The God of War series only really started diving into more deep RPG systems with the 2018 reboot. Prior to that, Kratos only really upgraded his weapons to get stronger, and there wasn’t much thought needed from the player besides which weapon they wanted to upgrade. With God of War Ragnarok, once again Kratos will be upgrading his weapons, as well as various armor pieces and gear that all influence his stats.
Considering the spectacle and mass appeal of God of War Ragnarok, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that some people playing may not be as familiar with RPG stats as others. Even if you’re a RPG veteran, God of War Ragnarok includes some unique stats that you won’t instantly recognize. Knowing what each of these stats means will help you build out your Kratos to suit your playstyle best. Here is what all the stats in God of War Ragnarok are and what they do.
Further reading
- What’s next for PS5 after God of War Ragnarok? These are the games to watch
- God of War plot explainer: The story so far
- The best upcoming PS5 games: 2022, 2023, and beyond
All stats in God of War Ragnarok explained
There are six stats in God of War Ragnarok that Kratos has. These can be impacted by your armor and equipment, as well as their upgrades. You can see how each piece of gear will alter your stats when highlighting them. Green upward arrows mean that piece of gear will improve that particular stat, while red down arrows will reduce that stat.
Strength
Strength will be the easiest stat to understand in God of War Ragnarok, regardless of whether or not you’ve played many RPGs before. The higher your Strength stat, the more damage Kratos will do with each attack. If you’re focused just on hitting things hard, prioritize Strength.
Defense
Another fairly self-explanatory stat is Defense. Having a higher Defense will reduce the amount of damage incoming attacks do. If you’re finding yourself having trouble with dodge and parry timing, having a high Defense can keep you in the fight longer.
Runic
This is where the stats become less clear from their names. Runic can sort of be thought of as your magic stat in God of War Ragnarok. Improving your Runic stat will impact how effective your Runic abilities are, plus their elemental effects. For example, if you’re using a Frost-related Runic ability, a high enough Runic stat will allow it to inflict the Frost status on that enemy sooner than if the stat was lower.
Vitality
Vitality, aka health, is another simple one on the surface, but it does have a small secondary function as well. It will obviously extend your health bar as the stat improves, but it will also increase your Stagger resistance, allowing you to continue without getting interrupted as often. Unless you’re very experienced with God of War Ragnarok, or are looking for a major challenge, this is an easy stat to recommend to anyone.
Luck
Luck is easily the most obscure name for a stat. In this case, Luck simply means how often enemies will drop rewards upon defeat. This usually results in extra Hacksilver and crafting components, which help you further upgrade or purchase new gear.
Cooldown
Cooldown is a stat you will want to buff alongside Runic to make the most out of it. Cooldown is a common term in MMOs, but means the same thing in God of War Ragnarok. Each ability, like your Runic abilities, comes with a cooldown time. These are usually fairly long, around 90 seconds or more, meaning you can’t use the same ability again until that amount of time has passed. By increasing your Cooldown stat, that time it takes for your ability to “recharge” will be reduced.
