Rota, God of War’s Helheim Valkyrie, is so powerful that unplanned aggression isn’t a viable strategy. It may be a cliche, but it’s true: The best offense for fighting Valkyries is a good defense. To win, you need to learn their attack patterns and unleash Kratos’ might when they’re vulnerable and distracted. In this guide, we’ll show you how to read Rota’s attacks so you can respond and defeat her.
Be prepared
Before you begin a Valkyrie fight, do three things:
- Fill your Runic attack meters. Begin every Valkyrie fight with back-to-back Runic attacks (L1 + R1 and L1 + R2). As Valkyries descend from their winged cocoons, they’re vulnerable. Attack then, and you’ll chip away a big portion of her health without resistance. (If your meters aren’t full, you can just stand around and wait for them to fill up.)
- Fill your Spartan Rage meters. Spartan Rage does two things. The obvious one is inflict massive amounts of damage. The less obvious one is restore your health as you attack. You can use it to finish off a Valkyrie or restore your low health — or both! (If your meters aren’t full, go find some enemies to kill. You can warp right back to the Mystic Gateway.)
- Bring a Resurrection Stone. If you die while you’re holding a Resurrection Stone, press Square and Atreus will bring him back to life. Any Resurrection Stone will do, and you can buy them at Brok or Sindri’s shop. Just remember that you can only hold one at a time.
Rota attacks and strategies
The trick to defeating a Valkyrie is identifying and responding to her attacks. Then the fight becomes an if-then statement: If she does this, then I do this. In this section, we’ll show you Rota’s attacks (the “if” part) and how to respond (the “then” part).
Ranged attacks: yellow projectiles and diving
Rota has two flavors of ranged attacks:
- She’ll jump, hover and fling sparkly, yellow magic at Kratos. Block it with your shield. When she’s out of magic, she’ll dive at Kratos. Dodge to the side to avoid the attack. When she lands, you attack.
- Rota will jump, hover briefly and dive at Kratos (without firing her her yellow magic). When she screams, that means she’s about to dive. Dodge when she screams. This pattern repeats three times. After the third time, she lands and takes a moment to compose herself. That’s when you attack.
If Rota leaps up into the air, then you’re either blocking magic projectiles or dodging her diving attack (or both). Either way, she’s vulnerable when she lands, and that’s your opportunity to attack.
Vertical leap and head stomp
Rota’s vertical leap is her most damaging attack. She’ll disappear from your screen and reappear wherever you’re standing. If you don’t move out of the way, she’ll kick most of your health away.
To avoid it, watch an listen: Dodge as soon as she jumps and screams.
The tricky part is that she might jump once or she might jump a few times in a row. She’s always vulnerable after, so assume that she’ll keep jumping and focus on avoiding those before attacking.
Wing attack
At close range, she’ll twirl while attacking you with her wings. Block those. After twirling, she’ll probably follow up with unblockable attacks. Dodge those. She may also follow those up with her stomping attack. Dodge that, too.
Regardless of how it ends, she’s vulnerable after she’s done with her flurry, and it’s time to attack.
Dash attack
Typically at close distances while she’s on the ground, Rota will dash and attack Kratos like she’s trying to shiv him. You can’t block it, but you can dodge it.
Collect Rota’s loot
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Rota’s loot
SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
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Rota’s loot
SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
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Rota’s loot
SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
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Rota’s loot
SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
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Rota’s loot
SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
Defeat Rota, and you’ll receive Rota’s Helmet, the Asgard’s Shard of Existence Epic enchantment, Asgardian Steel, its Epic counterpart Perfect Asgardian Steel and the Epic blades pommel Grips of the Valkyrie. Browse the gallery above for the details on each item.