Just because the God of War Ragnarok isn’t out yet, doesn’t mean you can’t get yourself set, so here’s a whole lot of help to get you started well with our hints and tips. Having played the first game a lot and watched everything on Ragnarok in minuscule detail, the pointers below should get you off to a good start.
The game picks up with Kratos and Atreus three years after the final boss battle with Baldur in God of War, just as the three-year-long Thimblewinter approaches its final summer. Once it ends Ragnarok will begin, bringing with it the end of days, so the father-son duo set off on a journey to try to stop it from happening.
AdvertisementThe lion’s share of the action is fighting Draugr, trolls, new monsters, men and belligerent gods, so we’ll cover off tips to help you with that based on how things went down in God of War. However, fights are a lot easier if you have the right kit, because they’re linked to how you level up in the game, so we’ll cover that too.
There will also be a number of different puzzle types to solve along the way, so having a good eye for what to expect will definitely help you out, so we’ll add in some tips for that in the final section. That should give you enough tips to get started in Ragnarok and we’ll update things here as soon at the release date rolls around on the 9th November.
Fighting hints and tips
AdvertisementObviously, we’re making a mild leap in assuming that the main mechanics in God of War Ragnarok will be similar enough to the previous game, but this is also based on the gameplay footage that has been released. This should include the general fight mechanics, and while there are bound to be a few extra hints and tips that we add in to help you with the game when it launches, the following will be core to both:
- Learning the timing for the parry is pretty much the key to success in a lot of fights. You can just raise your shield, which will give Kratos protection against a lot of attacks, but what you’re looking for is to do this just as the attack is coming in. If you press L1 at this time you’ll knock the enemy backwards, return damage and get some time to attack.
- Roll on rails. When you’re not looking to land the parry, you’ve also got the option of a dodge roll, which you do by double tapping X. Use this a lot, especially when someone is coming at you from behind or if you’re facing a stronger enemy with attacks that can’t be blocked, which will be highlighted by a red attack pointer. Button selection for this can be changed in the settings, by-the-way, so if it doesn’t feel intuitive, you can change it easily.
- A lot of times it can be better to simply dodge, which you do by pressing X once and using the direction control to decide which way to move. If you combine this with the shield up using L1 it gives you a little extra protection and allows you to watch for your moment to dodge and get in your own combos or Runic attacks.
- In God of War you could find the Amulet of Kvasir in Alfheim, which allows you to Realm Shift, which is the games equivalent of Bullet Time. With this Talisman equipped you could time a dodge at the last minute and slow down your enemies giving Kratos an opportunity to deliver an epic combo before they could run away or hit you with an un-blockable shot. We’re expecting there to be something like this in Ragnarok, because it’s such a good move and you can use it to do a lot of free damage.
- Take advantage of the environment. It’s quicker to knock enemies into a chasm than it is to bludgeon them to pieces and when you’ve got a lot of them coming for you every second counts. You can also use the environment to block line of sight for projectiles and lure smaller packs of enemies into a trap. The light attack into heavy is a good options for launching enemies, or if you’ve thrown the axe then the light combo with the shield spin is another good one. Once they’re launched, you can then knock them off a cliff pretty easily for an instant finish.
- Never forget about Atreus. A few arrows from him can give you a stun opportunity, buying you time to get in a heavy hit or something like the Executioner’s Cleave from the first game. We’re fully expecting some new moves for both of them, but it makes sense for Atreus to have more development now he’s older, so it’s going to be interesting to see what extra options we have in Ragnarok. His stun arrows in the first game were great for building up stun finishers.
- Speed is always your friend. If you can whittle down the crowd fast then it makes dealing with the bigger enemies a whole lot easier. Get in, do a whole lot of damage and roll out to see what’s next after you defeat an enemy. Keep thinking one down means one less to deal with.
- However, some encounters will be easier if you defeat enemies in a certain order. Taking out projectile enemies can definitely make the rest of a fight easier and it’s a similar story for faster Draugr. Save the heavies until last and if you’re playing on GMGOW then try not to damage them until you’re ready to take them on as this will push them to rank up.
- Be strategic with Spartan Rage. It gives you a health boost, so if you use it at full health then its a total waste. Instead, use all of the other help, hints and tips to take out as many enemies as you can and only hit up the Rage when you’re down to your last dribble on the health bar. If it follows the same process as God of War then Atreus will give you a heads up when you’re down to your bones. The other strategic choice you’ll have is in terms of which enemies to use it on. If there’s one that’s stopping you from advancing (especially in Give Me God of War) then try to unleash it at the right moment to take it out of the equation. You can also cancel Spartan Rage part way through, which becomes more important later in the game.
- Certain moves will make you invincible for a short period of time, for example doing a stun finisher or the Executioner’s Cleave. Land these at the right time and you can avoid damage.
- Different moves will affect different enemies differently. It’s obvious when you say it like that, but try to think about it a bit deeper in terms of whether or not to use axe or go bare knuckles, or which of Atreus arrow shots to use.
- Bare knuckle Kratos does a lot more stun damage than with the Leviathan Axe, so you can team this approach with Atreus’ arrows to build up your head stomp and tear finishers with R3. However, some enemies go down quicker without this approach, so give it a try and if the stun build up is slow then switch back to the axe.
- Light Runic attacks can be great for crowd control. If you’re swamped and need a little space, hit up a runic attack that impacts multiple enemies at the same time. Hold on to Heavy Runic Attacks for clutch saves and big enemy beat-downs.
- If you’re fighting a boss and other enemies spawn, which is a bigger issue in Give Me God of War difficulty, it’s sometimes a good idea to focus on taking them out to free you up to fight the boss without them taking pot shots at you. This is especially true if its projectile enemies that spawn.
- Remember that you can sprint during dark patches in play. This can help you to avoid certain attacks, get to more open space, run to projectile firing enemies to defeat them or to get to Health Stones.
- Use the jumping axe smash to inflict a lot of damage on multiple enemies. It works great when dropping down from height or when you’re grappling over a jump using the Blades of Chaos.
- If you feel like you’re not doing enough damage, add in some fire and ice with the new triangle flare for attacks. Hold triangle to infuse it with frost damage or mash triangle when wielding the Blades to give them burn impact.
- Choose your shield destiny. In God of War Ragnarok you will have the option to choose which direction to take things in with the shield. If you’re all about parry excellence then you can adapt for this, but if you struggle with the timing then you can opt to go for more of a tank setup and block like E. Honda infused with T-1000 nanomorph tech.
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Health and Rage tips
We’re expecting a similar health and rage system in God of War Ragnarok as in the first game. As such, there should be the same collectibles, Apples of Idun (health) and Horns of Blood Meade (Rage) to find, which will give you a boost when you collect three of them. Keep an eye out for chests with runes around them as these are usually Nornir chests and give you one of either of them.
AdvertisementHowever, you can also get a boost to your health with armor and Talisman, which you can read more about in the section below. If you’re finding you die a lot and the other tips aren’t helping then you might want to opt for armor that boosts either your defense or health recovery.
The best of these will more than likely be discovered towards the end of the game, but if its anything like God of War then there should be a few decent pickups early on. For example, Atreus’ Basic Runic Vestment gave you extra Healing Stone drops when Kratos gets low on health.
Weapons, armor and skill tips
If you’re struggling with a situation, check your weapons, armor and skills to see if there’s anything you can improve on the fly. Once you unlock the upgrade stations, which we assume will be with Brok and Sindri again, you’ll then be able to make more significant improvements.
- Spend time exploring to find chests, which will give you a good amount of loot. This will all contribute to your options on the fly and later on in the game. If you pick up something cool then check it out in the main menu straight away to see if it will improve your capabilities.
- To get skills you’ll need XP, which you’ll get from battles as you go. However, you can ramp this up by completing Labor Goals. Skills are the easiest of these to grind and in God of War the Quick Reflexes was a good one to focus on as it was all about the parry, which is tip #1 in our Ragnarok help guide.
- Focus on skills that help you with a part of your play that you’re struggling with. For example, if you’re having difficulty when a lot of enemies swarm you then opt for skills that hit more than one enemy. Another approach is to focus on skills that improve upon one of your strengths, for example if you’re all about jumping in and doing damage then the
- There are a lot of options for upgrading your equipment, so check it all out. You’ll pick up Light and Heavy Runic Attacks as you go and when you get to the upgrade you’ll have both father and son’s weapons to improve (including the pommel or grip). Atreus will have Runic Summons too.
- There’s a whole lot to do with armor where you’ll have enchantment sockets to apply. We’re not expecting Ragnarok to start with a lot of options for this, but you never know. You’ll discover these for the armor slots as you go and you’ll be able to alter them to match your play style. You’ll be able to use them to boost Strength, Runic, Defence, Vitality (health and knock back), Luck (perk activation) and Cooldown for Runic Attacks, Summons, and Talisman. Again, choose between either a weakness defense or strength boost strategy to make the most of this.
- In the videos that we’ve seen in the God of War Ragnarok trailers, there seems to be a variety of shields, so we’re expecting this to be very important in terms of fighting and upgrading.
- You’ll also be activate powerful signature moves for both the Leviathan Axe and the Blade of Chaos, which will build up frost or immolation potential.
- Talisman come with similar boosts to enchantment that you socket in, so that element of the weapons, armor and skills tips section applies to these too. However, they also come with an additional move, so remember to check this if you’re finding a section tough. Changing to a different Talisman can be the different between success and death on loop.
- You’ll also be able to use XP to upgrade Runic Attacks and get additional Skills bonuses when you reach certain stat markers for things like Vitality and Runic.
Puzzle help, hints and tips
Puzzles are mostly about either finding rune symbols and hitting them in the right order, which you see depicted on ether the chest or somewhere close by like on the wall above the chest, or they’re machines that you need to activate.
For the former, you’ll find these pretty easy to begin with, but as you progress further into God of War Ragnarok they’re be far more hidden. Look high and low and sometimes a little further and wider to track them down. Don’t forget to back pedal a little too, as some of the runes are located before the chests. We’ll be covering all of the puzzles in our guide once God Of War Ragnarok gets its release, so head on back if you’re stuck.
For the latter, you’ll need to use a combination of Kratos, his Leviathan Axe to freeze things and Atreus to activate things out of reach. Again, we’ll be covering all of the trickier elements in our wider guide to support our help, hints and tips post.
Check out our computer games section to keep tabs on the game, or visit the PlayStation website at www.playstation.com for more details on the game.
