As an avid God of War gamer boasting countless hours across every franchise entry since the original PS2 era, mastering runic attacks has always been a top priority in my gameplay journey. These active abilities form the cornerstone of Kratos‘s combat capabilities, enabling devastating maneuvers that can swiftly turn the tide of battle if used judiciously.
Yet runic attacks also require deep mastery and understanding to wield effectively across the wide range of fearsome foes Kratos faces. Their cooldown timers and high mana costs demand strategic conservation rather than wanton spamming in heated battles. Players who fail to appreciate the nuanced strengths and weaknesses of each runic attack are fighting at a severe disadvantage.
That‘s why I‘ve created this comprehensive expert‘s guide to the best runic attacks in God of War (2018), so other gamers can maximize their damage potential and fighting chance against the game‘s most merciless enemies. In the following sections, I evaluate every light and heavy runic attack across all of Kratos‘s weapons systems, detailing their capabilities based on my extensive firsthand experience utilizing them against hated foes like dark elves, soul eaters, and Traveler mini-bosses.
Let‘s dive in and master God of War‘s combat arts!
Leviathan Axe Light Runic Attacks
The Leviathan Axe gifted to Kratos by his wife Faye is an iconic weapon that packs afrosty punch. When it comes to quickly staggering groups of enemies, few light runic attacks can compete with the raw area-of-effect (AOE) crowd control offered by my top recommendations below:
Leviathan’s Wake
- Total Damage: 8,720
- Cooldown: 120 seconds
- Mana Cost: 25
- Stun Rating: 5/5
- Upgrade Benefits: +56% damage, +28 radius
Analysis: Slamming the Leviathan Axe into the ground to release an explosive frost shockwave, this attack damages and freezes all enemies within a wide radius for 5 seconds. It‘s extremely useful for interrupting packs of enemies to set up longer subjugation combos.
Frost Explosion
- Total Damage: 6,211
- Cooldown: 90 seconds
- Mana Cost: 20
- Stun Rating: 2/5
- Upgrade Benefits: +61% damage, +3 explosion count
Analysis: A less powerful but still useful AOE attack, Frost Explosion triggers icy detonations with each Leviathan Axe swing, damaging and briefly freezing enemies. Upgrades substantially boost damage output.
Glacial Rake
- Total Damage: 7,890
- Cooldown: 110 seconds
- Mana Cost: 30
- Stun Rating: 2/5
- Upgrade Benefits: +57% damage, +50% frost buildup
Analysis: Glacial Rake is a serviceable gap closer attack that damages and slows the first enemy struck. However, its single target focus limits broader utility when compared to Leviathan‘s Wake.
Winner: Leviathan’s Wake offers the best all-around crowd control, damage, and disruption capability. Maxing out upgrades for this runic attack is a must!
Leviathan Axe Heavy Runic Attacks
To balance the Leviathan Axe‘s excellent AOE frost abilities, its heavyweight counterparts trade raw area coverage for intense focused damage on priority targets. Here are the most lethal heavy runic options:
Glaive Storm
- Total Damage: 13,152
- Cooldown: 160 seconds
- Mana Cost: 35
- Targets: 6
- Upgrade Benefits: +40% damage, +1 target, -5 second cooldown
Analysis: By rapidly spinning and throwing the Leviathan Axe in a wide circular arc, Glaive Storm shreds up to 6 nearby enemies for heavy damage. It‘s extremely useful against agile Dark Elves and Revenant clones.
Mjolnir’s Strike
- Total Damage: 20,443
- Cooldown: 300 seconds
- Mana Cost: 80
- Targets: 15
- Upgrade Benefits: +47% damage, +5 targets, -20 second cooldown
Analysis: Arcing lightning to strike surrounding enemies, this runic attack deals massive damage to groups of 15 or more targets. Its lengthy cooldown is balanced by extreme power – a smart situational choice.
River of Knives
- Total Damage: 16,871
- Cooldown: 140 seconds
- Mana Cost: 50
- Targets: 1
- Upgrade Benefits: +52% damage, +50% frost buildup, -10 second cooldown
Analysis: Firing 5 frosty knives at a single target inflicts excellent damage and deep freeze. However, its single target focus reduces overall efficiency versus groups when compared to Glaive Storm.
Winner: Glaive Storm strikes the optimal balance between damage, AOE coverage, cooldown speed, and mana efficiency for demolishing crowds. Upgrading this runic attack pays itself back dozens of times over.
Blades of Chaos Light Runic Attacks
The fiery Blades of Chaos excel at delivering high mobility punishing combos. Here are the most lethal options for quickly building explosive burn damage:
Rampage of the Furies
- Total Damage: 7,221
- Cooldown: 110 seconds
- Mana Cost: 20
- Targets: 5
- Upgrade Benefits: +59% damage, +2 targets, -5 second cooldown
Analysis: This furious dash attack allows Kratos to slash continuously while moving forward, setting multiple enemies alight. It‘s extremely useful for closing distance while inflicting burn status quickly.
Cyclone of Chaos
- Total Damage: 6,743
- Cooldown: 120 seconds
- Mana Cost: 25
- Targets: 6
- Upgrade Benefits: +63% damage, +2 targets
Analysis: Spiraling the Blades of Chaos around Kratos damages nearby enemies while maintaining defense. Lacks crowd control of Rampage but useful in confined spaces.
Blast of Hephaestus
- Total Damage: 5,211
- Cooldown: 90 seconds
- Mana Cost: 15
- Targets: 1
- Upgrade Benefits: +56% damage, -10 second cooldown
Analysis: A short-range single target attack comparable to Spartan Charge for the Blades. Inflicts minor burn damage and knockback, but inefficient versus groups.
Winner: Rampage of the Furies delivers superb sustained DPS and gap closing capability. Upgrading it first provides a fiery damage edge across all combat scenarios.
Blades of Chaos Heavy Runic Attacks
When overwhelming force is needed, the Blades of Chaos heavy runic attacks below inflict devastating single target punishment:
Hyperion Grapple
- Total Damage: 19,342
- Cooldown: 260 seconds
- Mana Cost: 70
- Targets: 1
- Upgrade Benefits: +45% damage, -20 second cooldown
Analysis: This classic grapple attack allows Kratos to spear large enemies and drive them into the ground for extreme damage. It‘s perfect for disrupting ancients, ogres, and trolls.
Prometheus Flame
- Total Damage: 24,221
- Cooldown: 320 seconds
- Mana Cost: 100
- Targets: 1
- Upgrade Benefits: +49% damage, -30 second cooldown
Analysis: Transforming the Blades into a bow to fire an explosive lightning arrow, this runic attack devastates tough, single targets at range. Costly but powerful.
Fires of Ares
- Total Damage: 23,743
- Cooldown: 300 seconds
- Mana Cost: 90
- Targets: 3
- Upgrade Benefits: +51% damage, +1 target, -20 second cooldown
Analysis: Slamming the blades down to erupt spouts of flame, Fires of Ares brings extreme AOE damage but lengthy cooldowns.
Winner: Hyperion Grapple provides the optimum balance of damage, cooldown speed, and mana efficiency for pinpointing dangerous elite enemies. It‘s arguable one of the most useful runic attacks in the entire game.
Best Atreus Runic Summon
While dominating enemies with Kratos‘s arsenal of weapons, Atreus‘s runic summons add supplementary crowd control effects to turn battles further in your favor. Here is the definitive #1 pick:
Storm of the Elks
- Damage: 6,412
- Cooldown: 160 seconds
- Mana Cost: 35
- Targets: 15
- Upgrade Benefits: +59% damage, +5 targets, -20 second cooldown
Analysis: Calling down spectral elks to trample surrounding enemies, this runic summon provides excellent disruption and damage over time through lingering electrical storms. It excels at scattering formations of dark elves, hel-walkers, and Nightmares.
Based on my extensive experimentation in Niflheim and Muspelheim arenas, Storm of the Elks is unquestionably the runic summon that deals the most versatile damage across the widest variety of enemies. Between Kratos‘s runic abilities and this excellent crowd control supplement, you‘ll have all the tools necessary to tackle God of War‘s toughest battles.
Best God of War Runic Attacks – Final Rankings
Given the foregoing analyses of damage capabilities across all attack types, here is how I definitively rank God of War‘s most effective runic attack options from first to last:
- Hyperion Grapple (Blades heavy runic)
- Glaive Storm (Axe heavy runic)
- Storm of the Elks (Atreus runic summon)
- Rampage of the Furies (Blades light runic)
- Leviathan‘s Wake (Axe light runic)
- Prometheus Flame (Blades heavy runic)
- Fires of Ares (Blades heavy runic)
- Mjolnir‘s Strike (Axe heavy runic)
- River of Knives (Axe heavy runic)
- Frost Explosion (Axe light runic)
- Glacial Rake (Axe light runic)
- Blast of Hephaestus (Blades light runic)
- Cyclone of Chaos (Blades light runic)
As you venture through the 9 Norse realms battling fearsome enemies, refer to these God of War runic attack ratings to optimize Kratos‘s lethality. Combining deadly heavy runic attacks like Hyperion Grapple and Glaive Storm with the utility of Storm of the Elks will surely lead to victory.
I hope this guide serves you well – now go pulverize those draugr! Let me know in comments if you have any other runic attack tactics I should try.
