God of War Ragnarok features a plethora of mythological characters and creatures that pose threat to Kratos as well as his companions. As you progress with Freya to remove the roots placed by Odin, you will face the protector of Yggdrasil, Nidhogg. With its dreading teeth and mighty size, it can be quite an intimidating force to reckon with. Having said that, you might need some extra help defeating this monster. Check out our boss guide on how to beat Nidhogg in God of War Ragnarok.
How to Beat Nidhogg in God of War Ragnarok
Even with an intimidating size and an enormous HP meter of 10 health bars, you can cause Nidhogg significant damage. You will encounter this monster during the Runaway Quest at Vanaheim alongside Freya in GoW Ragnarok. There are several moments during the boss fight that leaves it staggered or stunned. Don’t miss your chance to attack and damage it during these pivotal times. Nevertheless, you need to be apt to dodging, parrying, or blocking its attacks. You can also find a couple of Ragestones and Healthstones around the battle.
This boss fight would feature three phases and checkpoints between each of its phases. But given Nidhogg is a Monster, most of its attacks are quite simple to break down. So, let’s delve into each of the three phases to defeat Nidhogg in God of War Ragnarok:
Phase 1
- As Freya attempts to remove the planted curse and roots, Nidhogg will peek out of the Realm Tear or Portal. For the entirety of this Phase, you need to draw it out of the Realm tear as Freya breaks the Seal.
- Despite its overwhelming and mighty size, don’t maintain a distance as this creature can perform several slam attacks.
- Rather than that, get close and cause as much damage as you can with your Leviathan Axe or the Blades of Chaos.
- You can throw the Leviathan Axe to damage it but it won’t deal significant damage. So, it’s better to use the Blades of Chaos for this boss fight.
- During this phase, Nidhogg can unleash two unblockable melee attacks. You can parry these attacks to stagger or stun them for a while. But make sure to time it correctly.
Once you have caused enough damage, Freya will direct Kratos to drag it out of the Realm Tear or Portal. This would conclude the first phase.
Phase 2
- Despite having a couple of new moves and attacks, Nidhogg can also perform previous slam and melee attacks. So, be extremely wary of Nidhogg’s unblockable attacks in GoW Ragnarok.
- You must know how to counter the Yellow, Red, or Double Blue ring attacks as you progress into the fight.
- You also need to keep an eye on its Tail attack. During this attack, Nidhogg’s tail will pulse with glowing blue rings four times before it explodes.
- It is vital to interrupt this attack before he builds up this charge. As you interrupt this attack, Nidhogg will drop down stunned for a brief moment.
- You can use this to turn the tide and damage Nidhogg while it is knocked out.
- Another one of its brutal attacks includes the Tail Attack where Nidhogg tries to stab you with their Tail.
- You can dodge this attack by getting out of the way. You need to do the same for their other unblockable attack wherein it slams their hand into the ground.
- It’s an AoE attack that spreads out Biforst all over the place. Don’t stand on the glowing Bifrost to avoid any damage.
Once you have depleted its four health bars, a cutscene would be triggered. During this cutscene, Freya will return to her human form while Kratos holds down its teeth.
Phase 3
- During the last phase, Nidhogg would use the entire arena as it tries to maintain distance. But you must close this gap to use melee attacks against him.
- As it stands on a Pillar, Nidhogg can unleash a laser beam attack. When it does unleash this attack, you need to dodge it out of the way to hit a direct impact.
- For its other attack, it can suck all the discarded waste like rocks and huge stones as it opens a realm under its stomach.
- Quite the obvious, it will spew out all this waste onto Kratos and Freya. You need to keep on moving out of the way to dodge this attack.
- When you have depleted five of its health bars, Freya will place Sigils around Nidhogg. You need to use the Blades of Chaos to ignite the brambles marked by Freya.
- All you need to do is keep on dodging its attacks and deplete its health bars until Freya throws a Sigil down its stomach.
Once its last health bar remains, you will be prompted to hit the R3 button for the finishing move. This would conclude the Nidhogg boss fight in GoW Ragnarok and reward you with several resources. This includes the Frozen Flame, Amulet of Yggdrasil, 2000 Kratos XP, and the Root of the Problem trophy or achievement.
That’s everything covered about how to defeat Nidhogg in God of War Ragnarok. If you liked this guide, check out more guides on how to defeat the Garm, Hateful, Huntress, and more God of War Ragnarok Guides on our dedicated section right here on Gamer Tweak.