once one dies another will appear. Kill the last two and move on.

Up ahead, you'll come to a bridge area. To the right are two chests with Greenand Blue Orbs. Further right, are some pots and scaffolding to break for RedOrbs. Pay close attention to the wall behind the scaffolding. If you get close,the camera should shift to give you a better view. Cast the Head of Helios onthis wall and aim the light around to reveal a secret chest. Open this up fora GORGON EYE.

Now go left, across the bridge. You'll be attacked by more Wraiths, as wellas Archers on the far bridge. I suggest trying to take out the archers firstby aiming at the nearby explosive pots with your bow. It might be tough though


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to aim at them. Deal with the Wraiths as you did before and note that if youknock them off the bridge, you won't get any Red Orbs.

Once the barrier is down, walk to the left side. You'll find two chests withGreen and Blue Orbs. Here there is a very well hidden chest though that I foundamazingly, by accident. To the left of the two chests there are some woodenbeams and stuff. Well walk toward these, hugging the back wall. Kratos will

no longer be in view but there will be an R1 button prompt. Hold R1 to openthe chest here for a PHOENIX FEATHER.

The next area has a large chain and an Icarus Vent. Before spreading your wings,take a look around. Off to the right are some pots and a RED ORB CHEST. Behindthe chain is a false wall you can reveal by using the Head of Helios. This onealso has a RED ORB CHEST. Use the save point and then deploy the Icarus Wingsto fly!

======================The Chain of Balance======================

This flying sequence is fun, but perhaps a bit tricky the very first time. Ifyou don't like the flight controls, you can always play with them in the menuuntil you're comfortable. You'll have to dodge pillars, platforms and otherdebris as you zip quickly through this tunnel. There are many gaps though soit shouldn't be too hard. Obviously, the more health you have, the better offyou will be.

When you reach the top, get ready for an epic button prompt sequence. Afterthat, you'll land on a platform. The next platform threatens to crumble underyour feet so when you land on it, proceed quickly to the next one.

Get to the wall at the end and climb straight up. From here, keep your eyes

pointed above and watch for the flaming rocks falling from above. Jump to thesides quickly with X and the Left Analog Stick to avoid getting hit. Proceedto climb the wall over to the left and then hop across a few more platforms.You'll have to look for a grapple hook to swing across to reach a new platform.From there, climb the next wall.

Again watch out for the rocks. Climb this big wall up and then over to theright. It'll take a little bit to get all the way over. Climb down and setyour feet on the next platform eventually. Before going any further, cast thelight of the Head of Helios on a nearby distorted space. It reveals a hiddenchest with a PHOENIX FEATHER. Continue on to find some more grapple points.Hit R1 as necessary and you'll take to the sky again.

This flight is a little tougher than the first. Luckily, if you played the demothis is pretty much the exact tunnel from there so that might help perhaps. Lookfor the gaps in the columns you want to slip between and other escape routes.When you get to the areas where the tunnel is blocked by platforms, watchcarefully for debris to create openings for you to go through. In the finalarea, you need to dodge flaming rocks. This isn't too hard, but you need toaccount for the fact that the rocks will bounce off the walls. Just get pastthose and you're home free.

=============The Caverns=============

[gw05]

Take note of the gold dust on the right side of this large platform you land


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on. Explore this area and use the Head of Helios to reveal the chest in thedust. It has a MINOTAUR HORN.

Now turn your attention to the bramble in the back. Shoot it with the Bow ofApollo to start a mechanism that will move you around a bit. When it's over,use the grapple point above you. Swing from here and try to land on the smallplatform to the right. You can hit another grapple point. Swing and jump to

the next one which will be behind Kratos. This last swing is a little trickierbut try to land on the large platform ahead of you.

Shoot the bramble here too and things start moving again. You won't be aloneanymore though. Some enemies come out of the woodwork and attack. They shouldbe easy to handle by now. Try to get a good combo going and use Battering Ram,Cyclone of Chaos and so on. Don't forget about the Head of Helio

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