#############################
God of War: God Mode Boss Guide
Version 1.1
Author: moogleii (moogle.stew@gmail.com)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
#################
i. Introduction
- Symbol Legend
- Relevant Moves for Kratos
ii. Updates
iii. Bosses
- Hydra 1
- Hydra 2
- Final Hydra
* The fast way.
* The slow way.
- Medusa
- Challenge of Hades
* Reader Submitted Tips
- Minotaur
* Tactical summary
* My layout
* Relevant enemy moves
* General strategy
* Phase 1
* Phase 2
* Phase 3a
* Phase 3b
* Reader Submitted Tips
- Ares
* Relevant enemy moves
* General strategy
* Reader Submitted Tips
- Kratos clones made easy
* Step 1
* Step 2
* Step 3
- Ares Part 2
* Relevant enemy moves
* General strategy
iv. Errata
- Credits
- Legal
############
INTRODUCTION
############
This is just something that I whipped up after beating the game on God mode
recently. There are other Boss FAQs online, but my strategies seemed
sufficiently different. This guide should be equally applicable to other
difficulty settings as well, I imagine. It assumes that you know the basics:
moves, name of spells, etc, but I tried to make it as newbie friendly as
possible. The main assumption is that you either already have played it through
so that you don't mind spoilers, or you don't care (but to play on God mode,
you must have beaten it already, or maybe you're playing someone else's game),
and that you're fairly competent at the game. If you've never played before and
are trying God mode, expect to die, a lot.
=============
Symbol Legend
=============
[] - Square
/\ - Triangle
O  - Circle
X  - X
L3 - Press left thumbstick inwards.
R3 - Press right thumbstick inwards.
=========================
Relevant Moves for Kratos
=========================
All his moves are relevant, but I mainly list the ones I specifically mentioned
throughout the guide. The more moves you know, the more versatile you are. The
only moves that I thought were nearly worthless were both Cyclones of Chaos
(air and ground) (L1 + []).
[Hades Reverse]
---------------
Parries an enemy's attack and initiates slow-motion
[Hades Revenge]
---------------
Pressing "[]" while in slow-mo (after a successful Hades Reverse) will execute
an area attack. I usually like to use this one as it has the fastest response.
Pressing "/\" while in slow-mo will execute a stronger counter-attack, but it's
more focused (which can be good depending on what you want to do) and a little
slower. Good to use if the enemies aren't too numerous or fast.
Pressing "R1" executes a lunge-stab counter-attack. I rarely use this. It seems
too weak for my taste.
[Rising/Falling Helios]
-----------------------
L1 + /\. Causes Kratos to do multiple flips like a saw blade.
[Plume of Prometheus]
---------------------
[],[], /\. Your starting combination. Great balance between speed and strength,
since the first two attacks are light (and therefore faster). Ends with a nice,
smashing attack.
[Hermes Rush]
-------------
R1. Charge attack.
[Hermes Fury]
-------------
R1, R1, R1.  Charge attack x3.
[Achilles Flip]
---------------
Evade (right thumbstick) + X. A good way to launch enemies into the air.
[Might of Hercules]
-------------------
[], hold []. Very fast, great all-around range, and ends with fairly strong
hit. It's most effective if you're not too close when you start it off, so that
there's less of a chance of it being cancelled by an enemy hit. Let it build,
and it'll do wonders.
#######
UPDATES
#######
1. Clarified Final Hydra section.
2. Added comments to Minotaur section.
3. Clarified Kratos clones.
4. April 7, 2006
*Clarified Kratos clones even more. Wrote down the wrong spell in one part.
Very major error. Sorry.
*General clean-up.
*Added some reader submitted tips to Challenge of Hades, Minotaur, and Ares.
######
BOSSES
######
=======
HYDRA 1
=======
This guy is pretty easy once you learn to read its moves. It will lunge and try
to bite you. Simply block. It has an obvious tell as well. It twitches its neck
fins just before lunging, so when you see it do that, block. Just as a warning,
sometimes the hydra will do a double lunge, so don't get too greedy and unblock
too early. These double lunges are almost always towards the right of the room.
Otherwise, attack relentlessly when he's not lunging, and he'll eventually fall
over. When this happens a "O" (circle) will appear above his head. Press "O"
and follow the onscreen commands (it should be O, /\, /\, /\, /\).
=======
HYDRA 2
=======
This guy is also pretty easy. In addition to the standard, blockable bite, it
has various other attacks that the other hydra did not have: a vacuum breath
attack that draws you closer towards it, a smashing attack where it uses its
entire body to try to crush you, and a 360 spin attack. You can safely block
the spin attack, but you need to dodge the crush attack. A nice, evasive roll
with the right thumbstick will do, or you can just step out of the way, because
the attack is fairly easy to read. The "vacuum attack" isn't much of a threat
unless you're trying to run away for some reason. I like to take that
opportunity to get in more hits.
After awhile, he will start throwing you up into the air to catch you in its
jaws. You'll need to mash "O" to break free of his bite.  This is a good thing,
for you'll be able to do the most damage this way.  After breaking free from
his bite, he'll be stunned for a litle while. Take this time to get in even
more hits. Repeat as necessary.
===========
FINAL HYDRA
===========
This guy was initially pretty challenging when I tried it on Spartan (Hard),
but after going through it on God mode, it's not nearly as bad as I thought.
Before engaging the beast, you should fill up your health and mana, courtesy of
the two chests at the bottom by the save point. Climb up the rope, watch the
cutscene, and you'll see two lesser hydra heads to the left and right, and a
giant hydra head looming above and behind.
Pick a lesser head and engage. It has all the attacks of Hydra 2, so just use
the same strategy as mentioned for Hydra 2 above. I would suggest conserving
your mana. I believe they will give you some mana occasionally, but I found
Poseidon's Rage was unnecessary for these two. The vacuum breath is a bit more
annoying this time around as each hydra head wants to take turns smacking you
around. It's ok though; if you get sucked over to a different hydra head, just
start whaling on that one. Rinse, wash, repeat. Eventually, one of them will
keel over from its wounds. When this happens, you need to immediately jump up
the stacked crates next to the fallen hydra, and jump onto the circular
platform with the giant blade underneath. It will come crashing down on the
hydra, impaling it onto the deck. Now repeat with the other lesser hydra head.
Once both lesser hydra heads are knocked out, climb up the main mast using the
rope nets to face the Big Cheese. This guy can do *serious* damage, and he has
an annoying breath attack that can blow you right off the mast if you're not
careful. Hopefully you conserved your mana like I mentioned above. When he does
his breath attack, either block or just continually try running against the
wind. Do not jump - you'll fly away like a kite.
[The experienced, fast way]
---------------------------
>>>>>>>
He's very big, and he's very strong, and he packs a lot of hurt. Be prepared to
die a few (or, many) times. This one's challenging, especially on God mode. My
tactics apply to God mode, but it should also apply to Hard. Unless otherwise
noted, directions are relative to you, the player.
[Tactical summary]:
------------------
*He has several "phases" as I like to call them. He's wearing a ton of armor,
and you'll need to break it all off in phases to reveal the undead body
beneath.
*He has a wide array of attacks that he uses depending on where he is, and what
phase he's in.
*There's a projectile weapon at the "south" end of the room that launches
burning logs. It is triggered by a very slow switch. You'll need to use the
burning-log-launcher to break off each stage of armor.
*Do not pre-emptively use the log-launcher unless you want to get mauled. Even
if you manage to get one off, the minotaur will block it for zero damage if not
used at the proper time.
*All his moves are readable once you learn them.
[My layout]:
----------
By the time I got to this boss, I had a maxed out life and mana bar, Level 4
Blades of Chaos (more is always better with this thing), Level 3 Poseidon's
Rage (this will be very handy now), and Level 3 Zeus's Fury (not as useful).
The rest isn't really relevant at this point (Zeus's Fury is barely relevant,
if at all). I'm merely listing this because your character layout may be
different at this point, and your results may vary, but I don't think they'll
vary too much. From this point onward, I'm assuming you have a maxed out life
bar. If you don't, it should still be doable, on Hard anyway. I'm sure it's
possible on God, but it's probably going to be that much harder.
[Relevant enemy moves]:
--------------------
I decided to list some of his more common attacks that you should watch out
for, as many of them are common across all his phases. Sorry if the names are
lame, but I have no idea what they're called, so I call them as I see them.
#Flank defense#
Anytime you flank him, he jumps back to the head of the room by the
giant double doors. This will occur in all phases. If you need to give yourself
some breathing room, this is a good way to do it.
#Diagonal Flamethrower attack#
He mainly uses this weaker flamethrower variant to guard his left (your right).
It starts off burning the right side of the room, and goes diagonally up
towards the left side of the room. Evadeable by rolling to the left side of the
room, or by flanking him. This one isn't too much of a problem unlesses it
catches you by surprise.
#Side to Side Flamethrower attack#
This stronger variant of the flamethrower attack is very deadly. Learn to see
this one coming if anything. He uses it more and more as the phases come and
go. A direct hit from this will take off about 50% of your life on God mode. He
will rear his head slightly, spread out his arms one at a time to brace
himself, lower his body, and unleash a right to left side barbeque sweep. You
need to either be about a 1/3rd of the room away or further, or flank him to
evade it. Otherwise, prepare to cook.
#Charging ground smash#
This one isn't too bad. It's slow, and predictable. He'll raise himself up,
smash down one of his fists into the ground, and repeat with the other hand.
He'll do each fist twice, for a total of four hits. Each one has an area of
effect. If you're in close when he starts this, roll away asap and you should
be fine. He'll finish this move by goring the ground with his horns. His head
will be exposed at this point. Perfect time to get in some hits. Don't get too
close to his head though, as he'll finish his gore attack by kicking his head
up. It'll hurt if he connects.
#Near charged-ground-strike#
This one isn't too bad. It's also quite readable. He does it far more often
than the Ranged version. It's always done with his right fist (your left).
He'll raise his right fist into the air. There'll be a slight light effect (it
looks very different from the Ranged version), and he'll strike the ground in
front of him, and sweep his fist back to his right side. Even if he misses you,
don't get too close to the impact points as they each will shortly erupt with a
shockwave blast. Don't get too far either, because as soon as the shockwave
fades, it's another good opportunity to get in some hits, like Plume of
Prometheus ([],[], /\).
#Ranged charged-ground-strike#
This one is readable as well, but it packs quite a punch. His entire fist will
glow a yellow smolten metal color. He'll keep it raised for a few seconds as if
he's doing a charged attack. This is your cue to start running away. When he
punches the ground, the ground below your current position will erupt several
times. Jump, stay in the air as long as you can without compromising the Icarus
Lift option, double jump (Icarus Lift (X)), and upon landing, roll followed by
an Achilles Flip (X) or do a Hermes Rush (R1) or Fury (multiple R1's). You
should be able to evade all the eruptions. If not, prepare to be combo-ed by
several of the explosions, ultimately resulting in a lot of pain (there's a lot
of pain involved with this boss).
#Bull rush#
He'll only do this in the last phase. He'll jump back to the head of the room,
paw his feet, and snort. When his nostrils flare out with flames, that's when
he's going to charge. It's a very fast attack, so be out of the way by then.
Otherwise, as usual, prepare to hurt. With proper evasion, you can get in some
hits after he does this attack. Basically, you'll need to evade such that you
end up just to his side after he does his charge. Otherwise, if you're behind
him, he'll immediately do his Flank Defense. It's not a big deal though, just
a few bonus hits if you can get them in.
[General Strategy]:
------------------
Basically, in conjunction with hitting him straight on, you want to flank him
as much as possible while he's busy doing an attack (he won't jump away).
I prefer to flank to his left (your right), as it feels like there's more room,
and he uses less arm strikes on that side.
Like I said, he won't use his Flank Defense if he's in the middle of an attack,
so you actually *want* him to do things like the Flamethrower Attacks (so long
as you're not in its path). For all non-flame attacks, you should be able to
get some hits in before flanking him (see Near charged-ground-strike).
When you do flank him, attack him as much as possible. Forget the combos,
for they'll be too slow. If you have Level 5 Blades of Chaos already,
Might of Hercules might be able to do it ([], hold []). I haven't tried myself
so I can't say. After the minotaur's attack is done, he'll jump away. Repeat.
Use Poseidon's Rage sparingly, saving your mana for the last phase. The best
place to use it is when he's near the giant double doors, so that he can't jump
away from the shock. It's also a good emergency response to the Side to Side
Flamethrower Attack, since you'll be invincible while it's casting. You should
be able to get 37+ hits with each if you've got the ability maxed out. Don't go
completely magic-free, as he does give you plenty of mana to replenish some of
what you use, so it'd be a waste to not use magic at all. 1-2 Poseidon's Rage
per phase should still leave you with nearly full or full mana for the last
phase.
When he's taken sufficient damage, a mini-game will initiate. Press "O" as
usual to initiate, and follow the onscreen thumbstick patterns to stun him.
He'll give you a lot of mana, and some health for each time that you stun him.
While he's stunned, get any orbs that haven't automatically flown to you, and
run immediately to the log-launcher on the raised deck in the front of the
room. You have more time than you think you do, but don't delay too much. Pull
the lever and watch the show.
After the log hits, the minotaur will come rushing towards the raised deck. He
intends to stand by the raised deck, and smash you into little bits. Just
before he gets there, double jump off the raised deck to where the minotaur's
head will be, and execute as many Falling Helioses as you can (L1 + /\). I've
gotten in between 18-33 hits this way. Once you hit ground level, he'll use his
Flank Defense. If you waited too long and find that he's bodyslammed you onto
the deck, get off the deck as soon as possible. And just repeat the above
general strategy.
Ok, well that's the strategy in general. I'll go through the details for each
phase.
[Phase 1]:
---------
Phase 1 can be over in 10 seconds if you want it to be. Three Level 3
Poseidon's Rage will stun him and prepare him for the log-launcher, but that
uses far too much mana. Instead, try to save your mana for the first few
phases.
Just run up to him dead center while he's by his door and start
whacking. His opening move will to be the Horn Gore. Dodge accordingly. Now
run back and start hitting him again, using Plume of Prometheus ([], [], /\)
as you see fit. Depending on where you are in relation to him, he'll either
use the Right Arm Swipe (see below), the Left Arm Ground Smash, or the Horn
Gore. Respond accordingly.
The immediate goal right now is to get the first cutscene to play, where the
minotaur's armor first shows signs of venting heat. You can expedite this by
using a single charged Zeus's Fury on him if you like in combination with some
melee hits. That's the only time I used Fury here, for it seemed comparatively
weaker than Poseidon's Rage, per mana used. Speaking of Poseidon's Rage, I
wouldn't use it before the cutscene, because it's too powerful at Level 3,
and I don't believe the minotaur takes damage during the cutscene. After the
cutscene plays, give him a Poseidon's Rage. A second Rage is optional - you can
either try your hand at meleeing it, or just cut to the chase and shock him.
[Relevant attacks]:
#Right arm swipe#
He only does this in phase one. He does it if you're standing to his right and
you're trying to run past him. If it connects, it will sweep you back in front
of him. Damage is fairly mild. Easily evadeable by rolling to the right or
back.
#Left arm ground smash#
He only does this in phase one. He'll use it if you're standing to his left.
He'll raise up his left arm, and smash his fist into the ground. It hurts, a
lot. Don't get hit by it. A direct hit can take off 50% life. Also fairly
avoidable by rolling to the left, or away to the back.
#Horn gore#
He'll slowly raise up his head before ramming his horns into the ground. That's
your cue to evacuate, preferably with a roll. If you're unable to get out of
the way in time, dodge immediately again. The initial hit doesn't do too much
damage, but he follows his gore by kicking up his head. This second attack
hurts quite a bit. If you weren't able to avoid the first hit, evade the second
hit as soon as possible.
[Phase 2]:
---------
He'll start using his Flamethrower Attacks more often, so watch out for that.
He'll also start using the other attacks, with a Head Gore once in awhile.
Attack him head on as much as possible, except when he's about to do a flame
attack. In that case, either high-tail it, or flank him, preferably doing the
latter.
For head-on attacks, you don't need to be as close as you think to hit him. If
you want to maintain maximum distance, do Plume of Prometheus, letting the
third hit connect. You'll know you're doing damage when the Minotaur's armor
rattles or his health gauge flashes red.
A really easy way to lure him into doing a flame attack is to close in on his
left side (your right) and stand near his left fist after he does one of his
non-flame attacks. As mentioned in the above paragraph, take this opportunity
to attack  him as much as possible, but give yourself room to easily roll (or
run) and flank him. You want to be to his side, but don't flank him too much or
he'll just do his Flank Defense. Don't stand in front of his fist either,
because he may end up knocking you with it.  Done correctly, after his
non-flame attack, he will follow up with a Side to Side Flamethrower Attack.
You'll be able to spot this as he'll move his fists to brace himself as
described in the attack description above. Then, get to his side, and attack
him some more. Done incorrectly, he will either A. BBQ you, or B. do his Flank
Defense.
Throw in one or two Poseidon's Rage whenever you feel like it, but again,
preferably when he's near his door.
When he's stunned, follow the tactics as described above in General Strategy.
[Phase 3a]:
----------
In this phase, you'll break off his remaining armor without the log-launcher.
He'll start attacking more quickly, and use his flame attacks even more. Use
the same strategy as in phase 2. He'll start using his Bull Rush as well. Feel
free to use up to 50% of your mana reserves, since he will give you plenty
after you break off his remaining armor.
[Phase 3b]:
----------
Personally I thought this was the most challenging phase. Hopefully, you've got
plenty of health and mana now, as he won't be giving you anymore. Use up all
your mana with Poseidon's Rage if you like. If you've got a Rage of the Gods
saved up, it's pretty effective on Hard mode if you've got some life to spare.
On God mode, it's not so effective, as his flame attacks will toast you up very
quickly. You may want to save it; on the other hand, it can do that extra bit
of damage to finish him off. Use your judgement.
Other than that, use the same strategies outlined in Phase 2 and General
Strategy, and you should be able to give him one last log-launching blow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Reader Submitted Tips]
(I haven't tried these out myself)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Dorgan:
I was reading your FAQ on Gamefaq's and I thought I might give you a little
tip for fighting the Minotaur.
As soon as the battle starts use rage of the gods and cast a skill (i
forget the name) then pound on him any combo it dosn't matter untill the O
mini game starts. Much easier than your's and every time you successfully
complete the  O mini game you get half of your rage of the god's bar fulled
so you can use it in stage 1 and 2
~~~~~~~~~~
From Marty:
Hi.  Thanks for the good FAQ (saw it on gamefaqs.com).  One thing I've
discovered that I'd like to add to your findings is that you **CAN** block the
Minotaur's flamethrower attack!
If you are standing on the ground and he starts to brace for the BBQ, run right
up into his face (and optionally start whaling on him a few times, but only
with light hits that you can cancel with a quick block).  Then as the flame
angle approaches you, do one of those slow-motion just-in-time blocks and you
will take no damage! This opens the door for further strong hits and combos.
Using this technique, I'm able to nearly take down his stage 2 with one
continuous combo of 50-something hits, purely from the Blades of Chaos, no
magic at all.  The timing of the block isn't all that hard, and the game is
fairly forgiving.  It just requires that you are right up in his face to do it.
If you're too far out, the flame will always hit you when you block.
Also, in God Mode, Rage of the Gods is not terribly helpful as an offensive
weapon, as you point out, but it is GREAT for defense!  On most hits, it looks
like you take less than half damage from the Minotaur's shots, and hits that
would normally knock you down (like the charged up ground-pound which causes
those 3 lava geysers) don't. So it is a good way to help yourself when you know
you're about to take a pounding.
Hope this helps.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
====
ARES
====
[Relevant enemy moves]
----------------------
#Overhead Hammer Attack#
He raises his hammer above his head, and strikes down, stunning you. Doesn't do
too much damage. He follows the move with a swing attack that *does* do a lot
of damage. Roll away when you see the hammer being raised.
#Flamethrower attack#
He raises his hammer above his head, and fire begins to emanate from it. It's
similar to the above attack except he finishes with a flamethrower attack. All
parts of it are blockable, including the overhead hit.
#Fireball attack#
He raises up his spikey appendages into a cage-like shape, and fire emanates
from within. He hovers in the sky and launches fireballs. He usually uses this
as a later stage attack. Just roll around until he stops.
#Axe Combo#
He whips out a giant axe and does a multi-hit combo, ending in an uppercut
attack. Block them all.
#Appendage Strike#
He uses his spikey appendages to strike you from long range. It's a multi-hit
attack, so block them all.
[General strategy]
------------------
Compared to the Minotaur on God mode, Ares is fairly easy, especially if you
have a full mana bar and a Rage of the Gods saved up. With these things, the
battle can be won in a minute or less if you're lucky (I'm estimating, but it
was fast).
As an aside, you don't want to use too much mana in this battle, as you'll want
plenty of mana (if you want your life to be easier) for the next battle. I
would say use up no more than 50% of your mana reserves, because you can assume
Ares will replenish some.
Anyway, by now you should have Max level Blades of Chaos, and Max level Army of
Hades. I didn't really use the other spells. Open the battle by casting Army of
Hades, then rush towards Ares and whale on him with lots of lights ([]). He
will respond to your rush with the Overhead Hammer Attack. When you see this
coming, roll away. The overhead attack itself doesn't do too much damage, but
his followup hammer swing does quite a bit of damage. Avoid at all costs.
Run back at him and continue the relentless attack. Block everything else. If
you do enough damage he will give you health and mana, which just lets you
whale on him even more. When the Army of Hades spell stops, cast Rage of the
Gods (L3+R3). Cast another Army of Hades. Attack relentlessly, with maybe a
Tempest of the Fates thrown in for good measure ([], [], hold []). If he's
still alive, and Army of Hades has run out again, cast it again. Continue
whaling on him. That should make quick work of him.
After sufficient damage is done, a mini-game icon appears. Press "O" to start
it. The minigame is probably the most challenging part of Ares here. You have
to repeatedly press "O". If you're successful in this battle of wills, you have
to press two more buttons as shown on the screen. If you're successful, you
win. Sounds easy enough. However, it's easy to become overzealous pressing "O".
You'll end up pressing "O" right into the next part of the game, which will
probably not want "O", which means Ares will take this opportunity to hurt you.
You'll have to damage him some more to get the minigame to start again if this
happens.
After you beat him, he will give you a ton of red orbs (another checkpoint is
coming up, so now is a good time to press start and level something up, so that
you don't have to level it up again if you die later). At this point, hopefully
every spell you have is maxed out. Your Rage of the Gods bar will also
immediately fill up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Reader Submitted Tip]
(I haven't tried this out myself yet)
From hemigtx69:
first make sure that you enter the battle with full mana and health and
rage of the gods as well as poseidons rage and army of hades maxed out,
then when the battle starts and ares is just standing there talking
cast carmy of hades and when he starts to attack just roll away until
the spell is over, then cast it again. when these two casts are over
then you should activate your rage of the gods and cast army of hades
and posideons rage then repeat, by the time your rage of the gods is
over ares is ready for the minigame, and all the hits your army of
hades and poseidons rage made will have refilled your health and mana
meter to full or very close, and this technique should dtill end the
battle in under a minute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=============
Kratos Clones
=============