Dawn of Ragnarök Takes Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Players into the Realm of Svartalfheim on March 10

Dawn of Ragnarök will take Assassin’s Creed Valhalla players on a new adventure into Norse mythology on March 10, when it launches on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, PC, Stadia, and Amazon Luna. Unfolding in the vast dwarven realm of Svartalfheim, Dawn of Ragnarök is an expansion that focuses on Odin (aka Havi), who delves into this strange new land on a quest to rescue their son, Baldr, from the unkillable fire giant Surtr.

Set thousands of years before the events of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (and
experienced as a vision by Eivor), Dawn of Ragnarök is the series’ biggest
expansion yet, with an estimated 35-plus hours of content. Svartalfheim is a
huge realm filled with massive dwarven buildings, literal mountains of gold, and
a skyline dominated by the twisting branches of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. It’s
a world under occupation by Surtr’s forces, the Muspel fire giants, who’ve
allied with the Jotnar frost giants to hunt for powerful relics hidden
throughout Svartalfheim.

Their presence has twisted the landscape with ice and magma, and – apart from a
few hidden dwarven shelters – there are no safe havens here. Most Muspels and
Jotnar will attack Odin on sight, and in addition to wielding fire and ice
powers, their ranks include new enemy types like the Flame Keepers, who can
resurrect fallen enemies and prolong battles indefinitely if you’re not careful.

Odin has an important edge, however: the Hugr-Rip, a mythical bracer that lets
them steal powers from certain marked enemies. Powered by a new resource, Hugr –
which can be drawn from giant flowers or gained by sacrificing part of Odin’s
health at special shrines – these new abilities last for short bursts of time,
and include the following:

• Power of the Raven – Turns Odin into a white raven, letting players
  freely and rapidly explore the skies.

• Power of Muspelheim – Disguises Odin as a fire giant, enabling social
  stealth and immunity to heat and magma.

• Power of Winter – Imbues Odin’s weapons with ice, empowering them to
  freeze and shatter enemies.

• Power of Jotunheim – Disguises Odin as a frost giant, and lets them
  teleport to special targets with a bow and arrow.

• Power of Rebirth – While active, raises any defeated enemies from the
  dead to fight for Odin. (Especially effective if you can assassinate several
  enemies in quick succession.)

All of these powers can be permanently upgraded at dwarven blacksmiths, adding
new twists like the ability to air-assassinate while in raven form, but there’s
a catch: Odin can only equip two powers at a time (out of a possible five). This
is meant not just to push players to think carefully about which ones will be
useful in their current situation, but also to let the developers drop little
hints – a power-bearing corpse lying outside of a cave, for example, is a dead
giveaway that one or more of the puzzles within can be solved using that power.

The Hugr-Rip powers work only in Svartalfheim, and can’t be carried over into
the main campaign of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – but there’s plenty of other
stuff that can. Powerful new armor sets are hidden across Svartalfheim, and a
new weapon type, the Atgeir, lets Odin unleash a variety of bladed-polearm
combos and finishers. New Abilities can be unlocked as well, and while these
have fantastical effects in Svartalfheim, more “realistic” versions can also be
used in Eivor’s waking world. And if you bring the right gemstones to the right
eccentric dwarf, you’ll also unlock new cosmetic features to place around
Ravensthorpe.

As Odin explores Svartalfheim, they’ll uncover another new feature: the Arena.
Run by Kára the Valkyrie, the Arena is a place for Odin to re-enact tall tales
of past victories by taking on waves of enemies and bosses. For greater rewards,
Odin can add Boasts to each “story.” Melee Tradeoff, for example, makes every
consecutive melee attack from Odin do less damage (unless broken up by a ranged
attack or Ability), while Enhanced Enemy Melee makes them do more damage – and
can also work in your favor if you use the Power of Rebirth during the match.

Once purchased, the content can be accessed at any time from within Assassin’s
Creed Valhalla (and can boost players to the recommended power level of 340 if
they haven’t yet reached it on their own). Dawn of Ragnarök will be available on
March 10 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, PC, Stadia, and Amazon Luna,
and is included with a Ubisoft+ subscription. For more on Assassin’s Creed,
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