God of War Ragnarok – How to get to Sanctuary Grove
Sanctuary Grove was an important location in God of War (2018), where Kratos and Atreus first crossed paths with Freya. Like everywhere in Midgard, the colourful and tranquil setting of Freya’s home has been overhauled by Fimbulwinter’s freeze, making it unrecognisable in God of War Ragnarok.
It is revisited during the main story of God of War Ragnarok but from that point onwards, Sanctuary Grove remains off-limits for some time. The area proves a rather frustrating presence as you scan your map looking for missing collectibles, with no obvious route to reach it. Don’t worry – we’ve got the lowdown covered here as you try and venture back with Kratos.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to get back to Sanctuary Grove in God of War Ragnarok.
Can you get back to Sanctuary Grove in God of War Ragnarok?
You will first visit Sanctuary Grove in an unmissable section where you play as Atreus. From this point, Sanctuary Grove will be tantalisingly out of reach on the map of Midgard.
You can get back to Sanctuary Grave. However, you will not be able to return until you have completed the main quest.
Sanctuary Grove can only be reached via a new Mystic Gateway in the post-game. There is no way to reach Sanctuary Grove via foot or sled from the Lake of Nine.
How to get to Sanctuary Grove in God of War Ragnarok
Once the main quest has been beaten, you will be able to unlock a series of new Mystic Gateways, including one that leads to Sanctuary Grove in Midgard.
To get back to Sanctuary Grove, follow these instructions:
- Beat the main quest and enter the post-game
- Take a Mystic Gateway to Sindri’s House
- Summon Ratatoskr by hitting the wind chime and speak to him. He will give you a pouch of Yggdrasil Seeds, which each unlock some new Mystic Gateways across the realms
- Enter any Mystic Gateway and select Midgard, which will have a new Undiscovered Gateway available in Sanctuary Grove to the south of the map
- Hover over the Undiscovered Gateway and hold X to unlock it
- You will now be able to travel to Sanctuary Grove
From this point onwards, you can reach Sanctuary Grove via any Mystic Gateway as normal.
What is in Sanctuary Grove?
Like most of the new Mystic Gateways, there isn’t a huge amount of content within Sanctuary Grove.
At this point, Freya will be your companion so there is some dialogue between Freya and Chaurli, the enormous turtle we met during the previous God of War game. It’s nice to see these characters reunited, which also provides a haunting nostalgia trip when you are reminded just how much damage Fimbulwinter has done to Freya’s previously idyllic home.
Sanctuary Grove also has the Mirkweed collectible which is required to complete the Nine Realms in Bloom Favor. It’s pretty hard to miss, and can be found on the floor just beyond Chaurli, down a dead-end to the left as you face him. There’s also a further conversation with Birgir, one of Freyr’s allies from Vanaheim, if you enter the house.
The Mirkweed is actually the only collectible here, and everything else is simply optional interaction between the characters.
Therefore, you will need to visit Sanctuary Grove if you wish to achieve 100% completion of God of War Ragnarok. However, a visit is not required for some of the more important post-game tasks like battling the Berserker King or the Valkyrie Queen.
What else is unlocked from the pouch of Yggdrasil Seeds?
Ratatoskr’s pouch has several other seeds, which unlock numerous different Mystic Gateways in the Nine Realms.
The following information may be considered as slight SPOILERS so proceed with caution.
These are the other Mystic Gateways that can be unlocked in the post-game of God of War Ragnarok:
- Sverd Sands in Svartalfheim
- The Abandoned Village in Vanaheim
- Angrboda’s Treehouse in Jotunheim
- Mist Fields in Niflheim
A couple of these (Sverd Sands and the Abandoned Village) are mainly for convenience, simply allowing you to revisit areas more quickly without the need for excessive backtracking.
As for Angrboda’s Treehouse and Mist Fields, there is a bit more utility. Angrboda’s Treehouse has another flower for the Nine Realms in Bloom Favor, and provides some extra dialogue between Kratos and Angrboda. As a huge bonus, you can also pet Fenrir here at Jotunehim! (No, you can’t pet Chaurli in Sanctuary Grove)
However, the most important new Mystic Gateway is probably the Mist Fields in Niflheim. Again, there is a flower for the Nine Realms in Bloom, but more importantly it is the place you can revisit a previously-inaccessible Berserker Grave. Here, you will fight Skjothendi the Unerring who must be defeated in order to face the Berserker King in Midgard.
What else is unlocked in Midgard?
Sanctuary Grove isn’t the only newly-accessible thing when the main quest is beaten. The rest of Midgard has some other post-game content to draw out your time in the Nine Realms. Journey back to Kratos’s house in Midgard for some additional dialogue unlocked between Kratos and his companions.
Most notably, the Berserker King Hrolf Kraki can only be fought after beating the game. You can fight him at the King’s Grave in the north-east part of Midgard, but only after defeating all of the other Berserkers first. It is technically a post-game endeavour, because one of the Berserkers (Skjothendi the Unerring) can only be fought after beating the main quest.
This is certainly one of the main challenges to take on, testing your mettle against arguably the toughest foe in the game. If you can defeat Hrolf Kraki, then you should be satisfied that you have gained true mastery of God of War Ragnarok’s combat.
There you have it. That’s our full guide of how to get to Sanctuary Grove in God of War Ragnarok. It will take a while before you can get back, but it’s a pretty straightforward task once you have beaten the game. For more God of War Ragnarok content, check out the articles below:
