Fraekni the Zealous is an optional boss in God of War Ragnarok, and if it's the first time you are meeting this boss, you'd think you can never beat a boss like that, especially if you are new to the game.
Yep, we all have gone through that, and personally, I had to fight this boss many times before I could understand his moves, regardless of the experience I had with the game.
In this guide, I'll show you how to beat Fraekni the Zealous in God of War Ragnarok, even without taking damage as I did.
Where to Find Fraekni the Zealous in God of War Ragnarok
Fraekni the Zealous should be ready and available to you just after you've completed Freyr's Gift Favour in Alfheim. That key that you used to complete the favour is the very key you'd need to access the Berserker King's grave (King Hrolf Kraki), during your search for the Norns.
The Norns will lead you to a few dead ends before the dead end at the King's Grave, where you'll find a sword-like key that you'd use to access any other Berserker grave, including Fraekni the Zealous. But be careful, you'll have to fight some enemies at the King's grave, so get ready when going there.
Once you've gotten the key, you should be able to access Fraekni's grave, which is located in the Lake of Nine south of the Oarsmen and northeast of Tyr's Temple.
Fraekni The Zealous's Moves
Well, first things first, you'll need to understand Fraekni's moves so that you can take him down while anticipating his attacks, and if you're smart or fast enough, you should be able to defeat this Berserker with no damage because, funny enough, Fraekni appears to be the easiest Berserker to defeat in the game.
Fraekni uses a few attacks during the fight, and if you know all of them, it should be very easy to defeat him.
1. The Aerial Assault
Usually, when you start the fight with the Berserker, Fraekni's first move should be the aerial assault, where he charges at you from up, and this one is a yellow ring attack, which means you can either dodge it or parry it (by holding L1 on your controller) just before getting hit.
Fraekni's aim is always to close the gap between you two, and what better way than this aerial assault?
2. Overhead Slam
After closing the gap between you two, Fraekni's next attack should usually be the overhead slam, an unblockable red ring attack that can only be dodged.
3. Standing Horizontal Axe Lunch
Another attack that Fraekni uses when there's a closed gap between you two is the standing axe lunch, which is a series of horizontal axe attacks launched at you (usually 3) with the last being an unblockable red ring attack.
4. "Guide Me, My King" Lunch
"Guide Me, My King" attack is one we all have kept in mind, and Fraekni does this when he has created some gap between you two and charges at you at full speed while saying "Guide Me, My King". This attack is a red ring attack, which means it is unblockable and can only be dodged by rolling either to the left or the right.
How to Defeat Fraekni The Zealous in God of War Ragnarok
Now that you know about Fraekni's attacks, it should be easy to take him down without even taking damage.
Let's take this step-by-step, should we? Great!
1. Striking back after Fraekni's Aerial Assault
So, as I earlier said, Fraekni's first attack in every fight session is usually the aerial assault. This means that in 10 attempts, Freakni's first attack in 9 attempts should be the aerial assault.
The aerial assault is a yellow ring attack, and the best way to deal with it is by parrying it, which will leave Fraekni open to a counterattack from you.
You just need to wait for the right moment to parry the attack. For this aerial attack, it's best to parry (hold down the L1 button) just 2 seconds after Freakni goes up in the air. This will parry the attack and leave Fraekni open for a counterattack.
Pro tip!
If you have the radiance amour set (even if it is just the radiance wrist amour), you can dodge this attack at the last second or press the X button just 2 seconds after Fraekni goes up in the air. This will create a Realm shift and give you an opening to strike the Berserker.
The above strategy works best if your difficulty is atmost at Give Me No Mercy (GMNM). If your difficulty is Give Me God of War (GMGOW), you'll need to hold down your shield as Fraekni launches into the air before blocking or parrying normally, as explained earlier. As you might know, two missile-like strikes launch your way as the Berserker goes up in the air. You can either dodge or block it.
Regardless of whether you parried or use the Realm shift from the radiance armour set, the way you strike back really matters to keep the Berserker open for some time.
That said, it is best to always strike back with your Runic attacks from all your weapons (that is, those from the Blades of Chaos, Leviathan Axe, and the Spear).
Also, using your Runic attacks earlier in a fight will let them cooldown and load up faster while you're still in the fight, so you can reuse them when opportuned.
2. Anticipating the Overhead Slam
The overhead slam is a red ring attack, so there's no parrying with this one, only dodging. And if you are still a beginner with this type of fight, I don't even recommend striking Fraekni immediately after this attack because he can continue with the horizontal axe lunch right after. Unless you have sharp reflexes to anticipate the next attack after this one, I recommend you just wait to see his next move right after dodging the overhead slam.
Pro tip!
If you have the Radiance Amour set, things can change for you because if you dodge this attack at the last second, you'll have an opening of at least 1 second to hit the Berserker and hitting him hard can make all the difference and make him even more open for your next attack.
3. Anticipating the Standing Horizontal Axe Lunch
Fraekni uses this attack when the gap has been closed between both of you, and it is an attack that can be easily blocked with your shield. So, unless you can parry or do last-second dodges with the radiance armour, it's best to block the attacks. But watch out for the last attack, which can be either a yellow ring or a red ring attack. If it's a yellow ring attack and you know you aren't good at parrying, just dodge the attack. And if it is a red ring attack, dodge it just after you've blocked the blockable attacks.
4. The "Guide Me, My King" Attack
There's no blocking here, just dodging because it is a red ring attack. Unless you've unlocked the Blade of Olympus in Valhalla and are in New Game + (NG+), you won't be able to block this attack because only the Blade of Olympus can block red ring attacks in the game.
The way you dodge this attack really depends on the difficulty you are playing. If your difficulty is Give Me No Mercy (GMNM), then you can dodge this attack with just a single step (pressing X once) to stay in line in the fight. And if your difficulty is Give Me God of War (GMGOW), you'll need to do a double dodge, that is pressing the X button on your controller twice, because Fraekni leaves explosives on his path.
Defeating Fraekni The Zealous Without Taking Damage
From the moment I understood Fraekni's moves, I was certain I couldn't take damage, and that made me too impulsive, which later turned to Fraekni's advantage over me. If you are way too impulsive, I'd advise taking a deep breath in and out before fighting Fraekni because you'd need it just so you won't be taking any damage from him, even if you understand his moves.
To defeat Fraekni the Zealous without taking damage, you'd need to understand his moves, then make sure you use the best build you can have, just so the fight wouldn't take long. This is best for someone who is just meeting a Berserker for the first time and doesn't have any good experience with them, and the longer the fight lasts, the more you'll likely take damage.
So explore the game, make necessary upgrades to your weapons, runic attacks, shields, and amulet to stand a chance to end the fight in a short time.
Best Build for Fraekni The Zealous
The best build for a Berserker like Fraekni the Zealous shouldn't be something too perfect, like for harder Berserkers in the gam,e because this one is the easiest to defeat of all.
My build is focused on status damage and increased damage taken during Realm shift (Alfheim amulet equipment). The build I use for Fraekni the Zealous is the poison build, where Freya is equipped with her poison summon called Seiðr Exhale. Once this summon is called out, it seeks its enemies and puts the enemy in a poison status.
Once the enemy is in this status, all runic attacks with increased damage deal significant damage while the Berserker is in the poison status.
The best way you can stand a chance to make a great fight with this build is to go further in the game, find what's necessary for the build and upgrade your overall stats.
Final Thoughts
Fraekni the Zealous can be a pretty tough boss when you meet him for the first time, but he doesn't always have to be tough, especially if you are well prepared mentally.
Sincerely, I can't count the number of times I was beaten by this boss, so it doesn't matter how many times you were beaten; what matters is what you learnt after an encounter with the Berserker.
And I can promise you that if you master this Berserker's move, you already have a head start of about 30% to defeat any other Berserker that you meet in the game.
