God of War Ragnarok introduces a variety of skills for Atreus in the form of skill trees. There are 3 skill trees for Atreus in GOW Ragnarok, each of which adds a unique layer and feel to the gameplay. However, like most skill trees in other games, you often need to choose which skill you unlock first.
- Alongside Kratos’ skills, make sure you invest in Atreus’ skills too, as he is extremely valuable and can make combat a lot easier and fun.
- In addition, these skills will make the playable Atreus sections a lot more fun and engaging as they enhance the combat.
- Watchful Protector allows Atreus to divert some aggro towards himself, taking the heat off Kratos. It is very useful in controlling a large group of mobs.
- Dive Into Battle allows you to execute a finisher by pressing square after doing a father-son combo. It can be helpful in finishing off a strong enemy.
- Soaring Eagle Eye lets Atreus shoot a volley of arrows once Kratos launches the enemy into the air. It is great for maximizing your combo damage.
- Dextrous Shot increases the damage dealt by Atreus’ arrows. While this skill is mostly dependent on RNG while playing as Kratos, it is valuable during the Atreus sections.
- Arrow Surplus grants Atreus an extra Runic Arrow. This is his best skill as he can summon an additional creature, giving you a great advantage in any battle.
- Bludgeoning Strike allows Atreus to trip and inflict heavy stun on enemies. While playing as Atreus, this attack can be executed by holding the light attack.
- Archer’s Reversal allows Atreus to parry attacks by timing the block button. He will parry by default if you are playing as Kratos.
- Warrior’s Reveal augments Atreus’ parry by letting him execute a powerful counterattack after a successful parry.
The grind to get each skill is often a commitment that you’re stuck with for some time. Hence you need to be careful which one you pick. So let’s jump right in and see the best skills for Atreus in God Of War Ragnarok!
Instinct Skills
The Instinct Skills boost Atreus’ attack and combo potential when you’re playing as Kratos. Some Instinct skills also have a separate ability when you play as Atreus. These skills encourage you to use Atreus as a supporting character more often, relying on his toolset and abilities to help you take down enemies and create a strong synergy between him and Kratos.
Watchful Protector
- Cost: 750 XP
In the early game, where we only play as Kratos, the Watchful Protector is a priority skill to get. This ability allows Atreus to draw enemy aggression towards himself when Kratos is surrounded by hordes of enemies, giving him time to heal.
Reducing agro towards you is a huge benefit, and that benefit given to you for 750 XP is a steal, making this one of the best skills for Atreus in God of War Ragnarok. Watchful Protector can get you out of tons of trapped situations where you feel like you’re cornered. With Atreus sharing enemy aggression, you can use that to your advantage and take out enemies one by one.
Dive into Battle
- Cost: 500 XP
Once you start playing Atreus, this is one of the first skills you should unlock, as this has 2 abilities. When you’re playing as Kratos, completing a father-and-son combo triggers a prompt, allowing Atreus to use a powerful rope-grapple finisher. On the other hand, playing as Atreus, you’ll be able to grapple onto enemies and strike them down, applying the status effect of your current Runic arrow onto them.
Dive into Battle is a great example of a unique skill that changes its ability according to the situation while maintaining its effectiveness. You can use it in combat regardless of who you’re playing as, and the power itself is also incredibly strong.
Soaring Eagle Eye
- Cost: 1000 XP
Soaring Eagle Eye is the next skill you should unlock after Dive into Battle. Once unlocked, Atreus has a chance to shoot a barrage of arrows at enemies when you’re playing as Kratos. Additionally, you could also slow down time after launching an enemy into the air when you’re fighting as Atreus.
Just like Dive into Battle, Soaring Eagle Eye is a multi-purpose skill but with much more variety and usage. For the XP it takes to be unlocked, this skill gives you the most bang for your buck and allows you to squeeze in as many hits as you can.
Archery Skills
The Archery skills primarily enhance Atreus’ ranged combat. You can use these both when you play as him or Kratos. This is due to their main goal being to extend Atreus’ combos and combo damage via arrows which can be done regardless of who you’re controlling. Most Archery skills will only strengthen either Sigil arrows or Sonic arrows, so we’ll look at those skills that generally improve our skillset.
Focus Shot
- Cost: 500 XP
Focus Shot is a strong beginner skill in God of War Ragnarok that lets you charge up your arrows before shooting them, increasing the damage and knockback of every arrow you charge. This skill also deals bonus damage upon successful headshots.
Focus Shot adds another layer of options, where we can choose how effective and quick we want our arrows to be depending on the situation. As such, this skill is extremely useful since this slight upgrade provides incredible value if you’re reliant on the arrows. And if you’re a good shot, then you’ll surely welcome the additional damage this gives when playing as Atreus.
Dextrous Shot
- Cost: 1000 XP
Dextrous Shot is another essential skill that massively raises Atreus’ damage output. This skill deals additional damage with repeated headshots. While the effectiveness of Dextrous Shot is variable when you play as Kratos, it plays a significant role in Atreus’ sections in the game.
With careful aim, you’ll be able to take out stronger enemies much easier easily. Therefore, this becomes an optimal choice for a skill if you have strong accuracy.
Arrow Surplus
- Cost: 5000 XP
Arrow Surplus is an incredibly powerful skill that permanently grants Atreus an additional Runic Arrow. This ability alone increases Atreus’ stun and damage dramatically, as you can spam these arrows for an increased duration.
The sheer amount of potential Arrow Surplus brings to the table makes this easily one of the best skills for Atreus in GOW Ragnarok. It’s an ideal choice against enemies and bosses with a more prominent posture where more ammunition especially come in handy. You can also massively extend your Kratos combos with this skill as well since the increased stun and more juggling will lead to longer air and ground combos against hostiles.
Aggression Skills
Aggression Skills are somewhat similar to Instinct, where damage and melee combat take priority. When you play as Kratos, every skill under Aggression has a different ability compared to when you play as Atreus. Hence, we’ll look at the best skills that are great under both circumstances.
Bludgeoning Strikes
- Cost: 500 XP
Bludgeoning Strikes is a stun-focused skill. As Kratos, Atreus can trip enemies to do a beatdown which applies heavy stun damage during combat. Additionally, when you’re playing Atreus, you can hold the Light attack to trip and strike an enemy and apply heavier stun by continuing to hold the Light attack.
This skill carries a lot of stopping power that takes advantage of the tripping mechanic. It’s ideal to use the skill on larger arenas where further stunning the enemy gives you more breathing room so you can clear out the rest of the arena while the stun effect wears off.
Archer’s Reversal
- Cost: 750 XP
The Archer’s Reveal focuses on stunning the enemy, just like Bludgeoning Strikes, but grants Atreus a very special ability in the process – Parry. The parry mechanic with Atreus works similarly to Kratos with his shields. If you time your blocks well, you get a parry and earn additional stun.
Archer’s Reveal is a must-have skill since a rewarding mechanic like parrying will pretty much become essential after a steep climb in difficulty towards the end game. Having this also means you won’t be forced to have stun-heavy relics like Motsognir’s Call and instead have relics that improve other attributes.
Warrior’s Reveal
- Cost: 1500 XP
Warrior’s Reveal is the final skill in the Aggression skill tree which further adds to the parry mechanic for Atreus. While playing as Kratos, Atreus has a chance to do a counterattack with a powerful arrow shot to the ground when he parries an enemy attack. As Atreus, however, you can launch enemies airborne after a successful parry mid-combat.
It’s important to remember that you need to have Archer’s Reveal unlocked beforehand to access Warrior’s Reveal since it’s the last skill in this skill tree. Other than that, this is a superb skill that justifies its cost with strong enemy counterattacks.
Which Skill Tree Should You Target?
As mentioned earlier, the entirety of Atreus’ skillset is divided into 3 subcategories – Instinct, Archery, and Aggression. While we’ve narrowed down some of the best skills in each category, you’ll sometimes be confused about which category you should mainly focus on.
Instinct offers the widest array of abilities. Its effectiveness in nearly every situation, coupled with satisfying synergy makes it a great choice for beginners and people who want great all-rounder skills for both Atreus and Kratos.
Archery is combat-specific and is the only range-focused skill tree. It relies on good accuracy and heavy arrow usage for maximum utility. If you’re the person who consistently used Atreus in God Of War (2018), likely, you’ll also use him and his arrows in this game as well. Therefore, veterans of the series will feel right at home with this skill tree.
Aggression is another melee-focused skill tree. It offers a different ability for each skill for both Kratos and Atreus. With the addition of the parry mechanic, this becomes a vital skill tree later on. However, its overall low XP requirement means that you won’t have much trouble maxing it out. So, it’s better to unlock most of your Aggression skills at the later stage of GOW Ragnarok, where Atreus’ sections become a lot more challenging.
Summary
God of War Ragnarok establishes Atreus as a playable character, the first game in the series where we can play someone other than Kratos. This brings many benefits to the gameplay, such as diverse mechanics and refreshing combat.
Similarly, this also means that Atreus’ abilities have a massive impact on the game itself. Whenever we’re playing as Kratos or Atreus, his abilities are crucial in many situations. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that we focus on his abilities just as much as Kratos since major portions of the game focus heavily on Atreus’ combat.
That wraps up our complete guide on the best skills for Atreus in God of War Ragnarok. Be sure to check out our guide to getting Muspelheim seeds in God of War Ragnarok, where you can test out your newly unlocked skills.
You can also consider reading up on our guide on all Draugr Hole locations as another way to put your skills to work. If you instead want to get even stronger and more capable, you could also check out this guide on the best armor sets in God of War Ragnarok and how to get them.
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