God of War Ragnarok: All Vanaheim Nornir Chests

Vanaheim is the biggest realm in God of War: Ragnarok so it can be difficult to locate all the Nornir Chests. This realm has 11 Nornir Chests that are to be opened to reach 100% completion.

This article will guide you step-by-step to find all the Nornir Chests locations and how to solve the puzzles related to these Nornir Chests.

Nornir Chest Locations

All the 11 Nornir Chests in Vanaheim are distributed at 9 different locations which are:

1. The Abandoned Village
2. The Southern Wilds
3. Cliffside Ruins
4. The Veiled Passage
5. Goddess Falls
6. Eastern Barri Woods
7. The Plains
8. The Sinkholes
9. The Jungle

To open Nornir Chests in the game, you must first solve various puzzles. These puzzles come in different forms, including:

1. Torch Puzzle: Light torches using Kratos’ Blades of Chaos, Sigil Arrows, or Fire Buckets.

2. Switch Puzzle: Spin golden paddles by throwing your axe at them until they display the required letter.

3. Bell Puzzle: Locate and ring 3 bells hidden in your surroundings.

4. Totem Puzzle: Find 3 runes, often hidden behind waterfalls or objects, and throw your spear at them. Then, detonate the chest to destroy all 3 runes at once.

Solving these puzzles will allow you to open Nornir Chests and access their contents in the game.

The Abandoned Village

As visible on the Vanaheim map, The Abandoned Village lies on the Northeast side. You can reach there by climbing the cliffs on your way. You will see a crane in the middle of the village that can be rotated by hitting the spinning paddles under it.

To open the Nornir Chest that is under the wooden bridge, you need to release the fire bucket stuck in Hel’s Bramble. Then, you will swing the fire bucket using your Blades of Chaos to light up the torches behind Hel’s Bramble.

N Rune’s Torch

Cross the bridge by swinging to the crane and look under the bridge where you will find the Nornir Chest. To the left of it, you will see the ‘N’ Rune’s Torch. Light it up with your Blades of Chaos.

The other two torches are unreachable by your Blades of Chaos so we will swing the fire bucket on them.

R Rune’s Torch

Go back up on the wooden bridge and face East to see the ‘R’ Rune’s Torch. Swing back to the other side of the bridge facing the golden paddles under it.

Rotate the crane so the fire bucket is in front of you. Then swing the fire bucket to the left with your Blades of Chaos to light up the ‘R’ Rune’s Torch.

C Rune’s Torch

When still on the bridge, face West and you will see the ‘C’ Rune’s Torch. Rotate back the crane so you can swing to the other side.

When you reach the other side of the bridge, you will see the fire bucket in front of you. Swing it rightwards to light up the last Torch and voila! You have unlocked your first Nornir Chest. You will hear a sound effect when this happens. Go under the bridge again to open it.

Also Read about Niflheim in God of War: Ragnarok.

The Southern Wilds

Reach the Southern Wilds by moving Southeast. The Nornir Chest is located around the end of Southern Wilds. You will see it in the open just before entering Freyr’s Camp. This is one of those switch puzzles where you have to hit 3 paddles around your location.

C Rune’s Switch

When facing the Nornir Chest, look to your left and upwards to locate the ‘C’ Switch. Toss Kratos’ axe on the golden paddle to complete step 1.

R Rune’s Switch

Face the Nornir Chest again. Then look to your right and on the cliff, you will see the ‘R’ Switch, but it will be behind Hel’s Bramble. Use your Blades of Chaos to burn the Hel’s Bramble. Then Hit the Switch with your axe until it shows R.

N Rune’s Switch

This switch is at some distance from the Nornir Chest. Face the ‘R’ Switch and then move to its right in the Southeast direction to locate the ‘N’ Switch. It will also be covered in Hel’s Bramble which is set on fire from its root which is to the right of Big Tree.

Use your Blades of Chaos again to burn it and turn the golden paddle to make it display ‘N’.

Cliffside Ruins

Till now we have collected 3 Nornir Chests.

The region is more towards the Northwest of Vanaheim. You will see the Nornir Chest across the Mystic Gate in the opening under a window. This is again the Switch puzzle, so you find the golden paddles and match the alphabet.

Be cautious of enemies around you which need to be cleared first.

R Rune’s Switch

To unlock the Nornir Chest near the water:

1. Locate the ‘R’ Switch hidden behind Red Bramble.
2. Use Sigil Arrows to clear a path, as the chest is out of Blades of Chaos range.
3. Throw your Blades of Chaos at the switch to burn away the Red Bramble.
4. Rotate the golden paddle until it displays ‘R’ to unlock the chest.

F Rune’s Switch

To access the ‘F’ Switch for the Nornir Chest:

1. Head to the broken bridge columns.
2. Climb them to reach the ‘F’ Switch.
3. Face the Nornir Chest from behind the waters.
4. Move slightly toward the Southeast and jump onto the bridge column with the ‘F’ Switch.
5. Hit the golden paddle to display ‘F’ and unlock the chest.

D Rune’s Switch

From the same point, move Northeast towards your boat. Get in the boat and move further North. Get off the boat and when you face Southwest, the third golden paddle will be in front of you. Toss your axe on it to rotate it to ‘D’.

Get back in your boat and swim towards the Nornir Chest to open it.

The Veiled Passage

Before entering Goddess Falls, take a left on the river to enter The Veiled Passage. Travel further in your boat. Row Eastwards inside the cave where you will see the Nornir Chest on your right. Leave the boat on the dry land in front.

This is a Bell puzzle where you must ring 3 bells to unlock the Nornir Chest.

To begin, you’ll encounter a blockage on your path to the Nornir Chest. Remove it by picking up a firebomb in front of you and throwing it at the blockage.

Position yourself directly in front of the Nornir Chest, facing the Northwest wall where the Bells are hanging. The objective is to ring all three bells simultaneously using a combination of Firebombs and Sigil Arrows.

Here’s the step-by-step solution:

1. Start by throwing a Firebomb at the right bell, which is covered in Red Bramble.

2. Next, throw a Sigil Arrow towards both the left and right bells.

3. Shoot the middle bell with the Sigil Arrow three times to create a larger purple bubble that overlaps with the ones on the right and left bells.

4. Finally, throw a firebomb at the middle bell to detonate all the bubbles simultaneously and ring all three bells at once.

You will hear all the bells ringing followed by a sound effect.

Goddess Falls

We have reached the count of 5 Nornir Chests.

After taking the Nornir Chest at The Veiled Passage, head up South towards Goddess Falls. As the name suggests, the Goddess ‘Falls’ is at the clifftop which is surrounded by 3 rivers. Your Nornir Chest will also be at the top.

This puzzle requires you to light up all the 3 torches to open the Nornir Chest. Previously on Abandoned Falls, we didn’t use Sigil Arrows on our Torch-Lighting puzzles but this time we will need them.

When at the top, look Northwest to see the Nornir Chest. Make use of the hook above and your Blades of Chaos to swing to it.

R Rune’s Torch

To light the ‘R’ Torch for the Nornir Chest:

1. Face the Chest.
2. Look to your right (North) to spot the ‘R’ Torch.
3. Use Sigil Arrows to reach it.
4. Shoot 1 arrow at the rock closest to you.
5. Shoot another arrow at the rock behind it.
6. Shoot 2 Arrows on the torch to expand the bubble size.
7. Ensure all pink bubbles overlap.
8. Hit the closest bubble with your Blades of Chaos to light up the ‘R’ Torch.

N Rune’s Torch

To light the ‘N’ Torch for the Nornir Chest:

1. Face the Chest.
2. Look to your left.
3. Swing by the hook to reach the other side.
4. Look up Northwest, where you’ll spot the ‘N’ Torch.
5. Use Sigil Arrows since there’s no direct path.
6. Deploy 3 Arrows on the torch.
7. Look under the torch at a rock.
8. Shoot 3 Sigil Arrows on the rock to create another bubble.
9. Ensure the bubbles overlap.
10. Use the Blades of Chaos on the lower pink bubble to explode it and light up the ‘N’ Torch.

C Rune’s Torch

Face the ‘N’ Torch. Move East toward the end of the cliff to see the ‘C’ Torch. It can be set on fire by placing 3 pink bubbles in line to the left of it. Use your Blades of Chaos to light up the ‘C’ Torch and open up another Nornir Chest.

A sound effect will give you confirmation that you are ready to open the Nornir Chest.

Eastern Barri Woods

To locate the Nornir Chest in the Abandoned Village:

1. Head east from Vanaheim.
2. Look for the chest on your second visit.
3. It’s in an area accessible with curled stairs.
4. Walk from East to North to reach the chest.
5. Solve the Switch puzzle by swinging the 3 golden paddles to open it.

D Rune’s Switch

Stand on the end of these curled stairs and look at your hard left to see the ‘D’ Switch. It’s clear in the open but covered in Bramble. Firstly, light it up with Blades of Chaos and then hit the spinner with your axe until it displays ‘D’.

If you stand at the very end of these stairs, your Blades of Chaos might not reach the paddle. So, move 3 to 4 steps back and then go for it.

F Rune’s Switch

The ‘F’ Switch is rather closer to the Nornir Chest than the ‘D’ Switch. Move up the stairs and get closer to the chest. Look to the left of it to locate the golden paddle and rotate it to ‘F’.

To bring up the ‘F’ in one hit, make sure you are hitting the rightmost paddle.

C Rune’s Switch

Facing the ‘F’ Switch, look a little to your left and you will see a pathway in front. Walk on the path and reach the end of it. Facing Southwest, you will see the third golden paddle a little far away. Reach it with Kratos’ axe to finish the puzzle and get the Nornir Chest.

The Plains

Two chests are located in this region.

First Nornir Chest

To reach the Nornir Chest in Vanaheim, there are two possible routes:

1. From the West of Vanaheim: If you’re coming from the west of Vanaheim, head northeast towards the entrance of The Plains.

2. From the Sinkholes: If you’re closer to the Sinkholes, head left before entering the Sinkholes. Along the way, defeat any enemies you encounter. Keep an eye out for a structure that looks like a hut made of marble; this is known as a Celestial Altar.

If you’re having trouble finding the Celestial Altar, refer to the map below for its specific location. You can mark this point on your in-game map as a reference to help you reach it.

To solve the Bell Puzzle and open the Nornir Chest:

1. Descend to lower ground to the north of the chest.
2. Locate two visible bells above the chest.
3. Find the third bell trapped in Hel’s Bramble to the north.
4. Climb back and move north to find the Bramble on your left.
5. Use the Blades of Chaos to burn the Bramble.
6. Return to the chest and ring all 3 bells in a short period to solve the puzzle.

Hit the 2 bells that were already visible to you.

Then run North towards the tree in front. Just after crossing the tree, look above the rocks to your right to see the third bell. Hit it quickly to finish the puzzle and get the Nornir Chest.

Second Nornir Chest

Part One

After opening the first chest, move Northwest to get close to the second one.

This puzzle is similar to the bell puzzle but instead, you destroy runes just by throwing your axe. Reaching the exact location of this chest holds a couple of conditions.

1. Ensure it’s dark or use a Celestial Alter to change the time.
2. Head to the closed gate blocked by a poison-spewing pole.
3. Defeat the Ogre guarding the gate.
4. Proceed to the left and confront Vali the Oath guard.
5. After defeating Vali, look for a greenish poisonous tower.
6. Throw your axe to cut its supply and clear the path.
7. Return along the same path.

Part Two

Go right and jump over a line of rocks. Look right one more time to see the closed gate.

After opening the gate, you will see multiple poisonous towers and also face some enemies. These enemies will not spit poison on you so don’t worry about it. Defeat them and clear the area by freezing the poison.

Stand at some distance from the opening of the gate. Face west to destroy the ‘F’ Rune.

Keep standing there and face East to destroy the ‘R’ Rune inside a tree.

If you haven’t already frozen the pole toward the North, freeze it now to reach the ‘N’ Rune.

Move North behind that pole and look to your hard left. Behind a tree, you will the ‘N’ Rune.

Destroy it to finally open the Nornir chest that required so much effort.

The Sinkholes

First Nornir Chest

The Chest is placed right after you enter the area of Sinkholes. This is a Torch Puzzle so you will be finding 3 torches at discreet locations. When you reach The Sinkholes, you will see a rope going downwards.

Slide down the rope and then walk towards the West by making a 180-degree turn. Move straight into a dark alley where you will see the Nornir chest on your right.

N Rune’s Torch

Move South to the end of the path. The torch will be on the cliff towards the left side of your chest. Make use of multiple Sigil Arrows and make a line of enlarged purple bubbles that reach the Torch. Now use Blades of Chaos, and light up the ‘N’ torch.

C Rune’s Torch

Face the ‘N’ Torch. Now turn North and start walking. You will see the ‘C’ Torch on the right of Nornir Chest at some height. Use a single Sigil Arrow and explode it to light up the ‘C’ Torch.

R Rune’s Torch

Keep your direction towards the ‘C’ Torch. Look a little to your right and climb up the cliff. Stand directly above the ‘C’ Torch. Then face Southeast to see the torch on high ground. Make 3 enlarged purple bubbles using Sigil Arrows.

Make sure these bubbles are overlapping with each other and the ‘R’ Torch so when you explode the bubbles, the torch lights up. After the ‘R’ Torch is lit, you will hear the sound effect which means you are ready to open the Nornir Chest.

Second Nornir Chest

To access this chest:

1. Complete the “Favor: Return of the River” in the Jungle Area.
2. Once done, the river will flow, allowing boat travel.
3. Head to the Sinkholes area, just before the Ash Tyrant’s lair.
4. Locate the chest above the river.
5. Use a boat to navigate to the land with the Blue Flag to the north.
6. Climb up the chain and go south to find the Nornir Chest.
7. It’s a Totem Puzzle, so find and destroy 3 totems nearby.

B Rune’s Totem

When facing the Nornir chest, look to the left where you will see a broken white pillar with the ‘B’ Totem. Throw the spear on it.

E Rune’s Totem

When you are facing the Nornir Chest, look to the right. On the marble pillar beside a marble statue of a crow, you will see the ‘E’ Totem. Stick your spear in it.

T Rune’s Totem

Face the ‘E’ Totem. Now turn North and start walking. You will see the ‘T’ Totem in front of you on the edge of a cliff. Aim your spear at it

After getting all the Totems, go back to the Nornir Chest to detonate all the spears to destroy all the Totems. After doing this, you can open the chest.

The Jungle

To reach this Nornir Chest:

1. Complete the “Return of the River” Favor to make the river flow.
2. Use a boat to cross to the other side.
3. Head to the South of the Jungle area.
4. The chest is located near where you disembark from the boat.
5. Solve the Switch Puzzle to open the chest.

E Rune’s Switch

Look up a little to the right of your chest to see the ‘E’ Switch. Rotate the golden paddle by throwing Kratos’ axe on the left paddle to show ‘E’ in a single hit.

N Rune’s Switch

Look North towards the Celestial altar. Walk past the stairs leading to the Altar where you will see the ‘N’ Switch on the edge of the wall to the right. The Switch will be trapped in Bramble so firstly, use Blades of Chaos to burn it.

Then hit the right side of the golden paddle to make it show ‘N’.

B Rune’s Switch

Face the ‘N’ Switch. Now look to your left. On the same height level, on the wall of the Altar, you will see the ‘B’ switch. Hit its left golden paddle to end the puzzle.

Go back to the Chest to open it and receive either an Idunn Apple or Horn of Blood Mead.

Ending Notes

The realm of Vanaheim contains 11 Nornir Chests which are opened by solving different puzzles like the Bell Puzzle. Puzzles are easy to solve by following simple clues given around the chest.

Sometimes, you might be required to complete some Favors before you are given access to Nornir Chests. Other situations might require you to fight off some enemies before you reach the exact location of the chests.

That’s it! We have successfully opened all 11 Nornir Chests of Vanaheim and got one step closer to completing the realm. If you enjoyed this guide and found it useful, visit VeryAliGaming to see more guides on God of War: Ragnarok.