How to Beat Ares in God of War

Part 1

• 1

  Press the "L3" and "R3" buttons simultaneously to activate your "Rage of the Gods." This will allow you to deal more damage, and will also lessen the damage dealt to you.

• 2

  Press "L2" to use your magic attacks against Ares. Army of Hades and Poseidon's Rage are both good choices to deal damage.

• 3

  Point the right analog stick in the direction you want to roll, in order to dodge the attacks from Ares. Press the "Square" and "Triangle" buttons to counter-attack, dealing damage with your blades.

• 4

  Press "O" near Ares when prompted. This prompt will appear over his head when his life bar, located at the top-right corner of the screen, is depleted. Press the buttons that appear on the screen to defeat Ares.

Part 2

• 5

  Attack Ares using the sword's special abilities (the sword is given to you automatically once you defeat Ares in Part 1). Hold "L1" and press either the "X," "Triangle," "Square," or "Circle" buttons to perform special attacks with the sword.

• 6

  Press and hold "L1" by itself to block the attacks of Ares with the sword.

• 7

  Damage Ares to raise the health of Kratos. At the top of the screen, both life bars have merged to become one.

• 8

  Press "Circle" near Ares when the circle prompt appears over his head. This prompt will appear after he has received three to four hits in succession with your sword. Follow the on-screen prompts to deal extra damage to Ares during this prompt.

• 9

  Raise the health of Kratos all the way to the right to defeat Ares. Once Kratos's health is full, a cutscene will play automatically, showing Ares as defeated.