Assassin's Creed Valhalla puts you in the boots of Eivor Varinsdottir, a Norse raider who leaves Rygjafylke in Norway in the year 873 and rebuilds a clan settlement called Ravensthorpe on English soil. Unlike Origins in Egypt or Odyssey in Greece, the spine of this game is a settlement you grow through six levels, a raiding economy that feeds it supplies and raw materials, and a skill constellation of star nodes instead of a perk menu.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Supplies and raw materials only come from raiding in useful quantities
Supplies and raw materials only come from raiding in useful quantities. If your settlement build queue has stalled, the fix is a raid loop rather than another hour of exploring.
2. Follow the suggested power numbers on the alliance map in order: 20 for Ledecestrescire and Grantebridgescire, 55 for East Anglia, 90 for Oxenefordscire, 130 for Sciropescire
Follow the suggested power numbers on the alliance map in order: 20 for Ledecestrescire and Grantebridgescire, 55 for East Anglia, 90 for Oxenefordscire, 130 for Sciropescire. More than about 30 points above your own power and enemies stop taking meaningful damage.
3. Build the Hidden Ones Bureau in the first tier
Build the Hidden Ones Bureau in the first tier. It unlocks the Order tab that tracks which members of the Order of the Ancients you have identified, and without it you are hunting 45 targets with no list.
4. Customise your Jomsviking's appearance rather than accepting the default
Customise your Jomsviking's appearance rather than accepting the default. Other players browse them at docks, and every recruitment pays you 100 silver collected from your own quartermaster.
5. Books of Knowledge are the abilities
Books of Knowledge are the abilities. Rage of Helheim is behind an ice wall in Kjotve's Fortress, Dive of the Valkyries is in a cellar at the Isle of Ely Monastery, and Thorn of Slumber sits in the middle tower at Gryttirsand.
6. Man's Best Friend is not in a Book of Knowledge at all
Man's Best Friend is not in a Book of Knowledge at all. Talk to Knud at Ravensthorpe, free the wolf he asks about near the settlement, and the ability is the quest reward.
7. Gear in Valhalla is upgraded rather than replaced
Gear in Valhalla is upgraded rather than replaced. Take one Bear set and one Raven set to Gunnar and keep upgrading them instead of swapping to every drop, because the rune slots and set bonuses only pay off at high rank.
8. Excalibur needs all 11 Treasures of Britain tablets, each held by a Lost Drengr
Excalibur needs all 11 Treasures of Britain tablets, each held by a Lost Drengr. Those fights punish button mashing badly, so a Wolf bow build clears them long before a melee build can.
9. River Raids came free in 2021 and the three rivers, the Exe, the Severn and the Dee, generate randomised layouts
River Raids came free in 2021 and the three rivers, the Exe, the Severn and the Dee, generate randomised layouts. It is the most efficient supplies and raw materials loop in the game once the story raids are exhausted.
10. Feast buffs from the settlement stack and last a long time
Feast buffs from the settlement stack and last a long time. The Cattle Farm, Grain Farm and Fowl Farm add ranged damage, armour and melee damage respectively, so eating before a Zealot hunt is free stats.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Bear branch melee (A-Tier):
- Focus on Ravensthorpe settlement building combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Varin's Axe
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Wolf branch ranged (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Hidden Blade
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Assassin's Creed Valhalla's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Ravensthorpe settlement building + Raids and River Raids: Ravensthorpe climbs six named levels, Encampment, Colony, Hamlet, Borough, Village and Town, and every level is bought with buildings rather than with time. Combined with Raids and River Raids, blowing the horn on the longship sends your crew at a monastery or riverside camp, and the chests they break open are the main source of supplies and raw materials.
The skill constellation + Jomsviking barracks: Skill points buy nodes on a star map split by colour. When paired with Jomsviking barracks, the barracks lets you design a jomsviking who then goes online for other players to hire.
Alliance map and pledges scaling: Randvi's alliance map inside the longhouse is the quest hub. You pledge to a region, play its arc, and bring an alliance back to the map. Regions carry a suggested power number, from 20 in Ledecestrescire and Grantebridgescire up to 55 in East Anglia, 90 in Oxenefordscire and 130 in Sciropescire, and going more than about 30 above your own power turns every fight into chip damage.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Varin's Axe | The whole of the early game, and as a dual wield partner long after you have better main-hand options. | Eivor's inherited axe and the first weapon in the game. |
| Hidden Blade | Any Raven build, and specifically for Chain Assassination clearing a camp before an alarm sounds. | Kept from the earlier games and upgradeable at Gunnar's Blacksmith, where each rank raises its assassination damage multiplier. |
| Fyrd Spear | Raven builds that need a melee answer without abandoning the stealth tree. | A Raven-aligned spear with long reach that keeps you outside most enemy swing arcs. |
| Excalibur | Late game heavy builds fighting large groups, where blinded enemies stop blocking entirely. | A mythical greatsword locked behind collecting all 11 Treasures of Britain tablets, each guarded by a Lost Drengr, then placing them in the pillars of a hidden underground chamber. |
| Mjolnir | A completed save where the stun chance turns crowd fights into a formality. | Thor's hammer, and the reward for assembling the full Thor armour set, which means killing all three Daughters of Lerion and clearing the Order of the Ancients Zealots before digging it up in Hordafylke in Norway. |
Location Efficiency
Ravensthorpe (Available from the start of the England arc): The Raven clan's settlement in England and the hub for everything. Hytham runs the Hidden Ones Bureau and the Order tracker, Valka reads the visions in the Seer's Hut, Gunnar works the Blacksmith, Randvi keeps the alliance map in the longhouse and Reda's stall arrives once the settlement grows.
Rygjafylke (Suggested power 1 to 20): The Norwegian home region and the opening act. It teaches raiding, longship travel and the Bear and Raven basics before England opens, and it holds Kjotve's Fortress where the Rage of Helheim book sits behind an ice wall.
Ledecestrescire (Suggested power 20): The first English region on the alliance map and the natural companion to Grantebridgescire. Both sit at suggested power 20, which makes them the correct pair to clear before touching anything else.
East Anglia (Suggested power 55): The next step up the alliance map, and a noticeable jump. The Isle of Ely Monastery here hides the Dive of the Valkyries book in a cellar reached through a waterside cave.
Vinland (Late game, and you arrive stripped of gear on purpose): The North American arc, reached by ship from Ravensthorpe. Eivor arrives with no equipment at all and has to work with what the land provides, which turns it into a survival detour rather than another region of camps to clear.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Pledging to Sciropescire at suggested power 130 while sitting at power 60, then concluding the combat is broken.
- Spending every skill point on flat stat nodes and never reaching Chain Assassination, Heavy Dual Wield or Charged Shot.
- Hoarding supplies and raw materials instead of building, which leaves Ravensthorpe at Encampment and locks the Cartographer, Museum and farms behind a level you never bought.
- Chasing every new weapon drop instead of upgrading two sets, so nothing ever reaches a useful rank.
- Sailing to Vinland expecting to bring the endgame arsenal, then panicking when the game takes all of it at the shore.
Pro Quick Tips
- Supplies and raw materials only come from raiding in useful quantities. If your settlement build queue has stalled, the fix is a raid loop rather than another hour of exploring.
- Follow the suggested power numbers on the alliance map in order: 20 for Ledecestrescire and Grantebridgescire, 55 for East Anglia, 90 for Oxenefordscire, 130 for Sciropescire. More than about 30 points above your own power and enemies stop taking meaningful damage.
- Build the Hidden Ones Bureau in the first tier. It unlocks the Order tab that tracks which members of the Order of the Ancients you have identified, and without it you are hunting 45 targets with no list.
- Start with Wolf branch ranged, switch to Bear branch melee when ready
- Invest in Varin's Axe above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Ravensthorpe → Rygjafylke → Ledecestrescire → East Anglia → Vinland. See our maps guide
- Ravensthorpe settlement building + Raids and River Raids together are stronger than either alone
More Assassin's Creed Valhalla Guides
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla Assassin's Creed Valhalla Overview
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla Best Builds
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla Tier List
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla Walkthrough
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla Beginner's Guide
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla Weapons Guide
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla Combat Guide
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla Boss Guide
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla Maps & Locations
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla Crafting Guide
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla Classes & Characters
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