God of War Ragnarok Secret of the Sands Favour: How to clear the Alfheim sandstorm

Calling out from the deserts of Alfheim in God of War Ragnarok is a mysterious creature. Feeling the creature’s cries from afar, Kratos, Atreus and Mimir set off to help, hoping to go some way to making up for their previous meddling in the Realm’s delicate balance.

The path leads them through a sandstorm to a confusing and labyrinthine new area below the dunes, but it’s nothing they can’t overcome together.

Whether you're a newcomer to Ragnarok thanks to its recent PC release, or revisiting Alfheim for the first time in a while, here’s how to complete the Secret of the Sands Favour in God of War Ragnarok and solve the mystery for yourself.

God of War Ragnarok Secret of the Sands Favour

After parting ways with Tyr and hearing the creature’s distant cries, the Secret of the Sands favour begins after speaking to Sindri at his shop at the entrance to The Barrens.

Head past Sindri, board your new method of conveyance for getting quickly across the sand dunes, then bear right from the entrance to the desert towards the quest marker on your map.

At the quest marker, descend into the cave entrance and this leads into a new area: The Below.

Follow Atreus forward along the path and destroy the hive material in your way with your axe.

Next, defeat the Dark Elf ambush lurking in the caves, then use the reflection stone to destroy the Hive nodules. Defeat the elves that appear, claim the chest and continue on around the corner.

There are more Dark Elves to take on in the next room - which contains a lot of reflection stones. There’s also a Nornir Chest in the side room, but you come back for this later, just remember where it is.

Climb the marked wall next to the door where you can see the Nornir bell. Turn around and look where you just came and you can see an Ormr that gives you honed metal and stonewood if you throw an axe at it.

Then look down to the right as you climb up, destroy the hive material and you can grab a chest from down here as well as some lore. The chest has some Dwarven Steel inside.

Now take the high climb up and slide down the zipwire. Drop down to grab the chest then climb back up and follow the path around.

Use the Blades of Chaos to grapple across the gap and look down to the right. You’ll be above the Nornir Chest and an Ormr - throw your axe at it then head down to pick up the goods.

You can then open the gate next to the chest to have a quick way back around. You can’t finish opening the chest yet though, so turn back around.

Climb one level back up and throw your axe against the reflection stone to destroy the hive material to advance.

On the other side you can now get to the third Nornir Bell. Open the gate to the right, strike the bell then quickly descend and strike the other two.

Return to the cave you struck the third bell in and continue deeper by climbing down the chain.

Defeat the difficult Dark Elf ambush, then squeeze through the narrow tunnel over to the left-hand side of the cavern.

Then on the other side, destroy the gold rocks with the pot on the other side. But hold on before you rush off.

Before you climb down, look right and blow up another pot, then throw your axe against the reflection stone for a chest with some Dwarven Steel.

Now climb down, follow the path, defeat the wretches, then throw your axe through the hive material on the left to bounce it off the reflection stones and clear a path to a small chest.

Next, look left as you jump over the gap to blow up the rocks with a pot.

Go back through that new path and use the reflection stones on the left to clear another where you can climb up.

Grab the chest at the top of the ledge then spin the dangling stone so that it has an angle to destroy the final bit of hive blocking your progress.

Follow the path to a cave where you climb up. At the top, to the left are some rocks you can destroy with a pot behind them.

Jump across to the ledge, turn around, then throw your axe at the reflection stone on the far wall so it destroys the first node on the way there then rebounds into the other two.

Then climb back up to Atreus, look left, and throw your axe so it bounces off the two stones on the wall.

With the hive matter gone, follow Atreus up and to the right and free the beast from the surface. Bust out of the Below and grab the legendary chest, which contains Whispering Slab as well as the Shoulder Straps of Radiance. A good addition to your arsenal if not one of the best armor sets in God of War Ragnarok.

Go north to the quest marker and finish the quest. With the sand gone you can now go around the Barrens and clean up the stuff you couldn’t grab with the storm raging. For example, the "undiscovered location" near the start of the barrens is a Draugr Hole.

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