God of War Ragnarok Walkthrough Part 34: Thor Boss Guide (Second Encounter)

After storming into Asgard with the army of the realms, Kratos runs into Thor once again. Unlike their previous fight, however, Thor remarks that he won’t be holding anything back and intends to kill Kratos for good in God of War Ragnarok.

The walkthrough below starts at the beginning of the Thor boss fight and ends at the start of the Odin boss fight.

NOTE: This walkthrough only covers the main quest and doesn’t cover any side quests.

More God of War Ragnarok walkthroughs:

Thor Boss Fight

Thor is a tough boss to beat on account of the fact that so many of his attacks are unblockable and need to be dodged. That means that there’s not a huge window of opportunity for you to parry/counterattack and reset the tempo of the fight in your favor.

Phase 1

The first phase of the fight features plenty of red-ringed attacks from Thor. He usually opens with a red-ringed ground pound attack where he smashes his hammer into the ground multiple times creating three AoE lighting blasts at once. They’re pretty easy to dodge and Thor can be interrupted if you attack him head-on while he’s busy smashing the ground.

He still does the red-ringed grab that he did in the first encounter at the start of the game, but it’s pretty easy to see coming since he’ll walk towards you quickly with his arm back, ready to grab. Dodge out of the way and get some hits in. The other attacks he does that are easy to deal with are his basic punches and kicks and occasional yellow-ringed hammer attacks. These can all be parried and the regular hits can be blocked altogether so they’re a great window for you to get some hits in.

Frequently during the fight, Thor will jump to the edge of the arena for one of two types of hammer throws. The first is a regular throw where he throws his hammer at you in a straight line two times. They’re both pretty easy to dodge, but take note that since they’re red-ringed attacks, they can’t be blocked or countered.

The other throw attack he does is pretty tough to avoid. When Thor jumps into the air and throws the hammer down at you at an angle, you’ll need to stop moving and briefly dodge backward into the center of the “V” of lightning on the ground.

Once you’ve taken out three segments in Thor’s health bar, you’ll see a cutscene where Kratos throws his blades into Thor’s hammer and then the second phase of the fight will begin.

Phase 2

This phase is pretty similar to the first. Thor uses most of the same moves, but is a little more aggressive and moves quicker. He’ll often use his hammer to dart around the arena a few times before planting his feet and throwing it at you twice in a row. While it might be a little disorienting to watch him zip around, the hammer throws are still easy to dodge.

The main attack to keep an eye out for in this phase is his giant AoE lightning attack where he starts to levitate off the ground and a large circle of lightning begins forming around him. It’s important because it can deal devastating damage if it’s not properly countered, but luckily all you’ll need to do is hit him with a shield bash to interrupt the attack. It’ll be marked with the blue rings so it’s tough to miss coming.

In addition to the AoE attack, Thor also adds an easy-to-dodge clap attack to his move pool.

Once you’ve lowered his health bar an additional three segments, you’ll see a scene where Kratos tries to grab Thor’s hammer and then stabs him with his spear. After it’s over the third phase of the fight will start.

Phase 3

The third phase is another escalation of Thor’s moves from the first. Since he’s fully powered up by this point, there are AoE lightning blasts going off constantly around the arena. They’re pretty easy to dodge since the arena is so big, but make sure that if you start an attack combo and a red AoE ring appears on the ground, you get out of there quickly.

Thor will up the ante with his speed and aggression, zipping around the arena more frequently, but his attacks are pretty much the same throughout using hammer throws, blockable/parryable kicks, and hammer swings.

The only major thing that Thor adds to his move list for this phase is a jumping AoE attack where he shoots into the air and comes down to slam the ground. Because of how many red circles there are on the ground with the lightning bolts, it can be easy to lose track of which one is Thor, but it should be the one closest to you since he’s aiming to hit you directly. After he lands, Thor is vulnerable for a few seconds so make sure to get some hits in before he gets back up.

Once you’ve reduced his health bar entirely, you’ll be prompted to do a finisher by clicking R3.

Complete the quick-time events in the cutscene and the fight will be over once the two decide to lay down their arms. Watch the scene where Odin kills Thor.