God of War PS4: 9 Easy Tips For Beginners

Released on April 20th, God of War adds to the already impressive line-up of PS4 exclusives, bringing the franchise to a new generation in glorious fashion. While not everyone might agree with such a drastic change for such an iconic IP, the new God of War at least shows that Santa Monica are a studio that don’t mind taking risks.

A sprawling game with plenty to see and do, God of War can be slightly overwhelming to begin with. Whether it’s the difficulty spikes or having just far too much to wrap your head around, God of War isn’t exactly a casual experience. You can expect to be sucked into it for anywhere between 20 and 35 hours, and that’s not even considering every single thing to tick off for its Platinum trophy.

To help you start off on the right foot, we’ve compiled some very easy God of War tips. These may not revolutionise the game for you, but it will make your journey through Midgard and other realms a far smoother sail.

 

1. Explore the Lake of Nine

Not so much a tip as it is an obligation; you really have to get around the Lake of Nine to fully appreciate God of War. Not only because it’s tied to the storyline, but because you are missing out on so many levelling opportunities if you don’t. There are a few chests that you can find that will be much better than your starting gear and sidequests that will give you better rewards as well as opening up the lore of the game more. As a bonus, you can sail over dead bodies and crates to gain Aegir’s Gold and hacksilver.

 

2. Look out for these “plants”

Another reason why you should investigate the Lake of Nine is because you will come across these strange, luminous plants. By pressing circle, Atreus can claim its dew, which will then give Kratos a permanent stat boost, usually of about two levels, i.e. his strength may be increased by 2. A very straightforward way of giving yourself an edge.

 

3. Practice your axe throwing

Very obvious tip here, but the button configuration of the axe certainly takes some getting used to. It’s a large part of the gameplay and especially so if you can land hits to the head; some really great skills are tied to how successfully you land them. For practice, take some time with the freezing lever and spinning wood puzzles to discover how trajectory affects the position and where your throws might land.

 

4. Don’t upgrade your early gear

Yes, really. The reason for this is simple: as soon as your gear begins to resemble something useful, it’s immediately made inferior by something found out in the wilds or a new item in one of the dwarves’ shop. It’s expensive, too, and as hacksilver is harder to come across in the early game, maybe just farm it and depend on gear pickups until Kratos is at least level 2.

 

5. Upgrade your skills early

Kratos has many different skills that he can unlock across different sections, so you may be a little flustered when deciding what to choose. For my money, you want to choose a skill that has a high chance of interrupting enemy attacks and is also capable of striking many of them at the same time. I went with Fjord’s Tempest for almost the entirety of my playthrough: a spinning Kratos has a wide arc that can get you out of many difficult situations. Upgrading the skill is also a good idea as it becomes a total lifesaver during the game’s later, more hectic stages.

 

6. Lean on Atreus

To begin with, Atreus isn’t all that great. He is more of a nuisance than an out and out sidekick. However, as the game progresses he will be an integral part of your progress. It’s easy to forget to press square to make him shoot his bow, but considering how helpful it is in breaking up enemy attacks and defenses, it’s almost a prerequisite for the final few hours. He also has some great skills to unlock, so make sure you invest some time into making Atreus a great warrior, just like Kratos is trying to do.

 

7. Switch up talismans

Talismans are initially little buffs that you can attach to your axe and give boosts to stats. However, after some way into the game they will even be able to grant you special abilities, such as slowing down time and giving you one last burst of health when you’re on death’s door. If you’re really struggling with a section of the game, experiment with your talismans. If you can, find one that will give you health bursts after each axe kill — you will feel like a god.

 

8. Use the environment

Perhaps an obvious one, but just because Kratos cannot fall off of cliff edges it doesn’t mean that his opponents are quite so lucky. If you’re near an edge, use a strong attack to send them flying or even a shield bash. This is particularly handy against enemies who you’re struggling against, or those that tend to block quite often and take a hundred years to die. Use Draugr as your fodder to practice ringouts.

 

9. Unleash the (tactical) rage

It’s pretty tempting to just click L3 and R3 as soon as Spartan Rage becomes available. Don’t, especially if you’re already looking pretty handy in a fight. Instead, store your Rage up and unleash it when you’re looking worse for wear — roughly around 30% health. Spartan Rage grants you health back for being a homicidal lunatic and you’re also nigh on invincible during it.

Have you been playing Kratos’ return? Check out what we thought in our God of War review. If it’s more PlayStation content, we have you covered with our collection of the best PS4 games currently available. If you’re after a broader selection, we are counting down the best games of 2018 as they arrive.