The God of War dragon fight is the second major boss fight in the game, excluding all the trolls and other assorted larger enemies you come into contact with. While Hraezlyr puts up a formidable fight, if you understand his attack patterns, he can be relatively simple to slay despite his intimidating stature.
You’ll encounter the dragon Hraezlyr after completing the Heart of the Mountain quest, with you first coming into contact with him as you stand on the mine cart while it ascends towards the top of the mountain. Your encounter with him on the mine cart is brief, with you mostly tasked with dodging out of his way, though it escalates dramatically when you make it outside. Let’s break down how you can defeat this giant beast.
God of War Dragon Fight Guide: How to Defeat Hraezlyr
Kratus will go one-on-one with Hraezlyr, meaning that you won’t have the benefit of Atreus and his arrows during this particular fight. Considering the size of this dragon, it’s not all too surprising that Atreus’ bow wouldn’t do much damage to him.
Defeating Hraezlyr is all about timing, with the fight revolving around you throwing sap orbs at the dragon while he’s charging up his lightning attack. In order to get Hraezlyr to start shooting out lightning, you must attack his claws. Luckily, he places these on the battlefield regularly, with you having to run up to them and begin hacking away to do a moderate amount of damage.
After attacking his claws for a little while, Hraezlyr will recoil and charge up a lightning attack. During this move, you’ll want to grab a sap orb from one of the two dispensers located on either side of the battlefield. When Hraezlyr opens his mouth before he fires out his attack, throw the sap orb in the direction of his mouth, using the same method that you’d use to throw your Leviathan axe. If you’re on target, the orb will explode in a pink burst of energy, causing a decent amount of damage. If you do this enough times, Hraezlyr will collapse to the ground, with some of the armor surrounding his face falling off to reveal a weak spot. Run up and attack this weak spot to deal out damage.
God of War Dragon Fight Guide: How to Avoid Lightning Attacks
Hraezlyr has a few attacks he launched at you that each deal out a fair amount of damage. His most basic is the claw stomp, which sends out a shockwave across the ground that staggers Kratos. To avoid this, hold down L1 to stand strong with your shield. His lightning attacks can also be fatal, and you must avoid them by rolling out of the way by holding the left stick in a different direction and pressing X. However, you must also throw a sap orb at Hraezlyr during the charge-up to this attack, so make sure you have your shot lined up and aren’t standing in harm’s way.
Hraezlyr will also attempt to hit you with a claw swipe every now and again, a move that is difficult to avoid. Keep an eye on when he has raised his claw, and then dodge roll out of the way in order to avoid his attacks.
After you throw the sap orbs at him and dish out enough damage to his weak points, you’ll be tasked with clicking R3 when Hraezlyr reaches the final quarter of his health bar. You’ll then be treated to a cutscene where the dragon is slain once and for all, with more than a little help from Atreus.
