For those that are new to God of War’s Valkyries, you won’t be able to face the queen just yet. You’re only allowed to face the final optional boss herself when you’ve fought and brutally murdered all eight of the regular Valkyries, each found in a specific location.
Although the Valkyrie Queen might be one of the hardest gaming bosses in recent memory, it goes without saying there’s no definitive way to defeat her. This guide will be going into a specific build for both Kratos and Atreus in conjunction with a strategy that defeated the Valkyrie Queen. If there’s anything among the builds which you wish to tweak to your specific play style, feel free to customise with whatever works for you.
This guide is based on fighting the Valkyrie Queen on Easy Mode, as this is about tearing the wings off of the winged warrior to earn that sweet gold trophy as quick and efficiently as possible.
Kratos Build
Overall, your Kratos needs to be at least level 7 for a decent chance of beating the Valkyrie Queen. Being at level 8’s a bonus.
Starting off with the combat runes, you’re going to need Hel’s Touch for your Light Axe Attack. It doesn’t do massive damage on its own but it stuns enemies, breaking any of the Valkyrie Queen’s combos and leaving her vulnerable; excellent for being the first in a 4-runic attack combo. Its cooldown time is short compared to the others as well, which is great if you need to stun her again to buy a few seconds.
Kratos- Runic Axe Attacks
The Heavy Axe Attack is on the opposite end of the damage scale by being up close and personal: Frost Giant’s Frenzy. After the initial blow, you can keep pressing R2 several times for additional blows of damage.
Kratos- Blades of Chaos Runic Attacks
Onto the Blades of Chaos. For the Light Attack, you’ll need Rampage of the Furies. It’s a good follow-up from Frost Giant’s Frenzy as it’s an up close melee type. Then for the Heavy Attack, go with Fire of Ares, another heavy hitter you can hit R2 with for several more times for max damage.
All of these attacks maxed out to Level 3 is a must.
For armour, you can’t go wrong with Sindri’s Royal Dwarven set. You have to complete a side-quest line for Brok and Sindri first, but the Royal Dwarven set’s perks are worth it. Among other bonuses, these will favorably boost your Runic and Cooldown. An important one though is Arcane Protective Barrier, preventing you from any damage whilst conducting your runic attack combos.
Kratos- Royal Dwarven Armor
In terms of Resurrection Stones, a Superior Resurrection Stone is fine but in this fight, a Berserker Resurrection Stone is a much safer bet, due to Rage Mode making you immune from damage, so you’ll have more opportunity to pick up any health stones lying about.
Any enchantments level 6 or 7 will do for your weapons and armor, but the more Runic and Cooldown each have, the better. My Runic stat was almost maxed out and the Valkyrie Queen was still a considerable challenge. Don’t forget that your health needs to be fully maxed out as well.
Atreus Build
The most important selection for Atreus in this fight is the runic summon. Wrath of the Wolf is without a doubt the best in this situation. It doesn’t do as much damage as Murder of Crows, but the cooldown is considerably lower by comparison, which is what you’ll be needing from your summon as another go-to in keeping the Valkyrie Queen in place, breaking any moves she might be attempting in the moment.
Atreus- Runic Summon
Among Atreus’ armour options, Legnedary Runic Vestment is a viable option, due to the added Healthstone Assit and Healthstone Enhancement, but I personally recommend the Legendary Sharpshooter Garb. You’ll still get healthstone drops in this fight regardless and the Sharpshooter Garb enables a much faster recharge time for Atreus’ arrows. You should only be using the shock arrows here against the Valkyrie Queen, so the more you can fire, the better.
Strategy
As emphasised in the Kratos build, your focus in this fight should be all about launching your Runic attacks.
When the fight starts, get the target lock on her right away. She’ll immediately jump back. Sprint towards her to close some distance and dodge her attack on the way. Now you’re closer, start with Hel’s Touch to stun her before hitting with Frost Giant’s Frenzy. Whilst you’re chaining R2, keep pressing square to pepper her with Atreus’ shock arrows to stun her further. You’ll have half a second between switching between the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos, so use your Runic Summon in the meantime to keep her stunned and in place.
The Valkyrie Queen will jump back, so use that to re-switch to the Leviathan Axe so you can watch for its Runic Attacks to cool down. Most of her attacks can be blocked with the Spartan Shield, but if you see a red signal around her, dodge right away, as that means it can’t be blocked.
Valkyrie Queen Drop-and-Stomp Attack
The best dodge-attack opportunity is when the Valkyrie Queen will attempt to drop on you. If you dodge, she’ll attempt twice more, so after dodging for a third time, that’s the ideal chance to start your 4-Runic Attack Combo again. If Atreus’ Runic Summon hasn’t recharged yet, keep the shock arrows coming.
You need to keep firing Atreus’ shock arrows throughout the entire fight whenever you can. Albeit stunning the Valkyrie Queen, they don’t do much damage initially, but all that peppering definitely adds up.
When your health is low enough, activate Spartan Rage to start regaining health, followed by the same principle if you die and need to use your Berserker Resurrection Stone. Keep dodge rolling throughout the battlefield to collect whatever healthstones are lying about. Rather than attacking the Queen midst Spartan Rage, it’s better to keep your distance and use the rage to recover whatever health you can, as the opportunity for another Runic Attack is worth more damage anyway.
Spirit of the defeated Valkyrie Queen
Even with the right build on Easy Mode, you’ll surely die at least once or twice. Use this build and strategy to memorise the Valkyrie Queen’s attack patterns and movements and the win will be yours in no time.
Loot
The feeling of sweet victory is accompanied with some pretty sweet lore regarding the game’s story.
Chooser of the Slain Trophy
You’ll then also get the following loot and that beautiful gold trophy:
- Sigrun’s Helmet (Legendary)
- Njörd’s Temporal Stone (Epic): Very low Perk activation chance to temporarily slow nearby enemies when damage is taken.
- Perfect Asgardian Steel (Material): A flawless and hardened piece of Asgardian Valkyrie armour. Used to upgrade armour, Pommels, and Talismans with the powers of the Valkyries.
- Retribution (Epic Axe Pommel): R1 axe throw and recall become incredibly powerful. Low Perk activation chance to strike with a massively damaging explosion on any successful hit.
- Asgardian Steel (Material): Asgardian metal found on scraps of Valkyrie armour. Used to upgrade armour, Pommels, and Talismans with the powers of the Valkyries.
