Runic Attacks are another tool in Kratos’s arsenal, and you’ll want only the best to deal with the mythological monsters in God of War Ragnarok. Runic Attacks are essentially special weapon abilities — you can launch waves of frost with your axe, spin your Blades of Chaos to fend off hordes of enemies, or unleash a stunning blast that’ll stop even the highest-level enemies in their tracks. All Runic Attacks are fun to play around with, but some are incredibly powerful. Battling the Spirit Berserkers, we’ve quickly learned what Runic Attacks stand out from the rest.
And they’re all optional. Only one of the Runic Attacks on our list is (mostly) impossible to miss. The rest are hidden in Legendary Chests or rewarded for completing quest. If you’re not exploring every environment fully, you’ll want to start backtracking and get these Legendary Chest rewards ASAP.
More God of War Ragnarok guides:
All Rage & Health Upgrades | Nornir Chests Guide | Fully Upgraded Draupnir Spear | How To Unlock Muspelheim | How To Unlock The Crater | How To Fully Explore The Crater | How To Use Crystalline Shards | Across the Realms Ingredient Locations | How To Unlock Witch Time Playstyle | How To Make Finding Collectibles Easy | All Jewel of Yggdrasil Locations | How To Unlock Enchantments | All Cosmetic Armor | Best Graphics Settings | Atreus Combat Guide | How Leveling Works | How To Upgrade PS4 To PS5 | All Healing Methods | How To Increase Health | How To Increase Spartan Rage | How To Unlock Transmog | Aurvangar Wetlands Gate Puzzle Solutions | How To Earn More Hacksilver | Best Healing Armor & Enchantments | Bonus Epilogue Ending
Best Runic Attacks | Where To Find
Runic Abilities are special powers you can equip to Kratos — each weapon in his arsenal can equip one Light Runic Attack and Heavy Runic Attack. These attacks slowly recharge in battle. Once charged, Kratos can unleash them for devastating effects on the enemy. These are some of the best Runic Attacks we’ve found so far — check the locations below to get them yourself.
- How To Equip Runic Attacks: Open the Character Menu -> Select Weapon Type -> Select Heavy Runic or Light Runic
To use Runic Attacks, guard with [L1] and tap the face button prompts on your HUD. This instantly unleashes a Runic Attack. Each Weapon can equip separate Runic Attacks, but the Light / Heavy Runic Attacks are all on the same counter. If you use a Runic Attack with one weapon and switch, you’ll still need to wait for the Runic Attack to recharge.
Runic Attacks can be found in the environment or for completing tasks. Here’s where to find some of our favorites.
Leviathan Axe | Best Runic Attacks
- Hel’s Touch Light Runic: One of the most useful Runic attacks. Instantly unleashes a burst that knocks back enemies. This works on bosses and Berserker Spirits too.
- Location: The Burrows | Alfheim – The underground area of The Forbidden Sands is required to free the giant creature underground. In the large hive area far underground, look for an archway you can climb to the left of the orange hive matter crystal. From the arch, throw your axe to bounce it off the Twilight Stone from above.
- Breath of Thamus Heavy Runic: Raise your axe to summon a massive blast of cold that deals damage to enemies in all directions. Very useful to clear a path or give yourself room to breathe in a big boss battle.
- Location: The Raven Tree | Niflheim – Reward for opening the fourth chest at the Raven Tree. Requires finding 28 Ravens.
Blades of Chaos | Best Runic Attacks
- Rampage of the Furies Light Runic: Unleashes a spinning flurry of attacks on an enemy. A returning classic move from the earlier games in the series.
- Location: Vanir Shrine | Alfheim – Found behind a locked door in the arena ruin past the drawbridge. To unlock the gate, travel to the next room through the door and turn right. Burn through the vines and break the seal through the narrow stone crack.
- Hades Retribution Light Runic: Quickly stabs a single target, embedding a firebomb that explodes after a brief delay. That’s just fun.
- Location: Temple of Light | Alfheim – After grappling up the anchor points placed by Tyr in the temple, continue up the path until you find a small ledge you can drop down from on the left of the path leading up. Drop down and turn right to find a large gate. Drop down yet another small ledge to reach a hidden Legendary Chest.
- Nemean Crush Heavy Runic: Generates a shockwave that knocks back enemies. Great for crowd control.
- Location: The Burrows | Alfheim – Located at the end of the Burrows favor. Rescue the Hafgufa then drop down into the chamber with a Legendary Chest before leaving. Crack it open to collect this Runic Attack.
Draupnir Spear | Best Runic Attacks
- Thrust of a Thousand Soldiers Light Runic: A basic rapid attack that deals high damage. Mash [R1] to strike even more! This is what being a Spartan is all about.
- Location: The Gleaming Bale | Helheim – Past the Hel-Traveler encounter, you’ll move along the walls until you reach a gap you must jump by sticking a spear into the wall. Use it to reach a Legendary Chest.
- Artillery of the Ancients Heavy Runic: Summons a rain of spears from the sky, covering an area with an area-of-effect attack and leaving behind spears on the ground Kratos can detonate.
- Location: Eastern Barri Woods | Vanaheim – Dropped by the pair of crocodile mini-bosses that attack as you leave the Celestial Wolf den and return to Freyr’s Camp. You’ll also get a Chaos Flame drop.
Those are our favorites. We’ll add more to the list as we push through the post-game and fight the game’s most challenging bosses.
