Just like the few games before it, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla continues the game's popular trend of having an open world. However, Valhalla has so much more to offer apart from the usual "mark the target off the list" assassinations that previous games are known for.
This time, the action takes place in medieval England where players still need to rely on stealth. The vast landscape of England and many other countries nearby is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen in the game. The play style and the gameplay are equally unique.
With so many added features and so many challenges to face, here are some tips on how to survive this dangerous world, flourish with your settlement, expand your territory, and more.
- Use Your Raven For Scouting
- Use A Waypoint When Traveling
- Matching Play Style To Your Equipment
- Building Your Settlement
- Upgrading Your Settlement
Use Your Raven For Scouting
Many players tend to get lost in the vast, seemingly endless landscape. I've experienced getting lost in this game several times and later found out that I can use my raven to scout the area and even point me in the right direction.
Send out your raven and use the focus ability. It will reveal a blue line that will point you to the location where you're supposed to go.
You may also use this ability to seek out targets for assassination or find treasures and important items like the Books of Knowledge.
When exploring, I always recommend that you try to send your raven out from time to time so you don't get lost within the vast landscape.
Gather Rations
Food is necessary for your survival in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. It is commonly used for sustenance but is also great as a way to regain your health, especially during combat. This is where your scouting skill is put to good use.
I've used my raven to spot vegetation in the area so I can gather my rations of berries and mushrooms. These will help me recuperate from the damage dealt by enemies. Fortunately, there's no need to be worried about running out of rations as they are very plentiful and can easily be spotted.
You may also buy your rations from vendors or cook one for yourself. Just make sure that you're careful with the mushrooms that you eat. Some are deadly and can diminish your health.
Use A Waypoint When Traveling
With the land so vast, you will spend most of your time traveling on horseback or using your longship. You also have the option to travel automatically.
However, I will need to choose a waypoint first before my horse follows the road or the longship sails parallel with the shore.
Always remember to choose a waypoint when you want to travel or else, you'll be traveling around aimlessly on your horse or sailing in just one direction on your longship.
Raid As Much As You Want But Be Careful
The moment you arrive in England, you'll be setting up your camp for a while. Take this time to raid all nearby camps for precious resources so you can start building your settlement.
More on this later down below. In the meantime, it is always best that you raid as much as you can but be aware when choosing which location you want to raid. If you find that your power level is still too low, consider using stealth instead of charging all-in to the enemy.
Use stealth in the meantime and raid supply boxes found in camps until you get to a certain level that you can finally take them on.
Matching Play Style To Your Equipment
The game has three specific skill trees that branch off depending on your play style. These include Raven which comprises mostly of stealth, Wolf for ranged weapons and skills, and Bear for heavy melee attacks.
It is always best to match your chosen skill tree and play style to your weapon of choice. Avoid picking Wolf and end up wielding a long ax.
This is also highly applicable to the armor that you want to equip.
Make sure to choose light armor or even leather for Wolf and Raven and heavily armored gear for those who choose Bear.
Upgrading Weapons And Armor
When it comes to upgrading my weapons and armor, there are several resources that I need to gather first. Iron ore and leather are very easy to find and are commonly used when I want to upgrade both my equipment.
Most players tend to use them immediately to upgrade. I would rather suggest that you try to store them and use them on rations and quivers instead. Rations will help boost your health early on preventing some unnecessary death.
The rest can be used to upgrade the quiver to store more arrows thus allowing you to kill more opponents. Remember that long-ranged weapons are far deadlier in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.
Building Your Settlement
Once I got to England, there was some land that was free to take. I got rid of some bandits that were in the area and then claimed the land so I can start building my settlement.
There are a lot of things that I suggest you prepare before building your settlement. First, you will need to have a good plan. Know where you want to build your shops, shipyard, stable, and everything else that you need.
Every building requires different materials but most of them are mainly wood. Get the resources that you need by raiding and looting different chests.
I was only able to construct a few buildings at first but later on, the more I leveled up my settlement, the more I was able to build more structures and develop my territory.
How To Expand Your Territory
Speaking of expansion, there are about six levels of upgrades to expand my territory. Leveling up the town means I get to unlock more buildings and things to do. Obtaining resources and raw materials for my expansion can be challenging because the only way to do this is to raid towns and pillage them.
I typically use the rivers to my advantage and raid towns across the riverside. Be careful not to raid larger territories or you may end up getting in trouble.
New services are offered once I expand my territory. I can even forge alliances over nearby settlements. Expanding my territory means I get to be in contact with many other settlers from the nearby area and open up trade.
Upgrading Your Settlement
Upgrading is key to expanding your territory. Here are a few of the upgrades I've made during my time in the game that helped me reach the highest level fast. First, I upgraded the Hidden Ones Bureau where it allowed me to play the Hidden Ones story and more.
The Stable and Aviary upgrade allowed me to manage my horses and ravens. The Trading Post is a great upgrade that allowed me to trade and purchase resources and other items. Lastly, the Barracks allowed me to create my very own elite mercenary.
As soon as I increased to rank two, my settlement can now build a Shipyard where I can customize my longship with cosmetic items. The museum also unlocked trading Roman Artifacts for rewards.
The Brewery and the Bakery upgrade provided a buff that would give extra health while the Fishing Hut allowed me to trade fresh fish for rewards.
How To Pledge Allegiance
Once I had enough upgrades done to my settlement, it was time to expand my territory even further and commit to an alliance with other settlements. There is an option to pledge allegiance to a specific territory and I highly recommend that you stick to one for now.
Find Randvi at the great hall and talk to her. You'll be shown a map of England with all the territories. You can choose one at a time and finish a quest line to fully enact your allegiance.
You may also choose to leave the allegiance but it will not cut you off from the settlement even if you are already aligned with another. This is the reason why it is best to pledge to one, finish the quest, and then go ahead and expand my pledging to another territory.
Conclusion
These are just some of the tips that I can share with you when it comes to surviving the game and expanding your territory. There are still so many things waiting to be discovered and revealed in the vast world of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.
The game's complex combat system and the vast open-world make Valhalla a challenging game to play. Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is available now to download for Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
