How to change difficulty in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Andrew Highton
Eivor in a burning village in Assassin's Creed Valhalla

No matter what game you play, there will always be some element of difficulty. Trying to find that balance can always be tricky. However, Ubisoft’s newest game has multiple settings that can drastically alter the way in which you play. So here is how to change the difficulty in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and what option might be best for you.

The default difficulty in the Assassin’s Creed games has risen a bit in recent years. External influences like the Souls games seem to be having a noticeable effect on certain titles and the way they handle. Assassin’s Creed is just one of the many games that have taken inspiration from FromSoftware’s combat-heavy series.

As such, more combat means more enemies, and more enemies means more chance of being maimed. Not to mention the legendary fights against rare animals and mythical beasts too.

So with difficulty being a more prominent factor in the gameplay, we thought we would single this aspect out. We will walk you through how to change the difficulty settings in AC Valhalla, and perhaps identify the most suitable ones.

Difficulties and sub-difficulties

Needless to say, the way in which Ubisoft is presenting difficulty in their new game is innovative for the series. Instead of having several standard, default levels that indicate their severity, there are now sub-options too.

They are now split up into Combat, Stealth, and Exploration. Here is what you’ll find under each of these sub-categories.

Combat

combat difficult settings in assassin's creed valhalla
Possibly the most important modifier as you don’t want it too easy, or too tough.
  • Skald (Easy)
  • Vikingr (Default)
  • Berserkr (Hard)
  • Drengr (Very Hard)

Stealth

combat difficult settings in assassin's creed valhalla
If stealth is not your forte, then these adjustments will improve your fleet of foot.
  • Apprentice (Easy)
  • Assassin (Default)
  • Master Assassin (Hard)

Exploration

exploration difficult settings in assassin's creed valhalla
A great way to change how much aid you need in exploring the land.
  • Adventurer
  • Explorer (Default)
  • Pathfinder

How to change the difficulty

different difficult settings in assassin's creed valhalla
The game’s difficulty settings are very easy to change.

Not all games make it clear from the outset how to change its settings. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a lot more forgiving and guides the player almost immediately.

  1. Start a new campaign
  2. Select your difficulty levels

It really is that simple to start things off. However, as the game progresses, you may find yourself struggling to cope with the demands AC Valhalla asks of you. So if you fancy lowering the difficulty, or maybe increasing it because it’s too easy, then that’s also quite straightforward.

  1. Pause the game.
  2. Go to Options.
  3. Go to the Gameplay tab.
  4. Change the difficulty to suit your preferences.

What difficulty affects?

Each setting will come with its own personal circumstances and varying gameplay modifiers. These measures ensure that your experience is optimal and tailored to the way you want to experience Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

This is what the difficulty settings will affect.

Combat

  • The damage of enemy attacks, taking more health away from you.
  • The power of your attacks, taking less health from the enemy.
  • Aim assist can be altered to be snappy and automatically lock-on or turned off altogether.

Stealth

  • The range at which enemies can see you.
  • How quickly they will detect you.
  • You can make it so every assassination attempt with the hidden blade is a guaranteed kill – regardless of the strength of the enemy.

Exploration

  • Adjust the number of icons you can see on your heads-up display (HUD).
  • Changes how much information you receive with regards to the distance of landmarks and POIs.
  • A custom option will allow you to manually fine-tune the settings yourself.

That pretty much covers everything you need to know about how to change the difficulty settings in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Plus, which options may suit your playstyle the best.


For more news and guides on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, then check out our Assassin’s Creed hub for all your information.

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About The Author

Andrew Highton is a former Games Writer for Dexerto. He has a Creative Writing degree from Liverpool John Moores University and has previously written for games websites such as Twinfinite and Keengamer. With 13,000+ PlayStation Trophies to his name, Andrew is a fan of a huge variety of video games, his favourites being God of War and Metal Gear Solid. Contact him at andrew.highton@dexerto.com, on Twitter @AndyHighton8 or at www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-highton.