Best Assassin’s Creed Valhalla skills to crush your enemies

James Busby
AC Valhalla Skill Tree

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s skill tree is absolutely brimming with all kinds of unique abilities that help you tailor your character around specific archetypes and playstyles. Discover which skills you should be using in our guide below. 

Whether you wish to sneak into enemy encampments and slit their throats with stealthy backstabs or charge into the fray with heavy melee attacks, there’s a skill for every style of play. Choosing which skills to spend your hard-earned skill points on can be tricky in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, especially when there are some many unique moves to master.

The Raven, Bear, and Wolf skill trees all have their own unique strengths and weaknesses, but there are some skills that are just better than others. In order to find out which ones you should purchase, we’ve outlined some of the best in the game

Best Melee Skills

Stomp

Stomp Skill, Valhalla

 

If you’re a melee-focused player, then chances are you’ll be knocking your enemies down a lot, especially weaker units that are less stable on their feet. As the name suggests, Stomp gives you the ability to crush your opponent with a bone-crunching boot to the head.

Parry Damage

AC Valhalla Parry Damage skill

Parrying is already very potent as it allows you to dish out extra damage during your enemy’s stagger, but Parry Damage makes this counter even more deadly. Whenever you successfully parry your foe, you’ll do damage to their health bar. This turns the already powerful parry into an even more lethal skill. 

Warrior Takedown

AC Valhalla Warrior Takedown

Unlike the stealthy Advanced Assassination found in the Stealth tree, the Warrior Takedown forgoes this quiet approach to combat. Instead, your character will perform an incredibly gory kill on an unaware enemy. Not only does this skill send the head of your victim flying, but it also alerts all enemies around you.

Players are rewarded for this brazen act as your adrenaline will fill for every enemy that has been alerted. While stealth can be incredibly rewarding, there are times when you need to unleash your inner Viking. 

Perfect Attack

AC Valhalla Perfect Attack skill

This skill may be simple in its premise but it is incredibly potent for any melee build. Simply hit the attack button during a weapon swing to do more damage on the next hit. Having a skill that buffs your next hit is fantastic for those that wish to truly crush their foes in combat. After all, who doesn’t like dealing extra damage for just tapping a button? 

Adrenaline Fiend

AC Valhalla Adrenaline Fiend skill

When one or more adrenaline slots are filled, you gain a damage boost and attack-speed boost. This effect augments with each slot filled. Having straight stat increases your damage is always going to be beneficial no matter your build, especially when you combine it with the Adrenaline Upgrades. 

Best Stealth Skills

Breakfall

Assassin's Creed Breakfall skill

This skill is a must for any adventurer looking to traverse the mountainous lands a little easier. When equipped, Eivor automatically performs a roll when landing from a dangerous height, reducing the amount of damage taken. While it won’t increase your damage in combat, it will save you from any frustrating deaths. 

Auto-Loot

Assassin's Creed Valhalla Auto-Loot skill

Having to mash the pick up button whenever you kill an enemy can get tiring pretty quickly. Fortunately, this skill automatically does all the hard work for you. The Auto-Loot skill kicks in after every melee kill or stealth takedown. 

Backstab

Backstab skill in Assassin's Creed Valhalla

 

Landing lethal blows on an enemy’s back will inflict increased damage and cause them to stagger, giving you a few precious seconds to weave in more deadly attacks. Not only is backstab a great way to bolster your damage in combat, it also rewards those that exploit an enemy’s weakness. 

Advanced Assassination

Advanced Assassination skill in Valhalla

Being able to instantly assassinate high-level targets is always going to be useful, particularly if you wish to breeze through certain sections of the game. Simply sneak up to any high-level enemies and follow the on-screen prompt to unleash a devastating stealth kill.  

Brush with Death

Assassin's Creed Valhalla Brush with Death skill

Any skill that allows you to weave in more lethal hits is always going to be extremely beneficial to any build in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. This skill slows downtime whenever you successfully dodge an enemy attack, giving you plenty of time to unleash a flurry of devastating attacks. 

Best Ranged Skills

Sprint Attack

AC Valhalla Sprint Attack skill

There’s nothing better than running up to your enemies and delivering a deadly axe blow that knocks them to the ground. This skill is a must for any melee-focused build that wishes to quickly close the gap and get into the very thick of a fight. 

Last Chance Healing

AC Valhalla Last Chance Healing skill

Sometimes a fight can get particularly heated and things can quickly start to take a turn for the worse. This is particularly true when you’re facing the game’s trickier enemies. Last Chance Healing slows downtime whenever you enter a critical state, enabling you to flee the fight or quickly wolf down any healing items.

As a result, this skill is a must for any player that’s looking to increase their survivability. 

Grit

AC Valhalla Grit skill

Grit enables you to heal the red portion of your health bar whenever you land any melee hits, making it a great skill that rewards hyper-aggressive play. Combine this with any fast one-handed weapons and you have a recipe for success. 

Adrenaline Upgrade

Valhalla Adrenaline Slot

 

This is one is a no brainer and should be a top priority for any player looking to increase their damage and attack speed. Having an extra Adrenaline Slot is always going to be extremely beneficial, so purchase this on every skill tree as soon as you can. 

Battleground Bolt

AC Valhalla Battleground Bolt skill

Melee focused builds are incredibly strong, but they often lack any forms of ranged attacks. Fortunately, Battleground Bolt alleviates this issue. simply pick up the nearest discarded weapon to automatically throw it at an enemy. Those pesky archers won’t even know what hit them. 

So, if you prefer to play aggressively and take out opponents in the thick of the action, you should consider choosing skills from melee tree. For those that prefer to assassinate targets up close and from afar, then the Ranged and Stealth skills will be more to your liking.


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About The Author

James is Dexerto's Associate Games Editor who joined the website in 2020. He graduated from university with a degree in Journalism, before spending four years freelancing for GamesRadar+, PCGamesN, RPS, LoL Esports, Red Bull Gaming, and many more. You can find him covering everything from CoD, Apex Legends, Genshin Impact, and Monster Hunter. Need to get in touch? Email James at james.busby@dexerto.com.