GOD OF WAR II: TITAN MODE NO UPGRADE RUN CHALLENGE
By Thundaka (thundaka@yahoo.com)
Copyright 2008 Thundaka.
This guide is solely for private use.  If you wish to host this guide on your
website, contact me for permission before doing so.  Any profitable use is
strictly prohibited.
VERSION HISTORY
v1.00: Published the thing.  My strategies are pretty solid at this point, so
I don't anticipate many revisions beyond possible grammatical or formatting
changes.
**NOTICE**
If you have enough experience with the game to be contemplating this, it is
assumed you have played through it at least twice (and probably a lot more)
Thus I will largely ignore the solutions to most puzzles, as I'm assuming
you've already solved them, and will post plenty of spoilers throughout the
text.  Consider yourself warned.
INTRODUCTION
For as long as there have been video games, there have been players who pushed
the boundaries of their games through self-imposed challenges.  In-game
challenges like completing Titan Mode and the Challenge of the Titans can
serve this purpose, but some players demand a bit more difficulty from the
game than the developers explicitly provide.  And for such players, there are
few feats quite so satisfying as completing the No Upgrade Run (NUR) challenge
in Titan Mode.  In a game as fast-paced and all-around vicious as God of War
II, the combination of miniscule health bar plus weak weapons and magic can
easily prove fatal even to players with a clear battle plan.  Good tactical
sense and quick reflexes are equally important to surviving Kratos' crusade
for revenge.
Put simply, a No Upgrade Run challenge requires you to progress through the
game with essentially the same capabilities as you start with.  That means no
upgrading of your weapons and magic with Red Orbs, and no increasing your
health and magic bars via Gorgon Eyes, Phoenix Feathers, or the Gifts of
Health and Magic.  So how do you deal with wave after wave of increasingly
dangerous enemies who come in ever-greater numbers, without becoming any
stronger yourself?  Partly by being sneaky, partly by being patient, and
partly with a big hammer.  A survey of the tools at your disposal:
1. Athena's Blades
As Kratos' signature weapons, you will naturally be using these a lot over the
course of the challenge (if not quite as much as in a regular game).  Although
they're easily the lowest-damage weapons, the Blades do have a number of
unique advantages: they're very fast, they have excellent range without
leaving you vulnerable, and a few useful aerial grapples are only available
with the Blades equipped.  They are mostly used as a tactical weapon after the
Barbarian King battle, since the much greater damage of the Barbarian Hammer
outweighs the flexibility of the Blades in most cases, but they remain useful
enough to see use throughout the entire game.  Important attacks include the
following:
*Plume of Prometheus: Square+Square+Triangle.  The fastest Blades combo
available, this is a quick-recovery attack whose final hit does respectable
damage and knocks down your enemies.  Your main form of attack against early
bosses.
*"Super Plume": Square+[Square or Triangle]+Square+Square+Square+Square+
Triangle.  An extended version of the Plume of Prometheus, this combo ends in
an even bigger finish that does significantly more damage than the standard
Plume.  Despite this, the long charge time makes it less useful against
enemies who can't be stunned, since you will often have to abort the combo
early in order to guard or dodge roll away.
*Olympic Ascension: Hold Triangle.  This simple attack is one of the
best ways to launch enemies in the air, and is a great way to kill Minotaurs
and Gorgons quickly.  To stay on the ground while launching them, release the
button the instant the attack animation starts; to follow them into the air,
hold the button a bit longer.  The downside of this attack is that you cannot
abort it to guard, making it risky in mob situations.
2. Grapples
Together with the Barbarian Hammer, grappling forms the heart and soul of your
combat strategy.  Grapples are among the most powerful attacks in Titan Mode,
because their power is not tied to Kratos' personal strength and does not need
to be upgraded.  The grapple attacks which use your opponents as projectiles
are particularly powerful, since they count as enemy attacks (which deal five
times normal damage in Titan Mode) instead of normal character attacks.  And
of course, there are the many grapple attacks which either kill a tough
opponent instantly or are required to complete a boss battle.  Besides the
greater damage, most grapples also render Kratos invulnerable to attack during
their animations--an indispensable benefit in many battles.
3. Barbarian Hammer
This weapon is your greatest source of damage, something you will badly need
to get through the later battles.  The Hammer has a few disadvantages, most
notably the inability to dodge roll and its slow rate of attack, but these
problems can be solved through clever use of weapon switching and Typhon's
Bane.  The Hammer has only two attacks worth using:
*"Double slam": Triangle+Triangle.  Your default attack against most
high-HP enemies, this simple combo does excellent damage even at Level 1.
Though not particularly fast, it can be aborted at any time if you need to
guard.
*Crushing Defeat: L1+Triangle.  While this attack is a bit weaker and
much slower than the double slam, and can't be aborted, it has several
advantages.  The attack can hit multiple enemies over a wide area, knock the
lighter enemies off their feet and away from Kratos, and travel under barriers
to damage enemies on the other side.  This move is indispensable in the
Translator and Loom Pathway battles, where it provides some crucial breathing
room, and it is handy in a number of other battles.
4. Spear of Destiny
Though admittedly cool, this weapon is of decidedly limited utility in a No
Upgrade Run.  Its damage is not as good as the Barbarian Hammer, it does not
have the range or speed of the Blades, and its ranged attack is patently
inferior to the Hammer's.  The one thing it excels at is knocking enemies into
or out of the air quickly, via the Triangle attack.  I do use the Spear for
this purpose in a few battles, but otherwise rely on either the Hammer or the
Blades for virtually every battle.
5. Rage of the Titans
The old Rage of the Gods from the first game has been revamped and upgraded in
almost every way, and can transform any battle in which it's used into a
glorious carnage-fest for a short while.  The benefits of Raging are numerous
and impressive: all your physical attacks deal double damage, enemy damage is
cut in half, you cannot be stunned (though you are still vulnerable to the
rare enemy grapple), and if using the Blades you gain a few powerful new
attacks.  It becomes even more powerful near the end of the game, tripling
physical damage and cutting enemy damage to one fourth.  Unlike its
predecessor, Rage of the Titans can be used just a little bit at a time to
conserve attack power; the gauge recharges much faster than in the first game,
and thanks to the Yellow Orb chests and automatic recharge after boss battles
you don't have to worry nearly as much about saving your Rage for a later
battle.
6. Typhon's Bane
The first and most basic of your magical attacks, Typhon's Bane is primarily
useful as a tactical weapon.  While its range is a sizable advantage, there
are only a handful of battles where it is truly essential.  Its primary use is
to wear down slow-moving enemies who are dangerous at close range, most
notably the Titan Minotaurs, so you can spend less time exposed to their
attacks.  It also allows you to quickly recover from your slow Hammer attacks
via the "bow switching" trick, a tactic that will be essential in the Kraken
battle.
7. Cronos' Rage
Prior to reaching the Temple of the Fates, this is the best magic you have.
While the damage is not great, it does stun surrounding enemies reliably
enough to grant you a measure of safety in most enemy mobs.  Its primary use
is as an immobilization tool, stunning your enemies so you are free to attack
them unmolested or perform some other task for a few seconds.  I make little
use of it after acquiring Atlas Quake, since the invulnerability and greater
damage of the latter magic almost always outweighs the tactical usefulness of
Cronos' Rage.
8. Euryale's Gaze
Definitely the least useful of the four spells, though that is not to say it
has no value.  While the ability to petrify and shatter your enemies without
having to wear down all their health may sound appealing, in practice the
petrification state takes far too much time and magic to inflict and often
doesn't last long enough to let you shatter them.  It is useful for killing
Satyr Champions, and can occasionally be helpful against the Legionnaire
Captains, but in general I prefer to stick with the reliability of Cronos'
Rage or Atlas Quake.
9. Atlas Quake
While you get this magic fairly late in the game, it is good enough to be your
primary form of magic for the remainder.  Probably its most important benefit
in a No Upgrade challenge is its temporary invulnerability, granting you a
quick escape from your opponents' most dangerous attacks or allowing you to
quickly deal a whole lot of damage to enemies who are not easily stunned.  It
also automatically knocks down nearby enemies (assuming they are not too heavy
to knock down), allowing you to quickly defuse an otherwise inescapable mob
situation.  And of course there's the excellent damage, hitting every enemy in
a decent radius with a double shockwave comparable in power to the Barbarian
Hammer.
10. The Golden Fleece
This neat addition to Kratos' panoply has all sorts of tactical applications.
Its most obvious use is an area counterattack, allowing you to stun your
enemies or knock them off their feet.  While the damage is pretty minor, the
powerful knockback is a great way to clear a crowd or put an enemy into
position for a grapple--and like Atlas Quake, you enjoy a moment of
invulnerability while you perform the counterattack.  It is also highly useful
for throwing back projectiles of all kinds, from the Sirens' magic blasts to
Zeus' lightning bolts, and is a great way to kill Gorgons and the enemies
fighting alongside them quickly.
Though this FAQ was written specifically with Titan Mode in mind, the
strategies shown here can be applied to a No Upgrade Run on any difficulty.
Many of the elaborate strategies given here are no longer necessary at easier
difficulties--you need little more than the Barbarian Hammer to beat the
challenge on Mortal--though by the same token the grapples become weaker,
forcing you to rely more on your own strength.
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TITAN MODE NO UPGRADE RUN WALKTHROUGH
I. Rhodes
As you start out with the powers of a god, this first segment is vastly easier
than the rest of the game.  (This is Titan Mode, though, so that doesn't
actually make it easy.)  You enter the battle in Rhodes with maxed-out health
and magic bars, along with the fully upgraded Athena's Blades and Poseidon's
Rage.  Take care of the ambushing soldiers with whatever moves best suit your
fighting style.  (I prefer using Tartarus Rage (L1+Triangle) to deal most of
my damage, with Cyclone of Chaos (L1+Square) to gain some breathing room when
too many of them crowd too closely.)  Open the door, kill some more guards,
and head up the ladder to face the first boss.
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BOSS BATTLE: Colossus of Rhodes, Part 1
Difficulty: 1/10
Unsurprisingly, the first boss battle of the game isn't hard at all.  When you
get control of Kratos, immediately double jump to avoid the Colossus's hand as
he smashes the balcony.  Once on the ground, simply wait for the Colossus to
slap the ground with his hand.  Turn on Poseidon's Rage as the attack
animation begins for a few seconds of invulnerability, and follow it up with a
quick attack on his arm.  To deal with the soldiers on the ground, use Square
attacks to keep them at bay.  After three Poseidon's Rages the Colossus will
grow tired; go to the catapult to launch yourself, then play the minigame to
end the battle.
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You will be launched across the city, ending up in the water of a bathhouse.
Swim to the first save point, swing across the gap, kill some more soldiers,
and mash Circle to avoid being stomped.  After a short climb up the wall, it
is time for a rematch.
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BOSS BATTLE: Colossus of Rhodes, Part 2
Difficulty: 4/10
This one is quite a bit harder.  As with the last battle, you want to jump off
the ledge immediately; the Colossus' earth-shaking fist attack does some
pretty nasty damage.  I prefer fighting on the right side of the arena (the
camera angle is lousy on the left), and so I always swing across on the way
down.  If you do this, be sure to turn on Poseidon's Rage the instant you let
go to avoid the painful arm sweep.
The Colossus has two primary attacks at close range: he will either lift his
fist high into the air and slam it on top of Kratos, or push his arm forward
to knock Kratos away.  You want him to mostly use the first attack, since it
is far easier to dodge; to ensure this, try to stay halfway between him and
the edge of the arena.  The quickest way to kill him is by hitting the hand on
the ground with a Spirit of Hercules combo (Square+Triangle+Triangle+Triangle)
until he readies the fist slam, using another on the attacking hand after
dodging away, and hitting the resting hand once more to make him release some
orbs.  (Be careful not to get too close; the Colossus will shift his hand a
few feet to the right before pulling it back, which can do some damage and
knock you over.  You can avoid this by aborting to a guard, but you're better
off staying out of range by not moving back after the dodge roll.)  He always
opens with a fist slam, and if you're quick you can always stop him before the
second attack.
Once he's released the orbs, the Colossus roars loudly and lifts both fists in
the air for his ground pound.  This is instant death if Kratos is standing on
the ground, so dodge roll to the swing point in the middle of the arena and
grab on to avoid it.  After two ground pound attacks, the Colossus will
collapse on the opposite side of the arena.  Swing over to the other side,
play the minigame to carve up the boss's face, and repeat the process.  Two
more ground pounds, and he will again collapse.  After winning the minigame a
second time, remember to mash L1+R1 to escape his iron grip.
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Once more, Kratos blasts off the Colossus and goes flying across the city.
(This seems to be a recurring theme for him.)  Lots of battles with Rhodes
soldiers lie ahead, including two annoying ones with a swarm of swordsmen
blocking your way to a few enemy archers.  While the archers don't do much
damage, they do constantly interrupt your combos and make it easy for the
swordsmen to get a ton of hits in.  There are a few ways to deal with this.
The most obvious is Poseidon's Rage, though I suggest you conserve your magic
for a bit further ahead.  You could also close range and grab the archers, or
simply use Cyclone of Chaos to stun both archers and fend off the swordsmen
long enough to deal some good damage.
Once you've passed the long hallway of soldiers and reached the balance beam
area, you will have to kill a wall of archers to proceed. Three castings of
Poseidon's Rage from the air should finish all the archers, and weaken the
swordsmen enough to take them down with one or two aerial Tartarus Rages.
(Don't use any more magic than that, since you'll want to be at full magic for
the final Colossus battle.)  Once they're dead, go back up the ladder and
balance your way across the wooden beams to the save point.  Kill the soldiers
downstairs, refill your health and magic, and dash across the bridge before it
collapses.  Time to say goodbye to your precious godly powers, and for the No
Upgrade Run to begin in earnest.
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BOSS: Colossus of Rhodes, Part 3
Difficulty: 2/10
Despite Kratos' gradual loss of power as the battle progresses, this fight is
a lot easier than it looks.  At long range the Colossus throws conduits of
energy from his severed hand to block your path; at medium range he slams his
fist to produce a powerful shockwave; and at short range he smacks you twice
with his good arm before following up with a shockwave.
The solution?  If you stand near the Blade of Olympus, the boss will use
nothing but his fist slam.  You can avoid the shockwave by double jumping, and
use your time in the air to attack the fist.  Initially, while Athena's Blades
are still fully powered, you can deal good damage with airborne Rampages of
the Furies (L1+Circle).  When it drains the levels from Kratos' blades, start
using Poseidon's Rage; this will take most of your magic, with the Blade of
Olympus consuming the rest.  After that you will have to rely on your weakened
Blades to finish the job; use Triangle attacks in midair.  When the Colossus
collapses for the third and final time, the Blade will drain you of your
health and finally come out of the ground.
With the Blade of Olympus equipped, and the Colossus' arm paralyzed, ending
the battle is a cinch.  You can either move to close range and take the
Colossus down with Square attacks, guarding when he uses his energy jet, or
use the slower but more powerful Divine Retribution (L1+Triangle) to kill him
from a distance.  When the Circle appears over his head, press it to get
inside.
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Time for a little internal sabotage.  You know the drill: kill the soldiers,
jump across the gaps, climb the ropes and netting, and use R1 to blow away the
support columns.  Note the impressive power of the Blade of Olympus; the laser
attack is a one-hit kill, while two uses of the quick and powerful Square
combo can take out an entire group.  Climb the rope after breaking the third
column, press the switch to lower the pendulum, hit it once to set it in
motion, raise the pendulum again, and shimmy across the rope behind its
protective cover.  Destroy the final column, hop across the platforms to
escape through the Colossus' mouth, and bask in your glorious victory.
Or not.  After a humiliating crawl back to the sword, an even more humiliating
defeat at Zeus' hands, and a really trippy movie sequence, Kratos will be
dead.
...Or not.  Not if you can help it, anyway.
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EVENT BATTLE: Climbing Out of Hades
Difficulty: 2/10
The most dangerous part of this battle is the beginning, since you start out
with the same low health you had after being crushed by the Colossus.  While
the arms' damage is pretty low even on Titan Mode, there are enough of them
that you can quickly be overwhelmed.  The best way to deal with them is to
grab the nearest arm; besides instantly killing that arm and the few nearest
to it, it will also release some much-needed health orbs.  So long as you are
quick to grab any arms that spawn nearby, you should be able to make it out
without too much trouble.
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Once you've climbed out, talk to the Spartan soldier on your left.  Save your
game, then get on the Pegasus.
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EVENT BATTLE: Pegasus Battle 1
Difficulty: 3/10
Before the enemies arrive, you may wish to mash Square for a while to recharge
your magic gauge.  (You will need it when the Raven arrives later.)  While you
have access to Athena's Blades, the only attack you really need is the
Pegasus' L1/R1 body slam; its damage seems to be based on the enemy damage
formula, rather than the character one, because it is powerful enough to take
out the Gryphons you encounter in two hits.  Slam them once, move up or down
to avoid their tail swipes, and slam again to finish them.  You can dodge the
energy beams they toss at you either by moving in wide circles around the
screen, or by pressing X to dash while they are ahead of you; if the latter,
be sure to recover your magic by swinging the Blades.
When you see the Raven charging at you from the foreground, press X to dash
forward for a midair collision.  (Do not wait too long, as you will either get
slammed for a ton of damage or miss it completely.)  Press the button that
appears to hop on, then mash Circle for a while to snap its neck.
After you kill the Raven, the Dark Rider will appear.  He forces you to follow
him down a wind tunnel, draining away your magic to prevent you from dashing
away, while he shoots bursts of energy from his spear.  To survive his barrage
you must evade the first three bursts, pushing the Pegasus hard toward the
appropriate edge of the screen (down, left, and up respectively).  The fourth
burst cannot be avoided, though you can reduce the damage by sticking to one
of the four corners of the screen.  Quickly shake the left analog stick to
break out of a tailspin and take a detour into a very cold place.
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II. Typhon's Prison
Odds are that you've entered this dungeon with fairly low health.  Try to grab
as many Harpies as you can on the way in, as they will give you some badly
needed health orbs.  When you land, you will have to take on several Harpies
by yourself--a dangerous prospect, given your low health.  Knock them out of
the air with either an aerial grab or an airborne Triangle attack--or simply
stun them for a moment by parrying at the same time they attack--and then grab
them on the ground to kill them.
Grab the health chest once the Harpies are dead, move Typhon's finger out of
the way, and grab onto the wall to begin the first major climbing sequence.
Slide as far down the wall as you can, so the Fate Sentries can't attack you
from below.  Grapples are the way to take them out, though it would be wise to
precede your grabs with a quick Square attack so they can't interrupt you.
Once you've cleared all the enemies off the walls and ceiling, you can climb
down to the floor and save.
Down the hallway you'll meet a Minotaur accompanied by several Harpies.  The
Harpies can be dealt with as before, though it might be wise to use the Plume
of Prometheus to knock them all down and keep the Minotaur at bay; once
they're dead, use a few Olympic Ascensions to toss the Minotaur into the air
and kill him with your grabs.  Break the wooden crate attached to the rope,
then slide down the rope to reach the snowblown outdoor area.  Outside you'll
fight yet another battle, this time with undead archers accompanying a few
Minotaurs.  Break the towers the archers stand on with two Super Plumes, then
grab them and press Square to throw them at the Minotaurs.  Kill any Minotaurs
who survive with either the Plume of Prometheus or a few Olympic Ascensions,
and climb up to the rope above.
After breaking Prometheus' chains, climb down the rope and head right for
another wall-climbing sequence.  Once safely on the other side, it's time to
practice throwing Fates Sentries.  They attack really fast, so at least hit
them with a Square attack to keep them from interrupting you.  Save your game,
head up the climbable wall--you would be well advised to fight the Fates
Sentries on the ground instead of on the wall--and enter the cave above.
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EVENT BATTLE: Gorgons and Harpies
Difficulty: 3/10
Initially, this will be a one-on-one battle against a single Gorgon.  To
finish her quickly, repeatedly knock her into the air with Olympic Ascension
and grab her for impressive damage.  (Make sure to do this AFTER avoiding her
petrifying stare and waiting for her to charge you, since her tail sweep does
fairly high damage.)  You can attempt to do the same for the two Gorgons that
follow, though the arrival of several Harpies and the Gorgons' twin stares
makes this more difficult.  Knock the Harpies out of the air, taking care to
roll away from the Gorgons' stare, and then focus your attention on the
Gorgons.  If you cannot safely grab them, you can use the Super Plume combo to
kill them from a distance.
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Head down the path, grab some health orbs if necessary, and save.  To progress
you must cross the narrow pathways while Typhon pauses to catch his breath.
You will need to kill lots of Harpies along the way; as usual, grab them to
get rid of them.  Get to the platform, make a bridge, and assault Typhon to
gain the Typhon's Bane spell.  (If they're hovering over the chasm, you can
also use Triangle attacks to make them fall to their deaths.)  It's not much,
but at least now you have a little bit of magic on your side.  Fire a few
times at Typhon to keep him from blowing you away, then head down for a little
target practice.
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EVENT BATTLE: Typhon's Bane Tutorial
Difficulty: 1/10
Because you have infinite magic to work with, this battle is just a matter of
spamming Typhon's Bane.  Move to the far right of the screen to avoid the
archers for the moment, and wait for the Fates Sentries to close in (weakening
them with Typhon's Bane while they do so); grapple and throw them as usual.
Move so you have a clear shot at one group, firing rapidly to kill both
archers before they can fire back, and then do the same for the second group.
The barrier will disappear, but you're not done yet; rapid-fire the bow at the
archers spawning in the distance to the right to kill them.  Easy.
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Use the grapple points to make your way back to the save point, and save.
Return to where you left Prometheus hanging--remember to break the cage
holding a grapple point--and shoot him three times to kill him.  You are
rewarded with Rage of the Titans, and immediately get a chance to practice
with it.
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EVENT BATTLE: Fates Sentries and Minotaur Grunts
Difficulty: 2/10
Just turn on Rage of the Titans and go on an all-out offensive against the
Minotaurs.  That should kill them pretty quickly, as well as most of the Fate
Sentries, and you can easily clean up any Sentries who are left with a few
grapples.
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With the way out cleared, climb up to the rope and shimmy your way across.
You can try to stun the Sentries and take them down with a grapple, though
most of them will just try to force you off the rope.  Break through the
barrier, kill some more Sentries, and swing and climb your way back to the
Pegasus.  Use Rage of the Titans to lift the fingers--remember that you can
recharge your Rage gauge by attacking them while it is off--and get out of
here.
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EVENT BATTLE: Pegasus Battle 2
Difficulty: 2/10
The battles open with a whole lot of energy blasts from the Gryphons.  You can
speed through the first two or three rounds, but I advise you to save your
magic after that for the first Raven.  As before, charge forward and play the
minigame to kill it.
After that you'll fly through a cloud of Harpies.  To kill them easily, just
mash Circle; besides the temporary invulnerability and quick kills, it also
releases some valuable health orbs.  They're followed by a squad of Gryphons,
some with Sentry riders; body slam them to death as before, taking care to
avoid the frequent energy barrages.  Kill one more Raven, and you get to fight
the Dark Rider that knocked you down earlier.
BOSS BATTLE: Dark Rider
Difficulty: 4/10
While the body slam is still your best attack, you have to be more careful;
the Dark Rider is rarely stunned, and he will often follow up your attack with
a quick spear attack of his own.  Try to take advantage of the recoil from
your attacks to give yourself as much space as possible; he can't hit you
while you're above or below him, so move vertically as much as possible.  This
is a good place to turn on Rage of the Titans and go crazy with the Blades; it
prevents him from interrupting your attacks, and if you start out with a full
Rage gauge you can take off over half his health before it ends.  After losing
a good bit of health, he will fly forward and release a string of very
powerful energy projectiles; charge forward to avoid these, as they are hard
to dodge and do a ton of damage.
When you've done enough damage, the Dark Rider will charge forward and force
you into another wind tunnel sequence.  This time you will have to evade five
blasts: move left, down, right, up, and left again to avoid them.  If you
survived that, the battle is all but won.  The boss will automatically knock
the Pegasus out of the sky.  Play the minigame to kill the rider, catch the
cliffside with a single epic button press, and you're home free.
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III. The Temple of Lakhesis
At the top of the cliff where you arrive is a save point.  Use it, then climb
up a bit further for a quick battle with some Fates Guardians.  These guys are
incredibly annoying, mostly due to their exasperating refusal to be stunned.
If you can hit them at long range with a Plume of Prometheus, you can usually
knock them off their feet--though even then, they will sometimes block the
Plume and charge forward anyway.  The one attack they cannot block is Olympic
Ascension, which you can use to start a nearly unbreakable juggle; this also
does great damage against the other enemies, often enough to open their
grapple attack in one hit.  As with the Fates Sentries, throwing them via a
grab does great damage against groups of them.  If you're desperate, you can
use Rage of the Titans; no battle will require it for a long time yet.
Up top, you will have to cut through a large pack of Rabid Dogs.  This is less
a battle than it is a grappling tutorial, since Kratos' powerful punt attack
is a one-hit kill against most enemies.  After clearing them out, cut down one
of the bodies and use it to open the gate below.  Watch the cutscene, head
over the collapsing bridge, and drop into the courtyard to fight the Cerberus.
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BOSS BATTLE: Cerberus
Difficulty: 1/10
This would be a nasty battle if you had to fight him head-on.  Fortunately
he's accompanied by a pack of Rabid Dogs, the same enemies you practiced using
as ammunition in the previous area.  Two or three punts will trigger a
minigame, which takes off a big chunk of health and releases some Rage orbs.
After a few more punts and one more minigame, he'll be dead.
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Use the collapsed pillar as a stepping stone, save, and climb over to the next
area, grabbing Fates Sentries as you go.  You will have to deal with yet more
Rabid Dogs and a group of archers.  Stand behind the pillar to avoid the
archers while taking care of the dogs, then jump across and throw the archers
at each other to kill them.  Throw some more archers to finish the next group,
grab some health orbs, and head down the elevator to fight the Siren Widows.
My preferred strategy is to weaken each Siren Widow with Typhon's Bane, then
use Olympic Ascension to repeatedly toss them in the air until the grab
becomes available.  Recover your health and magic at the nearby chests, use
the save point, and head across the chain for the first truly nasty battle in
the game.
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BOSS BATTLE: Theseus
Difficulty: 6/10
*Phase 1*
Always open the battle by guarding, as Theseus will generally open with his
painful three-hit combo.  The Super Plume is your best move here; the
Square+Triangle opener will sometimes knock him back, giving you a few extra
seconds to complete this powerful combo.  Be prepared to abort your attack at
any time, as he will often interrupt your attacks with one of his own.  Don't
worry too much about his grab-and-spin counterattack, as the damage from it is
insignificant compared to his other attacks.
*Phase 2*
Your strategy is the same as Phase 1, with one exception: When he starts
running past or away from you, roll away immediately.  That signals he is
about to summon icicles from the ground, which will take off over half your
health if you're standing too close to him.  Incidentally, the moment he
starts the attack is an excellent time to start a Super Plume combo, since he
will run back into range just as you're ready to deliver the finishing hit.  A
bit more intense, but still not too dangerous.
*Phase 3*
This is what earns the battle its high difficulty.  Theseus climbs onto the
roof and spends the remainder of the battle shooting blasts of ice and
summoning icicle formations from the ground, completely out of reach of your
attacks.  Only Typhon's Bane can hit him.  Take the opportunity to fire a
volley of shots until he is no longer stunned; after that, roll to the left
and right to avoid his blasts.  While the damage from each blast is relatively
small, over the course of a long battle they can do quite a lot of damage.
After he's done shooting at you, he will summon two Minotaurs to fight you at
close range while he shoots and summons icicles.  While you can use Olympic
Ascension to knock the Minotaurs into the air, it is a dangerous strategy that
leaves you wide open to getting skewered from below, shot from above, or
chopped from right in front of you.  The safest strategy is to damage them
from a distance with Plume of Prometheus, keeping a safe distance from them at
all times.  This can be difficult, both because of their charge attack and the
maneuverability issues imposed by Theseus' rapid icicle attacks, but you can
usually maintain sufficient distance by dodge rolling away.
Your top priority is to avoid the icicles, which can sprout anywhere with only
a little warning and are now strong enough to kill you in one hit.  The
Minotaurs' axe attack is almost as deadly; it has much longer reach than you'd
think, and two or three hits from it can easily end the battle.  (It also
stuns you for a few seconds, leaving you vulnerable to the icicles or more axe
attacks.)  If you don't have time to roll out of the way, ALWAYS GUARD when
you're right next to the Minotaurs.  Their combo attack is also pretty
damaging, but unlike the single-hit attack it can be interrupted.  Once the
circle appears over a Minotaur's head, immediately grab it and play the
minigame.  This will release some health and magic orbs, allowing you to
continue using Typhon's Bane.  Finish the other Minotaur, then fire at Theseus
until he starts attacking.  Wait for him to summon two more Minotaurs, kill
them for orbs, and repeat the process.  You will have to kill four or five
pairs of Minotaurs before Theseus finally slips, at which point you can finish
him with the minigame.
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With the Horse Keeper's Key, you can open the locked door Theseus was
guarding.  Climb the ladder and slide across to the first platform, then open
the door there.  You will obtain Cronos' Rage, and immediately use it to clear
out a room full of Fates Guardians.  Once the way is cleared, use the save
point and head forward to the Steeds of Time.  Do a little puzzling, take out
the Harpies with a few well-timed grabs, and the way to the Island of Creation
will be opened.
There's a short battle with a few Minotaurs and Fates Guardians before you can
go back.  You could take care of them the same way you took care of the ones
in Typhon's Prison, using Rage of the Titans to tear them apart, though you
could also spam Cronos' Rage to stun them or just use Olympic Ascension to
juggle one of the Guardians.  Recover health or magic as needed, jump down to
take care of the solitary Guardian at the bottom, and continue across the
chain.
The next area is filled with Fire Nymphs, a fairly harmless enemy who can be
killed two at a time with grapples.  Jump down, slam open the door, move the
fountain, and do some swimming to obtain the Amulet of the Fates.  Use the
amulet to return to the upper level, then to reach the statue's head.
Naturally, you're given an opportunity to practice using the Amulet almost
immediately.
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EVENT BATTLE: Wraiths of Athens and Nymphs
Difficulty: 2/10
Like most battles up to this point, grapples are the most effective way to
win.  Slow time with the Amulet, proceed to kick the Wraiths around a few
times, and reuse the Amulet once it wears off.  You can grab the Wraiths twice
in a single combo, once on the ground and once in the air; doing so will
provide you an extra second or two of invulnerability, and will often stop
them from burrowing into the ground.  When the Nymphs appear, focus on killing
them first; their sticky webs are death when combined with the Wraiths' spin
attack.  Once you've cleared out the enemies, a few Plumes to the statue's
head will destroy it and clear the way forward.
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In case you've lost too much health, there is a chest directly ahead.  Climb
down the ladder into Destiny's Atrium, and get ready for a long and grueling
battle.
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EVENT BATTLE: Cyclops Tyrants and Wild Boars
Difficulty: 3/10
This isn't a difficult battle per se, but it does require a great deal of
patience.  Your first priority is to get rid of all the Wild Boars, who can be
thrown by the Cyclops and have an annoying combo attack of their own.  Once
they're out of the way, you can focus on the Cyclops itself.  The only way to
safely damage the beast is to wait for it to stop running, then use a basic
Plume combo to do decent damage and stun it for a second or two.  It will take
a while for your weak Blades to wear away at his massive health, but
eventually you'll weaken him enough to grab him for good damage.
After two grabs and a whole lot of Pluming, the first Cyclops will fall and
two more will arrive in his place.  The strategy is exactly the same, except
that you have to be even more careful about maintaining proper distance.  Just
keep gnawing away at their health, and eventually both Cyclops will fall.
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Use the combo chest to heal if necessary, climb up the second ladder to reach
the top, and use the two statues to break the beams and open your way to the
rest of the island.  Set Typhon's Bane as your magic, save, and head forward.
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BOSS BATTLE: Barbarian King
Difficulty: 4/10
Prior to beginning the battle proper, you will have to play a minigame while
being dragged behind the horse.  You will have to press two buttons, then
rotate the analog stick, and press one more button in order to survive
undamaged.  I strongly suggest that you reset if you mess up, since it will be
difficult to recover any lost health once the battle starts.
*Phase 1*
The Barbarian King opens the battle on horseback, and begins with a vicious
charge.  Begin by rolling to the left or right, then position yourself
directly in front of him as soon as the charge stops.  He will try to whack
you with his hammer, which you can easily block.  By attacking with
Square+Triangle, then aborting to a guard, you should be able to damage him
relatively quickly without getting hurt.  If for any reason you're not able to
stay in front of him, he will start trotting away while firing arrows at you.
Simply stand there and guard until he prepares to charge, at which point you
can roll away and reposition yourself.  After dealing enough damage the Circle
will appear over the horse's head, and you can fight the Barbarian King on
foot.
*Phase 2*
He is invulnerable to damage in this phase, so there's no point in attacking
him.  Instead, you need to kill the Barbarian Mercenaries he summons from the
ground.  It only takes one grab to do this, though you have to avoid his
attacks in the meantime.  I prefer to keep a good distance from the Barbarian
King, as his long-distance attack is slower and significantly easier to block.
After you've killed the third wave of Mercenaries, the Barbarian King will
begin his transformation.  Hit him with a Super Plume combo while he's
transforming, then roll away.
*Phase 3*
The good news is that the game gives you a checkpoint here, and lets you
recover a good fraction of your health.  The bad news is that the Barbarian
King now has ridiculous reach, and his attacks are unblockable.  If you try to
damage him directly with your weak attacks, you will probably die before
you're able to end this phase.  To survive you must keep your distance as much
as possible, and minimize the damage when you must get close.  Begin by firing
Typhon's Bane at him, moving backwards as you shoot.  When he gets too close,
roll away from him at a diagonal; doing so should help you avoid getting
trapped against the edge.  Once you've used up all your magic, turn on Rage of
the Titans and quickly move in.  If you're lucky, your combo will stun him
before he can get in the final hit; if not, you will still be able to deal
good damage while only taking half damage yourself.  It will take most of your
Rage to do so, but eventually he will release more orbs and shrink down to a
more manageable size.
*Phase 4*
The only real danger of this phase is his soul summon attack.  He will lift up
his hammer for a second, then summon a large number of blade-like spirits to
skewer you.  This attack cannot be blocked, but it can easily be dodged if you
know it's coming.  By rolling away when he lifts his hammer, then rolling back
when the souls appear, you should be able to avoid them altogether.  His other
main attack in this phase is a circular hammer swing, which you can block.
Attack him with the Square+Triangle combo, aborting it to guard or roll away
as necessary, until the Circle appears over his head.  Grab him to start the
minigame--remember to keep mashing Circle, or he will take the hammer back and
do some damage to you--then press three random buttons to steal the hammer and
end the battle.
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IV. The Temple of Euryale
With the Barbarian Hammer now in your possession, your damage output has
multiplied immensely.  Kill the Barbarian Mercenaries who spawn here with a
few grabs, then swing across and do the same to the Wild Boars in the forest.
Use the save point, and head off to the right to grab Euryale's Key.  You will
immediately be ambushed by a mob of Beast Lords.  These guys can be killed
with a few grab attacks, but their spinning axe attacks and mob tactics can
still make things annoying for you.  I suggest that you alternately grab all
the nearby Beast Lords, as doing so will prevent several of them from mowing
through your health once the first one dies.
To the left of the save point you will have your first encounter with Cursed
Remains, and your first chance to see the Hammer in action.  Either attack
them at range with Crushing Defeat, or wait for them to laugh so you can melee
them safely.  You need to grab them in order to kill them for good; two hits
should allow you to do so.  Once you've cleared them out you can use Euryale's
Key to open the path forward.
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EVENT BATTLE: Beast Lords and Cyclops Berserkers
Difficulty: 2/10
One of the Beast Lords will open this battle by summoning a Cyclops and
immediately mounting it.  Grab the Cyclops right away to dismount the Beast
Lord; the Cyclops is much more dangerous while it has a rider.  Grab the Beast
Lord several times to kill it, then wail on the Cyclops with the Hammer.  The
timing is a little easier for this Cyclops: it attacks with an easily dodged
two-hit strike, then stops for a moment to roar.  Hit him with the double slam
when he starts roaring; be sure to change to the Blades and roll away
immediately after the second hit.  (To do this more quickly, hold both L1 and
R2 immediately after the second hit connects; Kratos will immediately guard
and change weapons, circumventing the Hammer's long recovery time.)  When his
health is low enough, play the minigame to rip out his eye.
Two more Beast Lords will spawn, and will summon another Cyclops.  Grab the
nearest Beast Lord, then toss him into the air with Olympic Ascension; you can
toss him just as you did the Fates Guardians, doing huge amounts of damage to
the other two if they get too close.  Grapple the second Beast Lord to death,
then finish the Cyclops.
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Get onto the platform, move the stone, and lift the gate to progress forward.
You will end up in a room full of Fire Nymphs and Wraiths.  As usual, grapples
are the way to go; be sure to take out the Fire Nymphs first.  Swing across,
then hop across the stones to the pillars where the Hades Fiends are throwing
fireballs at you.  Break the three pillars, along with the Hades Fiends
standing on them, and make your way forward to the next area.  Kill some more
Hades Fiends, float the body across, and press some buttons to open the gate.
After the save point, you will be forced to pull some levers while being
attacked by endless numbers of Fates Sentries.  To take them out quickly, grab
them and then throw them with the Square button; if you're quick about it, you
should be able to keep pulling without losing any ground.  Hop across to the
other side, and touch the big rock to make it come to life.
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BOSS BATTLE: Titan Minotaur I
Difficulty: 3/10
The Titan Minotaur always opens with a ground pound attack.  Roll away
immediately, as even one hit from this attack can do heavy damage.  After that
he will primarily attack by spinning his arms around.  While this can take off
as much as half your health in one use, it is fairly easy to dodge if you see
it coming.  (He can also attack by throwing a big rock at you, but only if you
wander too far away.)  You can damage him pretty safely by running in as he is
nearing the end of his spin attack, hitting him with a double slam from the
Hammer, and rolling away when he starts his next spin attack.  Despite his
high HP, you should be able to wear through it to trigger the minigame fairly
quickly.  Press all four buttons--do not screw up, because this minigame will
only appear once--and you can continue on.
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After some more climbing of walls and ropes, you will come across a short
section involving a conveyor belt and some petrifying beams of energy.  Your
first priority is to get to the far end as quickly as possible; rolling under
the beams will allow you to avoid getting turned to stone.  The massive number
of Fates Sentries can be difficult to deal with, but a Square attack or two
followed by a quick grab and throw can do wonders.  Remember to keep rolling
forward, and be prepared to wiggle the analog stick for dear life if you
become petrified.  Once you break the barrier (either with the Hammer or by
throwing Sentries at it), swing across and push the stone out.
Move the two stones onto the platform, push the whole thing into the swamp,
and jump across the newly formed stepping stone to access the cave with the
Golden Fleece.  Talk to the soldier, take out the Gorgon Assassin (roll to the
side to dodge her instant-freeze attack, then use a few Olympic Ascensions to
toss her into the air and kill her), and fight an ugly three-headed rat for
what's rightfully yours.  Set your magic to Typhon's Bane.
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BOSS BATTLE: Super Cerberus
Difficulty: 5/10
This thing is fast, and most of its attacks do enormous damage.  At close
range, it has three basic attacks: a flame breath attack which can kill you in