After spending a great deal of time in God of War: Ascension over the last 24 hours, it’s apparent that much of this game can be completed without a guide, considering it’s very, very linear. However, there are some tricks and tips that can help make this platinum a little bit easier—even though there are some rough patches throughout.
Most of the 35 trophies can be obtained by simply playing through the game, so I won’t waste your valuable game-playing time with those. Instead, I’ll cover the tricky ones that can benefit from a little know-how.
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If it ain’t broke…, no Drake. You can’t have these, The Eyes have it, and Light as a Feather
These are all collection trophies, and since Ascension is very linear, there’s really no need to help with these too much. However, I will implore: don’t always follow the path that the camera indicates. Quite often, there is a little niche right out of sight that holds Gorgon Eyes, Phoenix Feathers, secret items, and Red Orb chests. The game is filled with invisible walls, so you’ll immediately know if there is or isn’t something hidden just off-screen. You spent a bunch of money on the game, so you might as well explore.
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop. BadBoy!
‘1000-hit combo? That’s ridiculous!’ Nope, it’s not. In fact, you don’t even have to fight to get this trophy. Be mindful once you reach the Foot of Apollo. There will be a point where you have to traverse a little wall-climb sequence that has you ultimately shimmy left into a little cubbyhole in the rock. Once inside, you’ll see a square block with a white interaction orb. Instead of pressing R1 to move it, activate Zeus’ Lightning magic, holding L1 and mashing Square until the combo count reaches 1000. Believe me, it’s that easy, and I did it spoiler-free.
Unleashed, Swinger, Tools of the Trade
One unique aspect of Ascension is that five enemy weapons can be used throughout the game to deal death in various ways. All you need to do for these trophies is use these environmental weapons a bunch, and make sure that you’re using all of them. Who doesn’t love a little variety, right?
Lubed Up, Fireproof
These are two specific areas in the game with trophies that require Kratos to survive while not taking any damage. The trophy descriptions are specific, and I don’t really want to fill this write-up with spoilers. I can tell you, though, that the Lubed Up slide sequence is late in the game. It has a LOT of twists and turns on tight, narrow curves, and it’s the only one like it. And Fireproof will be obvious, because the elevator that you need to use will have fire jets in it.
Maybe you should call a Doctor?
You may likely get this through natural progression, but it’s a bit harder than it looks, considering Ascension’s changes to the Rage system. You have to keep the meter filled for two minutes, and that requires not taking any damage and keeping up a steady stream of damage yourself. What I recommend is pursuing this trophy while fighting any pair of Talos enemies, wherever you can find a pair. Take care of one of them, and then damage the second one until that welcoming red indicator pops up over his head. However, don’t deal the final blow. Instead, do a hit or two in lengthy intervals to keep your meter up, and then let him stand up. Proceed to hit him until the red indicator appears again, then rinse and repeat until the trophy pops. This works because the Talos enemy requires a kill sequence to kill it.
Legendary Warrior
This will be the hardest thing you ever do. Well, maybe not, but not destroying your controller might be the hardest thing. Fights become self-explanatory, especially if you take this difficulty on your second playthrough. One hefty strategy is to utilize the immunity that I mention in detail in my feature on the game itself, because some of these fights become quite one-sided with certain enemy configurations. The hardest part of earning this trophy will likely fall during the Gauntlet of Apollo. Leading up to this point, acclimate yourself to the way that dodging works in Ascension, and don’t forget that parrying will block all basic abilities that don’t grapple or aren’t magic-based. Kratos’ grapple ability will grab and throw enemies, dealing damage to foes and keeping Kratos alive. Enemy attacks don’t necessarily take large chunks of health out of your health bar, but they add up and they can add up very, very fast. Good luck.
This doesn’t cover a lot of trophies, because most of them are built around Ascension’s narrative and the events that take place during it. There is one trophy for multiplayer, but all you have to do is complete the multiplayer training. After all this, and after beating the game on Hard, the platinum trophy will be yours. Hopefully, I will have mine before then.