Kratos has wielded many different weapons throughout the God of War series, some, more memorable than others. In the 2018 reboot, the titular God of War swings a powerful axe that was given to him by his late wife and, once upgraded, has the ability to freeze enemies upon contact. Throughout the game, players can find new pommels for the Leviathan Axe to make it even better, including one that's known as the Forbidden Grip of the Ages.
Though there are more powerful grips in the game, Epic axe pommels cannot be obtained until the dying embers of the main story, meaning that players will likely be using a Legendary pommel for most of the game. The Forbidden Grip of the Ages is a solid choice in this regard thanks to the passive stat boosts it provides and how early on in God of War players can get their hands on it. That's not to say that doing so will be easy, however.
How to Get the Forbidden Grip of the Ages in God of War
Players can find the Forbidden Grip of the Ages inside a hidden Realm Tear near the Lake of Nine. Those who purchased the special edition physical version of the PS4 release of the game should have received a cloth map with runes detailing how to find it, but players don't actually need to have deciphered these runes in order to get the pommel. The first step towards doing so will require them to head to the top of the Muspelheim realm tower, which is due south of Tyr's Temple.
As with other realm towers, players will encounter a Traveler here on their first visit and so should take care of it before doing anything else. Once it's been defeated, they should then stand in the center of the large ring on the floor and face Tyr's Temple, after which, they'll need to look around in a very specific way. There are four things that they'll be focusing on: Tyr's Temple, which is Straight in front of them, the two large braziers to their Left and Right, and the large ring on the ground Down beneath them.
From their starting position, players should look Straight, Left, Straight, Right, Left, Straight, Down, Right, Left, and then Straight. There's no need to go too quickly here, though if players do mess up, it's possible to restart by leaving and then returning to the area using the nearby door. If done correctly, however, a gong will sound when players look back at the temple for the third time and again when the sequence has been fully completed. A Realm Tear will then appear directly in front of Kratos, and players can reach inside it to pull out the Forbidden Grip of the Ages.
The Forbidden Grip of the Ages Stats and Upgrades
The Forbidden Grip of the Ages provides a passive boost to all of Kratos' key stats. When players first get their hands on the pommel it will be at Level 3, but they'll be able to upgrade it to Level 4 with 4,200 Hacksilver and five World Serpent Scales, which can be obtained from chests and caves around the Lake of Nine. To upgrade it to Level 5, they'll need 9,000 Hacksilver and ten World Serpent Scales., at which point it will provide a +12 boost to Strength and +10 to all of Kratos' other key stats.
|
Level 3 |
|
|---|---|
|
Strength |
8 |
|
Runic |
6 |
|
Defense |
6 |
|
Vitality |
6 |
|
Luck |
6 |
|
Cooldown |
6 |
|
Level 4 |
|
|
Strength |
10 |
|
Runic |
8 |
|
Defense |
8 |
|
Vitality |
8 |
|
Luck |
8 |
|
Cooldown |
8 |
|
Level 5 |
|
|
Strength |
12 |
|
Runic |
10 |
|
Defense |
10 |
|
Vitality |
10 |
|
Luck |
10 |
|
Cooldown |
10 |
God of War is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5.