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Beat HTA 3....Some advice to those struggling.


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Just beat the game on Hard mode yesterday and decided to try the HTA. I got to the dreaded Gaius and after reading all about this nightmare encounter I was worried. I've gotten through my fair share of crazy though trophies before (shock & awe in Arkham Asylum), but always win out in the end. Today was no different. In under 2 hours gameplay I beat Gaius with 13 seconds to spare.

 

This isn't a boasting thread because the previous day I spent nearly 8 hours playing him and failing miserably. I had to give up because my right wrist was messed up and painful. However, what was different today was I tried a new approach I read about on another gaming site so the following strategy is not my own.

 

First of all I think there's a slight lack of clarity in the trophy guide and the video posted below it. The guide is spot on in what it says, but doesn't do it in a descriptive manner and the video shows you what to do, but without a description or commentary you don't notice what he's actually doing. So I will try to best describe what I did and I even made mistakes during my run so it's sound advice (again not my own and I'm really combining the guide and video as well.

 

1.) Firstly, you're going to have to do the trick in the video of jumping from sword to leg to wrist bracelet.

 

2.) Secondly, climb up the two steps on the wrist bracelet and cling to his hair near his elbow. This is just a slight elevation. This is the beef of the strategy here. When you're on Gaius' arm he'll take 5 steps forward and turn. Turning doesn't matter it's just after he takes 4 to 5 steps he'll stop and begin to raise his right arm to perform his shaking to get you off. During the period were he stops after walking you need to drop to the bracelet 2nd step and jump to his midsection. If done quickly you can get 4 or 5 strong stabs on his midsection. If his sign is not gone when he regains his position and starts shaking and moving don't worry you'll be ok just continue attacking and trying your best.

 

3.) Thirdly, Jump back to bracelet and climb up arm again. Stop at the position you see in the video. Top of the shoulder. This still technically counts as his right arm so he'll begin to walk again and when he stops move to his head quickly and you should get 2-3 powerful stabs in. Don't chance your luck here and don't get greedy and go for more. Jump back to shoulder. Let him take his steps again and when he raises his arm go back and finish off the head.

 

4.) When the head sign goes move back to shoulder and let him walk and stop to raise his arm again. Move to left arm and finish off third symbol. At this stage you should have 45 secs or more to finish him off. Bear in mind he may regain composure and try and shake you off his left arm. Just hang on you'll be ok.

 

A few things to note. You need to let him make his steps and stop. When he stops you move. That's how you create the time to get good stabs in. Try not to advance too far at the head and slip to front of his face as you'll lose a full stab, but it's not the end of the world if it happens so don't retry if it happens.

 

Also, when you jump back from mid section to bracelet and climb for head you may not have to wait at the shoulder as Gaius will probably have started the right arm animation already. If he starts before you reach the top try not to cling and climb. Try to jump up without clinging as the arm will shake and you'll struggle to climb and waist valuable time.

 

I really hope this helps all those having trouble. I even went back and tested it again and beat him a second time within 40mins so it's definitely worth your time trying it.

 

 

So to conclude it all comes down to the right arm manipulation. He takes 5 or so steps and stops to raise and shake right arm. During this time he cannot defend the rest of his body for nearly 3-40 secs. Abuse this :dance:

 

Best of luck to you all.

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I see. This may help me if I can only get the hang of going bracelet to mid section, bracelet to midsection again. I've been severely reluctant to even try him again as he just pisses me off with his presence after failing to kill him in time for over a solid month.

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I saw this video

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y8QclBlSlg]Shadow of the Colossus HTA #3 PS3 - YouTube[/ame]

 

and jump to his right bracelet it's no more a problem, but all that left from now on, yes

the speed which the guy in the video charge his attack is more quickly then mine, he can perform 4 attack while when I'm luck I do 2-3.

When I go to his head I spend 2 minutes, 1 only for the last stab. The left arm is impossible, no matter what I try, I simply cannot stab 1 time 'cause he's continuily shaking his body

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I beat this today thanks to this guide. It took me 3 hours! And then I forgot to save my game and turned it off....luckily I beat it again within 20 minutes. Gaius is a pain, but it definitely is possible. I had 40 seconds to spare when I beat him the second time. Just keep trying!

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Thanks for feedback guys.

 

For those having trouble on the stomach. When you jump on his stomach after he raises is arm he should be bending over so you can get a good few stabs in uninterrupted. If not you have time to repeat the process.

 

If you are jumping to his stomach and Gaius is shaking seconds later you either jumped too early and didn't let the arm animation start or took way too long to jump from arm to stomach. Remember, let him take his 5 steps.

 

@bcscso: Shouldn't take that long on head and the arm is the easiest part of this time attack. Remember: do the arm trick of getting him to raise it. Get 2 to 3 good stabs in. Run back to right shoulder, let him take his steps and raise his arm. Go back and finish head.

 

Once head symbol gone. Go back to shoulder repeat trick and move to arm and you should get it uninterrupted or at least 2 full stabs in with 40 secs to finish the last stab.

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fiu, finaly i've did it, after call God and Jesus so many times...

after 1.20 the stomach was gone, but again some trouble with the head, I finish at 7 econds to the end

 

 

PS: I didn't remember so many problems with the control of Wander. It seems it's extremely slow to take the impulse from the pad

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fiu, finaly i've did it, after call God and Jesus so many times...

after 1.20 the stomach was gone, but again some trouble with the head, I finish at 7 econds to the end

 

 

PS: I didn't remember so many problems with the control of Wander. It seems it's extremely slow to take the impulse from the pad

 

Congrats! And yes, it is much slower...the PS3 version likes to be difficult.

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OMG the video up there. LOL, I never even thought about doing the sword jump that early in the fight. Ran past him beside the damn circle plate, then made him swing the sword and up I go... Lost about a minute's worth of time there O_o and still beat him! I feel total fool, if I'd have made him swing the sword like that from the beginning of the battle, I would've had over a minute left in the clock too x) Oh, well...

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I platinumed this yesterday thanks to all of the tips I've seen on this forum and in this thread. The sword jump was the only hard part to figure out, the actually killing part I could figure out on my own. It only took me 3 sit downs to beat him (first sit down without any guides, second sit down trying to do sword jump, third sit down beating him). I understand the frustrations people have but for real this was not as bad as I thought it would be.

 

For the record I took this route:

 

Sword jump to stomach > jump to arm guard

wait for arm bending > kill stomach

Jump back to arm guard > wait for arm bend

Stab head > go to right arm shoulder for arm bend

Stab head again until done > go back to right arm shoulder for arm bend

Run to left arm, stab it until he looks like he is gonna start shaking >

go back to right arm shoulder for arm bend > kill left arm

 

done

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Thanks for the tips guys, they were a huge help, finally beat him and got my platinum. For those still stuck on him, don't give up, it is doable, using these tips and the video in the trophy guide I finally got him down for 43 seconds to spare. Just practice it in stages and you will get it. Best of luck ^_^

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Thank you to all the advice posted, especially to whoever figured out the arm shake trick. I've been struggling with HTA #3 for 2 weeks and went from 1 minute over, to 30 seconds over, to 10 seconds over, to literally 1.23 seconds over. Finally today I got that perfect run where everything goes right and finished with a whopping 47 seconds to spare! Persistence and lots and lots and lots of patience eventually pays off!

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Awesome guide! I'll have to give this a try when I get back from work, today... Though I still have most of my Hard run to finish before I can unlock the HTAs!

 

My question is... its name is Gaius??? O.o

Where did you get info like that? How bout the rest of the colossi? =D

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Awesome guide! I'll have to give this a try when I get back from work, today... Though I still have most of my Hard run to finish before I can unlock the HTAs!

 

My question is... its name is Gaius??? O.o

Where did you get info like that? How bout the rest of the colossi? =D

 

Thanks :)

 

Most information regarding the SOTC plot and setting can be found here Shadow Of The Colossus Wiki

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Thanks for the info! =D

 

Also, regarding this:

Yeah, apparently all the problems with Wander and the SOTC remake all stem from the increased FPS.

 

How? I don't know. But that seems to be what all the pro players from various fansites seem to be saying.

I know how. Computers don't have a code or understanding of "time", so programmers have had to "fake" it with certain code and processes. So when you take an older program from slower processing days, and pair it with updated programming that adapts to faster processing and FPS, it will generate codes and animations earlier than originally. As a result, Wander stumbles and loses his balance WAY faster, because of the increase in processing and FPS.

 

Anyway, I'm now onto this part, and 3 and 15 are all that stand between me and the Platinum... I've gotten EVERY step of the strategy with Gaius down, I just keep having hiccups here and there. Sometimes I fall off the bracelet when I normal climb it to his elbow without issue. Sometimes I fall off his shoulder when I usually jump from his elbow to his head without a problem. A couple times Wander insists on missing his head ENTIRELY and I fall off the Colossus! Finally, the last time I did EVERYTHING else, flawlessly, I didn't return to his shoulder to start the animation again, before moving on to his left tricep. I only got 2 decent stabs in when I'd drained all of my stamina just holding on as he shook me off, AND it wasted my time such that there were only 6 seconds left, when I started on the tricep with 1:45! @_@

 

Just gotta get them all in a single attempt, without these irritating screw ups...

 

EDIT: GOT IT!!!! ^_^ Completed it in 3:50:59, PLENTY of time to spare! Thank you very very much for the explanation and tips, LaochEire!!! =D

Edited by SnapGW
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No problem mate. Glad you beat him. I bet if feels great. I know it was a fist pumping moment for me the first time I beat him.

 

I don't know why, but I found HTA 15 absolutely simple. No idea why. Beat him in my second attempt and can beat him 2/3 times. I know the chest is a pain and you're best off quick stabbing. Sometimes he doesn't moves when you get quick stab in. What I normally do is go for the arm, perfect grip the head, attempt chest. I usually fall off or run out of stamina, but they're generous with time so I like to jump off the broken bridge directly onto his chest. sometimes he doesn't react to that in time and you can get maybe one or two good stabs in.

 

Best advice I can offer.

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I've tried just about every method I could think of with #15, and my BEST was 11 seconds over. Since then I've been unable to come close. He almost always throws me off when I go for the chest, and at my best attempts, before GETTING thrown off, I'd have landed 2 (MAYBE 3) very weak stabs. When I go for the hand, he ALWAYS tries to stomp me instead of punching. My 11:41 run wasted a good 3 minutes with him stomping and not punching at me. It was infuriating!!!

 

What's the deal with "perfect grip"? This is a term I've seen floating around on this site, and NOWHERE else. I've noticed it's important to be gripping as close to a sign as possible, but in certain cases (like 15's head) you can grip a good foot or two away from the furthest edge of it, and your stab will still count. Positioning your grip relative to the "slopes" of the colossi also matters, I understand, especially when they try to throw you off. You want to be in a spot where Wander will have an easier time recovering. Is THAT what "perfect grip" is referring to? If that's the case, I've never had any trouble with the head that needed it. Just rush from the back/shoulders to his head before he can change his animations, and then he lets you go to town on his face without any trouble... The chest, on the other hand, has ALWAYS proven to be migraine-inducing!

 

With my experience, thus far, AT LEAST with the comparatively-lacking amount of guides and tips for 15, unlike 3, and the amount of time I've spent on each, I'm of the opinion that 15 is the hardest HTA. The 11:30 time limit isn't really "forgiving" so much as it makes restarting THAT much more irritating and time consuming. Unless there's just as many "tricks" to 15 like in 3, and no one's found the need to illuminate them, I'd say it's for good reason he's harder, in my book.

Edited by SnapGW
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Just beat hta #3

 

Sword jump to leg bracelet, leg bracelet to arm bracelet, arm bracelet to waist

- Managed to get 2 and a half full stabs if done perfectly

 

At this point he will start to have an epilepsy fit, so jump from waist to arm bracelet, hang from fur until he moves his hand upwards, den jump back to waist

-Managed 3-4 full stabs if done perfectly, symbol disappears (~1.30 minutes)

 

jump from waist to arm bracelet and start climbing, halfway up he should be shaking his sword. take opportunity to run to head

-Managed 2 fulls stabs and run back to shoulder

 

Repeat by making his shoulder move and finish off the symbol. I think in total 3 shoulder shakes took care of the head. (~3.10min)

 

Now i have the hardest time with the arm because i cant seem to stab the symbol, keep stabbing the metal plating. So try to as accurate as possible. i could only stab him once every shoulder shaking.

-Managed to clear the arm in 2 shoulder shakes and 1 short stab

 

Total time - 4.37 mins!

 

Hope this helps someone, its basically what i did from the trophy guide, the videos was not working for me.

 

Next to try is HTA 15, hope he's not as hard as 3...

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I've tried just about every method I could think of with #15, and my BEST was 11 seconds over. Since then I've been unable to come close. He almost always throws me off when I go for the chest, and at my best attempts, before GETTING thrown off, I'd have landed 2 (MAYBE 3) very weak stabs. When I go for the hand, he ALWAYS tries to stomp me instead of punching. My 11:41 run wasted a good 3 minutes with him stomping and not punching at me. It was infuriating!!!

 

What's the deal with "perfect grip"? This is a term I've seen floating around on this site, and NOWHERE else. I've noticed it's important to be gripping as close to a sign as possible, but in certain cases (like 15's head) you can grip a good foot or two away from the furthest edge of it, and your stab will still count. Positioning your grip relative to the "slopes" of the colossi also matters, I understand, especially when they try to throw you off. You want to be in a spot where Wander will have an easier time recovering. Is THAT what "perfect grip" is referring to? If that's the case, I've never had any trouble with the head that needed it. Just rush from the back/shoulders to his head before he can change his animations, and then he lets you go to town on his face without any trouble... The chest, on the other hand, has ALWAYS proven to be migraine-inducing!

 

With my experience, thus far, AT LEAST with the comparatively-lacking amount of guides and tips for 15, unlike 3, and the amount of time I've spent on each, I'm of the opinion that 15 is the hardest HTA. The 11:30 time limit isn't really "forgiving" so much as it makes restarting THAT much more irritating and time consuming. Unless there's just as many "tricks" to 15 like in 3, and no one's found the need to illuminate them, I'd say it's for good reason he's harder, in my book.

 

I'll step by step what I do each time I've beaten him.

 

Step 1: Needs know real explanation. Just get to the part where you make him smash the bridge.

 

Step 2: Jump onto him from the bridge, ignore head and go directly to his arm symbol and make him drop his weapon.

 

Step 3: Cut-scene plays (You can climb when this is occurring) climb to his head symbol. Grip base of skull near the spine. This should get you perfect grip and uninterrupted stabs. If not try to move a bit a find the spot.

 

Step 4: Rest quickly and try to refill stamina bar. Move to his left shoulder and drop down to his chest area. Grip top left of his chest symbol and try to get a stab in before he reacts. You'll probably fall off here, but no worries you can easily fall off twice and make it so if you do fall off repeat step one and try to jump directly onto his chest, if not head is ok as well. Drop down and attack top left part of the chest symbol till it's gone or you fall.

 

Step 5: Drop off and infront of him. when facing directly at him run towards him leaning right to avoid his swinging hand. When hand hits the ground make a break for it and try to get directly into centre of the palm and should should finish him off.

 

Easier said than done I know, but after a few attempts you'll understand what needs to be done and you'll perfect your technique where you will beat him with ease.

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Thanks again, but I actually got it already (not before you posted, but before I read it) roughly an hour ago.

 

I got to the bridge, he broke it, jumped to his head, went to his shoulder armor, triggered his shoulder shake, slipped down to his chest symbol, got near-full stab on it, climbed back to shoulder armor while he was walking, triggered his shake and repeated the process till chest symbol was all done. I had 5 minutes left at this point, climbed back to his head, gripped it at the perfect location and took it out, climbed to his shoulder, dropped to his tricep and made him drop his "axe", fell to his feet during the cutscene and ran into position with over 2 minutes left. THEN he decides to stomp instead of punch.... AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! I barely managed to scrape by finishing the last symbol with less than 6 seconds to spare, because he would not punch me when I wanted him to!!!! Having gotten the rest done perfectly, I was going to go ape shit if I lost the HTA because he refused to perform ONE specific animation. But it's FINALLY over!!!!

 

I Previously almost killed him in less than 6 minutes, but I fell off, and while getting back to the bridge, he stomped me to death. (Stomp, Wander can't get up, Stomp, Wander dead) The sheer randomness of this colossus is maddening. When players attribute it as more luck-related, it's no joke! Gaius is all skill, timing, and strategy, and zero luck. But Argus? NOTHING but luck, and very little skill and strategy...

 

Anywho, I appreciate the time and explanation taken in helping me along with HTA15, but I don't wanna derail this topic any further, so back to HTA3 help! =D

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  • 4 weeks later...
Thanks again, but I actually got it already (not before you posted, but before I read it) roughly an hour ago.

 

I got to the bridge, he broke it, jumped to his head, went to his shoulder armor, triggered his shoulder shake, slipped down to his chest symbol, got near-full stab on it, climbed back to shoulder armor while he was walking, triggered his shake and repeated the process till chest symbol was all done. I had 5 minutes left at this point, climbed back to his head, gripped it at the perfect location and took it out, climbed to his shoulder, dropped to his tricep and made him drop his "axe", fell to his feet during the cutscene and ran into position with over 2 minutes left. THEN he decides to stomp instead of punch.... AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! I barely managed to scrape by finishing the last symbol with less than 6 seconds to spare, because he would not punch me when I wanted him to!!!! Having gotten the rest done perfectly, I was going to go ape shit if I lost the HTA because he refused to perform ONE specific animation. But it's FINALLY over!!!!

 

I Previously almost killed him in less than 6 minutes, but I fell off, and while getting back to the bridge, he stomped me to death. (Stomp, Wander can't get up, Stomp, Wander dead) The sheer randomness of this colossus is maddening. When players attribute it as more luck-related, it's no joke! Gaius is all skill, timing, and strategy, and zero luck. But Argus? NOTHING but luck, and very little skill and strategy...

 

Anywho, I appreciate the time and explanation taken in helping me along with HTA15, but I don't wanna derail this topic any further, so back to HTA3 help! =D

 

Congrats. Maybe I am stating the obvious but for those who still need this, the stomping instead of punching problem is actually controllable by how far you stay from him. If you stay too close he will stomp, if you stay farther he will punch, so that's what you want to stay right between as far as when he will ignore you and turn around cause you are too far, and being close enough for him to attempt the stomp

 

And after jumping of the broken bridge to the colossus, going straight for the arm wound helps because of 2 things:

 

1) If you fall, you can take advantage and destroy his hand before going up again, saving major time than if you had nothing to do on the ground. This also makes going for his chest not a worthless trip up the 1st time, knowing that you are going to fall anyway, while attacking the chest.

 

2) It's better to go with full stamina to the arm so that you are guaranteed a climb back during the cut scene because when you climb back his arm, yo don't want almost minimal stamina. It will be extremely hard to stay on top of him long enough to let the stamina bar recover. And even if you do, it will have wasted too much time. So you want that right after climbing to have enough stamina to go for the head, ESPECIALLY if you don't find his skull sweet spot right away.

 

Now off to go HTA3 for the 1st time. Yes I did save that last. Last thing I need to wrap up this game forever.

 

I have to say: the code for HTA 15's chest vital (of the viking gorilla or whatever it is) was extremely cheap cheap design. It makes me wonder if the developers go on a sadistic power trip at times.

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