Kratos gets a new weapon the Leviathan Axe in the new God of War. Just like other weapons in the game, Leviathan Axe comes with a set of skills, bonuses, upgrades, and pommels that can be unlocked and equipped to make it better. In this God of War Leviathan Axe Guide, we have detailed all the things that are necessary for making your Leviathan Axe better.
Below you will find a detailed guide to different upgrades, skills, Runic Attacks, and pommels that can be purchased, unlocked, and equipped to make the Leviathan Axe better. All the details necessary for these upgrades are mentioned below so you can easily upgrade your Leviathan Axe.
God of War Leviathan Axe
You can upgrade your Leviathan Axe to a certain extent/level to buff it up and make it stronger. There are, however, a few requirements in the form of tasks that you need to complete before you can start upgrading your Leviathan Axe.
The purpose of going through these tasks is to acquire Frozen Flames, which are rewarded at completion. These Froze Flames will be the base crafting material with which you’ll upgrade your Leviathan Axe. We have detailed the upgrades and how you can unlock them below!
How to Upgrade Leviathan Axe in God of War
Upgrading the Leviathan Axe doesn’t need additional or optional quests to upgrade. In fact, it’s relatively easier than most weapons in God of War. However, it requires one special item to unlock successfully – Frozen Flames.
Although finding them will not be that hard of a job but considering the scarcity of these objects in the game makes it one of the hardest expeditions in your God of War journey.
You can find Frozen Flames scattered throughout the world at several locations in GoW, such as:
- River Pass Bridge
- Foothills
- The Mountain Mine
- Under the Corpse of Thamur the Giant
- Niflheim
There are a total of 6 Frozen Flames in the game. For starters, acquiring the first 5 of them is pretty simple and straightforward. They are rewarded in drops after defeating each Boss. Just simply playing the game and progressing through will provide you with the first 5 Frozen Flames. The Sixth one, however, is acquired in exchange for the Chilling Mist of Nilfheim.
The process is quite simple really, all you have to do is collect the Chilling Mist of Nilfheim by going through the treasures region in the Nilfheim workshop’s central chamber.
Once you’ve got your hands on the item, you need to head over to Brok’s or Sindri’s shop and trade it for the Frozen Flame.
Doing so will get you the sixth Frozen Flame as well as the ‘Worthy’ trophy for collecting all 6 of them.
Leviathan Axe Upgrades
There are a total of six upgrades for the Leviathan Axe, each requiring one of the six Frozen Flames you acquired earlier. Each upgrade stacks up 15 more Strength on top of the previous upgrade.
We have detailed the upgrades for the Leviathan Axe, its stats, and how to unlock them below:
- Upgrade I: It has 10 Strength. You receive the Axe as Upgrade I.
- Upgrade II: Strength increased to 25. Can be done after meeting Brok once you have escaped the Ruins.
- Upgrade III: Strength increased to 40. On your first trip to Foothills, defeat the Ogre and you will obtain this frozen flame.
- Upgrade IV: Strength increased to 55. In the Heart of the Mountain, defeat Jarn Fotr to obtain this frozen flame.
- Upgrade V: Strength increased to 70. At Thamur’s Corpse, defeating Magni and Modi will give you this frozen flame.
- Upgrade VI: The strength is increased to 85 and it must be purchased from the shop for 5000 Mist Echoes. It is present in Niflheim Center Chamber Legendary Chest.
God of War Leviathan Axe Skills
You can purchase and equip a variety of skills to step up your game in terms of combat, providing an array of buffs and abilities, all working together depending on your playstyle.
These skills are specific to every weapon and require you to select the required weapon to use those skills. The Leviathan Axe comes with its own set of ranged and close-quarter combat skills. You can find all of these skills below along with their cost, bonuses, and requirements.
Ranged Combat Skills
We’ll start off first with the Ranged Combat Skills that you can purchase and equip for the Leviathan Axe. The content below will cover everything from the skills’ requirements, prices, and bonuses.
Freezing Throw
Cost: 0
Bonus and Requirements: N/A
Description: Press R2 for a powerful attack that sometimes freezes smaller enemies and deals massive damage to anyone who comes in the range of this attack. Can be used to pin grunts to walls and earn extra XP if you manage to contribute to a labor.
Freezing Burst
Cost: 1000
Bonus and Requirements: Grants Shorter Charge Time and has a cooldown time of 100
Description: Hold R2 to charge up the Leviathan Axe and land an explosive attack that deals additional frost damage. Can be aimed at will even while charging.
Precision Throw Combo
Cost: 1000
Bonus and Requirements: It unlocks an axe throw finisher after 2 consecutive precision throws and has a cooldown time of 125 seconds
Description: Once a headshot or weak spot hit is landed, pressing triangle while the flash will cause the axe to come back and turn the next attack an explosive one which deals frost damage as well.
Precision Frost Burst
Cost: 2000
Bonus and Requirements: N/A
Description: Precision Throw Combo gets a nice explosion on impact.
Returning Whirlwind
Cost: 1000
Bonus and Requirements: This attack has increased resistance to interruption and it requires 200 Vitality
Description: Press R1 to call back the axe and land an insanely powerful spinning attack. Axe will hit enemies on its way back if they come in its way.
Returning Storm
Cost: 2000
Bonus and Requirements: This will add an explosion of Frost damage on impact and requires 250 Runic
Description: Pressing R2 will call back the axe and let it unleash a powerful slam attack. This attack knocks back enemies as well giving you some space.
Hunter-Killer I
Cost: 1500
Bonus and Requirements: This attack has increased resistance to interruption and it requires 200 Vitality
Description: Holding R1 allows you to target three enemies or three spots on a single enemy to attack.
Hunter-Killer II
Cost: 1500
Bonus and Requirements: This attack has increased resistance to interruption and it requires 200 Vitality
Description: Increases the target numbers to 5.
Hunter-Killer III
Cost: 3000
Bonus and Requirements: This attack has increased resistance to interruption and it requires 200 Vitality
Description: Increases the target numbers to 8.
Close Combat Skills
Next up, we’ll go through the Close Quarter Combat Skills for the Leviathan Axe. In the content below, we’ve covered everything from the skills’ requirements, prices, and bonuses.
Executioner’s Cleave
Cost: 500
Bonus and Requirements: Decreases charge time and has a cooldown time of 100.
Description: Holding R2 unleashing massive damage dealing attack with splash damage. You may be hit while charging to plan it accordingly. You can also aim the attack while charging it up.
Grinding Storm
Cost: 500
Bonus and Requirements: Applies additional frost damage during this attack and requires 125 Runic.
Description: Holding R1 allows you to land a powerful attack on multiple enemies that locks them down as well. If you keep holding the button, axe will come back and go in for another similar attack. Attacks stop when you release the button.
Pride of the Frost
Cost: 500
Bonus and Requirements: Adds an explosion of frost damage on impact and it requires 200 Runic.
Description: Once a light attack combo finishes, press R1, R1, R1, R2 to perform a heavy finisher attack.
Permafrost
Cost: 1000
Bonus and Requirements: N/A
Description: Hit enemies in a chain to build up the frost meter to keep adding frost damage to your attacks. If you are hit, the progress is lost and you must start fresh.
Glacial Permafrost
Cost: 2000
Bonus and Requirements: N/A
Description: Increases the amount of permafrost earned per hit.
Frost Rush
Cost: 1000
Bonus and Requirements: This attack has increased resistance to interruption and it requires 125 Vitality
Description: During a sprint, pressing R1 will allow you to perform a leaping attack.
Leviathan’s Fury
Cost: 1500
Bonus and Requirements: Adds an explosion of frost damage on impact and it requires 175 Runic.
Description: During a sprint, pressing R2 will allow you to perform a massive leaping attack.
Whirling Storm
Cost: 1000
Bonus and Requirements: This attack has increased resistance to interruption and it requires 75 Vitality
Description: During an evade, you can press R1 and hold left stick forward to land a quick axe attack.
Evasive Storm
Cost: 2000
Bonus and Requirements: Applies additional frost damage during this attack and requires 125 Runic.
Description: During an evade, you can press R1 and hold left stick backward to land a boomerang throw.
Whirlwind Sweep
Cost: 3000
Bonus and Requirements: This attack has increased resistance to interruption and it requires 200 Vitality
Description: This allows you to switch attack stances. In the new attack stance, pressing R1 will allow you to perform a sweeping attack. During the delay stance, pressing R1 will allow you to swing the axe around yourself dealing damage to anyone around you.
Double Whirlwind
Cost: 1000
Bonus and Requirements: This attack has increased resistance to interruption and it requires 200 Vitality
Description: Adds another attack to the above mentioned R1 attack in the switched stance.
Raging Whirlwind
Cost: 2000
Bonus and Requirements: This attack has increased resistance to interruption and it requires 200 Vitality
Description: Adds a third attack to the above mentioned R1 attack in the switched stance.
Whirlwind Throw
Cost: 1500
Bonus and Requirements: This attack has increased resistance to interruption and it requires 200 Vitality
Description: Allows you to perform a ranged attack by pressing R2 during the switched stance.
Whirlwind Fury
Cost: 3000
Bonus and Requirements: This attack has increased resistance to interruption and it requires 200 Vitality
Description: Double-tap R2 to perform another ranged attack in the switched stance. This is the whirlwind Toss but twice now.
Leviathan Axe Runic Attacks
Kratos can pull off some special tier attacks known as Runic Attacks during a fight. Runic attacks are different for different weapons. They come with added buffs, which can be increased if the Runic Attack is upgraded.
In the passage below you will find a description of all the different types of runic attacks, as well as where you can find them in the game.
Light Runic Attacks
Light Runic Attacks are those that have a shorter cooldown time and are quick to perform but at the cost of lesser damage. They are performed by pressing the RB and LB buttons of the controller.
Njörd’s Tempest
Location: Alfheim Legendary Chest
Description: A spinning melee attack that deals high damage to any surrounding enemies.
Level 2: This upgrade adds a minor whirlwind effect to the attack and further increases the number of rotations performed by holding down R1.
Level 3: This upgrade increases the strength and size of the whirlwind effect around the user, along with further increasing the number of rotations performed during the attack by holding down R1.
Fury of the Ice Troll
Location: Volunder Mines Legendary Chest
Description: A brisk radial shockwave attack that knocks back and slows down any impacted enemies.
Level 2: This upgrade allows the user to charge up the attack by Holding R1, increasing its range.
Level 3: This upgrade greatly decreases the charge time and increases the Frost Damage of the attack.
Týr’s Revenge
Location: The Mountain Legendary Chest
Description: Consists of two mighty attacks, first, a spinning attack targeted at a specific enemy, followed by a slam attack that knocks it to the ground.
Level 2: This upgrade increases the duration of the lingering spin attack considerably.
Level 3: This upgrade causes a massive explosion with the follow-up attack, along with further increasing the duration of the lingering spin attack considerably.
Leviathan’s Wake
Location: Veithurgard Legendary Chest
Description: A mighty directed axe throw that cuts through any opponent in its path.
Level 2: Deals Frost damage to all enemies caught in the Axe’s path.
Level 3: Increases the magnitude of an explosion on impact with a surface or an enemy, and also considerably increases the Frost damage inflicted upon enemies.
Charge of the White Bear
Location: Foothills Legendary Chest
Description: A rapid dash attack which is also followed up with another strike, granting Kratos immunity during the dash.
Wrath of the Frost Ancient
Location: Fafnir’s Storeroom Legendary Chest
Description: Releases a might ice beam, slowing down all enemies on contact.
Level 2: Increases the length of the ice beam released, along with the amount of Frost damage dealt to enemies.
Level 3: Significantly increases the duration of the ice beam released, along with the amount of Frost damage dealt to an enemy.
Strike of the Utgard
Location: Alfheim Legendary Chest
Description: An attack that impacts a large area and inflicts a moderate amount of Frost damage to any enemies that come in contact with it.
Level 2: Allows the user to charge up to 3 Frost damage waves by Holding R1.
Level 3: Significantly increases the effect of Frost damage per wave.
Hel’s Touch
Location: River Pass Legendary Chest
Description: An extremely rapid burst of energy that interrupts and knocks back all nearby enemies.
Level 2: Allows infliction of Stun damage and further increases the severity of the attack.
Level 3: Further increases Stun damage inflicted by the attack and also grants Kratos the ability to quickly cancel the respective attack.
Heavy Runic Attacks
As the name suggests, these attacks deal high damage and cover a wider area than the Light Runic Attacks, but at the cost of a longer cooldown time and a slower action response time. These moves are performed by pressing the LB and RT buttons of the controller.
Thiazi’s Talon
Location: Alfheim Legendary Chest
Description: A propulsive slice attack that launches a small, vertical wave, inflicting medium Frost damage to any enemies caught in it.
Level 2: Allows the user to charge up to 3 Frost Damage waves by holding R2.
Level 3: Significantly increases the Frost damage dealt to enemies by all waves.
Ivaldi’s Anvil
Location: River Pass Brenna Dauði Drop
Description: A menacing AoE (area of effect) attack that freezes all enemies caught in the blast radius.
Level 2: Unlocks a follow-up attack which can be performed by Pressing R2 after the first attack.
Level 3: Significantly increases the radius of the AoE attack, while also increasing the Frost damage of the first, base attack.
Mists of Helheim
Location: Iron Cove Legendary Chest
Description: A lingering AoE (area of effect) attack that creates a small hazard, dealing Frost damage to all enemies that come in contact with it.
Level 2: Significantly increases the time duration of the hazard, allowing it to stay for longer.
Level 3: Further increases the size and time duration of the hazard, allowing it to cover a wider area and stay for even longer.
Frost Giant’s Frenzy
Location: Alfheim Light Elf Shore Legendary Chest
Description: 3 mighty slam attacks that knock back enemies strongly.
Level 2: Increases the number of slam attacks Kratos can pull off. Consecutive attacks can be performed by spamming R2 .
Level 3: Further increases the number of slam attacks performed by spamming R2.
Breath of Thamur
Location: Muspelheim Shop
Description: A large-scale AoE (area of effect) attack that covers a large area and inflicts damage to all enemies within it.
Level 2: Increases the damage dealt to enemies by the AoE attack.
Level 3: Allows Kratos to Inflict a small amount of Frost damage with every hit of the attack.
Blessing of Frost
Location: Thamur’s Corpse Legendary Chest
Description: Activate to power up the Leviathan Axe (for a short period) with small charges, which deal Frost damage on every hit. Also, slightly increases the damage dealt by other normal and Runic attacks.
Level 2: Increases the duration and bonus to normal and Runic attacks.
Level 3: Further increases the duration of and bonus to normal and Runic attacks significantly.
The River of Knives
Location: The Mountain Legendary Chest
Description: A powerful attack that sends out a line of ice shards that inflict Frost damage upon contact and sends the enemies off flying.
Level 2: Significantly increases the range of the ice shards.
Level 3: Releases 2 additional lines of ice shards, making it a total of 3 lines. This significantly increases the width of the attack.
Glaive Storm
Location: Buri’s Storeroom Legendary Chest
Description: Throw the Leviathan Axe towards any nearby targets. The Axe will automatically seek out and hit the target, inflicting Frost damage to them.
Level 2: Significantly increases the number of enemies the axe will seek out.
Level 3: Further increases the number of enemies the axe seeks out, while also increasing the amount of Frost damage inflicted.
God of War Leviathan Axe Pommels
Kratos can find and equip various pommels on the Leviathan Axe during his journey for added bonuses. They can also be upgraded at Brok’s shop. Below you will find a complete list of all the pommels that are present in the game, what bonus they offer and how you can obtain them.
Common Axe Pommels
This section lists the common axe pommels that you can equip in God of War.
Wooden Grip
Location: You start with this pommel
Description: Family Heirloom: Crude wooden axe grip. It cannot be sold.
Curved Recovery Handle
Location: Buy it from the shop
Description: Marksman’s Cooldown: High Perk activation chance to grant a Blessing of Cooldown on any successful precision throw.
Curved Grip of Fury
Location: Buy it from the shop
Description: Marksman’s Rage Burst: Low Perk activation chance to grant a Rage Burst on any successful precision throw.
Curved War Handle
Location: Buy it from the shop
Description: Marksman’s Strength: High Perk activation chance to grant a Gift of Strength on any successful precision throw.
Curved Runic Handle
Location: Buy it from the shop
Description: Marksman’s Runic: Low Perk activation chance to grant a Blessing of Runic on any successful precision throw.
Weighted Recovery Handle
Location: Buy it from the shop
Description: Executioner’s Cooldown: High Perk activation chance to grant a Blessing of Cooldown on any successful Executioner’s Cleave.
Weighted Runic Handle
Location: Buy it from the shop
Description: Executioner’s Runic: High Perk activation chance to grant a Blessing of Runic on any successful Executioner’s Cleave.
Weighted War Handle
Location: Buy it from the shop
Description: Executioner’s Strength: High Perk activation chance to grant a Gift of Strength on any successful Executioner’s Cleave.
Versatile Warrior’s Handle
Location: Unlocked from completing favor ‘Unfinished Business’
Description: Adept Warrior: Increases Strength, Defense, and Luck. Upgrade to increase additional Stats.
Rare Axe Pommels
This section lists the rare axe pommels that you can equip in God of War.
Grip of Völunder
Location: Unlocked from completing favor ‘Second Hand Soul’
Description: Warrior’s Protective Barrier: Very low Perk activation chance to grant Protective Barrier, preventing damage from enemy attacks, on any successful axe hit.
Ymir’s Breath
Location: Obtain it from Isle of Death Legendary Chest
Description: Ymir’s Vengeance: Low Perk activation chance to create a Frost explosion on any successful axe hit.
Deadly Grip of Fury
Location: Obtain it from Stone Falls Legendary Chest
Description: Slayer’s Rage Burst: Successful axe kills grant a Rage Burst.
Light Grip of Protection
Location: Buy it from the shop
Description: Rising Protective Barrier: High Perk activation chance to grant Protective Barrier, preventing damage from enemy attacks, after launching an enemy into the air.
Light War Handle
Location: Buy it from the shop
Description: Rising Strength: High Perk activation chance to grant a Gift of Strength after launching an enemy into the air.
Legendary Axe Pommels
This section lists the legendary axe pommels that you can equip in God of War.
Surtr’s Grip of Flame
Location: Get it from the Muspelheim Shop
Description: Wrath of Flame: Low Perk activation chance to grant Wrath of Flame on any successful hit. Wrath of Flame greatly increases Strength, restores a small amount of Health, and fires a wave of energy on normal attacks.
Grip of Tanngiost
Location: Complete the Hammer Fall favor in Veithurgard
Description: Fist of Thor: Low Perk activation chance to strike with an explosion of lightning that inflicts Shock damage to all nearby enemies on any successful axe hit.
Hræzla Farmaðr’s Grip
Location: Complete the Family Business favor
Description: Warrior’s Health Burst: Low Perk activation chance to grant a Health Burst on any successful axe hit.
Forbidden Grip of the Ages
Location: Obtain it after completing the Secret Caldera Realm Tear
Description: Word of Ages: An ancient relic that increases all of Kratos’ Stats. Adds a concussive wave to the end of the R1 combo.
Grip of the Maze
Location: Buy it from the shop
Description: Cleansing Light: Very high Perk activation chance to restore some protection against the Cursed Mist of Niflheim on any successful kill. Passively grants resistance to the Cursed Mist.
Epic Axe Pommels
This section lists the best of the axe pommels that exist in the game. They fall into the category of epic axe pommels.
Mistbourne
Location: Obtain it from Niflheim Real Tear. Requires 20,000 Mist Echoes and Soul Devourer
Description: Healing Mist: Low Perk activation chance to grant Healing Mist on any successful hit. Healing Mist regenerates health and increases Runic.
Blightbringer
Location: Obtain it from Niflheim Center Chamber Legendary Chest. Requires 7,500 Mist Echoes
Description: Curse of the Mist: Low Perk activation chance to strike with an explosive curse that inflicts Weakness to enemies on any successful hit.
Valkyrie’s Might
Location: Obtain it from Niflheim Valkyrie; Eir Drop
Description: Strike of the Valkyrie: Moderate Perk activation chance on any successful Executioner’s Cleave to grant Strike of the Valkyrie, causing a massive explosion on the next attack. Low Perk activation chance to cause an explosion on any successful hit.
Wing of the Fallen
Location: Obtain it from Niflheim Valkyrie; Hildr Drop
Description: Power of the Valkyrie: Moderate Perk activation chance on any successful kill to grant Power of the Valkyrie, increasing Runic and Strength. (Stacks up to 3 times max.)
Retribution
Location: Obtain it from Council of Valkyries; Sigrun Drop
Description: Queen’s Wrath: R1 axe throw and recall become incredibly powerful. Low Perk activation chance to strike with a massively damaging explosion on any successful hit
