How do I beat the Trial of Archimedes?

Solution 1:

First off, let me start off by saying that unlike previous games, or even the previous stages of this game itself, it's very unlikely you can win this one solely by using and abusing one aspect of Kratos' repertoire. This Trial requires a lot of switching and mastery of most, if not all of Kratos' skills.

Most importantly, don't forget about your L2 attacks (Amulet of Uroboros & Stone of Orkos). They are incredibly useful and probably necessary to defeat this. At this point in the game, you should have completely upgraded your Blades, your Amulet, and your Stone, as well as at least one of the elemental forces. I had everything maxed out at this point, and it helps a lot. If you're so inclined, you should be able to go back to the "Chapter Select" and farm some red orbs to upgrade if you're behind.

First Platform

Enemies

• 4 Gorgons
• 4 Sirens

Important Skills.

• Amulet of Uroboros
• Stone of Orkos
• Ares/Hades specialization
  • If you've upgraded Ares, your rage will fill extremely fast, and your attacks will hit extra hard while you have full rage.
  • You can do a quick switch to Hades to release your rage as a swarm of souls that will keep attacking everything for a while.
  • While the Ares magic is a guaranteed hit on anything in range, I preferred to use Hades magic, as it will eventually hit them if they're out of range, since it lasts so long. I also found it has a better chance to ring out the Sirens (knock them off the platform).

Quick Tips

• All attacks can be blocked, except for the Gorgon's stone gaze and Siren's screech.
• If you parry a Gorgon's attack, you'll get a grapple opportunity that will turn other enemies to stone briefly if they're in range.
• You can knock the Sirens off the edge of the platform.
• Square, square, triangle attacks (at least Ares and Hades versions) will interrupt/knock back the Gorgons, and if you can manage to hit them with it, the Sirens as well.
• Everything on this platform will give you magic orbs if you brutal kill them.

Tactics

This is arguably the hardest platform of all. How you do here will determine how easy the rest will be.

As soon as the first Gorgon comes up, get some attacks off, then wait for the second one. Use your Amulet (if upgraded, it will slow both if they're next to each other), then use your Stone. Make sure you can hit both, then use your magic of choice twice. As soon as you finish, use your Amulet (try to hit both if you can), then use your stone again. At this point, at least one, if not both of them, should have a halo for a brutal kill. Note that this combo (Amulet/Stone -> Magic x2 -> Amulet/Stone) is incredibly useful. I will refer to this combo as "The Combo" moving forward.

As soon as you kill one Gorgon, another one will show up. Focus the other one if it doesn't have a halo yet. Pretty soon after you kill the first one, the Sirens will show up. After you kill the second Gorgon, a fourth will show up. Now you're dealing with two Gorgons and two Sirens. As soon as you can get it managed, use "The Combo." If you can, try to get in a corner or near the edge, and get the Sirens between yourself and the railing. There's a pretty good chance you'll ring out a Siren or two, which helps a lot. After this combo, something should be ready for a brutal kill. When the first two Sirens die, two more will show up. Take care of the Gorgons first, use your blades and your Amulet/Stone to clean up. If you're struggling, use another magic (in "The Combo" if you can). You'll probably be down to two Sirens last, just be patient and watch for the screech (remember everything else can be blocked).

Second Platform

Enemies

• 2 Amazons
• 6? Harpies
• 1 Electric Golem

Important Skills

• Amulet of Uroboros
• Stone of Orkos
• Ares/Hades Specialization

Quick Tips

• All attacks can be blocked, except for one from the Golem.
• If you parry an Amazon, you get a free grapple that gives you rage orbs and does considerable damage to everything.
• You can grapple and throw the Harpies, and can throw them off the edge if you aim correctly.
• Amazons will give you health orbs if you brutal kill them.
• Amazons can be knocked off the edge (you won't get much health this way).

Tactics

You'll start off with two Amazons and two harpies. Start off with your Amulet/Stone, which should hit everything due to the cramped fighting quarters. Get as many hits off as you can here, and watch for blocks (parries if you're quick enough). When the Amulet starts to wear off, use your magic of choice, then use your Amulet/Stone again. You may need to get a few more attacks off before you get a halo, but once you do it gets a lot easier. Another viable strategy at this point is to be defensive and wait for parries on the Amazons.

Once both Amazons are down, remember you can throw the Harpies. Try to get them off the edge ASAP. At this point, fire will start coming out of the walls and move slowly down the gauntlet. You should get a grace period here to familiarize yourself with how to avoid it. Before long, the Golem will show up with a Harpy. Get rid of the Harpy, which shouldn't be too hard since the Golem moves so slowly. Use your Amulet/Stone to whittle the Golem down, and keep your distance so that you can easily avoid it and the fire. Get hits in when you can, but don't be overzealous. Remember the Golem is invulnerable when it has the spark lit up inside its chest, and wait for it to wear off before you continue attacking. He should go down pretty quickly.

Third Platform

Enemies

• 1 Centaur
• 6? Wraiths (and spawned company)

Important Skills

• Amulet of Uroboros
• Stone of Orkos
• Ares/Hades Specialization
• Poseidon Specialization (optional)
• Zeus Specialization (optional)

Quick Tips

• Every attack can be blocked, except for one of the Centaur's close range attacks and his charge. The charge can be avoided through a Quick Time Event (QTE).
• The Centaur will always charge you if you're too far away (can be abused for the QTE).
• Parrying an attack from a Wraith gives you a grapple opportunity.
• Wraiths can be knocked off the edge.
• Killing a Wraith with a brutal kill or grappling them after a parry will give magic orbs.
• The spiked walls hurt you if you touch them.

Tactics

Let me start off by saying that evading (rolling) is a bad idea for this whole platform. Not only is there no point, since everything can be blocked, but it's a pretty small area with spiked walls that will damage you and give enemies an opportunity to hit you if you run into them.

You'll start this one by fighting the Centaur alone, which is pretty easy compared to everything you've already done. To make it easier, there are quite a few options. You can abuse his charge for the free QTE and use your Amulet/Stone in between. You can use Poseidon magic, which will keep him slowed for a while and make his attacks easy to block. Or you can just straight up fight him, which isn't very hard. Killing him with a brutal kill will give you a large amount of health orbs.

Lastly, you're going to fight a group of Wraiths. These guys will spawn a bunch of phantom Wraiths (different color), which can be overwhelming. Luckily, these spawns die quickly, allowing you to focus on the real one. I can't remember exactly because once I got here, I only fought them once, but I believe you never fight more than two or three Wraiths at a time. Start off with "The Combo" if you can, which should take care of one of the first two at least. I found the Zeus magic to be effective here, since it pulls everything toward you, but I think any magic would work here. Note that Wraiths can be knocked off the edge, so if you're in the right position, use Ares or Hades magic to do so. Use Ares blades in between, and be cautious with your attacks. Remember that everything can be blocked, and parries will get you a free grapple, which will give you more magic. Whenever you get enough magic again, use it (preferably within "The Combo"). If you don't have magic, keep using your Amulet/Stone, and get the Wraiths in the air for long combos if you can. Also, do your best to pull them out of the ground (with R1) as soon as possible. Once you kill all the Wraiths, you've done it!

Further Notes

• The Eyes of Truth (L2 + Circle) can also be used for some damage, although I did not use them at all. Feel free to pepper it in whenever you want.

• If you're using "The Combo" too much, you may not have enough magic for some of the recommended times. If this is the case, it's definitely possible to get through all of the second platform and the Centaur on platform three without using magic.

• Sometimes, when using the Stone, your shadow Kratos thinks you want him to kneel down in place. While this is annoying, I think the trick to making sure he fights is to hold down triangle when you use it. It seemed that if I just tapped triangle, he would kneel down, then disappear. It might also have to do with proximity to enemies.

• If you still have it, there is a Club that you may have picked up from just before this. This can be used to make any of the phases easier by using the jump + circle attack, then hitting circle twice more once on the ground again. The jump helps because once you're on the ground again, the "cooldown" of the attack disappears, so you get extra attacks from it. It's pretty easy to ring out an Amazon on the second platform with the Club.

• Overall, the main facets of God of War (and any game really) still apply. You have to be observant, quick, and adaptable to succeed. Learn your enemies attacks and when/how to react to them. Don't fight too many things at once (this is when you use "The Combo" to get rid of at least one), and pick when to capitalize on your opportunities.

• Most importantly, be patient! It may not be easy (it's not supposed to be!), but it's certainly not impossible.

Good luck!