This article contains lore based on real-life sources from Norse mythology as introduced from the God of War Norse era.
| “ | Wild Storm personified. Calm and collected... Then the air would shift, and the fury of her storm would unleash. It was beautiful, in a way, assuming you could find proper shelter. Her tears would cleanse the blood-soaked battlefields. | ” |
–Mimir's remarks about Kara | ||
Kara 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, Kara 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.
Kara 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.
Norse Mythology[]
In Norse mythology, Kára is a Valkyrie, attested in the prose epilogue of the Poetic Edda poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana II.
The epilogue details that "there was a belief in the pagan religion, which we now reckon an old wives' tale, that people could be reincarnated," and that the deceased valkyrie Sigrún and her dead love Helgi Hundingsbane were considered to have been reborn as another Helgi and valkyrie couple; Helgi as Helgi Haddingjaskati and Sigrún as the daughter of Halfdan—the valkyrie Kára. According to the epilogue, further information about the two can be found in the work Káruljóð, which has not survived.
Appearance[]
God of War (2018)[]
Like all Valkyries, Kara'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. Kara wears a golden helmet inspired by a Ram, 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 Kara had extremely large mechanical wings, Kara's wings were blueish grey, 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 Kara 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[]
Kara is a curious case and is by all intents and purposes a unique Valkyrie in combat; not even Sigrun adopts her unique ability to summon Draugrs for assistance.
Kara as an individual Valkyrie is fragile and inept; she has a small health pool, is easily staggered by Kratos' basic strikes and has a very small moveset.
Her melee attack consist of only four-times wing slash, which unlike her sisters, track Kratos poorly and a Scythe attack where she takes to the air before lunging at Kratos; an attack that can be easily countered with the Guardian Shield.
Her ranged attack only consist of a volley of projectiles that can be blocked and a shot of an energy ring which must be dodged sideways. None of these are particularly dangerous or difficult to anticipate.
Her trump card lies in her ability to summon a squad of 4 Draugr in battle; she would summon more as the battle goes on regardless of players culling out the previous ones or not. This ability can be either a small hindrance or a tough progression wall depending on difficulty. In most difficulties, these Draugrs pose little challenge, especially for well-equipped players. In GMGOW, where enemies can get powered-up and pose significantly more challenge (and also being spawned at higher level by default), fighting Kara can be extremely difficult as the Draugrs can easily complement her own lack of battle prowess.
In GMGOW, high Cooldown loadout is recommended, as players might want to use AoE Runic attacks to quickly dispose her summons. One corner of her chamber (the one opposing players side of entry) is a seemingly botomless pit where Draugrs can be thrown into for easy kill. The key to never corner her on this side of the room, because she will always distance herself before summoning; cornering her anywhere else will very likely have her summon Draugrs near the pit. When the Draugrs appear, use an AoE Runic attack with strong pushing power to throw her Draugrs into the pit, this would leave her with no Draugr to help, or a few injured ones. For this tactic to work, player likely must refrain using their strongest Runic Attack on Kara alone, and save it for when she begins summoning.
Trivia[]
- In legend, Kara was often called "a wild storm personified". Calm and collected at one point, then unleashing her fury upon the next. It was said her tears would cleanse the blood-soaked battlefields.
- The difficulty of fighting Kara can spike to a surprising level on higher difficulties, especially on New Game+. This is because the base power of Draugr minions she summons change accordingly.
- Kara's armor design is based on a ram.[1]
Gallery[]
_poster_by_Lineage_Studios.webp "God of War (2018) poster by Lineage Studios.webp (248 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ The Art of God of War