The Most Overpowered Weapons In The God of War Franchise, Ranked

Summary

• Thera’s Bane upgrades Blades of Athena with powerful fire abilities and enhanced combat features.
• Guardian Shield offers defensive abilities and enhances combat skills, adding versatility to Kratos’s arsenal.
• Draupnir Spear provides ranged and close-range combat options with unique abilities like wind affinity and duplication.

Throughout the God of War series, bloodshed, vengeance, an iconic story, and savage weaponry are expected and beloved by fans for many years. Among fans of the series, the weaponry aspects are often cited as one of their favorite things about God of War, especially certain overpowered items.

This list will mainly focus on weapons, and will not include spells or tools like the Head of Medusa. Weapon enchantments will also not appear on this list, so runes and enhancements are out. Now that the rules are set, here’s why these are the best weapons in God of War.

Updated January 4, 2025, by Rhenn Taguiam: Fans of the God of War franchise wait with bated breath as the series marks its 20th anniversary in 2025, which means surprises might be in store to celebrate. While there has been no news of remasters or new releases yet, fans might want to start replaying their favorite God of War titles. However, fans going through the games might be eager to remind themselves which weapons Kratos wielded the best in his tenure as Ares’s soldier and as the God of War.

19

Thera’s Bane

Engulf The Blades Of Athena In Flames

While Thera’s Bane in God of War: Ghost of Sparta is essentially an “ability,” its nature and gameplay effect practically transforms it into a new weapon. Kratos can only get Thera’s Bane from the chest of the titular Titan, Thera, as he frees her from her prison deep in Atlantis. As a result, Kratos gets access to “primal” fire that engulfs his Blades of Athena in fierce fire.

Gameplay-wise, this simply “upgrades” the Blades of Athena. However, in addition to boosting their power and speed, Kratos can now use the Blades of Athena to “implant” exploding magma into his enemies and can even destroy the armor and shields of other creatures more easily. Thera’s Bane also gives the Blades of Athena a black and red color scheme, making them more effective representations of Kratos’s wrath.

18

Guardian Shield

An Effective Retractable Shield

Obtained during the events of God of War, the Guardian Shield first appears as part of Kratos’s left gauntlet. In this form, the Guardian Shield consists of a small disc surrounded by a wrench-shaped swirling plate and two longer plates underneath. When activated, the Guardian Shield extends into a buckler that allows Kratos to protect himself from attacks. Gameplay-wise, the Guardian Shield can be used in conjunction with Kratos’s fists, the Blades of Chaos, and the Leviathan Axe.

Kratos using the Guardian Shield is a testament that the aged former God of War is still capable of holding his own in combat. When used, the Guardian Shield endows Kratos with a plethora of skills, such as being able to break an opponent’s guard and even deflect blasts back to opponents. He can attack opponents from a sprint, and even quickly swap stances to perform swift attacks.

17

Draupnir Spear

The Second Official Norse Weapon In Kratos’s Hands

Alongside the Leviathan Axe, the Draupnir Spear is considered the second “official” Norse armament that Kratos manages to acquire in God of War Ragnarok. Originally taking the appearance of an enchanted duplicating ring, Kratos was instructed to bring the ring to the Lady of the Forge to ask for her assistance in transforming it into a spear. After transforming into a spear as it appeared in the Norse myth, Kratos hoped to use it in the fight against Heimdall in the hopes of stopping his “fate” of killing his son Atreus in Ragnarok.

In the game, Draupnir is a dual-purpose weapon with its ability to hit opponents at any range. Its affinity to wind can draw enemies close before blasting them from afar. Meanwhile, the duplicating magic of its ring source meant Kratos could spawn near-infinite copies of Draupnir to do with as he wanted, such as throwing them at opponents, creating platforms for traversal, or detonating powerful blasts by slamming them on the ground.

16

Blades Of Athena

The Most Iconic Upgrade

While the Blades of Chaos remain as Kratos’s most recognizable and best weapons, the Blades of Athena were perhaps the most recognizable upgrades throughout the franchise. Bestowed by none other than Athena herself, the Blades of Athena served exactly the same function and purpose as the Blades of Chaos. This time around, her own variation had more godly power, as reflected with the engravings that glowed red and the golden aura it gave in Kratos’s possession as the God of War.

Given their godly nature, the Blades of Athena had some sort of divine power when activated by Kratos. Named Divine Reckoning, this is activated when Kratos slams the blades into the ground, causing a tornado to encircle Kratos and blast away anyone who dared come near him.

15

Blade of Artemis

The Perfect Blade Against Ares

Compared to his signature Blades of Chaos, the Blade of Artemis was a huge and curved blade that fit Kratos’s huge stature. Bestowed to him by Artemis for his fight against Ares, the Blade of Artemis has a characteristically slower yet more brutal approach to combat, unlike the fast and loose Blades of Chaos.

What makes the Blade of Artemis quite a sight to behold is its origins. According to Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, she used the Blade of Artemis to slay a Titan. Its armor-piercing qualities perhaps reflect its innate strength. Should Kratos have planned on using this in his later adventures, the Blade of Artemis would’ve allowed him to go toe-to-toe with the ancient Titans with relative ease.

14

Gauntlet Of Zeus

Gauntlets That Fought Titans

Despite its gargantuan size, Kratos still managed to wield the Gauntlet of Zeus and use its destructive energies to kill the likes of Persephone. And while Kratos would eventually lose this to its rightful owner, Zeus, shortly after retrieving it from its temple, the Gauntlet of Zeus was still extremely powerful.

At its core, Zeus had Hephaestus forge the Gauntlet as a means of being able to chain the Titans to the depths of Tartarus. Given its gigantic size, it was meant to be wielded by Zeus in his gigantic godly form. When wielded properly, the Gauntlet of Zeus can help its user achieve superhuman feats of strength, as well as summon various kinds of lightning that reflect Zeus’s control over the elements. Kratos was at some point to possess armor that allowed him to wield the Gauntlet at its full power.

13

Army Of Hades

Wield The Dead In Any Fight

Although not a weapon per se, Army of Hades was a power that Hades himself granted Kratos after the latter had slain Pandora’s Guardian. Various variations of the Army of Hades appear in subsequent games, all manifesting whenever Kratos defeats Hades or an aspect of his power.

Unlike other more destructive godly energies, the Army of Hades was proof of the gods’ insurmountable power as divine beings. When using this power, Kratos uses the army of the dead to do his bidding, allowing him to summon various forces of the undead to fight on his behalf. These begin as ordinary souls that wielded swords, to souls that wielded various weapons such as axes and falchions – a reflection of Kratos’ growing capabilities of calling upon stronger souls from the deeper parts of the Underworld.

12

Blade Of The Gods

A God-Killing Sword

Players who roamed around during the first God of War game would see a strange-looking footbridge that connected the Statue of Athena with Suicide Bluffs, particularly because of its shape – a sword. However, this was actually an actual sword, with the blade being made of metal. Named the Blade of the Gods, Kratos actually used the sword in his fight against Ares after Pandora’s Box increased his size to that of a god’s.

The Blade of the Gods acted like an actual sword, with Kratos being able to take full advantage of his physique to wield it. This was the sword he used to land the killing blow to Ares and replace him as the God of War, making it quite a memorable weapon capable of slaying the gods.

11

Bow of Apollo

The Bow With The Power Of The Sun

While the Bow of Apollo restriction is to the tool’s category, it holds more power than other weapons that share the utility category. Much like Typhon’s Bane from God of War 2, that was a weapon it merely is best for crowd control.

The Bow of Apollo makes this list for its ability to maintain combos better than most weapons. The bow shares its resource bar with other tools allowing it to break attack chains and AOE down foes. It is undoubtedly the least powerful weapon on this list. Yet, its utility of continuing combos and suspending smaller enemies makes it a great help.

10

Artemius Blade

An Upgraded Form Of Artemis’ Glory

Early on in the first God of War, Athena grants players this purple scimitar-like sword. At first, this weapon is good to use, but most players will drop the weapon after a few moments of using it.

When fully upgraded, this weapon does hold an impressive power, able to down weaker foes in just a few swings. The primary cons of this weapon are its very stale move set. Unlike most weapons that gain new moves when leveling them up, the Artemius blade only grows in power. A simple and powerful weapon, at least it glows red when at full strength, which is the only noticeable difference.

9

Spear of Destiny

Bestow A Destiny Of Being Air-Juggled

The Spear of Destiny brings what the Artemius Blade did not: power, utility, and a massive move set. After defeating a griffin rider with his own spear, Kratos later finds the spear once again on the fallen griffin’s corpse. This extending spear made out of purple crystal sweeps over dozens of enemies with ease.

This spear also has an impressive ability to air juggle a target for a good amount of time, or even make crystal explosions. Along with its ability to attack with two sides from its double edge. The Spear of Destiny also returns to God of War Ascension‘s multiplayer.

8

Nemesis Whip

Insane Combo Potential At One’s Fingertips

A gift from the Smith God Hephaestus, these chains with claws bring electrifying combos to those players who master them. The Nemesis Whip has a very similar move set to the Blades of Chaos but much faster and weaker, that off-put some players from using them.

However, in harder difficulties, this weapon’s high combo potential is much easier to pull off than a lot of other weaponry. The whip also is useful for dropping orbs during combat due to its stun locks and fast attacks. For less experienced players, they are still great for high combos due to their AOE electric properties. They are always enjoyable to use, but the Blades of Chaos overshadows them.

7

Claws of Hades

Hook Around The Battlefield

Another set of chain weapons from the same game, but the Claws of Hades rival the fan-favorite spots. Unlike the Nemesis Whip, the Claws of Hades are deadlier for a much bigger reason. Imprisoning thousands of souls within them, the chains seem to move around on their own.

The ability to hook around the battlefield or into enemies gives these chains a very different feeling to other chain weapons. Its unique ability allows players to rip out the souls out of enemies, and with further upgrades, allows Kratosto summon unique souls. The more power these claws obtain, the more souls the player can summon, like a Medusa or a Centaur. If the Claws of Hades were the primary weapon of the God of War games instead of the Blades of Chaos, they might carry the same cultural impact.

6

Nemean Cestus

Bash Every Enemy To Pieces

After forcefully taking these massive gauntlets from Hercules, Kratos obtains one of the most earth-shattering weapons. There has been no weapon that matches the raw strength of these enormous lion heads. Most of the weapons found in God of War games are primarily ranged, and the Nemean Cestus changes that. Each punch packs an incredible feel to it, shaking the screen with every punch and ground pound caused.

These gauntlets are needed to break Onyx, a stone previously destroyable. However, after discovering they break stone, players quickly realized these weapons also bash every enemy to pieces. Without a doubt, these weapons are in the top fan-favorite weapons and for a brutal reason.

5

Arms of Sparta

Relive Being A Spartan

In Ghost of Sparta, when returning to Sparta, Kratos obtains the set of weapons he used as Sparta’s general. Serving as the game’s primary ranged weapon, the spear and shield pair well against one on one fights like the Spear of Destiny.

In a combination of attack and defense, this weapon makes players feel more like a true Spartan than ever. With devastating shield bashes and ranged pummeling, this weapon only gets better the more it is upgraded. Even Kratos grants the weapons to his brother Deimos as a final gift on their last adventure.

4

Barbarian Hammer

Originally Wielded By The King Of The Barbarians

The Barbarian Hammer originally belonged to Alrik, the Barbarian King. Even before the events of God of War, Alrik and Kratos were rivals who worshipped Hades and Ares, respectively, and were known to lead powerful armies. After his death at the hands of Kratos, Alrik rose to life after defeating many of the Underworld’s guards before being reborn with a massive physique and an equally massive hammer.

The Barbarian Hammer has spikes on both protrusions and even the end of its shaft, with the entire weapon wrapped in bandages and bloodied all around. When Kratos uses the Barbarian Hammer, he can use it to summon Cursed Souls to aid in combat against multiple foes. Though the weapon’s attacks are slow, they are powerful enough to shatter petrified enemies with just a few blows. Such is the combat power of the Barbarian Hammer that it’s the most powerful weapon in God of War 2 just before the Blade of Olympus, with the Hammer only held back by its speed.

3

Blade of Olympus

Become The One True God

The Blade of Olympus, the weapon that won the Great War. The blade is gifted to Kratos after ascending to the new God of War by Zeus. Draining his power into the blade, he empowered the blade to an actual godly status of deadly. With the energy inside, it has claimed other gods’ lives, including Athena, Kronos, and even Zeus.

Ether as a stand-alone weapon in God of War 2 or tied together with the rage mechanic in God of War 3, this weapon is always overpowered for a reason. With only gods able to wield the weapon, no one knows where it remains currently. Perhaps the blade will return in later games, after having huge plot importance beforehand.

2

Leviathan Axe

The True Second Weapon

In the most recent God of War, Kratos makes the journey up to the land of the Norse gods. With the time between Greece and now, he has obtained the legendary Leviathan Axe. Forged by the dwarf brothers that would create Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, this weapon is devastatingly cold. Unlike other games, the runes put into this weapon increase its power and other modifications.

Cold enough to freeze enemies sold, and just like Mjolnir, it returns to its owners’ hand. This weapon perfectly fits the gameplay of the new God of War with the more up-close and grounded hack and slash style. Developers have confirmed that this weapon is here to stay as the new primary weapon for the series, and its strength and legacy will grow in time.

1

The Blades of Exile

Boasts The Game’s Largest Moveset

When choosing between the blades of Athena, Chaos, and Exile, it all comes to preference. We have chosen the Blades of Exile for the development that the other two blades have made to perfect the combat and the overall raw power of the third God of War game. The blades have the biggest move set and overall, most impactful gameplay, these weapons represent the best of what the years of God of War have developed into.

The Blades of Exile and the Leviathan Axe are both the best weapons in God of War. However, today the blades currently hold more weight in terms of story and gameplay over a series of five games as the primary weapon. Even still appearing in the most recent God of War as a secondary that shocked longtime fans.