God of War glitch FAQ v. 1.8. completed 18. 5. 2008 Compiled by AKheon, found out by countless people. See the end of file for more information. 0. Contents: ------------ 0. Contents + abbreviations 1. Introduction & version history 2. General gameplay glitches - Weapon/attack/magic glitches 1. BoA glitches 1a. Homerun and its variations 1b. Strange death delay 1c. Special death effect after magic 1d. Glitched circle action 1e. Fusing BoA and BoC 2. Infinite jump 3. Hermes Rush glitches 3a. HR strange collision property exploit 3b. Passing through large enemies 3c. Rope + L1 something move + HS = trouble 4. Graphical & other weapon/attack/magic glitches - Enemy glitches 5. Enemy out of bounds 6. Infinite orb fountains 7. Throw/grab glitches 8. Shoddy A.I. 9. Enemy-specific glitches 9a. Shielded legionnaires 9b. Archers 9c. Desert sirens 10. Misc. enemy glitches - Crooked surface glitches 11. Gliding 12. "Poseidon Jump" 13. Stance flicker - Loading glitches 14. Music glitch 15. Loading trigger skipping - Water glitches 16. THE swimming glitch 17. Reverse swimming glitch 18. Glitched jump out of water 19. Strange things of dying in water 20. Other water glitches - Misc. glitches & exploits 21. Regen magic
Transcript
God of War glitch FAQv. 1.8. completed 18. 5. 2008
Compiled by AKheon, found out by countless people.See the end of file for more information.
0. Contents:------------
0. Contents + abbreviations1. Introduction & version history2. General gameplay glitches - Weapon/attack/magic glitches 1. BoA glitches 1a. Homerun and its variations 1b. Strange death delay 1c. Special death effect after magic 1d. Glitched circle action 1e. Fusing BoA and BoC 2. Infinite jump 3. Hermes Rush glitches 3a. HR strange collision property exploit 3b. Passing through large enemies 3c. Rope + L1 something move + HS = trouble 4. Graphical & other weapon/attack/magic glitches - Enemy glitches 5. Enemy out of bounds 6. Infinite orb fountains 7. Throw/grab glitches 8. Shoddy A.I. 9. Enemy-specific glitches 9a. Shielded legionnaires 9b. Archers 9c. Desert sirens 10. Misc. enemy glitches - Crooked surface glitches 11. Gliding 12. "Poseidon Jump" 13. Stance flicker - Loading glitches 14. Music glitch 15. Loading trigger skipping - Water glitches 16. THE swimming glitch 17. Reverse swimming glitch 18. Glitched jump out of water 19. Strange things of dying in water 20. Other water glitches - Misc. glitches & exploits 21. Regen magic 22. Death glitch 23. Magic while grappling 24. Gravity reversal 25. Invisible rope momentum 26. Glitched eye/feather animation loop 27. Graphical glitches in the menus 28. Game freezes3. Glitch playthrough (level specific glitches)4. Credits, legal information, contact info, etc.
Abbreviations:
GoW = God of WarGoWII = God of War IIBoC = Blades of ChaosBoA = Blade of ArtemisPR = Poseidon's RageMG = Medusa's GazeAHJ = Apollo's high jumpGMG = GodModeGODHP = Hit pointZf = Zeus's FuryRotG = Rage of the Gods
1. Introduction + version history---------------------------------
Why a glitch FAQ:Because this game has buttloads of glitches and other interesting stuff ofwhich to tell about. Many major ones, useful for skipping entire levels.Countless minor ones, providing amusement or sometimes annoyance tothe gamer. Maybe by listing them and publishing the list people will gainnew interest in this game. Or appreciation for glitches? By getting to knowthese strange quirks in the game mechanics, you can endure them with muchmore lasting patience and grace. And do some heavy exploiting to blow offsteam when one feels like it.
About the content:I'm purposefully loose in what is allowed in and what is not, simply becausethe definition of a "glitch" is not a clear one. Rather than just glitches,this guide pretty much lists and discusses anything interesting, random,rare or "unintended by the game developers"-grade phenomena inside the game.
NOTE to any God of War-series team member reading this:-------------------------------------------------------Most of the hardcore GoW fanbase like glitches. Don't you dare take themout of the next game.
Version history:
v. 1.8. (18. 5. 2008)
- Updated/added links- continued the lists- added enemy glitches File size: 58kt.
v. 1.5. (20. 4. 2008)
- added several new glitches, e.g. water glitches- continued the lists File size: 52kt. (see a pattern forming here?)
v. 1.3. (13. 4. 2008)
- added 1 new small glitch- continued the lists File size: 42kt.
v. 1.1. (5. 4. 2008)
- added a couple of glitches- started to list enemy-specific glitches- started to list level-specific glitches File size: 32kt.
v. 1.0. (23. 3. 2008)
- Listed the general gameplay glitches File size: 29kb.
What to do for the next versions:
- Some videos could be upgraded- Finish the listings
2. General gameplay glitches----------------------------
Using certain attack strings, your bouncable enemies can be launched high upin air or bounced across the playfield in unusual ways. This exploit is possiblebecause of some loophole in this game's gravity mechanisms. Double launches area lot more powerful than they were supposed to be. They in fact corrected thisin GoWII.
There are three main variations of it, Spike, Punt and Homerun, dubbed neatlyafter sports terms by this trick's discoverer, GMG.
Video demonstration:1, GMG's and Shinobier's instructional video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sMTz7ff6O0Q
1b. Strange death delay
Instead of instantly falling apart, your enemies will in some circumstancesremain alive for about 0.5 seconds before the special death animation kicksin. During this time, they will continue to attack Kratos like normal. Thisoften happens in conjunction with 1c.
1c. Special death animation after magic
For no logical reason from Kratos's point of view, all the enemies hekills with magic during when BoA is explicitly equipped get slashed tobits just as if he attacked them physically. EXP bonus from BoA's longcombos is also granted.
1d. Glitched circle action
BoA has no throwing/grabbing option, only BoC has. Unfortunately thegame gets confused on this once in a while, and when around low HP'denemies (with the circle hovering over their heads), things get unpredictable.
A normal attack attempt with circle can end in two ways.
1, Kratos will grab them instead of doing a circle attack. Kratos's weapon switches automatically back to BoA afterwards.2, Kratos will fumble backwards as always when a grab attempt fails. Enemy may or may not die afterwards.
1e. Fusing BoA and BoC
You can "fuse" BoA and BoC temporarily, so that both of them are visibleat the same time. This is mostly just a graphical effect, with no influence onthe damage Kratos does for example. The easiest method to achieve this effectis to do either Zeus's Fury or Medusa Flash in the air with BoA equipped.Right during the magic animation, press down L1 and try to do one of thespecial BoC moves Kratos can use while in the air. If things work out, you soonsee a familiar move done while wielding a strange weapon... Another way to dothis is after a failed grabbing attempt with BoA, described in 1d.
This state will last only as long as you have L1 button down, don't castmagics or get damaged. Other than the L1 + (something) moves, you can alsodo weapon switching and Hermes Stomp without losing this effect. The last oneis actually something very useful, because Hermes Stomp adds much length toyour jumps, and it is normally unavailable during a BoA long jump. You canreally mix things up during high jumps as well.
An interesting thing to note is that during this kind of fuse long jumpyou may have a momentum glitch with normal jumps: the jump is at full speed,as if Kratos was running at full speed before jumping. This is useful too.
Video demonstration:1, a BoA and BoC fuse long jump: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=P1_lrGGK8lM
2. Infinite Jump
A.K.A. "nth jump"
This game has ways for you to jump infinitely high or infinitely towards anyhorizontal direction. The drawside is that doing it takes a lot of magic(requiring either Dairy Bastard or regen magic) and time. It can be done witheither Lv. 4 -> BoC or Lv. 1 BoA, though BoA is in any case the best choicebecause it's so versatile.
This trick is based on the fact that PR in air resets your falling momentum.You've noticed how long attack strings keep you in air worse and worse thelonger you do them? Do a PR between the chains and you'll do much better.
With BoA air attack strings or Falling Helios you do not only remain in airbut also get a bit higher/forward with each consecutive attack and magic.
Short variations of this trick are classified as high jumps. They're oftenmixed up with other attacks (such as Lv. 2 MG air blast) to suit the purposethey're used, and countless sequence breaks are possible because of them.
3. Hermes Rush/Stomp glitches
3a. HR strange collision property exploit
During Hermes Rush Kratos's hit/collision box is less wide but longerthan during his other stances/animations. This means in effect that you areable to squeeze into tight spots (e.g. behind some chests). Depending on whatkinds of walls surround you and how tight the spot is exactly, you may be ableto get through them from there. Turning towards a wall is sometimes necessaryfor this to work (to fully take advantage of his strange collision property).
Video demonstration:1, skipping Pandora's front yard with this: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=TahZ0khKQSo
3b. Passing through large enemies
Hermes Stomp goes right through some larger enemies such as cyclops.
3c. Rope + L1 something move + HS = trouble
If you pass a rope while doing a L1 + something move (e.g. Apollo's Offensive)and at its end perform the Hermes Stomp, a glitch happens. The game thinksKratos is on the rope while Stomp's animation transports him away. This statehas no movement checks, so Kratos is eternally stuck in a silly position.
Video demonstration:1, see the end of this video for this glitch in practise: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BJh_UCwzV_g
4. Graphical & other misc. weapon/attack/magic glitches
- If you enter a moment where time is frozen (e.g. talk to someone or during cutscenes) while in a Zeus's Fury or Medusa's Gaze stance, and then upgrade the magic in question, the graphical effect disappears and Kratos looks like he has nothing in his hands, though the stance remains.
- If you spam Gorgon Flash in air fast enough, every other blast will not be visible. Zeus's Fury does this too.
- You can deal damage through invisible/red walls (you know, the ones that enclose a fighting area) but stone freezing beams become powerless though they're not obstructed.
- Using Army of Hades on stonefrozen enemies will reduce their actual HP, not "during stonefrozen" HP. This means that you can get the minigame circle appear on these creatures. You can't do the minigame while they're stoned though...
- If you switch weapons quickly enough, the BoA flash effect is not always seen.
- You can shoot both Gorgon Torrent and Gorgon Flash at the same time.
- The BoA glow is not seen in some areas.
- Poseidon's Rage normally always does a fixed amount of hits. For reasons unknown it sometimes hits more than it should. (pressing other buttons than circle during the casting is the catalyst?)
--- Enemy glitches:-------------------
5. Enemy out of bounds
The game has set strict limits for your enemies to wander, for various leveldesign reasons. Some of these limits are extremely obvious and exploitable.F.e. getting on a ladder can cause every enemy in the room forget yourpresence. If entering a new area, the enemies often act as if there was aninvisible wall separating them from Kratos (which, code-wise, may very wellbe close to truth), and they will not follow him to wherever the path nextleads.
Rarely the game allows you to send an enemy outside of his regular bounds,causing the A.I. to go wild. They run against walls, hoping to get back tothe correct area, in vain. Depending on how some areas are loaded and drawn,you may encounter a phenomena of invible enemies during this kind of out ofbounds moment. You can hear the enemies, but can only see or damage them fromcertain parts of the room. This isn't useful, but it's funny to look andlisten at. Air throwing or just launching enemies to strange places can getthis to work - though be warned that it's very rare. I've personally seeninvisible enemies only at one part during the game (at the Rooftops of Athens).
Credits go to the Max Upgrade Guide at GameFAQs, that's where I first heardabout this glitch. Check it out for more detailed info.
Video demonstrations:1, invisible minotaur at Rooftops of Athens (part X of this video): http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YJP3uQsN-Mk
6. Infinite orb fountains
The death animation of your enemies can get stuck in a loop where the enemywill give up his red orbs over and over again. It is caused by the animationinterrupting and resetting right after the orbs fly free but before theanimation naturally ends. This can happen f.e. if the enemy falls on somestrange piece of collision which can't accomodate his death throes, like acrooked surface or a ladder.
The best enemy to do this with is the harpy: they're small and weak,they fly, they have a quick, stable death animation. I've never seen a largeenemy get fountained. Once a minotaur bounced strangely from a wall and itgave two times the orbs, but that was hardly a fountain of any kind.
The best known places where this works are the infamous Challenge of Atlasladder, and the statue room at Temple of the Oracle.
Video demonstration:1, Challenge of Atlas ladder fountain:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hRxl9yffSdc2, Temple of the Oracle fountain: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb6CrJYbV5A
7. Throw/grab glitches
Doing throws over uneven surface will usually cause both Kratos and hisenemy to rise up in air for the throw's duration. If the height differencebetween Kratos and enemy is too big, the grab cancels out disappointingly.Sometimes Kratos acts out the grab without actually holding the enemy, e.g.trying to rip head off nothingness while the gorgon is frolicking somewherenearby.
Your enemies can interrupt Kratos's grabs even while they technicallyshouldn't be able to. It's all bit unstable. Sometimes Kratos does notsuffer any harm from attacks during a grab, sometimes he will.
At least in one spot during the game, grabbing a legionnaire will causeanother legionnaire in the room slide long ways away.
During a legionnaire grab you can see currently spawning legionnaires astargets, but you can't actually damage them. This is especially obviousif the spawning location is not generic, e.g. at Aegean Sea from over theship's side.
During grappling or rope sections, your enemies can do a very glitched lookinggrab on Kratos. Because of lack of space, their animation becomes juxtaposedsomewhere away from Kratos and they may seem as if they're climbing a ladder.If the grab ends against Kratos's favor, the enemy might disappear for noreason afterwards.
8. Shoddy A.I.
In some corridors, you may find one of your enemies walking plainly againsta wall, usually towards where Kratos is. I've seen this happen at at least 3different locations, though always with the normal legionnaires.
At least in one spot during the game your enemies (normal legionnaires) willtry to climb a normal ladder to get to you. Unfortunately their behaviourhas a loophole in it and they get stuck in the middle if you quickly changeelevation. If you try to climb the ladder again, they turn normal.
You can fool some of the enemy A.I. with non-sequitur air attacks or rapidweapon switching. The rapid weapon switching is actually something very useful.Doing it fast enough causes all of your enemies to simply stop attacking. Itdoesn't work on archers or bosses, though.
9. Enemy-specific glitches
Thanks go to GMG for many of these.
9a. Undead legionnaires
There are countless of glitches ready for these guys, mainly because theyappear at so many different circumstances (e.g. ropes and grapple sections too)and places. Almost all have already been mentioned at the above sections.
9b. Cursed Legionnaire
Some of them can not be minigamed - the circle does not appear above theirheads.
At least one certain instance of this enemy is impervious to Orion's Harpoon.
While they spawn, their shields are not 'active'. You can grab them or attackthem like normal legionnaires. This can also be simulated when they're downed.
"Zf bolts can hit when the shield is present though they don't do damage"
"On occassion. a throw into a shielded Legionnaire won't be deflected and instead cause a knockback"
"RotG BoC attacks act like their shield isn't there, as does AoH"
9d. Archers
Artemis or ledge tricking never works on them.
If an explosive arrow hits and shatters something petrified, the arrow sticks inmid-air until it explodes.
In unknown circumstances an arrow can get stuck in mid-air, still "mobile",turning towards Kratos if he's moving around it.
9e.Cyclops Enforcer
Only the farthest half of the spinning ball attack hits. (e.g. the rope doesnot harm Kratos)
9f. Cyclops Brute
"Grabs don't connect when they should"
9g. Cyclops Desert King
Brutal/ruthless kills do not yield bonus.
9h. Desert Sirens
They're the special variety of Sirens who only appear in the desert.
They can be killed by petrifying them three times in a quick succession, unlikeany other enemy in the game.
9i. Wraith of Athens
Kratos's grab can launch several Wraiths in the air when it resolves.
9j. Desert Wraith
Air grab can cancel out for no known reason.
9k. Satyrs
The throw in which they move Kratos to their opposite side, can transport himon nothingness. Kratos bounces once, then falls.
(this section is still not completed)
10. Misc. enemy glitches
- Enemies' attacks stun other enemies but will not do any damage.
- If too many enemies (>2?) are shattered simultaneously not all of them give you orbs.
- Flying enemies sometimes do not fall down when stonefrozen.
By a crooked surface, I mean a special type of collision surface which willtry to drop Kratos down when he's on it, but which responds to Kratos'sdifferent stances in various ways.
11. Gliding
When on a crooked surface, if you try to block, roll, enter a magic stanceor do a grab, Kratos will not fall down as helplessly as usual, but insteadwill either remain where he is or move to some direction (depending onmomentum). Effects also vary depending on how angled the crooked surface is.
Crooked surface does not count as normal ground. Kratos's jump counter willnot reset when he lands, for example, limiting somewhat what you can do. Youalso can't move in other ways than what I just described.
This glitch can be abused to move over areas with a lot of crooked surface.If you got a lot of momentum, Kratos's speed is irrationally high and themovement looks completely strange. Gain momentum by doing a well-timed HermesStomp or a grab (or other attacks).
Video demonstrations:1, an outdated strategy, but still, it's gliding at it's finest: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zad8ne9FyM
12. "Poseidon jump"
When on a crooked surface, if you do PR, you may encounter this glitch.Kratos will do the PR as he always does. Afterwards he enters a shortanimation wherein he descends down but interestingly remains stable,seemingly immune to the effects of the crooked surface. During this timethe jump counter resets (as the game thinks you're back on the ground again)and you can jump two times more before again exhausting yourself. If you tryto move in any direction before jumping, you will cancel out of this state,
so be careful.
As foreshadowed, this event does not always follow PR. Sometimes PR justcancels out and nothing interesting happens. Remain vigilant and cast PRagain before you are dropped off the crooked surface. Sometimes the PR willnot cancel out, but nothing interesting still happens. Be prepared with lotsof magic for this one.
Being able to jump in the middle of a crooked surface increases yourcapabilities by a fair amount. If only there were more long stretchesof crooked surface in this game...
Video demonstration:1, skipping a large part of Gates of Athens using this: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rhOM5SYFyOk
13. Stance flicker
If you're right at the edge of a crooked surface and blocking, rolling, ina magic stance or doing Hermes Stomp, Kratos will not fall down but willstay on the surface edge and try to do whatever the button press denotes,but failing each time because the game thinks he's constantly starting tofall down. The action starts anew and it gets canceled again. Kratos flickersstrangely and makes noises.
Video demonstration:1, see the middle part of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YJP3uQsN-Mk
--- Loading glitches:---------------------
14. Music glitch
This glitch is not possible with every copy of GoW. I'm not sure if it dependson different regions or versions or what. It might be even rarer than that.
Basically, the Rings of Pandora background music will stick whenever you visitthat place. It will not end when it should but instead plays alongside withthe other musics of the area where you move in. This causes your PS additionalstrain and everything loads much slower.
The only useful thing this is for is for doing a couple of skips: you are ableto get past some obstacles before they load and show up.
For more information, you can read a full-fledged Music glitch FAQ here:http://akheon.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/gow-music-glitch-faq.doc
Video demonstration:1, one of the skips possible with this trick: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PACPzKSQXm8
15. Skipping loading triggers
The game loads it's areas mostly in realtime. When Kratos steps to a certaintrigger in the level, the next area begins to load. By skipping one of these
triggers you will not be able to proceed (in most cases), but instead areconfronted with emptiness where the next section should begin. You can skipthese either accidentally or, if you know about them, purposefully.
At least in one spot of the game skipping a loading trigger saves aconsiderable amount of time, and it is at the Gates of Athens, where you canenter the gate without loading its innards, enabling you to skip all theobstacles you would otherwise have to clear. But all this can cause problemsto new gamers who accidentally skip some crucial trigger somewhere (thoughunlikely). If something like this happens to you, now you know why.
Video demonstration:1, the Gates of Athens skip: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rhOM5SYFyOk
--- Water glitches:-------------------
16. THE swimming glitch
In GoW, the game doesn't know which areas are water and which air - it simplyknows where's the water surface and what happens when Kratos touches it.The only thing preventing Kratos from swimming wantonly wherever he wantsare a couple of walls, but with clever methods they can be bypassed...you might've deduced what that means in this case.
Yes, while swimming wherever you want, you have absolute reach and capabilityto move. You see the areas from angles you've never seen before. No physicalobstacle will restrict you, for the most part. Enemies can't reach you.
But what would an otherwise game breaking glitch be without cripplingdisadvantages? A lot better, some would say. Here are the reasons forwhy this glitch isn't more popular:
- You need Poseidon's Trident. Without it, Kratos can't control his movement and the game deposits him to outer space. (a water surface cheat protection system, sort of. You have to see it to believe it.)- You can't operate several important switches or other devices or even push anything. This will get you stuck at several parts of the game, so no swimming through the entire game in any case.- There are only a select amount of places you can start the swimming glitch.- You can't stop swimming when you want. You're restricted to finding another water surface or you'll have to swim eternally. What torment!- The camera angles are hideous. At some points you have no way to see where you are going.- You are completely powerless. You can't block or attack. Grabbing enemies causes a fine cloud of blood to appear, but nothing else happens.- You are likely to skip several critical loading triggers while swimming, getting you even more stuck.
The state of air swimmingness will stay if you save, which means that youcan get completely stuck in the game if you're careless with this.
For more detailed information, read a full-fledged swimming glitch FAQ athttp://akheon.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/gow-swimming.doc
Video demonstrations:1, swimming at Challenge of Hades: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mmaGwJcSSdA
2, swimming at Challenge of Atlas: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=q9N0MkCQh143, how swimming glitch could be used in a speedurn, Challenge of Poseidon: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9E2qMv10kEk
17. Reverse swimming glitch
In a surprising turn of events, much like how you can swim above where there'sno water, you can run where there's supposedly no air. You just have to avoidtouching the water's surface when descending down to an area where you'dnormally swim. You can do this f.e. passing through a wall.
The uses for this are pretty limited. The underwater passages were notdesigned for normal type of movement, and you quickly encounter many problemswhen trying to move there normally. The floors are unstable and Kratos canactually get stuck to the floor. Most of the swimming areas require Kratos tomove long distances upwards, which is impossible without regen or infinite magicand a lot of time. Thirdly, you can't operate underwater switches.
18. Glitched jump out of water - A.K.A. "Uber jump" or "XXL jump".
Normally the game will not let you cancel an underwaterly charged jump out ofwater into anything else. We didn't know what caused the exceptions in this ruleevery now and then until a few days ago (18. 4. 2008) when BigVEE supplied uswith an answer: the game keeps track of HOW Kratos enters water. If he enterswith a dive animation, you can't do any sort of high jumps out of the water.If he enters any other way (apart from running/walking) he is able to cancelto a normal jump (without Icarus Lift). If he runs/walks into water, he cando the highest of all jumps: "Uber jump" or "XXL jump", etc.
The glitched effect is only seen if you do Icarus Lift right as you leavethe water. This kind of jump effectively also works as a 'dash', breaking wallsor stone beam frozen enemies if you happen to hit them.
Video demonstration:1, see part IV of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lE0BPM_XtuY2, usage in a speedrun: (courtesy of Satvara) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qwFo5vf1xuI
19. Strange things of dying in water
If you die and then drop down into water, Kratos's stance is an idle, strangeone, as if someone stuck a huge stick up his ass. You can also have Kratoscompletely freeze up in a stance, such as "jumping out of the water" butwith him not actually leaving the water. You can even achieve the "riding ona BoC-sled"-effect from GoWII with Cyclone of Chaos!
Some of the horizontal momentum Kratos had before hitting the water will keepmoving his corpse. It seemed to me that the momentum shown no signs ofslowing down, unlike when he's alive. Very high speeds can be achieved withthis, it's just a shame it's useless. It seems to vary a lot by the attack youdie by and what position Kratos was in.
20. Other water glitches (written text courtesy of GMG)
Lure? - When skimming water, beasts don't generally attack unless they can see
through tricking. When slightly underwater, they keep attacking often enough asif you are on the ground. (you need to be near)
Splash - upward grabs at the surface cause a landing splash
Crushing - When using Rush you can crush breakable walls/objects. When you leapout of the water using a Ascending Dash, the dive retains the properties of therush itself so it can break walls/objects OUTSIDE the water.
Slope flicker - on a slope between standing and skimming. Whipping out Zf/Medusawill change the effect slightly as will blocking. It is also altered by havingArtemis out instead.
Slope Rush - Rush into a slope for a brief run
Fast skim - rush then ascend to the surface
Ascending Dash Dive to Ledge grab - going from dive straight to a ledge graballows an odd effect where you grab hold of the ledge then if you hold 'away'you will transfer to a ledge (doesn't exist) behind you. You only do this whileholding 'away' though.
Video demonstration:1, about half of the mentioned tricks in this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lE0BPM_XtuY
--- Misc. Glitches------------------
21. Regen magic
Regen magic is a state you naturally encounter at only one part of the game:when you have to shatter several minotaurs in front of Afrodite's mug. In itKratos stably gains back his magic all the time, essentially resulting in aninfinite amount of magic you have at your disposal. During normal completionKratos would lose it immediately after this task is completed. But the room isnot escape proof, and by leaving there on your own accord, the game will foreverconsider you having not completed the task, and you retain the regenerativemagic state 'til the end of time.
It's not a glitch, rather just a very powerful exploit.
Video demonstrations:1, Regen magic v2. by KewBew63: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yOHvvp6Xshg
22. Death glitch
Some frames of Kratos's various moves (or something something, random factors?)will not cancel into a death animation. This means Kratos will continueliving and moving even while the death phase is on - you hear Kratos's "Orghh."and the screen slowly turns red and everything otherwise works completelynormally, as if Kratos really did die. This glitch can be unstably reproduced,but as of now no use has been found for it.
Random facts:- You can do this in water too.
- You can die several times with it, it's useless.- Saving while dead will yield you an alive Kratos with very little health left.- Untested: dying and activating an FMV.- Untested: dying and activating a checkpoint.
Video demonstration:1, a collection of a few death glitches: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1QF_mfNVVKo
23. Magic while grappling
If the collisions around the grappling zone are even slightly unstable (andthey usually are), Kratos can cast magic momentarily when jumping towards them.You know it's possible when the magic icon at the upper left corner flashes toactive, even if only for a flash. It's not easy to do because the timing isstrict, but you can try easily over and over again until you finally get it. Bewarned that Kratos may fall afterwards off the grappling zonev
24. Gravity reversal
During either a grappling or a rope climbing section, if a legionnaire is inair (e.g. while jumping from a ledge to another), he can be lanched very highwith any move that hits several times in a quick succession (Poseidon's Rage,Cyclone of Chaos).
25. Invisible rope momentum
If you boost momentum while on rope while right next to and moving towards anobstacle (easy place to try this out: at the barricades before Athens TownSquare), Kratos will stop moving but the momentum nonetheless gathers as if noobstacle was there. It doesn't look nice.
Video demonstration:1, watch 'VIII' of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz32PmbZq8w
26. Glitched eye/feather animation loop
During the screen which informs you you have collected enough Gorgon Eyes/Phoenix Feathers to upgrade, if you press start or select so that you enterthe menu RIGHT as the little Eye/Feather-animation starts to roll, it willremain looping infinitely. So watch out for this.
Video demonstration:1, watch 'VI' of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz32PmbZq8w
27. Graphical glitches in the menus
In the start menu, if you press 'up' and simultaneously press L1 or R1, thefollowing screens will have some entrancing graphical glitches. If you go tothe screen where Gorgon Eyes and such is listed, the icons are out of placeuntil you move the cursor. In the case of magic and weapon menu, every iconis empty until you leave the screen or upgrade something. Every magic andweapon is also listed as Lv. 1, even if they weren't. Also, the game maytarget some other magic than the one right at the bottom.
If you move the cursor in a certain way (too fast, while selecting something,e.g. I'm not sure of the exact mechanism) the texts in the menus may overlap.This is really quite rare, and completely useless to boot.
28. Game freezes
They're everywhere in this game. I've seen it happen at loading screens, bossfights, before cutscenes, before loading a game, etc. and the reasons areunknown. Your likelihood of encountering one may increase if your game hasscratches in it.
If you run by the left-hand wall into the large area with harpies andeventually the second hydra head, the red wall which would enclose theonly exit does not activate - you avoid the door trigger. You may also leavethe area the same route and leave it open. This has no use unless you wantto play around with the second hydra head by leaving the fight prematurely.It just keeps attacking as if Kratos was near it...
- Entering the second hydra
If you roll just the right moment towards the spot where the hydra appears,and somehow manage to stay in that area after it has emerged (e.g. by jumping in air at a correct time), you've entered the second hydra. You're inside itscollisions. Unfortunately this is useless, because it can still attack youfrom where you are. You can't skip the fight itself because the hole in thefloor is purely cosmetic until the creature is gone.
The easiest way to try this out is retrying again and again from the pre-secondhydra checkpoint.
Video demonstration:1, see part II of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4scwgmQqc6g
- Glitch at the short grapple section after second hydra
If you move/jump towards the right side of the wall while grappling, you mayactivate this glitch. Whenever you press down, Kratos turns 180 degrees aroundand climbs with his back against the wall. It's just a graphical glitch.
- Archer A.I. glitch at the box moving "puzzle"
If, after activating the cutscene where the archers are threatening the shipcrew, you leave the area and go back where you met the first hydra and thencome back, the archers aren't shooting at all anymore.
NOTE: not verified.
- A camera glitch during the big Hydra fight
When a small hydra head dies, the camera concentrates on it for a moment. Bydoing unknown things there and then, the camera will not depart from the deadhead's front and return to Kratos. This is completely harmless, only happenedto me once - while doing an infinite jump and being quite far away from thedying head.
Video demonstration:1, see part III of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4scwgmQqc6g
- Dropping through/inside falling platforms during the big Hydra fight:
If you're on one while one rises, you can easily drop through it. Also, youcan manage to have one fall on you. Both of these instances are useless, justsimple lapses in collision.
- Tendency to freeze during the big Hydra fight
It's happened to me once or twice, and I've heard several other people complainabout this too. The screen goes black but you still see the boss health meter atthe screen's lower half. The music continues playing, but nothing you do willevoke a reaction in the game. You must restart if this happens.
Port of Athens--------------
- A wall breach at the ship
The two maps - the innards of the ship Kratos starts from after Aegean Sea andthe Port of Athens - are connected a bit loosely. By moving towards the wallat a certain height while jumping, you get through it to the ocean bottom. Doinga Hermes Stomp can be helpful. From the ocean bottom you can fall to nothingnessor activate a botched-up swimming glitch. It can also be used in a speedrun fora few seconds win. Discoverer: Satvara.
Video demonstration:1, Satvara's video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2yG1y9J9YeA
- A glitched legionnaire, subject to an infinite Orion's Harpoon combo
Somewhere at Port of Athens there's a legionnaire who will not die from aOrion's Harpoon. You can keep doing the attack over and over again as longas you like, even make an extremely long combo slowly but surely. Discoverer:Shinobier?
Video demonstration:1, Shinobier's video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SiEeHwXxD5E
Gates of Athens---------------
- An exploitable chasm during the 3 cyclops fight
The chasm at the left side of the field is open to them, while it's not toKratos. Lure them right next to it if they're not, then run towards them orattack them when they're facing you. They will stumble backwards and fall.
Video demonstration:1, see part I of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Wo42I1oEk
- Skipping a small cutscene with Achilles' Flip
Right as you enter the room where you acquire Medusa's Gaze, you activate acutscene in which the camera pans through the whole room. To prevent the playerfrom escaping witnessing this small clip, there are high walls around the smallbox - though overcomeable with Athens High Jump, it's slower and thus notrecommended. However, with Achilles' Flip you can in some circumstances justfly through the box and not get hindered by the walls. I don't know how this ispossible.
- Defeating Medusa with pure damage
The actual HP value Medusa has is 10.000, which is extremely high. To activatethe minigame you need a lot less, and that's what virtually every player doesduring their playthroughs. If you exceed the 10.000 damage limit, Medusa diesby herself, and the game doesn't consider it a victory. If you don't know howto escape the room, you will get stuck there.
- Regen magic and ceiling collision oddities
Medusa room. This is the infamous room where you will gain regen magic. If youescape it at the correct time, you get to keep it too... Basically, look at thevideo demonstration below. It will show everything on doing it.
The collision at the ceiling is strange. First of all, it seems Kratos can onlygrab the ceiling right above the door frame. There's some extra grabbable groundto the right of the frame too, not visible to the player. It makes me think thatthe developers put it all there intentionally to enable regen magic. To me it'sjust too big a coincidence that just the right type of collision exists at theexact spot you need it to to escape the room, and it exists nowhere else in thevicinity.
Original discoverer: Satvara. However, Kewbew63 (and f.e. Zalo159 at the sametime, independently of each other) discovered the easier way out.
Video demonstration:1, Kewbew63's example: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yOHvvp6Xshg2, Satvara's example (note: the old method, is very difficult to do): http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtc_YpAPULs
- Skipping a major loading trigger
After the Medusa room, get on top of the small platform which holds one chest.
Get on top of the chest and do a high jump against the wall - if correctlyperformed, Kratos will grab an invisible ledge near the ceiling. Jump towardsthe set of ladder up ahead. If you were high enough, you missed a loadingtrigger, and the outside areas will never load until you retrace your steps andtouch the trigger. Doing this it's actually possible to do a major sequencebreak at this location.
Video demonstration:1, see part IV and V of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa08uFO5OmY
Road to Athens--------------
- Strange collision of the pile of junk blocking the road
You know the rubble which appears after a short real-time scene where Ares'sfireball destroys a building? Here's elaboration on its strange collision.The upper level of it is mostly something like crooked surface, except itdoesn't respond to anything like crooked surface does. The rubble can becrossed over in a normal game, though it's not easy because of this specialproperty.
Video demonstration:1, see part I of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktp4Mf9MIoo
Athens Town Square------------------
- Skipping the cyclops fight (and its consequences)
There's an invisible ledge to the left before the cyclops fight. You can reachit by doing a high jump. By going over there you skip activating the cyclopsfight trigger, though with a great price: you can't proceed into the Greekhouse (where's the "suicide lady") because the area will not load. The cutsceneafter the cyclops fight would've been the loading trigger!
Video demonstration:1, the skip itself, not its dreadful consequences: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktp4Mf9MIoo
- "Suicide lady" mechanics
In several places the game uses "prop" characters with which you can onlyinteract in a very limited number of ways. JFCalibur88 has made a cool videoshowcasing the mechanisms of the lady here, and a couple of glitches too.
Video demonstration:1, JFcalibur88's video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ASavchszXQg
- Skipping most of the Athens Town Square
You can reach the balcony with several chests from the large yard by doing a
variation of high jump, "Athens High Jump". From there you can just proceedto Temple of Oracle without doing anything to the "suicide lady" or evenvisiting Rooftops of Athens.
Another skip is getting to the balcony through the Greek house, and doing along jump from there to the high path towards the middle of the yard. Thepole connecting the two sides is intact though invisible. Discoverer: Satvara,later Kewbev63.
This isn't a glitch but just mentioned in commeration of the interesting workthat has been put into cracking this particular location.
Video demonstration:1, see II of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktp4Mf9MIoo2, doing a skip from the balcony (Kewbev63's video): http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=91QrJUfRyAs
- Trying to get to Rooftops of Athens the wrong way
You can use the elevator on the upper level which would lead you back downto the rooftops, but during the trip something will always go wrong. Kratoswill fall down to his death after some strange camera angles.
- Moron civilians of Athens Town Square
They are like headless chickens. They sometimes appear in clusters, runningagainst a wall or a corner at the exactly same direction. They can't be stonebeamed frozen, I wonder why.
Temple of the Oracle--------------------
- Strange collision at the yard area
You may haven't noticed, but you can get on top of the pillar sections fromthe right side of the yard where there is a chest. Do a high jump and yougrab a ledge. No use has been found for this area, but still...
- Harpy glitches
Inside the temple harpies will spawn infinitely. While one might think thatthem stopping giving orbs is a glitch, it isn't. It is a mechanism implementedby the game designers to prevent too much orb farming.
If you put a statue in front of the hole they come from you can control theirspawning rate/formation. You can f.e. get them all to spawn at once, whichlooks creepy in all its symmetricity. Note that if you start stone beamingthem now you will not get all the orbs you should: simultaneous shatteredenemies do not yield more orbs than just one or two shattered.
One harpy will always get "stuck" hovering over one of the fountains if youhang around that area a bit.
If you want, take a go at creating your very own harpy orb fountain with thestatues here.
Video demonstration:1, a pretty easy but not too efficient way: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb6CrJYbV5A
- Strange inner yard statue collision + what abuse it enables
Unlike at any other locale at the game, this place's statues do not move ifKratos jams himself between them and the wall. This means that you can createyour own cramped space conditions enabling wall passage... in theory. For somereason you most likely won't see any success with this other than against theouter balcony walls. Using them you can get inside the wall, but navigationfrom there to anywhere else is extremely difficult, so there's not much you cando with this.
Video demonstration:1, "food for thought" http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IPzWNw1I83o
- Oracle voice glitch
If you save Oracle before activating the latter part minigame (in which acountdown starts), you hear her shouts echoing in the area even after she'ssafely on the ground.
- Why Oracle shouted so loudly?
Because the rope she was clinging on to was insubstantial, that's why. Try tograb it with Kratos if you want to see for yourself.
Video demonstration:1, or see this video if you're in a hurry: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6svnq6PDPDM
Suicide Bluffs + Sewers-----------------------
- Holes in collision at this area
If you do Hermes Stomp to the uneven walls at the upper parts of the BluffsKratos may drop through them to his death. I know at least 3 spots where thishappens.
Video demonstration:1, see the end parts of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6svnq6PDPDM
- Holes in collision at sewer stairs
You can skip going the stairs by doing a high jump on top of the doorway andjumping over it. You fall in the sewers instead of ending back to the Bluffs.
Desert of the Lost Souls
------------------------
- Breach in collision
Find the entrance to the temple area. Go to the left for a bit, so that thestructure ends and you face a wall of sand. With a well-placed Hermes Rushyou clip right through the wall/floor and drop into the temple. Veryconvenient! Discovered by Satvara.
Video demonstration:1, Satvara's demonstration: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=akcypifd2nA
Temple of Pandora-----------------
- Oddities in moving corpse's behaviour
First of all: if you access his platform from the wrong direction, the cutscenewhere Kratos and him talk will not load and he just continues doing whatever hewas doing normally. During this time his collision is such you can jump on himand let him move you around.
Secondly: I don't know how it happens, probably after unexpected routes Kratoscan take during this level. The corpse person completely disappears from thelevel and you can't proceed. This can also happen with discs with loadingproblems.
- Cutscene black-out glitch
As you approach the corpse person the correct route, once you get close enough,the screen blackens. If you now hastily move out of the platform you're on thecutscene will never start and you keep the black screen eternally. Basically,it makes progress pretty much impossible... and it carries over saves too.
Video demonstration:1, "way to fuck up your GoW save!" http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gtUlfeU990o
- Strange collision of a harpy
You see the harpy bringing in corpses near corpse person's den? You can jump onit with a high jump and let it carry you off to distant lands. Well, not-so-distant anyhow. The journey cuts out untimely as the harpy disappears and Kratosfalls down to a chasm.
Rings of Pandora----------------
- Access unloaded outer areas
By completing Challenge of Poseidon before Challenge of Atlas (or avoiding thetrigger which would close the door, though this is extremely difficult) you canleave "appendix" (e.g. not at the entrance near the turning wheel) Chamber of
the Eye without having the small door close behind you. Now you have threeentrances from the outermost ring: to the inner ring, to CotE or Challenge ofAtlas. The use of this is the following: if you change areas and return to theCotE entrance, its innards are mostly unloaded. You can activate the eye machineor do swimming glitch through the half-unloaded pool. If you turn the wheel youcan also get Challenge of Atlas to appear unloaded, though this isn't useful.
Video demonstration:1, Swimming through Challenge of Atlas, utilizes this trick: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=q9N0MkCQh14
- Getting inside innermost ring prematurely
You can get inside the innermost ring before you get rid of the water insideit, by an infinite jump or gliding there. Unfortunately you can't turn thewheel or do anything else there - even leave. A strange thing is that Kratoswill swim here even without Poseidon's Trident with him. The collision of theceiling pushes him right through the water's surface.
Video demonstration:1, See part II of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CS6uA6lmul0
Challenge of Atlas------------------
- THE famous spot for infinite orbs
Yes, you've seen it a million times already, the most popular spot for garneringa full set of orbs: the ladder at Challenge of Atlas. Instead of repeating whathas been said already, I implore you to read an earlier section of this guide,the one about infinite mana orb glitch.
- Graphical glitch while picking up the Architecht's Son's skull
If you stand at the edge of the coffin and not on top of it, Kratos will grabat nothingness and tear away a piece of nothingness to use as a skull.
Video demonstration:1, see VII of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_IDg1l3pJes
Challenge of Poseidon---------------------
- Quickly getting to the cage
The cage inside of which is the object of sacrificial is lowerable by two ways:one is by turning the crank, one is by jumping right next to it to an invisibleplatform up high and pushing it to the ground. Just an odd/clever piece of leveldesign.
Video demonstration:1, Kevbew63's demonstration: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wTmnsDH87yw
- Insta-death trap glitch
The corridor with the whirling array of all sorts of blades and spikes willnot always kill Kratos instantly when it closes shut. He might get stuck inthere for a longer time, losing his life little by little. You get to see thebuzzsaw animation right to the end, and it is not a pretty sight - it goesnowhere, they just freeze strangely and look messed up.
Video demonstration:1, see part I of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rPox7ti-XM0
- Moving metal slab/grating corridor glitch
You know the part where there's a long sideways corridor and these strangeslabs of metal that run through it periodically? You're supposed to go to left,but going to right is actually more useful. This is because you get two of theslabs appear at the same time, causing the trap to lose its lethality and turninto a fast method of transportation. The glitched doubleslab will drop Kratosoff at the left end of the corridor, right next to the exit. Very convenient.
NOTE: This might only happen if your position is as low as possible.
Video demonstration:1, see part III of this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Wo42I1oEk
- Passing elevator's ceiling
The underwater elevator at the end of CoP will suck Kratos in through theceiling if you're close enough or swim upwards. It looks a bit strange butdoes nothing harmful.
- An event glitch if returning to Challenge of Poseidon
The elevator you used at the end of it works the other way around too, so youcan return there. But after you swim out of the elevator at its upper end andthen try to re-enter it, it disappears to thin air and you have to go pull thenearby switch to get it up and working again.
Challenge of Hades------------------
- Chance to mess up a cutscene camera angle
If you roll/maybe do something else the instant you see the Hades statue's eyesflash (after depressing the button), the camera will not follow the statue asit rises up but instead Kratos's roll. This is mildly useful because you don'thave to start the next section so disoriented.
- Shouting trigger abuse during swimming
As you know, during the parts of CoH when you're at the upper parts of the
chamber, Kratos will emit a shout when falling down. If you're swimming inair you can safely reach the trigger where he switches animation and startsshouting. Basically, he starts flailing his arms and legs and screams, nothinghappens. Then he does it again, and again and again...
NOTE: during my first playthrough I thought Kratos was so tough a guy he neverever screams, not even as he dies. Well, this place is an exception...
Video demonstration:1, somewhere in this video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mmaGwJcSSdA
- Blind spot "Pandora's Guardian" has
If you stand at a correct spot during the minotaur boss fight's last form, youropponent will get stuck doing something useless.
Video demonstration: 1, GMG's demonstration: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pst3Hm4p3U
- Double lever pull
A part of the boss fight is skippable by pulling the log shooting device'slever at an opportune time: right after having shot an earlier log at him.Instead of having to deplete his health one additional time, you break moreof his armor off and get to the final phase of the fight quicker.
Video demonstration:1, GMG's video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BSeyrXme38U
Cliffs of Madness
-----------------
- Magical elevator activity
If Kratos reaches the upper end of a long elevator section before the elevatoritself, the elevator will catch up and slam up to the upper end instantly,bringing Kratos up too if he's in the way. This is most noticeable when swimmingup the elevator "shafts".
Architecht's Tomb-----------------
- Cerberi fight's glitches
See this video for examples of glitching possibilities in this area.
Video demonstration:1, SnapOfTheSynapse's collection of glitches: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qX7exSCAGe0
Pandora's Box-------------
- Can't kick it around
An interesting thing to note is that your kicks are almost completely powerlessagainst Pandora's Box. It just won't budge that well.
- About the level structure
Most of the Rings of Pandora and also the outer parts of Pandora's Temple arepermanently unloaded at this stage.
Final boss----------
????????
Ares 2------
- A camera glitch
At random times, the camera starts at a "bad location", but it later fixesitself.
- Delayed death
Sometimes the Ares 2 fight takes a strangely long time to end. This may bejust a loading issue for the FMV and nothing more.
(this section is still under construction)
Character Graveyard-------------------
- A breach in the wall
You can get yourself killed by exiting through a part of the wall/floor.
Video demonstration:1, surprise... a video of the breach, by JFCalibur88 http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=d8NP3YL0s9s
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned bytheir respective trademark and copyright holders.====================================
GodModeGOD (a.k.a. the-creeper, BigVEE, etc. etc.) - being the vet inthis game series, he supplied me with info on many of the glitches. Wrotea small part of this guide. http://uk.youtube.com/user/bigvee
Satvara - A mysterious gamer who used his impeccable deducing skills tocompletely break many sections of this game. Founder of many exploits. http://uk.youtube.com/user/satvara
Shinobier - gave video help and inspiration. http://uk.youtube.com/user/shinobier
Shenminiu - Did a GoW speedrun with all the essential exploits in. http://uk.youtube.com/user/shenminiu
KevBew63 - Video help & a couple of glitches. http://uk.youtube.com/user/kevbew63
JFCalibur88 - participated in glitch seeking and gave video help. http://uk.youtube.com/user/JFCalibur88
Euqinunique - invented a place to use swimming glitch at CoP. http://uk.youtube.com/user/Euqinunique
If you need to contact me with suggestions, criticism, new strategies,etc. then message my Youtube-account.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=AKheon
For PMs/E-mails:1. Don't ask me questions you can easily find an answer elsewhere.2. Don't ask me things you personally wouldn't want me to answer to.3. Stay true. \m/4. "think before you post", the classic rule of many a forum in the net.
Wordpress-account with more gaming-related text files available:
http://akheon.wordpress.com/
Shameless plug:
A finnish music label formed by me and Serpenthia's guitarist. Everything ispublished for free, genres range from black metal to avant garde music. A realwebsite is on the way...
