Set in the realm of Greek mythology, God of War: Ascension is an epic adventure that allows players to take on the climactic role of the ex-Spartan warrior Kratos as he finds a way to break the blood oath that binds him to the god, Ares. Six months after being tricked into killing his wife and child, a younger Kratos is sentenced to a life of madness with the Furies, caged in a titan sized prison for the living damned. Fighting insanity, his will is tested to the limit as he seeks to break his bond and gain the clarity to seek revenge on Ares for his part in the death of his family. Armed with double-chained blades, Kratos must take on mythology's darkest creatures while solving intricate puzzles throughout his merciless quest for redemption.

Today SCEA unleashed the previously announced Elite Update (v1.04) that introduces Elite Levels (and plenty of other improvements) allowing you to truly become a legend of Olympus. With Elite Levels they’ve increased the Allegiance level cap from 30 to 40, adding 10 levels for every God Alliance. As you progress to Level 40 for each Allegiance, you’ll earn a new God item, two unique Relics, and an ultimate Magic that unlocks powerful new abilities. Becoming an Elite Champion of Olympus will not be a walk in the park that you can grind out overnight; it’s going to take work! Pushing your Champion to greater heights does not end at Level 40. More to share on that soon.

The Elite Update is quite significant. Make sure to view the full change-list below. A few notable key fixes/enhancements from the Elite Update include:

• Addressed all major audio issues - most commonly noted for single-player. The sound mix will no longer drop out.
• Added Player Stat Card – you can now access various key stats about your Champion including kill-to-death ratio, wins, losses, and more.
• Balance and key exploits addressed - such as Spear “Air” Heavy Attacks can no longer be parried.

SCEA has a wealth of DLC content planned – including new weapons, armors, and some very special maps. Support for our Champions continues strong.

OVERALL FEATURE ENHANCEMENTS

• "Elite Levels" - Going Beyond Level 30 - You may be a Champion already at Level 30, but to truly become a legend of Olympus, you'll need to become an "Elite Champion". We've increased the allegiance level cap from 30 to 40. With the addition of 10 levels for every God allegiance, we are introducing a new God item, two new relics, and an ultimate magic for every allegiance, unlocking powerful new abilities. To all Warriors rising to become an "elite" Champion of Olympus, now you have a new goal to reach. It will not be an easy journey.
• Player Stat Card - you can now access various stats about your Champion's performance including kill-death ratio, wins, losses, and more. Access directly from the customization menu.
• Game Mode Inspect Card - in the Game Modes menu, we've added an option that allows you to see the scoring rules for each Game Mode so you understand what each objective is worth when in battle.
• Match of Champions 4-player scoring adjusted to 1600 favor (from 2000) balance match times in line with the rest of the Multiplayer modes. This now makes both 8 and 4 player Favor of the Gods the same 1600 scoring win goal.

COMBAT

• Zeus Spear now uses correct damage multipliers: L1 triangle special was not correctly using elemental damage multipliers (was using physical instead).
• Global Spear Attacks: Triangle in the air with spear was unblockable, yet could still be parried, it can no longer be parried.
• Poseidon Shield God Item: The shield will now become active when the player recovers rather than while still in the activation animation.
• Adjusted stats of the Hades spear to better suit the intended gameplay.
• Medusa Armor is now slightly easier to acquire.
• The healing amount granted to the player when using the Poseidon Heal Magic will now increase as the magic is ranked up.
• Miscellaneous fixes to slow debuffs/animations not displaying correctly. Will now prevent most related cases where the player would get get stuck in a bad state, and unable to respawn. This is greatly improved, per this fix.
• God ability pickups for new God items now appear in the correct order in the customization menu.

KEY BUGS ADDRESSED

• Spartans no longer stuck in a stoned state when they are hit by the Hammer of Helios explosion.
• AUDIO: Sound channel output bug: Game now defaults to stereo for all new players. Existing players with preferences set already should double check their in-game sound output options and make sure they are set for the speaker configuration they are using.
• AUDIO: Addressed issue with music being too quiet in various parts of the game.
• AUDIO: Addressed sound mixing issues affecting cut scenes and major boss battles throughout Hecaton Level.
• AUDIO: Fixed a sound mix problem during the cutscene in the Hecaton bordello (outdoor wind sound was playing when you are indoors).
• AUDIO: Fixed missing sound FX impacting some moves for War Hammer of Ares, Maul of Zeus, Spear of Hades, Blade of Poseidon, Cronos Blade.
• AUDIO: Music now plays in Trial of the Gods (1 and 2 Player) for Desert of Lost Souls.