God of War Ragnarök: How to Defeat King Hrolf

One of the most formidable opponents that Kratos will face in God of War Ragnarok is King Hrolf Kraki, the leader of the Berserkers. The challenge of this Berserker battle does not come from the boss featuring highly challenging mechanics. Instead, the difficulty comes from King Hrolf possessing many of his subordinates’ abilities and weapons. In other words, the boss fight with King Hrolf Kraki serves as a “final test” of how much players have learned by facing all the Berserkers prior. Defeating the Berserker King will reward players with an abundance of XP and valuable materials, including completing the Favor, “Fit For A King.”

Since much of King Hrolf’s mechanics and moveset in God of War Ragnarok mirror the abilities of his followers, it is nearly impossible to memorize every attack and impractical to list them all. On the other hand, specific mechanics in this boss fight will undoubtedly benefit players to know before they attempt to defeat the Berserker King. For instance, many players might not realize they can impale and detonate Hrolf with the Draupnir Spear when he is performing an airborne attack, causing him to stop his ability and fall back to the ground.

Beating King Hrolf in God of War: Ragnarök

Another piece of advice when battling King Hrolf in God of War Ragnarok is to primarily use fast-moving Runic Attacks with the Blades of Chaos of Draupnir Spear. Although powerful, the Leviathan Axe in God of War: Ragnarok is too sluggish for this fight; moreover, Hrolf is not easily staggered like lesser enemies Kratos has faced. However, one time players should use their axe is when Hrolf launches a large ice orb at Kratos. Throwing the axe will destroy the projectile. The same goes for whenever the Berserker sends out a fire orb, during which players should hurl out their fiery Chaos Blade to dispel the projectile.

One crucial tip for survival during the boss fight with King Hrolf in God of War Ragnarok would be to preserve Kratos’s Spartan Rage only for emergencies. Whenever players are trapped in a deadly combo or lack enough HP to endure another hit, activate Kratos’s rage to break through any combos and restore lost HP. In other words, refrain from using Spartan Rage to deal damage but as a defensive tool in Ragnarok. Remember that Kratos can eventually get his HP back, but Hrolf cannot, so there is no reason to be greedy. Remember to dodge to the side when avoiding attacks since the Berserker King’s attack reach is often longer than it appears. The only optimal time to dodge backward is whenever green appears on the ground before an AoE strike. Keep in mind that defeating Hrolf is a challenge but not a race in God of War Ragnarok.