Shadow of the Colossus - Colossus 12 location and how to defeat the twelfth colossus Pelagia, the Poseidon Colossus
How to find and defeat the twelfth colossus.
Colossus 12, known as the twelfth colossus Pelagia to fans and internally to developers as the Poseidon Colossus, is one of the most dramatic encounters you'll have.
It's a big one, in a beautiful, remote setting, and it can be tricky to get right.
Below, we'll go through the twelfth colossus' location as well as how to defeat Pelagia, the Poseidon Colossus when you reach it.
Colossus 12location and how to defeat the twelfth colossus Pelagia, the Poseidon Colossus
The twelfth colossus is located in the north-east of the map, which means exiting the Shrine of Worship to the left and galloping across the eastern natural bridge over the chasm.
From there, head further north and you'll soon find another bridge on your right, crossing another chasm towards some lush forest.
Head over it and into the woods, but as soon as you get into the forest take a hard right through the bushes and overgrowth, hugging the right-hand wall. It's just a shortcut, cutting out a longer loop you'd do if you stuck to the path - by all means stay on the beaten track if you want to see more of the woods though!
When you exit, facing back the way you came, you'll find a grass track hanging left out of the woods along the mountainside.
Follow the track, and eventually you'll reach a Shrine, and a pillar next to a huge waterfall.
Save up here - you can do it manually now, rather than needing the Shrine like in the original Shadow of the Colossus - because the journey across the water can be a little perilous.
Hop onto the pillar and work your way around to the other side of it, where there's another path you can drop onto.
Follow that path to its end, and jump down into the water. At that point the current will be weak enough for you to swim against it (if you jumped into the water at the first opportunity, you're probably at the bottom of that waterfall by now).
Keep swimming against the current, through the giant arches, until you reach the first bit of dry land in the form of a ruined platform with a little circular block in the middle.
How to defeat the twelfth colossus Pelagia, the Poseidon Colossus
Pelagia, the Poseidon Colossus and the twelfth colossus along the way, will awaken and rather dramatically appear from the water. Take cover behind that little ruined pillar on your platform, because this one shoots electrified bolts at you right away.
That being said, they don't seem to function like electricity, because one of the safest places you can be here is in the water, particularly under the surface.
Your task is to get to Pelagia's back and up onto its head, and there are two ways of doing it. One is to take cover for a long period of time, and wait for it to stoop down to look for you. We couldn't get that to trigger though, so the other slightly longer, but easier way is to swim.
Jump into the water - a good time is right after it shoots at you so there's a moment of cooldown before the next - and dive beneath the surface.
You need to swim round the back of the huge twelfth colossus, where you'll find mossy fur that'll be pretty familiar by now. Grab on, climb up, and go for the head.
When you get there however, you'll find there's no sigil - instead there are several tooth-like horns that make up a kind of crown. Hit one with a sword, and the colossus will move in that direction!
You now need to guide it to one of the more substantial ruins that has a roof, and jump onto the roof when you get close enough (be sure to get right up to it, as it's an easy jump to fudge).
Take cover as soon as you land, as it'll start firing at you immediately, and then wait.
After a moment, Pelagia the hge Poseidon Colossus will rise up out of the water and place its front feet on the platform, exposing its stomach in the process - and that's where you'll find the sigil.
For more tips, guides and detailed, step-by-step advice, be sure to try out our main Shadow of the Colossus walkthrough and guide can help you hunt down and kill every colossus, including the tricky Colossus 3, Colossus 8, Colossus 9 and Colossus 11. We also have explainers on all Agro tricks, how to find and use lizards and fruit and Enlightenments, and where to find a The Last Guardian Easter egg and all Shrine locations.
Jump onto its belly and try to get two stabs in, before it drops back down into the water.
Rinse and repeat the process - it'll probably smash one ruin, so you need to guide it to another - remembering to swim underwater and round the back of it each time, and after about two rounds of this, you'll be able to deliver the final blow.
And there ends the battle - which was one of our favourites, personally - with the twelfth colossus tumbling back into the water from which it came.
You wake up, once again, at the Shrine of Worship with one more idol down.