When Santa Monica Studio unleashed God of War on PC, players were blown away by ultrawide support, uncapped frame rates, and crisp native 4K textures. But beyond technical wizardry, the game harbors some of the most intricate environmental puzzles, obscure pop-culture tributes, and legacy franchise callbacks in modern action-RPG history. From an actual physical cloth map cipher that unlocks a legendary Axe pommel to a fully functional Avengers Infinity Gauntlet talisman, Midgard hides layers of depth that millions of players sailed right past on their first playthrough. If you only stuck to the main story waypoints, you missed out on top-tier combat loot and brilliant developer jokes hidden across the Nine Realms.
The Cloth Map Mystery: Unlocking the Forbidden Grip of the Ages
The absolute king of hidden secrets in God of War required real-world detective work before anyone found it in-game. When Sony released the physical Collector’s Edition of the game, it shipped with a cloth map depicting Midgard covered in Elder Futhark runes. Dedicated fans translated the ancient lettering, discovering a poetic riddle left by the mythical blacksmiths Brok and Sindri describing an unseen treasure hidden atop the Muspelheim Realm Tower.
You can claim this reward on PC at any point once the Lake of Nine’s water level drops for the first time. Head to the southern shore of the lake, dock your boat at the base of the Muspelheim Realm Tower, and ride the lift to the top. Position Kratos directly inside the gold-inlaid circle on the floor between the two giant braziers. From here, stand completely still and move only your camera reticle to look at specific landmarks in a precise order:
- Step 1: Look straight ahead at the center of Tyr’s Temple.
- Step 2: Look to the left brazier.
- Step 3: Look back to the center of Tyr’s Temple.
- Step 4: Look to the right brazier.
- Step 5: Look to the left brazier.
- Step 6: Look back to the center of Tyr’s Temple.
- Step 7: Look straight down at the floor between your feet.
- Step 8: Look to the right brazier.
- Step 9: Look to the left brazier.
- Step 10: Look back to the center of Tyr’s Temple.
If you hit the sequence correctly, an ominous gong rings out after step four, followed by a final chime that rips open a hidden Realm Tear right before your eyes. Reach in, and Kratos pulls out the Forbidden Grip of the Ages. This legendary Leviathan Axe pommel adds a flat +10 boost to Strength, Defense, Runic, and Vitality at base level (scaling to +12 each at max tier). Better yet, it adds a shockwave blast to the final hit of your standard light attack combo, making it one of the absolute best pommels in early and mid-game play.
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View on Steammoz Store →Crafting the Infinity Gauntlet: The Shattered Gauntlet of Ages Build
Long before Marvel and PlayStation officially crossed paths in other projects, the development team at Santa Monica Studio tucked a brilliant homage to Thanos into the dwarven side quests. While exploring the Northri Stronghold during the quest Family Business, you receive an Epic Talisman called the Shattered Gauntlet of Ages. At first glance, its description sounds poetic: "An ancient relic of Hel deemed too powerful to remain whole... fragments of its former strength lie scattered throughout the realms."
On its own, the talisman merely emits a close-range concussive blast. However, upgrading the Gauntlet to Level 3 using Dragon Tears (harvested by freeing the dragons Fafnir, Otr, and Reginn, plus looting the corpse of Baldur's dragon) unlocks three enchantment sockets. There are six specific enchantments scattered across the game, each mimicking one of the six Infinity Stones. Slotting any three of these six gems simultaneously fundamentally alters the talisman's mechanic, turning its basic blast into a long-range purple tracking beam that shreds enemy health bars.
| Enchantment Name | Marvel Stone Equivalent | Acquisition Method | Unique Combat Stat Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andvari’s Soul | Soul Stone | Complete Brok's quest "Deus Ex Malachite" | High Perk activation to grant Health Burst on Runic kills |
| Eye of the Outer Realm | Space Stone | Coffin inside the Secret Chamber in Odin’s Hidden Chamber | +7 to all main attributes (Strength, Defense, Runic, Vitality, Luck) |
| Ivaldi’s Corrupted Mind | Mind Stone | Defeat the Valkyrie Olrun in Alfheim | Weakens all enemies within 15 meters, debuffing defense |
| Asgard’s Shard of Existence | Reality Stone | Defeat the Valkyrie Rota in Helheim | Holding L1 charges Fortification, releasing a knockback shockwave |
| Muspelheim Eye of Power | Power Stone | Purchased from Brok/Sindri’s Muspelheim Shop | Increases Burn resistance and boosts Runic attack output |
| Njord’s Temporal Stone | Time Stone | Defeat the Valkyrie Sigrun (Council of Valkyries) | Chance on taking damage to slow down surrounding enemies |
Building out this loadout requires extensive late-game hunts, but pairing the firing sequence with a high-cooldown build lets you stagger bosses instantly. Just like planning the best beginner build or fine-tuning endgame synergies in other sprawling open worlds, matching these specific relics yields absurd damage spikes on Give Me God of War difficulty.
The Boat Captain’s Curse: God of War’s Longest Running Joke
Longtime series veterans will remember the ill-fated Boat Captain from the original 2005 God of War on PlayStation 2. Kratos famously dropped him down the gullet of the Hydra King just to steal his key, met his tortured soul again in the Underworld in God of War II, and repeatedly battered him across subsequent entries. Even after migrating to the Norse pantheon, Kratos cannot shake the poor man’s ghost.
While exploring the Lake of Nine, make your way over to the Stone Falls or the Isle of Death once the waters recede. Hidden inside a ruined boat cabin is a lore scroll written by none other than the Boat Captain himself. The text details his miserable journey across the ocean to start a new life in Midgard, only for his crew to get massacred by draugr and his ship wrecked by the World Serpent.
To put the icing on the cake, you can track down the "The Boat Captain’s Feasting" treasure map. Digging up the treasure at the Isle of Death nets you crafting materials and a distinct captain's key artifact. Listening to Atreus read his notes out loud while Kratos mutters in grim, quiet guilt remains one of the funniest narrative details in the entire franchise.
Ratatoskr the Foul-Mouthed Squirrel: The Light Elf Outpost Discovery
Exploration in Midgard frequently leads to powerful Runic Summons for Atreus, like the Wolves of the Hunt or the Wrath of the Wolf. However, one summon hidden within the labyrinthine Light Elf Outpost (located on the western waters of the Lake of Nine) takes a hilariously unhinged turn: Bitter Squirrel.
Unlocked by navigating the light crystals and solving the rotating runic puzzles at the outpost's crest, this summon conjures the mythological Norse squirrel Ratatoskr. Instead of an elegant celestial beast, you get an irascible, potty-mouthed rodent voiced by none other than iconic voice actor Troy Baker. When summoned, Ratatoskr climbs out of the dirt, relentlessly insults Kratos and Atreus for disturbing him, and scratches up usable combat pickups.
Even though the summon is built for comic relief, it harbors genuine tactical utility. Depending on what arrows Atreus has equipped, Ratatoskr alters his drop table:
- Light Arrows Equipped: Ratatoskr unearths three Rage Stones, letting you rapidly refill Spartan Rage during grueling endurance encounters.
- Shock Arrows Equipped: Ratatoskr digs up three Health Stones, giving you a clutch safety net during high-tier Valkyrie battles.
Much like tracking down hidden rewards worth hunting in puzzle-heavy adventures, snagging this summon turns Atreus into an active sustain battery.
Secret Locations and Realm Tears You Walked Right Past
The Lake of Nine is designed like a massive layered onion. Every time the World Serpent shifts his colossal coils and pushes down the waterline, new subterranean networks, shipwrecks, and cliff faces emerge. Because players tend to fast-travel using Mystic Gateways later in the game, thousands completely miss entire islands that reward high-tier crafting resources.
| Secret Location | Water Level Required | Key Puzzle / Gate Requirement | Notable Loot Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buri’s Storeroom | First Drop | Timed spinning bell runes & water wheel gate | Grip of the Selected, Helheim’s Fury Runic Attack |
| Iron Cove Depths | Second Drop | Firebomb clearance & brazier totem puzzles | Mistbourne Pommel, Tyrs Lost Cuirass Recipe |
| Isle of Death Apex | Second Drop | Exploding oil jars & counterweight zipline | Eye of the Niflheim Primal Gem, Cleansing Fire Talisman |
| Cliffs of the Raven Cavern | Second Drop | Winds of Hel relay puzzle along cliff walls | Grips of the Forgotten, Svartalfheim Pure Steel |
Buri's Storeroom in particular confuses players due to its locked water gate. You must rotate the wheel near the dock, freeze the mechanism with your Leviathan Axe, and quickly paddle your canoe around the sandbar before the gate drops back into the lake. Nailing that short puzzle yields some of the rarest crafting materials in the early game, cutting hours off your weapon upgrades. If you enjoy hunting down every corner of a map, exploring these tucked-away coves is just as rewarding as uncovering secret locations and hidden rewards in space simulators.
Before moving on, ensure your PC runs Midgard's demanding volumetric fog without stuttering. If you notice frame drops near the World Serpent or the misty shores of Niflheim, applying targeted fixes that stop crashes and rescue your FPS will keep your parry timing razor-sharp.
The Secret Homecoming Ending and Faye’s Hidden Canvas
Once you scatter Faye’s ashes from the highest peak in Jotunheim and roll the credits, the game deposits you back into Midgard to wrap up loose ends. Many players treat this as the finish line and immediately start grinding Niflheim mists or Muspelheim combat trials to level fast and farm resources for maxed-out gear. Doing so causes you to miss the real narrative climax.
If you take the Mystic Gateway back to the Wildwoods and walk into Kratos’ home cabin, an interactive prompt appears beside the wooden bed furs allowing Kratos and Atreus to rest. Doing so triggers a shocking cinematic cutscene set years in the future: a thunderstorm of cataclysmic proportions shakes Midgard, lightning rips the roof apart, and Kratos confronts a mysterious hooded god standing outside their home with a crackling, two-sided war hammer strapped to his belt—Thor.
Furthermore, if you comb through the environment after finishing the story, you'll spot an incredible artistic detail Santa Monica Studio left hiding in plain sight. Throughout your entire 30-hour playthrough, every single golden handprint on rocks, climbing ledges, and wooden barricades was painted by Faye before her death. Check out the official story notes over at the PlayStation God of War page and you'll realize she foresaw the exact path Kratos and Atreus would take, mapping out their entire journey step-by-step.
Every corner of God of War on PC has purpose. Whether you are hunting down secret Marvel weapons, listening to cursed boat captains, or decoding physical runes on a collector's map, Midgard proves that taking your time to search off the beaten path pays off every single time.