Impossible Trial Keys

The Impossible Trials of Muspelheim, also known as Surtr's Hidden Trials, are trials that are unlocked once you have completed all of the Normal and Hard trials in Muspelheim and defeated the Valkyrie at the top of the mountain. These are the only trials you can replay in Muspelheim. There are 5 trials with one in each of the first 5 arenas and they can be done in any order. Completing these trials will reward you with the impossible trial keys.

How the Impossible Trials Work[]

The Impossible Trials are essentially a repeatable version of the original twelve trials from when you first arrived in Muspelheim.

Completing an Impossible Trial will give you a Key: you'll need any three Keys in order to attempt Sutr's Hidden Trial at the top.
In addition to the Keys, each trial will award you with 15 Smouldering Embers, about 6,000 Hacksilver, and 1 Crest of Flame.
Unlike the original Trials, there's only one challenge in each of the five arenas.
Once you collect three Keys, you can't obtain any more from the other two Challenges. You can however still attempt them and collect their other rewards.
Surtr's Hidden Trial replaces the original Valkyrie fight at the very top. You'll be given a randomly chosen Hidden Trial, although you'll never get the same Hidden Trial twice in a row.
The Hidden trials have Bronze, Silver and Gold ranks, with each one granting more and better rewards.
- Gold Ranks give you about 35 Smouldering Embers, 20,000 Hacksilver, 1 Epic Aspect of the Realm Enchantment, 15 Crests of Flame, 9 Greater Crests of Flame, and 3 Crests of Surtr.
- Achieving Gold Rank is the only way to repeatably get a Crest of Sutr, which is used for the most powerful upgrades for fire-based gear.
Once you've earned at least a Bronze rank at Sutr's Hidden Trial, your Keys will vanish and the Hidden Trial will be locked: you'll have to go back down the mountain and try the Impossible Challenges again to get three more Keys.

Trial 1: Avoid Taking Damage[]

This trial asks you to kill 20 enemies without taking any damage to your health. That arguably makes it the hardest of the five trials for the sheer fact that there's no room for error, but if you can figure out a good strategy it's actually one of the fastest to complete. Here are some tips:

Consider equipping the Breastplate of the Traveler. While it's not the strongest armor in the game, it creates a protective barrier that absorbs a single attack, giving you the space to make one mistake.
Also use equipment that strengthens axe throws, allowing you to use them to keep your distance.
The Retribution Axe Pommel, awarded for completing the Valkyrie quest, is also a good choice since it increases the axe's speed and removes the effect of gravity for most throws for easier aiming. On top of that, the axe will also seek out and hit at least one enemy when it's recalled, getting important extra hits in!
Stay at the very back of the arena so that you can see the most enemies at once, so that none can sneak up on you. Make sure to regularly check the side you aren't currently looking at, just in case!
Lightning Arrows will be very useful as the electricity will chain to nearby enemies and stop them moving for a bit. Give Atreus Legendary Sharpshooter Garb so that his arrows recharge as fast as possible.
The first round has Shielded Draugr. Aim at their feet when throwing the Leviathan Axe. If you have the Teamwork skill, then Atreus will also knock them down when they get close enough. Lastly, if you have the Retribution Axe Pommel, aim for the ground behind and to the side of them: when you recall the axe, it'll slice right through their back and drop their guard!
Mid-way through the challenge, a pair of Wulvers show up, who will dodge any axe throws. There are two approaches for them:
- The Wrath of the Frost Ancient Light Runic Attack fires an ice beam that not even a Wulver can dodge. If you can keep the beam trained on the Wulver, it'll suffer massive damage!
- Spam Light Arrows on them to fill up their Stun meter. When it's full, jump in for an R3 execution: during these you won't be attacked by other enemies, and for Wulvers you can spend a surprisingly long time punching them until their health runs out.

At the very end of the round, a Soul Devourer will appear from the middle enemy entrance, proving to be the main challenge of the round.

Keep your Guardian Shield raised at all times to protect against its attacks.
It's a big risk to grab one of the white chunks that fly off after hitting its weak point. Our advice is to actually ignore them and stay on the defensive.
Use Atreus' Light Arrows at its weak spot to inflict a high amount of Stun damage. When the Stun meter fills, the Soul Devourer will fall to its knees and have its weak spot wide open. Throw your Axe into it as many times as possible, then leap in just before it recovers to use an R3 execution to dish out even more damage.
One of the Soul Devourer's ranged attacks is to fire three chunks of ice at you. If you keep still, only the third one will actually be fired directly at you! If you have the Countering Blast skill, you can then parry it and fire back right into the Devourer's weak spot!

Trial 2: Kill Enemies Before Time Runs Out[]

In this trial, you have 4 minutes to kill every enemy thrown at you.

This challenge isn't too hard, with the only difficult enemies being two Revenants: one that shows up at the left-hand enemy entrance at the very start, and a second that appears at the cliff's edge at the start of the second round.
To kill the Revenants fast, spam them with Light Arrows to quickly fill their Stun meter, allowing you to quickly take them down or execute them.
If you're doing this challenge after you've been to Helheim, then in the first round you'll face the charging Brood enemies instead of Reavers.
Light Arrows are very useful on the Vikens, since being stunned will leave them wide open to any attack.
Use Atreus's Lightning Arrows to take out the weaker enemies quicker. The Blades of Chaos are also a good pick: on the lower difficulties it's actually faster to kill a stunned Reaver with them instead of the R3 execution.

Trial 3: Kill Enemies While They Are Inside the Gold Rings[]

You have to kill 10 enemies that must die within a gold ring before time expires. There are 3 waves, each with different ring locations and enemy types.

For an enemy kill to count, their death MUST occur inside the gold ring. This is particularly important for the Ogres, as their standard death animation has them fall over to their left, which can sometimes take them outside the circle!
In general, stay as far back from an enemy as possible to lure them inside the gold ring. They tend to stay outside of them until they decide to attack you, and Atreus has a nastly habit of distracting enemies away from you by damaging them.
The first wave features Wolves and Wulvers, must be completed in 3 minutes, and is at the edge of the cliff. Kill the wolves with your normal weapons; executing them with R3 will have Kratos throw them away, meaning they'll die a LONG way outside the circle.
The second wave features Draugrs that has a 4-minute limit, and is in front of the right-hand enemy entrance. Focus on the regular Draugrs and have Atreus shoot light arrows at them to stun them for an instant kill. Heavy Dragurs should be avoided killing with R3 because Kratos runs around with them before throwing them away.
The final wave lasts 4 minutes, is on the corner of the left-hand wall, and has Tatzelwurms, Draugrs, and Ogres.
- Use the Frost Giant's Frenzy Heavy Runic Attack if the Tatzelwurms are in the circle.
- You can also use the Blades of Chaos to pull enemies into the circle by standing in the far end of the circle, aiming the blades at an enemy with L2, and throwing the blades at the enemy.
- For Ogres, stun them, then ride them into the circle to make sure the kill is added to your total. Be wary however that when Kratos kills them, he pulls them backwards!

Trial 4: Enemies Quickly Regenerate Health[]

In this challenge, enemies regenerate their health at a frightening rate, meaning your usual weaponry will be of little use here.

Even on the easiest difficulty, it's practically impossible to kill an enemy by depleting their health. This means that your only option is to kill them with the R3 executions. With the exception of Heavy Draugr, all enemies in this challenge have executions that instantly kill them.
To quickly fill an enemy's Stun meter, use melee attacks by sheathing your weapon with the D-Pad. To help fill them even faster, use Atreus' Light Arrows; give him the Legendary Sharpshooter Garb to reduce the recharge time of his arrows.
Heavy Draugr are the only troublesome enemy because their R3 execution doesn't instantly kill them. What you should do is guide Kratos during the move so that he'll throw them over the cliff. There's also two lava pits on the sides of the arena that can work, so long as you aim for the walls behind them.
If you've been to Helheim, this trial will also have the swarming Brood enemies, who have explosive R3 executions. Even getting grappled by one can be a good thing: if you can throw them off, they'll explode and kill other Broods!

Trial 5: Kill Enemies to Increase Time[]

In this challenge, you need to kill all the enemies around you quickly before time runs out. You start with 1 minute on the clock, and each kill will add more time to the clock, but it can only be extended up to 1 minute 30 seconds.

Strong Dark Elves appear here, so consider equipping Runes that give Blind Resistance and Dark Elf Resistance.
Your best bet is to use Strong runic Attacks throughout this trial, taking off massive chunks of damage.
You'll start by facing Draugr which aren't too hard. Then comes 2 Revenants and 2 Wulvers. Use Atreus's Light Arrows and melee attacks to build up the Revenant's stun meter and take them out with an R3 execution, then focus on the Wulvers.
A strong Dark Elf will be up next: have Atreus shoot light arrows at him and watch out for his pulsing orbs that can blind you.
The next wave has two Ogres along with more Draugr. Stun an Ogre as quickly as possible so that you can ride it and kill the other Ogre.
The last wave has two Travelers, with one being of fire and the other being ice. Use the weapon that they are weak too along with strong Runic Attacks and Arteus's arrows to take them down.

Surtr's Hidden Trials[]

Surtr's Hidden Trials are the climax of the Impossible Trials run, located in the sixth arena where the Valkyrie was, these are only available when you complete any three of the 5 Impossible Trials.

Surtr's Hidden Trials are only available once you complete any 3 of the 5 Impossible Trials.
There are three types of trials you can encounter: Time Attack, Gauntlet, and Flawless, which we break down below. You will never get the same one twice in a row.
Unlike all the other trials, Surtr's Hidden Trials have three ranks: Bronze, Silver and Gold.
If you're after Crests of Surtr, Gold ranks award 3 of them, while Silver and Bronze award none.
After attaining any rank, you will have won the Hidden Trial and be given your rewards. To try again, you'll have to go back down and win three of the Impossible Trials again.
- It's worth pointing out that winning even a Bronze rank counts as success. If you're after Crests of Surtr, this means you MUST get a Gold or else you'll have to start all over again!
If you find one or more of the Hidden Trials to be very difficult, remember to Save before initiating it.

Time Attack Trial[]

Gold Rank: 70 enemies
Silver Rank: 35 enemies
Bronze Rank: 20 enemies

In this trial, you have 8 minutes to kill as many enemies as you possibly can.

This is actually one of the easier trials because, with the exception of Viken, most of the enemies are rather basic and thus quicker to kill.
Atreus' lightning arrows work great here because they can damage a wide swath of enemies and keep them locked in place being electrocuted.
If you've visited Helheim, the swarming Hel-Brood enemies will appear here. This is a boon because they are the weakest enemies in the game and easily dispatched with the Blades of Chaos. They even explode when they die, potentially hitting other enemies!
The Hel-Shadow Scouts and Hel-Revenants are the enemies you should be wary of, as their ice ranged attacks will slow Kratos down to a crawl, which of course makes it very difficult to kill enemies quickly. Dodge away or block these!In New Game +, this trial is more difficult:

The time limit is 4 minutes
Gold Rank is 50 kills
Silver Rank is 35 kills
Bronze Rank is 20 kills

Gauntlet Trial[]

Gold Rank: 8 minutes
Silver Rank: 16 minutes
Bronze Rank: 32 minutes

The Gauntlet Trial gives trial tasks you with killing 50 enemies quickly as possible.

To excel in this trial, don't dilly-dally with special moves if an enemy is at low health. Quicker, less flashy attacks still get the job done!
Easily the most frustrating enemies to deal with here are the Shielded Travelers, since they'll be invincible with their guard up. In these cases, focus your attacks on other enemies while keeping an eye on the Shielded Traveler for its attack. Dodge it, then attack!
Remember that peppering an enemy with Atreus' arrows is a great way to damage them and, with Light Arrows, build up their Stun mete. To that end, give him Legendary Sharpshooter Garb so that his arrows recharge as fast as possible, letting you use them more frequently.

Flawless Trial[]

Gold Rank: 35 kills
Silver Rank: 20 kills
Bronze Rank: 8 kills

The final and most difficult trial is killing a bunch of enemies without getting hit.

Much like the first Impossible Trial, you should equip the Breastplate of the Traveller, which protects you from one attack. This is incredibly useful in case you slip up.
Additionally, equip the Retribution Axe Pommel (awarded for completing the Valkyrie quest). It makes the R1 axe throw more powerful, removes the effect of gravity to ease aiming, and has the axe pass through one enemy on the recall back to Kratos.
Unlike the other two trials, if you get hit before getting the 8 kills needed for Bronze, you'll be allowed to attempt the trial again.
Axe throws and other ranged attacks should be your primary method of damaging enemies during this trial: getting in close with melee is incredibly risky and should only be used as a last resort.
All the enemies here spawn at specific spots in the arena, most notably the Ogres and Projectile Draugr that appear at the cliff edge overlooking Tyr's Temple. That in mind, you should generally stick to the cliff edge with the Mystic Gateway and two flaming posts that mark where you climb up.
Remember to periodically check the parts of the arena you aren't currently looking at! It's all too easy to become too focused on one side and then get blindsided by a wolf you didn't see coming.
If you think you'll be overwhelmed, use one of Atreus' Runic Summons to spread some chaos across the battlefield and stall the enemy advance.
This challenge ends after you've killed 51 enemies. You get no extra rewards for doing this, outside of XP and the occasional Hacksilver drop.Here's some tips related to the specific enemies you'll encounter in this trial:

Wolves appear in the early rounds and are actually the biggest threat, since they're easily ignored but can sneak up on you very quickly. Always be on the lookout, and if you see one, it should be your top priority. Fortunately, it only takes a few good axe throws to kill one.
Dark Elves are very difficult as it is, so the best strategy here is to spam them with Light Arrows and fill their Stun meter, allowing you to execute them with R3 (enemies don't attack you during executions). Also remember that you can use the left stick at the end of the execution to turn, letting you "aim" where Kratos impales the Dark Elf, damaging enemies it hits as it flies away!
Projectile Draugers spawn in the back of the arena overlooking Tyr's Temple. This distance encourages you to get in closer, however that leaves you open to attack from the sides. Rebound their projectiles with parries and throw your Retribution pommel-enhanced Axe at them
Wulvers are a big challenge because they are fast and can dodge your axe throws. Use Runic Attacks that are fast and don't involve throwing the axe (like Wrath of the Frost Ancient), or use Light Arrows to quickly stun them and leave them open to axe throws.
Ogres are of course enormous threats and must be dealt with early, but luckily only one will ever show up in the entire trial. It takes them a good while to actually climb up over the cliff edge overlooking Tyr's Temple, which you can use to unleash every Runic Attack you have to bring them down as soon as possible.
Tatzelwurms show up once you get about 30 kills. These are incredibly dangerous as they can move about the arena without you noticing and hit you with run-ending barbs. Much like the earlier wolves, they should be your utmost priority when they show up.

How to Grind in Muspelheim[]

Once you reach the end of the game, you may want to consider grinding in Muspelheim to acquire Hacksilver and resources. This is particularly important in New Game +, as the Impossible Trials are the only way to repeatably get Skap Slag that you can use to purchase equipment exclusive to New Game +.

Muspelheim is only to be considered for New Game +, primarily because it's the only repeatable way to earn Skap Slag. Once you have enough of it, it's then better to grind the Niflheim Maze instead, since you can get much more Hacksilver that way to buy stuff with.
Each Impossible Trial, and Surtr's Hidden Trials, will earn you 9 Skap Slag.
Unfortunately you cannot sell off your Smouldering Embers, Crests of Flame, Greater Crests of Flame, Crests of Surtr or spare Skap Slag. For this reason, you should calculate how much Skap Slag you need to buy and upgrade your desired gear, then switch to the Niflheim Maze. The profits from converting Mist Echoes to Blight Artifacts and then selling them far outstrip selling the XP earned in the Impossible Trials for Hacksilver.
The most important step is to determine the three Trials you want to get the three Keys from (we recommend Trials 1, 2 and 5). Here's our advice on each one:
- Trial 1: No Damage - The most risk-reward choice, as one hit and you have to start over. However it has the fewest enemies of any Trial, meaning it can be the fastest one to clear!
- Trial 2: Time Attack - This trial is mostly composed of weaker opponents, and the stronger ones can be downed fast by Stunning them first.
- Trial 3: Kill Inside the Rings - A rather technical trial due to the gold ring requirement, as enemies rarely want to step inside them. We recommend spamming enemies with arrows after knocking them into the air; they don't travel as much when hit by arrows while airborne.
- Trial 4: Enemies Heal Fast - The least viable option, as every enemy has to be killed with an R3 execution. These can be quite lengthy, especially for the numerous Dark Elves who turn up.
- Trial 5: Kill to Add Time - Another surprisingly fast Trial, the only major roadblock here are the two Travellers who show up at the end. Clear them and you'll only have a few Draugr left.
Only take the three Trials you need for the Keys, since the Hidden Trial will reward you with much more Hacksilver, both from the Legendary Chests and dropped by enemies.
Regarding the trek from Arena 5 to Arena 6, it's faster to backtrack to the previous Mystic Gateway and fast travel up. Taking the normal climbing route to Arena 6 is 8 seconds slower.
Of the three Hidden Trials, the Flawless Trial can actually be the fastest: once you've gotten 35 kills, intentionally get hit to end the trial and collect your Gold Rank rewards.