Golden Fleece

Kratos with the Golden Fleece in God of War III.

“	This Golden Fleece has the power to deflect approaching weapons and thrust them back to those who deliver them.	”
–Gaia

The Golden Fleece was a powerful golden armlet, which once belonged to the Argonaut, Jason. Kratos defeated the Mole Cerberus that partially ate Jason and obtained the Golden Fleece.

Greek Mythology

In Greek Mythology, it was the literal fleece of a golden-haired, winged ram that was sired by Poseidon upon a Nymph named Theophane. It was retrieved by Jason of the Argonauts, as a show of proof to King Pelias that he was the rightful heir to the Throne of Iolcus in Thessaly.

God of War Series

Despite being referred to as an "armlet" in most in-game descriptions, the Golden Fleece was actually three pieces of armor: a small, curved plate that rested on Kratos's upper shoulder, a larger plate that covered his bicep, and a third plate that covered part of his forearm. When its counterattack abilities were used, the Fleece briefly surrounded Kratos in a golden aura, which imbued his weapons or coalesces into an energy ball for the counterattack.

God of War II

With the Golden Fleece, Kratos could block and counter enemy attacks, as well as absorb enemy projectiles and throw them back at his attackers. The Fleece was incredibly useful in situations involving large groups of enemies including Gorgons. If a Gorgon used its stone stare and Kratos successfully deflected it, every enemy on screen turned to stone, including the one who cast the attack.

Upon retrieving the Fleece from the Cerberus, Kratos used it to solve various puzzles on the Island of Creation, which mainly consisted of reflecting the beams of statues that blocked his path. The Fleece could also be a very useful item in fights against bosses such as Euryale's beams, Perseus' slingshots, Lahkesis' magic, Zeus' Thunderbolts, and even the Blade of Olympus.

God of War III

Kratos still wore the Golden Fleece and used it in the same way as the previous game. Kratos also no longer used the Blades of Athena at the beginning of the game to block enemy attacks and favored the Golden Fleece for protection. It was undamaged by his trip through the River Styx (unlike the Blades of Athena), although lost most of its abilities. The Fleece's growth was tied to the Blades of Exile, which gained new moves as the weapons leveled up. Like most of Kratos' items and weapons, excluding the Blades of Exile, the Blade of Olympus and the Boots of Hermes, the Fleece was finally destroyed when Zeus' Astral Form launched a surprise attack on the Ghost of Sparta.

Abilities

God of War II

• Argo's Return - Press L1 before being hit to reflect an attack, projectile, or beam. L1
• Argo's Revenge - After a successful parry, press Square to do a powerful counterattack, damaging all nearby enemies. L1 + square.

God of War III

• Argos Ram - Parry an enemy with the fleece and ram into them. L1 + square
• Argo's Rise - Parry an enemy with the fleece and send them flying straight up. L1 + triangle

Gallery

• Golden Fleece in Mortal Kombat 9
• Original retrieval
• Original design
• Deflecting projectiles with the Golden Fleece

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Trivia

• The Fleece was powerful enough to deflect a blow from the Blade of Olympus itself.
• During the God of War II Demo, the Fleece had a different model, which sported small spikes and only covered part of Kratos' arm. The original symbol on the Fleece was the 3D impression of a ram's head, instead of a ram's horns and instead of ripping it out from the Cerberus, Kratos took it from a pedestal.
  • That insinuated that the Mole Cerberus' boss battle was added later and wasn't part of the original plot.
• Interestingly, the Golden Fleece had a spot of blood on it in God of War III. The reasons for that were unknown, although that could be because the developers didn't have the necessary tools to make that spot appear in God of War II, and they had to abandon it. It was probably from Jason's arm, the Mole Cerberus' body, or any of the many bloody battles that Kratos participated in.
  • The shape of the blood splatter on the Golden Fleece changes between the original and Remastered versions of God of War III. This is most easily seen during the game's title screen.
• In God of War III, Zeus wore a similarly designed armlet on his left arm, which was somewhat fitting since Kratos wore the Golden Fleece on his right arm. It was very likely that this was Zeus' Aegis.
• Deimos wore an armlet that was similar to the Golden Fleece on his right shoulder.
• In God of War III, if you equipped the Nemean Cestus and used the Head of Helios, the fleece's forearm part was missing.
• Kratos also wore the Golden Fleece during his appearance in Mortal Kombat. Much like in God of War II and God of War III, it was able to reflect almost all forms of projectiles and countered against physical attacks.
• In God of War II, the segments of the Golden Fleece constantly clip into Kratos' character model, due to the fact they were not provided any rigging to properly flex with his shoulder and arm. This is most noticeable in cutscenes.
• In God of War II, during the cutscene when Kratos had a vision of his wife, Lysandra, the fleece was on his arm, but in one instance, the fleece was gone.
• In God of War III, the Golden Fleece still kept its power even after Kratos swam through the River Styx, but in a much lesser degree. As Kratos' Blades were Level 1, it only reflected projectiles and Gorgon beams. The power of the Fleece was more connected with his blades than it was in God of War II.
• The design that was seen in the two lower parts of the Golden Fleece resembled a pair of curved horns, which represented the ram who bore the fleece in the original mythology.
• The third section of the Golden Fleece disappeared in certain cutscenes.
• The Golden Fleece appeared in the God of War de-make, Bit of War.
• In God of War: Ascension, the Armor of Morpheus featured spaulders that resembled the Golden Fleece's demo design.
• In God of War (2018), during a vision in Helheim of Zeus' death, Kratos is seen wearing the Golden Fleece which was supposed to be destroyed by his father back then.

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