Ireland, a location filled with nature and mystery is the stage of the first main expansion in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. In Wrath of the Druids, Eivor sets sail to the gorgeous green fields to meet with one of his relatives. Needless to say, this isn’t just a cozy family trip, but instead, Eivor will have to prove why they call him The Wolf Kissed.
A friendly face
The start of Wrath of the Druids begins at Ravensthorpe where a mysterious character appears at the dock. After a short conversation, it’s explained that Eivor is invited to visit Ireland and meet with one of his relatives. Being invited to a foreign land by one of your long-lost nephews sounds like the plot of a scam mail but Eivor decides to take the risk. Moments after your first conversation, you’re moving forwards to Ireland to meet up with your nephew Barid mac Imair, who was crowned king of one of the settlements. The invitation wasn’t a scam and Eivor’s relative really exists. Barid is a successful and loved ruler who managed to make his settlement essential for the economy of Ireland. During your first moments in Ireland, you’ll bond with your family member by attending feasts and by talking to the inhabitants of the island, but soon you’ll learn not everything is as beautiful as the green fields themselves.
Change is coming to Ireland in the form of Flann Sinna, the man that will crown himself as High King of Ireland, granting him the power to overthrow the other rulers, including Barid mac Imair. Needless to say, Barid is a bit hesitant about this new political development and asked Eivor to help him out in this case. If it was up to Barid, these negotiations could have been peaceful but the Children of Danu thought otherwise.
Meet your enemies
Where Barid tries to convince Flann Sinna in a peaceful manner, you’ll quickly learn not everyone wants peace. The Children of Danu are the titular Druids and they want to go back to a different era. An era before the arrival of Vikings and Christianity. At its core, they want a simpler world, a world rid of conflict and corruption. They want to return to the early days of Ireland, a respectable plan if it wouldn’t cost so many lives. Needless to say, the Children of Danu aren’t afraid to shed blood in order to achieve their goals, making them your main enemy. Don’t be mistaken by their ancient looks, the Children of Danu are a force to be reckoned with and if you want to survive, you’ll better learn how to adapt and overcome quickly.
These enemies are a lot different from the ones found in the main game as they use different and confusing tactics during combat. They aren’t afraid to use a poisonous gas that will make you hallucinate during combat. Think of teleporting enemies and gigantic werewolves randomly appearing on your screen during combat. Those aren’t really the most desirable circumstances of combat so if you want to come out alive, you’ll need to change your tactics. Of course, the DLC helps you out a bit by giving you access to new powerful gear and some desperately needed skill upgrades. In Wrath of the Druids, you’ll eventually master some of the most deadly combos ever seen in an Assassin’s Creed game and if this wasn’t enough to turn the tides of combat, you’re also able to summon a deadly companion to help you out during the more crowded battles. It’s good to see that the team really found that fine line of balance in the level of difficulty. Yes, it’s harder than the main game and you’ll need to use your new weapons, gear, and skill to their full potential if you want to survive, but if you try hard enough, all is fair and you’re certainly able to bring down all your enemies.
Although I thought I found my weapon of choice in the main game, the new additions such as a quick-shot bow and arrow or scythe quickly became part of my main weapons of choice. The Children of Danu force you to fight differently and I learned the hard way that dodging and speed are crucial for your survival. As if fighting the Children themselves wasn’t hard enough already, you’ll also need to take down their accomplices during your quest while finding hints to unmask the true leader of the cult, to put him down once and for all.
Discover Ireland
Defeating the Children of Danu is your main goal in this DLC and will take you around ten hours to complete but there’s more to see than just the main story here. Just like you’re used to in any Assassin’s Creed game, you’re free to go and explore the environment. Although the team decided to digitalize certain areas of Ireland instead of the entire island, it’s still a very fun new map to explore, filled with the mysteries and side-quests you would hope for. Just don’t look surprised if you open the world map for the first time, this isn’t the Ireland you know, instead you get a more compact version of it filled to the brim with content, which is something I certainly could appreciate.
Where the map of the main game can feel overwhelming, Ireland feels like a welcomed change. Everything is easily accessible but there are tons of new things to discover, the biggest innovation is without a doubt the ability to smuggle and trade goods. Eivor will learn to master and manipulate the global trading routes, giving him access to powerful gear from all over the world; think of Russian armor for example. Of course, in order to trade, you’ll need goods and for that, you’ll need trading posts. By attacking and conquering strategically placed trading posts, Eivor can quickly become a true kingpin in the scene by trading popular Irish items for more exotic ones. It’s a fun new mechanic in which you can easily sink a lot of extra hours during your time with Wrath of the Druids. It’s one of those mechanics I hope will stick around in the next Assassin’s Creed entries.
Conclusion:
Wrath of the Druids is the perfect example of a DLC expansion done right. It adds a thrilling and mysterious story to the world of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, set in a completely new environment. Ireland feels like home and it’s a pleasure discovering each and every secret of the new map. If you’re a fan of the main game, this is a no-brainer and paves the way for future expansions. If Ubisoft manages to keep up this quality, Valhalla might go down in history as the best Assassin’s Creed ever created.
