God of War Ragnarok: The Forbidden Sands 100% Completion Guide | All Favors, Ravens, Chests, Lore & Artifacts

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The Forbidden Sands | All Collectibles & Favors Guide
The Burrows | All Collectibles & Favors

Because The Barrens weren’t big enough. The Forbidden Sands are the second major optional area you’ll unlock in Alfheim, and this region is packed with bonus quests, mini-bosses and mysteries. God of War Ragnarok drops these huge explorable zones between major story missions, giving you plenty of time to slowly navigate the area, encountering big monsters, completing mini-quests, and hoovering up every collectible you can find. This area is much more complex than the Barrens, with a mysterious vault to unlock and a statue of Freyr to fix. Here’s everything you need to know.

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The Forbidden Sands | All Collectibles & Favors Guide

The Forbidden Sands is a large optional area located north of The Barrens in Alfheim. This area becomes available at the same time as the River Delta in Vanaheim. Talk to the elves in Freyr’s Camp to begin a quest sending you to this location. You can access the Forbidden Sands by unlocking the sigil door in The Barrens.

Favor: The Elven Sanctum – Talk to the Dark and Light Elf in Freyr’s Camp. After returning to the camp with Freya after the Nidhogg boss, you’ll be able to talk to these characters. They’ll send you on a quest to Alfheim, to an area beyond the Barrens.

Travel to The Barrens and unlock the gate with Freya’s help using the Hidden Chamber Door. This leads to a new massive open-ended area.

Favor: Song of the Sands – Before you can fully explore this area, you’ll need to find a cave leading underground to free the creature generating sandstorms.

Travel to the cave in the center of the region and drop down — to end the sandstorm, we need to free another giant trapped creature in the underground. Dropping down into the cave leads to the Burrows. This is an entirely new area for you to explore.
In the Burrows, you’ll encounter strange hive material walls. The scaled red walls will open briefly when hit with Sound Arrows. Deeper into the cave, bounce your axe off the Twilight Stone and spin your axe into the have material until it shatters. The bounce imbues your axe with light — enough to shatter the barrier.

Dropping down a deep shaft, a section of hive matter crystal will block your path. To shatter it, drop onto a ledge and use a Sound Arrow to open the orange flap. This reveals a Twilight Stone. Bounce Kratos’s hammer off this surfact and spin your hammer to shatter the crystal barrier.
Continue on the path and you’ll reach the Hafgufa. Break the red hive matter bulbs to free the creature — look left and bounce your axe off the Twilight Stone to reach the back of the trapped creature. Bounce behind the giant creature to shatter the bulbs on the left. Clear each row — by now you understand how it works.

Return to the surface and cut the creature free — it’s only a short ride away from the cave exit.
- Reward: Clears the Forbidden Sands of the storm. Allows you to full explore the area.

Artifact: Tributes to Freyr – To the right of the entrance to the Elven Sanctum. Located in the far east of the region.

Lore Marker: Found against the back wall of the Elven Sanctum.

Lore Scrolls x2: On tables in the Elven Sanctum. On the bottom floor. Make sure to grab both.

Treasure Map: Forgotten Tower – Found on one of the shelves on the upper levels of the Elven Sanctum. Appears to show a treasure at the base of a large lost tower.

Legendary Chest: Just behind the treasure map on Elven Sanctum upper level.
Reward: Jewel of Yggdrasil – Increases Amulet charges.

The Elven Sanctum Key Item: Consul’s Journal Artifact – On the left side, on one of the upper level shelves. Taking this item will trigger a miniboss against a Light Elf called The Maven. She appears at the entrance lobby and blocks your exit.

Required item for “The Eleven Sanctum” favor, given by the Elves in Freyr’s Camp in Vanaheim. Exit the Elven Sanctum to complete the favor.
Sell the book to complete this favor.

Lore Marker: On the upper level of the Elven Sanctum. Find it on the middle level, on the left side.

Artifact: Kvasir’s Poems – On the elven tower structure to the right as you enter the Forbidden Sands. Right across from the rocky outcropping covered in hive matter.

Frost Phantom Optional Boss: Approach the hive matter rocks across the Elven structure and this powerful creature will appear. To defeat these monsters, look for stakes in the environment. After takes the Phantom’s shield down, it will hide and attempt to recharge.

While it is recharging, pillars will glow with a purple light. Find and destroy the pillars while it is hiding. The shield will drop only while the Phantom is recovering its elemental shields. Destroy all three spires to defeat the monster.
One appears on the Elven Tower, one behind the hive matter rocks, and on on the left side.
- Reward: Alfheim’s Honor Amulet Enchantment.

Odin’s Raven: On the rocky outcropping opposite the elven tower. To reach this raven, you need to look up at the rickety outpost on the highest point — first, clear out the hive matter. Burn off the bramble with Sigil Arrows, then bounce the axe off the Twilight Stone with a charged throw.

Legendary Chest: Left of the entrance to the Forbidden Sands, ride until you find a cave entrance with a view of this chest. Inside there are multiple hive matter bulbs and two Twilight Stones you can turn.

Burn the blue bramble off the left Twilight Stone hold by combining Kratos’s Sigil Arrows and Chaos Blades. Turn the left Twilight Stone right, and the right Twilight Stone left so you can bounce your axe off the left stone, onto the right stone, and into the red bulbs on your left. Confused yet? This leads to a chest.
- Reward: Hardened War Handles Blades Attachment. Improves damage and stun to Hyperion Grapple / Pull.

Nornir Chest: On the far western cliff, look for a heart-shaped symbol. It leads into a small area with a Nornir Chests. You’ll find the Braziers all over the grounds nearby. You’ll need to use Sigil Arrows and Blades of Chaos to reach the high braziers.

Brazier #1: On a tall rocky pillar near the entrance to the chest.
Brazier #2: On the underside of the very large rock archway.
Brazier #3: Just to the right of the actual chest. The easiest one to find.
- Reward: Horn of Blood Mead. Increases maximum Rage.

Favor: Nine Realms In Bloom – Find unique flowers from each of the nine realms. Located on the west wall of the Forbidden Sands, to the right of a rock Kratos can lift into a Nornir Chest area. Find it past the ruins wall you can grapple up onto.

Odin’s Raven: Travel right from the Nornir Chest. Grapple up the ruin wall. At the top you’ll find a “Sleeping Troll” — it looks like a statue. There’s an Odin Raven hiding behind it.

Lore Marker: To the left of the troll in this same area.

Odin’s Raven: Go to the Freyr statue in the northwest. There’s a light bridge and a raven flying above the gap.

Favor: Freyr’s Gift – This favor begins when approaching the giant Freyr statue. Find the statue in the north of the region above the Burrows entrance. The statue is huge so you can’t miss it. Remove the Light Crystal to disable the light bridge on the left. With the bridge down, Kratos can bounce his axe off the Twilight Stone to destroy the hive matter barrier.

Next, go to the upper right platform. Destroy the red hive matter bulbs from the high vantage, and then use a Sound Arrow to open the hive matter scales — throw your axe while it is open to hit both bulbs and drop it.
- Take the lower path under the right platform. There’s some debris you can smash to enter the cave and get the third light crystal.

Now with three light crystals you can place two crystals on the projectors. Leave one on the bridge leading up to the left platform. Once both crystals are in position and have Freyr’s Statue restored, you can remove the light crystal from the left side and place it on the exit projector.
- This unlocks the Lore Marker.

Lore Marker: Found at the Freyr’s Statue in the north. Complete the “Freyr’s Gift” favor to reactivate it.
-Reward: Invoke the Storm Runic Summon. Dropped at the blue crystal sand at Freyr’s Statue after completing the “Freyr’s Gift” reward.

Favor: The Desert Door – Special favor that appears after finding one of the key pieces. The sand swirls have key parts of high-quality materials.

Alfheim Barrens Key Half: After completing the “Freyr’s Gift” favor, a key will appear at the blue crystal swirl along the west wall.
- Asgardian Ingot: Material located on the blue crystal swirl in the sand in the southwest of the area.

Alfheim Barrens Key Half: The second half is located directly in front of the entrance to the Forbidden Sands, in the blue crystal sand swirl.
- Alfheim’s Vigor Amulet Enchantment: Found at the blue crystal sand swirl along the center-north, above the Burrows entrance.

Gravel Belly Optional Boss: With both key halves, travel east of Freyr’s Statue. There’s a cracked wall Kratos can launch himself through. At the top, you’ll encounter Light Elves in a large combat encounter.

Open the tower door and the Gravel Belly boss will attack. This is a massive four-legged creature that’s unlike anything Kratos has faced yet. It is very powerful, so be prepared to dodge or go into the fight with a full Valor Meter to heal.

Reward: Dragon Claw Resources – Used to craft Dragon Scale Armor.
- More Rewards: Alfheim’s Fortune Amulet Enchantment. Skirnir’s Gambanteinn – Material required to craft the Hilt of Angrvaoall. A special Axe Hilt that upgrades your attacks with a short-ranged blast of light.

Buried Treasure: Forgotten Tower Treasure Map – North of the Burrows area, there’s a huge old elf tower Kratos can reach the base of. Search near the mound of debris to the left of the huge, locked elf door.

Reward: Alfheim’s Virtue Amulet Enchantment

Artifact: Tributes to Freyr – Located through the narrow passage to the right of the boss door.

Yggdrasil Rift: North of the Burrows cave, this rift is at the Forgotten Tower arena where you’ll fight a optional boss — if you’ve gathered both keys. Squeeze through the narrow gap to reach a ledge with this combat rift.

Reward: Dust of the Realms

Berserker Gravestone: Located in the south of the region. Here, you’ll battle “Hjalti The Stolid”, a Berserker wielding two maces.

Reward: Grip of the Nine Realms Axe Attachment

The following collectibles are HARD TO FIND. These are most likely the collectibles you’ll be missing after fully exploring the Forbidden Sands fully.

Odin’ Raven: On the eastern side of the Forbidden Sands, go to the entrance to the Elven Library. On the ledge where you need to jump up, look for a cracked spot at the base. Throw your axe at the crack to break the wall section, revealing a hidden path leading underground. Look above and to the left of the path leading to the Nornir Chest.

Nornir Chest: On the eastern side of the Forbidden Sands, go to the entrance to the Elven Library. On the ledge where you need to jump up, look for a cracked spot at the base. Throw your axe at the crack to break the wall section, revealing a hidden path leading underground. Clear the hive matter by bouncing your axe off the back-left Twilight Stone. Then light the three braziers. Reward: Alfheim’s Justice Enchantment.

Brazier #1: One to the left by a rock pillar. Connect the brazier to the nearby torch with Sigil Arrows.
Brazier #2: On the right in a cave passage. Connect the brazier to the campfire with Sigil Arrows. For this one, you’ll need to increase the size of the Sigil circles.
Brazier #3: On the right side, look for hive matter that opens with a Sound Arrow, directly above the second brazier. Connect the second brazier to the third brazier to solve this puzzle.
- Reward: Shattered Rune

The Burrows | All Collectibles & Favors

Lore: Runes – Written on the wall later in the burrows. After breaking through the hive material wall with your axe, you’ll continue into a combat area with a grapple hook tree in the center and a narrow passage to squeeze through at the end. Look at the back-left wall of this room to get the rune message.

Legendary Chest: In the large hive area far below, 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.

Reward: Hel’s Touch Light Runic Attack – Powerful burst attack that knocks back all enemies and interrupts attacks. One of the most useful attacks for hard difficulty.

Legendary Chest: Located at the end of the Burrows favor. Rescue the Hafgufa then drop down into the chamber with this Legendary Chest before leaving.

Reward: Nemean Crush Heavy Runic Attack. Launches a massive shockwave that blocks back enemies with the Blades of Chaos.

Artifact: Tributes to Freyr – Located to the left of the Legendary Chest.

And that’s everything in The Forbidden Sands. Return to this location after beating the story to clean up the final few challenges — thankfully, Berserkers and Remnants are always marked on your map.