God of War: How to Beat the Valkyrie
One of the best side quests you can try in God of War is to fight all the Valkyrie, powerful minibosses spread across the map. We'll show you all the Valkyrie boss locations and how to beat the valkyries below, as well as the reward that you'll get for defeating them.
On this page:
- How to Beat the Valkyrie in God of War
- Valkryie Boss Locations
- Where to Unlock the Final Valkyrie Boss Fight
- Valkyrie Tips and Strategy
- What Rewards Do You Get for Defeating the Valkyrie?
- How to Get Valkyrie Armor
- How to Upgrade Valkyrie Armor
How to Beat the Valkyrie in God of War
To beat the Valkyrie in God of War you'll need to equip the right armor and equipment, have a knowledge of their tactics and progress far enough into the game that they actually unlock. The Valkyrie are some of the most difficult bosses in God of War, and while you can encounter them roughly halfway through the story campaign, you may want to wait until the end to ensure that you're well-equipped enough to defeat them. There are nine Valkyrie bosses in total, one of which is the more powerful Valkyrie queen Sigrun, who only appears when you have defeated the other eight.
Valkryie Boss Locations
Here are the locations for the nine Valkyries in God of War. As you can see, six Valkyries are found in the Hidden Chambers of Odin, where he has imprisoned them. Remember that Sigrun can only be fought once you've defeated the other eight Valkyries.
To find all the Valkyrie Locations you need to start the 'Prove your Valour' side mission. To do this you must find your first Valkyrie, which then lets you locate all the remaining Valkyries on the in-game map.
- Gunnr - Location: Thamur’s Corpse - Hidden Chamber of Odin
- Geirdriful - Location: Foothills - Hidden Chamber of Odin
- Eir - Location: The Mountain - Hidden Chamber of Odin
- Kara - Location: Witch’s Basement - Hidden Chamber of Odin
- Rota - Location: Helheim - Hidden Chamber of Odin
- Olrun - Location: Alfheim Light Elf Shore - Hidden Chamber of Odin
- Gondul - Location: Muspelheim Trial VI (Final Trial)
- Hildr - Location: Niflheim Maze
- Queen Sigrun - Location: Council of Valkyries
It's worth noting that you'll need to have got your hands on a chisel in order to gain access to the Chambers of Odin. Thankfully we've got a God of War Magic Chisel Walkthrough for you. You'll also need to have access to Niflheim and Muspelheim by finding the four cipher pieces required for each. We've outlined how to do all of these things below if you haven't yet.
Where to Unlock the Final Valkyrie Boss Fight
Once you've defeated the eight Valkyries in God of War you'll have acquired the helmet of each. Take these to the council of the Valkyries and you'll unlock a 9th Valkyrie location. This is a fight against the Valkyrie Queen, which is an even tougher fight that the previous eight.
Valkyrie Tips and Strategy
Each battle against a Valkyrie is different, but there are some general tips you can use to give you the best shot of defeating them. We've put a selection of pointers for you below:
- You'll want to be at least level 6, but ideally higher, before you tackle a Valkyrie in God of War.
- Most Valkyrie are still for the first few moments when the fight starts. Use this opportunity to do damage to them while they won't defend themselves, including your special attacks.
- Once they're active, take your time to spot the right time to attack. Most Valkyrie do massive damage with every attack and some have unblockable moves, so you want to play defensively and look for the moment to strike, rather than going in swinging and risk getting brought down.
- Take a resurrection stone into each fight to get an extra chance if you get wiped out with an unblockable attack.
- Be aware of each Valkyrie's air-based unblockable attack - shown by a red ring of light. At this moment make Atreus fire an arrow at the Valkyrie.
- Magic attacks cause more damage that standard combo attacks, so make sure you go in with the best gear to maximise this.
If you want to know how to take down the formidable Valkyrie Queen Sigrun as quickly as possible, check out our full God of War Valkyrie Queen boss guide.
What Rewards Do You Get for Defeating the Valkyrie?
The main reward for defeating Valkyrie in God of War is Valkyrie armor. This is some of the best armor in the game, so it's worth taking on these challenging enemies and eventually taking on the Valkyrie Queen.
How to Get Valkyrie Armor
You need to defeat three Valkyrie to get the Valkyrie armor, but you'll want to defeat them all to fully upgrade the Valkyrie armor. Each upgrade requires Asgardian steel that you acquire by killing Valkyries (some drop even better Perfect Asgardian Steel). As well as steel you'll need to get your hands on Mist Echoes, Haze Weave, Niflheim Allow, and Aesirbane.
How to Upgrade Valkyrie Armor
To upgrade Valkyrie armor, you'll need to collect these materials from these locations.
- Asgardian Steel (from defeating Valkyries)
- Perfect Asgardian Steel (from defeating Queen Sigrun, Gondul, Rota, Olrun, and Eir specifically)
- Mist Echoes (Niflheim)
- Haze Weave (Niflheim)
- Aesirbane (Niflheim)
- Niflheim Alloy (Niflheim)
With the fully upgraded Valkyrie armor you have one of the best armor sets in God of war, so it's worth the effort. Just make sure you're prepared for the epic battles that are ahead of you. If you want more great armor, check out our God of War Best Armor guide.
For more God of War content, see what compromises the director had to make in crafting the game here, or Mike's thoughts on how the game's Greek roots shine through more than you might first think.