God of War Ragnarok Combat System Gameplay: How It Works

Updated:

22 Feb 2023

God of War: Ragnarok has taken the near perfect combat of the 2018 game and has somehow made it even better. Many people thought that the game did not look different enough from the previous installment in the series when the first few trailers came out, but everyone was pleasantly surprised and were left very satisfied with it.

While Sony Santa Monica didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel when it came to combat, they did just enough to differentiate it significantly from that of the previous game, to the point where if you went to play GOW (2018) after beating Ragnarok, it would definitely feel as if there is something missing.

So, let’s take a look at all the things in God of War: Ragnarok that make the combat work:

10. Axe and Blades changes

When starting out the game, players may take note of one main thing throughout their journey, especially at the start of the game, where the memory of playing the previous installment is still fresh in their minds. What this means is that it is almost clear straight from the jump that both the axe and blades have a much more limited moveset compared to the last game.

However, there is a reason for this. The main reason is that generally, the combat across all facets of gameplay in Ragnarok is more fleshed out, and the sheer amount of content in the game is way greater than before. Due to everything that has been increased in the game, it is only natural for some things to be toned down.

It is honestly up to each individual player to think of this as a good or bad thing. However, I hesitate to chalk this down as purely a net positive, because the blades and axe moveset is more limited than before. So, overall, thismay be seen as a bad change to the overall experience, but certainly has its reasons and doesn’t really take away from the whole thing.

9. Weapon Customization

Another thing that completely transforms the way that the combat can be tackled are the ways that you can customize your weapons. Though this is a feature that is also in the previous game, it is still a great one that deserves all the credit!

Throughout your entire journey, you will need to level up all your weapons and will come across many different pommels that can be equipped on each of the 3 main weapons that you will be using. Each pommel can be upgraded to max level 9, meaning that you can use 1 pommel for the entirety of the game if you want!

These pommels come with their own unique stats and effects that make them all different from one another. They even have different buffs, as in some can increase your overall defense or some can give your attacks more damage.

Overall, this is a very simple thing to be implemented in the game and one that is not entirely new, but it does make a significant impact on the combat. It is also a vital piece of the overall mechanics of how combat works, so this is a great feature. This feature was in the last game but wasn’t as deep or fleshed out as it is this time around.

8. Weapon Light Runic Attacks

Runic attacks are as central to the combat mechanics of the game as the very weapons themselves. They add way more depth to the combat than just hitting and dodging until the enemies health (or your own) is just fully depleted.

Light runic attacks are activated by pressing the L1 and R1 buttons together in order to do a quick move that does significantly more damage than the standard light and heavy attacks that you do. These attacks charge up fairly quickly, but some charge slower depending on how powerful they are.

These offer a more tactical approach to combat and are just plain fun to use! These are also, like the customization, not new features but are excellent additions to the overall package.

7. Heavy Runic Attacks

These attacks function almost exactly like the light runic attacks and overall, work on pretty much the same principles as well. However, they serve to add even more complexity to the gameplay. Each weapon in the game has the option for one light and one heavy runic attack to be equipped at a time, making the player think of the best time to use each in battle.

The heavy runic attack is activated by pressing the L1 and R2 buttons together in order to do a massively damaging attack that quite often has great range as well. The caveat of these attacks are that they take way longer to charge back up as compared to light runic attacks. So, you really have to time their uses well!

Overall, they too are a great aspect of the overall gameplay and combat loop of the game.

6. Shields

Shields in Ragnarok work both as defensive barriers and are even used as offensive weapons. At the start of the game, Kratos’s signature Guardian Shield is broken and he has to choose a replacement shield made by the Huldra Brothers. This introduces shield customization into the game.

Shield customization is quite varied and very fun to play around with as there are a total of 5 different shaped shields in the game and they all have unique characteristics and strengths. What this means is that some are good for parrying and some are just good to block attacks. The ronds for the shields work the same way as the pommels for the weapons, giving and strengthening stats to the shields and giving unique perks as well.

Overall, this is an amazing change as it brings more options for combat. These shields essentially act as an unofficial fourth weapon for the player to use in the game as they may do less overall damage but they build up the stun meter quite a bit, allowing for a powerful attack..

5. Armor Customization

This time around, armor is much more varied as compared to the previous installment in the game. Though the premise of the armor customization is the same with 3 pieces of armor being worn at once, the options available are just far more numerous.

Every armor piece can be bolstered further to the max upgrade level of 9 and each piece in the game has its own set of attributes, such as giving higher luck to deal bonus damage etc. While this may not seem like that much of a change, armor pieces can be mixed and matched with other pieces. This means that your build will be totally unique and will have multiple different effects and bonuses altogether.

This is a small change, but surely a welcome one.

4. Spartan Rage

Spartan Rage is back, better and scarier than ever before! The ability itself has improved greatly from the days of the original God of War trilogy, but Ragnarok makes it even better. What was once a terrifying rage mode that saw Kratos beating the absolute snot out of everyone with his bare hands has now evolved to be more efficient.

Now, Spartan Rage can be equipped in 1 of 3 ways: fury, valor and wrath. Fury is the standard rage burst from God of War (2018) where you keep hitting enemies and gain a smidge of health back with each successful hit. Valor is a new feature which sees you consuming a large amount of rage for a small increase in health. For Wrath, you consume a large amount of rage to deal a great amount of damage with your currently equipped weapon in 1 move.

This is one of the best changes that they have made to the overall combat of the game. In the previous game, people relied a lot on Spartan Rage, so it is really great to see that there are now different ways to use it in battle!

3. Special Ability and Companion Customization

In Ragnarok, the special ability is activated by pressing L1 and O together. This is just a small aspect of how the combat in this game is but it is still a great way to keep playing as it adds a further layer to the overall experience. This special ability ranges from things that do damage, to doing Bifrost damage to merely stunning opponents. Just a fun new tool to have.

The companion is one of the biggest parts of the combat experience in both of the new God of War games, but the companion in Ragnarok is just way more fleshed out. Now, you have both Freya and Atreus as your companions at different parts of the game, meaning each of them have their own special abilities and even voice lines and how they interact with both Kratos and Mimir!

This is an integral part of Ragnarok and is super important to the whole experience.

2. Amulet of Yggdrasil

The Amulet of Yggdrasil is one of the biggest new additions to the combat and gameplay of God of War Ragnarok and is one feature that has made itself so welcome that it is hard to imagine the moment to moment gameplay without it. You get an Amulet in the game that has jewel slots and the amulet itself can also be upgraded throughout your journey to include new slots.

There are a total of 9 slots which can be filled with jewels/tokens that give stat increases or buffs to Kratos. What’s even cooler is the fact that they are themed as belonging to any one of the 9 realms and each jewel gives you a unique perk for example, increase your luck stat or give your attacks more damage.

This is a very good feature of the game and is one whose absence can be very greatly felt if you ever play God of War 2018 after Ragnarok.

1. Draupnir Spear

What a weapon. This spear is by far the biggest and most impressive addition of all the combat mechanics that you can find in Ragnarok, without which combat just feels incomplete and empty.

After inventing an axe that can be recalled to the wielder's hand from anywhere at any time and giving a brand new take on the iconic Blades of Chaos, people weren’t sure how they could introduce a brand new weapon and make it seem unique. Sony Santa Monica put all worries to rest with the Draupnir Spear.

Made from the legendary golden ring, Draupnir, this spear is one that infinitely reforms itself and can be thrown infinitely as well and stick to places or opponents. The real magic comes where regardless of where the spears are, they can be manually detonated at the touch of a button! This coupled with its entirely new and extremely fun moveset means that combat is never like it has been before.

The Draupnir Spear has completely changed the way that this series is played from now on. This is an integral part of the entire Ragnarok experience and is so crucial to the overall way the combat system in the game works!