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In God of War Ragnarok (GoW Ragnarok), you can unlock weapon skills to provide unique abilities and effects for each of Kratos' armaments and companions. Read on to learn about the best skills to unlock and prioritize from the early game until the endgame!
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| Best Skills | Best Runic Attacks | Best Relics |
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List of Contents
| Skill | Evaluation |
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Evasive Storm and Whirling Storm are extremely useful early on because they let you chain attacks off your dodges. They're good ways to ensure that your defense translates well into offense when blocking and parrying aren't viable in a fight. |
| Permafrost is a great way to reliably apply Frost early on. The added control in fights is crucial, especially in higher difficulties. | |
| Glacial Rake let's you chain attacks for faster Permafrost buildup. The AoE range is decent as well, allowing you to flinch grouped up enemies with ease from up-close. |
Kratos' Leviathan axe already has solid range capabilities by default. Ensure a smoother ride across the early stages of the game by bolstering its melee capabilities.
| Skill | Evaluation |
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Whirlwind Throw and Whirlwind Sweep allows you to cleave through multiple enemies with solid combos that deal high damage. The former is especially useful for those vulnerable to airborne attacks. |
| Glacial Permafrost is a direct upgrade to its early-game predecessor. This skill grants you a burst of damage for a few seconds, vital for getting out of dire situations or finishing off tough enemies. | |
| Frozen Lance must also be prioritized due to how insane the damage of this skill can be when used at the right times. The knockback is also strong enough to break enemy guards, while the Frost adds more control in scrappy fights with multiple enemies. |
Our midgame recommendations enhances Kratos' ability to deal with groups of enemies. This is important as enemy density picks up once you clear the early parts of the game.
| Skill | Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Frost Awaken IV lets you instantly recharge Frost Awaken after any attack, this gives you the advantage of buffing each of your attack with Frost to build up a Status Effect on your enemies. | |
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Instead of having to wait a few seconds for the Leviathan Axe comes back to your hands after a ranged attack, Returning Whirlwind and Returning Storm recalls the Axe much faster and already adds an attack at the moment the Axe returns to your hand. |
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The very last skills of the Melee Tree, the Pride of the Frost skills connect attacks and transform them into combo finishers, with the latter further extending the combo by letting you spam two more Heavy Attacks. |
Our endgame recommendations for the Axe is focused more on making combat a bit more streamlined with faster weapon recalls, faster weapon ability charges, and enhanced combos and finishers.
| Skill | Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Evasive Embers lets you attack and apply Burn right after you attack. This is great as fights that require you to use Blades of Chaos more than the Leviathan Axe tend to be scrappy. This skill lets you keep up with the tempo of the fight, regardless of how aggressive enemies get. | |
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Hyperion Grapple I and Blazing Explosion I are great pickups to prioritize as they increase the effectiveness of your ranged attacks and grabs with the Blades of Chaos. The former is effective at breaking stuns and controlling enemies from afar, while the latter lets you build Burn on multiple enemies from a safe distance. |
| Immolation lets you build up Burn stacks through continuous attacks, which is great for finishing off enemies as fast as possible during scrappy fights. |
The Blades of Chaos excel at AoE damage and Damage-over-Time. With this in mind, we recommend using this weapon to pick off key targets and break frost resistances as fast as possible with strong damage bursts and Burn buildup.
| Skill | Evaluation |
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Hyperion Grapple II and Blazing Explosion II are direct upgrades from their predecessors. These upgrades add significantly more AoE damage to your Blades of Chaos. Perfect for the increased enemy density of the midgame! |
| Lastly, Furious Immolation takes your immolation buildup over the limit, granting you even more damage and increased Rage generation while active. | |
| Plume of Chaos lets you destroy enemies in one powerful combo. We recommend launching enemies first before starting this combo for maximum damage. |
Mid-game recommendations for Blades of Chaos mostly consist of direct upgrades from the early-game selections. This results in even more Burn buildup, with the addition of increased Rage generation.
| Skill | Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Flame Whiplass II lets you instantly recharge Flame Whiplash after any attack, this gives you the advantage of buffing each of your attack with Burn to build up a Status Effect on your enemies. | |
| The Scorched Earth tree focuses more on dealing AoE damage on top of the melee damage it does to its target. The Tier III version of Scorched Earth not only increases the damage dealt, but also increases the range of the fire hazard from the AoE after-effect of the attack. | |
| The Scorched Sweep tree focuses more on Melee Damage across a wider range as the Blades sweep side to side. The Tier III version of Scorched Sweep not only increases the damage dealt from each sweep, but also increases the range the blades can extend to. |
Our endgame recommendations for the Blades of Chaos is focused more on making combat against larger groups more manageable with enhanced combos, and stronger AoE damage.
| Skill | Evaluation |
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These two Maelstrom skills function in the same way as Permafrost does for the Axe and Immolation does for the Blades. They amplify the power of the Spear enhancing melee and runic attacks once fully charged. |
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This skill tree is pretty straightforward, it adds another spear that Kratos can set up and prime for detonation. It makes it easier to deal additional damage output from a safe distance. |
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Pressing or holding the Ability button when you have purchased these skills increases the strength of your detonations, thereby dealing more damage to marked enemies. |
The mid-game skill recommendations for the Draupnir Spear focuses more on establishing the key strengths of this weapon: ranged attacks and detonation abilities.
| Skill | Evaluation |
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These two skills work in tandem, building up the speed of your spear throws and adding a follow-up explosion upon detonation of your throws. |
| This skill makes it easier for Kratos to drive back enemies and works better against singular boss enemies as it creates a safer distance for you to launch more ranged attacks. | |
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The last two skills from the Melee Tree, the Rising Wind skills act as a last resort should an enemy be able to close the distance made by the ranged attacks that pushes an enemy backward. |
Our endgame recommendations for the Draupnir Spear focuses more on enhanced ranged combat while not sacrificing up-close melee attacks should the need arise.
| Skill | Evaluation |
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| Watchful Protector can act as a lifeline for Kratos in dire situations. While not the most reliable skill in the world, it can make or break a fight when it procs at the right time. Consider picking it up early, but try not to put yourself in situations where you absolutely need it to activate — treat it as a bonus. | |
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Strangle Hold I, Breaching Bash, and Focus Volley are great pickups in the once you unlock the rest of Atreus' skill trees in the Old Friends quest. These skills added lockdown, bashes, and extra damage during the fight, which help greatly Kratos in taking down tougher opponents. |
| Sonic Potency is great for added crowd control in large fights. You'll be spamming Atreus' arrows anyway, so the added explosion radius will be a huge boon from the get-go. |
Atreus in the early-to-mid game mostly contributes in the same way as the 2018 game when it comes to fights. Consider him as an extra body to pull aggro off and supplement Kratos' offense.
| Skill | Evaluation |
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The three Eagle Eye Skills all have the ability to slow down Atreus' perception of time making it easier to land arrows without worrying about a fast moving enemy |
| The last skill in Atreus' Hex Archery Tree, this skill adds a follow-up explosion to all Hexed enemies when an elemental explosion is triggered. | |
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The two Reversal Skills allows Atreus to perform quick counter-attacks when a successful Parry is done. This makes it more rewarding to perform Parries as it guarantees an uninterrupted hit afterwards. |
Unlike the 2018 version of Atreus that is merely used as a distraction in fights, Atreus in Ragnarok is more determined and competent in battle able to hold off enemies on his own. Our endgame recommondations for Atreus makes him a better over-all fighter especially in parts of the story where you play as Atreus.
| Skill | Evaluation |
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These skills offer good crowd control as they temporarily immobilize enemies while also inflicing Poison on them, dealing damage over time. |
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As soon as Freya joins as your companion, it is highly recommended that you invest in her Valkyrie Skill Tree first, as it offers the most usefulness in battle in terms of damage output. |
| Freya can also use Runic Arrows like Atreus, however because of the introduction of her Hex Arrows, it certainly helps to have an extra arrow when exploring with her for the first time. |
Freya's early skillset is easily customizable to fit a player's need. We highly recommend these early-midgame selection of skills to enhance Freya's effectiveness as a companion.
| Skill | Evaluation |
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The final skills on the Valkyrie Tree further enhances Freya's combat abilities by increasing the damage Freya can do in her Valkyrie form. |
| The Vines of Exile can toy around with weaker enemies as each vine will independently grab and throw enemies across the field, making it an effective crowd-control skill against mobs. | |
| This skill in her Vanir Magic tree turns her roots into a ranged attack dealing higher damage than her arrows. |
Freya's endgame skills focus more on aiding Kratos in combat in terms of additional damage output. While you can choose to focus on her archery abilities much like Atreus, it is more recommended that you utilize her melee combat skills instead.
Best Skills For All Weapons
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