God of War Ragnarok has 10 Berserker Gravestone Locations, containing a total of 13 Berserkers. They are optional bosses that become available after acquiring the Inert Hilt of Skofnung during Main Quest: The Word of Fate. This is an unmissable story unlock. Completing all of them is required for Favor: Fit for a King.
None of the Berserker Gravestones are missable. You have to finish the story first to go to the Gravestone in Niflheim, it’s not available during the story. They also count towards 100% completion.
For the Berserker bosses that have an orange or purple health bar you should first increase your gear level. Green means they are a lower gear level than yours, yellow means same level, orange means they are one level above you, purple means they are two levels above you, red means you will die instantly. If one fight is too hard, come back for it later after crafting gear upgrades. During the story they are pretty difficult, it’s better to do them after the story. Always craft a Resurrection Stone at the blacksmith, in the Special Items section. This lets you self-revive. Also enable Midfight Checkpoints under Settings > Accessibility > Combat, this creates a checkpoint when the bosses are at half-health. If you die you then respawn with your resurrection stone back in the inventory and only need to defeat the bosses at half health.
#1 – Midgard, Lake of Nine: Fraekni the Zealous
Fraekni can kill you fast, but has a very predictable attack pattern. At range Fraekni will either perform an unblockable charge attack, which can be dodged and punished, or she’ll jump up and perform a block break attack, which is almost always followed up with a close range unblockable slam. So for this one you will want to dodge both attack, then follow up with attacks. When in close range, Fraekni can either do a regular jab which can be blocked or parried, or she’ll do an unblockable attack followed up by a regular jab.
When she gets below half health, she’ll extend her combos – at range she’ll do 2 (3 at critical health) unblockable charge attacks in a row, and sometimes she’ll follow up her block break/unblockable attack combo with a regular jab, which can catch you off guard if you’re not expecting it. She’ll also occasionally do 2 or 3 regular jab attacks in close combat. Due to many of her attacks being charge attacks, it is best to stay near the wall so that when she attempts to attack you and you dodge her, she won’t go flying past too far and you can get in faster for more hits. Don’t get greedy with your hits, only hit her when she’s vulnerable after a combo or when you’ve parried/stunned her. It can be a bit difficult to fill her stagger bar, but if you utilise Freya’s arrows to stop it from depleting when she’s far away, you can fill it up and inflict some extra damage.
#2 & #3 – Svartalfheim, Jarnsmida Pitmines: Bodvar the Fierce and Starolfr the Troublesome
This is a double boss fight, so you will need to pay attention to two enemies. Bodvar will be wielding two shields and Starolfr will be wielding two swords. Of the two, Bodvar will be the more dangerous one. Both of them will do close range flurry attacks with block break/unblockable attacks, as well as a variety of dangerous attacks at range, such as unblockable charging/ground slam attacks. Bodvar can do a block break flash of light in front of him that is very damaging, and will also do a shield strike attack where he charges up before releasing and dealing massive area-of-effect damage. Because of this you will want to keep an eye on Bodvar at all times in case he does this. Starolfr will occasionally cling on the walls and throw knives at you, but these can be easily blocked.
You can choose to either focus on one until they are dead, or whittle them down individually. Both have their benefits, as when you’re fighting one you only have one target, but they will also enrage and start hitting harder. I opted to work them both down, killing Starolfr first as she is weaker, then focusing on Bodvar to finish him off. You will want to utilise all your runic/companion attacks and Spartan Wrath if you have it equipped to quickly disperse damage, and use your + ability when you get it to deal even more. With some good dodging and ability usage you will be able to defeat one by the time you’ve used all your abilities, and can then focus on the second. Health crystals will drop throughout the fight, so Spartan Wrath will prove more beneficial than Spartan Valour or Fury.
#4 – Svartalfheim, Nidavellir: Hardrefill the Callous
Hardrefill doesn’t have a very large repertoire of attacks, at close range he’ll do a series of flurry attacks that can be a mix of regular and block break swings. These combos can be blocked/dodged and punished after he finishes it. At range, he’ll jump and swing towards you to perform a block break attack, and will often lead into a flurry attack. The main attack to look out for from Hardrefill is a leaping attack, where a green indicator will appear on the ground. This indicates where he will land after about a second, so you will want to prepare to dodge away as he lands. This attack can deal heavy damage, but as long as you don’t immediately dodge when you seem him jump, you should be able to avoid these without too much effort.
When his health gets lower, the flurry attacks will extend and his jumping attacks will start coming in two or three in a row. There won’t be any health crystals during this fight, so if you need health you may opt to use Spartan Valour, but Spartan Wrath may prove more beneficial for dealing massive damage. As usual, unload your runic attacks and companion attacks.
#5 – Svartalfheim, Alberich Island: Beigadr the Feared
Beigadr is lightning enchanted, so most of his attacks will be ranged lightning attacks. He will do several unblockable lightning attacks, one where he throws four lightning orbs at you, and another where lightning will strike all around the arena, indicated by danger zones on the floor. Both of these you will need to time your dodge to avoid them. Getting hit by a lightning attack with shock you, and you will need to spam to escape. There will also be normal ranged lightning attacks, where he can launch two orbs at you or cast a line of lightning in front of him. At close range he will also do some punches, but these are all regular attacks so can be blocked, parried or dodged. Lastly there will be a leaping attack where after a second or two he will slam down into the ground, so you will want to time your dodge so you don’t get hit by this.
There are no health crystals, so you will need to play cautiously. As he is often at range, you cannot be hyper aggressive here, and you may want to opt to use range attacks yourself as necessary.
#6 & #7 & #8 – Alfheim, The Barrens: Svipdagr the Cold and Sisters of Illska
This is a triple fight, but the Sisters of Illska will share a health bar. The sisters will be flame and frost enchanted, while Svipdagr will use dual axes. The Sisters will use punch attacks infused by their element, as well as throw ice bolts/homing fire balls at you. They will also jump into the air and release multiple unblockable area-of-effect attacks that cover a large area, so keep an eye out for the danger indicators on the floor and stay out of them. It is best to focus on the Sisters first given they share a health bar and will mostly attack you from range.
Once the Sisters are dead, you will have Svipdagr. She will mostly swing at you multiple times with regular and block break swipes, as well as do an unblockable area-of-effect attack where she jumps into the air and slams near you, so be prepared to dodge this. This is a relatively simple fight as long as you focus on the Sisters first, utilise your runic/companion abilities and Spartan Wrath to kill them quickly, then you can focus on Svipdagr, blocking, parrying and dodging her attacks as need be.
#9 – Alfheim, The Forbidden Sands: Hjalti the Stolid
You will want to stay close to Hjalti through the battle, as she will occasionally do a shield strike ability that does heavy damage from a distance so you will want to be close enough to stop it. She will also do a block break jumping slash attack and an unblockable range attack where she jumps and shoots two bolts at you. There will also be an unblockable area-of-effect slam that you will want to dodge. Most of these attacks will be done from a distance.
At close range, Hjalti will do multiple swinging strikes, starting with a block break attack and ending on an unblockable attack. Most of her attacks you will want to dodge, but some you can block/parry and punish her afterwards. Unload all your runic/companion attacks and Spartan Wrath and you can stunlock her for a while, so this fight shouldn’t pose too much of a threat as long as you remember to stay close to her.
#10 – Vanaheim, Pilgrim’s Landing: Hvitserkr the Bold
Hvitserkr is poison-based and will also summon Shadows and Nightmares to fight alongside him. He will respawn the minions if they die, so don’t bother directly attacking them. Most of his attacks will be range based, such as throwing two poison shots at you, an unblockable attack where he throws four poison shots simultaneously, and a summoning attack where he will spawn exploding enemies on you about five times. For the regular attack you can block, but for the other attacks you will want to dodge, repeatedly in the case of the summoning attack. He will also rush in and swing at you multiple times, but these are pretty basic melee attacks that aren’t hard to deal with.
The biggest problem with Hvitserkr is getting overwhelmed by all his minions and his range/area-of-effect attacks. The best way to deal with him is chaining together all of your runic attacks, companion attacks and Spartan Wrath to deal heavy damage to him, using your + attack when available to deal even more damage. By the time you’ve exhausted all your abilities he should hopefully be heavily damaged, allowing you to quickly finish him off. If need be you can use your Spear or Axe for ranged attacks when he is at a distance, but you will have to be cautious of his attacks and the minions.
#11 – Vanaheim, The Sinkholes: Haklangr the Bearded
Haklangr will shield his health a few times throughout the battle, so when he does this simply use the weapon of the opposite element, or use the Draupnir Spear to break it as it works on all shields. All of his attacks will be block break or unblockable attacks, so you will want to dodge most of them, though you can try parry his block break ones if you choose. When in close range he’ll swing him hammer a few times before slamming it down. At range he’ll jump and leap towards you with a block break attack, often following it up with the melee combo. His deadliest attack is a very large area-of-effect slam where he raises his hammer for a few seconds before slamming it down. Due to the size you will need to get a lot of distance to avoid it, 2-3 dodge rolls back to escape it.
As his health gets lower, he will start doing his regular slams in succession, and the heavy ground slams more frequently. Most of this battle comes down to dodging, otherwise just unload your arsenal of abilities and he shouldn’t pose too much of a threat.
#12 – Niflheim, Mist Fields: Skjothendi the Unerring
Skjorthendi is the hardest of the berserkers, as she uses Bifrost attacks and can teleport around. It is highly recommended that you use the Remedy of the Bifrost and Celestial Panacea Amulet Enchantments if you have them, as these will make the Bifrost more manageable. It is also recommended that you use the Elemental Siphon II ability on the Draupnir Spear (hold ) to receive a temporary resistance buff to Bifrost.
She has a very wide array of attacks, including but not limited to throwing Bifrost at you, slamming Bifrost in a line towards you, teleporting towards you and swinging in a combo, releasing Bifrost energy in a blast directly in front of her, jumping in the air and slamming down on your spot. Many of these attacks can be dodged, some blocked/parried, but Bifrost will still occur as she even has a Bifrost aura so when in close range you will receive Bifrost over time.
Alongside all her other Bifrost attacks, she has one more attack, her deadliest attack of all: an unblockable, full area-of-effect Bifrost attack that will Bifrost your entire health bar on higher difficulties. Fortunately though this last attack can be stopped by throwing your Axe/Spear at her, but it is absolutely paramount that you are to do this at a moment’s notice, as if she manages to unleash this attack you can die in a in single hit.
On top of all the attacks she will do, she will also teleport all around the arena, constantly into close range to swing at you, then back to a distance to attack from range, making it very difficult to get a combo going on her. This can also ruin your + attack or Spartan Wrath attacks if you do them at an inopportune time and she teleports as you initiate these. You can either go aggressive and unload all your special attacks and abilities, trying to get combos off and not wasting them when she teleports, or play more purposefully and wait until after an attack to punish her with these abilities. Either way this is a difficult fight, so be prepared.
#13 – Midgard, King’s Grave: King Hrolf
After defeating all other 12 Berserkers, you the final Gravestone at King’s Grave in Midgard will activate. This is the hardest fight of them all. Being Gear Level 9 is highly recommended. Switch to the lowest difficulty in the Gameplay Settings. Also go to Settings > Accessibility > Combat > Miniboss Checkpoints = ON. This will create a checkpoint halfway through the fight if you die. Also buy a Resurrection Stone from the blacksmith, in the Special Items section. In case you go down you can self-revive with it.
That’s all of the Berserker Gravestones in God of War Ragnarok.
For all other collectible types refer to God of War Ragnarok Collectible Guide.
Jaizi says
I think this trophy might be glitch for me because i have done 2 berserker gravestone in Midgard but it shows 1/2 on map, i checked on location their headstone ? already broken into pieces
PowerPyx says
It’s not glitched. You can’t do the one at King’s Grave until you finished ALL other Berserker Gravestones. It looks broken because you haven’t done all other Berserkers to activate it (that’s the final one / King Hrolf final berserker boss). See #13.
ace says
almost same stuff as u have on but cant get no where close to killing him. how do u stop the bifrost move thats getting me killed plus its just to hard n im not doing this game 12 times for a one hit kill