The King of the Berserkers is featured as the final fight in “Fit for a King,” one of God of War: Ragnarök’s many side quests. Kratos must first overcome each of the King’s twelve subordinates before having a shot at Hrolf Kraki himself. Aside from the fight with Gna, there may not be a more difficult fight in the game. The key here is to practice, prepare, and above all, have fun! Good luck!

Preparing for the Fight with Hrolf Kraki

The Berserker King is a high-level boss. Even with Kratos at level 9, Hrolf Kraki can present a considerable challenge. The safest bet is to upgrade every piece of gear to its highest possible level.

Remember that what constitutes the ‘best’ gear is highly subjective. By the time players reach Hrolf Kraki, they should have a good idea about what works for them. The Berserker King fight acts as a sort of ‘greatest hits’ compilation, incorporating and slightly altering several moves from previous Berserkers. Keep the following in mind when picking equipment:

Use the Guardian Shield for all Berserkers. They have several projectiles that can be returned, as well as attacks that can be parried. The best all-around shield. Use melee damage increasing perks. Hrolf Kraki has a massive health bar, using Souless Warrior mixed with Talisman of Meign will melt his health away. Rage is better used as a means of regaining health. Wrath and the damage aspect of Fury do little to hurt Hrolf Kraki. Using any Realm Shift perk can be helpful in doing quick damage with little chance of harm. Experiment with the best armor setups, find what works for specific playstyles. For most players, there is no ‘magic bullet’ that will take the King down.

Where to Find Hrolf Kraki in God of War: Ragnarök

Once Kratos has successfully cleared all Berserker Gravestone locations, he will be eligible to take on the Berserker King in Midgard. Follow the guide markers to King’s Grave in the north-eastern section of the map. Return to the very spot Kratos found the hilt, right in the center of the arena.

Place the hilt into the Berserker Gravestone to begin the fight.

How to Defeat Hrolf Kraki, King of the Berserkers

Like all difficult bosses, Hrolf Kraki requires patience and practice to defeat. He is an extremely aggressive enemy and can demand a player’s attention for long stretches of time. If a player is struggling to defeat Kraki, the most important thing to do is to make sure and examine at least one attack pattern per attempt. Taking the time to recognize and overcome on attack at a time will find Kratos destroying his enemy in no time.

Opening Salvo:

Unlike many Berserkers, Hrolf will begin the fight directly in front of Kratos, often going right in to one of his red-ringed attacks. Players who use runic attacks as their opening salvo may find it hard here. Try something quick and disruptive like Hel’s Touch. Make sure to pay attention when beginning the fight!

Basic and Yellow-Ring Attacks:

Attack 1 - Jumping Sword Slash: The King jumps straight up in the air, displaying the yellow ring. He then lunges forward with a massive slash of his sword.

Solution: As a yellow-ringed attack, the best solution is a parry. Dodging is also a possibility if the player is not comfortable parrying.

Attack 2 - Yellow ‘Bend Your Knee!’: King Kraki charges up and swings his warhammer three times at Kratos.

Solution: This attack has a long wind-up, so pay attention and prepare to parry. Yellow-ring, so no blocking (unless using the Stone Wall Shield).

Attack 3 - Battle Axe Thrust: This basic attack sees Kraki thrust the tip of his long battle axe at Kratos. This is sometimes used as his opening move, watch for it as soon as he appears.

Solution: As a basic attack this can be dodged, blocked, or parried.

Attack 4 - Yellow Hand Axe Variants: King Kraki will swing his two hand axes at Kratos, often in combos of multiple attacks.

Solution: Parry! This is the best solution here as they cannot be blocked with most shields. Kratos will often get struck with subsequent attacks if he tried to dodge the first.

Attack 5 - Hazardous Fist: Hrolf will attack Kratos with elemental-charged punches. There are several versions; electric, bifrost, etc.

Solution: This attack is prime for parrying, though it often comes in combos. Parrying the first attack does not always interrupt the series. If Kratos gets stunned, mash the circle button.

Attack 6 - Dual Elemental Projectiles: This attack is common among all the Berserkers. They will release staggered projectiles, either elemental or hazardous in nature.

Solution: These can be blocked, but the Guardian Shield can parry and return them.

Attack 7 - Element/Hazard Burst: This is another common attack for Berserkers. After the yellow ring flashes, the King will pause for a moment, clearly preparing a burst. These can be bifrost, electric, or any other of the hazardous status effects in Ragnarok.

Solution: It may take a few tries to get the timing down, but if Kratos waits until the exact right moment, he can parry the burst. If the player is uncomfortable with parrying, or is not using the correct shield, simply back away as far as possible.

Attack 8 - Hazard Along the Ground: King Hrolf sends a string of hazardous/elemental charges along the ground towards Kratos, quickly racing ahead in a straight line.

Solution: Kratos can watch the charge get closer and dodge at the last second. If he dodges too early the trail will still find him and stun him, requiring mashing of the circle button.

Attack 9 - Lunging Haymaker: Kroki lunges across the arena to deliver a massive punch to Kratos.

Solution: Once Kratos has seen this attack, its long wind up is instantly recognizable. Parrying this attack will stun Kraki, so that is the best option. Dodging is the next best.

Red-Ringed Attacks:

Attack 1 - ‘Kneel Before Me!’: Kraki takes a cue from the Valkyrie and rockets up into the air, plunging his sword into the ground with a massive explosion upon return.

Solution: Like the Valkyrie attack, timing is everything. Here, Kratos will see a green, circular patch indicating where Kraki will land. If Kratos dodges too soon, Kraki will track him. The trick is to wait for the briefest of moments before dodging.

Attack 2 - Red ‘Bend Your Knee!’: The first three swings of this attack are yellow ringed, but the final overhead swing is red.

Solution: If Kratos misses the parries on the yellow-ringed attacks, he must dodge the final red-ringed attack.

Attack 3 - Big Green AOE: Hrolf Kraki lifts his warhammer above the ground, charging an extremely large AOE attack that will do major damage to Kratos.

Solution: There is really only one answer here: back the heck up. Kraki loves to draw Kratos in and pull this attack out. As soon as the player sees th ground turn green, drop everything and back up.

Attack 4 - Double Mace Slam: Hrolf leaps at Kratos with two maces drawn, slamming them down on Kratos’ head.

Solution: As with all red-ringed attacks, this cannot be blocked. Dodge to the left or right to avoid.

Attack 5 - Red Hand Axe Variant: Like many of Kraki’s combos, the final hand axe attack is often red-ringed.

Solution: Dodge to quick attack.

Attack 6 - ‘Show Me Fealty!’ Long Distance Battle Axe Charge: When the King is at a distance, he will ‘charge up’ his long battle axe and dash towards Kratos at high speed.

Solution: This attack is easy to confuse with the yellow ring variant, but pay close attention because this attack must be dodged!

Attack 7 - Overhead Warhammer Slam: Kraki will often open the fight with a large overhead slam with his warhammer which creates a smaller AOE explosion.

Solution: The best bet here is to roll backwards, out of the way of the slam and the AOE.

Attack 8 - Bifrost Burger AOE: Who knows what he is saying as he floats in the air, summoning massive amounts of Bifrost. “Beefrosta!?” “Beefy-Frosty?”

Solution: This attack can seem maddening at first. It doesn’t feel fair when Kratos cannot escape the range of the attack. Then he realizes he needs only throw the Leviathan Axe at the King to drop him.

Attack 9 - Fire/Ice Storm: Kraki will float in the air, summoning small circles of falling or burning fire ice. There is a clear marking of the AOE.

Solution: Kratos cannot block these attacks, he must avoid the clearly marked areas.

Attack 10 - Lightning Storm: Similar to the Ice Storm, but more frequent attacks and smaller AOE.

Solution: Move quick to get out of the small AOE. They change quickly, so pay attention to the ground.

Attack 11 - Quad Hazard Projectiles: Kraki sends a very fast burst of projectiles hurtling at Kratos. Like many of the hazardous attacks, they come in all the forms of hazards: ice, fire, electric, bifrost, and poison.

Blue-Ringed Attacks:

Attack 1 - Twin Maces of Doom: Kraki will extend two maces, one in each hand, and begin charging up a massive AOE attack. The blue-rings make it clear there is only one solution here.

Solution: Kratos must use the double L1 shield strike to disrupt the attack. Failing to act in time means almost certain death, even with a full health bar.

Elemental Health Shield:

As Hrolf Kraki’s health drains past half, he will start using elemental health shields, similar to Odin, or some of the base enemies. Kratos must use the correct weapon to lower the shield before continuing to damage Kraki’s actual health bar.

Rewards for Defeating King Hrolf Kraki

Kratos will receive:

15000 XP Hilt of Skofnung Helheim Enchantment

Freya will receive:

7500 XP

God of War: Ragnarök is available on PS5 and PS4.

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