God of War Ragnarok Scent of Survival Favour: How to find the Crater with Helka
Sniff out a new area.
Following the climax of the second Vanaheim story arc in God of War Ragnarok - and what a climax it is - you receive the “Scent of Survival” quest from Freyr’s Camp. While it seems innocuous at first, Scent of Survival is actually one of the most important side quests to complete in the entirety of God of War Ragnarok: not only does it give a decent XP reward for your trouble, but it also opens up not one, but three brand-new areas in Vanaheim.
If you’re missing those last few Nornir Chests, then Scent of Survival is the quest to complete to get on the path to finding them. It also stocks Brok and Sindri’s shop with some of the best late game armor sets in God of War Ragnarok, so there multiple strands to consider.
However, despite its massive importance, it’s very easy to miss — so first-time players who've just picked up the PC version should be extra careful to keep their eyes peeled. Here's where to start and complete Scent of Survival in God of War Ragnarok, so you can unlock The Crater containing The Plains, The Sinkholes and The Jungle.
God of War Ragnarok Scent of Survival Quest
- Where to start the Scent of Survival quest in God of War Ragnarok
- How to complete the Scent of Survival quest in God of War Ragnarok
Where to start the Scent of Survival quest in God of War Ragnarok
From Brok and Lunda’s shop in the middle of Freyr’s Camp, head to the western side of the cave where you can hear Helka - who you found the “mysterious orb” for earlier - barking.
Atreus will approach the mouthy mutt, but she scampers off into the distance. It could be something important, so continue down the path and follow her.
You’re then prompted with the start of the Scent of Survival quest.
How to complete the Scent of Survival quest in God of War Ragnarok
From where you found Helka in Freyr’s Camp, continue along the path and swing across the spear bars to the river bank at the mouth of the cave.
Next to the boat, you find some of Helka’s tracks. Interact with them and it will update your quest marker to a point further down the river.
Hop in the boat, take a right, then land at the beach where you see Helka run off close-by.
Follow the track north and squeeze under the moss and branches. Defeat the wisps on the other side by stunning them with arrows, then again squeeze through the small gap to your right.
Through this second gap, run straight forward - jumping over the gap as you do - and lift the heavy collapsed pillar at the end. Then keep heading forward until you run into a bunch of Draugr you need to defeat.
When they’re dealt with, look over at the end of the path and you will see Helka atop an overgrown structure. To continue following her you need to change the time of day at the celestial altar up and to your right.
You can then climb the wall underneath her with the roots retracted and press on to the next area.
Sprint along the long pathway and eventually you will come up to Helka staring out over a cliff edge as a flare whistles out into the sky.
Interact with the gust of air next to Helka and the quest finishes. Ride in Freyr’s boat to the brand-new area, The Crater.
The Crater is divided up into three sub-areas - each with their own points of interest: The Plains in the middle, The Sinkholes to the east and The Jungle to the southwest.
To fully explore these areas you need to complete a further sidequest in The Jungle, Return of the River, which can be tough to figure out. But it's worth it to access a ton of new areas and complete the Across the Realms quest from Midgard.
As you explore The Plains, there’s more to see than you might expect at first. The main thing to remember if you come up to a path that seems inaccessible is that you can change the landscape of Vanaheim using the Celestial Altars.
There are two close to where you first enter The Crater: on the raised plateau to the east, and over the chasm on another raised plateau to the west.