The biggest new addition is, of course, Infiltration Missions, which function a lot like the Black Box Missions of Assassin’s Creed Unity, which means you’ll be given a target and multiple ways to get to them and kill them, and how you do it and what path you take is up to you. There’s also new abilities (you can summon a swarm of rats, and stick bombs in enemies), new scythes to use in combat, and more. Check out the video below for more details.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is available on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Stadia. The Siege of Paris launches tomorrow, on August 12, for all platforms.

The Siege of Paris, as its name suggest, will take Eivor to the kingdom of Frankia, where he will lock horns with Charles the Fat and become embroiled in a raging war. This new trailer sets up that journey and the conflicts it will bring with it. The Siege of Paris will also add to Valhalla’s gameplay in other ways, by adding new abilities, skills, weapons, gear, and more. Check out the trailer below.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is available on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Stadia, and The Siege of Paris goes live for all platforms tomorrow.

Meanwhile, as previously confirmed, the update will also be adding level scaling and one-handed swords. Level scaling is adjustable, and has five levels that you can choose between, with the lowest turning off scaling entirely, and the other four making enemies progressively more difficult to fight against. Meanwhile, he new Sigrblot Festival is a limited time event running from July 29 to August 12, with a one-handed sword being an exclusive festival reward for new quests. You can check out a trailer for it below.

The update’s size is 23.79 GB on Xbox Series X/S, 17.72 GB on Xbox One, 6.85 GB on PS4, 15.3 GB-24.5 GB on PS4 depending on your region, and 20.4 GB – 31.37 GB on PC. You can check out the full patch notes below.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is also going to receive a Discovery Tour mode later this year, following in the footsteps of Odyssey and Origins, while Ubisoft has confirmed that it will also continue to receive more expansions in 2022.

The next mainline Assassin’s Creed game is currently codenamed Assassin’s Creed Infinity. It’ll be a live service, ongoing, ever-expanding platform that will continue to emphasize narrative-driven content, according to Ubisoft. The game is currently in the early stages of development.

UPDATE NOTES:

The Siege of Paris – Expansion 2
Added support for The Siege of Paris, preparing the game for the expansion release on August 12. (a separate download is required on release day.)

Sigrblot Festival

• Sigrblot Festival is a new time-limited event from July 29-August 19.
• Partake in new festivities and quests to receive exclusive festival rewards (including a one-handed sword!!)
• Players must reach England and complete one of the first two narrative arcs (Grantebridgescire OR Ledecestrescire) and be at least Settlement Level 2 to participate in the Sigrblot Festival.

Level Scaling

• We added a new menu option to the game to adjust NPC levels to your liking. You may choose from the following options:
  • Off = Scaling is turned off; enemies appear exactly as prescribed in the region description.
  • Default = Lower enemies are brought up to 30 power levels under the player’s level (How the game is intended to be played).
  • Constant = Enemies will be at least the same power level of the player.
  • Harder = Enemies will be 20+ power levels above the player.
  • Nightmarish = Enemies will be 50+ power levels above the player.
• Note: Boss encounters and game modes will not be impacted by this as they have their own intended difficulty settings.

Skill Tree Update

• The Skill Tree has improved visibility for new skills added throughout the post-launch.
• We’ve added an option that will auto-acquire all the skill nodes required to reach the currently highlighted node (if you have enough skill points available).

New Skills

RAVEN
• Light Fingered: Eivor will now automatically pick up nearby loot with a quick flick of the wrist (without having to press the interact button). • Thrill of War: Gain adrenaline as long as you remain in conflict.

BEAR
• Heidrun Slam: Press R2 while sprinting to knock enemies back with a powerful knee slam. • Idunn’s Heart: Passively regenerate recent health loss after a short delay.

WOLF
• Survival Instinct: When at less than a third of health, hold -> for partial healing (Exchange adrenaline for health). • Wolf Warrior: Your damage increases the lower your health.

GAME IMPROVEMENTS

WRATH OF THE DRUIDS – EXPANSION 1

Addressed:

• Priest’s body would be missing in Flann Over Ireland.
• Cage cannot be opened to free the prisoners in Tuam caves.
• Only minor runes inside chests in Ireland.
• Shelf not movable in Cashelore.
• Cutscene didn’t start when sieging the church in The Scourging of Snakes.
• Couldn’t confirm kill on The Ash.
• Missing sound and subtitles within Wrath of the Druids.
• King’s Pass not collectible if the Raid is not also completed at the same time.
• Couldn’t collect the prison key in Courting the Kings.
• Barid vanished in Flann Over Ireland.
• Thorstein teleported back to the cave in the Snaring Thorstein.
• Couldn’t progress when the Puca was killed in Into the Fog.

MAIN GAME

Quests, World Events, and Side Activities

Addressed:

• Infinite Loading screens during various quests.
• Couldn’t complete War of the Collectors, Aelfred’s Jewels, Saint Faith, The Lost Drengir of Ragnar Lothbrok, Lamb Chops, Splitting Hares world events.
• Faravid wouldn’t get on the horse in This Son of Jorvik *This Son of Jorvik indeed*
• Catching the fish with weapons wouldn’t count towards quest objective in Bloody Path to Peace.
• Couldn’t fight Leofrith in Heavy is the Head.
• Sigurd didn’t follow Eivor in A Brother’s Keeper. *More like A Brother’s Leaver*
• Objective didn’t appear in Twists and Turns *this is how the turn tables*
• Issues interacting with Petra in the settlement.
• Eivor died upon arrival in Hordafylke in The Road to Valhalla.
• Hunter House world event didn’t trigger.
• Hunter & Warlock NPCs missing for The Plight of the Warlock.
• The Banshee world event couldn’t be started or completed.
• Couldn’t progress in the Mistress of the Iron Wood world event.
• Couldn’t interact with the seer in Of Blood and Gods.
• Reaching Hunwald’s house didn’t update the Homecoming quest objective.
• The boss didn’t take damage at the start of Extended Family.
• Hunwald was un-interactable during the Salve for a Fresh Wound.
• Map marker appeared out of bounds in Fiery Ambush.
• Couldn’t interact with Soma or Guthrum in Holy Day.
• Players desynced at the start of the fight in King Killer.
• Couldn’t confirm kill in the Reaver of the South.
• Couldn’t complete The Lost Drengir of Ragnar Lothbrok.
• Guthrum didn’t move in Kingdom’s End.
• Couldn’t collect the key from a body during Pilgrimage to St. Albanes.
• Edmund was missing in Puppets and Prisoners.
• Couldn’t confirm kill against Gotafrid Fair-Robes & Nokkfylla Shine-Eye.
• NPC with the coin didn’t spawn or targets didn’t appear for the arrow challenge in Firing the Arrow.
• Stuck between Binding Fate and Of Blood and Gods. *A Binding Fate, indeed*
• Black screen during Baker’s Plaint.
• Couldn’t interact with Halfdan in War in the North.

Graphics, Audio, and Animation

Addressed:

• Various graphics and lighting issues.
• Various animation and clipping issues.
• Various issues with missing SFX.
• Various issues relating to Audio Menu Narration.

River Raids, Jomsvikings, Raids

Addressed:

• Appropriate rewards not being provided after completing a Raid.
• Rations not healing the proper amount of health for Jomsviking.

Mastery Challenge

Addressed:

• Ability to access restricted areas in Mastery Challenge.
• Guards could be unreachable in Mastery Challenge.
• Player being detected from a stealth bush in the Wenlocan Raven trial.
• Reduced the possibility of doubling Armor sets that were acquired from the Store after completing the Mastery Challenge onboarding quest.
• Unlocked medals remaining after loading an older save game.
• Trouble entering stealth mode in some bushes.

Gameplay, Combat, and AI

Addressed:

• Fire weapons not setting NPCs or combustibles on fire.
• Enemies not taking proper damage from level 2 Incendiary Powder Trap ability.
• NPCs no longer attacking if they were ambushed by a snake. Snake 1, Human 0
• Extended flail combo dealt more damage than intended.
• Sickle Combo Attacks didn’t register properly.
• Various issues with the Viking Salute ability.
• Various issues causing the extended flail combo to do more damage than intended.
• Ostara items missing following Title Update 1.2.2.1.

World

Addressed:

• Instances where Eivor, NPCs, or the long ship would get stuck.
• Instances with misplaced or floating objects or textures.

User Interface/HUD

Addressed:

• Numerous UI/HUD issues.
• Numerous localization issues.
• Trouble exiting Photo mode using the ESC button.
• Some icons not adapting for color-blind modes.
• Silver Booster not applying correctly when looting low value items.

System

• Benchmark is not functional when the game path contains non-ASCII symbols.

Performance and Stability

• Improved performance and stability.

Via the official Assassin’s Creed Twitter page, Ubisoft has confirmed that details on upcoming content planned for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will be shared at the Ubisoft Forward showcase, which is set for this Saturday, June 12. Presumably, that means gameplay and release date info on The Siege of Paris, but it should be interesting to see if Ubisoft has other announcements planned as well.

Other games that are confirmed to be making an appearance at Ubisoft Forward are Rainbow Six Extraction and Riders Republic, while Far Cy 6 also seems like a pretty safe bet. The Division Heartland and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake are going to skip the show, however, and the recently leaked BattleCat is also unlikely to be officially announced just yet.

https://twitter.com/assassinscreed/status/1401931993223401472

Assassin’s Creed Origins enjoyed excellent post-launch support, and Odyssey’s was even better. The upcoming Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, it seems, looks set to continue that trajectory. Ubisoft have announced the full details of what you can expect from the game’s post-launch roadmap, along with a meaty trailer for the same (which you can check out below), and there’s a lot to look forward to.

For starters, just like Origins and Odyssey, Valhalla will receive two paid full-fledged post-launch expansions. The first one, Wrath of the Druids, will launch in Spring 2021. It will see players heading to Ireland to explore its “haunted wilds and beautiful landscapes” while battling against a druidic cult known as the Children of Danu. Players will “conquer ring forts, master the art of smuggling, and gain the favor of Gaelic kings in a new open-world adventure.”

The second expansion, called The Siege of Paris, will launch in Summer of 2021, and take players to – you guessed it – the city of Paris, in the kingdom of Francia. Here, players will fight the forces of Charles the Fat and “participate in the Vikings’ most daring conquest”. As you infiltrate Paris, you will “forge new alliances within its walls, and strike a blow that will shatter an empire.”

Both these expansions will be available with the $39.99 Season Pass (which comes for free with the Gold and Ultimate Editions). Also included with the Season Pass is an exclusive quest called “The Legend of Beowulf”, in which players will track a mysterious beast that is ravaging the English countryside. This bonus quest will be available when the game launches.

Meanwhile, there’s plenty of free updates to look forward to as well. For instance, the Discovery Tour Mode – which was included in both Origins and Odyssey as well – will be added to Valhalla some time in 2021. There will be a steady stream of free post-launch content as well, released in a seasonal structure.

The first season will launch in December. It will add a replayable River Raids activity; a new area in Ravensthorpe, Eivor’s settlement and the game’s central hub location; a ranking system for your your Jomsviking (whom you can create in the Barracks at Ravensthorpe); new cosmetics for your raven, horse, longship, and Ravensthorpe; new skills and abilities; new gear and loot; and a Yule Festival.

The second season will launch in March 2021, and it will add new festivals, new gear, a new mode, and more. Two more seasons will follow after that, but release windows for those haven’t yet been provided.

All in all, it looks like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – which is already going to be a massive game at launch – is going to keep growing for plenty of time even after release. Odyssey’s post-launch support was excellent, so I’m excited to see how Valhalla fares.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla recently went gold is out on November 10 for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Stadia, and on November 12 for PS5. You can check out its full PC requirements through here.

An extensive gameplay deep dive and gameplay walkthrough for the game were also recently released- check them out through here.