A Fire Troll.
Trolls are large enemies that appear in God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök. They are juggernaut beings sporting a set of large tusks on the edge of their faces. Their main weapon of choice is a big and heavy stone totem engraved with a rune that grants the Trolls their specific elemental power. Kratos and Atreus encounter several of them during their journey. Troll are even larger than Ogres. If a Troll is stunned, Kratos will lunge forward with a shoulder ram, breaking one of its tusks. He then climbs onto its head and delivers a rapid flurry of punches. If enough damage is dealt, Kratos punches the Troll, strikes its head with the Leviathan Axe, and finishes it off by smashing its head with its own totem.
Quick Answers
What is the main weapon of choice for Trolls in God of War Ragnarok?
What specific power does the rune on a Troll's totem grant in God of War Ragnarok?
How do Kratos and Atreus deal with Trolls when they are stunned?
How do Trolls in God of War Ragnarok compare in size to Ogres?
Where can Trolls be found in God of War Ragnarok?
Appearance
Trolls in God of War look like walking forces of nature—each one sculpted to feel as though it has risen from the land or element it embodies. Their sheer size, stone-like features, and rune-etched weapons make them feel ancient and tied to the primal magic of the Nine Realms.
Trolls are towering giants, much larger than Kratos, with broad, muscular frames built for raw power. Their bodies are hulking but slightly hunched, giving them a beast-of-burden posture. Their skin looks like a mix of stone, bark, and flesh, often cracked and rough as though their bodies are part of the natural world. Depending on the type, it can appear mossy, icy, fiery, or earthen.
They have long, heavy faces with drooping, tusk-like lower jaws and large noses, resembling a cross between ogres and ancient stone carvings. Their eyes are often glowing, giving them a magical, otherworldly presence. Many Trolls have curved or jagged horns sprouting from their heads, almost like natural extensions of stone or bone. These horns often help differentiate one Troll from another.
They wear little in the way of clothing—usually crude straps, belts, or rags—sometimes adorned with bones, runes, or tribal ornamentation. Their adornments emphasize their elemental or regional identity.
Norse Mythology
Nordic literature, art and music from the romantic era and onwards has adapted trolls in various manners – They can be depicted as ugly, slow-witted, or behave like human beings. The meaning of the word troll is unknown, though they are defined in Swedish Mythology as "natural beings" and as "all-purpose worldly beings"
In Norse folklore, Trolls are said to dwell in isolated mountains, rocks, and caves, sometimes living together. They are rarely described as friendly or helpful and they are mostly considered dangerous threats to humans. In Scandinavian Mythology, Trolls are usually described as extremely old, very strong, but slow and dim-witted and they are, at times, man-eaters and will turn to stone upon making contact with sunlight.
God of War (2018)
Trolls are violent creatures that are aggressive towards everyone they cross paths with, attacking not only Kratos and Atreus but also men and dwarves unlucky enough to encounter them. The father and son usually come across the corpses of both a Troll and the victims of the mentioned Troll during their journey.
Despite their hostility and apparent brutality, Trolls seem to be intelligent creatures since they are capable of speech and have their own native tongue, as well as having their own tribes where they are born and raised. The Bridge Keeper of Helheim in particular could differentiate a dead soul from a living person, displaying a great level of sentience.
The Trolls are also shown to be xenophobic to an extent, as when Kratos and Atreus face a Troll for the first time, it proclaims in its native tongue that Kratos and Atreus do not belong in Midgard, showing that Trolls, like some Aesir gods, see Kratos and Atreus as outsiders to the Norse lands that do not belong.
The Trolls were once a powerful and advanced civilization, having a series of settlements and cities all across Midgard and the rest of the Nine Realms. However, they were betrayed by the Aesir at some point in their history, leading to a catastrophic collapse of their society and a massive extinction of their race, leaving only a few of them scattered all across the Realms.
Trolls can be prideful, as a specific Frost Troll called himself Stonebeard King out of confidence in his combat prowess, as well as the Death's Hammer of Veithurgard having challenged Kratos and his son to battle in order to have a glorious death in combat.
There is a tribe of Trolls known as the Stone Troll Tribe, whose members are physically lean but nonetheless strong, having the skin of rock and using totems of granite as their weapon. Two members of the mentioned tribe where appointed as the guardians of the Black Rune of Jötunheim in the heart of Týr's Vault. Some other Stone Trolls can be found slumbering across Midgard: one in the beach near Helheim Tower, two on the Foothills, near Sindri's shop and one at Mountain's Base. After acquiring of the Black Rune of Jötunheim they awake from their slumber. The one in the beach can be fought, those on the Foothills disappear.
Not all Trolls dwell in Midgard, since the Bridge Keeper of Helheim is a Troll that was born and raised in the Realm of the dead, and Muspelheim also harbored a specially powerful Fire Troll.
God of War Ragnarök
More Trolls appeared in the game, however, while most of all of the them that appeared in the previous game can only be fought in Midgard, three fire trolls are shown to live in realms that were inaccessible, sans Asgard, with two of them living in Svartalfheim while only one can be found in Vanaheim. Only one Frost Troll can be found in Midgard being located on one of the realm towers in the frozen Lake of Nine.
Four Stone Trolls also appeared with only one being found in the Derelict Outpost in Midgard. Another Stone Troll is located in The Burrows of the Forbidden Sands of Alfheim while a pair of them are located in Nóatun's Garden in Vanaheim. All of them are slumbering, as they were imprisoned by the dwarf Alvíss Stonefoot, and can only be awakened by using the Mystical Heirloom.
Powers and Abilities
All Trolls have massive strength, durability, and stamina, being able to take several hits from both Kratos and Atreus. The power granted by the specific element from the rune on their totems allows them to strengthen and enhance their powers, Fire Trolls being able to shoot flames from their hands and stomp the ground to melt the earth, and Frost Trolls being able to freeze their surroundings and slam the earth to send ice shard shockwaves.
The stronger the Troll, the greater is the elemental spread in the Troll's body and intensity of the runic glow in the totem. Stronger Fire Trolls possess burnt skin with reddish markings covering both their body and totem, can burn through contact, and their totems are cracked with fiery energy. Likewise, stronger Frost Trolls possess bluish skin, frozen hair, ice tusks, expel large amounts of freezing energy, and their glowing totems are covered with rock-solid ice.
Natives of the Stone Troll Tribe have the ability to enter a hibernation state where they remain unmovable but are apparently still conscious as they continue to be aware of their surroundings. In battle, the Stone Trolls can generate blinding ash from their hands and can slam the ground with their granite totems to create surrounding blinding grenades from the earth.
It seems the Stone Trolls can imbue themselves with elemental power without the need of carving their totems with runes, as the totems of the guardian Grendels in Týr's Vault didn't sport the elemental runes the other Frost and Fire Trolls had in their totems, instead the totems of the Frost and Fire Grendels, as well as the one used by their fellow non-elemental tribesman, shared the same plain diamond-shaped carving.
Known Trolls
God of War (2018)
- Brenna Dauði
- Dauði Hamarr
- Dauði Kaupmaðr
- Dauði Munr
- Death Eater
- Grendel of the Frost
- Grendel of the Ashes
- Járn Fótr
- Máttugr Helson
- Stonebeard King
God of War Ragnarök
- Daudi Vörðr
- Vísi Haglkorn
- Brenna Banamaðr
- Miklimunnr
- Blóðugr Steinn
- Bjarg Stormr
- Gölráb of the Frost
- Gölráb of the Ashes
Gallery
Concept Art
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Animation
3D Models
God of War (2018)
God of War Ragnarök
Trivia
- Trolls are equivalent to the Minotaurs and Juggernauts from the previous games, as they are large and use bludgeoning weapons.
- in the second trailer, all the trolls in look liked Dauði Kaupmaðr, meaning this was the normal or Fire Trolls where going to be, before the change to have most Troll have names and colors, plus more akin to a normal enemy, Ingame they only used the boss bar, is because of their size and gameplay, even know they are not really bosses beside Máttugr Helson.
- The Troll that appears in the E3 Trailer is apparently Dauði Kaupmaðr, or was going to be the normal trolls before the Devs changed it.
- With the exception of the aftermentioned Dauði Kaupmaðr and Máttugr Helson, all Trolls share the same cinematic finisher; Kratos shattering their left tusk, smashing their head, burying his Axe in the face and finally pulling their totems to drop them on their skull.
- Dauði Kaupmaðr's finisher simply consists of shattering his left tusk, pulling his head to the ground and breaking his neck. Máttugr Helson's finisher is almost identical to the common one, except that Kratos uses his Blades instead, and when the totem drops the Troll catches it, thus forcing Kratos to overheat the totem to explode it, and then impaling his Blades in the Troll's skull through their eyes.
- In the game's beginning, you can explore under the bridge where the Troll appeared in the E3 Trailer, there Atreus will say "I half-expected there to be a Troll under that bridge."
- In-universe this is a likely reference to the Norwegian fairy tale "Three Billy Goats Gruff" (De tre bukkene Bruse). A story about 3 goats who outwit a troll to reach a meadow across his bridge.
- While the Troll in the E3 Trailer spoke to Atreus in a tongue he understood while pleading for his life, not a single Troll spoke in his tongue during the game.
- The event in the Trailer was most likely a representation of Atreus' ability to understand foreign languages since he could still understand what the Trolls where saying in-game, despite not speaking the same tongue.
- When first time battle to Fire Troll, Dauði Kaupmaðr said: "Umfir fua fik fir Valhalla!" — which translated as "You will not cross into Valhalla!"
- In contrast to the first game, none of the trolls in Ragnarök are required to be defeated with the only one encountered during the main quest being swiftly killed by Kratos.