Unfortunately there's no way to avoid combat completely in this one since its basically hardcoded into the main story progression. When you encounter thor, heimdall, and garm, you'll need to defeat them to advance - there's no talking or sneaking past these encounters. While some players have done really interesting challenge runs like shield-only or no-damage attempts, you're still required to take down key enemies and bosses. The combat system is deliberately built around those signature weapons like the leviathan axe and blades of chaos, with mechanics like stun executions being essential parts of progression. Even top-tier players doing hardcore challenge runs still have to eliminate story-critical enemies like björn and dreki to move forward.

Looking at places like muspelheim, everything there is focused on combat mastery with trials specifically designed around eliminating waves of enemies. The timing windows for dodging and parrying are precise, especially against bosses where you need to watch for specific attack animations and glowing indicators. Positioning yourself correctly during these fights is crucial since most arenas are designed with combat spacing in mind - keeping about mid-range distance gives you the best options for both offense and defense.