God of War Ragnarok features many mythological characters and creatures that pose a threat to both Kratos and his comrades. As you and Freya remove the roots laid by Odin, you will encounter the protector of Yggdrasil, Nidhogg. With his intimidating teeth and massive size, he can be quite an intimidating force to be reckoned with. Having said that, you may need some extra help to defeat this monster. Check out our boss guide on how to defeat Nidhogg in God of War Ragnarok.
How to beat Nidhogg in God of War Ragnarok
Even with an intimidating size and a huge health bar of 10 health bars, you can deal significant damage to Nidhogg. You will encounter this monster during the Escape quest in Vanaheim with Freya in GoW Ragnarok. There are several moments during the boss fight that leave him stunned or stunned. Don’t miss your chance to attack and damage him in these crucial moments. However, you need to be able to dodge, parry or block his attacks. You can also find a couple of Fury Stones and Health Stones during the battle.
This boss fight will have three phases and checkpoints between each of the phases. But given that Nidhogg is a monster, most of his attacks are fairly easy to destroy. So let’s dive into each of the three phases to defeat Nidhogg in God of War Ragnarok:
Phase 1
- While Freya is trying to remove the curse and roots, Nidhogg will peek out of the Realm Tear or Portal. Throughout this phase, you need to pull him out of the Realm Break when Freya breaks the Seal.
- Despite its overwhelming and mighty size, keep your distance as this creature can perform multiple hits.
- Instead, get up close and deal as much damage as you can with your Leviathan Ax or Blades of Chaos.
- You can throw a Leviathan Ax to damage it, but it won’t do much damage. So, for this boss fight, it’s better to use Blades of Chaos.
- During this phase, Nidhogg can land two unblockable melee attacks. You can parry these attacks to hit or stun them for a short time. But don’t forget to time it correctly.
Image source: Joe Hammer Gaming on YouTube.
Once you deal enough damage, Freya will order Kratos to pull him out of the Realm Tear or Portal. This will complete the first stage.
Phase 2
- Even though Nidhogg has a couple of new moves and attacks, he can also perform previous strikes and melee attacks. So be extremely careful with Nidhogg’s unblockable attacks in GoW Ragnarok.
- You must know how to counter yellow, red, or double blue ring attacks as you advance into combat.
- You also need to watch out for his 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. When you interrupt this attack, Nidhogg will fall dazed for a short time.
- You can use this to turn the tide and damage Nidhogg while he is knocked out.
- Another one of his brutal attacks includes a tail attack where Nidhogg tries to hit you with his tail.
- You can dodge this attack by moving out of the way. You need to do the same for their other unblockable attack when he slams his hand into the ground.
- This is an area attack that spreads Biforst all over the place. Don’t step on the glowing Bifrost to avoid damaging it.
Once you deplete four health bars, a cutscene will play. During this cutscene, Freya will return to her human form and Kratos clenched his teeth.
Phase 3
- In the last stage, Nidhogg will use the entire arena, trying to keep his distance. But you must close this gap in order to use melee attacks against him.
- While standing on a pillar, Nidhogg can attack with a laser beam. When he unleashes this attack, you need to dodge it to land a direct hit.
- For another attack, he can suck out all discarded wastes such as rocks and huge rocks, opening up a realm under his stomach.
- It’s pretty obvious that he’s going to dump all that waste on Kratos and Freya. You must keep moving to the side to dodge this attack.
- When you deplete five health bars, Freya will place seals around Nidhogg. You need to use the Blades of Chaos to set fire to the thorns marked by Freya.
- All you have to do is keep dodging his attacks and draining his health bars until Freya drops the seal in his stomach.
As soon as the last health bar remains, you will be prompted to press the R3 button for a finishing move. This will end the Nidhogg boss fight in GoW Ragnarok and reward you with a few resources. This includes Frostfire, Amulet of Yggdrasil, 2000 Kratos EXP, and the Root of the Problem trophy or achievement.
This is all about how to defeat Nidhogg in God of War Ragnarok.