How to beat Gryla, Jotunheim's grumpiest granny, in God of War Ragnarok

Ragnarok is here. Kratos and Atreus are back to take on the scumbags of Asgard in an epic adventure that mostly lives up to the towering success of God of War (2018). Along the way, both father and son have to face off with numerous enemies across the Nine Realms. One memorable foe that stands in their path is Gryla, a giantess who’s taken a bit of a sicko interest in local wildlife. Here is everything you need to know to master the Gryla boss fight and keep your adventures going.

Warning: mild early-game spoilers ahead for God of War Ragnarok.

After spending sneaking around Gryla’s house with Angrboda, the inevitable occurs and you must face the giantess head-on. Unlike God of War (2018), Kratos is not the only character you play as, and for the Gryla boss fight, you are in control of Atreus. Leading up to this boss fight you will have become more familiar with his tool kit and attacks, which focus on his bow. This will become necessary to use.

At the beginning of the fight, Gryla will be carrying a large cauldron. She will toss it between her hands and at times the cauldron will glow purple. This is your opportunity to fire arrows at the cauldron and start whittling down Gryla’s large health bar.

At this stage of the fight, Gryla will attack by throwing projectiles at you as well as rushing toward you and stomping. Both of these types of attacks can be dodged, so dive out of the way of any incoming danger.

Repeatedly dodge attacks, firing arrows at the cauldron when it glows purple and eventually Gryla will drop the cauldron and fall on the floor. Immediately start hitting her with melee attacks to cause large amounts of damage.

Soon the floor will begin glowing purple, similar to the purple glow of the cauldron in the first phase of the fight. This is your signal to get off the floor and climb to higher ground. Angrboda will draw Atreus’s attention to a candle, you can slingshot across the ceiling towards it.

Don’t light the candle immediately though, as you need to make sure Gryla is in close proximity. There is another candle on the opposite side of the room if you need to move around. Once she’s nearby, hit square to prompt Angrboda to light the candle to stun her and leave her vulnerable.

When Gryla is successfully stunned, unload as many arrows as you can into the cauldron. Eventually, Gryla will get up again and take the cauldron with her. At this point, you can repeat the stun-and-shoot process. You will need to do it about three times.

On the third cycle, when Gryla stumble drops the cauldron, you need to run up to the cauldron and press the R3 button and then begin button-mashing circle as fast as you can to finally destroy the evil relic. (If button-mashing isn’t for you, look in the accessibility settings to change the button prompt to hold or auto-complete.)

You are all done! You beat Gryla and destroyed the cauldron. Take a breather and then get going for the next part of your adventure.

God of War Ragnarok is out November 9 for PS4 and PS5.