Rage Ability

Rage Abilities are powers that allow Kratos to gain greater strength and durability in his battles, whenever needed in the God of War series (not used in God of War: Chains of Olympus).

In the God of War Series

God of War: Ascension

In God of War: Ascension, the rage ability has a different mechanism from the other games. Instead of slowly charging and remaining charged until used, the rage meter in Ascension fills very quickly but also depletes if Kratos stops attacking or takes damage. The ability is summoned the same way that it was on previous games, but it has different effects, depending on the elemental power used along with the Blades of Chaos. It can be upgraded to make the meter double its size, and increase the power used.

God of War

Rage of the Gods

“	Let the rage of the gods drive your blades, Kratos!	”
–Athena

In God of War, Kratos gains the Rage of the Gods ability after leveling up his Blades of Chaos to level 2. Once it is obtained, there will be an icon in the bottom corner of the screen that appears as a Spartan helmet. The plume of the helmet is the Rage of the Gods meter. Once the meter is full, the Rage of Gods can be activated by pressing the R3 and L3 buttons simultaneously. Kratos becomes greatly empowered; his attacks deal greater damage, while he receives minimal damage.

Unlike later games, once the Rage of the Gods is activated, it cannot be turned off early to save the remaining charge for later. Kratos will always remain enraged until the meter is completely drained.

By leveling up the Blades of Chaos, the Rage of the Gods' effects become greater and it also gains new abilities.

God of War II

Rage of the Titans

“	Let the rage of the titans fuel your blades, Kratos!	”
–Gaia

After Kratos frees Prometheus from his torment on Typhon's mountain, the latter burns in the Fires of Olympus and Gaia then gives the former his ashes. This grants Kratos the Rage of the Titans ability.

The player can activate the power by pressing L3 and R3 at once, similar to the Rage of the Gods ability. When activated, Kratos once again gets empowered; his attacks do twice as much damage, and he only receives half amount of damage from enemies. He is also immune to any side effects caused by creatures that would affect Kratos in his default state, like being knocked back by attacks. Therefore, his attacks can never be interrupted when on Rage Mode.

Later in the game, just before Kratos fights the Kraken, Gaia gives him the flames that destroyed Sparta, which greatly strengthen the power of the Rage of the Titans, tripling damage inflicted and reducing enemy damage to one fourth.

Upon obtaining the Rage of the Titans ability, an icon in the form of a Greek centurion's helmet will appear at the right bottom of the screen, and the plume of the helmet represents Kratos' Rage of the Titans meter. While Rage of the Titans is active, the meter is continually drained. It can then be replenished by battling with great skill, or by obtaining Gold Orbs.

Unlike Rage of the Gods, this ability may be activated at any time, so long as the meter is partially filled, and can be turned off at the player's discretion without the meter draining completely.

God of War III

Rage of Sparta

“	Let the rage of Sparta fuel your blade, Kratos!	”
–Athena

Rage of Sparta is the new rage ability gained after Kratos retrieves the Blade of Olympus in the underworld.

The Rage Meter can be filled by collecting Gold Orbs, taking damage, and building large Combos. Activating it will break enemy dogpiles and un-petrify Kratos and stun nearby enemies. In order to prevent the player from abusing it, activation drains an 1/8th of the meter. When active, Kratos uses the Blade of Olympus exclusively, and it prohibits the use of Magic, jumping and blocking. Other effects of the Rage are: rate of movement increase, limited invincibility, enemies that successfully strike Kratos take damage, and Kratos will automatically push enemies out of his way while running. The camera zooms in slightly, and a blue filter is placed over the environment. Kratos' tattoo and his enemies glow red.

Finding Zeus' Eagle inside of Gaia grants Kratos the ability to use Rage of Sparta without any time constraints in Bonus Play.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta

Thera's Bane

Thera's Bane is the new rage ability gained after Kratos frees the Titan Thera in a volcano under the city of Atlantis.

The Rage Meter, called the Fire meter in the game, is refilled automatically similar to the items meter featured in God of War III. Activating it will infuse Kratos' Blades of Athena with flames, causing limited invincibility and increased attack damage. The ability is also used to overcome environmental obstacles. During the final fight against Thanatos, Deimos is killed, enraging Kratos to an inhuman level, thus the ability is automatically activated in the cut scene and becomes infinite until Thanatos is defeated.

The Fire Meter can be upgraded by finding fifteen Minotaur Horns hidden on neutral-colored chests.

God of War (2018)

Spartan Rage

Once Kratos has done enough damage to his enemies, or if Kratos' son, Atreus, is in immediate danger, Kratos can use Spartan Rage.

Kratos puts away his Leviathan Axe and his Blades of Chaos, using his fists for the whole duration of the Spartan Rage. His melee damage is greatly increased, and he takes less damage. His life also regenerates as he strikes enemies. He first uses this ability while fighting The Stranger near the beginning of the game, when he threatens to harm Atreus.

Spartan Rage can be upgraded by finding the Horns of Blood Mead.

God of War Ragnarök

Spartan Rage

Spartan Rage now has four variants: Fury (the default from 2018), Valor, Wrath and Legacy.

• Valor consumes a chunk of Spartan Rage to regenerate health.
• Wrath consumes a chunk of Spartan Rage to charge down an enemy with the current weapon, dealing a large amount of damage.
• Legacy produces the Blade of Olympus. Introduced in Valhalla, it can be brought over to NG+.

Trivia

• The name of the Rage Ability that Kratos uses throughout the series changes depending on whom he is currently aligned with:
  • In the first game (God of War), the ability is called Rage of the Gods due to his allegiance with the Gods. When he is loyal to the Titans (God of War II), the ability is renamed Rage of the Titans.
  • When he is loyal to no greater authority (God of War III, God of War Ragnarök, and God of War (2018)), the ability is renamed Rage of Sparta and Spartan Rage, respectively.
  • Thera's Bane is named after the Titan Thera (God of War: Ghost of Sparta).

Gallery

Rage of the Gods logo.

Kratos during Rage of Sparta's activation.