Which skills should you get first in God of War Ragnarok? Answered

Just like its predecessor, God of War Ragnarok comes with no shortage of different mechanics to master. Although they’re rolled out pretty slowly at the beginning of the game, it’s still easy to get overwhelmed with all the weapons, upgrades, and combos to learn. This is especially true when the game’s skill trees are introduced since each of the three introduces new damage types and concepts that can be tricky to parse with little explanation. These early skill choices aren’t critical, as you can get by picking any skills that suit your playstyle (and you’ll probably unlock them all eventually,) but these are our picks for the best ones to give yourself an edge in the game’s early hours.

Related: Is God of War Ragnarok coming to PC?

Best early game skills in God of War Ragnarok

Glacial Rake

Glacial Rake is more expensive than some of the other early skills you can pick up for the Leviathan Axe, but we feel it’s worth the extra wait. The earliest portions of the game shouldn’t push you to pick up a skill immediately, and the versatility this lends Kratos’ axe is immensely valuable. To activate it, hold down R1, which will follow up your usual light attack with an underhand swing that sends out ice spikes in a cone. This is a great way to deal with groups of weaker enemies and apply a good amount of frost damage. The biggest drawback is the somewhat lengthy windup time, so be sure to give yourself some space before committing to the animation.

Chaotic Rampage I

Since the Blades of Chaos come with an array of sweeping attacks by default, we recommend adding Chaotic Rampage early to give them a bit more single-target punch. As an added bonus, this skill is just as easy to pull off as Glacial Rake. All you have to do is hold down R1 to perform a combo of light attacks that are effective ways to deal damage during the longer windows of bosses like the Huntress. As an added bonus, some later skills will also grant the ability to tack powerful finishers onto the end of a Chaotic Rampage.

Watchful Protector

Although Atreus’ skill tree begins pretty limited, and his skill points will start building slower than Kratos’, it’s still worth investing them into Watchful Protector as early as you can. This skill isn’t necessarily a game-changer, but it’ll definitely come in handy as soon as fights start getting more challenging and enemies start coming in larger groups. You don’t need to worry about activating it, either, as Atreus will automatically use it to draw enemy attention when Kratos is under pressure, helping get you out of some tough scrapes.