God of War (PS4) - Enchantments and Runes Explained

God of War on the PS4 has a far more extensive RPG style customisation system than previous games, allowing players to not only equip various pieces of armour and weapons but also attach bonus perks via Enchantments and Super Moves via Runes.

As you probably know, gear can be either purchased directly or crafted after finding the appropriate materials. God of War has a World of Warcraft rarity system, with items falling into four rarity categories: Green (Common), Blue (Rate), Purple (Legendary) or Gold (Epic). Gold is the games highest level tier, and as such, offers the best stats, perks and bonuses.

Whilst the player always has the option to equip both a Light and Heavy Rune for their weapon, the number of usable Enchantments is limited by the number of available Sockets on the equipped armour. In almost all cases, the greater the rarity of armour the more Enchantment Sockets are available.

The image below shows the games crafting screen with a selection of green, blue and gold armour pieces:

In total, Kratos has three armour slots that players can customize. These include the Chest, Wrist and Waist armour pieces. Atreus has a single armour slot that can be customized.

Let's take a detailed look at Enchantments first.

Enchantments and Sockets

What are they

Enchantments are like special "gems" that players can equip to their armour to gain improved stats and sometimes a bonus perk. Each Enchantment offers small increases in one or two stats, whilst the bonus perk can be anything from invulnerability whilst sprinting to granting a protective barry after a parry.

Enchantment Sockets or "slots" are placeholders on armour pieces that Enchantments fit into. Not all armour has Sockets and the number of available Sockets varies depending on the rarity. Players can select which Enchantments they want to insert into an empty Socket or swap out other Enchantments at any time.

Depending on the rarity of the Enchantment, the stat bonuses may be tiny or significant, and similarly the bonus perk may be non-existant or offer a high chance of perk activation. You'll find that Green (Common) Enchantments typically have no perk and low stats, whilst Gold (Epic) Enchantments have high stats and a powerful perk. In any case, although Enchantments offer individually small bonuses, a large number of equipped Enchantments can quickly boost your perks and stats because stats stack across all gear.

As a good example, take a look at the large image above. It shows a Rare (Blue) Metal-Plated Shoulder Guard with a single Enchantment that has been slotted into its Socket. The Enchantment is called "Brilliant Mark of the Dragon" and provides the player with +4 Strength and +4 Cooldown. These bonuses apply on top of the existing stats that the armour already has.

How to get more slots

As mentioned briefly above, the number of available Enchantment Sockets depends on the rarity of gear you have. Gold gear typically has at least two slots, whilst Blue usually has a single slot and Green never has any.

How to get new Enchantments

New Enchantments come from dropped enemies, chests and from rewards as you complete main quests and Favors.

Examples of Enchantments

Brilliant Mark of the Dragon - Perk: Sprinting for 3 seconds grants Unstoppable Aura, preventing interruptions by enemy attacks.
Inscribed Sign of Cunning - Perk: Very low perk activation chance to grant a Blessing COOLDOWN when damage is taken.
Fragmented Heart of Alfheim - Perk: Reduces all damage from Dark Elves attacks by 12% (stacks up to 36% max).
Inlaid Crest of Defiance - Perk: High Perk activation chance to grant Protective Barrier, preventing damage from enemy attacks, on any successful parry.
Inscribed Chest of Cunning - Perk: Moderate Perk activation chance to grant a Blessing COOLDOWN on any successful block.
Etched Crest of Defiance - Perk: High Perk activation chance to grant a Blessing of RUNIC on any successful parry.

Runes

What are they

Runes are special moves, super moves if you like. Kratos has two special moves (per weapon) that players can customize, one called the Light Runic Attack and the other called the Heavy Runic Attack. These moves are extremely powerful attacks and as such their use is limited via the Super meter which is dependent on the recharge rate of your Cooldown stat.

Players can customize their prefered special moves for a specific weapon under the Weapons section of the ingame menu. Simply switch in the Runic ability you want to replace for the Light and Heavy attacks. Weapons such as the Axe, Bow and Blade of Chaos all have Runic slots.

How to get new Runes

You'll find new Runes from dropped enemies, chests and as you naturally progress through the story. See the additional guide to understand how to unlock all of the Runic Attacks in God of War.

Examples of Runes

Runes are arguably more exciting that Enchantments and as such they have their own in-depth descriptions, upgrade levels and even a mini-video showing off their features within the game.

Below are some examples of Axe Runes you can unlock and use in God of War:

Axe - Light Runic

Njords Tempest - A fast spinning melee attack that clears out groups of enemies.
Tyr's Revenge - A powerful spinning attack against a single target with a follow up attack that slams the enemy to the ground.
Leviathan's Wake - A powerful axe throw that plows through any enemies in its path.
Charge of the White Bear - A quick, propulsive dash attack with a follow-up strike. Kratos is protected during the dash.
Wrath of the Frost Ancient - A powerful ice beam that slows all enemies on contact.
Strike of the Utgard - A wide-arcing attack that inflicts a moderate amount of Frost damage.
Hel's Touch - An extremely quick burst of energy that interrupts and knocks back all nearby enemies.

Axe - Heavy Runic

Thiazi's Talon - A propulsive slice attack that launches a small, vertical wave that inflicts medium Frost damage.
Ivaldi's Anvil - A devastating area-of-effect attack that freezes all enemies caught in the blast radius.
Frost Giant's Frenzy - three powerful slam attacks that launch enemies and send them flying.
The River of Knives - A destructive attack that sends out a line of ice shards that inflict Frost damage and launch enemies into the air upon contact.

See the additional guide to understand how to unlock all of the Runic Attacks in God of War.