AC Valhalla's Dawn Of Ragnarok Should Have Come With The Season Pass
Sophia Edwards While Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s myth-themed Dawn of Ragnarök DLC brings a lot of content, its absence from the season pass feels like a mistake.
Unlike the other expansions to Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the third and final expansion pack, Dawn of Ragnarök, is notably absent from the game's season pass. Before launch, Valhalla was promised extensive post-launch content. This took the form of an exclusive mission, The Legend of Beowulf, and two expansions, Wrath of the Druids, and The Siege of Paris, along with a bunch of exclusive gear and cosmetics. Fast forward several months, however, and Dawn of Ragnarök is not only missing from the season pass, but it's as pricey as the pass itself, costing $40.00.
[Warning: Possible spoilers for Assassin's Creed Valhalla below.]
Set during Evior's past life as Odin, Dawn of Ragnarök explores the world of Norse mythology and magic. While not explicitly specified in the AC timeline, Dawn of Ragnarök is one of the oldest in the series to explore the hyper-advanced Isu culture first hand, albeit through a fantasy lens. The player has access to many abilities as Odin against a broader range of enemy types from Norse lore. Players will also get the chance to explore Svartalfheim, a new map that feels much more expansive than the vanilla Assassin's Creed Valhalla experience.
Putting aside The Legend of Beowulf - a side quest - Dawn of Ragnarök seems to be the most ambitious and otherworldly expansion yet. The first expansion pack, Wrath of the Druids, offers players the chance to explore a part of Ireland and use a new trading system. The Siege of Paris not only gives players a new location to explore but seemingly fixes a major Assassin's Creed mistake by prioritizing assassination gameplay over direct combat. In contrast to these expansions, Dawn of Ragnarök is one of the furthest from the borderline fantasy sci-fi setting of Assassin's Creed and, depending on the player, that can either be a good or bad thing.
Why Dawn Of Ragnarök Wasn't In AC Valhalla's Season Pass
Dawn of Ragnarök's absence from the Assassin's Creed Valhalla season pass could result from the amount of content in the expansion pack. From a new set of skills and powers ranging from fire and teleportation to the massively detailed Svartalfheim, Dawn of Ragnarök seems to be a massive undertaking, offering a unique experience compared to the other more grounded expansion packs. However, another reason for Dawn of Ragnarök's absence may come down to Ubisoft's use of microtransactions.
While the gameplay and setting of Dawn of Ragnarök reinvent AC Valhalla, it requires both a copy of the game to play and is level locked, requiring players to at least be level 340 or above, which equates to over 100 hours of gameplay. Fortunately for those players, Ubisoft offers XP boosts purchased with its storefront currency, Helix credits, with the cheapest booster being $10.00. With Dawn of Ragnarök and the season pass costing $40.00, it's difficult not to see Ubisoft pushing new and returning players to this "optional" time-saving booster by keeping the expansion pack out of the season pass.
Traditionally, a season pass means any post-launch content would be included for a flat price, an investment and commitment for even the most diehard fans. While Dawn of Ragnarök may be the best DLC expansion for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, it feels like a calculated push for more unnecessary purchases and could be one of the reasons why it's absent from the season pass. Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a game with plenty of things to do, and expansions like Dawn of Ragnarök should be there to enhance the player's experience and not add additional obstacles behind optional paywalls.
