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God of War’s Valkyries are among the toughest enemies in the game. Eir, Geirdriful, Gondul, Gunnr, Hildr, Kara, Olrun, Rota and Sigrun are spread out among the realms, and each unleashes devastating attacks.
The trick to defeating a Valkyrie is identifying and answering her attacks. Then the fights become if-then statements: If she does this, then I do this. In Polygon’s God of War guides (linked below), we’ll show you Geirdriful’s attacks (the “if” part) and how to respond (the “then” part). We break every boss fight into its component parts, demystifying their overwhelming offense and showing you how to react and respond.
We have some general advice that applies to every fight, too. Before you begin, do three things:
- Fill your Runic attack meters. When a fight begins with Valkyrie descending from a floating cocoon, unleash back-to-back Runic attacks (L1 + R1 and L1 + R2). As Valkyries descend, they’re vulnerable. Attack then, and you’ll chip away a significant portion of their 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.
