This adds the Shimmering Shield and Iridescent Axe, made of the same material as the rainbow bridge in Asgard. As for bug fixes, Brudd should no longer be stuck outside the map or stop moving when loading a save during the main quest “Gift to the God.” Issues in the world like crew members asking one’s help to loot and raid even after a raid is finished and other “incorrect” AI behaviors are also being fixed.

The optional Valkyrie Arena has also received some much-needed fixes like players no longer stuck underground when dying before reaching the completion screen. Check out the full hotfix notes below.

ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA – TITLE UPDATE 1.5.3

NEW CONTENT

• Added the the Bifröst Bundle to the game.
• The Shimmering Shield and Iridescent Axe were chiseled from the same crystal used to build the Bifröst, Asgard’s rainbow bridge.
• Available for free in the Animus store from June 28 to July 26.

BUG FIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS

Expansion 3: Dawn of Ragnarök

Main Quests, World Events, and Side Activities

Addressed

• Brudd is stuck outside of the map during Gift to the God.
• Brudd stops moving during Gift to the God after loading save.
• Quest marker and objective both disappear if players open the Pause Menu when the last dialogue scene with Brudd starts.
• Offset camera can be observed at the beginning of the dialogue scene with Ivaldi in the safehouse during The Vault of the Ancients.
• Unable to progress after talking to Ivaldi in The Vault of the Ancients.
• Long transition between the end of the fight with Eysa and the following dialogue scene in The Warlord’s Daughter. It was a tough battle, needed a breather.
• Players unable to move after opening one of the unlockable doors in Sinmara’s castle (Pride of the Aesir).
• Fast travel is locked if players do not fully complete the World Event The Seed of Travi. Unable to interact with Banski in the Not Today, Jotun World Event.

World

Addressed

• Crew members would ask for players’ help to loot and raid even though the raid has already been completed. “We’ve had one yes, but what about second Raids?”
• Various incorrect AI behaviors.

Valkyrie Arena

Addressed

• Dying before reaching the completion screen would cause players to remain stuck underground.
• Dead bodies of NPCs appearing when loading the autosave of a newly started tale.
• The Bear of Blue Waters does not spawn and the Glacial Bear Encounter tale skips from Chapter 1 to Chapter 2.
• The lynx stops attacking players during the Shapeshifters of Legend tale.
• Finisher animations for the first wave of lynx are not working properly.

Graphics, Animation, and Audio

Addressed

• Eivor’s name being mentioned by allies instead of Havi in certain locations.
• Offset animation when performing a finisher on a Slayer with the Dane axe and an Atgeir weapon.
• Muspel Slayers not holding their weapons correctly upon being resurrected. Significant lack of discipline.
• Resurrected NPCs not holding any weapons upon leaving and returning to their location.
• Various issues where Havi would remain stuck in a free-fall animation and/or get desynchronized.

UI/HUD

Addressed

• The Block Stat line is missing on the inventory page for the All-Father’s Guard shield.
• Incorrect Altar completion message in England upon completion of the Dawn of Ragnarök expansion.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

World

Addressed

• Instances of grass and/or foliage disappearing as players approach.

Armory

Addressed

• Armory loadout feature is not available after travelling to Svartalfheim.
• Loadouts are not available in the Mythical Worlds.

Mastery Challenge

Addressed

• Level Scaling option is automatically switched to Harder upon participating in any Mastery Challenge.
• Long loading time when reloading or exiting any challenge.
• Leaf Bow and Raven Sickle reappearing in Hildiran’s shop after completing the Dawn of Ragnarök’s introduction quest.
• Players don’t have enough currency to purchase all the sets from Hildiran’s Wares.
• Uffentune Challenge: Mastery Challenge assets are present outside of the trial.
• Anderitum Hideout Raven Challenge: Unable to loot the key from the Destroyer if players acquired it once and restarted the trial without unlocking the cell door.

Main Quests, World Events, and Side Activities

Addressed

• Enemy and Ally NPC remains idle during the quest Kingdom’s End (Hamtunscire).

Assassin’s Creed Crossover Stories

Addressed

• Online Service Error received upon trying to see a photo taken during the introduction scene.

Graphics, Animation, and Audio

Addressed

• Flowers from the Vikingr Braids hairstyles are missing during dialogue scenes if players have equipped a helmet.
• Eivor goes into a T-pose when dropping down from the eastern viewpoint in Cent.
• Numerous clipping issues.
• Numerous graphics, texture, animation, or lighting issues.

UI/HUD

Addressed

• Silver and XP boost buff not appearing above the adrenaline bar after initiating a feast.
• Numerous UI/HUD issues.

Discovery Tour: Viking Age

Xbox

Addressed

• Infinite black screen upon changing the graphics mode setting (Xbox Series X|S).

UI/HUD

Addressed

• The Tracked Quest banner overlaps with all quest names in the Pause Menu when Text Size is set to large.

Net bookings for Assassin’s Creed “nearly doubled” over 2019-20 (though that period was bereft of any new releases). Assassin’s Creed Valhalla continues to perform well with more unique players in 2021-22 than 2020-21, no doubt thanks to its extensive post-launch support and the recent Dawn of Ragnarok expansion. Far Cry as a brand had its “best year ever” with the last major release being Far Cry 6 in October 2021.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six series saw a growth in net bookings thanks to the release of Rainbow Six Extraction. Despite the latter receiving underwhelming reviews, it still garnered more than five million players in its first month. A reveal for Nightmare Fog, presumably its next limited-time event, is coming later today. As for Rainbow Six Siege, it crossed 80 million players as of February 2022 and saw the start of Season 7 in March.

Since it takes place in the Norse realm, Dawn of Ragnarok will see players venturing to new mythical realms like Svartalfheim. Among the new tools is the Hugr-Rip which allows for using up to two abilities from fallen foes. These include transforming into a raven for flying, dealing ice damage and so on. The Viking atgeir, a polearm, is also being introduced along with new mythical and Divine Quality gear which can be used by Eivor in the base game.

Among the new activities are the Valkyrie Trials where players will take on multiple enemies (which could include familiar bosses). Selecting up to 14 different modifiers increases the difficulty while also providing more rewards. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok will release on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC and Google Stadia – for more details, head here.

Some other aspects like enemy detection cones being reduced if you use a bow, wild animals inexplicably being able to detect Eivor, and NPCs attempting to flee from fights too quickly have also been addressed. Saga difficulty has also been added, providing a story-focused experience. Along with enemies dealing less damage and not scaling with player level, you’ll also have more time to do things when detected.

It’s also possible to adjust combat settings like Ration Healing Ratio, Adrenaline Regen, damage taken and dealt, and much more. Check out some of the patch notes below and the full notes here. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will also be having a free weekend starting tomorrow until February 28th so stay tuned for more details when that goes live.

ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA – TITLE UPDATE 1.5.0

• Added support for the new expansion Dawn of Ragnarök, available on March 10.

In Dawn of Ragnarök, Eivor must embrace their destiny as Odin, the Norse god of Battle and Wisdom. Unleash new divine powers as you embark on a desperate quest through the breathtaking world of Svartalfheim. Complete a legendary Viking saga and save your son in the face of the gods’ doom.

Wield incredible, otherworldly powers. Absorb new abilities from those you’ve defeated and use them to slay all who stand in your way. Shape-shift into a raven for spectacular assassinations or resurrect your defeated foes to fight on your side. Transform your skin into magma to protect yourself, infuse your weapon with ice to unleash devastating strikes, and more.

New players can start the expansion at any time from the main menu with player boost. You will start your journey at Power Level 340 with a predefined selection of gear and weapons.

• New Divine Quality for gear and weapons.
• 3 new tiers of upgrade
• A new special rune slot
• Expand your progression with 4 new abilities and 6 new skills.
• Unlock new weapons and armour sets.

BUG FIXES & IMPROVEMENTS

Stealth Fixes

Addressed

• AI reaction to whistle improved.
• Players get detected by enemies when using environmental traps.
• Wild animals detecting Eivor regardless of distance/angle and alerting nearby NPCs.
• NPCs disengaging from conflicts extremely quickly.
• Enemy detection cones reducing when using a bow.
• Monks having difficulty to leave the music crowd stations in the quest Taken (Kidnap Estrid).

Gameplay

• Added a Saga Difficulty Mode: Write your own Viking Saga without having to worry about the challenges of stealth and combat.
• Combat: Enemies inflict less damage and don’t scale with players.
• Stealth: More time allowed to perform actions when being detected (assassinating, shooting, disengaging, etc.).

Added new combat settings:

• Damage Eivor Takes
• Eivor Damage Output
• Ration Healing Ratio
• Adrenaline Regeneration
• Enemy Health Modifier
• Added support for more controllers on PC (Nintendo Switch Pro & Stadia).

Next month is the release of Dawn of Ragnarok, the massive paid expansion which sees Odin venturing to Svartalfheim to rescue his son Baldr from the fire giant Sutr. A recent gameplay deep dive showcased some of the abilities that the player can utilize like raising slain foes, teleporting, transforming into a raven to fly and much more.

This is in addition to new activities like the Valkyrie Trials which see Odin taking on new and old foes (with modifiers that can up the challenge and reward). Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok will be releasing for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC and Google Stadia on March 10th. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

https://twitter.com/assassinscreed/status/1494718411003281422

A new expansion means new powers and Odin derives his from the Hugr-Rip. This allows for obtaining abilities from fallen enemies and you can have two at a time (picking up a new one means having to discard the others). There are five powers in total and include transforming into a raven for flying, transforming Odin’s skin to magma to avoid fire damage (and slip past Muspel foes) and long-range teleportation.

You also get new weapons like the Viking atgeir, a polearm with a hefty blade, and new mythical and Divine Quality gear. The powers remain confined to the expansion (which is playable from the outset) but all of the new gear can be used by Eivor in the base game.

Releasing on March 10th, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok is coming to Xbox One, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC and Google Stadia. It will reportedly be over 35 hours long.

These are arena fights against multiple foes and serve as a retelling of some of Odin’s victories. Expect to see some familiar foes and bosses defeated in the main story along with being able to select up to 14 Boasts or modifiers. These will make the fights more difficult but also provide more rewards.

There are also dwarven shelters where one can upgrade their gear and abilities, new details on the Norse gods’ connection with the Isui and much more. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok releases on March 10th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC and Google Stadia.

Fortunately, players will have new divine powers to unleash on their foes. Purchasing the expansion between now and April 9th 2022 will also confer the Twilight Pack which can be used immediately in the base game. It includes the Dellingr’s Envoy Raven Skin, the Havardr Lynx Mount, Twilight Gear Set and the Algurnir Dane Axe.

Dawn of Ragnarök kicks off the second year of support for the 2020 open world action RPG so one can probably expect additional content (like new limited time events). Stay tuned for more details in the coming months. You can also check out our review for the base game here.

YouTuber j0nathan, who consistently leaks Assassin’s Creed details, recently uploaded a video in which he talked about having dug into the code of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s latest update, which apparently includes details on the game’s next expansion, Achievements and Trophies, and more (summarized by Eurogamer).

The open world action RPG’s next expansion will allegedly be called Dawn of Ragnarok, and unlike the first two expansions, it looks like this one will be much more fantastical nature and dig deep into the Norse mythology side of the game’s setting. It will be set in Norse mythology’s Dwarven realm of Svartalfheim, which is about to be invaded by the forces of Muspelheim, and this conflict will apparently set up Ragnarok.

On the gameplay side of things, it looks like Eivor’s abilities will also embrace the fantastical nature of the expansion, such as using teleportation arrows, ice powers, bringing an enemy back from the dead, being able to fly like a crow, and becoming temporarily invisible. One of the achievements also mentions Atgeir, a chainmail-piercing spear.

Speaking of achievements, you will also apparently get one for completing all territories of Svartalfheim, fully upgrading Odin’s Bracer (which sounds like it’s going to be another weapons or item to use in combat), and more.

These are unconfirmed details, of course, but they do fall in line with how Ubisoft generally approaches expansions of Assassin’s Creed games. There’s also the fact that j0nathan has generally been a credible source of unconfirmed Assassin’s Creed details. Hopefully Ubisoft will have something to say about Valhalla’s next expansion in the not-so-distant future.

As for what lies ahead for the series after Valhalla, Ubisoft is working on the live service title Assassin’s Creed Infinity, which, according to the publisher, will remain committed to delivering “high-quality narrative experiences.” Leaks have also suggested that the game will have semi-open world areas, each with their individual stories. According to reports, Assassin’s Creed Infinity is at least three years away from launch.