God of War Ragnarok Beginner Tips

7:38 The best start in God of War Ragnarok is in the settings. Choose Give Me Balance or an easier difficulty if you want the two safety nets that the hardest settings remove, Evade Assist and Miniboss Checkpoints; set Auto Pick-Up so health and Rage are grabbed for you in fights; and open the Lessons Learned Codex whenever a mechanic is unclear. After that, pick a play style and build armor, enchantments and Runic Attacks around it, the way Santa Monica Studio's own testers do in its published builds. Every tip below comes from the studio, PlayStation or the press, and is marked with its source. They help with God of War Laufey too, which keeps armor sets with their own perks when it arrives on May 20, 2027.

Quick facts

Sources: PlayStation: God of War Ragnarok accessibility options, Nov 4, 2026; HowLongToBeat, Nov 4, 2026.

Pick the difficulty on purpose

Ragnarok has five levels. The lowest, Give Me Story, is for players who want the story with "the least focus on combat", IGN quotes from the game, and Give Me Balance gives "equally focused" story and combat. The line that matters is between Balance and No Mercy: on Give Me No Mercy and Give Me God of War, Evade Assist (more immunity while dodging) and Miniboss Checkpoints are switched off. With checkpoints on, a miniboss you had worn down comes back with reduced health after it kills you. Give Me God of War can only be chosen when starting a new game, so decide before the first fight. Every level is compared on God of War Difficulty Modes.

Set up Auto Pick-Up and the presets

Auto Pick-Up has four settings: Essentials grabs health, Rage and stones when you need them, Economy grabs Hacksilver, resources and loot outside combat, and Full does both. The game also has four accessibility presets (Vision, Hearing, Motion reduction, Motor), each Off, Some or Full, and changed settings show in blue, so it is easy to see what you touched. The full list of over 70 options is on God of War Ragnarok Accessibility.

Use the Lessons Learned Codex

Tutorial pop-ups go by quickly. The Lessons Learned Codex keeps the combat, exploration and new-mechanic tips so you can reread them at any time from the menu.

Fewer puzzle hints, if you want them

8:36 The PC version added a reduced puzzle hints option in the Gameplay Settings, Kotaku reported at its Sep 19, 2024 launch, which makes them speak up less.

Controller settings the designers use

Two Santa Monica Studio designers shared their DualSense Edge setups for Ragnarok. Design director Jason McDonald set the triggers to their low stops, because "that's where your primary attacks and aiming are", so they feel like buttons. Lead combat designer Mihir Sheth set the left stick to Quick sensitivity to move fast in fights, and the right stick, which aims and turns the camera, the other way. The game itself offers 10 control schemes and action-based remapping of 14 buttons.

Build around one play style

11:36 Ragnarok's gear is armor with perks and stats, Shield Ronds, enchantments set in the Amulet of Yggdrasil, Skill Mods and Labors, and it rewards picking a direction. The studio's QA testers published four builds: one for last-second evades and counters, one for poison and stuns, one for Health and Rage Stone explosions, and one for Runic Attack cooldowns. They are New Game Plus builds with endgame gear, but the idea holds from the start: choose armor and enchantments that feed the same stat or habit rather than the highest numbers. Arktix, in the clip, advises looking past the set with the most strength and notes that matching wrist and waist pieces enhance their shared bonus. The weapons themselves, the Leviathan Axe, Blades of Chaos and Draupnir Spear, are on Weapons.

Leave the hardest fights for later

3:26 The optional fights are much harder than the story. Santa Monica Studio names Gna the Valkyrie Queen and the Berserker Souls as the toughest; they can wait until your gear has caught up. Every fight is on God of War Ragnarok Bosses.

Finish the story before Valhalla

The free Valhalla epilogue comes with the game, but Santa Monica Studio recommends finishing the base game first: it is set after Ragnarok's ending. New Game Plus, also unlocked only by finishing the story, carries over your gear and skills; see God of War Ragnarok New Game Plus.

Frequently asked questions

What difficulty should I play God of War Ragnarok on? For a first run, Give Me Balance is the highest God of War Ragnarok difficulty that keeps Evade Assist and Miniboss Checkpoints; both are off on Give Me No Mercy and Give Me God of War.

Can I play God of War Ragnarok on Give Me God of War mid-game? No. PlayStation says God of War Ragnarok's hardest setting, Give Me God of War, can only be chosen when starting a new game from the start menu.

Should I play God of War (2018) before Ragnarok? Yes. God of War Ragnarok is a direct sequel to God of War (2018), and both are in PlayStation Plus Extra as of Nov 4, 2026.

Should I do Valhalla before finishing God of War Ragnarok? No. Santa Monica Studio recommends finishing God of War Ragnarok's story before Valhalla, which is set after its ending.

How do I stop companions giving puzzle hints in God of War Ragnarok? On PC, God of War Ragnarok has a reduced puzzle hints option in the Gameplay Settings that makes companions offer hints less often.

Sources

• God of War Ragnarök accessibility options, PlayStation, Nov 4, 2026
• God of War Ragnarok Difficulty Settings, IGN (guide staff), undated
• God of War Ragnarök New Game Plus Build guide, PlayStation Blog (Grace Orlady), Apr 11, 2023
• God of War Ragnarök New Game Plus is available now, PlayStation Blog (Grace Orlady), Apr 5, 2023
• How to optimize your gameplay with the DualSense Edge wireless controller, PlayStation Blog (Justin Corrie), May 11, 2023
• God of War: Ragnarok PC Port Will Stop Atreus Spoiling Every Puzzle, Kotaku (John Walker), Sep 19, 2024
• God of War Ragnarök, PlayStation, Nov 4, 2026
• God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla DLC revealed, coming December 12, PlayStation Blog (Grace Orlady), Dec 7, 2023
• God of War Laufey pre-orders available starting September 29, editions detailed, PlayStation Blog (Grace Orlady), Sep 28, 2026
• HowLongToBeat: God of War: Ragnarök, HowLongToBeat, Nov 4, 2026
• ESSENTIAL Tips I Wish I Knew Sooner 🪓 God of War Ragnarok, Arktix, Sep 22, 2024 (video)
• God of War Ragnarök - 9 Essential Tips For Beginners, PlayStation Access, Nov 11, 2022 (video)