The latest Assassin's Creed game takes a completely different approach to the skill tree system. Here's how you can make the most of it.
Assassin’s Creed Valhallait transports the trappings familiar from the series to a new, frozen Viking Age landscape. But while it's quite similar to the last two Assassin's Creed games,OriginIOdyssey, introduces a major change to the way skills are acquired, stat increases, and special abilities. In fact, Skills and Abilities are completely different this time and are developed in different ways. Here's an introduction to how the two systems work and how to get the most out of both.
Eivor's abilities
Skills in Assassin's Creed Valhalla become available shortly after a short tutorial, and you get more skill points early and often. The familiar leveling system from previous Assassin's Creed games has been improved to reward you with skill points every time you fill the EXP range. This is partly because there are far more skills to buy in Valhalla than in previous games, thanks to a wider skill tree that's packed with stat buffs and new moves. Initially, you will have the opportunity to invest in one of three directions.
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Way of the Bear (alliance)
Way of the Bear is a big, aggressive type of brawler that rewards you with skills that will turn you into a formidable, forward-looking fighter. You get melee advantages such as two-handed weapons in duels, the ability to scare weaker enemies with your attacks, as well as damage resistance and fire resistance. You'll also receive battle tokens that allow you to deal more damage at various points in battle, such as hitting enemies while running or taking damage during combat.
The Way of the Wolf (series)
Way of the Wolf is designed to deal ranged damage, giving you finishers and increasing your arrow count and durability. Since this build isn't built for close combat with a lot of buffs like Bear Road, you also get some survivability buffs like the ability to slow time or recover lost health with a melee attack.
Way of the Raven (stealth)
Way of the Raven is a stealth-focused stealth tree that feels more like the classic roots of the series. You'll get stealth combat upgrades like lethal damage, as well as access to poison attacks, traps, and predator bow perks. Since you're mostly trying to stay out of sight, your survivability is increased with evasive skills like catching arrows from the sky or throwing smoke bombs.
Each of these trees leads to its own skill constellation, a mostly linear progression path that gives more buffs for similar traits and leads to other constellations. For example, investing in a stealth-focused Crow path gives you access to more nodes with passive stealth buffs, while a ranged path gives you more nodes dedicated to things like crit range chance.
In addition, each path includes perks that improve the overall stats of the respective armor. For example, investing in certain perks in the Way of the Raven tree will increase the power of any Raven armor or weapon you have. You can see what class your weapons and armor belong to using the inventory screen.
Some of the top skills are in the middle of the constellation and must be retrieved to continue down the path, while others require a bit of a detour. Either way, each constellation connects to many others, and after a while you'll start to see them bleed into each other, even allowing for new paths to the capital ability. The added benefit of these alternate paths is that your passives don't get too lopsided, even if you focus primarily on one build type. There doesn't seem to be a limit to the skill points you can earn, so in theory you can eventually unlock the entire tree in all directions.
That said, you can reset all your skills for free at any time. This allows for easy reshaping, but more importantly, it can also be used to blur the constellation map. By investing your points in a path, you will discover more constellations and better understand where they lead. You can then reset your skills and do it again on a different path and so on, while still keeping the tarnished constellation you were previously invested in. This can help with long-term skill selection planning, as you'll be able to see where multiple options are leading.
The only thing missing from the Abilities menu are fancy game-changing abilities mapped to specific buttons. For this you need to acquire Skills.
Eivor's abilities
The Skills menu is more like what you'd expect from Odyssey, although some passive upgrades can now be found in the Skills menu. Skills are big, flashy moves that cost adrenaline to use. These include various stealth, range and combat abilities. One can allow you to play dead to draw enemies into your corpse for a surprise attack, while another can launch you into the air and fall upon your enemies like a valkyrie.
Unlike the Skills menu, which naturally unlocks at the start of the game, this menu only appears when you find your first Skill. For most players, this will happen when you sail into the kingdom of Rygajafylke, a few hours after the story begins.
Abilities can be found in Books of Knowledge. These powerful artifacts are marked with gold and are considered part of an area's wealth assessment. In Rygajafylke, you'll see a prominent golden book icon indicating a Book of Knowledge that requires you to solve a simple puzzle. Most often they can be found during Viking raids. The higher the wealth index, the more likely you are to find a Book of Knowledge nearby. They are especially common in military complexes or churches. When you find a Book of Knowledge, it will unlock a specific branded skill. If you find another copy of the Book of Knowledge you already own, it will be upgraded to a more powerful version. Each skill has a base and enhanced version, and the books are placed in specific parts of the world rather than randomly.
There are a total of 11 ranged skills and 11 melee skills, and you can engage up to eight at a time - four of each type. Once paired, you can activate them by holding down the arm button and then activating them with the face button you've paired. Remember that since they use up adrenaline, you have to plan carefully when to activate them.
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Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
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Steve'a Wattsa
Steve Watts has loved video games since that magical day when he first saw Super Mario Bros. at his cousin's house. Since starting his own website, GeoCities has been writing about games as a passion and for 14 years he has been professionally involved in reporting, reviewing and conducting interviews. He's GameSpot's preeminent expert on Hearthstone, a title that no one is specifically vying for, but is going to get anyway.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Released for the first timeOctober 10, 2020
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FAQs
How should I spend my skill points in Valhalla? ›
Skill points - earned every time you level up - not only increase your Power Level when applied, but also can be spent to upgrade stats, introduce buffs, and perhaps best of all, unlock new skills.
Do answers matter in Assassin's Creed Valhalla? ›While most of the choices beyond the Sigurd strikes don't “matter,” a small handful of them can impact certain NPCs sticking around in your base settlement. These choices don't materially alter the game's story, but it does have those folks hang out in your home base.
Can you max out skills in AC Valhalla? ›The maximum power level you can currently reach in Assassin's Creed Valhalla is 535.
How many adrenaline slots can you get AC Valhalla? ›Any Adrenaline upgrade
Abilities help you deal more damage and or give you some useful utility for every play style. There are three of these on the skill tree, meaning you can have four total Adrenaline slots.
- 1 Arrow Reinforcement. This skill is great for anyone who is proficient with a bow and prefers to use this weapon over their melee weapons.
- 2 Chain Assassination. ...
- 3 Explosive Corpse. ...
- 4 Grit. ...
- 5 Berserker's Mettle. ...
- 6 Stealth Recon. ...
- 7 Auto-Loot. ...
- 8 Brush With Death. ...
As for adultery against Randvi as opposed to with her, Eivor's flings escape Randvi's attention. For instance, sleeping with the Frankish noble Estrid at the end of the Essexe quest line will not affect Eivor's relationship with Randvi.
What happens if Randvi cheats on Sigurd? ›If Sigurd finds out about the affair, he will be less likely accompany Eivor in the “good ending.” So while it is technically Randvi doing the adultery, this indiscretion can actually have a massive impact on Assassin's Creed Valhalla's story.
Do relationships matter in AC Valhalla? ›Whether you win or lose, you will be given the option to enter into a more serious relationship with her, which is one of the best things about the game. You can choose to go on more dates with her, or even break up with her, although Eivor can still have other romances while dating Petra.
What is the max LVL in Valhalla? ›The maximum power level you can currently reach in Assassin's Creed Valhalla is 535.
What happens after power level 400 AC Valhalla? ›After reaching power level 400 (or 403 for those that encountered the glitch), players then start to earn mastery points instead. These don't technically increase power level, but they allow for players to level up 90 more times effectively.
What is the strongest ability in AC Valhalla? ›
1 Incendiary Powder Trap
This is the best ability in the game and it's not close. The fire damage is incredible and the explosion will easily destroy most targets. The upgrade allows the trigger to go off twice, so striking a boss with this arrow will deal huge damage and then set them on fire for a long time.
Once you finally reach Level 6 of your Settlement, Ravensthorpe will become a bustling town and powerful player in the diplomatic landscape. The last few farms upgrades are very costly and you may have to farm some resources.
How many Sigurd strikes can you get? ›Remember that getting three strikes with Sigurd will cause him to leave England behind, giving players the worst ending. Now that you know how to complete all of Sigurd's strikes and get the best ending, head over to our Assassin's Creed Valhalla guide for even more Viking tips and info.
How many fireflies can you release in AC Valhalla? ›While there are eleven possible locations for all fireflies, it isn't necessary to collect them all and does not grant a bonus reward. So for Assassin's Creed Valhalla gamers that want to find these insects as quickly as possible, here is a guide on the location for five of the Irish Fireflies within the game.
Is it worth upgrading weapons in Valhalla? ›Improving your gear in Assassin's Creed Valhalla is essential. There is a finite number of weapons and armor pieces. Gear does not drop from defeated enemies like it did in previous Assassin's Creed games.
Should I upgrade Jomsviking Hall? ›Your Jomsviking will gain more ranks by successfully completing all objectives of one of the rivers in River Raids game mode. If you are looking to recruit higher ranked Jomsvikings from other players, you will have to upgrade the Jomsviking Hall.
What are the most important choices in AC Valhalla? ›- Seas of Fate - Take or leave resources.
- The Stench of Treachery - Who is Soma's traitor?
- Heavy Is the Head - Kill or spare Leofrith.
- A Fury from the Sea - Kill or spare Rued.
- Blood from a Stone - Punch Basim or take a breath.
If you sided with Sigurd enough, Sigurd will name three times that proved Eivor's loyalty. If so, Sigurd will then step down as jarl and name Eivor the new jarl of Ravensthorpe. Once they return to Raventhorpe, Sigurd will make the announcement and Ravensthorpe's people will celebrate the decision.
How do you farm skill points in AC Valhalla? ›- Completing Mysteries - Mysteries, the glowing blue dots on the map, vary quite a lot from one to the next. ...
- Completing main story quests - these give you a large chunk of XP, usually over 1000, which more or less guarantees you fill the XP bar and get two Skill Points.
How many skill points to max out skill tree? This is one of your most important stats, so it is a good idea to invest in getting it maxed out, it costs 20 points to reach max out Vitality.
Who can Eivor marry in Valhalla? ›
That's probably why in this expansion DLC there - from what we can tell at launch - only one romance option that Eivor can take a liking to; an Irish poetess that goes by the name of Ciara.
Who is the best romance for Eivor? ›Throughout their journey, Eivor will meet several lovable characters with whom they can become intimate, but out of all of Assassin's Creed Valhalla's romance options, Petra stands out as the best of the lot.
Does Sigurd get mad if you date Randvi? ›Those who romance Randvi immediately after her Taken for Granted quest will net a strike and a pretty bad tongue lashing from Sigurd. That being said, a strike can be considered a small price to pay. Those who are impatient can romance Randvi right away with this in mind.
Is it better to be with Petra or Randvi? ›As such, each player can find the Viking partner of their dreams - but those seeking the absolute best romance option in AC Valhalla should pursue Petra in particular.
Can you romance Randvi after divorce? ›The safest choice here is to pick I care for you as a friend. But if you have your heart set on romancing AC Valhalla Randvi, all is not lost. You will be able to hook up with her later on safely, after Sigurd and Randvi break up. This way, you won't upset Sigurd and risk the ending you'll get.
Who should Eivor date? ›Best Romance In Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Stigr the Amorous
To woo this poet, Eivor will need to best him in a flyting match. While most flyting battles hinge on insults and self-flattery, flyting with Stigr is all about flirtation.
Of course, at the end of the day, players are free to choose whichever partner they feel best suits their individual tastes - but realistically, Eivor will likely find the most happiness at the side of the sweet, caring hunter Petra.
Does Eivor have a child? ›Raised alongside Styrbjorn's son Sigurd, Eivor spent much of her youth seeking to gain glory and eliminate Kjotve to avenge her parents.
How old is Eivor? ›The main part of the game begins in 872 CE, by which point Eivor is supposed to be a 25-year-old Viking.
Who is the highest level enemy in Assassin's Creed Valhalla? ›1 Hardest: Fenrir
Even the most overpowered players should be a little bit scared of what Fenrir is ready to do to you.
What level is Asgard AC Valhalla? ›
Note that the recommended power level for Asgard is 90.
When to get Excalibur AC Valhalla? ›Despite being an endgame weapon, it is possible to acquire the sword at a power level around 220 as most Treasures of Britain are not guarded by enemies, but it is recommended you be closer to 300 if you run into problems dealing with the three powerful Zealots that each guard a tablet.
How long does it take to complete Valhalla 100%? ›When focusing on the main objectives, Assassin's Creed Valhalla is about 60½ Hours in length. If you're a gamer that strives to see all aspects of the game, you are likely to spend around 141 Hours to obtain 100% completion.
What power level is the wrath of the druids? ›To start the Wrath of the Druids downloadable content (DLC) questline speak to Azar at the docks in Ravensthorpe. For Azar to appear you will need to have reached England and completed at least one region in game. The recommended power level for all regions in Ireland is 55.
How many years pass in AC Valhalla? ›Principally set in the years 872–878 AD, the game recounts a fictional story during the Viking expansions into the British Isles.
Is Eivor the most powerful Assassin? ›To put it in simpler terms, the Eagle Bearer and Eivor are the two strongest assassins in the history of the franchise. They were a master of stealth, combat, and almost any other skill you could name.
Can Eivor use Odin's powers? ›Glorious Gear
Players can also roam Svartalfheim to discover mythical and Divine Quality gear. While Odin's powers are exclusive to the expansion, this gear can transfer into Eivor's inventory and be used in the main Valhalla story.
- 1 Get That Weight Down. Assassins Creed Valhalla Raven Clan Armor Stats.
- 2 Spend Silver. ...
- 3 Master One Of Each Weapon. ...
- 4 Feast. ...
- 5 Use Lots Of Runes. ...
- 6 Pledge To Green Areas. ...
- 7 Full Clear Zones. ...
- 8 Track Down Three Sets Of Gear. ...
As Assassin's Creed Valhalla players know, Eivor ends up passing away in North America, a long journey from Ravensthorpe.
What level is Paris Valhalla? ›Eivor will need to be quite experienced to succeed in France, as the recommended power level for Assassin's Creed Valhalla: The Siege of Paris is 200.
What order should I build my Valhalla settlement? ›
- AC Valhalla: What to Build First. Players are not required to survey their entire settlement for upgrades in AC Valhalla. ...
- The Blacksmith. The Blacksmith is the first real option for players with their settlement. ...
- The Barracks. ...
- The Stable & Aviary. ...
- The Cartographer. ...
- The Hidden One's Bureau. ...
- The Seer's Hut. ...
- The Bakery.
There are so many weapons to choose from in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, but one of the best ones you can use for sheer power is the Greatsword. These are two-handed weapons that require Eivor to use their strength to wield, but their damage makes them worthy weapons.
Why is Dag so mad at Eivor? ›Over the course of the game, Dag becomes so paranoid over the fact that Eivor is trying to steal the leadership of the clan that he eventually challenges Eivor to duel him to the death for the role until Sigurd returns.
Does punching Sigurd affect the ending? ›Punching both Basim and Sigurd will lower your loyalty with Sigurd and affect the ending. If you choose not to punch Basim or Sigurd then your loyalty will stay the same.
How many god weapons are in AC Valhalla? ›Assassin's Creed: Valhalla hides four powerful Isu weapons, including Thor's hammer, Mjolnir and Odin's sphere, Gungnir.
What is the max adrenaline slots in Assassin's Creed Valhalla? ›Any Adrenaline upgrade
Abilities help you deal more damage and or give you some useful utility for every play style. There are three of these on the skill tree, meaning you can have four total Adrenaline slots.
The Rivers
The River Raids mode offers six river systems to raid and plunder. Each river has its own map, separate from the maps in the main game.
- Completing Mysteries - Mysteries, the glowing blue dots on the map, vary quite a lot from one to the next. ...
- Completing main story quests - these give you a large chunk of XP, usually over 1000, which more or less guarantees you fill the XP bar and get two Skill Points.
To unlock the Mastery Challenges, you must reach power level 221 and have completed the Uninvited Guests quest.
Does weight matter in Valhalla? ›Weight will affect your speed, and Evasion is how effective your dodge is. A high weight will always decrease your Evasion, so if you prefer dodging to blocking, you'll want to look out for medium and light armours. A comparison of early game to fully upgraded late game armour.
What is the point of mastery challenges AC Valhalla? ›
Completing Mastery Challenges will reward you with Mastery Energy and Battle Energy, which can be used to purchase gear, tattoos, and settlement ornaments!
What level should I be for Druids Assassin's Creed Valhalla? ›The recommended Power level for Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Wrath of the Druids is 55, and if you're a higher level then enemies within the DLC will get scaled to match your power.
How many hours to best ac Valhalla? ›When focusing on the main objectives, Assassin's Creed Valhalla is about 60½ Hours in length. If you're a gamer that strives to see all aspects of the game, you are likely to spend around 141 Hours to obtain 100% completion.
What level should you be to get Thor's armor AC Valhalla? ›The highest ones reach recommended Power Level of 340. You can still defeat them at a much lower level, it will just be more challenging. Zealots will always attack you as soon as they see you. Attack them first.
What level can I get Thor's Hammer AC Valhalla? ›Equip the full armor and you will be able to claim the hammer of the God of Thunder for yourself. Dropping at level 7 and with three rune slots, this mythical quality weapon has a chance to do stun damage to all the enemies around you with every hit, indeed a mighty weapon to challenge the gods themselves.
What is the current max level in AC Valhalla? ›The maximum power level you can currently reach in Assassin's Creed Valhalla is 535.
Is Valhalla better as male or female? ›Choosing a male or a female Eivor is equally valid with no major repercussions beyond the character model. Things were very different in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, where choosing one made the other one the villain. There's nothing of that level of importance with Eivor.
Is flawless better than mythical? ›Tier III: Flawless (blue) – this tier allows your item to get to level 7 and adds a second Rune slot to it. Tier IV: Mythical (gold) – this is the highest tier, it unlocks all ten levels of the item and adds a third Rune slot.
Why is Eivor drunk when I load? ›It appears the bug is triggered by completing a drinking game ANY drinking game and then saving and quitting the game while under the drunk effect.
What's in Odin's vault AC Valhalla? ›Odin's Vault was an Isu vault located beneath Dunwic fort in East Anglia, that held the armor of Hildr, a Valkyrie whom Odin had forcibly turned human. The vault could only be found and opened by using the Odin's Eye, an Isu compass housed in Freyja's Cave in a hillside near Ravensthorpe, Ledecestrescire.
How important is charisma in AC Valhalla? ›
If a player has a higher charisma skill they will be able to access more dialogue options while speaking to NPCs, which can turn make progressing through certain parts of the game easier or unlock special options for the player.
What is the point of raiding Valhalla? ›Raids allow you to upgrade your settlement in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. You can go raiding settlement and rivers in England to aquire supplies and raw materials. Raiding in Svartalfheim will allow you to get Silica for upgrading your Hugr-Rip.