Published on February 17th, 2021 | by Adrian Gunning
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Yule Season Update Introduces New River Raids Game Mode
Today, Ubisoft announced that a new update for Assassin’s Creed® Valhalla is now available, bringing additional free content to the game for all players: a new game mode, Jomsviking upgrades, new abilities and rewards, and two new unlockable buildings in the Settlement – the River Raid Dock and the Jomsviking Hall.
The River Raids is a permanent addition to the game and a new replayable mode enriching the raiding experience in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The mode contains:
- Higher-stakes raids, with unique maps and rewards, in which the player can raid without impacting their main game progression and alliances in England. Unlike the original raiding feature, the raiding crew can be temporarily lost if players don’t revive them during the raid.
- A Jomsviking Crew: Recruited Jomsvikings (created by other players online) are led by the player’s personal Jomsviking Lieutenant.
- A New Longship: An all-new fully customizable longship exclusive to the game mode – whose cargo hold can be upgraded to bring more resources back from River Raids.
The new Jomsviking Hall has three levels to upgrade in Season 1, with the higher the Hall’s level the higher the ranked Jomsvikings it will attract for the player to recruit. Jomsviking also now have ranks, with the higher ranked Jomsvikings having greater survivability in River Raids.
After players complete one of the first narrative arcs in England, either Grantebridgescire or Ledecestrescire, build their Barracks and recruit their Jomsviking Lieutenant, they will encounter a new NPC named Vagn and his crew of Jomsviking raiders, who will introduce them to the River Raids game mode. The mode introduces three new river maps set around the coastline of England full of locations to raid and treasure to loot.
Finally, the update brings additional abilities and rewards:
- The Saint George Armor set and Great Sword
- 3 new Abilities, hidden in monasteries
- 2 new Settlement Buildings
- A new set of longship and player cosmetics
The River Raids game mode update, a part of Season 1, is the latest addition as part of the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla post-launch experience, with a variety of new free content for all players focused on gameplay and world evolution coming throughout 2021.
Season 2, named Ostara, will start in March 2021 with a first update bringing a festival in the Settlement, a new game mode that builds on Valhalla’s core combat experiences, new gear and cosmetic items. More information about Wrath of the Druids, the first expansion of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla releasing in Spring 2021, will come at a later time.
With development led by Ubisoft Montreal*, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla offers players the captivating experience of playing as Eivor, a legendary Viking warrior, driven from Norway by endless wars and dwindling resources in ninth century AD. Players can relive the ruthless fighting style of Viking warriors with a revamped dual-wielding combat system and experience new gameplay features such as raids, assaults, and the settlement, as well as a revamped progression and gear upgrade system. Political alliances, combat decisions and dialogue choices can influence the world of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, so players must choose wisely to protect their clan’s home and their future.