Jotunnslayer Hordes of Hel Beginner’s Guide (September 2025) [1.0 Update]

Updated September 11, 2025

With the official launch of Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel and its massive 1.0 update, we've updated this guide to cover all the new content and changes.

If you're a fan of bullet-hell, survival games like Vampire Survivors, Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is a must-play. This top-down RPG, inspired by Norse mythology, challenges you to survive against relentless hordes of enemies, utilizing special abilities to complete tasks. This guide includes everything a beginner needs to know to get started with the game's full release.

All Character Classes in Jotunnslayer Hordes of Hel

With the 1.0 release, there are now six playable classes in Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel: Berserker, Seeress, Flame Sister, Revenant, Warden, and Kinslayer. Each character has a unique set of abilities, called Class Traits, that are activated automatically while playing.

The Berserker carries an axe as his primary weapon and is built for close combat, just like Flame Sister who uses a dagger. Seeress and Revenant use a staff and bow, respectively, that make them a perfect choice for players looking for a class geared towards ranged attacks. You can check out all of the characters and their respective Class Traits in the table below.

Class Customization

After you've determined what character to play with, you can customize the hero in a few ways. Firstly, you can select from a variety of Weapons available for that class. For instance, Revenant features three types of bows, and each comes with a different Weapon Skill and bonus ability. The default weapon is perfect for beginners, as the remaining need to be unlocked for gems.

Thereafter, you can select Skins to customize your class further. These are cosmetics and don't impact the gameplay; nonetheless, you have the option to deploy into hell with style. If you can spare some extra cash, get the Odin's Legendary Armor Pack as it includes themed skins for all four classes.

All Locations in Jotunnslayer Hordes of Hel

Initially, players can experience only five worlds in Jotunnslayer Hordes of Hel: Niflheim, Jotunheim, Muspelheim, Svartalheim, and Helheim. The locations aren't just aesthetically different but also have unique monsters of their own.

Location Customization

Before beginning a match, you can customize the location by setting the Difficulty and Modifiers. Below are all the location difficulties available in Jotunnslayer Hordes of Hel and their attributes.

To access the higher difficulties, you'll have to complete the level in the lower difficulty first. Each world also offers some Modifiers that come with some pros and cons. You can assign some to make the gameplay favorable to your play style. Here are the Modifiers available on Niflheim:

Controls & Attack Preference

Before diving into the gameplay, beginners must understand the Attack Preferences setting. This setting determines how the attack mechanics will work. Here are the available options:

• Attack Mode
  • Smart: Attack automatically only when there are enemies within range.
  • Automatic: Attack constantly even when the enemies aren't around.
  • Manual: Press the attack button manually each time to attack.
• Aim Mode
  • Automatic: Automatically aim at the nearest enemy.
  • Manual: You control the Hero's aim using the mouse or the right stick on the gamepad.

I suggest the default setting (Smart Attack Mode and Automatic Aim Mode) for new players. This will allow you to focus on moving around, dashing, and dodging enemies. However, feel free to try Manual Attack Preferences after you've gained some experience for a more challenging and hands-on experience.

Jotunnslayer Hordes of Hel Gameplay Explained

After deploying, your goal is to survive against the hordes of enemies while leveling up your hero and completing objectives. There is plenty of time to complete the objectives, especially for beginners playing on Easy or Normal difficulty.

Maintain some distance between yourself and the hordes of enemies, which grow more powerful and numerous as the raid time passes. Dead enemies drop Crystals that you must collect to level up your hero and acquire new abilities and attack moves.

Always keep an eye on your HP bar and retreat if your survival is at stake. Let your health regenerate slowly, or consume Food dropped by enemies for an instant HP boost. Food appears as a meat symbol on the minimap in the top-right corner.

You should also collect Gold dropped by golden enemies, bosses, and from objective completion. Gold can be used to purchase new weapons from the main menu. Continue to level up your class, defend against enemy hordes, and complete objectives within the allotted time until the final boss fight. Defeat the final Jotunn to finish the raid and unlock the main reward.

Objectives

In Niflheim, the objectives I received during the Easy and Normal difficulty raids were pretty straightforward. Below are some of the objectives in Jotunnslayer Hordes of Hel and how they work:

• Mushrooms: You have to collect eight fungi scattered across the map for this objective. Each mushroom is marked on the minimap, and you stand atop each one for a second to collect it.
• Graves of Chieftains: Summon the giant Chieftains by standing over their graves and defeating them to unlock rewards. These bosses are easy to kill; just keep some distance and dash to dodge their attacks.
• Survive the Curse: The frozen world of Niflheim will see a one-minute blizzard in which your movement speed slows down, but the enemies become agitated and attack in numbers. Make it through the curse period to complete the objective.

Completing all three objectives in Easy difficulty (four in Normal difficulty, and so on) will mark the portal from where you start the final mission to defeat the main boss: Summon the Jotunn.

The New Enemy Archive

The 1.0 update introduces a new enemy archive. This helpful new feature allows you to view information about the enemies you have defeated in your runs. Use this to learn about different monster types and develop better strategies for fighting them.

Level Up - Choose Skill Type

As you level up, a screen will pop up asking you to choose the Skill Type between the Class or God. The Class will remain the same as your acquired hero, i.e., you'll only get the option for Revenant if you're playing as Revenant during the match. However, you may get any of the eight Gods: Thor, Loki, Freya, Odin, Njord, Brokk & Sindri, Njord, and Nidhogg.

This menu appears each time you gain a level by playing and collecting crystals, so don't worry about missing a specific power-up, as you'll get plenty of chances to acquire it during the raid. I suggest acquiring any God Skill Type initially, as these can grant you powerful attack moves. You can later unlock the Class Skill Type to strengthen your hero's base abilities.

With Skill Type level up, you can acquire up to 3 God Autocasts and 2 Class Autocasts. These are attack moves that are performed along with your hero's basic maneuver. You can also gain up to 6 Passives that give you, well, passive buffs. Autocasts and Passives can also be leveled up to increase their effectiveness. Furthermore, if you don't like the Skill Type shown to you, use the Reroll option to get new ones and Banish to make them disappear completely for that round.

Level Up - Choose a Subclass

Later in your character's leveling-up journey, you'll get the option to choose a Subclass instead of the usual Skill Type. Pick this one carefully, based on your requirements and playstyle, as it can grant you a powerful buff, unlike the passives. For instance, I chose Zealot for Berserker during my playthrough because I had accumulated a lot of God Skills, and this Subclass significantly reduced the cooldown for those.

Treasure Chest

Treasure Chests will also appear on your minimap from time to time, so keep an eye out for these and open them when possible. These can provide temporary yet powerful abilities that can prove very useful when fighting against hordes or bosses (see the second image above). Below are some of the common Treasure Chest rewards in Jotunnslayer Hordes of Hel:

• Elixir of Bloodlust: Critical Hit Chance +15%, Duration 70s
• Valhallan Mead: Bless Damage +30%, Duration 70s
• Elixir of Haste: Movement Speed +25%, Attack Speed +25%, Duration 70s
• Urd's Dice: +3 Rerolls
• Magnet: Draw XP Crystals from further away
• Charm of Giants: Max HP +100
• Charm of Aesir: Damage God Skills +20%
• Charm of the Elves: Movement Speed +7%

The last three rewards mentioned above are from the divine Freya Treasure Chest; therefore, the effects of the reward are permanently applied to your hero and are also stackable.

Boss Fight

As mentioned before, the final boss fight can only be started after you've completed all the objectives. Stand on the marking on the ground to summon the new boss, the dragon Nidhogg.

The boss's HP and attack strength will be determined by the difficulty you're playing on. However, beginners don't need to worry, as the beast is not too tough to defeat on Easy or Normal modes.

Nidhogg's attacks are similar to the old Jotunn boss, but with new abilities, so stay out of the highlighted target areas to avoid taking damage. You can always rely on the dash to dodge. Defeat the boss to finish the raid and claim your rewards.

Jotunnslayer Hordes of Hel Skill Tree

What was initially available as Virtues in Jotunnslayer Hordes of Hel has now been converted into the Skill Tree. Although the ability boost unlocks are no longer as streamlined, this change represents a classic takeover of the skill tree mechanic, like most other games. There is a separate skill tree for each Class and God.

For beginners, I recommend starting by upgrading the God Skill Tree for your preferred divine power, specifically the God whose weapons you choose to use. You can simultaneously level up and obtain skills for your favorite Class to make a strong build for higher difficulty raids in Jotunnslayer.

If you're familiar with Vampire Survivors, check out How to beat Slogra and Gaibon in Vampire Survivors Ode to Castlevania on Pro Game Guides.