"Assassin's Creed Valhalla" is the latest installment in Ubisoft's long-running stealth/action series. This time around, you play as the Viking warrior Eibol, who has established a settlement in England and uncovered a Templar conspiracy.

If you've played any of the Assassin's Creed games, you know how this goes. You explore a new area, stealthily defeat some enemies, engage in open combat with others, upgrade your equipment, complete optional activities, and so on. However, "Assassin's Creed: Valhalla" offers a slight variation on the established formula, with more emphasis on open combat, more inventive side missions, and more freedom in character creation.

The game is not too difficult, but if you focus your attention and know how to gather resources, you can gain a significant advantage early on. Read 10 valuable tips for Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

As you gain new skills in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Avor's "power level" increases. As you explore each new area, you will also see the recommended power level. Naturally, if the power level is higher than recommended, the area is fairly easy. If the power level is lower, the area is quite difficult. As far as I know, there are no special rewards for taking on high-level content at low power levels, so it is best to simply conquer the low-level areas first and the high-level areas later. If you do a lot of side content, you will most likely go over level, but you can always challenge yourself if you know where to look.

Like previous Assassin's Creed games, Valhalla has an abundance of side missions. Unlike previous Assassin's Creed games, these are not simple "follow the waypoints" missions. As you explore medieval England, you will come across blue circles that indicate the "mysteries" of the land. These mysteries may include going somewhere and killing your target, but they may also involve drinking hallucinogenic mushrooms and solving puzzles, burning down a couple's house to get them in the mood for love, or participating in a Viking rap battle called "frying." Mystery rarely tells you exactly where to go or what to do, so get creative and explore your surroundings thoroughly.

As you begin to develop Avor's skills, you will have three paths to choose from: Bear (close combat), Raven (stealth), and Wolf (long range combat). While there is some overlap between these three paths, it is common to choose one and specialize in it, at least in the beginning. This is because wearing Bear/Raven/Wolf-leaning equipment will improve your stats in each of these skill paths. Narrowing down the skill distribution also narrows down the equipment loadout and general play style. The Bear path is the simplest path, but the Raven has the most useful skills. The Wolf pass is a bit more specialized, but archery is an effective strategy for both stealth and open combat.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a huge game, and players generally approach huge games in two ways: zoom through the plot and deal with side content later, or wipe out the side content of an area before tackling the plot. But neither approach is ideal in this game. Having completed a plot mission is probably not enough to tackle the next mission. On the other hand, following the plot will get you closer to many optional goals, so there is no real reason to hunt down to the last optional goal. Therefore, the best strategy is to follow the plot and take on as many side missions as possible along the way.

Generally speaking, new areas are reached by crossing England's waterways in longships. Most of the rivers have churches and monasteries and are teeming with valuable resources. One can sneak into these monasteries to reduce the number of enemies, but it is necessary to call in other crews to finish the job. Selecting the "raid" option while holding down the lower button on the D-pad will initiate a major battle, and if you win, you will get lots of supplies and raw materials to build your home settlement. Make sure the monastery is in a location appropriate to your power level.

Aver and the Raven clan start in England with a longhouse. During the game, they can build everything from a fisherman's hut, a hunter's hut, a bakery, a stable, a shipyard, etc. My recommendation would be to prioritize the "Hidden Ones" station. This is where you work with the Assassins, because without them it wouldn't be "Assassin's Creed". Keep in mind that building requires resources and the number of monasteries you can raid in any given area is limited, so you won't be able to build everything right away.

Equipment in "Assassin's Creed Valhalla" is fairly modest compared to "Origins" and "Odyssey," where new weapons and armor were added with each mission. You can find, buy, and upgrade your equipment, but your overall options are fairly limited. Considering that upgrades cost quite a bit of money in this game, you may find that your money and resources are limited as well. My recommendation is to find one piece of equipment that you really like and focus on upgrading one piece at a time. Weapon upgrades in particular can pay for themselves quite efficiently.

Previously in Assassin's Creed, you could dodge enemy attacks indefinitely and just hope they didn't catch up to you. Dodging consumes only a limited amount of stamina, which is also needed for heavy attacks. Therefore, dodging should be done sparingly. Instead, try to parry enemy attacks as much as possible. (If an enemy's attack is highlighted in orange, you can parry; if it is red, you have no choice but to dodge.) ) Not only does parry save stamina, but it also reduces the enemy's resistance, allowing you to unleash a devastating stun attack. This stun attack also restores stamina, making parry the key to surviving a long fight.

As a series, Assassin's Creed goes back and forth between "regain strength" and "manually regain strength." Valhalla falls into the latter camp. Once you take damage, there are only three ways to regain your strength: find food, eat a ration, or launch a stun attack on the enemy. The first method is the simplest, but there is not always food available. Therefore, rations are a very valuable but extremely limited resource. Save it for the toughest possible enemy or boss fight, especially since most bosses will change their attack patterns mid-battle. For other fights, stun attacks are a more common resource.

Spoiler alert: "Assassin's Creed Valhalla," like "Origins" and "Odyssey," has mythological elements. If you want to see how Avor's story ties in with the Norse mythology you know and love (or perhaps know and fear), build up your settlement until you are reunited with your old friend Valka. Then, when you get your next resource, build her "fortune teller's hut" and follow her quest line. You won't experience the entire mythical tale in one sitting, but as you explore the world, you'll find the ingredients Valka needs to advance this particular subplot.