There are a lot of skills to choose from in God of War 4 due to the extensive customization options that have been added to the game. Trying to test them all to see which one works best may take a massive amount of time, so our God of War Skills Guide is here to help.
Our GoW Skills Guide will tell you which skills work best for each of the Skill Trees and will give you a brief explanation why. Moreover, we will give you some important tips and tricks so that you can be covered in the skills department completely.
God of War Skills
- Leviathan Axe Skills
- Guardian Shield Skills
- Chaos Blades Skills
- Talon Bow Skills
- Best Skills to Unlock
Skills in GoW 4 are usually tied to weapons. Upgrading them will be quite straightforward for any RPG player as the skill tree is quite standard.
You can get a few skills to make your weapon work to your own playstyle. This will allow you to be much more effective in combat with it.
However, before we look at Weapon skills, let’s have look at how to unlock new skills.
How to Unlock Skills in God of War
Since most of the skills are tied to weapons, they’re unlocked as the weapon gets upgraded.
For Kratos, you’ll have to upgrade his axe. This can easily be done using Frozen Flame. For his son, Atreus, you’ll have to upgrade his Talon Bow, for unlocking new skills.
Once the weapons have been upgraded, head over to the skills Menu in the options. Spend some XP on the newly unlocked skill and you’ll then be able to use it.
Leviathan Axe Skills
Since your primary damage are your attacks, invest points into Hunter-Killer and continue to do so. This will allow you do damage to x3 enemies or take 3 points off of a high-level enemy’s HP.
Executioner’s Cleave is also almost compulsory, as it allows you to charge your attacks to deal additional damage. This can work perfectly after a dodge when you have a few moments to spare.
These skills will give further abilities to Kratos using Leviathan Axe. You have to unlock Frozen Flame in order to use higher tier skills. Let’s start with the abilities:
Freezing Throw
Press R2 after aiming and you will be able to freeze small enemies for a while and during that period deal damage to them.
Freezing Burst
Keep holding R2 and aim to charge the axe up and it will cause a burst which will deal frsot damage. You will need Axe Upgrade 2 and 1000 XP for this and you will also get lesser charge time i.e. 100 Cooldown as additional bonus.
Precision Throw Combo
Press triangle after a precision axe throw and it will recall the axe and the next attack will explode upon hitting. You will need an Axe Upgrade 2 and 1000 XP and you will also get an axe throw finisher after 2 consecutive precision throws that would need 125 Cooldown.
Precision Frost Burst
Explosion upon contact due to the Precision Throw. You will need an Axe Upgrade 3 and 2,000 XP.
Hunter-Killer 1
Hold R1 and aim at the enemies electing 3 of them or just select one and three attacks will either hit those three you selected or just the one. You will need an Axe Upgrade 3 and 1,500 XP for this and as a bonus you will get better resistance to attack interruptions but this will use 200 vitality.
Hunter-Killer 2
You can choose up-to 5 targets now by getting an Axe Upgrade 4 and using 2,000 XP. Has the same bonus as the previous one.
Hunter-Killer 3
You can choose up-to 8 targets now by getting an Axe Upgrade 5 and using 3,000 XP. Has the same bonus as the previous one.
Returning Whirlwind
Press R1 and aim while you are Bare-Handed and it will perform a spinning attack by recalling the Leviathan Axe. It costs the Axe Upgrade 4 along with 1,400 XP and as a bonus you will get better resistance to attack interruptions but this will use 200.
Returning Storm
Press R1 and aim while you are Bare-Handed and it will perform a slam attack by recalling the Leviathan Axe. It costs the Axe Upgrade 5 along with 2500 XP and as a bonus you will get better resistance to attack interruptions but this will use 200.
Executioner’s Cleave
This causes huge damage if you hold R2. It costs 500 XP and you also get lesser Charge Time using 100 Cooldown.
Grinding Storm
You will press R1 for this one as well locking enemies down and hitting them several times. It costs 500 XP and causes frost damage by using 125 Runic.
Frost Rush
Press R1 to do this attack while sprinting. It costs Axe Upgrade 2 and 1,000 XP along with that it increases resistance to interruption during this attack by using 125 Vitality.
Whirling Storm
Hold left stick while you evade and then R1 to perform a quick axe attack. It costs Axe Upgrade 2 and 1,000 XP along with that it increases resistance to interruption during this attack by using 75 Vitality.
Glacial Permafrost
Amount of permafrost increases with every hit. It costs Axe Upgrade 3 and 2,000 XP
Leviathan’s Fury
Perform this leaping attack by pressing R2 while you sprint. It costs Axe Upgrade 3 and 2,000 XP and you get an explosion on impact that causes frost damage and costs 175 Runic.
Evasive Storm
Do this boomerang throw using Left stick and R1 while you evade. It costs Axe Upgrade 3 and 2,000 XP and it yields frost damage using 125 runic.
Whirlwind Sweep
This attacks costs Axe Upgrade 4 along with 3,000 XP. It also has a bonus that it increases resistance to interruption during this attack by using 200 Vitality.
Double Whirlwind
It costs Axe Upgrade 4 and 1,000 XP. It also has a bonus that it increases resistance to interruption during this attack by using 200 Vitality.
Whirlwind Throw
It costs Axe Upgrade 4 and 1,000 XP. It also has a bonus that it increases resistance to interruption during this attack by using 200 Vitality.
Raging Whirlwind
It costs Axe Upgrade 5 and 2,000 XP. It also has a bonus that it increases resistance to interruption during this attack by using 200 Vitality.
Whirlwind Fury
It costs Axe Upgrade 5 and 2,000 XP. It also has a bonus that it increases resistance to interruption during this attack by using 200 Vitality.
For more information on the weapon, check out our God of War Leviathan Axe Guide.
Guardian Shield Skills
Since Guardian Shield primarily deals with hand-to-hand combat, it is best to go for the Block Break, as it allows you to break an enemy’s block by double tapping the L1 key.
The other unlocks do not seem to make as much of a difference as this. This is because you start facing enemies with shields very early on in the game and it will be much easier to beat them if you are able to render their blocks useless.
The skills that come after the Block Break are also very useful as they allow you to parry the enemy attacks and make use of the shield, so going for the Block Break is by far the best option.
These are the skills that you can use with the Guardian shield that focus on bare-handed attacks.
Block Break
It costs 500 XP and with the huge blast it creates you would make enemies fly up into the air. It needs 300 defense for this.
Countering Strike
It needs Block Break and 1,000 XP
Countering Clash
It needs Countering Strike and 1,500 XP.
Guardian Sweep
It needs 1,500 XP along with 250 defense for the addition of a medium-range concussive blast that yields extra Stun Damage.
This too is a good skill to have early on in the game and help you get a head start early on in the battle.
Agile Strike
It needs 1,000 XP along with 250 defense for the addition of a medium-range concussive blast that yields extra Stun Damage.
Guardian’s Justice
It needs 2000 XP along with 250 defense for the addition of a medium-range concussive blast that yields extra Stun Damage.
Guardian’s Judgement
It needs Guardian’s Justice and 3,000 XP
Haymaker Crush
It costs 1500 XP. It also has a bonus that it increases resistance to interruption during this attack by using 75 Vitality.
This skill comes in handy while fighting opponents who love to keep their distance and dodge your attacks. Using this skill you’ll be able to charge at them and stun them.
Shoulder Barrage
It needs 2000 XP along with 250 defense for the addition of a medium-range concussive blast that yields extra Stun Damage.
Countering Blast
It needs 3,000 XP.
Guardian’s Revenge
It costs 3000 XP. It also has a bonus that it increases resistance to interruption during this attack by using 200 Vitality.
Guardian’s Fury
It costs 2000 XP. It also has a bonus that it increases resistance to interruption during this attack by using 200 Vitality.
Fury Strike
Press R1 to deal damage while you are in Spartan Rage using a dashing punch.
Fury Drive
This one costs 500 XP.
Fury Beatdown
You need Fury Drive for this.
Raging Ultimatum
This one costs 4,500 XP.
Seething Earth
You need Raging Ultimatum for this.
Spartan Stomp
This costs 1,000 XP.
Spartan Surge
You need Spartan Stomp for this
For more information on the weapon, check out our God of War Guardian Shield Guide.
Blades of Chaos Skills
Blades of Chaos are used to attack very quickly so Spear of Chaos works really well as you can eliminate the distance between you and the enemy. Immolation is also great as you will be able to deal Fire Damage with each hit.
If an enemy is weak against Fire Damage, you will be able to end the fight very quickly with this ability.
Chaotic Rampage is good for melee combat and unlocking this should be a priority for you as it can make you much deadlier. Lastly, Essence of any of the gods is great because it increases the stats of Kratos by 10 whole points.
For more information on the weapon, check out our God of War Blades of Chaos Guide.
Talon Bow Skills
You want to get Teamwork as it can make Atreus much more helpful. Having Atreus will be especially useful in all fights but even more so when facing beasts and gods, as he can be quite a nuisance.
To add to that, you can have Acrobatics that will allow Atreus to perform a combo if he is choking an enemy and you attack the enemy at a distance.
Lastly, Ferocity is another great addition, as it will allow Atreus do different attacks that deal Stun Damage to the enemies. All of these abilities will stack together and effectively double your manpower in the fights.
These skills mainly focus on Atreus in order to give him more abilities with his Bow, Arrows, and Quiver.
Weaken Potency
You need 500 XP for this skill. Allows light arrows to have more Weakened status effect on the antagonists.
Explosive Power
It requires Bow Upgrade 3 and 1,500 XP. Light arrows become more explosive.
Pure Light
You need Bow Upgrade 5 and 3,000 XP for this skill. Light arrow explosions will now be able to stun the enemies.
Lasting Shock
It requires Shock Arrows and 500 XP for this skill. Shock Lasts longer.
Shock Conduit
This requires Bow Upgrade 3, and 1,500 XP. This skill allows you to attack multiple enemies with shock.
Power Overload
It costs Bow Upgrade5 and 3,000 XP to get this skill. This skill allows you to attack multiple enemies with shock conduit.
Light Potency 1
You need Light Arrows, Bow Upgrade 2 and 250 XP for this skill. Stun damage increases with each added light potency.
Light Potency 2
For this skill you need Bow Upgrade 3 and 1,000 XP.
Light Potency 3
For this skill you need Bow Upgrade 4 and 2,000 XP.
Shock Potency 1
For this skill you need Shock Arrows, Bow Upgrade 2 and 250 XP. Shock damage increases with each added shock potency.
Shock Potency 2
For this skill you need Bow Upgrade 3 and 1,000 XP.
Shock Potency 3
For this skill you need Bow Upgrade 4 and 2,000 XP.
Acrobatics
This costs 500 XP. This skill is used when both father and son are attacking an enemy together. If Kratos attack an enemy that is being chocked by Atreus, Atreus will be able to perform a combo move on that enemy.
Ferocity
This costs 500 XP. Atreus gets a wider range of stun attacks.
Atreus Power 1
This costs 500 XP along with Bow Level 2. Atreus’s arrow and damage increases with each added Atreus Power.
Atreus Power 2
This costs 1500 XP along with Bow Level 3.
Atreus Power 3
This costs 3000 XP and Bow Level 4.
Dexterous Shot 1
This costs 500 XP and Bow Level 2. Talon Bow’s firing rate increases with each added dexterous Shot.
Dexterous Shot 2
This costs 500 XP and Bow Level 3.
Dexterous Shot 3
This costs 3000 XP and Bow Level 4.
For more information on the weapon, check out our God of War Talon Bow Guide.
Best Skills to Unlock Early in God of War
Nearly every skill in God of War is essential, however, we’ve still jotted down a few must-have skills when you first start off with the game.
Permafrost
Large enemy groups can be taken care of using Permafrost. When the meter at the weapon icon is full you will deal frost damage to the enemies helping you take them out much more easily. If the enemy is frozen they stay in the air for a longer duration and your combos can get longer due to that. You should be good at judging when to use this skill.
Given the fact the skill does not need to be activated during a combat, makes it even more handy and easy to use early on in the game.
Pride of the Frost
The default combo for Kratos is four light hits and then two heavy ones. If you want more variation between these attacks then this is very good for you as pride of the frost will let you do 3 light attacks and then a lot of damage is caused by the finishers.
Countering Strike
This move is when kratos is able to do an unblockable attack by countering the second last attack done on it. It can cause massive damage and even make small enemies fly up for you to hit combos.
Countering Blast
You need 3,000 Experience to use one of these but it is worth it if you use it well. The ranged fighters that pose a threat while you are fighting others can be dealt with using this skill.
Countering Blast allows you to defend and counter the ranged attackers by sending their attacks right where they came from. Or, you can counter their attacks and direct them elsewhere as well.
Guardian Sweep
As you start to learn more about an enemy’s stun meter, you’ll find that sometimes the best strategy is to end a battle quickly with a finishing blow. Atreus can help build up stun on enemies when prompted, but if you want to do it yourself, consider the Guardian Sweep.
This attack is great for two reasons: it can knock several enemies to the floor at once, and it deals a great amount of stun damage. This ensures that while the enemies are floored, they’ll need a moment to get back up and fight, allowing you to keep the pressure on them with more bare-handed attacks to prepare for a finishing blow.
Teamwork
Aretus may seem not as strong as first but once you start unlocking his skills he will become much more useful to you as he will be very quick so he will help you out a lot. Teamwork is one of the best abilities that you can get for him. With this ability you would be able to combine his attacks with kratos’ i.e. whenever Kratos puts an enemy in a vulnerable state Aretus will attack and take it out.
Ferocity
Just like teamwork, ferocity is very important. When equipped, Aretus will circle the field and take out enemies by shooting at them. He will cause stun damage that will help you out a lot.
Whirling Storm
Whirling Storm is also great, as it can immobilize an enemy and allow you to charge Executioner’s Cleave. Alternatively, Permafrost allows you to charge your axe by striking enemies so that you can deal Frost Damage with each hit.
This skill is mostly defensive and would sit well with the players who have an offensive playstyle.
If you’re looking forward to dealing light damage to the foes while defending their attacks and moving around, then this skill is perfect for you.
