God of War Ragnarok has captivated players with its riveting storytelling and intense combat. As Kratos and Atreus continue their perilous journey across the Nine Realms, they encounter formidable foes and epic boss battles that test their strength and determination.
In this comprehensive guide, we will cover the most challenging boss fights in God of War Ragnarok and provide helpful tips and strategies to defeat them. From towering giants to ruthless warmongers, mastering these encounters requires focus, skill, and understanding their attack patterns.
1. Gna – Valkyrie Queen
As the formidable ruler of the Valkyries, Gna is by far the toughest optional boss in God of War Ragnarok. You can challenge her to a duel by completing the "In Service of Asgard" favor after finishing the main story campaign.
This lighting-fast winged warrior will bombard you with melee combos, area-of-effect blasts, and ranged attacks. Her onslaught is relentless, so defensive maneuvers like parrying, dodging, and blocking are essential to surviving this epic showdown.
Tips to beat Gna:
Use Atreus‘s shock arrows to stun her when she takes flight. This provides an opening for axe throws or melee attacks.
When she prepares unblockable attacks, dodge twice in quick succession to activate Realm Shift and slow down time. You can squeeze in extra hits while she‘s vulnerable.
Make sure you customize your Runic attacks, armor, enchantments, and skills specifically for this fight. Prioritize high vitality, defense, cooldown reduction, and damage.
2. Freya
In one of the most emotionally heavy fights, Kratos is forced to battle the formidable sorceress Freya near the climax of God of War Ragnarok‘s story. She‘s determined to avenge her son Baldur‘s death and relentlessly attacks Kratos fueled by rage.
Freya switches between projectile-focused magic attacks and swift melee combos using her sword. She can also summon deadlytracking projectiles and animate the environment against you. Her variety of offensive moves covers long distances, making it tricky to avoid them.
Tips to beat Freya:
Use the Blades of Chaos and time your parries against Freya‘s sword strikes before countering with heavy runic attacks for major damage.
When she takes flight and summons magical tracking orbs, sprint in circles and roll to dodge them. Then use Atreus or long-range axe throws to interrupt her.
Upon activating her vines that restrict movement, use rage to break free quickly and close the gap for melee combos. Keep moving and watch out for her green realm shift attack.
3. Heimdall the Sentinel
The mighty Heimdall stands guard over the Gjallarhorn with his ice powers on the mythical bridge Himinbjörg. Kratos must defeat him before using the Gjallarhorn in the main story quest "The Reckoning." This flashy boss integrates brand new mechanics for an intense showdown.
Heimdall continuously teleports around the arena, making him untargetable. To expose him, you need to freeze the champion Bergsrå Clan members and shatter them using the Draupnir Spear‘s explosion. Damaging Heimdall fills up your stun meter – fill it up to temporarily stun him for a window to unleash powerful attacks.
Tips to beat Heimdall:
Upgrade the Draupnir Spear fully to maximize explosion damage against frozen enemies.
Use Spartan Rage wisely for burst damage when he gets stunned. Save some of the Rage meter instead of depleting it fully.
When he enters the deadly time-slowing phase, double tap circle to quickly dodge out of his way before attacking relentlessly.
4. Thor
The long-awaited rematch against the mighty Thor, Odin‘s firstborn, takes place near God of War Ragnarok‘s ending as one of the toughest fights. Thor‘s mastery over lightning, storms, and his weapon Mjölnir makes him devastating up close and from afar.
He aggressively rushes Kratos with melee combos using Mjölnir and occasionally hurls it from long range. Thor can electrically charge up the hammer for enhanced area-of-effect special moves too. His defenses are high, resulting in battles of attrition.
Tips to beat Thor:
Parry his physical combos when up close or dodge his hammer throws to activate realm shift for big damage combos.
Stunning Thor using the Leviathan Axe let‘s you grab and inflict major damage.
When he channels lightning into the surroundings or his hammer, sprint laterally until it discharges to avoid significant damage and stun effects.
Use Spartan Rage after dodging his close-range combos and grab-attack Thor while he‘s vulnerable to quickly turn the tables!
5. The Hateful
While technically a miniboss, The Hateful provides Kratos an early wake-up call on the meaning of challenge in Svartalfheim‘s biome. His explosive attacks from long range and brutal axe combos up close alongside mobility make him lethal.
He throws deadly fiery projectiles or closes distance rapidly with shield bash attacks that need timely dodges. The Hateful can quickly trap you in overwhelming onslaughts especially later in the game at higher difficulties – demanding precise reactions.
Tips to defeat The Hateful:
Bait out his charge attack but dodge it at the last moment so he crashes, letting you rack up combos.
Keep some distance and evade his projectiles before hitting back with Leviathan Axe frost attacks to momentarily stall his fiery offense.
Use Atreus arrows to score free hits and stun him while he‘s casting devastating AOE ground attacks preparing to finish with an Axe combo.
6. Hrist and Mist Battle
This grueling battle pits you against two Valkyrie adversaries simultaneously towards God of War Ragnarok‘s ending. Hrist specializes in ice attacks while Mist utilizes fiery magic offensively making their contrasting teamwork extremely hard to handle.
Their scythe slashes are difficult to parry requiring split second dodges. They can trap and repeatedly impale Kratos from both sides and even physician heal each other, dragging out the fight. Staying on the offensive by prioritizing one Valkyrie is key.
Tips to defeat Hrist and Mist:
Use jumping R1 axe attacks so they hit airborne while evading ground explosions before triggering mega stun explosions.
Whenever Atreus gets captured, make a beeline sprint ignoring all attacks to rescue him and recover health.
Spartan Rage lets you tackle one Valkyrie and attack relentlessly; so purchase the upgrade that prevents interrupting Rage attacks for best results.
7. Garm
The menacing giant wolf Garm located in Helheim is extremely quick making him difficult to hit. His biting combos and even projectile ice shard attacks rapidly drain health.
As the multi-phase fight progresses, Garm gains increased attack speed and ice projectiles with tracking properties making even dodging tougher. Standing your ground while outpacing Garm by quickly evading attacks before countering aggressively works best.
Tips to defeat Garm:
Use Blades of Chaos for mobility and trigger Hel‘s Touch on successful parries to dish amplified damage.
Spartan Rage lets you trade blows but more importantly catch a breath and regain some health while continuously damaging Garm.
Upgrade Atreus‘s arrows fully to trigger the Wolfsbane ability that temporarily stuns Garm even mid-attack for big damage windows.
Final Tips on Mastering Ragnarok‘s Bosses
And there you have it – an overview of some of the toughest boss encounters in God of War Ragnarok and how you can ultimately be victorious against them! Here are some closing tips on excelling against bosses:
Thoroughly study and learn their attack animations to recognize perilous moves requiring precise dodging/parrying.
Offensively use combos with high stun potential and keep them staggered. Dodge or interrupt recovery animations to keep pressure.
Defensively, prioritize Vitality, Defense over Runic or Strength for damage reduction against devastating attacks.
Customize loadouts leveraging weapon skills, runic attacks, enchantments/armor perfectly tailored to counter specific boss mechanics.
With razor sharp reflexes, an strategic mindset and these tips, you‘ll be tackling Ragnarok‘s most grueling battles in no time. Stay frosty in the heat of battle and best of luck winning God of War‘s throne – the AllFather himself is waiting!
