God of War Ragnarök: Alva boss battle guide

Here are some tips to make the Alva boss fight easier
God of War Ragnarök: Alva boss battle guide
God of War Ragnarök: Alva boss battle guide /

This boss battle is all about teaching you to use the L1 double tap, which interrupts enemy actions when there’s a blue ring. Here are some tips to make the fight easier:

  • Whenever you see a blue ring around Alva, double tap L1 and you’ll interrupt whatever the boss is trying to do.
  • Alva’s moves are generally well-telegraphed, with a big wind-up before she does a combo of two slashes. These can either be blocked, parried, or dodged.
  • Later in the fight, she’ll switch to a much longer combo, once she attaches her two blades into a dual blade. This new combo ends with an unblockable ground slam — the fourth strike in the combo — so make sure to roll away from the area of effect damage.
  • When she starts throwing blades at you, the easiest option is to roll under, though you can parry if you’re feeling confident. Just be mindful that these are different from the cross-energy blast she occasionally fires out instead, which must be dodged.
God of War Ragnarök_alva boss 3

Once her health is critical, she will turtle up and begin to self-heal using the light of Alfheim.

God of War Ragnarök_alva boss 2

The only way to stop this process is with a double tap of L1 and a shield strike. This will open her up to an execution finisher and end the fight.


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Kirk McKeand
KIRK MCKEAND

Kirk McKeand is the Content Director for GLHF.  A games media writer and editor from Lincoln, UK, he won a Games Media Award in 2014 in the Rising Star category. He has also been nominated for two Features Writer awards. He was also recognized in MCV's 30 Under 30 list in 2014. His favorite games are The Witcher 3, The Last of Us Part 2, Dishonored 2, Deus Ex, Bloodborne, Suikoden 2, and Final Fantasy 7.  You can buy Kirk McKeand's book, The History of the Stealth Game, in most bookstores in the US and UK.  With a foreword written by Arkane's Harvey Smith, The History of the Stealth Game dives deep into the shadows of game development, uncovering the surprising stories behind some of the industry's most formative video games.  He has written for IGN, Playboy, Vice, Eurogamer, Edge, Official PlayStation Magazine, Games Master, Official Xbox Magazine, USA Today's ForTheWin, Digital Spy, The Telegraph, International Business Times, and more.  Kirk was previously the Editor-in-Chief at TheGamer and Deputy Editor at VG247. These days he works as the Content Director for GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage, serving media partners across the globe.  You can check out Kirk McKeand's MuckRack profile for more.  Email: kirk.mckeand@glhf.gg