Learn how Muspelheim Trials and Challenges work in God of War Ragnarök. Discover differences, unlock methods, and rewards for all 15 trials and challenges.
In God of War Ragnarok, the Muspelheim trials and challenges are similar to those from the original game, but there are some key differences that you need to understand in terms of how they work and the order in which you need to complete them. You don’t have access to all Trials and Challenges initially, but you will eventually have access to nine Trials and six Challenges, bringing the total combined number to 15. You will need to complete each of these at least once to unlock the Trials by Fire trophy / achievement.
The Muspelheim Trials are often interchangeably referred to as the Muspelheim Challenges, but there is actually a difference between the two terms. The Trials are all those that you acquire from the three minor sword monuments, initially two trials from each sword, but with an additional one added to each once you’ve completed the initial six, bringing the total number of Trials to nine. There are then six Challenges that you can start by interacting with the central sword monument, which only appears after opening the Nornir Chest by completing the first six Trials. The Challenges are generally more difficult or time consuming than the Trials, and you can only unlock them one by one at first by completing particular Trials in a specific order.
How to Open the Nornir Chest in The Crucible of Muspelheim
When you first enter The Crucible area of Muspelheim, you’ll notice a Nornir (Rune) Chest in the center of the circular platform beneath the forge. You won’t be able to open this chest in the same way that you open most other Nornir Chests. Instead, you need to complete the first six Muspelheim trials. These can be found by climbing up to the three areas that you can see to the north, northeast, and southeast of the Nornir Chest as you’re standing in front of it. Each area has a sword monument associated with it, and at the beginning you’ll be able to access two Muspelheim trials from each sword by interacting with it.
The sword monuments also have a rune from the Nornir Chest associated with them, and you will dispel the rune from the chest by completing both Trials associated with the corresponding rune on the sword monument. The sword monument to the north is associated with the “F” rune, the sword monument to the northeast is associated with the “N” rune, and the sword monument to the southeast is associated with the “R” rune.
Initial Six Muspelheim Trials
| Sword Monument | Associated Rune | Trial Name | Trial Description |
| North | F | Weapon Mastery | Defeat all enemies within the time limit |
| North | F | Flawless | Avoid taking damage |
| Northeast | N | Ring Out Challenge | Opponents rapidly regenerate from any damage |
| Northeast | N | Feed the Rift | Throw orbs into the realm tear to close it before time runs out |
| Southeast | R | Population Control | Kill the Elite while keeping the population under the limit |
| Southeast | R | King of the Hill | Keep enemies out of the rings until the time expires |
In addition to the above Trials associated with each sword monument (and the corresponding rune), there will be an additional Trial added to each of the three sword monuments once you’ve completed all six of the initial trials from them.
Additional Trials Added to Each Sword Monument After Completing the Initial Six
| Sword Monument | Associated Rune | Trial Name | Trial Description |
| North | F | Rampage | Defeat 20 enemies within the time limit |
| Northeast | N | Health Steal | Take constant damage, but recover health by dealing damage |
| Southeast | R | Kill Fuse | Rapidly kill enemies to increase the timer |
Trial and Challenge Rewards
You will find that after completing each Trial or Challenge, a Legendary Chest will spawn in the area which you’ll need to loot before you can proceed. The chests provide a number of useful rewards and items including large amounts of Hacksilver, Divine Ashes, Petrified Bone, Luminous Alloy, Blazing Embers, Glowing Embers, and more. The Nornir Chest will also provide you with a weapon upgrade, and you can acquire pieces of the Undying Pyres and Surtr’s armor eventually.
You can see the path to each of the three sword monuments by looking for these markings, which indicate that you can grapple up to them.
How to Unlock All Six Muspelheim Challenges
Now that we’ve covered all of the Muspelheim Trials, we’ll briefly discuss how you can unlock the six Muspelheim Challenges. These can be accessed by interacting with the central sword monument, roughly located in the same place where the Nornir Chest was previously. You will find that this sword monument is locked initially, and you won’t be able to interact with it until you complete one Trial each from two specific sword monuments in a particular order. This will unlock a specific Challenge, and the orders for each Challenge unlock are listed in the table below.
Muspelheim Trial Combinations to Unlock Challenges
| Trial Combination | Challenge Unlocked | Description |
| F + R | Shield Breaker Challenge | Kill grunts to break the Elite enemy’s shield |
| F + N | Endurance Challenge | Survive |
| N + R | Onslaught Challenge |
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