God of War Ragnarök Will Feature a "Whole New Suit of Moves" and Two New Shields

Santa Monica recently unveiled several big details about the upcoming God of War Ragnarök and its combat system including the fact that Kratos will have a variety of new powerful moves and will be able to choose between two new different shields.

Speaking to Game Informer, the game's lead combat designers Mihir Sheth and Denny Yeh shared that the combat in the series was heavily inspired by the studio motto: Playing with your food. And in God of War Ragnarök, this principle is pushed even further.

Sheth explained that Kratos "plays with his food" meaning that he toys with his enemies using a variety of moves and weaponry, so the fights in the game look much more creative.

"We tried to create systems you want to engage with that are fun, very playful, lots of different routes," Sheth said. "And when we looked at the combat in the last game, we were like, 'We can push this further; we can find new toys and ways of playing with enemies and strategies.' That’s been the guiding principle more than anything else."

The developers revealed that the new installment in the God of War series will feature "a whole new suite of moves" introducing a new system called Weapon Signature Moves. This system will allow Kratos to use new ice and fire elemental powers that he'll be able to switch between when players push the Triangle button. Depending on what weapon Kratos uses – Leviathan Axe or Blades of Chaos – he can execute one of two signature moves that do extra damage to enemies – Frost Awaken which freezes enemies or Whiplash which inflicts fire damage.

Sheth and Yeh also revealed that there will be two new additions joining Kratos' standard arm shield. Each of them will have its own strength and playstyle. The Dauntless Shield would be perfect for fast-paced combat letting players deal massive damage with last-minute parries. Meanwhile, with the Stonewall Shield, Kratos won't be able to parry – instead, the shield will allow players to fire back absorbed damage knocking enemies off balance.

God of War Ragnarök is scheduled to be released worldwide on November 9, 2022, and will be available for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

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