To defeat Gondul, God of War’s Valkyrie in Muspelheim, you’ll need to make your way up the mountain, clearing every challenge along the way. Gondul is the final challenge, and you need to learn her attack patterns and unleash Kratos’ might when she’s vulnerable, recovering or distracted. In this guide, we’ll show you how to read Gondul’s moves 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 before the fight 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 outside of the arena.)
• 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.

SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon

Gondul 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 Gondul’s attacks (the “if” part) and how to respond (the “then” part).

Fire from the sky

Gondul calls down fire from the sky, igniting three areas on the ground. Dash out of those areas to avoid catching on fire. She can follow up with the attacks below, so be prepared for more defense.

Smoky knives

Gondul flaps a wing and throws smoky, knife-like projectiles at Kratos. Block these — and keep in mind that she might do this two or three times in a row.

Stab

Gondul dashes toward Kratos and stabs him. You can’t block this attack. Roll away.

Staff spins

Gondul spins twice while holding a staff, and each swing can damage Kratos.

Dodge roll with X (twice for good measure) to get away from the first attack, which has an area of effect (AOE) radius around her when she smashes her staff into the ground. Keep dodge rolling to avoid her second spinning attack.

Staff explosion

Gondul leaps into the air and twirls her staff. If the move plays out, she creates an enormous and powerful explosion. Never let her do this. Whenever she takes to the air, shoot her with arrows to disrupt this attack and knock her back to the ground.

Jump and stomp

Gondul jumps into the air and off the screen. If she lands on Kratos, she does incredible damage. Roll as soon as she jumps to avoid getting caught, and watch out for the ground that ignites as she’s in the air. When she lands, she’s vulnerable, and it’s time to attack.

Wing attacks

Gondul attacks with her wings, dipping her shoulder and striking with each step she takes toward Kratos. Block these. She can also twirl in place and attack with her wings. In fact, you can see her do these back-to-back above. Block these, too.

Collect Gondul’s loot

Grid View

• Gondul’s loot SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
• Gondul’s loot SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
• Gondul’s loot SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
• Gondul’s loot SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
• Gondul’s loot SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon

Defeat the Valkyrie Gondul, and you’ll receive Gondul’s Helmet, Asgardian steel, its Epic counterpart Perfect Asgardian steel, the Epic enchantment Leviathan’s Eye, the Raging Inferno of Muspelheim Legendary enchantment and the Epic wrist armor Gauntlets of the Valkyrie. See the gallery above for the details on the enchantments.

There are two chests in the area that you can open, too. You’ll get three Greater Crests of Flame and one Crest of Surtr from one and hacksilver, 30 Smouldering Ember and 12 Crests of Flame from the other.

Browse the gallery above for the details on the loot.