God of War Ragnarök Beginner's Guide | 10 Tips to Get You Started

The sequel to the excellent God of War reboot has finally come to PC. God of War Ragnarök is everything that was good in God of War but turned up to eleven. Higher stakes, more bosses, newer mechanics, and even nicer visuals. Plus, the DLC is included in the game this time.

Before hopping into God of War Ragnarök, you'll want to hit the ground running with solid tips. With so many mechanics, abilities, and strategies to explore, it can initially feel overwhelming. But don't worry—here are 10 essential tips to help you get started and dominate the battlefield.

Use the Hyperion Grapple

The Hyperion Grapple is a game-changer. While Hyperion Pull pulls small enemies toward you, Hyperion Grapple launches Kratos toward the enemy, and what makes it better is the chunk of stun damage it can apply. You can also use it to interrupt unblockable red attacks from weaker enemies and quickly close the gap on enemies at a distance. Plus, the more stun you deal, the quicker you can trigger stun grabs for big damage.

Don't Underestimate Stun Damage

Stun is an often-overlooked mechanic but can turn the tide of battle. Filling the stun meter under an enemy's health bar lets you perform a stun grab, which deals massive damage or even instantly kills weaker enemies. To build up stun, switch to bare-handed combat—Kratos's fists and shield deal far more stun damage than his weapons. And remember, hitting enemies from behind or pinning them against walls boosts stun build-up.

The stun mechanic is overlooked, even though making use of it can make your life a whole lot easier. When you fill-up the stun bar of an enemy, they become incapacitated, and you can do a stun grab that either kills them or deals massive damage.

Using Kratos' fists and shield is the best way to build up stun. Hitting enemies from behind or bashing them against a wall also stuns enemies.

Parry with the Dauntless Shield

If you want to maximize your stun damage, learn to parry with the Dauntless Shield. It's one of the best shields in the game for parrying, and landing a perfect parry charges its shield bash ability, which deals massive stun damage. While the Dauntless Shield is great for parrying, you can still block normally with it, so you can keep it equipped even if you are still getting used to parrying.

Prioritize Elemental Synergies

Elemental synergies go a long way in chopping away at health bars. You can unlock the Extinguish Flames (Axe) and Vaporized Frost (Blades) skills to deal bonus damage when you switch between fire and ice elements.

Build up Frost on an enemy with the Axe and then switch to the Blades for burning damage to really stack up the hurt. It's all about using one weapon to apply a status effect and the other to finish the job.

I find sticking to one weapon for the entire game monotonous, so I switch between weapons mid-combat anyway. I love that there is a mechanic now that rewards this sort of playstyle.

Learn to Dodge

You have two dodge options, a single tap sidestep or a double tap roll. Most players roll more often than necessary, but it's important to train yourself to rely on the single-tap sidestep more frequently. This quick move can keep you safe from most attacks despite its appearance.

You should only use the double tap roll when you need to quickly create distance from an enemy or when you're expecting a large AOE attack. Otherwise, focus on relying on the single tap dodge more. This allows you to maintain your skill combo, especially since skills that require a chain of inputs usually deal more damage on the final hit. Plus, the sidestep has a faster recovery than a roll, so you won't miss out on a chance to deal damage or parry.

Unlock Frozen Ascent and Glacial Rake Early

Frozen Ascent for the Leviathan Axe is one of the most useful early skills. It applies a ton of frost damage and lets you juggle enemies in the air. This can be pretty helpful for crowd control, especially if you are playing at higher difficulties.

The Glacial Rake lets you deal heavy frost damage repeatedly. It's really strong against enemies that are weak to elemental build-up.

Use Flame Whiplash

If you're using the Blades of Chaos, start charging up Flame Whiplash for serious burning damage. Pair it with skills like Scorched Earth to apply burning states more quickly and efficiently. Burn damage stacks over time, so switch to the Leviathan Axe once enemies are on fire to take advantage of elemental synergies.

Use the Arena for Skill Labor Farming

You can unlock special perks for your skills by completing skill labors, which involve using skills a certain number of times. You'll naturally unlock these as you play, but if you want to speed things up, head to the practice arena in Niflheim. It's a great place to farm for labor, test out new combat strategies, or practice perfecting your skills without the pressure of the main game.

Get Serpent's Snare

I'd also recommend grabbing the Serpent's Snare skill early on. This lets you grab an enemy with the Axe and chuck them, dealing a lot of damage and causing a frost explosion that can hit nearby enemies. You can even chuck enemies off for a one-shot kill if you're near a ledge. You can do something similar by blasting them with the Dauntless Shield's special ability.

Check out the Accessibility Options

If you're having trouble with the game's timing for puzzles or traversal, head into the settings menu and adjust the puzzle timing or traversal assist. Putting traversal on auto allows Kratos to automatically jump gaps and climb down ledges.

If you don't want Atreus to give puzzle hints constantly, you can also reduce those. This one's a must for me because those hints are thrown at you slightly too often.

Read our the God of War Ragnarök review and the God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla review. Also, check the below guides:

- God of War Ragnarök Guide | How to Get Powerful Early in The Game
- God of War Ragnarök NG+: Every New Details