New details for the revamped combat system in God Of War Ragnarok have been revealed, including new elemental attacks and a redesign for the shield.
The information comes from GameInformer’s cover story posts about the game, where developers have shared footage and information with the publication. Lead combat designer Mihir Sheth explained that the long-running philosophy for the franchise’s battles has been that leading character Kratos “plays with his food”, which has guided the new additions and the ambition to imbue players with more options.
One of these additions comes from a simple press of the triangle button. Sheth explains that in regards to the Leviathin Axe in the previous game, the triangle button would only serve to recall it back to Kratos once thrown, with it having no function once the axe was back in his hands.
In God Of War Ragnarok, pressing triangle uses Weapon Signature Moves. These perform the moves Frost Awaken and Whiplash, imbuing both the Leviathan Axe and Blades Of Chaos with ice and fire respectively and perform additional damage.
There is currently no word on additional weapons for Kratos appearing in God Of War Ragnarok, with both the Axe and the Blades returning from the previous entry.
Additionally, Kratos now has two shields instead of one – the Dauntless and Stonewall shields. The former offers a lighter defensive option centred around the idea of quickly parrying and performing counterattacks.
Meanwhile, the Stonewall shield offers a slower and bulkier alternative. While it can’t parry, it can eat up a string of attacks. Once enough attacks have been blocked, it can unleash a pulsing ground attack. The downside is that it becomes less stable as it defends from more attacks.
God Of War Ragnarok is set to release November 9 for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
In other news, the creative director for 2017’s Prey claims that Bethesda forced the team to use that name.