Chapter 1: The Marked Trees

Wildwoods

Start at pyre
Exit gate
Tracks
Bridge gap
Deer appears
Bridge obstruction
Draugr ambush!
Green Healthstone
Stream’s end
Climb ledge
Climb chain
Wolves!
Barrier to Nornir Chest
Temple entrance
Broken gap
Temple yard (Draugr!)
Tall doors
Frozen pond
Side chamber
Yard exit passage
Climb chain
Iron gate
Stairs
Jötnar Shrine (Sköll & Hati)
Deer reappears
Fire Troll battle!
Climb ledge
Sealed door
Climb wall
Lift platform
House entry

Artifact

Chest

Coffin

Hidden chamber

Lore

Nornir Chest

The story opens in a moment of melancholy: Kratos, once the raging, pitiless Ghost of Sparta, gazes in sadness at the trunk of an ancient tree marked with a yellow handprint. Press Circle to trigger a scene: Kratos wields his great axe. Press R1 several times to slice through the trunk. Kratos then hefts the fallen tree onto his shoulder.

Journey Objectives

Follow the River Downstream
Hunt with Atreus
Defeat the Troll
Return to the House
Defeat the Stranger
Return to the House

New Enemies

Draugr
Hel-Reaver Lord
Miniboss: Dauði Kaupmaðr
Boss: The Stranger

How to Use This Walkthrough

This walkthrough for The Journey guides you step-by-step along God of War’s “critical path”—that is, the game’s main story. Midgard also offers many engrossing optional activities for adventurers, but those pursuits are fully covered in other sections of this book. Our Journey walkthrough covers only activities associated with the game’s central plotline.

That said, our walkthrough does fully explore each area that you visit while completing The Journey’s listed objectives. That means we point out every important game-related item in each area visited in The Journey, including all major loot receptacles (chests, coffins, etc.), all lore markers, and all collectible items (such as Artifact Sets) that you can cash in at a shop.

But again, don’t expect to find every discoverable God of War “thing” in this walkthrough. Completionist maniacs (and you know who you are) can check out the other sections of this strategy guide to find where every optional endeavor leads, and where every Odin’s Raven squawks.

Push the left stick forward to follow the boy, Atreus, to the flag-marked dock. Approach the canoe moored there and press Circle: father and son lash the tree to the boat, then Kratos tosses the great trunk into the river and joins Atreus in the canoe. Here, your first official objective appears on-screen.

OBJECTIVE: Follow the River Downstream

Kratos starts out clad in minimal armor, but he’s armed with his mighty axe, Leviathan. Use the left stick to steer the boat downstream. Listen to the conversation as you travel. Atreus says the forest feels somehow different; Kratos replies, “Everything is different now, boy.” After you pass through the rock tunnel, steer toward the dock marked with a flag, and press Circle to debark.

Kratos automatically pulls the tree from the water and hoists it on his shoulder again. Follow Atreus along the path until you reach the house, triggering another scene: Kratos chops the tree into kindling for a pyre (marked as (1) on our mission map).

Father and son bid farewell to the great love of their lives. Then Atreus retrieves his bow and a quiver of arrows.

OBJECTIVE: Hunt with Atreus

Find the Artifact

Exit the compound via the gate (2) and follow Atreus up the path as he hunts for deer. Keep an eye out for the bluish glow of pickup items—one item, a sack of Hacksilver (circled in our screenshot), sits where the path splits just past the waterfall. Veer up the rightmost fork and find the tracks on the ground (3). Examine them to trigger a quick scene: Atreus identifies them as “not deer.”

Before you take the other path fork up the staircase onto the bridge, follow the ravine leading under the bridge to find the chest (circled in our shot) stashed there. Press Circle to punch through the lid and loot its contents.

Keep following the ravine to find the glowing Lost Toy (a toy boat) on the ground just past the bridge overhead. This is the first of numerous valuable Artifacts you can collect in the game. Grabbing this one bestows a reward of 10 XP.

Find the Deer

Climb the stone staircase to find more tracks; Atreus suggests they could be wild boar. At the top, follow the on-screen directions to make a running leap across the broken gap (4) in the bridge. Follow Atreus down the path, and use the same technique to vault over the fallen tree trunk. Up ahead, Atreus nearly runs into a magnificent buck (5).

Take up the chase, but don’t miss the sacks filled with Hacksilver stashed along the path, plus another chest under a fallen tree to the right. (Don’t worry—the deer won’t escape if you take time to explore.) When you reach the suspension bridge, Atreus points out that the fleeing deer “broke the bridge”; a fallen chunk of the bridgehead obstructs passage over on the far side (6).

Clear the Bridge Obstruction

Use your Leviathan Axe to clear the obstruction. Here’s how:

Press the right D-pad button to wield the Leviathan Axe (if you’re not already holding it).
Hold in L2 to activate a white on-screen targeting reticule.
Use the right stick to aim—that is, to move the white targeting reticule over the fallen obstruction on the far side of the bridge.
Press R1 or R2 to fling the axe, which shatters the wooden boards of the obstruction.
Then press Triangle to recall the axe. It zooms straight back into Kratos’ hand!

Hop across the broken gap. Ahead, the buck reappears; Atreus fires a hasty arrow and misses his shot. A disappointed Kratos confiscates the boy’s bow and orders him to find the deer again.

Defeat the Draugr Squad

Continue down the path, following Atreus into the clearing (7) ahead. When the Draugr appears, fling your axe through it from a distance. If the creature manages to get into melee (close) range, nail it with a quick string of light attacks to knock the beast off-balance, then kill with a follow-up heavy attack. Your Leviathan slices up Draugr quickly, but Kratos’ bare-handed punches are nearly as deadly.

After you terminate the first threat, a second Draugr leaps from atop a boulder down into the clearing. Try to nail him from range with axe tosses. Then two more Draugr pairs rush in to attack, one after another. Hold in L1 to block Draugr blows, then follow up with a heavy attack by pressing R2. Experiment with these three attacks (axe toss/recall, light attack, heavy attack), interspersed with blocks.

Explore the Canyon

Once all Draugr are destroyed, follow Atreus again as he heads toward an ancient ruin featuring great stone towers. Proceed through an archway etched with odd letters, into a stone-paved courtyard (8) with stairs leading in four directions.

Snag the glowing green Healthstone in the center to replenish your health. Then look up to spot a bucket hanging from the ceiling. This is an “offering cask” and you’ll find many of these throughout Midgard. Each holds Hacksilver, hung up by Odin’s disciples as an offering to the gods. Target the glowing disk above the bucket and toss Leviathan to knock the cask to the ground. Then go pick up the Hacksilver drop.

Atreus heads to the leftmost staircase, but let’s fully explore these ruins before moving on. Turn up the rightmost staircase and follow the path downhill toward the waterfall. Don’t miss the chest tucked into a grotto on the ravine’s left side. Follow the stream to the end (9) to find a Hacksilver sack next to another corpse. Then go back directly toward the waterfall and veer right to climb the low ledge (circled in our shot) marked with symbols (10).

Follow the route to the canyon drop-off where you find a chain wrapped around a podium (11). Press Circle to slide down the chain to the ground below. (Atreus automatically jumps on his father’s back for the ride down.) At the canyon’s bottom (12), two Rabid Wolves guard a coffin.

After you kill both animals, open the coffin to find a large stash of Hacksilver. Before you return to the chain hanging down the canyon wall, be sure to find the Lost Toy (a toy horse) on the ground nearby. Then climb the chain out of the canyon and return all the way back to the stone courtyard (8).

Open the Nornir Chest

Back in the courtyard, go up the next staircase to your right and toss Leviathan to shatter the wooden barrier ahead (13). Proceed into the cave-like chamber beyond to find a Nornir Chest—that is, a chest sealed shut by three glowing blue runes.

You can’t open a Nornir Chest unless you break all three runic seals. To do this, find the three matching runes etched on stones elsewhere in the area, and toss Leviathan at each one.

Smashing each runic seal breaks the corresponding seal on the chest:
One matching runic seal is on the floor, just right of the Nornir Chest.

Another one is stashed inside an open chest that sits against the side wall to the left of the Nornir Chest.

The third runic seal sits atop some rubble in the front left corner of the chamber as you face back toward the entrance.

When all three runic seals are broken, open the chest to claim the substantial treasure inside: an Iðunn Apple, one of nine in the game. These apples are found only in magically locked Nornir Chests. Every three Iðunn Apples you collect increases your maximum Health, a valuable boost.

How to Open a Nornir Chest

Nornir Chests are sealed shut by three powerful protection runes. Each individual rune emanates enough power to lock the chest; thus, you must break all three seals before Kratos can open the chest.

To break each rune’s seal, you must find its matching rune etched in blue on an object elsewhere in the area and then neutralize the rune somehow. In many cases, you simply toss Leviathan at the rune-etched object (a stone or a statue) to shatter it. Once your axe smashes that object, the corresponding rune-seal on the Nornir Chest is permanently broken. When all three magical seals are broken in this manner, Kratos can open the chest.

However, some Nornir Chests have their matching runes etched on unbreakable bells. The runes on these bells darken only briefly when struck by Leviathan, and then light up again after a few seconds, reactivating their seals. This forces you to find and strike all three rune-bells quickly, before any of them re-illuminates. If you can hit all three bells within the time limit, their seals on the Nornir Chest are permanently broken.

Still other rune-seals are found on spinner devices that you rotate to display the Nornir Chest’s corresponding runes. When the three correct runes are displayed on these spinners, the magical seals are broken.

All of this will become much clearer when you encounter these other types of Nornir Chest puzzles later in the game. Don’t worry, we’ll walk you carefully through each one, step by step!

Enter the Temple

Return to the central courtyard (8), turn right, and head up the last staircase. Follow the walkway to see the deer leap up into the ancient temple ahead. Continue to the temple entrance (14) and open the great red doors. This triggers a short scene: father and son spot the deer atop a low ridge up ahead, but it’s out of Atreus’ bow range.

Hop across the walkway gap (15), descend the staircase, and turn left. Follow Atreus into the side hall with glowing embers in the middle. Up ahead, just around the corner, some Draugr loiter in an open yard (16).

Clear the Temple Yard

Nail them from afar with a few axe throws, then close in fast and hack them into cinders. Don’t get cornered, and don’t let them flank you—keep moving! More Draugr soon join the fight. Be ready to roll away if they attack from behind, and then eliminate them in the same manner.

Clear the Frozen Pond

Note the big chain attached to the vertical strut in the yard’s center. This mechanism opens two nearby gates (19, 20) leading west and south out of the yard. But before you use it, first open the tall doors (17) that exit to the north. Head down the exit tunnel to see a frozen pond (18) with another coffin at the left and a nasty Rabid Wolf pack lurking to the right, soon joined by more Draugr. If a Wolf manages to clamp its jaws on Kratos, just start tapping Circle to break free.

Remember that you can trip Draugr easily by targeting their legs with a quick axe toss. Once a tripped Draugr is on the ground, rush in and launch it upward with a heavy attack, then follow up with rapid light attacks to “juggle” the foe in the air until dead. Or you can keep your distance and use the Leviathan toss-and-retrieve method to hit them repeatedly.

Once the fight is over, collect all pickups from the area (including another Lost Toy Artifact), then open the coffin to loot it for a substantial reward. Now you can go back through the tall doors and return to the yard (16).

Open the Temple Exit Gates

Approach the big chain attached to the vertical strut and pull it. This turns a gearwheel (circled in our shot) above the exit passage across the yard (20), which raises the exit passage’s inner gate and lowers its outer gate. It also raises a gate leading to a side chamber (19).

If you let go of the chain and try to run toward either of the newly opened gates, both crash back to the ground before you can reach them. Instead, while the gates are up, use L2 to target the gearwheel above the exit passage, and then toss Leviathan. The axe strike freezes the gear, keeping both gates raised. Don’t recall the axe yet! First, turn right, enter the side chamber (19), and open the coffin for some Hacksilver.

Return to the temple yard and step into the exit passage (20). Once you step past the raised inner gate, recall Leviathan. This unfreezes the gearwheel so the inner gate crashes down behind you. But now the outer gate rises, letting you exit the temple yard at last!

Unblock the Iron Gate

Outside, veer a bit left to raid another coffin full of loot tucked under a ledge. Turn left again and spot the chain hanging down a wall (21). Climb the chain up the wall.

At the top, turn right to see an iron gate blocked by debris (22). Note that if you toss Leviathan at the red firepot on the right, it explodes and destroys a pile of debris next to it.

Another red firepot hangs on the other side of the closed gate. If you can detonate that lantern, it will clear the debris blocking the gate. Unfortunately, the firepot is behind the iron gate, which blocks your axe toss.

Step toward the gate and look up through an opening in the ceiling to spot a blue glowing disc (circled); the firepot lantern is hanging from that disc. Throw Leviathan at the blue disc to shatter it, causing the lantern to drop and explode. (You can hit a hanging Hacksilver bucket here too.) This clears out the debris. Open the gate and go loot the chest inside for a nice Hacksilver haul.

Find the Jötnar Shrine

Ascend the stairs (23) to find a chest nestled against the right-side wall. You also see a crude wooden barrier (24) directly ahead. Open the chest to snag the reward inside. Then toss Leviathan to smash the wooden barrier.

This reveals an ornate cabinet sitting at the end of a short corridor. Open the cabinet to reveal a Jötnar Shrine, a set of ornamental carvings on three wooden panels hinged together side by side. This is your first Lore collectible. Each one tells a pictorial tale that provides mythic background for the story.

Atreus recognizes the images as Sköll and Hati, the two giant wolves said to have chased the sun and moon. Listen as he tries to puzzle out what the images mean. Note that this adds a new Jötnar Shrine entry under the Lore category in your Codex (accessed via the Pause Menu).

Find and Shoot the Deer

Return to the wall where you climbed up the chain (21), and use it to climb back down. Follow Atreus up the trail past the red banner flapping between boulders (25) to trigger a scene: Atreus spots the great stag up ahead, so Kratos hands back the boy’s hunting bow.

Hold in L2 to “aim”—a white targeting reticle appears on-screen. Use the right stick to move the reticle over the deer. Note how the reticle’s center turns red as you guide it closer to the stag’s heart. When the reticle turns completely red, press Square to fire the arrow into the deer.

Follow Atreus down to the fallen but still-breathing deer to trigger another scene: Kratos guides Atreus to finish the job, but the father-son moment is shattered by the sudden attack of a massive Fire Troll named Dauði Kaupmaðr. As the brute seizes the stag, both father and son end up down in an open arena below (26).

Defeat the Troll!

Trolls are not complicated creatures. Each carries a massive pillar of stone by a pair of straps, and uses it to crush things they don’t like. Note that Dauði Kaupmaðr’s yellow health bar appears at the bottom of the screen.

This Fire Troll immediately hefts up his pillar and tries to slam it vertically downward onto Kratos. Aside from this slam attack, the big fellow has two other basic attack moves.

If you get too close, he tries to foot-stomp you.

If you keep your distance, Dauði Kaupmaðr thrusts the pillar forward at you in a battering-ram move, then quickly raises the pillar and hammers its full horizontal length onto the ground.

Fortunately, all of these moves are fairly easy to evade with a simple dodge roll. Push the left stick in the direction you want to roll, then tap X twice to tumble away from the Troll’s attack move. You can also click L3 to sprint away from trouble. Keep an eye out for green Healthstone pickups as you dash and roll around the arena.

Tossing Leviathan at Dauði’s easy-to-target bulk won’t inflict much damage unless you score headshots when he’s vulnerable. A better overall strategy is to keep the troll distracted by tapping

Square to fire Atreus’ arrows. When the brute turns his attention to the boy, wade in fast with combos and heavy attacks on this big legs, then quickly roll out of range again.

When the Fire Troll’s health bar finally drops close to zero, red circles flash around his head and you get on-screen notification to click R3 for a stun grab attack to kill the beast. Watch the scene as Kratos finishes the fight, and then decides Atreus is not yet ready for a sojourn into the world.

Using Atreus’ Bow

When you press Square during a fight, Atreus uses his bow to fire an arrow at a foe. To target a specific enemy, hold L2 and aim at it, then press Square. Repeated arrow shots can stun lesser enemies, letting Kratos rush in to finish them off with his fearsome stun grab attack. Again, each enemy’s stun meter is directly below its health bar.

Against tougher foes like minibosses—the Fire Troll in Wildwoods, for example—Atreus’ arrow strikes have less physical effect. But they do distract the monster, pulling its attention away from Kratos. This gives you a chance to escape a tight spot, find and consume a health item, or launch a combo or heavy attack unmolested by your distracted foe. Arrow hits also register on the enemy’s stun meter.

Atreus starts with a max of three arrows in his quiver. The current number of arrows available is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen. The moment you shoot an arrow, the arrow meter begins to “recharge.” Each time the meter fills up, your arrow count increases by one; this recharging cycle repeats until you hit your current maximum number of arrows.

OBJECTIVE: Return to the House

Stun the Draugr

Head to the glyph-marked wall (27) to boost Atreus up, then follow him and snag the nearby green Healthstone if you need a health boost. Proceed through the narrow passage and take out the Draugr standing guard in the next clearing.

Kratos’ bare-handed attacks in quick succession and Atreus’ arrow strikes can rapidly fill up an enemy’s stun bar, located directly underneath its health bar. Once the stun bar is full, the “stunned” foe is unable to fight for a few seconds. Now you can rush in close and press R3 to execute a brutal stun grab attack. With most Draugr, the result in an instant kill—Kratos literally tears them apart.

After the fight, find any pickups, then check out the entrance on the cliff face (28) across the clearing. Kratos can’t open it yet—a glowing metal lock plate seals the doors shut for now.

Climb the wall marked with yellow glyphs (29) to find another large Draugr squad posted in a walled area filled with burning debris. Again, bare-handed attacks combined with arrows from Atreus quickly stun Draugr so Kratos can tear them apart with his stun grab.

Defeat the Hel-Walker

Soon a new foe, a bluish breed of Hel-Walker called a Hel-Reaver Lord, rises from a pile of rocks near the lift platform (30). This creature is encased in ice armor that makes it resistant to your Leviathan’s attacks! Put the axe away and switch to bare-handed mode to take it down.

Find the Final Lost Toy

Approach the lift platform (30) to see a load of lumber lashed to the lift rope, blocking the way. Toss Leviathan at the glowing disc on the rope to smash it and detach the load, which crashes to the ground. Now you can jump down to the backyard below.

Approach the house and proceed under the awning on its right side to reach the front yard. Keep to the right edge of the yard until you see the glowing Artifact on the ground. Pick it up to complete your Lost Toy collection!

Enter the House

Approach the house and open the front door (31) to trigger a scene: Kratos gathers ashes from the smoking pyre, then enters the house. Approach Atreus and press Circle to trigger another scene: a tense father-son exchange about the value of anger is interrupted by a rude intruder.

Defeat the Stranger

The Stranger is small in stature but packs quite a punch, knocking Kratos completely over his house into the backyard area. The battle proceeds in distinct phases:

Phase 1: Backyard

In the fight’s opening phase, the Stranger exhibits the following behaviors in random order:

The Stranger paces and taunts Kratos with phrases like “Pointless!” or “So slow!” Simply rush in close and land a combination of blows, lowering his health bar a bit. He doesn’t block you. Your final blow always sends him flying across the yard, smashing through trees.

The Stranger raises his arms and emanates a red flash, then fist-slams the ground, sending a nasty unblockable shockwave directly at Kratos. Quickly roll sideways to dodge the wave. (Again, move the left stick in the direction you want to roll and tap X twice.)

The Stranger’s body runes glow blue and he makes a rocketing dash straight at Kratos, ending it with a brutal double-punch. Quickly hit L1 to block this attack, which knocks Kratos backward a bit.

The Stranger zigzags at lightning speed toward Kratos to launch a set of punches. Block or roll away from this rush.

The Stranger repeats these same behaviors, mixing them up in different orders. Watch him carefully to anticipate the next attack type and counter it: dodge the shockwave, block the dash-punch, block or evade the zigzag dash, then counterattack to inflict your damage. When the Stranger issues insults—“Are you even trying?”—watch for him to leave himself open for another combination attack to degrade his health.

Phase 2: Rooftop

When the Stranger’s health drops below 50 percent, another scene is triggered: the intruder knocks Kratos atop the house, punches a hole in the roof, and notices two beds below. Then the fighters roll onto the side eave and Kratos ends up on top. Repeatedly tap R1 to deliver a series of powerful blows that drain the Stranger’s health further.

This rooftop exchange ends when the fighters crash through the eaves to the ground. Kratos drives his adversary across the front yard, slamming him into a rock formation. But the Stranger not only survives, he rises up with his health bar replenished to 100 percent! Then he shoulder-slams Kratos completely inside the rock formation.

Phase 3: Rage

With Kratos trapped in the rocks, the Stranger heads to the house to hunt down “whoever it is you’ve got stashed in there.” An on-screen message prompts you to trigger Spartan Rage by simultaneously clicking L3 and R3.

This sends Kratos into a powerful frenzy for a limited period—the time length is measured by a new orange bar under your green health bar. Kratos gains great strength and speed until his fury is expended.

Spartan Rage

Spartan Rage is a berserker-type fury that can be activated when your on-screen rage meter (the orange-filled bar underneath your health bar) is completely full. If Spartan Rage is available, you see an on-screen notification with the simple activation instructions: click L3 and R3 simultaneously.

When enraged, Kratos becomes invulnerable and gains considerable strength and speed for the full duration of the state. He also gains a nice health boost. Early on, Spartan Rage attacks are limited to simple bare-handed moves, but they’re quite powerful and deadly. Later in the game, you can acquire Skills that expand your repertoire of attacks.

Once Spartan Rage is triggered, the rage meter (the orange bar) starts dropping; Kratos’ fury ends when the meter is fully drained. If you finish off all your foes before the meter is drained, you can click L3 + R3 to toggle off Spartan Rage. This way you can avoid having to refill the bar from scratch. There’s a small penalty for toggling off, however.

The rage meter gets refilled in small bursts whenever Kratos inflicts or takes damage. Bigger surges of replenishment come from grabbing rage pickups, the glowing orange items dropped by certain slain foes or, in some instances, found on the ground.

Don’t Waste Rage! Save Spartan Rage for combat situations where Kratos is either facing a higher-level foe or is seriously outnumbered and getting overrun by lower-level foes.

After the cut scene where Kratos blasts out of the rocks and pile-drives the Stranger with a log, use Spartan Rage to hammer the intruder with a flurry of punches until the rage meter is drained. If you stay on-target and land your punches, you can significantly drain the Stranger’s health bar again. Once your Rage subsides, the Stranger returns to his original random attack patterns from Phase 1. Keep countering and knocking him across the yard until his health hits zero. This triggers a quick scene that leads to the final phase of the fight.

Phase 4: Finale

Kratos seemingly kills the Stranger by crushing him with a massive rock slab. Start walking painfully back toward the house. The foe emerges yet again, and the combatants end up in yet another landscape-shattering slugfest; Kratos falls down a steep canyon. Climb back up the cliff face to start a final round of combat. The Stranger repeats his earlier Phase 1 attacks but adds a new one: a huge vertical leap that drops him directly on top of Kratos if you don’t roll out of the way.

Repeat your Phase 1 evasive moves and counterattacks until Kratos finally gets a headlock on the Stranger right at the cliff’s edge. Then watch the final moments of the struggle.

OBJECTIVE: Return to the House

Afterward, stagger back to the house to trigger the chapter-ending scene with Atreus. And here the Journey truly begins.