God of War Ragnarök brings all nine of the Norse realms to life, unlike its predecessor, which only let you visit five. However, one of the biggest realms you’ll visit in Ragnarök comes early, and will be familiar to those that played God of War (2018): Alfheim.
This time around, Alfheim is a little different, and is feeling the effects of Fimbulwinter in its own unique way. In this guide, we’ll help you collect all of the various treasure chests, Odin’s Ravens, Artifacts, and more as you go on your adventure with Kratos, Mimir, Atreus, and Tyr.
Note: This guide will show you everything that you can do on your first visit to Alfheim. As you might expect, you’ll be back later in the game and be able to access previously inaccessible areas with new equipment. If you reach the end of one of the sections in this guide and still notice “undiscovered” stuff on your map, it simply means you can’t get that item yet. We’ll update this guide to include information about the second visit to Alfheim by the time you get there.
The Strond
The Strond is the entrance to Alfheim, and will take you up to the Temple of Light. It didn’t appear in the first game, and establishes that Alfheim is now more of a desert tone than the bright, watery, and beautiful realm seen in God of War (2018).
Lore – Broken History
Immediately after walking through the Mystic Gateway, walk forward.
On the statue in front of you, before you head up the left path toward the Temple of Light, you’ll see some runic writing on the wall. Investigate it for the “Broken History” entry.
Lore – The Living Desert
From the Mystic Gateway, walk up the left path until you reach a crack in the wall that you need to squeeze through. Stop.
Instead of going through the wall, drop off the left side of the rock you’re currently on. You’ll see a lore marker right in front of you. Read it to get the “Living Desert” entry.
Nornir Chest
After squeezing through the rock crack we mentioned above, drop down immediately to your left.
You’ll see the Nornir Chest right in front of you when you land. This is a brazier chest, and you’ll need to find the three matching Braziers nearby if you want the treasure.
Brazier 1
The first brazier is directly behind you if you’re looking at the Nornir Chest. It’s tucked in some rocks over the ledge. Turn around and light it up.
Brazier 2
Walk forward past the Nornir Chest until you hit the wall. Look over the left edge of the cliff to find the second brazier. Burn it.
Brazier 3
The third brazier is a bit of a journey (although you can activate it from below if you have Hex arrows already).
Climb back up to where you were before you dropped down for the Nornir Chest. Move forward, climbing the wall and then grappling. When you reach the landing with the circle on the ground, turn left and drop off the ledge. Look up and you’ll be able to reach the brazier from your new position.
With all three braziers lit, go grab the Nornir Chest.
Odin’s Raven
After the Nornir Chest, climb back up and proceed along the path. Drop down from the higher area with the circle on the ground and inch forward.
Immediately after you turn the corner, you’ll see an Odin’s Ravens sitting on a dead tree behind a pillar. Get a little closer to the tree and use your ax to kill it.
Artifact – Kvasir’s Poem
Continue forward until you reach the locked room with the purple crystals. Follow the instructions and use your Leviathan Axe to open the door.
After the puzzle, walk forward and off the ledge in front of you. When you land, turn left and break the pots blocking the small cave. Walk into the cave and grab one of Kvasir’s Poems.
Legendary Chest – Skadi’s Edge light runic attack
Follow the exact path we laid out for Kvasir’s Poem above.
When you reach the cave, the Legendary Chest is sitting right next to the Artifact. Open it up to get Skadi’s Edge, a light runic attack.
Artifact – Tributes to Freyr
Continue forward until you reach the large block that’s blocking your path. Lift it and then walk to the right. If you reach the door to the Temple of Light, you’ve gone too far.
To the right of the block, near the boulder with the shiny cracks on it and a Nornir Chest you can’t unlock yet, you’ll find the first artifact in the Tributes to Freyr collection.
The Temple of Light
The Temple of Light is one of the biggest returning locations from God of War (2018). Here you’ll adventure through the holy structure with Tyr, Atreus, and Mimir in an attempt to find a hidden meaning in an old Jötnar shrine.
Lore – The Bifrost Bridge
Follow the path in the Temple of Light until you come across the giant pillar of light shooting out of the water. To your right, you’ll see a massive spiral staircase. Climb it and keep to the left.
As soon as you reach an edge on the staircase that you can jump off of, do it. This will lead you to a lower level in the temple. Kill the enemies and then take a quick detour down a hallway on your left. You’ll find the “Bifrost Bridge” Lore scroll sitting here.
Legendary Chest – Hades Retribution light runic attack
Follow the path to reach the Lore scroll that we describe above. Down the left hallway with the scroll, drop off the side again to reach an even lower level of the Temple.
When you land, go left again and walk forward. You’ll find a Legendary Chest here. Open it to get the Hades Retribution light runic attack.
Odin’s Raven 1
Follow the pathway we described for the lore scroll above. When you reach the lower area (not the lowest area with the chest), walk past the hallway with the lore scroll until you reach a gate.
Behind this gate is the Odin’s Raven you’re looking for. You’ll need to use a purple crystal to get it. However, the purple crystal behind the raven won’t allow you to destroy it.
Look for a column to your left, which has some purple crystal gunk on it. Position Kratos as we’ve positioned Kratos the image above (with the crystal on your right and only a few feet away) and aim at the bottom left-hand corner. The purple line should light up blue. When it does, throw the ax to hit the bird.
Artifact – Kvasir’s Poem 1
Return to the spiral staircase and climb until you reach the top. Turn right before the light gate and use your grapple to climb up to the landing above.
Up here, walk to your left and you’ll find one of Kvasir’s Poems sitting on the balcony.
Legendary Chest – Hilt of Gram relic
Continue past the light elf combat arena until you reach a light gate where you need to use a crank on the left side of the area to lower a purple crystal lantern. Jump down to the crank and take a right through the circular double doors.
Walk forward and pull the chain until you can’t pull it anymore. Use your ax to aim at the purple crystal mirror. When it lights up blue, throw your ax and leave it where it sticks. Let go of the chain and recall your ax to drop the chest. Climb down and open the chest to get the Hilt of Gram relic.
Artifact – Kvasir’s Poem 2
After you solve the cog puzzle that we mentioned above, and walk through the light gate, hang left.
You’ll see a little room with a table, on which is one of Kvasir’s Poems. Grab it and move on.
Legendary Chest – Rune-Engraved Release accessory
This Legendary Chest is a little tricky. Proceed through the Temple of Light until you enter the big dark room where you’ll need to grapple across a series of suspended gold discs to reach the other side.
Climb down and grapple to the first disc. When the game sets your camera at the red grapple point leading you toward the main quest, turn left instead and grapple to the other grapple point at your eye level. Keep grappling along this path until you’re on solid footing.
When you reach flat ground, turn right and use your Blades of Chaos to swing the purple crystal lantern to the right. As soon as you can see the crystal, hit the lantern with your ax to break the light crystal on the wall.
With the crystal broken, turn left again and grapple up to where the chest is. Walk forward and open it to get the Rune-Engraved Release accessory. Lift the door to your left to get back onto the main path.
Nornir Chest
Proceed along the path until you reach the Light bridge with the shattered statues. Cross to the other side and then look right to find a Nornir Chest.
This is a bell chest, which requires you to make sure all three bells are ringing at once to unlock the seals.
Bell 1
For this bell, walk over to your right and use a sonic arrow to destroy the ore blocking it. Then return to the Nornir Chest.
All of these bells are pretty quick, so you’ll need to move fast. Standing at the chest, look toward the first bell and throw your ax at the purple crystal.
Bell 2 and 3
The second and third bells are both visible while standing next to the chest. After ringing the first bell via the purple crystal. Move left while recalling your ax. Throw the ax at the bell in the distance on the left and then immediately recall your ax and hit the bell next to the chest.
If you do this fast enough, you’ll break all three seals and gain access to the Nornir Chest.
Odin’s Raven 2
From the Nornir Chest, walk forward until you reach a pillar of light. Inch forward again until you find yourself on some stairs flanked by two purple crystals. Look out and to your left to a small turret with a tree wrapped around it.
On this ledge, you’ll see one of Odin’s Ravens bouncing back and forth. Use your ax to kill it.
Lore – Limitless
Continue through the Temple of Light until you reach the massive pillar of light elevator that Tyr helps you open. Before you go up the stairs and take the elevator, turn right and use the grapple point to reach a small, circular platform.
When you land, look right and read the runes on the wall to get the “Limitless” entry.
The Canyons
Once you return Tyr back to Sindri’s house, you’ll be able to enter The Canyons. This area isn’t much of an area at all, and is really more of an interlude. Still, there’s a shop, an Odin’s Raven, and two lore pieces to find here.
Lore – “Vulture’s Gold” Treasure Map
After sending Tyr through the mystic gateway and opening up the Canyon, walk forward until you reach a glowing item on the ground (next to a spear planted in the sand).
Pick up the glowing item to reveal a new piece of Lore: the Vulture’s Gold treasure map. You can use the hint here to find a piece of loot later in the game. (Head down to our entry on The Barrens area if you want help on this puzzle.)
Odin’s Raven
Proceed forward until you reach Sindri’s camp. On the left is the entrance to the Barrens. But on the right is a fenced off area with some pillars.
Look over the fence on the right and you’ll see one of Odin’s Ravens soaring around the area. Bring it down with your ax.
Lore – U-natur-liker
Walk up to Sindri’s shop and the mystic gateway in The Canyons.
But instead of taking the step up to reach the shop, look left and walk forward a few steps. You’ll see a lore pillar. Read it to unlock the “U-Natur-Liker” Lore entry.
The Below
The bottom right area of The Barrens offers a cave, which is mostly used for the Secret of the Sands quest. (You can tell you’re at the right cave because it’s lit up with fire all around it.) By doing this quest in The Below, you’ll free a captured creature and stop the constant sandstorm raging in The Barrens.
Secret of the Sands Favor
Make your way to the cave in The Barrens, which is in the bottom-right part of the map. If you turn right after leaving Sindri’s camp, you should arrive in no time.
When you drop down, proceed forward through an army of dark elves along the path.
This section is very linear, but the game will block your path with the corruption puzzles first seen in God of War (2018) mixed with the purple crystal puzzles introduced earlier in Ragnarök’s version of Alfheim. Bounce your ax off of the purple crystals and hit all three corruption pods at once.
These puzzles often look significantly more complex than they actually are. If you’re unable to make the throw, move Kratos someplace else and try again. This quest is all about angles, so just try someplace new if you’re having trouble.
Once you’ve freed the Hafgufa (that’s the big-ass jellyfish) underground, you’ll need to release it back on the surface. Follow the quest marker and look into the sky for one of God of War Ragnarök’s more beautiful spectacles.
Lore – Patience
Proceed through the cave until you reach the large room with a lot of purple crystals on the walls. Defeat the legion of dark elves that attacks you and then climb up the wall on your right.
When you reach the top, kick the shield blocking the grapple point down and then use your Leviathan Axe to break the dark elf corruption ahead of you. Jump down to the glowing chest. When you reach it, look right at the wall and read the runes to get the “Patience” lore entry.
Nornir Chest
Proceed through the cave with all the purple crystals (which we mentioned above) and grapple up to get out in the open. Take the zipline down. Grapple on the rocks until you reach the other side. When you land, jump down to your right.
After you jump down twice, you’ll be right in front of the Nornir Chest and a bell. As we mentioned previously, this is a bell Nornir Chest, and you’ll need to ring all three at once to get the loot.
Before you do anything, open the gate near the Nornir Chest.
Bell 1
Climb up one step back toward the grapple points, to the left of the Nornir Chest, and use your ax to break the Corruption. Go back to the grapple rocks and go past where the Corruption was blocking. When you reach your destination, you’ll see the first Bell hanging in the window.
Jump down and open the wooden gate to your right. Then look up and ring the bell in the window with your ax.
Bell 2
After ringing the first bell, run out the gate and leap down until you reach the Nornir Chest. Throw your ax at the bell right in front of the chest and ring it.
Bell 3
With the second bell rung, walk through the gate you opened in front of the Nornir Chest and ring the third bell. If you do this order fast enough, you’ll be able to turn around and claim the Nornir Chest’s loot for yourself.
Legendary Chest – Shoulder Straps of Radiance
After you free the Hafgufa, make your way back up to the surface.
Follow the path until you crash through the floor with your grapple. Once you land, walk forward and you’ll find the Legendary Chest just sitting there. Open it for the Shoulder Straps of Radiance armor.
The Barrens
The Barrens is the first of two massive areas in Alfheim, and it’s the only one you’ll be able to visit on your first time through the realm of the elves. This area is absolutely packed with stuff to do, and even has an underground section, which hosts the truly excellent “Secret of the Sands” side-quest. (Pro tip: If you want to get rid of the sand storm here as quickly as possible, finish the “Secret of the Sands” ASAP.)
Buried Treasure – Vulture’s Gold – Lethal Detonation accessory
Ride your way into The Barrens and go to the back right area on the map. You’re looking for a giant skeleton of what looks almost like a Lyngbakr. It’s hard to miss.
Park your sled at the mouth of the beast and walk inside. Under the teeth you’ll see a glowing gold spot if you picked up the treasure map in the canyon. Walk up and interact with the spot to dig up your first buried treasure and the Lethal Detonation accessory.
Odin’s Raven
Make your way to the skeleton we mentioned above, in the top right corner of the map.
On the right side of the skull, in the right eye socket, you’ll see one of Odin’s Ravens just sitting there. Throw your ax at it.
Lore – The Desert of Our Ignorance
Make your way to the skeleton in the top right corner of the map, which we detailed above.
Go through the skull and into the beast’s body. Kill the enemies inside. Follow the spine down until you reach a cliff that you can climb. Instead of going up, look right and you’ll find a lore panel. Read it to get the “Desert of Our Ignorance” entry.
Artifact – Kvasir’s Poem
Go to the skeleton in the back right corner of the map, which we detail above.
Fight your way through the beast, entering via its throat. When the enemies are dead, follow the spine until you reach a wall you can climb up. When you reach the top, look to your right and you’ll find one of Kvasir’s Poems.
Legendary Chest – Belt of Radiance
Make your way to the giant skeleton in the back right of The Barrens.
Work your way inside the belly of the beast and follow the spine until you reach a wall that you can climb. At the top, walk forward and you’ll see a giant, golden chest. Open it to get the Belt of Radiance armor.
Odin’s Raven 2
Make your way to the broken elvish temple in the top left of The Barrens map, just under the word “the.”
On the left side of the temple, you’ll see a dead, twisted tree. You’ll see one of Odin’s Ravens on the trunk. Slay it.
Artifact – Tributes to Freyr
Make your way to the broken elvish temple in the top-left part of the map, which we mentioned above.
Climb into the temple via the front wall and clear out the dark elves. Once the coast is clear, walk right and down the stairs. You’ll find a Tribute to Freyr Artifact lying next to a lore pillar, which is…
Lore – The Tower’s Purpose
Travel to the elf temple near the top-left of the map and climb inside.
After you’ve killed the enemies, walk down the stairs to your right and inspect the Lore pillar to get the “Tower’s Purpose” entry.
Lore – The Lost Pages 1
Make your way to the same elf temple we described above, just under the “The” on the map.
Make your way inside and kill all the dark elves. Take the path to the left and you’ll see a little scroll lying on the ground. Pick it up to get one of The Lost Pages.
Legendary Chest – Gauntlets of Radiance
Make your way to the elf temple in the top-left of The Barrens map one final time.
Enter inside and take the left path. Open the gold and glowing Legendary Chest to get the Gauntlets of Radiance gloves.
Nornir Chest
Make your way to the rock island between the skeleton and the elf temple in The Barrens — just under the first R on the map.
You’ll see a large square building and a rock lip that you can step up. Up the step, you’ll find the Nornir Chest. This is another brazier Nornir chest, and it’s a little tricky.
Brazier 1
The first brazier is, as usual, right next to the Nornir Chest. Turn left and light it up with your Blades of Chaos.
Brazier 2
Jump off the lip near the Nornir Chest and hang right around the island. Eventually you’ll see a brazier. Continue along to the back until you’re within range, then light it with the Blades of Chaos.
Brazier 3
The final Brazier is a little tricky. Continue along to the back of the building, on the opposite side of the Nornir Chest. Line up your ax shot to cleave the three Dark Elf Corruption pods. With this done, return to the Nornir Chest.
Now look up at the top of the building and you’ll see the third Brazier. Throw the ax at the red pot to detonate it (you can also direct Atreus to shoot an arrow), lighting the brazier and opening the chest.
Draugr Hole
Look on the map of The Barrens and you’ll see three little plateaus on the left side. Go to the furthest left one, which is also the biggest.
Go around to the front and find the entrance. Climb up and face down The Hateful once again in the Draugr Hole.
Legendary Chest – Rond of Affliction
Go to the entrance of The Barrens, and head to the large, circular gateway — like you’re coming from Sindri’s shop. Turn right immediately and keep an eye on the nearby walls. When you see a crack that you can squeeze through, stop and get off your sled.
Once inside, you’ll see some dark elf corruption. Stand next to the bulb in front of you and look up and to the left for the other two. Throw your ax at the purple crystal and bounce the ax into the two nearby bulbs. Once it’s passed through the second, recall your ax. If you’re in the right spot, it should shoot back into your hands at the perfect angle and destroy the third bulb.
With the corruption removed, walk up and open the nearby Legendary Chest to get the Rond of Affliction.
Artifact – Tribute to Freyr
Go to the entrance of The Barrens and turn right. Squeeze through the gap in the wall that we mention in the Legendary Chest entry above.
Once inside, head to your right and grab the Tribute to Freyr Artifact off of the ground.
Lore – Gulon Cull
Head to the right-most area of The Barrens, south-east of the giant skeleton. When you reach the circular arena with elf statues all around and what appears to be a gravestone in the middle, hop off your sled.
Walk toward the cliff wall and you’ll see a very obvious Lore marker just sitting there. Walk up and read it to get the “Gulon Cull” lore entry.