God of War Ragnarok has five difficulty settings to select from. While you'll be prompted to select one of these upon starting a new game, you can change your difficulty setting at any time by selecting Settings > Gameplay from the in-game pause menu. Please note that difficulty does not impede your ability to earn Trophies, and you can earn the Platinum Trophy on the lowest difficulty setting. Refer to our God of War Ragnarok Trophy guide for more information.
The following difficulty options are available in God of War Ragnarok:
Give Me Story: For those who want an experience with the least focus on combat.
Give Me Grace: For players who want story focused gameplay with some focus on combat.
Balance: Equally focused on combat and gameplay.
No Mercy: For those who want more demanding combat.
God of War: For those who want the game as difficulty as possible. God of War mode can only be selected when starting a new game at the start menu.
The best difficulty to select, for most players, will be Balance. This difficulty provides a moderate challenge, where you'll need to take time to learn the combat and think about the gear you're using, without impeding the pace of the overall story. If you'd like to focus purely on the plot, without worrying too much about defensive manoeuvres like parrying, then Give Me Story or Give Me Grace are fairly straightforward and should be manageable for most players.
If you're looking for a challenge and want to test yourself, we'd recommend No Mercy or God of War, although do keep in mind that unlike the other options you'll need to select the latter option when creating a new game. Here, you'll have to think carefully about the gear you're using in order to complete the campaign, and will also need to consider how status effects aid and impede you in combat. Remember, if you're finding the game too hard or easy, you can always change at any time to find an experience that better meets your needs, with the exception of the God of War option.