/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25697397/STK071_APPLE_N.jpg)
Announced at the 2023 Game Awards and released less than one full week later, Valhalla is a free DLC expansion for Santa Monica Studio’s God of War Ragnarok. Though it does contain its own unique story, the expansion is centered firmly around combat, encouraging players to summon their inner Spartan and let loose on wave after wave of enemies.
God of War Ragnarok: The 10 Best Armor Sets (& How to Craft Them)
The best armor sets in God of War Ragnarok can make combat much easier, though unlocking them can be a little tricky, as too can fully upgrading them.
Depending on the difficulty setting chosen by players, Valhalla can be pretty hard, especially when one’s still learning the ropes. The expansion’s roguelite elements may also confuse those who are unfamiliar with the genre, as it’s very different from what’s on offer in the base version of the game. However, with these Valhalla tips and tricks, God of War Ragnarok players should have no trouble achieving mastery.
1 Choose the Right Difficulty Setting
Much like the base version of God of War Ragnarok, the Valhalla DLC boasts five distinct difficulty settings, with more challenging settings providing players with additional rewards. Though some may be inclined to choose the lowest difficulty setting so as to be able to focus more on the expansion’s main story, doing so will make it much more difficult to increase Kratos’ stats. Thankfully, the difficulty setting can be changed freely between attempts and has no impact on the expansion’s Trophies, so players can adjust it on the fly to best suit their needs.
2 Change Shield and Spartan Rage Often
In addition to mastery, Valhalla also rewards adaptability, encouraging players to mix up their approach for each and every run. Temping though it may be to choose a shield and Spartan Rage option and then just stick with them indefinitely, there’s plenty of incentive to switch things up every time Kratos heads through the gates of Valhalla. For each attempt, a particular God of War Ragnarok shield and Spartan Rage option will provide players with special bonuses, including additional Mastery Seals for unlocking permanent stat upgrades for Kratos.
3 Spend Mastery Seals Wisely
The cost of permanently upgrading Kratos’ stats in Valhalla becomes progressively more expensive the more players unlock, so while it’s good to prioritize things like Health, Attack, and Defense, players should make sure that they’re not skipping over better value upgrades by doing so. Stuff like Starting Resurrection Stone, Health Looter, and Critical Health Regen can be worth their weight in gold on harder difficulty settings and are relatively cheap when compared to high-tier upgrades for the aforementioned stats.
4 Search Areas Thoroughly Before Leaving
A lot of the sanctuary areas that players find themselves in between waves have chests, but that’s not all that can be found in these areas. Players can also gain Fleeting Echoes and Mastery Seals by breaking pots and boxes, so it’s well worth searching thoroughly before moving on to the next area. It’s also a good idea to unlock the Mastery Seals Pot Increase skill from the Tablet of Influence as soon as possible, as this will increase the chances of Mastery Seals dropping and thus make it easier to permanently upgrade stats.
5 Spend Fleeting Echoes Often
As their name might suggest, Fleeting Echoes are lost at the end of each run. As such, it’s important that players spend them at Tablets of Endeavor whenever they get a chance. Found in every sanctuary area, these golden stones allow players to temporarily upgrade weapons, runic attacks, and other attributes for the rest of their current attempt; all of which can help to make life much easier for Kratos. It’s also a good idea to sink some Spirit Seals into the Echoes: Starting option at the Tablet of Influence, as this will allow players to start every run with a set amount of Fleeting Echoes already in their possession.
6 Always Have a Plan B
All of Kratos’ weapons in God of War Ragnarok play a little differently and have their own use cases, but most players will have a favorite. However, at the beginning of each run, they’ll be asked to choose a weapon path and then given upgrades and runic attacks for the one that they pick. They’ll still be able to use the other two weapons whenever they like and are encouraged to do so when the situation calls for it, but as there’s a one in three chance that players won’t be able to choose their favorite weapon, they should be prepared to main one of the other two whenever needed. The same goes for runic attacks, as players won’t always be offered the ones that they want.
7 Keep an Eye on Goals and Objectives
Early on in their Valhalla playthrough, players will unlock Goals. Viewable via the main menu, these tasks reward players with Mastery Seals, cosmetic items, and other great rewards upon their completion, thus making them very important to the overall experience. With this in mind, it pays to be mindful of which tasks are near completion so as to be able to work toward getting them crossed off the list a little quicker. Despite its roguelite roots, success in Valhalla is largely dependent on permanent upgrades, so finding ways to unlock these more quickly can make life a lot easier for players.
