This article contains lore based on real-life sources from Norse mythology as introduced from the God of War Norse era.
| “ | The Master of Arms in Valhalla. Responsible for arming and training Odin’s Einherjar. His army, come Ragnarök. The Einherjar wait in the Great Hall, endlessly feasting, drinking, and fu— ahem uh... fornicating themselves silly. Once Ragnarök begins, Odin calls them into service to fight on his behalf. Geirdriful had her hands full, training that lot. | ” |
–Mimir's remarks about Geirdriful | ||
Geirdriful is a Valkyrie introduced in God of War (2018). She is one of the nine Valkyries who have been cursed by Odin to remain in a corporal form, eventually driving them to insanity. As she became too dangerous, Geirdriful eventually found herself sealed away by the Valkyrie Queen in Midgard. She is nevertheless freed by Kratos and Atreus after they engaged and defeated her physical form. Blessing them with her eternal gratitude, her spirit vanished and eventually reunited with her sisters.
Geirdriful returns in God of War: Ragnarök as a Shield Maiden, having regained a pure physical form thanks to Freya and her Vanir magic. Grateful for having been freed from Odin's curse and having acknowledged Kratos as her General, she actively participates together with her freed sisters to the final assault against Asgard during Ragnarök.
Quick Answers
What is the origin of Geirdriful in Norse mythology?
How did Geirdriful become cursed in God of War?
Who sealed Geirdriful away in Midgard and why?
Norse Mythology[]
Geirdriful (name meaning "Spear-flinger") is the name of a valkyrie in Norse Mythology. There is nothing known about her but her name is found in the valkyrie list in the Nafnaþulur.
Appearance[]
God of War (2018)[]
Like all Valkyries, Geirdriful's face is never shown and each Valkyrie would wear a very different type of helmet, the helmets would be themed together based upon a different creature. Geirdriful wears a golden helmet inspired by an Owl, these masks are extenuate in all different directions, from various color choices to metalwork designs. The masks emitted regal beauty, while still being creepy in nature. Due to her corruption, her skin is an unhealthy pale blue. But one of the most striking elements of the Valkyries came in the design of their wings. Like the other Valkyries Geirdriful had extremely large mechanical wings, Geirdriful's wings were red, they are covered in golden metal plates as armor thus why they are mechanical in the first place. Like her sisters, her design showed her both skilled and refined. With each Valkyrie, hints of their past would be shown off in their armor sets – not looking completely polished and showcasing a long-and-tired past, such as in the torn feather designs on the helmets.
God of War Ragnarök[]
After Freya resurrected Geirdriful and her sisters with Seidr magic, their skin returned to its original healthy color. Additionally, like all Shield Maidens, her original Valkyrie wings were replaced with more organic-looking birdlike wings.
Combat[]
Geirdriful overall tactic can be described as a cruel misdirection. She would shroud the area with fog, obstructing view, and many of her moves wind-up can be easily mistaken for one another; she prefers distancing herself from Kratos, taking the most advantage of her fog and preferring to attack with powerful projectiles or her deadly surprising wing thrust. In contrast, her health pool and stagger resistance is only moderate among Valkyries.
When Geirdirful takes to the air with wings Stretched, she's about to flap the obscuring fog out of her wings. This move will inflict damage to Kratos regardless of his position, nor does the Guardian shield can protect from it. A well timed dodge can prevent the damage, however. Player can try prevent Geirdirful from casting the fog by attacking her with a powerful strike that can reach her in the air such as Leviathan's Wake, or simply using your axe throw or Atreus’ arrows. This can also be avoided by using quick turn (Down arrow button).
If the fog is successfully cast, players might one to rely on audio cue to guess the Valkyrie's next move. Some of her attacks also generates a gold glow that makes them rather visible in spite of the cover. The fog will have full effect for roughly 15 seconds, and will dissipate. Bolder players, with a grain of luck, can try rushing to Geirdriful to rapidly hit and stun-lock her, preventing the Valkyrie from taking full advantage of her fog.
With her wings, she could do the Slashing combo, the Thrust and rarely, the Cyclone. These three moves rarely connect to each other, however, as she only uses her melee attack to catch Kratos off guard after her projectile attacks. It is difficult, if not impossible to tell which of these three move she would use when rushing down to Kratos, thus players might want to set a loadout that can mitigate recovery from possible error in attempting to counter her melees.
Her projectile attacks includes the blockable feather knives (ground), which she would use in between her repeated stride. And also the spectral homing projectiles (blockable) and the disc blade throw (unblockable) while in the air.
Geirdirful might connect her aerial projectiles to a grapple move in which she swoops down onto Kratos like an Owl. This attack can easily mean certain death in GMGOW. A surefire way to avoid this move is by dodging to the side while being far away enough from her starting point. Any enchantment that improves dodge distance can make dodging her from closer distance much safer.
Lastly, she can use her Scythe to create an energy wave that scratches the ground on its way to hit Kratos. This does not track Kratos' movement and can be dodged easily, but it delivers massive damage (easily instant death in GMGOW) and inflicts frostbite, slowing Kratos down and making him die easily from follow-up attacks, that is if he even survived.
Trivia[]
- In legend, Geirdriful is the Master of Arms in Vahalla. Her responsibility being to train and arm Odin's einherjar, his personal army for when Ragnarok comes. She was said to have her hands full training them.
- Geirdriful's armour design is based on an owl.[1]
Gallery[]
Concept Art[]
References[]
- ↑ The Art of God of War