God of War: The Marked Trees - Walkthrough God of War Guide and Walkthrough

On this page of the God of War game guide we have described the beginning of the of Kratos and Atreus' journey. The game begins with The Marked Trees mission, in which you visit the first realm of the game - Wildwoods. The walkthrough explains how to hunt, how to defeat the troll and how to survive the duel with the Stranger (the first big boss of the game).

• Head down the river
• First hunting with Atreus
• Defeating the troll - mini-boss
• Return to the house
• Stranger - Boss fight
• Return to the house after defeating The Stranger

Head down the river

Kratos is cutting a tree. Press R1 a few times, pick up the wood and follow Atreus. Get in the boat and reach the opposite shore. Head towards the cabin. Watch the cut-scene which depicts the last moments of Atreus' mother and Kratos' beloved.

First hunting with Atreus

These chests contain silver.

Time to hunt with Atreus. Run forward - you will come across the first optional artifact. Remember that secrets from all regions are described in the separate chapter.

Keep following the boy. Jump above a hole in the bridge. You can collect a little bit of silver and find a lesser chest. Throughout the game you will come across numerous situations like this one - try to explore each location carefully (if you want to; however, additional silver or crafting materials are always useful).

Reach the obstacle on the bridge, take out your axe and throw it at said obstacle. Then, you have to jump forward. Watch a cut-scene and prepare yourself for your first fight. Use this moment to practice a little bit and see what your weapon is capable of.

Follow Kratos' son. Soon, you will reach a fork. Here, you can get your first Nornir chest. Go right and enter a crypt. Destroy three runes to get access to the content of the chest. Inside you will find Idunn's Apple - collect three apples to increase your health bar permanently.

Go back and head into the opposite direction. Slide down the chain, defeat wolves and open the red chest.

You can continue. Follow the boy. You come across new enemies. After that you have to go back to the exit and go through the door on the right. Defeat a few more wolves and open another red chest.

Go back to the hall. Approach the spinning wheel and lift the gate. Don't let the wheel go! - aim your axe at the mechanism above the gate to freeze it. Before you leave the chamber, you should go to the room on the right and open another red chest.

Outside, you have to go left and climb the chain up - open another red chest. Approach the grates and aim your axe at the symbol above the bomb - it falls on the ground and you will get a little bit of silver.

Go up the stairs and you will find the first Jotun altar which belongs to, so called, Labours - optional challenges. In this example you have to find 11 altars scattered around the entire world. Their list can be found in the separate chapter.

Go back on the main path and follow the trails of an animal. You come across a deer - draw the bow and aim at the animal. Sadly, a troll will appear. This is the first challenging battle.

Defeating the troll - mini-boss

This troll is a rather easy enemy to defeat. You have to keep a safe distance and let him attack. Hit the enemy only when it reveals itself. This is also a good moment to test your dodges - you absolutely have to avoid his attacks because they deal a lot of damage.

Throw your axe or order Atreus to shoot from his bow when you are away from the enemy.

If you get hurt, you can search for a green crystal and crush it to get a little bit of health back.

Return to the house

Approach the wall and help Atreus to climb up. Follow him. You will come across new enemies. The game informs you about the option to stun opponents which, in turn, lets you perform executions.

Fight with the enemies, practice attacks and stuns. You should also get accustomed to giving orders to Atreus - thanks to his arrows you can stun enemies faster and speed up fights.

Hidden chambers can be opened later - behind their gates you can find, e.g. hidden bosses.

You will come across the first hidden chamber. You can open it later - for now, you should stick to the main story line. Hidden Chambers were described in detail on a separate page of our guide.

A mysterious man appears in the house. He turns out to be a very powerful being. Time to defend Atreus from a tough enemy!

Stranger - Boss fight

Time for a battle with the first fully-fledged boss. At first, the Stranger will provoke you to attack him. This is a good chance to learn his moves. Dodge his attacks and charges. Perform counters in the right moment.

After depleting most of his health bar you can see a few cut-scenes during which you will have to press the right buttons.

Your enemy got his health back, and Kratos is now in rage mode. Attack the enemy with new and powerful attacks. Go back to the old tactics once the rage mode ends.

Go back home... The Stranger won't leave you in peace. He attacks Kratos with twice the power. The enemy throws you into abyss - climb up and continue the fight.

Time for the third round. You both regenerate your health but this time the enemy is even faster and better at combat. Dodge, watch out for his aerial attacks and avoid his charges. Remember to parry enemy attacks and hit him when you get an opportunity.

Lastly, press L3 + R3 to break the Stranger's neck and finish this fight.

Return to the house after defeating The Stranger

The fight was heated - Kratos won but he is wounded. Go to the house and see if Atreus is alright. The first mission is now complete - you get 350 XP. However, this is just the beginning of a great adventure!