Assassin's Creed Valhalla won't have any "big progression walls" in the way of the story, creative director says

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No level barriers to slow the story down, hopefully

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Assassin's Creed Valhalla won't pump the brakes on the story by hitting players with level barriers, according to creative director Ashraf Ismail.

Ismail discussed Valhalla's EXP system in an interview with Kotaku, which asked him about lessons learned from the two chief EXP complaints spawned by Assassin's Creed Origins and Odyssey. Namely: story missions abruptly jumping in level and thereby forcing players to level up by doing side quests, and the presence of EXP boosters which could be purchased for real money. 

"So we’ve reflected a lot since Origins on progression and what that means for players," Ismail explains, "and we have a new take on progression in this game. We have more the concept of power, power that is gained through, let’s say, the player gaining skills." 

Ismail stressed that Valhalla is avoiding "any kind of big progression walls" like the aforementioned level barriers that occasionally delayed story missions in Origins and Odyssey. Valhalla will no-doubt have a wealth of side content available, but if you just want to press on with the story, it sounds like you'll be able to.

Valhalla will revive some of the older aspects of Assassin's Creed, including social stealth and a proper one-hit-kill hidden blade.

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.