The God of War Niflheim Cipher Pieces locations are scattered throughout the game, with them eventually letting you get to Niflheim. When you collect four Niflheim Ciphers, you will get the Travel Rune and also gain the ability to read new runes. Once you have the travel rune, you can take it to the chamber in Tyr’s Temple to unlock Niflheim and go to the new realm in God of War.
Finding all of the Niflheim Ciphers locations isn’t as easy as running to some dot on your map. These cipher fragments are scattered throughout Midgard, and you’ll have to look carefully to find them.
Where to Find All Niflheim Cipher Piece Locations in Midgard to Unlock Niflheim in God of War
There are seven chests in God of War that you can find Niflheim Cipher Pieces in, but you only need four to assemble the cipher and unlock the Niflheim Travel Rune. However, the other chests are worth seeking out, even after you put together the cipher since they hold a random enchantment.
1. Ruins of the Ancient
You’ll find the Ruins of the Ancient in the northwest most part of the lake. There is a Soul Devourer Ancient here that is probably the strongest variation of the Ancient minibosses. It’s really not that hard to beat though, and you’ve likely taken down a fair share of Ancients already.
After you take down the Ancient, look for a pillar near the cliff. There’s a chest next to it with a Niflheim Cipher Piece inside.
2. Next to Alfheim Tower
In the northeast part of the Lake of Nine in God of War, you’ll find Alfheim Tower. Next to the tower is a beach you can dock at. Climb up onto the ledge and then climb up another ledge on the left. Look down, and you’ll see two red crystals you can shatter with Shock Arrows. Hit them, and they’ll blow up the nearby rock and open a passageway.
Go through the passageway, and after a short bit, you’ll see a chest. Open the chest to obtain another cipher piece.
3. The Mountain Summit
It’s hard to miss this one since you have to go right by it during the main story. Upon returning to the Summit after getting Thamur’s Chisel, you’ll pass through the ruins from earlier and eventually reach a new shop run by Sindri as you reach the summit.
In the area containing Sindri’s shop on the summit, you’ll find a chest containing a cipher fragment.
4. Lookout Tower
Lookout Tower is located in the southern part of the Lake of Nine. There is a beach there you can dock at. As soon as you land there, you’ll have to fight some Nightmares, and then you’ll need to solve a puzzle.
On the Lookout Tower beach, you’ll find some paddles that you can hit to extend and retract the nearby spikes. If you hit the paddle four times, you’ll disable the spikes that lead to the path with the chest containing the cipher fragment.
5 and 6. The Hall of Tyr (Missable)
As part of the story in God of War, you’ll need to enter The Hall of Tyr and flip the temple realm travel room to reveal the Jotunheim Tower. There are two chains which hold the realm room in place. There is a chain to the right and a chain to the left, and you’ll come to a fork splitting into two paths, one each leading to a chain.
In both rooms in The Hall of Tyr that contain a chain, you’ll find a chest containing a Niflheim Cipher Piece. This means that just in this hall you can get two of the four pieces needed to make the Niflheim Travel Ruin. If you don’t get these during your time in the hall, you won’t be able to return later to collect them.
7. Inside the World Serpent (Missable)
During the main story, you must enter the World Serpent to get Mimir’s missing eye. After padding through its gullet for a while, you’ll come to some wreckage. There are two chests amongst the wreckage. One of them contains Mimir’s eye, and the other contains a cipher piece. You only get a chance to enter the World Serpent’s stomach once, so if you don’t get the cipher the first time through it’s gone for good.
Use the Niflheim Travel Rune to Unlock Niflheim in God of War
Once you collect any four of the seven cipher pieces above in God of War you’ll learn the Niflheim language. You’ll also acquire the Niflheim Travel Rune, which can be used to unlock the new realm. To unlock Niflheim, just head to the realm travel room at Tyr’s Temple and activate the mechanism. Kratos will automatically open travel to Niflheim, and you can go there at your leisure.
