Completionists who have unearthed every ability and leveled up to find every extra ability bar in Assassin's Creed Valhalla still have a tough choice to make. With so much variety, there are still only eight slots for which to equip these fine moves. So there will be serious competition for every player's toolbar. This circumstance begs the question, "Which ability is most worth the player's time?"
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Adding to the difficulty in the decision making, only four melee abilities and four ranged abilities can be equipped, so players that want to be predominantly archers or swordsmen will have to decide which alternate skills help bolster their primary fighting style the most. For gamers that have settled on their favorites, stick with what works. For the rest who need some more debate before making a decision, here are some of the top contenders to really consider.
10 Throwing Axe Fury
Maybe it's a bit unrealistic to expect throwing axes to work as a standard offensive ability. Even real-life Vikings that weren't in the game didn't do that. But it's a video game, so why not do something unrealistically powerful?
With the tap of a button, every enemy in front of Eivor is going to receive a heavy dose of damage. Each axe kills most enemies outright, but the tougher ones who barely survive will be staggered, setting Eivor up for a perfect opportunity to finish them off.
9 Rush & Bash
The game draws heavily upon characters who were real and gives players a taste of why they are famous. It's hard to imagine real people living and dying in such a brutal fashion, but such was the nature of the times.
This ability channels the viciousness of the era perfectly. It will kill almost any enemy in one hit when they get pinned to a wall and it works especially well on the smaller units that automatically dodge normal attacks because they can't dodge this one.
8 Harpoon Impalement
Because leaving Norway happens so early in the game, it's easy for gamers to miss many of the secrets and events there. There's also a Mortal Kombat Easter Egg that can also be missed for players that don't find the right Books of Knowledge.
Eivor all but yells out "Get over here!" as an unfortunate target gets stabbed by a harpoon and yanked in a direction of Eivor's choosing. After upgrading this skill, players get to instantly behead most enemies that are yanked toward Eivor.
7 Blinding Rush
Charging headlong into combat is one of many rookie errors new players make when first picking up the game. It's not that direct confrontation is bad, it's just that it can be made to be more effective with the right abilities.
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This ability allows for Eivor to run into battle undetected by using stamina. That's right, Eivor becomes invisible even when directly in front of a group of enemies in broad daylight. With the upgrade, Eivor can assassinate multiple combatants before they ever see it coming.
6 Kick Of Tyr
It's good for gamers to reflect on the little details they might have missed during the campaign of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. But players that missed the Kick of Tyr didn't miss a minor detail, they missed a major one.
This kick will put most bosses on their backs and set Eivor up for a free finishing blow. But even bosses that have tons of health can be killed in a single strike with this by sending them off a cliff. It has the potential to put most hard encounters on easy mode.
5 Man's Best Friend
The early game can be the toughest part because gamers won't have access to Eivor's fullest skillset yet. Thankfully, players can get started on the right foot by getting a wolf companion fairly early into the story.
This will completely delete one enemy of the wolf's choosing. In heated combat, the upgrade makes this ability a no-brainer as the wolf will continue to chomp down enemies throughout the battle. It does a much better job than any of Eivor's Viking companions. No offense to them, this ability is just that good.
4 Poisonous Powder Trap
Raw damage is still important, so getting a trusty bow like Petra's is still important, but damage over time effects are critical for bosses that can't be killed in one hit and this move fulfills this need perfectly.
Not only will striking the boss make it poisoned, but the arrow will release toxic fumes a second time after the upgrade, increasing the duration of poison effects. The skill description makes it seem advantageous to use it on patrolling mobs, and that's also an efficient use of this skill, making it versatile enough to regularly keep on Eivor's wheel.
3 Piercing Shot
The tooltip states that this allows Eivor to shoot through "nearly any obstacle." Go ahead and put this to the test and find out why this skill is widely regarded as overpowered and game-breaking.
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Thick marble, solid floors, reinforced roofing, none of it can stand against the piercing arrow. What's more, this allows Eivor to stay out of the enemy's line of sight. Opponents that watch others get killed by the arrow will fruitlessly run around without any clue as to where the arrows are coming from.
2 Mark Of Death
This ability gives Eivor a few seconds to look at any enemies near and far. After that timer ends, Eivor will fire a volley of arrows that instantly kills almost anyone that Eivor saw during that time. It wipes out large groups of enemies with ease.
And somehow, even this isn't the extent of the ability's power. By scrolling over a single enemy multiple times, Eivor can fire this same volley at the same target, with each arrow guaranteed to strike. It wipes out mobs and bosses alike.
1 Incendiary Powder Trap
This is the best ability in the game and it's not close. The fire damage is incredible and the explosion will easily destroy most targets. The upgrade allows the trigger to go off twice, so striking a boss with this arrow will deal huge damage and then set them on fire for a long time.
And there's more. This move can break through walls that ordinarily require explosive jars. Sometimes jars aren't available or don't spawn correctly in the puzzles, so this allows players to bypass all that nasty business and just bulldoze their way to the end.
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