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Shadow of the Colossus guide: The 14th colossus

Shield of the 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 14th colossus. We’ll also point out any shrines, shining lizard tails or fruit trees along the way.

How to find the 14th colossus

  1. The trip to the 14th colossus will take you to the very northwest corner of the map. (You’ve traveled in this general direction before for the third and seventh colossi.)
  2. Cross the east-west natural bridge on the north side of the Shrine of Worship, then turn northwest.
  3. Ride all the way across the plain until you see the shrine at the mouth of a canyon.
  4. Follow that canyon until it opens up, then keep following the path for a minute.
  5. When you reach the T-intersection, turn left.
  6. Go past the short pillars and down the stairs, then turn right.
  7. You’ll be in another canyon. Just keep following it — it’ll take you northwest toward your destination — until you see another small pillar.
  8. Turn left and follow the pillar-lined path until it dead ends.
  9. Turn left again into the natural tunnel. Follow it until you reach the water.
  10. Dismount Agro and swim across the water, then enter the tunnel on the far side.
  11. Follow the tunnel until the end where you come out into some ruins.
  12. Drop down to the ground from the balcony and continue forward through the crack in the wall ahead of you.
  13. Watch on your left for a toppled pillar you can climb onto, then climb up to the level above you.
  14. Head up the stairs to meet the colossus.

Collectibles along the way

There is one shining lizard tail, one shrine and one fruit tree on the way from the Shrine of Worship to the 14th 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 quick save point.

Shrine, shining lizard tail and fruit tree

Happily, all three of these things are in the same spot. Shortly before you find the colossus (just before you turn down the pillar-lined path in step 8 above), head straight instead. Go down the winding path to the canyon floor below you. Straight ahead, you’ll see a shrine next to a very tall fruit tree. Visit the shrine, find (and shoot) its lizard and collect all the fruit you can see. Now you can head back up the hill to continue on to the colossus.

Approaching the 14th colossus

  1. The 14th colossus is armored, so you need to deal with that first. It’s time for some platforming. As soon as you’re able, run to your left and climb onto the toppled pillar.
  2. Jump from the pillar onto the arch, then run along the top of the arch and jump over to the crumbling wall.
  3. Jump from the wall to the next arch, then continue along on top of that until you can jump to the pillar.
  4. You need to get the colossus to head-butt the pillar twice. Climb up to the very top of the pillar, then look down at the colossus. It probably will have lost interest in you, so shoot it with an arrow to anger it until it crashes into your pillar. You’ll know it worked when your pillar falls over.
  5. If you’re careful with your timing, you can jump from the pillar onto the next arch as it falls. If you don’t make it, just run back to the collapsed pillar and climb back up.
  6. Run along the arches to the right until you can jump to the next wall.
  7. Head to the right along the top of the wall, then jump off onto the arch on your left.
  8. Run out to the end, then jump to the pillar on your right.
  9. Get the colossus to ram the pillar a couple of times. It will collapse toward the next pillar you need to climb.
  10. Do this three more times until you can reach the arch in front of the square tower.
  11. Jump from the arch to the tower and start climbing up. Work your way around to the side and climb onto the balcony at the back.
  12. Jump from there onto the pillar next to you and get the colossus to, you guessed it, knock this one over as well.
  13. When this one falls, you’ll crash through a wall. (Don’t worry, you’re almost there.)
  14. Run straight across the courtyard you find yourself in (this is actually where you entered this area in the first place). There are some ledges you can climb on the far wall.
  15. Get to the top of the ledges and climb onto the balcony. Use the short pillar at the edge to climb onto the taller pillar.
  16. Now you just need to convince the colossus to head-butt this pillar. Shoot it with arrows until it does. The entire balcony will crash down on it, knocking off its armor.

Defeating the 14th colossus

  1. Now that the magic sigil is exposed, you just need to get the colossus to slow down long enough to stab it.Run to one of the nearby pillars you knocked over on your way in.
  2. Stand on it, and the colossus will charge at you. Jump at the last second so you don’t get knocked over.
  3. The colossus will stun itself for a second, giving you enough time to jump onto its back and stab it a couple times.
  4. Repeat that process until you defeat the colossus.

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