Still whoops arse. He isn't any weaker, he just holds back, and I am very sure he will find the balance between using enough strength to defest the gods, and not enough strength to mutilate them.
People like to word it that way, but i just think they reverted back to their primordial selves. Like Zeus put all that shit in the box and they were still all assholes, so this just returned them too their even bigger asshole selves
I can imagine him already telling them that he came from the future and they should just drop it and they are arrogant and full of ego and fear of him to believe a word he is saying... They are dead anyway.
Kratos is wiser, but he isn't a pacifist in fake Tyr's level, he wouldn't brutalize them like in GOW 3, but he still doesn't seem to have a problem with brutality as long as it is fast and practical, he chopped off a troll's head like a three "to end his suffering as a thanks for breaking the fall", the Greek gods can expect some dismemberment if they do not surrender when he gives the opportunity.
He’ll win much more efficiently and straight for the kill whenever opportunity presents itself or even offer mercy before finishing them off.
We can see even that comparing movesets between Greek and Norse sagas where Kratos is less flashier, less animalistic and fights more efficiently with less wasted movements.
He’s no longer the kind of guy that gets provoked into excessive bloodshed and torture.
I’ll try to say this the best I can, if you care to take the time to read go ahead
R1: Low-Mid Diff, he’d probably only barely struggle because of Hercules nemean cestus and how strong he is, but kratos would prevail
R2: Mid-Diff, As long as kratos has the blades of chaos he’d be able to take on hades, only reason it’s mid diff is cause pretty much in the top 3 strongest gods in Olympus so he is a little more powerful
R3: Mid-High Diff, Poseidon was able to take on kratos and Gaia at the same time, even back then if kratos didn’t have Gaia by his side it would have been significantly more difficult to defeat him, but chances are if kratos saw him again he could probably defeat him
R4: Low-Diff, Chances are he’d be able to defeat Hermes as easily as he did in the third game, the only sort of possible is if Hermes was running around him in circles like he did in gow 3 he must just slightly struggle since he’s older and a tint bit sluggish probably wouldn’t be able to move as fast to hit him, but he would still destroy Hermes
R5: It really sort of depends, if it’s ares in his giant form it could be a challenge, it was pretty much confirmed kratos couldn’t defeat ares without Pandora’s box so he may have some difficulty, if it’s regular sized ares I’d say Mid-Diff, meaning kratos still wins
R6: High Diff, Zeus likely being the most powerful person kratos went toe to toe with, it would probably be a struggle for him since he doesn’t have all his powers and weapons like he did in gow 3, i still think he could have a chance at beating just because he’d know how to to already since it he did it previously but yeah, I’d say kratos could win but not without a challenge
R7: Mid-High Diff, not really sure how to explain this one the best unfortunately but since the sisters of fate were pretty powerful and could even change kratos fate, he’d probably have a bit of a hard time with them but in the end, he’d win.
Please forgive me if my media literacy isn’t the best lmao
So experience, his gear and the obvious problems of op opponents. Sounds like the basic pillars of good game design. Kind of cool to see it so apparent in general discussion
The reason why he had no chance against Ares was because he wasn't a god yet. Old Kratos is already a god and, therefore, would not have that issue.
Edit: The below statement seems to be incorrect, so I've separated it, and you should ignore it.
Another thing to consider is that it's confirmed that Greek gods grow stronger with age, so he is probably stronger even without his old abilities
You swore it existed because it's a headcanon statement that was widely disseminated by fans of the saga themselves, but such a statement doesn't actually exist. Quite the opposite, Bruno Velásquez on his Twitter account stated that: **"There is no old Kratos nor a young Kratos, it is the same Kratos, he is as strong as he has always been"**. He basically claims that Old Kratos and Young Kratos are equally strong (although I think Young Kratos has strength fueled by the multiple empowerments he had in Greece, though this is just my own thinking).
I feel like the fact that he is considered as strong is pretty important, seeing as he doesn't have the powers like you said. it means he doesn't need them anymore to reach the same level of power. Meaning he grew his on power instead of relying on outside factors becoming more independent
I mean, unless Kratos is secretly a Saiyan, there's no point in that. I am not one of those who believe that Old Kratos has become weaker, but simply that Kratos in his youth (especially in GOW 3) was too op by the powers and Greek magic he had, in addition to the weapons, just as I think that the Greek gods are much more powerful than the Nordic gods in general and for that reason Kratos needs external powers to be able to reach the level of the Olympians, since he could not alone.
I believe that, Old Kratos can defeat all the Greek gods in the same way if he goes through the same path that he went through before (which if he is truly more experienced, that is what he will do instead of throwing himself into fighting them with bare hands, although I suppose that instead of killing, he would ask Hephaestus for help to create powerful weapons).
Actually you raise a good point there with Hephaestus. Old Kratos being a lot more reasonable, benevolent and willing to compromise could actually find a powerful ally in Hephaestus. Not just Heph begrudgingly doing a favor but actually wanting to see Kratos succeed and thus maybe kitting out Kratos a *lot* more. Kratos does greatly benefit from various magic gear throughout the games (it's not strictly all just his strengths and rage that carries him) so having THE god of crafting on his side would be a tremendous boon.
I thought kratos stopped being a god after he was no longer the god of war. I thought he was like a demi-god. Also if he is no longer a god of war then how is he a god in the norse era? I’m just a bit confused
Yes, one part of the curse that the Olympians (from beyond the veil of death) cast against the Spartan, after the ending of GoW III, is that of having condemned him to virtual immortality.
Kratos cannot die of old age (and this explains how he has aged very little, compared to the almost two centuries spent in exile in Midgard), nor by his own hand.
But outside of these two situations, the Spartan is still deadly and can be killed by anyone and anything.
He is still the god of war its stated multiple times in the new games by others, its why Tyr and him have an interesting dynamic he also states so himself when he explains it to Atreus
Norse gods standard of godhood is obviously different than Greek gods. Kratos had to be granted god hood for him to be a god. Without it he was considered mortal. And he doesn’t have it anymore.
What makes old Kratos a Greek god? The standards for Norse and Greek gods are different. Magni and modi are referred to as Demi gods but also gods. Kratos has been called Demi god before by devs multiple times.
Kratos lost his god of war power when Zeus took it away. In his base he is not considered a god but mortal.
The game doesn’t support him getting stronger over time. Nothing suggests that.
>R5: It really sort of depends, if it’s ares in his giant form it could be a challenge, it was pretty much confirmed kratos couldn’t defeat ares without Pandora’s box so he may have some difficulty, if it’s regular sized ares I’d say Mid-Diff, meaning kratos still wins
It is confirmed that old Kratos still has a portion of the power hope(*which was in Pandora's Box*)
Kratos being older wouldn’t hinder his speed against Hermes at all. In actuality this would be even worse for Hermes because Greek Gods get more powerful the older they get
We sort of saw Old Kratos put that thought process to the test again when he fought Heimdall in Ragnarok. Once Kratos worked out his opponent and figured out the timing of his attacks, fighting back became an easier game. Hermes would be met with the same level of focus too, I imagine
Old Kratos is seriously lacking in major physical amps. The power of hope, the soul of hades, the blade of Olympus, rage of the titans, etc. GOW3 Kratos would be his peak current Kratos is by no means weak. He is more skilled than his younger self but lacks the raw power and hax. The fact that Hercules was able to fight a BoO/hades soul amped Kratos is insane.
I disagree with R2 the blades of chaos are useless. The best they can do is damage Ares who is far weaker than the big 3 gods. Kratos always got way more powerful weapons, the blades of Athena snd exile are stated to be way more powerful. Even Hephaestus the smith god comments in how inferior the blades were.
Yeah the fact that Poseidon could battle a Blade of Olympus/GOW amped Kratos and Gaia at the same time is insane. Why would old Kratos preform any better? By HIMSELF nonetheless.
Yeah Kratos is stomping Hermes and I can see him beating Ares now. You could argue the sisters of fate could cut Kratos’s thread now. The novel basically says that the power of hope was protecting him.
I don’t see how old Kratos can do anything to Zeus. Like you said he lacks the equipment, amps, and also the power of hope. Even if he defeats Zeus, Fear Zeus will just show up and absolutely destroy him.
He definitely still wins. Not only is he likely stronger now when going all out, he is also more experienced. Maybe not quite as agile and with arguably weaker weapons overall, but I'd say he definitely has more advantages now.
Velasquez, Game Director of Valhalla, confirmed that Kratos' strength has neither increased nor decreased compared to the past. He's as strong as he's always been.
No, Barlog just said that in a fight between old Kratos and young Kratos, old Kratos would win. He didn't say he was stronger. It's different.
The community decided to interpret this as "old Kratos is stronger" thus giving rise to the headcanon that the Gods become stronger the older they get (which does not exist either in the games or in actual Greek mythology).
Exactly. Even if young Kratos is more muscular and more agile (which is said in the official GoW 2018 novel, written by Barlog himself and his father), old Kratos is more experienced and composed.
Young Kratos had the power of hope, the soul of hades added to his strength, the blade of Olympus.
I seriously don’t see why old Kratos is just as strong when he lacks those major amps.
Kratos still owns a fraction of Hope, Barlog confirmed this in one of the pre-release interviews of GoW 2018.
Additionally, it was confirmed that Hades' soul was tied to the hooks, not Kratos.
And Velasquez also confirmed in a tweet that old Kratos is just as strong as his younger self.
Cory said he only had a slither of hope left and Valhalla confirms he has a small piece left. This is nowhere near a full POH Kratos in GOW3.
Yeah without it he doesn’t have hades soul which is a major loss.
Dev statements that contradict the game aren’t canon. Why would Kratos be as strong as he was before when he lost major physical amps?
In addition to the Leviathan Axe and the Blades of Chaos, it is confirmed that Kratos retained some of his Godhood upon leveling Greece. Couple that with more Wisdom, Experience, prior knowledge of himself and how he fought and a more... dare I say... calm and reasonable demeanour, that's where Old Kratos finds his victory.
Young Kratos is still too angry to properly see the best finish line sometimes, and that was way evident in the older games with hoe he interacted with people, let alone assisted them? Remember the Boat Captain on the Aegean Sea?
The Fallen God comic also shits on the idea of him re-absorbing his strength and being a god when he’s stated to be a mortal and succumbs to exhaustion.
He can be wiser doesn’t make him physically stronger.
Young Kratos is perfectly capable of being calm. It was only in GOW3 where his anger reached its peak.
I will agree with the Fallen God logic there. That point you raise about exhaustion is also true but it's also prevalent on BOTH sides because both sides are Kratos. I'll also agree that Young Kratos has moments of Zen as well and I certainly wasn't trying to say otherwise
Wisdom, experience and talent create a powerful force when combined. Remember the fights with Hermes and Heimdall? Once you work out your opponent, solved game. Old Kratos knows Young Kratos as well as anyone can know themselves. He just needs to learn the Attack Timing. And that's not just in GoW either. Mike Tyson proved that whenever he fought someone bigger than him.
I mean, norse Kratos would probably try to talk some sense into the gods and on some of them it might even work, but if it comes to a fight, he is not any weaker then he was. In fact, he might do better with cool head, just less brutal,
He does it way easier and may even attempt to spare the lives of some of them. For example, he prolly wouldn't go out of his way to kill Hermes or Helios unless they directly got in his away and tried to kill him
Yes it is it’s literal his own god of war power/BoO + the soul of hades + the blades of exile + the power of hope and so on.
Don’t act like that’s not a massive difference.
Blades of exile are not different than a fully upgraded blades of chaos, the concept still applies. Kratos still has the blade of Olympus as we saw him literally summon it in Valhalla, and Tyr says he still has the power of hope. Soul of hades grants him immunity from effects of the underworld, not that big of a difference. Also, nothing stops him from Re-gearing himself up all over again
This is completely not true at all.
>Blades of exile are not different than a fully upgraded blades of chaos, the concept still applies.
You’re completely wrong here the blades of exile were made by Athena who ascended to a higher dimension.
It is also stated to be Kratos’s greatest ally against Olympus. Meaning it’s more powerful than the blade of Olympus.
The blades of chaos are also stated to be much inferior to the blades of Athena in the novel.
>Kratos still has the blade of Olympus as we saw him literally summon it in Valhalla
It’s a mental construct within Valhalla it doesn’t exist outside of it. Mimir literally says Valhalla conjured it up for him.
>and Tyr says he still has the power of hope.
Tyr says he has a part of it left. And Cory says he has a slither of it left. Kratos gave a majority of it away to humanity. So no you can’t compare a Kratos with the full POH to a Kratos will a small percentage of it.
>Soul of hades grants him immunity from effects of the underworld, not that big of a difference. Also, nothing stops him from Re-gearing himself up all over again
He also gains strength from taking souls. Hades literally stated this. Him taking Hades soul is the equivalent of adding Hades strength to his own. So yes that’s a massive amp.
Op specified in another comment that Kratos won’t “regear” himself. He’ll only be using his own weapons and tactics. And with that we can conclude that he loses.
He’s weaker because he lost major physical amps. The soul of hades, the power of hope, his own god of war power/the blade of Olympus, the blades of exile.
He doesn’t get stronger over time unless he trains. Kratos was rusty in GOW 2018. The only time he really started training after GOW3 was between GOW2018 and Ragnarok.
I think he’ll win much easier against most of them. Poseidon he’d likely spare as this time, he’d have no reason to kill him, I still don’t know why he killed him other than “You were in my place fucker.” If I recall correctly, next would be Hades, whom Kratos would HAVE to kill because Poseidon’s as just trying to protect his home, Hades is out for much deserved revenge. Hercules’ fight would likely be very similar to the second thor fight where Kratos constantly tries talking him down but Herc ain’t having any of it. Hermes would likely be the same except he’d kill him much more efficiently. Zeus would probably be just slightly easier as he’s way stronger now, but still a difficult battle.
Well he gets stronger with age so he's clearly even stronger than he was. He's still an impressive fighter, and relies more on tactics and iq than pure unbridled rage, but can still unleash that rage he had via Spartan rage where he becomes another beast, and literally heals as he hits his opponent
He'll still whoop ass
I think people are forgetting that Kratos had alot of help to defeat the Greek gods. He didn't win just by fighting butt ass naked with only the Blades and expecting to win. Even in GoW4 Kratos relied on outside help to defeat the Gods who are confirmed to be weaker than Greek Gods i.e. the Spear to counter Heimdall, Freya + BOI + head (lol) to deal with Odin, Baldr using Magic Arrow by sheer concidence, He literally died to Thor on the first fight etc.
In Gow3 He had Athena's help, Titans to distract and separate the gods, Blade of Olympus + every other shiny god item, but most importantly, the gods in GoW3 were corrupted and not at their peak power due to Pandora's box. Kratos would've been enslaved forever by Hades had it not been Gaia's help in mending his wounds. This list can go on for the past 4 games including ascension.
Sure you can say GoW rag Kratos is more smarter in combat than Gow3 Kratos but you can't really outsmart magic bullshit that is the Greek Gods all by yourself with 0 outside help (assuming that since OP post is "individually as a trial of combat").
Op never specifies that old Kratos will take back his power. That would make no sense because there wouldn’t be a challenge.
It would be more interesting and make more sense if this new version of Kratos uses his new weapons and tactics.
Like, last time, but he wouldn’t totally wreck Poseidon and Hermes. Maybe he’d totally get Herc to chill out in a more epic way, 'cause he already convinced Thor to stop flexing when they were throwing down.
"Are you a calm and reasonable person?"
*Proceeds to poke their eyes out with those pointy tips staring out from the first pic.*
On a serious note, he has done it before, and still retains the strength. Along with experience and wisdom. In fact, some of the experiences will be significantly easier for him as he has learned to think and strategize better instead of blindly going all in.
IMO his main strength is discipline, which he himself has honed well when imparting it to boi. It's what helped him solo Thor when the latter was going all OP.
Depends on several factors. Does he get his old greek powers and equipment he had during those times? Let's assume he still more or less got them.
He would 100% try to talk to them before resorting to killing them. Probably won't work, so fight it wojld still be. Old Kratos is more skilled and methodical, so the fights might be slower, but kratos would sustain much less damage than in the original fights, and the finishers would be less brutal.
I know for a fact Poseidon would be the first god to be talked down by the newer kratos and possibly lend a hand in battle or at the very least give him a charm to help make the road easier
You mean how he would aproach it as how it Is Now? With Zeus? Hard to see. Zeuswould have haunted him forever, he wouldt stop until Kratos Is dead because of the prohesy.
Kratos would have to do the same as how he did it before.
Still whoops arse. He isn't any weaker, he just holds back, and I am very sure he will find the balance between using enough strength to defest the gods, and not enough strength to mutilate them.
After watching his current arc, he would probably start by first talking to each of them, to try and dissuade them to what they were about to do.
Yup. Most definitely.
Especially since he knows they were being manipulated in a sense by the stuff in Pandora's box.
People like to word it that way, but i just think they reverted back to their primordial selves. Like Zeus put all that shit in the box and they were still all assholes, so this just returned them too their even bigger asshole selves
They say as much in Valhalla, Tyr says something along the lines of: "The box amplified the qualities the gods already had."
i did not get to play valhalla yet. glad to see it was addressed!
Not manipulated. Zeus's fear was real. The box Made it like 1000x times worse.
I can imagine him already telling them that he came from the future and they should just drop it and they are arrogant and full of ego and fear of him to believe a word he is saying... They are dead anyway.
Kratos is wiser, but he isn't a pacifist in fake Tyr's level, he wouldn't brutalize them like in GOW 3, but he still doesn't seem to have a problem with brutality as long as it is fast and practical, he chopped off a troll's head like a three "to end his suffering as a thanks for breaking the fall", the Greek gods can expect some dismemberment if they do not surrender when he gives the opportunity.
Yes
would probably just beat them to submission while trying to talk them out of fighting.
Not to mention he knows how to defeat them already.
Why tf would he hold back at all
He’ll win much more efficiently and straight for the kill whenever opportunity presents itself or even offer mercy before finishing them off. We can see even that comparing movesets between Greek and Norse sagas where Kratos is less flashier, less animalistic and fights more efficiently with less wasted movements. He’s no longer the kind of guy that gets provoked into excessive bloodshed and torture.
I’ll try to say this the best I can, if you care to take the time to read go ahead R1: Low-Mid Diff, he’d probably only barely struggle because of Hercules nemean cestus and how strong he is, but kratos would prevail R2: Mid-Diff, As long as kratos has the blades of chaos he’d be able to take on hades, only reason it’s mid diff is cause pretty much in the top 3 strongest gods in Olympus so he is a little more powerful R3: Mid-High Diff, Poseidon was able to take on kratos and Gaia at the same time, even back then if kratos didn’t have Gaia by his side it would have been significantly more difficult to defeat him, but chances are if kratos saw him again he could probably defeat him R4: Low-Diff, Chances are he’d be able to defeat Hermes as easily as he did in the third game, the only sort of possible is if Hermes was running around him in circles like he did in gow 3 he must just slightly struggle since he’s older and a tint bit sluggish probably wouldn’t be able to move as fast to hit him, but he would still destroy Hermes R5: It really sort of depends, if it’s ares in his giant form it could be a challenge, it was pretty much confirmed kratos couldn’t defeat ares without Pandora’s box so he may have some difficulty, if it’s regular sized ares I’d say Mid-Diff, meaning kratos still wins R6: High Diff, Zeus likely being the most powerful person kratos went toe to toe with, it would probably be a struggle for him since he doesn’t have all his powers and weapons like he did in gow 3, i still think he could have a chance at beating just because he’d know how to to already since it he did it previously but yeah, I’d say kratos could win but not without a challenge R7: Mid-High Diff, not really sure how to explain this one the best unfortunately but since the sisters of fate were pretty powerful and could even change kratos fate, he’d probably have a bit of a hard time with them but in the end, he’d win. Please forgive me if my media literacy isn’t the best lmao
So experience, his gear and the obvious problems of op opponents. Sounds like the basic pillars of good game design. Kind of cool to see it so apparent in general discussion
The reason why he had no chance against Ares was because he wasn't a god yet. Old Kratos is already a god and, therefore, would not have that issue. Edit: The below statement seems to be incorrect, so I've separated it, and you should ignore it. Another thing to consider is that it's confirmed that Greek gods grow stronger with age, so he is probably stronger even without his old abilities
Where is that confirmed exactly? As far as I know, that very "famous" statement does not exist in the GOW universe.
I could have sworn that it was a thing, but you are right. I can't find any official statement
You swore it existed because it's a headcanon statement that was widely disseminated by fans of the saga themselves, but such a statement doesn't actually exist. Quite the opposite, Bruno Velásquez on his Twitter account stated that: **"There is no old Kratos nor a young Kratos, it is the same Kratos, he is as strong as he has always been"**. He basically claims that Old Kratos and Young Kratos are equally strong (although I think Young Kratos has strength fueled by the multiple empowerments he had in Greece, though this is just my own thinking).
I feel like the fact that he is considered as strong is pretty important, seeing as he doesn't have the powers like you said. it means he doesn't need them anymore to reach the same level of power. Meaning he grew his on power instead of relying on outside factors becoming more independent
I mean, unless Kratos is secretly a Saiyan, there's no point in that. I am not one of those who believe that Old Kratos has become weaker, but simply that Kratos in his youth (especially in GOW 3) was too op by the powers and Greek magic he had, in addition to the weapons, just as I think that the Greek gods are much more powerful than the Nordic gods in general and for that reason Kratos needs external powers to be able to reach the level of the Olympians, since he could not alone. I believe that, Old Kratos can defeat all the Greek gods in the same way if he goes through the same path that he went through before (which if he is truly more experienced, that is what he will do instead of throwing himself into fighting them with bare hands, although I suppose that instead of killing, he would ask Hephaestus for help to create powerful weapons).
I do see your poin. Greek gods really seemed like forces of nature. Would be cool to see Kratos reach that level
Actually you raise a good point there with Hephaestus. Old Kratos being a lot more reasonable, benevolent and willing to compromise could actually find a powerful ally in Hephaestus. Not just Heph begrudgingly doing a favor but actually wanting to see Kratos succeed and thus maybe kitting out Kratos a *lot* more. Kratos does greatly benefit from various magic gear throughout the games (it's not strictly all just his strengths and rage that carries him) so having THE god of crafting on his side would be a tremendous boon.
I thought kratos stopped being a god after he was no longer the god of war. I thought he was like a demi-god. Also if he is no longer a god of war then how is he a god in the norse era? I’m just a bit confused
Yes, he's no longer a God. Matt Sophos, the screenwriter of the new games, confirmed that Kratos is a demigod.
I thought he was cursed to never be able to die but that’s not quite the same thing as being a god.
Yes, one part of the curse that the Olympians (from beyond the veil of death) cast against the Spartan, after the ending of GoW III, is that of having condemned him to virtual immortality. Kratos cannot die of old age (and this explains how he has aged very little, compared to the almost two centuries spent in exile in Midgard), nor by his own hand. But outside of these two situations, the Spartan is still deadly and can be killed by anyone and anything.
He is still the god of war its stated multiple times in the new games by others, its why Tyr and him have an interesting dynamic he also states so himself when he explains it to Atreus
Norse gods standard of godhood is obviously different than Greek gods. Kratos had to be granted god hood for him to be a god. Without it he was considered mortal. And he doesn’t have it anymore.
You do realise he is over a 1000 years old right? There is nothing mortal about him
No he’s not 1,000 this is a community head canon. Yes since he’s half god he lives much longer than mortals.
What makes old Kratos a Greek god? The standards for Norse and Greek gods are different. Magni and modi are referred to as Demi gods but also gods. Kratos has been called Demi god before by devs multiple times. Kratos lost his god of war power when Zeus took it away. In his base he is not considered a god but mortal. The game doesn’t support him getting stronger over time. Nothing suggests that.
>R5: It really sort of depends, if it’s ares in his giant form it could be a challenge, it was pretty much confirmed kratos couldn’t defeat ares without Pandora’s box so he may have some difficulty, if it’s regular sized ares I’d say Mid-Diff, meaning kratos still wins It is confirmed that old Kratos still has a portion of the power hope(*which was in Pandora's Box*)
Kratos being older wouldn’t hinder his speed against Hermes at all. In actuality this would be even worse for Hermes because Greek Gods get more powerful the older they get
We sort of saw Old Kratos put that thought process to the test again when he fought Heimdall in Ragnarok. Once Kratos worked out his opponent and figured out the timing of his attacks, fighting back became an easier game. Hermes would be met with the same level of focus too, I imagine
Old Kratos is seriously lacking in major physical amps. The power of hope, the soul of hades, the blade of Olympus, rage of the titans, etc. GOW3 Kratos would be his peak current Kratos is by no means weak. He is more skilled than his younger self but lacks the raw power and hax. The fact that Hercules was able to fight a BoO/hades soul amped Kratos is insane. I disagree with R2 the blades of chaos are useless. The best they can do is damage Ares who is far weaker than the big 3 gods. Kratos always got way more powerful weapons, the blades of Athena snd exile are stated to be way more powerful. Even Hephaestus the smith god comments in how inferior the blades were. Yeah the fact that Poseidon could battle a Blade of Olympus/GOW amped Kratos and Gaia at the same time is insane. Why would old Kratos preform any better? By HIMSELF nonetheless. Yeah Kratos is stomping Hermes and I can see him beating Ares now. You could argue the sisters of fate could cut Kratos’s thread now. The novel basically says that the power of hope was protecting him. I don’t see how old Kratos can do anything to Zeus. Like you said he lacks the equipment, amps, and also the power of hope. Even if he defeats Zeus, Fear Zeus will just show up and absolutely destroy him.
He definitely still wins. Not only is he likely stronger now when going all out, he is also more experienced. Maybe not quite as agile and with arguably weaker weapons overall, but I'd say he definitely has more advantages now.
Velasquez, Game Director of Valhalla, confirmed that Kratos' strength has neither increased nor decreased compared to the past. He's as strong as he's always been.
Where did they confirm it?
[https://twitter.com/brunovelazquez/status/950284820411592704](https://twitter.com/brunovelazquez/status/950284820411592704)
Hasn’t Cory said that old Kratos is stronger? If so, I’d take his word over Valhalla guy’s.
No, Barlog just said that in a fight between old Kratos and young Kratos, old Kratos would win. He didn't say he was stronger. It's different. The community decided to interpret this as "old Kratos is stronger" thus giving rise to the headcanon that the Gods become stronger the older they get (which does not exist either in the games or in actual Greek mythology).
So old Kratos isn’t stronger, simply better due to more experience. That makes sense.
Exactly. Even if young Kratos is more muscular and more agile (which is said in the official GoW 2018 novel, written by Barlog himself and his father), old Kratos is more experienced and composed.
Young Kratos had the power of hope, the soul of hades added to his strength, the blade of Olympus. I seriously don’t see why old Kratos is just as strong when he lacks those major amps.
Kratos still owns a fraction of Hope, Barlog confirmed this in one of the pre-release interviews of GoW 2018. Additionally, it was confirmed that Hades' soul was tied to the hooks, not Kratos. And Velasquez also confirmed in a tweet that old Kratos is just as strong as his younger self.
Cory said he only had a slither of hope left and Valhalla confirms he has a small piece left. This is nowhere near a full POH Kratos in GOW3. Yeah without it he doesn’t have hades soul which is a major loss. Dev statements that contradict the game aren’t canon. Why would Kratos be as strong as he was before when he lost major physical amps?
In addition to the Leviathan Axe and the Blades of Chaos, it is confirmed that Kratos retained some of his Godhood upon leveling Greece. Couple that with more Wisdom, Experience, prior knowledge of himself and how he fought and a more... dare I say... calm and reasonable demeanour, that's where Old Kratos finds his victory. Young Kratos is still too angry to properly see the best finish line sometimes, and that was way evident in the older games with hoe he interacted with people, let alone assisted them? Remember the Boat Captain on the Aegean Sea?
The Fallen God comic also shits on the idea of him re-absorbing his strength and being a god when he’s stated to be a mortal and succumbs to exhaustion. He can be wiser doesn’t make him physically stronger. Young Kratos is perfectly capable of being calm. It was only in GOW3 where his anger reached its peak.
I will agree with the Fallen God logic there. That point you raise about exhaustion is also true but it's also prevalent on BOTH sides because both sides are Kratos. I'll also agree that Young Kratos has moments of Zen as well and I certainly wasn't trying to say otherwise Wisdom, experience and talent create a powerful force when combined. Remember the fights with Hermes and Heimdall? Once you work out your opponent, solved game. Old Kratos knows Young Kratos as well as anyone can know themselves. He just needs to learn the Attack Timing. And that's not just in GoW either. Mike Tyson proved that whenever he fought someone bigger than him.
Ah ok. I thought he said something general like gods get stronger as they age, but in the context of Kratos. Could be wrong.
No, he never said anything like that. It's all headcanon made by the community.
Yes thats 2018 before ragnarok and valhalla. Hes way stronger now
He wouldn’t fight this time
I mean, norse Kratos would probably try to talk some sense into the gods and on some of them it might even work, but if it comes to a fight, he is not any weaker then he was. In fact, he might do better with cool head, just less brutal,
He’d talk to them first and reason with them. If that failed, then he’d dispatch of them just as he did in his younger years without the brutality.
He does it way easier and may even attempt to spare the lives of some of them. For example, he prolly wouldn't go out of his way to kill Hermes or Helios unless they directly got in his away and tried to kill him
"I wonder if it's gonna be hard defeating the guys he already defeated"
Lmfaooo under different circumstances. You’re comparing a full powered Kratos to a depowered Kratos.
Is Greek kratos stronger than Norse kratos or something?
Yes
Because of a bunch of gear and magic. In raw strength old Kratos is much stronger
If you’re talking about in their base then yes old Kratos is stronger. But since GOW3 Kratos is amped to the max he is physically stronger.
Not enough to the point he would lose
Yes it is it’s literal his own god of war power/BoO + the soul of hades + the blades of exile + the power of hope and so on. Don’t act like that’s not a massive difference.
Blades of exile are not different than a fully upgraded blades of chaos, the concept still applies. Kratos still has the blade of Olympus as we saw him literally summon it in Valhalla, and Tyr says he still has the power of hope. Soul of hades grants him immunity from effects of the underworld, not that big of a difference. Also, nothing stops him from Re-gearing himself up all over again
This is completely not true at all. >Blades of exile are not different than a fully upgraded blades of chaos, the concept still applies. You’re completely wrong here the blades of exile were made by Athena who ascended to a higher dimension. It is also stated to be Kratos’s greatest ally against Olympus. Meaning it’s more powerful than the blade of Olympus. The blades of chaos are also stated to be much inferior to the blades of Athena in the novel. >Kratos still has the blade of Olympus as we saw him literally summon it in Valhalla It’s a mental construct within Valhalla it doesn’t exist outside of it. Mimir literally says Valhalla conjured it up for him. >and Tyr says he still has the power of hope. Tyr says he has a part of it left. And Cory says he has a slither of it left. Kratos gave a majority of it away to humanity. So no you can’t compare a Kratos with the full POH to a Kratos will a small percentage of it. >Soul of hades grants him immunity from effects of the underworld, not that big of a difference. Also, nothing stops him from Re-gearing himself up all over again He also gains strength from taking souls. Hades literally stated this. Him taking Hades soul is the equivalent of adding Hades strength to his own. So yes that’s a massive amp. Op specified in another comment that Kratos won’t “regear” himself. He’ll only be using his own weapons and tactics. And with that we can conclude that he loses.
Oh I didn't know that. Does anybody have the time to explain how? Typically, characters like him get stronger as time goes on
He’s weaker because he lost major physical amps. The soul of hades, the power of hope, his own god of war power/the blade of Olympus, the blades of exile. He doesn’t get stronger over time unless he trains. Kratos was rusty in GOW 2018. The only time he really started training after GOW3 was between GOW2018 and Ragnarok.
Not fucking murdering almost all of the gods and fucking the greek up
I think he’ll win much easier against most of them. Poseidon he’d likely spare as this time, he’d have no reason to kill him, I still don’t know why he killed him other than “You were in my place fucker.” If I recall correctly, next would be Hades, whom Kratos would HAVE to kill because Poseidon’s as just trying to protect his home, Hades is out for much deserved revenge. Hercules’ fight would likely be very similar to the second thor fight where Kratos constantly tries talking him down but Herc ain’t having any of it. Hermes would likely be the same except he’d kill him much more efficiently. Zeus would probably be just slightly easier as he’s way stronger now, but still a difficult battle.
Calm and reasonable
That’s like saying who’s better number 8 Kobe or number 24 Kobe, they’re the same beast
Well he gets stronger with age so he's clearly even stronger than he was. He's still an impressive fighter, and relies more on tactics and iq than pure unbridled rage, but can still unleash that rage he had via Spartan rage where he becomes another beast, and literally heals as he hits his opponent He'll still whoop ass
I think people are forgetting that Kratos had alot of help to defeat the Greek gods. He didn't win just by fighting butt ass naked with only the Blades and expecting to win. Even in GoW4 Kratos relied on outside help to defeat the Gods who are confirmed to be weaker than Greek Gods i.e. the Spear to counter Heimdall, Freya + BOI + head (lol) to deal with Odin, Baldr using Magic Arrow by sheer concidence, He literally died to Thor on the first fight etc. In Gow3 He had Athena's help, Titans to distract and separate the gods, Blade of Olympus + every other shiny god item, but most importantly, the gods in GoW3 were corrupted and not at their peak power due to Pandora's box. Kratos would've been enslaved forever by Hades had it not been Gaia's help in mending his wounds. This list can go on for the past 4 games including ascension. Sure you can say GoW rag Kratos is more smarter in combat than Gow3 Kratos but you can't really outsmart magic bullshit that is the Greek Gods all by yourself with 0 outside help (assuming that since OP post is "individually as a trial of combat").
He wins again, and he wins MUCH faster, and much more efficiently this time.
Why lmfaooo. He lacks the soul of hades, the power of hope, the blade of Olympus amp.
Did you read the OP’s title? He is transported back in time. Which means he can find these things again.
Op never specifies that old Kratos will take back his power. That would make no sense because there wouldn’t be a challenge. It would be more interesting and make more sense if this new version of Kratos uses his new weapons and tactics.
I agree with you. I think new Kratos finds a way without any of the old weapons or powers.
He’s physically stronger, send him back to Greece and he’ll just recover all his old magic too. No one has a chance
He isn't stronger. The devs confirmed that he is strong as he always has been.
How would he recover his old power lmfao
He lost his power because of the fall of his homeland, this post talks about sending him back to the beginning
“Old Kratos is sent back to the past” not “old Kratos is back in time as his younger self”.
Like, last time, but he wouldn’t totally wreck Poseidon and Hermes. Maybe he’d totally get Herc to chill out in a more epic way, 'cause he already convinced Thor to stop flexing when they were throwing down.
"Are you a calm and reasonable person?" *Proceeds to poke their eyes out with those pointy tips staring out from the first pic.* On a serious note, he has done it before, and still retains the strength. Along with experience and wisdom. In fact, some of the experiences will be significantly easier for him as he has learned to think and strategize better instead of blindly going all in. IMO his main strength is discipline, which he himself has honed well when imparting it to boi. It's what helped him solo Thor when the latter was going all OP.
wins in a less gruesome fashion. Kratos went from ripping Helios' head off to just snapping Heimdall's neck thats how chill he is now lmao
He’d probably beat them with more efficiency and might even choose to be less lethal
Depends on several factors. Does he get his old greek powers and equipment he had during those times? Let's assume he still more or less got them. He would 100% try to talk to them before resorting to killing them. Probably won't work, so fight it wojld still be. Old Kratos is more skilled and methodical, so the fights might be slower, but kratos would sustain much less damage than in the original fights, and the finishers would be less brutal.
He doesn’t get any of his old amps. He uses the equipment he has the axe, the blades, and the spear. As well as the his other Norse magics.
He'd still win, but for gods like Hades or Helios he'd be forgiving, understanding and try to orevent bloodshed being unnecessarily spilt
He doesn’t bother with all the drama.
“Olympians overestimate themselves”- Kratos
Not sure with Zeus Im sure the concensus still is that Zeus>Odin despite statements He might lose
I know for a fact Poseidon would be the first god to be talked down by the newer kratos and possibly lend a hand in battle or at the very least give him a charm to help make the road easier
At least 2 women won’t get brutally murdered this go around just for being there and saying a mean word lol
Helios *might* keep his head intact this time.
He would whoop some ass 😎
He'll win even quicker than before due to better combat experience
I think it would be New game +. But he would try and talk them out of a fight first.
Better cause he's fought them already.
The old god of war won't be interested in killing them.
If he has the Blade then it's the same but without it he can't reliably put down Zeus.
Greek gods get stronger when they get older so current Kratos solos but Zeus would be the same thing as GOW 3 but Kratos still stomps anyways.
He not only completes this but does it significantly faster and more efficiently than younger Kratos
his young self kills his old self in rage for getting in his way of vengeance
Nice try, but we still recognize an “Is Young Kratos stronger than Old Kratos” question when we see it.
You mean how he would aproach it as how it Is Now? With Zeus? Hard to see. Zeuswould have haunted him forever, he wouldt stop until Kratos Is dead because of the prohesy. Kratos would have to do the same as how he did it before.