It didn't take long after its launch for God of War Ragnarok to be called one of the best games of 2022. As with any good thing, though, God of War Ragnarok, unfortunately, has an end.

Being such a story-focused game, Ragnarok does have a definitive end, where plot points come to a close, and you're left with no immediate danger or problems to solve. That doesn't mean you have to put down the game, though. Ragnarok has a world filled with collectibles, side quests, and beautifully written dialogue in between. Here are the best things you can do after beating the main story.

Updated on January 2024 by Doruk Kaptan: God of War Ragnarok has landed in many people's minds as a through and through modern classic over a year after its release, and for good reasons. However, Santa Monica didn't become complacent and gave players a sizable free expansion in God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla.

This expansion adds a whole new game mode, more secrets to explore, and even some story beats to further conclude Kratos' journey. This may or may not be the last adventure starring Kratos, but Ragnarok just got a whole lot bigger, and the game's lifespan has immediately lengthened.

Spoilers for God Of War Ragnarok

13 Go Back Home For A Touching Scene

Both the 2018 game and God of War Ragnarok focus almost entirely on the relationship between Kratos and his boy Atreus. The two have different perceptions of the world, different ideals, and methods, but ultimately love each other to no end. After the somber end of the main story, you can go back to your house in Midgard for a brief but emotional scene.

The original game had a similar easter egg, albeit way more obvious and ominous, with Thor showing at your doorstep. However, after Ragnarok's main story, you are given a bit of peace and self-reflection when Kratos finds the journal of Atreus with mementos from his own journey.

12 Find Mjolnir And Thrud

Thor is a prevalent character in God of War Ragnarok. He's portrayed beautifully in the game, acting as a deliciously antagonistic Norse God. The few times you get to interact or even cooperate with him are incredibly fun, which makes the end of his story that much sadder.

Thor also has a daughter, Thrud, who you get to know and spend time with as Atreus. She's a very intriguing character herself, being a foil to her aggressive Father. Once you've finished the main story, you can find Mjolnir in the Alfheim Desert. There is a cool scene here about the legacy of Thor and the fate of Thrud.

11 Attend Brok's Funeral

One of the most surprising and emotional scenes in the game is when Brok is killed out of nowhere. The iconic dwarf was a great part of both the original game and the sequel. This blunt, passionate dwarf met his demise too soon, without a doubt.

Luckily, his send-off feels impactful, as you can go to Svartalfheim to attend Brok's funeral. He's honored with a true Viking's farewell, and you also get to witness the pain Sindri feels. This scene feels like the actual end of the game and will absolutely pull on your heartstrings.

10 Explore New Realms

Once you finish the main story, you can go back to your base to speak with Ratatoskr. The whimsical and hilarious squirrel will gift you with Yggdrasil Seeds, allowing you passage to previously locked-out realms and locations. These are Jotunheim, Sanctuary Grove (Midgard), and Mist Field (Niflheim).

Entry to new locations is always a great post-game reward, as it immediately gives you the incentive to explore the world more and encounter side events. This goes double for God of War Ragnarok, as the characters, favors, and collectibles are extremely immersive, and the realms are all beautiful in their own way.

9 Defeat All Berserkers

Many of us are still recovering from the immensely hard boss fights against the Valkyries in the original game. So much so that the fight against Sigrun, the Valkyrie Queen, was remembered more than the main story fight against Baldur.

This time around, Berserkers are extremely tough bosses that replace the Valkyries. There are ten in total, and they each provide a great challenge. Especially in harder difficulties, the Berserkers are some of the toughest combat encounters you'll find in the game, but they are also extremely rewarding when you finally defeat them.

8 Complete Surtr's Trials

One of the things that God of War Ragnarok keeps from the original game is the Surtr Trials in Musphelheim. This time around, though, the challenges are a lot more varied and do not focus purely on slaying enemies.

The different kinds of trials include timed battles, feeding rifts with orbs dropped by slain enemies, pushing enemies into fire pits, keeping the enemy count low, and many more. This is a great way to challenge yourself in specific areas of combat, potentially learning a few new tricks along the way. The prizes are also well worth the effort.

7 Kill All Of Odin's Ravens

Many open-world games and RPGs have some sort of collectible that's easy to find but are numerous. In God of War Ragnarok, this takes the form of Odin's Ravens. A total of 48 of these creatures are spread all over the nine realms.

You can already get a decent amount throughout your story playthrough, but you will need to search for them after a while. Once you destroy all of them, you can go to the Raven Tree in Niflheim to fight a secret boss, The Raven Keeper. Be ready for a surprise second boss as well.

The Draupnir Spear is the best weapon to kill the ravens, especially flying ones.

6 Collect And Upgrade All Equipment

This should come naturally for the many completionists out there, but crafting and upgrading all the available equipment to the maximum can make for a very enjoyable post-game goal. This should already be partly done by the time you finish the story as a natural part of the game's progression, especially for shields and armor.

Note that upgrading everything takes an unbelievable amount of crafting materials and hacksilver, which could take a long time to gather. Therefore, it's best to upgrade the equipment you use the most first and try to save the others for the endgame.

5 Collect All Artifacts

Another thing to be on the lookout for and try to collect as much as you can are the artifacts. In many games, these sorts of collectibles are boring pieces of completion fodder. While God of War doesn't do much to make them worth collecting, they at least provide a bit of lore and information about the world.

The good news for those seeking a 100 percent completion is that there are only 38 of these artifacts. They can also be sold to Sindri for a decent amount of cash. While potentially the most mundane of the game's collectibles, they're not that hard to find and provide a material benefit.

4 Try Beating The Game In A Harder Difficulty

God of War Ragnarok is a relatively challenging game in and of itself. In certain boss fights, perfect parries and dodge rolls can be essential for success. However, pumping up the difficulty can give you an entirely different experience.

When any hit can kill you, and your attacks result in mere scratches, then you'll feel the absolute adrenaline that comes with it. Especially in the highest difficulty, surviving any encounter, whether it be a boss or not, is infinitely rewarding.

3 Confront Kratos' Past

Despite focusing on a new gameplay loop, the Valhalla expansion actually adds quite a bit to the story. You are reminded of a lot of small things from Kratos' Greek Saga, and watch him make peace with his past like never before.

On top of a very somber potential end to Kratos' story and conflict with himself, Valhalla also provides gamers with fan service galore. You get to watch Kratos contemplate becoming a ruling god again, see a glimpse of Helios' head, and even use the Blade of Olympus again! Even the story completion reward is nostalgic, allowing you to adopt the old-school look of Kratos with the goatee and all. Valhalla is truly a love letter to the franchise's legacy.

Kratos decapitated Helios in God of War 3 in one of the series' most iconic and brutal scenes.

2 Keep Exploring Valhalla Mode

There's more than just plot and fan service here. With the free Valhalla expansion, you can experience a game mode more akin to a roguelike, where you go into short-term runs and progress as much as you can. When you die, your progress is partially reset. There are also overall achievements and a meta-progression.

This mode encourages you to test out different builds that focus on different combat methods. An arcade-y game mode like this may feel out of place in this franchise that is renowned for its great story and characters, but it's a very fun way to replay the game over and over. The combat is enjoyable enough to carry this type of gameplay, too, so it doesn't get tedious.

The genre roguelike is named after the 1985 classic game Rogue, birthing the whole gameplay loop.

1 Learn About Sigrun And Mimir

While there are tidbits and lore scattered throughout the expansion, one stands out as more substantial and interesting. The detached head and everyone's feared boss, Sigrun the Valkyrie, were revealed to be in a relationship once. Now, in Valhalla, you can learn more about the two and get the true ending for Sigrun.

As you complete the story of the expansion, you'll get more and more dialogue from Mimir talking about his past with Sigrun. Eventually, Sigrun decides to leave her role as a Valkyrie and travel the world. This is a very fitting conclusion to an iconic character. After all, the whole God of War Norse saga has been about redemption and moving on from your traumas.