How to find and open every Nornir chest in God of War

nornir chest GoW
(Image credit: Sony)

Opening God of War's Nornir chests is a sure-fire way to find an Idunn Apple and Horn of Blood Mead, which will improve your health and rage, respectively. Without these items, you'll find God of War very difficult, so you'll want to seek out these chests as soon as you can. Several Nornir chests can be found in Midgard and a few more in Alfheim and Helheim. So, let's get started and find you some chests.

God of War: Nornir Chest locations 

To unlock Nornir chests, you'll need to find seals and smash them with your axe. There are runes on each chest and there will be seals hidden around the area near the chest. You don't need to hit them in order, but you do need to smash them all to open the chest. 

Some will be in awkward, high places and others in plain sight, so keep your eyes peeled for a bluish glow. You'll also have a time limit to hit the runes, so study the area first before you shoot them.

(Image credit: Sony)

Midgard Nornir Chests

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Midgard Nornir Chests
LocationDirectionsReward
Wild WoodsWhen hunting deer with Atreus you'll come across a temple and your first chest. It's behind a barricade, so smash your way through it and hit the three seals in the room to unlock it.Idunn Apple
River Pass 1After you've defeated your first revenant, you'll find another chest at the end of a path—I did say in my tips guide to explore every area! The first rune is behind the chest with the other two near the bridge.Idunn Apple
River Pass 2There's a second Nornir chest further along in the spiked chamber, where the difficulty ramps up a bit. Good job you found those Idunn Apples. Towards the end of the puzzle you'll find a chest on a ledge above. Raise the platform you're standing on to reach one of the runes and the others on the roof of the arena and nearby cave.Horn of Blood Mead
River Pass 3:Once you've defeated Brenna Dauoi, you'll find another chest in the fight arena. Two of the seals can be found either side of the chest, the last being in the main area you fought in. Idunn Apple
Witch's Cave Witch's Cave: Once you get into the Witch's cave and get the shock bow for Atreus—a major upgrade in itself— you'll be able to shoot his Light Arrow to create three bridges. Loop around the side of the cave to find another chest. One seal can be found by the left of the elevator, up the well, and another can be found by throwing a bomb found near the chest at a platform opposite. The final rune can be found by going past two of the light bridges away from the chest. Horn of Blood Mead
Lookout TowerThere's a boat docking area on the map near the Lookout Tower and what do you know, there's another chest! There are lots of spikes in this area so throw your axe and the post to lower them. Afterwards, recall the axe and throw it at the seal on the left then at the post with gears on it. Hit the other two seals and get another Idunn Apple from the chest.Idunn Apple
FoothillsNear where Sindri is in the Foothills, just to the southwest, is another Nornir chest. You'll need to freeze gas to reveal one of the spinning markers for this chest to match the runes on it, so it's a little different. Start off with the marker behind the chest, then head to the bottom of the small hill before carrying on to the left.Horn of Blood Mead
Tyr's TempleOnce you've reached Tyr's Temple, make your way through it until you reach the second post of the Winds of Hel. There will be a big hallway filled with spikes and a Nornir chest at the end. Directly behind you in the first seal. If you spin around and hug the wall to the left, you'll find another. You should be able to see the wheel mechanism that lowers the trap, so look across from it to the right side of the block to find the final seal. Idunn Apple
Fafnir's StoreroomYou can find this area during the Fafnir's Hoard quest, but for easiness, it's northwest of the Lake of Nine. Kill the monster then check behind the chest and the top of the waterfall to find the seals.Horn of Blood Mead
The Mountain 1y now you'll have reached inside the mountain and runes will appear around the room. There's a Light Crystal hidden behind some wood, so through your axe to break through the wood and activate the crystal to summon the bridge. You'll find the runes you need painted on the walls and you'll need to align the posts to the runes you see. The posts can be found near the entrance to the cavern before the big ledge, near the light bridge and another to the right of the cavern entrance. Horn of Blood Mead
The Mountain 2Near the Jotnar shrine there's another chest. One rune can be found in the rubble near the end of the bridge, one on the upper level of the bridge and one in the shrine room. Idunn Apple
Light Elf OutpostOnce you're able to lower the water in Lake of Nine, head west of the Helheim Tower. There's a light bridge puzzle to solve near this chest, and you'll find one seal in the gate and another on its edge. There's also an easy to find rune just past the chest.Idunn Apple
Witch's Cave 2To access this chest, you'll need the Winds of Hel, so don't bother looking for it until then. Return to where the witch lives then head up to the left to find a big pile of debris. Rebuild the destroyed structure by following the prompts that appear. Afterwards, you'll be able to climb the chain that leads to a small hill that lets you look down upon your newly reconstructed tower-thing. Use the Winds of Hel then insert it into the post that's halfway down the hill, and three posts with runes on them should appear. The first two runes have B facing the right and B facing upwards, with the third also facing upwards. Extract the Winds, head down to the chest to insert them.Idunn Apple
VeithurgardThis next chest is left of the big dragon and you can find the seals near the ruins, near the ledges beside the water and to the right of the chest. Horn of Blood Mead
KonunsgardThis chest is definitely worth seeking out as you'll get a unique reward—the Symbol of Bounty. To get it you'll need to complete all of Brok and Sindri's side quests. Once that's all finished and you meet with them, you'll see a doorway that leads to a balcony. Activate the Winds of Hel on the blank seal and a rune will appear, then insert the Winds on the other seal to spin it. Throw your axe at the spinning rune to break it and open the chest.Symbol of Bounty
Cliffs of the RavenThis chest holds another unique item, the Symbol of Fervour. Again, you'll need the Winds of Hel, so use it near the docks then transfer it near the big gate. Then take the winds to the rune poles and spin them so that they match the ones on the chest.Symbol of Fervour

(Image credit: Sony)

Alfheim Nornir Chests

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LocationDirectionsReward
Light Elf SanctuaryWhen you reach the big body of water, stick to the right until you do a sort of loop of the area and arrive at Light Elf Sanctuary. There are loads of enemies here, so take them all out and head towards the gate and jump across the bridge. Fight off yet another horde of baddies then stick to the right to find a chest. There are eight blank bells and you need to strike and three will eventually show runes. Follow them in a clock-like direction and hit the bells at three, six, and 11 o'clock to get the runes.Idunn Apple
PlatformRight as you enter Alfheim and jump on the platform to get to the main rooms, use your axe to freeze a gear in place to find a Nornir chest. All three runes are easy to spot here, so smash them all to get another Idunn Apple.Idunn Apple
Blue doorWhen walking with Sindri, you'll approach a blue door. If you follow the path to the left you'll find a chest with two large veins near a gate. Use your axe to destroy the veins and you'll spot the runes right away.Horn of Blood Mead
Main bossOnce the main boss in Alfheim is defeated you'll find another chest near a door. Clear out the enemies in the room first before looking for the runes. With your back to the door, head to the right and jump up the platforms to hit the bells and turn quickly to hit the runes behind you.Horn of Blood Mead

Helheim Nornir Chests

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LocationDirectionsReward
Escape from HelheimJust before you reach the boat, you'll spot a chest to the left of the dock. You'll need Blades of Chaos to open it, so make sure you've got them. There's a big block you can grab and drop down the hole to create a route to the chest. Set the brambles and thorns alight with Blades of Chaos to access a block that you can move to get a rune. The second rune is opposite to where you found the block and the last one requires a block above you to be pushed out of the way.Horn of Blood Mead

If you get stuck trying to find these chests, you can check out this handy video guide from HarryNinetyFour.

Guides Editor

The first three games Lauren played on PC were Star Wars: X-Wing, Zoo Tycoon and Barbie Fashion Designer, which explains her love of all things space, strategy and aesthetically pleasing. Lauren recently took over as PC Gamer's Guides Editor after three years of writing many dozens of Destiny 2 guides at VG247, as well as casually trying to shoehorn in The Witcher 3 articles wherever possible. When she's not trying to force everyone to play as a Warlock in Destiny 2, Lauren is either mastering her SEO abilities to help smash the competition, or patting one of her red sons.