God of War Ragnarok is Santa Monica Studio’s latest release in the God of War game series. Everyone knows that the dev team behind the series is brash and ingenious when it comes to combat. So, the battles are challenging to say the least. That’s why you’ve come to the right place if you’re looking for tips to beat the game. This is part 1 of our walkthrough for God of War Ragnarok, and it covers four chapters, up to Groa’s Secret.
Tips for Beating God of War Ragnarok
Here are some tips on how to beat the game in general. You can skip them but you’ll enjoy the game better if you perform these feats.
Destroy Everything for Quick Hacksilver
Destroy barrels, chairs, tables, and even distant pots to earn Hacksilver. Even though the rewards per object are small, they stack up quickly. Not every one of these pots will earn hack silver, but better safe than sorry, right?
Visit the Regions Again to Find All the Collectibles
It’s not possible to collect all the treasures and XP the first time you visit the regions in the game. Therefore, it’s advisable to visit all regions, including Midgard, Svartalfheim, Alfheim, Jotunheim, Vanaheim and Asgard to find treasures there.
Find Artifacts
There are numerous artifacts hidden in the nine realms of God of War Ragnarok. These artifacts are mostly in the form of books and poems that you can sell to Brok and Sindri for huge stacks of hack silver. Some of these artifacts are associated with side quests that allow for many entertaining conversations with Mimir.
Avoid Block Breaks
Block breaks are the instances right after Kratos blocks an attack which is powerful, he’s not fast enough to block other incoming attacks. So, parrying is much better.
Don’t Forget the Ravens
Odin sends his ravens to explore the nine realms and thereby, reveal secrets to him. Luckily, you can use the spy network to your advantage by killing any ravens you find. Their distinctive screeching is their calling sign that they’re watching you. The goal is simple: Destroy Odin’s raven spies, visit the Crow Tree in Niflheim, and open chests to get some impressive treasures.
Get a Quick Top-Up
You can restore your health and rage by visiting the Mystic Gateways and exiting it right after. It’s definitely an effective strategy for mini-bosses. Spartan Rage also serves as your backup health. So, use it when Kratos’ health is at its lowest.
Master the Parry
Parries interrupt most enemies’ attacks, causing stun and regular damage. The only exception to this rule are bosses and enemies with heavy armour on.
Starting Out: Beating God of War Ragnarok Chapter One
Main Chapters | XP Points | Regions |
Surviving Fimbulwinter | Kratos – 500 XPAtreus – 250 XP | Midgard |
The Quest for Tyr | Kratos – 750 XPAtreus – 375 XP | Svartalfheim |
Old Friends | Atreus – 750 XP | Midgard |
Groa’s Secret | Kratos – 1,500 XPAtreus – 750 XP | Alfheim |
Surviving Fimbulwinter
Chapter 1, you survive winter. But this is a mythical winter. So you have the right to set the difficulty.
Players can change the difficulty at any point in the game except for the highest difficulty – Give Me God of War! A cutscene kicks in once you pick a difficulty, with Kratos crafting Atreus’ arrows in a cave.
There’s a snowstorm outside, so you sit out by a fire. On the side, Atreus prepares the sled for your journey home and soon, you’re on your way. But all is not what it seems as a shadowy figure blocks your path. It turns out to be Freya, who attacks Kratos and you’re back in action.
After blocking Freya’s slash with your shield via a “L1” prompt, you regain control of Kratos. Escape with the sled, but Freya attacks soon after you dodge two obstacles. Button-mashing circle and an L1, R1 combo to fend off Freya’s numerous attacks – she tries her best to stop your escape. Another cutscene kicks in after you stop her in her tracks then you find your way home.
Follow the path on your left that’s highlighted by the lit lanterns to your way home. Atreus tends to his dying wolf, Fenrir in the next cutscene. Kratos tries to be productive and urges Atreus to train. But his son is adamant about burying his dead friend first. After sleeping off after a talk with Mimir, Kratos dreams of Faye as they hunt for deer. Faye warns Kratos, telling him there’s still much to do.
Tracking Atreus
After waking up, Kratos tracks down Atreus and approaches a fork in the road to the frozen river. Head left and after Speki and Svanna’s den, you’ll go through a cave to enter a clearing. During Kratos’ search for Atreus, he’s ambushed by seven raiders. Use the leviathan axe to snipe enemies from afar for stun damages and eliminate your opponents with light (R1) and heavy (R2) attacks. Block the light attacks by pressing and holding L1.
Thankfully, you can judge enemy attacks via the small white triangle atop their head.
- White – An enemy wants to attack you
- Yellow – Watch out for an attack
- Red – An unblockable attack is incoming
Immediately, you have a couple of skills at your disposal.
Technique Skills | Ranged Skills | Melee Skills |
Frost Awaken 1 – Hold triangle to strengthen the leviathan axe with ice effects.Frozen Breach – Press R1 to spread high frost to enemies in front of you.Frozen Spike – Throw the leviathan axe at opponents which creates an explosion on impact. | Axe Throw – Quickly am through L2 and throw the axe using R1 for a light attack.Freezing Throw 1 – Aim and throw the axe at enemies using R2. The axe freezes opponents upon contact. | Frost Rush – Press R1 while sprinting to do a leaping slash.Leviathan’s Rush – Press R2 while sprinting to do massive damage in your leaping slash. |
Deal with the raiders and use any healthstones dropped by the enemies. You might have noticed that protection from monsters is lowered because of the broken stave. Continue down your path, past the dead body of a bear and you’ll soon find your path blocked by a fallen tree. Kratos easily breaks through by clearing the fallen tree via an axe throw.
Find your way around the blockade and continue down your original route to loot a frozen enemy. Hacksilver is used to buy upgrades, armours, and weapons. In a matter of seconds, five more raiders appear and you can eliminate them exactly as you did last time in order to get used to the controls. So, nothing flashy for now. Don’t forget to run back to explore any alternative paths for Hacksilver. Now, follow the trail of blood up to a frozen stream and explore to discover two raiders and a raider scout.
Eliminate the raider scout first because their slingshots are accurate and deadly. They interrupt your attacks at just the right time for their allies to sneak past your defense. Defeat the raiders and climb the wall to find a coffin containing 1 iron ore and hacksilver. Now, cross the bridge to a cave a few meters away. Enter through a crack in the wall and clear the three enemies there. You can initiate an attack by jumping off the ledge and pressing R1 for a smash attack. Finish off the enemies and loot the surroundings of all Hacksilver, healthstones, and rage stones. Then, keep following the trail of blood and you’ll encounter two more raiders and a scout that you can quickly eliminate. Explore the cave by heading up until you’ve exited the Raiders’ hideout.
Defeat Bjorn
Remember the dead bear you saw at the beginning when you encountered the first three raiders, Bjorn killed it because it’s bigger and stronger. Bjorn favours this combo; A semi-blockable charged swipe attack followed by an unblockable smash attack. It’s best if you use this challenge to master parrying. Dodge Bjorn’s smash attacks entirely and continue eating away at its health using the Frost Awaken 1 skill. Not feeling patient? Follow the tips below to beat Bjorn.
- Attack after Bjorn’s smash attacks and charged entries
- Maintain a healthy distance because Bjorn can bite you
- Cancel his attacks with a well-timed axe through
Once you beat the bear enough and your health is running low, use your Spartan Rage by pressing L3 + R3 together and finish it off when prompted with R3. Just before finishing him off, the bear transforms back into Atreus. Kratos encourages Atreus to continue training to hone his new Therianthropy ability.
Return Home
Once the cutscene ends, break through the log blocking your path and head home. Command Atreus to attack the raiders using the Square button and throw in some of your attacks to quickly finish off the raiders. Continue along the path and when you try to fix the gap in the stave, some raiders and a scout will pop up once more. Eliminate them like the last batch of enemies.
After some interactions with Atreus, Kratos and his son try to sleep. Only to be interrupted by Thor and then, Odin himself. Odin tells Kratos and Atreus to forgo searching for Tyr and he will forgive Baldur’s death. But his offer is rejected so Kratos and Thor fight.
Beat Thor
Thor initiates the fight by sending Kratos across Midgard with a hit. Dodge Thor’s attacks and chip away at his health using well-timed blows. Don’t forget to dodge any attack in red because it’s unblockable. Even the pillars in your surroundings can’t block Thor, so keep parrying and dodging his attacks. To keep things in better perspective, use the list below.
- Avoid the Spartan kick after Thor’s three-punch combo
- Thor’s ranged energy-particle attack can be easily blocked using the shield
- Always dodge when Thor charges at you with a red highlight
- Avoid block breaks by parrying more
- Use Spartan Rage when you’re running low on health
After dealing considerable damage to Thor, the Norse God of Thunder unleashes a shockwave attack with a wide range. Be outside of the range of the shockwave, though you can use light (R1) attacks when he’s about to attack to deal stun damage. Once you’ve dealt enough damage, press R3 when prompted to finish the fight.
But the Norse God has his own advanced healing magic. So, he’s back in the fight with five health bars. You have to start the fight all over again. At this point, use the broken pillars around you to gain an edge in the fight. But in general, the same instructions from before apply. Also, expect to mash Circle a lot! But eventually, Kratos will succumb to Thor’s Thunder.
Only for Thor to revive him up so the fight continues in another location where Thor displays the full extent of his Thunder skills. It’s shocking to say the list. The highlight is that Thor rains down lightning strikes after he slams his hammer down.
Thankfully, Thor can’t move when he’s raining down lightning strikes. So, get behind him to hit him as many times as possible since this is the only way to cheese the fight.
Eventually, Kratos enters his God of War persona; he aims to kill. Having noticed that, Thor flees the scene, saying his blood debt has been paid.
Regroup and Head Out
Sindri and Brok were watching the fight, so being your allies, they assist you and Atreus. Now, head home using a travel gate and reunite with Atreus. You regroup, pack for your travel, and then use armours and upgrades. These upgrades come with guides to show you the ropes. After equipping all the necessary items, Atreus will lead you into the forest leading to the temple.
For now, you’re heading up! Look for ledges since they’ll help you ascend. You’ll encounter a Hel-raider along the way, so use your Blades of Chaos instead of the Leviathan Axe.
Once you’ve beaten enough Hel-raiders, you’ll finally have enough points to purchase skills. The different abilities you can unlock will be presented via tree skills for Kratos and Atreus. Don’t forget! There’s a high chance that loot is around a fight location. So, always do some light exploration after eliminating the enemies. Dead bodies equal treasure in the harsh world of the Norse.
Beat the Huntress to Continue Your Journey
You’ll encounter the Huntress on your way up, who favours archery. She has two move sets:
- A single charged shot comprised of two flaming arrows
- A four-arrow combo which ignites Kratos on impact
Naturally, it’s not easy catching a Centaur. So, you spam L2+R1 to snipe her from afar while using Atreus to deal extra damage. Her weakness are her horns, so attack with your axe when they glow bright yellow to stun her. Only then can you unleash your combo on her. Once you’ve thrashed her around some more, you press R3 to eliminate her. Your rewards for beating the Huntress are a runic gem, frozen flame, 10 bonded leather, and a healthstone. Some tips we have are:
- The Huntress is weaker against fire than ice, so use your Chaos Blades more
- Dodge backwards to escape her stomp after she recovers from the blow to her horns
- Run away from her explosive arrows before they explode
- Lastly, equip your runic stone to do light attacks ASAP
Continue upwards and once you reach the temple, leave no corner or path unsearched and unexplored. Why? Because there are five red coffins and Hacksilver pouches in the area. Just follow Atreus and you should be led to Sindri and Brok. Buy any necessary upgrades, talk to Sindri and use the Realm Seed (Acquired as the story unfolds) to unlock Svartalfheim. You’re traveling to the land of the Dwarves because Sindri and Brok know Durlin, who knew Faye (Kratos’ deceased wife) and may also know the location of Tyr.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the New Game Plus?
The new game plus lets you play God of War Ragnarok from the start. But with some of your upgrades, Hacksilver, and items from your previous playthrough. The new game plus also brings some new additions, such as the new equipment and enchantments like the Ares, Spartan, and Zeus armour sets.
When’s God of War Ragnarok Being Released for PC?
There’s no date for now since God of War Ragnarok is still a Sony exclusive for PS4 and PS5 devices. On the bright side, the first installment of this new God of War series was ported over to PC after four years. So, eventually, even the second part may be ported over.
How to Beat Chapter 1 in a Few Words?
Start out at the lower difficulty and always parry enemies’ strikes that don’t glow red. Once you’ve learned how to parry, you can change the difficulty later in Chapter 1.