The God of War Ragnarok weapons are so satisfying to use, even during the game’s freezing Fimbulwinter-struck realms. They can cleave an enemy in two, make a pinpoint distant strike or subdue entire hordes in a fiery whirlwind. This is good news because those enemies just keep on coming in the game with more enemy variety.
Luckily, the weapons have a range of properties and enhancements that can each be tailored to your personal playstyle. Below, you can find an overview of them, including new additions you pick up on main missions and quests. Do keep in mind though that there are spoilers below for the main story, specifically when you meet The Lady of the Forge. So, if you don’t want to be spoiled wait until you reach her.
God of War Ragnarok Weapons
God of War Ragnarok has four main weapons:
- Leviathan Axe
- Blades of Chaos
- Draupnir Spear
- Shield
Leviathan Axe
The Leviathan Axe is a large two-handed axe available from the start of the game! The Leviathan Axe was made by master armourer brothers Sindri and Brok for Laufrey (known as Faye) Kratos’s half-giantess wife and the mother of Atreus. After her death, Faye left the Axe to Kratos.
The Leviathan Axe is designed for precision attacks. It has three key properties. It can be thrown to land powerful blows and then quickly recalled, it can freeze enemies and objects in place, and it can be charged to deliver a succession of concentrated attacks. The Leviathan Axe’s freeze ability is a handy way to subdue fiery challengers.
The Leviathan Axe’s precision is best used in encounters with larger individual enemies (e.g. trolls). The Axe has its own set of light and heavy attacks, which concentrate runic power to increase deadly force. Light attacks are great at ploughing through enemies delivering health and frost damage and increased stun effects.
The Leviathan Axe can be used on waves of enemies if needed, especially its heavy attacks, which include an icy ground slam with multiple enemy stun capabilities. Watch out for cooldown times on heavy attack usage and remember that throwing the Leviathan Axe is awesome, but it can’t be used again until it’s recalled! The pommel can also be upgraded to increase strength, and runic power or to increase the chance to weaken enemies.
Blades of Chaos
The Blades of Chaos are available from the start of God of War Ragnarok. They are a pair of fiery chained blades obtained midway through God of War (2018). Imbued by the flames of the underworld, the Blades of Chaos were made by the god Ares, who gave them to Kratos as a reward for his warmongering skills before murdering Kratos’s family. In disgust, Kratos buried the Blades when he moved to the Norse pantheon of gods.
But, in God of War Ragnarok, Kratos fully embraces the Blades of Chaos. With a large reach, the Blades are most effective at dispersing crowds. Once equipped, Kratos can whip the charged blades to stun enemies, or wrap and pull them towards him. It goes without saying that the Blades of Chaos are particularly effective against icy enemies.
The Blades of Chaos can be equipped with light and heavy rune attacks. Each attack has the ability to damage, stun or burn opponents. However, these have lengthy cooldowns between uses, so watch out for longer cooldown times on more powerful attacks. Light attacks involve a flurry of movement that ends in a ground slam, and heavy attacks deliver a bone-shaking ground pound, typically.
The Blades of Chaos can be upgraded and the pommel can also be fitted with different grips upping the chance of receiving buffs and enhancements. Perks include increased burning to enemies, strength power-ups or health bonuses.
Although each of the God of War Ragnarok weapons is capable of dispatching enemies alone, the most effective way to use them is in tandem. God of War Ragnarok introduces many new enemy types which can swarm and launch projectiles. Equipping the Blades of Chaos to draw enemies near, then swapping to the Leviathan Axe to strike a death blow, gets the job done quickly and with less damage taken as a result. A strategy that worked in the 2018 game as well. Switching weapons also helps to keep up the pressure on enemies while you are waiting for cooldowns.
Draupnir Spear
The Draupnir Spear is the one new weapon type in God of War Ragnarok. This weapon, which is unlocked at the start of act 3 of the game is a stun-building alternative to the frost power and firepower of the axe and blades. The Spear is able to build up stun quickly and effectively with its attacks, while also offering a long-range option.
Throwing the spear allows you to embed it within enemies and then detonate each spear to cause an explosion. The detonation and the number of spears you can throw can be upgraded. The spears do a surprising amount of damage and are able to stun an enemy or kill them outright.
In addition to that, the Draupnir Spear also offers a siphon. This siphon attack, allows you to draw an enemy’s elemental damage into the spear, allowing you to deal that damage yourself. For example, if you use the attack on an Aesir, your spear will now deal Bifrost damage.
Overall, the spear can easily become your new main weapon in God of War Ragnarok due to its flexibility and power. And, while it doesn’t deal elemental damage, a smart use of its siphon ability can be just as good, alongside ranged and area-of-effect Runic attacks.
Shield
Returning from the previous game, Kratos has his trust shield by his side. Able to block attacks and parry, the shield is his saving grace in a fight against a tough boss or a challenging enemy.
In God of War Ragnarok, though, there are a total of five different shields you can equip. These are the Onslaught Shield, Shatter Star Shield, Dauntless Shield, Stone Wall Shield, and Guardian Shield.
The Guardian Shield is the shield from the first game which returns in all its glory, while the Onslaught and Stone Wall Shield offer more defensive, larger shields which can either block attacks or make you tankier. The Shatter Star and Dauntless shields though are faster, reflex-based shields that offer more of a risk-and-reward playstyle.
That covers our rundown of the God of War Ragnarok weapons. For more on the game and an overview of what you can expect when you jump in, check out our guide to the God of War Ragnarok realms you will visit. And, if you want an overview of the core and side characters, our guide will also help you out!