God of War Ragnarök features a vast skill tree for Kratos and Atreus to upgrade and learn new abilities from. Learning new skills is essential to keep pace with the vast assortment of creatures, hostile forces, and bosses you can expect to find in every realm Ragnarök contains. Gear is the only way to level up Kratos, so gaining experience points goes towards learning skills and upgrading certain pieces of gear. This guide will explain which upgrades you should do first in God of War Ragnarök.
Related: All armor sets and stats in God of War Ragnarok
Best starter upgrades in God of War Ragnarok
After completing the prologue sequence and ending up at Sindri’s home in the realm between realms, you can begin spending XP you gain with Kratos and Atreus on various skill trees and Runic attacks. Experience that Kratos gains are put in a pool that Runic abilities and the skill tree pull from. Because of this, knowing which skills to learn first is valuable, as experience is hard to earn in the first few hours of gameplay.
It’s best to ignore any Runic abilities at the start of the game, as the skill tree has invaluable upgrades that should be first on your agenda. The skill tree is divided into three sections, Technique, Ranged, and Melee. Both the Leviathan Axe and the Blades of Chaos can be upgraded to your hearts content. Here are the upgrades you should learn first.
- Leviathan Axe
- Frost Awaken: This allows you to Frost your axe and deals high frost damage.
- Axe Throw: Allows you to throw the axe and stagger enemies with R1.
- Freezing Throw: A heavy axe throw can freeze weak enemies instantly.
- Blades of Chaos
- Scorched Sweep: Press R1 during Flame Whiplast to deal moderage Burn damage.
- Vaporize Frost: You will deal more damage to enemies afflicted with Frost.
- Hyperion Pull: Allows you to impale an enemy and yank them towards you.
These skills will boost your weapons’ versatility and help you deal with weak and powerful enemies with different techniques. Take advantage of Flame Whiplash and Frost to devastate enemies with elemental damage. If enemies are at range, use the Axe Throw upgrade to finish them or stagger heavy enemies charging you up close.
Atreus has a limited pool of upgrades at the beginning of the game, so feel free to invest in his four starter skills to make him a powerful NPC ally that will help you control large groups of enemies.
