God of War: Ragnarök: Beginner's Guide

Getting Started in God of War: Ragnarök

Ragnarök is the sequel to God of War (2018) and continues Kratos and Atreus's story, so playing the 2018 game first gives the story more context. Kratos fights with the Leviathan Axe, the Blades of Chaos and the Draupnir Spear, which you get as the story progresses. Pick a difficulty that lets you learn the parry and dodge timing; you can change it later in the options.

Core Mechanics to Master

Shields come in several varieties, and Wikipedia describes smaller shields as focused on parrying and larger ones as more defensive. Learn the parry timing of whichever shield you use. The Draupnir Spear's unique mechanic is throwing spears that create copies of themselves and detonating them in quick succession; the aim-and-fire step is followed by a detonation input, so check the on-screen prompts for the exact buttons on your controller. Guides note that some yellow cracks need three spear copies fired before you detonate.

Best Early Upgrades

Upgrade the weapon you use most, and spend skill points on options that suit your play style. We have not verified specific skill names or a best-in-slot shield attachment, so read each upgrade's description in the menu before spending.

Essential Tips

1. Use all three weapons — the Axe is ice-infused, the Blades fire-infused and the Spear wind-infused (Wikipedia), so switch to suit the enemy.
2. Use Atreus — you can direct his arrows during fights, and some story missions let you control him fully.
3. Explore the realms — all nine realms appear in the story, and optional content gives gear upgrade materials.
4. Upgrade your gear as you find upgrade materials, especially before harder fights.

Early Boss: Thor

Thor arrives early in the game, with Odin, and the first duel ends in a stalemate (Wikipedia). SegmentNext describes the fight, tied to the “Surviving Fimbulwinter” mission after the Bjorn fight, as three phases. Thor takes no damage at first while Kratos only has a shield, so time dodges and parries and use Spartan Rage. In phase 2 pillars in the arena can knock him back, and in phase 3 he adds area lightning strikes, hammer-smash projectiles and a red-yellow-red pattern with one unblockable hit. Red circles on the ground telegraph most attacks, so dodge out of them, and pick up the green health stones in the arena. The guide does not describe a frost phase.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need to play God of War 2018 first?
A: Strongly recommended. The emotional payoff of Ragnarök depends heavily on investment in the 2018 game's characters and story.

Q: How long is Ragnarök?
A: Wikipedia does not give a playtime. Estimates vary with how much optional content you do.

Q: Is there DLC?
A: Valhalla is a free roguelite epilogue released in December 2023. It adds Legacy rage, which lets Kratos wield the Blade of Olympus (Wikipedia).

Q: Is there a PC version?
A: Yes. It released on Windows on 19 September 2024; Metacritic lists 90 for PC and 94 for PS5.