How Long Is God Of War Ragnarok: Mission List, Side Missions, And More

If you're wondering how long it'll take to beat God of War Ragnarok, the answer changes based on your playstyle, but one thing is consistent: It's big. Sony Santa Monica's Norse epic is said to be the finale for Kratos' Viking duology, but there are definitely times in the game where it feels like the studio has fit two full games into one. Across an expansive campaign, lengthy and numerous side quests, and tons of map mop-up to do before Kratos can rest his axe by his bedside, your quest to see credits roll--or 100% completion--will be a long journey. Let's break it all down.

How long to beat God of War Ragnarok

If you just stick to the main story missions, God of War Ragnarok will take you approximately 20-25 hours to finish. Naturally, there's a lot more to see beyond that though, including several elaborate side missions that further expand on the relationships between Kratos and others in the story--we dare not spoil any here!

For a typical playthrough that consists of playing the story and some but not all side missions, you'd be looking at something more like 25-35 hours. For the completionist, someone seeking to fully complete every major and minor task in the game, you'd be looking at something like 50-60+ hours. To that end, we also have a Platinum guide with all Trophies listed to help you plan ahead so you can earn the Platinum Trophy.

Below we'll break down how all that content shakes out, but the chapter titles may be more revealing that you'd want to know in advance too, so while we've omitted the names of the chapters for now, take note that the below section may still be considered a spoiler simply because it quantifies the game's breadth of content in a way that demystifies it.

Main story missions

There are 11 main story chapters in the story of God of War Ragnarok. Collectively, these are called The Path and are denoted on your map as gold mission icons. Currently, we aren't listing the exact names of these chapters so as not to spoil them. A 12th main story mission exists as an invite to tackle the rest of the open-world activities--so yes, you can totally go back to it after the story is over--but you'll see the credits roll after you finish the 11th story mission.

In addition to the main story, you'll also find a ton of other optional content broken down into a few categories:

• Favors: Major side quests with and/or for secondary and tertiary characters
• Labors: Open-world activities, such as Nornir chest puzzles, as well as milestones, such as number of times using a Sparta kick
• Treasure Maps: Cryptic drawings that hint at loot caches hidden in the open world
• Artifacts: Valuable collectibles that can be sold to Brok and Sindri

If you're wondering whether the sequel has anything like the Valkyrie missions seen in the first game--super-tough mini-bosses that acted as post-game content--you may be happy to know there are such sights to see and fights to have. In Ragnarok, you'll do battle with 12 Berserker Souls, and only one of them stands in the way of your story progress. These challenging melee battles are the closest analog to the Valkyries as you'll be underleveled if you try to take them on too soon.

In addition to those, you'll also find six Draugr Pits to clear, too, and another late-game recurring mini-boss battle, as well--but we won't spoil that one here. While these aren't meant to be as tough as the Berserker Souls, they still provide a good challenge and lots of loot for your trouble.

Other standout side attractions to make time for include the arena in Muspelheim, which you can't get into until you find both Muspelheim seeds, and several Favors that appears after the story is finished, though we won't say more here so as to avoid major spoilers.

In all, it's clear God of War Ragnarok is not meant as a sprint, but a marathon--fitting for a guy from Greece, we think. You'll be battling gods, monsters, and humans alike for dozens of hours, if you so choose, on the way to finishing one of the year's best games, so says our God of War Ragnarok review. If you're in it for the 100% completion, use our God of War Platinum guide, which includes a full roadmap to maximize your time.