God of War Ragnarokthe most extensively released parenting guide of 2022, is available on PC, as well as PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. For the most part, it is a natural continuation of its predecessor, released in 2018. God of wardown to how certain gameplay mechanics work (my deepest condolences to anyone who hated those damn Nornir crates). But Ragnarok has its tricks, but it certainly doesn’t explain them all.
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or coming here colder than Niflheim, the following tips will lend a hand you guide protagonist Kratos and his son, Atreus, through the Nine Realms.
You – yes, you – definitely I need a refresher.
From the main menu, you can access a two-minute story recap video that showcases key moments from the 2018 game. Don’t even try to watch it. The clip is confusing and selectively edited, and honestly, it ended up leaving me more confused than before I watched it — and this is coming from someone who played it God of war (2018) a month ago Ragnarokrelease. The clip doesn’t even mention the original trilogy, the events of which are discussed much more frequently in Ragnarok than the previous model.
If you need a refresher on all the major storylines in God of War, check out our story guide, which covers not only the four main games but also the major events from the side games.
You can come back for it. Probably.
Just like in the previous game, God of War Ragnarok is a bit of a Metroidvania. You’ll often see an environmental indicator—say, a glowing crack in the wall or a clump of red brambles—and you’ll know in your heart that’s the path, but you won’t have the tools to proceed. Don’t waste time trying to find a solution by force. In almost every one of these cases, you’ll have the opportunity to back out— After you’ll finally unlock the gear you need.
When you hit something you can’t avoid, Mimir—a severed head brought back to life for the express purpose of talking nonstop—will sometimes tell you so directly. (“We don’t have the magic for that now, brother.”) Meanwhile, Atreus can offer advice on how to solve a puzzle. (“We must find a way to lower the bridge, Father.”) If you’re lost or stuck, listen to your traveling companions.
Atreus is leading you on the right path, but don’t follow him yet.
God of War Ragnarok sticks to the Law of Forking Paths game design principle: When Atreus turns left towards a story mission, it means there’s a collectible on the right.
Entering the mystical gate heals
Every time you come in mystical gate — God of War Ragnarok‘s to speedy travel – you’ll exit with full health and rage. Also, if you die, you’ll respawn with full health a few steps before the battle that killed you. In some cases, especially during more drawn-out fights, there’s a strategic reason to intentionally leave a fight early on so you can try again with full health.
Every side quest is worth the effort.
God of War RagnarokThe main missions are called The Path and are marked with a brilliant orange icon. You can’t turn off this indicator on your compass (which, by the way, won’t appear for several hours of play). The side quests, called Favors, are marked with obscure blue icons. You can track them individually on your compass by opening the menu, heading to Journal Hover over the favor you want to track, then press Triangle.
To be clear, some Favors can be fairly described as fetch quests. For every compelling mission that develops the characters and fundamentally changes the game world, there are three more in which you have to track down six fimbulwhatevers. Boring or not, they are all worth doing; completing Favors will net you uncommon rewards, sometimes even novel weapons. Plus, multiple quest targets will often be in the same area, so you can complete a fetch quest while working on a really engaging one.
You can (and should) get both shields.
At first you will be able to choose between two shields: The Fearless Shield and Stone wall shield. The Dauntless shield greatly improves Kratos’ parrying. Meanwhile, the Stone Wall shield is virtually impenetrable and has a powerful shield-slam attack. The method Ragnarok framework of this choice, you might think it’s like choosing a starting Pokémon. Not so; you’ll soon have enough resources to buy a shield that you don’t choose. Try one, then the other. (Different shields will also appear throughout the game.)
You must keep your equipment throughout the game.
God of war (2018) featured a fairly standard inventory premise: you acquire gear, exploit it until it runs out (or you get bored of it), and then sell it for a fraction of what you paid for it. God of War RagnarokThe system is a bit more intricate than that, though. Each armor set is meant to be with you throughout the game. They’re all, in theory, supposed to be on par in terms of power, and the idea is to find a set that you like—whether it’s the specific stats it boosts or the unique perk it grants—and upgrade it as you go.
Artifacts, however, are there to be sold.
There’s no need to keep the collectibles you find across the nine lands. The artifacts you’ve collected will still count towards any collectible marathons you’re involved in, and the few that are truly mission-critical will be marked with a blue side quest icon. You can also sell everything at once by going to the Artifacts page in any store, then holding down the Triangle button.
Photo: SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Don’t miss the Yggdrasil Dew hanging in the trees. You’ll get a eternal stat boost for each drop you find. (They only appear when you’re rowing a boat Ragnarokwaterways in regions such as Svartalfheim.)
The accessibility settings are absurdly extensive.
God of War Ragnarok has without a doubt the most extensive settings menu of any contemporary video game. One lets you orient Kratos toward the main story objective using the joystick. Another swaps the “evade” and “interact” buttons. (Come on, everyone knows that dodge belongs to Circle!) A third makes you automatically collect health and money. There’s plot to review, so check out our complete list of all the accessibility settings you should have turned on from day one.
Any default settings you have changed will be highlighted in blue.
The rewards in Nornir Chests are alternating.
Opening Nornir Chests—environmental puzzles that require you to find and usually break down three old structures embossed with Norse runes—is the most effective way to raise Kratos’ stats. Some give you Thin appleincreasing your total health after finding a few. Others give you Horn of Bloody Honeywhich does the same thing to your rage meter. The rewards aren’t random or predetermined. They alternate with each Nornir Chest you open. It’s the game’s way of ensuring that Kratos stays as hearty as he is rage-filled.
Enemies’ difficulty level is marked by color.
Here’s a plain trick to tell how tough an enemy is: Look at their health bar. Enemies lower than your level have green health bars, enemies at the same or similar level as you orange ones, while enemies that outrank you have purple bars. Anything other than This? Yeah, better load the last autosave while you have the chance.
Gold skills can be increased.
The more often you perform a combat skill, the more it will level up: from Bronze to Silver and finally to Gold. Once a skill reaches Gold, you can spend 1,000 XP to apply a buff—formally called fashion token — which increases damage, stun, frost or burn effects, etc. In the skill tree, if the icon glows gold, it means it is eligible for an upgrade. Also, once you unlock a skill boost, you can swap it for another bonus at any time. You don’t have to spend 1000 XP on novel perks every time you want to change them.
