You will be upgrading the Blades of Chaos as well as the Leviathan Axe in God of War: Ragnarok just as you did in the first game.
Upgrading your weapons will increase your overall power levels to deal more damage to enemies, especially in higher-level areas.
It is also important to understand that the experience you gain from combat and quests only helps in unlocking skills and abilities. Your experience points will not help in unlocking any weapon upgrades.
To upgrade your Leviathan Axe, you will instead need to find either Frozen Flames or Frozen Sparks in God of War: Ragnarok. The following guide will tell you more.
Where to find Frozen Flames in God of War: Ragnarok?
You can find several Frozen Flames by just completing the main story quests. You can loot them after defeating specific bosses or as a reward for completing certain mainline quests.
Frozen Flame #1 (Defeat the Huntress)
You will be ambushed by the Huntress during the Surviving Fimbulwinter quest early on in the game. This will happen in the Upper Wildwoods area. She is a mini-boss that will drop the first Frozen Flame of the game upon defeat.
Frozen Flame #2 (Defeat Alva)
Alva, the Light Elf Lord, will be waiting for you in the Temple of Light. You will get another Frozen Flame after defeating her. Her encounter is part of the Groa’s Secret quest that takes place in Alfheim.
Frozen Flame #3 (Free Freya)
Once you successfully free Freya from her bonds during The Reckoning quest in Midgard, you will receive a Frozen Flame as a reward.
Frozen Flame #4 (Defeat the Hel-Traveller)
During the Reunion quest, you will take on a Hel-Traveller, equipped with a giant sword. These are some formidable enemies, and defeating this one will provide you with Frozen Flame.
Frozen Flame #5 (Defeat the Flame Phantom)
Once you reach Muspelheim to complete The Summoning quest, you will encounter a Flame Phantom. Defeat the Phantom and obtain another Frozen Flame.
Frozen Flame #6 (Defeat the Crimson Dread)
The Crimson Dread is a mighty dragon boss that you need to defeat to gain another Frozen Flame. This encounter will take place during the For Vanaheim favor which can only start after you complete the Scent of Survival quest.
Where to find Frozen Sparks in God of War: Ragnarok?
There are a total of six Hel-Tears that you can find across all nine realms. Sealing a Hel-Tear will give you a Frozen Spark. If you seal all six of them, you will get six Frozen Sparks that will automatically combine to become one Frozen Flame.
Hel-Tears are part of the Hel to Pay side quest. Each Hel-Tear will send waves of enemies at you. Survive the onslaught and the tear will be closed.
Frozen Spark #1 (Sindri’s House)
You will receive the first Frozen Spark as part of The Reunion quest. This will be when Atreus mistakingly frees Garm to begin your journey to seal all of the Hel-Tears in the game.
Frozen Spark #2 (The Gleaming Bale, Helheim)
You will encounter your next Hel-Tear while chasing down Garm in The Gleaming Bale. This will also be during the Reunion questline. You will automatically come across the tear as you progress.
Frozen Spark #3 (Aurvangar Wetlands, Svartalfheim)
Dock your boat at the location, freeze the geyser to jump across, and then climb the wooden platforms all the way to the top. Continue ahead and use the zip line to go down to the Hel-Tear location.
Frozen Spark #4 (The Strond, Alfheim)
Reach the Mystic Gateway location on the map and then head south. You will spot the Hel-Tear the moment you come out of the entrance. Drop down below and prepare for the fight ahead.
Frozen Spark #5 (The Southern Wilds, Vanaheim)
This is an easy Hel-Tear to find. It lies almost next to the Southern Wilds Mystic Gateway marked on the map above.
Frozen Spark #6 (Well of Urd, Midgard)
Head toward the Mystic Gateway found in the Lake of Nine and move northeast to reach the Well of Urd.
Now, you need to climb the mountain to reach its other side. Spot the small cracks in the walls and go through to reach the final Hel-Tear.
How to use Frozen Flames to upgrade the Leviathan Axe
Frozen Flames and Frozen Sparks are special upgrade resources scattered across the nine realms in God of War: Ragnarok. Their sole use is to upgrade your Leviathan Axe.
You can either find a single Frozen Flame to unlock an upgrade for your axe or six Frozen Sparks that will fuse to become a single Frozen Flame.
While Frozen Flames are extremely rare in the game, you will eventually find enough resources to fully upgrade your Leviathan Axe over the course of progression.
Every single Frozen Flame will level up your Leviathan Axe by level 1. The table below shows how much Strength can be increased with each level to boost your overall damage stats.
| Leviathan Axe Level | Strength |
| Level 1 | +10 |
| Level 2 | +25 |
| Level 3 | +40 |
| Level 4 | +55 |
| Level 5 | +70 |
| Level 6 | +85 |
| Level 7 | +100 |
| Level 8 | +115 |
| Level 9 | +130 |
