God of War: How to Switch Arrow Types For Atreus

In the new God of War, Atreus sports a bow and arrow that is used both in combat and to traverse the world.  The bow and arrow allows Atreus to shoot both normal and two types of magical arrows.  At the start of the game Atreus will only have access to normal arrows, but after progressing into the game just a short while you’ll uncover two different types of arrows.  Both are blessed with different magical powers.  Either of the arrow types can be accessed by Pressing Up on the D-Pad on the PlayStation 4 Controller.

When you press up on the d-pad, you’ll notice that the color of the arrow changes in the bottom right hand portion of the screen.  Blue Arrows mean that Atreus can interact with Blue Crystals in the world.  This allows him to shoot these blue crystals to create bridges and get to places that weren’t before accessible.  Blue arrows also deal a different type of damage when in combat.  The Blue Arrows are called “Light Arrows” as they’re blessed with an Elven Light.  These Light Arrows can be upgrade in the game’s skill tree to do more damage while in combat.  The Light (Blue) Arrows can stun enemies.

The other type of arrows that Atreus can use are Shock Arrows.  These will function on a different type of Dragon Magic and offer shock properties.  This will allow Atreus to shoot different items in the world that can explode when hit by the arrow.  You’ll know when you see these areas as they are covered in a red sap and will have a pulsating area that you can shoot.  These Shock Arrows can also be used in combat to inflict a certain type of damage to enemies.  They will shock enemies and leave them incapacitated for a short while.  Upgrades for these arrows can increase things like Shock Duration and chaining shock damage to nearby enemies.

Whether shooting the Blue or Red Crystals, you’ll want to hold in the Left Trigger and press Square to have Atreus fire an arrow.  You’ll want to make sure that the arrow type is selected to the correct one by toggling between arrow types by hitting Up on the D-Pad whether you’re in combat or during exploration.  One major difference is that when in combat you do not need to press the Left Trigger to aim.  Simply look in the direction of an enemy and press square to fire arrows of whatever type you have selected.

Arrows do work on a cool-down, so you’ll need to mindful of how many arrows Atreus has available to shoot.  Upgrades can be purchased that allow for Atreus’ arrow supply to replenish more quickly.