Ubisoft recently released Wrath of Druids, the first of two announced paid DLC expansions for Assassin's Creed Valhalla. It's an optional add-on, with plenty of story content, but is Eivor's fight against a cult in the lands of Ireland a canon adventure?
The DLC for Assassin's Creed Valhalla have been a mixture of free and paid content. Thus far, Ubisoft hosted two free in-game events, the Yule and Ostara Festivals. Both events added side quests, minigames, and cosmetics that were available for a limited time. Assassin's Creed Valhalla has also seen the addition of a new free game mode, River Raid, which expands on the base game's pillaging mechanic. Prior to Wrath of Druids, there were two bonus questlines available as part of larger purchases. The first, The Way of the Berserker, was only available as a pre-order bonus for Assassin's Creed Valhalla; the other, The Legend of Beowulf, is available to players who purchase the game's season pass.
But are all of these DLC releases for Assassin's Creed Valhalla canon adventures for Eivor? The answer appears to be yes. Ubisoft only refers to Wrath of Druids as "Eivor's latest journey," and never refers to it as something that takes place outside of canon events in the Assassin's Creed universe. Assassin's Creed Valhalla does have to be vague about when the DLC takes place on the timeline, since players can generally access Wrath of Druids and other DLC at any point after establishing the settlement of Ravensthorpe. This means a player could be early on in the main game, or have already beaten the main campaign. Wrath of Druids sidesteps the timing question by having a character ask Eivor about what has been happening with them and Sigurd, and Eivor responds along the lines of there being much to discuss.
How Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Druids Have Magic
Wrath of Druids and other Assassin's Creed Valhalla DLC also have to take some steps to explain some of the more mythical events that happen during the course of Eivor's adventures. Some of the cultists that Eivor hunts, for instance, demonstrate magical abilities during battle, something Wrath of Druids explains as a hallucination on Eivor's part thanks to toxic fog on the battle field. Assassin's Creed has always skirted the line between historical realism and fantasy, with gods explained as aliens and artifacts of impressive power, so Eivor's mythical adventures aren't anything new to the franchise.
Currently, the second paid DLC expansion, The Siege of Paris is scheduled to arrive some time during Summer 2021. But for fans of the more mythical side of Assassin's Creed, there's a rumor that Assassin's Creed Vallahlla could add Muspelheim to the god realms Eivor can explore while under the influence of a potion. There has been no confirmation of Muspelheim's addition by Ubisoft, let alone if it would be a free or paid update. In the meantime, players can spend several hours exploring the rolling hills of Ireland in Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Wrath of Druids expansion.
Source: Ubisoft
Assassins Creed Valhalla: Wrath of the Druids releases 13 May 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.