Colossus XV

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Colossus XV
Thy next foe is...A giant has fallen into the valley...It acts as a sentry to a destroyed city...
Profile
Developer Nickname	Minotaur C
Height	75 feet (22.9 meters)
Gameplay
Time Attack goals (Normal/ Hard)	10:00/11:30 (Original, PS3) 7:30/10:00 (PS4)
Agro	No
Sigils	Normal: 2 major, 1 minor Hard: 3 major, 1 minor

Argus is the nickname given to the fifteenth colossus. This cleaver-wielding giant is found in a fortress in quadrant G1 of the Forbidden Lands.

Path to the colossus

See also: Map for this path

Video - Path to Argus

Shadow of the Colossus - 15th Colossus 1 2

Getting to Argus can be tricky for first-timers; if they follow the sword's light directly, they will go east around the shrine and will be led straight into the forest they took to get to the top of the waterfalls where Pelagia once dwelled. A better way is to go west around the shrine, take the north land bridge, and head alongside the giant bridge as if going to Celosia. From here, the sword's light will be much more helpful in getting the player to the fortress. Head inside the ruins. Wander can ride Agro inside, but a giant fallen pillar will block her from coming with him. Climb up and around the pillar, and continue down the hall and up the steps to enter the main area of the fortress. The area is unexpectedly empty. The sword will direct the player towards the valley at the east end of the arena, and as Wander approaches the edge, the earth shakes, and two enormous hands appear before the colossus pulls itself up the cliff wall.

Walkthrough

Video - Battle with Argus

Shadow of the Colossus - 15th Colossus 2 2

The battle begins right next to the colossus, much like with Barba. Unlike that fight, however, this colossus is very well aware of Wander's presence. The first thing he needs to do is run back to the western side of the arena and onto the slightly-raised platforms at the northern or southern edges once he's there. Argus will stomp these platforms to attack the player; this will tilt them slightly upwards toward the walls for a short while. Quickly get on this raised platform and jump; Wander can now make it slightly higher up the fortress.

If Wander was in the right place when Argus stomped the platform, he should now be able to take a small set of stairs to a long, narrow hallway. Notice the fallen rock here. To get higher up, shoot the colossus with some arrows until it attacks the walls with its cleaver. This will dislodge some more rocks; get on top of them and jump to some ridges. Climb them, and Wander will finally be on top of the arena.

There are two giant bridges that span the sides of the arena. Watch out, however - Argus can and will easily destroy both of them, so don't try crossing. Only one is required to be destroyed; the broken ends of the bridges will be Wander's best shot at jumping onto the colossus. Shoot some arrows for provocation if necessary. Stay towards the end of the bridge or run back after provoking Argus to prevent falling and having to start from the bottom again.

Argus has a weakpoint on its head; be prepared for some heavy thrashing and have as full a stamina meter as possible before attacking it. Hard Mode players have a weakpoint on the left side of its upper chest to deal with as well. This can be a very difficult weakpoint to take care of, because the slightest movement on Argus' part (and there will be a lot) will cancel a stab as it charges. For this reason, it can also be difficult to get back up to a place where Wander can rest before his stamina runs out.

There is one other major sigil to take care of as well, and it's on the palm of its right hand, the hand that's holding the cleaver, so Wander must make the colossus drop it. There's a place the player can stab on the back of its right arm, where part of one of its "armbands" has broken off. The sword will indicate the right place. Do so and it'll drop the cleaver (it won't pick it back up). If the player destroyed the colossus' head weakpoint (and the one on its chest in Hard Mode), they can now drop to the ground.

The goal now is to have Argus attack Wander with its right hand so Wander can get to the weakpoint, so get in a good position for it to do that. Once it pounds the ground near him with its right hand, quickly jump onto its palm and hang on. It is also possible to climb to the hand by inching one's way down to its palm. This technique can be hard to accomplish on the first try. The colossus won't ever crush Wander by closing its fist, but it will make stabbing this point difficult by moving around wildly to shake Wander off.

Time Attack times in Original and PS3 versions (Normal, Hard): 10:00, 11:30

Time Attack times in PS4 Remaster (Normal, Hard): 7:30, 10:00

Weakspots

Location	Percentage of health
	Normal	Hard
On its head	85%	42.5%
On the palm of its right hand	15%	15%
On the upper-left part of its chest	N/A	42.5%
On the back of its right arm	Makes it drop its weapon

Tips and tricks

• When Wander is attacking Argus' head weakpoint, the colossus will often try to throw its head backwards in an attempt to buck him off. Before it does this, however, its head will lower slightly. Stabbing the weakspot during this time with whatever charge Wander has built up in his stab will often cancel the animation and leave the player ready for another attempt.
• Argus will bend its knee at the beginning of the fight as part of a stomp attack. With proper timing, the player can jump onto its knee plates and use the colossus' momentum to fling Wander up onto its upper chest.
• Using the Harpoon of Thunder, one can shoot Argus' arm sigil and make it drop its cleaver. This is also possible with the Flash Arrows. Obviously, this is not possible with regular arrows.

Music

• After Argus hauls itself over the top of the cliff edge, "Gatekeeper of the Castle Ruins" begins to play.
• Once Argus has been disarmed, "The Opened Way" starts and plays until the end of the battle.

Trivia

• Argus is one of only three colossi that wield a weapon, the other two being Gaius and Valus. Of those three, Argus is the only one that can be disarmed of its weapon. Valus will drop its weapon during its death sequence and Gaius' weapon is fixed to its arm.
• Very rarely, Argus glows light blue due to an unknown glitch.
• Strangely, in Hard Time Attack, if Wander gets killed by Argus, "Wander's Death" plays, but the background music can still be heard even if the player selects "Retry".
• Along with Hydrus and Celosia, Argus is the most northerly of all the colossi.
• Argus is the second of three colossi that has their own exclusive track heard whilst fighting them; the track "Gatekeeper of the Castle Ruins" is unique to Argus.
• Argus shares physical similarities with both Barba and Valus, but is larger than Valus and shorter than Barba.
• Argus' roars are very similar to the roars of Basaran.
• With the exception of Barba in Hard Mode, Argus is the only colossi to have a weakpoint sigil located on its hand.
• Argus shares something in common with Celosia in their descriptions by Dormin. Celosia is referred to as "A guardian set loose... It keeps the flames alive...", while Argus is described as "It acts as a sentry to a destroyed city...". Dormin clarifies in these descriptions specific roles for both Celosia and Argus, namely that they are protectors of their respective environments. The same can also be said of Cenobia, although it is only ever referred to as "A guardian set loose..." like Celosia is, but its role is never defined to the same extent as Celosia's or Argus'.
• It is possible to disarm Argus before attacking or even reaching any other weakpoint sigil. Provided the player uses a strong projectile (Flash Arrows work well for this) and is accurate enough, significant damage will be done to the sigil on Argus' right arm to make it drop its weapon. Even if this is done first, Argus is still capable of breaking the two bridges and dislodging the rocks from the roof of the narrow hallways; it uses its now-empty right hand to do so.
• Argus' walking speed is slightly faster than Wander's running speed.
• When the distances between individual colossi are compared, the straight line distance between Pelagia and Argus is the smallest, making Pelagia and Argus the closest colossi "neighbors".
• The ruins in which Argus lives is filled with designs that resemble eyes, possibly a reference to the Argus of Greek mythology.
• Despite being shorter than Barba (granted, by only five feet), Argus is much, much heavier, at nearly 180 tons.
• Although somewhat difficult, it is possible to destroy the major sigil in Argus' hand without disarming it. Wander must first get to its shoulder and then drop down as if he were going towards the minor sigil on the arm. To accomplish this however, he must drop down further, maneuvering onto the various parts of Argus' bracelets and gauntlets. If Wander gets to the lowest possible ledge on the arm, he can shimmy around into a small space on Argus' hand while it is still holding the cleaver and stab the sigil until it disappears. Argus will shake its arm frequently though to try to fling Wander off.
• Due to a glitch it is possible to use Agro during the fight with Argus; it is unknown what causes this glitch.
• Should the player stand on the remaining bridge following disarming Argus and drawing its attention to Wander, it will strike the bridge with its fist instead of its weapon. This will cause the bridge to collapse in the same manner as it being struck with the sword.

Gallery

Argus 2.jpg

Image of Argus taken from the official artbook.

Argus climbing up from the valley.

Argus seen walking through the ancient ruins in which it dwells.

Argus tilting one of the platforms.

Wander stabbing the major sigil on Argus' head.

Wander facing off against Argus.

Wander holding on to Argus' mask.

Wander rushing for Argus' hand.

Size chart for Argus.

Argus looks down at Wander.

Wander faces-off against Argus.

Wander holding on to Argus's right arm.