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 eleventh colossus. We’ll also point out any shrines, lizards or fruit trees along the way.
How to find the 11th colossus
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Your sword will point you north. Head to the north side of the shrine and take the north-south natural bridge you’ve taken several times before.
- Take the left fork after the bridge and then just keep riding north.
- Keep following the supports of the tall bridge. You’ll eventually come to a shrine. Just keep heading north.
- Ride over to the other side of the bridge supports so that the supports are on your left.
- Past the shrine, you’ll come to a small canyon directly underneath the tall bridge. That’s your destination.
- Ride around to the right so that you’re at the east end of the canyon.
- Dismount, and climb over the edge of the canyon. There’s a winding path that will take you down to the bottom.
- Swim across the pond at the bottom, heading to the west. Climb out onto the path on the far side.
- Follow the canyon to the right of the ruins. Run all the way to the end and go through the entrance on your left. (You can go through the first door you come to, but there’s a bunch of climbing around involved. The second door takes you directly where you need to go.)
- Turn left again and go up the stairs.
- Jump the gap to the open area on the far side to trigger the colossus introduction.
Collectibles along the way
There are shining lizard tails, a shrine and fruit trees on the way from the Shrine of Worship to the eleventh colossus. These are all optional things to do, but they’ll each help you out a little. Lizards will increase your stamina, fruit will increase your health and shrines will restore your health and act as a quicksave point.
Shining lizard tail
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Shortly before you get to the shrine on your way to this colossus, cross to the right side of the tall bridge. There’s a small butte there with a lizard running around its base.
Shrine and shining lizard tail
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Cross back to the other side of the tall bridge to visit the shrine and collect its lizard.
Fruit tree and shining lizard tail
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Stay on the left side of the bridge supports as you continue north. Immediately before you get to the canyon where you’ll find the colossus, you’ll find a fruit tree on the edge of a rocky oasis. It’s really hard to miss.
After you’ve collected the fruit, turn to the east. Right on the other side of the support ahead of you, there’s a rock sticking up out of the desert. There’s another lizard somewhere near its base.
Approaching the 11th colossus
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- As soon as you are able, run to the first brazier on your left. Run to the side and climb up to the top.
- When the colossus crashes into the brazier, it’ll knock loose a torch. Jump down and grab it with R2.
- When you grab the torch, it will go out, so find another brazier (any of them will work here, so just worry about avoiding the colossus) to climb. Get to the top and swing the torch to light it.
- Drop back down to the floor, and the colossus will stop attacking you and start backing away.
- Position yourself so the colossus is backing toward the open end of the arena. Keep guiding it that way, but don’t get too close — if it can reach you, it’ll take a swing and knock you down.
- Keep herding it back until it falls out the mouth of the ruin.
- It will land on its armor, knocking its back piece off and exposing its magic sigil.
Defeating the 11th colossus
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Bluepoint Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Jump down to the colossus. If your aim is really good, you can land on its back, but you’re kind of jumping blind.
- Get onto the colossus and hold tight. It’s going to run and buck a lot.
- Any time the colossus slows down, try to get (closer) to the magic sigil.
- Hit it with as powerful a hit as you can as it carries you back up the canyon and into the ruins. (Don’t worry about fully charging your stabs — the colossus won’t give you the time.)
- If you have to hop off to recharge your stamina, use the ruins’ pillars for cover. There are plenty of places where you can get above the colossus and drop back down onto it.
- Just keep picking away at its health until it falls.
