godofwar

The Host is the third Story Goal in God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla. In this "Roguelite" Mode that takes place after the main story, Kratos returns to Valhalla determined to make it to the top of Upper Valhalla by exploring the mysterious Greek Labyrinth.

Objective Information

Kratos returns to Valhalla determined to make it to the top of Upper Valhalla by exploring the mysterious Greek Labyrinth.

Objectives

Requirement: Download the Valhalla DLC (If you haven't finished the games it's best to do that first)

Starting Location: The Host

After the narrow escape from a botched attempt to bend the rules of Valhalla, you'll be back at the Shores of Valhalla once more, and a new attempt awaits you.

Completing: The Host

This will be somewhat of a guide on how to complete this particular quest, as it is up to you what path you choose.

Master the Lower Realms of Valhalla

As with the last major story cycle, you may notice a few new additions to the Shore that weren't there before: A new Tablet has appeared next to the Tablet of Reflection. This blue Tablet of Influence uses Spirit Seals instead of Mastery Seals, and instead of bolstering Kratos directly, you can spend Spirit Seals to permanently alter Valhalla in your favor, including starting an attempt with Fleeting Echoes, gaining better chances to find higher level Runic Attacks, and more. In addition, the Tablet of Reflection also has new things to upgrade, and you can now start each attempt with a Resurrection Stone, and also increase the amount of health you gain after battles and from looting chests. Finally, at the Ritual of Selection you can now choose a new fourth Spartan Rage type that you unlocked in the last attempt cycle. Entering the Lower Realms of Valhalla once more, this part of the attempt should be getting very familiar to you now, and you'll have a few new features to look out for. The second room of Valgrind has now been upgraded to award two chests instead of one, adding a chest with two Gold Perk Glyphs to choose from, as well as a Runic Attack Chest. In between Challenge Rooms, you may also come across respites in the form of random bonus rooms with extra chests:

The selection of Valhalla's Chosen that you may face can also expand to a larger pool, which can include these other powerful enemies.

Prove Yourself: Boss Fight - Dreki

Instead of fighting the Einherjar Captain Fiske, this story cycle will change things up by having you fight a Dreki in the Proving Grounds once you use the Ascending Sands the first time. Straight out of the gate, the Dreki will spit a ball of electrified saliva toward you – you'll be dealt damage if you do not move in time, and possibly get stunned if you stand in the pool of electricity that stains the ground where the spit lands. These electrified globs are unblockable, so immediately shuffle to the side and get ready to attack. Along with spitting saliva, the Dreki will also perform two major melee attacks that deal significant damage should you not block them. The first melee attack will see the Dreki jumping toward you, and landing several meters in front of you. The Dreki will then quickly turn and swipe its large tail in your direction - you can either block this attack with your shield or simply dodge out of the way. The next melee attack is nearly identical to start with, as the creature will leap toward you; however, this time, landing much closer, before performing a few bites, and ending with a yellow (block break) attack in the form of a chomp. If you fail to dodge the attack, the Dreki will grab ahold of you, before slamming you to the ground. As you start to deplete the Dreki's health (approximately two bars), it'll introduce a slightly new attack into its arsenal that sees the creature leaping from afar, straight into a chomp attack. This attack is indicated by a yellow circle that will appear before it launches the attack.

Make sure to unleash your Runic Attacks after parrying its strong chomp attack or tail whip, and use your Spartan Rage as needed if you get put in a corner to even the odds. Defeating the Proving Grounds boss this time will award you a familiar Refill Chest for Health or Rage, and you'll also gain access to a new Relic Chest (indicated by a sword icon). You'll now be able to equip a random Relic that has a limited amount of charges to be used in battle. Luckily, the Tablet of Endeavor you find in Sanctuaries can now be used to recharge it in exchange for Fleeting Echoes.

Return to the Chamber of Sacrifice

Now that you can return to Upper Valhalla, you'll get a better sense of how this section works. Unlike the Sanctuary Realms of Lower Valhalla, you'll be sent to one of three primordial realms, and each is comprised of a winding section devoid of Mystic Gateways, but it does have a Tablet of Endeavor that you can use to purchase a Crest or Weapon Attunement Upgrade. Each realm here sells a different type of Crest, which you can either use to combine all three to make a Divine Triumph back at the Shores, or save them to trade in for other awards later on. Since you'll always appear in one of the three realms each attempt, you'll only be able to by a corresponding Crest each time:

Note - it appears the realm you arrive in may have a good chance of corresponding to the Weapon Path you choose on starting your Valhalla Cycle, so choose accordingly if you want a certain type of crest. After making your way through the Sanctuary (and taking out the few enemies that pop up), you'll return to the large Greek Labyrinth past the chain room where the second Ascending Sands area. A few new features have been added here, including another Tablet of Endeavor, and two Greek Labyrinth Chests you can open by spending a good deal of Fleeting Echoes at. Like with Lower Valhalla, the sands leading to the Chamber of Sacrifice is now locked, requiring you to defeat not one, but three of Valhalla's Chosen. Interacting with the locked Ascending Sands will trigger the Greek Labyrinth to open, putting a twist on defeating the champions: Several gates located behind the Ascending Sands, and to the sides, are now open, leading to twisting pathways that Legionnaires will appear in, and large rooms containing different Realm Tears. You'll have to interact with one to summon a random group of enemies, which will include one of Valhalla's Chosen. There are different colored Realm Tears that can spawn more or less difficult enemies: Blue Realm Tears present lower difficulty enemies, while Yellow Realm Tears have moderate difficulty, but also increase the rewards and currency gained by defeating them. Red Tears are the most difficult by far, and as such you should attempt them early, or not at all. They do often present Perfect Perk Glyphs as a reward, which can contain some of the best bonuses you'll find to augment your skills.

Be sure to interact with the Tears after the battle is one to choose a Mixed Reward! Even if they contain Runic Attacks that aren't for your chosen weapon, they can be worth it for swapping weapons in the heat of a boss battle to unleash multiple Runic Attacks. To make matters worse, a timer will appear when you step away from the Ascending Sands and into the Labyrinth. It will start with a green bar, and steadily change to yellow, orange, and then purple. Each time the color switches, the enemies will become tougher to kill - including both those found in the Realm Tears, and the ones that can pop up in Labyrinth passageways and rooms. This means you may not want to stop and explore too much if you're already having trouble. However, if you're looking to earn loot along the way, you'll find lots of pots, and various chests stashed in rooms along the Labyrinth, which can be a good distraction if you have the time to spare and are confident in your abilities. Once you've opened three Realm Tears and defeated three of Valhalla's Chosen, you can return to the Ascending Sands and revisit the Chamber of Sacrifice. This time around, there's no cage to tediously move to the chamber at the far end, but you will have to deal with enemies along the way. Some familiar enemies from Kratos' past will join the Legionnaires this time, including fast moving Harpies that can dive bomb into an unblockable explosion on the ground, or let out a shotgun-like blast of embers you'll need to block with a shield. You'll also find a Cyclops guarding the door to the chamber itself. As you can imagine, it's singular eye is a big weak spot for throwing your axe or spears into to stagger it.

Thankfully, the Cyclops behaves very similarly to an Ogre, which means you can rush it and deal stun damage to stagger it, letting you jump on its back and pound away at any Legionnaires unfortunate enough to be nearby. A new trick the Cyclops have is the ability to siphon away your rage, causing their weapon to glow a certain color as they do so. When you see the color leech out of you, swap to the corresponding weapon quickly to strike at them, and remove the tether so you don't lose your Rage. Approach the sacrificial cage, and this time, Kratos will try another angle to prove himself to Valhalla. This will take you high to the top of Valhalla, where you'll finally meet the Host of your invitation - a friend who knows what Kratos is going through more than anyone else. In order to help Kratos gain clarity, he's willing to help -- but you'll have to prove yourself in combat that you're ready to see what lies beyond the final door.

Boss Battle - Tyr (Spear)

This battle is going to test your might in a way that Valkyries and Berserkers haven't - due mostly to the fact that you won't always have the same loadout when facing Tyr, so your strategy may vary wildly. Adaptation is the key here, and knowing what you can (and can't) get away with will be key to survival. Since you don't always know what weapons skills and abilities you'll be rocking, we can at least focus on what to expect coming from Tyr. He'll usually start the battle quickly with a charging one-handed thrust, before swapping to a two-handed grip and delivering two more quick jabs, before finishing with a surprisingly quick unblockable lunge. This is a hard one to get the timing of, and backing away won't help. As soon as you block the two jabs when he switches to a two-handed style, immediately roll to the side. If you get hit, you'll be flung pretty far, but dodging this unblockable strike by rolling to the side can really help, as he'll always pause for a moment to take out his shield again, giving you an opportunity to counter with your Runic Attacks or Relic. As for his other attacks, you may see him perform a charging one-handed thrust, but not swap to a two-handed stance. This means he's going to follow up with an unblockable stab into the ground, which will create an aura of light around him. Do not try and counter this move -- just back away, and toss your axe of spears at him if you can to get a bit of extra damage while he detonates the light around him.

He can also swap to the two-handed stance early, meaning a strong attack is about to come you'll need to parry, or suffer his secondary jab. If he calls out for you to defend yourself, look for him preparing to toss a spear directly at you. Step to the side and move a bit to get out of the way of the staggered blast from the spear landing, but don't take your eyes of Tyr. He'll follow up with an unblockable charge as he summons a near spear, so keep strafing to one side to dodge the straight shot, then quickly turn to attack his back after he finishes the charge. If he starts getting defensive and hiding behind his shield, look for the blue ring to appear and quickly hit him with your shield to get a few more attacks in, then back off for this next attack. At half health, he'll launch into the sky and disappear, creating a handful of enemies for you to tangle with in his absence. If you have the Legacy Spartan Rage, this is a good time to use it to clear out the group quickly. During this portion, he'll pepper you with exploding spears, so don't get comfortable in any one place or commit to standing still, as you'll need to be moving and strafing to avoid them. When the Legionnaires are dead, watch for a smaller aura to appear on the ground, and step outside it before Tyr lands so you can hit him a few times as he gets up to ready his weapons once more. The rest of his second phase will play out similar to the first, only he'll be more aggressive about chaining together attacks, and using his unblockable ground stab into an explosion more often.

He can also stop moving and raise his hands, often calling out as he does so. He'll gather a lot of energy at this point, and can detonate it for a devastating attack, so quickly rush forward and shield bash him to put a stop to it. Don't worry if this boss takes several cycles worth of attempts to beat - you may just not have the right combo of perks, runic attacks, and bonuses needed. Keep beefing up Kratos between attempts, and try to find some snyergy in your weapon glyphs and perks, and possibly even your relic to lay on a lot of damage when you find safe openings. Defeat Tyr, and he'll acknowledge you as the better fighter for this round. He won't be sure if you're ready for what's beyond the gate, but he'll at least allow you to try. Interact with the door to see what happens to Kratos, and it will become apparent that you're struggles in Valhalla are far from over. On the bright side, you've now unlocked the full "Cycle", which will now award you a Divine Triumph each time you make it through! All that's left now, is to begin The Work.