Which stats should you level in God of War: Ragnarök? | God of War: Ragnarok stats, explained

All six stats in Ragnarök, explained.

Image via Santa Monica Studios

After almost four years, God of War Ragnarök is finally here. The sequel to the 2018 reboot, Ragnarök concludes Kratos’ journey through the Norse mythology and introduces new characters, realms, and gameplay mechanics along the way.

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One major introduction in God of War Ragnarök is a new and improved stats system. Whereas in the 2018 God of War upgrades were primarily contained within Kratos’ various weapons, Ragnarök has added armor upgrades that greatly influence all of Kratos’ stats.

Similar to other RPG-like games, God of War Ragnarök offers various stats that upgrade Kratos’ actions and abilities. Depending on preferred playstyles, players may prioritize different widely differing builds. Before constructing your perfect build however, it is important to know exactly what you are investing into with each stat.

This is everything you need to know about God of War Ragnarök‘s stats, and what you should level.

Which stats should you level in God of War Ragnarök?

There are six stats in God of War Ragnarök that players can upgrade through armor, equipment, and more. These stats are strength, defense, runic, vitality, luck, and cooldown.

All six different stats in Ragnarök impact unique aspects not only of the game’s combat system, but also other gameplay elements. These are God of War Ragnarök‘s stats and why you may want to level them.

Strength

Strength is the most straightforward stat in Ragnarök. The higher your strength is, the more damage Kratos does with each attack. If you are hoping to deal massive damage with every swing and chunk down enemies’ health bars, invest in strength.

Defense

Increasing Kratos’ defense stat will reduce the amount of damage delivered by oncoming attacks. If you are not dodging or parrying attacks, upgrading defense will allow Kratos to tank hits and keep you alive.

Runic

Throughout Ragnarök, players will unlock various Runic abilities that deal massive damage and incur elemental status effects. Increasing Kratos’ Runic stat increases damage done by Runic attacks and different aspects of the elemental effects. For example, upgrading Frost-based Runic abilities may increase the likelihood for a frost status effect to take hold. If you tend to rely more on abilities rather than basic attacks, look for gear that increases Runic power.

Vitality

Vitality is the stat directly related to health. Unlike defense, raising Kratos’ vitality does not allow him to take more damage but instead increases the overall health pool. Upgrading vitality also increases resistance to staggering attacks, reducing the risk of interruptions. Depending on your gameplay difficulty, vitality is a vitally important stat to upgrade to ensure you last longer than a few hits.

Luck

Luck is the most obscure stat in Ragnarök. Luck increases how often enemies will drop rewards after slaying them. Typically rewards include the game’s currency Hacksilver, crafting components, health, and rage stones. If you are finding materials around the world of Ragnarök to be sparse, then you should look to increase your luck.

Cooldown

As is the case in most RPGs or MMOs, cooldown time refers to how long it takes for each ability to become available again. Increasing cooldown typically decreases abilities’ cooldown timers. If you are an avid Runic abilities user, you will want to level up this trait alongside Runic to get the most use of your upgraded special attacks.

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Image of Blaine Polhamus
Blaine Polhamus
Staff Writer for Dot Esports. Avid gamer for two decades and gaming writer for three years. I'm a lover of anything Souls-like since 2011. I cover everything from single-player RPGs to MMOs.