This article contains lore based on real-life sources from Norse mythology as introduced from the God of War Norse era.
| “ | The Healer. Strange, for a Valkyrie. Very quiet. Very calm. Where her sisters were violent rapids, Eir was a gentle stream. She healed the wounds of both mortals and gods... and even a certain all-knowing sage who once drank too much and fell off a mountain. | ” |
―Mimir's remarks about Eir | ||
Eir is a Valkyrie introduced in God of War (2018). She is one of the nine Valkyries who have been cursed by Odin to remain in a corporal form, eventually driving them to insanity. As she became too dangerous, Eir eventually found herself sealed away by the Valkyrie Queen in Midgard. She is nevertheless freed by Kratos and Atreus after they engaged and defeated her physical form. Blessing them with her eternal gratitude, her spirit vanished and eventually reunited with her sisters.
Eir returns in God of War: Ragnarök as a Shield Maiden, having regained a pure physical form thanks to Freya and her Vanir magic. Grateful for having been freed from Odin's curse and having acknowledged Kratos as their General, she actively participates together with her freed sisters to the final assault against Asgard during Ragnarök.
Quick Answers
What is the origin of Eir's character in Norse mythology?
How does Eir become free in God of War (2018)?
What led to Eir being sealed away in Midgard?
What role does the Valkyrie Queen play in Eir's story?
What strategies can be used to defeat Eir in God of War?
Norse Mythology
In Norse Mythology, Eir is a goddess and/or valkyrie associated with medical skill. Eir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson; and in skaldic poetry, including a runic inscription from Bergen, Norway from around 1300. Scholars have theorized about whether these three sources refer to the same figure, and debate whether Eir may have been originally a healing goddess and/or a valkyrie. Eir was the Goddess of Mercy, Health, and Healing.
In the God of War Series
Early Life
Eir was a healer in a small village. Her father trained her in the use of herbs and natural remedies. Her father, himself the scion of a long line of herbal healers, was of the belief that herbal healing was the only true medicine. Visiting the cities outside her village, Eir witnessed healers who used only magic to heal their patients, which was surprisingly effective. She attempted to tell her father, who dismissed this as a dangerous shortcut that violated tradition, as he felt that mage healing went against his philosophies. Obediently, Eir respected his convictions, until her father fell ill with an unknown disease.
Eir offered to fetch a mage healer from the cities, but her father refused, insisting that herbs were the only way to save him. As a result, he died before the spring, much to Eir’s devastation. In time, Eir grew to hate her father’s philosophy, blindly rejecting the herbal healing field itself, and dedicated herself to healing through magic, due to her feeling that herbal remedies failed her father, blaming his death on his faith. Eir had traded one limiting perspective for another, though she did not see that at the time.
Eir left her village and moved to the city. She was barely scraping by, struggling to survive, before managing to become an apprentice to a renowned mage healer. She learned all she could from her and she proved to be a skilled healer. She abandoned her father’s legacy, having acquired a distaste for it. In fact, she cut herbal medicine out of her life entirely. But this rightness proved to be her biggest mistake.
Eir had learned much from her mentor, from the healing arts, to how to live a complete life. Eir had come to see her mentor as a mother figure. However, she fell ill, just as her father did, although it was the same illness that took him. Eir saw this as an opportunity to apply everything she had taught her in an effort to save her.
It turned out however, that mage healing alone was insufficient. She found that only a mix of healing magic and herbal remedies would cure the illness that had afflicted both Eir’s late father and her mentor. Unfortunately, she had allowed her knowledge of the herbal arts to fade away. As a result of Eir’s aversion to her father’s traditions, her mentor had died, her soul passing on into Helheim. It took her a long time to overcome the sadness that followed.
As she had repressed her father’s teachings, she could not adapt to circumstances. After overcoming her anguish, she spent many years reconstructing her father’s teachings, integrating them into her arsenal of healing knowledge. She realized the importance of practicing techniques that were hard to master, and others that she had reason to hate and reject. With that knowledge, she was armed for everything and could adapt to whatever life may have in store for her.
Some time later, she became a Valkyrie.
God of War (2018)
God of War: Ragnarök
Eir along with the other Valkyries are resurrected by Freya. Eir along with Sigrún and Gunnr are among the Valkyries seen attacking Asgard during Ragnarok, before Surtr dealt the final blow she saved Atreus from the explosion and was the first person he saw after waking up.
Boss Fight
Among the 9 trapped Valkyries, the struggle against Eir is more of a test of well-timed restraint and consistency rather than skill and quick reaction. While players might fail against hers sisters for being not fast enough, Eir cuts down those who goes drunk with their speed and recklessly rush their combo.
Eir is able to use her bladed wings for a basic combo, although she is unable to use advanced maneuvers like the Wing Thrust or Cyclone. Instead of ending her combo with a powerful follow-up attack like most of her sisters, she concludes by shielding herself with her wings, anticipating counter-attacks. Striking her twice or letting her keep the stance too long will have her launch a swift and unassumingly lethal attack, capable of draining 3/4 of Kratos' health in GMGOW. She might also shield herself without prior combo.
This shielding move is considered a block, thus susceptible to Guardian Shield's Block Break (Double Tap L1). Knowing this is vital to efficiently fight Eir since she has a massive health pool and does not leave much opening otherwise.
Aside from her bladed wings, Eir might use her Valkyrie mace to do a Pound and Swing combo. The pound move is AoE and should be dodged away from (Dodge back facing Eir), while the swing done diagonally from her upper left to her right down; this can be avoided by dodging to her left (Kratos' right).
Lastly, she might take up to the sky and do a massive AoE attack that does massive (probably fatal in GMGOW) that cannot be blocked or dodged. The only way to avoid getting hit by this attack is to make her flinch during the wind-up; throw the Leviathan or a Blade of Chaos at her, or have Atreus fire at her (Atreus' arrows unlikely affects her in GMGOW). In addition, the shock wave from Spartan Rage activation will interrupt her in mid air if in range.
Powers & Abilities
As a Valkyrie, Eir is an immensely powerful and dangerous warrior.
Powers
- Superhuman Strength: As a Valkyrie, Eir holds immense levels of strength.
- Superhuman Durability: Eir has incredibly high durability, allowing her to survive numerous attacks from Kratos and Atreus before finally going down.
- Valkyrie Wings: Eir possesses a pair of metallic bird-like wings which double as weapons thanks to their feathers that can be deployed as slashing weapons and hurled as projectiles. As Shield Maiden, she attained more organic wings which lacked metallic feathers and armor plating yet still provided her great mobility and flight.
- Immortality: As a Valkyrie, Eir is immortal. Only a sufficiently powerful weapon or an extremely powerful being can kill her.
- Bifrost Energy Manipulation: Like all Valkyries, Eir can manipulate the energy of the Bifrost to travel between realms.
Abilities
- Master Combatant: As a trained Valkyrie, Eir is exceptionally skilled in battle.
- Master Healer: Eir is known for her great healing powers, and knowledge of medicinal herbs and natural remedies, this is uncommon for Valkyries.
Appearance
God of War (2018)
Like all Valkyries, Eir's face is never shown and each Valkyrie would wear a very different type of helmet, the helmets would be themed together based upon a different creature. Eir wears a golden helmet inspired by a Bear, these masks are extenuate in all different directions, from various color choices to metalwork designs. The masks emitted regal beauty, while still being creepy in nature. Due to her corruption, her skin is an unhealthy pale blue. But one of the most striking elements of the Valkyries came in the design of their wings. Like the other Valkyries Eir had extremely large mechanical wings, Eir's wings were brown with white on the tips of her feathers, they are covered in golden metal plates as armor thus why they are mechanical in the first place. Like her sisters, her design showed her both skilled and refined. With each Valkyrie, hints of their past would be shown off in their armor sets – not looking completely polished and showcasing a long-and-tired past, such as in the torn feather designs on the helmets.
God of War Ragnarök
After Freya resurrected Eir and her sisters with Seidr magic, their skin returned to its original healthy color. Additionally, like all Shield Maidens, her original Valkyrie wings were replaced with more organic-looking birdlike wings.
Personality
Despite being described as a quiet healer who is calm and gentle, Eir is loud and energetic. Alongside her sisters, she hold disdain towards Odin who cursed them and Gná who betrayed them.
Trivia
- Eir is known as "The Healer", an oddity amongst the Valkyries as Eir was very quiet and calm. Where her sisters were violent, Eir was gentle, healing mortal and god alike.
- Eir's defensive maneuver of shielding herself with her wings count as a blocking move; Kratos can break the defense with the Shield Bash (double L1) like he could with shielded reaver. Taking advantage of this could save a lot of time, as otherwise, Eir's does not leave many opening in combat. The same strategy also works on Sigrun.
- Eir's armour design is based on a bear.[1]
- Normally, during the second journey to the Mountain at the earliest point that Eir can be fought, Atreus won't obey Kratos's orders due to his delusions of godhood. However, when fighting the Valkyrie, Atreus will obey his orders without any objections although he still won't comment if Kratos dies during the fight.
- In God of War Ragnarök, the Eir's Armament enchantment is named after her.
Gallery
Concepts arts
References
- ↑ The Art of God of War