---
title: "God of War (2018): Complete Guide"
game: "God of War"
game_url: "https://qna.gg/games/god-of-war"
author: "Qloud"
author_url: "https://qna.gg/players/Qloud"
topics: ["Bosses", "Collectibles", "Settings"]
summary: "A guide to Santa Monica Studio's 2018 God of War on PC: combat fundamentals, gear stats and upgrades, Atreus, a spoiler-light story route, side content (Valkyries, Muspelheim, Niflheim, collectibles), difficulty…"
url: "https://qna.gg/g/god-of-war-2018-complete-guide-5ac11ce6"
published: "2026-09-27T16:37:44.105Z"
updated: "2026-09-27T16:37:44.105Z"
source: "QnA.GG"
---

# God of War (2018): Complete Guide

A guide to Santa Monica Studio's 2018 God of War on PC: combat fundamentals, gear stats and upgrades, Atreus, a spoiler-light story route, side content (Valkyries, Muspelheim, Niflheim, collectibles), difficulty advice, and PC settings.

*Researched September 2026 — covers the PC version (released January 14, 2022) through patch v1.0.13 (May 2023). The game is complete; check the linked sources if something differs.*

## Quick Start

1. **Pick "Give Me a Balanced Experience" for your first run** if you're comfortable with action games. "Give Me a Challenge" is the intended difficulty for experienced players.
2. **Block and parry.** Blocking just before an attack lands parries it and staggers most enemies. Learn this early.
3. **Throw and recall the axe.** The Leviathan Axe can be thrown and recalled. Recalling it hits enemies in its path.
4. **Use Atreus.** Command him to shoot arrows. He stuns and interrupts enemies, and his upgrades are some of the best in the game.
5. **Spend XP on skills, Hacksilver on gear.** XP unlocks combos. Hacksilver upgrades armor and weapons.
6. **Watch enemy attack indicators.** Colored rings warn you before special attacks. Red rings mean an unblockable attack: dodge instead of blocking.
7. **Upgrade the axe at Brok and Sindri's shops.** Axe upgrades raise its level and unlock skills.
8. **Explore with the boat.** The Lake of Nine is full of side content. The world opens up the more you progress.
9. **Collect Iðunn's Apples and Horns of Blood Mead.** Three of each raise your max Health and Rage.
10. **Almost nothing is permanently missable.** You can return to most areas and finish side content after the story.

## Combat Fundamentals

### Kratos' tools

| Tool | What it's for |
|---|---|
| **Leviathan Axe** | Main weapon. Ice-infused, can be thrown and recalled. Freezes enemies |
| **Blades of Chaos** | Obtained later in the story. Fire-infused chain blades for crowds |
| **Guardian Shield** | Block, parry, and shield bash |
| **Bare hands** | Fast stun damage, especially after axe throws |
| **Spartan Rage** | Fills with damage dealt and taken. Makes Kratos much stronger and heals him |

### Runic attacks

Each weapon has a **light** and a **heavy runic attack** slot. Runic attacks are special moves on a cooldown, found in chests and bought at shops. Examples for the Leviathan Axe include **Hel's Touch** and **Ivaldi's Anvil**. Upgrade your favorites at the shop.

### Stun and grabs

Enemies have a **stun meter**. Punches and shield hits build it fast. When full, you can **grab** the enemy for a brutal finisher. Stun grabs are one of the best damage and crowd-control tools.

### Parrying

- **Perfect block (parry):** block just before a hit lands.
- **Shield parry** can reflect projectiles.
- **Red ring attacks** can't be blocked or parried. Dodge them.

### Atreus

- Atreus shoots **arrows** on command. They interrupt, stun, and can trigger special effects.
- Early on he gets **Light arrows** and **Shock arrows** for puzzles and combat.
- His **runic summons** call spectral animals that attack or distract enemies.
- Upgrade his bow, armor, and skills. His stun damage is huge in harder difficulties.

## Gear and Stats

### Stats

| Stat | Effect |
|---|---|
| Strength | Melee damage |
| Runic | Runic attack and elemental damage |
| Defense | Damage reduction |
| Vitality | Max health |
| Luck | Chance for bonus effects and XP/Hacksilver |
| Cooldown | Runic attack and talisman cooldowns |

### Gear slots

- **Armor:** chest, wrist, and waist.
- **Axe pommel** (attachment on the Leviathan Axe).
- **Talisman** (special active or passive effect).
- **Enchantments** (socketed into your amulet).

### Upgrading

- **Hacksilver** and crafting materials upgrade armor.
- The Leviathan Axe is upgraded with **Frozen Flames**. The Blades of Chaos use **Chaos Flames**.
- Balance your stats. Mixing sets for Strength, Runic, and Cooldown works well.

## Story Route (Spoiler-Light)

The story follows Kratos and Atreus on a journey to scatter his wife's ashes from the highest peak in the realms. Key areas in order:

1. **Wildwoods** — the opening area and home.
2. **River Pass** — first real exploration.
3. **Lake of Nine** — the central hub. Meet Brok and Sindri. The boat unlocks side content.
4. **Alfheim** — the realm of the Light Elves. Light arrows.
5. **The Mountain** — climb inside and to the summit, where you meet Mimir, who joins you as a talking head.
6. **Thamur's Corpse** — find the Magic Chisel.
7. **Tyr's Vault** — a puzzle dungeon beneath the Lake of Nine.
8. **Helheim** — a detour after a turn in the story. The Blades of Chaos return before this trip.
9. **Jötunheim** — the finale.

After the credits you can keep exploring and finish side content.

## Skill Priorities

XP buys skills in trees for the axe, the shield, bare hands, Atreus, and later the Blades of Chaos. Good early picks:

- **Axe throw upgrades** — more damage and control from throws and recalls.
- **Shield skills** that improve parries and bashes — parrying is the backbone of every difficulty.
- **Bare-hand stun skills** — faster stuns mean more grabs.
- **Atreus' combat skills** — more arrows and stun damage. Much stronger than they look.
- **Recall and combo extensions** once the basics are covered.

Some skills need a higher weapon level first. If a skill is locked, upgrade the weapon at Brok or Sindri's shop.

## Boss and Enemy Tips

- **The Stranger (opening fight):** learn to block and dodge here. He's aggressive but readable.
- **Revenants:** they teleport and poison. Hit them with Atreus' arrows to make them vulnerable, then attack.
- **Trolls:** big, slow, lots of health. Dodge the slams and use runic attacks when they stagger.
- **Magni and Modi:** when both are on you, focus one and keep the other in view. Watch both health bars.
- **Draugr:** varied and numerous. Freeze them with axe throws to take them out of the fight.
- **Wulvers and fast enemies:** block and parry, then counter.

## Side Content

### Valkyries

Nine Valkyrie fights are the game's hardest optional bosses: Gunnr, Geirdriful, Kara, Eir, Rota, Gondul, Olrun, Hildr, and **Sigrun**, the Valkyrie Queen.

- They're spread across the realms you can visit (Wikipedia counts six locations). Most sit behind the sealed **Hidden Chambers of Odin**, which you can only open once you have the **Magic Chisel** from Thamur's Corpse, so most Valkyrie hunting happens mid-to-late game.
- **Gondul** is in **Muspelheim**.
- **Sigrun** waits in the **Council of Valkyries** once you've defeated the other eight and returned their helms there.
- Valkyrie fights reward high-level materials and their Valkyrie Helms.
- For the exact spot of each Valkyrie, use a map-based walkthrough. Several share areas with other side content, so it helps to clear an area's chests and puzzles on the same visit.

Tips:

- Learn each Valkyrie's patterns. They share many moves.
- Keep a **Resurrection Stone** equipped.
- Upgrade armor and axe first.

### Muspelheim and Niflheim

- **Muspelheim** — combat trials. Find the **Muspelheim Language Cipher** pieces to unlock it.
- **Niflheim** — a maze filled with toxic mist. Find the **Niflheim Language Cipher** pieces to unlock it.
- Both reward rare materials and endgame gear, such as **Ivaldi's Deadly Mist** set crafted from Niflheim materials.

### Dragons

Free three trapped dragons: **Fáfnir**, **Otr**, and **Reginn**. Each is in a different area and needs a small puzzle.

### Collectibles

| Collectible | Where / what |
|---|---|
| **Odin's Ravens** | 51 green-glowing ravens. Destroy them all for a reward |
| **Nornir Chests** | Solve a rune puzzle (bells or seals) for Idunn Apples or Horns of Blood Mead |
| **Legendary Chests** | Rare gear and materials |
| **Artifacts** | Sets you can sell for Hacksilver |
| **Lore Markers and Jötnar Shrines** | Story and lore |
| **Realm Tears** | Fights with realm-specific enemies |

## Difficulty Modes

| Difficulty | Who it's for |
|---|---|
| Give Me a Story | Story focus, very easy |
| Give Me a Balanced Experience | Standard |
| Give Me a Challenge | Recommended for experienced players |
| Give Me God of War | Hardest. Enemies hit very hard and are aggressive |

**New Game Plus** was added in patch 1.30 on August 20, 2018. It carries over your gear and adds higher-level enemies and new rarity tiers.

## PC Settings

- **Use DLSS** on NVIDIA GPUs or **FSR 2.0** (added in patch v1.0.12) for better performance.
- **NVIDIA Reflex** reduces input latency.
- **Ultra-wide (21:9)** is supported.
- Controllers: DUALSHOCK 4, DualSense, and other gamepads are supported, and mouse and keyboard bindings are fully customizable.

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

- **Only using the axe.** Punches and shield bashes stun faster.
- **Ignoring Atreus.** His arrows are huge for crowd control and stun.
- **Hoarding Hacksilver.** Spend it on armor upgrades.
- **Fighting Valkyries too early.** Come back with better gear.
- **Blocking red ring attacks.** Dodge them.
- **Forgetting the Resurrection Stone.** It saves you in hard fights.

## Advanced Tips

- **Axe throw into punch stun:** throw the axe, then punch to stun quickly.
- **Runic cooldown builds** let you spam runic attacks.
- **Spartan Rage** heals you. Use it when low health.
- **Atreus' runic summons** distract enemies in big fights.
- **Freeze enemies** with the Leviathan Axe to control fights.
- **Use the Blades of Chaos** for crowds and the axe for single targets.

## FAQ

**How long is God of War (2018)?**
Around 20 to 25 hours for the main story, more with side content.

**Can I miss anything?**
Almost nothing is permanently missable. You can return after the story.

**What's the hardest boss?**
Sigrun, the Valkyrie Queen.

**Which difficulty should I pick?**
Give Me a Balanced Experience for most players. Give Me a Challenge if you want it to be hard.

**Does the PC version have New Game Plus?**
Yes. NG+ was added in August 2018 and is in the PC version.

**What's the last PC patch?**
v1.0.13 (May 2023), which only updated the credits.

## Sources

- [God of War on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1593500/)
- [God of War Steam news](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1593500) — patches v1.0.12 and v1.0.13
- [God of War (2018) on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_of_War_(2018_video_game))