God of War: How to Level Up

How to Level Up in God of War

The latest entry in the God of War series takes Kratos and fans away from Sparta and into the frozen realm of Midgard, steeped in Norse mythology. God of War also features RPG elements that allow you to level up Kratos – though it may not be as straightforward as you think it is.

For starters, you do earn XP by killing enemies and completing other activities in this game. However, XP is not directly used to upgrade Kratos’ stats. You can use it to unlock new skills and moves from God of War’s skills tree, but your overall character level is not tied to how much XP you have.

Instead, it is determined by how powerful his weapons and armor are. Each time you upgrade your axe with a Frozen Flame, your axe’s strength goes up, which in turn increases Kratos’ own progress towards the next character level. Similarly, your armor pieces, talismans, enchantments, and axe pommels all have a number tied to them. The higher leveled these individual pieces are, the stronger your character becomes.

So, in short, always make sure your gear is up to date. If you really like a particular piece of level 4 armor because it has better stat increases than a level 5 one, don’t forget that you can try to upgrade your existing armor to boost its stats, and also increase your level progression a little. Better gear can be crafted with either Brok or Sindri, and it’s generally recommended to craft gear instead of buying them straight. Bought gear seem to get outdated rather quickly in our experience, forcing you to switch armor sets more frequently.

Needless to say, you should definitely keep your gear up to snuff at all times. As God of War progresses, you’ll face off against much tougher enemies who can easily kill you in two or three hits if they’re a much higher level than you.

Be sure to check out our God of War wiki for more tips, tricks, and guides.