VOICE OVER: Johnny Reynolds WRITTEN BY: Johnny Reynolds
Script written by Johnny Reynolds
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re showcasing the 10 Hardest Bosses in God of War (2018). With “Ragnarok” nearly here, it’s time to revisit the deities and beasts that gave us the most trouble in the first Norse chapter. Other than Sigrun, which boss gave you the most grief? Share your pain in the comments below!
Helheim Bridge Keeper
By the time Kratos finds himself in Helheim, you’ve fought more than your fair share of trolls. We’d grown used to the attack patterns of the big brutes, but the one fought in the underworld has a few annoying tricks up its sleeve. For one, he can teleport, popping up next to Kratos to catch you off guard. He also has ranged attacks in the form of ice blasts, shockwaves, and energy spheres that will burst if you touch them. If that doesn’t annoy you enough, he’ll do one of our least favorite boss fight tropes and summon minions. While the physical attacks are easier to see coming, the Bridge Keeper has enough variety to keep you on your toes.
Róta
The Valkyries have a well-earned reputation for providing pretty tough challenges. Some of the most detrimental attacks they have in their wheelhouses are their grapples, either dragging Kratos across the arena’s floor or stomping their heel into his neck. Róta loves to use both, usually in quick succession or after other attacks, knocking off a lot of health in one go. This fight calls for constant movement and well-timed dodges; otherwise, Kratos will soon be in the dirt. Of course, she’s also got projectiles and uninterruptible combo attacks if her grapples aren’t cutting it. As long as your reaction time is up to snuff, Kratos will be fine. But if not, you’ll soon be cursing Róta’s name.
Grendel of the Ashes and Frost
What’s worse than a fight against a troll? Well, a fight against two obviously. Kratos and Atreus square off against these elementally infused behemoths inside Tyr’s vault. And since they’re guarding something incredibly important, they pack quite a punch. They don’t bring quite the same level of annoyance as the Helheim troll. But again, there are two of them, and one may attack you from behind if you're too focused on the other. They can also each produce darkness to hinder your vision. While Grendel of the Ashes can burn Kratos, his Frost counterpart can slow his movement. They don’t have nearly as much health as the Bridge Keeper, but they can certainly be a nuisance if you don’t stay alert.
Hraezlyr
Any time a dragon appears as a boss fight in a game, it’s required the developers make it tough to match its stature. While Hraezlyr isn’t the hardest dragon we’ve fought in a game, it still deserves recognition. The first phase isn’t too bad; he’ll surprise Kratos and Atreus inside the mountain, swiping with his claws. Outside is when the real fight starts. The dragon will rain down lightning, covering the arena, as well as try to hit you with shockwaves or stomp you into the ground. Figuring out how to deal damage isn’t hard. But being a great big stinking dragon, it also isn’t that hard for it to deal damage to you, especially on higher difficulties.
Eir
Each of “God of War’s” Valkyries brings something new and highly annoying to the table. In the case of Eir, it’s several things. She can use her wings to shield herself, and will counter-attack you if you try to break through without using a Runic attack or Block Break. She can also produce an AOE attack that blinds you, which she follows up with a wing stab. Worse is when she rises into the air to emit a massive blast that deals heavy damage or outright kills you depending on the difficulty and how much health you have. Only shooting her or throwing the Leviathan Axe will stop her. All of this is made more frustrating by her tiny arena.
Baldur & Freya
While the climactic battle with Baldur & Freya isn’t the hardest in the game, or even hardest in the story, the duo definitely put up a fight. Baldur is naturally much more aggressive here than when you fight him at the beginning of the game. Compounding his aggression is the fact that he switches between ice and fire forms, making it so his attacks deal extra damage. He’ll eventually start changing mid-sequence, forcing Kratos to constantly switch which weapons he’s using. Freya’s purpose is to make the arena harder for you to navigate, by tying you up in vines and reanimating the corpse of a giant to slam the ground and produce shockwaves. Anything to give her son the upper hand.
Magni & Modi
Growing up in Asgard, these brothers probably trained countless times with one another. And that has turned them into some formidable adversaries. While it is a 2v2 fight, if you’re beating one of Thor’s sons too badly, the other will turn his attention to you and hit you from behind. Modi will make great use of his shield, defending and bashing you in the middle of a combo. On the other hand, Magni, being the bigger of the two, hits a lot harder. They’ll also periodically deploy fog, forcing you to be defensive; you’ll have to time your block perfectly to stop them from lunging towards you. In addition to just being strong, they’ll eventually begin using powerful electrical attacks, some of which can be tough to avoid.
Gondul
Enemies that specialize in fire-based attacks can be pretty irksome. While Gondul of Musphelheim has a bigger arena than most other Valkyries, that won’t really be an advantage to you as she’ll spend the fight covering the ground in flames. Even if her three raining fireballs don’t hit you, they leave a trail of fire that will burn Kratos if he touches it. Her most annoying quality is immediately following up a fireball with a boot stomp grapple, which made us rage every time she connected. Like Eir, she’s also a fan of producing an AOE attack directly followed by a wing slice. It’s no wonder her home looks like Hell because that’s basically what she’ll put you through if you’re not careful.
Svartáljǫfurr
Dark elves are quick, and that’s especially the case for their King. Svartáljǫfurr is another boss that’s best fought defensively as he likes to dash and dive around the arena, trying to skewer you with his spear. Luckily, most of the physical attacks are easy to see coming…because any energy attacks that hit you will cause the room to go dark, making it almost impossible to see anything. He’ll also sometimes shoot energy mines on the ground that explode after a moment, or just drop them next to you after you’ve gotten a combo in. He’s already irritating, but he’s also fought fairly early in the game. Which means you’ll only have some fairly weak armor. At least this gnat’s defense isn’t that great either.
Sigrún
We don’t necessarily rank these types of lists. But let’s face it: Sigrún could wipe the floor with all these fools without breaking a sweat. Just as she did to us too many times to count. We may have seen most of her moveset by the time we got to her, considering she uses nearly every ability and move all the other Valkyries have. However, that just made it so a barrage of deadly attacks were constantly flying our way. On top of that, she has her own special moves and she’s much stronger than her underlings. She moves fast and hits hard, whether it be waves of projectiles, those infuriating grapples, or just some good old fashioned, health-depleting combos.
