Assassin's Creed Valhalla has been out since early November, yet somehow plenty of players have already finished this titanic game, and some have even managed to one-hundred percent it.
But, for most of the player base, this is one of those titles that they'll chip away at for a long time, coming back to it every week or so. For those people, here are some quick tips fans have found that will help people get the most content done efficiently.
Don't Worry About Spending Silver, Leather, Or Iron
Silver coins are the main source of currency in Valhalla, but players don't need to be all too frugal about spending it. Thanks to all the different ways to easily generate silver, Eivor gets a steady supply of it pretty often. So, spending most/all of it at a Trading Post in order to fill up on Iron, Leather, Rations, and arrows is absolutely worth it.
Upgrade & Try Out Every Weapon
AC Valhalla has made a lot of changes to the mechanics introduced in Odyssey, but one of the larger changes has to do with the frequency of weapon drops. Players no longer have to sort through clear, blue, purple, and gold gear anymore or break them down, there are just a lot fewer weapons in Valhalla overall. Players don't have to keep upgrading between slightly different spears anymore, rather, they'll usually have a couple of options that might benefit different builds. So, go crazy upgrading/enhancing weapons and armor! Try every weapon at least for a bit to see how fun it personally is to use. Carbon Ingots are everywhere, but Nickel is much harder to find, so maybe don't go as gung-ho upgrading stuff from Superior to Mythical. Although, there are still insanely good armor sets out there, and they might be worth the upgrade right away.
Collect & Mess Around With The Abilities
Just like players should play around with all the different weapon types, they should also mess around with all the abilities, this combo is part of what makes Valhalla better than some other recent open-world releases. Of course, doing this requires that players go out and gather a bunch of the Books of Knowledge spread throughout England & Norway, but that's not all that hard to do. A good portion of these Books are hidden in Monasteries or inside a building Eivor needs to Raid (another awesome new feature) in order to open, but plenty are just simply found in the open world. In particular, it's a pretty good idea to clear out all the Wealth icons in Norway, as players will come in contact with at least two abilities, Mark of Death and Rage of Helheim, both of which are absurdly powerful.
Don't Worry About Fully Completing Everything
There's so much to clear out in Valhalla, and for those gamers (like us) who have this unshakable impulse to clear out all the icons on a map, getting stuck on this task can really grind Valhalla to a halt. Plus, a lot of the places where these groupings of icons lie are also areas that Eivor gets to explore as part of the story quests, so doing them early just means more backtracking later.
Obviously, people should play the game however they want, but a lot of this stuff is meant to be cleaned up after they've beaten the main story.
Make Sure To Do Orlog & Drinking Contests In Every New Town
The Drinking Contests are one of the new mini-games added in Valhalla, and they're pretty fun. They remind us of the Snore War Drowzee mini-game from the first Pokemon Stadium, only with drunkenness instead of sleepiness. In any case, these contests are also surprisingly one of the best ways to grind out Silver, and a few of them can be bet on multiple times. The same goes for Orlog, which is Valhalla's version of Gwent. Players should at least beat every new Orlog NPC once in order to unlock all the God Favor options.
Collect Floating Pages More Easily
Fans who remember how fun chasing the Sea Shanties in Black Flag was are in for a rude surprise with the Floating Pages in Valhalla. There's just something a bit awkward or janky about Valhalla's parkour system, and it's never more obvious than when Eivor is chasing down these tattoo sheets (whether it's for their face, back, or chest). The game obviously has a route for Eivor to run, but so often they'll just jump off a roof instead of jumping onto the next platform, and the flow just feels off. So, to avoid this bit of awkwardness, players simply need to just get the Blinding Rush ability. Because time is slowed while this ability is active, Eivor can actually grab the sheet before it even starts moving.
Use Training Dummies For Free Adrenaline
Ubisoft definitely took note of how heavily the player base relied on abilities in Odyssey. Adrenaline refilled automatically in that game, so players would just focus on defense or evasion until their Adrenaline filled back up. There are a few changes this time around, a lot of abilities are tied to Eivor's stamina, Adrenaline is lost when hit, and it doesn't auto-refill anymore. So, for players who want to get all topped off before heading off to challenge a Zealot, simply go to Ravensthorpe, buy some rations and arrows, and then assassinate the dummies outside the Hidden Ones (the lack of even naming the Assassins is meme-worthy at this point) bureau for free refills. Though be careful, because apparently due to some bugs, those dummies might just come to life and hit back.
Get Into Fishing
The fishing in AC Valhalla is a lot of fun. It's not as simplistic as a lot of games make fishing and requires some practice. Valhalla players actually have to reel the fish in and make sure not to stress the line too much, sort of similar to classic fishing games like Sega Bass Fishing.
In any case, the other part of fishing that's great is how much Silver it can make for Eivor.
Learn To Parry Both For Mastery & Free Heals
Okay, so, parrying is more important than ever in Valhalla, since Stun Attacks are only possible after taking away all of an enemy's stamina. But, the parry timing is a tad bit awkward in this game, and it takes a bit of getting used to. Many players noticed that early on and just decided to go for a full offensive approach, which works for a while, but they'll hit a wall when it comes to heavy-shield enemies and Zealots. So, it's worth it for players to master parrying. Stun attacks also give a big chunk of health back, which is a great way to survive longer during a tough fight. At least, it's much better than running away and crawling through berry bushes.
Try And Aim At Weak Spots
And lastly, players need to pay attention to the Weak Point mechanic in Valhalla. It's not the most well-explained system, and most players stumble upon it accidentally, but it's absolutely vital. Basically, when these glowing orange spots are hit by an arrow, the enemy takes damage normally, but they also stagger and lose a huge chunk of their stamina. For normal mobs, this isn't super worthwhile for weaker mobs, as simply parrying or smashing through with a heavy attack is more effective. But while hunting (especially Legendary animals), and while fighting Zealots, these Weak Points become game-changers.