God of War Platinum Trophy Guide: A Step-by-Step Roadmap to Conquer Olympus (Again!)

God of War (2018) is a masterpiece, blending brutal combat with a compelling narrative and stunning visuals. Achieving the platinum trophy in this game is a badge of honor, signifying mastery over its challenges and a deep understanding of its intricate world. This comprehensive guide will walk you through every step required to unlock every single trophy, offering tips and strategies to conquer even the toughest trials. Prepare yourself, Spartan, for a journey back to Midgard!

Before You Begin: Important Considerations

• Difficulty: The platinum trophy can be earned on any difficulty setting. We highly recommend playing on ‘Give Me a Balanced Experience’ for your first playthrough, allowing you to enjoy the story and combat without excessive frustration. You can then lower the difficulty to ‘Give Me a Story’ for mop-up trophies if needed. ‘Give Me God of War’ difficulty is extremely challenging, reserved for experienced players seeking the ultimate test. Trying to platinum on this difficulty from the start is not recommended unless you’re a seasoned veteran.
• Missables: There are no missable trophies in God of War. You can freely return to any area after completing the main story to collect remaining items, complete side quests, and defeat optional bosses.
• Collectibles: A significant portion of the platinum trophy involves collecting various items scattered throughout the nine realms. Consider using a checklist or online map to track your progress, especially for Odin’s Ravens, Artifacts, and Treasure Maps.
• Time Commitment: Expect to spend approximately 40-60 hours earning the platinum trophy, depending on your skill level and chosen difficulty.
• Spoilers: This guide attempts to minimize spoilers, but some information regarding locations, enemies, and minor plot points is unavoidable. Proceed with caution if you wish to remain completely unspoiled.

Trophy Breakdown: A Roadmap to Platinum

The trophies in God of War can be broadly categorized into the following areas:

• Story Trophies: Awarded for completing the main story quests.
• Combat Trophies: Awarded for performing specific combat actions, defeating certain enemies, or mastering combat skills.
• Exploration & Collectible Trophies: Awarded for exploring the world, finding collectibles, and completing side quests.
• Challenge Trophies: Awarded for completing specific challenges, such as Muspelheim Trials and Niflheim Labyrinth.
• Crafting & Upgrade Trophies: Awarded for crafting specific items and upgrading equipment.

Here’s a detailed roadmap to follow to efficiently achieve the platinum trophy:

Phase 1: Main Story Playthrough

Focus on completing the main story quests. Explore thoroughly, but don’t get bogged down in collecting everything right away. Prioritize upgrading your gear and learning the combat system. Pay attention to the environment and dialogue for lore and hints about collectible locations. This phase is about enjoying the story and familiarizing yourself with the game world. Engage with side quests if they present themselves naturally, but don’t feel compelled to complete them all immediately.

Trophies Earned During This Phase:

• Father and Son: Receive Atreus’ Knife.
• New Beginnings: Defend your home from The Stranger.
• A Pathfinder: Acquire Mimir.
• Magni and Modi: Kill Magni and Modi.
• The Dragon Slayer: Defeat the Dragon at the Mountain Peak.
• Troubling Consequences: Defeat Baldur.
• Hello, Old Friend: Retrieve the Blades of Chaos.
• Promise Kept: Heal Atreus.
• Echoes of the Past: Complete all of Atreus’ Journal entries.
• The Journey Begins: Defeat the Stanger.
• Second Hand Apparel: Craft a piece of armor.
• Best Moves: Fully upgrade one Runic Attack.
• Why Fight?: Defeat Svartaljofurr.
• Death Happends Here: Explore Helheim Fully.
• Darkness Falls: Defeat the darkness elves.
• The realms aligned: Restore the travel room.
• Fire and Brimstone: Complete the Muspelheim Realm Tower.
• The Magic Chisel: Use the magic chisel.
• More than mortal: Increase your max Health, Rage or Runic.
• Last Wish: Spread the ashes.

Phase 2: Exploration and Side Quests

Now that you’ve completed the main story, it’s time to explore Midgard and the other realms. Focus on completing side quests (Favors), opening Nornir Chests, collecting Artifacts, Treasure Maps, and Odin’s Ravens. Pay close attention to the map and use fast travel to efficiently move between locations. Consult online maps and guides to locate any collectibles you may have missed. This phase will significantly increase your character’s power and unlock valuable resources.

Trophies Earned During This Phase:

• Trilingual: Learn all of the languages. This requires finding Muspelheim and Niflheim Cipher Pieces, as well as language ciphers throughout the world. Prioritize opening Nornir Chests containing cipher pieces.
• Allfather Blinded: Kill all of Odin’s Ravens (51 total). These are scattered throughout the nine realms and can be challenging to find without a guide. Listen for their distinctive caw to help locate them.
• Beneath the Surface: Explore all the Lake of Nine has to offer. This involves completing all the side quests and exploring all the islands around the lake.
• Death Dealer: Defeat all the Valkyries. These are optional bosses and are extremely challenging. See the dedicated section below for strategies.
• Treasure Hunter: Find all of the Treasure Maps and unearth their treasures. The maps provide clues to the location of buried treasure chests.
• Favor of the Fallen: Complete all of the Favors for the spirits in Midgard. These are side quests that often involve exploring specific areas or defeating certain enemies.
• Unfinished Business: Help all of the wayward spirits.
• Darkness and Fog: Complete all the goals in the Niflheim workshop.
• Chooser of the Slain: Defeat all valkyries.

Phase 3: Muspelheim and Niflheim Challenges

Muspelheim and Niflheim are two optional realms that offer unique challenges and rewards. Muspelheim consists of a series of combat trials, while Niflheim features a procedurally generated labyrinth filled with deadly traps and enemies. These areas are essential for acquiring specific crafting materials needed to upgrade your gear to its maximum potential. These can be time-consuming but provide valuable resources and combat experience.

Trophies Earned During This Phase:

• Fire and Brimstone: Complete all of the Muspelheim Trials. This involves completing a series of combat challenges in Muspelheim’s arena. Prepare for some of the toughest fights in the game.
• Darkness and Fog: Complete all goals in the Niflheim Workshop. This requires navigating the Niflheim labyrinth and collecting Mist Echoes to craft items. The labyrinth is filled with traps and enemies, so be prepared for a challenging experience.

Phase 4: Crafting and Upgrades

With resources gathered from exploration and challenges, it’s time to focus on crafting and upgrading your equipment. Craft the best available armor sets and fully upgrade your weapons, armor, and Runic Attacks. This phase will significantly enhance your combat capabilities and prepare you for the remaining challenges.

Trophies Earned During This Phase:

• Best Gear: Craft a fully upgraded armor set. This typically involves the Ivaldi’s Deadly Mist armor set from Niflheim, but other sets may also qualify.
• Enchanted: Slot an enchantment into your armor.
• All Will Fall: Kill 1000 enemies. This trophy will likely unlock naturally throughout your playthrough.
• Worthy: Fully upgrade the Leviathan Axe. This requires defeating specific enemies and completing certain challenges to acquire the necessary materials.
• Why Fight?: Defeat Svartaljofurr.
• Death Happens Here: Explore Helheim fully.

Phase 5: Valkyrie Queen

The final challenge is defeating the Valkyrie Queen Sigrun. This is arguably the most difficult fight in the game, requiring precise timing, skillful dodging, and a deep understanding of enemy attack patterns. Before attempting this fight, ensure your gear is fully upgraded and you’ve mastered the combat system. Practice against the other Valkyries to learn their attack patterns and develop effective strategies.

Trophies Earned During This Phase:

• Chooser of the Slain: Defeat all nine Valkyries, including the Queen Sigrun. This is the most challenging trophy in the game and requires significant skill and preparation.

Phase 6: Clean Up

After completing all the other trophies, review your trophy list and identify any remaining tasks. This may involve revisiting areas to collect missed collectibles, completing unfinished side quests, or performing specific combat actions. Use online guides and checklists to ensure you haven’t overlooked anything.

Trophies Earned During This Phase:

• From the Ashes: Obtain all other trophies. Congratulations, you’ve earned the platinum trophy!

Detailed Trophy Guide: Specific Instructions and Tips

This section provides a detailed breakdown of each trophy, with specific instructions and tips to help you unlock them.

Story Trophies

• Father and Son: Receive Atreus’ Knife. (Automatic story progression)
• New Beginnings: Defend your home from The Stranger. (Automatic story progression)
• A Pathfinder: Acquire Mimir. (Automatic story progression)
• Magni and Modi: Kill Magni and Modi. (Automatic story progression)
• The Dragon Slayer: Defeat the Dragon at the Mountain Peak. (Automatic story progression)
• Troubling Consequences: Defeat Baldur. (Automatic story progression)
• Hello, Old Friend: Retrieve the Blades of Chaos. (Automatic story progression)
• Promise Kept: Heal Atreus. (Automatic story progression)
• Echoes of the Past: Complete all of Atreus’ Journal entries. (Automatic story progression)
• The Journey Begins: Defeat The Stranger. (Automatic story progression)
• Last Wish: Spread the Ashes. (Automatic story progression)

Combat Trophies

• All Will Fall: Kill 1000 enemies. This is cumulative and will unlock naturally as you progress through the game. Focus on using a variety of attacks and abilities to maximize your combat effectiveness.
• Best Moves: Fully upgrade one Runic Attack. Runic Attacks are special abilities that can be equipped to your weapons. To fully upgrade one, you need to acquire enough XP and Hacksilver to purchase all available upgrades. You will get more than enough XP through completing the game so don’t worry about grinding.
• Enchanted: Slot an enchantment into your armor. Enchantments are gems that provide various stat boosts. You can find them in chests, as rewards for completing quests, or by crafting them at the shop. Open the inventory and slot any enchantment into any piece of armor that has a slot for it.

Exploration & Collectible Trophies

• Trilingual: Learn all of the languages. There are 4 languages to learn: Muspelheim, Niflheim, Ancient, and Elvish. You must find 4 Muspelheim Cipher Pieces and 4 Niflheim Cipher Pieces, then learn the Muspelheim Language and Niflheim Language in the realm travel room. For Ancient and Elvish you must find language ciphers in the world and visit the realm travel room to translate them. Focus on opening Nornir Chests, as they often contain cipher pieces. Look for combinations of runes that can be broken by throwing your axe at them.
• Allfather Blinded: Kill all of Odin’s Ravens (51 total). Odin’s Ravens are green birds scattered throughout the nine realms. They are often hidden in hard-to-reach locations. Listen for their distinctive caw to help locate them. Use a guide, as finding them all without assistance can be extremely difficult.
• Beneath the Surface: Explore all the Lake of Nine has to offer. This involves completing all the side quests and exploring all the islands around the lake. Once the water level lowers twice during the story, numerous islands will become accessible. Each one counts towards the trophy, so visit them all and do everything possible there.
• Treasure Hunter: Find all of the Treasure Maps and unearth their treasures. Treasure Maps are found throughout the world and provide clues to the location of buried treasure chests. The maps provide clues, usually drawings or descriptions, that lead to the treasure.
• Favor of the Fallen: Complete all of the Favors for the spirits in Midgard. Favors are side quests that often involve exploring specific areas or defeating certain enemies. There are several favors available throughout the game, some tied to specific locations (such as the Lake of Nine) and others found by interacting with spirits.
• Unfinished Business: Help all of the wayward spirits. This trophy seems to be the same as “Favor of the Fallen” so unlocking “Favor of the Fallen” should also unlock this trophy.

Muspelheim and Niflheim Trophies

• Fire and Brimstone: Complete all of the Muspelheim Trials. Muspelheim consists of a series of combat trials, each with different objectives and challenges. There are 5 initial trials, plus a Valkyrie fight that unlocks after completing the first five trials. To unlock the ‘Impossible’ challenges you need to complete the sword trials. There will be symbols above the entry point with Roman Numerals, complete all of these. Then return to the sword at the top of the Volcano. The sword will have 6 trials on it, which rotate out every few minutes. You only need to beat each trial once to complete Muspelheim.
• Darkness and Fog: Complete all goals in the Niflheim Workshop. Niflheim features a procedurally generated labyrinth filled with deadly traps and enemies. The goal is to collect Mist Echoes to craft items at Sindri’s workshop. The main goal is to craft the Ivaldi Armor Set. Each piece requires 500 mist echoes. You will also need Anchor of Fog and Niflheim Alloy. Anchor of Fog comes from the Central Chamber in the Workshop. Niflheim Alloy comes from large chests that cost 5000 mist echoes each. Crafting Ivaldi’s Armor is required for the Best Gear trophy and this trophy.

Crafting and Upgrade Trophies

• Second Hand Apparel: Craft a piece of armor. Simply craft any piece of armor at Brok and Sindri’s shop. You’ll do this naturally throughout the story.
• Best Gear: Craft a fully upgraded armor set. This typically involves the Ivaldi’s Deadly Mist armor set from Niflheim, but other sets may also qualify. The armor needs to be upgraded too so you will need the necessary materials to fully upgrade each piece.
• Worthy: Fully upgrade the Leviathan Axe. You must upgrade the axe with frozen flames 4 times. 3 Frozen Flames are acquired through story progression. The final frozen flame can be acquired by completing a side quest that opens up in the mountain after you have defeated the dragon in the story.

Valkyrie Trophies

• Chooser of the Slain: Defeat all nine Valkyries, including the Queen Sigrun. The Valkyries are optional bosses scattered throughout the nine realms. They are extremely challenging fights that require precise timing, skillful dodging, and a deep understanding of enemy attack patterns.

Valkyrie Strategies

The Valkyries are some of the toughest fights in God of War. Here are some general tips, plus some advice for each of the Valkyries:

General Valkyrie Tips:

• Gear Up: Fully upgrade your armor and weapons before tackling the Valkyries. The Ivaldi armor set from Niflheim is highly recommended.
• Runic Attacks: Equip powerful Runic Attacks to both your axe and Blades of Chaos. Experiment with different combinations to find what works best for you.
• Enchantments: Slot enchantments into your armor to boost your stats and provide additional benefits.
• Resurrection Stone: Always have a Resurrection Stone equipped in case you die. The Perfect Resurrection Stone is ideal for boss fights.
• Learn Their Patterns: Each Valkyrie has a unique set of attacks. Study their movements and learn how to dodge or parry their attacks.
• Use Atreus: Atreus can provide valuable support during Valkyrie fights. Use his arrows to interrupt enemy attacks and stun them. Upgrade Atreus’ armor and skills to maximize his effectiveness.
• Patience is Key: Don’t get greedy with your attacks. Focus on dodging and parrying, and only attack when you have a clear opening.

Valkyrie Locations & Strategies

1. Gunnr (Midgard – Thamur’s Corpse): Gunnr is one of the easier Valkyries. She frequently uses a wing swipe that can be easily blocked or parried. Watch out for her unblockable attacks and dodge accordingly.
2. Eir (Midgard – The Mountain): Eir is a healer and will frequently attempt to heal herself and her allies. Interrupt her healing attempts with Atreus’ arrows or Runic Attacks.
3. Kara (Midgard – The River Pass): Kara summons Draugr to fight alongside her. Focus on quickly eliminating the Draugr before focusing on Kara.
4. Róta (Midgard – Helheim): Róta is very aggressive and will frequently charge at you. Use your shield to parry her attacks and create openings.
5. Olrun (Alfheim): Olrun relies heavily on swift, unblockable attacks. Concentrate on evasion, waiting for openings to strike between attacks.
6. Geirdriful (Foothills): Geirdriful makes heavy use of ranged attacks and valkyrie descent, using her wings to protect her. Stay mobile, and use runic attacks to deal burst damage when she pauses to attack.
7. Gondul (Muspelheim): Gondul can only be fought by completing the Muspelheim Trials. She is able to cast fireballs and meteors. Be prepared to dodge often.
8. Hildr (Niflheim): Hildr hovers above the ground during the entire fight and throws ice attacks, she is easy to deal with, the only real challenge is getting to her. Make sure to bring resistance to the cold with you on this fight.
9. Sigrun (Midgard – Council of Valkyries): Sigrun combines the attacks of all the other Valkyries. She is the most difficult fight in the game and requires patience, skill, and a deep understanding of enemy attack patterns. Be prepared to die multiple times before you defeat her. She’s very mobile and aggressive, be patient and focus on defense and openings will appear for attacks.

Conclusion

Earning the platinum trophy in God of War is a challenging but rewarding experience. By following this guide and mastering the game’s mechanics, you’ll be well on your way to conquering Olympus (again!) and adding another prestigious platinum to your collection. Good luck, Spartan!