Our God of War Valhalla tips and tricks will help players get a head start on the update's strange new rogue-like structure and focus, in which Kratos must explore the cyclical judgement of the afterlife and confront his inner demons - while also avoiding getting his head split open by some very external demons at the same time. It's a lot to get your head around at the start which can lead to some stumbles in the first few hours, so to help you get past that, here's the top tips and tricks for God of War Valhalla to help you master the labyrinth.
1. Stick to using one weapon, but remember to switch weapons when necessary
While Kratos gets access to all three of his weapons, you should stick to mainly using one of them during any run. After clearing the first room, you’ll get a choice between two Weapon Glyph buffs and your choice determines the sorts of Weapon Glyphs and Runic Attacks you’ll get further into the run. For example, choosing a Leviathan Axe Glyph means you’re highly likely to only get only Leviathan Axe boosts for the rest of the run.
That means you’ll have one very powerful weapon to attack with, but you shouldn’t write off using your other two. Some enemies are vulnerable to certain damage types and some enemies can summon barriers that are highly resistant to a particular type of damage, so don’t forget to switch to your less powerful weapons when necessary!
2. Use Rage in short bursts to save it for when you really need it
In Valhalla, your Rage meter is best spent in short bursts as it’s always good to have some leftover that you can use if you’re in a rough situation. Pummelling enemies with Spartan Rage is fun and effective, though you should avoid burning through your whole meter just to quickly kill some weak enemies.
Your Rage meter does replinish during combat, though unlike in the main game, it’s much harder for it refill and Rage Stones seem to be incredibly rare - performing finishers is key to refilling your Rage if you want to use it often, which means shield combat is higvhly useful for staggering enemies. You can of course spend some Fleeting Echoes at a tablet to partially refill the meter, though I reckon it’s best to just be more frugal with your Rage use.
3. Get good at dodging and parrying to live longer
Since healing is quite restricted in Valhalla, and dying ends your runs, it’s best to just not get hit at all. Dodging, blocking, and parrying are therefore incredibly important to keeping Kratos alive, instead trying to tank damage with a massive health pool (though that’s not to say you shouldn’t also increase your maximum health when possible too).
Parrying damage with a shield is hugely useful for staggering enemies to open them up to vicious attacks, so I highly recommend using the Dauntless Shield. Although, if parrying just isn’t your bag, a more balanced shield will be better.
4. Prioritize Strength and Defense stats
Strength determines your damage, while Defense manages your damage resistance. Both are great all-rounder stats that you should focus on when upgrading your stats in the middle of runs with Fleeting Echoes or for permanent Mastery Seal improvements between runs.
Aside from those stats, Luck and Cooldown are good stats to focus on for permanent upgrades, while Runic and Vitality can suit the temporary bonuses. I’ve found that some Glyphs have a chance to activate based on your Luck stat so having high Luck means you’ll beenfit from your bonuses more often. Similarly, higher Cooldown lets you use your Runic Attacks more often, which is never not useful.
5. Explore each area after clearing the enemies
There’s no reason to rush through every area just to get to the next fight, especially since you can find useful items and chests in each area by exploring. Combat rooms sometimes have Health Stones hidden away that are seriously useful for keeping you alive a little longer as health does not replenish unless you pay for healing with Fleeting Echoes. In non-combat areas, you can also find loot chests containing varying amounts of currencies, such as Fleeting Echoes, so it’s good to have a quick run around scounting for loot.
6. Smash all the pots you see for a chance of extra cash
As well as loot chests and healing stones, you may find clusters of pots or vases lying around in each area. Roll on them to break them and get even more Fleeting Echoes. You don’t get loads of Echoes, but it can be the difference between getting some healing as well as a Runic Attack upgrade, or may even allow you to get an upgrade much earlier than usual.
7. Spend Fleeting Echoes at any opportunity because they won't last
Speaking of Fleeting Echoes, whenever you come across a tablet with orange symbols in Valhalla, always check if there’s anything to buy with your Echoes. You should spend them as liberally as you can during your runs since you lose all of them whenever you die. That means there’s no incentive to hang on to them unless you have absolutely nothing to spend them on or you’re confident you can hold onto them and forgo healing or other lesser upgrades for an expensive upgrade later on.
8. Buy permanent upgrades with Mastery Seals after each run
Mastery Seals are a permanent currency that you’ll collect as you complete challenges, Labors, and encounters in runs. Spend it at the Tablet of Endeavor to unlock permanent boosts to your Health, Rage meter, and your six stats. There’s absolutely no point in saving your Mastery Seals unless you really have to, as getting small stat boosts between each run can make the difference on your next run, getting you further than you have before for even greater rewards.
9. If you can't do something, keep playing...
Like lots of other rogue-likes, God of War Valhalla doesn’t lay every single feature, mechanic, and story beat on you right from the start. The more you play, the better you’ll get, which means you’ll get further with each run and can unlock and uncover more secrets in Valhalla. Importantly, this means dying and starting over is an essential part of progress, so don’t feel bad about screwing up runs, even if you don’t get very far.
Additionally, you’ll find there are plenty of abilities, paths or chests that are locked off to you early on. Don’t worry about these as they’ll start becoming available the more you play and the further you get.
