God Of War Ragnarok Return Of The River Favour Guide

God Of War Ragnarok Return Of The River is the first Favour or Side Quest you should focus on after reaching The Crater and saving Birgir at the end of the Quest named For Vanaheim we covered here.

Besides the fact that it counts as one of the 47 GoW Ragnarok Side Quests, Return Of The River is a Quest that makes exploration a lot easier because your goal is to flood The Crater Plains area.

This way, you’ll be able to use your boat while exploring. Since most of The Plains Collectibles we’ve covered here can’t be reached without flooding The Crater, it goes without saying that you’ll have to finish the God Of War Ragnarok Return Of The River Favour as soon as possible.

The problem is that to flood The Plains Crater region, you must get to another area named The Jungle.

To help you with this Quest, we’ll go over the path you must follow in our God Of War Ragnarok Return Of The River walkthrough below.

How To Start Return Of The River Favor In The Vanaheim Jungle

Before we start, it’s worth knowing that you can also start Return Of The River Side Quest upon finishing the Scent Of Survival Favor we already explained, but it’s recommended to finish For Vanaheim and save Birgir first because the latter allows you to unlock a Celestial Altar and the Western Plains Mystic Gateway.

The Western Plains Mystic Gateway will make exploration easier, and you’ll be able to travel between The Jungle and The Plains while working on other Favours.

Last but not least, the Western Plains Mystic Gateway will be our starting point for the journey toward the dam.

As such, from the Western Plains Mystic Gateway and the Celestial Altar nearby, head east and drop to the large area below. Make sure you do this during the night, and if needed, change the time of the day using the Celestial Altar nearby.

After dropping in the area east of the altar, turn right and move southeast around the mountain until you reach a large canyon. This will be flooded later but don’t worry, as you won’t miss any collectibles or quests.

Across the canyon, you should be able to see the entrance to a large cave (pictured below). Follow the stone bridge on the right side (also marked below) to get inside.

As you cross the bridge, you should be able to hear Mimir telling Kratos that the valley used to be flooded. So we are on the right path here.

After entering the cave, deal with all enemies, then follow the linear path ahead. Walk on the ledge on the left side of the wall when reaching the large gap, then head up and descend to the other side.

Now you’ll want to smash the wooden planks on the hole on the other side (screenshot below).

Follow the next tunnel, then turn right to see the footprints of a large creature. Inspect them, but don’t worry about them just yet.

After you exit the tunnel, you’ll enter The Jungle and find the Jungle Entrance Mystic Gateway.

Again, ignore all The Jungle Collectibles we’ve covered here for now because you’ll have to flood this area too.

From the Mystic Gateway, you just found head right (southwest) and run to avoid the stones thrown by the Troll on the other side.

Eventually, you’ll reach another ledge, and below you should see a larger area with purple poisonous plants.

Drop in this new area; then, after you deal with all enemies, head left after you throw your Leviathan Axe at the poisonous plants.

Climb the wall on the other side of this small valley, and the God Of War Ragnarok Return Of The River Quest starts.

How To Ascend The Dam

The moment the quest start, keep pushing forward and follow the path on the right.

After dealing with the Gulon in the following area, move southwest and climb the next ledge.

On the right side, you’ll see an elevator blocked by some brambles. Shoot a Runic Arrow (pink), then burn the brambles using Kratos’s Blades of Chaos (L2+R2).

Take the elevator to the top of the dam, and deal with all enemies you encounter.

Now you’ll have to find a way to get behind the dam, so look around for some wooden crates you can smash to reveal a weak spot (pictured below).

Smash the crates, throw your spear and detonate it by pressing the triangle button on your PlayStation 4/PS5 controller.

Squeeze through the crack in the wall, and in the area behind the dam, you’ll have to deal with more mobs. At this point, you’ll also start the Favor named What Lies Below.

How To Flood The Crater

After dealing with all enemies, you must flood the crater to finish the Return Of The River God Of War Ragnarok Favour. It is a small puzzle that’s relatively easy to complete.

While facing the dam, head left and notice the brambles blocking the left dam grate.

Get close to them, shoot a Runic Arrow (pink), and then burn them with the Blades of Chaos.

For the vines blocking the right dam gate, remain in the same spot, shoot three Runic Arrows, connecting the pink spheres, and then aim for the one on the left side to start a chain reaction.

If you are confused about where to shoot the arrows, check the following screenshot and remember that you don’t need to cover the vines with the purple spheres. You have to barely touch them.

Great job! Now that the dam gates are free, just approach the wooden wheel and rotate it to flood The Crater, then go back through the crack in the wall to see the water flowing.

After finishing the God Of War Ragnarok Return Of The River Favor, consider returning to the area behind the dam and focus on the What Lies Below Quest because it’s one of the shortest in the game.

Furthermore, you may also want to talk to Magnus behind the dam to start the Casualty of War: The Stein Favor we explained here.

And finally, with The Crater flooded, you can start looking for all collectibles in this vast area. If you need help with them, refer to our GoW Ragnarok Wiki Hub here.