God of War Ragnarök Nornir Chests: puzzle solutions

Here's how to open every Nornir Chest in God of War Ragnarok

If you’re looking to increase your health and rage meter, you’ll want to open all God of War Ragnarök Nornir Chests.

In this guide, we’ll give you the solution to every single chest in the game, in the order that you’ll likely come across them.

Note: Some of the Nornir Chest solutions might contain spoilers for abilities you acquire later in the game, so don't scroll down any further than you need to. 

Contents

1. Aurvangar Wetlands Nornir Chest 1
2. Aurvangar Wetlands Nornir Chest 2
3. Dragon Beach Nornir Chest
4. Radsvinn’s Rig Nornir Chest
5. Alberich Island Nornir Chest
6. Jarnsmida Pitmines Nornir Chest
7. The Strond Nornir Chest
8. Temple of Light Nornir Chest
9. The Below Nornir Chest
10. The Barrens Nornir Chest
11. Southern Wilds Nornir Chest
12. The Reckoning - Find a way to cross the broken bridge Nornir Chest
13. Goddess Falls Nornir Chest
14. Vanaheim Nornir Chest - Cliffside Ruins
15. Vanaheim Nornir Chest - The Veiled Passage
16. Forbidden Sands Nornir Chest 
17. Lake of Nine Nornir Chest
18. Kol Raider Camp Nornir Chest
19. The Oarsmen Nornir Chest
20. The Lost Treasury Nornir Chest - Lake of Nine
21. Svartalfheim wine cellar Nornir Chest
22. The Forge Nornir Chest
23. Eastern Barri Woods Nornir Chest
24. Vanaheim Nornir Chest - The Crater 1
25. Vanaheim Nornir Chest - The Crater 2
26. Vanaheim Nornir Chest - The Crater 3
27. Vanaheim Nornir Chest - The Jungle
28. Vanaheim Nornir Chest - The Sinkholes
29. Alfheim Nornir Chest - The Strond 2
30. Muspelheim Nornir Chest
31. Svartalfheim Nornir Chest - Sverd Sands
32. Svartalfheim Nornir Chest - Jarnsmida Pitmines 2
33. Alfheim Nornir Chest - The Forbidden Sands

This Nornir Chest can be found when you first reach the Aurvangar Wetlands, in the area where there’s a puzzle to rotate the wooden wheel blocking the river.

The first seal you need to break is just to the right of the chest itself. Throw your ax at it to break it apart. The next seal is directly behind the chest on a small island. For the third and final seal, you need to freeze the nearby geyser and grapple up to the high point nearby. Once up, you’ll find the seal next to the tree. You’ll get an Iduun Apple once you open the chest, increasing your maximum health.

You can find this chest on a beach at the northwest point of the map, hidden by an alcove you have to row underneath. When you reach the location, make sure you do a lap of the area and take out all the enemies so you’re free to open the chest without distractions. Make sure you also open the unlocked chest nearby to grab the Deadly Obsidian Handles. These increase your Strength by 4 points, which is handy for the early game.

Now take a look at the Nornir Chest and note the symbols, which look like "PBN". Head to the right of the chest and you’ll see a geyser. Freeze it up to reveal a rotatable pillar with a rune on it. 

Recall your ax and throw it at the target on the right side two times, spinning the pillar so the rune reads P. Now head back to the chest, run past, and climb up to find the next pillar above you on the right. Hit this once on the right side to make it read N. Next, head around to the area directly behind the chest and drop down for the final rune. Hit this pillar on the right side twice to reveal a B. Now open the chest to get a Horn of Blood Mead, permanently increasing your maximum Rage.

For this chest, found on Dragon Beach in the Bay of Bounty, you need to break three seals. You can find the first hidden behind the spout of the geyser behind the chest. Freeze it and you’ll see the statue with the F rune. Smash that one. 

You’ll find the next one opposite the dragon statue, near the shore, also obscured by a geyser. Freeze it, find the location, and throw your ax. The final one is tucked behind the dragon statue itself. You can freeze the geyser here, but it’s blocked by a fence from this angle, so work your way down the beach on the back side until you have an angle on it. Open the chest for an Idunn Apple.

You'll find this Nornir Chest on Radvinn's Rig in the Bay of Bounty. 

The first torch is easy enough to find because it’s right next to the chest on the left. Aim at it with your blades of chaos equipped and hold R2 to send a ball of fire toward it. You’ll find the next one if you follow the circle around to the right from the chest, on the same level. Here you’ll find two barrels that you can destroy them with sonic arrows to reveal the next torch.

For the final one, head to the corner opposite the chest and you’ll see a torch behind an iron fence. To ignite this one, stand on the raised wooden platform across from it and throw your ax at the red explosive jar next to it. Open the chest for another Horn of Blood Mead.

For this Nornir Chest, you have to hit three runic bells with ax throws in quick succession. Do it too slowly and it won’t count. Your first objective, of course, is to find the bells themselves.

The first bell is easy to spot and sits just behind the chest itself.

The second bell is on the corner opposite the chest, hidden behind a gate. You can raise the bell by hitting the wooden board to the left.

The final bell is opposite that bell, on the other side of the wooden structure. It’s also hidden behind a fence, but you can make it drop by getting Atreus to fire a sonic arrow at the glowing spot on the wooden pillar.

To hit the bells quickly, your best bet is to hit the one you have to raise up first since it’s the trickiest.

You’ll get an Idunn Apple from the chest.

In the open-air section just before the mines, you’ll find a Nornir Chest that requires you to light three torches. Here’s where you’ll find them. The first torch is just to the left of the chest. Light it up.

The next one is left from there. Simply drop down and you’ll see it. Light it up by aiming your chaos blades and pulling R2. Oh, that didn’t work? That’s because you first need to freeze up the water trough above it by throwing your ax into the wood.

The next one is just across from this if you grapple across the gap. Make sure you don’t recall your ax. There’s a lore marker just to the left of it, scrawled on a wall.

Open the chest for a Horn of Blood Mead.

You’ll find this chest when you’re following Tyr on the search for Groa’s Shrine, just south of the mystical gateway to The Strond. Once you push through the crack, you’ll be able to exit the main path and drop down on the left to find it.

If you drop down at the section closest to the crack you squeezed through, you’ll find the first lantern you need to light to your left, on the edge of the cliff. Aim at it with your chain blades and squeeze R2.

Head to the overlook on the south side of the chest and look down to find the next lantern.

For the final one, head back up onto the main path and follow it south while looking left. You’ll see another way to drop down to the chest here, as well as another lantern.

Open The Strond’s Nornir Chest for an Idunn Apple.

Deep into the Temple of Light, you’ll find another Nornir Chest at the base of some grand staircase. This one is opened by hitting three nearby bells with your ax in quick succession.

But before you start, head to the right of the chest and have Atreus fire a sonic arrow at the debris blocking the N bell there. Now head back to the chest and look directly at it.

As you can see, there are two bells to the left here and the one to the right you just cleared. Throw your ax at the twilight stone near the one on the right, staying as close to the chest as possible. Recall it and throw your ax quickly at the other two. Job done.

You’ll get another Horn of Blood Mead for your troubles.

You can trigger the Secret of the Sands sidequest when you first enter The Canyons in Alfheim by speaking to Sindri at his shop. Atreus has heard a creature in pain in the desert, and it’s your job to track it down.

Once you’ve spoken to Sindri, you’ll get access to a sled so you can more quickly travel around the open expanse of The Barrens.

If you’ve tracked the quest, you should have an area to the east marked on the map. Head here before you do anything because completing this quest first will clear the storm away and make exploring The Barrens much easier.

Head down into the cave that you find and pursue the pained creature underground to find yourself in The Below.

You’ll find yourself blocked by some dark elf matter, but you can clear this first one by simply throwing your ax at the glowing spot between the inky vines. Afterward, you’ll be attacked. Fight the elves.

After that, you’ll see more growth, but you have to take out the three glowing points at the same time. See the twilight stone nearby? Throw your ax into it so the arc flies through all three glowing points. To get the right angle, you need to back away from the growth. Fight the elves who appear and open the small chest for some extra coins.

In the next room, you’ll find a bunch of twilight stone and more elves to fight. You can use the stones to get an instant stun on the enemies if you bounce your ax off the twilight stone.

Once they’re down, take the climbing route up so you’re at the top level of the room. Head right when you reach the top and you can kick down a guard to create a shortcut up and down. From here, you can also throw your ax through the growths and clear the way to the chest, which contains some crafting components. There’s also a wall marking to read. Now head back up and left, then up again. From there, take the zipline down.

On the other side, drop down and get the small chest. Once you’ve got it, climb back up and follow the pathway along. You’ll see a large concrete pillar on your right, which you need to grapple up to. From there, look right and you’ll be able to grapple onto another point. One more grapple will see your feet back on the ground, close to a locked gate. From here you can drop down again, and you’ll have to fight some wretches. If you drop down again from here, you’ll find a Nornir Chest and a shortcut back to the top of the zipline, but you can’t open the chest just yet.

From the level between the Nornir chest and the locked door, you can throw your ax at the twilight stone near the growths in the canyon. This will remove the growths and give you a new grapple option from the pillar hook point. Head back there and take it. Once you reach the final grapple point, follow the climbing route along and you’ll find yourself on the other side of the locked gate above the Nornir Chest.

Once you’ve unlocked the shortcut above the chest, you can find your first bell in the window next to the newly unlocked gate.

The second bell is opposite the chest.

The final bell is in the corridor through the gate opposite the chest, on the left.

Open it up for an Idunn Apple.

On the west side of The Barrens, you can find another Nornir Chest inside a small structure that’s overgrown with dark elf root. If you circle it in your sled, you’ll see two of the torches you need to light, but you won’t quite be able to reach one of them.

The first thing you need to do is go around the back of the structure, the opposite side of the entrance, and back up until you can throw your ax through the glowing points on the growths. This will clear away the rot and allow you to enter the structure itself. You can light the torch at the rear side on your way back to the entrance.

Light the torch by the entrance with your chaos blades, then back up and look at the roof — you’ll see another torch up there with a conveniently placed red jar next to it. Smash the jar with your ax to light it.

Open the chest to get a Horn of Blood Mead.

You’ll find this chest when traveling through Vanaheim with Brok and Freya. It’s opened by rotating three rune pillars so they display the correct symbols: CRN.

The first pillar is just to the west, up on a ridge, and you can spot it when standing right in front of the chest and looking left. Throw your ax at the right side to turn it so it’s showing “C”.

Now look to the east and you’ll see another pillar close by, covered in vines. Burn them away with your chaos blades and then throw your ax at the right side to reveal “N”.

Now travel the path to the southeast and keep looking up — you’ll see another pillar, but this one is also covered in vines. You can’t burn them out directly, but look at the rocks on your right and you’ll see some of the same glowing vines dangling from the cliff. Light it up from here to clear the pillar. Throw your ax at the left side to reveal “R”, then head back to the chest for an Idunn Apple.

For this God of War Ragnarok puzzle, you have to figure out how to turn a crane so you can grapple across a gap where a bridge used to be.

The first thing you need to do it use your Chaos Blades to burn away some bramble near the crane. This will cause a bucket to drop and dangle from a rope. Now turn the crane to the left twice by throwing your ax at the targets at its top, so you can use the grapple to hop over to the ledge on the left.

Once you’re over, throw your ax to turn the crane to the right, sending the bucket around. Now stand in the middle of the platform you’re on, but right at the edge, and look at the bucket. Pull it by pressing Circle and you’ll burn the bramble away if you have the right angle. Now you’re free to cross the bridge, but let’s light the Nornir Chest torches while we’re here.

As with the bramble, you have to use the bucket to light the torch to your right and left.

For the one on the left, stay where you are and leave the bucket as it was for the bramble. But instead of pulling the bucket back, pull it to the right and it’ll swing into the torch.

For the one on the right, turn the crane so you can hop back over to where you started and immediately pull the bucket towards you from here.

The final torch is on the other side of the broken bridge and you simply need to hop over and light it up with your Chaos Blades. The Nornir Chest is right opposite it. Open it up for a Horn of Blood Mead.

This chest can be found in Goddess Falls, just to the right of the secret entrance where you start Freya’s personal quest. Up at the top of the falls. You have to light three lanterns to open it up.

One lantern can be found to the south of the chest, up on a ridge. To reach it, you need to walk to the closest point, then fire three of Freya’s sigil arrows into the same spot close by, so it covers the lantern and the rock close to you. Ignite anywhere within the sigil and it’ll light up.

The next one is above the waterfalls between the chest and the last lantern. Look up high to the northwest. This time you’ll need three sigil arrows in the same spot on the top rock and the bottom. As long as they intersect, you can light the torch by igniting the bottom rock.

The final lantern is just to the north of the chest and you need to make a series of sigil arrows across the rocks leading up to it, then light the torch by igniting the one closest to you.

Open the chest for an Idunn Apple.

From Brok’s shop, you can see one of the run by m pillars across the water. Throw your ax at the target until it shows a P.

The next one can be found halfway up the chain next to the ghost who gives you a sidequest. Look down and you’ll see it buried in the wall here. You have to get to one of the platforms across the way to rotate it. Hit it once on the right side to reveal F.

The final pillar is in the west corner, just to the right of the chest, hidden behind the cliff and covered in vines. You have to make a sequence of sigil arrows to reach it, which you’ll need to aim from directly across from it before hopping closer to trigger the explosions with your chaos blades.

Throw your ax on the right side to turn it once and unlock the chest. You’ll get an Idunn Apple.

This chest is tucked away in a cave that you can sail through on the east of Goddess Falls, called The Veiled Passage. When you reach it, you’ll see three bells on the opposite side of the river, all hanging from the wall.

There’s also a fire bomb dispenser nearby. The first thing you need to do is fire a sigil arrow at the bell on the right, and throw a bomb to clear the vines.

Next, you need to create a sequence of sigil arrows from right to left. Fire one just to the left of the middle bell, and fire two more at the same spot to grow it to the largest size. Now fire an arrow just to the right of the far left bell and grow that sigil until the two intersect.

Done right, you should be able to throw a fire bomb into an area within the sigil arrows to ring all three bells simultaneously. You’re best off holding the fire bomb as you fire the arrows so you can’t throw it immediately.

Open the chest for a Horn of Blood Mead.

You’ll find this chest on the south end of the Forbidden Sands and it must be opened by lighting three torches.

The first torch is right next to the chest, in the same small area, but you’ll have to lift the fallen pillar and step back into the open expanse for the others.

One can be found just to the north on a Rocky outcrop. You’ll need to pile up some sigils with your magical arrows to ignore it.

The final torch is on the east side of the large rock archway nearby. You have to use sigil arrows to reach this one too.

Now open up the chest for a Horn of Blood Mead.

You can find another Nornir chest in the northwest corner of the Lake of Nine, on a climbing route just west of Shores of the Nine. Just before you reach the chest itself, you’ll find one of the torches nearby - light it up.

Climb up the route to the top and once you reach solid ground in the snow, take a left and you’ll see another torch.

From the last torch, look down the way you came and you’ll see another torch hidden behind some icicles just below you. Use sigils to reach and light it up with your blades.

Now head to the chest for your Idunn Apple.

There’s a chest deep in a cave in the Lake of Nine and you’ll find it after you’ve cleared out the Kol Raider camp.

When you first find the chest, you’ll see a torch to light just to the left, but you first have to burn through some bramble. You can use the nearby fire bombs to light it.

The next torch is hidden behind some golden ore on the north side of the room. Throw a fire bomb to clear it and another one to light it.

For the last torch, head to the chasm on the south side of the room and look east. It’s nicely hidden at the back there.

You need to line up some sigils from bottom to top, then throw a fire bomb to light it up.

Open the chest to get a Horn of Blood Mead.

You can find another chest underground near The Oarsmen in the Lake of Nine. For this one, you need to ring three bells in quick succession.

Before you start ringing the bells, you need to climb up on the side opposite the stairs you came down to enter this area. On the other side, climb the chain and drop down into the next area. Here you can pull a wooden door open with your chain blades - a shortcut back to the chest. Ignore that for now and interact with the large chain. Pull it to reveal a new staircase.

Where you find the Fjoturlund Vault Key Half near a statue down here. You can also use a sonic arrow on the debris here to clear the line of sight from the main room. Once you’ve done that, open the gate and you’ll be back at the chest.

The first bell is in a cave on the northwest side of the room. The second is on the south side of the room. The final one is just beyond where you broke the debris. Hit them all in quick succession with your ax to unlock the chest and get an Idunn Apple.

This chest can be found close to the large vault door made from Tyr’s statue’s shield in the Lake of Nine, Midgard. You need to complete the puzzle here to open it up.

There’s a crank wheel here that you can pull back to open the entrance beneath the shield, but the path just closes up when you let go - even if you freeze the gear on the right. What you can do, however, is grab the shield with your blades and yank it. Pull it left and you’ll reveal one of the Nornir Chest torches just above it. Fire some sigil arrows at it and use your blades to light it up.

Now, leaving the shield as it is, climb up the shield to the left side. You’ll find another torch up here - again, use sigil arrows to light it up.

Underneath that torch, there’s a doorway that’s blocked by debris. Fire three sigil arrows at the pillar on the right side of the ore, then ignite it with your blades. This should blow up the jar that’s hidden on the other side, knocking the pillar down and clearing the debris.

Now walk over to the pillar you knocked over and drag it left. Drop down and drag the shield to the right. Both gears should now be visible.

Pull the crank back and freeze one of the gears with your ax. Fire a sigil arrow at it to lock the ice in place, then recall your ax and throw it at the other gear. Now you can head through the door under the shield. You’ll find the next torch inside on the right, but you have to break the connector by the door first to let Freya through - you’ll need her sigil arrows to reach the torch.

Open the chest for a Horn of Blood Mead.

When you’re exploring the wine cellar on the way to The Forge with Freya, you’ll come upon a Nornir Chest with the runes C, R, N. As with some others, you have to light three torches.

The R torch is directly to the left. You can light it by using sigil arrows and your chaos blades.

The next torch is opposite the chest. The final one is also in the corridor opposite the chest, hidden behind some wooden crates in an archway.

Open the chest up for an Idunn Apple.

For this Svartalfheim Nornir Chest, you need to have first visited The Forge with Brok and got your hands on the spear. You can find one wooden totem straight opposite the chest. Throw a spear into it, but don’t detonate it yet.

The next one can be seen from the same spot, on a rock to the southeast.

The final one is back towards the train tracks, next to the cart that’s dangling from the wooden walkway.

Once they’re all spiked, detonate your spears to destroy them all simultaneously.

You’ll find this chest near a werewolf deep into the woods of Vanaheim, after you return with the spear.

You can find the first pillar on the left of the chest in a building across the gap. Hit it once on the right side to reveal C.

The next one is just to the left of the chest, on the outside of the building the chest is in. Hit it once on the right side to reveal F.

The final one is close to the entrance to the chest, on the left. Burn the vines away and spin it once to the left to reveal P. You’ll get another Idunn Apple.

On the east side of The Crater in northern Vanaheim you’ll find a zipline that sends you down. If you look to your right before you hop on it, you’ll see another runic torch that needs lighting to open up a nearby Nornir Chest.

To light it up, you need to create a path of sigil arrows across the wall before lighting the one you can reach with your Chaos Blades. The easiest way to do this is to get on the platform above it and do it from there.

Once it’s lit, take the zip wire down and you’ll see the chest in a dark passageway. At the end of that same passageway, look to your right and you’ll see another torch to light up with a series of sigil arrows.

Do a 180 and walk out of the passage the way you came and you’ll find the final torch. Use sigil arrows to reach it and then grab your Horn of Blood Mead from the chest.

You can find this chest just to the west of Brok’s shop in The Crater at Vanaheim. It’s a simple bell puzzle and you can find two of the bells either side of the chest.

The final bell is around the back of the rock behind the chest, up high. The easiest method to hit the bells quickly is to go from right to left. Open the chest and grab the Idunn Apple. 

This chest is tucked away inside a revenant camp at the west of The Crater. You have to freeze up a poison totem using sigil arrows and your ax to open the door to the area, then you’ll have to clear out the enemies before you make a start on the puzzle itself.

Once they’re dead, you have to break three seals.

One is on a rock on the west side of the camp. Another is inside a tree on the east. The final one is behind the tree behind the chest - you have to freeze up the nearby poison totem to see it, and use your spears to break it so you don’t get poisoned. Open the chest for a Horn of Blood Mead.

You can find this chest after you return to the river in Vanaheim’s optional late-game quests. If you don’t know what I mean by that, you’re not far enough through the game to have stumbled across it yet. It’s close to the Mystic Gateway at the south of the area.

It’s another chest where you have to rotate three pillars, but the pillars themselves are a bit tricky to track down.

The first is just to the right of the chest. Turn it until it displays an “E”.

Next, go to the east side of the sun and moon altar and you’ll see this pillar just above you, covered in vines. Burn the vines, then turn the pillar to display an “n”

To find the next one, grapple up to the ledge near the sun and moon altar, and look at the top of the altar. Turn it until it displays “B”, then open the chest for a Horn of Blood Mead.

You can find this chest after you complete the quest called Casualties of War: The Hourglass. Once you’ve turned in the quest, you’ll follow a climbing route and hop down to an area with a chest and three runic idols to throw your spears into.

The first is on the north from where you drop down.

The next is far south of this small area. The final one is on top of a ruined pillar just west of the chest.

Throw spears into them all and detonate them simultaneously to unlock the chest and get an Idunn Apple.

Once you have the spear, head to The Strond’s Mystical Gateway in Alfheim and head as if you’re going back to the Temple of Light.

Just before you reach the temple, you’ll come across another Nornir Chest. There’s also a wall nearby that you can destroy with your spear.

Destroy the wall and you’ll see the first runic idol. Throw a spear into it.

Turn around and head back through the hole in the wall and you’ll see the next one.

Turn right at that one and the next one will be straight in front of you.

Detonate them at the same time and open the chest behind the wall you exploded to get an Idunn Apple.

You can find this chest in the area that’s not the fighting pits in Muspelheim. It’s behind a rock on the right as you travel deeper in - just blow the rock up with your spear and you’ll see it.

For this one, you have to light three torches.

Two of the torches are directly opposite the chest, just out of reach of your blades. From the chest, you need to create a line of sigil arrows from left to right. Then walk over to the left of the torches and use your blades on the wall to ignore them and cause a chain reaction.

The final torch is just behind the chest - up and to the right - and you can simply ignite this one with your blades. Open it up for a Horn of Blood Mead.

You can only get this Nornir Chest in the postgame and you need the spear to access it. You’ll be able to reach this area once you’ve rolled the full credits.

When you find the chest, you’ll see three runic idols. One right near you on the high point to the south of the chest, and two others on wooden platforms to the northwest.

You can hit the one close to you and the hanging one to the right from here, but you have to stand closer to the chest to hit the other one because of wooden beams blocking your view.

Nail all three and blow them up simultaneously to unlock the chest and get an amulet enchantment called Midgard’s Bravery. It boosts the damage of all ranged attacks based on your cooldown.

Another one you have to tackle in the post-game, you’ll find this one close to where you get the last Lindwyrm in the Jarnsmida Pitmines.

You’ve got to hit three runic idols with your spears.

The first is west of the chest, hidden among some rubble against the wall.

The next is east from the platform the chest is on, hidden behind the water from a geyser. Freeze the geyser to get a clear shot.

The final one is opposite the Mystic Gateway.

Open the chest to get the Svartalfheim’s Fortitude amulet attachment. Wear the set to increase stun damage based on Kratos’s defense.

You can find this chest if you squeeze through the gap in the wall underneath the library on the north of the Forbidden Sands. To complete the puzzle, you have to light three torches.

Before you do, clear the tendrils from around the chest by bouncing your ax off the twilight stone.

You can find one torch on the north side of the cavern, next to a campfire. Have your companion fire a sigil arrow at the campfire and it’ll light the torch.

The remaining two torches are on the south side of the cavern — one down low, and another hidden behind a wall that opens with sonic arrows.

The first thing you need to do is light the bottom torch by creating a row of sigil arrows from the campfire to the torch, then hitting the campfire with a sigil arrow to light it.

Next, fire a sigil arrow as low down the pillar as you can but so it still intersects with the top torch when you grow it with two more arrows in the same spot. Do the same at the bottom. Done right, you’ll have two large sigil fields that are connected to each other and both torches.

Now you need to quickly fire a sonic arrow at the wall that the top torch is hiding behind, then switch to sigil arrows and fire one at the bottom torch to ignite. You have to do all of this quickly to stop your sigils from disappearing.

Once you’ve completed the hardest Nornir Chest in God of War Ragnarok, you can open it for some rare crafting materials.

Looking for more? We also have a guide for all God of War Ragnarok ravens or our God of War Ragnarok walkthrough.