Assassins Creed Valhalla

[Renegade334]

Map size comparison:

YouTube

https://youtu.be/nOIA_P3i5rI

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Origins: 80km² (landmass only, Nabatea and Thebes DLCs not included)
Odyssey:

• 130km² (landmass only, DLCs not included)
  
• 256km² (sea included, DLCs not included)

Valhalla:

• 94km² (England landmass only - Norway map still unaccounted-for)
  
• 120km² (England landmass and sea - Norway map still unaccounted-for)

[barcode120x]

Originally Posted by Renegade334

Map size comparison:

YouTube

https://youtu.be/nOIA_P3i5rI

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Origins: 80km² (landmass only, Nabatea and Thebes DLCs not included)
Odyssey:

• 130km² (landmass only, DLCs not included)
  
• 256km² (sea included, DLCs not included)

Valhalla:

• 94km² (England landmass only - Norway map still unaccounted-for)
  
• 120km² (England landmass and sea - Norway map still unaccounted-for)

Excited. Enjoying exploring all of ACO right now. Though, the world/age of ACO is beautiful, not really sure I can say the same for the north, viking world.

[JagdPanther]

The bigger these maps are getting the less enthused I am to explore them.

[Chosen_Hero]

Originally Posted by JagdPanther

So.... Norse mythology now?

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GIVE US FEUDAL JAPAN.

(Points to Ghost of Tsushima)

[barcode120x]

Originally Posted by Chosen_Hero

(Points to Ghost of Tsushima)

I wouldn't be surprised if AC ventures into at least the Asian world in the next game.

[cyberdemon]

Just a few hours till launch

[Stark700]

Played about 25+ hours since last week.

This is definitely the biggest AC game (at least in terms of land mass size). First of all, I think the graphics is absolutely gorgeous, especially on the new next gen consoles. I haven't explored all the maps yet but England so far is the largest one with many different regions.

The settlement system adds a lot of diversity to the game including fishing, hunting, recruiting for raids, etc. I'm also rather entertained by some of the minigames including Orlog dice and drinking games. There's also the return of killing order members (similar system to AC Odyssey). One important thing I noticed is that there aren't too many weapons compared to Odyssey. The weapons and gear you get early on is upgradable and you're able to customize them with resources later on.

The skill tree is also expanded that you get an overall "power" level with 2 skill points every time you level. There's also three paths you can choose - melee, ranged, and one that fits the role of stealth/assassin. Oh and that means hidden blade returns.

Perhaps the most entertaining new feature I find in this game is the "Mysteries", replacing side quests. Most of them are short but Ubisoft added a lot of humor and personality to the NPCs involved in them. Every mystery is unique and requires the player to perform specific tasks. There's also quite a lot of them, at least over 100+ from what I've heard. I'm not sure how long the main story is but this seems to be a very long game. (with season pass and free content in the future). Do I enjoy Valhalla? Definitely.

[JagdPanther]

Originally Posted by Stark700

Played about 25+ hours since last week.

This is definitely the biggest AC game (at least in terms of land mass size). First of all, I think the graphics is absolutely gorgeous, especially on the new next gen consoles. I haven't explored all the maps yet but England so far is the largest one with many different regions.

The settlement system adds a lot of diversity to the game including fishing, hunting, recruiting for raids, etc. I'm also rather entertained by some of the minigames including Orlog dice and drinking games. There's also the return of killing order members (similar system to AC Odyssey). One important thing I noticed is that there aren't too many weapons compared to Odyssey. The weapons and gear you get early on is upgradable and you're able to customize them with resources later on.

The skill tree is also expanded that you get an overall "power" level with 2 skill points every time you level. There's also three paths you can choose - melee, ranged, and one that fits the role of stealth/assassin. Oh and that means hidden blade returns.

Perhaps the most entertaining new feature I find in this game is the "Mysteries", replacing side quests. Most of them are short but Ubisoft added a lot of humor and personality to the NPCs involved in them. Every mystery is unique and requires the player to perform specific tasks. There's also quite a lot of them, at least over 100+ from what I've heard. I'm not sure how long the main story is but this seems to be a very long game. (with season pass and free content in the future). Do I enjoy Valhalla? Definitely.

My problem with Origins is that it was too big. I heard Odyssey was even bigger. Sounds like Valhalla is yet bigger. Kind of a turnoff for me at some point.

Out of curiosity, did you play Ghosts of Tsushima? I'm thinking of getting that if it's in any Black Friday/Holiday sales. Wondering how that compares in terms of size of the game, as I said the larger the AC games got recently the less appealing they were to me.

[Diluc]

Originally Posted by barcode120x

I wouldn't be surprised if AC ventures into at least the Asian world in the next game.

Ancient India would be nice choice

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by JagdPanther

My problem with Origins is that it was too big. I heard Odyssey was even bigger. Sounds like Valhalla is yet bigger. Kind of a turnoff for me at some point.

Out of curiosity, did you play Ghosts of Tsushima? I'm thinking of getting that if it's in any Black Friday/Holiday sales. Wondering how that compares in terms of size of the game, as I said the larger the AC games got recently the less appealing they were to me.

I know the question wasn't directed at me, but I would definitely recommend Ghost of Tsushima. The last AC I played was Origins as well, and I didn't get the others for the same reason as you. Ghost of Tsushima felt like it was the perfect length, not too short nor too long. The map is big but not absurdly huge either, though I wouldn't be able to tell you how it compares to Origins' map. It's a joy to explore in any case, thanks to the amazing artistic direction.

[Renegade334]

I will wait a bit before buying this one. This year has been dreadful on the financial side (had to shoulder a loved one's healthcare and I have to pay my land tax soon), so even with the -20% price reduction (obtained for 100 Uplay points) factored in, Valhalla is a bit steep for me. Will wait until January or February for the price drop.

As for the land size, I'll refer you to my earlier post, at the top of this page. The new AC games (Origins and beyond) have a LOT of land in their base (i.e. DLCs not included) state, but much of it is uninhabited (see Origins' deserts and Odyssey's mountains and forests), which does tend to play tricks on our mind. I do believe the devs themselves have already officially confirmed that Valhalla would have a smaller map compared to Odyssey due to player complaints.

[Stark700]

Originally Posted by JagdPanther

My problem with Origins is that it was too big. I heard Odyssey was even bigger. Sounds like Valhalla is yet bigger. Kind of a turnoff for me at some point.

Out of curiosity, did you play Ghosts of Tsushima? I'm thinking of getting that if it's in any Black Friday/Holiday sales. Wondering how that compares in terms of size of the game, as I said the larger the AC games got recently the less appealing they were to me.

Nope but I plan to get it during Black Friday sale this year.

[JagdPanther]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I know the question wasn't directed at me, but I would definitely recommend Ghost of Tsushima. The last AC I played was Origins as well, and I didn't get the others for the same reason as you. Ghost of Tsushima felt like it was the perfect length, not too short nor too long. The map is big but not absurdly huge either, though I wouldn't be able to tell you how it compares to Origins' map. It's a joy to explore in any case, thanks to the amazing artistic direction.

Originally Posted by Stark700

Nope but I plan to get it during Black Friday sale this year.

Thanks, both, for the replies!

[cyberdemon]

I have an attention span issue but ghost of Tsushima held my interest from beginning to end.

[barcode120x]

Have had my eye on ACV, but can't pull the trigger. The visuals on ACO were just beautiful (of course it had to do with the location and era). Not a fan of the terrain, background, etc of the viking world as it looks so gloomy and honestly, just makes it seem like the graphics are low quality even though it isn't. The most fun part of ACO was enjoying exploring the entire world because of the visuals, but I don't think I'd enjoy it as much in ACV.

Another gripe of mine is the visuals of the armor and stuff. Obviously, the clothing has to match the era, but viking gear just looks so messy and mangly :c

Don't get me wrong though, I think the game will be awesome just like itspredecessors and I can't wait to play the storyline as well as side quests. I might just wait until ACV goes on sale which will probably be at least until the holidays or 3 months (can use the uplay points for, I think its 20% off 3 months after a new game releases)

[Renegade334]

So, yesterday, I fired up AC:Valhalla (which I believe is the first AC I've played at a really leisurely pace - to the point of procrastinating, really) to check out that new River Raid mode...
...
...and I'm disappointed.

I mean, what? What is the point of adding this? Why did devs commit time and resources for something that could have been shoehorned into the main map and made to use the story's main longship rather than a separate one, on top of cooking up three completely generic maps that bring absolutely nothing new to the table, except, maybe, for that fortress on River Dee, where the holder of the Holy Sword awaits you? I was expecting more than just a lazy duplicate of something already found in the main campaign - the Raven clan longship and the monastery raids - and I cannot emphasize enough the laziness of it all.

Seriously, the river locations are very literally copy and pasted, to the point where you can tell where to find a non-barred door or breakable crack in the wall of a seemingly fully-sealed house or even a subterranean cache. It's mind-numbingly generic and it won't take the player three or four different locations raids to get tired of it - and then you realize each map has between ten and fifteen such spots, either monasteries, bandit camps, fortresses or villages/homesteads.

As for the Jomsviking system, it suffers from a profound lack of new mechanisms to make it an interesting addition and I found these NPCs more of a nuisance than anything else: half of the time, I found myself running back and forth, reviving them instead of moving further up the map and getting things done. I'm grateful for the new skills the update brought, such as the shoulder bash, but aside from that, gameplay-wise...this is a nothing burger.

But then again, let's just remember, this is not a full DLC, just a free interstitial update to keep players occupied until the first expansion makes landfall, so I should curb my annoyance somewhat...at least long enough to forget that Ubisoft made me waste 18GB for an uninspiring game mode that could be completely left out and, in its current state, would hardly be missed.

I know I personally wouldn't; I got the entire St George set and as soon as I got the last loot item, I stopped playing the River Dee map before the boredom could kill me.


At least the first DLC will introduce portions of Ireland, so...that's where you need to pick up the slack, Ubisoft!

EDIT: granted, one thing the RR system allows the player to do is to perform monastery raids ad infinitum (those disappear in the main campaign once you complete them), but still...I find that the Trials of the Gods in Origins and the Cyclopses in Odyssey presented more fun and novelty despite being smaller in scope.

[Von Himmel]

The wait is just too much honestly. I just want to see how Eivor story will finish and how she ends up in America for her last journey.

[Renegade334]

DLC #1: Wrath of the Druids

YouTube

https://youtu.be/nhdnos2tPYI

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Took a break from Valhalla (still haven't finished the main storyline or even started the Asgard one) to reacquaint myself with Origins, since an unfortunate accident voided both my local and cloud Ubisoft saves and forced me to copy-paste an old (unfinished) save, where I still have to complete the main map and do both DLCs...and then I have to completely redo Odyssey, from start to finish (made no physical backup whatsoever of that one, I'm afraid).

That means I'll just DL the new Valhalla DLC, let it sit for a while and get to it when I feel like going back to AC again.

[Renegade334]

YouTube

https://youtu.be/fB6gTIu_xhU

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Oh, boy.

DLC 2, the Siege of Paris has been released on PS5 and from what I've already seen, I will probably not like it as much as the later DLCs of the more recent Assassin's Creeds - and while I don't speak for everyone, I can fairly say that Ubisoft usually overdid themselves with DLC 2s (The Curse of the Pharaohs, The Fate of Atlantis) and SoP seems intent on breaking that streak.

Now, my beef (or the first hints thereof, as I'm still waiting for the PC version to drop) does not lie with the map itself; from what I can tell, it looks gorgeous and seems to have its own flavor to differentiate itself from England's own visual bouquet.

No, it's more about History itself and a few things I can see right off the bat...

Spoiler for maaaaaaajor spoilers, don't open if unwilling to know them:

- I was actually expecting this DLC to start with some catastrophic event at Raventhorpe that sent Eivor on a revenge mission to Francia and then to Vinland, because I didn't see any other reason for him/her (I know Eivor's canon gender is female, but whatevs) to leave his/her clan and go back to Vinland, which, as we know, was a failed and undocumented colonization bid preceding the voyages of Thorvald Eiriksson and Thorfinn Karlsefni Thórdarson, which also ended in failure due to hostilities with the Skraelings (the locals).

None of my predictions materialized, which is a relief in a way, but...SoP still doesn't answer the mystery as to WHY and HOW Eivor did go back to Vinland instead of finishing his/her days in England where his/her family was; the game made it clear he/she was getting tired of all the constant fighting, while nursing a certain disillusion with Valhalla, and that home is where his/her efforts would be best spent. He/she had no reason whatsoever to go back...unless it had to do with the Apple of Eden that was entrusted to Connor's ancestors. But who knows? Maybe Ubisoft will give us another free content update with a mission showing how his/her last days on Earth.

...And if they don't, I'm afraid Ubisoft will do what they have consistently done (much to my aggravation) for the last decade or so, when it comes to AC's loose threads: shove the whole lot of them pell-mell into the novels and comics and have them resolved in between games, with only cryptic references thereto in the next installment. Remember how Juno, a major villain of the series, was offed in one of the comics that was published after Syndicate and completely blowing up the cliffhanger shown at the end of that game? I expect more of that.

- Where in the nine hells was ROLLO? The man was one of the three Viking commanders of the Siege of Paris and he was nowhere to be seen in this expansion. We only got Sigfred (though the game did accurately show him giving up on the siege afterwards and moving on to greener pastures...something Rollo declined to do in real life until Charles the Fat militarily forced his hand) as overlord of the Norse in Francia. Now, we all know Assassin's Creed has a tendency to oversimplify History in order to not over-encumber its own plot (such as how Origins glossed over Cleopatra's sister Arsinoë, despite the fact that she gave Caesar a run for his money in Egypt), but why bother introducing Rollo in the main game and have him commit himself to seeking adventure in France (as the sons of Ragnar have lapped up all the glory in England) when you're not even going to involve him in one of his major historical feats of arms? It's a big discrepancy and a huge missed opportunity - and please don't say "but he is there: he's part of your longship crew, Renegade " - I feel like slapping someone in the face with a slimy trout.

- Didn't that Siege of Paris actually end in Frankish victory with the Vikings being bribed off and allowed to raid the northern parts of the Seine? The city's walls were, IIRC, never even breached. Lolwutubisoft?

No information yet on the side missions included in this DLC. The map seems WAY smaller than the ones for Origins' and Odyssey's DLC2s, but then again Ubisoft did express its desire to craft shorter campaigns. I feel a bit bummed by that.

For my part, I've only started the Wrath of the Druids campaign and only just now found the last Drengr of Ragnar. Haven't even started the Valhalla arc, either.

[Renegade334]

YouTube

https://youtu.be/1wiclO4a60A

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Well, this is a pleasant surprise - an unannounced DLC, though this one takes place in the realm of Svartfalfheim (home of the black elves). It's made by Ubisoft Sofia, who were also responsible for the absolutely fantastic Assassin's Creed Origins - Curse of the Pharaohs expansion.

ACV also received a free update containing a chain of missions on the Isle of Skye featuring a certain immortal Greek warrior, which is actually the continuation of another new mission (titled "Those Who Are Treasured" and adding the island of Corfu to the already huge map) added to Odyssey, which showed how Alexios/Kassandra accidentally depleted the Spear of Leonidas beyond repair and received a globetrotting mission from Aletheia.

I have yet to play all of this - the huge updates to Valhalla have left me only crumbs of free space on my drive partition and I must now shuffle files around for the updates to actually complete.


EDIT: well, fiddlesticks. Apparently this new DLC is NOT included in the Season Pass, which means it has to be purchased separately.