God Of War Ragnarok: The Best Build For Atreus (2024)

Since God of War (2018), Atreus has grown up by quite a few years, making him stronger and more useful in God of War: Ragnarok. Unlike the previous installment, Atreus is now a playable character. Of course, he is nowhere near as powerful as Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, but you are able to defeat enemies using Atreus's quick movement and bow, which allows for longer-ranged fights.

Related: God Of War Ragnarok: Untamed Fury Location Guide

When you aren't playing as Atreus, he is still off to the side aiding you with enemies, which is why it is useful to know the best build for him, as he will make an impact when it comes to some of the more challenging bosses and areas.

Updated on May 11, 2023, by Axel Bosso: Atreus is the real MVP of God of War Ragnarok. If you don't believe us, just give a look at his skill tree and abilities. We have updated this guide so you can go over which are the best ways to build Atreus for your time preventing Ragnarok with Kratos. Check out Atreus' strongest armors and summons!

Atreus Skill Tree

Depending on how many side quests you complete throughout your playthrough of the game, you will have the opportunity to unlock most, if not all, of Atreus's skills by the end of the game. However, at the start of your adventure, there are a few key skills that you want to unlock quickly.

The Watchful Protector skill is considered by most to be the best skill for Atreus. Found in the Instinct section of the skill tree, Watchful Protector simply lets Atreus take some of the agro away from Kratos. This might sound mediocre compared with all the damage and combat skills that Atreus had to offer, but you will see the value of this skill the moment you unlock it, turning fights against hordes of enemies into something much more manageable.

Other skills of note include Focus Shot, which is the first skill in the Archery section of the Skill tree. This skill has two purposes: when you are playing as Kratos, Atreus's arrows do more damage, and when you are playing as Atreus, you are able to charge up his shots before shooting them.

In the Archery section, Bludgeoning Strike is an effective way to inflict Stun onto enemies. When playing as Kratos, Atreus will trip up enemies, allowing you to do a beatdown, and when playing as Atreus, you are able to continue your light attacks, dealing extra damage and Stun.

Atreus Armour

It does not matter what armour set you choose for Atreus, as they do not make any changes to your stats. So, simply choose whichever piece of armour you think looks best. Now, whilst the armour doesn't matter, the armour accessories certainly do.

There are a few different routes you can go with armour accessories but one that is always powerful to have equipped is Nocked Proficiency, which makes every third runic arrow fire off an additional arrow. This is a particularly powerful accessory as it simply gives you more arrows to shoot, doing more stun and damage.

The general consensus when it comes to armour accessories is that improving the sonic arrows leads to the most effective build. Therefore, Sonic Aftershock, which increases Stun to enemies inflicted with Sonic arrows, is one of the main accessories to aim for.

Sonic Attunement is also valuable, significantly increasing Status, making it effective to use with Sonic arrows or Sigil arrows.

Other than the Sonic accessories, Runestone Refinement can be effective as it replenishes three arrows when picking up a healthstone or ragestone, and it also decreases the time you have to wait for your runic summons to come off of cooldown. This can be especially useful during longer boss fights like the Berserker King Hrolf Kraki, as they will drop both healthstones and ragestones whilst fighting.

Atreus Spirit Summons

For Atreus, there are two main options to choose for the spirit summon.

When it comes to sheer damage, Wrath Of The Wolf is the best as it does a lot of damage to a large group of enemies and can do even more damage when all the wolves focus on a single boss. With upgrades, Wrath of the Wolf can fill the area with wolves, which can work to help take some focus off you whilst putting out enough damage to kill enemies.

The other main option for Atreus is the Raging Ibex, as it does solid damage and Stun. Raging Ibex is especially strong when you are playing as Atreus, as he will summon the spectral Ibex and then ride it, giving you a break from taking damage whilst dealing a lot yourself.

Next: God Of War Ragnarok: Complete Guide