God Of War Ragnarok Secret Of Sands [Guide & Walkthrough]

The Secret of Sands is the very first side quest that you will get in the game, and it is located in Alfheim. There are some favors and side quests in God of War Ragnarok that is quintessential to the story, and one of them is the Secret of Sands. The game takes about 55-60 hours for 100% completion. So, many players prefer doing the main missions first and the side ones later.

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Secret Of Sands In GOW Ragnarok

The reason it is an important quest for the story is that it is related to the noises that Atreus keeps hearing throughout the game. You will notice Atreus mentioning hearing noises in the desert of the Alfheim. However, you will not understand anything about it unless you unlock the Secret of Sands.

Unlocking The Secret of Sands

You will not be able to play the side quest straightaway. In order to unlock the Secret of Sands, you will first need to complete the Groa’s Secret. It is the fourth main quest in God of War Ragnarok. Once you complete that main quest, a new path will open in Alfheim due to the clashing of elves.

When that happens, you will need to follow Atreus straight to the desert. At one point, you will need to walk through a hole. When you do so, there will be a treasure map on the ground. Make sure you pick up that treasure map, as it will help you later on.

Later, Kratos will find it interesting to find the animal that Atreus had heard of. So, you will now have a side quest, and it will be related to hunting. As you keep on progressing in that side quest, you will come across an abandoned market. There you will find Sindri’s Workshop. When you find it, go and talk to him. When you do, he will give you the Secret of Sands Quest, and it will add to the favors list.

How To Complete Secret Of Sands

Now that you have the Secret of Sands quest in your favors list in God of War Ragnarok, it is time that you complete it. The first thing you will need to do is open the Mystic Gateway and keep going toward the depths of the desert. As you keep on going, you will come across Gulon. They are two creatures who will be walking in a direction carrying a sled.

Ride On Gulon To Reach The Cave

Go in front of them and wait for them to come towards you. When they do, get on the sled and go where they take you. After a while, you will find yourself in the open desert. When that happens, open up the map, and you will see more barrens. There you will know that you need to head in the southeast direction.

You will come across a storm but do not worry. Keep heading southeast, and eventually, you will find a cave-like structure with some small towers and structures next to it, right in the middle of the sand. To continue the quest, you will need to enter it.

Clear The Path And Fight The Dark Elves

When you enter the cave, keep going forward. Eventually, you will see an area where you will need to climb down. There, you will find a ledge blocking your path. You will have to use the Blades of Chaos to get rid of the ledge and clear your path.

Atreus will be leading the way as you keep clearing the path with the Blades of Chaos. Then you will find your path blocked, but this time it will be because of a Dark Elf Hive Bulb. In order to destroy it, you will need to throw your axe toward the glowing part of the hive bulb.

Once you break the hive bulb, follow Atreus down a ledge towards the depth of the cave. Soon, you will come across a Dark Elf who is alone but ready to fight. After defeating the Dark Elf, you will come across more hive bulbs that need to be destroyed in order to clear your path.

When you come across three hive bulbs in a row, you will need to destroy them all in one shot. In order to do that, you will need to move forward toward the twilight stone that will have a visible pink line connected to the bulbs. To destroy all the bulbs in one go, you will have to throw your axe toward the stone but wait for the pink line to turn blue. Moreover, it will only turn blue when you are at the right angle.

As soon as you destroy the three hive bulbs, a couple of dark elves will come from a door that is on the far side of your path. Take them out as soon as possible. You will find a Hacksilver chest on the way; destroy it before you go forward through the door.

Moreover, across the front entrance’s wall, there will be a group of posts in which you will find a healthstone. If you do need health later on, consider picking it up. Once you go around the bend, four elves will appear from different positions. Try to stay in the open, as they will try to crowd you from all directions. In order to hit them with effective stuns, you will need to put the twilight stone to proper use throughout the room.

Since there will be Dark Elves Summoners, they can call even more Dark Elves to fight against you. You can easily identify the Summoners as they wear different armor. Once you defeat the Dark Elves, there will be two paths in front of you. One path leads North, and it will lead you to the Nornir Bell. The other path, however, leads you to the East, but it is blocked by the Dark Elf hive bulbs.

Collect The Loot

However, there is a third path, and that is to climb the wall that is between the two doors. Once you climb the wall, go towards the right, where you will see more Dark Elf hive bulbs. But you will need first to knock out the peace of metal that is blocking the hook spot.  Once you do that, you will be in the perfect spot to destroy the hive bulbs.

Once the path clears, go forward and hop down. You will eventually stumble upon Patience which is a Lore Rune. Not only that, but you will also find a Red Coffin, which contains dwarven steel, Hacksilver, and rawhide. Once you get all these materials, go back to the floor above and start following Atreus, who will be on your left.

When you get to the upper floor with Atreus, you will see a hanging vase that contains rawhide. You can simply chop down the vase to get the material that is inside it. Keep going forward, and at one point, you will have to cross the gorge.

You can do that simply by sliding down from a zipline that is present there. Once you land on the other side, drop down from the ledge and go towards the wooden chest to collect Hacksilver. After collecting the Hacksilver, go back to Atreus.

Complete The Exploration

As you progress, you will come across more hive bulbs that need to be destroyed. To destroy these hive bulbs, you will need to look above them to spot the twilight stone. You will not be able to destroy the stone from a long range. So, you will need first to use the Blades of Chaos in order to cross the gap. Once you get near, keep changing the direction until the ray becomes blue. When that happens, simply throw the axe toward the twilight stone.

Now you will need to go ahead until you find yourself surrounded by a Nightmare and Wretches. Fight against them and once you eliminate them successfully, open the gate that is near the Nornir Chest. The gate is essential in God of War Ragnarok for unlocking because later on, you will need to come back to the first chamber, and it will be the best path in Secret of Sands.

Since you are not ready for the Nornir Bell Puzzle just yet, you will need to move on and explore the path that you will just discovered. Then you need to climb up to find Kratos and talk to Atreus. After that, you will finally be at the final Bell of Nornir. Open the gate after dropping down, and it will lead you back to where you came from; however, you are ready now to unlock the Nornir Chest.

Open The Nornir Chest

After discovering the entire area, it is time you do what you were meant to do. In total, there are three bells: N, C, and R. To open the chest, you will need to get all these bells. However, time is short, so you need to collect them as quickly as possible.

The N Bell is at the highest point, so we recommend you start collecting them from there. Simply hit the N Bell, and then while coming back to the Nornir Chest, you will find the C Bell right in front of it next to the door. Then go back to the gate you opened to hit the R Bell.

Once you collect all three bells, you will be able to open the Nornir Chest. There are two possible rewards that you can get after opening the Nornir Chest. The first reward that you can get is Idunn Apples which will increase the maximum health of Krato. On the other hand, the second reward is Horns of Blood Mead which will increase the maximum rage of Krato.

Fight The Dark Elf Lord

Once you are done, come back above, as there is more to explore in the den of the Dark Elves. At this point, you will see a chain from where you will need to drop it down. Once you do, you will come across a Dark Elf Lord who is angry. The fight will take some time, and on top of that, he will be accompanied by three more Dark Elves. 

Do not take the Dark Elf Lord as an ordinary Elf, as he is capable of casting blindness on his enemies by using magic. Therefore, as soon as you see him charge up his staff, do anything possible to dodge or prevent the attack. To end the fight early, do not distract yourself from the subordinates. Rather, focus on the Lord alone and make sure you take him down.

As soon as the Lord is defeated, he will drop his rage and health. For the remaining Dark Elves, you can simply take advantage of the arena’s shape to prevent an overwhelming attack from happening. Then try to maintain distance and once you are far enough, use the twilight stone to inflict a stun on them.

Once you are done, start following Atreus as he will lead you toward the north side of a tavern in the cave. However, you will find a blockage due to a golden ore. To clear the path, you will need to go towards the right and stand at the right angle to use the explosives on the golden ore. 

But before you go ahead, you will see more hive bulbs. Moreover, there will be another piece of gold ore. Simply stand in the proper place and throw your axe toward the twilight stone. After destroying the hive bulbs, go towards it to get a Red Coffin that contains Hacksilver, rawhide, and dwarven steel. After getting the items, go back to Atreus in God of War Ragnarok, as there is more to cover in the Secret of Sands.

The Hive Puzzles

As usual, you will find the path blocked here as well by the hive bulbs. The twilight stone will be right behind the first hive bulb. Keep settling your aim until the line turns blue, and then throw your axe. Moving on, there will be another blockade later on, and it will be due to the golden ore. Destroy the blockade by throwing the axe on the bomb and once the path clears, go towards the left.

Then after clearing up more hive bulbs, you will need to climb up a wall to get a Red Coffin present there. You will find Dwarven steel, Hacksilver, and forged iron in it. Moreover, in order to solve the next puzzles, we recommend you use higher vantage points.

When you are up there, look below, and you will find a golden contraption having a side plate with the twilight stone. To get into the correct position, you will first need to hit the gold turnstile. The positioning will need to be in such a way that after hitting the first hive bulb, the axe ricochets to another twilight stone, getting two targets in one shot.

After clearing the path and killing more creatures, four more will appear from the path that you have just opened. However, using the Blades of Chaos with the L1 grab will allow you to eliminate them easily. Afterward, jump forward to take on more Nightmares.

However, there is no specific number of Nightmares that will come. However, it does depend on the Nightmare Nest, which is a bit ahead. As soon as you destroy it, the Nightmares will stop spawning. So, make sure that you reach there quickly in order to destroy it.

The Bindings Of Hafgufa’s

On your journey forward, you will have a conversation related to the storms. From that, you will get to know the reason behind the storms that are coming into The Barrens. However, you will need to get a better vantage point, and in order to do that, you will need to destroy the bindings of Hafgufa.

To destroy Hafgufa’s Bindings, you will need to move towards the right to see the explosive that is present behind the golden ore. After destroying it, follow Atreus, and then you will see more hive bulbs. Like you did previously, you will need to destroy the bulbs by hitting two areas in one shot. 

Once you destroy them, the Hafgufa will now be movable. Now you will finally be going out of the camp of the Dark Elves while following Atreus. When you see a ledge on your way out, climb up and approach the red coffin. In that, you will find Hacksilver, forged iron, and dwarven steel. 

Heading Out

As you are heading out, you will see Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir talk about Light Elves and Dark Elves. However, at the end of the path, you will see a blockage. To go through it, you will need to use the Blades of Chaos, and when you do get through it, you will find a room full of treasures. Not only will you get three bags of Hacksilver but also a Legendary Treasure, inside of which you will find the Shoulder of Straps of Radiance and Whispering Slab.

Once you get out, you will need to go more deep into The Barrens by riding on the sled you came in. When you reach the location, Atreus will point it out. However, a simple sign of it is that you will see a huge structure that has a glowing red light beneath it. 

Approach the structure and destroy the hive bulb that is present there. By doing that, the Secret of Sands side quest will be complete, and the Hafgufa will be free in God of War Ragnarok as The Barrens will be clear of the Storms. 

Final Words

All in all, completing the Secret of Sands side quest is very important in God of War Ragnarok, especially if you want to know about the noises that Atreus keeps hearing. Moreover, you will be able to free The Barrens from the Storms that keep occurring.

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