In God of War Ragnarok, berserkers are optional bosses, defeating which is necessary to fulfill the request “Just for the King”, the achievement ” Cold welcome” and collecting a berserk armor set. To call them to battle, you need to find the graves of warriors and interact with them.
There are 10 tombstones in total, however, there are 13 berserkers themselves, since in some cases you will have to fight with two mini-bosses at the same time. You can fight twelve of them in any order, and the last one – King Hrolf Kraki – is unlocked only after killing them. The above trophy is issued for the king.
How to defeat the berserkers in God of War Ragnarok
General battle tips
All berserkers have different levels, so some of them can be defeated when going through the main storyline, and others only after obtaining and upgrading the most powerful weapons and armor. To understand how strong the enemy you are dealing with, you can by the color of their life bar:
- Green bar – the level of the enemy is lower than that of Kratos, so the battle will be relatively easy.
- Yellow bar – Opponent is the same level as Kratos, so the fight won't be easy.
- Orange bar – Opponent is one level higher than Kratos, so defeating him will be quite difficult, but still possible.
- Purple stripe – the enemy is two levels higher than Kratos, so it is almost impossible to defeat him (we do not recommend even trying).
- Red stripe – the enemy can kill you with one or two hits.
Thus, having found a tombstone, activate it and look at the enemy's health bar – if it is green or yellow, then you can safely take on his murder, and if orange, then think twice before attacking the berserker (it is better to return to him later after pumping the hero). However, the king will most likely be orange to you even after maxing out your character.
Further, we recommend that you definitely purchase a resurrection stone from the blacksmith and activate checkpoints during the battle. This option can be found in the following menu: Options -> “Convenience” -> “The battle”. Thus, you will create a checkpoint when you take down half of the boss's health. In case of death, you will again have a full life bar and a resurrection stone (even if you managed to use it), and the enemy will have 50% HP left.
Berserker tactics
When fighting any such opponent, try to use elemental strikes as often as possible (L1 + R1 or L1 + R2). Use the moves that have the shortest cooldowns for all three weapon types and level them up to level 3. Of course, you should choose attacks with a stun and high damage.
Among the relics, take the Blade of Death, which, when fully pumped, releases three bivriest chakrams at once. At the same time, he has a recovery speed of 85 seconds.
If using Spartan Rage while in Valor (health points are regenerated), try to time the healing correctly (when the enemy finishes hitting or is in the air) ) to prevent the boss from dealing a lot of damage to you. You can also press the “circle” to have your teammate shoot down normal enemy attacks with arrows, making it easier for you to heal.
Customize the Yggdrasil Amulet to your needs, but we still recommend placing the Evasion Emblem enchantment in it, which increases the range and speed of dodges (you will definitely need them). When you dodge, you should first use the shift (the “cross” button), and only then perform the roll.
Tips for fighting each berserker individually are given below. We also indicated their exact location there.
Where to find all the berserkers in God of War Ragnarok
Freakney the Furious
- World: Midgard
- Location: Lake of the Nine
You can fight her after completing the “Word of Destiny” story mission. From the Mystic Gate at the Lake of Nine, go left, heading north from the Temple of Tyr. There you will find the berserker's grave.
At long range, Frankney will either dash (cannot be blocked, but can be dodged and counterattacked) or jump up and perform a block-breaking attack, almost always followed by an unblockable blow from close range. Therefore, in the second case, you must first dodge two attacks and only then make a counterattack.
If you're close to the boss, he'll either throw a normal straight left that you can parry or block, or throw an unblockable attack followed by the same jab.
After her health drops, she begins to perform longer combo attacks (1-2 hits are added). We advise you to stay close to the ice wall so that after the dash, Frakney does not go too far, and you can quickly counterattack her. It's not worth the risk – hit her only after a parry/stun or a combo with her.
Bedwar the Furious and Starolf the Rough
- World: Svartalfheim
- Location: Jarnsmida Mines
You can fight them after completing the “Word of Destiny” story mission. Go to the Mystic Gate in the Core, and then move to the right. Go left and climb through the gap in the rock. Climb to the upper level and follow the main path to the right. Once you're outside, the berserker's grave will be right in front.
You will have to fight with two opponents at the same time. Bedwar uses two shields, and Starolf uses two swords, with the former more dangerous to Kratos than the latter. The fact is that he is able to break through your block with a flash of light, causing huge damage, as well as perform a charged attack with a shield that hits the area. Starolf will sometimes cling to walls and throw blades at you, but they are pretty easy to fight back.
If you focus on one enemy and kill him, the second boss will hit harder, so try to reduce their health at the same time . If it doesn't work, then try to kill Bodvar first (using all your abilities and techniques), and only then finish off Starolf.
In addition, health crystals will spawn throughout the arena, so we advise you to use Spartan Wrath instead of Rage or Valor.
< h3>Hartrefill the Soulless
- World: Svartalfheim
- Location: Nidavellir
You can fight him during or after completing the “Forge of Your Destiny” story mission. After descending the mountain on the cart, go down to the open area, and straight ahead you will find a tombstone.
This boss cannot boast of a large number of different attacks. At close range, he will unleash a flurry of barrages that can be either normal or able to break through a block. You can dodge or parry them and then counterattack. If you are standing far away from him, he will make dashes that break through blocks, and then switch to barrage attacks again.
Pay special attention to his jump attack, which is marked with a green smoke circle on the ground (the boss lands approximately one second after the indicator appears). Try to dodge immediately so as not to take significant damage. You can also immediately counterattack the enemy after landing.
After the life bar drops to half, Heartrefill will start making more flurry attacks and doing 2-3 jumps in a row. There will be no life crystals in the arena, so we advise you to take Spartan Valor.
Beygad the Terrible
- World: Svartalfheim
- Location: Alberich Island
You can fight him after completing the “Word of Destiny” story mission. Return to the Mystic Gate in the Watchtower, and then sail north to Alberich Island. The berserker's grave is located on the beach you land on.
Beygad is powered by lightning, so he has a lot of ranged attacks, some of which are unblockable. With one of these attacks, he will throw four fireballs at Kratos, and with the other, he will strike lightning all over the arena (risk zones will be shown on the ground). These attacks can be dodged with dashes.
If lightning still hits you, then quickly click on the “circle” to exit the stun state. This boss will also have a jump attack (he lands 1-2 seconds after the circle appears on the arena) – carefully time your dodge.
There will be no health crystals in this battle, so you should act as carefully as possible. You also won't be able to be hyper-aggressive, because the enemy will try to keep his distance from you. We advise you to use long-range attacks whenever possible.
Sisters Illsky and Svipdag the Cold
- World: Alfheim
- Location: Plains
You can fight them after completing the “Word of Destiny” story mission. From the passage to the Plains, go to the westernmost point of the area to find a place surrounded by banners and pillars. Right in the middle of this zone, you can find a berserker grave.
Here you will have to fight with three opponents at the same time, however, the Illsky sisters (reinforced with ice and fire) will receive one health scale for two. Svipdag uses two axes. From the sisters, expect homing fireballs and ice arrows, as well as punches enhanced by fire or frost. Sometimes they will perform unblockable jump attacks that deal splash damage – watch for circles on the ground and dash in time.
We advise you to deal with the sisters first (immediately use all your abilities and Spartan anger against them), and only then take on Svipdag. The latter can strike with normal blows and swings that destroy the block, as well as perform a jump attack. Her moves are relatively easy to dodge.
Hjalti the Unperturbed
- World: Alfheim
- Location: Forbidden Sands
You can fight her after completing the “Word of Destiny” story mission. Once in the indicated location, immediately go to the left and move forward along the left edge of the area – soon you will find a tombstone.
We advise you to stay near Hyalti at all times, as she has one nasty shield attack that deals massive damage, but is only used when Kratos is away from her. Most melee attacks can be dodged, blocked, or parried.
If you use all runic abilities and skills of your partner at once, and also activate Spartan Wrath, you can stun the boss for a short period of time.
Hvitserk the Valiant
- World: Vanaheim
- Location: Hermit's Wharf
You can fight him after completing the “Word of Destiny” story mission. Head to the Mystic Gate in the Delta. Get on the boat and swim along the river to the right to find Hermit's Landing. The berserker's grave is located right on the beach.
This enemy deals poison damage and summons minions (you can not waste time on them, as the boss will constantly revive them). Most of his attacks are ranged, with four poison projectiles and a kamikaze mob unblockable, so you'll have to dodge a lot.
The boss's henchmen and ranged attacks will constantly overwhelm you, forcing you to play defensively. The best way to defeat him is to attack with everything you have (Rune abilities, Partner skills and Spartan Wrath) in order to quickly deal maximum damage to him. With this attack, you should destroy at least a quarter of the boss's health, which will allow you to finish him relatively easily.
Haklangr the Bearded
- World: Vanaheim
- Location: Wells
You can fight him after completing the “Beasts of Prophecy” story mission. From the Mystic Gate at the entrance to the Wells, get to the boat, and then swim to the right. Follow this path until you find a place where you can moor the boat. Get ashore, climb the stairs, turn around and jump across the gap to find the berserker's grave.
This boss will be able to cover himself with a shield – to destroy him, use a weapon with the opposite element or the Draupnir spear. All enemy attacks either break through the block or are not blocked at all, so you will need to dodge or parry them. If you see that the enemy raised the hammer above his head and holds it in this position for 3-4 seconds, then it means that he will soon make his most deadly attack, hitting the area. Run away from the boss as quickly as possible or dash back 2-3 times.
The lower his health bar, the more hits will appear in his combo, and attacks on the ground will begin to occur much more often. Basically, you will have to constantly dodge and look for the right moments to counterattack.
Skjohendi Strike
- World: Niflheim
- Location: Foggy Fields
You can only fight her after completing the “Battle of the Worlds” story mission. Once in the indicated location, go down to the path located on the lower level. Once you've done that, turn right and you'll have a berserker's headstone directly in front of you.
Skjohendi the Striker is likely to be the most powerful berserker outside of the king, as she attacks with a Bifrost and is able to move quickly around the arena using teleportation. We advise you to place the Bifrost Remedy and Celestial Panacea enchantments in the amulet to reduce the threat from Bifrost. You should also install the Elemental Siphon II ability on Draupnir's spear to gain temporary resistance to Bifrost.
Most of the boss's attacks can be dodged or blocked/parried. The biggest danger comes from her unblockable Bifrost, which can instantly kill you on high difficulty levels. If you see an enemy hovering above the ground, then immediately throw a spear or ax at him to interrupt his attack.
On top of all this, the Skjohendi will constantly teleport all over the court, making it harder for you to combo hits. It can also prevent you from successfully landing a move (L1 + triangle) or a Spartan Wrath attack if you launch it at the wrong time.
You can either try to play aggressively by immediately using all your abilities and moves after teleporting the boss, or play more carefully, seizing the moment to attack. In any case, a tough battle awaits you.
King Hrolf Kraki
- World: Midgard
- Location: King's Tomb
It will be possible to fight with him only after detection and destruction all previous 12 berserkers. Go to the Mystic Gate of the specified location and turn left. You will find this grave around the corner in a circular arena.
Get ready for the toughest battle of all. We highly recommend that you do not engage in a fight with this boss until you pump Kratos to level 9. You can also lower the difficulty in Options. We told more about the battle with this enemy in the guide for the quest “Just Just Right for the King”.
