AC Valhalla Weapons Guide: The Best Weapons, Their Locations, and How to Upgrade

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has been out for just about a week now, and many gamers are still just starting to sink their teeth (and their bearded axes) into the game. There’s a potent mix of the old and new with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, from returning game mechanics of old that veterans of the franchise will recognize to completely brand new systems to learn. But what hasn’t changed is the foundational fascination with all the myriad ways to murder a person. By that, we mean, of course, the weapons.

Below is a complete Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Weapon List with an overview of their different playstyles, weapon locations, and even a short guide on how to upgrade weapons in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

AC Valhalla Weapon List

One-Handed Weapons

Bearded Axes

The Bearded axes are to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla what the archetypal sword is in old-school RPGs — middle of the road weapon with an even balance of speed and power. The Bearded Axe

Flails

The flail is a slow-starting weapon that has a bit of a wind-up before unleashing a series of attacks capable of hitting multiple enemies at once. The power attack for the Flail executes a wide-swinging horizontal attack great for hitting closely-huddled groups of enemies. On top of its unique playstyle, the Flail also offers better CC and Stun than the bladed weapons alongside the blunt-weapon proclivity for shield-breaking.

Hammers

Hammers are, as one might expect, a harder-hitting but slower-swinging weapon variant that shines against shields and more heavily armored foes. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla hammers are great for depleting the stun on enemies faster than the other one-handed weapons, opening up opponents for a vicious free meal.

Daggers

Daggers give you low on-hit damage, but make up for their relative lack of firepower with high attack speed and — most importantly — exceptional mobility. Wielding a dagger in your offhand gives you the ability to perform a gap-closing attack (or disengage!) and a high DPS stamina attack.

Two-Handed Weapons

While slower than their one-handed variants, the two-handed Assassin’s Creed Valhalla weapons hit a lot harder and offer some unique perks over their smaller-scale brethren.

Greatswords

The two-handed swords are the faster of the two variants, capable of AoEing multiple enemies at once with substantial damage. The left-hand attack rushes the enemy with a very appropriate charge that concludes with a high damage impalement attack that is undeniably satisfying.

Dane Axes

The two-handed axes are the heavy hitters of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, swinging slower than the Greatswords but hitting even harder and performing exceptionally against heavily armored foes. The left-hand attack with the Dane Axe performs a whirling AoE spinning attack that turns you into a Viking Nutri-Bullet— especially when you unlock the dual-wielding for Heavy weapons.

Spears

Spears are an interesting variant among the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla weapons, and one that offers range and CC over the beefier stats of their more “slicey” and “choppy” brethren.

Spears sport the longest range among the melee weapons and provide excellent crowd-control in the way of knockdowns and knockbacks, making them an especially potent support weapon and a great compliment to your main hand if you acquire the Heavy Dual Wielding skill in the Bear Tree.

Bows

Light Bows

The SMGs of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the Light Bow is great for getting off some rapid-fire shots and mowing enemies down with repeated volleys of arrows, as well as targeting specific weak points to ready them for final execution.

Hunter Bows

Hunter Bows are the middle-ground between the two extremes, offering mobility and damage but without the rapid-fire streams of arrows or pinpoint accuracy of the Predator Bow. The Hunter Bow is a flexible weapon capable of performing at close to medium range and is best for those more interested in a versatile build capable of mixing it up based on the situation at hand.

Predator Bows

The sniper rifle of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the Predator Bows are pretty straightforward — high accuracy, high power, long-range. It’s pretty intuitive. They become especially useful with a Wolf tree ability that gives players the ability to manually control fired arrows.

Shields

Light Shields

The bucklers and round-shields of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the light shields offer less protection (and lower damage) than their heavier counterparts but better mobility and are a good choice for the Sword-and-Board type of player that prefers a balance of protection and maneuverability over the trundling tank option.

Heavy Shields

The heavy shields do slow you down a little more than the light shields but offer significantly more protection and damage. So much so that, to the surprise of many, the “dual shield” build is quickly gaining traction as one of the most viable options in the game, especially when running the heavy shield in the right hand. Not only do they deal with sufficient damage, carrying two planes of wood with you unsurprisingly offers you excellent, well-rounded protection.

How to Upgrade Weapons in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

How the Gear System Works

Upgrading weapons in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is much simpler than in previous installments in the game. Unlike in Odyssey or Origins, where gear was dropped like a Hack ‘n” Slash or Looter-Shooter with a million different iterations of each weapon type practically raining from the sky, each weapon in AC Valhalla is completely unique and viable for the entire duration of the game — should you choose to invest in it, that is.

Leveling and Upgrading Gear

Gear in AC Valhalla works a little differently than most RPGs. There are four Rarities or qualities that gear can come in: Fine, Superior, Flawless, and Mythical, and a total of ten “levels”.

Upgrading a piece of equipment’s level raises its base stats and can, thankfully, be done directly through your inventory with the press of a button once you have the required materials. The only catch is that each of the four rarities determines the level-cop of the weapon. Fine caps out at 2, Superior caps out at 4, Flawless at 7, and Mythical at the upper-limit at 10.

The great thing about AC Valhalla weapons is that their rarities aren’t set in stone; You can take a Fine Axe, Superior greatsword, or Flawless Dagger and, with the right resources, upgrade its rarity to unlock further leveling for the weapon. That way, if you like a specific weapon and playstyle that you find early game, no matter the rarity or level, you can carry it with you and crush end-game enemies as long as you build it accordingly.

AC Valhalla Weapon Locations

While some weapons are more easily acquirable later-game, we’ve highlighted a list of some of the more accessible weapons that you can get some time within the very first couple of hours of playtime down below.

Flail: Iron-Star Flail

Early on, you’ll get an opportunity to loot an Iron-Star flail during one of the starter story missions in a standalone building in Rygjafylke. The Iron-Star flail increases Attack after every heavy finisher, allowing you to grow stronger the longer a battle goes on and is a great option to familiarize yourself with one of the game’s more unique weapons early on.

Hammer: War Hammer

In a chest set atop a platform nestled in the trees, is a box containing the War Hammer. The general location is easy to get to with starter-level enemies and great practice for some of the jumping puzzles awaiting you later in the game.

Dagger: Yngling Seax

Just south-southwest of the War Hammer is a major settlement. Inside one of the larger buildings is a chest containing the Yngling Seax, a very Norwegian-sounding dagger that increases your damage after a dodge — excellent for capitalizing on mobility-based “rogue” builds investing in the Raven skill tree.

Dane Axe: Bone-Biter

You can get both hands on a two-handed Bone-Biter Axe early on in the first raiding settlement. The Bone-Biter is great for stacking Stun on opponents and hits like a truck. Made of axes.

Spear: Fyrd Spear

Just south of the Offchurch is an underwater cavern that contains the Fyrd Spear — an excellent weapon that increases your speed with every dodge. This makes the Fyrd Spear an effective support weapon for if/when you’ve unlocked Heavy Dual-Wielding.

Light Bow: Skadi’s Wrath

The Skadi’s Wrath light bow can be found in the bowels of a church directly north of your English settlement. It’s passive increases crit-rate when targeting enemy weak-points, making it great for softening up foes right before finishing them off up close.

Predator Bow: Recurve Bow

On the eastern coast, one of the larger islands northwest of your main Norwegian camp is a shipyard with a Predator Bow you can pick up early game. Look for a literal square hole in the ground that drops into a dingy room — there you’ll find a chest containing the Recurve Bow, a Predator Bow that gives you an attack buff at full health. This passive is great for players who prefer to go from start to finish at range.

Heavy Shield: Kite Shield

Within the confines of a quaint, circular shack in the English town Wandrie is a chest with the Kite Shield — a great heavy shield that increases your damage the longer you hold the block stance. This unique trait makes it a boon to anybody considering running double shields and looking to maximize damage.

Well, what are you waiting for? Those poor English townsfolk aren’t going to chop themselves up, are they? Go get your hands on your weapon of choice asap, take a few practice swings, and let us know how it went. Also, be sure to check out our AC Valhalla archives for more guides, tips & tricks, and walkthroughs!

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