God of War Ragnarok captivates players with its immersive storyline littered with epic boss battles. While the game balances difficulty fairly across the board, several optional and main story bosses stand out as truly challenging.
In this comprehensive guide, we will cover Ragnarok‘s 15 most difficult bosses, their attack patterns, and helpful tips to defeat them.
Overview of Ragnarok‘s Hardest Bosses
Ragnarok features a range of distinctive boss fights, from 1v1 duels to battling groups and legendary beasts. Players face off against Gods, giants, undead warriors, and other colossal entities with unique abilities and considerable power.
Here is a summary of the hardest bosses that even seasoned God of War veterans struggle against:
| Bosses | Location |
|---|---|
| The Hateful | Svartalfheim |
| Miklimunnr | Svartalfheim |
| Vanadis | Midgard |
| Gravel Belly | The Forbidden Sands |
| Garm | Helheim |
| The Crimson Dread | North-Western Vanaheim |
| Stinnr & Sterkr | Remnants of Asgard |
| Nidhogg | Yggdrasil‘s Roots |
| Thor | Midgard |
| Hrist & Mist | Asgard |
| Heimdall | Himinbjörg |
| Bodvar The Fierce & Starolfr The Troublesome | Svartalfheim |
| Maven | Alfheim |
| King Hrolf Kraki | Midgard |
| Gna | Muspelheim |
This list contains a healthy mix of optional and compulsory boss fights spread across the Nine Realms. While difficulty is subjective, these bosses are renowned universally for their complexity, high damage attacks, vast health pools, and general aggression.
Next, we provide an in-depth guide to defeating each of these epic confrontations in God of War Ragnarok.
Strategies for Beating Ragnarok‘s Hardest Bosses
Succeeding against Ragnarok‘s mightiest foes requires learning their movesets, targeting weaknesses, using appropriate gear, and mastering dodging/parrying.
Here are tips and tricks to overcome the hardest bosses:
The Hateful
The Hateful is an undead Draugr wielding a fiery axe that players face repeatedly during the Svartalfheim questline. With ranged and powerful melee attacks, it is among the earliest difficult fights in the game.
Attacks: Charged axe throws, ground fire eruptions, fiery axe strikes
Strategy: Dodge the axe combos, block the ranged attacks, and strike when The Hateful recovers from missed attacks. Charged axe throws can interrupt its powering up animation.
Gear: High strength axe pommels, Enchantments boosting defense
Miklimunnr
Miklimunnr is a Jötunn giant armed with a humongous stone pillar. In addition to crushing strikes, he also harnesses ice attacks. Miklimunnr has a vast health pool, making this an extended battle.
Attacks: Pillar strikes, ground pounds causing shockwaves, ice projectiles
Strategy: Keep moving and unleash charged axe throws to interrupt attacks and stun Miklimunnr. Use Spartan Rage when taking too much damage. Target the head.
Gear: High strength axe pommels, Enchantments prolonging Spartan Rage
Vanadis
Vanadis is the first Valkyrie boss in God of War Ragnarok, unexpected for many players. With wing attacks and teleporting prowess, Vanadis is unrelenting with melee combos if Kratos is within range.
Attacks: Wing slashes, magical projectiles, scythe strikes, combustion explosions
Strategy: Throw the Leviathan Axe to prevent her healing. Dodge the wing attacks and go on the offensive. Runic attacks can stun her.
Gear: High cooldown runic attacks, Enchantments boosting runic
Gravel Belly
Emerging from The Forbidden Sands, Gravel Belly is a colossal sand creature. Armed with biting and venom attacks, its moveset also includes seismic tail strikes spanning a wide radius.
Attacks: Venom spit, tail swipes, burrowing charges
Strategy: Dodge the venom attacks and block the tail strikes using the Guardian Shield. Use the Draupnir Spear to target the mouth. Enter melee range when Gravel Belly emerges from the sand.
Gear: Enchantments boosting luck and vitality
Garm
The ferocious Garm is a multi-stage boss fight regarded as one of the best in God of War Ragnarok. His biting attacks are lethal, and he aggressively pursues Kratos. Garm also harnesses ice projectiles.
Attacks: Charging bites, frontal cone ice attacks, claw swipes
Strategy: Throw the Leviathan Axe at the shining body parts during the second stage to stun Garm. Dodge his charges and close the gap to unleash melee attacks when he is recovering.
Gear: High strength axe pommels, Enchantments prolonging Spartan Rage
The Crimson Dread
The Crimson Dread is a dragon residing in Vanaheim with hard-hitting flaming attacks covering large areas. Being airborne allows it to perform swooping charges.
Attacks: Fire breath, aerial charges, meteor strikes
Strategy: Use the Blades of Chaos and keep distance. Dodge the aerial dives and closing charges. Unload Runic attacks when The Crimson Dread hovers temporarily.
Gear: Enchantments enhancing Runic and Vitality
Stinnr & Sterkr
Stinnr and Sterkr are a duo boss fight in the Remnants of Asgard against two Revenants wielding Bifrost-powered weapons. Their contrasting movesets and coordinated attacks make this battle intensely demanding.
Attacks: Bifrost projectiles, shockwaves, homing axe throws
Strategy: Separate the two bosses and focus on one Revenant, interrupting their attacks often. Parry the homing axes. Utilize Atreus and his abilities for breathing room.
Gear: Enchantments boosting Defense and Vitality
Nidhogg
Nidhogg is a ferocious dragon restricting access to the Yggdrasil roots. With venomous bites and Bifrost attacks, Nidhogg rapidly unleashes combos leaving little openings to counterattack.
Attacks: Bifrost projectiles, charges and pounces, venomous bites
Strategy: Dodge the charges and venom attacks using well-timed rolls. Wait for Nidhogg to finish combos before retaliating. Employ Atreus‘ healing arrows if struggling with the venom attacks.
Gear: Enchantments increasing Defense and Runic
Thor
The confrontations against Thor are epic clashes between Gods and considered the peak of melee combat challenges in God of War Ragnarok. Thor wields the powerful Mjölnir granting control over lightning and ice.
Attacks: Lightning projectiles, ice shards, melee combos with Mjölnir
Strategy: Dodge and counterattack between his combos. Throw the Leviathan Axe just before getting struck in melee range. Use Spartan Rage when health gets low. Atreus‘ arrows can interrupt Thor‘s attacks.
Gear: High cooldown Spartan Rage runics, Enchantments boosting Strength and Luck
Hrist & Mist
As Valkyrie warriors sent by Odin, Hrist and Mist together pose a formidable challenge. Employing wings and weapons respectively, players must fend off their coordinated attacks.
Attacks: Scythe and spear strikes, wing gusts, combustion magic
Strategy: Dodge Mist‘s spear combos and parry Hrist‘s wing attacks for openings to attack. Focus on one Valkyrie at a time. Atreus can use sonic arrows to interrupt their superarmor (uninterruptible state).
Gear: Enchantments boosting Defense and Runic
Heimdall
The all-seeing God Heimdall has a distinct first phase riding a beast. He then switches to swift sword and shield moves enhanced by chronokinetic powers (time manipulation).
Attacks: Slow projectiles, delayed melee blows via time magic, unblockable sword combos
Strategy: Keep distance initially and use the Draupnir Spear to remove the beast‘s armor exposing Heimdall. Dodge and parry his delayed strikes. Wait for his shield to lower before attacking. Atreus‘ sonic arrows can disrupt his time magic.
Gear: High strength Draupnir Spear pommels and runics
Bodvar The Fierce & Starolfr The Troublesome
Bodvar and Starolfr are the last Berserker challenges unlocked after completing the others. With powerful gear and separate health bars, their teamwork poses the ultimate battle.
Attacks: Shockwaves, homing projectiles, grappling attacks
Strategy: Separate and isolate each Berserker using Atreus and the environment. Parry their projectiles and grapples. Focus on one Berserker at a time. Minimize mistakes as there are no checkpoints.
Gear: Best available armor, Enchantments boosting Strength and Defense
Maven
Maven is a skilled Elven warrior regarded as the mightiest fighter in Alfheim. With rapid attacks via dual blades and polearm, Maven switches between ranged and melee offenses seamlessly.
Attacks: Leaping attacks with the polearm, cross blades spinning slashes, green magic explosions
Strategy: Parry her green magic attacks and dodge the spinning slashes to retaliate. Throw the Leviathan Axe when she is airborne. With no checkpoints, be patient learning her attack patterns.
Gear: High strength axe pommels and runics, Enchantments prolonging protective Barriers
King Hrolf Kraki
King Hrolf Kraki combines abilities used by all prior Berserkers unlocked. He is extremely aggressive with attacks altering traversal and preventing dodging.
Attacks: Fiery vortex trapping Kratos, delayed mace strikes, flurry sword attacks
Strategy: Memorize tells preceding his delayed strikes to time parries. Attack between his combos as his recovery time is limited. Atreus‘ arrows can briefly stun Hrolf. Consider defensive Enchantments providing damage absorption.
Gear: Best available Epic armor pieces and Enchantments
Gna
As queen of the Valkyries, Gna is unmatched in difficulty. With wings, sword, and spear, Gna rapidly switches between ranged and melee offenses leaving tiny openings to retaliate.
Attacks: Spear combos, wing gust projectiles, diving sword strikes
Strategy: Dodge her sword dive attack and parry the wing gust to counterattack. Use Spartan Rage only when she is recovering. Atreus‘ healing mist can offset damage taken. Stay alert and do not get cornered.
Gear: High cooldown Spartan Rage runics, Enchantments boosting Vitality and Luck
Final Tips for Ragnarok‘s Hardest Battles
While God of War Ragnarok scales well across various difficulties, its challenging bosses truly test combat mastery. Here are some final tips:
- Practice parrying – For several hard bosses, parrying opens windows to inflicted increased stun damage safely
- Level up weapons and armor – Upgrade the Leviathan Axe, Draupnir Spear and best armor sets before attempting hardest bosses
- Unlock skills – Maxing out weapon skills, Spartan Rage, Shield Combat and Atreus assist skills will pay dividends
- Use Runic attacks – High damage runic attacks should be used whenever bosses are vulnerable to quickly capitalize
- Have resurrection stones – Carrying extra revival stones allows a second chance against difficult bosses
With mastery over Kratos‘s combo potential, learning enemy attack patterns, and using power-enhancing gear, players will eventually conquer these epic battles in God of War Ragnarok!
