How to Beat Nidhogg: Boss Fight Guide

Nidhogg is a Main Story boss in God of War Ragnarok (GoW Ragnarok). Defeating her unlocks the trophy Root of the Problem. Read on to learn about her attack patterns, rewards, and the best tips and strategies for how to beat Nidhogg!

Nidhogg Overview

Information

Nidhogg
Recommended Level	Level 3 (All Difficulties)
XP Rewards	2000 Kratos XP (Give Me Balance)
Trophy	Root of the Problem
Bestiary Entry
I do not know why a creature such as this would be so devoted to guarding the roots of a tree, but she gave her life in their defense. Odin exploited Níðhögg's purpose—protecting the roots of the World Tree—to guard the curse he placed upon Freya. To use an otherwise innocent being's nature to lead it to destruction is a vile practice. I do not regret slaying Níðhögg to gain Freya's freedom... but how many others are in the unwitting service of Odin? How many more will lie dead because of it?

Rewarded Resources

Resource	Type
Frozen Flame x1	Weapon Upgrade

Rewarded Enchantments

Nidhogg Location

Location Summary

Enlarge
Location Summary
Nidhogg is encountered inside Freya's home past the Abandoned Village in Vanaheim during The Reckoning.

How to Beat Nidhogg

Nidhogg Tips and Strategies
Build Up Burn with Blades of Chaos Take Advantage of Freya's Sigils Use Shield Strike On Her Tail Watch Out for Glowing Body Parts

Build Up Burn with Blades of Chaos

While Nidhogg is immune to the Frost debuff, she is susceptible to Burn. Use Flame Whiplash to imbue your Blades of Chaos with fire and inflict Burn on Nidhogg to maximize your damage output throughout the fight.

Take Advantage of Freya's Sigils

Later in the fight, Freya will summon purple Sigils that amplify Kratos' attacks, knocking Nidhogg down. Always take advantage of these Sigils to maximize your damage output toward Nidhogg and progress the fight faster.

Use Shield Strike On Her Tail

When Nidhogg slams her tail into the ground to charge up her Bifrost Explosion attack, react to its blue ring indicator and use your Shield Strike ability to interrupt the beast and leave it open for massive damage.

Watch Out for Glowing Body Parts

When parts of Nidhogg begin to glow blue, this indicates that she will attack using that body part. Use Nidhogg's glowing body parts as an additional attack indicator to make her moves easier to predict.

Nidhogg Attack Patterns

First Phase

Claw Slam

Nidhogg winds up one of her claws before slamming it down on top of Kratos, dealing moderate damage and breaking his guard on contact. React to the attack's yellow ring indicator and dodge or parry the claw slam to avoid getting hit.

Lunging Bite

Nidhogg rears her head upward before lunging forward to take a bite out of Kratos, breaking his guard and dealing moderate damage on hit.

To deal with this attack, react to its yellow ring indicator and parry the incoming bite to stagger Nidhogg momentarily and leave her open for a counterattack.

Bifrost Scatter

Nidhogg imbues her claws with magic before slamming them down into the ground to scatter flames of Bifrost in front of her. This attack's initial slam is unblockable, so dodge out of its way and wait for the lingering Bifrost to dissipate to avoid taking damage.

Bifrost Wave

Nidhogg charges up one of her claws before sending an unblockable wave of energy toward Kratos, inflicting Bifrost and dealing moderate damage on hit. React to the attack's red ring indicator and evade sideways out of its path to avoid getting hurt.

Later in the fight, Nidhogg can use this attack twice in a row, so prepare to dodge again when follow-up Bifrost Waves occur.

Bifrost Explosion

Nidhogg slams her tail into the ground, charging it up with energy before releasing a massive unblockable Bifrost shockwave. The initial tail slam is unblockable, so dodge out of its way before interrupting the attack with a Shield Strike to leave stagger Nidhogg and leave her open for massive damage.

Second Phase

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

Triple Bite Combo

Nidhogg performs two quick bites before ending her combo with a Lunging Bite that breaks Kratos' guard on hit. To deal with this attack, react to Nidhogg's glowing head and block the first two hits before parrying the Lunging Bite to avoid getting hurt.

Slash and Wave Combo

Nidhogg quickly slashes one of her claws horizontally toward Kratos before following her attack with a Claw Slam and Bifrost Wave. Block the initial claw swipe before evading the latter two attacks to deal with this combo.

Swipe and Bite Combo

Nidhogg performs two horizontal claw swipes before ending her combo with a Lunging Bite that breaks Kratos' guard on hit. We recommend blocking the first two swipes and parrying the Lunging Bite to stagger Nidhogg and leave her open for a counterattack.

Third Phase

Nidhogg gains even more new attacks in the third phase of the fight.

Bifrost Laser

Nidhogg shoots out a Bifrost laser from her tail, sweeping it across the arena horizontally and then vertically. To deal with this attack, block the horizontal laser sweep and dodge sideways to avoid the vertical laser.

Bifrost Orb Barrage

Nidhogg releases up to three orbs of Bifrost from her tail, with each orb dealing moderate damage and breaking Kratos' guard on contact. We recommend evading or parrying each projectile while closing the gap toward Nidhogg to deal with this attack.

Realm Tear Tail Thrust

Nidhogg opens a realm tear before thrusting her tail into it up to three times, with each tail thrust slamming down into Kratos from above. React to each thrust's red ring indicator and dodge backward out of its path to avoid getting hurt by this attack.

Regurgitated Debris Scatter

Nidhogg opens her stomach, vacuuming debris from the environment. Afterward, she violently expels the rubble out of her mouth, scattering rocks toward Kratos that hit him multiple times.

Keep your guard up when this attack occurs to avoid getting hit by scattered debris.

Regurgitated Debris Orb

Nidhogg opens her stomach to absorb debris from the environment before releasing a massive unblockable orb of rubble from her mouth, dealing heavy damage on hit.

React to this attack's red ring indicator and dodge sideways out of its path to avoid getting hurt.

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