“ | Impossible. How can a mortal defeat Satyrs? | ” |
Satyrs are creatures from Greek myth.
In Greek Mythology[]
They are depicted as having the upper body of a man and the horns and back legs of a goat. They were the companions of Pan and Dionysus, and known for drinking wine, chasing Nymph and general drunken chaos, beastliness and mischief.
In the God of War Series[]
Throughout the God of War games, Satyrs have stood as the most formidable opponents in each iteration, able to go toe-to-toe with Kratos and make short work of him if the Spartan is not careful in battle. In this series, the Satyrs are also depicted as having goat-like heads as well as claws. They range from small, tall, and even bulky.
Ascension[]
Satyr General[]
In God of War: Ascension, there is a new type of Satyr known as the Satyr Captain. These are much larger than the normal Satyrs encountered throughout the series and boast incredible strength, however their size makes them less acrobatic. They are able to coordinate the lesser Satyrs and command them to attack Kratos, similar to the Centaur General with the Olympus Sentries and Legionnaires in God of War III. They possess a large sword which they use to knock the player a considerable distance away, and also wield a grappling hook which they can use to pull Kratos towards them and then stab and slam it down twice on the ground for further damage. They have a larger amount of stamina, making it a very formidable opponent to Kratos.
If stunned (golden halo on its head), Kratos can grab it by the horns, spin it around to hit any other nearby enemy and finally throw it away. When weakened, Kratos can finish it by punching the beast, then slamming its head to the ground, after which he takes the creature's sword, cuts its legs off then impales it in the abdomen, effectively killing it.
Multiplayer: In Trial of the Gods, they can be fought in the maps Rotunda of Olympus, Desert of Lost Souls and The Tower of Delphi, always accompanied by lesser Satyrs or Satyr Commanders. Each Satyr General kill is worth 35 favors (not counting with extra favors from brutal kills) and +10 seconds. Here, they're much less cooperative and usually fight by their own rather than coordinating their fellows against players. Also, they will perform evasive moves almost every time they're attacked, which makes them much harder to hit than in Singleplayer.
Lesser Satyr[]
Lesser Satyr, or simply Satyr, are smaller and more acrobatic satyrs and also the most common enemies in the game. They are about the same size of Kratos and don't seem to present a big threat to him, unless they are encountered in large numbers or with a Satyr General, which can command them to attack Kratos and make them more strategic in battle.
Their size allows them to leap to any direction quickly, however their acrobatic skills don't seem to be as good as the ones that the satyrs of other games possess. Also due to their size, Kratos can grapple, swing and throw them away easily with his blades.
Satyrs are one of the few enemies who can carry and pick up world weapons in the game, the other ones being Satyr Commanders and Megaera's Minions. Due to this and to the fact that they are found very often, disarming a Satyr and picking up their weapon is the easiest way to acquire world weapons in the game.
When they're carrying a world weapon, they become a greater threat, and disarming them is always recommended. A Satyr carrying a shield, for example, can't be harmed until it's been pulled from its hands, unless a very powerful attack is used (notice that shielded Satyrs tend to carry swords as well, which they will use if they lose their shield).
A disarmed Satyr will only attack by running and leaping at Kratos to strike him with their hooves, which is a relatively slow and weak attack. Sometimes, Satyrs will also try to grab Kratos. They'll stretch out their arms a second before leaping on his direction, which makes this attack easy to notice and to evade. If one of them succeeds in grabbing Kratos, it will choke him from behind by involving his throat with its arms, and won't stop until the warrior manages to break free. If he does so, he will slam his elbow against the Satyr to make it release him, grab its horns and toss it over his shoulder. Apparently, a Satyr is more likely to execute the grab attack when it's among a large group of enemies, such as other Satyrs, probably because it's more difficult to notice one of them stretching out its arms before executing the move in these situations. Also, they can only do this if they're disarmed.
Satyrs are sometimes found with a light white armor, and can't be harmed until it's destroyed. Armored Satyrs use the same moves and strategies as normal ones, and are killed the same way, but the protection given by the equipment allows them to stay alive for a much longer time, which makes them more dangerous. They also can't be grappled until their armor is removed.
If stunned, Kratos can grab them to use their bodies as a battling ram, running around and hitting other enemies with them, and then will throw them away. If Circle is pressed while Kratos is still running around with one of them, he will throw it away instantly. If Kratos reaches a wall while running with them, he will slam its head strongly against it twice, killing it, or even more times if Circle is tapped. After being weakened by Kratos, a red halo will appear above their heads, indicating he can start a quick time event. Kratos kills them by throwing them on the floor and ripping off their heads or by lifting them up with both hands and tearing them in a half. It's impossible to choose the finishing move to be performed.
Death scene: If Kratos runs out of health while being choked by a Satyr, the beast will throw him to the ground. The warrior will still try to stand up, but the Satyr will grab his head and slam it against the ground and finally stomp on his head with one of its hooves, killing him.
Multiplayer: In Trial of the Gods, Satyrs can be found in every map and almost every round. Each Satyr kill is worth 25 favors (35 or 40 if brutally killed) and +2 seconds. They keep the same moves and strategies (except the grab move), although some of their weapon attacks are unblockable. Here, it's impossible to disarm any of them, and they'll die holding their weapon, unless it's a shield, which can still be pulled off from their hands, but is destroyed in the process. If a player hits a shielded Satyr with a club while it attacks with the weapon, its shield will also be instantly destroyed.
Notice that most of the times, if a Satyr is grabbed when it has a golden halo on its head, the red halo will not appear later and it will be impossible to execute it brutally, so if one of them is stunned with the golden halo, the best thing to do is keep on hitting it until the red one appears, as the brutal kill yields more points. While using them as battling rams, hitting them against a wall to slam their heads against it doesn't count as a brutal kill. Another important note is that if a Satyr is being brutally killed and a harpy hits the player by diving on him, the brutal kill will be canceled, so it's important to watch out for harpies while executing them.
Satyr Commander[]
Satyr Commanders are elite Satyr warriors that appear in the island of Delos. They are found much more rarely than the regular Satyrs, but replace them in Delos Landing, where the demo took place, and are also found in other parts of the island.
The blue armor they use offers them a much greater protection than the light armor worn by some of the Lesser Satyrs, and removing this armor requires a much longer time. Like the armored regular Satyrs, they can't be grappled by Kratos until this armor is removed. A specific puzzle in the Statue of Apollo required him to shatter their armors and then grapple and throw them into a large bonfire to progress. After they lose their armors, they rely much more on evasive moves, usually attempting to leap away from Kratos' attacks.
Besides being able to execute any of the normal Satyrs' attacks (including their grab-and-choke move), their elite skills allow them to perform even more combos with world weapons than their brethren, and these combos are much more deadly. It's also much harder to take their weapons, and rarely the typical Spartan Kick attack works to disarm them. To make matters worse, they're almost always found carrying weapons. Although they can presumably use and pick up any world weapon of the game, like the Lesser Satyrs, a Satyr Commander carrying a shield is never seen.
They are killed the same way as the default Satyrs and, if stunned, they're used as battling rams as well.
Multiplayer: In Trial of the Gods, they can be found in the Desert of Lost Souls, Coliseum of Persia and Labyrinth of Daedalus maps. Despite being much more experienced and harder to kill than the regular Satyrs, the amount of favors and time gained when they're killed are the same. They're always found carrying either swords or clubs, and most of their attacks can't be blocked. Once again, they can't be disarmed in this mode.
Their armors are much weaker in Multiplayer so that players can have a chance to destroy them and kill their owners in time. A player with certain amount of Physical Power is capable of shattering their armor with a single charged club attack. However, to make up for this disadvantage, they evade much more often: whenever a player tries to attack them, they leap away from the attack and try to counter, both before and after their armors are removed. The best thing to do is attacking them when they're about to perform an attack as well, and then evade their attack. They also can't evade magic or the charged attack of a club.
Chains of Olympus[]
Two-Sai Satyr[]
Satyrs also appear in God of War: Chains of Olympus. They look slightly different than the Satyrs in the previous God of War games, being a little smaller and more goat-like. Kratos mostly encounters them around the Temple of Helios. As weapons, they wield two sai, and attack with fast leaping strikes. Kratos can damage them by grabbing them, and then throwing them over his shoulder on the ground. After doing enough damage to them, he can grab them from behind, and cut their throat to kill them. A more powerful version called the Dark Satyr is also found in the Underworld.
Dark Satyr[]
They resemble the standard Satyrs encountered earlier in the game, except they have black skin and a skullish head. Kratos encounters them in the Underworld, within the Temple of Persephone. They also fight the same way as the standard Satyrs, except they are stronger and more aggressive. After doing enough damage, Kratos can kill them the same way as the standard Satyr as well.
Satyr Grenadier[]
Satyr Grenadiers are like the standard Satyr, except they carry a flask full of explosive material. They attack Kratos by keeping their distance and lobbing their explosive flasks at him. The Satyrs are also extremely hardy in relevance to the amount of damage they can take from Kratos himself. Kratos can damage and kill Satyr Grenadiers the same way he does for the standard Satyrs. These beasts are mainly encountered in and around the Temple of Helios. There's also a stronger version in the Underworld called a Dark Satyr Grenadier.
Dark Satyr Grenadier[]
Dark Satyr Grenadiers appear similar to the Satyr Grenadiers encountered earlier in the game, except that they have blackened skin, and a skullish head. Kratos encounters these foes in the Underworld, within the Temple of Persephone. Their attack styles are like the standard Satyr Grenadier, except they're even more aggressive and stronger. After doing enough damage to them, Kratos can kill them the same way he kills a standard Satyr.
God of War (2005)[]
Satyr[]
Satyrs are very talented warriors and are armed with a double-bladed staff which can be broken down when needed into two separate sword-like axes. Kratos encounters these enemies mainly in the Cliffs of Madness.
If Kratos grabs them, he can damage them by stabbing them in the head, and throwing them to the ground. Then, after being weakened, he can beat them to the ground with an uppercut in the face, take their staff, and use it to brutally impale them in the stomach.
Hades Satyr[]
Kratos encounters eleven of these monsters as the last obstacles to escape from the depths of Hades with only two appearing at a time. They resemble the standard Satyr, except they're wreathed in hellish flames. They also have the same strength, weapon, and fighting styles as the standard Satyr.
Ghost of Sparta[]
Two-Sai Satyr[]
The same Satyrs from Chains of Olympus return, but only their standard version appears, and not Dark Satyrs or Satyr Grenadiers. They are first found within the Jails of Sparta, locked within a cell that opens automatically when Kratos enters the room. Later, they're also found in some mountains before the Temple of Ares, near the Canyons of Sorrow and even in the Domain of Death.
They keep the same attacks from Chains of Olympus, and now have a new one in which they slide on the floor. If one of them reaches Kratos when sliding, it will quickly leap over him and stab the lower part of his backs, effectively taking him down. This attack cannot be blocked.
Kratos can grab and throw them over his shoulders just like in Chains of Olympus, and then kill a weakened Satyr by slitting its throat with one of his blades the same way. But a special kill can be performed if they're killed during a Hyperion Charge: after performing the move to tackle one of them to the ground and punching it, Kratos will finish the Satyr by slamming its head against the ground twice and finally grabbing its horns, standing up and slamming its skull against it one last time, killing it.
God of War II[]
Satyr Champion
Aside from the usual normal Satyrs (which this time are only seen in the Lowlands Caves, the Auditorium of Lahkesis and the path to the Loom Chamber), another type of Satyr, called Satyr Champions, is encountered in God of War II.
Armed with two axe-like swords, these Champions are a more violent, much more experienced, and most dangerous version of all Satyr. Satyr Champions are incredibly dangerous and use a variety of acrobatic and agile moves with their axes to attack Kratos. They also have the ability to put their dual axes together into the single double-bladed staff, and then use that as their weapon.
By pressing the circle button while close to the Satyr Champion, Kratos will push their weapons down and stab them, then send them flying with a punch, similar to a basic Satyr. When close to death, grabbing a Satyr Champion will make Kratos stab the Satyr with one blade, swing it away with the chains, and then pull it back to a fatal chest stab with the other blade.
Satyr Champions are only encountered twice: in the Hall of Atropos, and inside Atlas's back..
God of War III[]
Kratos confronts Satyrs yet again in God of War III. They appear similar to the Satyrs of God of War and God of War II, but are much more challenging enemies. They are very acrobatic, flipping and spinning all around Kratos. They also have very similar attack methods, so similar strategies must be used to defeat them.
They are first found in a runner in Olympus' Garden, and used its walls to perform leaping attacks. Later, they are found in the Underworld first aiding the Hades Cerberus Breeder, and then protecting the final Judge of the Underworld as the last non-boss enemy encountered in the game.
Most of their attacks can be blocked, except for their hook attack, which they perform after a wall jump. Instead of a hook attack, they can also use a slash attack after wall jumping, which again can't be blocked. Once again, Kratos can deliver damage to these goat-headed fiends before they are weak enough to be killed by fighting over the Satyr's staff, and delivering a wicked headbutt to the beast. Once they are close enough to death, Kratos can pull the staff from their hands, slash their face with the hooked end, and javelin the staff through the Satyr's body, pinning it to the nearest wall, or watching as it falls to the ground if there are no walls around.
Trivia[]
- The Satyr is one of the mid game enemies that can block most of Kratos' attacks and attack him even when he is in defense position.
- The circle-button minigame, which is used to weaken or kill Satyrs, is one of few ones, if not the only one, which can be interrupted by enemy attacks.
- Satyrs seem to be stronger in God of War than in God of War II, since in the second game Kratos has to grab them six times before he is able to perform the finishing move, while in the first one about eight or nine grabs are required.
- In God of War: Ghost of Sparta, the satyr Silenos is mentioned as the one who gave King Midas the ability to turn anything he touched to gold.
- It's possible that the satyrs in Ghost of Sparta serve Thanatos, since their sai glow yellow when they're attacking and Thanatos' powers are yellow.