God of War Ragnarök Beginner’s Guide#
Difficulty Selection#
The game offers five difficulty levels, from Give Me Story to Give Me God of War. First-time players should pick Give Me Balance (normal difficulty), while action veterans can go for Give Me No Mercy (hard). Note that in New Game+, Give Me God of War makes enemies even stronger — it is for true hardcore players only. Difficulty can be changed at any time (except Give Me God of War), so don’t agonize over the choice at the start.
| Difficulty | Best For | Traits |
|---|---|---|
| Give Me Story | Story-focused players | Greatly reduced enemy damage; enjoy the story with ease |
| Give Me Balance | First-time players | The standard experience, balanced offense and defense |
| Give Me No Mercy | Action veterans | More aggressive enemies, stricter parry timing |
| Give Me God of War | Hardcore challengers | Difficulty cannot be changed during the first playthrough; enemy stats are greatly boosted |
Early-Game Resource Management#
- XP: spent on unlocking skills. In the early game, invest it first in the Leviathan Axe’s basic combo and block-counter skills. There is no need to spread it evenly across every weapon — master one first.
Combat Basics#
- Block: your basic defense; it stops most regular attacks. A successful block takes no damage, but heavy attacks will break your guard.
- Parry: a perfect block staggers the attacker — a core skill every beginner must learn.
- Dodge: no invincibility frames, but it moves you quickly. You must dodge red-circle attacks (unblockable).
- Runic Attacks: powerful abilities on cooldown; each weapon can equip two Light Runic Attacks and one Heavy Runic Attack.
Exploration Guide#
Priority order: push the main story to unlock new abilities → return to old areas to explore → finish side quests → mop up collectibles. Many areas require specific abilities to reach (the Blades of Chaos to burn red vines, the Draupnir Spear to blast golden rifts), so don’t force a 100% clear in one pass.
Balancing Favors and the Main Story#
- Character-specific Favors: such as Brok and Sindri’s errands — complete them as soon as you can for upgraded gear.
Best rhythm: after clearing each main-story area, return to Sindri’s shop to upgrade gear and pick up Favors, then clean up whatever is left unexplored in the current area. That keeps your gear progressing without burning out on side content.
Collectible Priorities#
| Collectible | Count | Reward | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idunn Apples | 9 | Raises max health | ★★★★★ |
| Horns of Blood Mead | 9 | Raises max rage | ★★★★★ |
| Nornir Chests | 35+ | Health/rage cap boosts | ★★★★★ |
| Legendary Chests | 53 | Runic attacks / gear | ★★★★☆ |
| Odin’s Ravens | 48 | Legendary enchantments | ★★★☆☆ |
| Lore | Various | Backstory | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Artifacts | Various | Trophies | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Yggdrasil’s Dew | Various | Permanent stat boosts | ★★★★☆ |
Handy Tips#
-
L1 + the D-pad swaps weapons quickly; swapping often mid-fight cancels recovery animations and lets you chain longer combos.
-
Atreus’s runic arrows can interrupt an enemy’s red-circle attack — a lifesaver at critical moments.
-
Don’t be in a hurry to sell low-tier armor — some pieces become very powerful once upgraded.
-
Weak-point attacks: large enemies have yellow weak points; hit them with runic arrows or melee to build huge stun.
-
Chain grapple: the Blades of Chaos can pull distant hooks — a key traversal ability.
-
Accessibility: the settings include auto-pickup, high-contrast mode, and more — they can dramatically improve your experience.
-
Photo Mode: make good use of Photo Mode to capture your best moments.
Difficulty Comparison#
| Difficulty | Enemy Damage | Enemy Health | Block Window | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Give Me Story | 0.5x | 0.7x | Forgiving | Pure story players |
| Give Me Balance | 1.0x | 1.0x | Standard | First-time players |
| Give Me No Mercy | 1.5x | 1.3x | Strict | Action veterans |
| Give Me God of War | 2.0x | 1.5x | Extremely strict | Hardcore challengers |
Resource Requirements#
| Upgrade | Hacksilver | Materials | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon upgrade LV1→LV2 | 2,000 | Hardened Remains ×5 | ★★★★★ |
| Weapon upgrade LV2→LV3 | 5,000 | Hardened Remains ×12 | ★★★★☆ |
| Armor upgrade LV1→LV2 | 2,500 | Leather ×8 + Iron ×4 | ★★★★★ |
| Armor upgrade LV2→LV3 | 6,000 | Leather ×15 + Steel ×8 | ★★★★☆ |
| Skill unlock | 500 XP | — | ★★★☆☆ |
Common Beginner Mistakes at a Glance#
| Mistake | The Right Move | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ignoring armor upgrades | Prioritize chest → wrist → waist armor | Chest armor provides the most defense |
| Never upgrading the axe | Take it to a dwarf to upgrade its frost attachment | Frost works against most enemies |
| Wasting runic attacks | Save them for when bosses are staggered | Runic attacks hit hard but have long cooldowns |
| Skipping side content | At least do the blue Favors | Favors give plenty of XP + gear |
| Ignoring runic attack upgrades | Equip and try every new runic attack you get | Runic attacks are your core source of burst damage |
| Never switching weapons | Axe for crowd control → Blades of Chaos for AOE → spear for breaking armor | The three weapons each have their own matchups |
Early Priorities#
| Priority | Action | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buy resurrection stones from the dwarf shop | Any dwarf shop |
| 2 | Upgrade the Blades of Chaos to level 2 | Requires 1,500 Hacksilver + 5 Hardened Remains |
| 3 | Complete the blue Favor “The Elven Sanctum” | Svartalfheim |
| 4 | Unlock all armor slots | Push the story until Brok appears |
| 5 | Find the first Nornir Chest | Near the Svartalfheim entrance |
| 6 | Unlock Spartan Rage | Push the story until you meet Brok |
| 7 | Activate every fast-travel point on the first map | A must in every region — saves tons of travel time |
Resource Gathering Priorities#
| Resource | Main Use | How to Get |
|---|---|---|
| Hacksilver | Universal currency — gear + upgrades | Chests + selling gear + quests |
| Hardened Remains | Weapon upgrades | Dismantle rare gear |
| Mortal Soil | Armor upgrades | Nornir Chests + dismantle legendary gear |
| Great Gold | Buying legendary gear | Chests + elite drops |
Beginner Notes#
Early Progression Rhythm and Upgrade Priorities#
In the opening stage, the core goal isn’t grinding levels — it’s unlocking the three weapons and the core traversal abilities as fast as possible. Following the rhythm of “main story → unlock abilities → backtrack for collectibles” is far more efficient than repeatedly farming enemies in low-level areas. Here are the most worthwhile things to do in your first ten hours, in order:
| Order | Action | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Push the story until you meet Brok | Unlocks the shop and forge, opening gear upgrades |
| 2 | Complete the Favor “The Lost Treasure” | Earn early rare armor and plenty of Hacksilver |
| 3 | Unlock the Blades of Chaos in the story | Gain fire abilities and chain-grapple traversal |
| 4 | Upgrade the Leviathan Axe to level 2 | Faster frost buildup for stronger crowd control |
| 5 | Unlock the Draupnir Spear in the story | Gain the golden-rift blast and detonation mechanics |
| 6 | Revisit old areas to mop up collectibles | Raise your health and rage caps |
Upgrade Priority Principles#
- Early on, it is enough to keep “one weapon up to speed with the story” — no need to max all three at once. When resources are tight, push the Leviathan Axe to the current cap first; it is the most versatile damage tool in the opening stage.
- For armor, upgrade the chest piece first, then the wrist, and the waist last. The chest provides the most Defense and Strength stats, while the waist mainly affects Cooldown and Luck, so its payoff comes later.
- Spend Hacksilver on legendary amulets and resurrection stones first; don’t keep sinking it into low-tier armor. Once low-tier armor is phased out, the Hacksilver you invested in it is nearly impossible to recover.
Early-Game Pitfall Checklist#
- Don’t challenge high-level elite enemies right at the start; their drops are no better than the regular chests in the same area.
- Activate the Mystical Gateway every time you reach a new region to avoid tedious backtracking later.
- Atreus’s runic arrows have a very short cooldown; build the habit of firing them constantly in combat — it noticeably speeds up kills.
- When you encounter a Nornir Chest early, note its location; if you lack the ability to open it yet, mark it and come back once you have the right power.