After a slight delay, the first expansion for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is almost here. With the intent of bringing Eivor to the Emerald Isle, Wrath of the Druids is bringing the epic Viking game to Ireland with a DLC that is essentially what we all expected, as well as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (our recap of the base game can be found here ).
The story of Wrath of the Druids takes Eivor to Ireland to reunite with his lost cousin Barid, the current king and ruler of Dublin. When he arrives at the place, Eivor discovers that Barid wants to find a place in the ranks of Flann Sinna, the new High King of Ireland who wants to unite the country despite strong opposition. It is up to Eivor to help the other kings of Ireland and convince them to take Sinna’s side so that he can see his cousin with good eyes and end the tension between the Danes and the Irish.
Unlike the main game, it won’t be forever before Wrath of the Druids has explored and conquered everything before your eyes. It’s a more concise adventure in an open world smaller than England. Much like the England of Valhalla, Ireland in this expansion is not the whole region but part of it and if we were to make an estimate it would probably be similar to Norway or a little smaller.
Most of the time, this DLC doesn’t deviate from the usual AC norm: Valhalla. Although the map shows the lush green lands of Ireland, it resembles England, which doesn’t detract from its beauty. The activities and the enemies to fight are also very similar. Don’t get us wrong, there is a whole bunch of new content out there that will take your time, but if you expect something completely different from Valhalla, you will be disappointed.
The biggest novelty in Wrath of the Druids is the trading system. In it, you basically have to raise Dublin’s reputation by entering into trade agreements, generating exotic resources, and sending them to distant locations for rewards. These resources are obtained by traveling around Ireland and opening chests or, alternatively, finding resource trading posts and using the supplies obtained during the raids to passively generate exotic resources in real time. In essence, it is what it meant to build Ravensthorpe, albeit with a few additional mechanics.
In addition, as mentioned earlier, Eivor also has to fulfill some duties of other kings of Ireland in order to make good friends with Flann Sinna. These quests can be found in the dovecotes that are scattered around the map and are secondary missions. Everyone asks you to do things like steal jewels, kill a target, or destroy a camp, but the key is that each bring additional goals that will increase the reward for completing them. Surprisingly, these completely change the focus of the mission as there are some that only require you to kill the required targets, while others require you to remain completely anonymous or take no harm. The rewards may not always be worth it, but at least they give reasons not to throw yourself into the big ax in hand and say “By Odin!”
When it comes to the world, it’s your turn to raid, loot chests full of riches, destroy cursed symbols, build stone towers, find books full of knowledge to gain new skills, and complete altars, but this time there are no world events to discover … In their place we have new activities like the Morrigan Trials, which essentially consist of small hallucinogenic combat scenarios in which Eivor has to survive. the Uí Néill masks for opening special chests; and a couple of new Drengrs to take down. There are also the occasional legendary creatures directly associated with Celtic culture.
On the other hand, the Druids are the greatest addition when it comes to new types of enemies, as the name suggests. They are similar to bandits except that they often use strange skills or rare weapons such as poisoned swords or have the gift of transforming themselves into werewolves, although this is more of an illusion caused by the strange fog that plagues certain parts of Ireland. Mostly they are elite enemies who challenge Eivor in battle, some even with animal companions, and are closely linked to the cult of the Children of Danu, the DLC equivalent of the Order of the Ancients.
This new organization is an ancient Druid cult that seeks to take control of Ireland and free it from those who disobey their pagan beliefs, including King Flann Sinna and the Danes led by Barin. Although there aren’t as many in Valhalla as their counterparts, Danu’s sons must collect clues to reveal their identities.
Wrath of the Druids is a similar approach to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, backed up by exciting new activities and content. Since the base game is as incredible as it is, an expansion that brings more of what we love so much with a Celtic touch makes for an extremely enjoyable experience. Although the DLC is smaller than Valhalla, its more precise map prevents it from looking bloated and creates a miniature adventure that is much easier to digest.
