God of War SPOILER FREE General Combat Tips Thread

[Dance Inferno]

NO SPOILERS IN THIS THREAD. THAT MEANS NO REGION/ENEMY/BOSS NAMES. ALSO DO NOT SPOIL ABILITIES THAT ARE UNLOCKED LATER IN THE GAME. If you want to discuss tactics for a specific boss/region/encounter that requires divulging names or details, DO IT IN THE OT.

I'm making this thread because I'm ~5 hours in and I'm finding the combat to be quite challenging in this game. I would love to get some tips, but I'm also trying to play the game completely blind and would like to avoid spoilers that I might come across in the OT. So, what combat tips do you have for gitting gud at this game?

I'm mostly using the axe with a few Atreus arrows peppered in here and there, but I feel like I'm under-utilizing the combat system. When should I be throwing the axe vs. using it in melee? When should I use my fists? When should I block vs. dodge? Should I be trying to parry those yellow/red attacks? Should I roll to avoid attacks, or would a dodge be sufficient?

Speaking of dodging and rolling, do they have i-frames? I've definitely been hit during a roll, but then sometimes I've rolled right through an attack. So I'm not quite sure how this works.

Share your tips!

 

[itshutton]

Get all of the shield upgrades and use Parry. The counter party and long range counter are both excellent.

You only need to watch out for enemies with unblockable attacks who become more common later on.

Also don't be afraid to sprint around if you feel you are in trouble. It adds some breathing space.

 

[Mezoly]

I saw this on reddit, throwing the Axe with R1 vs R2 has a different effect. R2 would freeze a weak enemy but it's slower and the enemy could dodge it so use R1 for faster throws.

 

[Cranston]

Use your shield. Hit stuff. Have fun.

 

[EekumBokum]

Atreus is so OP, max out all his abilities as soon as you can and they're relatively cheap too. You'll be able to fill the stun bar with him and your fists faster than depleting health if you were using your axe.

 

[Xarius]

I'm not an expert on combat, but:

Throwing the axe is good for ranged damage and to freeze an enemy in place for some crowd-control. Bare-handed attacks are good for raising the stun meter. Blocking vs. dodging is mostly preference, but attacks with a red indicator must be dodged, and I believe attacks with a yellow indicator must be dodged or parried (not blocked). Dodging does have i-frames.

Another tip is to upgrade Atreus ASAP; he becomes a monster once you upgrade him.

 

[AegonSnake]

1) keep playing. You will start to unlock special moves and more moves in the skill trees as you progress.
2) Hold R2 for a charge attack the moment an enemy gets stunned. Easy kill.
3) Sprint and hold R2 for a powerful attack.
4) Invest heavily in Atrieus' abilities, but you might have to progress more into the story to unlock those you are still very early in the game.
5) Use Rage abilities and Runes as often as you can.
6) Keep playing. You will get a lot stronger by the time you hit the 10th hour mark. By the 12th-15th hour mark you will be a god.

Get all of the shield upgrades and use Parry. The counter party and long range counter are both excellent.

You only need to watch out for enemies with unblockable attacks who become more common later on.

Also don't be afraid to sprint around if you feel you are in trouble. It adds some breathing space.

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I saw this on reddit, throwing the Axe with R1 vs R2 has a different effect. R2 would freeze a weak enemy but it's slower and the enemy could dodge it so use R1 for faster throws.

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wait, whats the stun meter?

 

[MattAces]

Combat Tips? Spam Square, hold L1 and win.

 

[Majiebeast]

Do not be bad, be better.

 

[Derrick01]

Outside of the obvious like keep your stuff upgraded as much as possible I find that most enemies that I've seen so far tend to have some obvious...I don't know if weakness is the right word but like some are more susceptible to your heavy attack and it may even launch them in the air which creates several opportunities for you, either to juggle that one a bit or give yourself a few seconds of freedom to focus on other enemies. I've seen others flinch with the light attack instead as well as some who you can knock over if you throw the axe at their feet.

I like to use the axe on weaker enemies to pin them on walls and while that leaves you with no weapon you can still punch/kick/shield bash other enemies, which also conveniently builds up their stun meter along with Boy Atreus' arrows. If the enemies are tougher and it's not really possible to stun them you can at least use your punches and shield to push them back a bit and give you a chance to recall the axe safely and position everyone in front of you again.

Speaking of positioning keeping everyone in your field of view is crucial. There are tools to help you see if an attack is coming from behind (like atreus' shouts and that ring thing) but in the heat of battle and with the pressure of a few hits killing you it's easier to rely on your own vision. Nothing can hit you from behind if there's nothing behind you.

 

[Papercuts]

Tips:

Hit the Boy button. A lot.

 

[Barnabas Reynolds]

Atreus is so OP, max out all his abilities as soon as you can and they're relatively cheap too. You'll be able to fill the stun bar with him and your fists faster than depleting health if you were using your axe.

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This. Square button to handle mobs and anything that flies, plus you can use effects to immobilize enemies and set up your most powerful attacks.

 

[Jawbreaker]

My tips: Turn off "strafe assist" and "recenter camera on attack."

 

[HStallion]

USE AND UPGRADE ATREUS!

Seriously that's the one tip I cannot emphasize enough compared to just upgrading your axe and other moves and practicing with the combat and enemies. Atreus' attacks are a huge help for a variety of reasons whether its crowd control, extra damage, stunning an enemy to prep them for a combo and son. He isn't just a random NPC to follow you around but an essential element of the combat system and is basically another "attack" option outside of your light and heavy attacks.

 

[xxracerxx]

I saw this on reddit, throwing the Axe with R1 vs R2 has a different effect. R2 would freeze a weak enemy but it's slower and the enemy could dodge it so use R1 for faster throws.

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The R1 throw is the best way to trip enemies.

 

[Sir Guts]

Don't forget your shield. The parry is a strong factor in this game. Unlock shield skills that will help do some crowd control featuring Atreus

I'll be around to help anyone :)

 

[More Human than Human]

Square, square, triang...Oh, wrong God of War game sorry.

 

[Psamtik]

Echoing the calls to upgrade Atreus. He's ridiculously strong, way more than you'd expect, and can spam arrows pretty much constantly.

 

[Adamska]

Combat Tips? Spam Square, hold L1 and win.

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???

OT, I noticed that you can add R2 attacks during the basic combo and still get the finishing move. That is, R1 x4 being the basic combo and the game allowing you to input something like R1+R1+R2+R2+R1+R1 and it'll still get the sweeping last strike from the R1 x4 combo (or you can do R1+R1+R2+R2+R1+R2 to perform the Pride of the Frost move). Also, parrying is a must (and timing is somewhat forgiving), but be careful because I think you can't cancel the animation of your attacks after a few frames.

 

[xxracerxx]

???

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BOY button.

 

[Kevin360]

Yessss! I need this thread!

 

[BWoog]

Launch enemies in the air with R2 then JUGGLE JUGGLE JUGGLE

 

[Deleted member 8408]

Combat Tips? Spam Square, hold L1 and win.

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Good luck with that on higher difficulty levels when multiple enemies are attacking you from all angles.

wait, whats the stun meter?

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It's below the health bars of enemies.

 

[panda-zebra]

Atreus is so OP, max out all his abilities as soon as you can and they're relatively cheap too. You'll be able to fill the stun bar with him and your fists faster than depleting health if you were using your axe.

Click to shrink...

Tips:

Hit the Boy button. A lot.

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I'd agree with these. This kind of combat isn't something I've ever been good at or had the patience for, but I hate playing games on easy settings, so I threw everything into upgrading the kid's gear and actively make a point of keeping on my toes and sprtin around as much as possible. Kid of War and Dad of Dash.

 

[Strat]

You're overthinking it. That's the best tip I can give you. Also, don't use lock on, it's bad.

Aside from that, Upgrade Atreus every single chance you get and you'll hit a point where you don't need to touch 3/4 of the enemies and the rest you just hammer with arrows, dash into light attack and they're ready to be grabbed. There are only a handful of enemy types with slight variations throughout the whole game, so once you've got their attacks down it's easy to deal with anything.

The combat sort of has an uneccesary depth to it. It overwhelms you with mechanics and options, but you never need to engage with anything outside of the very basics to steam roll through the game.

 

[Adamska]

BOY button.

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Ah yes, it slipped my mind. Don't think Atreus is that strong though.

One other tip, I noticed the initial few Draugr enemies can sort of level-up and heal once they are weakened and it's very useful to try an interrupt this move by throwing the Axe and tripping them or freezing them.

It overwhelms you with mechanics and options, but you never need to engage with anything outside of the very basics to steam roll through the game if you aren't playing on Give me God of War difficulty.

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Fixed that for you.

 

[Euler007]

I feel I'm missing something against Ogres, I'm mainly cheesing them by spamming the axe throw but I feel I should be doing something much cooler and faster instead. Speaking of cheese, against ancients I found it very easy to position myself in a way that their beam hits an obstacle but that because Kratos throws right handed I can hit his weak spot easily.

 

[xxracerxx]

Don't think Atreus is that strong though.

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Boy becomes a beast if you upgrade him.

 

[Ferrio]

Ring out always. Learn what skills ring out, look for ledges. Use your Axe Throw/Recall in juggles.

Boy becomes a beast if you upgrade him.

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I've watched people be carried by BOI.

I feel I'm missing something against Ogres, I'm mainly cheesing them by spamming the axe throw but I feel I should be doing something much cooler and faster instead.

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Get in their face and wail on them? Their attacks have a big windup, you have plenty of time to roll past the attack and get behind them and keep smacking. The L1x3, L2 combo seems to do wonders but any combo over 3 hits you might get too greedy and might not have enough time to roll.

 

[Irnbru]

The R1 throw is the best way to trip enemies.

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This, easy executes. Feels so good. Combined with upgraded BOI, hard gets so much easier

I feel I'm missing something against Ogres, I'm mainly cheesing them by spamming the axe throw but I feel I should be doing something much cooler and faster instead. Speaking of cheese, against ancients I found it very easy to position myself in a way that their beam hits an obstacle but that because Kratos throws right handed I can hit his weak spot easily.

Click to shrink...

You gotta keep close to them so they don't do their big jump moves, usually. Then where they are about 1/3 spartan rage behind them for critical damage

 

[Deleted member 36578]

For mindless easy combat, get into the habit of pressing Square simultaneously as you mash R1. These two buttons in conjunction with each other will wreck foes. You can even toss away your Axe, and just punch the enemies with the bows shots adding to the stun meter. When the stun is full, R3 to kill.

So yeah, for everyone that's not as dexterous or having difficulty with all the buttons, just mash R1 + Square on everything. Dropping the difficulty to easy and doing this has helped a friend of mine immensely.

 

[panda-zebra]

I feel I'm missing something against Ogres, I'm mainly cheesing them by spamming the axe throw but I feel I should be doing something much cooler and faster instead. Speaking of cheese, against ancients I found it very easy to position myself in a way that their beam hits an obstacle but that because Kratos throws right handed I can hit his weak spot easily.

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Ahem, I might have abused this strategy at times. Almost as cheesy as fighting something way too levelled by jumping out of the boat, get a few hits in, dive back in boat and let stuff recharge. Rinse/repeat. I can't help myself, and I don't feel bad... one of the things I love most in games like this is abusing the shit out of them any chance I get.

 

[Caim]

Launch enemies in the air with R2 then JUGGLE JUGGLE JUGGLE

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This.

You can even be a little fancy an finish the juggle with an axe throw, and if they are near a wall you also get bonus damage.

Also if an enemy is frozen and you make them hit a wall somehow they will shatter an die instantly, stronger enemies may survive it though, but I haven't seen that happen yet.

 

[DeliciousSunnyD!]

I'm playing on Give Me a Challenge.

Some people have mentioned these, but I figured I'd write some stuff:

1. Sprint, and sprint a lot. Both into and out of combat. Sprinting around the various combat arenas is usually a good idea, as getting swarmed, at least on Challenge+, can be quite punishing and overwhelming.
2. Use walls and pits/cliffsides to your advantage, and pair them with your fisticuffs. Punching/kicking enemies against walls builds the stun gauge super fast for most enemies, and "ring outs" are instadeath, regardless. These things + Atreus arrows can really open up combat in some difficult situations.
3. Upgrading the shield/fisticuff tree is useful, as is spending points on Atreus. Really, all of the skills are useful so you can't really go too wrong with the skill trees IMO.
4. Use axe throws to trip or spin around enemies, then transition into fisticuffs. Enemies also take more stun damage when their backs are to Kratos, so spinning + tripping can also be incredibly useful for quickly killing foes.

 

[Dance Inferno]

I'm playing on Give Me a Challenge.

Some people have mentioned these, but I figured I'd write some stuff:

1. Sprint, and sprint a lot. Both into and out of combat. Sprinting around the various combat arenas is usually a good idea, as getting swarmed, at least on Challenge+, can be quite punishing and overwhelming.
2. Use walls and pits/cliffsides to your advantage, and pair them with your fisticuffs. Punching/kicking enemies against walls builds the stun gauge super fast for most enemies, and "ring outs" are instadeath, regardless. These things + Atreus arrows can really open up combat in some difficult situations.
3. Upgrading the shield/fisticuff tree is useful, as is spending points on Atreus. Really, all of the skills are useful so you can't really go too wrong with the skill trees IMO.
4. Use axe throws to trip or spin around enemies, then transition into fisticuffs. Enemies also take more stun damage when their backs are to Kratos, so spinning + tripping can also be incredibly useful for quickly killing foes.

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How do you spin enemies around? I know you can trip them by throwing the axe at their feet.

 

[Buttchin-n-Bones]

I've learned so much from this thread already

 

[MaximusPayne]

Rarely use lock-on unless it's just one enemy. Use the crap out of Atreus..

 

[Fuhgeddit]

This game does have a complex combat system IMO, but maybe I'm just getting old lol

 

[Anubis]

Read enemy combat tips in the codex.

 

[Anubis]

Wait u can lock onto to enemies manually?

 

[SaberX85]

Use wolf summon for arteus and upgrade it to max, that skill is OP. Can stun lock bosses/hidden boss and great for crorwd control

 

[MadeULook]

Wait u can lock onto to enemies manually?

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You can but it's not that great and I found it to a hindrance more than anything. Stopped using it only a couple of hours in.

 

[AmethystEnd]

Courtesy of Hybris :

This game has a very basic implementation of Dodge Offset. If you're not familiar with this term it means that if you dodge during a combo, the next hit will still be the next hit of the combo instead of restarting from the first hit.

I say this game has a basic implementation because it only works if:

1. Your combo starts with a light attack.
2. You only dodged with the step dodge, not the full roll.

Full example:

There's that unlockable axe combo that goes like this:

Light attack -> Light attack -> Light attack -> Heavy attack (the heavy does a downward slam that has an ice AoE).

You can step dodge between each hit of this combo and still do the full thing.

So like: Light attack -> step dodge -> Light attack -> Light attack -> step dodge -> Heavy attack still results in the full combo.

 

[Metroidvania]

Wait u can lock onto to enemies manually?

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Yeah, R3. It's kinda iffy though, has jerked the camera around on me pretty badly a few times.

As for tips, the parry upgrades are huge. I'd rush those, then get timing down.

 

[DeliciousSunnyD!]

How do you spin enemies around? I know you can trip them by throwing the axe at their feet.

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I don't think you can do this for all enemies, but for a lot of them, depending on your level and their level, I'm pretty sure if you hit certain ones in the head it will spin them. And I think it might be dependent on R1 vs. R2 throws.

However, there's a bunch of enemies that are resistant to the thrown axe, so I should have maybe clarified it more.

 

[Artdayne]

Get used to performing the shatter combo on low level mobs. By the shatter combo I'm referring to throw the axe at someone and then kicking them into a wall. Or if they are close enough to a wall they will die instantly because the axe does knock them back a little. On everything but the Give me God of War difficulty this will one shot the low level mobs.

You can effectively CC an entire group of enemies if you funnel them into your heavy, heavy combo that juggles them in the air, though it's difficult for them not to get separated after a bit. Atreus can also be used to extend the juggle with his arrows.

Buy the shield counter ability early, it's very effective way to utilize the perfect parries with your shield and if they are close to a ledge it will knock them off.

 

[Dance Inferno]

Courtesy of Hybris :

This game has a very basic implementation of Dodge Offset. If you're not familiar with this term it means that if you dodge during a combo, the next hit will still be the next hit of the combo instead of restarting from the first hit.

I say this game has a basic implementation because it only works if:

1. Your combo starts with a light attack.
2. You only dodged with the step dodge, not the full roll.

Full example:

There's that unlockable combo that goes like this:

Light attack -> Light attack -> Light attack -> Heavy attack (the heavy does a downward slam that has an ice AoE).

You can step dodge between each hit of this combo and still do the full thing.

So like: Light attack -> step dodge -> Light attack -> Light attack -> step dodge -> Heavy attack still results in the full combo.

Click to shrink...

Oh snap, this is huge. This will come in handy against enemies who don't get staggered. I tend to have issues with them since they can hit me during my combo and I lose the ability to finish with that final heavy attack.

 

[JK-Money]

Courtesy of Hybris :

This game has a very basic implementation of Dodge Offset. If you're not familiar with this term it means that if you dodge during a combo, the next hit will still be the next hit of the combo instead of restarting from the first hit.

I say this game has a basic implementation because it only works if:

1. Your combo starts with a light attack.
2. You only dodged with the step dodge, not the full roll.

Full example:

There's that unlockable combo that goes like this:

Light attack -> Light attack -> Light attack -> Heavy attack (the heavy does a downward slam that has an ice AoE).

You can step dodge between each hit of this combo and still do the full thing.

So like: Light attack -> step dodge -> Light attack -> Light attack -> step dodge -> Heavy attack still results in the full combo.

Click to shrink...

THANKS FOR THIS, I asked in the actual thread how the base combos work, because I am on the secon hardest difficulty the enemies don't get staggered as much so anytime I tried doing that combo and enemy would attack me and I would start over again, I also wasn't sure if I perfect parried if I could continue the combo. Now I know so thanks a bunch for this

 

[Darkness Unleashed]

For parries, do you guys tap or hold L1?

 

[AmethystEnd]

For parries, do you guys tap or hold L1?

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I tap.