PLEASE NOTE: This Article Contains SPOILERS for God of War Ragnarok.God of War Ragnarok is a massive epic that takes players across all of the nine Norse realms. In this sequel to 2018's God of War, Kratos and Atreus must deal with the fallout of their actions while finding their place in the world. The game fills all its levels with more stories to tell, collectibles to gather, and enemies to fight.
God of War Ragnarok's enemy variety is quite possibly the most diverse the franchise has ever seen. While some foes bleed into more than a single realm, each location for the most part has enemies that are unique to it. The same goes for bosses - most of which require players to employ certain tactics to defeat them. Most of God of War Ragnarok's enemies only need players to attack them until their health drops to zero, but Phantoms demand good map knowledge in addition to a firm grasp of the game's combat skills to conquer them.
God of War Ragnarok: Finding Fate
Players experience their first encounter with a Phantom somewhere around the game's midway point. With Atreus having run off to Asgard, Kratos decides to search for the Norns - the Norse Fates who oversee the destinies of gods and men. Eager to learn of a way to reach his son, Kratos asks for guidance from his recently reacquired ally Freya on how to reach these elusive deities. Their search takes them to Midgard, where they find a series of hidden passages filled with enemies that block their path to the Norns' ever-shifting abode. One of the enemies Kratos and Freya encounter is the Frost Phantom - a strong creature that serves as a boss at the tail end of their mission.
A Phantom is a creature that is created by the presence of multiple Runic Springs in a certain area. Their physiology is mostly corporeal; rendering the monsters almost completely invincible save for the Runic Core that serves as their "eye." Unlike Wisps which are also created by Runic Springs, Phantoms are giant creatures that can easily kill players with their wide array of physical and magical attacks.
Defeating A Phantom Requires Strength and Cunning
Upon first encountering a Phantom most players might think that its weak spot is its Runic Core. This is only partially correct. While the Runic Core is the only place on a Phantom's body where it can be attacked, doing so only causes the Phantom's stun build-up gauge to fill up. To truly put an end to the monster, players must first successfully stun it before attacking the many Runic Springs dotted around the arena. These giant glowing totems can be found in the open or hidden in conspicuous places - forcing the players to draw upon their problem-solving skills rather than their knowledge of God of War Ragnarok's combat system. Successfully destroying Runic Springs deals a significant amount of damage to a Phantom, whereupon it retaliates by collecting itself and starting the combat phase once again.
This back-and-forth between combat and puzzle-solving is what makes fighting Phantoms so unique and cathartic. Players open up the encounter by dodging or blocking a Phantom's attacks while attacking its Runic Core. Once the stun gauge is full, they must then search and destroy the Runic Springs in the arena. Good map knowledge plays just as important a role as combat mastery as players can easily shave off the time it takes to defeat a Phantom by properly allocating their time on the Runic Springs. If players know where all the Runic Springs are, they can maximize the Phantom's stun duration by attacking multiple Runic Springs before it resumes its combat phase.
There are a few more Phantom fights in addition to the Frost Phantom but all of them follow the same combat-puzzle-solving pattern. Since players fight these foes in different arenas, they must adapt to their surroundings and quickly find the Runic Springs to defeat the Phantoms as soon as possible. This is on top of the specific elements these Phantoms carry, all of which play their role in the fights. God of War Ragnarok's enemy variety is extremely varied, but Phantoms carry with them a sense of fulfillment that lovers of combat and exploration will enjoy.
