The latest trilogy of Assassin’s Creed has been a bit different, hasn’t it? Less worried about stealth, more focused on creating a sprawling adventure with a silly number of synchonisation points, the key difference to the latest series of games has been the inclusion of player agency through the RPG elements within the games.
Do an activity, get a neat little level-up power boost straight out of Dragon Ball Z, and watch your stats climb. For RPG fans, it has been a joy to see your character climb from Viking wannabe to legendary Dreigr in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. That being said, the entire process is a bit of a slow one. After fifty hours in the game, I’d only reached a power level of around 250ish, regularly plugging the two skill points I got with every increase in level into the mysterious stat-point mists to gain a slight edge.
If you’re planning to be invested in Valhalla, that’s fine. But if you’re looking for a speedier path to power, well big surprise! You can now do so for a price. A mere month or so after it launched, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla now has XP boosters up for sale. Spotted by Game Informer, 1000 Helix credits ($10) will get you a permanent 50% increase to acquired XP or you can throw 1500 Helix points ($15) to get the XP boost and a 50% increase to acquired money.
Ubisoft’s reasoning for offering the boosters is that it wants to give players more options for advancing their progression. “Utilities [the item category in the Valhalla store] allow players who lack the time to fully explore the world of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla to be able to acquire the game’s best gear, as well as other items, by accelerating their progress,” the company said to GI in a statement.
For instance, these players can purchase maps that uncover some interesting locations in the world, but would still have to visit and play them to get their rewards.
These boosters will likely earn Ubisoft an entire longship’s worth of silver as well, which for the publisher is a happy side effect on top of Valhalla raking in all the sales during the launch of next-gen consoles. What a strange coincidence. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is still a fantastic game though, especially now that recent patches have smoothed over several crippling bugs within it. Which seems to be a running theme at the end of the 2020 video game year.
Last Updated: December 17, 2020
Mandalorian Jim
December 17, 2020 at 10:00
Ubisoft… buddy, you did such a great job on Immortals Fenyx, and just when we start thinking, “Man, those frenchies aren’t sleazy little shits, they pull this crap again…”
Krabby Paddy
December 17, 2020 at 10:16
I think sleazy big shits is more accurate. In their defence it is very hard to now think of a big game publisher that isn’t though. They are in it to maximize profit and we the consumer enable them to be more sleazy about how they do it.
Mandalorian Jim
December 17, 2020 at 10:19
To think, not so long ago, I would have said “But… CD Projekt Red…” https://media4.giphy.com/media/fqHkeAzgD437O/giphy.gif
MechMachine
December 17, 2020 at 10:58
Compare The Witcher to Witcher 3. There is a measure of comfort to be had if you look at it from that perspective.
Krabby Paddy
December 17, 2020 at 10:28
Jip, sad but true. I think a lot of people are feeling too sad by this to be angry.
Mandalorian Jim
December 17, 2020 at 11:00
Yeah, I’m not even angry… just so dismally disappointed.
MechMachine
December 17, 2020 at 10:58
Compare The Witcher to Witcher 3. There is a measure of comfort to be had if you look at it from that perspective.
Krabby Paddy
December 17, 2020 at 11:03
So I feel that the way they went about releasing Cyberpunk 2077, knowing it wasn’t ready, especially for consoles and having strict embargoes to hide it, was very sleazy. I also feel one can’t compare The Witcher to Witcher 3 development with what has happened with Cyberpunk 2077. The Witcher was a game made by a small team and although quite flawed was fun (for me anyway). The way they learned and grew to release The Witcher 3, which was a high quality game, was great and needs to be commended. Cyberpunk is also by no means a bad game. I know you adore it and I can see why, even if I don’t quite feel the same. Some day 1 launch hiccups and bugs are also fine. However for many it isn’t just minor issues, the game is unplayable and CDPR must have known this and this why they have lost the trust of many who are now left to feel bitterly disappointed.