Odin may be the main antagonist of God of War Ragnarok, but the game is just chockful of all these other challenges for Kratos and Atreus/Freya to take on.
If the first God of War had Kratos going up against Valkyries, the second had him taking on the Berserkers, fearsome warriors that are also quite challenging to beat. There are ten Berserkers in the game to fight, but you can’t just walk up to them and start fighting; there’s actually a process to access their gravestones.
Fit for a King
The first step in being able to access the Berserker Gravestones is to start the Side Quest Fit for a King, which should come naturally as you play the main quest. When you reach Chapter 9: Word of Fate, you’ll run into the King’s Grave in the northeastern part of the Lake of Nine in Midgard—from this point, you can acquire the Hilt of Skofnung from a broken gravestone with an ice barrier nearby.
Kratos will use the hilt to access different Berserker Gravestones located all across the realms, and defeating all ten of them will unlock the final gravestone of King Hrolf Kraki, who you’ll have to take on as well.
The Berserkers of King Hrolf
It’s important to note that each of the servants of King Hrolf all have their specific skillsets and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Any Kratos player who hasn’t significantly leveled up yet could get incredibly frustrated if they didn’t come into any of these battles prepared.
Here’s a list of the Berserker gravestones and their locations, all arranged by their power level:
Fraekni the Zealous (Lvl. 5) – Midgard, the Lake of Nine
Hardrefill the Callous (Lvl. 5) – Svartalfheim, NIdavellir Beach
Beigadr the Feared (Lvl. 6) – Svartalfheim, Alberich’s Island
Hvitserkr the Bold (Lvl. 6) – Vanaheim, Pilgrim’s Landing
Hjalti the Stolid (Lvl. 7) – Alfheim, Forbidden Sands
Svipdagr the Cold and the Sisters of Illska (Lvl. 7) – Alfheim, The Barrens
Haklangr the Bearded (Lvl. 8) – Vanaheim, The Sinkhole
Bodvar the Fierce and Starolfr the Troublesome (Lvl. 8) – Svartalfheim, Jarnsmida Pitmines
Skjothendi the Unerring (Lvl. 8) – Niflheim, The Mist Fields (Post-Main Game)
Once you defeat all nine (or, more accurately, twelve), the grave of King Hrolf will become available, and you can get to it by going back to Midgard to the King’s Grave. Once you defeat him, you’ll be able to use the Hilt of Skofnung as a relic, and you’ll also be able to earn the Enchantment of Helheim’s Virtue.
Berserker Armor
It’s worth noting that the other Berserkers also come with their kinds of prizes with runes and enchantments. However, the item that often gets mentioned is the Berserker Armor, one of the best you can collect.
You don’t have to defeat all of the Berserkers to unlock the armor. You simply have to search out Svipdagr the Cold and the Sisters of Illska (Berserker Cuirass), Skjothendi the Unerring (Berserker Gauntlets), and Fraekni the Zealous (Berserker Waist Guard).
Here are the effects of each piece:
Berserker Waist Guard – Soulless Rebuke – Taking damage, parrying, and blocking give moderate LUCK to cause an explosion and restores cooldown for the relic.
Berserker Gauntlets – Soulless Assault – Low LUCK chance to cause explosions for successful hits; dealing damage will also restore the cooldown for the relic.
Read: Where to Obtain Zeus’ Armor Set in God of War Ragnarok
Berserker Cuirass – Soulless Warrior – Using the relic increases the damage of Kratos’ attacks but also makes him more susceptible to damage.
Berserker Barrage
With all the different Berserkers all having their own specific set of skills (and sometimes extra bodies for you to fight), it’s always important to be able to know which items you have and how you can adjust them to help you in battle; like equipping a relic that removes status effects when a berserker can inflict poison.
Since all these Berserkers are completely mobile, you should also be a master of blocking, parrying, and dodging their attacks.
Always know if a Berserker is at your current level when in doubt. Should they have an orange or purple health bar, it’s a sign that you should either gather more experience or go to the Dwarven shop for some upgrades.
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