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Upon escaping Durlin’s mine in The Quest For Tyr,God of War Ragnarokhurls its players into a brand-new environment yet again. Fans of the previous gamewill recognize this area as the Shores of Nine, but Fimbulwinter has left it unrecognizable. To complete this chapter, Atreus must venture deep into the frozen mountains in search of Freya.
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God of War RagnarokkicksOld Friendsoff by giving the playercontrol of Atreus. It can be difficult to adjust to his fighting style, having spent the last two chapters as Kratos, but there are some benefits to using him. For one, he’s a lot less threatening than his father. Though this may not sound like a big deal, his approachable demeanor is necessary for what he plans to do.
Old Friends Intro
After taking a moment to rest at Sindri’s House, Atreus sneaks into the Mystic Gate and sets off for the Shores of Nine, Jormungandr’s domain. Sindri will lead the journey at the beginning of this chapter, so all the player needs to do is follow him.
After walking for a bit, Atreus will encounter an old gate that stops him from moving forward. Thanks tothe Sonic Arrowshe obtained in The Quest For Tyr, he canopen the gate by shooting the Soundstone platesattached to it.
He will need to keep following Sindri to progress the plot, but he can take a brief detour to open theRed Coffinatop the ledge to the right if the player wishes to obtain some crafting materials. Once the player has finished treasure hunting, Atreus will continue following Sindri into the next area until the intersection.
The path to the right is a dead end, so continuing left is the only way forward. Once the Soundstone at the end of the right path has been shot, Atreus will be able to return to the left path to destroy the obstacles in his way. The next area is crawling with Draugr, so it’s not a bad idea tosave the game before entering.
To fight using Atreus, the player will need tohold L2 while tapping either R1 to use regular arrows or R2 for Sonic ones. The longer L2 is held, the higher the damage output. This can take some getting used to, but thankfully,R1 and R2 can still be used independently to deal out physical hits.
Up to this point, players will likely have prioritized improving Kratos' armor instead of Atreus'. If the player is struggling because of this,Ragnarok’s difficulty setting can be changedin the pause menu. Once the Draugr have been dealt with, Atreus can progress into the next area by using a nearby lift. After leaving the lift, Jormungandr will appear.
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Finding Freya
A brief scene will play in which Atreus mocks the giant snake for his poor conversational skills. When the scene ends, the next task on Atreus' agenda is to meet with Freya and ask her for help. Upon reaching the next area, Sindri elects to stay behind to tend to the ruins of his shop. The rest of the journey sees Atreus exploring the Shores of Nine alone.
The way forward is riddled with Draugr, so it’s best to approach each area with caution. Though some can be picked off from a distance thanks to Atreus' bow, they can jump to where he is if the gap permits it. Navigating the icy tunnels isn’t overly difficult as the path is quite linear. However, the first Soundstone can be a challenge to figure out. The best way to deal with it is toshoot an arrow at the nearby fire potto get a better angle.
After the next Draugr hoard, Atreus will be faced with two different routes. The way left leads to aRed Coffin, while the path to the right marks the way forward. From here on, a new enemy known as the Nightmare will begin to attack.
The trick in beating them is to use ranged attacks, as getting too close will cause them to explode. Continuing forward will lead Atreus outside, where he finds the door he was searching for. He finds Freya shortly after scaling the side of a cliff, but she doesn’t seem pleased to see him.
Finding Sindri
Though Freya appears to have had a slight change of heart after conversing with Atreus, she refuses to join him on his quest to stop Odin. She tells him to leave, and though Atreus doesn’t want to, he obliges her request. Leaving this area requires Atreus to climb up a nearby chain, where he will discover a chest containingSonic Aftershock. After conquering the climbing section ahead, he will be reunited with Sindri.
Before they get the chance to leave, a giant Draugr breaks through a nearby ice wall before lunging an attack. The best way to deal with it is to stun it using Sindri’s throwables and attack when it’s down. A Nightmare appears alongside a Draugr after the giant Draugr is defeated, but they are laughably easy to beat.
After some walking, Atreus and Sindri emerge in the area where they found the lift. They get attacked by a hoard of Nightmares, but it’s easy to steer clear of them thanks to the size of the battle arena.
Aside from the Draugr, the path home is pretty straightforward. So long as the player follows Sindri, they will find themselves standing before the Mystic Gateway. They arrive back at Sindri’s House after exiting from the other side, where they learn Kratos has decided to journey to Alfheim in search of Groa, the Knowledge Keeper.
The Journey To Alfheim
Once the group has finished exchanging stories over a warm meal, the player will be granted control of Kratos. A kind-spirited squirrel named Ratatoskr shows up to offer some advice before Kratos leaves. Once he’s done chatting, a prompt will pop up advising the player to prepare well for Alfheim, as the journey will be challenging.
Those wishing to backtrack to complete the game’s side content can feel free to do so, but those who have already completed all there is so far can continue to the next chapter.Upon exiting the Yggdrasil, Kratos will find himself in Alfheim.
God of War Ragnarokis available now for PS4 and PS5.
