PlayStationMar 01, 2026
Complete God of War 2018 guide with beginner tips, best skills, armour builds, combat strategies and Valkyrie boss tactics for PS4, PS5 and PC.
Kratos is older.
He is calmer.
He is still extremely capable of turning enemies into regrets.
God of War 2018 is not the button-mashing chaos of the original trilogy. This is controlled violence. Tactical parenting. Axe therapy.
If you try to spam light attacks like it is 2005, a random Draugr will politely send you back to your last checkpoint.
This guide covers beginner tips, best skills, armour builds, combat strategy and how to survive the Valkyries without emotional damage.
Let us fix common mistakes immediately.
Combat rewards patience. You are not the fastest thing on the battlefield. You are the most deliberate.
Learn enemy patterns. Parry when possible. Dodge when necessary. Panic roll is not a strategy.
The Leviathan Axe Is Everything
This weapon does three important things:
Throw it. Recall it. Throw it again. It is your best crowd control tool early game.
Freezing weaker enemies gives you breathing room. Breathing room keeps you alive.
Parrying Is Overpowered If You Learn It
Perfect parries stagger enemies and create openings. If you ignore this mechanic, you are choosing unnecessary suffering.
Watch animations carefully. Most attacks are telegraphed. If something glows red, that means do not block. Move.
Runic Attacks Are Burst Damage Tools
Runic attacks are not fireworks for the start of every fight.
Use them when:
Timing matters more than spectacle.
Spend your early skill points intelligently.
Prioritise:
Executioner’s Cleave deletes health bars early game.
Shock arrows help with crowd control, especially when things get messy.
Upgrade Atreus. He becomes a legitimate combat partner, not just moral support.
Do not chase raw damage immediately.
Look for balanced stats:
Surviving longer fights is better than looking impressive for five seconds.
Later in the game, you can specialise.
Once gear options open up, choose a direction.
Strength Build
High melee damage. Aggressive. Up close and personal.
Runic Build
Focus on cooldown reduction and heavy ability usage. Big bursts of damage.
Defensive Build
Vitality and defense stacked. Ideal for higher difficulty modes.
Do not stack random enchantments. Synergy wins fights.
Now we talk about the real game.
The Valkyries are optional. Which means they are not optional if you care about mastery.
Tips for survival:
The Valkyrie Queen is a skill check. If you are losing badly, the solution is usually preparation, not anger.
These realms exist to test your patience.
Niflheim
Speed and efficiency matter here.
Muspelheim
These areas provide materials for powerful late game gear. They are worth the effort.
New Game Plus does not play around.
Enemies scale harder. Mistakes cost more.
In NG Plus:
If you mastered the systems in your first run, this mode feels rewarding instead of painful.
How long is God of War 2018?
Main story takes about 20 to 25 hours.
Completionist runs can exceed 40 hours.
Is God of War 2018 open world?
It is semi open world with interconnected hub areas and exploration paths.
What is the hardest difficulty?
Give Me God of War difficulty significantly increases enemy aggression and damage.
God of War 2018 is about control.
Control of positioning.
Control of pacing.
Control of Kratos’ temper.
Master the axe. Respect the shield. Upgrade Atreus.
And when a Valkyrie drops from the sky, take a breath. Then parry.
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