The Summoning in God of War Ragnarok is essentially a boss fight rush. In contrast to the previous chapter, “Hunting for Solace,” which was heavily focused on the narrative, “The Summoning” is nothing but a series of high-stakes fights. Even the so-called “regular” fights feature foes that were formerly employed in the role of a mid-boss.
It should come as no surprise that exploration is not a priority here. You will come across a few chests and eliminate a couple of ravens, but this stage is not one in which exploration plays a significant role in the gameplay. However, there is no need to be concerned because we will lead you to each collectible present regardless. And of course, we’ll go over each and every one of the pivotal fights that await you later on in the game.
Your quest will begin in Muspelheim. You will hand over Mimir, and then proceed to sort out the situation regarding the summoning of Ragnarok. You will notice right away that there is a chest directly opposite the location where you first start exploring. It is covered in those mysterious vines, so shoot a Sigil arrow at it to set a hex, and then use your Blades of Chaos to set the hex ablaze. After you have rummaged through the chest, you will have to jump over some lava to reach a corpse to your left that has a coin purse on it. Hop down and engage in combat with a few Wisps from this vantage point. Rune arrows should be used to shoot them, and then they should be hurled at each other. You’ll have no trouble dealing with them at all.
This room contains a Legendary chest that can be opened. You should clean it up, but you shouldn’t leave just yet. There is a raven to your right if you are facing the chest when you look at it. Once you have removed it, you will need to first torch the vines that are covering the opening in the wall before you can squeeze through. When you get to the other side of this obstacle, you will find a pretty tricky little encounter waiting for you there.
There is a trio consisting of two of the beefier Draugrs, one Wight, and another Wight. But those Draugrs hit extremely hard, and if you aren’t keeping an eye on them, they will ambush you if you aren’t paying attention to them. The Wights don’t pose much of a threat on their own because an axe throw can put them straight on their butts. On the other hand, the slow-moving Draugrs are simple to parry and counter, but if you give the Wights free reign, they will swarm you with projectiles if you give them the chance. Therefore, the strategy that you should employ is to maintain your distance, swing your axe at the Wight, and shift your position whenever a Draugr draws nearer to you.
When it is possible, use Atreus to divert their attention. Whatever you decide to do, you must ensure that the Wight are put down by any means necessary (okay, it is already dead, but you know what we mean). If you maintain your distance, you should be able to monitor those Draugrs without having to get too close. They will transform into wisps as soon as the Wight is no longer present. Use runic arrows to render them immobile, then strike out at the Draugr with your attacks.
Do you remember the Nornir Chest that we abandoned when we were in this area with Thor? Now is the time to get it, as it were. You will see a crack in the wall to your right; in order to open it, you will need to blow it open using your spear. After you have done so, the Nornir Chest will be directly in front of you. The first brazier, which can be found to your right, is currently in need of being lit. Turn now so that you are facing the lava river and the next Nornir Rune in the sequence. In order to reach the nearest brazier, use your Sigil Arrows to create a path of hexes that leads there, and then use your Blades of Chaos to light them on fire.
The first two are fairly self-explanatory, but the third may leave you scratching your head, but in reality, it is quite easy to understand. Place a second row of hexes along the path leading from the last brazier to the one that you just lit. The already-burning brazier will catch fire as soon as it comes into contact with your hex, setting off a chain reaction. You will have accomplished your goal of opening the chest in no time! Now, make your way back to the primary path, and get ready for your first encounter with a boss…
###Boss Battle: Flame Phantom
You previously faced off against the Frost Phantom in the chapter titled “The Word of Fate.” The Flame Phantom is a variant of that foe. In point of fact, their movesets are almost identical to one another. This includes the unblockable move in which it gathers together in a wave-like formation and then collapses forward. In addition to that, it possesses a horizontal whipping attack that can be blocked and a vertical slam attack that cannot be blocked. Both have a significant reach. Despite this, it seems that the Flame Phantom relies more on their vertical slams. Last but not least, it will unleash a wave of fire that can be avoided (you will know this is coming when it takes the form of a giant ring).
The objective of this round is to successfully hit the orb. This fight has a few unique aspects, one of which is that the orb will briefly shine at some point. If you strike it while it is shining, you will cause the Phantom to stumble. You can accomplish this task in a reliable manner by using your spears to strike the orb and then detonating the spears when the orb begins to glow. After that, you’ll find that distance is your ally in this situation. At a safe distance, the majority of the Flame Phantom’s attacks can be easily sidestepped. Your objective is to fill up the stun bar on the Phantom. After you have done so, the Obelisks that are located around the arena will become weak. In total, there are three obelisks present. Two of them are visible from the outside, and the third one is concealed behind a wall that must be broken down using your spear.
If the Flame Phantom charges toward you, it is highly likely that it is attempting to hit you with its unblockable attack. Make sure that you are not standing on the glowing patch of ground because it is about to explode, and keep hammering away at that orb. You should always be working to create distance between yourself and the other person. You only need to be concerned about the fire wave, which you can block, and the fire summoning attack, which requires that you are not standing on the glowing sections of the ground. If you are too far away for its slamming attacks to hit you, then you only need to worry about the fire wave and the fire summoning attack. If you maintain your current course of action, we have no doubt that you will quickly put an end to this Phantom’s problems.
After you have finished dealing with the Flame Phantom, you will need to descend a rope and crawl through a hole in the wall in order to access the subsequent area. Now, have a conversation with the stony gentleman who is working on a sword. You are going to receive a shove from him, and then another boss fight will begin.
###Boss Battle: The Soul Eaters
You only need to take a quick look at the Soul Eater to have a good idea of what to anticipate; it is the fire equivalent of the Forest Ancient and the Frost Ancient. When it opens up its chest is the time for you to launch your assault. In addition, The Soul Eater has a moveset that is significantly weaker than the others. They do not possess an attack that is similar to a beam that sweeps across the battlefield; rather, they get down on all fours and assume the role of a turret, unleashing volleys of flaming rocks. In addition to that, they are equipped with the standard rock projectile that is used by all Ancients. It will also drop the stones that resemble grenades, which you can throw at it to cause it to stagger. The Soul Eater is not a particularly difficult foe to defeat on its own, but when you are about halfway through the fight against it, a second Soul Eater and a number of Draugr will join the fray.
You might believe that the most effective course of action in this situation is to finish off The Soul Eater that you have already weakened, but we believe that it would be better for you to let it live. You see, facing off against the Soul Eaters while also having to contend with an army of Draugrs is, as might be expected, quite challenging. On the other hand, whenever you get relatively close to a Soul Eater, they will use a slam attack on you. And this move is extremely effective at driving the Draugrs away from the area. The Draugrs will also be affected by their turret move, which consists of firing a scattershot of flaming rocks from their weapon. It is recommended that you purposefully provoke these attacks from the Soul Eaters while landing the occasional axe throw on the Soul Eaters’ exposed cores in order to thin out the Draugr horde.
After you have successfully cut down on the number of Draugr, you are free to finish off the first Soul Eater, which at this point in the fight is almost certainly going to be severely injured. Now, all you have to do is maintain your distance from the Soul Eater and strike your axe into their centre whenever they make it visible to you. At this point, you are familiar with the procedure. After that, you might have one or two Draugr that you need to finish off.
After you have eliminated all of the Draugr, you should have another conversation with the impolite blacksmith. This time, he will make an effort to talk to you for a longer period of time. You will eventually succeed in swaying his opinion. He will instruct you to go underground with him and will lead you there. But before you do that, you need to make sure the raven that’s up there gets killed. From the ramp that leads up to the stone giant, you will be able to get a good view of it. You are going to travel along a path that spirals. When you reach the bottom, go to your right and open the chest that’s been painted red. Continue to follow the giant and watch the cutscene; this will lead you straight into another boss fight.
###Boss Battle: Hrist And Mist
This fight is definitely one of a kind. The health gauge for both Hrist and Mist is the same. Therefore, there is no need for you to worry about which one you are hitting and at what time. Throughout the course of the fight, they will switch places. There are going to be times when Atreus will require your assistance in the battle against the other Valkyrie. If you are unable to defeat the Valkyrie in these encounters, then Atreus will become incapacitated and you will be required to bring him back to life. You will be blessed with an abundance of time to make a decision and take action. You will engage the Valkyrie in combat on a one-on-one basis for the most part; however, they have a swooping attack in which both of them fly at you at once. You only need to parry both of them right before they collide with you; the timing for the parry is not particularly tight.
Hrist is able to deal significant damage with her spear. Hrist will charge forward at an alarming rate when they are at a distance, and their attack will be a vertical spear swing that can be blocked. Before she flies toward you with the spear, she will show you a windup animation of enormous proportions to give you advance warning of its arrival. When you get within striking distance, she will first attack with two deliberate swipes of her wings, and then she will fly up and bring her spear down on you. It appears that you are unable to parry the wings, despite the fact that they can be blocked. The spear slam attack, on the other hand, can be blocked. You are going to want to perfect the timing for this parry; press the block button just as her spear is about to make contact with the ground.
Mist is the polar opposite of her sister; instead of landing big, wide attacks, she spins in place and locks you down with dozens of quick strikes from her blades. Mist’s specialty is to lock down her opponents. Mist can also shoot projectiles at you from her wings, giving her a formidable offensive arsenal. However, it is possible to easily defend against almost all of these attacks. The one and only time this rule is broken is when Mist floats in place for a split second before launching both of her blades at you. If you see a red circle surrounding her, simply roll to the side of the screen. Be wary of the fact that she will attempt to strike you with her knives twice before jumping backward and employing her unblockable projectile, as this is her preferred method of attack.
When using Hrist, your goal should be to parry those powerful blows and then land your own blows after you have stunned your opponent with your parry. When playing as Mist, your goal should be to block her powerful spinning attack and then follow it up by hitting her with a combo. It is likely that it will take a few tries, but eventually you will get a feel for both movesets and reduce their health all the way down to zero.
The Second Phase of Hrist and Mist Is Called Projectile Pals
During the second phase of this battle, Hrist and Mist will regain a significant portion of their lost health. In addition to that, they will each receive two team-up attacks. They can be seen flying to the side of the arena and then diving in to deal damage. You will have ample time to make your escape from the danger zone, which will be very clearly marked before this attack, and you will be in no danger as a result. They will carry out this attack twice before Hrist rushes in with an attack that can be blocked by the defender. You should try to block this one by pressing the block button while she is still a character length away from you. You should parry this one a little earlier than usual.
Mist will fire a long line of projectiles at you, which you need to block, and then Hrist will throw a boulder at you, which you need to dodge. The other team-up attack will have them both move to the opposite end of the arena. Roll once you have successfully blocked Mist’s final projectile. After that, mist will begin to swirl towards you. You can, however, stop her in her tracks by lighting her up with spears while she is engaged in this behaviour.
After the team-up attacks, Hrist will begin to block using her wings, which makes a shield bash extremely simple. Additionally, she will acquire a grab that cannot be blocked. Roll to the side of her before she reaches you in order to avoid getting hit by her if you see that red ring appear and she flies toward you. If you hear her say “Submit” before she does this attack, you should get ready to roll because she is about to deliver it. It goes without saying that this move is quite obvious, but if you get hit by it, you will suffer damage equal to approximately half of your total health. It causes an incredible amount of harm.
The third phase of Hrist and Mist is here, and they are ready to rock you with their new attack.
The conflict has now reached its decisive stage. Both Hrist and Mist are granted one additional attack each. They will both launch themselves into the air, and then Hrist will attempt to smash into you while Mist transforms into a massive boulder. Just tilt your head to the side. You will have a lot of time to respond to whatever happens. Feel free to spear them while they are adrift in that space and while they are still moving around.
Aside from that one attack, which is really more of an opportunity for you to deal damage than anything else, they are just a touch faster overall and more aggressive when they are in this form. You should get ready for Hrist and Mist to start using their unblockable attacks multiple times in a row, as well as other unblockable attacks in the future. If this is not the case, you must search for opportunities to inflict damage on both of them, just as you did during the first phase of the battle.
###Travel Back To The Mystic Gateway
After you have successfully eliminated both Valkyries, it is time to make your way back to base. However, you shouldn’t anticipate the hike to be peaceful and well-organized. After you have returned to the surface, you will find that you are engaged in combat with a few Einherjar and a Wyvern. Since you now have your spear in your possession, dealing with the Wyvern should be much simpler. Throw your spears into the winged horror until it becomes an oversized pincushion. That should do the trick. Then, when it attempts to take to the air, simply detonate all of the spears in the area. It will fall to the ground, leaving it vulnerable to further assaults after it has been exposed. The most effective tactic in this situation is to kill Einherjar while simultaneously hurling spears at the bird. Exploding your spears and lowering them to the ground will give you the opportunity to take out one or more Einherjar without being interrupted. Atreus’s summons can also assist you in maintaining order among the crowd.
It is now possible to scale a portion of the wall that was previously inaccessible. Therefore, you should make your way back up to the area where you fought the Flame Phantom. When you have arrived here, you will immediately engage in combat with a second group of Einherjar, which will include a captain. You are fortunate to have a lot of space to work with, and as a result, you should be able to maintain your distance while throwing axes at your opponents’ heads and successfully hitting them. As you continue forward, a collection of Draugr and Nightmares will appear before you shortly. When dealing with Nightmares, standard procedure dictates that you should eliminate them first. A couple of well-placed axe throws ought to do the trick. Then you should put an end to those Draugr.
After negotiating the precarious ledge, you will at long last come face to face with the last of your foes, an Einherjar mounted atop a Gradungr. That’s right, you’re going to do pretty much the same thing as you did during the first phase of the Heimdal boss fight all over again. The Gradungr that we have here is equipped with a shield, which is a new ability for it. A shield bash, on the other hand, is an effortless way to counteract this. After the shield has been removed, you will be able to knock the Einherjar off of its back. However, by the time we reach the middle of the battle, more Einherjar will have entered the arena, and they will take his place.
It is sufficient to avoid the Gradungr’s paw swipes and retreat when it begins to buck; the Gradungr does not present a significant challenge. A healthy dose of axe throwing every day is exactly what the prescription calls for. It does not have a lot of health left, so it will perish in a relatively short amount of time. After that, eliminate any remaining Einherjar, and then head back to the Mystic Gateway from where you started this stage. You have successfully completed The Summoning portion of the game. Congratulations! Now, nothing stands in the way of Ragnarok but itself.