| “ | You've got quite the fighting spirit in you there, I have to say. Most intriguing, and yet no surprise for someone born in hell itself. You come on out of there, and tell me all about it. I'm a fellow student of death, you see. | „ |
| ~ Ares |
Ares is the Olympian God of war. Unlike the more strategically oriented Athena, Ares' domain is the physical, violent, and untamed aspects of warfare.
He offers boons to Zagreus, which can increase his ability damage, inflict his signature Status Curse, Doom, or create Blade Rifts which deal rapid damage to enemies who walk into them.
Ares boons deal high amounts of damage over time, either by keeping enemies inside Blade Rifts, or by continuously applying Doom to enemies.
His signature Status Curse is Doom, which causes enemies to take a large amount of damage shortly after being inflicted, consuming the Curse. Ares also offers boons which increase the effectiveness of his Status Curse itself, such as Dire Misfortune.
Characteristics and Personality[ | ]
Ares is a lover of war and chaos, and while he may have a calm and courteous demeanor, he revels in the chaos of battle. As the Blood Knight, he is willing to aid his cousin Zagreus in his struggles in the Underworld, leading him to sow a chaotic trail wherever he goes in his name.
Other Olympians are not particularly fond of Ares, and may curse him for his weak compliments. They find his thirst for polite carnage disconcerting. Ares is very confident, even arrogant, about his boons and often boasts about how his boons are better or will help Zagreus more than those of other gods, particularly Athena's. They see Ares as a terrible influence on Zagreus. Aphrodite, on the other hand, doesn't seem to mind and considers him a "bad boy".
The God of War is often misunderstood by his fellow Olympians. Artemis, in particular, finds Ares' conversations "embarrassing", as he always let's slip his "peculiar tastes" and prefers to keep her distance from him, with his attempts to start a conversation always ending in disaster. He secretly admires the Chthonic Gods for their darker roles, and he is the only Olympian who treats them beyond cold affability. Unfortunately, his joy in death is not even shared by the Chthonic gods, who see it more as a mundane aspect of their work.
In conversation with Chaos, it is revealed that surprisingly, Ares is one of the few who still venerates them. However, it is implied that Ares' worship of "chaos" was misguided, as he confused it with the vast and infinite void of violence and disorder. He also mentions having studied "all the designs of fate" and is the only god to express familiarity with Excalibur, implying he knows much more about the future than Athena does.
Physical description[ | ]
Ares is described as a powerful man with broad shoulders, a dark skin tone, and white warpaint over his eyes. He is dressed in a complex set of heavy battle armor and a badly tattered cape. However, his golden helmet is damaged with a large red "X" carved into the forehead, and he holds it in his arms, revealing his white hair, strong jawline, and black-leafed victory laurel. Ares is armed with a red-edged Kopis, along with two other swords strapped to his back. His body armor appears to be themed around a vulture, one of his sacred animals, with a large raven's-face motif on his breast, alongside black feather-like decorations tucked into his shoulderpieces.
History[ | ]
Before Hades[ | ]
Ares is one of the sons of Zeus and Hera. Unlike his younger brother Hephaestus, Ares was born fairly normal and beautiful, being thus more adored than his brother. However, his bloodthirsty personality often pushed people away and made others dislike him still.
He's one of the Gods of War, specifically the main one from the Pantheon. He was commonly accompanied by his twin sister Enyo, the goddess of destruction, as well as Eris, Strife Incarnate. Many of his children were also often involved with war and fights.
Ares and Aphrodite had lots of affairs behind Hephaestus's back, and were even caught for it before. Despite not being her husband, he's awfully possessive of her, as he's often involved in the death of other lovers because of his jealousy. He did consort with others, though.
Hades[ | ]
Ares is one the gods that reachs out to Zagreus. He's very eager to lend his powers to his cousin to aid him in his killings and wishes he could be present to see it. He'll often talk about war and death and his respect and admiration for the chthonics gods, as well as encouraging Zagreus with his killings and wishing many more.
Epilogue[ | ]
He'll attend the feast alongside the other Olympians, glad to have seen Nyx face to face during it. From then on, he'll keep on lending Zagreus his help.
Affinity[ | ]
If given Nectar, Ares will give you Blood-Filled Vial.
Ares' affinity gauge is maxed out at 7 hearts.
Favor[ | ]
Ares' favor requires completing the War-God's Bloodlust prophecy and slaying at minimum 10,000 enemies total. The affinity gauge will not immediately unlock upon completing the prophecy, but rather from a dialogue with Ares a few encounters later.
Codex entry[ | ]
Ares' boon flowchart
Ares' duo boon chart
Boons[ | ]
Ares's Boons tend to inflict Doom, which is incredibly similar to Dionysus's Boons granting Hangover. Their Duo Boon, Curse of Nausea, buffs Hangover without buffing Doom.
| Boon | Description | Rarity | Notes | Prerequisites | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Curse of Agony |
Your Attack inflicts Doom. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
 Curse of Pain |
Your Special inflicts Doom. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
 Slicing Shot |
Your Cast sends a Blade Rift hurling ahead. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
Slicing Flare |
Your Cast sends a large Blade Rift hurling ahead for a brief time. |
|
Tier 1 | Unique to Aspect of Beowulf | ||||||||
 Blade Dash |
Your Dash creates a Blade Rift where you started. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
 Ares' Aid |
Your Call turns you into an Impervious Blade Rift for 1.2 Sec. Max gauge bonus: 5 sec. duration |
|
Tier 1 | None | ||||||||
 Curse of Vengeance |
After you take damage, inflict Doom on surrounding foes. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
 Urge to Kill |
Your Attack, Special, and Cast deal more damage. |
|
Tier 1 | None | ||||||||
 Battle Rage |
After slaying a foe, your next Attack or Special deals more damage. |
|
Tier 1 | None | ||||||||
 Blood Frenzy |
After using Death Defiance, deal more damage that encounter. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
 Black Metal |
Your Blade Rift powers deal damage in a wider area. |
|
Tier 2 | Slicing Flare / Slicing Shot, Blade Dash, or Ares' Aid, | ||||||||
 Engulfing Vortex |
Your Blade Rift effects last longer and pull foes in. |
|
Tier 2
|
Slicing Flare / Slicing Shot, Blade Dash, or Ares' Aid | ||||||||
 Dire Misfortune |
Your Doom effects deal more damage when applied multiple times. |
|
Tier 2
|
Curse of Agony or Curse of Pain | ||||||||
 Impending Doom |
Your Doom effects deal more damage, but take+0.5 Sec. to activate. |
|
Tier 2 | Curse of Agony, Curse of Pain, or Curse of Vengeance | ||||||||
 Vicious Cycle |
Your Blade Rift effects deal more damage for each consecutive hit.
|
Legendary | Tier 3 | Black Metal or Engulfing Vortex | ||||||||
 Curse of Longing |
Your Doom effects continuously strike Weak foes.
|
Duo (Aphrodite) | One of each:
|
|||||||||
 Hunting Blades |
Your Cast creates a faster Blade Rift that seeks the nearest foe.
|
Duo (Artemis) |
|
One of each:
|
||||||||
 Merciful End |
Your attacks that can Deflect immediately activate Doom effects.
|
Duo (Athena) | One of each:
|
|||||||||
 Freezing Vortex |
Your Cast inflicts Chill, but is smaller and moves slower.
|
Duo (Demeter) |
|
One of each:
|
||||||||
 Curse of Nausea |
Your Hangover effects deal damage faster.
|
Duo (Dionysus) | One of each:
|
|||||||||
 Curse of Drowning |
Your Cast is a pulse that deals damage to foes around you.
|
Duo (Poseidon) |
|
One of each
|
||||||||
 Vengeful Mood |
Your Revenge attacks sometimes occur without taking damage.
|
Duo (Zeus) | One of each:
|
Trivia[ | ]
- Ares regrets his status in the second generation, envious of the older gods who fought in the brutal Titan War.
- His politeness towards the Chthonic gods likely sterns from different myths of his where they work together.
- It was Ares that eventually rescued Thanatos from Sisyphus's imprisionment.
- His wish to contact Nyx likely comes from how he is close to Eris, often said to be one of his bloodthirsty partners.
Additional notes[ | ]
For additional information on Ares that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Ares
Ares's associated color is red. This is most likely a reference to his status as a God of War and bloodshed, but might also be an indirect reference to his Roman counterpart, Mars, which in astronomy is also the name of the Red Planet.
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