God of War 2

The Summit of Sacrifice

BOSS: ZEUS

Now it's time to finish that battle from earlier where Zeus had an unfair advantage. For this battle, Kratos will have the Blade of Olympus equipped.

Attacks (Phase #1):

Tremor: Zeus holds both arms out to the side then pounds on the side of the platform creating a tremor throughout the entire platform.
How to avoid: Double jump and glide.

Thunderbolt Toss: Zeus tosses a thunderbolt directly toward either the middle or one of the side areas of the platform. The resulting tremor from the thunderbolt is the portion of the attack that can actually hit Kratos.
How to avoid: Roll or jump.

Platform Pound: Zeus will slam his hand into the platform after being stunned by a Siren.
How to avoid: Roll or jump.

The battle will start with Zeus in giant form. He will place both hands on the summit that you are on and summon Sirens to attack you. Little does he know that the Sirens will be used to Kratos' advantage. Weaken the Sirens with Cronos' Rage or just use Trembling Earth with Atlas Quake to quickly make the icons appear over their heads. Grab a Siren to finish it off. As Kratos kills off each Siren, its piercing scream will stun Zeus and make him pound the platform. Keep in mind that the shockwave from the platform pound can hit you so be ready to jump or roll. Run up to his hand and hit it with the Blade of Olympus. The Sirens can really cause you to take damage if they stun you with one of their screams, so always try to defeat them quickly.

Keep in mind that magic is not an issue during this battle since the Sirens will release blue orbs upon death and Zeus will release blue orbs after being stunned from a Siren scream. Kratos is invulnerable during the Siren's death animation (once he grabs them) or during the use of Trembling Earth with Atlas Quake, so be sure to use these factors to your advantage.

Once Zeus's arm falls to the platform and an icon appears rush up to him to start an action sequence.

Attacks (Phase #2)

Punch Combo: Zeus rushes toward Kratos and performs two punches to the gut then holds both hands upwards and lets loose an earth shattering overhead. Sometimes he will perform a sliding punch to start this combination.
How to avoid: Block (first 2 punches of the combo only), roll, or deflect (first two punches only).

Sliding Punch: Zeus leans over and charges a punch then slides toward Kratos with a punch to the gut. If this connects, he will go right into his punch combo.
How to avoid: Roll or deflect (You CANNOT block this).

Thunderbolt: Zeus holds up a thunderbolt in his hand then hurls two thunderbolts at Kratos.
How to avoid: Roll or deflect (deflection is highly recommended).

Thunderbolt Wave: Zeus holds up both hands and collects lightening charge from the heavens then pounds the ground in front of him before sending out a thunderbolt wave.
How to avoid: Block (thunderbolt wave only), jump, roll, deflect (thunderbolt wave only)

Zeus will shrink down to Kratos' size for this battle, but he is much more deadly this time around. His attacks are very quick at this time and only some portions of each move are unblockable. When he darts in with a combo, block the first two hits and roll away from the ground pound. When he collects lightening from the sky, back off and block or jump over the thunderbolt wave that he sends toward you. Kratos can deflect his normal thunderbolts and gain some orbs in return; otherwise, get ready to roll away and possibly get hit as Zeus throws them. Keep in mind that his thunderbolts will be his main move when you are mid distance from him. Deflection MUST be used on higher difficulties.

Zeus will be dodging back and forth the whole time between attacks. It is a good idea to place Cronos' Rage orbs around the area to stop him from his dodging then hit him while he is stunned. You can literally trap him with this magic so Cronos' Rage will be your best magic for this battle. Have it maxed out if you have the spare red orbs. Zeus is still fairly easy to hit even without the use of magic, though you must watch as he prepares an attack since normal attacks will not stun him that often.

Zeus will eventually unleash a whole bunch of orbs then he will grab Kratos and steal the Blade of Olympus from Kratos' grasp.

Fun Fact: Zeus has to hit Kratos with his sliding punch in order to steal the Blade of Olympus from him. If you can continue to dodge this move, he will keep performing his sliding punch in an attempt to steal the blade.

Attacks (Phase #3)

Sword Swing Combo: Zeus will swing the Blade of Olympus twice as he moves toward Kratos (one upward swing, one horizontal swing).
How to avoid: Block, roll, or deflect.

Lightening Slice: Zeus will hold his sword toward the heavens and charge it with energy then swing it downward at Kratos as it unleashes a lightening wave.
How to avoid: Roll.

Jumping Overhead Swing: Zeus will jump toward Kratos and perform an overhead strike that sends a wave of lightening at him.
How to avoid: Roll.

Lightening Shot: Zeus extends his blade toward Kratos and holds it in place for a few seconds then swings the blade and sends a lightening shot towards Kratos.
How to avoid: Roll.

Kratos is forced to use his Athena's Blades during the bout. It doesn't matter though, because Cronos' Rage will still keep Zeus just as stunned as it did back then. All of his moves except for the blade combo require Kratos to roll in order to avoid taking damage so I would recommend that you keep your thumb close to that right analog for this portion of the battle. Zeus will block while he has the blade in his grasp so you will be forced to hit him while he recovers from his moves a bunch in order to hit him most of the time, but this is not always required. When he weakens, he will stagger forward and swing the blade blindly (this can hit you) then a O button icon will appear above his head. Run toward him and press the button to steal the Blade of Olympus back from him.

Kratos will kick Zeus into the pillars off to the side. Run over to the set of pillars that Kratos kicked Zeus into and press R1 near the shiny portion of the pillar to the side of Zeus.

The battle will continue the same way it was at the beginning with Kratos fighting Zeus at normal size while Kratos has the Blade of Olympus. The same tactics work here as they did in the prior battle with the Blade of Olympus. Zeus will once again steal the Blade of Olympus after he releases several orbs. He will summon lightening spheres around himself and these will hit Kratos if he comes in contact with Zeus or if he tries to hit Zeus. Unleash Rage of the Titans at this point and attack Zeus. Zeus will release several orbs once again and stagger. An icon will appear signaling you to press the O button near him. The same Action Sequence will appear as the last time (with a different ending mind you). Zeus will fly toward the pillars on the other side of the platform. Rush over to the shiny pillar during that time and press the R1 button to finish this phase of the battle.

Phase #4

Kratos will be free to move once again as Zeus flies off the platform and emerges in giant form once again. When Zeus starts to electrify the entire platform an action sequence will trigger.

A cutscene will start right after the action sequence.