God of War Ragnarok: Best Difficulty to Select?

Looking for the best difficulty to select in God of War Ragnarok? Like most PlayStation exclusive games, Ragnarok is a refreshingly flexible release, allowing fans to approach it how they please. This means there are a number of difficulty options available to select, as well as numerous accessibility toggles, all of which can be experimented with at any time.

On this page, as part of our God of War Ragnarok guide, we'll make some suggestions about the best difficulty to select. Ultimately, though, we'd recommend experimenting with the available options and finding the settings you feel comfortable with. Everyone enjoys games differently, and Ragnarok has enough settings to suit all tastes.

Which is the Best Difficulty to Select in God of War Ragnarok?

God of War Ragnarok has five difficulty settings to select from. While you'll be prompted to select one of these upon starting a new game, you can change your difficulty setting at any time by selecting Settings > Gameplay from the in-game pause menu. Please note that difficulty does not impede your ability to earn Trophies, and you can earn the Platinum Trophy on the lowest difficulty setting. Refer to our God of War Ragnarok Trophy guide for more information.

The following difficulty options are available in God of War Ragnarok:

• Give Me Story: For those who want an experience with the least focus on combat.
• Give Me Grace: For players who want story focused gameplay with some focus on combat.
• Balance: Equally focused on combat and gameplay.
• No Mercy: For those who want more demanding combat.
• God of War: For those who want the game as difficulty as possible. God of War mode can only be selected when starting a new game at the start menu.

The best difficulty to select, for most players, will be Balance. This difficulty provides a moderate challenge, where you'll need to take time to learn the combat and think about the gear you're using, without impeding the pace of the overall story. If you'd like to focus purely on the plot, without worrying too much about defensive manoeuvres like parrying, then Give Me Story or Give Me Grace are fairly straightforward and should be manageable for most players.

If you're looking for a challenge and want to test yourself, we'd recommend No Mercy or God of War, although do keep in mind that unlike the other options you'll need to select the latter option when creating a new game. Here, you'll have to think carefully about the gear you're using in order to complete the campaign, and will also need to consider how status effects aid and impede you in combat. Remember, if you're finding the game too hard or easy, you can always change at any time to find an experience that better meets your needs, with the exception of the God of War option.

What do you think is the best difficulty to select in God of War Ragnarok? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below, and check out our God of War Ragnarok guide for more information.