God of War Ragnarok: Muspelheim Trials Guide (The Crucible) (2024)

God of War Ragnarok players will visit Muspelheim during the game's eighth and sixteenth chapters, but there's much more to the realm than just the Burning Cliffs. If players are able to find the two halves of the Muspelheim realm seed, they'll also be able to visit The Crucible, a returning area from God of War (2018).

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Just like in the previous game, God of War Ragnarok players will be able to take on a series of challenging trials at The Crucible, with plenty of great prizes on offer for those who emerge victorious. There are 15 Musepelheim Trials in total, though completing them all may prove tricky to some players, particularly those playing on harder difficulty settings.

How to Find the Muspelheim Realm Seed

Before players can access The Crucible, they'll first need to find two halves of the Muspelheim realm seed. Thankfully, there are four different locations in which players can find a realm seed piece, making it much easier to assemble the seed organically without having to actively search for it.

After finding two realm seed pieces, the contents of the two remaining chests will be swapped out for Divine Ashes, so it's impossible to collect all four. Regardless of which seeds players choose to collect, the earliest that they'll be able to visit The Crucible is after obtaining the Draupnir Spear in the game's tenth chapter.

Muspelheim Realm Seed Spawn #1

The very first realm seed piece can be found in a Legendary Chest in the Modvitnir's Rig area of Svartalfheim in an area near a giant crane overlooking the bay. Assuming this is the first piece that players find, picking it up will trigger The Crucible favor.

Muspelheim Realm Seed Spawn #2

Players will be able to find another realm seed piece in the Alberich Hollow area of Svartalfheim. Alberich Hollow can be accessed via Dragon Beach, but only after players have gotten their hands on the Draupnir Spear in Chapter 10 of God of War Ragnarok.

To reach the Legendary Chest containing the realm seed piece, players will need to climb the chain to the left of the Dragon Beach area and then throw a spear into the crack in the wooden structure to climb up to the area above. They'll then need to follow the path ahead of them, before using a firebomb to break through the destructible ore surrounding the chest.

Muspelheim Realm Seed Spawn #3

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Alternatively, players can find a Muspelheim realm seed piece in Vanaheim in the Freyr's Camp area. To reach it, they'll need to use the Draupnir Spear to destroy a crack in the wall, which will grant access to a small area containing a Legendary Chest with the realm seed piece inside.

Muspelheim Realm Seed Spawn #4

For those who missed the previous two realm seed pieces, there's another one in the Burning Cliffs area of Muspelheim, which players will be able to claim when they return to the area with Kratos in Chapter 16. It's right beneath the Mystic Gateway in a cave that players will need to pass through en route to Surtr and so is very difficult to miss.

How to Complete The First Six Challenges

With the realm seed now completed, players will be able to travel to The Crucible via any Mystic Gateway. Upon their arrival, they'll be greeted by a large central area with a Nornir Chest in the middle and three smaller chambers coming off of it. Each of these chambers contains a giant sword with a rune on it which can be used to initiate two unique trials. After completing all six, players will be able to open the Nornir Chest and gain access to the final nine Muspelheim Trials.

Weapon Mastery (Left Sword Challenge #1)

To complete Weapon Mastery, players will need to defeat 16 enemies in under three minutes. It's all relatively straightforward, though players should keep an eye out for the Nokken near the end as it will heal any enemies nearby.

Flawless (Left Sword Challenge #2)

Probably the most challenging of the initial trials, players will need to defeat 15 enemies without taking any damage. Thankfully, there's no time limit, so players should take their time and try to keep their distance from enemies. There are a few projectile throwers who should be taken out quickly with arrows and many of the enemies explode after being killed, so players should be constantly ready to dodge roll out of the way.

Ring Out Challenge (Middle Sword Challenge #1)

The Ring Out Challenge has players take on 21 enemies with constantly regenerating health. The only way to defeat them is to knock them into the lava, so players should make the most of their heavy attacks as much as possible. Throwing the Leviathan Axe at an enemy's legs or sticking them with a spear and then detonating it can knock enemies over or fling them up in the air, making it much easier to send them flying with another heavy attack or two. Again, there's no time limit, so players should take it as slow as they need to.

Feed the Rift (Middle Sword Challenge #2)

Feed the Rift will require players to throw glowing orbs that are dropped by fallen enemies into a giant rift in the center of the arena. To complete the first wave, players will need to score six points in one minute, while the second wave will require them to get 15 points in 150 seconds or fewer. This is one of the easier trials, as there is a constant supply of easy-to-defeat enemies. Tougher enemies do appear in the second wave and will drop orbs that are worth two points rather than one, but players should continue to focus on weaker foes like Wisps.

Population Control (Right Sword Challenge #1)

To complete Population Control, players will need to take down an Elite Bergsra while keeping the number of total enemies at four or fewer. Thankfully, like the Bergsra, the initial wave of enemies all spawn on the far side of the arena, so players can finish this trial off very quickly if they're at a high enough level. If not, it's a simple case of keeping an eye on the enemy count and making sure that it doesn't stay on five for too long.

King of the Hill (Right Sword Challenge #2)

The King of the Hill challenge consists of three waves, with each one adding an additional circle to the mix. Players will need to keep these circles free from enemies until the time runs out. It's okay if enemies get into the ring for a little while, but if the bar fills up completely then players will fail the challenge and will need to start again from the beginning. Using the grapple points to quickly travel between the first two circles makes things fairly simple, as the Blades of Chaos' Death From Above strike followed by a basic combo can clear out a circle in no time at all.

Rewards

How to Complete The Final Challenges

Upon opening the Nornir Chest, a new sword will appear in the center of the main chamber. Initially, players won't be able to do anything with it, but completing two trials using two of the swords from earlier will activate it, allowing players to take part in a new challenge. What exactly this challenge is will depend on which of the other swords players choose to interact with and the order in which they do so, meaning that there are six trials available through this new sword. They're well worth completing, as, in addition to the Trials by Fire trophy, players will also be rewarded with some of the best armor in God of War Ragnarok.

In addition to these six trials, there is also one new challenge available through each of the three swords from earlier, which players will need to complete before being able to repeat any of the initial six trials. These new ones tend to be a little harder than the initial trials, though Health Steal and Rampage can be completed quite a bit faster, so players may want to choose these together with Population Control when the time comes to repeat trials.

Rampage (Left Sword Challenge #3)

The rampage challenge requires players to kill 20 enemies within 150 seconds. Despite a few tougher enemies spawning in toward the end of the challenge, players are free to ignore these and focus on weaker enemies if they so wish. This is arguably the fastest of the F rune challenges and so most players will want to repeat this as they work towards unlocking the final six challenges.

Health Steal (Middle Sword Challenge #3)

In the Health Steal challenge, Kratos' health is constantly draining, though players will be able to fill it back up by dealing damage to enemies. Players will need to defeat 22 enemies to complete the trial, which should be relatively simple as long as they are constantly dishing out damage. As with the Weapon Mastery trial from earlier though, players should keep an eye out for the Nokken near the end, as these will heal nearby enemies.

Kill Fuse (Right Sword Challenge #3)

To complete Kill Fuse, players will need to defeat 22 enemies before the timer reaches zero. Each enemy that they kill will add additional seconds to the timer, so as long as they're fast, players shouldn't have too much trouble here. Population Control is both faster and a little easier to complete, however, so players probably won't be repeating Kill Fuse after their first clear.

Endurance Challenge (F + N)

The Endurance Challenge requires players to defeat 99 enemies without dying. There's no time limit and the enemies come in waves, so players should play cautiously and consider equipping gear that will replenish their health. It will likely take most players between ten and fifteen minutes to complete, so a cautious approach really is advised.

Ring of Fire Challenge (N + F)

To complete the Ring of Fire Challenge players will need to kill fifteen enemies while inside a constantly moving ring of fire. If an enemy is killed while they are outside the circle it won't count towards the total and players will take damage if they leave the circle themselves. With this in mind, players should avoid combat near the edge of the circle and be ready to freeze the Scorn Pole with the Leviathan Axe when the circle starts moving in that direction.

Shield Breaker Challenge (F + R)

The Shield Breaker Challenge is one of the more difficult Muspelheim Trials, with players needing to gradually chip away at two powerful enemies' health bars while dealing with intermittent waves of weaker foes. Initially, they'll be up against an Einherjar Champion but will only be able to damage it while it's the only enemy in the arena. Towards the end of the trial, a Stalker will join him, at which point players should take out the Einherjar Champion as quickly as possible so that they can focus all of their attention on the Stalker. Again, the Stalker will only take damage once any weaker enemies that spawn in have been defeated.

Phantom Challenge (R + F)

The Phantom Challenge sees players come up against a Flame Phantom, which can be defeated much like any of the other Phantoms in God of War Ragnarok. The only difference is that waves of enemies will spawn in when the Phantom is staggered, but players can largely ignore these and focus on destroying the three pillars as if they weren't even there. While building the Phantom's stagger bar, players should look around and make note of where each pillar is, which should make destroying them within two staggers relatively straightforward.

Onslaught Challenge (N + R)

Perhaps the very hardest of the Muspelheim Trials in God of War Ragnarok, the Onslaught Challenge requires players to survive in a static ring of fire for five minutes as constant waves of enemies spawn in. Unlike some of Surtr's other trials, more and more enemies will continue to spawn in regardless of whether or not players have taken out the existing ones, so simply dodging isn't an option here. Players should therefore focus on killing all of the weaker enemies quickly so as to avoid being overwhelmed and be sure to have their companion deal with any ranged attackers with arrows. Using the Ogre as a weapon can be very useful too, particularly when the Wyvern shows up. Things may get a little hairy toward the end of the challenge, but once players get down to the final thirty seconds or so they should be able to get away with dodging until the timer ticks down to zero.

Boss Rush Challenge (R + N)

Though it may sound like the most daunting of the Muspelheim Trials on paper, the Boss Rush Challenge isn't actually that bad. Sure, players will need to defeat a Traveller, a Fierce Stalker, a Dark Elf Lord, a Light Elf Warrior, and an Einherjar Brute, but a new foe will only show up once the previous one has been defeated, so players can take their time dodging and blocking to avoid taking too much damage. Attacking from distance using either the Leviathan Axe or the Draupnir spear is also a good idea, particularly when up against the Traveler.

Rewards

God of War Ragnarok is available now for PS4 and PS5.