While God of War Ragnarok's main story is bursting with engaging quests, much of the game's best content is optional and can only be experienced by exploring the Nine Realms. While some Favors are accessed by progressing the story, some require additional feats to be performed. The Trail of the Dead Favor is no exception.
To begin the Trail of the Dead Favor in God of War Ragnarok, the player must first complete the Scent of Survival Favor obtained from Helka. Doing so will grant Kratos and Atreus access to The Crater via Freyr's Boat, but their voyage gets interrupted when they are attacked by a dragon known as The Crimson Dread. After plummeting to the ground, Kratos and Atreus will need to complete the Return of the River Favor to initiate the Trail of the Dead.
Find The Trail Of The Dead
Beginning the Return of the River Favor requires Kratos to venture south from The Plains until he reaches The Jungle. Following the path forward will eventually lead the god of war to a dam that, when opened from the opposite side, will unleash a river into The Crater. With life restored to this area, it can be freely explored.
To gain access to The Crater's lower level, Kratos must descend using the lift to the north. Upon exiting the lift, a dragon named The Corpse Eater will swoop by, marking the beginning of the Trail of the Dead Favor.
Reach The Dragon's Feeding Ground
Though wildlife has begun returning to The Crater, The Corpse Eater poses a serious threat to all those who inhabit The Jungle. To rectify this, Kratos and Atreus must journey to its domain via the nearby boat.
Following the river down the stream and diverging left will lead to the next area. To his right, Kratos will encounter a platform on which two Ogres reside. To reach them, the boat must be sailed around the platform to the south until Kratos and Atreus can dock at the pier.
The two Ogres can only be harmed if the two nearby Nokkens are killed. They can be hard to reach because of how fast they are, so the player should make use of Atreus' arrows to hit them from afar. Once the battle is over, the Blades of Chaos can be used on the western wall to create a way forward. Before Kratos leaves; however, he can find one of Odin's Ravens perched above the Red Coffin to the south.
Moving on, Kratos will find another Red Coffin covered in brambles. To destroy it, he must climb the western ledge and follow the path until he reaches a dead end, where he can use the Blades of Chaos to destroy the plant protecting it.
Following the quest marker forward and scaling the cliff face at the end of the area will lead Kratos to another boat. After following the quest marker to the next shore, Kratos will encounter two Wulvers and a Nokken. Defeating the Nokken will make the battle against the Wulvers much easier, so this should be the player's priority.
Here, he will also be faced with a Nornir Chest. Three paddles must be turned for it to be unlocked. The first can be found directly to the right of the chest, the second is located just left of the wall to the east, and the third can be seen atop the ruin overlooking the river, but it can only be accessed by scaling the eastern wall.
Kratos will pass a Legendary Chest containing the Whisper of the World Light Runic Attack by following the path forward. To reach it, the player must connect three of Atreus' Hex Bubbles until Kratos can ignite the one nearest to him.
Not only will burning these brambles give Kratos access to the chest, but it will also pave his way to the dragon. Before moving on; however, the player should save the game in preparation for the upcoming boss battle.
Slay The Dragon
The Corpse Eater can be quite challenging, mainly because of how quick it is, but it has some handy openings. Kratos should ready his Draupnir Spear whenever it ascends into the sky, as a single hit will cause it to crash into the ground.
Dodging the beast's red attacks is simple enough, but the player should take extra care to avoid the icy projectiles it spews out during its combos. A lot of its attacks can come without warning, so Kratos should maintain a safe distance and only attack when the creature has stopped moving.
If close-quarter combat is proving to be too difficult, the player should utilize Kratos' projectile attacks to chip away at the dragon's health until it lunges into the sky for its second air attack. The Corpse Eater won't always fly directly at Kratos, so the player must be ready to dodge its ground-pound attack.
Most of The Corpse Eater's red attacks take a moment to land. While this gives Kratos plenty of time to dodge away, dodging too early will leave him open to attack. That said, whenever The Corpse Eater begins lunging its head at Kratos, the player should be ready to dodge its lightning-quick third attack.
Dodging to the side whenever The Corpse Eater sprays an icy beam from its mouth will allow Kratos to deal some easy damage. It can be hard to position him at first, but it shouldn't be too challenging so long as he doesn't get hit.
After depleting enough of The Corpse Eater's health, Kratos will be forced into a Quick Time Event. MashingR1 and R2 will permit him to deal some extra damage.
Once the dragon's health bar has been fully depleted, a prompt will appear, marking the end of the Trail of the Dead Favor.
