Preparing for Dawn of Ragnarok [Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Guide]

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Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok is by far one of the most ambitious expansions to ever grace the franchise. Beyond adding an additional play zone, of which its main setting is none other than the dwarven realm of Svartalfheim, it also incorporates an entirely new weapon combo system, a spate of new godly abilities, and a fiery story. It continues Odin’s narrative through the visions Evior experienced in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and acts as a direct continuation of the Asgardian Arc, following Havi’s fateful entrapment of Fenrir. It is, simply put, massive in scale! As a result, it may sound like quite the daunting task to prepare for Dawn of Ragnarok. Fortunately, however, we are here to help! 

In this post, we will guide you through all the steps to take in order to adequately prepare for Dawn of Ragnarok. Whether it be levelling through to the correct power level, collecting some of the coolest gear in the game, or just… coming to terms with what is yet to pass [because goodness knows Odin is not]. That is all to say players reading this should have already played and beaten a large chunk of Valhalla. As such, this guide will include minor spoilers for bits of narrative and end-game gameplay. If this is to your fancy, then let us continue! 

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Tying Up The Loose Ends

Finishing The Story

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While Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok can be played from a brand-new save slot, we highly recommend going through the main game first. In doing so, players will learn of Evior’s ties to the gods of old in the most natural way. The optional side content regarding Evior’s visions and dreams are the most important in this regard, but it must be noted how these visions also only serve as one part of a narrative tying into the main game. 

With that in mind, it is important to finish the main story in order to prepare for Dawn of Ragnarok. Completing the game and completing the story are technically two different things in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. In finishing the main story, players will have the necessary knowledge to take on the expansion in a proper fashion. This includes, but is not limited to, being privy to why and how Loki factors into the story, who the gods really are and why Odin’s son may have been a target in the first place, and – most of all – how the events inadvertently lead to Ragnarok, even with Odin’s constant meddling with fate. 

Players who want to experience the main throughline and narrative regarding Layla, Evior, and Odin, need to complete all areas except Humtunscire. With that said, finishing up the story will also lead players through to The Order of Ancients, and aid (in some cases, unlock) in finding all of the Order’s whereabouts. Playing through to the epilogue is a requirement to reveal who the final Order member is. 

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Eradicating The Order, and dealing with the Zealots

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The Order of Ancients is the adversary to the Hidden Ones. In modern times, these factions are called the Templars, and the Assassins. In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, players are given the task to find and kill them all, working their way through the lower ranked Order agents, through to the officers, and ultimately, the grandmaster themselves. 

While Eradicating The Order may seem like a bit of a chore compared to finishing up the story, doing so has multiple benefits. Firstly, it serves as a way to learn more about the Templars. Secondly, players will also tick one requirement for some of the gear mentioned later in this guide. Finding and getting rid of Order members can be easy enough once players find clues to their whereabouts. One or two clues are usually found during story missions, while the rest can be found via exploration. The game makes this part easy by giving out clues leading to more clues, or in most cases, their actual whereabouts. 

Unfortunately, taking care of The Order also entails taking care of the Zealots. Zealots are not as easy to find since they do not have clues tied to them, and all Zealots constantly roam. During an early game story mission players will have the opportunity to stop any future Zealot hunts, which will lead to a better conclusion, but will also have the adverse effect of making it even harder to find them when players want to prepare for Dawn of Ragnarok. As such, the following tips and tricks will prove useful in finding them. 

• Always follow the roads.
  • Zealots do not traverse the wilds, and will be travelling on roads. 
• Many Zealots are fixed to certain locations. 

Below you will find the general areas you may find each of the Zealots.

Name	Location	Power Level
Beorhtsige	Glowecestrescire	280
Bercthum	Hamtunscire	340
Callin	Eurvicscire	280
Cola	Lincolnscire, Eurvicscire, Snotinghamscire	90
Cudberct	Oxenfurde	160
Eorforwine	Grantebridgescire	90
Heike	Essexe	250
Horsa	Oxenfurde	130
Hrothgar	Suthsexe	280
Kendall	Grantebridgescire	90
Osgar	Lincolnscire	220
Redwald	Ledecestrescire	90
Wealdmae	Sciropscire	160
Woden	Cent	250
Wuffa	East Anglia	160

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Gearing Up

Supreme Armour

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While there are hundreds of pieces of gear in the game, there are three really good sets of armour in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The first is called Fallen Heroes set, which was added in content update 1.4 not too long ago, and is a very good Way of the Wolf set; while the second is the Hidden Ones set, which was in the game at launch, and gains passive buffs from the Way of the Raven. Thor’s armour completes the trinity of set types as a Way of the Bear set, allowing players to choose exactly how to play as they prepare for Dawn of Ragnarok. 

1. Fallen Heroes Armour

Getting the Fallen Heroes set is as easy as arriving in England and doing some exploring. Each piece is rewarded at the end of Fallen Hero Tombs, which are dotted across England. There are four tombs in total and five pieces of gear (more on this below). 

• The Fallen Heroes cape can be found in Manius’ Sanctum just south of Ravensthorpe.
• Both the Fallen Heroes Greaves and Braces can be found in the Boudicca Tomb located just east of Elmenhalm in East Anglia.
• The Fallen Heroes Breastplate can be found in the Cassivellanus Tomb, east from Repton in Sciropescire, a little ways south from the dock fast travel location.
• The Fallen Heroes Helmet can be found in the Venutius Tomb practically right on top the Anlaf’s lookout fast travel location in Eurviscire. Walk a bit borth. 

2. Hidden Ones Armour

The Hidden Ones armour set is made available through finding all of the Assassin Bureaus hidden throughout England. There are six Bureaus with five pieces of gear and a dagger, respectively. Finding and completing the Bureaus have no power level requirements, making it a lucrative mid-game set to unlock. 

As an added bonus, players who have already built the Hidden Ones Bureau in Ravensthorpe, and completed the mission with Hytham will be able to find six codex pages hidden in the bureaus as well. Two birds, one stone. 

• Hidden Ones Mask can be found in the Londinium Bureau, in Lunden. It is in the north-eastern part of the city, just outside the walls by the Roman ruins. 
• Hidden Ones Hood can be found in the Camulodunum Bureau in Essexe. The entrance is on the southern part of Colcestre, near the wall. 
• Hidden Ones Robes can be found in the Eboracum Bureau near the southern border of Jorvik. The entrance is a wooden square nearby the Jorvik Theatre.
• Hidden Ones Gloves can be found in the Ratae Bureau, in Ledecestre. The entrance lies in a ruin in the eastern part of town. 
• Hidden Ones Leggends can be found in the Temple of Ceres Bureau, in the Forest of Denu, west of Glowecestre. Look in the most western part of the forest, near the borders of the playable map. 
• Suttingr’s Claw, a mythical dagger, can be found in the Venta Belgarum Bureau in Wincestre. It is in the south-western corner of the map, just south of Saint Peter’s Church.

3. Thor’s Armour

While the Fallen Heroes set is arguably the easiest, Thor’s set may require a lot more finesse… in that it circles back to finishing up those loose ends. Each piece of Thor’s armour can be found in different ways, and requires players with higher power levels. 

Thor’s cape is one of the reasons why it is advised for players to eradicate the order. The cape is a reward from Hytham for defeating every single member of the Order, including all Zealots. The cape looks snazzy on its own and offers Mythical stats right from the get-go, which helps a lot. However, players who are looking for the rest of the set will have to make use of some more elbow grease. 

There are three very powerful bosses scattered throughout England. These Daughters of Lerion are druidic witches, each wielding powerful daggers and dark magicks. In order to unlock the rest of Thor’s set, defeating them is a requirement. 

• Thor’s Breeches, and the key item Goneril’s Dagger are loot drops from Goneril, located at Spalda Fens in Grantebridgescire.
  • Goneril is the easiest of the three sisters, requiring a Power Level of 90.
• Thor’s Battle Plate, and the key item Regan’s Dagger are loot drops from Regan, located at Walsham Crag in the northern part of East Anglia. 
  • A Power Level of 160 is recommended for this boss fight. 
• Thor’s Gauntlets, and the key item Cordelia’s Dagger are loot drops from Cordelia, located at Berkelow Bog in East Anglia. 
  • A Power Level of 340 is recommended for this boss fight, but any veteran player above 250 will stand a good chance. 
  • Perfectly timed dodges, and parries are the keys to success. 

When the three sisters have been defeated, players need to head to the eastern part of East Anglia, where they can find a decrepit mansion with more lore on the sisters. The map will reveal a golden Gear icon – head north of this icon to find the entrance to an underground tunnel. Head down into the tunnels and find a druid statue with three slits in its back. Interact with it three times to unlock a treasure room with lots of junk for silver, and ultimately, Thor’s Helmet. 

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Mythical weapons

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After players have found the armour of their dreams, the next plausible step is to get a weapon (or two… or three) befitting of the look! How else will players prepare for Dawn of Ragnarok? As such, the next part of this guide will help. 

While there are countless weapons that can be upgraded to Mythical stats, there are a few divine weapons hidden throughout the game that already start with mythical stats, and some that can even be upgraded to the newly patched Divine stats. These weapons are considered the strongest weapons in the game, either through brute stats arithmetic, or through the passive skills they grant. Seeing as we ended the last section with Thor’s gear, it only makes sense to start this section with Thor’s Hammer. 

1. Thor’s Hammer Mjolnir

In order to get Thor’s Hammer, players need to be wearing all five armour pieces of Thor’s set. Once players have the set equipped, players just need to head back to Norway. The hammer is located north in the Hordafylke region, where it is lodged into a stone in a small crater up the mountain. The best description of the location is to head north-north-east from the “e” in the name Hordafylke on the map. The Hammer sparks and flashes when nearby, so it is not too challenging to see. 

2. Odin’s Spear Gungnir

While in Norway, and Hordafylke specifically, all players need to do to unlock Odin’s spear is head back to the Isu Vault featured during the “Brother’s Keeper” story mission — the story mission before the first ending of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Unfortunately this means players do need to complete the story in order to visit the location in the first place, but it is well worth it. Once in the vault, all players need to do to get it is to head off to a side crack in the wall, squeeze through it, and collect the weapon. 

3. Excalibur (Greatsword)

While Mjolnir requires the eradication of the Order, and Gungnir requires the completion of the majority of Valhalla, players who want to prepare for Dawn of Ragnarok will find the legendary greatsword, Excalibur, much easier to loot. 

The first order of business for Excalibur is to collect eleven stone tablets, strewn across the map. Eight of these are hidden inside locations called Treasures of Britain, and three are dropped by Zealots. This means players who have eradicated the order will already be a quarter of the way there! 

Treasure of Britain locations are marked with a headstone icon embellished with a crown. Fortunately no real fighting needs to be done except to survive all the locations they are in. This means players can do this very early on. 

• Grimes Graves Tablet can be found in East Anglia, just south-west of Brisleah Farm. The entrance is an underground cave. Take a leap of faith to get inside, then follow the third passage. 
• Cavern of Trials Tablet can be found in Cent, a little ways north-east of Canterbury, and south-west of the fast travel lookout. The entrance is a shaft leading into a cave system. This is an arduous parkour puzzle with multiple keys. 
• Santlache Mine Tablet can be found in Suthsexe, west of Crawleah, bordering Cent. The entrance is in the Santlache Mine. 
• Old Cellar Tablet can be found in Essexe, just south-west of Colcestre. Look for a cave with crags.
• Wiccan’s Cave Tablet can be found in Eurvicscire, quite a ways directly west of Jorvik. The entrance is an icy cave.
• Derby Spar Cavern Tablet can be found in Snotinghamscire, north of Hemthorpe. The entrance is a small cave on the cliff face. 
• Red Lichen Cavern Tablet can be found in Hamtunscire, just west of Wincestre. It is in a small cavern on a small hill to the north-east.
• Wocig Tablet can be found in Hamtunscire, north-east of Chepcham, directly west from the lookout point. The entrance is a small hole on the north side of the canyon. 
• The three Zealots who have the tablets are Woden, Heike, and Hrothgar. 

After all of the tablets have been found, players can head to Stonehenge, in Hamtunscire. From there, head north-west to the entrance of a huge underground cavern and tunnel system. The entrance is a narrow crack in the wall — look for a small water pool. Explore the cavern and Excalibur can eventually be found lodged in a boulder. Pull it out, and it is yours. 

4. Noden’s Arc (Hunter Bow)

The Isu weapon, Noden’s Arc, requires none other than Excalibur to have been unlocked first. Thereafter, all players need to do is head to the lake near Brunson Turret in Northumbria, and swim to the small island. There, players will find a rock similar to the ones that always give resources when broken, only this one will not break… unless hit with the legendary greatsword. Do so, and the Isu bow is automatically added to your inventory. 

5. The Morrigan’s Guard (Shield)

Shields are an especially underrated piece of equipment in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and we are certain it will be an essential part of players’ arsenals when preparing for Dawn of Ragnarok. Unlike the previous weapons, Morrigan’s Guard does not have any prerequisites. All players need to do is head to Belas Knap in Glowecestescire where a big tree nests three burial chambers. Simply get the key from each of these chambers, then head to the central chamber where the Isu shield awaits. 

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Follow this guide and you will be as prepared as one can get before embarking on Dawn of Ragnarok! Will you be heading into Svartelheimr with Mjolnir in hand alone, or a combination of weapons? Odin cannot do it all with just an axe and lowly shield, after all.