Champions, with eight glorious weeks of God of War: Ascension Multiplayer now etched into the stones of Olympus, it’s time to look ahead to what the Oracle has seen in our future. It’s also time to see what the community has achieved thus far — see the infographic along the side of this post (click on it for the full, ultra high-resolution image).

Our God of War Development Team here at @SonySantaMonica is working steadfastly on a wide array of additional multiplayer content, including new weapons (plus a powerful fourth weapon class) and armors, large and small maps, and a few other surprises. We’ll have more to share later this month.

Today we are releasing our second wave of Multiplayer DLC – the Primordial Weapons – comprised of the Armor of Typhon and the Mercenary Blade. These will be available to purchase today on PSN (search “God of War”), alongside the “Armors of Anarchy” and “Blades of Darkness” released last week. Pay close attention to the Artemis & Thanatos Blades; they have new moves and FX to augment your playing style.

We are also currently offering a free DLC armor: The Chimeran Armor. This armor is best suited for Champions who focus on Elemental attacks, such as Zeus and Poseidon-aligned Warriors.

A warrior would be wise to balance their lower health with an alternate piece of allegiance armor that raises health, or an item that provides temporary protection against attacks, such as the Cloak of Boreas or Aegis of Zeus.

Did you know that in the first two months of Ascension Multiplayer, over 240 million Warriors perished? That’s enough to fill the Coliseum umpteenth times with nothing but fallen combatants. Or that enough flags were captured to fill the Parthenon from top to bottom over 350 times?

We’ve crafted an infographic (look to the right) to display just how epic our first two months of Ascension Multiplayer have been. Let’s get one thing straight: we use the word “epic” quite a bit when it comes to God of War, but we think this infographic defines the word quite literally.

Finally, this Friday beginning at 5:00pm Pacific, on our Twitch page, we will host our first God of War Game w/ Dev Live Stream featuring the infamous “Dev7,” a special advanced preview of some of our upcoming new DLC weaponry, and perhaps a few other things we feel are ready to pull out of our DLC arsenal.

FACTOID: Ares is the most popular God allegiance thus far, but also has players with the lowest overall skill rating. Hades is the second most popular, and the highest skill rated players, evil incarnate FTW!

We’re pleased to announce the release of our latest 1.03 update, deploying today. Though this update may be small, it throws an added support line at the Trial of Archimedes, and enhances multiplayer customization with a new appearance feature for your Champion – we call them “Marks”.

We received extensive feedback from the community that the “Trial of Archimedes” section (Chapter 28) near the end of the game was excessively challenging. In every God of War game, establishing a well-paced difficulty ramp towards the end of the game is paramount to us. Based on player response, the degree of challenge offered here was short of our goal of being perfectly balanced.

In the 1.03 update, at the end of each elevator stage (three total), players will now receive a measured amount of green health orbs and a nominal amount of blue magic orbs. This change affects all difficulty levels. We are confident this revision will address feedback regarding “Trial of Archimedes” while still preserving the level of challenge appropriate for this late section of the game.

Thank you for your understanding and patience. Good fortunes in your quest to conquer the Trial of Archimedes and complete Kratos’ ascension!

As noted, 1.03 also adds “Marks” for added customization to your Champion in multiplayer, and 8 additional new tints, including “Ash”. Now you have an opportunity to become a “Marked Warrior”. These are the six mark’s we’ve added in this update, with more to come:

• Mark of the Thief, for HADES
• Mark of the Trojan, for ALL
• Mark of the Spartan, for ALL
• Mark of the Legionnaire, for ARES
• Mark of the Mercenary, for ZEUS
• Mark of the Deep, for POSEIDON

Unfortunately, the time necessary to diagnose and explore audio issues cited by many of our fans during their play experiences made a solution in time for inclusion in the 1.03 update unfeasible. Despite this, we are still very aware of these reports, we continue to monitor user experiences in this regard, and we are working as quickly as possible to find a fix. We understand that this issue is of particular frustration for many of you in the community; your patience is greatly appreciated!

This is just the beginning of post-launch support for God of War: Ascension. As stated previously, we have an influx of DLC in the weeks ahead to support your strategic play-style, and an unannounced 4th weapon class. We’re also exploring other new enhancements we can’t disclose just yet, however you can try asking The Oracle (aka @SonySantaMonica) – you never know.

Now do well warrior, ascend! And stay in touch with everything God of War on our official site.

Here are a few links to help prepare you for a long weekend of God of War: Ascension:

• All Ascension Info – Everything You Need To Know
• Multiplayer Strategy – Get Beyond The Basics
• How To Redeem Your Beta Reward
• God of War: The Complete Story

And be sure to stay checked-in to our official site, as we are planning an adrenaline-packed “Game w/ Dev” weekend.

While we are just kicking off the Ascension era, we wanted to encourage everyone to visit our Multiplayer General Forum to engage in upcoming community events, learn and share strategies with fellow Champions, and get the direct word from The Gods, our developers. Perhaps even The Boat Captain himself (he makes special appearances). You can also visit our Community Portal for a direct link to all of our social channels here at Sony Santa Monica.

To celebrate the launch of Ascension, we partnered up with Geek & Sundry (run by the lovely Felicia Day), to establish the Blades of Chaos as the focal point in their new video game weapon series, Arcade Arms. This pilot episode takes an in-depth look at the creation of the blades and the original Spartan weapons that influenced its design. It also features a legit weaponsmith who has to be seen to be believed. Geek & Sundry is also running an Ascension giveaway contest that’s super easy to enter. After you watch the video hit this link to enter.

Additionally, YouTube sensation “Tobuscus” took our live action “From Ashes” trailer and gave it a very literal makeover. Prepare for a “sad moment, happy moment, sad moment, happy moment, angry moment, sad moment, angry moment, happy moment,” and the beat goes on…

God of War Community Happenings

Community legend Spider-Jew has created an Ascension Community Game Night. Beginning this Saturday (and continuing weekly), he will be streaming Multiplayer matches to create an atmosphere of epic moments and a fun time for everyone getting into the craziness. The events will be on his Twitch channel. If you are interested in being on the stream, you can sign up in this thread.

Looking for multiplayer comrades or frenemies? Add your tag to this thread to join others in random bouts.

In need of a guide for those extra pesky areas? Site Gameranx has started a series of complete game video walkthroughs for your viewing pleasure.

Finally, in the lead up to the launch of Ascension, we have seen some of the most incredible fan-art we could ever imagine. Our art team has the highest respect for each of these skilled artists. We recently launched a Fandom section on our official website. If you feel you have something worthy of the gods’ selection, please drop us a line.

One of our personal favorites.

Do well Champions — Ascend!

Chat with fellow PS gamers in our Forums! There’s plenty to talk about, with different sections including:

PlayStation Plus
PlayStation Home
PS Trophy Leaderboard
Whatever you want (aka Off-Topic area)

Win PlayStation games and products Wednesdays on Twitter! Follow @HeyPlayStation on Twitter for more details.

Friday, March 15th

Battle Bowl II Qualifier
POW II TacMap
PlayStation Campus Tour – Portland State University

Saturday, March 16th

Battle Bowl II Qualifier
POW II TacMap
Uncharted 3: Naughty Paws
PlayStation All Stars Saturday Smackdown
Gran Turismo: Saturday Racing

Sunday, March 17th

Battle Bowl II Qualifier
POW II TacMap

Six months have passed since Kratos stood over the bodies of his wife and daughter, his hands stained with their blood – tricked by Ares into murdering the only people he ever loved. Swearing to avenge them, Kratos broke the blood oath that bound him to Ares… but oaths to Olympus are not so easily broken. This is where your journey in God of War: Ascension begins.

It’s been more than six long months since your first look at God of War: Ascension’s single-player campaign at E3. You’ve waited patiently, and asked about it an ungodly (but unsurprising) number of times. So, as we get ready to close our multiplayer beta early next week, the time has come to focus on where Ascension and its story will take you this March.

The trailer above is only a quick taste. You didn’t think Ascension was only 30 seconds long, did you?! We have more single-player details to unravel and showcase as we rage towards our launch on March 12th. Most importantly, in late February, we’ll be bringing you a full-fledged single player demo! We’ll be announcing details in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

The Ascension Collector’s Edition

Many of you have already pre-ordered the Collector’s Edition for Ascension, but today we’re happy to show you the final “cube” you’ll be receiving, and of course placing atop your shrine to God of War:

Note: Image updated

Be on the lookout for more single-player details, and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you again to all of our Multiplayer Beta Warriors. Don’t forget: your Gifts from the Gods will be ready for you at launch!

Here at Sony Santa Monica, with this being the first time we are bringing multiplayer to the God of War franchise, we knew creating an epic multiplayer mode worthy of standing next to our treasured single-player campaign (more on that coming soon) could qualify as the “13th Labor of Hercules.” Your feedback, participation, and excitement for the Ascension Multiplayer Beta is met with the utmost gratification, and gives us the extra push needed to drive this home for you, our fans.

With that, we’d like to bestow upon all God of War: Ascension Beta participants a “Gift from the Gods.”
Anyone who participates in the Beta will receive the following two exclusive Beta rewards to adorn and equip your Champion with at launch:

This gift from the Gods will be provided to every person who has participated in our Multiplayer Beta. In other words, if you want these bad-ass gifts, you need to join the Beta right now. You’ll need to be a PlayStation Plus member, but that alone provides you with more gifts from the PlayStation Gods then one could ever hope for. So why not some just for God of War: Ascension?!

The master humorists at Penny Arcade have honored us with what can only be described as “the most informative Ascension Multiplayer Guide of all-time… in good fun.” We don’t take that statement lightly, and neither should you. They mean business, and not just funny business — at least 10% serious business. The first two pages from their Ascension strategy guide epic, “Book of Divine Wisdom,” have already been released and are available on the official site. Head on over to check them out, and be sure to keep checking back, as more pages are coming soon!

Finally, we recently opened our studio’s gates to Press Warriors from many of your favorite sites, including this one right here, PlayStation.Blog (bet you didn’t see that coming!). PS.Blog videographer Rey Gutierrez cut a killer video of the event that went down here. You’ve been served! Watch it now, then get back to the Ascension Beta!

• All PlayStation Plus members will be able to download the Beta software from PSN. If you have opted in for auto-download direct to your console, the Beta will be waiting for you later today on the XMB under the “Games” tab. Just click it to instantly boot up and get to the action!
• If you have a PlayStation Plus 30-day trial promo code from the God of War: Saga Collection or a contest prize, redeem it today. You will have instant access to the Beta software — as well as all the other benefits of being a Plus member — for 30 days.

Be sure to visit our official GodofWar.com website where we’ve just launched a suite of new Beta strategy sections: God Profiles, Basic and Intermediate Tips you won’t find in-game, and your keys to victory in each mode.

BEGIN A WARRIOR, RISE A CHAMPION

Our Multiplayer Beta is a taste of the full-game experience, here’s what you’ll see featured:

• God Allegiances: Zeus and Ares (2 of 4)
• Modes: 8-player – Team Favor of the Gods or Capture The Flag, 4-player – Free For All

Favor of the Gods (Deathmatch)

• Maps: Desert of Lost Souls (large map) & Forum of Hercules (arena)
• Vast amount of weapons, armors, magic, relics, and God items to customize and earn
• Ascend to Level 30 – can you do it during the short Beta period?!
• VoIP – bust out those headphones and mics, team strategies are crucial (especially in CTF)

This being God of War, one does not simply walk into the Ascension Multiplayer Beta and think it ends there. Here are a few things not in the Beta that will be in the final game March 12th:

• God Allegiances Hades and Poseidon
• Third In-Game Weapon Class – To Be Announced Soon
• More Large and Small maps created from signature God of War locations
• Ability to customize your Warrior as you unlock all the weapons, magics, armors, relics, and God items from the four allegiances — and level them up!
• Team Up With Friends – this is a heavy team-multiplayer game, you will have such abilities to join your friends and dominate the competition. More on this closer to launch.
• An unannounced fourth multiplayer mode. We don’t screw around here (well, we do have fun)!

Our development team has been burning the midnight oil, pouring every last ounce of passion into creating a Multiplayer experience worthy of the God of War pedigree. This has been no ordinary journey for our team. Epic in every way, it has been a new beginning. Whether or not you have been following our transparent making-the-game series, Unchained, here is the five-minute story of what’s been a three-year journey in creating something once thought impossible. Enjoy our latest episode, A New Beginning.

By the way, if you made it this far and you love God of War’s single-player experience, fear not: a wealth of new information is coming sooner than you think.

Starhawk fans, we’d like to thank you once again for your support in keeping the battle for Rift Energy thriving online. The team is committed to keeping the servers maintained, and ensuring the war rages on.

If you’ve been following or participating in our Starhawk MLG tournament, you may be aware of the grand final that is going down today at 5:00PM PST. It’ll feature the Top 16 players from the PlayStation Hall of Play leaderboard, going head to head in a fierce “Best of 7″ match for their share of the prize pool — a cool $12,000 — just in time for a Holiday gaming shopping spree, no doubt. Second place will walk away with $6,000 — yes, it pays to join these tournaments!

Our good friends at UrgentFury.com will be hosting the live stream on Twitch at 5:00PM PST here.

This is going to be a battle worth watching. If you’re a Starhawk fan, be sure to check out the stream. Anything can happen…

From the gargantuan, larger than life battles with Zeus, Cronos, and Poseidon, to the brutally intimate no-holds-barred fight with Hercules in God of War III, to fighting alongside his brother, Deimos, in Ghost of Sparta, there have been plenty of epic moments in Kratos’ journey.

But what, ladies and gentlemen, Spartans, warriors and champions, reigns supreme as the #1 most epic God of War moment of All Time?

If you ever doubted Kratos’ ultimate arch-nemesis, the true evil that propelled him into an unstoppable rage, the original God of War — who emblazoned the Blades of Chaos upon Kratos, as he swore an oath to serve his new master — then by the Gods, this moment is bound to get you fired up.

As voted by the God of War Facebook Community , the #1 God of War Epic Moment of All Time takes us back to a moment you should never forget…

God of War’s Most Epic Moments Ever

1. The Death of Ares
2. Kratos vs. Hercules
3. The Brutal Death of Poseidon
4. Brothers in Arms
5. Destroying Zeus and Cronos

From a titan-sized showdown with Ares to battling Zeus at Gaia’s heart, the antagonists of God of War have provided some of the most memorable encounters in gaming history. God of War: Ascension promises to continue with this tradition by introducing a challenge that will push Kratos to his physical, mental, and spiritual limits to say the least. In Ascension, Kratos is sentenced to an eternity chained within a prison for the living damned, and will battle insanity at the hands of the Furies – perhaps the most terrifying spectres of the ancient world. The six-legged Fury Megaera is the first of three to be revealed in our latest Monsters of Ascension entry, with Lead Concept Artist Izzy Medrano – the mastermind behind their creation.

Since Ascension is set before the events of the first God of War, what specific role does Megaera (of the Furies) play in Kratos’ journey from mortal to God?
Izzy: Megaera is the first of three deadly sisters that Kratos must push past to free himself from an oath he has come to greatly regret. Early on, we knew we would be using the Furies, or more aptly the Erinyes in Greek Mythology, as our primary antagonists. We had to bend them to fit our story a little bit, but they act as a group of bounty hunters and torturers for the Gods. They are the keepers of Oaths and punishers of those that would foolishly renege on a contract. They are older than Zeus and the Titans, and are a force unto themselves. In a very real sense, they are “law” incarnate.

Give us some insight into how this malevolent character was born?
Izzy: In the past, Kratos’ antagonists have been extremely physical in their orientation. Kratos is an incredible protagonist because you can keep on hitting him and hitting him, and he’ll never back down. Kratos is the ultimate junkyard dog. You don’t mess with him if you currently enjoy possession of all your limbs and their natural orientation.

For Ascension, we had to raise the stake but we had to tackle him laterally. This is a world before Kratos has become a god. We wanted to take advantage of the fact that although he’s still that same unstoppable physical force, he doesn’t quite have all the internal armor he’s built up in the chapters that follow.

Megaera’s sphere of influence falls in the physical realm. Her instruments are crude as she revels in the sensory world. “Simple pains and simple pleasures” would be her motto, and we took care to build this character around that philosophy. She was born of a need to make someone that could stand her ground in one-on-one combat with Kratos. She’s not gargantuan. She’s not a living mountain. She doesn’t spout flames, or lean on any magical crutch. She stands only heads taller than our hero, and these unassuming elements about her, I hope, inform the player of just how dangerous she really will be.

Regarding her frightening appearance, tell us a bit about what Megaera is capable of.
Izzy: Megaera is far more dangerous than you may first realize when you encounter her. She’s a tactical mover; she uses her long, powerful extra legs to reach places and perform maneuvers that a standard humanoid form couldn’t achieve. A good comparison would be Hercules. Think of Kratos’ half-brother as a grappler, an up close in-your-face type of fighter. We treated Megaera as more of a reach-based scrapper, like Dhalsim. She juggles Kratos at a distance, and never lets him get close enough to do any damage of his own.

Another aspect of Megaera’s physicality is her ability to control bodies like a puppet master. As I mentioned, she doesn’t use magic as we have defined it in the game. She’s a creature of pure physical influence. How we managed to get her to pull off this unique puppeteering ability is her queen bee-like connection to a swarm of parasites that dwell in her very body.

I pulled elements for her design from the Surinam Toad, which is a horrifying little monster that haunts our actual reality. (Don’t believe me? Look em up. Do this on an empty stomach… trust me.) These toads insure the propagation of their species by laying eggs in each other’s backs and carrying the little toadlets to term. When they are ready, the baby Surinam’s burst out of the ‘mother’s’ back leaving a scramble of stomach-churning holes in her flesh, like the bulb of a lotus plant.

Much like the toad, Megaera’s chest is covered with a rash of diseased-looking little holes. The parasites burst out of this living hive and scramble over the living and dead alike. They burrow into the flesh and assume control of their host’s bodies for their queen. The parasites don’t stop there with the horror show, however. Megaera’s lovelies create a physical torture all their own.

For the full interview — and more concept images — click here.

The battle with Hercules in God of War III was not about a titan-sized boss encounter. However, you can’t deny the crushing blows and empowering strength you felt as Kratos pummeled his brother in his own arena. God of War is as much about power as it is about scale and spectacle, and this moment had it all. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments below.

If you missed the previous epic moments, hit the links from the list below.

God of War’s Most Epic Moments Ever

1. The Death of Ares
2. Kratos vs. Hercules
3. The Brutal Death of Poseidon
4. Brothers in Arms
5. Destroying Zeus and Cronos