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Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a map covered in symbols, and the whole game is the question of which ones deserve a detour. Synchronise a viewpoint and a region fills with icons. None of them says what it is worth. A gold marker three minutes' climb away might be a permanent new ability or it might be a lump of metal you already have forty of.
So this hub is organised around the symbols rather than the story. Learn what each one pays and the game stops being a checklist and starts being a set of choices.
What the icons mean
| Symbol | What it is | Worth the detour? |
|---|---|---|
| Gold icon | Wealth: an ingot, gear, cargo or an ability | Depends entirely which of the four, see below |
| Triangle | An Animus Anomaly, a platforming puzzle | Eight of them, and they unlock a trophy together |
| Glowing red skull | A Cursed Symbol poisoning the ground around it | Forty in total, ten of them earn Dreamcatcher |
| Blue mask | A flyting opponent | Yes, three lines and charisma for the rest of the game |
| Blue dot | A World Event | Often, this is where the Daughters of Lerion are |
| White helmet | A Zealot, and it only appears when you are close | Only if you are hunting the Order |
The gold icon is the one that matters because there are hundreds of them. Counting every labelled Wealth chest across eight of our region guides gives 142, and just over half of those are ingots. Fourteen are Books of Knowledge, which are permanent abilities that exist exactly once each. That is the ratio to keep in your head: most gold markers are upgrade material you will spend and forget, and one in ten is something you can never get again. Our items guide has the full breakdown and the region-by-region index.
Building the character underneath it
Everything you loot resolves to one of three animals. Bear covers melee, Wolf covers the bow and Raven covers stealth, and every weapon, armour set and skill in the game is tagged with one of the three. Our best builds guide takes each of the three in turn, armor covers the sets and how to upgrade them, and weapons lists the best of each class with its alignment and quality tier.
Best skills covers the abilities worth spending points on, and if you are just starting, tips and tricks is the page to read first; it covers the things the game never explains, including how a monastery's power level tells you when you are ready to raid it.
The systems that are quietly keeping score
Valhalla runs several counters it never shows you, and the expensive one is Sigurd's opinion. Five moments in the story are graded, three wrong answers cost you the best ending, and one of them is disguised as an ordinary romance prompt, heart icon and all. Our mechanics guide lists all five alongside the settlement's building costs, the Mastery Challenge medal thresholds and the seventeen flyting opponents.
The romance side of that is worth reading before you commit to anyone, since the game allows Eivor a single partner at any given moment and at least one of the listed candidates cannot actually be won.
Things to kill and places to raid
Our bosses guide splits thirteen pages into six fights the story hands you and seven kill lists you hunt on your own, including all 45 Order of the Ancients targets. The pivot between the two halves is Leofrith: kill him and fifteen Zealots start hunting you instead of the other way round.
River Raids get two guides of their own. Locations compares the three raid maps and what gates each, and walkthroughs puts the questline in prerequisite order, from unlocking the mode at power level 131 to taking the Sword of Saint George off a champion at Deva Victrix.
The seasonal festivals are covered in events, which works out what each catalogue costs in tokens and how many minigame runs that actually is. Sigrblot's list is the more expensive of the two and the faster to clear.
Two more worth knowing about
We have a second, wealth-only pass over one region under its alternate spelling at Wincestere collectibles, which is useful if you only want the ten chests there and not the mysteries and artifacts around them.
And for the things that are not on the map at all, easter eggs and secrets collects the references hidden around England, from Desmond Miles and a Dark Souls bonfire to Hobbiton and a set of Horcruxes.
Start wherever you are stuck. If you are new, read the tips page and pick an animal. If you are mid-game and drowning in icons, read the items guide and learn which ones to walk past.