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Since God of War (2018), Atreus has grown up by quite a few years, making him stronger and more useful inGod of War: Ragnarok. Unlike the previous installment, Atreus is now a playable character. Of course, he is nowhere near as powerful as Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, but you are able to defeat enemies using Atreus’s quick movement and bow, which allows for longer-ranged fights.
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When you aren’t playing as Atreus, he is still off to the side aiding you with enemies, which is why it is useful to know the best build for him, as he will make an impact when it comes to some of the more challenging bosses and areas.
Updated on June 23, 2025, by Axel Bosso:Atreus is the real MVP of God of War Ragnarok. If you don’t believe us, just give a look at his skill tree and abilities. We have updated this guide so you can go over which are the best ways to build Atreus for your time preventing Ragnarok with Kratos. Check out Atreus' strongest armors and summons!
Atreus Skill Tree
Depending onhow many side quests you completethroughout your playthrough of the game, you will have the opportunity tounlock most, if not all,ofAtreus’s skillsby the end of the game. However, at the start of your adventure, there are a fewkey skills that you want to unlock quickly.
TheWatchful Protectorskill is considered by most to be thebest skill for Atreus. Found in theInstinct sectionof the skill tree, Watchful Protector simply letsAtreus take some of the agro away from Kratos. This might sound mediocre compared with all the damage and combat skills that Atreus had to offer, but you will see the value of this skill the moment you unlock it, turningfights against hordes of enemies into something much more manageable.
Other skills of note includeFocus Shot, which is the first skill in theArchery sectionof the Skill tree.This skill has two purposes: when you are playing as Kratos,Atreus’s arrows do more damage, and when you are playing as Atreus, you are able tocharge up his shotsbefore shooting them.
In theArchery section,Bludgeoning Strikeis an effective way to inflict Stun onto enemies. When playing as Kratos,Atreus will trip up enemies,allowing you to do abeatdown, and when playing as Atreus, you are able tocontinue your light attacks, dealing extra damage and Stun.
Atreus Armour
It does not matter what armour set you choose for Atreus, as they do not make any changes to your stats. So, simply choose whichever piece of armour you think looks best. Now, whilst the armour doesn’t matter, thearmour accessoriescertainly do.
There are a fewdifferent routes you can go with armour accessoriesbut one that is always powerful to have equipped isNocked Proficiency, which makes everythird runic arrow fire off an additional arrow.This is a particularly powerful accessory as it simply gives you more arrows to shoot, doing more stun and damage.
The general consensus when it comes to armour accessories is thatimproving the sonic arrows leads to the most effective build. Therefore,Sonic Aftershock, whichincreases Stun to enemies inflicted with Sonic arrows, is one of the main accessories to aim for.
Sonic Attunementis also valuable,significantly increasing Status, making it effective to use withSonic arrows or Sigil arrows.
Other than the Sonic accessories,Runestone Refinementcan be effective as itreplenishes three arrows when picking up a healthstone or ragestone,and it also decreases the time you have to wait for yourrunic summons to come off of cooldown. This can be especially useful during longer boss fights like theBerserker King Hrolf Kraki, as they willdrop both healthstones and ragestones whilst fighting.
Atreus Spirit Summons
For Atreus, there aretwo main options to choose for the spirit summon.
When it comes tosheer damage,Wrath Of The Wolfis the best as it does a lot of damage to a large group of enemies and can do even more damage when all the wolves focus on a single boss. With upgrades, Wrath of the Wolf can fill the area with wolves, which can work to help take some focus off you whilst putting out enough damage to kill enemies.
The other main option for Atreus is theRaging Ibex, as it doessolid damage and Stun. Raging Ibex is especially strong when you are playing as Atreus, as he will summon the spectral Ibex and then ride it, giving you a break from taking damage whilst dealing a lot yourself.
If you find that you needmore health during your fights, then you may also want to consider using theBitter Squirrel, which willdig up a Healthstonefor you to use, which will also work well with theArmour accessory Runestone Refinement.
