'God of War' Revenant Guide: Tips for Defeating This Poison-Flinging Foe

You're going to fight a lot of enemies in God of War (it's not called God of Hugs), but one type in particular stands out from the others: Revenants. Where most enemies can't do much to prevent an onslaught of fists and blades from an enraged Kratos, Revenants are slippery. They fly around at high speed and are invulnerable to physical attacks as long as they're enshrouded in a poisonous mist.They have strong ranged attacks and can even apply poison effects. Encountering more than one at a time can be an incredibly frustrating and often lethal experience. So how do you defeat a revenant? Read on.

God Of War Revenant Guide: Basic Revenant

The first type of revenant you'll encounter in God of War is also the most basic. The good news is learning to defeat these revenants teaches you the basic strategy for defeating the more advanced incarnations later on, which come with some additional nasty abilities. And the key to defeating revenants boils down to one word: Atreus.

You see, Atreus' arrows prove to be the key to taking out revenants. While Kratos can't do damage while they have an active mist, Atreus can. Once he hits them the mist disperses, and this allows Kratos to move in and do some damage. The most reliable way to take out a revenant is to go in bare-handed and build stun damage. Once you stun one, you can execute it by hitting R3. As this foe tends to be quick and shifty, it's much easier to initiate an auto-kill with a full stun bar than chasing them all over the place. And, after a few frustrating encounters, it becomes very satisfying to watch Kratos rip them apart with his bare hands.

As you power up Atreus' arrows and abilities, you'll find that shock arrows tend to work best. They keep revenants stunned a bit longer so you have more time to close in on your attacks. Atreus also learns a number of runic attacks throughout the game. Murder of Crows and Falcons' Dive are the most useful against revenants. In both cases, a swarm of magical birds attacks all the enemies around. If you're dealing with more than one revenant, these attacks are extraordinarily useful for slowing them down long enough for you to focus on defeating them one at a time.

God Of War Revenant Guide: Poison Revenant

This revenant has a number of poison attacks that can be difficult to manage. The strategy for defeating them is the same as basic revenants: hit them with arrows and focus on stun damage. But you must be mindful of pools of poison the revenant sprays on the ground when attacked; step on too many and you'll be dead before you know it. Additionally, this type uses a special attack that travels along the ground and will actually track Kratos' movements, so it's very hard to dodge. It can be blocked, though, so keeping your shield up while you command Atreus to use his arrows is a good tactic to prevent unnecessary damage.

God Of War Revenant Guide: Summoning Revenant

This revenant summons up to four flying nightmares that will harass you the entire time you're fighting. She also unleashes a blinding cloud attack, which can make it difficult to track her movements and avoid all the Nightmares flying around. However, she will only summon more nightmares if ALL of them are killed. So take out three of the four summoned nightmares to make your fight a little easier, but leave the last one alive. And, as always, keep those arrows coming and your shield up. Sprinting is a tempting way to close the gap but doing a couple dodge rolls toward a revenant makes you less susceptible to a quick attack. Let your health bar guide how aggressive you are: if your Spartan Rage is charged and ready to go, don't be afraid to use it.

What Does 'Nista' Mean In God Of War? Why Does Atreus Say It?

If you are wondering what it means when Atreus utters the word Nista! it isn't totally clear but some possible meaning has been discussed around forums like Reddit. According to one Redditor,

"It is a verb in Old Norse which means to pierce/nail. I think it is an exclamation that signifies a hit. Arrows pierce. I am assuming it is used as one of the stock phrases Atreus cycles through while fighting."

Another added to the information saying, "Ništa in Croatian means 'Nothing.'I find that Atreus says that when you ask him to shoot an arrow but hasn't reloaded yet, or when he misses. Not sure, but perhaps the region they are in, or the language that Atreus is using is of Slavic origin."

These explanations aren't confirmed, but they seem like sensible conclusions.

Have any other tips for defeating revenants? Are they your least favorite enemy in God of War ? Let us know in the comments.