God of War Ragnarök Side Quests Guide — Favors System Rules, Realm Tables, and Gear Upgrade Ties#
The quest log of God of War Ragnarök splits content into two tracks: main story objectives and side favors (Favors). Favors include both story quests in each realm and exploration challenge content such as Draugr Holes, Hel-Tears, and Yggdrasil Rifts — the latter tied directly to gear upgrade material income. This page first explains how the favor system works, then lists real favors and real rewards realm by realm, then breaks down the supply relationship between favors and gear upgrades, and ends with revision notes correcting the old page’s fabricated content item by item.
System Rules: Three Criteria#
To state it up front, every conclusion on this page rests on these three rules:
- There are only three ways to pick up a favor. Talk to an NPC to accept it; arrive at a specific location, pick up a specific item, or witness a specific event and it logs automatically; or it activates directly in the quest log as the story progresses. No hidden acceptance conditions exist beyond these. Tracked favors show an objective marker on the map, and multiple favors can be tracked at once.
- No time estimates and no difficulty stars. The quest log shows only the current objective and a reward description; the developers never provide “about 20 minutes” or “five-star difficulty” information. Any favor table with a time column, a star column, or estimated Hacksilver/XP value columns is not real data for this game.
- Nothing locks out after the credits. After the main story ends, the Nine Realms reopen for free exploration and unfinished favors can still be completed; the only exception is Valkyrie Queen Gná, who can only be challenged after the credits.
Real rewards fall into only five categories: gear and blueprints (such as the Berserker line), forging materials (such as the two Asgard remnant types), runic attacks (such as “Crackle of Bilskirnir”), enchantments (high-rarity affixes dropped by gravestone fights), and personal-quest-line story rewards (such as Freya’s line). Beyond routine income, what is truly worth watching is the supply relationship below.
How Favors Tie Into Gear Upgrades#
Track one: weapon-exclusive Flame collectibles. Weapon upgrades don’t stack generic materials; each of the three weapons accepts one exclusive collectible: the Leviathan Axe takes Frozen Flames, the Blades of Chaos take Chaos Flames, and the Draupnir Spear takes Gale Flames. Most Flames come from main-story beats, but optional challenges are the most reliable supplement beyond the main-story cap — every Draugr Hole you seal drops Chaos Flames, so sealing holes is an unavoidable step if you want to max the Blades of Chaos.
Track two: forging materials for armor and attachments. Armor and attachments run on the forging system: Forged Iron, Dwarven Steel, and Asgardian Ingots carry the low and mid tiers; gear caps at level 9, and level 9 requires three high-tier crystals — Purified Crystalline, Sparkling Crystal, and Gleaming Crystal. The mid tiers also use Bonded Leather, Rawhide, Honed Metal, Shattered Runes, Whispering Slabs, Stonewood, Petrified Bone, and Beast Scraps/Beast Bones (for amulet attachments). The New Game+ (NG+) stage adds levels 9.1–9.3 and level 10, consuming Skap Slag and Mountain Root respectively.
The supply table for cross-realm challenge content looks like this:
| Optional Challenge | Trigger Criteria | Supply to the Gear System |
|---|---|---|
| Draugr Holes | Smoking holes on the map; waves of Draugr pour out on approach | Each sealed hole drops Chaos Flames, feeding the Blades of Chaos |
| Hel-Tears | Rifts torn in the air; clear the Helheim enemies that pour out to seal them | Each seal yields Essence of Hel |
| Yggdrasil Rifts | Cracks opened by a puzzle or a fight | Yield Dust of Realms and other rare upgrade materials |
| Berserker Gravestones | Interact with a gravestone to summon a Berserker soul | Drop Berserker gear forging materials and high-rarity enchantments |
| Odin’s Ravens | Green-glowing ravens, 48 in total | Collect 28 to open a legendary chest at Niflheim’s Raven Tree |
| Muspelheim Trials | The trial sword in the burning crucible | High-tier forging materials and exclusive gear blueprints |
Runic attacks are tied directly to favor areas. Each weapon has one light and one heavy rune slot, and runic attacks upgrade to level 3 at most; their routine sources are legendary chests scattered across the realms and boss loot — and many legendary chests sit precisely in the areas opened by the favors listed on this page. Take the Leviathan Axe’s ten runic attacks as an example: every acquisition spot falls within exploration content coverage:
| Runic Attack | Type | Cooldown | Acquisition Spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter’s Bite | Light | 74s | Upper Midgard wilds — The Huntress loot |
| Njord’s Tempest | Light | 99s | Althjof’s Rig legendary chest, Svartalfheim |
| Skadi’s Edge | Light | 93s | The Strond, Alfheim |
| Hel’s Touch | Light | 62s | The Burrows, Alfheim — unlocked by “Song of the Sands” |
| Wrath of the Frost Ancient | Light | 132s | Southern Vanaheim wilds |
| Fog of Fimbulwinter | Heavy | 208s | Myrkr Tunnels, Svartalfheim |
| Mists of Helheim | Heavy | 96s | Cliffside ruins, Vanaheim |
| Leviathan’s Roar | Heavy | 108s | Freyr’s Camp, Vanaheim — requires the Draupnir Spear |
| Ivaldi’s Anvil | Heavy | — | Derelict Outpost, Midgard |
| Breath of Thamur | Heavy | 211s | Raven Tree chest, Niflheim — requires clearing 28 Odin’s Ravens |
Three chains locked to favors and challenge content deserve separate memorizing:
- “Song of the Sands” follows a sand worm’s drag trail to unlock The Burrows, whose legendary chest holds “Hel’s Touch” — skip the favor and you can’t enter the caves, so this rune is out of reach.
- “Breath of Thamur” is locked behind Odin’s Raven collection progress: the Raven Tree chest only opens at 28 ravens, a textbook “collection favor trades for a rune”.
- “Njord’s Tempest” at Althjof’s Rig overlaps the work area of the favor “In Service of Asgard” — open the chest while clearing the installations.
For the complete runic attack list plus the Blades and Spear rune tables with cooldown data, see the Runic Attacks page.
Favor Table by Realm#
The table below organizes story favors by realm; the reward column lists only real rewards — no durations, no stars:
| Realm | Favor | Core Mechanic | Actual Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Svartalfheim | In Service of Asgard | Reach sites like Althjof’s Rig and dismantle the Asgard installations Odin planted | Forging materials and XP; the area’s legendary chest holds “Njord’s Tempest” |
| Alfheim | The Desert Door | Face the giant sand worm “Grave Belly” deep in the desert and fight inside its belly | Boss loot from killing the sand worm |
| Alfheim | Song of the Sands | Follow the sand worm’s drag trail into The Burrows | Unlocks the Burrows area; contains the “Hel’s Touch” legendary chest |
| Midgard | Animal Instincts | A long combat favor across Midgard’s wilds | Light runic attack “Crackle of Bilskirnir” |
| Midgard | Sigrun’s Curse | Track six Valkyrie husks scattered across the realms and fight them in sequence | Long combat chain yielding high-rarity enchantments and materials |
| Vanaheim | Return of the River | Destroy the dam and let the river refill the valley | Opens new waterways for exploration |
| Vanaheim | Freya’s Missing Peace | Return to old grounds with Freya and settle her past | Personal-line story rewards and forging materials |
| Across the Nine Realms | Hel to Pay | Seal the Hel-Tears scattered across the realms | Each seal yields Essence of Hel |
| Across the Nine Realms | The Last Remnants of Asgard | Clear out lingering Asgard remnants everywhere | Hardened Remnants and Fortified Remnants |
| Postgame | Valkyrie Queen fight | Travel to Vanaheim after the credits to challenge | Against Gná, the hardest boss in the game |
A few supplementary criteria:
- Sigrun’s Curse is a cross-realm long chain starting in Midgard: the six Valkyrie husks are spread across more than one realm and need multiple round trips to finish — treat it as a side thread running through your playthrough rather than one dedicated trip.
- The Last Remnants of Asgard yields two remnant types that are exclusive materials for late-game armor recipes, obtainable only from this clearing quest — a supply-line favor you can’t skip if you want high-tier armor.
- Hel to Pay, like Draugr Holes and Yggdrasil Rifts, is “clear on sight” content: they belong to no single realm, surface gradually as you explore, remain clearable after the credits, and carry zero make-up pressure.
- After Return of the River, the Vanaheim river valley’s water level rises and tributary areas once blocked by dry riverbeds open up — a classic “terrain-changing” favor.
- “Crackle of Bilskirnir” from Animal Instincts can be upgraded further to level 3 once slotted, with damage and effects scaling by level.
Top-Tier Challenges: Gná and the Berserker King#
The difficulty ceiling of the favor system is two boss-level challenges:
- Gná: the game’s only Valkyrie Queen and Odin’s personal Valkyrie, challengeable in Vanaheim after the credits. The 2018 God of War’s eight Valkyries plus Queen Sigrun system does not apply here — don’t prepare based on the old game.
- Berserker King Hrolf Kraki: the thirteen Berserker Gravestones scattered across the realms are this game’s true “Valkyrie King”-level challenge; collect them all and face the king himself at The King’s Grave in Midgard. Gravestone fights can start as soon as you encounter them in the flow — no need to wait for the credits.
Two universal pre-fight preparation criteria:
- All three weapons upgraded to their current cap (level 9 on a first run; Flame collectibles covered in the “How Favors Tie Into Gear Upgrades” section above).
- Key runic attacks maxed to level 3, amulet slots filled with Jewels of Yggdrasil, and enchantment affixes prioritized toward attack and cooldown.
For phase breakdowns and strategies for both, see the Valkyries and Berserkers page and the Boss Strategies page; for the full Muspelheim Trials rules, see the Muspelheim page.
How Exploration Content Clears#
Draugr Holes, Hel-Tears, and Yggdrasil Rifts have no story dialogue and advance purely through combat and puzzles, each with its own rules:
Draugr Holes#
- Approach a smoking hole to start the fight; Draugr pour out in waves, and clearing every wave seals the hole.
- A sealed hole always drops Chaos Flames — the largest out-of-story source of the Blades of Chaos upgrade collectible. Flames never cross weapons: the hole only drops the Blades’ kind; don’t expect the Axe’s or Spear’s upgrade collectibles from holes.
- Holes are scattered across multiple realms and can still be cleared one by one after the credits — nothing can be missed.
Hel-Tears#
- Tears hang in midair, continuously spilling Helheim’s dead; clear them all and the tear stitches shut.
- All tears are tracked under “Hel to Pay”, and each seal yields Essence of Hel.
- Tear fights are short — clear them in passing; leaving them all for a late-game catch-up batch gets tedious.
Yggdrasil Rifts#
- Rifts require completing a puzzle or a small encounter at their mouth before opening.
- Inside they yield Dust of Realms and other rare upgrade materials, matching the upgrade needs of high-level gear directly.
Visual identification criteria for the three: Draugr Holes smoke on the ground and yield Chaos Flames; Hel-Tears hang in midair and yield Essence of Hel; Yggdrasil Rifts are the largest and need puzzles to open. Know the yield, and you know which one you’re clearing.
Odin’s Ravens#
- 48 in total, scattered across rooftops, cliff walls, and building crevices of the Nine Realms — kill on sight.
- Collection progress maps to the “Eyes of Odin” favor; the Raven Tree chests in Niflheim unlock in tiers by count, and at 28 ravens you can open the heavy rune “Breath of Thamur”.
- Missed ravens can still be collected after the credits; sweep them with the per-raven location list on the collectibles page.
Make-Up Progress Recommendations#
- Before finishing the story: clear Draugr Holes, Hel-Tears, and Yggdrasil Rifts on sight, pocket rune chests and rare materials as you go; long cross-realm chains like “Sigrun’s Curse” save the most travel when advanced alongside story regions.
- After finishing the story: the Nine Realms reopen for free exploration and the remaining favors can be completed as usual; Valkyrie Queen Gná unlocks at this point — a fitting final challenge.
- Post-release extras: the free expansion God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla offers a standalone multi-run Roguelite mode, released in December 2023, entirely independent of the Nine Realms’ favors.
Revision Notes#
The old page contained systematic fabrication; this page corrects it item by item:
- Fabricated quest names: the quests in the old page’s “recommended favors” and “trigger condition” tables — Lost Treasures, Elven Sanctum, Dragon’s Sorrow (Dragon’s Dirge), Family Business (Family Enterprise), Dragon Hunt, Mist Exploration, Whispers in the Mist, Secret of the Ironwood, Echoes of Thunder, The Light of Emerald, Echoes of the Abyss — do not exist in this game. They are fully replaced by the real favors in the realm table above.
- Invented time column: the old table’s “20 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 3-5 hours” durations were all fabricated. No official time estimates have ever been published; all tables on this page drop the time column.
- Invented rewards and numbers: the Hacksilver and XP values in the old “full reward details” table, and rewards like “Dragon Scale armor”, “Mist Ward amulet”, and “Lightning armor”, were all fabricated; real rewards fall into only five categories — gear and blueprints, forging materials, runic attacks, enchantments, and story.
- Fabricated “Brok’s Contracts” system: no mechanism exists in this game where Brok posts repeatable contracts; the old contract table and its Hacksilver/XP values were removed in full.
- Fabricated stars and recommended levels: the old “difficulty grading” table’s stars and its “recommended level 3-5 / 9+” system were invented; there is no official difficulty rating system.
- Fabricated bosses and level numbers: Iron Troll, Dark Elf Lord, Wings of Ash, Thunder Howl, Emerald Eye, Fang of the Abyss, and their “levels 4–9” were all fabricated. The top opponents of this game’s favors are only Berserker souls and Valkyrie Gná.
- Fabricated gravestone names: Tombs of Light, Shadow, Fire, Ice, and Iron are not the real names of this game’s Berserker Gravestones; the real structure is thirteen gravestones scattered across the realms plus the king fight in Midgard.
- Valkyrie system correction: the old page’s “King of the Valkyries” entry implied the previous game’s system. This game’s Valkyrie Queen is Gná, challengeable in Vanaheim after the credits; Sigrun here is only the namesake of the “Sigrun’s Curse” tracking favor, not a fightable target.
- Wrong categorization: the old page’s opening claim that “favors split into main-line favors, Brok’s Contracts, and Yggdrasil Rifts” doesn’t hold — Yggdrasil Rifts are exploration challenge content, not a quest category; the correct system structure is in the “System Rules” section.
- Broken links: the old page’s closing “Back to Hub” card had an empty link address and didn’t navigate on click; this page replaces it with three working entries — Quest Guide, Runic Attacks, and Valkyries and Berserkers.