God of War: Chains of Olympus glitch & miscellaneous oddity FAQ
v. 0.5 (24. 12. 2009)
Written, compiled and partially found out by AKheon
See the end of the file for more info.
0. Table of contents:
---------------------
0. Table of contents & version info
1. Abbreviations & glossary
2. General glitches & tricks
3. Enemy glitches
4. Level-by-level glitch walkthrough
5. Credits, legal information, contact info, etc.
Version information:
v. 0.5 (24. 12. 2009)
+ almost finished walkthrough
+ wrote the section on freeform moving
+ added and corrected small stuff
File size: 65kt.
v. 0.3 (11. 11. 2009)
+ continued walkthrough
+ added a note about Tyrhhjy's vids (the lack thereof)
File size: 59kt.
v. 0.2 (25. 10. 2009)
+ corrected grammar mistakes and video links
+ added small stuff.
File size: 57kt.
v. 0.1 (23. 9. 2009)
+ first version, basically layout, basic mechanisms and selected info from here
and there. A good start, though there's still a lot to do.
File size: 54kt.
1. Abbreviations & glossary
Abbreviations:
--------------
GOW = God of War
GOWII = God of War II (simple enough)
CoO = Chains of Olympus
QTE = Quick Time Event, the button-pressing minigames for example.
IJ = Infinite Jump
IAJ = Infinite Ascension Jump
HJ = High Jump
BoC = Blades of Chaos
GoZ = Gauntlet of Zeus
E = The Efreet
LoD = Light of Dawn
CW = Charon's Wrath
TR = Tartarus Rage
OT = Olympic Thunder
OS = Olympic Strike
NP = Normal Play
BP = Bonus Play
WALD = Whisk Above Ledge Danger (read more from climbing glitches)
§ = note to self
Glossary:
---------
Launch =
An attack capable of (or intended for) launching enemies high up in air.
Bounce =
An effect in which an enemy will bounce a bit after a succesful hit. It's not
nearly as high as a lift-up.
Lift-up / ascension =
When Kratos himself can/will rise up in air during some attacks
Downed =
An enemy which has fallen on its back/on the ground.
Collision damage =
Damage from f.e. thrown enemies. However, CoO does not feature it.
Sweet spot =
A place in the game area to which your enemies are blind or impaired to. These
change with your enemies and their A.I. limits. Some are listed in the level-
specifics further down.
Weapon switch =
The switch between BoC and GoZ.
Real-time =
Time as you know it.
In-game time =
How the game clock counts time.
Kratos' time =
Time from Kratos' point of view.
2. General glitches & tricks
Made by a different developer, God of War: CoO has a wide variety of glitches
never seen before in the series.
About high jumps and gravity:
Compared to other GoWs, gravity works different in this game. In GoW 1 and 2,
the game thinks Kratos made his first 'jump' at any time his feet were off the
ground. In this one the programming is more conventional, with you literally
having two jumps at any time before jumping. Note that a lift-up does not count
as a jump here. (there are other differences, but for now I'll leave it at this)
Only one variation of a traditional 'high' jump exists in this game, and that is
the air grab high jump (discoverer: GMG). Simply, launch a foe in the air, lift
Kratos up as well, then air grab the enemy. After the jump you can use BOTH of
your jumps to get higher and grab ledges, etc.
There are a few factors at work here. Firstly, it's normally not possible to do
jumps after a lift-up (or any sort of air attack.) Fortunately, there's a small
loophole in air grab, allowing us to do exactly that which we weren't meant to.
However, there are some circumstances in which this doesn't work - such as with
enemies whose air grab doesn't allow us to jump afterwards. A listing of these
might be useful to add some time in the future... Secondly, there's the small
tidbit of Kratos actually gaining height when grabbing an enemy in air, at least
if the enemy is higher than he is. In other GoWs the enemy is brought down to
Kratos' height instead.
We can conclude from this that the air grab high jump in CoO is a comparatively
more powerful tool than it ever was in GoW 1, and pure height-wise better than
many other high jumps of the series.
If only it ended there. But it doesn't, and so we have to bear the burden of
knowing a few more previously undisclosed CoO "features" which hamper down the
usefulness of this trick to extreme amounts.
The less bad news is that there are a very few ledges in this game. As you may
remember, ledges were useful for high jumps in GoW 1 and 2 because they gave
Kratos that small leeway he needed to get himself to some high platforms. Not
anymore. The more bad news is that the designers made almost all walls (and
event triggers as well) really friggin' high. So high, that normal high jump
will not in 99% of the cases cut it. Sad, innit?
Video demonstration:
1, Shinobier's vid of a successful utilization of air grab high jump:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_5QiG93uKQ
But we have other jumps at our disposal too, so let's move on and leave the
slight tinge of disappointment behind. A traditional "infinite jump" (IJ)
(discoverer: LAMUERTE83, probably) can let us cross the highest of walls,
unless there's a ceiling in the way. As far as infinite jumps go, it is not
too bad to use. At least it's better than the GoW II infinite jump.
The core of the technique is this: you do either Tartarus Rage (BoC lv. 5) or
Olympic Thunder (GoZ lv. 3) in air, but cancel the move with magic (LoD or CW)
before Kratos is sent down in a hurry. Then, TR or OT is done again, then it
is cancelled again, etc.
The timing is a bit difficult. A small thing I suggest is that after having
cast the magic, you instantly move fingers in position ready for the next TR/OT
and keep pressing triangle repeatedly. This is because the magic is cast on
first press (it cancels TR/OT), but not the L1-move. Also, be quick to cast
magic after TR/OT, because otherwise you will lose your height very quickly.
At the apex of the jump, not much can be done. Air attacks generally do not
move Kratos to any direction, so in order to move and make any use of your
awesome height, you got to move Kratos manually by pushing the pad in some
direction. Or, with GoZ you can do Olympic Strike, which throws Kratos down
and forward (diagonally) for a great length - good for some situations.
List of goods & bads of the magics (regarding IJ):
LoD:
- auto-targets if enemies are nearby (may disorient)
- requires magic
+ is acquired a bit before the game's half-way (unless on BP)
+ button position is better, timing is easier
CW:
- auto-targets if enemies are nearby (may disorient)
- requires magic if enemies are nearby (inconvenient)
+ does not require magic otherwise
- slower to cast than LoD
- is acquired way late in the game (unless on BP)
List of goods & bads of your weapons (regarding IJ):
BoC (Tartarus Rage / TR):
- needs lv. 5 Blades, and as such a lot of orbs for upgrading (on NP)
+ rises Kratos a bit higher in air than OT
GoZ (Olympic Thunder / OT):
- needs lv. 3 Gauntlet, and as such a decent sum of orbs for upgrading (on NP)
= a bit slower than TR (easier timing?)
- does not rise as high as TR
- you get it after game's half-way point (except on BP)
+ no-frills access to Olympic Strike
Video demonstration:
1, LAMUERTE83's vid of infinite jump:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtM4eK6WsqM
News: (16. 8. 2009)
I found a technique with which to do basic ground moves in air. A new jump came
to be, one I named "Infinite Ascension Jump."
Here is how to do it:
1. Switch weapons, but before the animation ends, enter CW stance...
The stance is glitched, so that you can interrupt any CW cast with normal
attacks. Basic attacks done in air this way result in ground-versions of
those attacks for whatever reason (the basis of the IAJ).
2. You can use either BoC or GoZ ascension, but only GoZ ascension can be done
quickly enough for you to gain height. Basically, you do the quick version
of GoZ ascension, then cancel it using CW (which is still glitched; it will
remain that way as long as your attack string continues), then cancel CW
using quick GoZ ascension.
3. Repeat as long as you want.
For pure jumping efficiency, I believe this jump wins over the traditional IJ.
In this one Kratos moves both forward and up at the same time, which is great:
allows you to see instantly where the invisible walls end, not to mention you
can begin and end the jump earlier. Also, if there is anything Kratos can use
as a floor while moving in air, he will (negating gravity for a short moment and
allowing a huge height boost that will never happen in normal IJ)!
Other notes about the jump and the glitch behind it:
- if done properly, the jump wastes absolutely no magic.
- any non-L1 basic attack is possible in air, and different attacks can have
different results. The glitch still has potential for more uses...
- casting magic or blocking will end the glitch.
Video demonstration:
1, Findestick's (or: "sticklefind's") demonstration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OfhzluJ_jo
2, my original vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtM4eK6WsqM
More about the underlying mechanism of IAJ and related stuff:
There is an alternate way to do ground moves while in air using this glitch.
Almost casting loD (or E?) can result in Kratos doing the ground move as if he
had cancelled out of glitched CW. With "almost casting" I'm talking about
flicking the magic on quickly, without the magic actually starting. Very sharp
timing is in order, and without tool-assistance, luck.
Doing some basic attacks (and sometimes LoD) in air while the glitch is on can
result in Kratos plummeting down to ground level insanely quick. I don't know
why it happens, but it's strange alright.
Using this glitch, it's possible to activate any circle events while slightly
in air. I haven't found an use to this yet, since Kratos is always positioned
properly an instant afterwards.
Another place where this exact effect appears is during "naked Kratos" bit late
in the game, when you don't have BoC: your air grab works differently during
this part, and a simple combination of a block+circle in air can be followed up
with the normal ground grab. What does it indicate? I'm not certain.
About climbing glitches:
The most devastating glitch for climbing (or 'grapple') walls is one that is not
climbing-wall specific; it also has an effect at ladders and ledges. Basically,
at the same time you *jump* into a ledge, ladder or a climbing wall, begin
attacking (with BoC) or switch weapons. The effects vary to some extent...
- At ledges:
Kratos ends up standing above the ledge he was about to grab. You are stuck on
the spot, though by doing random moves Kratos may slowly inch to either end of
the ledge area. Magics are unuseable, but other moves work. Not that they are
of any genuine use, since Kratos can only do the moves in one direction (away
from the ledge) and he stays stuck no matter what. Jumping is auto-canceled and
ascension pushes him inside ground momentarily. You can't make it end, so retry
is mandatory after this.
This variation is rare because the timing is very difficult. I've only succeeded
in it twice, both times at the same place, which was the extendable platform
puzzle room (before Cave of Olympus.)
- At ladders:
Kratos ends up slowly sliding down the ladder in a variation of the normal air
idle stance. Air attacks are possible, magics unuseable (as usual). Once ground
is reached, ground moves become possible too. Anything that takes him into air
will makes him slowly slide down again (like at the start). You can't move to
anywhere from the base of the ladder, but by pressing towards the ladder the
state ends (with K. getting on the ladder like normal) so at least you won't get
stuck doing this. No known use.
Then, the meat of the glitch... the same thing on grapple walls.
Things start out innocuously enough, with Kratos air attacking towards the wall
without sliding down. Looks odd, but that's it. If the air attack combo is
ended, the glitch ends too. Hum... ready to take it to another level?
By switching weapons during this "air attack combo", or simply beginning the
glitch by a weapon switch, you get to wield GoZ on the wall, and that's what the
game never expected to happen. There are no wall attacks for GoZ, so the game
opts to use its normal ground attack combos instead. Awesome! From this state,
switching weapons back to BoC allows you to use its basic combos as well, but
you got be quick and remember that if you go idle with BoC in your hands, the
glitch ends.
It's possible for you to escape the climbing wall while climbing using your new
moves. This works for both horizontal and vertical walls. Outside the known
borders, extremely many things can happen. It's a complex glitch with a lot of
stuff dependant on where and how you do it. So pardon me if this FAQ turns messy
now, because it's a lot of info I got to make some sense to. See a few vids of
the glitch in action as a forewarning, then proceed if you feel brave enough.
Video demonstration:
1, Sticklefind's collection:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nds8SYWg2NU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTPyFA6BBSg
Outside the walls, Kratos has two natural states. The first one is simply that
he continues climbing. He will do this as long as you are close enough to the
climbing wall or you continue using the basic climbing moves (combo them).
Otherwise, Kratos is in a 'freeform' stance. He just hangs in air with arms to
the sky. Instead of climbing moves, he has his air (or in some cases ground)
attacks with him, and transportation becomes a lot more difficult. Freeform
ends if Kratos is attacked (he will go straight into normal mode again), he
finds his way back to a climbing wall (he will grab it and everything goes to
normal) or his feet touch the ground (if it's a vertical wall). A complete
list on how to move around in freeform is included later on in the FAQ...
An interesting phenomena I will mention at this point is 'vortices'. Invisible
positions in the level design at which Kratos' angle is forcibly turned (if he
is climbing outside bounds, at least). I have no idea why it happens, but it
allows us to reach new places. A good thing they're there. On one reported
occasion, a vortex turned Kratos upside down while he was swimming!
Now there is a list of techniques for getting out of climbing walls:
Vertical wall escape technique #1: "whisk".
Doing an ascension over the top edge of a given wall. It's the easiest to do
it right below ledges, but at least one reported case of Kratos being able to
escape through generic edge has been witnessed.
Simply put, do an ascension towards the edge until you finally slip past it.
It can take anywhere from 3 to 99 tries, but fortunately GoZ ascension is quick.
In best case scenario, you are free to continue climbing outside bounds - if not
instantly, then after descending a bit closer to the climbing wall by doing f.e.
weapon switch. Kratos should automatically grab hold of invisible climbing wall.
(Another alternative is to hope for enemies nearby, because getting hit will
make Kratos climb invisibly no matter where he is.) However, should he just
remain in his strange pose, standing straight right above the ledge, be wary:
you are in danger of crashing the game. Especially if you at some point notice
that you can't do attacks or switch weapons, do NOT press X or the game will
definitely crash. Guaranteed.
From hereafter, this construction which is a certain portent for game crashing
danger will be referred to as Whisk Above Ledge Danger (WALD).
Note: WALD corrects any strange angle you may've had, or so I think.
Vertical wall escape technique #2: "burst" (or "breach")
A charged GoZ 'square' can at some places let you burst through the wall
(namesake of the trick.) Kratos ends up behind the grapple wall, usually in
freeform mode. Your best hopes in this mode are vortexes or enemy attacks
that might return you to true climbingness.
You can follow up the initial burst with an ascension to get higher. Overall,
though, as usually with freeform, your options are not too great.
However, this one can also be applied to horizontal walls, in which it works
with almost 100% certainty and is extremely useful.
Moving in freeform:
Ok, now we got Kratos floating in air, looking completely silly. There are a few
things you can do to move around, but getting where you want is really not easy
in the least.
Common to both vertical and horizontal freeform:
- Kratos can switch weapons and do normal and L1+something air moves at will
- Kratos can't cast magic at all
- Kratos is mainly stuck on a simple horizontal or vertical plane, which hampers
your navigation possibilities greatly
- Leaving freeform is possible by getting attacked, touching a normal climbing
wall or getting your feet on the ground (in the case of horizontal climbing.)
More about vertical freeform:
On default, Kratos moves to where his feet are pointing towards when you do
attacks. Call it some sort of residual gravity or something. Note that if Kratos
has changed angle by ramming into a vortex, and his feet are now pointing up,
that is the default direction (and not 'downwards', like the default mostly is.)
Attacks for moving short lengths to the default direction are, for example,
weapon switch, BoC triangle or GoZ square. The charging L1+something special
moves are ideal for throwing yourself to that direction at a very quick pace
and very small control over Kratos. Reckless, since below the game areas there
are vast plains of insta-death surface. Try Tartarus Rage, Olympic Strike or
Olympic Thunder to see what happens.
There's an interesting tidbit concerning Olympic Strike. After successfully
doing one, you have a chance to start comboing normal ground moves. On vertical
wall it isn't very useful at all, since you seemingly don't really move in any
way while doing them (except with ascension, in which case you move 'up', e.g.
against the default direction.)
Your only way of moving 'up' other than ascension is doing certain L1+something
moves in quick successions. These moves are Cyclone of Chaos (air), Rampage of
the Furies (air) and Lightning Thrash. LT is probably the fastest way of doing
it, though the pace is still insignificant when it comes to moving around the
place. Alas, this is the best we got (until a better way is found.)
More about horizontal freeform:
Kratos is stuck on a horizontal plane, and he can't willingly move up or down.
Sometimes the level collision drops/lifts Kratos automatically as he moves
around (but it's completely level/locale-specific.) I've never seen vortices
affect Kratos while in horizontal freeform...
Normal attacks do very little to move Kratos to any direction. BoC triangle
slowly moves him about. Weapon switch as well. Olympic Thunder makes him slide
a few meters to a fixed (level-specific thing again?) direction in a pretty
unimpressive way. Rampage of the Furies (air) makes him move half a meter in
a direction you can actually control! Getting better.
The funniest and arguably most useful moving tool you got is the Olympic Strike,
which makes Kratos glide in air a long way, bearing striking resemblance to some
flashy children's cartoon superhero. As an added bonus, afterwards you can start
doing normal ground combos, which in this state is extremely useful as well. The
best way to move around, truth be told.
If Kratos's feet touch ground while in this state, he partially regains normal
movement (as if he wasn't climbing any more). However, he is still unable to
cast magic and remains utterly gravity-challenged. The slightest motion can
dump him slightly above ground, again in freeform and stuck. Also, he can take
ground-only moves with him for later use. This is to say, he can finish a long
GoZ basic square combo by doing a roll in air, or even do Block+something ground
moves (if your timing is good enough.) It's unknown if some of these moves have
extra effects when done like this, since testing takes time, and time is money
(and all that jazz.) However, the ones I tested didn't really do anything new.
If you're curious about trying this out for yourself, the easiest spot in the
game is the Falls of Oceanum. Save point right nearby - handy, since you'll be
dying a lot because of the strange roof collision (which tends Kratos towards
the searing hot lava if he tries to do anything too strange.) Escape the ceiling
with a charged GoZ square, then combo your way to the platform that has the save
point. Olympic Thunder until you hit the ground. Sometimes the game drops you
off through the whole platform, but eventually you'll hit jackpot and activate
the fabled "ground idle while horizontally climbing outside wall"-state.
During the very same "ground idle..."-state, you can save (unlike when normally
climbing.) But nothing special happened when I tried it. Kratos went back to
normal once I restarted from checkpoint.
Other notes about climbing wall glitch:
- dying while climbing outside the bounds crashes the game (always?)
- doing angled Olympic Strike which hits the ground may crash the game
- becoming petrified while climbing out of bounds ends climbing. Kratos falls
down with an angle, but that angle is corrected once he hits the ground.
The level-by-level section is riddled with "climb glitch assessment"-sections,
in which info is divulged about the various climbing walls, their known dangers
and if anything useful can be done with them. However, since vortices are not
visible, all the known wall exits are not easy to find or are even random, etc.
the info is by no means comprehensive. And it may never be... but that's life.
About water (most stuff found out by me):
In the new and improved system of GoW: CoO, water comes in boxes. That's right,
the swimming glitch as we knew and loved it is no more. Exiting the cube of
water will cause Kratos to stop swimming abruptly, whether on water surface or
deeper. Well, at least we got that funny climbing glitch to compensate...
And it's not like there isn't anything interesting about water in this game.
Sure, emphasis of the game is easily on dry places, with water featured in about
three rooms... But we got to make the best of what we got, right?
Off to a humble start: attack momentum and water surface doesn't always mix
perfectly. If you happen to hit water the exact moment Gauntlet's charge attack
does that quick thrust forward, Kratos continues to move in water at about the
same speed for up to 6 seconds time. The same can also happen by doing a roll
-> rush into water, so that the rush momentum begins while Kratos is in water.
Just look at him go! Great for speeding up those rare water bits of the game.
Note: if you have Triton's Lance, you almost certainly dive when doing this
trick. If you come back up to the surface, the super momentum ends instantly.
It also ends if you leave water, even if by touching irregular collision while
swimming.
Then, there's water combat! There are two known 'levels' for it. First level
is one in which you can do short stubs of basic attacks which self-cancel almost
instantly. It can be achieved by switching weapons while touching water. An
improvement to the normal attack-less swimming state, but not a very impressive
display as a whole. Fortunately in 'level two' you can actually finish the basic
square attack for more style points. With GoZ you also get amusing momentum by
doing this! Level two is achieved by two ways: 1, roll -> weapon switch just as
you hit water. 2, CW glitch, then combo into the water. Why does it work like
this? I'm not sure. It's as if the two mechanisms are interrelated somehow, and
if that's the case, there exists a possibility of a 'third level'.
Note: water combat also ends if you leave water.
A rarity I once encountered was 'swimming upside down', a glitch that is most
likely a brethren of the upsidedown/slanted climbing glitch. Basically, I was
swimming outside collision at Cave of Olympus, completely minding my own
business, when all of a sudden a 'current' turned Kratos upside down. The
controls went reverse and jumping (when at surface-level) caused Kratos to
jump downwards (always returning to the surface afterwards). This state ended
as I examined and opened an underwater chest. I would love to try this mode
again someday, since it is so mysterious as of today...
Video demonstrations:
1, water combat (both stages):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCPUxwipl-k
2, water speed boost:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06bi6bwftjs
3, swimming upsidedown:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRt7DLfLFe4
About Gorgon Eye/Phoenix Feather glitches:
The message is programmed differently from other GoWs. The two main differences
are 1, you can't enter start/select-menu while it is on and 2, correctly timed
start/select press right as it appears is a gateway to a few cool glitches.
First, a note about a certain select-menu trick which enables you to do the
first GE/PF glitch I am going to mention. By pressing 'X' and 'select' at the
same time while on the restart/quit prompt, you can reset or quit the game
while the game keeps running in the background. So, if you activate a GE/PF
message right before game retries from the last checkpoint doing this trick...
After the retry, game screen is seemingly frozen. You can hear audio and music
in the background as normal but nothing moves. You can enter menus. After
exiting a menu, the game continues as normal, no harm done. I haven't found an
use for this yet... If you quit the game instead of retrying, the main menu
becomes glitched with all background graphics missing and music absent. Loading
a new game is possible, but choosing New Game (and going through with it) leads
to a game crash.
Next on the menu (yes, a bad pun):
By entering select/start menu the instant the GE/PF message (indicating you got
one) appears, Kratos regains the ability to move in the background. The message
remains overlaid on top of everything, and ends instantly you press X. Entering
start/select again while the message is on is not possible. If you become
checkpointed in this state and retry (by dying, for example), the message
disappears and the eye/feather is completely purged from existence.
This one actually has an use, since you can take an upgrade with you and use it
at own discretion, even in the middle of fights. At least one NP sequence break
becomes possible with a health upgrade (the second Marathon fog). What else...
ah, for amusement and endless discord, the Big Status Bar Sword becomes reality.
Big Status Bar means that the fat status bar graphic which replaces the normal
during upgrades... you guessed it, stays there forever. This is done by dying
during the upgrade sequence. This version of the status bar remains on top of
everything (except menus) - it is on even during in-game cutscenes and on GE/PF
messages you might pick up during this time. A bad part, other than the
overwhelming visual awkwardness of the whole thing, is that there is no known
way to get BSB without also getting the Upgrade Audio Loop from Hell to play in
the background until you shut down the game. It's loud and will get on your
nerves quite quick. Subsequent deaths during upgrading only add to the amount of
sound loops in the background, which is as horrible as it is amusing. Just for
the heck of it, I once did this glitch 71 times during one evening. It sounded
almost tolerable, since with enough overlapping the volume decreased and the
sound became almost as if 'muffled'. The game began to lag a bit at the place
where I did the glitch (Marathon's first fog), but on New Game I didn't notice
particular effects or errors the barrage of sound might've created.
(there is an alternate way to do the aforementioned glitch: by upgrading while
a message indicating the current area appears. Easy to do f.e. at Groves of
Persephone. The upgrading sword graphic is momentarily replaced with the locale
message, and entering menus becomes possible. After that it's just a matter of
"retrying from the last checkpoint"... voila.)
As you know, after collecting all eyes/feathers, the remaining eye/feather
chests become red orb (or mix) chests. However, since you can overlap messages
using the GE/PF trick, it becomes theoretically possible to collect more than 15
eyes/feathers during the game. First you take one GE/PF message with you, then
go open another chest of the same type. You will begin normal upgrade sequence,
but afterwards you have access to one more message: the one that is still in the
background obediently. I've tried what happens doing this, but only once. It
seems the game might not really do anything with the last message, or at least,
the additional eye/feather. I visited the start-menu, but saw no signs of
anything left over. It looked just like it always looked after getting 'em all.
More about the select-menu trick which was mentioned passingly earlier:
To recap, it was this: X + select on a restart/yes, quit/yes or options-prompt
allows you to restart or quit the game while it is still running in the back-
ground (or crash the game in case of the last one.)
The trick works like it does because of the timed fade-out effect of each of
the mentioned menu prompts. The game has to wait until the end of the fade-out
before continuing, and during that time some mayhem can be done which wouldn't
be possible otherwise. Here's a list of known effects:
- 'restart' right before a GE/PF message appears on the screen. Screen freeze,
more info is written at GE/PF message glitches.
- 'quit' right before a GE/PF message appears on the screen. Main menu is
graphic-less, new game doesn't work. More info is at GE/PF message glitches.
- 'restart/quit' right before FMV. The FMV plays out before retry/quit resolves.
no other known effects...
- 'quit' right before a narrated cutscene activates. The music & audio of the
cutscene plays in the main menu (and maybe more, e.g. lag?)
About the last one. The normal main menu music begins playing once the cutscene
music ends, except if you've begun a new game and the cutscene of Kratos' eye
being zoomed in is on, in which case the zoom-in cutscene music begins playing
instead (lagging). All noticeable effects disappear as intro FMV kicks in.
And then, the alternatives which don't work:
- it seems impossible to reach 'you are dead'-message with this glitch. The
fade-out period is just too short.
- I haven't noticed any interesting side-effects with doing moves, hitting water
or climbing wall, etc. while the game is restarted or quit.
And last but most strange...
- 'options' at any time: game crashes after fade-out.
The strangest thing about doing the trick with options-prompt is that in special
circumstances, there is a way to extend the period of time before game crash.
Instead of the game crashing at fade-out, it crashes at fade-in (cue for the
actual options-menu to appear). Also, you have a chance of entering menus before
the game crashes, which may open up windows to unexpected glitches... too bad
the testing is really annoying, with the game crashing each time you mess up
with the timing (and half the time regardless.)
My current method of testing is this: I load Temple Courtyard, and roll towards
the cutscene while doing the trick with 'quit'. As expected the cutscene audio
begins playing in the main menu. Then I re-load the same save, and again roll
towards the cutscene, but this time doing the trick with 'options'. If things
went ok, the screen first fade-outs, then fade-ins. If I didn't manage to enter
a menu before the fade-in ends, game crashes.
More info is likely to be divulged once there is something worthwhile to tell.
About checkpoints:
Unlike in the other GoWs, they are loose. They don't capture Kratos' exact
location, instead opting to return him either "nearby" or to a fixed location.
Also, some acquired items/objectives carry over a retry in a way that does not
seem logical...
This means that checkpoint abuse is possible at places, f.e. where restoring
from checkpoint takes you *closer* to your next goal or allows you to skip
backtracking.
Notable instances of this are listed in the level-by-levels, which are some
pages down from here.
Random sound loop problems:
Many, many events and or moves which have a looping sound as their effect can
resolve so that the loop stays playing in the background. This is pretty
annoying, and happens relatively often too. Here's a list of all the things
which I've witnessed to hear leave a loop behind:
+ Gorgon freeze beam
+ climbing downwards
+ one of Gauntlet's charged attacks
+ upgrading (a specialty... read more in GE/PF message glitch)
Object physics oddities:
If you set an object on a pushable button somewhat off the center, it's possible
that the button keeps moving up and down (and so does the thing it manipulates).
Video demonstration:
1, BaraDani's vid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJIIZvkdy8o
There's an oddity possible at least in the first area with a corpse in the game:
if you put the corpse right next to a door, lift the door up, then lower the
door again, the door will be left slightly ajar - even if you pick up the corpse
afterwards (credits to Sticklefind.)
Video demonstration:
1, sticklefind's vid (see #4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waDDiE3CVcI
Corpse glitches:
See above for the corpse + door glitch.
If you die because of something causing insta-death (in special conditions?)
while carrying a corpse (not that many possibilities available in this game...),
the game will keep thinking that Kratos is carrying that corpse even after you
retry. The corpse can be seen bopping in air and it can't be interacted with. At
least K. himself functions like normal... (credits to Sticklefind)
Video demonstration:
1, stickle's vid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKyB9glpIh8
Petrifying glitches:
+ if you are blocking or switch weapons while Kratos gets stonefrozen, he is
able to escape his uncomfortable situation by simply pressing circle.
+ Same is true for air petrify, which you normally really can't escape by hook
or crook. You can do the escaping part of the trick with either circle or by
doing another weapon switch. Instant results.
+ during air petrify, Kratos' weapons are (strangely) visible and unpetrified.
+ if Kratos breaks out of petrified state the instant he is crashed, the game
will not consider him dead, although his physical body completely disappears.
Using this glitch you can truly see how dull place the world of GoW is without
Kratos...
Video demonstration:
1, my vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyUVlH8Sx0A
+ if Kratos gets petrified while he is charging the ground versions of Olympic
Strike or Olympic Thunder, the petrified statue will have sparkles flying out
of it.
+ some more are listed at at enemy-specifics (look for 'gorgon')
Unsorted items and mysteries:
If you go to select menu the instant Kratos hits insta-death surface and then
choose 'restart', the game will restart but with Kratos dying right after
gameplay begins. Borrowed time, literally. I don't know if quitting in the
same scenario (or using the menu exit trick) would yield more interesting
results...
Now, random CoO glitch vids found from Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV43oDu4Fx0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oVt_gdrMRg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0CazXr46T0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqTyJj6KgMo
Weapons and magic:
------------------
(weapons-section written eventually)
General info about magic:
Gone is the 4-way magic menu of GoW 1 and 2. Instead of it all, magic is done
by keeping R1 held down and pressing either square, triangle or circle.
Unlike in other GoWs, magic's damage is affected by both costume and difficulty
choice. In other words, it is affected by "power%".
The Efreet
----------
Cost: 20 mp.
Destroys armor. Causes medium-sized or smaller enemies to 'burn' and scream
upon death - it's basically an unique effect of the spell. You also get bonus
EXP from doing this. §
During the entire Efreet casting, Kratos is invincible to damage from attacks.
Area damage like the fog at Marathon will still harm/kill him.
"Having the 'mash' push foes out of the blast radius was a shitty design
choice." - GMG
It's possible for the air Efreet animation to get "stuck" in air a bit before
resolving. It's likely because of something below Kratos won't let him descend
properly.
Doing Efreet at ceiling-level causes Kratos to slightly sink in the ceiling
(before coming crashing down). Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be useful in
getting through ceilings or anything.
If you retry during a high-level Efreet, the screen black-out effect plays
for a short while after game continues. The effect can also carry to the main
menu, if you choose to quit the game instead.
Light of Dawn
-------------
Cost: 10 mp.
Has the longest range of all Kratos' attacks in this game. Destroys armor.
LoD bolts can't be deflected.
One bolt can hit multiple enemies, even if uncharged.
"Apparently holding the spell out will pause the combo meter." - GMG
An important asset for doing the traditional infinite jump technique.
Charon's Wrath
--------------
Cost: 33 mp.
Destroys armor. Hits multiple times. The spell has a decent range.
When cast, it creates a static effect over targeted enemy. All enemies that
are inside the static effect's invisible range will get infected with an "acidic
cloud" that follows them wherever they may move, hitting them repeatedly and
possibly keeping them stunlocked. The effect lasts about 3-4 seconds total.
- If an affected enemy dies, the green graphical cloud may remain in air and
burn away at nothingness until the effect's time runs out.
- Some grabs can move the affected enemy away from inside the cloud.
- If the cloud follows an enemy into a grab, it continues getting damaged all
the same. An enemy never dies during the grab, even if its HP goes negative.
Instead, the grab is finished, and the enemy dies afterwards.
Additional casts on a single target have a limited effect. This is because CW
has a limited amount of hits/damage it can do in a given time. Re-cast only
resets the length of the effect, but otherwise nothing is gained.
As implied, enemies can be stunlocked with this magic. Even Persian King and
possibly some other bosses too.
If cast with no enemies around, no magic is lost. However, even this kind of
freebie cast is not possible if you have less than 33 mp.
The magic has a loophole in it which enables CW glitch in all its forms. There's
more about it in the section of infinite jumping.
3. Enemy glitches
Armored Cyclopos
Armored Minotaur
Athenian Soldier
Banshee
Like with petrifying, switching weapons while Kratos gets hit by the shriek
enables you to escape it with just normal attacks, which is extremely quick.
Cursed Harpling
Cursed Harpy
Cyclops
Dark Satyr
Dark Satyr Grenadier
Death Knight
Fire Guard
Fire Sentinel
Gorgon
Lanch -> OH -> Launch mystery:
"Launch to OH to Launch works well but it makes the game partial to freezing"
- GMG
The timing for the above can be difficult. You have to charge ascension before
Orion's Harpoon ends, for one. Also, in my experience the gorgon could sometimes
escape this combo (the second ascension didn't lift the enemy up.) I hear this
is a good strategy against gorgons in other GoWs, but in this one, do it at your
own risk.
Unlike in other games, the freeze beam affects no one but Kratos. Really unfair!
The freeze beams of two gorgons can overlap, increasing the rate Kratos freezes.
The sound loop of freeze beam can somehow stay playing even after the attack has
ended. I'm not sure what causes it, probably grabs at a strange time or similar.
Read more at "petrify glitches", which are listed somewhere before this section.
Gorgon Queen
Harpling
Harpy
Hoplite
Hoplite (wall)
Hoplite Archer
Hyperion Guard
Innocent Souls
Minotaur
Morpheus Beast
Persian Archer
Persian Warrior
Satyr
Satyr Grenadier
Shade
Shade Arche
Shielded Hoplite
Sphinx
Basilisk (tower)
Basilisk (bridge 1)
Basilisk (bridge 2)
Basilisk (final breath)
Persian King
Can be eternally stunlocked by using Charon's Wrath.
Charon (deck)
Charon (3x pyre)
Charon (half body)
Persephone (ground)
Persephone (pillars)
4. Level-by-level glitch walkthrough
It is still a work-in-progress, with many areas and tricks which are absent.
Also, the video coverage is rather thin as of yet.
Start of the game:
Infinite red orbs (BP): yes, infinite red orbs at the very first scene of the
game. Unfortunately it's only possible during BP, where you can't even use them.
Basically, start Light of Dawning the enemies all around you the first instant
you can after the first cutscene of the game. The orbs left in air before you
are checkpointed are always given to Kratos while retrying, but the orb count
does not revert back to what it used to be. This means that just by retrying
over and over again you can get (theoretically) infinite orbs. (you get about
30-60 orbs per retry, which is not bad)
Speed strategy: it's possible to activate the crossbow without bothering with
any of the enemies. May require some luck.
Wasted glitch potential: this room has a ceiling, so you can't IJ out. The
second room of the game has a ceiling too.
Loading error?: I've seen vids on Youtube in which the door leading outside
of the second room (where Basilisk attacks) has a circle floating above it but
with no Basilisk visible. Don't know much more about this one.
"The Gates of Attica" - save point
Sequence break (BP): it's possible to infinite jump over the door you'd normally
have to tumble down with the battering ram.
Sequence break (BP): infinite jump over the wall before the cutscene with
archers. Swim outside walls to the other end, and jump past the door which you
would normally have to open with the crank. Two skips with one IJ!
Sequence break (BP): IJ to the upper level instead of using the ladder. It may
be slightly faster because you skip a cutscene (among other things).
Speed strategy: the balancing beam should be jumped through. This way you get by
a lot faster in addition to skipping the otherwise mandatory knockdown (which
is due to a fireball thrown by Basilisk). Also, if you jump a bit to the north
or south at the very end, it's possible to zip through some strange collision
(saving an itsy bitsy amount of time).
Sequence break (BP): start doing IAJ before the door that leads to Persian King.
Keep at it until you get over the wall, then Olympic Strike yourself in the next
area. Hopefully the cutscene trigger will stop Kratos from going too far. If you
land inside collision, it's possible for you to jump inside walls to the next
area (past the liftable door) quite easily. Tyrhhjy noted that anything below
the elevator area is difficult (or impossible) to access because of loading
triggers, but this note came before IAJ was found (so... who knows.)
Video demonstration:
1, my vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PhGXqbS4Q0
Regen magic (BP):
I believe that it's possible to gain regen magic at the Efreet tutorial by
jumping over the exit. Good for other costumes than Spud of War on BP.
(however, not 100% certain)
"Fallen Stronghold" - save point
Wasted glitch potential: crossbow & Basilisk room has a ceiling.
Speed strategy: in the room with crossbow and Basilisk, it's possible to turn
and shoot the bow without kicking down the ladders. Just defeat the closest
soldiers and then do it.
Event glitch: according to Stickle, if Kratos is interrupted with an attack
right as he shoots the bow towards the Basilisk, the cutscene may become skipped
and the Basilisk, while never leaving, just stops functioning strangely. Enemies
also cease to spawn, which means you are free to leave to the next place...
Video demonstration:
1, stickle's vid (see part #11)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waDDiE3CVcI
Wasted glitch potential: the cyclops fight room has a ceiling, and so has the
corridor before it.
"Siege of Attica" - save point
Other (BP): after riding the elevator, if you IJ your way back up, the elevator
comes with you too. If you retry from checkpoint after this, the elevator starts
from up top and you can actually roll inside it (for a graphical effect mainly.)
Video demonstration:
1, stickle's vid (see part #1):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waDDiE3CVcI
"The Basilisk Strikes" - save point
Wasted potential: this area has a ceiling.
Infinite orbs: while Basilisk is on the roof breathing fire, its hand/the house
can be attacked for free, long combos without any danger.
"Cliffs of Marathon" - save point
Graphical glitch: upon retry, a strange graphical effect may flash on the
screen. (§)
Sequence break (BP): by jumping over the fence behind the save point, the house
(basically a cutscene and a short fight) becomes skipped.
Sequence break: Tyrhhjy reports that it's possible to skip the cutscene at the
first house. Here is exact quote:
"Now I know how it works. You have to run a bit then roll. Nice easy skip."
Video demonstration:
1, his vid (at the very end):
N/A at the moment
Sequence break: you can skip the second fog trek and any related events with GE
message glitch. Take the upgrade message with you, and activate it right as
you enter the fog. Your health will drain to almost zero, but then it will
replenish again... enough for you to make it to the second safe area, from
which you can pick up a health chest (and make it the rest of the path).
Note: might not work as well on harder difficulties, where health chests
replenish less and less.
Note 2: on BP it's possible to just roll into the second safe area.
Video demonstration:
1, my vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmPzDXks1pE
Climb glitch assessment: wall before steed shrine
Can't breach it, but a whisk is possible. The plane you're stuck on won't get
you anywhere, unfortunately. I don't know if vortices are nearby.
"The Steed Shrine" - save point
Other: the O-prompt of the ground text which is at the middle of the room tends
to stick with you randomly. Basically, the O-prompt stays at the bottom of the
screen no matter where you go, though you can't do anything with it. Other
prompts that appear in the same spot of the screen overwrite it, sadly.
Climb glitch assessment: wall after steed shrine #1
Haven't been able to burst through it, and whisking brings about variable
results. Mainly, you just get stuck slightly behind the wall in freeform mode.
Note: this wall may have different properties during "Release of the Steeds".
Climb glitch assessment: wall after steed shrine #2
Bursting is possible after the chasm. Ascension leads you to a nice vortex
which turns Kratos to a direction which doesn't seem to be useable.
Whisk? Not sure.
"Temple of Helios" - save point
Sequence break (NP?): §
"HJ x3 (at least) over gate using a Satyr Grenadier
Kill the one guarding the lever then proceed to pull down the door." - GMG
Why do I remember for some reason that air grab high jump doesn't work this way?
Sequence break (BP): you can defeat the last Satyr with LoD/CW and can thus skip
running through the area, etc.
"Grand Hallway" - save point
Sequence break: you can jump over the door that requires a 'sigil' to open in
the room from which you get the Sun Shield (gratz Tyrhhjy).
Video demonstration:
1, Tyrhhjy's vid (see second part):
N/A at the moment
Wasted potential: it's possible to reach the spiral stairway from out of bounds
by doing infinite jump from the balcony that is above the room from which you
get the Sun Shield, but the areas beyond are not loaded.
"The Throne Room" - save point
You can't backtrack because there is nothing beyond the fog-laden areas.
Wasted potential: it's possible to skip the exposition cutscene at the top of
the stairs by jumping over it, but the game never realizes the next fight ends
because you don't kill the two archers which spawn only during the very same
cutscene, and thus you can't get to the lower level (except maybe jumping.)
Sequence break (BP): speaking of jumping, you can skip the fight at the top
of the stairs by jumping over the wall and landing inside the stairway below.
Video demonstration:
1, Tyrhhjy's vid
N/A at the moment
Sequence break (BP): you can skip the long puzzle before Cave of Olympus by
doing an infinite jump over the door that closes behind you. You fall right
into the lower area, where you would normally get to only after solving the