God of War Ragnarök: Complete Guide

Everything you need for God of War Ragnarök on PC: combat fundamentals, how gear, stats and upgrades fit together, what to prioritize in each realm, optional boss advice, the free Valhalla roguelite mode, and trophy-hunting tips.

Researched September 2026 — current as of PC Patch 9.1 (August 2025), which follows the 20th Anniversary Patch 9 (March 2025). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

Parry and block are your best defense. Learn your shield's timing early. Red-ring attacks can't be blocked — dodge them. Other ring colors have their own counters; the in-game tutorial prompts and Codex explain each one when you first meet it.
Use both weapons constantly. The Leviathan Axe (frost) builds Frost; the Blades of Chaos (fire) build Burn. Swap mid-combo to apply both status effects and to use their different ranges.
Spend Hacksilver on armor first, weapon upgrades second. Weapon levels are gated by special items (Frozen Flames for the axe, Chaos Flames for the blades, Gale Flames for the spear), most of which drop from story bosses; armor upgrades are the bottleneck Hacksilver solves.
Explore between story beats. Apples of Iðunn raise max health and Horns of Blood Mead raise max rage. The "Full Belly" achievement asks you to collect all of them.
Equip Atreus (or your current companion) properly. Companion gear and skills matter — their arrows and summons stagger and stun enemies.
Don't ignore the Amulet of Yggdrasil. Enchantments slot into it and add real stats and effects. The "How it's Going" achievement asks you to fully repair it.
Use your runic attacks liberally. They're on cooldowns; save them only for the next pack if you're about to hit a rest point.
Rage has three flavors. Spartan Rage can be Fury (brutal bare-handed attacks), Valor (heal and parry burst), or Wrath (a single huge weapon strike). Valor is a panic heal.
Visit Sindri or Brok shops often. Crafting, upgrading, and selling unneeded resources and artifacts funds your next upgrade.
Valhalla is free and unlocks from the main menu. It's an excellent place to master combat after the credits.

Difficulty Settings

The main campaign offers five difficulties, and you can change them at any time:

Difficulty	Who it's for
Give Me Story	Story-focused play with minimal challenge
Give Me Grace	Relaxed combat, forgiving damage
Give Me Balance	The intended default experience
Give Me No Mercy	Hard; enemies hit harder and are more aggressive
Give Me God of War	Very hard; tight timing, punishing damage

New Game+ does not add a new tier; instead it adjusts enemies on Give Me No Mercy and Give Me God of War. Show Me Mastery is the top difficulty of the Valhalla roguelite mode, not the main game.

None of the 48 Steam achievements require a specific difficulty and nothing is permanently missable, so play on whatever keeps combat fun.

Combat Fundamentals

Weapons

Weapon	Element	Strength
Leviathan Axe	Frost	Throwing, freezing, recall damage, crowd freezing
Blades of Chaos	Fire	Wide sweeps, burn damage, chain-pull enemies
Draupnir Spear	Wind	Mid-game weapon: throw copies, detonate for bursts, good against shielded enemies

Every weapon has light attacks, heavy attacks, and two runic attack slots (light and heavy runic). Each weapon also has a Weapon Signature Move that imbues the weapon with its element for a burst of stronger attacks.

Shields

Ragnarök's shields change how you defend. The Patch 9 "Dark Odyssey" skins cover all six:

Shield	Style
Guardian Shield	Balanced; the starter shield, good parry and block
Dauntless Shield	Parry-focused; rewards precise timing
Stone Wall Shield	Block-focused; absorbs hits to release a counter
Shatter Star Shield	Charge-based; read its in-game description for how it builds and releases
Onslaught Shield	Charge-based; read its in-game description for how it builds and releases
Spartan Aspis	New Game+ only; a very tight parry window for high-skill play

The "Phalanx" achievement asks for all shields. Try each for an hour — the best shield is the one whose timing clicks for you.

Statuses and stun

Frost slows enemies. Freeze builds with the axe.
Burn deals damage over time with the blades.
Stun fills a bar under enemy health; when full, a prompt appears for a stun grab (a cinematic finisher that also gives health or rage depending on your gear).
Poison, Bifrost and other effects appear via gear and enemies.

Stats

Stat	Effect
Strength	Physical damage of weapons
Runic	Damage of runic attacks and elemental effects
Defense	Damage reduction
Vitality	Max health
Luck	Chance of perk activation and resource gains
Cooldown	Speed of runic, companion and relic cooldowns

Early on, just raise your Defense and Vitality through armor upgrades. Specialize later.

Companion abilities

Atreus fires arrows on command (sigil arrows set up combos; sonic arrows stagger) and gains new skills as you progress. Later companions have their own tools. Always check the companion's skill tree after a level-up.

Progression and Upgrades

Resources

Resource	Use
Hacksilver	General currency: buy and upgrade armor, runic attacks, enchantments
Frozen Flame	Upgrading the Leviathan Axe; 8 in the game take it from level 1 to 9
Chaos Flame	Upgrading the Blades of Chaos; 8 in total (level 1 to 9). Five drop from mandatory story bosses; the rest come from the Muspelheim trials, a Berserker gravestone, and Draugr holes
Gale Flame	Upgrading the Draupnir Spear
Crafting materials	Drop from enemies, found in chests; required for armor tiers
Apples of Iðunn	Increase max health
Horns of Blood Mead	Increase max rage

Armor strategy

Early game: pick one full armor set and upgrade it. Set bonuses beat a patchwork of higher-tier pieces.
Mid game: pick a set that matches your play style (runic, strength/defense, cooldown).
Late game: craft the Dragon Scaled Armor Set if you like survivability; its crafting earns the "Dragon Slayer" achievement.
Patch 9's Dark Odyssey Armor Set (breastplate, bracers, belt) is free to all owners; compare its stats and perks with your current set before switching.

Skill trees

Each weapon has skill trees; spend XP on:

Skills that extend combos into launchers or knockdowns.
Parry and block counters for your shield.
Throw/recall upgrades for the axe.
Chain-pull tools for the blades.

Skills earn mastery by use, and mastering a skill unlocks modifiers that boost it further. Don't spread XP thin: commit to a few moves.

Exploration and Side Content

God of War Ragnarök spans all Nine Realms. Returning realms include Midgard, Alfheim, Helheim, Jötunheim, Muspelheim and Niflheim, and Ragnarök adds Svartalfheim, Vanaheim and Asgard.

Priorities for side content:

Favors (side quests): Many unlock unique gear, enchantments or runic attacks. Do them as they appear — some areas open wider after the story.
Nornir chests: Rune puzzles that give Apples of Iðunn or Horns of Blood Mead.
Legendary chests: Enchantments and crafting materials.
Odin's Ravens: Collectibles to destroy; watch for the green glow and listen for the caw.
Collectible logs: Books (for "The Librarian") and Artifacts (for "The Curator").
Trials of Muspelheim: Combat challenges with modifiers and strong rewards; finishing the favor "The Final Challenges" earns "Trials by Fire."
The Florist and Full Gufa: Post-story favors ("Nine Realms in Bloom"; "Secret of the Sands" and "Song of the Sands" in Alfheim) that close out two trophies.
Shields and relics: Pick up every chest in each realm to complete "Phalanx" and "Collector" (all Relics and Sword Hilts).

Optional bosses

Ragnarök's hardest optional fights are:

Berserkers: Spectral warriors found at Berserker gravestones across the realms. Clearing all the gravestones unlocks the favor "Fit for a King" against King Hrólf Kraki, a level 9 fight and one of the hardest in the game ("Grave Mistake" achievement). Come at a high level and bring your best parry shield.
Gná, Queen of the Valkyries: A level 9 post-story fight in the Muspelheim Crucible, reached through the favor "Defend Your Valor" ("The True Queen" achievement). Her attacks are fast; learn her aerial and red-ring moves before committing damage.

General optional-boss tips:

Build Defense and Vitality before these fights, even if your damage drops.
Keep Valor rage ready as an emergency heal.
Use runic attacks at every opening; their cooldowns will reset during the fight.
Parry-focused shields shine here because bosses telegraph clearly.

Valhalla (Free Roguelite DLC)

God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla launched as free content in December 2023 and is included with the PC version. It's a replayable roguelite epilogue in which Kratos, with Mimir, faces trials inside Valhalla.

Key points:

Stripped-down start: Kratos keeps all weapons and fully upgraded skill trees but casts off his armor; you pick a shield and Spartan Rage type each attempt.
Runs are randomized: rewards and enemy combinations vary per attempt; die and you reawaken outside the doors.
Five difficulties, topped by Show Me Mastery, and you can swap between attempts.
Fleeting Echoes are the in-run currency; the "Easy Come, Easy Go" achievement asks for more than 15,000 on a single attempt.
Permanent progression carries between runs, so even failed runs make you stronger.
Mastery quests push you to master specific parts of Kratos's arsenal; "Understood the Assignment" asks you to complete 9 of them.
Visiting all 9 realms in Valhalla earns "Wayfarer."

Tips:

Pick boons that stack the same element or stat instead of spreading them.
Heal at every opportunity; avoid chip damage on the way to bosses.
Spend meta currency on survival upgrades first.

New Game+

New Game+ (added April 2023 on PlayStation, included on PC) lets you replay the story with your level and gear. Highlights from Santa Monica's NG+ notes:

Convert level 9 armor, weapons, components and shields into "Plus" versions with extra levels of progression (raised level cap).
New gear: Armor of the Black Bear (equipped at the start), Spartan Armor (locked at Power Level 1 for challenge runs), returning Ares and Zeus armor, and the Spartan Aspis shield.
New enchantments (Gilded Coins, Berserker Soul Drops, Burdens), Skill Mod Plus upgrades and Platinum-tier Labors.
Enemy adjustments on the two hardest difficulties, an expanded Niflheim arena, and an option to skip cinematics.

Carry-over is generous; use it for trophy clean-up.

Achievement Roadmap

There are 48 Steam achievements. A clean route:

Story run on any difficulty. Most story achievements pop automatically. Pick up "Knock off the Rust" (buy a skill), "Spit Shine" (upgrade one armor piece), "How it Started" (equip an enchantment) and "Style Points" (equip a cosmetic armor) early.
Collect as you go. Nornir chests for "Full Belly", Books for "The Librarian", Artifacts for "The Curator", Relics and Sword Hilts for "Collector", and every shield for "Phalanx".
Gear goals. "Ready for Commitment" (fully upgrade one armor set), "Dragon Slayer" (craft the Dragon Scaled Armor Set), and "How it's Going" (fully repair the Amulet of Yggdrasil).
Post-story favors. "Trials by Fire" (The Final Challenges), "Grave Mistake" (Fit for a King), "The True Queen" (Defend Your Valor), "The Florist" (Nine Realms in Bloom) and "Full Gufa" (the two sand favors in Alfheim).
Valhalla. "Invitation Accepted" (discover the secret of Valhalla), "Wayfarer" (visit all 9 realms in Valhalla), "Easy Come, Easy Go" (more than 15,000 Fleeting Echoes in one attempt) and "Understood the Assignment" (9 Mastery Quests).
Misc. "Fight at the Forum" asks you to take part in a fight at The Forum arena.

"The Bear and the Wolf" unlocks when you have everything else.

PC Notes (Patch 8 to 9.1)

Patch 9 (March 2025): added the free Dark Odyssey collection (Kratos armor and appearance, Atreus and Freya companion armor, and weapon and shield appearances) for the 20th anniversary.
Patch 9.1 (August 2025): added support for the latest AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution.
Launch fixes: March and April 2025 hotfixes addressed black-screen launch issues. If the game crashes on start with NVIDIA, the April 2025 hotfix added NVIDIAStreamlineOTAUpdates in settings.ini — setting it to Off can help. The Save Game directory also stores an sl.log file for support tickets when logging is enabled.
PSN account: the PC version launched requiring a PlayStation Network account, but that requirement was removed on January 30, 2025. Linking is now optional; the PlayStation overlay still handles trophies if you sign in.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mixing armor pieces too early. Set bonuses are worth more than stray higher-tier pieces.
Neglecting companion upgrades. Their stuns and staggers are free crowd control.
Turtling. Holding block without parrying drains the fight's pace. Commit to parry timing.
Saving runic attacks. Their cooldowns are short. Use them.
Sitting on weapon flames. Frozen, Chaos and Gale Flames mostly come through story progression, with a few from optional content (per PowerPyx, the last Chaos Flames are from the Muspelheim trials, a Berserker gravestone, and Draugr holes). When you get one, go upgrade immediately.
Skipping Nornir chests. Max health and rage are too valuable to leave behind.

Advanced Tips

Frost into fire: Freeze an enemy with the axe, then swap to the blades for burst damage while they're slowed.
Recall damage: Throw the axe at a far enemy, fight up close with your hands or shield, then recall the axe through the group.
Shield bash: Many enemy shields and guards break to shield bashes; don't whittle at them.
Stun grab routing: Lead enemies into each other so a stun grab or throw hits others too.
Cooldown builds: Stacking Cooldown lets you cycle runic attacks and companion summons constantly; this is excellent for crowds and Valhalla.
Parry chains: Many shield skills reward consecutive parries. Practice on weaker enemies before optional bosses.

FAQ

Do I need to play God of War (2018) first? It's strongly recommended — Ragnarök continues the story directly — but there's a recap and you can follow along.

Is Valhalla included on PC? Yes. The Steam store page confirms Valhalla is included at no extra cost.

Does the PC version need a PSN account? No longer. The PSN requirement was dropped on January 30, 2025, so linking a PlayStation account is optional. You can still sign in for the PlayStation overlay and trophy sync.

What's the best shield? There isn't one. Parry players tend to like the Dauntless Shield; block players like the Stone Wall or Onslaught. The Guardian Shield is a strong balance.

How long is the game? The main story is long (dozens of hours). PowerPyx estimates the full trophy list at roughly 40-50 hours on Story difficulty, 50-60 on Balance, and 60-70+ on No Mercy, and counts 418 collectibles in total.

Is anything missable? No. Per PowerPyx, every trophy-relevant area and collectible can be revisited in post-story free roam.

Can I get the Dark Odyssey armor for free? Yes, Patch 9 made the Dark Odyssey collection available in-game at no additional cost to everyone who owns Ragnarök. Weapon appearances apply to fully upgraded weapons.