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God of War Ragnarokis set in the nine realms and is filled with Norse mythology, includingthe main antagonist, Odin. However, with all the knowledge and strength that Odin radiates, a lot of players find King Hrolf Kraki to be a more formidable opponent.
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One reason for this is that almost all of the main game bosses have checkpoints throughout their battles, so that if you are killed, you don’t have to restart from the beginning. The berserker gravestones do not grant this kindness, requiring you to beat the entire boss fight in one gruelling display of skill. Also, the tough 12 berserker fights are only training for what is to come at the end.
Updated on July 30, 2025, by Axel Bosso:Gamers are still looking for ways to defeat King Hrolf in God of War Ragnarok, and we get it: it’s a pretty tough boss, like the Valkyrie Queen was in the previous entry. That’s why we have updated this guide, keeping it fresh with our current standards in formatting. Check these tips and go and defeat King Hrolf with all you got.
Kratos Recommended Build
For this end-game fight, it is recommended tohave all three of Kratos’s weapons at theirmaximum rank. When it comes to the armour, there are a few routes that you can go, but it is always advised touse a complete setover using pieces from different sets of armour so that you are able to activate the set bonuses.
For pure defence, the best armour set is theSteinbjorn setwhich, when fully upgraded, will grantthe most defenceout of any other armour set. If you want to be a little more aggressive but still keep up your defence, theFallen Starsarmour set works well,heavily increasing the damage of runic attacks, which will be the main way to deal damage against the king. But if you want to go full-on aggression, theDragon Scale armourset grantsbonus damage with parries, which can be done with almost every attack King Hrolf Kraki does.
When it comes to different shields, the recommended options are theStone Wallshield for even more defence or theDauntless shieldto get more damage with parries.
The Dauntless shield works incredibly well with the Dragon Scale armour set.
Forshield attachments, theRond of Deflectionwillincreaseparry time windowsif you struggle with parries, theRond of the Nine Realmscreates aRealm Shift, and theRond of Disruptioncan create a powerfulElemental Stormwith parries and when breaking an enemy’s double blue ringed attack.
For theRunic attacks, consider have them allupgraded to their highest level, and you should stay away from attacks that leave Kratos vulnerable whilst he performs them. The best attacks for this boss are the ones that can come out quickly, stagger the Berserker King, and then inflict as much damage as possible.
Honour of the Fallen
Artillery of the Ancients
Heavy
For therelics, theHilt of Forsbrandr, theHilt of Hofud, and theHilt of Hrottiare all good choices that help give an extra edge in the fight.Spartan Ragegives a good opportunity to rest as you wail at the boss and gain back some health without the worry of getting killed.
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How To Defeat King Hrolf Kraki
Once again, to get to this boss fight,you will have to have beatenthe previous 12 berserkers, but this will come in handy as a lot of King Hrolf Kraki’s attacks are exact copies of other attacks done by the previous berserkers.
Before the fight begins,charge up the leviathan axeto give it thepermafrost buff. When the battle starts, you should immediately be able to get a few free hits with this weapon, as the first permafrosted attack will stagger the boss out of any attack they had started. Then aim to useall six runic attacks(two for each weapon). This will deal a notable chunk of damage and help build up the Berserker King’s posture bar.
Once you have used all your runic attacks, switch to the weapon that you feel most comfortable with and try to build up thePermafrost,Immolation, orMaelstromgage to maximise damage. It is useful to note that whilst you are vulnerable when activating these abilities, it does enough stagger damage when activated tocancel almost all of King Hrolf Kraki’s attacks, the same way that stepping on a healthstone does.
To stop the Berserker King’s posture bar from falling, make sure toshoot arrows whenever there is a small break in combat. You never want to have all of your arrows replenished, but you don’t want to be empty. Find a sweet spot and keep to a rhythm as best as possible.
If you reach a worryingly low amount of health, useSpartan Rageto regain health, do more consistent damage, andhelp build up King Hrolf’s posture bar. The boss will alsodrop a fair few healthstonesthroughout the long, challenging fight.
Don’t feel the need to collect them straight away, especially if you are close to full health. It is best to wait for an opportunity when you know it is safe and when health is most needed.
This fight goes on for so long thatby the time the Berserker King is at around half health, your runic attacks will have started to come off of cooldown and you can use them again to aid you in the fight.
King Hrolf Kraki’s Move Set
The Berserker King obtains allmajor attacksfrom all the otherprevious berserkersand will useevery form of elemental magicagainst you, includingBifrost. On the positive side, he does not add any new attacks to the fight and it will only ever be aone-on-one battle, unlike some of the previous berserker gravestones.
Basic and heavy attacks on any weapon will not stagger him out of an attack, butcharged attacksandmost runic attackswillforce him out of all of his attacksthat are on the ground. So, if you are brave enough, you can use a runic attack just after King Hrolf starts to wind up for a big attack and there is a good chance you will beat him to the punch and stop any damage that would have hit you.
When it comes to King Hrolf Kraki’s attacks, the best idea for most of them is to simplyroll out of the wayand then attack him when he is recovering, but there are a few of his attacks that are especially deadly and a small handful that have room to push forsome extra damage.
One of the mostpunishable attacksthat the Berserker King does is anAOE, where a large green ring forms around him as he raises his weapon, getting ready to plunge it into the ground. This attack has a long wind up and if you have anylight runic attackavailable you will be able to hit him with it before the red-ringed attack is able to finish.This can be a riskyattack to make if you aren’t confident, as any delay in using the runic attack will leave you dead. So, for those that want to play it safe, this attack is easy to avoid by simply rolling directly away from King Hrolf.
Theeasiest attack to parryis when he throwstwo overhead punches- these can be elemental depending on what point of the fight you are at. Neither of these two swings have aredoryellow ringaround them, which is rare for this boss’s combos and allows a much safer opportunity to build up the posture bar.
There is another combo sting that the Berserker King does, which starts with ayellow-ringed spinning attackand leads on to four more of these same attacks that don’t have a red or yellow ring on them and, with some practice, it can become second nature to start deflecting these four to increase the bosses posture bar.
King Hrolf Kraki has several attacks that make him airborne. Two have him flying straight towards Kratos and are easy enough to roll out of the way of. Another attack will leave him static in the air as he casts down elemental attacks in red circles wherever Kratos is. This is another case of rolling away from the attacks until it is over. However, it is important to remember toshoot arrows at the Berserker Kingwhilst he is doing these attacks, as you won’t be doing any other damage and it is easy to let his posture bar fall down.
Themain airborne attack that killsplayers is one where he flies away from Kratos and a red ring appears around him asBifrost builds up in his hands. Youcannot dodge this attackby rolling or bringing up the shield. The only way to stop this attack is byhitting him out of it, the easiest way being by throwing either theaxeor thespear, which will drop him to the floor. This is also the same way to defend yourself against theiceandfire ballsthat he can create that slowly make their way towards you.
Just after the halfway point, the Berserker King will equip anelemental shield, eitherfire,ice, orneutral- usually the one that gives the most defence against the weapon you have been using most. For this, simply switch to the weapon that breaks the shield;Fire shield - Leviathan Axe,Ice Shield - Blades of Chaos,Neutral Shield - Drapnir Spear.
Now you should be ready to try your skills at King Hrolf Kraki and prove that you truly are aGod of War.
