Best rune attacks in God of War Ragnarok

This guide will tell you which rune attacks in God of War Ragnarok are the best.

Runic attacks are another tool in Kratos’ arsenal, which has become a huge one in God of War Ragnarok. They’re essentially special weapon abilities: you can launch waves of ice with your axe, spin the Blades of Chaos to fend off hordes of enemies, or unleash a stunning blast that will stop even the most high-level enemies in their tracks. All of the rune attacks are fun to play with – the effects are bright and beautiful, but some of them are also incredibly powerful. When fighting Berserkers, we quickly learned, it’s easy to learn how rune attacks differ from the rest.

Almost all rune attacks are optional, meaning you can easily skip them. Only one of them is found as you progress through the story. The rest are hidden in Legendary Chests or rewarded by completing a quest.

How to equip rune attacks: open character menu – select weapon type – select heavy rune or light rune.

Table of Contents

Leviathan Axe

Light rune attack: “Hel’s Touch“. one of the most useful rune attacks. Instantly releases an explosion that throws enemies away. This works on both bosses and berserk spirits.

Location: Burrows | Alvheim – The underground area of the Forbidden Sands is a must-visit location to free the giant creature underground. In a large hive far underground, find an archway to climb up to the left of the orange crystal of the hive substance. From the archway, throw your axe so that it bounces off the Twilight Stone above.

Heavy Rune Attack: “Breath of Thamus”: Raise your axe to summon a powerful gust of cold, damaging enemies in all directions. Very useful to clear a path or give yourself a break in a big boss battle.

Location: Raven Tree | Niflheim – Reward for opening the fourth chest at the Raven Tree. Requires you to find 28 ravens. For more information on finding ravens, read the link.

Blades of Chaos

Light Rune Attack: “Fury of Furies”: unleashes a barrage of spinning attacks on the enemy. A classic trick from earlier games in the series.

Location: Temple of Vanir | Alvheim – can be found behind a locked door in the ruins of the arena behind the drawbridge. To open the gate, go through the door in the next room and turn right. Burn through the vines and break the seal through the narrow gap in the stone.

Light Rune Attack: “Hades’ Retribution”: quickly strikes a single target, inserting an incendiary bomb that explodes after a short delay.

Location: Temple of Light | Alvheim – After grabbing the anchor points placed by Thur in the temple, continue up the path until you find a small ledge to jump off of to the left of the path leading up. Jump off and turn right to find a large gate. Jump off on another small ledge to reach a hidden legendary chest.

Heavy Rune Attack: “Nemean Crush”: creates a shockwave that throws enemies away. Great for crowd control.

Location: Nora | Alvheim – located at the end of Nora’s favor. Save Hafguf, then jump into the room with the legendary chest before you leave. Open it to get this rune attack.

Draupnir Spear

Light Rune Attack: “Strike of a Thousand Soldiers”: A basic quick attack that deals high damage. Press [R1] to deal more damage.

Location: Shiny Bale | Helheim – After meeting the Hel-Traveler, you will move along the walls until you reach a chasm that you must jump over by sticking a spear into the wall. Use it to reach the legendary chest.

Heavy Rune Attack: “Artillery of the Ancients”: causes spears to rain down from the sky, covering the area with an area attack and leaving spears on the ground for Kratos to blast.

Location: Eastern Forest of Barry | Vanaheim – drops from a pair of mini-boss crocodiles that attack when you leave the Sky Wolf’s lair and return to Freyr’s Camp. You will also receive a drop of Flames of Chaos.