Boss Guide#

God of War (2018)’s boss fights are concentrated in the main story (about 8 encounters) and optional challenges (9 Valkyries, hidden trials). This chapter gives the complete list plus a universal strategy framework.

Main-Story Boss List#

The Nine Valkyries (Official Locations)#

After defeating eight Valkyries and placing their helmets on the Council of Valkyries’ throne, Sigrun appears. Immediately press the interact key at the start — she combines the entire moveset of the previous eight, and a single attack can change direction two or three times in a row.

Valkyrie Quick Notes#

Valkyrie Gear Advice#

• Level 6 is enough for the first four; Olrun, Rota, Gondul and Hildr want 7+; Sigrun wants 8
• The cooldown build (stacked Cooldown + short-cooldown runic attacks) yields the most damage windows — the community’s consensus safest plan
• Ivaldi’s Mist set heals on its own, the highest tolerance; Sindri’s Royal Dwarven set suits speed kills with its Cooldown bonuses
• Realm Shift-style talismans (brief time slow) carve out damage windows inside Valkyrie rushdown

Universal Valkyrie Strategy#

Muspelheim Trials#

The fire realm’s challenge-style “boss gauntlet”: six arenas each hold a Normal and Hard round, with rules like kill timers, no-damage, no-touching-the-ground and body counts. Completing every trial unlocks the gold trophy “Fire and Brimstone”.

• The mountaintop final platform holds the Valkyrie Gondul — the peak of Trial VI and the only source of the blades’ final upgrade material
• Hard rounds and the “Impossible trials” reward Crests of Flame, traded for top-tier fire gear

Niflheim Maze#

The mist realm has no traditional boss — the pressure is environmental and time-based:

• The mist constantly drains health; leaving resets the Mist Echoes you gathered that run
• The Valkyrie Hildr waits deep in the maze — the recommended route hugs the left side
• The central workshop room needs three key items; retrieving every treasure unlocks the gold trophy “Darkness and Fog”

Weapon Upgrade Materials and Bosses#

All Frozen and Chaos Flames arrive automatically with the story — nothing is missable; the blades’ final level requires beating Gondul.

Universal Combat Tips#

1. Read the attack before attacking: every boss’s red-circle heavy has a clear wind-up — trade one swing for a dodge window every time.
2. Atreus is a stun machine: keep an arrow in flight; when the stun bar fills, close in for the execution.
3. Use runic attacks as burst: bank cooldowns and fire both runics during knockdown or recovery windows.
4. Terrain interaction: some arenas have destructible rigs, crystals and explosives — use them first.
5. Gear level matters: Valkyries and endgame bosses recommend levels 6-8; a big level gap visibly suppresses your damage.

Main-Story Boss Notes#

Hræzlyr (the mountain dragon)#

• You can’t reach him during the aerial phase — throw the Hræzlyr crystals scattered in the arena back at him; it’s the intended anti-air tool
• Atreus’s lightning arrows are the main interrupt while the dragon is grounded and charging
• After the fight, climb onward with the story — the bronze trophy “Dragon Slayer” unlocks automatically

Magni and Modi#

• Focus Magni first: once he falls, Modi’s attack patterns flatten out
• The open ground around the stonemason’s corpse favors flanking; when the brothers separate, burst one down with stun damage
• Modi reappears later in the story — don’t worry about missing anything on the spot

Baldur (final fight)#

• A four-phase gauntlet with story interludes; his health refills on phase transitions
• He uses the same moveset as the prologue fight — the rhythm you learned there applies directly
• Red-circle attacks (dives, grabs) must be dodged; yellow circles can be perfect-parried
• The bronze trophy “Summoning of Dawn” unlocks afterwards — the end of the main story’s combat

FAQ#