The 20 HARDEST God Of War Bosses
Hercules
“God of War III” (2010) Although they easily could have been allies, Hercules takes Kratos’ very existence as an affront, and seeks to kill Kratos as his final labor before ascending to Mount Olympus. Content to watch his minions attempt to wear Kratos down before officially joining the fray, Hercules launches into the arena with his Nemean Cestus armor and commands his sentries to hold Kratos down so he can get a cheap hit on the God of War. Hercules is incredibly powerful and has large sweeping strikes that can clear the immediate area around him. With the help of the thorned statues around the arena, Kratos can chip away at Hercules’ armor until Kratos eventually turns his own weapons against his half-brother. Hercules believed himself a God but was left to rot in the gutter.
Hades
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“God of War III” (2010) After Kratos’ numerous escapes from the underworld, it’s safe to say that Hades’ beef with Kratos is pretty personal for making him look bad. After attempting to steal Kratos’ soul proves ineffective, Hades takes matters into his own hands and gives Kratos a taste of his own medicine with the Claws of Hades swinging and slamming around the tiny arena. Hades is much larger than most of the other Gods so while Kratos could hack away at his ankles, he does much more damage aiming higher. After giving Hades a monster headache and sending him into the River Styx, the fight is far from over and Hades returns with all new swipe and slam attacks Kratos needs to dodge to ensure Hades remains buried among his dead worshippers for good!
Persephone
“God of War: Chains of Olympus” (2008) The reluctant Queen of the Underworld, Persephone orchestrates a scheme that not only reunites Kratos with his daughter and forces him to make an impossible choice but could also potentially end the world altogether. Clad in armor, Persephone shakes Greece to its very bedrock battling Kratos, sending chunks of the arena at him with every turn. She will eventually call in the big guns and with a few simple button presses, Kratos leaves Atlas trapped with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Seeing her plans slowly dissolving, Persephone unleashes her wrath and were it not for Kratos’ parrying abilities, would have easily vaporized the future God of War. With the Gauntlet of Zeus, Kratos delivers a gut punch that puts an end to all of Persephone’s schemes.
Nidhogg
“God of War Ragnarok” (2022) The Guardian of the World Tree, the Nidhogg stands between Freya and her freedom from Odin’s curse and is unfortunately a casualty of the All-Father’s malice. With its realm tear hopping abilities as well as powerful bifrost attacks, the Nidhogg easily dominates the small arena before Freya joins the fight. The Nidhogg slithers around clinging to the many pillars dotting the area while unleashing powerful bifrost blasts that can easily double the damage Kratos endures. Occasionally she’ll inhale debris through her chest cavity to use as munitions against the two who would dare disturb the roots of Yggdrasil. Finally realizing the battle is lost, she attempts to retreat, only to lose her head for interfering.
Skorpius
“God of War III” (2010) One of the few bosses in God of War III that wasn’t one of the many Gods waiting to be slain by Kratos’ hand, the Skorpius’ brood attempts to slow Kratos’ progress before the Mother of All Scorpions makes her grand entrance and tries to swallow Kratos whole. With all of her vulnerable parts shielded in ice, Kratos must break through her hardened exterior before dealing any real damage to the queen. Once weakened, her children will try to stop Kratos’ impromptu dental surgery, which only enrages the queen further -and rightfully so- as she slams her claws around the arena to crush Kratos like the annoying pest he is. The queen will routinely retreat only to reemerge to swipe at Kratos from afar while he deals with her brood. The battle finally ends when Kratos gives her a dose of her own medicine and ensures she gets the point.
Magni & Modi
“God of War” (2018) Although the sons of Thor were tasked with hunting Kratos and Atreus, they really should have known when to back down. As the quartet square off, Magni focuses most of his attacks on Kratos while Modi fends off Atreus and his bow while the pair occasionally team up to bring down the former God of War. Their fighting style is quite similar to Kratos’, employing their shields and melee attacks, making this battle more evenly matched than most. When the tide turns against them, the sons will blind Kratos and Atreus to attack from the shadows. Fending off the pair is no easy task, especially since both will also demonstrate their godly abilities with arena filling magic attacks that can leave Kratos stun locked and open to attack. Although not the first time Kratos has faced multiple bosses at once, the brothers’ coordination makes them especially challenging.
Alrik
“God of War II” (2007) The warrior who nearly defeated Kratos and led to his blood oath with Ares, Alrik the Barbarian King returns from the depths of Hades to exact his revenge against Kratos on his pilgrimage to find the Sisters of Fate. Dragging Kratos into battle once again, from the back of his mighty steed King Alrik speaks loudly and carries an even bigger hammer. Once dismounted Alrik becomes even more dangerous with large sweeping attacks that summon the undead to fight alongside him. These aren’t just fodder enemies either, they can grab Kratos and allow Alrik to get a couple cheap hits in before Kratos breaks free. Finally, as Alrik’s rage grows, so does he until Kratos is dwarfed by the might of the Barbarian King. Alrik might have returned looking for vengeance, but Kratos grounded him and brought him back down to size.
The Crimson Dread
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“God of War Ragnarok” (2022) Although only a few dragons remained in Midgard in God of War 2018, their population has seen a boom in the years leading up to Ragnarok and arguably the dragons’ champion has to be the Crimson Dread. While exploring the Crater, Kratos will encounter the winged beast and the Dread makes quick work of living up to its name. Far quicker than most other enemies in the game as well as maintaining an aerial advantage, the Crimson Dread will not only coat the battlefield in flames as it swoops in from above but will also take a bite out of Kratos’ health bar should he get careless. The lower the Dread’s health becomes, the stronger and more aggressive its attack patterns, with a few being completely unblockable.
Baldur
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“God of War” (2018) After the troll fight in the early hours of the game, players may believe they have a pretty good handle on the God of War’s new combat, and then Baldur comes knocking to prove them wrong. After their initial bout, Kratos and Atreus cross paths with Baldur multiple times before their final climactic battle and both combatants hold nothing back despite Freya’s interference. Even without his invulnerability, Baldur is no pushover and Kratos must switch between the Blades and the Axe to match Baldur’s shifting elemental properties while the ever-changing landscape of the battle keeps players constantly on edge. Atreus is especially useful here to agro Baldur and opens him up to Kratos’ most powerful attacks and is a brilliant display of their synergy during battle as they expertly chain attacks together to end the cycle once and for all.
Heimdall
“God of War Ragnarok” (2022) A battle with such unpredictable odds, Kratos needed to craft a weapon specifically for their encounter. While much of the early fight is spent on the defensive trying to avoid his attacks -and sass- once Kratos lands that all important first hit, the true battle begins. The battle against Heimdall is just as much about predicting his moves as it about dealing damage as Heimdall’s erratic movements and speed make keep up with him a risky endeavor, while laying traps of your own with the Draupnir Spear opens the all-seeing God up to counterattacks. Heimdall has numerous unblockable attacks as well as a realm shift ability to slow down time. Beating him once is literally only half the battle as Heimdall will unleash powerful bifrost attacks before Kratos puts his lights out for good. Bet he didn’t see that coming.
Sisters of Fate
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“God of War II” (2007) The Sisters of Fate were never going to let Kratos change what was already written but that didn’t stop the rage fueled spartan from attempting to rewrite history. What begins as a one-on-one battle with Lahkesis, Kratos needs to not only maintain his distance while parrying her many attacks but keep to the grapple points to avoid her airborne and lightning follow ups. Atropos will then attempt to erase Kratos from his own timeline by destroying the sword bridge Kratos used to defeat Ares. While Atropos isn’t as powerful as her sister, her constant teleporting makes keeping up with her a nuisance. Once the sisters have teamed up, Lahkesis will assault Kratos head on while Atropos will swipe at Kratos from the many mirrors surrounding the room. Turning the fates against the sisters with the Amulet of Fates will force the Sisters to take a good long look at their own reflections.
The Maven
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“God of War Ragnarok” (2022) Ragnarok is full of optional bosses that can pose a significant challenge, but few can hold a candle to stumbling into the path of librarian of the Elven Sanctum. After dealing with numerous other light elves including the light elf queen Alva, many would believe they know what to expect. They were thoroughly mistaken. The Maven is relentless in her attacks which is even more devastating given the tiny arena, but with many of her sword strikes being completely unblockable as well as her ability to chain multiple combos together, Kratos will barely have a moment to pick up a health stone before her next assault. Even if you manage to chip away at her health, she’ll retreat to heal herself and if you don’t interrupt her in time, all your work will be undone, and you’ll be starting over from square one.
Dark Elf King
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“God of War” (2018) More or less an overpowered Dark Elf, not unlike those Kratos and Atreus had already battled numerous times before, the Dark Elf King is far faster, stronger and implements much stronger magic attacks than his brethren. The Dark Elf King manages to go toe to toe with the former God of War, but should he become overwhelmed will use magic to blind Kratos and Atreus to give him an advantage as he blasts long range attacks from the darkness. His swings and aerial assaults can also be quite devastating should he connect but even his majesty is no match for Kratos’ Spartan Rage.
Thor
“God of War Ragnarok” (2022) While this fight didn’t start with the bang many were expecting given the teaser at the end of God of War 2018, it nonetheless shattered our expectations as well as the fourth wall. Thor is every bit Kratos’ equal in terms of strength and surprisingly speed, but that doesn’t mean Kratos won’t have to fight to survive. After the initial encounter, the two have their final bout in the shadow of Ragnarok and Thor brings the thunder. Thor is able to give as well as he gets and his defenses make him a damage sponge to most of Kratos’ attacks besides the Draupnir Spear which can eat away significant chunks if given the time to charge up. Making smart use of Kratos' shield strikes to interrupt many of Thor’s most powerful swings will easily turn the tide of the battle as long as Kratos can avoid Thor’s multiple lightning strikes.
Charon
“God of War: Chains of Olympus” (2008) The Ferryman responsible for bringing the souls of the dead to the afterlife, Charon doesn’t take kindly to Kratos making a mockery of his profession by showing up still alive and almost immediately sets about righting this oversight/ While the first encounter is unwinnable, Kratos returns to settle the score at a later time. Charon is exceptionally fast and along with his long reaching scythe attacks and ability to teleport around his ship, landing a combo is only the beginning of Kratos’ problems. Charon will also make use of the ship's pillars to regain his health until Kratos destroys them, and can also spew a poisonous gas that will eat away at Kratos’ health if he doesn’t avoid it. This isn’t even mentioning the possibility of him using his one hit kill that he pulls out of nowhere. The Ferryman put up a valiant fight, but Kratos sent him swimming downriver.
Zeus
“God of War III” (2010) The king of the Gods of Greece and arguably one of the worst fathers of all time, much like Ares, Zeus earns his place on Kratos’ hit list by betraying him. Zeus is one of the most powerful Gods for a reason and he makes sure Kratos feels the thunder as their battle moves from a 2D fighter, to overlooking the end of ancient Greece, and finally inside Mother Gaia herself. Zeus employs all manner of magic attacks, especially his lightning, as well as tricks, such as projecting multiple images of himself for Kratos to spam against. The finale to this grand confrontation is exceptionally cathartic as players live out their vengeance through Kratos’ eyes and fulfill their promise to bring about the destruction of Olympus.
Ares
“God of War” (2005) The original God of War was never going to give up his title willingly, but in a game where the player has become accustomed to Kratos being mostly OP in many situations, the final showdown with Ares was quite the wake-up call. Ares’ powerful arena-filling attacks keep Kratos constantly on the move and fighting to maintain his distance with the Blades of Chaos. And just when you think the fight is over, Ares will send Kratos into his own mind to battle his demons and save his family before returning to the real world to bring his vengeance to Ares full circle. The newly acquired sword bridge doesn’t have any of the magic abilities of the Blades, making this final length of the fight more about defense than offense, but few things are as satisfying as bringing down the God of War by your own hands.
Sigrun
“God of War” (2018) You’d think fighting your way through 8 Valkyries in an attempt to save their souls was enough to earn you some mercy with their queen but you’d be greatly mistaken. Sigrun begins the battle with a surprise attack and things really only go downhill from there. Utilizing all the best attacks of her sisters but giving them a boost in power, Sigrun rains hell down upon Kratos and Atreus and is absolutely relentless in her assault. The throne room you fight in is one of the smallest Valkyrie arenas in the game and leaves very little room to retreat and regroup as Sigrun will mercilessly hunt Kratos to every corner. She might be grateful at the end of the fight but she definitely makes you work for it.
Berserker King
“God of War Ragnarok” (2022) Those who managed to complete the challenge of the Valkyries in God of War 2018, had no idea what else was waiting for them on the eve of Ragnarok. Kratos and his companions will have to fight their way through a gauntlet of 12 Berserkers in order to reach King Hrolf and he does everything in his power to make Kratos regret making it this far. The Berserker King has numerous range attacks based on the previous Berserkers Kratos faced to keep him at bay as well as incredibly powerful frost AND bifrost attacks. AND once his health is whittled down to half, he’ll hide his health bar until Kratos attacks with the opposite element. Make sure to bring a resurrection stone for this one. You’re going to need it.
Gna
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“God of War Ragnarok” (2022) If you thought the challenge of the Valkyries ended with Sigrun, then Gna would like a word with you. After the conclusion of "God of War Ragnarok", Kratos and Freya will encounter Gna in Muspelheim and the new crowned “Queen of the Valkyries” is not at all happy about her position becoming null and void after the fall of Asgard. Gna is every bit as fierce as Sigrun but somehow even more aggressive. She has some of the strongest defenses of any enemy within the game and won’t hesitate to cover the arena in deadly bifrost in addition to using her razor bladed wings and leaping ground pound attacks. As her health gets lower, her attacks become even more unpredictable and if the player hasn’t mastered the counter and parry system, Kratos will go down for the count faster than Freya can revive him. Ever the proud warrior, Gna was never going to admit defeat.
