God of War Ragnarök does not spare the players, and one of the best fights of the game awaits you from the introduction, shortly after your victory against Björn the bear. We could expect to face Thor towards the end of the game, but he invites himself to Kratos with only one bottle. He therefore deserves to take a few slaps. The objective of this guide, as well as all those dedicated to the bosses that will follow, is to help you beat them on maximum difficulty, "Only God of War", so that they are relevant for all levels.
Thor is much more difficult than the previous boss, and killing him would be really difficult if there weren't multiple checkpoints to revive during the fight, we counted 4 of them. It must also be said that he regenerates his life every time, so that balances things out. As each phase becomes more and more complex, this allows you to learn the fight little by little, while progressing after each death, without having to redo everything.
First phase
The fight starts out soft and sweet, since Thor doesn't use Mjöllnir, just his massive fists. The same goes for Kratos. This will allow you to familiarize yourself with the basic attacks of the god.
Chain of punches (normal attack) : Thor's basic attack, he doesn't use it that often. Its timing is quite easy to grasp, so you should take advantage of it to perform parries. Otherwise, you can just shield everything. Sometimes he can follow straight into a quick kick, so blocking has its merits, as it protects you from that surprise attack.
Hand Clap (Normal Attack) : Thor spreads his arms out, rushing at you as if to grab you, but it's a trick. He will smack bread to produce a clap of thunder in front of him. The only real difficulty is to properly identify the attack. You can block it with the shield, or dodge in melee in order to pass behind its back to attack it. As long as you are not in front of him, there is nothing to fear.
Grasp (red attack) : What makes the fight more difficult is that Thor really has a grapple during which he will grab you and throw you, which can cause confusion. The problem is that it has several versions of the socket . Some are performed in melee with one hand, and another has him use an animation similar to hand claps, while charging forward. In the end, you have to learn to trust the red circle to know how to react correctly. Dodge laterally then counterattack.
Combo Guard Breaking Punch (yellow attack) and Kick (normal attack) : Thor charges his attack and lands a big punch in melee. This attack cannot be blocked, but it can be parried by pressing L1 at the right time. The normal reflex would be to dodge the attack, as we did in the video, the problem is that this attack is immediately followed by a powerful kick in your direction, which will catch you right after your dodge. So you have several options, the first is to parry the punch , which will also cancel the kick and give you the chance to counterattack. It's the best solution. But if you have trouble parrying it, you can dodge and then take the reflex to block afterwards.
Thunderclap (red attack) : Probably the most dangerous and painful attack of the whole fight is this one. He will raise both hands in the air, then bring them down to hit the ground, which will produce a huge explosion around him. The only reliable solution is to perform a roll (double X) backwards , and not laterally. Range is less important than the game makes it seem. Just don't get into the habit of rolling behind his back too much, it will kill you.
Second and third phases
Thor takes most of the attacks from the first phase, and adds new ones:
His punches are replaced with hammer blows, which doesn't change much in practice. You can still block or parry. The same goes for his guard-breaking move (yellow circle). The good news is that Thor no longer uses his kick, it makes his attacks and combos more predictable and easy to counter.
Hammer throw (red attack) : Here is the real difficulty in this phase, the damage is huge, and it is very difficult to dodge, you either need excellent timing with the side roll , or be close enough to Thor . Whenever Thor distances himself by backing up at full speed, hurry to sprint in his direction. By being fast enough, you will be able to dodge the hammer more easily. Placing an obstacle between him and you is a good option the few times you get the chance. Trying to place Thor with his back to a wall can also help you control the situation, but it's quite difficult to put into practice.
Lightning zone (red attack) : Right after throwing his hammer, Thor will send lightning to the ground in front of him. It's very easy to avoid, with a simple side dodge, whether you've taken the hammer in the face or not. If you're in melee, this is a good opportunity to attack him.
Powerful Hammer Strike (Red Attack) : Thor picks up his hammer and performs a vertical attack. It can be a rising or falling attack, it doesn't matter much. It's easy to dodge laterally. The only problem is that it adds more red attacks to his repertoire, which tends to make it harder to identify them in the heat of battle.
During this phase, you can use the pillars in the area with O to trigger a special attack on Thor, if he is close enough. There's no point in trying if he's too far, you'll just take Mjöllnir in the teeth.
Fourth phase
When a frozen lightning bolt is summoned in the middle of the arena, it means that the end of the fight is near. This last phase is the most intense. Thor resumes all his attacks from the previous phases, with his bare hands and with the hammer. The only exception is the kick which he does not use, or only very rarely.
During this phase, Thor loves to use 3 attacks, the hammer throw, the thunderclap around him, and a new ability:
Lightning Strike (red attack) : Thor grabs his hammer with both hands above his head and strikes the ground several times with it. Ironically, this may be the most advantageous red attack for you in the entire fight. It is indeed very predictable, it causes several red areas to appear in the room, which will be struck by lightning with each strike. The first is still under your feet, so you just have to dodge or sprint to get out of it . Then just do not walk in the red areas which are well spaced out. You can also take the opportunity to attack Thor with impunity, this is an opportunity to hurt him very badly! Thor's attack animations hitting the ground are oddly not dangerous.
Tips and Advice
As Thor is divided between 4 phases, with as many checkpoints, do not hesitate to use your Spartan Rage during each phase in order to move on to the next one. You only need to pass each of them once, and the rage will recharge for the following ones, over the course of your deaths, if necessary.
Picking up the green healing crystals in melee cancels Thor's attack and stuns him very briefly, in addition to restoring life. Don't hesitate to also go get them in the room when your life is too low.
