God of War Ragnarok: How to Increase Health

Fighting in God of War: Ragnarök can be tough, and even if you know how to parry and stagger enemies, you're going to take a few hits along the way. If you're playing on one of the more difficult variations of the game, then those hits can take you down quite easily if you aren't careful. That's why it's highly recommended that players increase their health as quickly as they can.

If you're looking to permanently increase your health bar and take a few more hits in God of War: Ragnarök, then you can do so by completing and unlocking Nornir Chests or collecting Yggdrasil Dew of Vitality.

When unlocked, Nornir chests have a chance to drop an Idunn Apple, which increases your health when you have collected enough. You'll need to collect them in increments, with one set requiring two, another requiring three, and a final set requiring four to upgrade your health. These apples can be found simply by unlocking the Nornir Chest, which usually requires you to complete some type of puzzle and interact with specific runes to access the goodies locked inside.

There are four main types of Nornir Chests, all of which require you to do different things to unlock them. Some require you to light braziers, while others require you to ring bells in quick succession. Even still, other versions require you to spin runes around to show the correct one, and then the most basic version has you breaking different seals to unlock the chest.

Nornir Chests do not always give you Idunn Apples, though. Sometimes they can reward you with a Horn of Blood Mead, which increases your Rage Meter.

The other option you have for increasing your health is through the aforementioned Yggdrasil Dew of Vitality. These collectible items are found while exploring the world via boat, which you'll do throughout a few main sections of the game. While they don't quite offer the same boost to your health bar as the Iduun Apples, any extra this you can take will greatly help during more difficult combat experiences in God of War: Ragnarök.

While these items are rare, they instantly grant you a permanent increase of +2 vitality, which is a nice boost for those playing on lower difficulties. On higher difficulties, you'll need to combine these upgrades with those of the Iduun Apples to really be able to stand your own in more difficult combat scenarios. Still, each of these ways to increase your health are handy, so make sure to take advantage of them when you can.