God Of War: The Marked Trees (Walkthrough And Guide)

God of War is 2018’s game of the year and there’s good reason for it. The story and gameplay flows so smoothly that it feels more like an impressive experience.

The first chapter in God of War is “The Marked Trees” and there are various objectives under it.

Here’s a walkthrough of The Marked Trees in God of War.

Follow the river downstream

The first objective after the introduction is to row the canoe downstream. It’s fairly easy. All you have to do is to pilot the canoe.

After reaching the destination, Atreus (Kratos’ son) will help tie the rope to the canoe.

Next, just follow Atreus back home.

Once you’re at the house, you will notice a body about to be burned. Atreus will light the candles around it and say his prayers.

The body being burned is Kratos’ wife (Faye), and Atreus’ mum.

The first objective ends here, with Kratos bringing Atreus to go hunting for deer.

Hunt with Atreus

The next objective is to go hunting with Atreus. Follow him as he goes after the deer.

In the middle of the journey, you will be introduced to a Draugr. They are sort of undead creatures.

You can check out the description on what they are via your menu.

The game will also teach you how to perform light and heavy attacks.

Once you’ve defeated the Draugrs, continue the journey with Atreus.

You will be led to this huge door. Get inside the building.

Once again, you will stumble upon Draugrs. Kill all of them.

You will know when the fight is done if you see the “XP gained” on the right hand side of the screen.

This XP is useful for learning skills, as you need a certain amount of XP to learn each skill.

Before you proceed to the next area, you can actually backtrack to look for treasure.

Use the other path behind you, and you will stumble upon an opening towards the outdoor area. There will be other creatures (wolves) to kill before you get to the treasure chest.

Once you’ve explored the area, get back to this gate.

To open the gate, keep pulling down the chain.

Once the gate is pulled open, you need to throw your axe towards a lighted up area above the gate.

The gate will then be frozen. You can then pass through.

Keep going and defeating Draugrs along the way. Atreus will then find the deer.

You need to guide him by holding the required button (L2 for PS4) and adjust the aim.

Shoot to kill. Once the deer is dead, Kratos will teach his son to finish the job, i.e. to ensure the deer’s dead.

After doing so, a gigantic arm pulls the deer away, and throws Atreus into the air.

Defeat Daudi Kaupmadr

The monster is called Daudi Kaupmadr and it’s huge. It will be your first ‘boss’ fight.

You will also be taught how to utilize Atreus’ arrows during the battle. You can command him to shoot at the monster by holding L2 and pressing “square” to shoot.

This boss is huge but it isn’t too difficult once you’ve gotten used to its tactics.

It uses a pillar to perform far-reaching attacks. Just avoid it when it’s attacking by keeping a distance.

While it’s attacking, use Atreus’ arrows to lower its HP. Daudi can also stomp the ground using its legs and if you’re in the small circle, you will get hit.

When it ‘roars’, you should unleash your full attack, as it’s vulnerable for a short moment.

Rinse and repeat, and you should win the match in one try or two. It depends on your game difficulty for sure.

On a balanced difficulty, it is quite doable.

Return to the house

After defeating Daudi Kaupmadr, remember to loot the items it dropped.

The next objective is to go home. Follow Atreus back.

On the way, you should encounter even more Draugrs.

You will later see this blueish screen, but you can’t do anything with it.

Atreus will then suggest another way to go home.

You will then reach this area where you can see a load being carried by a pulley.

More Draugrs will spawn here. Kill all of them.

After defeating the Draugrs, an ice monster will spawn. This one is immune to your axe.

You need to throw the axe away, and punch it to death using your bare hands.

Once you’re done, get back to the pulley. Throw your axe towards the shiny screen, and it should drop the load.

Get down the area and return to your home. Just follow Atreus back.

Open the door and get into the house.

The objective ends here. To start the last objective, talk to Atreus.

Defeat the stranger

The last objective under The Marked Trees is to “Defeat the stranger”. This one is the hardest part, as you need to battle another god-like being.

After talking to Atreus, someone will come knocking at the front door.

This stranger then appears, challenging you, asking for information.

Start beating the shit out of him. You can use your axe. His HP is shown at the bottom.

Clearly, this guy is much more powerful than you may think. At one point, you need to keep bashing him up using “R1”.

Keep fighting until Kratos go all berserk. To activate the rage mode, press “L3 + R3” if you’re on the PS4.

After lowering the stranger’s HP to zero, Kratos will use a tree and charge towards the stranger.

He will also throw a huge boulder on the stranger.

Now, keep walking away (assuming the guy’s dead) until the stranger carries the entire boulder and throws it at you.

Continue the fight with him. This time, it’s slightly harder, as he uses ice attacks and swift moves.

It’s possible to die here but you can restart from this checkpoint.

Try to avoid or block his attacks. Some moves can’t be blocked. Block those that can be blocked and it would be helpful, as it gives you time to counter attack.