God of War Ragnarok has been released for the PlayStation 4 and 5 for the past two years and the epic conclusion of the Norse Saga is making its way to the PC platform later this month. Santa Monica Studio successfully revitalized the franchise in the best way possible by transitioning from the original trilogy featuring Greek Gods to Kratos stumbling to Northern Scandinavia where he gets caught at the center of another godly conflict. The developers embedded optional boss fights that are considerably harder than the main story bosses; however, there is one that permanently scarred the gaming community.
The first part of the Norse Saga featured the Valkyries scattered across the Nine Realms for players to fight and liberate. These powerful foes caused enough damage to the player base and the developers doubled down with new optional boss fights called the Berserkers but may have gotten carried away with one.
The Berserkers in God of War Ragnarok Offer a Different Level of Pain
The Norse Saga is a massive departure from the original trilogy in every way possible. The camera placement is placed over Kratos’ shoulder for a much more up close and intimate combat experience and the 2018 project passed with flying colors. Some players have improved since their early encounters with the Valkyries and would love for Santa Monica Studio to implement a feature where they can freely replay boss fights with newer builds and skills.
The developers saw the community feedback and decided to make the experience more harrowing in the highly-anticipated sequel. The Berserkers were introduced as a replacement for the Valkyries and these overpowered foes pose a major challenge for even the most skilled player with a decent build of Kratos. These enemies are scattered across the Nine Realms. While most are manageable, there is one section where Kratos and Atreus must fight 3 simultaneously tripling the difficulty in God of War Ragnarok.
There are two Berserker gravestones hidden in the desert of Alfheim and both are required to be defeated before players can advance to the Berserker King Hrólfr Kraki. The gaming community struggled to keep up fighting 3 Berserkers albeit two of those share the same health bar, it is still a challenge for the God of War to evade and counter multiple attacks simultaneously.
The main bosses are much easier to defeat than the Berserkers and players can farm resources and XP points to max out their gear and runic abilities. The game developers decided to nerf the runic attacks for Kratos’ respective weapon since they were deemed too powerful, in Ragnarok, players must nail down the timing of these abilities accordingly and plan their attacks during cooldown.
Although the Berserkers are formidable, they are beatable given enough time to strategize and build Kratos properly. Players do their best to flee from various range attacks only to be cornered and demolished by an unblockable attack. The Alfheim Berserkers are already difficult on the normal difficulty and there is no telling what punishment they will offer Kratos and his companion on the hardest difficulty which is Give Me God of War.
The Developers Wanted to Give God of War Players a Real Challenge
The Berserkers and Aesir Gods got off easy since this version of Kratos is much more mature and tamed. The God of War in his prime wouldn’t have gone easy on Odin and Thor, especially in his early days of being fueled by rage and his thirst for vengeance.
The developers could have dialed it back for the Alfheim fight. Some players recalled the awful amount of times they had seen the loading screen in between attempts.
Kratos has defeated countless enemies in his lifetimes but none stack up against the Berserkers. However, with enough time and training, these enemies will be nothing more than footnotes to Kratos’ ascension.
Santa Monica Studio has outdone itself with the Valkyries and one-upped itself with the Berserkers. Kratos will gain access to a powerful relic as a token for all his hard work which is a fitting reward for the God of War.
What are your thoughts about the Berserkers in God of War Ragnarok? Let us know in the comments section below!
