God of War Bosses, Ranked Weakest to Strongest

God of War, Baldur. Boss, Trolls. Weak, Tough, Strong, Hard, Easy, Sigrun, Valkyries

Not All Bosses Are Made Equal.

PS4's God of War is known for its masterpiece of a story and its top-notch combat. Its narrative often crescendos with its most magnificent combat moments: the boss fights. But like every other game, some boss fights are harder than others (and some are just annoying). Here's a look at every boss fight in the game, ranked from weakest to strongest.

11. The Stranger (First Baldur Fight)

Battle of the Beards.

After a pleasant walk with your son Atreus, The Stranger comes a-knockin’ to stir shit up. What follows is a glorious – if easy – battle that sets the stage for the sheer scale of God of War.

Okay, in-lore, the guy is unharmable and unbeatable during this first boss fight. However, he does have a health bar, and once you deplete it the fight is “won”. This fight is epic and gives the player a visceral feeling of massive power. Still, the battle is clearly made to be won as a way to achieve that powerful feeling. The Stranger’s moves are completely telegraphed and easy to deal with, so the fight itself is no real struggle.

The Stranger Boss Fight.

10. Baldur and Freya (Final Fight)

Chokes on Chokes.

After a longer, less pleasant walk with your son Atreus, Baldur comes a-knockin’ again for the final showdown of the game. But this time, his mom helps him.

This is another tremendously satisfying fight that lacks in the difficulty department. The mechanics involved in this final fight are far more varied and interesting than those of the initial stranger fight, but none of them present a real threat. The problem is that most players have top-level gear by the time they get to the fight, so any damage Baldur does is easily shrugged off. Still, it’s an exhilarating battle.

Baldur and Freya Boss Fight.

9. The Trolls (Standard)

Does he carry that around all the time?

The standard Trolls are thrown into various pockets of the game’s world, and their movesets are virtually identical. Good thing they’re fun to fight...oh wait.

Trolls have very little moveset variation, and the moves they do use are incredibly slow. All you have to do is dodge, whack their knees, and occasionally throw an axe at their heads. The only trouble with trolls is that if you do get hit, you’ll take heavy damage. But you probably won’t get hit.

Troll Boss Fight.

8. Grendel of the Ashes and Frost

This makes me want to watch Trolls 2.

You know who I’d fight if I had a million dollars? Two trolls at the same time.

Grendel of the Ashes and Frost provide a challenge that’s a step up from the standard trolls. Fighting two trolls at once is certainly harder than fighting one troll. It’s just math. Still – they’re just trolls.

Grendels Boss Fight.

7. Magni and Modi

Modi is there too, I promise.

Thor’s sons underestimate Kratos and taunt Atreus. So the bar for “great strategies” is set pretty low on this fight.

Is this one really a surprise? These two are clearly compensating for something. This fight is basically two against one, and it will still take most players two tries at most. The brothers’ moves are easy to outmaneuver, and half of the fight is essentially a quick time event.

Magni and Modi Boss Fight.

6. Hraezlyr

I don't think that thing plays fetch.

Hraezlyr is a huge dragon. That’s his whole thing.

The Hraezlyr boss fight harkens back to God of War 3. You find yourself in a somewhat cramped space dodging huge AOE attacks and sneaking combos in. There’s a rhythm to it that isn’t overly hard to find, but mistakes can be costly. The necessity to run and grab projectiles without getting hit adds a distraction that makes this fight more difficult. Plus it’s a big scary dragon, so intimidation factors in.

Hraezlyr Boss Fight.

5. Mattugr Helson

And now I'm sad there's no Trolls 3.

After a grueling trek through Hel, Kratos is faced with an enormous and powerful bird creature looming over him. But he fights a troll instead.

Mattugr may be a troll, but fighting him is a completely different experience than fighting standard trolls. The lack of Atreus’ assistance coupled with the fact that Kratos is equipped with relatively new weapons means any player can easily be thrown off. Beyond that, Mattugr’s moveset is fast-paced for a troll. He teleports around the arena, making him difficult to pummel. This might take a player 2 – 3 tries.

Mattugr Helson Boss Fight.

4. Ancients

Nature Walks.

Ancients are a category of boss that function virtually identically to each other. And man are they frustrating to fight.

Ancients should, theoretically, be easy to take down. They’re slow and they have a great big target in the middle of their torsos. However, the only way to hurt them is to throw your axe at that target, which only opens while an Ancient is lobbing ranged attacks at you. This makes dodging extremely tricky. And that beam move of theirs is straight up cheap.

Ancient Boss Fight.

3. Svartaljqfurr

He either has no nipples or A LOT of nipples.

Muster up your feelings about dark elves in this game. Now multiply those by 100.

Svartaljqfurr may be more difficult to pronounce than he is to defeat, but that’s not saying much. This guy is a super-charged dark elf, meaning he brings the full annoyance of their move set with an extra heaping of bullshit. If he blinds you, good luck.

Svartaljqfurr Boss Fight.

2. The Valkyries

Stomped.

The eight Valkyries are optional bosses, and provide some of the greatest challenge in the game. I’m lumping them together, but make no mistake – each one provides its own grind of a fight.

Valkyries push players to their limit when it comes to combat skill, and demand near-perfection. Each one has a variety of moves, and while there is significant overlap, each has its own gimmick meant to make you cry. From Rota’s maniacal curb stomps to Hildr’s added time-test component, these bosses throw cruel curveballs with glee. They’re difficult to dodge, deal massive damage, and have absurd amounts of health.

Rota Boss Fight.

1. Sigrun

I can show you the world...

Sigrun is the Valkyrie Queen. Sigrun is the VALKYRIE. QUEEN.

Sigrun has damn near every move of every previous Valkyrie. She is relentless, she can and will one-hit K.O. you, and there are legends that her health bar is so big that it stretches all the way around the earth. You need to be perfect to fight her, and you need to make sure you have a few hours free. It’s also a good idea to keep in mind that your controller costs 60 dollars. Okay, it still might be worth throwing it.

Sigrun Boss Fight.

Adam loves video games, and the people around him love to hear him talk. His mom, his friends, people on the train - they all relish his commentary. They've never said so out loud, but he knows.
Gamer Since: 1996
Favorite Genre: RPG
Currently Playing: Spider-man PS4
Top 3 Favorite Games:Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition, Rocket League, BioShock