Much like in the previous God of War game, Nornir Chests play an important role in God of War Ragnarok, with players needing to find and open these special puzzle chests in order to increase their maximum health and rage. There are 35 of them in total, though players will only need to find 30 in order to max out both meters and unlock the "Full Belly" trophy, providing them with a little bit of leeway.
Svartalfheim is home to ten Nornir Chests, though players won't be able to open all of them on their first visit to the realm. One chest that they will be able to open is the one in the Jarnsmida Pitmines, which players will need to venture into during the second chapter of God of War Ragnarok. The chest itself is hard to miss, but unlocking the Jarnsmida Pitmines Nornir Chest can be a little trickier.
How to Unlock the Jarnsmida Pitmines Nornir Chest
Players will find the Jarnsmida Pitmines Nornir Chest slap bang in the middle of the main questline shortly after stopping the water flow in a trough and then using the Blades of Chaos to swing across a gap. To open the chest, players will need to light three torches with the Blades of Chaos, which can be done by targeting each torch while holding L2 and then pressing the R2 button while the blades are equipped.
The first torch that players need to ignite has a rune that looks like an R on it and is just to the left of the Nornir Chest, making it somewhat impossible to miss. After lighting it, players should continue around to the left where they'll find another torch with a C-shaped rune on it beneath a stationary waterwheel. They can ignite it if they like, but doing so is somewhat pointless as they'll only end up having to do it again a little later on anyway.
Instead, assuming they haven't already done so, players should press the Triangle button to recall the Leviathan Axe, which will cause the waterwheel to begin spinning again and the platform to the left to lift up. Players can then swing across to reach another torch with a rune that looks a bit like a lowercase n on it. After igniting the torch, they should follow the path around to find some Lore written on a nearby wall and then swing back across to where they found the second torch.
With the waterwheel once again spinning, the second torch is being doused with water, meaning that it cannot be ignited right now. Thankfully, players can throw the Leviathan Axe at the end of the trough just above the wheel to freeze the water again and prevent it from falling onto the torch. Doing so will enable them to light the torch, after which they'll be able to open the Nornir Chest.
Inside the chest, players will find either an Idunn Apple (odd-numbered chests) or a Horn of Blood Mead (even-numbered chests), depending on the order in which they've been opening the chests and assuming that they haven't already found 30 or more. Idunn Apples are used to increase the size of the player's health bar in God of War Ragnarok, while the horns will make their Spartan Rage meter grow a little longer.
God of War Ragnarok is available now for PS4 and PS5.