The sheer amount of abilities in Assassin's Creed Valhalla is staggering, and it's one of the best new features of the game. Doing it this way takes them out of the Skill Tree and puts them into the game organically as a separate collectible so that players can use whatever ability they want without forcing themselves down a certain skill path.
But, like the other AC games, there are some abilities in this that are fantastic simply for their ability to cheese mini-bosses, Zealots, or high-level Raids, while there are others that just make Eivor into some completely overpowered being, so let's look at both sides of the coin.
Cheesy: Piercing Shot
Starting things off is an ability that was in Odyssey as well, the Piercing Shot. Basically, when this ability is enabled, the next arrow fired from Eivor's bow will pierce through whatever obstacle stands between them and their enemy and do some extra damage as well. It's an incredible ability for picking off high-level targets from afar, as players can just hide in some random building with some Adrenaline slots and poke away at them. But, unlike in Odyssey, players can't aim it forever this time around, as Eivor's stamina drains while lining up the shot.
Amazing: Mark Of Death
Keeping things on the Ranged category, Mark of Death is an ability Eivor can snag before even leaving for England, as it's hidden underneath a pig farm next to where players meet Grom. This ability is the end-all-be-all early game move for groups of enemies and it's even great against strong-single target enemies like Zealots. Essentially, Eivor charges up a volley of arrows, and the longer they aim at an enemy or group of enemies, the more crosshairs appear on them and the higher the damage gets.
Cheesy: Ranged Fire Strike
Just like in Odyssey, Fire Damage is equally as annoying and brutal for friend and foe alike in Valhalla. It seems that the humans in this universe just sweat gasoline because as soon as they step anywhere even close to a burning building they're completely engulfed in flames, Eivor included. Seriously, the damage is no joke even on Vikingr, the default difficulty. That risk-reward is exactly why Melee Fire Strike isn't on this list, but it's also why Ranged Fire Strike is. No need to worry about lighting Eivor on fire if they're lighting people up from a mile away! And, the upgraded version is insane for groups too.
Amazing: Incendiary Powder Trap
Another firey ranged move, Incendiary Powder Trap is amazing for a reason no other move on this list is, it's useful for puzzles. Basically, all over Norway/England, there are these stone-barriers that can only be destroyed by shooting/throwing vials of oil at them, which is a mechanic many players wished was more clearly explained. And, a lot of the time, these vials are hard to find or somewhere off in the distance, so this is where Incendiary Powder Trap comes in as blows those barriers right up.
But, even outside of that, it's also just a useful ability, since Eivor can shoot a wall right before an enemy walks by and guarantee it'll blow them up in response to their movement.
Cheesy: Harpoon Impalement
Out of all of the abilities in AC Valhalla, Harpoon Impalement might be one of the cheesiest. Frankly, it's amazing as well, but much more fun to use in a cheesy way. Basically, Eivor throws a Harpoon on a rope into the enemy, which is reminiscent of the Rope Darts from AC3, and then picks which way to pull them based on user input. Eivor can throw enemies off a cliff this way, into a wall, or even into another enemy. The cliff option is obviously the best choice, but when that's not available throwing enemies into each other or terrain is actually absurdly strong as well. And, they even sort of suction towards each other, so when they don't line up perfectly, more often than not it will still count.
Amazing: Rage Of Helheim
Rage of Helheim is one of the abilities players can earn incredibly early, it's actually available right after conquering Rygjafylke in Norway. Ignore the Animus warning Eivor this memory is out of bounds and just try to climb over to the big waterfall without leaving the edge of the world, and Eivor will find the Book of Knowledge right behind a wall of easily breakable ice. In any case, this ability is amazing simply because it's one of a few "tackle" abilities that always hit, even through a block. This means it can be used equally effectively on Zealots and weak mobs, as long as the player really masters the timing of the left and right punch, which does take a bit of getting used to.
Cheesy: Kick Of Tyr
Here's the problem with Kick of Tyr, unlike Harpoon Impalement which was similar but not exactly like the Spartan Kick from Odyssey, Kick of Tyr is basically the same thing. It's a surefire way to launch any enemy off the nearest cliff or knock them over for some free hits, especially if it's the upgraded version. A big problem with Odyssey's combat was that the overpowered Spartan Kick ability made even the hardest enemies laughably easy if it knocked them over, and the assumption fans had was that Ubisoft was aware of this, yet it's back in Valhalla. That said, it's fantastic exactly because it's so broken, so obviously, players should use the tools the developers give them.
Amazing: Rush & Bash
Third on this list of "Like Spartan Kick" abilities is Rush & Bash, an ability found not all too far from where a lot of Soma's Traitor questline takes place. Rush & Bash combines the best part of Harpoon Impalement with the unblockable element of Rage of Helheim. When used, Eivor tackles and carries an enemy with them, smashing them into any wall they encounter or chucking them off a cliff if that's where the charge leads.
While the damage it does hitting enemies into walls isn't quite as good as Harpoon Impalement, the fact that Rush & Bash just allows Eivor to separate an enemy from the group completely or launch a tough one off a mountain is pretty absurd.
Cheesy: Feign Death
Stealth has been kind of overlooked in the newest AC release, it's there, but guns blazing was obviously the primary focus for the developers. Still, Feign Death is the "Get Out of Jail Free card" of Valhalla, and that's perfectly fine. This ability works exactly how it sounds, Eivor pretends to die, the enemies come and check the body, and Eivor can either assassinate them (if it's upgraded) or keep pretending and they'll go back to their posts. It's one of the rare abilities in this AC game that isn't damage-dependant but rather focused on utility. It's nice to see these sort of mechanics coming back, and there's more of them returning in Valhalla, like how sneaking into Monasteries has brought back the crowd blending and hiring drunks/decoys system.
Amazing: Poison Melee Strike
And finally, there's the Poison Melee Stike ability that's also given to Eivor by Hytham, just like the Fire Strike was. But, unlike Fire, Poison doesn't have a chance to bite back when used, and Eivor can apply this debuff to enemies for easy damage and no risk. It's funny how this element progressed from being this miasma cloud that could infect entire towns in Origins, to this insanely useful damage debuff in Odyssey, then becoming this half-and-half amalgamation in Valhalla. In any case, for 11 Zealot medallions, this great ability is pretty worth it.