Scent of Survival

Follow Atreus' dog Helka to uncover the Scent of Survival favor in God of War Ragnarök. Learn how to track her, use the Celestial Altar, and reach The Crater.

Alright, so you've just wrapped up the main quest Creatures of Prophecy and you're back in Freyr's Camp. Once all the post-quest chatter dies down, it's time to get moving. Head west out of the camp, and you'll find Helka, the hound, waiting for you. Atreus will get the idea to follow her, since she seems to be onto something interesting, and honestly, you can't leave any other way right now. This is how you kick off the favor called Scent of Survival.

First things first, you'll have to deal with a couple of Draugr. Don't worry, they're pretty much a warm-up.

Following Helka

After that little scuffle, you'll need to leap across some gaps using those Draupnir Spears you've been placing. Keep an eye out for some tracks on the riverbank. Helka's got some kind of supernatural tracking skills in Vanaheim, but at least her tracks are super obvious!

Hop into the boat and head north, then northwest. You'll sail through that passage you took earlier with Freya, under the Yggdrasil drop. Land the boat on the beach to the northwest and keep heading north until you spot more of those blue-glowing Helka tracks. Stick with the tracks, squeezing through a couple of caves before turning west. You'll jump another gap, and then you'll need to lift a boulder out of your way.

Keep following the path until you run into another pair of Draugr. Take 'em out, then follow Helka to a ledge on the southwest. You'll find a root blocking your climb. Take the side path to the west, climb up another, lower ledge, and you'll eventually get to a Celestial Altar. Use it to switch the time of day from night to day. This will make that root on the other ledge retract, clearing the path for you to climb up.

You'll find Helka waiting at the edge of a cliff. From there, use Freyr’s flying ship to row off towards The Crater. Just follow the path ahead, and you'll find Helka barking at the edge of a cliff. Look out into the distance – you'll spot a flare, looking a lot like the ones Freyr’s companions use. Interact with the astral disturbance right next to Helka to summon Freyr’s flying boat. This will wrap up the favor and, after some cutscenes, transport you to a new region of Vanaheim called The Crater, specifically the subregion known as The Plains.

This area is totally optional, but seriously, it's packed with stuff. You'll find about half of Vanaheim's collectibles here, plus tons of loot and opportunities to power up. When you land, head up a ledge to the north, turn west, climb some stairs, vault another ledge, and then head east up another flight of stairs. You'll see a Mystic Gateway up ahead – this is your ticket out of here and a way to get back safely later on. Like we said, this place is worth exploring, but you don't have to do it right now if you don't want to.