You're standing in front of a chest wrapped in blue, glowing vines, and you've already spent ten minutes throwing your axe at random rocks. We’ve all been there. Whether you're playing the 2018 masterpiece or the massive follow-up, Ragnarok, the God of War runic chest—officially known as Nornir Chests—is basically Santa Monica Studio’s way of testing your patience and your peripheral vision. They aren't just there for flavor. If you want Kratos to survive more than two hits from a Valkyrie or a Berserker, you need these. They hold the Idunn Apples and Horns of Blood Mead.
Health and Rage. That's the game.
Honestly, the frustration is part of the design. You see three glowing letters on the front of a stone box. "C," "R," and something that looks like an "N." Somewhere in the immediate environment, those letters are hidden on jars, bells, or spinning totems. It’s a puzzle. Sometimes it’s a timing puzzle, sometimes it’s a hidden-object game, and occasionally, it’s just a test of how well you can aim a flaming chain while spinning the camera like a maniac.
The Reality of Hunting the God of War Runic Chest
Most people think these chests are just about loot. They aren't. They are the primary progression mechanic for Kratos’s base stats. You’ll find them tucked away in every realm, from the lush forests of Midgard to the suffocating heat of Muspelheim. In the 2018 game, there are 21 of them. Ragnarok upped the ante significantly, scattering 35 across the Nine Realms. You don't actually need to find every single one to max out your bars, which is a mercy from the developers. Once you've hit the cap, these chests start dropping Hacksilver or enchantments instead.
The mechanics usually fall into four annoying, yet satisfying, categories.
First, you have the "Smash the Seal" chests. These are the easiest. You just find three blue-glowing jars hidden in the grass or behind a waterfall and break them. Then you have the "Spinning Totems." You hit a paddle, the rune rotates, and you have to match it to the chest. It’s simple, unless the totem is behind a gate you have to open with a gear.
Then things get spicy.
The "Timed Bells" are the ones that lead to most "God of War runic chest guide" searches. You have to hit all three bells before the first one stops ringing. If you're a millisecond late, the runes reset. You’re standing there, sweating, trying to calculate the travel time of the Leviathan Axe. It’s intense. Finally, Ragnarok introduced the "Ignite the Brazier" puzzles, where you use the Blades of Chaos to light torches. These often involve "chaining" Runic Arrows (Sigil Arrows) to create an explosion that reaches a torch you can't actually touch.
Why Midgard and Vanaheim Warp Your Perspective
In Midgard, specifically around the Lake of Nine, the God of War runic chest locations change based on the water level. This was a stroke of genius. You might see a chest early on that is completely inaccessible because it's underwater. Come back a few hours later after the World Serpent has moved, and suddenly the puzzle is live.
Look at the chest in Lookout Tower. It’s a classic "spinning totem" puzzle, but the totems are spiked. You have to hit a board to retract the spikes before you can even see the runes. It’s layers of puzzles. It isn't just "find the thing," it's "figure out how to interact with the thing so you can see the other thing."
Vanaheim in Ragnarok is even more complex. Because of the day/night cycle mechanic, some Nornir Chests are literally impossible to solve unless it’s nighttime because specific plants only retract in the dark. If you’re stuck on a chest in the Eastern Barri Woods, stop throwing your axe. Check the sky. You might just need to go find a Celestial Altar and change the time of day.
People often complain that these puzzles break the flow of the "Dad of War" narrative. I disagree. Kratos is a general. Atreus is a scout. These puzzles force you to look at the environment like a tactician. You aren't just running through a corridor; you're dissecting a landscape.
The Mistakes Everyone Makes
Stop looking for the runes five miles away.
Seriously. A God of War runic chest puzzle is almost always contained within a 30-foot radius of the chest itself. If you’re wandering into a different combat arena, you’ve gone too far. The runes are often hidden behind "breakaway" wooden boards, tucked high up on cliff faces, or disguised inside gold-cracked rocks that require a Draupnir Spear or a red pot explosion.
- Sound Cues: Listen. The bells make a distinct ringing sound, but the seals have a low-frequency hum. If you’re wearing headphones, you can actually "ear-ball" the location of a hidden seal.
- The Sigil Trick: In Ragnarok, if you can't reach a brazier with your blades, you have to stack Sigil Arrows. But remember: the bigger the circle, the weaker the chain. Small, overlapping circles work better for carrying fire.
- Axe Recall: Sometimes the puzzle requires you to hit a switch on the return trip of the axe. You throw it past a target, move to a new angle, and then recall it so it slices through the rune on its way back to your hand.
There is a specific chest in Alfheim—the Temple of Light—that trips everyone up. It involves bouncing the axe off Twilight Stone to hit the seals. It requires a level of geometry that Kratos definitely didn't learn in Sparta. If you find yourself frustrated, take a breath. The solution is always right there. You’re probably just overthinking it.
The Rewards: Is it Just Fruit and Honey?
Technically, yes. Idunn Apples increase your health. Horns of Blood Mead increase your rage.
But there’s a hidden layer of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) in how you approach these. Expert players know that you should prioritize these chests in the early game. Getting your health bar to the second "segment" before fighting your first ancient makes the game significantly more forgiving.
By the time you reach the endgame, especially in the "Crater" area of Vanaheim, the Nornir Chests start becoming even more elaborate. They start involving the environment-altering powers of the Draupnir Spear. You’ll find chests where you have to plant three spears into different points and detonate them simultaneously. If you try to do them one by one, the runes just reset. It’s a test of your gear mastery.
Specific Chests That Will Break Your Brain
Let's talk about the Fafnir’s Storeroom chest. It’s a timed bell puzzle. The bells are hanging right above the chest. Easy, right? Wrong. The timing window is incredibly tight. You have to hit the one in the back first, then the two in the front. If you go front-to-back, you will fail every single time. It's about the travel time of the axe.
Then there’s the one in the Veithurgard pass. You have to climb around a back path just to get a line of sight on a seal that is hidden behind a gate. You can see it through the bars, but you can’t hit it. You have to find the "angle of intent." That’s a term speedrunners use for these games. Everything has an angle.
In Ragnarok, the chest in the Aurvangar Wetlands is a perfect example of the new mechanics. You have to freeze a geyser to lower a pressure plate, which then raises a hit-target. It's multi-step. It's not just a God of War runic chest anymore; it’s a physics engine showcase.
Tactical Advice for Completions
Don't ignore the ravens while you're hunting chests. Often, Odin’s Ravens are perched near the seals of a Nornir Chest. It’s like the developers wanted to reward you for looking up.
If you are missing one seal, look for "visual blockers." Developers love putting seals behind hanging buckets, inside hollow logs, or behind those "red vines" that you need to burn with the Blades of Chaos. Also, look for the runes themselves painted in white paint on the walls near the chest. Usually, there's a faint trail of the letter's color leading toward where the seal is hidden. It’s subtle, but it’s there.
Also, some chests are locked behind story progression. If you see a chest with "wind" coming out of a hole in a rock nearby, and you don't have the Spear yet? Just walk away. You literally cannot open it. Don't waste an hour trying to throw an axe at a wind-hole. You'll just get annoyed.
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Final Steps for Your Hunt
If you're serious about clearing every God of War runic chest, start by clearing the fog of war in each region. The map screen actually tells you how many Nornir Chests are in a specific sub-region. If the map says 1/2, you know you’ve missed one.
- Check the map for the region's "Nornir Chest" tally.
- If you have the Draupnir Spear, look for small glowing cracks in nearby rocks.
- Always check the verticality; seals are rarely at eye level.
- Clear the enemies first. Nothing ruins a timed bell puzzle like a Draugr hitting you in the back.
- Use your Sigil Arrows to "bridge" fire from a nearby torch if you can't find a way to light a brazier directly.
Once you’ve maxed your stats, the game changes. You stop playing defensively. You start playing like the God of War. Those extra chunks of health are the difference between a "Game Over" screen and a clutch victory against Gna. Go find those runes. They’re usually staring you right in the face.