Assassin's Creed Valhalla skill tree: What are the best skills to unlock

Assassin's Creed Valhalla skill tree
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

The Assassin's Creed Valhalla skill tree is incredibly vast, with plenty of options to choose and paths to embark down, so choosing the best skills isn't a simple job, especially early on. But we're here to help. We've got the full breakdown of the skill tree and all the Assassin's Creed Valhalla best skills right here.

Whatever you do in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, you’ll earn XP to fill that blue gauge in the top right corner but some activities will instantly deliver skill points. Legendary Animals hand over two upon completion, Standing Stone puzzles mean one, and so do Fly Agaric quests and Offering Altars. The good news is though that you just can’t go wrong on your skill tree as each skill can be reset individually or reset entirely so you can trial and error until you find the perfect combination for you.

Here is our breakdown of the best skills in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla to spend those hard earned points on. We’ve broken it down by playstyle and shown you exactly where you’ll find it on the giant tree of options. 

Read some more of our Assassin's Creed Valhalla guides right here:

Assassin's Creed Valhalla opal | Assassin's Creed Valhalla arrows | Assassin's Creed Valhalla legendary animals | Assassin's Creed Valhalla comb | Assassin's Creed Valhalla cargo | Assassin's Creed Valhalla Gorm | Assassin's Creed Valhalla Grantebridgescire Fly Agaric | Assassin's Creed Valhalla Leofrith | Assassin's Creed Valhalla traitor | Assassin's Creed Valhalla unseal the well

Advanced Assassination

Best Assassin's Creed Valhalla skills: Advanced Assassination

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Best for... the stealthy

This one is probably one of the most vital skills in the game if you fancy celebrating the return of the hidden blade. The Advanced Assassination skill unlocks a mini game that means even high power enemies can be felled with a click of your murder gauntlet. All you have to do is press the assassinate button again when the marker is in the highlighted zone. It’s even possible to do this when it comes to bosses so stealth your way into a situation, get up high and try an old school air assassination for size. 

Chain Assassination

Best Assassin's Creed Valhalla skills: Chain Assassination

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Best for… the Brotherhood 

This is another one for the stealthy but it also delivers one of the most satisfying animations in the whole game. Take down an enemy with an assassination and then highlight another Anglo Saxon and you’ll get another hit of the murder button. Tap RB and you’ll send an axe spinning through the air and straight into their skull. The camera even follows the weapon to its gory conclusion. Lovely.

Brush With Death

Best Assassin's Creed Valhalla skills: Brush With Death

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Best for… brawlers 

Here’s a different Assassin’s Creed Valhalla skill now and very much for those who can’t be bothered stealthing around in bushes. Given that the combat speed is on fast forward compared to Creed’s of old, Brush with Death means a perfect dodge just before an attack will slow down time. This gives you a few precious moments to rain down some light and heavy attacks like the Flash while the world is frozen. It’s a great little breathing moment to plan your next moves too.

Heavy Dual Wield

Best Assassin's Creed Valhalla skills: Heavy Dual Wield

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Best for… the tanks

If one long sword or flaming two-handed axe just isn’t enough, the Heavy Dual Wield skill will be right up your corpse strewn street. As you might expect from the name, this means you can hold two heavy weapons at once during combat and feels ludicrously satisfying to roar into the fray with Valhalla’s most OP weaponry. It is important to note that the damage dealt will be different from what it would have been with just one weapon equipped but who cares? Except your poor biceps… 

Auto-loot

Best Assassin's Creed Valhalla skills: Auto-loot

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Best for… the lazy 

It might seem a little thing but constantly pressing loot once you’ve killed everyone is an extra chore than nobody needs. Especially given the fact that nearly every enemy has a few pieces of silver and sometimes some essential rations that come in very handy in the heat of battle. The Auto-Loot skll means that anyone you murder with melee will automatically have their pockets pilfered. It’s even better than asking Alexa to do it for you.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla review | Assassin's Creed Valhalla tips | Assassin's Creed Valhalla map | Assassin's Creed Valhalla length | Assassin's Creed Valhalla romance guide | Assassin's Creed Valhalla settlement guide | Assassin's Creed Valhalla silver | How to earn XP in Assassin's Creed Valhalla | Assassin's Creed Valhalla carbon ingots  | Assassin's Creed Valhalla resources | Assassin's Creed Valhalla Orlog guide

Breakfall

Best Assassin's Creed Valhalla skills: Breakfall

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Best for… the careless 

Now, it’s vital to say that Eivor’s Breakfall skill is not quite as physics-defying as Kassandra or Alexios in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. When falling from a deadly height, the Breakfall skill is useful and will give you a roll to break your fall but you’ll still lose a chunk of health relative to the height. So no launching yourself off cliffs unless there’s water beneath them. It’s still essential though if you, like us, keep pushing Eivor off the wrong side of sync points. Sorry… I thought there was hay…

Battleground Bolt

Best Assassin's Creed Valhalla skills: Battleground Bolt

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Best for… the violent 

And finally another essential Assassin’s Creed Valhalla skill for combat. The Battleground Bolt skill lets you pick up the weapons of downed enemies and throw them at other foes. Cue another ultra-satisfying animation as Eivor scoops up a spear or sword and launches it to its gory conclusion. Keep an eye out for dropped weaponry and a quick press of Y or Triangle will send it to instakill most foes. It makes a perfect addition that keeps combat constantly feeling fresh and satisfying. Well, not for those on the spiky end. 

Louise Blain

Louise Blain is a journalist and broadcaster specialising in gaming, technology, and entertainment. She is the presenter of BBC Radio 3’s monthly Sound of Gaming show and has a weekly consumer tech slot on BBC Radio Scotland. She can also be found on BBC Radio 4, BBC Five Live, Netflix UK's YouTube Channel, and on The Evolution of Horror podcast. As well as her work on GamesRadar, Louise writes for NME, T3, and TechRadar. When she’s not working, you can probably find her watching horror movies or playing an Assassin’s Creed game and getting distracted by Photo Mode. 

Read more
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe assassinating target with Tanto skill
Best Assassin's Creed Shadows skills for Naoe and Yasuke
Avowed ranger creating vines to grab bandit
All Avowed skill trees and abilities explained
Assassin's Creed Shadows tips
10 Assassin's Creed Shadows tips we wish we'd known before we started playing
Avowed builds wizard throwing a fireball in a bear's face.
Best Avowed builds for fighting in the Living Lands
Assassin's Creed Shadows Yasuke decapitating samurai with long katana weapon
All the best Assassin's Creed Shadows weapons and how to get them
Ghost of Tsushima screenshot of Jin interacting with a fox
Assassin's Creed Shadows' Knowledge system sounds like it's tapping into what I loved most about Ghost of Tsushima
Latest in Assassin's Creed
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe assassinating target with Tanto skill
Assassin's Creed Shadows' first title update is a hotfix with three lines of patch notes and a download size up to 9GB
Assassin's Creed Shadows Nishinomiya Shrine
All Nishinomiya Shrine locations in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows riddles Naoe answers
All Assassin's Creed Shadows riddle answers for NPC encounters
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has been the series' best launch since Valhalla, but that was "a perfect storm we may never see again," says Ubisoft
Assassin's Creed 3 screenshot of Desmond hilding a circular Isu artifact
Assassin's Creed Shadows' modern storyline is kind of non-existent and I couldn't be happier about it
Latest in Guides
Assassin's Creed Shadows Nishinomiya Shrine
All Nishinomiya Shrine locations in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows riddles Naoe answers
All Assassin's Creed Shadows riddle answers for NPC encounters
Fortnite Henchmen Walkie Talkies
Fortnite Henchmen Walkie Talkies: How to eavesdrop on Kane
Assassin's Creed Shadows Makino Kurumazuka Kofun
How to get in the Makino Kurumazuka Kofun in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe looking at map
Assassin's Creed Shadows map size and all regions
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe wearing black kosode
How to acquire a kosode in Assassin's Creed Shadows and should you choose red or black?