God of War Ragnarok bosses

With the official release date in the bag for God of War Ragnarok, here’s a rundown of all the bosses in the game. Previously, some of the boss fights had only been hinted at or were logical fits with the Norse mythology surrounding the characters and the Ragnarok theme for the story, but now we have the full list.

There were plenty of leaked bosses in the run up to the release, which we’ve added some thoughts on in the section at the bottom of the page. However, with the game out now we can cover things properly to give you a rundown of the bone-crunching beasts, gods and monsters you’ll face.

Developers, Santa Monica Studios had been talking about the game in more detail for a while prior to the launch and that contributed a lot to our breakdown of the game’s bosses before it came out. The trailer that featured in the earlier Sony PlayStation presentation gave us a glimpse of a number of them, either in gameplay action or cinematic sections, plus there was an interview that followed it to fill in some of the blanks.

We’ve since had the story trailer, which showed us even more details on the game, and we can now build out our list of bosses based on playing the game. We’ll also add in notes on how to beat them all to help you finish them off in fine style.

This will inevitably include the God of War Ragnarok final boss, which is Odin, but it comes in the wake of a secondary scrap with Thor, so it’s a tough ending to get through. You might also want to check out our rundown of the characters, worlds and levels for the God of War sequel to get more info on what to expect.

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Featured bosses

This list will only include the godly, big beasts and named monsters that you fight in the PlayStation and Santa Monica Studios title.

For any bosses that didn’t make the cut, but get a mention as a character, you can check out the second part of the list below, which will also include any rumours or speculation.

Bjorn – Bear attack

The list kicks off with a tussle against a giant bear for Kratos to get past very early on. It’s nice to get something new into the mix right from the get-go with the only credible criticism for the 2018 game being the lack of diversity when it comes to enemy types.

This was particularly the case with bosses with just the one dragon, a recycle of ogres and trolls, a few gods and the Valkyries. In all fairness they were all epic, but the addition of the bear attack fight sets things in motion for something new for the big R.

Thor

This slobbering beast of a god seems a little overly proud of his torso, but he was initially a contender for the final boss in God of War Ragnarok. Sporting a cut off t-shirt style shoulder guard, and a Barnet that looks like it hasn’t seen the right side of a hair brush since he was a wee bairn, it’s Thor, the thunder god.

You can see him in all his bikini gone wrong glory with the image below:

He sounds a lot wiser than he looks and with Ryan Hurst voicing the character it’s a big departure from the Marvel vision of Thor. He wields Mjolnir in both of the boss fights that feature him in the game, and it’s got the same return to sender function as Kratos’ Leviathan Axe, and Chris Hemsworth’s Mjolnir, but with a click of the fingers needed. We’ve already seen it crackling with lightning, so this is something to avoid.

Sadly, the first scrap with the hunker chunker has already leaked online and it’s conceptually similar to the Baldur fight. It isn’t the last we see of him, though, so you should buckle up for a second stint against Thor towards the end of the game.

The other bosses impress more than the opening Thor battle, who’s move set is a bit limited the first time around. He might not be that tough in the early altercation, but he steps things up for the second one to make for a better opponent for Kratos and Atreus.

Our biggest tip is to dodge backwards when he jumps into the air to rain lightning down on you. It lands in a backwards V, so if you dodge to the side it’ll still get you. Parry, smash and Runic and you should be able to finish him off.

The Huntress

This is the centaur-like creatures that you might have seen Kratos being knocked around by, although, in all fairness to him, he goes on to land a strong body shot hook to its haunches straight afterwards. You should also take note of the fact that it carries a bow, so clearly it’s going to have some strong ranged attacks, to go alongside its hoof deluge.

An axe shot to the head is particularly effective to give you an opening against The Huntress.

Dreki

This boss fight is essentially the lizard monster that you can see Kratos getting chewed up by in the first trailer (pictured at the top of the page). It’s big and free moving, unlike the massive Hraezlyr dragon fight on the mountain in the first game, which was more fixed in terms of its movement and attacks. Interestingly, it’s the only one of the bosses in the trailer that doesn’t have Atreus in the picture, which was the first hint that the two would part ways during the game.

Parries work well against Drekis and a few well timed dodges for good measure. If you think that on of the bosses is tough, the bad news is that there’s at least a couple of instances where you need to fight two of them, which you can see in the video below:

The Hateful

The Hateful are mini-bosses that you find in a few locations, but the first is in Svartalfheim. It’s essentially a slightly tougher duel-weilding fire draugr enemy, but it has it’s own named boss health bar at the top of the screen, so had to go on the list. You should be able to cut it down relatively easily with some well-timed parries and dodges.

It’s hard to know if it was because it was the last one, or just because, but The Hateful in the Crater in Vanaheim is particularly tough. The heavy Draugr its got with it doesn’t help, so be ready for a challenge.

Throw the axe at it any time it charges its body up with immolation otherwise you’ll sustain big damage even when you hit it. Blocks are good and then wait for your turn to return fire to beat it down.

Alva the Light Elf Queen boss

We weren’t 100% on this one to begin with, because it could have been be a standard light Elf that we can see Kratos facing in the trailer. It definitely makes sense for it to be a boss, or at least for there to be a Light Elf boss in the game. God of War had Svartaljofurr, who got pummeled, so it stands to reason that a new force has arisen out of Alfheim.

Gryla

Angrboda’s giant Jotunn grandmother has a few grief issues, so it’s up to Atreus and his new friend to stop her soul taking ways. You have to destroy her soul bowl, so it’s all about hitting it with Atreus’ bow when it gets magical and getting off the floor or surface when she casts a full area damage spell.

Use Angrboda to flash the candles to distract her and this will give you enough opportunities to finish her off.

Vanadis/Freya

She only features in the trailer in what looks like a cinematic attack on Kratos and Atreus as they sled through a snowy forest scene. However, game director Eric Williams mentions that she’s going to be one of Ragnarok’s main antagonists, so we were expecting her to pitch up with some Vanir magic for a revenge style boss.

With the death of her son Baldur at the hands of Atreus and Kratos, she’s baying for blood. She rocks up to their house in the woods in full Valkyrie regalia with the name Vanadis. It’s a classic Valkyrie fight, so dodge, attack, block, repeat. At the end Kratos notices her sword and recognises her.

Nidhogg

The dragon that gnaws on the roots of the World Tree to keep it in check stands in the way of Kratos in Vaneheim. You can read our full Nidhogg guide on the how to beat the boss.

Frost Phantom

This strange entity shows up when you go chasing the Norns in The Word of Fate. The Frost Phantom is the first of this type of boss to feature in God of War Ragnarok, but like the Ancients there are other varieties later in the game. You can see how to defeat the boss in the video below:

Garm

The realm tearing hound of Hel, Garm is a fierce looking beast, but it’s very cool what they do with him in the end. You fight him with Kratos and Atreus around the halfway point in God of War Ragnarok when you return to the realm to fix Loki’s mistake.

There are three sections to the fight, so buckle up for a protracted battle. Again, you can see how it all goes down in the video below to pick up some tips:

Blatonn

This Alpha Wulver is a tough nut to crack, especially on the harder difficulties, and you can find it in Vanaheim during the Creatures of Prophecy mission. It’s one of the game’s optional bosses, but its a good play to test out your realm shift dodge skills.

Obviously, it’s at its most dangerous when it goes wild, so either get crazy good or give it a lot of distance when its in this mode.

Valkyries – Hrist and Mist

God of War Ragnarok bosses - Hrist & Mist

The story trailer also confirmed the presence of two Valkyrie bosses – you can see one of them about to get a knuckle sandwich above. However, these are not the same as the troubled souls that you will have faced the last time around. Instead, they seem very much on the living side of the spectrum and appear to be working quite happily for Odin.

One of the Valkyries is called Hrist, which means to quake and the other is called Mist, which translates as cloud or mist. This should give you a good idea about what kind of attacks they bring to the table.

Crag Jaw – The huge horned beast

We’re not too sure what this huge monster is, but it looks imposing and should make for one of the biggest bosses in the game alongside the Dreki. It’s possible that this is just a large enemy type, a bit like the Ogres in the last game, but it’s definitely going to be a beast no matter what.

Ancients

The ancients return to God of War Ragnarok having been such a fun introduction in the 2018 roster of bosses. If you played the previous game then you should be pretty familiar with the ropes when it comes to the likes of the Soul Eater and craggy crew.

Shots of the axe to the glowing chest, pick up the orb, throw it at it when its open again and repeat to fade. You’ll get R3 instances and Soul Eaters have different attacks, but the general gist is still the same.

Heimdall

He’s introduced as one of the game’s antagonists around halfway through the game, and its inevitably going to come to a head with him being one of the tougher bosses. You know that if Kratos and Atreus are to make it to Asgard for the final showdown that they’ll have to go through Heimdall to advance on Odin and Thor.

God of War Ragnarok throws him at you at the end of the Creatures of Prophecy mission and he’s a hard one to work out. If you’re having difficulty check out the video to see him being beaten to a pulp:

Odin

Eric Williams confirmed that Odin would be a big part of Ragnarok, and he goes on to e the final boss in the game. You’ll also need to take on Thor for a second time before you get to the end, but Odin is the ultimate malevolent obstacle for Kratos and Atreus to finish off.

He’s a powerful and calculating individual and this comes through in the boss fight with his intense magic abilities. He’s be played by Richard Schiff, and he’s portrayed as an old man that’s busy doing whatever he wants, according to Williams, and his ages of study have resulted in some pretty good moves during the fight.

It would have been cool if he rode his eight legged stead, Sleipnir or if his ravens, Huginn and Muninn, feature in the fight, but neither of these came to pass. It’s still a tough boss fight and you can see how it all comes to a head with this video:

Favor and end game bosses

Dragons

If you follow the For Vanaheim favor after you complete the Creatures of Prophecy story mission then you’ll go to the Vaneheim crater. Here you’ll find a lot of dragons to fight, which includes Drekis and Crag Jaws.

However, it’s the main dragons like The Crimson Dread that are the most fun to fight. They each have a slightly different approach, so you’ll need to adjust to each of them. The easier ones will expose their jugular for an axe throw to bring them down momentarily, so you can run in and do some damage.

However, The Crimson Dread is a bit more challenging, especially when it flies up into the air. You’ll need to use the spear shot to bring it down as it swoops towards you. It’s one of the coolest boss fight moments in God of War Ragnarok and reminds us a lot of Game of Thrones.

The Maven

The Maven is another Favor boss that you can take on relatively early in the game. She’s about as stern a librarians get and you take her on once you track down The Elven Sanctum to the east of the North-West of The Barrens in The Forbidden Sands.

She’s a good one to save for later on to try out a number of builds against, which you can see in the video below. She’s pretty easy to beat, so the challenge really is to do it without taking damage. Dodge the unblockable hit and then either Realm Shift dodge her other attacks or parry to start breaking her down.

Berserkers

Late in the game, you’ll also be given a series of Berserkers to fight. The bosses are marked on your map once you pick up the hilt during the A Word of Fate story Path quest. They’re some of the toughest battles in the game, especially when there are more than one of them.

Once you beat them all, you’ll get to take on the Berserker king, who is God of War Ragnarok’s equivalent to Valkyrie queen Sigrun. You definitely want to have your weapons highly upgraded when you take on the tougher Berserker boss fights and then it’s just a case of matching everything else with your play-style. Realm shift or area of attack Runics work pretty well against them.

Gna

Odin’s new Valkyrie queen is unleashed on the realms during the end game and she’s sworn vengeance for the fall of Asgard. You can track her down in Muspelheim, but be ready for a beast of a fight.

If you fought the various Valkyrie bosses in God of War (2018) then you can follow similar tips to beat Gna with the addition of all the extra fight options that Ragnarok gives you.

Bosses we were hoping for in God of War Ragnarok

Okay, so things get a bit more speculative from this stage onward, but we do know that Odin will be involved in God of War Ragnarok, so the question is how he’s involved. Other than that, the rest is a combination of logical suggestions and general hopes and wishes for the game when it arrives in 2022.

Fenrir

This is essentially a giant wolf, and in Norse mythology it is the child of Loki and the Jotunn, Angrboda. The latest footage has confirmed that it does make an appearance in the game, which adds up to a lot of consequences for the story development that is to come at the end of Fimbulwinter. On the other hand, the world snake, Jormangandr is also a child of the same union in Old Norse mythology and that’s not the way it’s gone as of yet in God of War.

While it looks threatening and Kratos and Atreus set themselves ready for a big boss fight, it’s possible that it won’t actually go down this way. It was a similar case with Jormangandr in God of War and the lineage leaves the possibility of yet another Atreus bond with the monster.

Kraken

The underwater shot of Kratos saving Atreus implies that there’s at least an outside change of an ocean section, which could give us the Kraken to fight. It would probably be the biggest boss in the game, so we’ve definitely got our fingers crossed on this one.

Þrúðr

This is the daughter of Thor, and with both Magni and Modi out of the picture, it’s possible that she’ll be entering the fray to help her dad with his vengeful efforts. Without the Valkyries, Ragnarok will be without much in the way of female enemies, apart from Freya, so it would be a good addition to the mix.

She also possibly features in a Thor family photo artwork that was Tweeted by Santa Monica Studios, so Prudr is a real contender.

Sif

Thor’s good lady friend is another big shout for God of War Ragnarok’s bosses. She also appears to be in the family photo with Thir and Prudr, so we’re adding it in as a hot tip.

Hræsvelgr

For anyone that doesn’t know who this is, you will have stared up at it in Helheim in the previous game. It’s the giant bird of prey that looks down from the tall building as you take on the land of the dead. It’s a Jotunn, which haven’t previously been enemies in the game, but it would make for an epic boss fight.

Greek/other Pantheon

There’s also an outside chance we might get some kind of other pantheon boss to fight in the game. This could either be a flashback or spirit from Kratos’ Greek troubles, or a sneaky alliance Odin has formed to help fend off the onset of Ragnarok and the might of the God of War.

Leaked bosses

It’s a bit shocking to see and we’re not too sure how the whole mess has been allowed to happen, but a lot of gamers have managed to get their hands on the game way earlier than the official release date. As a result there are a number of bosses that have been leaked on YouTube.

If you don’t want to find out more about these then you might want to steer clear of YouTube for the next few days. The final boss fight hasn’t been featured as of yet, but it’s only a matter of time and there are some chunky fights.

PlayStation really needs to do more to shore this up in the future as it gives too much away. Call of Duty Modern Warfare II solved this issue by only including a small element of the game code on the physical release, so maybe this is a solution going forward. Another option would just be to include date keys for physical releases, so gamers can’t play the games until the same time.

The biggest surprise is that PlayStation isn’t taking down the videos on YouTube, so it looks like a bit of a free-for-all with the rest of the fans being the losers in the equation.

Don’t forget to check out our computer games section to keep tabs on the game, or visit the PlayStation website at https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/games/god-of-war-ragnarok/ for more details on the game.