You've finally made it to Muspelheim. The sky is a choking haze of embers, the ground is literally melting under Kratos’ boots, and Brok is probably complaining about the heat. You’re there for one reason: you want that top-tier gear. But then you see the crafting requirements for the Valkyrie armor or those high-level pommels, and there it is—the Greater Crest of Flame.
It’s annoying. Honestly, it’s one of the most frustrating bottlenecks in the 2018 reboot. You can’t just stumble across it while exploring Midgard, and no amount of hacking away at Draugr in the Foothills will drop it. It’s locked behind a very specific, very fiery grind.
If you're staring at a crafting menu wondering why you have a hundred Smoldering Embers but zero Greater Crests, you aren't alone. Most players hit this wall right when they're trying to prep for the Sigrun fight. Let's break down how this stuff actually drops and why the game is kinda stingy with it.
Where the Greater Crest of Flame Actually Hides
Look, the game doesn't really explain the loot tables for Muspelheim very well. You get the basic Crest of Flame from the early trials, but the Greater Crest of Flame is a different beast entirely. It’s a Rare-tier crafting component. You won't see it until you start tackling the "Hard" or "Impossible" versions of the trials.
Essentially, Muspelheim is built like a ladder. You clear the five arenas, you reach the summit, you fight the Valkyrie Gondul, and then the real game begins. Once Gondul is back in Valhalla, the arenas reset into "Impossible" trials. This is where you actually start farming the good stuff.
Don't bother looking for these in chests around the Lake of Nine. They don't exist there. They are strictly a reward for completing the Surtr’s Hidden Trials or the high-level Arena 6 challenges. If you’re playing on "Give Me God of War" difficulty, the drop rates don't necessarily increase, but the stakes sure do. One slip-up against a Traveler or a bunch of Nightmares and you're restarting the whole encounter.
The Muspelheim Loop
The most reliable way to get a steady flow of the Greater Crest of Flame is to earn keys. To unlock the final trial at the peak—the one that actually rewards the big chests—you need three keys. You get these by completing any three of the five "Impossible" trials.
Which ones should you do? Well, that depends on your playstyle.
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Some people swear by Trial 2 (Kill 30 enemies without taking damage). If you’re good with the Shield and Atreus’ shock arrows, it’s a breeze. If you’re like me and occasionally get clipped by a stray projectile from a stray projectile-throwing lizard, it’s a nightmare. Trial 4 (Kill enemies while they're inside the gold circles) is usually the "fastest" if your build focuses on high Runic and cooldown.
Once you have three keys, you head to the top. The "Hidden Trials of Surtr" are where the motherlode is. Depending on whether you hit Bronze, Silver, or Gold rank, you'll get a varying amount of Greater Crests. Gold usually nets you a decent handful, along with the even rarer Crest of Surtr.
Why Your Build Might Be Failing You
If you're struggling to clear these trials fast enough to make farming viable, your stats might be lopsided. Muspelheim is a Runic check. Pure Strength is great for the main story, but here, you need to clear waves.
I’ve seen a lot of players try to brute-force the Impossible trials with the Ivaldi’s Pauldron of Endless Mist. It’s a great set for Niflheim, sure. But in the fire realm, the health regen is less important than raw damage output and cooldown reduction. You want to be rotating through your Runic attacks—think Hel’s Touch or Mists of Helheim—to keep enemies stunned.
Greater Crest of Flame is the currency of the elite. You need it for:
- Upgrading the Valkyrie Armor set to its maximum potential.
- Leveling up the Muspelheim-specific armor sets (Smoldering Sulfur, etc.).
- Crafting the best pommels for the Leviathan Axe and the Blades of Chaos.
If you’re sitting there with a Level 6 Kratos, you’re going to have a bad time. Aim for Level 7 or 8 before you really start dedicated farming. The enemies in the Impossible trials don't scale down; they are built to punish you.
Common Misconceptions About the Drop
One thing people get wrong is thinking the Greater Crest of Flame is a random drop from kills. It’s not. You can kill ten thousand Burning Seekers and you won't see a single one pop out of their corpses. It is strictly a reward-screen item.
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Also, don't confuse it with the "Crest of Surtr." That’s the red-rarity item. You only get that from hitting Gold on the final summit trial. The Greater Crest is the gold-rarity item. It's confusing because, in any other game, "Greater" would imply the highest tier. Here, it’s the middle child. You need more of them, but they’re slightly easier to get than the Surtr variant.
Efficiency is Everything
Let's talk strategy. If you want to maximize your haul per hour, stop trying to do the "hard" trials just because you think they pay better. They don't. The "Impossible" Arena 1 (Kill enemies in quick succession) is often much faster than Arena 3 (Kill enemies inside the rings) because the rings move and AI can be stubborn.
I usually run Arena 1, Arena 2, and Arena 5.
Arena 5 is the "time extension" one. As long as you keep killing, the timer goes up. If your Kratos is geared for high Strength and Runic, you can clear this in a couple of minutes.
Once you get those three keys, the chest at the top is where the Greater Crest of Flame lives in bulk. On a Gold run at the summit, you can walk away with 10 or 20 of these things. If you're just scraping by with Bronze, you might only get 2 or 3. It's a massive difference.
The Valkyrie Factor
If you haven't beaten Gondul yet, stop worrying about farming. You won't get the high-efficiency drops until she’s out of the way. She’s one of the tougher Valkyries because of her fire-based AOE attacks and that annoying "Valhalla!" stomp that comes out of nowhere.
Tip: Wear armor with high Fire Resistance or use the Enchantment "Eye of the Winged Chosen" to increase your movement speed and evasion. Once she’s dead, the arena becomes a permanent farm zone.
Getting the Most Out of Your Loot
Once you finally have a stack of Greater Crest of Flame, don't just spend it on the first thing you see. Priorities matter.
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- Valkyrie Gauntlets: These are arguably the best in the game for a balanced build.
- Gripping Erudition: If you use the Axe more than the Blades, this pommel is a beast when fully upgraded.
- Hilt of Forseti: Great for those who need a bit more utility in their Runic summons.
The grind for the Greater Crest of Flame is essentially the "endgame" of God of War. It’s the game’s way of making sure you’ve truly mastered the combat system before you go up against the Queen of the Valkyries.
It's tedious? Yeah, kinda. But watching Kratos walk into the final fight with glowing, maxed-out gear makes the hours spent in the heat worth it.
Steps to Start Your Farm
Stop wandering and get a plan together. First, ensure you have all four Muspelheim Ciphers found in the purple chests across Midgard. You can't even get to the realm without them. Once you're in, clear the first five trials on Normal and Hard. This is your warm-up.
Beat Gondul at the peak. This is the "gatekeeper" moment. After she falls, look for the swords that have reappeared in the arenas. These are the "Impossible" versions. Pick the three that match your playstyle best—usually 1, 2, and 5 for most players.
Collect your keys and interact with the sword at the summit. This starts a ranked trial. Focus entirely on the objective—whether it's killing enemies fast or not taking hits—to ensure you hit that Gold rank. Open the final chest, take your Greater Crest of Flame, and head back to Brok or Sindri to finally get that upgrade you've been eyeing.
If you find yourself coming up short by just one or two crests, check your "Sell" tab at the shop. Sometimes you can trade in lesser materials for better ones, though the exchange rates are usually pretty bad. It's almost always better to just run Arena 1 again. It takes five minutes and guarantees the drop.