Vanadis (Freya) is a main story boss in God of War Ragnarok (GoW Ragnarok). Defeating her unlocks the trophy Backyard Brawl. Read on to learn about her attack patterns, rewards, and the best tips and strategies for how to beat Vanadis!

Vanadis Overview

Information

Vanadis (Freya)
Recommended Level	Level 2 (All Difficulties)
Trophy	Backyard Brawl

Unlocks Spartan Rage Valor

Defeating Vanadis unlocks Spartan Rage's alternative Valor Mode, which directly restores Kratos' health and negates incoming attacks when timed properly.
Spartan Rage: Upgrades and Information

Vanadis Location

Location Summary

Location Summary
Vanadís is encountered outside of Kratos and Atreus' home in Midgard before the start of The Reckoning.

The Reckoning Quest Walkthrough

How to Beat Vanadis

Vanadis Tips and Strategies
Always Close the Gap Parry Projectiles Twice Block Vanadis' Arrow Flurry Heal Yourself with Valor Frost Up the Leviathan Axe

Always Close the Gap

After getting hit by a long string of attacks, Vanadis tends to flee far away from Kratos and starts using her quick and deadly ranged attacks.

Close the distance with Vanadis as much as possible when she runs away to reduce the frequency of her bow shots and force her to use her more predictable melee strikes.

Maintain Damage and Stun with Atreus

Maximize your damage uptime and maintain Vanadis' stun meter from far away by commanding Atreus to shoot with his bow while you close the gap with the mysterious valkyrie.

Parry Projectiles Twice

When reflecting one of Vanadis' arrows with a parry, she will respond by sending it back toward Kratos with her own parry. Deflect the reversed arrow again to land a clean hit on Vanadis, causing her to stagger momentarily.

Block Vanadis' Arrow Flurry

Vanadis' Arrow Flurry attack comes out very quickly and has a decent amount of tracking. Instead of dodging or parrying her shots, we recommend blocking the arrows to avoid taking unnecessary damage during the fight.

Heal Yourself with Valor

Halfway through the fight, Kratos unlocks Spartan Rage's Valor Mode, which grants him an instant heal that can also negate incoming attacks when properly timed. Utilize this ability to keep your health topped up throughout the rest of the encounter.

Frost Up the Leviathan Axe

We recommend maintaining the Frost Awaken buff on your Leviathan Axe throughout the fight to slow down Vanadis. Doing this makes it easier to maintain and build up Vanadis' stun meter and predict her swift arrow shots and sword slashes.

Vanadis Attack Patterns

First Phase

Twin Slash Combo

Vanadis performs two horizontal slashes while rushing toward Kratos, with each hit dealing light damage on contact. Block or parry each strike to effectively deal with this combo.

Leaping Sword Slam

Vanadis holds her sword up high as she leaps toward Kratos, slamming it down on top of him to land an unblockable overhead slash. React to the attack's red circle indicator and evade sideways out of its path to avoid getting hit.

Flying Slash Rush

Vanadis spreads her wings before quickly flying toward Kratos to land two spinning slashes. This attack only occurs at farther ranges and has a distinct start-up animation, so be prepared to block or parry each slash as Vanadis rushes toward Kratos.

Sword Counter

Vanadis takes a defensive stance with her sword, blocking Kratos' next attack. If Kratos strikes her for a second time, she will instead parry the hit and counter with a jumping overhead slash that deals moderate damage and breaks Kratos' guard.

To effectively deal with this attack, use Kratos' Shield Bash or Shield Slam ability to break Vanadis' first stance or interrupt her blue-ring parry, leaving her open for a counterattack.

Spread Shot

Vanadis' left hand glows as she charges up and releases a conic spread of arrows toward Kratos. We recommend watching for Vanadis' glowing hand and parrying the incoming projectiles to deal with this attack efficiently.

Arrow Flurry

Vanadis aims her bow toward Kratos before quickly releasing a flurry of up to three arrows which deal moderate damage on hit. Each shot comes out very quickly and has a decent amount of tracking, so prepare to block them when they come out.

Later in the fight, Vanadis can end her flurry with a Spread Shot, so always be prepared for follow-up attacks when she performs this move.

Second Phase

In addition to her attacks in the first phase, Vanadis gains the following new attacks in her second phase.

Scattered Poison

Vanadis transmutes dirt from the ground into poisonous orbs, which she scatters around the arena. These orbs are unblockable projectiles and leave lingering poison pools on the floor, so dodge out of the attack's path and reposition away from the lingering poison to avoid getting hurt.

Quadruple Slash Combo

Vanadis winds up a heavy horizontal slash before following it up with three more strikes, with each hit dealing moderate damage on contact. React to the initial attack's yellow ring indicator and parry or evade each strike to deal with this combo efficiently.

Vertical Slash Combo

Vanadis performs a heavy upward slash before following it up with a delayed overhead strike, with each hit capable of breaking Kratos' guard. Watch for each strike's yellow ring indicator and time your parries and evades to avoid getting hurt by this combo.

Note that Vanadis can sometimes finish up this combo with an unblockable Leaping Sword Slam, so prepare to evade this follow-up attack when it occurs.

God of War Ragnarok Related Guides

List of All Bosses

Main Bosses

All Story Bosses
Bjorn	Thor
The Huntress	Dreki
Alva	Gryla
Vanadis (Freya)	Forest Ancient
Fiske	Nidhogg
Frost Phantom	Garm
Gulltoppr	Heimdall
Frost Ancient	Flame Phantom
Soul Eater	Hrist and Mist
Odin

Optional Bosses

All Optional Bosses
The Hateful	Slag Horn
Crag Jaw	Ash Tyrant
The Corpse Eater