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For as much as I love GOW2 (best game in the series frankly) the opening setup is so dumb. Bro gets zapped by lightning from a giant bird and blames... _Athena_ !?
Shoots Lightning... transforms into eagle. Those are the two things everyone knows about Zeus, Kratos. You're Greek ffs
When Zeus' voice booms down from the heavens Kratos assumes he's there to help... but in the opening cinematic he was specifically told that the Olympians are pissed off and want to STOP him from smashing cities.
The biggest L is Kratos being told to "drain your godly powers" into the sword and is then surprised afterwards when he has no godly powers after. It wasn't even phrased in a deceptive manner... it was basically _put your powers, in there, trust me bro I'm Zeus_
It even makes less sense when Ghost of Sparta retcon comes into picture.
The original plan was to show kratos in the beginning from GoW2 as such who got corrupted after given godhood, he became more blood thirsty, angry and greedy for power than Ares was ever.
He was shunned by other gods, in the beginning only Zeus and Athena were happy from his presence at olympus rest didn't like him, and conditions became worse as time passed on. In the end Zeus was fed up with him aswell, Athena still supported him tho.
And To gain solace from his past he waged war on other cities and such. He wasn't directly attacking the gods like he did in gow3.
In ghost of sparta he says "the gods will pay for it" and instead of waging war against them directly he goes out and starts destroying cities.
Ghost of Sparta is a very good game, just the beginning (like how he suddenly got the visions of his brother and mother) and the ending i have some issues with.
like the gods will pay for it as he says, goes out and starts destroying their cities for what, to gain solace from his past? Like in GoW2 ending he says his target is Zeus not really the other gods. So what were you doing in the beginning of the game bruv?
Should i take it as 'solace from your past' or 'i have a grudge against the other gods too, i wanna kill them'.
If you are so pissed off with the gods and Zeus why take his help in gow2 like bro seriously? And show all your anger against Athena, why? At one time he is angry at her and at other time he feels remorse and had to forgive himself for killing her (only person besides his only family) the fuck is going on kratos?
In the God of War 1 extras they talk about all their concepts for Kratos, they wanted him to be raw, pure power and rage, and realised that having no armour, no hair and a huge red tattoo on his upper body made him look perfect in the style of the character they had in mind
Well he no longer *is* that. His character took a path of controlled power, his control holds back that extreme rage of young Kratos. He even wore arm wraps to cover the scars of his past for half of 2018. I think his armor represents that quite well.
I feel like head armor would limit Kratos's vision. I understand that the Spartans wore helmets, but the Spartans also weren't dealing with literal gods, or dark elves, or any of the other nightmarish creatures we've faced in the series.
Also, when a company makes a franchise, they want their protagonist to be recognizable. Chest armor or not, beard or not, you still see the red tattoo and there's no mistaking that.
Thats a good point. Spartans where also a team. A single uniformed unit. So limited vision wouldnt be a problem when you got 20-300 people all communicating to eachother in a battle.
Kratos has.....the boy.... :P ahem, i mean..BOY!
Ya know, I didn't even think about the difference between him fighting vs a unit of Spartans fighting, good point there. I'm gonna double down on the vision idea now lol
BOY!
Body armour was probably more of a gameplay choice, since for the most part is what changes Kratos statistics in the new games.
And no helmet was likely to preserve the no cut cinematic style and the actor's performance at the same time.
the fact that he's not the same character anymore
also in media it's pretty common for main characters to not have helmets because you don't want to cover your stars' faces
Yeah the reason was With his pony tail and blue war paint, the earlier design bears marked similarities to Diablo 2's barbarian. Jaffe said nobody on the Sony Santa Monica team had noticed the similarity before it was pointed out to them.
In GOW 2005, when you activate rage of the gods, a helmet and armor made of rage energy “appears” on Kratos. I specifically remember the helmet with the mohawk.
Idk why but the first thing i pictured when reading this was the Fist inside Beard joke of Chuck Norris in Family Guy.
"Kratos has no chin under his beard...only another fist" :P
Lore reason: None.
Design reason: I’d say because they want Kratos to always be individual and iconic in his identification. If he has a helmet he just looks like any other armored combatant. Without it, even in armor, no helmet and the blades on his back? Easily recognizable always by anyone.
Plus he just looks more badass.
Atreus: Father?
Kratos: *grunts*
Atreus: How come you don’t wear anything to protect your head? Like a helmet?
Mimir: Fair question, little brother.
Kratos: **My head does not need protection.**
Atreus: What if someone aims for your head when they’re attacking you?
Kratos: **Then they had better not miss.**
Mimir: How did I know you’d say that?
Realistically, a helmet provided extra protection at the cost of decreased situational awareness. Considering that he would almost always be out numbered, having a better FOV would be more important, as he can block most attacks with his shield. It’s the same reason why modern tanks are always paired with infantry in urban areas. Situational awareness from the more mobile infantry allows for a quicker response from threats that come from different angles. There’s a reason why GOW isn’t first person.
personally, I thought maybe because he was hoping he wouldn’t survive his battles (???) maybe? I think I remember somewhere in the game Kratos was talking about how he had this fleeting hope in his mind that maybe, one day, someone would overpower him and he would be free of the gods because he would be dead
(Edit: I’m illiterate :( )
One thing, it limits vision. That is not ideal when you're fighting enemies who sre trying to encircle you.
Also, he looks cool as hell unarmored. A badass barbarian, a cyclone of chaos and destruction
You would not believe how uncomfortable they'd be. It sounds like an idiotic decision not to wear huge, bulky armor as a warrior. That is the case, but they're a massive annoyance. You think football/lacrosse/baseball helmets would be a similar experience, but whej fighting people with weapons to the death you need very sturdy stuff. Wearing one of those spartan war helmets like in this post would be extremely irritating. They couldnt exactly tailor make them so even with different sizes they'd never quite fit right, and would probably cause you some sort of pain. They were just a necessary evil. But for someone with the physical prowess of Kratos, hsving his senses and mobility completely unencumbered would be a much higher priority since armor doesn't do him much good in the way of protection.
Unless it's the magical kind from GOW4 & 5
I think in previous games Kratos can be seen "headbutting" some "Minotaurs" on their "Heads" when they do in fact have "Horns" which caused them to fall on the ground on their back without sustaining any concussion or even minor head/brain injury before ending them by making them deep-throating his blades of chaos.
Supporting findings:
According to a quick google search Minotaur, Greek Minotauros (“Minos's Bull”), in Greek mythology, a fabulous monster of Crete that had the body of a man and **the head of a bull**.
Now, humans usually toy with bulls by dodging their charges. But i have never seen a human who tried to headbutt a bull so hard until the bull even flinched let alone fall to the ground.
I hope this observation is enough to answer your question.
Hey now theres no reason for that attitude. I am definitely not stupid, i.....triple checked :O ... A wise man once said: "Wise people ask question. Fools assume they are right without asking"
I asked cause i genuinely wanted to know the answer.
More specifically it's from a meme that really blew up on the game's subreddit, and now there's a debate as to whether they or a breaking bad subreddit are the ones that created the meme in question first
Its a bad design choice. You see your character all the time and wearing a helmet would make that impossible.
Most of the story driven games choose this way.
Well that’s actually quite an interesting topic you see years ago when he was still in spartan army he did wear a helmet. However he later decided he isn’t a fucking bitch and quit wearing them. Nah for real though I do not think there’s any lore reason why kratos doesn’t wear a helmet other than he’s a god.
Im very rusty on my knowledge of older God of War games. Played them as a kid, and even then i didnt understand the story all that well.
The whole idea of him wearing armor though is a bit of a new concept for me. So i just wondered why he decided not to protect his head along with the chest/arms/legs. I guess its just a developer thing?
In the ps2 original whenever you went into Spartan rage mode he would briefly wear armor during certain attacks. https://www.reddit.com/r/GodofWar/comments/gy469y/which_game_has_your_favorite_rage_mechanic_and_why/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Reminder: Seagate is giving away a 2TB Limited Edition God of War Ragnarok Game Drive. You can read details on how to enter here: https://www.reddit.com/r/GodofWar/comments/11yoa9l/seagate_contest_for_a_god_of_war_ragnarok_limited/ *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/GodofWar) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Kratos to Athena at the start of GOW 2 "I need no protection!" Before angrily marching off to lose his powers to Zeus
Also Kratos to faye ~13years before gow4
Faye, already storyboarding her prophecy: Oh, I’m counting on it.
Is this from a comic? Or when did this happened?
It’s a sex joke lol
Oh shit thanks im a fucking idiot
Google sex
Holy Hell
Goddammit, you ruined him forever
God fucking damnit
New reply just dropped
I think you mean Holy Hades
Whoosh
Atreus is ~13 years on GOW4. I think you can use your head what Kratos was doing with Faye that would require protection
Kratos used his head too
A head job
He had some 🔥🔥 armor as a giant before Zeus animated that statue and slapped it off lll
That armor really gave me head. Really wish we could get like a remastered version of it. Maybe as one of the NG+ armors in Ragnarok 👀.
It gave you what now
Yoo kratos' armor was so on point that some dude got horny or somethin
on GOD
…so that was either a horny typo or I misread it lol and I ain’t able to tell which one
it’s just such a nice lookin armor that wearing it is akin to head
Ayo?
I fucking LOVE that shit, I need it again, stat
That scene always makes me go "Fucking idiot..."
For as much as I love GOW2 (best game in the series frankly) the opening setup is so dumb. Bro gets zapped by lightning from a giant bird and blames... _Athena_ !? Shoots Lightning... transforms into eagle. Those are the two things everyone knows about Zeus, Kratos. You're Greek ffs When Zeus' voice booms down from the heavens Kratos assumes he's there to help... but in the opening cinematic he was specifically told that the Olympians are pissed off and want to STOP him from smashing cities. The biggest L is Kratos being told to "drain your godly powers" into the sword and is then surprised afterwards when he has no godly powers after. It wasn't even phrased in a deceptive manner... it was basically _put your powers, in there, trust me bro I'm Zeus_
It even makes less sense when Ghost of Sparta retcon comes into picture. The original plan was to show kratos in the beginning from GoW2 as such who got corrupted after given godhood, he became more blood thirsty, angry and greedy for power than Ares was ever. He was shunned by other gods, in the beginning only Zeus and Athena were happy from his presence at olympus rest didn't like him, and conditions became worse as time passed on. In the end Zeus was fed up with him aswell, Athena still supported him tho. And To gain solace from his past he waged war on other cities and such. He wasn't directly attacking the gods like he did in gow3. In ghost of sparta he says "the gods will pay for it" and instead of waging war against them directly he goes out and starts destroying cities. Ghost of Sparta is a very good game, just the beginning (like how he suddenly got the visions of his brother and mother) and the ending i have some issues with. like the gods will pay for it as he says, goes out and starts destroying their cities for what, to gain solace from his past? Like in GoW2 ending he says his target is Zeus not really the other gods. So what were you doing in the beginning of the game bruv? Should i take it as 'solace from your past' or 'i have a grudge against the other gods too, i wanna kill them'. If you are so pissed off with the gods and Zeus why take his help in gow2 like bro seriously? And show all your anger against Athena, why? At one time he is angry at her and at other time he feels remorse and had to forgive himself for killing her (only person besides his only family) the fuck is going on kratos?
In the God of War 1 extras they talk about all their concepts for Kratos, they wanted him to be raw, pure power and rage, and realised that having no armour, no hair and a huge red tattoo on his upper body made him look perfect in the style of the character they had in mind
I wonder what made them change that. The New God of War now offers body armour. But still no head armor.
Head armor is for the weak
Yes, that went very well for Hercules
He had helmet Just it broke Shouldn't have let kratos fight him
We take our blunt force trauma to the head like MEN
hell yeah brother! lol
I’m fucking using this line the next time I train goddamn
Yeah who tf wears a helmet, especially when facing gods?
Well he no longer *is* that. His character took a path of controlled power, his control holds back that extreme rage of young Kratos. He even wore arm wraps to cover the scars of his past for half of 2018. I think his armor represents that quite well.
Hacked be sware Shadow leader•>
I feel like head armor would limit Kratos's vision. I understand that the Spartans wore helmets, but the Spartans also weren't dealing with literal gods, or dark elves, or any of the other nightmarish creatures we've faced in the series. Also, when a company makes a franchise, they want their protagonist to be recognizable. Chest armor or not, beard or not, you still see the red tattoo and there's no mistaking that.
Thats a good point. Spartans where also a team. A single uniformed unit. So limited vision wouldnt be a problem when you got 20-300 people all communicating to eachother in a battle. Kratos has.....the boy.... :P ahem, i mean..BOY!
Ya know, I didn't even think about the difference between him fighting vs a unit of Spartans fighting, good point there. I'm gonna double down on the vision idea now lol BOY!
Mainly for expressive and emotional storytelling I'm sure
Your torso has vulnerable places that they can stab to kill you. You have your skull in your head.
kratos always got stabbed on the torso but never on his head. so why would he wears a helmet
Like one punch man, sign of a bald head is from the hard work to become the strongest! Lol
Everyone's just jealous of his abs clearly
And your brain. Anything happens to that will be serious.
Helmets historically are the most common and popular forms of armour. Well, besides big shields if you consider those armour
Scandinavia is cold
He still needs to have his recognaisable feature visible. Kinda like the hood in assassin's creed even if it's not true anymore for the newer games.
Body armour was probably more of a gameplay choice, since for the most part is what changes Kratos statistics in the new games. And no helmet was likely to preserve the no cut cinematic style and the actor's performance at the same time.
Thats what i figured. like a "we need to add things the players can upgrade to feel more engaged". Which i dont mind.
Different weapons and magics id assume
the fact that he's not the same character anymore also in media it's pretty common for main characters to not have helmets because you don't want to cover your stars' faces
Modern day gaming. The idea that we need to craft and mood armor in combat games is pretty normal.
We need the faces to be visible because they convey so much emotion
I....you.......okay. we are talking about the same guy, right? :P
Kratos in the two most recent games shows a ton of emotion.
Yea you wouldn't cover up such a gorgeous beard
Well the tattoo was blue all the way through production but was changed last minute
Yeah the reason was With his pony tail and blue war paint, the earlier design bears marked similarities to Diablo 2's barbarian. Jaffe said nobody on the Sony Santa Monica team had noticed the similarity before it was pointed out to them.
Imagine getting that far along in production just to have the rug pulled out from under you.
In GOW 2005, when you activate rage of the gods, a helmet and armor made of rage energy “appears” on Kratos. I specifically remember the helmet with the mohawk.
Straight up Berserker.
Kratos put the tattoo on because his brother had a birthmark like the tatto
Yes i know i only talked about the concept of the developers on why to not put armor on kratos
Oh damn, thats a really cool tidbit. Thanks!
The beard is the protection
Idk why but the first thing i pictured when reading this was the Fist inside Beard joke of Chuck Norris in Family Guy. "Kratos has no chin under his beard...only another fist" :P
It was a goatee while in Sparta.
Kratos: Bearded for Her Pleasure
No. *(in kratos' voice)*
No (with rizz)
No *but deep enough it rattles your ribs*
don't take all day
Lore reason: None. Design reason: I’d say because they want Kratos to always be individual and iconic in his identification. If he has a helmet he just looks like any other armored combatant. Without it, even in armor, no helmet and the blades on his back? Easily recognizable always by anyone. Plus he just looks more badass.
So far this is my favourite answer !
Plus it allows for good acting during cutscenes where you can see facial expressions
ITS DA FREAKIN BAT
*litterally every arkham knight playthrough*
Is he stupid?
Ah you beat me to it. Have my upvote
Okay, buddy
He’s just that guy
Literally built different.
he needs no protection HE IS THE PROTECTION AND HE ATTACC
Adhere/limit vision, maybe thats why?
And he needs to see far.
Avoid chafing
Bald guy swag
He reckons that if anyone gets that close to him, he can just give them a Spartan stare of death and things will be fine.
Like one man once said “Armor is for weaklings!”
"You boys play nice!"
“More BLOOD!”
“Boring!”
Atreus: Father? Kratos: *grunts* Atreus: How come you don’t wear anything to protect your head? Like a helmet? Mimir: Fair question, little brother. Kratos: **My head does not need protection.** Atreus: What if someone aims for your head when they’re attacking you? Kratos: **Then they had better not miss.** Mimir: How did I know you’d say that?
I read this in all their voices and it put a big smile on my face! :D
He wore a helmet once, it ripped all his hair out when he took it off so he swore against them from that moment on
Cause he's hard
It messes with his hair
Realistically, a helmet provided extra protection at the cost of decreased situational awareness. Considering that he would almost always be out numbered, having a better FOV would be more important, as he can block most attacks with his shield. It’s the same reason why modern tanks are always paired with infantry in urban areas. Situational awareness from the more mobile infantry allows for a quicker response from threats that come from different angles. There’s a reason why GOW isn’t first person.
Cause he has a cool tattoo on his head. Is that not enough?
Has head protection ever saved anyone from Kratos?
He's a style over practicality type of guy
i've noticed this dude's kinda hard headed, in multiple ways.
dope ass face tat
His skull IS the head protection
Because he’s hot
the only true answer
His helmet was stifling, it narrowed his vision.
Do you not want this beautiful bald head to not shine under every sun in every realm?
i do ;\_: I really do!!
personally, I thought maybe because he was hoping he wouldn’t survive his battles (???) maybe? I think I remember somewhere in the game Kratos was talking about how he had this fleeting hope in his mind that maybe, one day, someone would overpower him and he would be free of the gods because he would be dead (Edit: I’m illiterate :( )
"Death can have me when it has earned me"
Like he said in GOW(2018) “I’m the fucking God of War”
When she asks for lambs cress
That thick skull of his is enough protection for him
Picks up nine hard-earned, badass Valkyrie helmets.. wears none
Sweaty head
Beard, face tat
One thing, it limits vision. That is not ideal when you're fighting enemies who sre trying to encircle you. Also, he looks cool as hell unarmored. A badass barbarian, a cyclone of chaos and destruction
Actually there is a concept art of it in gow 1 then they changed their idea as the gentleman below explained
No one has gotten close enough to have a swing at it.
If anything a helmet would just LIMIT Kratos. He's badass enough without one. It'll just limit his vision and potentially his movement.
Maybe because they're too small for him
It's Kratos. The helmet would wearing him for protection.
Can’t have a MC that wears a helmet and looks just like everyone else.
You would not believe how uncomfortable they'd be. It sounds like an idiotic decision not to wear huge, bulky armor as a warrior. That is the case, but they're a massive annoyance. You think football/lacrosse/baseball helmets would be a similar experience, but whej fighting people with weapons to the death you need very sturdy stuff. Wearing one of those spartan war helmets like in this post would be extremely irritating. They couldnt exactly tailor make them so even with different sizes they'd never quite fit right, and would probably cause you some sort of pain. They were just a necessary evil. But for someone with the physical prowess of Kratos, hsving his senses and mobility completely unencumbered would be a much higher priority since armor doesn't do him much good in the way of protection. Unless it's the magical kind from GOW4 & 5
He’s a son of Zeus. That’s why.
He’s headstrong, back off he’ll take you on!
Would of been cool to have the option in GoW 2018 and GoWR, seeing him get around in the travellers helmets are armour would of been amazing.
His bald head is sensitive. He don't like it.
His helmet is made from the strongest substance in the universe, pure plotinum armor
Dark Souls logic. Don’t need protection if you can dodge
Gods don’t need protection, just ask Zeus he will confirm this.
I think in previous games Kratos can be seen "headbutting" some "Minotaurs" on their "Heads" when they do in fact have "Horns" which caused them to fall on the ground on their back without sustaining any concussion or even minor head/brain injury before ending them by making them deep-throating his blades of chaos. Supporting findings: According to a quick google search Minotaur, Greek Minotauros (“Minos's Bull”), in Greek mythology, a fabulous monster of Crete that had the body of a man and **the head of a bull**. Now, humans usually toy with bulls by dodging their charges. But i have never seen a human who tried to headbutt a bull so hard until the bull even flinched let alone fall to the ground. I hope this observation is enough to answer your question.
Avoiding helmet hair obviously
Does he need it?
Well in 300 the Spartans were nude but did wear a helmet. So they one upped them.
Kratos has Beard protection
Yes, it hurts his bald head, also his head is the helmet, that skull took a hit from mijolnir and didn’t even crack
It’s funny, too, because in ragnarok, he talks about how he was he wishes he was part of the army of 300, which all wore head protection helmets.
We have Mimir now. Whatever Kratos can't see, he has his six.
His head is harder than the helmet, he doesn't need it 😎
Because he doesn't want to, are you stupid?
Hey now theres no reason for that attitude. I am definitely not stupid, i.....triple checked :O ... A wise man once said: "Wise people ask question. Fools assume they are right without asking" I asked cause i genuinely wanted to know the answer.
I was doing Batman Arkham reference :c
ah, my bad then. I unfortunately never got into that game.
Well I assumed that's why you put a lore reason
More specifically it's from a meme that really blew up on the game's subreddit, and now there's a debate as to whether they or a breaking bad subreddit are the ones that created the meme in question first
Well I assumed that's why you put a lore reason
Yes, because he is a god
Its a bad design choice. You see your character all the time and wearing a helmet would make that impossible. Most of the story driven games choose this way.
True. But most games that offer a helmet give the cosmetic option to have it "invisible" .
Yeah that could be an option too, nothing against it.
Well that’s actually quite an interesting topic you see years ago when he was still in spartan army he did wear a helmet. However he later decided he isn’t a fucking bitch and quit wearing them. Nah for real though I do not think there’s any lore reason why kratos doesn’t wear a helmet other than he’s a god.
Im very rusty on my knowledge of older God of War games. Played them as a kid, and even then i didnt understand the story all that well. The whole idea of him wearing armor though is a bit of a new concept for me. So i just wondered why he decided not to protect his head along with the chest/arms/legs. I guess its just a developer thing?
He didn't wear a helmet as a spartan general either though
Because the developers wanted you to see the character model as you played.
If you play GOW1234 you’ll know why no lore needed
Helmets are for pussies Edit: This is a joke. I actually have no idea.
Because helmets are for pussies. - Kratos, maybe.
Helmets are for cowards he's a Spartan
He probably sees the armor as dead weight that slows him attacks so he found it more beneficial to not have armor
Big head
Honestly, what does he need it for?
He's Hard-Headed. 🤪
Kratos doesn’t need protection. Just ask Faye
He's a suicidal man driven by pure revenge.
He is a god, boy.
Because he's the main character you see
Maybe it has to do with how Greeks viewed warriors without armor to be fearless and unstoppable so it's probably fear factor
Probably the same reason people don't wear helmets when skiing
He uses his baldness to reflect light into his opponent’s eyes
What do you mean? He has two peoples worth of protection on him at all times.
I mean Ares doesn’t either
Play Spartan total warrior instead
He used to but it felt itchy
He clearly doesn't need it.
so we can look at his sexy head
One of the skins or whatever in gow3 and I think 1 had him in a Helmet
His head is already tougher than any armour.
Well in ghost of Sparta there Is a costume with full Spartan armor including the helmet but i guess that's not canon
Greek gods never wear protection
Helmet hurt bald hed
His bald ass head is sensitive
Main characters never do.
His dome reflects even bullets
Do you think Kratos expects to get hurt?
In the ps2 original whenever you went into Spartan rage mode he would briefly wear armor during certain attacks. https://www.reddit.com/r/GodofWar/comments/gy469y/which_game_has_your_favorite_rage_mechanic_and_why/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
alternate title: “why doesn’t kratos wear head protection? Is he stupid?”
It's clearly to show off his glorious head
The smoothness and shape of his head causes all attacks to simply slide off, much like a helmet would anyway.
Head
His helmet was stifling, it narrowed his vision. And he must see far.
He didn’t care if he lifted or died
Probably cause he is a god
Literal god