Summary
When young Eivor Varinsdottir ofAssassin’s Creed Valhallaaccompanies other Vikings in establishing a new clan in England, they are dragged into the world-spanning conflict between the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order. Despite taking a similar RPG route as itsAssassin’s Creedpredecessor,Assassin’s Creed Valhallamakes ado with the prequelOdyssey’s more fantastical route and goes back to its semi-realist roots, becoming more in line with a fantasy stealth game set in the 800s CE.
While theAssassin’s Creedentry offers players a myriad of ways to approach missions, gamers who want a wilder twist to their gameplay may be interested in trying overpowered builds. When used correctly, players can say goodbye to traditional assassinations and enter fights with sheer ferocity, fire, poisonous strikes, and even long-ranged mastery.
Updated on July 15, 2025, by Rhenn Taguiam:With Assassin’s Creed Shadows eventually taking players to the much-awaited location of Japan, fans of the franchise might want to explore some older Assassin’s Creed entries for a grasp on its other mechanics. Whereas Shadows will have the duo of Naoe and Yasuke tackling various threats with different fighting styles, the likes of Valhalla will have the Viking Eivor fight both humans and supernatural warriors with a wide variety of playstyles. Players who want to explore the extent of what Eivor can offer in Valhalla might want to try some unique builds, such as a healing-based setup, unarmed combat specialties, and combining an armor set with a rare sword.
Gods are known to be nigh-immortal, with nothing capable of dealing damage to them. InAssassin’s Creed Valhallagameplay, players can feel just that withHreidmar’s Divinity. At its core, the Hreidmar’s Blessed set’s full bonuses make it such an attractive armor to acquire - especially for players who want to get in the thick of combat. However, the set works best when paired with weapons that boost critical damage - as this not only secures crits but also guarantees heals.
Thanks to the Hreidmar’s set, players technically get more out of their heals. Not only do they now get heals whenever they crit, but they also get more healing from rations, and even damage nearby enemies when healing using these items. This set makes the Viper Bow a reasonable addition to theirAssassin’s Creed Valhallagameplay, as critical chance stacks whenever Eivor uses this weapon to hit foes. A decent melee pairing for this weapon would be the Gae Bolg, which will deal a stunning lightning shock to enemies on the third hit. When used with the Einherjar Rune, a critical hit will now also summon an Einherjar that stuns foes.
The best assassins are trained to be able to kill with virtually anything - perhaps all the more so the likes of Eivor, whose life exploring Vikings always meant they were exposed to all sorts of threats. InAssassin’s Creed Valhallagameplay, Eivor’s true resolve can be proven with theTaranis Lightningset - technically turning them into a nigh-invincible juggernaut who doesn’t even need to use weapons to fight foes.
These perks are courtesy of the Taranis set, which grants Eivor bonus damage when fighting unarmed and some additional defense. Each punch while wielding the Taranis set will infuse lightning into Eivor’s hands, making each strike more satisfying. At base, Great Evasion Runes should give Eivor enough juice to dodge attacks, while the Great Runes of Life and Shell can boost their Health to tank most damage. The damage reduction from Bora can also help in this regard. Even if Eivor does take hits, the Jarl will just increase their Armor more. Thanks to the Druidic Armor, Health is also restored whenever Eivor hits a foe three times.
Not much is known about the Fallen Hero set, except that Emperor Nero took great lengths to protect its pieces. When Eivor acquired this in their journey, the armor proved to be quite an asset in combat - capable of not only boosting Eivor’s prowess but constantly dealing damage to fallen foes. However, theStalwart Fallen Heroreveals a more interesting synergy between the Fallen Hero and an unexpected companion gear: the Blazing Sword. Originally an Isu defensive artifact, Eivor’s acquisition of the Blazing Sword granted a long-ranged powerhouse in their arsenal.
At the hands of the player, the Stalwart Fallen Hero is less about which skills players use but rather how they synergize these two pieces of gear. With the Fallen Hero set, players already set a boost in Armor and Damage when fighting foes. Being hit will drop a pulse that unleashes an AOE-with-knockback after a short delay. Meanwhile, the Blazing Sword can unleash a long-ranged projectile - allowing Eivor to technically fight from afar whenever they wanted. The synergy happens when Eivor uses the Sword while wearing the set. Now, whenever they get hit, Eivor has the option to leave the pulse or “take” it. Taking the pulse will grant them combat bonuses, boosting their attack further - transforming this into a free buff-on-hit effect.
Synergies play a major role in creating optimized builds inAssassin’s Creed Valhalla, especially withthe game’s action-oriented gameplay. Fire takes center stage in this particular synergy in theCrit-Healing Fire Axe build, where crit-based effects come into play: the Sepulcher Axe ignites its blade to burn enemies, and the Kopis then heals the player. This pair is best combined with crit chance-boosting effects: the Viper Bow that stacks crit chance per hit, and the Raven Clan Armor that gives crit chance buffs based on how low the player’s HP gets.
In turn, it’s important for the Crit-Healing Fire Axe build to be able to capitalize on combat situations that occur close to them. These include slow-mo after dodging at the right moment (Brush With Death), booby-trapping a dead enemy to explode and start a conflict (Explosive Corpse), smoke-bombing to distract opponents after a parry (Assassin’s Cantrip), and even returning a projectile (Missile Reversal).
Whilestealth kills inAssassin’s Creedremain enjoyable inAssassin’s Creed Valhalla, theGodlike Marksmanbuild shows that securing long-range hits can be just as satisfying. From afar, this is possible with damage boosts at range with the Huntsman Vambraces, and weak spot boosts with the Hunnish Bow. Up close, the Fyrd Spear helps players become more mobile when dodging, while Thor’s Battle Plate gives more openings to stun foes. Thegn’s Cloak can boost a player’s odds of scoring critical hits, which the Kopis can take advantage of heals on crits.
As the Godlike Marksman, it’s best for players to use this build if they can adapt to various situations - especially if opponents get up close. These include slow-mo after successful parries (Blinding Rush), rigging a corpse to blow (Explosive Corpse) or release poison (Miasma) after kills, rushing undetected until contact (Blinding Rush), and slowing down time at low HP for more openings (Last Chance Healing).
Players who want to pursue the more difficultendgame content ofAssassin’s Creed Valhallashould consider a late-game build like theMythical Legendto adapt to most high-level content. This build takes advantage of maintaining a high health ceiling to capitalize on bonuses, particularly additional critical chance at 85% HP with the Durendal, and at 90% HP with the Dokkalfar Bow. The lightning shocks from Gae Bolg are supplemented with much-needed Health and Stun damage, which then enjoys more damage (in exchange for increased Stamina consumption) via the Paladin Armor set, as well as more damage per Kill via the Einherjar Armor.
This build should theoretically give players enough firepower at range to take down foes while also bolstering their melee prowess. Skills like the Dive of the Valkyries (Melee) and the Plague of Rats (Ranged) should help players take down multiple foes from any distance, while Focus of the Nornir (Ranged) allows players to get more precise with their aim and deal more damage on kills.
Before players venture into overpowered and thematicAssassin’s Creedbuilds, they may want to consider trying out a more optimized kit. TheAll-Rounded Assassingives Eivor the best tools to adjust to any situation, allowing players to exploreAssassin’s Creed Valhalla’s mechanicswithout their choices weighing them down. A lifeline players have in this situation would be the Raven Clan Armor, which not only gives players much-needed Armor at lower Health but also boosts to crit chance.
Meanwhile, players can stay relatively prepared for most combat situations due to their selection of skills. Securing higher damage numbers (Backstab) and multi-kills (Chain Assassin) remain must-have abilities, with quick smoke escapes (Assassin’s Cantrip) and auto-refills (Auto-Loot) giving players room for hassle-free escapes.
Nothing beatsa clean kill inAssassin’s Creedgameplay. After all, getting that perfectly-timed assassination every time is a mark of a tried and true assassin. This is the kind of gameplayClean-Cut Killoffers, focusing on offering Eivor enough speed and utility to kill opponents in a myriad of ways. Key to this build is the Mentor’s Armor which gives players a boost in both crit chance and movement speed, emphasizing mobility.
The rest of the Clean-Cut Kill’s kit relies on how players maximize their slate of skills for multiple situations. Traditional Backstab and Advanced Assassination with smoke bombs from Assassin’s Cantrip can make Hidden Blade kills happen much more smoothly. Alternate assassination combos can come from rigging corpses to explode (Explosive Corpse) and killing multiple targets at a time (Chain Assassination).
As much as it’s satisfying doing Hidden Blade kills inAssassin’s Creedgameplay, seeing enemies flop on the ground after perfect headshots is just as satisfying. Thankfully,Assassin’s Creed Valhallaplayerscan enjoy the same ranged supremacy withViking Sniper, takingfull advantage of the Huntsman Armor setthat gives Eivor a much-needed boost when shooting at a distance. In worst-case scenarios, Eivor can also benefit from the boost in damage, courtesy of the transition from bow to axe (Bow to Melee Link).
At its core, the Viking Sniper emphasizes speed and accuracy at long ranges. On top of removing the risk of broken arrows (Arrow Reinforcement), players can enjoy faster arrow draws (Hunter Bow Combo), two charged shots at once (Charged Shot), and advanced information on enemy locations (Stealth Recon). This kit should allow Eivor to take care of enemy threats from afar before they even have a chance to retaliate.
Knowing how to kill elite enemies as fast as possible is a step players can take to get closer to their dreams ofbeing the perfect killer inAssassin’s Creedgameplay. Since elite and boss enemies often have minions with them, players may find themselves in a tricky situation when surrounded by multiple foes. Thankfully,Elite Clearand its access to Brigandine Armor can boost the player’s chance of survival. With a full set of Brigandine Armor, players not only have an increase in melee damage but also additional defenses when facing two or more foes.
The rest of the kit becomes focused on securing consistent damage numbers as much as possible to eliminate higher-level enemies quickly. Both Adrenaline Fiend and Adrenaline Upgrade ensure melee combat can easily be dominated by more powerful attacks. Meanwhile, Perfect Attack and Perfect Damage can lengthen combo strings for more consistent DPS. Lastly, Stomp and Warrior Takedown serve as decent finishers to move on to the next opponent much faster.
