Naughty Dog developers have recently shared some new details about God of War Ragnarök combat, particularly Kratos’ new abilities.
God of War Ragnarök Combat Inspired
Upcoming video game God of War Ragnarök is launching later this year and fans are already excited to get their hands on this newest entry of the God of War franchise. Media outlet Game Informer has recently spoken with Lead Combat Designers Mihir Sheth and Denny Yeh to talk about the game, which is a much-needed info dump for the fans that are waiting. Both talk about Kratos’ new abilities and what inspired the series’ combat.
Giving Players Options to “Play with Food”
According to both combat designers, the game’s current direction in terms of combat is actually inspired by its old studio motto: Playing with your food. Sheth says that this was an internal philosophy that they had since their old studio. They want to make systems that would make players get engaged with the game. The previous game’s combat was fun and engaging, but they knew that they could push it further by adding new toys and ways of playing with enemies and strategies.
Triangle Button New Function
According to the report, there will be a new function now for the triangle button. Kratos’ ability when you press the triangle in the previous game would return the axe. If he had the axe already, nothing would happen. Equipping the Blades of Chaos and pressing the triangle button would only change back to the axe. In God of War Ragnarök, Sheth says pressing the triangle button would use the Weapon Signature Moves.
The Signature Moves would infuse either the Leviathan Axe or Blades of Chaos with elements, which are called the Frost Awaken and Whiplash. These abilities would do extra damage by freezing or incinerating Kratos’ enemies.
Introducing Dauntless and Stonewall Shields
The shield ability has been overhauled and made better. Yeh revealed the new Dauntless and Stonewall Shields. The Dauntless Shield is more on reacting to enemy attacks. If Kratos would parry at the last possible moment, the shield would glow red, which signals players to unleash a devastating smash that tosses and stuns enemies. The Stonewall Shield will disable Kratos’ parry ability, but it can let him survive fatal barrages. The more hits the shield takes; the more kinetic energy it absorbs. When it is fully charged, he can smash the shield into the ground and emit a wide pulse that would knock enemies nearby.
Players must be careful though as the Stonewall Shield will become unstable as it takes more damage. There will be more powerful shields later, but Yeh reminds everyone not to abuse the ability.
“Maybe don’t play with all your food, because there will be food that can eat you pretty easily,” Yeh says.
God of War Ragnarök launches on November 9, 2022, for PS4 and PS5.