Introduction
If you have ever screamed at your screen during the Ares boss fight, you are not alone. Knowing how to beat Ares final boss God of War is one of the most searched topics among players who love the original PlayStation 2 classic. This fight is brutal, unforgiving, and honestly one of the best boss battles in gaming history.
The good news? You can absolutely win this fight. Once you understand how Ares moves, what attacks he throws, and how to use your abilities at the right moment, everything clicks into place. Knowing how to beat Ares final boss God of War stops being a mystery and starts feeling completely manageable.
In this article, you will get a full breakdown of the requirements, a step-by-step strategy, expert tips, and solutions to the most common problems players face. Whether you are playing for the first time or grinding through on a harder difficulty, this guide covers everything you need to destroy Ares and finish the game strong.
What You Need Before You Face Ares
Before you even think about how to beat Ares final boss God of War, your preparation matters. Walking into this fight underpowered is the fastest way to fail.
Gear and Upgrade Requirements
You need to enter the Ares fight with the following ready:
- Blades of Chaos at Level 5 or higher. Anything lower makes the damage output feel painfully slow.
- Poseidon’s Rage fully upgraded. This is your best crowd-clearing and damage-dealing magic ability in the fight.
- Zeus’s Fury available. Long-range options matter in certain phases of the fight.
- Army of Hades if possible. This deals massive damage and syncs well with the final phase.
- Health bar filled completely. Use all Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers you have collected.
- At least two full magic bars. Magic is your lifeline here.
If you skipped any upgrade chests earlier in the game, now is the time to regret it. There is no going back once the fight starts.
Difficulty Level Matters
How to beat Ares final boss God of War on Normal difficulty is very different from beating him on God Mode. On Normal, you have some room for error. On God Mode, one mistake can end your run. This guide focuses on Normal and Hard, with special notes for God Mode players.
Step-by-Step: How to Beat Ares Final Boss God of War
The Ares fight has three distinct phases. Each phase demands a different approach. Understanding all three is the key to knowing how to beat Ares final boss God of War without losing your mind.
Phase 1: The Open Arena Battle
When the fight begins, Ares stands in a massive open arena in Athens. This is the most straightforward phase. Here is exactly what to do:
Step 1: Stay aggressive but smart. Do not sit back and wait. Ares will charge you if you give him room. Move toward him and open with quick combo attacks from your Blades of Chaos. The L1 + Square combo works well here.
Step 2: Watch for the ground slam. Ares frequently slams the ground, sending a shockwave toward you. The moment you see him raise both arms, roll sideways. Never roll backward. Rolling to the side avoids the shockwave completely.
Step 3: Use Poseidon’s Rage when he is stunned. After landing a strong combo, Ares staggers briefly. That is your window. Activate Poseidon’s Rage immediately. This ability deals huge damage and gives you a few free seconds to breathe.
Step 4: Avoid the pillar throws. Ares grabs pillars and hurls them at you. When you see him reach toward a structure, sprint diagonally to one side. Never run straight. Straight movement gets you hit almost every time.
Step 5: Grab the Health Chests. Two or three red orb and health chests appear around the arena. Do not rush to grab them. Use them when your health drops below 50%. Hoarding them for the right moment is one of the smartest things you can do when figuring out how to beat Ares final boss God of War.
Step 6: Deal enough damage to trigger Phase 2. You need to drain roughly 40% of his health bar. Keep attacking, keep using magic at the right moments, and avoid his big moves. The phase shift triggers automatically.
Phase 2: The Nightmare Within Your Mind
This phase is where most players get completely lost. Ares transports Kratos into a surreal nightmare world. You find yourself protecting copies of your family while facing waves of enemies.
This is the hardest phase when learning how to beat Ares final boss God of War, and it requires a completely different strategy.
What happens in Phase 2: Ares sends multiple enemies to attack copies of your wife and daughter. If they die, you lose the phase and take heavy damage. You must kill the enemies before they reach your family.
Step 1: Focus on the enemies closest to your family first. Do not attack the farthest group. Prioritize the enemies that are already near your wife and daughter. Distance is everything here.
Step 2: Use Army of Hades immediately. If you have Army of Hades available, activate it the moment Phase 2 starts. It kills or damages large groups of enemies instantly. This single move can save your family in the first wave.
Step 3: Keep your combos short and wide. Use wide sweeping attacks that hit multiple enemies at once. Long single-target combos let other enemies slip past you. The Cyclone of Chaos (L1 + Square, hold) is excellent for crowd control.
Step 4: Ignore your own health temporarily. In Phase 2, your family’s survival matters more than your health bar. Accept a few hits if it means killing enemies faster. You can recover health in Phase 3.
Step 5: Watch both sides of the arena. Enemies come from multiple directions. Stay in the center when possible so you can reach either side quickly.
Step 6: Survive three waves. Phase 2 involves roughly three waves of enemies. After the third wave, Phase 3 triggers. Stay calm, keep moving, and prioritize the enemies near your family every single time.
Phase 3: The True Final Showdown
Phase 3 brings you back to the arena. Ares is still powerful but now fights without the environmental tricks. This is your chance to finish him. Most players who master how to beat Ares final boss God of War describe Phase 3 as surprisingly manageable once you reach it.
Step 1: Equip the Blade of the Gods. The game hands you the Blade of the Gods at the start of Phase 3. This weapon deals massive damage. Use it as your primary weapon for the rest of the fight.
Step 2: Stay patient and wait for his combos to end. Ares throws out long multi-hit combo sequences. Do not try to attack during them. Block or dodge until he finishes. Then punish him hard with your own combo.
Step 3: Use the Blade of the Gods special attack freely. The Blade of the Gods has a special move that deals devastating damage. Use it every time it is available. It is one of the strongest tools in learning how to beat Ares final boss God of War.
Step 4: Grab those health orbs aggressively now. You probably have health chests scattered around the arena. Use them now. Phase 3 is your last fight. Do not save anything.
Step 5: Keep your combo multiplier high. Higher combo multipliers mean more red orbs, which replenish your magic. Keep attacking to maintain the multiplier and refuel your magic in the process.
Step 6: Land the finishing sequence. When Ares reaches very low health, a QTE (Quick Time Event) sequence triggers. Follow the button prompts carefully and quickly. Miss them and you lose a big chunk of damage. Hit them all and you finish the fight.
Tips and Tricks for Beating Ares
Beyond the step-by-step process, these tips make a real difference when you are learning how to beat Ares final boss God of War.
Roll sideways, never back. Backward rolls put you in the path of follow-up attacks. Sideways rolls get you to safety almost every time.
Never spam one attack. Ares counters repetitive patterns. Mix up your combos to keep him off balance.
Use magic as damage, not as a panic move. Players waste magic when they are desperate. Use it when Ares is stunned for maximum damage output.
Take breaks between attempts. This sounds obvious but matters. Frustration makes you sloppy. A five-minute break resets your focus.
Replay Phase 2 mentally before attempting it. Phase 2 is pure chaos on your first attempt. Once you understand the enemy spawn points, it becomes much easier to manage.
On God Mode, block more and attack less. Ares hits significantly harder on God Mode. Patient play beats aggressive play at higher difficulties.
Common Problems Players Face
Even with a solid strategy, certain problems come up again and again when players try to figure out how to beat Ares final boss God of War.
Problem 1: Dying in Phase 2 repeatedly. Most players lose here more than anywhere else. The enemy waves feel overwhelming and your family dies too quickly.
Problem 2: Running out of magic in Phase 1. Using magic too early means you have nothing left for later phases. Many players burn through their magic bar in the first few minutes.
Problem 3: Missing QTE inputs in Phase 3. The Quick Time Event prompts appear fast. Players who miss them lose huge amounts of damage at a critical moment.
Problem 4: Getting cornered in the open arena. Ares is fast and aggressive. Players who back into corners get trapped and take massive damage.
Problem 5: Entering the fight with low health. Some players walk into the Ares fight already hurt from earlier sections. Starting with a depleted health bar makes an already hard fight nearly impossible.
Solutions to Every Major Problem
Solution 1: Center yourself in Phase 2. Stand in the absolute center of the arena during Phase 2. This puts you equidistant from all spawn points. Use sweeping attacks instead of targeted ones. Army of Hades is your best friend.
Solution 2: Save Poseidon’s Rage for Ares himself. Do not use magic on the pillar debris or smaller threats in Phase 1. Save Poseidon’s Rage specifically for those moments when Ares staggers. You get at least three or four of those windows in Phase 1 alone.
Solution 3: Slow down when QTE prompts appear. The QTE prompts feel fast but they are more forgiving than they look. Take one breath, watch for the button icon, and press calmly. Panicking causes missed inputs more than anything else.
Solution 4: Keep moving in circles. Circling Ares continuously prevents you from getting cornered. Move counterclockwise around him during his big attacks. This keeps the entire arena available to you.
Solution 5: Use Medusa’s Gaze on the way to Ares. If you have Medusa’s Gaze available, the enemies just before the Ares fight can be used to farm a bit of health. Take your time on the path to the final encounter.
Why This Boss Fight Is So Iconic
Knowing how to beat Ares final boss God of War also means appreciating what makes this fight special. It is not just a big health bar. It is a story moment wrapped inside a mechanical challenge. Ares attacks you through your worst memories. Phase 2 makes you fight for your family, which connects directly to Kratos’s entire motivation throughout the game.
The designers made this fight deliberately personal. When you finally destroy Ares, it does not just feel like a gameplay victory. It feels like a story conclusion. That combination of meaning and difficulty is why players still talk about how to beat Ares final boss God of War more than two decades after the game released.
Conclusion
Learning how to beat Ares final boss God of War comes down to preparation, phase awareness, and patience. You need to enter the fight upgraded, save your magic for the right moments, protect your family during Phase 2, and unleash everything you have in Phase 3 with the Blade of the Gods.
This fight challenged millions of players when the game launched in 2005, and it still challenges newcomers today. But it is absolutely beatable. Every player who has figured out how to beat Ares final boss God of War will tell you the same thing: the moment you finally destroy him is one of gaming’s most satisfying experiences.
Now go finish the fight. Kratos would not have it any other way.
Have you beaten Ares already, or are you still working through it? Drop your experience in the comments and let other players know which phase gave you the most trouble.
FAQs: How to Beat Ares Final Boss God of War
Q1: What is the hardest part of the Ares boss fight? Most players agree that Phase 2 is the hardest section. Protecting your family from waves of enemies while managing your own position is extremely challenging on your first attempt.
Q2: What level should my Blades of Chaos be before fighting Ares? You want your Blades of Chaos at Level 5 or higher. Lower levels make the fight much longer and harder than it needs to be.
Q3: Which magic ability is best for the Ares fight? Poseidon’s Rage is the strongest option overall. Army of Hades is essential for Phase 2. Bring both if possible.
Q4: Does difficulty level change how Ares fights? Yes. On higher difficulties, Ares deals more damage and takes less damage from your attacks. His move patterns stay the same but your margin for error shrinks significantly.
Q5: How do I avoid the ground slam attack? Roll sideways the moment Ares raises both arms above his head. Rolling to the side avoids the shockwave. Rolling backward often puts you directly in the path of follow-up attacks.
Q6: What is the Blade of the Gods and when do I get it? The Blade of the Gods is a special weapon given to Kratos at the start of Phase 3. It deals massive damage and is your primary weapon for finishing the fight.
Q7: Can I farm health before the Ares fight? Yes. Use enemies on the path to the final arena to collect red health orbs. Do not enter the fight with a depleted health bar if you can avoid it.
Q8: How many phases does the Ares fight have? The Ares boss fight has three phases. The open arena battle, the nightmare family protection section, and the final showdown with the Blade of the Gods.
Q9: Is there a trick to the QTE sequence at the end? Stay calm and watch for the button icons carefully. The prompts are more forgiving than they feel. Players who rush or panic miss them most often.
Q10: How long does the Ares fight take on average? The Ares fight can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 45 minutes depending on your skill level and preparation. With solid preparation, most players finish it within two or three attempts.
Author Bio
Johan Harwen is a gaming journalist and walkthrough writer with over 12 years of experience covering action, RPG, and adventure titles. He has written strategy guides for dozens of major releases and holds a particular passion for PlayStation classics. When he is not breaking down boss fights, Jake streams on Twitch and contributes to several gaming publications. Follow him for more in-depth guides, reviews, and gaming deep-dives.
Also read aresgodofwar.co.uk
Email: johanharwen314@gmail.com
Author Name: Johan Harwen
