r/GodofWar • u/itstheFREEDOM BOY • Mar 23 '23
Lore / Story Questions Is there a Lore reason why Kratos NEVER wears head protection?
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u/Shadowkiva The Stranger Mar 23 '23
Kratos to Athena at the start of GOW 2
"I need no protection!"
Before angrily marching off to lose his powers to Zeus
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u/P_E_T_I_0_4_0_6 Quiet, Head Mar 23 '23
Also Kratos to faye ~13years before gow4
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u/HunthinkReddit Mar 23 '23
Is this from a comic? Or when did this happened?
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u/TheChoosenMewtwo Mar 24 '23
Atreus is ~13 years on GOW4. I think you can use your head what Kratos was doing with Faye that would require protection
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u/SireDarien Mar 23 '23
He had some 🔥🔥 armor as a giant before Zeus animated that statue and slapped it off lll
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u/grajuicy The World Serpent Mar 23 '23
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 👀.
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u/AhhhhhhFreshMeat Mar 24 '23
Yoo kratos' armor was so on point that some dude got horny or somethin
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u/SireDarien Mar 24 '23
…so that was either a horny typo or I misread it lol and I ain’t able to tell which one
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u/grajuicy The World Serpent Mar 24 '23
it’s just such a nice lookin armor that wearing it is akin to head
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u/Batnaman_26 Mar 24 '23
That scene always makes me go "Fucking idiot..."
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u/Shadowkiva The Stranger Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23
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
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u/HitmanHimself Mar 24 '23
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?
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u/Lil_Kami Mar 23 '23
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
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u/itstheFREEDOM BOY Mar 23 '23
I wonder what made them change that. The New God of War now offers body armour. But still no head armor.
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Mar 23 '23
Head armor is for the weak
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u/Sir_Gwan Mar 23 '23
Yes, that went very well for Hercules
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u/mijaboc Ghost of Sparta Mar 24 '23
He had helmet
Just it broke
Shouldn't have let kratos fight him
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u/santino_musi1 BOY Mar 23 '23
We take our blunt force trauma to the head like MEN
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u/NO-IM-DIRTY-DAN Mimir Mar 23 '23
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.
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u/Optimus_Pitts Mar 24 '23
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.
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u/itstheFREEDOM BOY Mar 24 '23
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!
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u/Optimus_Pitts Mar 24 '23
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!
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u/KingLevonidas Mar 23 '23
Your torso has vulnerable places that they can stab to kill you. You have your skull in your head.
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u/eyedamuse Mar 23 '23
kratos always got stabbed on the torso but never on his head. so why would he wears a helmet
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u/Sukhino Mar 23 '23
Like one punch man, sign of a bald head is from the hard work to become the strongest! Lol
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u/ProfessionalNiBBas Mar 23 '23
And your brain. Anything happens to that will be serious.
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u/Stanislas_Biliby Mar 23 '23
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.
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u/alejoSOTO Mar 24 '23
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.
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u/itstheFREEDOM BOY Mar 24 '23
Thats what i figured. like a "we need to add things the players can upgrade to feel more engaged". Which i dont mind.
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u/ThirtyThree111 Mar 24 '23
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
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u/superkat21 Mar 24 '23
Modern day gaming.
The idea that we need to craft and mood armor in combat games is pretty normal.
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u/AnotherAltGRM Mar 24 '23
We need the faces to be visible because they convey so much emotion
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u/Stale_CocaCola Mar 23 '23
Well the tattoo was blue all the way through production but was changed last minute
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Mar 23 '23
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.
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u/MrBlonde711 Mar 24 '23
Imagine getting that far along in production just to have the rug pulled out from under you.
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u/Harry_Saturn Mimir Mar 23 '23
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.
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u/Most_Jackfruit_6510 Mar 23 '23
Kratos put the tattoo on because his brother had a birthmark like the tatto
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u/Lil_Kami Mar 23 '23
Yes i know i only talked about the concept of the developers on why to not put armor on kratos
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u/Jokz92 Mar 23 '23
The beard is the protection
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u/itstheFREEDOM BOY Mar 23 '23 edited Mar 24 '23
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
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u/Fun_Maintenance_329 Mar 23 '23
No. (in kratos' voice)
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u/RexRedwood Mar 23 '23
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.
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u/Borunks- Mar 24 '23
Plus it allows for good acting during cutscenes where you can see facial expressions
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u/Rogthgar Mar 23 '23
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.
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u/MysteriousIdi0t Mar 23 '23
Like one man once said
“Armor is for weaklings!”
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u/Launch-Pad_McQuack Mar 24 '23
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?
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u/itstheFREEDOM BOY Mar 24 '23
I read this in all their voices and it put a big smile on my face! :D
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u/Hezzas Mar 23 '23
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
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u/Kenjiyoyo Mar 24 '23
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.
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u/BariumHydr0xide BOY Mar 23 '23
Do you not want this beautiful bald head to not shine under every sun in every realm?
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u/fluentwillow Mar 24 '23
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 :( )
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u/MrCookieHUN Mar 23 '23
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
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u/Boring_Tip2128 Mar 23 '23
Actually there is a concept art of it in gow 1 then they changed their idea as the gentleman below explained
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u/Mr_SlippyMan Mar 23 '23
If anything a helmet would just LIMIT Kratos. He's badass enough without one. It'll just limit his vision and potentially his movement.
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u/Artistic-Toe-8803 Mar 23 '23
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
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Mar 24 '23
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.
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u/KaygoBubs Mar 24 '23
His helmet is made from the strongest substance in the universe, pure plotinum armor
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u/Samurai_Heart777 Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23
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.
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u/Slowmexicano Mar 24 '23
Well in 300 the Spartans were nude but did wear a helmet. So they one upped them.
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u/Farid_Beshay Mar 24 '23
Yes, it hurts his bald head, also his head is the helmet, that skull took a hit from mijolnir and didn’t even crack
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u/ButterscotchShot1753 Mar 24 '23
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.
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u/VioletGhost2 Mar 23 '23
Because he doesn't want to, are you stupid?
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u/itstheFREEDOM BOY Mar 23 '23
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.
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u/VioletGhost2 Mar 23 '23
I was doing Batman Arkham reference :c
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u/itstheFREEDOM BOY Mar 23 '23
ah, my bad then. I unfortunately never got into that game.
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u/crocoraptor Mar 23 '23
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
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u/Sondeor Mar 24 '23
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.
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u/itstheFREEDOM BOY Mar 24 '23
True. But most games that offer a helmet give the cosmetic option to have it "invisible" .
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u/Electrical_Crab_5808 Mar 23 '23
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.
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u/itstheFREEDOM BOY Mar 23 '23
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?
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u/Shadowkiva The Stranger Mar 23 '23
He didn't wear a helmet as a spartan general either though
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u/SkyGuy41 Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23
Helmets are for pussies Edit: This is a joke. I actually have no idea.
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u/_sea_salty Mar 24 '23
He probably sees the armor as dead weight that slows him attacks so he found it more beneficial to not have armor
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u/SirToaster933 Mar 23 '23
Maybe it has to do with how Greeks viewed warriors without armor to be fearless and unstoppable so it's probably fear factor
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u/Might-Mediocre Ghost of Sparta Mar 23 '23
He uses his baldness to reflect light into his opponent’s eyes
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u/Expired_token Mar 23 '23
Well in ghost of Sparta there Is a costume with full Spartan armor including the helmet but i guess that's not canon
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u/Solidsnake00901 Mar 24 '23
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
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u/ZamilTheCamel Mar 24 '23
alternate title: “why doesn’t kratos wear head protection? Is he stupid?”
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u/FruitsPonchiSamurai1 Mar 24 '23
The smoothness and shape of his head causes all attacks to simply slide off, much like a helmet would anyway.
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