God Of War Ragnarok: Best Skills [Weapons]

The Glacial Rake has to be one of the best Kratos skills in the early game for crowd control, especially if the enemies are in front of you. Unleashing the skill allows Kratos to strike the Leviathan Axe in the ground and rip out the ice shards that travel ahead. 

All enemies that are stuck in this ice wave will get repeatedly hit with the Frost damage. The reason I think Glacial Rake is the best early-game skill is that you will get to use it for the most part of your gameplay until you unlock later skill levels.

Leviathan’s Fury was the best ability from God of War 2018 for me, and it’s rejuvenating to see it return in GOW Ragnarok as well. What it does is when Kratos sprints and you press the Heavy Attack button, Kratos jumps into the air and smashes the axe down on the ground with a massive hit. All small-sized enemies are thrown out of their stance, and the enemies with shields will have their guards broken. Not only the skill deals good physical damage, but it also applies frost damage as well.

I personally use Leviathan’s Fury as an instrument to deal massive starting damage to an enemy wave or a group that is standing close to each other. 

Glacial Permafrost enhances base damage and applies Frost status on every hit. Small-sized enemies are nearly guaranteed to freeze with a single hit under Glacial Permafrost.The axe meter charges with each hit and depletes when Kratos is hit. It imbues the Leviathan Axe with permafrost, causing melee attacks to send out frost waves and freeze enemies on impact.

Glacial Permafrost excels in boss battles and wave clear, offering crowd control as each hit freezes enemies, allowing you to easily dispatch them.

If you’re a fan of spamming Leviathan’s Fury, you’ll love Returning Storm. To use this skill, Kratos must be bare-handed. Punch enemies, then press L1 and a heavy attack button. Kratos leaps into the air, calls the Leviathan Axe, and slams it into the ground, dealing base and high frost damage. You can use Returning Storm while standing still or when approaching enemies. This skill is effective, especially against weaker enemies.

Unlocking the Whirlwind Sweep ability at level 3 for the Leviathan Axe adds a stylish twist to your combos. To trigger this skill, pause for a brief moment after a light attack and then press the light attack button three more times as Kratos transitions to a new stance. This causes Kratos to spin the Leviathan Axe around him, damaging nearby enemies.Whirlwind Sweep isn’t just visually impressive; it’s also an effective crowd-control skill.

Flame Whiplash I gives the weapon the fire damage it needs in the early game. Blades of Chaos is generally an excellent weapon for crowd control ranging from small-sized foes to big ones. However, during the early game, you will find relying heavily on Flame Whipslash I skill as it imbues Blades of Chaos with fire at a faster rate. 

Once the weapon is fully charged, the next successive light or heavy attack that you unleash on enemies will apply Burn. Fire is especially useful in Midgard, where almost every single enemy is weak against it.

Unlock Vaporize Frost, a level 1 skill, early to boost damage against frosted enemies in Midgard. This skill remains valuable throughout the game as frosted foes appear frequently, even beyond Midgard, during main and side quests. Vaporize Frost is a top Blades of Chaos skill in God of War Ragnarok, suitable for all game stages.

For focused single-target damage, unlock the Chaotic Rampage series of skills. These skills enable Kratos to hold the blades in his hands and unleash a flurry of close-range attacks on a single target.Unlocking Chaotic Rampage III requires Chaotic Rampage I and II. The latter grants Kratos additional light attacks.

Unlock Furious Immolation for Chaos Blades to ignite enemies with fiery damage on each hit. This skill engulfs Chaos Blades in furious flames, instantly setting foes ablaze with high damage.To trigger Furious Immolation, build the meter by attacking enemies without taking hits. Once the meter is full, press L1 + Triangle to unleash the skill. It’s effective for crowd control and particularly potent against frosted enemies, synergizing with Vaporize Frost.

Access Furious Immolation at Chaos Blades tier 3 with at least 1500 XP available for purchase.

The Plume of Chaos skill, returning from God of War 2018, remains my favored method for assaulting enemeis. This combo-ending attack ignites everything when Kratos slams the Blades of Chaos onto the ground, disrupting enemies and inflicting heavy physical and burn damage.

To activate this skill, execute five light attacks and then press the heavy attack button. Kratos will briefly leap into the air and forcefully drive both Chaos Blades into the ground, You can combine this skill with Furious Immolation.

Unlock the Plume of Chaos skill in God of War Ragnarok by reaching Chaos Blades tier 4 and having at least 4000 XP available for purchase.

I recommend you to acquire the Draupnir’s Wail skill, which amplifies damage upon detonation.Activate it by holding the ability button, causing Kratos to slam the spear down with great force, delivering increased damage upon detonation.

Draupnir’s Wail proves useful for weakening groups of enemies, particularly those at reasonable distances that you can target effectively with your spears.

Unlock Elemental Siphon II after Elemental Siphon I. Hold the heavy attack button to steal enemy elemental attacks and gain resistance briefly, reducing their effectiveness. This effect persists during combos and ranged attacks but is lost after a runic attack or combat ends. Useful against enemies with multiple status effects.

In the mid to late game, shield-wielding enemies pose a greater challenge. Fortunately, the Phalanx Breaker skill with Draupnir helps Kratos by breaking enemy guards or launching weaker foes into the air. To trigger it, press the heavy attack button while sprinting towards a target. Kratos performs a powerful overhead sweep to break guards and follows up with a rising sweep to launch smaller or weakened enemies into the air.

Unlock the Spear Swiftness skill for Draupnir to accelerate the process of dealing with ranged damage. This skill enables Kratos to throw spears more rapidly as you target enemies. Spear Swiftness enhances the effectiveness of using Draupnir as a ranged weapon, making it an ideal choice for dealing with powerful enemies. With Draupnir Spear and Spear Swiftness, you can efficiently shred bosses while minimizing your vulnerability to enemy attacks.

Whenever Kratos successfully attacks enemies, he builds up the meter. When the meter is full, press L1 + Triangle button to trigger the Violent Maelstrom skill, and it will enhance all the melee and ranged attacks of Draupnir Spear for a short duration. This skill has excellent utility while fighting against bosses. I have used Violent Maelstrom abilities so many times on Draugr Hole bosses and other mini-bosses on the field.