Is 100% Completion of God of War Worth the Time Investment? A Completionist‘s Take

As an avid gamer and completionist myself, I‘m often asked if pursuing the coveted 100% completion in huge modern games like God of War is actually worth the effort. My short answer for God of War? If you really want to fully immerse yourself in this enthralling world and get the most out of the brilliant content the developers crafted, then yes, go for 100% completion. But if you‘re just casually playing through and don‘t care as much about side content, don‘t feel obligated to max out this massive game. It ultimately comes down to personal preference.

To elaborate more on whether to take the long road to total mastery of Kratos‘ Norse saga, let‘s dive deep into what 100% completion entails, the rewards it brings, the costs in time and tedium, tips to make the journey smoother, and perspectives from fellow completionist gamers.

Defining 100% Completion in God of War

Reaching 100% completion in the 2018 God of War requires you to:

• Finish all main story quests of course!
• Complete all side quests and favors found on the map.
• Close all 11 Realm Tears hidden in the world.
• Locate and open every single treasure chest.
• Gather all collectibles like Ravens, Artifacts, Odin‘s Ravens.
• Fully upgrade your Leviathan Axe, Blades of Chaos and other weapons to max level.
• Get all armor sets and upgrade them to their maximum power.
• Unlock every upgrade in the skills menu.
• Defeat all the optional Valkyrie bosses and other hidden big bads.
• Fully explore all areas and corners of the world.

This completionist journey will net you the prestigious Platinum Trophy on PlayStation. But more importantly, it means experiencing everything the development team lovingly crafted for this game. Expect it to be an epic quest taking around 50-60 hours if you aim to be thorough.

Tremendous Rewards Await the Committed

Committing yourself to a 100% playthrough does provide some amazing rewards that casual runs will miss out on. Here are some of the big benefits:

• Exclusive top-tier gear – Maxing out the game is the only way to acquire elite armor sets like the deadly Mist Armor providing a huge Strength boost. Similarly, boss drops like the Epic Valkyrie Armor can only be crafted after beating the hardest optional challenges.

• The most powerful upgrades – Reaching max character and equipment levels gives you the absolute strongest builds. Fully upgrading the Leviathan Axe lets you decimate foes.

• New crafting options – Rare crafting materials found in hidden chests allow you to make unique enchantments and talismans unavailable otherwise.

• Major bragging rights – Don‘t underestimate the satisfaction of getting the Platinum Trophy and 100% completion achievement!

But perhaps most importantly…

• Deeper immersion in the world – God of War‘s incredibly crafted world and extensive lore deserve to be experienced fully. Side content contains some of the best story moments and reveals about characters like Atreus and Baldur.

Here‘s just one example (no major spoilers): Remember the friendly dwarf brothers Brok and Sindri? If you complete all their Favors, you learn significantly more about their dark shared backstory and relationship. Easy to miss if ignoring side quests.

The Grindy Tedium of 100% Completion

Now for the downsides of aiming for max completion. It‘s easy for the experience to become a repetitive grind:

• Following collectible guides becomes a second job. Am I having fun now or just checking boxes?
• Revisiting areas to clean up collectibles you missed gets old, especially with so much backtracking.
• Taking detours from the critical main story path bloats playtime substantially.
• Not all side content is created equal – some of the favors are clearly lower quality than main quests.
• Optional superbosses like the Valkyries can halt your progress in frustrating ways.
• The predictable loop of "arrive in new area, fight enemies, open chests" sets in.

Burnout is a real risk here. God of War is already a huge game just pursuing the main story threads. Doing absolutely everything pushes the boundaries of tedium, even for die-hard fans.

Tips from a Fellow Completionist

If you‘re still committed to reaching that glorious 100% milestone, here are some tips from personal experience to make the journey smoother:

• Use collectible guides – trying to blindly find every last raven without help will drive you mad quickly. Following a guide alleviates frustration.

• Do side content as you go – complete favor quests and optional areas before leaving each region to minimize painful backtracking later.

• Focus on key armor first – prioritize upgrading the most useful sets like Valkyrie and Mist Armor over weak ones you‘ll ignore anyway.

• Circle back if stuck – slamming your head against tough optional bosses constantly is un-fun. Just come back later when you have better gear and skills if they halt you.

• Pace yourself – this is a marathon, not a sprint. Take breaks periodically to avoid burning out. I‘d play in 1-2 hour chunks max per day.

• Lower difficulty if needed – no shame in turning down the difficulty if it starts feeling too punishing. Enjoyment should be the goal.

• Co-op challenging battles – summoning a partner can provide relief on bosses like Sigrun if you hit a skill wall.

Worth It in the End? Reviewers Weigh In

Was suffering the grind to 100% completion worth it? Reviewers seem divided based on their personal preferences:

IGN praised the completeness, saying "Those who take the time to search every nook and cranny and complete every activity will get even more mileage out of the journey".

However, GameSpot advised most take a more balanced approach: "It‘s simply not worth grinding out every last collectible or side activity; you‘re best served sticking to the activities you actually want to accomplish".

GameRevolution fell more on the "worth it" side, calling the 100% playthrough "incredibly rewarding despite the effort required".

As a completionist myself, I agreed with GR – maxing out God of War was a long journey, but ultimately one of the most rewarding gaming experiences I‘ve had due to the incredible world the developers crafted. Few games deserve this level of investment.

But I can also understand players who think it ultimately became too much of a chore. At the end of the day, deciding what is "worth it" comes down to your personal preference as a gamer.

I hope this deep dive has provided some helpful perspective! Let me know if you have any other questions.