Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok Guide to Play + Verdict

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok has officially launched. The massive expansion takes the players to Svartalfheim and follows the story of Havi, the lord of Asgard, as he looks for his son Baldr.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the latest iteration of the decade-and-a-half long stealth-action franchise takes the players to 9th century England, as they follow the story of Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan, as she, along with her brother Sigurd Styrbjornsson, leads the clan to the new world in the search of a place to call home.

How to start Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok

Aside from a grounded story featuring the divided kingdoms of Great Britain, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla also has its own interpretation of the Nordic mythology, featuring the Aesir and the Vanir gods. Dawn of Ragnarok expands on that aspect and builds upon the foundation set by the base game, to tell an epic mythological saga unbounded from the shackles of history.

What are the ways to start Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok?

Dawn of Ragnarok is the third major expansion of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and is part of its Year 2 content. As such, it is not included in the Season Pass alongside Legend of the Beowolf, Wrath of the Druids, and Siege of Paris.

To add Dawn of Ragnarok to their library, players have two options. Players who already own Assassin’s Creed Valhalla can buy the expansion from the storefront of their platform.

Alternatively, players who do not own Assassin’s Creed Valhalla can either buy the Ragnarok Edition, which includes the base game, and Dawn of Ragnarok only or buy the Complete Edition, which includes Assassin’s Creed Valhalla with all of its DLCs and Expansions, including Dawn of Ragnarok.

After getting Dawn of Ragnarok for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, a notification will pop up in-game letting the player know that Dawn of Ragnarok has been added and is now accessible.

Two ways to play Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Dawn of Ragnarok

Interestingly, there are two methods to play the expansion, either as a new standalone game on its own, with players having access only to the expansion and not the base Assassin’s Creed Valhalla campaign, or experiencing it organically as part of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla story and Eivor’s journey.

While players can certainly play Dawn of Ragnarok on its own, it is always recommended to access the title as part of the Valhalla story. With that being said, let’s take a look at both methods of playing Dawn of Ragnarok.

As part of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s saga

After adding the expansion, a new quest will be added under the Ravensthorpe region, which will lead Eivor to sleep under a tree. This will then continue in a dream-like sequence, where players will reprise the role of Havi from the Asgard and Jotenheim sagas and travel to Svartalfheim along with Frigg, looking for Baldr.

After the prologue, Eivor will wake up from her slumber and go talk to Valka about her dream. (Note: this requires Revensthorpe to be level 3 with Valka’s hut already built). After a brief dialogue exchange, Valka will send Eivor on a fetch-quest to find and bring some mistletoe.

Dawn of Ragnarok’s recommended level is 340. If the player has achieved that, they will be able to continue with ease. If not, Valka will give Eivor a portion that will temporarily boost her power to match that, so that she doesn’t get overwhelmed.

Players can return from Svartalfheim to England after finding the Asgard gate in the region, and can travel back to Svartalfheim from Valka’s hut.

Boosting the level to 340 will give the player access to high level gears, level 2 abilities, and power level 340 with an unlocked skill menu. However, while the player will lose access to these gears while returning to England, the high level gears and abilities unlocked in Dawn of Ragnarok will be available, and that might severely affect gameplay.

As a standalone expansion in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

While it is not recommended, players can also experience Dawn of Ragnarok on its own, as a stand-alone expansion. To do this, select the new game from the main menu, where the players will be presented with two options, to play a new game of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla or to play Dawn of Ragnarok on its own.

Selecting Dawn Ragnarok on its own will kick off the game with Havi traveling to Svartalfheim with Frigg to find their son Baldr. Playing the expansion on its own will start the player off with power level 340 and the gears from the base game at the mythical rarity, along with unlocked abilities.

A new weapon type, the Atgeir, tries to spice combat up a bit, allowing you to piece your own short combos together by mixing light and heavy attacks to your heart’s content. The wide-arcing swipes are perfect for crowd control, but I didn’t feel like I was really expressing any creativity in mashing these buttons, in the way more sophisticated action titles like Devil May Cry might. It isn’t the offensive game-changer the scythe was in Siege of Paris, but it’s fun nonetheless. You can upgrade gear to a new Divine level as well, which allows you to slot a new type of rune in them, but as with all the other micromanaging you can do with the equipment in this game, you can go a whole playthrough without feeling their impact.

Verdict

Divine new setting aside, Dawn of Ragnarok doesn’t take the long-standing formula of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla to new heights in any significant way. The Hugr-Rip and new host of supernatural abilities are a fun addition to the series, but they’re used so sparingly that they don’t feel vital. Outside of that, my 20-hour adventure through Eivor’s godly alter ego felt much like the last 100-plus hours I’ve spent with them since the main game came out 15 months ago. It’s consistently fun gameplay, yes, but also disappointing and overworn in that I’m starved for some kind of real shakeup to how it plays. Instead, the only surprises left to anticipate are how Ubisoft is going to repurpose systems we’ve already seen every bit of to fit into a new theme and setting. The banality of the mostly unaltered flow of gameplay doesn’t do the celestial locales and story any justice.

How long is Dawn of Ragnarok?

It took us roughly 33 hours to complete everything that Dawn of Ragnarok has to offer, which includes a lengthy story campaign, a number of optional activities, side quests, and your usual open world map markers, which lead to equipment and loot. It’s a chunky DLC, to say the least.

Is Dawn of Ragnarok a DLC?

The Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok DLC is the continued story of Havi, better known as Odin in wider Norse mythology, as he tries to take fate into his own hands and stave off the end of his era.

When can I play Dawn of Ragnarok?

Based on the PlayStation Store, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Dawn of Ragnarok will be available at midnight of March 10 in every region for PS4 and PS5. It means you will receive access to the expansion at 12 am of your local time on March 10.

How do I start Dawn of Ragnarok?

If you’ve never played Valhalla at all, you can still access the Dawn of Ragnarok DLC right away; you’ll just be limited to Svartalfheim exclusively. From the main menu, select New Game, then choose the Dawn of Ragnarok DLC. You’ll be given a pre-upgraded character who you can use only for the DLC.