Learn how to open chests covered in vines in God of War: Ragnarok!
Though God of War Ragnarok is generally an action game, it also contains a lot of puzzle-solving gimmicks that just use your skills and the open world.
There are countless items to unlock in God of War, from armor to power-ups, and they almost always come in the form of a treasure inside a chest. Though some can simply be opened by pressing a button or ringing three different bells, one kind of chest manages to allure other players in the form of entangled chests (covered in vines).
Blades of Chaos
Before opening any entangled chests, it’s important that you already have Kratos’ Blades of Chaos. These were originally Kratos’ weapons in the games before the Norse Mythology reboot. The Blades of Chaos (or Blades of Athena) allowed Kratos to harness fire attacks.
Though they take a while to unlock in the first God of War game, Kratos picks them up much earlier in Ragnarok. Players will have to undergo training with the Leviathan Axe first. It is like Thor’s Mjolnir, only it harnesses ice and is significantly sharper.
Open Chests Covered in Regular Vines in God of War: Ragnarok
Players will encounter multiple chests in the game before they get to one covered in vines. These cannot be opened via regular means.
Read: God of War Ragnarok: How To Flood The Crater with Water
Aim for the vines like the Leviathan Axe, and throw your blades at the vines. Fire will then pulse through the vines and burn them away, opening up the treasure for you to collect.
Heavy Vines/Mushroom Vines
Heavy Vines are the next level to the vine obstacle. These can’t be removed with just the Blades of Chaos. Instead, they will require a power-up from Freya called ‘Sigil Arrows’/Purple Arrows.
Sigil Arrows
After the quest titled The Reckoning, Sigil Arrows are unlocked later in the game. After the mission where you fight the serpent Nidhogg, Freya can use Sigil Arrows. These can amplify whatever element is thrown at them—usually fire and ice.
Once you get the Sigil Arrows, you can aim one at the heavy vines blocking a chest, and from that point, you can use the Blades of Chaos to cause an even bigger fire that will get rid of the vines. Players can even connect the radius of three sigil arrows and set fire to a target that the Blades of Chaos won’t be able to reach.
Quite Puzzling
Using the Blades of Chaos paired with the Sigil Arrows is standard for unlocking chests. However, the game offers various puzzles with special twists to how players can destroy the vines blocking their treasure.
As mentioned, some chests aren’t easy to reach with the Blades—even when they can be hit with Sigil Arrows. Players must connect multiple arrows to a certain point where Kratos can trigger an explosion.
Other times, some chests will be blocked by vines and plants that will attack you, so players must follow the trail to the plant’s main source and take the bulb out with a Sigil Arrow and the Blades.
There’s also a puzzle left over from the first game where Kratos has to simultaneously destroy a bunch of glowing red bulbs to remove an obstacle. Admittedly, some challenges can get quite frustrating, but it’s all in the spirit of exploration and puzzle-solving.
Though some of the challenges can feel kind of repetitive, you have to hand it to the developers at Santa Monica for trying to find a way to best squeeze out some fun from their open world and Kratos’ new abilities.
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