You’re going to find yourself outmatched pretty quickly if you approach this new adventure with anything short of your best fighting skills. Luckily, we’ve been through it all and lived to tell the tale, and decided to help you start your journey armed with knowledge, while Kratos brings his still-developing yet awesome abilities to the battlefield.

Let’s dive right in!

Train Your Muscle Memory Right

You’re going to notice that attacks come with four different colors, and knowing what to expect when each one is displayed can help you prepare your response without really thinking about it. Look at it like a sort of rock-paper-scissors situation, and you’re golden.

A red attack must be met with a dodge, allowing you to reposition and get in a few hits of your own. A blue attack must be blocked while a yellow one can be parried to get your enemy off balance. A purple attack must be avoided at all costs. Internalize the colors and you’ll find yourself reacting to your opponents just as a Spartan would, with your reflexes taking over in the heat of battle.

Know Your Enemy Drops

Like enemy attacks, the drops you can obtain from them once are tied to the type of attacks you hit them with. For instance, landing basic attacks nets you yellow orbs that refill your Spirit meter, allowing you to dish out more stun damage via Spartan Spirit attacks. Those attacks net green orbs that provide health.

Since all of your orbs are absorbed automatically, irrespective of whether you need them or not, paying attention to your health, spirit, and magic is important to sustaining your attack potential over the course of a fight. Red orbs drop naturally upon defeating enemies, while blue ones drop from enemies that use magic attacks.

Know When To Back Off

Remember when we said that blue attacks need to be blocked? That’s a good time to reset spacing and regain your rhythm, adjusting your spacing just about enough to ensure that you can punish your opponent’s recovery animations once you do.

It can be easy to just back away completely out of attack range, acting on instinct instead of using the moment to try building up stun or perhaps unleashing a devastating counterattack. A true Spartan stands their ground while using their enemy’s own moves against them, after all.

Know When To Go In For The Kill

You should be treating every yellow attack as an opportunity to show your foes exactly why they should fear you in the moment and for a long time after. Parrying is a great way to shift the momentum of a fight in your favor and keep it that way for as long as your enemy is still standing.

Getting the timing down means that you’re not just avoiding damage, but actively opening up your foes to stuns and powerful counterattacks, unleashing your might on them before they even realize that they’ve made a grave mistake coming after you. The best warriors don’t just wait for opportunities, but create them on the fly.

Abuse The Stun Mechanic

There are many ways to stun your opponents, and you should be looking to do that as much as you can if you want to come out on top of each fight. Your shield is a good place to start, allowing you to learn how to block or parry effectively while building up your opponent’s stun bar. Spirit attacks are another great option, and mixing them in from time to time as you get the chance to do so is going to help.

Aside from these easy-to-access methods for stunning, charged, strong attacks, any environmental hazards, specific skills that are tailored for stuns, and of course, an upgraded spear are all options to let you get your opponent to the ground and let you unleash your highest DPS attack to close things out. Just be intentional about it, and you’re going to find that most enemies in the game are unable to withstand the incoming onslaught.

Invest In A Diverse Loadout

As you dive deeper into the adventure, you’re going to find enemies that come with aura shields, which only take damage from specific spirit or magic attacks. To that end, you’re going to have to think like a Spartan and prepare for every eventuality in battle. The way to do that is to have a reliable attack to break through those shields.

Make sure it’s one that you’re comfortable using, and that you know exactly how long it takes to start, execute, and recover from, to ensure that you’re ready to cause some mayhem once the shield is down. The last thing you want to do is waste your energy on attacks that don’t hurt your enemy. Inefficiency is not the Spartan way.

Purple Attacks and Positioning

We know we said purple attacks must be avoided at all costs, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be punishing them at all. Like with blue attacks, calculating an optimal amount of space to stay out of harm’s way while giving yourself the room for a counterattack is the way to go. Work against the instinct to panic roll, and you’ll soon find yourself reacting to them with a grin on your face.

Yes, they’re deadly if they connect and can have you facing death sooner than you’d like. But like any other attack you’re facing down as Kratos, they’re a chance to take advantage of the situation and showcase how he is the embodiment of a Spartan warrior, and a deadly fighter as his skills improve. We all have to start somewhere, right?

Use Spirit Attacks For Stability

It can be tempting to abuse your Spirit attacks to stun your opponents faster, as they do trade damage for more stun build-up. But we’d recommend being a little prudent in their use, as they’re also a way to get health orb drops when things aren’t going your way.

Despite your skills, mistakes do happen, and in a battlefield such as the one Kratos participates in, those mistakes can prove fatal if you don’t have the means to take them in your stride. Save a little of your spirit bar for such situations, using all the other ways we’ve outlined to get those stuns and just let loose on your opponents. It doesn’t matter how fast you take your opponent down, but how efficiently you manage to do so.

Buffs

Your buffs are not meant to be a last resort response that you use when you’re panicking or in a pinch, but are rather useful tools that lend versatility to your fighting style. Don’t hoard them for emergencies, but use them as versatile tools for the situation at hand.

Melee-focused ones are best used as combo extenders, allowing you to dish out damage while letting you reposition right after them and prepare for a counterattack, while the ranged ones can be used to take out hard-to-reach enemies or deal with particularly aggressive ones from a safe distance. You could also use them if you find you’ve messed up on positioning yourself after a blue or purple attack, sustaining your onslaught while you close the gap.

Don’t Sleep on Movement Skills

While it can be hard to ignore skills that let you deal more damage, given that we’re in Kratos’ shoes, you must remember that his speed is equally a part of his skill set as much as strength is. Just because movement skills don’t dish out damage doesn’t mean that they should be ignored.

Sons of Sparta is a platforming game after all, and since that genre revolves around loot, moving faster through levels is a great way to ensure that your inventory always has what you need to be more effective in the field. You’re also going to be avoiding more damage if you can outpace your enemies, too, so that’s a win-win for every movement upgrade you invest in.

Backtrack At The Right Moments

While we’re on the subject of movement, backtracking as soon as you get a new tool is a reliable way to ensure you’re not missing out on awesome loot for more upgrade materials from harder-to-reach or previously inaccessible areas that you’re going to find as you keep exploring.

Try to make a mental note of where you find locked gates or places blocked off by out-of-reach switches or brambles, for which the sling and fire are appropriate ways to tackle them, respectively. Come back to them when you get the means to deal with the obstacle at hand, and you’re going to find even more options to improve traversal, using upgrade hubs, meaning that each run is improving your power.

Play To Your Strengths But Cover Your Weaknesses

All of us approach combat differently, and the true warrior knows their strengths while being humble enough to admit their weaknesses. Of course, your enemies don’t need to know that, and using your spear and shield attachments to cater to your specific playstyle is going to have your foes wondering how you’re able to dispatch them so easily. If they’re capable of thought, that is.

Since attachments have their own upgrade trees, use one to play to your strengths and the other to cover a weakness. Don’t like crowds? Ensure that you’re adding ways to manage them easily. Do you like to strike from a safe distance instead of getting close and personal? Try to extend the range of your spear or add a few ranged attacks into the mix.

Get your attachments and skills to work in tandem, and you’re going to be a force to be reckoned with on the field.

Use The Battlefield To Your Advantage

The best fighters don’t just rely on their own weapons, but use the battlefield to its fullest. Kratos is no exception, and using any throwables in the environment to open a fight is a great way to get some free stun build-up before you even start sticking an enemy with the pointy end of a spear.

But try to keep a few of them handy to interrupt attacks or as a way to ensure you’re beginning your combo with a hit against foes that could spell trouble for you. Use the arena to its fullest, and your enemies will learn to rue the day they ever met you.

Practice Makes Perfect

The best Spartans are the ones who don’t neglect their training, and taking Kratos on farming runs from time to time ensures that you’re doing all you can to be prepared for the challenges ahead. But too much practice can leave you fatigued when you need your tired muscles the most.

To that end, easily repeatable runs that do not require you to stray far from your resting spots are the way to go. It also pays to keep a target in mind, such as your next skill node or an attachment tier for either your spear or shield. Hit it and continue on with your adventure, knowing that you have done all you can to be at your best for the challenges ahead.

Don’t Sleep On Optional Content

Speaking of being at your best, the optional gauntlets are a great way to chase down buffs that you can then use to gain a leg up at enemies. Go for one as soon as you hit a new attachment tier or gain an important skill, as you can use them to familiarize yourself with a new move or upgrade, or perhaps when you find that your farming runs aren’t quite cutting it.

This approach means that you’re always close to another upgrade, making your time with the game all the more efficient as a result.

And that’s all we have for you as you take on the adventures of a younger Kratos.

“Congratulations to Ryan Hurst who will be stepping into the role of Kratos for the upcoming God of War live action series,” wrote Santa Monica Studio. “We’re excited to see his take on Kratos as he joins the legendary ranks of T.C. Carson and Christopher Judge who have each shaped this character in unforgettable ways.

Hurst should already be quite familiar to fans of the franchise since he had last shown up in God of War Ragnarök in the role of Thor, for which he had gotten a BAFTA nomination. As for his previous work, Hurst has played Gerry Bertier in Remember the Titans, and Opie Winston in Sons of Anarchy. Prime Video’s God of War adaptation is being produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios.

The production of the God of War series has seen its ups and down, culminating in it getting rebooted in October 2024. This coincided with the show getting a new showrunner, writer and executive producer in Robert D. Moore, who is known for his work on shows like Outlander, For All Mankind, and the Battlestar Galactica reimagining. A report last month also revealed that the first two episodes of the show will be directed by Frederick E.O. Toye, who has previously worked on The Boys and Shogun. Production has also been well underway, taking place in Vancouver.

How well this live action adaptation pans out remains to be seen. However, Amazon has been quite optimistic about it, having already greenlit a second season while the first one is still under production. Moore confirmed this in an interview back in March 2025.

“Right now I’m working on the adaptation of this videogame called God of War, it’s a big title in the gaming world that Amazon has ordered two seasons of and they asked me to come in, I’m literally in the writer’s room and that’s my new thing,” he said when asked about his plans for the future.

While not too many more details about the God of War series have been revealed, Amazon has confirmed that its story will be based on the 2018 game, with Kratos and his son Atreus setting off on a journey to spread the ashes of Kratos’ wife and Atreus’ mother, Faye. Much like the game itself, the story will also seemingly revolve around the themes of fatherhood, with Kratos focused on making sure that Atreus doesn’t grow up to be like the other mythological figures he has had to face during his time in Greece.

Speaking to VGC, McCreary started by talking about the time he spent at the God of War 20th Anniversary Retrospective Gallery last month. He spoke about how moved he felt when he realised the sheer number of people involved.

“We were just with the cast at the God of War 20th Anniversary Retrospective Gallery,” said McCreary. “There were exhibits along the wall for all nine games, so it’s this pantheon. I’m looking around the room, and I’m seeing all the artists that have contributed.”

“It was quite moving to realize, how many people had been involved and that no single person has been involved in all of them in any kind of primary capacity. There’s been a sort of brain trust of people that go back to the first game.”

He also spoke about seeing the sheet music of his works showcased and how it led to him feeling closure for the story of Kratos in the more recent titles.

“Coming into that room, I saw the God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarok sheet music on the wall – my signed scores in frames that I had given to Santa Monica – and it really hit me that I got to contribute to this,” McCreary continued. “Even with the God of War Valhalla DLC, there’s an ending cinematic to that, that really was important to me to score.

“It brings a sort of closure to Kratos’ arc, so I feel like my contribution, starting with E3 2016 all the way through to Valhalla, feels complete. I feel complete. I feel like I told a story.”

He also said that, while he does feel like he has gotten the closure he needed for his work on God of War, he is open to working on future projects in the franchise as well. Responding to a question about working on the music for Amazon’s adaptation of God of War, he said the people that need him have his number.

“If there’s anything else that needs music moving forward, they’ve got my number,” he said. “Everybody’s got my number, I’m here. I’m really proud of what I did.”

Amazon hasn’t yet premiered its adaptation of God of War, but production on the series has been going well enough that showrunner Ronald D. Moore has revealed that it has been greenlit for a second season.

“Right now I’m working on the adaptation of this video game called God of War, it’s a big title in the gaming world that Amazon has ordered two seasons of and they asked me to come in, I’m literally in the writer’s room and that’s my new thing,” he said.

As for a new game, while no official announcements have been made, rumours indicate that a new God of War title that would focus on a smaller side-story will be coming out later this year.

Unlike several other PS5-to-PC ports, God of War Ragnarok isn’t handled by Nixxes Software of Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered and Miles Morales, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and so on fame, but Jetpack Interactive. The studio did a good job bringing God of War (2018) to PC, but how does Ragnarok fare?

Graphical Options and Settings

Our test bench consisted of an AMD Radeon 5950x, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, 32 GB of RAM, and an NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. There are four graphical presets to choose from – Low, Medium, High, and Ultra – with options to modify the quality of Models, Textures, Lighting, Anisotropic Filtering, Shadows, Reflections, Atmospherics, Tessellation and Ambient Occlusion.

Features like Latency Reduction, unlocked frame rates, and Frame Generation are also present but if you dreaded the previous title’s focus on Temporal Anti-Aliasing, it returns once more. You can adjust the modes with Native, Balanced and Quality available, and there are other scaling options available, like AMD FSR 3.1, Intel XeSS, and Nvidia DLSS with DLAA.

For our test, we went with Ultra settings, AMD FSR Frame Generation enabled and DLAA at 4K resolution. To say that it looks stunning would be an understatement. Just from the opening alone, the skin texture quality of Kratos and how it’s illuminated, both from light entering the cave and the campfire inside, is incredibly realistic.

PC Performance

Of course, for an action-adventure title with a big focus on combat, how it runs is equally important. The good news is that God of War Ragnarok on PC is initially no slouch. Shader compilation is a quick 15 seconds, and the opening sequence showcases great draw distance (which is probably aided by the fog) and destructible elements with no slowdown.

Traversing through the wintery Midgard, battling enemies as the snow realistically deforms under your feet, the frame rate is pretty solid throughout. Even when Kratos and Thor are battling out, the transitions between combat and cutscenes with all the atmospherics and lighting still look great.

The problem, such as it is, only really emerges when traveling to Svartalfheim. Upon exiting the Realm Between Realms, the environment will be visible in low-polygonal form – even the clouds are absent for a few frames. While both are briefly noticeable and quickly fixed, it takes a second or so longer for the foliage in the foreground to load. Some pop-ins are also visible further away but this is fixed in short order as well.

It’s far from a dealbreaker – odd to see this on PC but not on PS5. However, we also noticed the frame rate taking a few dips during combat in the same area, even if it wasn’t a particularly intense sequence. The frame rate was stable when venturing out onto the water via boat and when climbing the dilapidated structures. Perhaps those dips are due to the area’s size and sheer amount of graphical fidelity, from the environmental textures and water to distant details and backgrounds. While it’s due for some optimization, the PC version still looks utterly gorgeous and delivers some solid performance overall.

PS5 vs. PC

On the PS5, God of War Ragnarok offers two modes – Quality and Performance. The former delivers native 4K while the latter targets 60 frames per second, running fairly solid throughout. However, the Performance mode’s resolution is dynamic, averaging around 1872p. Aside from the frame rate, both modes are comparable in quality and details, differing only in better LOD and lighting in Quality Mode. Resolution and frame rate will vary even further if you opt for Quality Mode at 40 FPS or Ultra-High Performance Mode.

With the PC version and the right hardware, you get the best of both worlds – native 4K and 60 frames per second (or higher). This is arguably how the sequel should be experienced and having additional options for further refining the image quality or improving the fidelity beyond the PS5 version is noteworthy. Of course, that’s not even factoring in features like Ultra wide-screen support. Interestingly, we did experience one crash, which occurred when the GPU utilization suddenly shot up to 100 percent. It’s likely due to a bug since the rest of our experience saw no similar issues or hang-ups.

Loading Times

You’d be hard-pressed to find any “true” loading screens for God of War Ragnarok on either PS5 or PC. The game jumps right into a cinematic and into gameplay shortly after the main menu pops up, with no cuts in between, maintaining the cinematography and presentation of its predecessors. If anything, the “loading” is masked through instances where Kratos has to squeeze through crevices, or even when traversing the Realm Between Realms.

When initiating fast travel between the realms, there’s a two-second flash before entering the Realm Between Realms and another one-second transition before venturing into Svartalfheim on PS5. The “loading” times in these instances are roughly the same on PC, though you may spot a few milliseconds of difference. Either way, it’s impressive, even with some of the rougher edges seen in the PC version.

Conclusion

Much has been said about God of War Ragnarok and how it concludes the Norse saga. From rants about how it could have ended differently to alternate story directions. Regardless, very few have argued against the game’s technical capabilities or artistic merit. There have been no doubts about the beauty of its environments or how it’s leveraged the PS5 hardware to deliver a visually spectacular experience.

Playing it on PC evokes the same magic as first playing it on consoles, and the optimization, complete with specialized features and additional options, is very good. Yes, some areas could be improved, especially when venturing to Svartalfheim, including whatever happened when exiting a portal into a new realm. Nevertheless, considering the increased scale, and sheer size of the experience (especially when factoring in the expansive end-game compared to 2018’s reboot), Jet Pack Interactive has done an excellent job translating it all to PC.

If you want to experience its visuals in native 4K, the PC version is the winner by sheer virtue of fidelity and options. However, whether you play on PS5 or PC, God of War Ragnarok is an unforgettable experience and still one of the best action-adventure titles in gaming history.

The game manages to hit great frame rates while also including jaw-dropping visual quality on a higher-end mid-range system, running on a Ryzen 7 7800X3D with 32GB of DDR5 6000 MHz RAM and an AMD Radeon 7800 XT GPU. I was able to max out all of the graphical options while leaving on AMD’s FSR 3.1 technology on running at native quality for gorgeous visual fidelity. On PC, Ragnarok might just be the best looking PlayStation Studios release so far.

The title is also surprisingly supportive of lower-end systems. Minimum requirements revealed by Sony reveals support for CPUs and GPUs going back a few generations, and the game also ran fantastically on the Steam Deck. Sure, it was never going to look as good as it does on PC or PS5 on the handheld system, but it has been optimized well enough that it’s possible to attain frame rates of between 40 and 60 on the Steam Deck by tinkering around with the graphical options a bit.

"Two years since its PS5 release, Ragnarok is now available on PC, and continuing Sony’s recent trend, it’s a downright fantastic port."

Another interesting quirk of the PC release of Ragnarok is its control scheme. While it does support all the controllers you might consider using, the keyboard and mouse setup for the game are quite well laid out, and I never found myself wishing I had a controller over my current PC setup. The game feels snappy and responsive to play, and the pace of its general gameplay and combat is slow enough to where I don’t worry about wrecking my mouse’s left click when I’m doing combos. The lock on system, however, does feel a bit wonky when playing with mouse and keyboard, since the slightest movement of the mouse will have you instantly switch to a different target. However, with the increased accuracy of mouse-based camera controls, it’s easy enough to never really need to lock on to enemies.

Generally speaking, Ragnarok on PC is a great port, and with the increased visual fidelity over the PS5 release, as well as the addition of new features (my personal favorite being the ability to stop the game from spoiling puzzle solutions the moment you see the puzzle—an issue I had with the game on launch), PC is the definitive way to experience the game.

Ragnarok coming to PC also presented me with a chance to re-experience the story with a fresher mind a couple of years after its original release. Much like its predecessor, Ragnarok manages to keep exploring the father-son relationship between Kratos and Atreus, while also adding in a twist through the influence their enemies try to exert on the protagonists as well. The game starts off with a bang, with Freya still holding a grudge against Kratos and Atreus because of the events of the 2018 reboot, and after some down time to help you catch your breath, our intrepid heroes quickly find themselves face-to-face with Thor.

"Ragnarok on PC is a great port, and with the increased visual fidelity over the PS5 release"

The central storyline of Ragnarok revolves around the titular Ragnarok arriving; all of the realms are in rather dire straits thanks to the Fimbulwinter that has been hitting everyone quite hard. All the while, both teams of fathers and sons are preparing for whatever nebulous role Atreus is going to play in the upcoming apocalypse. While the general scope of the story is quite grand, Ragnarok actually focuses more on smaller-scale stories, exploring the nature of relationships between friends that have had a falling out, a young man figuring out his place in the world, and the nature of grief, as well as the fear a parent might feel for the future of their child.

The biggest blunder throughout the otherwise excellently written story is a middle part which, while essential to the overarching story, feels like it goes on for just a bit too long. Without spoiling too much, the section in question revolves around Atreus making a new friend and spending some time in a realm separated from his father. Aside from this relatively minor blunder in pacing, Ragnarok tells a fun, emotional story full of twists, turns, friendships, and betrayals, all clocking in at a tight 25 to 30 hour experience, if you are sticking to the critical path.

On the gameplay side of things, Ragnarok builds on the foundations laid by the 2018 reboot, further building out the arsenal of abilities for both Kratos as well as Atreus. In a minor twist, Atreus is a playable character for quite a few parts of the story, and as such, he has his own unique moveset that revolves around being evasive, quick, and taking out enemies with arrows before they can get too close. Kratos has also gotten a few upgrades, starting with his Blades of Chaos right from the beginning, and expanding on his arsenal of abilities with more interesting new moves.

"Ragnarok builds on the foundations laid by the 2018 reboot"

The game also improves on its predecessor when it comes to enemy variety. A big weak spot of the 2018 reboot is that it was really lacking in enemy variety; aside from a couple of fights here and there, the vast majority of battles in the game were against same-y enemies, and most boss fights tended to be against Trolls. The roster of enemies gets diverse right from the beginning, with the first few zones alone including enemies ranging from a dryad, regular human raiders, frost-based zombie raiders, and even a bear.

Ragnarok is, generally speaking, an improvement over the 2018 reboot in just about every way, and the new PC version of the game is essentially the definitive way to experience the epic adventure. The game looks gorgeous on higher-end hardware, while still managing to maintain compatibility with CPUs and GPUs from a few generations ago. Most importantly, the game also offers plenty of options for PC players to tinker around with, from graphical options, to control schemes, and even core gameplay options. I cannot stress how great the toggle to disable puzzle hints has been for my enjoyment of the game.

PC players might want to keep in mind that, like other recent PlayStation Studios releases, Ragnarok also makes use of a PlayStation Network account. While it varies between different regions whether the account is an absolute necessity to play or not, it is still something worth keeping in mind before jumping in.

This game was reviewed on PC.

God of War Ragnarok is the follow-up to the 2018 title, with Kratos and Atreus awaiting the battle of Ragnarok. Along with exploring all nine Norse realms, combat is improved significantly with new abilities, armaments, armor sets, and more for players to customize. The PC version includes all the updates, including the free rogue-lite expansion, Valhalla.

As for PC-exclusive features, there are unlocked frame rates, Super Ultrawide support, native 4K, and customizable key bindings. You can also leverage Nvidia DLSS 3.7, AMD FRS 3.1, and Intel XeSS 1.3. Check out more details on the title here or the full PC requirements (including what you’ll need to run the game in 4K/60 FPS on Ultra settings).

Setting

Fimbulwinter has arrived. While Kratos and Atreus await the arrival of Ragnarok, they come to a rather not-so-friendly face-to-face with Thor. They subsequently begin a quest to find Tyr. We won’t go into further details yet as the conclusion to the Norse saga, the story offers multiple high stakes and more drama than its predecessor.

Characters

It also sports new and returning characters. Outside of Kratos and Atreus (whose role is expanded from the original), players encounter the mysterious Angrboda, the quick-witted Ratatoskr, who guards Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and, of course, Thor. Returning characters with deeper roles include Freya, blacksmiths and brothers Brok and Sindri, and Mimir, each playing their part in the impending Ragnarok.

Gameplay Loop

As with the previous game, Ragnarok is a hack-and-slash title with action-adventure elements. You’ll explore the world and discover unique armor, relics, currency, and materials. Different armor sets have perks and can be upgraded to improve their inherent stats. Upon accruing XP, Kratos and Atreus can unlock new skills, further expanding their combat repertoire. So far, nothing too surprising.

Explorable Regions

Of course, this is a much bigger game since all Nine Realms are available to traverse. New locations include Svartalfheim, home to the Dwarves and Vanaheim, where lush forestry abounds. Every other realm from the first game returns, though they’ve changed like Midgard’s lake being frozen over. As you explore the realms, new side quests, activities, enemies, treasure chests, puzzles and more will be discovered.

Combat Changes

While the gameplay loop of Ragnarok is very familiar to fans of the original, there are a lot of new mechanics to mix up combat. There are now multiple kinds of shields, ranging from the default Guardian Shield and its balance of parrying and blocking to the defense-focused Stonewall Shield, which can’t parry but offers superior blocking.

You can also infuse the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos with ice and fire elemental magic to unleash powerful status effects. The level design offers more avenues for vertical traversal, which allows for new jumping attacks. Spartan Rage also has three variants, while Atreus has an expanded arsenal for more functionality in combat.

Endgame

While the first game offered a few end-game challenges, Ragnarok has a fully fleshed-out end-game to pursue. Once again, no spoilers, but there will be new locations to explore (including one that’s like a completely new region), tougher bosses to face, Trials in Muspelheim to complete, armor to collect, and much more. There are Burdens with negative Perks to equip, thus providing more of a challenge. You can also pursue New Game Plus, which features new armor sets and even provides some new attacks for specific bosses.

Then there’s Valhalla, a separate rogue-lite mode added for free post-launch. It features a unique story that examines Kratos’ past while providing unique progression, encounters, and boss battles. If you enjoyed the original trilogy and always wanted the Norse saga to connect to it in some way, Valhalla is a must-play experience.

Unlocked Frame Rates

Ragnarok offered some great performance on PS5, but the PC version supports unlocked frame rates. Players can finally enjoy 60 frames per second or higher at native 4K resolution, though you’ll need some pretty hefty hardware to run it (more on the requirements shortly).

Super Ultrawide Support

Another feature in PlayStation Studios titles on PC is support for super ultrawide displays. Ragnarok is no exception, supporting 21:9 ultra-widescreen and 32:9 super ultra-widescreen monitors on PC. Based on the images seen thus far, the results are unprecedented, immersing players in the Nine Realms like never before (or since the PS5 release, really).

PSN Account Required

Unfortunately, PC players need a PlayStation Network account to enjoy the game. While it didn’t apply to the single-player campaign of Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut, this and the upcoming Until Dawn remaster are subject to PSN linking on PC, even though they’re single-player-centric. It’s terrible but such is Sony.

System Requirements

Hardware requirements for Ragnarok on PC are pretty high, which is to be expected. Regardless of everything else, you’ll need Windows 10 64-bit and 190 GB of installation space on a solid-state drive to run the game. Minimum requirements include an Intel Core i5-4670K or AMD Ryzen 3 1200, 8 GB RAM, and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD RX 5500 XT for an average of 30 FPS at 1080p on Low settings.

Recommended requirements for 60 FPS average at 1080p on Medium settings include a Core i5-8600 or Ryzen 5 3600, an RTX 2060 Super or RX 5700, and 16 GB of RAM. For 1440p resolution at a 60 FPS average on High settings, a Core i7-7700K or Ryzen 7 2700X, 16 GB of RAM, and an RTX 3070 or RX 6800 will be required.

4K Requirements on PC

Those looking to go even further beyond, specifically 4K and 60 FPS average will need a Core i7-7700K or Ryzen 7 2700X, 16 GB RAM and an RTX 3080 Ti or RX 6900 XT. That’s enough for playing at High settings but for 4K/60 FPS at the very pinnacle of graphics fidelity, Ultra, you’ll need a Core i5-11600K or Ryzen 7 3700X, 16 GB RAM, and an RTX 4070 Ti or RX 7900 XT.

DLSS 3.7, AMD FSR 3.1, Intel XeSS 1.3, Reflex Support

Nvidia Reflex support is confirmed, reducing system latency and accommodating faster reaction times (which can be important in Ragnarok, especially in the end-game challenges). Nvidia DLSS 3.7, AMD FSR 3.1 and Intel XeSS 1.3 are also supported. Since the standard and 4K requirements don’t take upscaling into account, PC players can utilize them for more performance gains.

DualShock 4 and DualSense Support

Like other first-party PlayStation titles launching for PS4 and PS5, Ragnarok supports the DualShock 4 and DualSense on PC. The latter even features haptic feedback and adaptive trigger support, though you’ll need a wired connection to take advantage of the same.

Other Gamepad Support and Customizable Key Bindings

Those rocking other devices (including but not limited to a certain Microsoft console-based controller) can take heart, as they’ll also be able to use their gamepads. Keyboard and mouse controls are also fully customizable, allowing PC players the freedom to change key bindings.

Playtime

Whether you’re a new player or well-versed in the previous game, Ragnarok offers significant bang for your buck. The main story takes about 26 to 27 hours, while a completionist run requires 54 hours on average, according to HowLongToBeat. That doesn’t factor in New Game Plus or Valhalla, the latter adding another 10 to 11 hours on average for completionists. As one of the best games of 2022 and even to date, Ragnarok will keep you busy for quite some time.

Where do you even begin with the issues? Crashes, shader compilation that could take 40 minutes to more than an hour, terrible hair, characters suddenly being drenched in cutscenes, Tess floating in the air – the list goes on. Naughty Dog has released some hotfixes, but players are still reporting issues.

How could this happen, though? The Last of Us isn’t just one of Sony’s flagship franchises but the most hallowed. So what the heck happened to the PC port?

It’s important to step back and examine how we got here. Whether due to the success of Microsoft’s first-party Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S titles on PC or Sony no longer capable of ignoring the platform, it wanted a piece of the PC pie.

Despite how much it touted its exclusives and how you could only experience them on PlayStation, it opened up to the idea of bringing them to PC. This isn’t to say that PlayStation never published anything on the platform but starting with Horizon Zero Dawn in 2020, it rolled out its marquee first-party titles for PC players.

There was just one problem. Well, several problems. Horizon’s PC port was subpar. Players with hardware far above the recommended requirements reported crashes, performance issues and poor optimization. Considering it was a PS4 title and ports like Death Stranding were very well-optimized, fans were less than forgiving.

Even six months later, there were still issues – Digital Foundry reported bugs with screen space ambient occlusion, LOD bias and even characters freezing on transitions while everything else moved normally.

However, despite all the issues at launch, Horizon Zero Dawn proved successful, selling over 700,000 copies in the first month. There’s no doubt Sony went ahead with commissioning other ports, like Bend Studio’s Days Gone and God of War (2018).

The former was handled in-house by Bend, and while it seemed to receive a strong response at launch, a quick peek at the developer’s list of known issues reveals a litany of problems. Stuttering, no HDR option for those with HDR monitors, lack of controller input, mouse issues, crashes – it just goes on. It addressed those problems, yet Sony needed a more long-term solution.

With God of War (2018), Santa Monica Studio worked directly with Jetpack Interactive for two years to ensure it was up to snuff. However, in 2021, Sony acquired Nixxes Software, known for its excellent PC ports. It handled the later patches for Horizon Zero Dawn and began working with Insomniac on porting Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered and Miles Morales to PC.

Even with the hit-or-miss quality of its ports, Sony continued raking in sales. By May 2022, Horizon Zero Dawn sold almost 2.4 million on PC. Days Gone was 852,000 units sold, while God of War (2018), the most recent port, hit 971,000 sales. Things seemed to be on the right track, and sure enough, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered launched in August 2022 to extensive acclaim. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, available in November of that year, was also a great port. Oddly enough, its peak concurrent players weren’t too great, but at least there were no issues.

Unfortunately, there was trouble brewing. Iron Galaxy Studios was contracted to work on Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, and sure enough, several issues were reported when it launched in October 2022. Sackboy: A Big Adventure, released in the same month, was sadly overshadowed, though it didn’t seem to have any major problems. You could probably chalk this up to developer Sumo Digital’s long-running history of multi-platform development, but I digress.

In February 2023, Returnal was released on PC, with Climax Studios in charge alongside Housemarque. Players reported Fatal Errors, bugs, stuttering, performance issues and whatnot, which is a shame considering this is a PS5-exclusive title. It received patches to improve the overall quality, but there are still bugs. Then The Last of Us Part 1, ported by Iron Galaxy Studios with Naughty Dog released on PC recently, and the rest is history.

It’s worth noting that Microsoft’s initial PC ports were far from perfect, with more than a few kinks to work out. However, it now has several acclaimed exclusives on PC. Its Xbox titles are now synonymous with day-one PC releases and Game Pass, which seemed like a pipe dream less than a decade ago.

Where Sony could lack is the proper infrastructure. Don’t get me wrong – optimizing games is tough enough, especially PS5 exclusives. There’s a reason some PC ports took so long to release after their initial console versions. While Nixxes was acquired and had its pipeline for ports, the same may not apply to some of the other developers.

Whether this is a resource issue, not enough time or experts to help – because Nixxes is only one studio – the quality has been very uneven.

There isn’t a clear solution – Sony can’t simply acquire other studios that are also good at porting. It also needs a proper pipeline for its PC ports to go through, where a dedicated team handles things with the developers over a significant period. It may have seemed like a good idea to give the Spider-Man games to Nixxes and then figure things out with other developers, but that’s not a long-term solution.

Speaking on the issue of time, PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst stated in October 2022 that first-party titles would launch on PC at least a year after the PS5 version. Some quick math shows that The Last of Us Part 1 launched in September 2022 for PS5 and in March 2023 for PC.

That’s not a whole lot of time, and Sony could be accused of trying to cash in on the breakout success of The Last of Us HBO series. What’s more likely is that the PC version was always meant to release around the same time. Problems emerged, there was a three-week delay to fix major issues – because it has to arrive before the fiscal year ends – and things didn’t go as planned.

With plans to release ten live-service titles for PS5 by March 2026 and first-party live-service games launching simultaneously on PC and PS5, Sony desperately needs to sort out its PC ports. The Last of Us standalone multiplayer title is clearly a forerunner for its live-service ambitions, and Sony has done well by bringing in talent like Bungie to help out.

Hopefully, its recent PC debacles have raised enough alarms to warrant introspection and necessary changes to its current pipeline. The initial steps can be painful – again, just ask Microsoft – but with how serious PlayStation is about catering to PC players, it must aspire to a higher standard.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

The Photo Mode is the clear headliner for the update, offering a massive set of features that will be familiar to players who enjoyed the Photo Mode from 2018’s God of War. The Photo Mode also allows players to play around with various effects, including options for field of view, focal length, and camera roll.

The studio has stated that it is far from done with the game, however, and that more updates and patches will continue to be released, likely also bringing with them additional features.

It is worth noting that director Eric Williams has stated that, despite ongoing support for God of War Ragnarok, it will likely not get any DLC releases.

God of War Ragnarok is available on PS4 and PS5. Check out our review through here.

UPDATE NOTES

Features

• Photo Mode is now in the game! Access photo mode by pressing the Square Button from the options menu.

Narrative and Story

• Fixed a case where a narrative moment would repeat incorrectly when reloading a save in the quest “The Reckoning.”
• Fixed a few cases where stories in the boat were interrupted incorrectly.

Quests and Progression

• Fixed a case where the area from the quest “The Weight of Chains” could get into a bad state preventing the player from returning to the area.
• Fixed a case where the Demolition labor could not be completed.
• Fixed a number of cases where the companion would become stuck and not follow the player, or move to a required location.
• Fixed a case where a crane will be stuck in the wrong position when backtracking during the quest “The Quest for Tyr” or exploring the area later.
• Fixed a case where a water sluice could behave improperly blocking progress in the quest “The Quest for Tyr.”
• Fixed a case where the player is unable to interact with the crank when backtracking and returning during the quest “Groa’s Secret.”
• Improved checkpoint placement during the quest “Groa’s Secret.”
• Fixed a case where a puzzle element could become invisible if dropping down from a ledge during the quest “Groa’s Secret.”
• Fixed a rare case where the player could become stuck to a puzzle element in the quest “Groa’s Secret.”
• Fixed a case where a pendulum can not be moved as intended during the quest “Groa’s Secret.”
• Fixed a rare case where a prompt did not appear, blocking forward progress in the quest “The Lost Sanctuary.”
• Fixed a case where the player could become stuck in the library during the quest “The Runaway”
• Fixed a case where the player is unable to interact with another character during the quest “The World of Fate” preventing forward progress.
• Fixed a case where the companion does not move to the correct location when restarting from checkpoint in a specific location during the quest “Forging Destiny.”
• Fixed a rare case where a Revenant would not spawn blocking forward progress in the quest “Unleashing Hel.”
• Fixed a case where the companion would not close the realm tear during the quest “Unleashing Hel.”
• Fixed a case where a door is missing after restarting from checkpoint during the quest “Creatures of Prophecy.”
• Fixed a case where the player could get stuck in the boss fight when reloading a previous autosave in the quest “Creatures of Prophecy.”
• Fixed a case where the player would not be able to equip the mask during the quest “Unlocking the Mask.”
• Fixed a case where interacting with the tombstone in Midgard while on the sled prevents the player from later using the temple elevator during the quest “Hunting for Solace.”
• Fixed a case where enemies would not spawn if leaving the fight and then returning while exploring the mines in Svartalfheim.
• Fixed a case where a barrel becomes indestructible after picking up the key and restarting from checkpoint in the quest “Sigrun’s Curse.”
• Fixed a case where the player could be unable to open a location during the quest “Return of the River.”
• Fixed a case where the wrong character could follow the player when loading a save made during the quest “A Viking Funeral.”
• Fixed a case where a drawbridge is in the wrong state when returning to the area while exploring in Vanaheim, preventing the player from crossing the bridge.
• Fixed a case where the player would not get credit for closing a Hel portal impacting the favor Hel To Pay.
• Fixed a case where the swords would not show properly if restarting from checkpoint during the challenges in Muspelheim.

Gameplay

• Fixed several cases where the player could fall out of the world when picking up the lost pages.
• Fixed several cases where the player would drop below the map when dropping from a ledge.
• Fixed a case where the player could fall out of the world in Midgard at the Helheim tower.
• Fixed several cases where the mystic gateway would reset to undiscovered when restarting from checkpoint immediately after discovering the gateway.
• Fixed a case where the sled would spawn in the wrong location when exploring in Alfheim.
• Fixed a case where the targeting guide was incorrect in a puzzle element during the quest “Song of the Sands.”
• Fixed a case where the player could become stuck walking in the quest “Hunting for Solace.”
• Fixed a rare case where the companion does not join the player on the sled after quickly entering, then exiting, then entering the sled again.
• Fixed a rare case where the companion would fall through the world.
• Improved companion behavior in several locations when backtracking.

Combat

• Fixed a case where the stun grab prompt would not appear when fighting The Maven.
• Fixed a case where Kratos could clip into the boss causing unwanted behavior in the quest “Reunion.”
• Fixed a case where the player would be unable to use a resurrection stone in the boss fight during the quest “Defend Your Valor.”
• Fixed a rare case where the stun grab prompt would not appear when fighting The Everlasting.
• Fixed a rare case where Slag Horn could get stuck in the ground.
• Fixed a case where the Hyperion Pull would not pull Nightmare enemies.
• Fixed a case where the player’s arm could get stuck in the axe recall animation after a stun grab kill when fighting the mini-boss in the quest “Groa’s Secret.”
• Fixed a case where the boss does not properly progress to the next stage in the quest “Beyond Ragnarok.”
• Fixed a rare case where enemies would not play a hit reaction from some runic attacks on slopes.
• Fixed a rare case where attacks performed while using Valor of Fury could miss smaller targets.
• Fixed a case where the player would lose functionality when changing an equipped runic attack immediately after using it.
• Fixed a case where the player could become stuck in place after performing a stun grab on Fiske at the edge of the arena.
• Fixed a case where an enemy could become invulnerableafter restarting from checkpoint, blocking further progress in the quest “Old Friends.”
• Fixed a case where the boss would fail to transition to the next phase during the quest “The Reckoning.”
• Fixed a case where a traversal is unavailable when restarting checkpoint between encounters, blocking further progress in the quest “The Realms at War.”
• Fixed a case where the boss would not spawn after restarting from checkpoint while completing the favor “Animal Instincts.”
• Fixed a case where a mini-boss could get stuck in a tree during the quest “Creatures of Prophecy.”
• Fixed a case where The Everlasting would become idle if entering and exiting the boat during the encounter.
• Fixed a case where a stun grab prompt does not appear when fighting The Everlasting.
• Fixed a rare case where the Hilt of Skofnungdoes not activate.
• Fixed a case where The Crimson Dragon would not engage with the player after restarting from checkpoint during the quest “For Vanaheim!”

Equipment and Upgrades

• Fixed a case where the companion would change equipment during a narrative sequence in the quest “The Realms at War.”
• Fixed a case where the player could get stuck in the shop preventing a story sequence from progressing in the quest “Forging Destiny.”

UI/UX

• Fixed a case where using the upgrade bench in Jotunheim would cause the character to be unresponsive, requiring a restart from checkpoint to correct.
• Fixed a few cases where journal pages would appear blank when quickly navigating through the journal pages.
• Fixed several cases where journal pages could have missing information.
• Fixed a case where the resurrection stone description would disappear if quickly navigating through the equipment menu.
• Fixed a case where Kratos could get stuck in the wrong pose in the equipment menu.
• Fixed a case where the companion equipment would be displayed for Kratos in the equipment menu when rapidly switching to Kratos from the companion.
• Fixed a case where the companion would be wearing incorrect armor if viewed in the equipment menu immediately after rejoining the player.
• Fixed a case where the companion runic icon would show as unavailable after restarting from a checkpoint.
• Fixed a case where the runic icon would show as available when existing Valor of Fury, despite not having the required weapon equipped.
• Fixed a case where a prompt could remain on screen when pausing the title during the quest “The Quest for Tyr.”
• Fixed a case where the player health bar Could be missing during a specific move in the boss fight in the quest “The Summoning.”

Stability and Performance

• Fixed a rare crash when transitioning to the end credits.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when using the map.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when using the settings menu.
• Fixed a rare crash that could occur during the quest “Surviving Fimbulwinter.”
• Fixed a crash that could occur during the quest “The Runaway.”
• Fixed a rare crash that could occur during the quest “Forging Destiny.”
• Fixed a crash that could occur during the quest “Unleashing Hel.”
• Fixed a crash that could occur in the quest “Beyond Ragnarok.”
• Fixed a crash that could occur during the quest “Animal Instincts.”
• Fixed a rare crash that could occur during the quest “Return of the River.”
• Fixed a case where the game could become unresponsive after defeating the Flame Phantom while exploring Vanaheim.

Visual Impact

• Fixed a number of visual and lighting issues throughout the game.

Audio

• Fixed a case where music could stop playing when backtracking or returning to the area later in the quest “Groa’s Secret.”
• Fixed a case where music would not play when destroying the next then quickly restarting from checkpoint during the quest “The Lost Sanctuary.”
• Fixed a case where music did not play properly during the quest “The Reckoning.”
• Fixed a case where music would stop playing during the quest “Forging Destiny.”
• Fixed a case where music would stop playing before the boss fight during the quest “The Summoning.”
• Fixed a case where combat music would not stop playing after an encounter during the quest “Freya’s Missing Peace.”
• Fixed a case where sound effects for a gate could continue after the gate closed while exploring in Vanaheim.
• Fixed a case where sound effects for a gate could continue during the quest “The Quest for Tyr.”
• Fixed a case where sound effects for a gate could continue during the quest “The Reckoning.”
• Fixed a case where sound effects for a puzzle element could continue while exploring in Svartalfheim.
• Fixed a case where sound effects and dialog were muted when using the Skadi’s Edge runic attack.
• Fixed a case where vehicles would no longer make sound after remaining idle for an extended period.

Accessibility

• Various bug fixes were made to the Navigation assistance feature.
• Various bug fixes were made to the High Contrast mode feature.
• Added aim assist targeting to certain hazards in Vanaheim.
• Added aim assist targeting to certain puzzle elements in Midgard and Vanaheim.
• Fixed a case where a companion action audio cue was missing during the mini-boss encounter during the quest “The Quest for Tyr.”
• Fixed a case where the shield bash audio cue was mixed too low and difficult to hear.

PS4 Specific

• Improved loading time of enemies in certain locations.
• Improved environment loading times when traversing the world.

First, let’s look at the different bows and what they do.

• Talon Bow – Available at the start. Grants Hunter’s Insight, where melee attacks and bow shots deal increased stun damage.
• Jotnar Bow – Acquired in Jotunheim during “The Lost Sanctuary.” Grants Warrior’s Instinct which causes Runic Arrows to deal increased status damage.
• Aesir Bow – Acquired in Asgard during “The Runaway.” Grants Ranger’s Resolve, which reduces the cooldowns on bow abilities and Runic Summons.

Next up are the various bow abilities that Atreus can equip:

• Stinging Barrage – Available at the beginning, it fires a barrage of arrows.
• Sharpshooter Stare – Unlocked by defeating the Bergsra Mother in “The Lost Sanctuary,” it increases the power of each arrow shot.
• Splintered Sigil – Unlocked in Asgard from opening a Legendary Chest during “The Runaway.” It causes Sigil Arrows to split and hit all enemies.
• Falling Sky – Unlocked in Helheim from a Legendary Chest in “Unleashing Hel.” It fires Sonic Arrows that rain down in an area.

Companions can equip Accessories which augment their abilities in unique ways. Let’s take a look at all of them here.

• Sonic Aftershock – Unlocked after speaking to Freya in “Old Friends.” Causes melee attacks against Sonic-afflicted enemies greatly increase stun damage.
• Rune-Engraved Release – Obtained from a Legendary Chest in Alfheim in “Groa’s Secret.” It causes the first Runic Arrow in a full quiver to deal a lot more damage.
• Sonic Attunement – Obtained in “The Lost Sanctuary” when collecting roots. Greatly increases status caused by Sonic Arrows.
• Runic Potency – It’s available to craft at the start of “The Reckoning” from the Huldra Brother’s workshop. It significantly increases the status from Runic Arrows when Runic Summons are on cooldown.
• Runestone Refinement – Available to craft at the start of “The Reckoning” from the Huldra Brother’s workshop. Grants a refund of three Runic Arrows after using a health or Rage stone while greatly reducing Runic Summon cooldown.
• Sigil Amplification – Available to craft in “The Reckoning” from the Huldra Brother’s workshop when returning to Freyr’s Camp. Significantly increases status inflicted by Sigil Arrows.
• Runic Recharge – Unlocked in Asgard during “The Runaway” from the wardrobe. Restores all Runic Arrows after killing an enemy with a Runic Arrow.
• Runic Capacity – Obtained from a Legendary Chest in Asgard during “Into the Fire.” Refills all Runic Arrows and empowers them temporarily when using Runic Summons.
• Reckless Empowerment – Available to craft at the Huldra Brothers’ workshop when starting “The Word of Fate.” It greatly increases all damage dealt when Runic Arrows are completely depleted.
• Sigil Punishment – Obtained from a Legendary Chest in The Lost Treasury at the Lake of Nine during “The Word of Fate.” It causes enemies afflicted by hex to take bonus damage from melee attacks.
• Nocked Proficiency – Obtained from a Legendary Chest in Niflheim after “The Realms at War” is completed, it fires an additional arrow after every third Runic Arrow.

While Atreus has bows, Freya can use Swords. She only has two – Thrungva and Mardoll – so let’s go over them quickly here.

• Thrungva – Available after “The Reckoning” is complete. Grants Weighted Blade, which causes melee attacks to inflict stun on enemies.
• Mardoll – Obtained as a reward after completing the “Freya’s Missing Peace” Favor. Grants Asgardian Edge, causing melee attacks to inflict Bifrost and strike faster.

We’ve gone over all of the different weapons that Kratos can equip and their various attachments and upgrades. But what about shields? There are five shields in the game, which include:

• Guardian Shield – Available at the beginning, but in a broken state. Talk to Brok when starting “The Word of Fate” to obtain the repaired version. Along with shield-checking enemies to break their guard, it can also parry and perform special counterattacks. At max level, it increases Defense by 130.
• Dauntless Shield – Unlocked from the Huldra Brothers’ workshop. Grants Shield Bash, which deals high stun damage when pressing L1 twice. Parrying stuns an enemy and empowers the next Shield Bash, with perfect parries increasing the latter’s potency. At max level, it grants 130 Defense and 26 Cooldown.
• Stone Wall Shield – Unlocked from the Huldra Brothers’ workshop. Blocking attacks charges it When fully charged, pressing L1 twice executes Shield Slam which can launch enemies. Also capable of blocking attacks that can guard break. It increases Defense by 130 and Vitality by 26 at the max level.
• Shatter Star Shield – Obtained from a Legendary Chest in Vanaheim during “The Reckoning.” Blocking charges the shield, and pressing L1 twice uses Shield Punch, which can knock enemies back. Shield Punch’s power is increased when fully charged, though blocking an attack will reduce some of the charge. If you use Shield Punch before an enemy’s attack lands, you can absorb it and gain a charged burst. At max level, it increases Defense by 130 and Runic by 26.
• Onslaught Shield – Obtained from a Legendary Chest in Helheim in “Reunion.” Grants Shield Rush where pressing L1 twice causes Kratos to charge into enemies and block attacks. When used from further away, it can launch enemies on hit. At max level, it increases Defense by 130 and Runic by 26.

Finally, let’s look at all of the shield attachments, their locations and upgrades:

• Rond of Volition – Unlocked at the start. When fully upgraded, it increases Defense by 29, Runic by 17, Vitality by 17, Cooldown by 17 and Luck by 17.
• Rond of Aggravation – Found in a Legendary Chest in Svartalfheim in “The Quest for Tyr.” Grants Riposte Rage Burst, where parries have a high Luck chance to grant Rage Burst. At max level, it increases Defense by 29, Vitality by 23, and Luck by 23.
• Rond of Expedition – Unlocked in Alfheim during “Groa’s Secret.” Grants Riposte Refresh, where interrupting Blue ring attacks or parrying grants a Blessing of Cooldown. Increases Defense by 29 and Cooldown by 34 when fully upgraded.
• Rond of Affliction – Found in a Legendary Chest in Alfheim in “Groa’s Secret,” but requires completing the “Secret of the Sands” Favor. Grants Strike of Affliction where a damage elemental explosion is caused when using Shield Strikes against enemies affected by statuses. At max level, it increases Defense by 29, Runic by 23 and Cooldown by 23.
• Rond of Restoration – Discovered in a Legendary Chest in Vanaheim during “The Reckoning.” Grants Restoring Shield, where taking damage provides a Luck chance for gaining Defense and the next Sheld Strike to grant health on hit. The lower one’s health, the higher the chance of it triggering. When fully upgraded, it increases Defense by 29 and Vitality by 34.
• Rond of Deflection – In “The Word of Fate,” it can be crafted at the Huldra Brothers’ workshop. Grants Agile Deflection for increasing the timing window for parries. Increases Defense by 29 when fully upgraded.
• Rond of Purification – Found in a Legendary Chest in Midgard during “The Word of Fate.” Grants Contagion Discharge, where Shield Strikes cleanse Frost, Burn, Poison, or Bifrost, and deal the same damage type to enemies. Increases Strength by 34 and Defense by 29 when maxed out.
• Rond of the Nine Realms – Unlocked by completing the Favor “For Vanaheim” in Vanaheim. Grants Riposte Realm Shift, where parrying has a low Luck chance to cause a Realm Shift. When fully upgraded, it increases Defense by 29 and Luck by 34.
• Rond of Disruption – Unlocked in Vanaheim by completing the Favor “A Stag for All Seasons.” Grants Elemental Storm, where interrupting Blue ring attacks or parrying has a low Luck chance to generate an Elemental Storm. At max level, it increases Defense by 29, Runic by 23 and Luck by 23.
• Rond of Absorption – Available at Sindri’s House after completing “Unlocking the Mask.” Grants Defender’s Momentum, where blocking or parrying increases the Permafrost, Immolation, and Maelstrom gauges. Increases Defense by 29 and Runic by 34 when fully upgraded.
• Rond of Fortification – Unlocked from the Wishing Well in Vanaheim after throwing Crystalline Shards. Grants Fortification. After blocking for several seconds, it creates a high Stun explosion on the next block or Shield Strike. Increases Defense by 63 when maxed out.
• Rond of Obliteration – Unlocked by completing the Favor “Defend Your Valor” and defeating Gna in Muspelheim. Grants Shards of the Valkyrie. Blocking for several seconds will charge the shield. Press L1+L3 afterwards to fire a volley of Valkyrie shards.

God of War Ragnarok is available for PS4 and PS5. For more details, check out our review here.