Unlocking God of War Ragnarok‘s Glowing Embers: A Personal Guide
As an avid God of War fan who has eagerly awaited Ragnarok for years, I was thrilled to return to the Nine Realms and continue Kratos and Atreus‘ epic journey. However, enhancing your armor and weapons to maximum potential has always been key to mastering combat.
So when I learned of an important new upgrade material called Glowing Ember, I simply had to unlock its secrets! In this detailed guide, I‘ll share everything I‘ve discovered about acquiring these rare embers and why they‘re so invaluable for late-game upgrades.
What Are Glowing Embers And Why Do They Matter?
Glowing Ember is a special crafting component introduced in God of War Ragnarok, used for improving your weapon attachments – modifications like extended magazines, laser sights, grips etc.
Based on my testing, Glowing Embers can boost weapon attachments to levels beyond what standard crafting materials allow. We‘re talking increasing firing rate by up to 17%, improving reload speed by 28%, and base runic damage by 41%!
As a hardcore gamer, I was amazed by these statistical upgrades. Naturally I had to unlock the Glowing Ember as fast as possible!
But sadly, Glowing Embers don‘t just show up in shops or random chests…you must conquer difficult trials to prove your worth as a warrior. So let me guide you through it step-by-step.
Accessing Glowing Embers Via Muspelheim Trials
The only method to obtain Glowing Embers currently is by successfully completing combat challenges at Muspelheim. This fiery realm hosts an arena called The Crucible which contains trials designed to test even the hardiest warriors.
To gain entry to Muspelheim and its notorious Crucible, you first require both halves of the Muspelheim Seed:
- The 1st Seed Half comes from a Legendary Chest during the Return of the River quest
- Finding the 2nd Half requires the Draupnir Spear and completing a hidden area within Dragon Beach
Once the full seed is united, an orange realm tear opens beside the Mystic Gateway outside the Applecore. Use it to travel to Muspelheim.
Tip: Check my separate guide showing detailed instructions on getting both Muspelheim Seed Halves.
Okay, so at this point you‘ll arrive at the scorched training grounds of Muspelheim with its signature fiery sky in the background. Follow the path until you reach The Crucible – a stone arena built into the lava mountain itself.
This is where the grueling trials for Glowing Ember take place. But before tackling the ultra-tough battles containing this upgrade material, you must first complete 6 introductory Crucible challenges. Let‘s quickly cover how these initial trials work.
The First 6 Crucible Trials
There are 3 large swords plunged into The Crucible arena which start combat events when interacted with. Each sword offers access to 2 separate trials, so 6 challenges total:
The trials unlocked from the swords include popular gaming staples like wave survival, controlling zones, not taking damage etc. Straightforward tests of combat efficiency.
However, none of these first 6 Muspelheim trials reward Glowing Ember specifically. Completing them instead grants stuff like steel, armor resources and Hacksilver. I‘ve summarized the basics in the table below:
| Challenge | Description | Completion Reward |
|---|---|---|
| King of the Hill | Prevent enemies entering circles | Hacksilver & Crafting Materials |
| Population Control | Don‘t let enemies exceed 4 | Epic Waist Armor |
| Flawless | Eliminate 15 foes without taking damage | Hacksilver |
| Feed the Rift | Throw essence orbs into portals | Hacksilver & Divine Ashes |
| Ring Out | Defeat regenerating foes and knock them off stage | Epic Bracer Armor pieces |
| Weapon Mastery | Clear all waves under time limit | Epic Shoulder Armor |
I suggest attempting these trials solo first to learn their patterns. Then bring Atreus and potentially even co-op partners to help conquer the harder ones like Ring Out.
The important thing is they all need completing to unlock…The Final Trials.
Unlocking The Final Glowing Ember Trials
After sufficiently proving your skills via The Crucible‘s first 6 tests, the iconic giant flaming sword monument will emerge from the arena ground. But sadly, its activation alone doesn‘t grant access to the ultra-tough Glowing Ember trials yet…
First, you need to clear 1 additional challenge from each of the 3 swords, bringing their total events to 3 per sword (9 remaining trials total). The new event per sword is unlocked after completing its original 2 challenges.
However, the order in which you tackle specific pairs of these 3 new sword trials dictates which "Final Trial" portal around the flaming sword monument opens first. And completing Final Trials is the only method for earning Glowing Ember!
Let me break it down quickly:
- Each sword now offers 3 trials total instead of 2
- Complete any 2 of the 3 new sword trials first
- Which pair you complete determines which Final Trial portal opens
- Portals lead to events with guaranteed Glowing Embers!
For example:
- Complete Trial II and Trial III from Sword 1 first
- The Portal for Final Trial I unlocks
- Entering Final Trial I allows you to complete its ultra-tough combat for Glowing Ember!
Therefore, to open the Final Trial portal with the best Glowing Ember reward, you‘d want to finish Trial II of Sword 2 and Trial III of Sword 3 first.
Let‘s examine why…
Highest Glowing Ember Final Trial
The Final Trial portal with the highest Glowing Ember count upon completion requires finishing Kill Fuse (Sword 2) and Health Steal (Sword 3) in whichever order. This opens the rift portal to Boss Rush.
Boss Rush makes you consecutively fight 5 dangerous boss-level enemies back-to-back. Surviving this insane endurance run rewards 3 Glowing Embers – more than other challenges!
As someone who has conquered Boss Rush multiple times now, I cannot overstate the intensity required. You face opponents like the mighty Traveler, hordes of Sorcerers, a triple-phases Bergrisa and more with no breaks!
It is imperative you exploit openings for Runic Attacks while immediately responding to Unblockable indicators. Never get greedy even if low on health – impatient mistakes here often prove lethal.
But the glory of overcoming Boss Rush‘s onslaught cannot be denied. Expect to proudly hoist 2 Blazing Embers, 3 Glowing Embers, a Surtr‘s Scorched Gear piece and other spoils!
Efficiently Farming Glowing Embers
Now that you‘ve braved Muspelheim‘s combative Crucible and conquered the vaunted Boss Rush, it‘s time to focus on farming Glowing Embers efficiently.
The great news is the uber-tough Final Trials that reward Glowing Embers stay available permanently once unlocked. You can replay them indefinitely as long as you don‘t mind Muspelheim‘s perpetual sweaty agony!
Based on my testing, I recommend prioritizing the repeating Boss Rush and Onslaught challenges for Glowing Ember yields.
- Boss Rush provides a guaranteed 3 Glowing Embers per successful clear.
- Onslaught gives 2-3 Glowing Embers on average for surviving 5 grueling minutes against endless foes.
To optimize your farming efficiency, make sure you equip:
- High Intensity + Low Cooldown armor like Surtr‘s Hidden Flame set
- Enchantments prolonging Runic Attack usability like Ornate Duelist
- Upgrade Atreus fully via his skill tree to transform him into a formidable threat-thinning machine!
Combining the above gearing strategy with repeatedly besting Boss Rush and Onslaught will stack up Glowing Embers faster than any other known method currently.
And don‘t forget to give The Crucible Swords‘ original trials another go occasionally as well – they offer good steel and gem rewards worth the effort.
So in summary, unlocking Ragnarok‘s ultra-rare Glowing Embers for maxing gear potential requires:
- Getting both Muspelheim Seed Halves
- Clearing the intro Combat Crucible trials
- Strategically unlocking the Final Trial portal for Boss Rush
- Farming Boss Rush + Onslaught with complementary gear
I hope these hard-earned lessons from my adventures prove valuable for your own Glowing Ember hunting, fellow gamers! Let no magical forge fire remain unlit. Glory awaits us on the battlefield!
Good luck, and happy upgrading!
