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God of War: Ragnarok

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Best Realm Shift Build in God of War Ragnarok

By
Matt Chard

In this page we will show you the best way to build a Realm Shift build in God of War Ragnarok. This page will show you what equipment, enchantments, and runic attacks you should use to get the best out of Realm Shift.

Timesplitter Realm Shift Build

How to Play the Realm Shift build

This build is all about timing your dodges to activate the very powerful Realm Shift which slows down time around you for a brief period of time. For the next few seconds you can punish enemies without risk of taking any damage. In the right hands, this build can be incredibly strong, but you will need to learn when to dodge to get the best use out of it.

First, let’s talk about armor. For the Wrist and Waist, you’ll want to equip the Gauntlets and Belt of Radiance. This will increase how long the slow-down duration will last whenever Realm Shift is activated. The Chest piece is a more personal preference type-of-thing as nothing outright benefits Realm Shift other than maybe the Radiance chest, but getting a Blessing of Runic on a last-second dodge isn’t anything to write home about. We went with the Spiritual Shoulder Straps mainly for the monstrous damage increase. You can get up to 45% melee and ranged damage increases whenever you use a Relic or Runic attack when you hit three stacks. Another important part of this build is your hilts and shield attachment. You’ll want to equip “of the Nine Realms” on each weapon, and the shield. This will cause a Realm Shift to occur every time you use your weapon gauge, or parry with your shield.

For the Relic, the Hilt of Hofud is the only option. It’ll create a Realm Shift whenever you use the relic, which is handy for a Realm Shift build, but don’t rely on this as it has a long cooldown. Moving on to Runic Attacks, let’s start with the Draupnir Spear as it will be the primary weapon of the build. For the Light option, take the Thrust of a Thousand Soldiers as it offers you quick multiple attacks, especially if you make use of repeatedly pressing DualSense-R1-Filled to gain extra hits. The Heavy option should be Vindsvalr’s Windstorm as it will unleash multiple tornadoes at the enemies, hitting them many times. When combined with other Runic Attacks, it will charge your weapon up quicker, which is great as this build gives you a Realm Shift whenever you use either a Permafrost, Immolation, or Maelstrom.

Now let’s talk Enchantments. You’ll want one set of Alfheim as this will increase your Strength when performing last-second dodges which you should be performing a lot of. The next set is more flexible, but we went with Niflheim set for the melee damage increase based on your defense when over 75% health. As you shouldn’t be getting hit very often, and the build gives a decent amount of Defense, you should have a near permanent melee damage increase. You could swap this for the very powerful Jotunheim Set as it will give you extra Rage based on your Vitality stat, and more Rage is always good. For the last three slots, you’ll at least want Emblem of the Nine Realms for the damage increase during Realm Shift, and Momentous Stride for the chance to charge your weapon gauges after a last-second dodge. The last slot is flexible, but you can’t go wrong with Celestial Panacea as it will boost your resistance to most status effects by 25%. Eir’s Armament is great when fighting groups of enemies, although not so good against bosses, and, Emblem of Elusion is great for evading. Finally, Regenerating Essence is always nice for a small health boost.

For your companion, we’ll assume this is Freya, you’ll want to equip her with the Mardoll Sword for more status afflictions, and the Seidr Exhale Runic Summon for the same reason. With her accessories, we want to increase status, which is why we take the Sonic Attunement, Sigil Amplification, and Runic Potency. Your companion won’t make too much difference for this build, so just build for damage/status or stun damage

(1 of 2) Dodging at the last second is one way to activate Realm Shift.

Dodging at the last second is one way to activate Realm Shift. (left), Another way is to activate the Hilt of Hofud Relic. (right)

To play the build, you’ll want to use your Runic attacks to build up three stacks of Arcane Might (from the chest piece) which in turn should help build up the weapon gauges. As you rotate through the weapons Runic Attacks, pop the Relic to keep the enemies/boss at bay while you do this. When you have a full weapon gauge, use the skill (Either Maelstrom, Permafrost, or Immolation) which will create another Realm Shift for you. This will be the main rotation, although you will have more Realm Shifts via last-second dodges, or parrying with your shield.

Equipment

Weapon and Grip

Weapon Stats (Max) Grip
Draupnir Spear Luck: +50 Hind of the Nine Realms: (Runic + 26, Vit +26, Cooldown + 26) Activating Violent Maelstrom (DualSense-L1-Filled + DualSense-ButtonTriangle-Filled while Maelstrom is full) triggers a Realm Shift.

Shield and Attachment

Shield Stats (Max) Description Attachment
Dauntless Shield (or Guardian) Defense: +130 Cooldown: +26 Shield Rush: Charge the enemy while blocking enemy attacks. Rond of the Nine Realms - Riposte Realm Shift: Low Luck chance to grant a Realm Shift, temporarily slowing down enemies, when Parrying.

Armor

Name Piece Stats (Max) Perk
Spiritual Shoulder Straps Chest Strength: + 68 Defense: + 54 Cooldown: + 68 Arcane Strength: Runic or Relic Attack hits stack a buff increasing Kratos’ Melee and Ranged damage by 15% with each stack. (Maximum 3 stacks).
Gauntlets of Radiance Wrist Strength: + 68 Realm Shift: A last-second evade activates Realm Shift, temporarily slowing down surrounding enemies (Up to 1.75 seconds).
Belt of Radiance Waist Defense: + 68 Realm Shift: A last-second evade activates Realm Shift, temporarily slowing down surrounding enemies (Up to 1.75 seconds).

Best Realm Shift Amulet Enchantments

Icon Enchantment Description Attributes
Alfheim_Enchantment_Icons_God_of_War.png Alfheim’s Honor Last-second dodges empower Kratos’ next attack based on his Strength Strength: +5 Cooldown: +8
Alfheim_Enchantment_Icons_God_of_War.png Alfheim’s Virtue Last-second dodges empower Kratos’ next attack based on his Strength Strength: +3 Luck: +12
Alfheim_Enchantment_Icons_God_of_War.png Alfheim’s Vigor Last-second dodges empower Kratos’ next attack based on his Strength Strength: +10
Niflheim_Enchantment_Icons_God_of_War.png Nilheim’s Justice Increases Kratos’ Melee damage when he is above 75% Health based on his Defense Strength: +20 Defense: +2
Niflheim_Enchantment_Icons_God_of_War.png Nilheim’s Fortune Increases Kratos’ Melee damage when he is above 75% Health based on his Defense Defense: +5 Vitality: +8
Niflheim_Enchantment_Icons_God_of_War.png Nilheim’s Virtue Increases Kratos’ Melee damage when he is above 75% Health based on his Defense Defense: +3 Cooldown: +12
Support_Enchantment_Icons_God_of_War.png Celestial Panacea CELESTIAL PROTECTION: 25% resistance to all status effects (including frost, burn, blind, daze, poison, shock and bifrost) N/A
Kinetic_Resililence_Enchantment_Icons_God_of_War.png Momentous Stride EVASIVE MOMENTUM: Last-second dodges now charge your Permafrost, Immolation, and Maelstrom skill gauges Requires 130 Strength
Seal_of_Falling_Star_Enchantment_Icons_God_of_War.png Emblem of the Nine Realms EMPOWERED SHIFT: Increases melee damage during realm shifts. Requires N/A

This list isn’t set in stone, but it’s a good set that increases your Strength during last-second dodges, and allows you to deal more damage when you’re above 75% Health which you should be due to Realm Shifts. Finally, Momentous Stride will power up your Weapon Gauges while Emblem of the Nine Realms will increase melee damage during Realm Shifts. For a full look on what enchantments to use, see our page here.

Best Realm Shift Relics

Name Description Notes
Hilt of Gram Grants a burst of Rage and applies Stun to nearby enemies. More Rage is always good, and the bonus stun damage is always nice.

Best Runic Attacks For Realm Shift

Draupnir Spear

Light

Name Damage (Max) Force (Max) Stun (Max) Description
Thrust of a Thousand Soldiers (Light) God of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok Screenshot Perform a flurry of stabs with Draupnir which embeds Spears into the enemy. Press DualSense-R1-Filled for extra stabs!

Heavy

Name Damage (Max) Force (Max) Stun (Max) Description
Vindsvalr’s Windstorm (Heavy) God of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok Screenshot An array of chaotic cyclones rampages through the field, damaging all enemies in their paths.

Blades of Chaos

Light

Name Damage (Max) Burn (Max) Stun (Max) Description
Rampage of the Furies God of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok Screenshot A robust flurry attack that ends in a powerful cross-slash. Holding DualSense-R1-Filled extends the barrage with both blades.

Heavy

Name Damage (Max) Burn (Max) Stun (Max) Description
Tame the Beast God of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok Screenshot A series of Blade whips scorches nearby enemies. Press DualSense-R2-Filled again for more swipes!

Leviathan Axe

Light

Name Damage (Max) Frost (Max) Stun (Max) Description
Hels Touch God of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok Screenshot An extremely quick burst of energy that interrupts and knocks back all enemies. Enables a follow-up burst by quickly pressing DualSense-R1-Filled again.

Heavy

Name Damage (Max) Frost (Max) Stun (Max) Description
Breath of Thamur God of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok Screenshot God of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok ScreenshotGod of War: Ragnarok Screenshot A massive area-of-effect attack that deals damage to all enemies within an extremely large area.

Best Freya Sword and Accessories

Sword Runic Summon Accessory 1 Accessory 2 Accessory 3
Thrunga Steel Harmony Runic Potency Runic Capacity Sigil Amplification
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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • Platforms,
    PS4, PS5
  • Genre
    Action Adventure, Fighting, Hack-n-slash
  • Guide Release
    5 November 2022
  • Last Updated
    9 January 2023
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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God of War Ragnarök is an action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio released on November 9th, 2022. Follow Kratos, and his teenage son Atreus as they journey through the Nine Realms to prevent Ragnarök from occurring. As you progress through the story, you’ll uncover many secrets left by the Giants regarding the impending doom that awaits them.

This guide offers information on all the essential aspects of the game, including:

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