Enemies

Each enemy in God of War is different, and the strategies for fighting each of them vary significantly. Here, we'll go over the general tactics to beating each enemy type in the game. Learn these tactics well and you'll be on your way to mastering the complexities of God of War.

Legionnaires
The legionnaires form the general fodder of Ares' evil army, and you'll fight them throughout your crusade. You're usually forced to take on groups of legionnaires at a time, often four or more at a time, forcing you to keep track of multiple targets. Most important is watching out for sucker-attacks from legionnaires behind you as you pummel others—the undead feel no remorse for attacking you when you're not looking.

Legionnaires are susceptible to pretty much all combos, so go crazy with your attacks. Launch attacks (like Ascension and Appollo's Ascension) are great for targeting a single legionnaire, letting you carry them into the air for a wicked combo. You won't be able to throw most legionnaires without weakening them first, but they can be grappled any time in the middle of an air combo. Use this ability to extend your combos and punish them hard.

Because legionnaires often surround you in battle, you'll need to watch all angles to defend against their attacks. Legionnaires almost always perform lunging attacks, and their swords flash blue when they do, giving you plenty of time hit the block button and avoid taking damage. If you're good at parrying (hitting the block button just a moment before getting hit), you can often turn their aggression against them, countering with powerful moves from Hades Revenge. Another good defensive tool is your ability to roll. If you get surrounded and feel too pressured, don't hesitate to roll out of a circle of enemies to get the upper hand. Kratos is practically invincible while rolling, letting you pass through most enemy attacks.

Harpies
The first harpies you run into are very easy to defeat, though they're still quick and capable of dealing some damage to Kratos. Before harpies attack, they almost always fly away from you and let out a slight screech. This is your signal to stop attacking and get on the block button to avoid taking any unnecessary hits.

Later in the game, the harpies start getting more powerful. They'll perform a powerful dive attack that Kratos can't block, forcing you to actively dodge the maneuver. When a harpy gets ready to execute this dive attack, a fiery bulls-eye icon appears on the ground. As it approaches Kratos, quickly roll away with the Right Analog Stick. The harpy will attack the ground where Kratos was, completely whiffing the attack.

To counter with your own attacks, you'll usually need to jump up and execute light attack combos in the air. The air version of the Cyclone of Chaos move (hold L1 + SQUARE) is a great way to attack in all directions if the harpies are flying around you too quickly. Alternatively, you can use grapples against the harpies and they won't be able to block your attempts. You can even grab some harpies without having to jump up to them, as long as they're flying somewhat close to the ground. If you're able to grab a harpy from the ground, Kratos will tear them apart, instantly killing them.

Minotaurs
Minotaurs have great defense, and even better offensive powers, making them a huge threat if you're not used to fighting them. Your normal ground combos will not stun minotaurs, meaning that you'll have to rely on quick hit combos so that you can quickly block any counter-attacks the minotaurs dish out while you're attacking.

One counter attack the minotaurs often use is a quick kick that stuns Kratos. You probably won't be able to react to this attack fast enough to block, but that's okay—the attack by itself doesn't do any damage. However, the minotaurs will follow up with a massive axe blow while you're stunned, and you can't block this attack. What you need to do is roll out of the way the moment you get stunned. You can roll in any direction, but rolling backwards is probably the safest. Alternatively, you can cancel the stun with the Appollo's Ascension attack (L1 + X). This will let you launch the minotaur into the air as he rears up for his axe attack, cancelling his attack and letting you unleash your own combo. A good combo versus minotaurs is to execute Appollo's Ascension and follow it up with Appollo's Offense (L1 + X in air).

Minotaurs can't be grappled on the ground until they've been weakened, but you can still use air grapples against them to extend your combos. Once you weaken a minotaur to the point that a CIRCLE appears overhead, you have a chance to deliver a death blow to the beast. This death blow will always give you health orbs—this is great if you need extra health, but if you want red experience orbs you'll have to kill the minotaur with regular combo attacks.

Cyclopses
Cyclopses, like minotaurs, won't be stunned by your normal ground chain combos. Even more, it is impossible to launch cyclopses into the air with any of Kratos' launch attacks, meaning that while fighting these beasts you'll have to constantly repeat quick attack patterns and mix in dodges to avoid the enemy's counter attacks.

Typically when fighting a cyclops, you'll want to stick to the light attack (SQUARE) exclusively. Keep your distance from the enemy and tap the quick attack button two or three times before pulling back on the Right Analog Stick to roll away from the cyclops. Similar to the minotaur's attacks, the cyclops will often deliver a swift kick to Kratos which stops you in your tracks. At this moment, your only option is to roll away from the enemy to avoid taking damage from the crushing blow.

A certain type of cyclops uses a large spiked ball as a weapon instead of the usual club. You'll want to fight the enemy in pretty much the same pattern as with the other cyclopses, but instead of rolling backwards to avoid its attacks you'll want to roll to the right. The spiked ball cyclops only attacks with his right arm, which makes it pretty hard to dodge left or backwards without taking damage. However, if you roll right at the correct moment, you should come out unscathed and ready to continue your attack patterns.

Gorgons (Medusa)
Gorgons are very quick and, like minotaurs, not stunned by most ground attacks. Because of this, you'll want to constantly stay aware of their own attack patterns in order to block effectively. Before gorgons attack, they usually pull away from you just slightly and then quickly whip in towards you for the attack. Because they're so quick, it's not a bad idea to start blocking before you even see them attack—they'll almost always deliver a counter-blow after taking a few hits from Kratos' swords.

Like the minotaurs, gorgons can be launched into the air with your launching combat moves. This will let you execute simple combos on a single gorgon without having to worry about a counter attack. A good combo versus gorgons is to execute Appollo's Ascension (L1 + X) and follow it up with Appollo's Offense (L1 + X in air). When fighting the gorgons on the ground, attack with quick combos (SQUARE, SQUARE) and block frequently preempt their attacks.

One thing to watch out for is the gorgon's signature stone gaze. Gorgons will cast a beam at Kratos that follows you around and turns you to stone temporarily. If Kratos is hit while frozen in stone, you'll instantly die. Also, if you get frozen in stone while in the air (during a jump, perhaps) Kratos will die instantly upon smashing back down to the ground. This is why it is important to never jump when a gorgon is trying to turn you to stone. You won't be able to dodge the stone gaze this way and you'll only end up dying. What you need to do is to constantly roll. Even though the stone gaze will never leave Kratos, as long as you're rolling you won't be affected by the beam.

Wraiths
Wraiths are pretty dangerous, especially when they come in packs. On ground level, you can whip out some serious combos without having to worry about any counter-attacks, but once a wraith burrows underground you'll want to stop your combos and start playing defense.

When a wraith burrows underground, he'll move towards Kratos and pop up out of the ground with a quick attack. You can easily block this attack, but that's not the end of it. Even if you block the attack, Kratos will be stunned and left vulnerable to the follow-up attack that the wraiths always deliver. Because you get stunned, you'll have to rely on your dodging skills to avoid taking the follow-up hit. As soon as you block the initial attack from a wraith, pull back on the Right Analog Stick to roll away from the enemy. The wraith will then whiff the attack, letting you counter with your combos.

Even if you're hitting a wraith on the ground, he can still burrow underground to start his attack. However, if you launch the enemy into the air you can combo them without any fear of a counter-attack. Launch a wraith into the air and follow up with a couple of quick attacks. After those have landed, quickly hit the grapple button (CIRCLE) to grab the wraith in mid-air and slam him onto the ground. This move will often kill the enemy instantaneously, as will a normal grapple while on the ground. In fact, grapples are so effective versus wraiths that you'll want to use them very often in order to decimate their ranks as quickly as possible.

Sirens
Sirens fight very similarly to gorgons, but with one key difference: they can not be launched into the air for extended combos. Sirens are very quick with counter attacks, and you often won't be able to see them coming before they hit you. Because of this, it's vital that you play defensively when taking on these creatures of beauty.

When fighting sirens, it's a good idea to stick to only one or two hits in a row. Just tap SQUARE, SQUARE and then immediately hold the block button to be ready for any counter-attacks the siren throws your way. Sirens throw out balls of magic that are very fast, but also blockable. In fact, these magic balls are even capable of damaging other nearby enemies if they come into contact with the attack first.

Ceberus Dogs
More often than not, you'll run into cerberus pups before you see the full-grown baddies. These pups are pretty easy to dispose of, but they pose a pretty unique threat. If you don't defeat them quickly, the pups will turn into full-grown cerberus dogs, which is about the time that you should start gettin' scared.

If you can, kill off the cerberus pups as quickly as possible. If there are a bunch of them, it's a good idea to use Poseidon's Rage to kill them all. If, however, they get to full-size, you'll have to implement some other strategy. When fighting the big dogs, you'll have to be very careful not to get surrounded. Most of their attacks are unblockable, so you need to rely on dodging to keep your hide safe. Try to stay on the outside of their circle and attack with quick combos interrupted by abrupt dodging. Whenever you see a CIRCLE appear overhead, quickly run up to the cerberus and grapple it to either deal a lot of damage or deliver a death blow.

Centaurs
Centaurs are pretty vicious enemies, but they're luckily able to be launched into the air for some nice combos. However, because they're so quick, you'll want to play very defensively when on the ground and trying to go toe-to-toe with the enemies.

The best way to launch the centaurs is with the Achilles' Flip move (roll towards them and press X), followed up with a pair of quick attacks. This will allow you to dodge their ground attacks and set up a very quick launch move. Once you've got them in the air, follow up with a combo or grapple them to throw them into the ground. When attacking them on the ground, try to end your combos with Kratos' slam attack, as in the Plume of Prometheus combo (SQUARE, SQUARE, TRIANGLE). This will knock the centaurs off their feet, letting you follow up with more combos until they get back up to counter attack.

Satyrs
Satyrs are pretty quick, but they're also pretty small, which makes them susceptible to lots of combo opportunities. Ground chain combos will temporarily stun them, letting you unleash some nasty hits, though you don't want to perform any long combos without blocking every once in a while to catch any sudden blows.

Even better, Satyrs are especially vulerable to launch attacks and air combos. The enemies are pretty light, letting you launch them far into the air for a healthy combo. You can even grapple with satyrs at any time, whether in air or on the ground, simply by pressing CIRCLE. You'll have to quickly mash the CIRCLE button to win the weapon clash, letting you deal a blow to them without any chance of an enemy counter. This attack really doesn't do very much damage, but it is completely safe. If you're feeling yourself overrun by enemy attacks, grapple them to shift the tide of the battle.