Game Guides

God Of War Ragnarok – Best Leviathan Axe Skills

November 29, 2022

God of War Ragnarok is the sequel to the highly acclaimed 2018 God of War. In Ragnarok, we return to an older Kratos and Atreus in the coming of the end of days. A lot has changed but thankfully combat has only gotten better. You’re still wielding the Leviathan Axe and the Blade of Chaos, and just like in the previous game, players you’ll need them both to destroy their foes and traverse the environment.

There’s a lot of versatility in the combat of God of War Ragnarok, whether you like a faster playstyle, you’re better at parrying or you’re going for something hard and slow. With the right components, your Leviathan Axe can also be upgraded at workshops, which will grant you access to powerful new skills.

These are some of the best Leviathan Axe runic attacks in God of War Ragnarok.

Leviathan Axe Skills

Technique Skills

Technique increases the damage done by Leviathan Axe melee attacks.

Frost Awaken I-IV

Requirements: Leviathan Axe Lvl 4 for Frost Awaken II

One of your first new skills in God of War Ragnarok is Frost Awaken I. It involves holding Triangle to imbue the Leviathan Axe with ice. This will in turn power up the next Melee or Ranged Attack with high Frost.

It’s a fun skill however, the first Frost Awaken tier is dreadfully slow, making it hard to use mid-combat. I generally use it at the beginning of a battle. But as you upgrade it gets faster and faster to charge your axe with ice. At Frost Awaken IV your axe will instantly charge.

But even at Frost Awaken II, you’ll find the skill a lot handier than at the first level, so it’s something that you can consider upgrading early on.

Extinguish Flames

Requirements: 250 xp

Extinguish Flames will give your Leviathan Axe bonus damage against Burning enemies. This skill is extremely useful for people who want to chain attacks across the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos. Once you have purchased this incredibly cheap skill, you’ll do extra damage when you attack an enemy who has been set ablaze.

Naturally, setting your enemies on fire is something that a ton of your Blades of Chaos attacks do. So, your enemies will often have the Burn effect on them. The Extinguish Flames skill is here to encourage you to switch frequently. Once you get the rhythm for that style of combat down, you will find that this is a cornerstone of combat in God of War Ragnarok.

Frozen Lance

Requirements: Leviathan Axe Lvl 3, 1000 xp

While your Leviathan Axe is charged with Frost Awaken, aim and press R2 to throw the Leviathan Axe with extreme force. This will deal very high Frost damage breaking an enemy’s guard and will knock them backward.s

Frozen Lance is one of the strongest skills that involves throwing the axe. This skill can only be used while Kratos’s Leviathan Axe is in Frost Awaken, something to use early on in the game that beginners should know in God of War Ragnarok.

As long as this is done, simply press R2 and throw the axe. This will deal an incredible amount of damage alongside inflicting high Frost and can even break through shields and other powerful guards that some enemies might possess.

Ranged Skills

Ranged increases the damage done by Leviathan Axe range attacks.

Freezing Throw II

Requirements: 750 xp

Freezing Throw takes Kratos’ iconic axe throw, and powers it up. The first iteration of this skill comes already unlocked for players the moment they begin the game. And allows you to Hold R2 in order to charge your attack while adding Frost to the Leviathan Axe. Once this attack lands, it will create a Frost explosion upon impact dealing damage to surrounding enemies. And while it is a powerful attack it’s also extremely slow in the beginning.

You probably won’t want to use Freezing Throw against bosses, but when you’re fighting waves of enemies, it’s a consistently valuable attack. Use it to hit and deal Frost to multiple enemies that are clustered together. And as for the speed problem, well, if the enemy starts charging you before the attack is ready, you can just release it early and get the weaker version. This means that there is little in the way of downsides to upgrading it to Freezing Throw 2.

Vengeful Sickle I-II

Requirements: 500 xp for Vengeful Sickle I

Vengeful Sickle is kind of an alternative attack to the Freezing Throw. And it’s one that you can unlock right from the beginning. What it does is turn your charged light axe throw into a multi-hitting combo attack. Aim and Hold R1 to charge up the Leviathan Axe, causing it to spin and slice for multiple hits against an enemy when thrown.

It’s a faster alternative for those that enjoy quicker combos compared to the Freezing Throw. And it naturally gives you an opportunity to transition into your Blades of Chaos attacks. If you time it right, you’ll be whipping them with your blades as they are still getting hacked by your axe.

This attack is the best way to transition into another weapon. It has a decent amount of power, and you can get it pretty easy early on. Vengeful Sickle II isn’t really a distinct move, it will just improve on the original.

Returning Storm

Requirements: 1000 xp for Returning Whirlwind

Returning Storm allows you to quickly recall the Leviathan Axe by pressing L1 + R1 while Bare-Handed to perform a powerful spinning attack. (Press R1 immediately after for a follow-up slash). Unarmed combat is a fantastic way to rack up stun, but it isn’t much for damage. So it can be a bit of a pain in the butt to incorporate your unarmed attacks into combat.

The Returning Storm’s combo that ends with a huge axe attack at the end does tremendous damage, applies Frost, and returns your axe to you. Win-Win-Win. Once you unlock Returning Storm, you can toss your axe at a foe, run up, pound them with your fists, and then end your melee combo with a powerful axe attack. It is absolutely a fantastic skill that helps you synergize between the different types of attacks.

Returning Storm is a must-have skill and is the superior version of Returning Whirlwind. Having Returning Whirlwind is required to obtain Returning Storm. Your Leviathan Axe will also need to be upgraded to level 4 to get it.

Melee Skills

Melee adds more powerful melee attacks to the Leviathan Axe.

Leviathan’s Fury

Requirements: Already Unlocked

While sprinting, Press R2 to perform a massive leaping attack applying Frost. An excellent opening move to rush down your enemies.

You can think of Leviathan’s Fury as the upgrade to Frost Rush, which uses R1 for a leaping slash attack. This move however is better because not only does it deal more damage, but it can also pop lighter enemies up into the air. Use it as a semi-close distance to quickly get the advantage and launch a barrage of combos immediately after while they’re caught off guard.

You can’t use Leviathan’s Fury thoughtlessly however as once you’re locked into this skill you can’t go back. So you have to time it properly. That being said Leviathan’s Fury is a staple of Kratos’ kit and will typically be the attack you go to when charging opponents.

Serpent’s Snare

Requirements: 1000 xp

Of all the moves in the game, Serpent’s Snare will probably be one of your favourites. Not only is this a highly damaging attack, but it also turns enemies into frost bombs. Simply hold R2 for a brutal Axe attack that throws the enemy to apply massive damage. Weaker foes will be thrown and create an explosion of Frost on impact.

To put it simply if you land a fully charged heavy attack on a light enemy, you will be able to toss them at others, and they will erupt into an icy explosion when they make contact with the ground.

This is an incredible attack on crowd control. If there are light enemies around, you can use Serpent’s Snare to fling them at other baddies, dealing damage and inflicting Frost. The only issue with this move is that it isn’t quite as effective when used against heavier enemies. Instead of grabbing them and throwing them, it just delivers two powerful strikes. Still good, but not nearly as good when some of those heavier enemies will resist being staggered by this heavy attack.

Whirlwind Sweep

Requirements: 1000 xp

The Whirlwind Sweep is a skill that allows Kratos to enter into a secondary stance after any Leviathan Axe attack. When he does so, Press R1, R1, R1 to perform a sweeping combo that will cause his axe to circle him. This is, unquestionably, a fantastic crowd control attack to go to when you are surrounded by enemies. It also does a respectable amount of damage.

However, there is a downside to this skill, you will need to pause for a whole second after using an axe attack. So, you have to use this attack pretty thoughtfully. So, while this is a great move for your repertoire, it also takes a touch more technique and timing than most of Kratos’ other skills to be used effectively. Whirlwind Sweep is also more useful against hordes of enemies but not as much against bosses and single powerful beasts.

No disrespect to Whirlwind Throw, but we personally prefer the horizontal coverage that we are granted by Whirlwind Sweep.

Pride of the Frost I-II

Requirements: Leviathan Axe Lvl 5

Where all my combo babies at? Because who doesn’t love an axe combo, it’s extremely useful against bosses and big enemies. Pride of the Frost will give you a Heavy Attack Finisher at the end of a series of Light Attack Combos. Press R1, R1, R1, R2 to perform Pride of the Frost which will deal high damage and Frost, while launching the enemy.

Pride of the Frost II extends the basic combo by adding a powerful area of effect attack. It deals a lot of damage and is very useful for pretty much every situation. Extend Pride of the Frost with additional slams by Pressing R2 R2.