Shadow of the Colossus guide: How to beat the 3rd colossus

Each of the 16 colossi you fight during Shadow of the Colossus is a puzzle to solve. You have to find where it’s hiding in the world. Then you have to figure out how to get close to it. And finally you have to figure out how to reach its magic sigil weak points and kill it.

This guide will take you from the Shrine of Worship through defeating the third colossus. We’ll also point out any shrines, lizards or fruit trees along the way.

How to find colossus 3

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• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

1. When you head outside of the Shrine of Worship this time, your sword will point you to the northwest. Hop on Agro and ride around the west side of the Shrine again (like you did for Colossus 2).
2. On the north side of the Shrine, look for those three crumbling pillars again. Pass between the two on the right (again). On the other side of the natural bridge, take the left fork this time.
3. Turn left once you’re past the rocks, and use your sword again to reorient yourself. You’re aiming for the canyon to the northwest.
4. Follow the canyon all the way to the end, where you’ll find a swamp. There’s a large structure in the middle where you’ll find the colossus.

Collectibles along the way

There are seven lizards, four shrines and two fruit trees on the way from the Shrine of Worship to the third colossus. These are all optional things to do, but they’ll each help you out a little. Lizards will increase your stamina a little, fruit will increase your health and shrines will restore your health and act as a quicksave point. You’ll have to go a little out of your way to find them, but it’s only a brief detour.

Fruit trees

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• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

After you cross the natural bridge heading north, take a sharp left and follow the edge of the cliff. There’s a small, rocky rise with a pair of fruit trees on either side. They’re easy to spot since they’re the only trees around. For the easternmost one, be careful when shooting down the fruit — there’s a narrow path below where the fruit should land, but it’s best to make sure you’re shooting back toward solid land.

Lizards and shrines

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• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

• Before you head north to start seeking out the colossus, head west from the Shrine of Worship. Make your way around the south side of the rocky outcropping, then climb the ramp on the west side toward the north. Approach the top carefully, and you’ll spot the lizard.
• From the first lizard, head to the natural bridges on the north side of the shrine. Instead of taking the north-south bridge, take the east-west one by passing between the pillars on the left instead of the pair on the right. After the bridge, turn southwest. You’ll see a shrine ahead of you. Ride up to it, then look closely all around and over it. There will be a lizard scurrying around. If it’s high up, you can climb up the shrine from the back side.
• From that shrine, walk west. You can ride Agro, but be careful — the next lizard you’re looking for is just wandering around in the grass, so it’s easy to miss.
• Once you’ve spotted it, turn north. You’ll see another shrine peaking up above a rise. That’s your next target, but you’ve got one more stop on the way. There’s a rocky butte on your right (look in the gallery above for images). There’s another lizard running around that butte (ours was on the east side, but they move around a lot, so look carefully).
• Continue north to visit the next shrine, then look around for this shrine’s lizard.
• After that shrine, head north again. There’s one more shrine against the cliff far ahead of you. You’ll have to weave around the topography a little bit, but just keep heading north. There are two lizards on this shrine, so make sure you look around very carefully.

Turn south and follow the cliff around to the east to get back on the path to the colossus.

Approaching colossus 3

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• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

1. There’s a long ramp on the left side of the structure — that’s your way up to the top and the colossus.
2. Swim out to it and run up the ramp.
3. When you run out of ramp, head to the pillar ahead and to the right of you. You’ll grab onto a ledge that will let you shimmy around to the right.
4. Lean away from the wall and jump over to the main structure.
5. Follow the ledge you land on around to the left and climb up the stairs to the grassy roof to meet the colossus.
6. Don’t worry about highlighting weak points yet — if you linger too long, you’ll meet this colossus’ sword.
7. Run past and around the colossus toward the very center of the round roof. You’ll know you’re there when you see a large metal disc.
8. When the colossus starts its swing, run straight away from it. If the sword strikes the metal plate, some of its armor will shatter, opening up a path for you to climb.

Defeating colossus 3

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• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

1. Repeat the baiting process somewhere to the left or right of the plate. When the colossus swings this time, its sword will get stuck in the ground.
2. Run straight up the sword until you reach the fur at its upper arm.
3. Climb up the armor around the colossus’ elbow to the back side of its upper arm.
4. At this point you can climb either up or down — there’s a magic sigil at the top of its head and one on its lower back. We went up first because it’s easier to drop down later than climb all the way back up.
5. Climb the rest of the way up its arm to the top of its shoulders. Be careful and patient at the top of the upper arm, though, because there’s a weird collision you might encounter with a chunk of armor there. Just give the armor plenty of clearance and your climb will go smoothly.
6. Climb up the back of its head and onto the top. Draw your sword to find the magic sigil there. Stab away until the sigil disappears. It’ll try pretty hard to shake you off, so you will probably have some trouble getting a fully charged stab in. Just keep stabbing. Retreat to its shoulders if you run out of stamina.
7. Head down either of its arms to about the elbow, then jump across to the platform at its lower back (the fanny pack balcony). Carefully make your way around the platform to front side of the colossus.
8. The other magic sigil is in the belly button area. Climb up its fur just a little and stab until the colossus falls. You won’t have to worry as much about getting shaken off here, so make sure you’re using fully charged hits.