God of War Ragnarok Mod Tokens Guide for Skill Customization and Upgrades

Mod tokens can turn Kratos’ favorite weapons into powerhouses, but using them the right way makes all the difference. Here’s how to apply these elusive upgrades to squeeze every ounce of strength and style from your arsenal in God of War Ragnarök.

For anyone who feels a sense of satisfaction ticking off checkboxes, it’s an irresistibly deep progression system structured such that you always feel like you’re moving toward a goal. It’s also, as with many things in this dense, complicated game, kinda easy to miss. Here’s how it all works.

How to level up the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos

Upgrading the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos requires finding Frozen Flames and Chaos Flames, which serve as their main upgrade materials. These rare items are typically earned by defeating major bosses or completing certain story quests. Take them to one of Brok and Sindri’s forges to increase each weapon’s level, boosting their strength and opening new skill tiers. For further customization, apply Mod Tokens to enhance specific attacks, tailoring each weapon’s performance to your chosen combat style.

In God of War Ragnarök, you start the game with both of Kratos’ primary weapons: the boomerang-esque Leviathan Axe and the extremely mid-2000s nü metal Blades of Chaos. You can level up each weapon multiple times. Whatever level you’re at dictates the unlockable skills available to you, starting from level 1 and going all the way up to 5.

You can increase the level of your Leviathan Axe with Frozen Flame, a rare resource typically earned by defeating massive bosses who punctuate major story beats. The Blades of Chaos, meanwhile, can be upgraded with Chaos Flame, earned from both mandatory and optional mini bosses. (You can also earn fragments of Chaos Flame by defeating high-level enemies in draugr pits strewn around Ragnarök‘s primary explorable areas; find six fragments and you’ll get a full Chaos Flame.)

How to apply mod tokens in God of War Ragnarök

In God of War Ragnarök, mod tokens are applied by first raising a skill to gold tier through repeated use in combat, then opening the skill tree, selecting the skill with the unlocked mod slot, and choosing one of the three available effects-such as extra damage, stun, or elemental power-while spending the required Kratos XP to lock it in.

Both of Kratos’ primary weapons have three skill trees. Unlocking new skills is pretty self-explanatory: Earn some XP, spend it on the move you want. The real grind comes after you’ve unlocked a skill.

The majority of Kratos’ offensive skills will allow you to apply a permanent upgrade called a mod token. Successfully perform a move several times in combat, and you’ll level that skill up to bronze rank. Keep performing the move, and it’ll eventually hit silver rank. Once a skill hits gold rank – which could require you to land it 50 cumulative times or more – you’ll be able to spend 1,000 XP to give that skill a stat buff. You’ll have different choices for which perk you can apply, but these are the common options:

• Damage: Increase how much damage an attack deals.
• Stun: Increase how much an attack stuns an enemy.
• Element: Boost the efficacy of the attack’s elemental effect (frost for the Axe, fire for the Blades)
• Protection: Prevent Kratos from getting staggered while using that specific ability (terrific for moves like Serpent’s Snare that have a long windup)

It’s an enormous benefit – and also easy to miss. Often, in the heat of combat, you’ll miss the pop-up notification that says you hit the threshold. On the skills tree, though, if you see a skill glowing gold, that means it’s eligible for an upgrade.

There are some guardrails, however. You can’t just spam the ability out of combat to get it to gold rank; your total usage count will increase only if you actually land the attack. In theory, this is meant to prevent you from out-leveling your enemies, but come on. Obviously there’s a workaround. During the Svartalfheim section – about three-ish hours into the game – you’ll run into low-level enemies who consistently spawn from nests until those nests are destroyed. As long as you don’t destroy the nest, you can easily grind skills up to their gold ranking.

Where do you get runic attacks in God of War Ragnarök?

Runic attacks in God of War Ragnarök appear inside Legendary Chests scattered across realms like Alfheim, Vanaheim, Svartalfheim, Midgard and Niflheim. Light versions become available early, such as in The Strond, while heavy ones require more progress, like during the second Alfheim visit or defeating bosses such as The Huntress. Players locate them by exploring ruins, camps and tunnels, often after solving environmental puzzles or clearing enemies.

In addition to Kratos’ basic skills, you can also use Runic attacks. They function much as they did in 2018’s God of War: high-powered moves tied to cooldown meters. You’ll get a handful of light runic attacks fairly early on, though Kratos’ cooldown is strict in Ragnarök, so you won’t be able to rely on them as much as you may have in the previous game.

You won’t find heavy runic attacks until way, way later in Ragnarök. I found my first during the second visit to Alfheim – it was in a legendary chest located in the underground area – while a colleague got theirs during the initial Vanaheim segment. Either way, you’re looking at 15 to 20 hours of gameplay before unlocking a type of move that was critical in this game’s predecessor.

In other words, if you really want to make the most of Kratos’ robust toolkit, you’ll need to use the full breadth of his standard skills. And for that, you’ll need to use mod tokens.

Best mod tokens for Leviathan Axe skills

For the Leviathan Axe in God of War Ragnarök, mod token choices depend on your build, but prioritize Element (frost) for most skills to amplify freeze buildup and synergize with Permafrost or runic attacks. Damage works universally for DPS, while Stun shines on ranged throws against tougher foes.

Top Skills and Mods

Focus on gold-tier skills from Technique and Ranged trees, unlocked via Skill Labors (e.g., 50-100 uses).

Build Tips

• Frost-focused: Max Element mods + high Runic gear for awaken bursts.​

• Hybrid: Mix Stun on throws, Damage on melee for versatility.​
  Grind nests (e.g., Svartalfheim) for labours; respec mods free in NG+. Tailor to pommels like Hind of the Nine Realms for triangle synergy.​

Best mod tokens for Blades of Chaos skills

For Blades of Chaos skills in God of War Ragnarök, Element (fire/Burn) mods are top priority to maximize burn DoT, explosions with sigil arrows, and synergy with high Runic gear. Stun excels on crowd control or boss stagger, while Damage boosts raw DPS universally; Momentum aids combo chains, and Protection prevents interrupts on slow windups. Choices fit burn-focused builds best.

Top Skills and Mods

Prioritize gold-tier Technique and Melee skills via labours (e.g., 35-75 uses). Here’s a ranked table for NG+ viability:

Build Tips

Go full Element for burn procs + Blades pommels like Hind of Attuned Elements. Mix Stun on grapples for stagger in Give Me God of War mode. Farm labours in Nidavellir or Vanaheim nests; respec anytime. Pairs with Draupnir Spear for hybrid elemental dominance.