Alexis Kestler
Hey friend! If you‘re looking to craft some epic fiery armor for Kratos in God of War Ragnarök, then you‘ll need to get your axe-wielding hands on a special resource called Smoldering Embers. These rare embers are hidden within the dangerous trials of Muspelheim, but the rewards are well worth the effort.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll walk you through everything you need to know to collect Smoldering Embers and use them to ascend Kratos to master of flame. Let‘s get started!
Introduction to Smoldering Embers
Smoldering Embers are a unique crafting material found exclusively within Muspelheim, one of the nine Norse realms. They appear as small fragments with a bright orange flaming glow.
These special embers are primarily used to upgrade powerful armor sets like the Surtr‘s Scorched Cuirass and Risen Snow Armor. By combining Smoldering Embers with metal alloys and other resources at the blacksmith, you can enhance the attributes of this gear.
Upgrading with Smoldering Embers imbues the armor with increased fire protection and greater strength, defense, luck, and other bonuses. Fully upgrading this mythic equipment is the only way to unlock its true protective and offensive capabilities.
Now let‘s dive into the fiery realm itself and learn how to take on its challenges to claim your Smoldering Embers!
Unlocking the Realm of Muspelheim
In order to access the scorched land of Muspelheim, you first need to collect both halves of the Muspelheim Seed:
-
The first seed half can be found during the main story quest "The Quest for Tyr" in a legendary chest at Tyr‘s Temple.
-
The second seed half is obtained later in the quest "Forging Destiny" within a legendary chest to the northeast of The Forge.
Once you have both halves, head to the Mystic Gateway northeast of the Lake of Nine. Interact with this gate to combine the seed and unlock travel between Midgard and Muspelheim.
When you‘re ready, step through the gateway. Get those weapons prepped – Muspelheim is home to the game‘s most challenging arena battles!
Muspelheim Lore and Trials Overview
Ruled by the fire giant Surtr and his sons, the realm of Muspelheim is all scorched earth, volcanic rifts, and rivers of lava. The very air shimmers with intense heat.
This is the home realm of the legendary Surtr, who will set the world ablaze during Ragnarok. The trials here will prepare you to withstand Surtr‘s firepower.
The arena contains six different trials that test your combat skills and mastery of Kratos‘s full arsenal. They include:
- Weapon Mastery – defeat waves of enemies with each weapon type
- Flawless Ring – throw the Leviathan Axe to kill all foes without taking damage
- Out Challenge – eliminate enemies before the time limit
- Feed the Rift – destroy stones to fill up a rift‘s health bar
- Population Control – defeat 100 enemies as fast as possible
- King of the Hill – keep enemies from occupying a zone for 60 seconds
I recommend starting with Weapon Mastery to get a feel for the combat flow. As you progress, the trials become more unforgiving. You‘ll need to employ keen dodging, crowd control attacks, and perfectly timed defense to prevail.
Now let‘s discuss how to take on these fiery challenges to collect those precious Smoldering Embers!
Conquering Muspelheim‘s Trials
Each trial will test your combat tactics and mastery of Kratos‘s varied moveset. Here are some tips for coming out on top:
-
Stock up on healing stones – Use the shop in the central hub to buy health, rage, and resurrection stones before attempting trials.
-
Master parrying – Time your shield blocks perfectly to open up foes for devastating counter attacks. The Fire Shield is ideal for the blazing attacks here.
-
Utilize runic attacks – Runic attacks like Hel‘s Touch or Mists of Helheim can stun crowds of enemies at once. Use them wisely.
-
Keep your rage meter full – Your rage meter empowers Kratos with enhanced strength and allows him to deal bonus burn damage, which is perfect for Muspelheim.
-
Use blades for crowd control – The Blades of Chaos and their wide arcing attacks are ideal for controlling groups of aggressive enemies.
-
Throw your axe often – Headshots with the flying Leviathan Axe can let you thin out mobs from a distance. And it looks incredibly badass!
Take breaks between trials as needed to recover. With practice, you‘ll ascend to the rank of Muspelheim Champion and earn the flaming rewards contained within those trial chests!
Looting Smoldering Embers from Trial Chests
After you conquer a trial through skill and determination, a special legendary chest will manifest. Inside you‘ll find a wealth of crafting materials and resources, including the invaluable Smoldering Embers.
The chest will generally provide between 1-4 Smoldering Embers each time, along with metals like Asgardian Steel and Chaos Flame. The higher your trial ranking, the more generous the loot within the chest will be.
To get your hands on the maximum amount, you‘ll need to repeatedly take on the trials. Based on data gathered by players, you can expect to obtain:
- Common Smoldering Embers – Acquired from any trial chest
- Rare Smoldering Embers – Found in trial chests after beating Gold or higher rankings
- Epic Smoldering Embers – Obtained very rarely from completing Realm of Fire challenges
Stockpiling around 30-50 Smoldering Embers of all rarities will set you up to fully upgrade your endgame armor. Keep running those trials and knocking out challenges to amass all the embers you need!
Upgrading Your Armor at the Blacksmith
Once you‘ve collected some Smoldering Embers, it‘s time to head to Brok or Sindri‘s shop at one of their many locations. Access the armor upgrade menu and select one of the special Muspelheim sets:
- Surtr‘s Scorched Armor
- Risen Snow Armor
- Blightbringer Armor
These suits require specific amounts of Smoldering Embers to upgrade along with regular crafting materials like Aerisbane and Honed Metal.
For example, the first level upgrade for the Surtr‘s Scorched breastplate armor costs:
- 5 Smoldering Embers
- 10 Aerisbane
- 2 Honed Metal
Upgrading with Smoldering Embers boosts the armor‘s fire resistance, strength, defense, luck, and other attributes. Repeat the process through all the upgrade levels to maximize the armor‘s incredible potential.
To help decide on your upgrade path, here‘s a comparison of the attribute bonuses gained by upgrading with Smoldering Embers:
| Armor Set | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Surtr‘s Scorched | Fire damage, strength |
| Risen Snow | Defense, frost resistance |
| Blightbringer | Luck, vitality |
Choose based on your preferred playstyle and the capabilities you want Kratos to unleash!
Embrace Your Inner Fire God
By conquering the trials of Muspelheim and using Smoldering Embers to upgrade your armor, you can transform Kratos into an unstoppable force of flaming fury.
The visual evolution of the armor itself is amazing to behold as well. As the levels increase, Surtr‘s Scorched Cuirass begins to glow with inner fire until Kratos resembles the Lord of Muspelheim himself.
Wearing the fully-upgraded equipment, you can march through fiery realms and unleash devastating burns and cinders against all who stand in your way. Let Surtr‘s might flow through you!
The journey to obtain Smoldering Embers and forge epic armor sets tests your skill but unlocks Kratos‘ true power. I hope my guide provides everything you need to reap the volcanic rewards. Now get out there, take on those trials, and craft armor befitting the God of War!
