Discovery Tour: Viking Age

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Discovery Tour: Viking Age is the Discovery Tour educational mode for Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. It was released as a free downloadable addition on 19 October 2021 and is available for free to those who own the base game, or for purchase as a stand-alone version on PC.

Gameplay

In the game, players are able to freeroam and explore the maps of Norway and Anglo-Saxon England and learn about both countries' histories. Unlike previous installments which employed the use of guided tours, Discovery Tour: Viking Age will see players assume the roles of various characters and take on quests with the aim of bringing them closer to the material by putting them at the center of it.

Memories

Oaths & Honour	Through Faith & Fire	Seaworthy	Into the West
A Barter for Peace	Aelfred's Legacy	New Life, New Lands	Where Fates Align

Codex

Learnings

War & Politics

A Familiar Battleground	A "Heathen" Army?	A Warrior's Tools	Alfred and the "English"
Anglo-Saxon Warfare	Baptism and Victory	Horses and Warfare	Keeping Allies Close
Kin and Household	King and Clergy	King Harald Fairhair	Military Leadership
Military Organization	Peacemaking, Peacebreaking	Scouts Before the Storm	The Battle of Edington
The Burh	The Clan	The Félag, or Fellowship	The Fyrd, or Militia
The Gift of East Anglia	The Great Hall	The Rise of Alfred	The Roman Fortress
The Seven Kingdoms	The Treaty with Guthrum	The Truce of Wedmore	The Witan
Trust and Oathkeeping	Viking Warfare	What is an "Anglo-Saxon"?	What was a King?

Daily Life

Alrekstad	Anglo-Saxon Homes	Chippenham	Conditions on Board
Cook and Kitchen	Curing Fish	Dividing the Land	Dividing the Spoils
Do You Speak "Viking"?	Fashion: A Status Symbol	Games and Sports	Grooming and Hygiene
Gunnhilda	Household Slaves	Marriage Between Peoples	Monasteries: Many Roles
Naming the Land	Nutrition on Board	Seafaring	Stavanger
Staying the Winter	The Boender, or Freemen	The Ceorls, or Freemen	The City of Winchester
The Ealdormen	The Freewomen	The Land of Ice and Snow?	The Thegns
The Town of Jorvik	Thorsteinn Silvertongue	Who Was in the "Army"?	Why Leave Scandinavia?

Religion & Magic

A Life of Prayer	A Strict Diet	Bishops: A Divided Duty	Blessing the Ship
Christianization	Church Power Structure	Church Testimonies	Destiny and Ancestry
Ely, a Monastery for All	Hamingja: A Family Spirit	Magic and Medicine	Monasteries: A Quiet Place
Norse Religion	Relics and Saints	Ships: Between Two Worlds	The Church Altar
The Cross and the Hammer	The Hours of the Day	The Megalith	The Move to Christianity
The Old Minster	The Old Norse Idea of Self

Myths & Legends

A Sacrifice for Wisdom	Across the Rainbow Bridge	Animal Taboos	Divinities of the Sea
Giants: Children of Ymir	Lands of the Dead	Lands of the Dead II	Loki the Trickster
Mystery of the Shore	Odin: The All-father	Taboos on the High Seas	The Elk, or Elgr
The Goddess Freyja	The Horse, or Hestr	The Iron Will of Fate	The Legendary Brothers
The Nine Realms	The Norns: Keepers of Fate	The Sacred Mead of Poetry	The Sea: A Spiritual Being
The Snake, or Ornir	The Völva: A Soothslayer	The Well of Mimir	Thor, God of Thunder
Yggdrasil: The World Tree

Science

Anglo-Scandinavian Farming	Bioarchaeology	Medicines and Medics	Medieval Christian Medicine
Parchment: Made to Last	Telling Time	The Art of Making Charcoal	The Cargo Ship: The Knorr
The Coastal Trader	The Four Humours	The Hull and Mast	The Navigator
The Sail	The Ordeal of the Copyist

Law & Justice

Feuds and Vengeance	Justice and Honour	Mannhelgi: A Sacred Space	Mannjafnadr: A War of Words
The Art of Illumination	The Gothi, or Lawkeeper	The Horror of Banishment	The Thing, or Assembly

Art & Culture

A New, Mixed Identity	Anglo-Scandinavian Fashion	Old English Literature	Runes and Runestones
Stone Sculptures	The Scriptorium	The Figurehead	The Skald and His Art

Trade & Economy

Alfred's Silver Coins	Bartering and Hacksilver	Destinations of the Voyagers	Jorvik: Conquest to Boom
Raiding the Monasteries	Slavery	The Longship, or Langskip	The Market of Coppergate
The Mint of Jorvik	The North Way	The World Comes to Jorvik	What's a "Wic?"

Behind the scenes

England

Jorvik's ArchitectureLandscaping EnglandYork the Haunted

Jorvik—now called York—is a great example of how Anglo-Saxon and Norse civilizations merged over time. Its multiple docks and narrow streets filled with exotic supplies welcomed international traders year-round

To represent this thriving hub, Level Artists and Level Designers used Coppergate one of the city's most notorious landmarks.

Known at the time as the "Cup Street"—where merchants sold handmade cups and pots—it was taken as a reference and extended to the rest of the town. With its small wooden houses and stalls built tightly together Jorvik contrasts with stone-built Anglo-Saxon towns.

Production insights kindly provided by Associate Level Design Director Junjie Lin, Level Artist Danny Hung, and Level Designers Israel Chua and Julien Koch (Ubisoft Singapore).

To replicate England's diverse flora was no small feat. The developers wanted it to be accurate and help players navigate the map.

First, the World Design team created a Season Map: England was divided into four areas, each allocated a season.

Each season had its own variety of vegetation, from grass to trees, and its own Humidity Layer, which helped determine the type of soil in each area: lush, dry or wetland.

With these in hand the Level Artists and Designers could implement the right type of flora in the world, and created different landscapes using rocks and trees. Therefore, each region has diverse but coherent scenery, engaging players to explore the map meticulously.

Production insights provided by Level Artists Joël Pelletant and Adrien Paguet-Brunella, Technical Artist Pierre-Alexandre, and Assistant Artistic Director Vladimir Eskandari (Ubisoft Montréal).

Rumor has it York is one of England's most haunted cities!

Built by the Romans, it is said that ghosts of fallen soldiers still roam the city, inspiring a locally-brewered beverage—the Centurion's Ghost.

To emulate this mystical atmosphere, Level Designers took the opportunity to place an underground location reusing Roman-era abandoned sewers. It's a way for players to walk around unnoticed...

But what if the ghost rumors are true?

Immersion

Colouring the WorldMysterious ForestsOn Liquid GoldPhotogra-wha?Safe and Sound?

As it turns out, early medieval times were full of colours, from paintings and clothing to flowers and vegetables! To break the prejudice against the this time period, Artists, Modelers, and Texturers made sure to implement vivid colours where they could.

But as always, it's a fine balance to find between gameplay needs and historical accuracy. In some cases, developers chose to stick with one colour despite Historians' complaints.

For example, pigs and carrots in AC Valhalla are pink and white respectively; although pigs at the time were brown-ish in complexion and carrots had a wide range of colours, from white to purple.

This choice helps with comprehension of the world, but also for consistency when certain objects are used in gameplay, such as the explosive red oil jars. Hence, one distinct colour makes items easily identifiable.

Level Artists and Designers used different types of forest to structure England's king:

- oak trees, ivy, and rowan in Wessex
- heather fields, Scots Pine trees, moss and willow trees in East Anglia
- beech trees, bluebells, and autumnal birch trees in Mercia
- tundra bushes, Western gorse, with dead and frozen trees in Northumbria

Ubisoft Sofia even recreated Wistman's Wood in Hamtunscire using the pictures the development team took during their scouting trip!

To do so, they integrated old medium-sized trees, a smattering of rocks, a soupcon of moss, and a bit of fog to complete this ominous atmosphere.

Production insights kindly provided by Assistant Artistic Director Vladimir Eskandari, Artistic Director Raphael Lacoste, Art Director Eddie Bennun, Level Artist Adrien Paguet-Brunella (Ubisoft Montréal).

"Honeymoon" referred to the Scandinavian practice of giving newlyweds a moon cycle's worth of mead (a beverage brewed with honey, water, and yeast).

But honey was valued by Angles and Norsemen alike, it was then vital for the developers to represent the bee-keeping practice as faithfully as possible.

Depending on each region's real flora, fields of flaxseeds, poppies, and heather were designed and implemented by Modelers and Level Artists—the flowers used a seamless way to guide players through their environment.

The beehives, seem from afar, also act as a natural marker (a beecon?), and are surrounded by NPCs collecting the honey.

Production insights kindly provided by Modeler Laurie Durant and Level Artist Stéphane Joncas (Ubisoft Montréal).

Photogrammetry is an innovative technique for in-game textures.

Determined to illustrate accurate surfaces, the Graphics team travelled to England to capture every inch of stone walls and pavements, sometimes for twelve hours straight! A three-metre wall would take 250 pictures, stitched together by specialized software.

The final result is a 3D file with colours and depths, designed into tileable textures. These textures are then used by Level Artists and Modelers to add onto buildings.

To push this realism further, the Graphics team also added uneven silhouettes with protruding stones, slate angles, and damaged areas.

Information kindly provided by Graphics Team Lead Alfredo Cristinziano and Modeler Olivier Carignan (Ubisoft Montréal).

Creating an immersive world also includes the sounds triggered when Eivor interacts with her/his surroundings.

Shown here are coloured surfaces that play a specific sound when the player walks on them. Yes, every item with sound and animation is labeled in the game's engine!

A brown square indicates a wooden sound, while yellow squares signal a fabric-like sound. When the player walks on or touches one of these hidden squares, the noise it's linked to triggers automatically.

But there's another side to this coin: with this system, developers were also able to create noise traps that can reveal the player's presence to nearby enemies!

Production insights kindly provided by Modeler Benoit Lebel (Ubisoft Montréal).

The Assassin's ArtilleryThe Music of AC ValhallaUse ProtectionWelcome to Asgard

200 unique weapon models were designed for AC Valhalla.

After thorough historical research, Modeling Artists had the difficult task of designing realistic but spectacular weapons. Talk about a brain-twister!

The flail was also added to the arsenal as a unique form of weaponry, even though flails weren't used by soldiers in battle but by peasants during harvest.

To enjoy these weapons even more, new fighting styles were created. Players can now fight with a weapon in each hand—the dual-wielding—or hit foes with their shield!

Production insights kindly provided by Assistant Artistic Director Vladimir Eskandari (Ubisoft Montréal) and Art Director John-Paul Tan (Ubisoft Phillipines).

Music is at the core of AC Valhalla's experience, defining territories and moods. To create an acoustic dichotomy between Norsemen and Angles, Norway's music borrows sounds from rituals and daily life, while England's music revolves more around the Church.

In total, it's 5 hours of music that were composed through the collaboration of Jesper Kyd, Sarah Schachner, and Einar Selvik.

But the music doesn't stop there!

To the uncontrollable delight of AC Black Flag fans, sea shanties were also added to AC Valhalla. They are sung as Eivor sails on the longship, by none other than Einar Selvik—skald Bragi in the game!

Production insights kindly provided by Audio Director Aldo Sampaio, Music Supervisor Simon Landry and Audio Designer Alexandre Poirer (Ubisoft Montréal).

Shields played an important role in the Viking and Anglo-Saxon fighting techniques, and in AC Valhalla as well.

Used in the game to differentiate clans and factions, each one has its own shape, paint model, colour pattern and emblem.

A new gameplay element was also added: the shield degradation. With each hit, an enemy's shield loses a piece until it's destroyed, and players can also now attack using their shields.

Little known fact: it was common for vendors to walk around the battlefield, supplying clients with replacements shields and weapons! What an we say, Vikings were resourceful!

Production insights kindly provided by Modeler Benoit Lebel (Ubisoft Montréal).

Being the land of mighty gods], Asgard had to be scaled accordingly.

To create this sense of magnitude, Level Designers played on heights, with towers that reach up into the sky to meet the immense branches of Yggdrasil, the mythical world-tree.

The wolf Fenrir went through the same fate. Indeed, the infamous beast is ten times the size of a normal wolf, thanks to the Character Modelers.

To set AC Valhalla's Asgard apart, developers focused on depicting the myths of the Viking sagas, with doors to other realms, well of Norns, and so on, combined with glimpses of Eivor's past life and memories.

A shame it will all be destroyed come Ragnarök!

Production insights kindly provided by Level Deisng Assistant Director Eric Porowski (Ubisoft Montréal).

Research

A Humble AbodeAnimus, Translate 'Skål!'CheckmateLong Live the King

The castles of England were meant to be seen from afar by anyone seeking refuge. Except, rulers didn't really account for their castles also attracting Vikings!

All fortified areas in AC Valhalla were inspired by the castles the development team visited while in England: Portchester, Derby, Goodrich, Housesteads Roman Fort at Hadrian's Wall... The Castle Trefaldwyn in Wales inspired the fictional Caustow Castle, a fort in the Scriopescire region.

In AC Valhalla, castles are a telltale sign of great bounty to collect during raids, and lords will often retreat behind a castle's protective walls when fleeing from Eivor.

They can run but they can't hide!

Production insights kindly provided by Raphaël Lacoste, Vladimir Eskandari, and Oliver Carignan (Ubisoft Montrëal).

It seems that Vikings and Ango-Saxons could roughly understand each other at the time, as both of their languages sounded similar and had diverged only a few centuries before.

To help actors during records, the Voice Design team relied on linguists, such as Runoloist Maja Bäckvall (Uppsala University).

Lines were then written in three versions: in English or context, in the original language (Latin, Old Norse, Old English), and in phonetics for accurate pronunciation.

Interestingly, it felt quite natural for Icelandic actors to pronounce Old Norse. They wouldn't need a dictionary if their great-great-great-great-grandparents were around to translate!

Production insights kindly provided by Voice Designer Nicholas Grimwood (Ubisoft Montréal).

AC Valhalla is set during a tense political climate. English kingdoms were fighting one another as well as trying to ward off Viking attacks.

Hence, maps are displayed in the game as battle plans. To help players visualize friends and foes, chess pieces were designed.

The 3D Modeling team first created items inspired by an early Scandinavian chess set, the Hnefatafl, which was combined with the Lewis chess pieces. Found in Scotland, they were crafted out of walrus tusks and whale teeth in the 12th century.

This design merged English and Scandinavian heritage into a unique item.

Production insights kindly provied by 3D Modelers Audrey Murray, Katy Bouvier, Gabriel Blanchard, and Benoît Lebel (Ubisoft Montreal).

As King Alfred is a historical figure, Artists and Modelers had a lot of documentation to help with his design.

With pre-established features (age, height, backstory) kept as accurate as possible, his appearance had to represent his royal demeanor but also his weakened state—he suffered from Chron's disease.

This contrast was made through the design of his clothes, hair, and facial features.

As one of the main characters in AC Valhalla, seen up-close in multiple cinematics, it was imperative to design every detail meticulously. So much so that it took ten days to design his hair!

Production insights kindly provided by Artists Jeff Simpson, Yelim Kim, and Pierre Raveneau (Ubisoft Montreal).

Take a Leap of FaithThe Die is CastThe LonghouseThe Myth of Horned Helmets

As the monastery of Ely has been destroyed. Level Designers and Artists had to draw their inspiration elsewhere. More specifically, from the Saint-Martin-du-Canigou Abbey in France.

Despite the construction being two centuries older than AC Valhalla's time period, it offered interesting architecture for the players to enjoy: atop a hill for great scenery, a cloister to clear the perspective, and the bell tower to provide an iconic viewpoint.

Finally, an underground tunnel was added, a unique feat perfect for a surprise attack.

But some things remain accurate! Several eels were placed in the waters circling the monastery—a nod to the feature that gave its name.

Production insights kindly provided by Level Artists Sébastien Maingot and Sébastien Genest (Ubisoft Montreal).

Even warriors get some playtime.

Indeed, it seems that Vikings played board games that involved throwing small objects, such as carved wooden figures. However, the team couldn't find any clear rules for these games.

But all hope wasn't lost; the developers at Singapore Vengdu and Montreal studios all came together to invent new rules and mocked-up their prototypes in a tabletop simulator.

Everyone on the team could experience (and enjoy!) the evolving versions of the Orlog 2.0.

A first physical prototype was also made, using real dice that were painted over. The game of Orlog was (re)born.

AC Valhalla's version of the Orlog was so loved by fans that Ubisoft partnered with PureArts to produce real life Orlog sets!

Production insights kindly provided by Game Director Benoit Richer, Technical Design Director Oliver Bodwell, and Game Director Eric Baptizat (Ubisoft Montreal).

As longhouses were at the centre of Norse communities, it was only natural that they'd be at the forefront of AC Valhalla.

Just like any true Viking, Eivor hosts feats, plans battles, and sleeps in her/his longhouse. But what about its design?

The Art Direction team first took a scouting trip to Lofoten, Norway, to immerse themselves in the land and bring back references. From these pictures, Modelers and Artists designed variations of paint patterns, carved animals, frescos etc. for players to enjoy and use to customize their settlement.

Anglo-Saxon longhouses, on the other hand, were designed with different materials, such as hay and lime, and less detailed engravings. Can't have them steal the show!

Production insights kindly provided by Brand Artistic Director Raphaël Lacoste, Assistant Artistic Director Vladimir Eskandari (Ubisoft Montreal), Level Artist Janice Leng (Ubisoft Singapore), and Environment Artist Martin Bonev (Ubisoft Sofia).

To make it short: Vikings did not, in fact, wear horned helmets.

The misconception came from the Wagnerian opera, The Ring of the Nibelung (1876). Horned and winged helmets were then part of the actor's costumes, a way for the warriors to seem more grandiose on stage.

Ever since then, depictions of Vikings wearing big horned helmets were in plentiful supply, and this wrongful image has persisted to this day.

Beside the fact that horned helmets would have been anything but practical on the battlefield, it seems that the very few ones found by archeologists were only used for ritual purposes.

- Who's ready to be the party pooper come Halloween?

Production insights kindly provided by Historian Patrice Hamel (Ubisoft Montreal).

Scandinavia

Creating Eivor's LongshipDesigning StavangerNew Game, New Crest

Can't make a Viking game without an awesome longship!

After all, Norsemen are renowned for their boat-building craftsmanship to this day.

To do it justice, Modelers (Montreal) built the dimensions and shapes, while Artists (Singapore) created 48 different variations of longboats with stunning designs inspired by Norse mythology.

The outcome speaks for itself: a slick, clinker-built hull for hydro-dynamism, shallow keels to sail in low waters, and even a removable mast to pass under bridges!

May you have fair winds and following seas!

Production insights kindly provide by modeler Katy Bouvier (Ubisoft Montréal), Art Director Yeau Choong Yap (Ubisoft Singapore).

Stavanger, as with many cities in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, is based on an existing city.

To reconstruct it, Level Designers and Artists used maps, pictures and drawings by Archaeologist Jean-Claude Golvin as references, adding alterations for gameplay purposes.

While not all towns resembled Golvin's drawings, some iconic details helped give a "Scandinavian signature" to the towns and settlements of the game, easily recognizable by players.

Narrow streets, docks, and a salient longhouse in the distance... They all incite exploration and the need for adventure.

Production insights kindly provided by Brand Artistic Director Raphael Lacoste and Assistant Artistic Director Vladimir Eskandari (Ubisoft Montréal).

It's difficult to set oneself apart in a sea of Viking-themed media. But it was the challenge Marketing and Art teams faced when creating AC Valhalla's visual identity. Together, they designed logos and crests, and selected fonts, colours, and interfaces.

As a result, fifty different logos were created for the brand to find the right fit: the two-axes logo on the bottom right of this picture.

The turquoise colour was added early-on, as a nod to the aurora borealis that illuminate the Norwegian skies.

Two axes (for dual-wielding) form the the A of Assassin's Creed.

At their end, the outline of a longhouse rooftop, with delicate engravings to underline Norse crafting skills.

Finally, the faded grid in the background serves as a reminder of the Animus simulation.

Production insights kindly provided by Artistic Director - Visual Conception Nicolas Rivard (Ubisoft Montréal).

The Creation of EivorWhite Landscapes

Every detail matters when designing a main character. Personality, backstory, mannerisms... Eivor the "Wolf-Kissed" must have a noticeable scar and tattoos to represent past events, beliefs, and clan affiliation.

A mood board was made with various references, from Mad Max's Furiosa to Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell, which allowed Concept Artists to create composition (silhouettes, shapes) and concepts.

Then, the Character Modelers designed the details (hair styles, tattoos, outfits, an even leather stitching), while Animators focused on body movement and facial expressions.

Finally, actors Magnus Bruun Nielssen and Cecile Stenspil were cast to give Eivor a voice, tailored to her or his personality.

- It's alive! Alive!

For player's to recognize their surroundings easily, developers wanted to create a clash between the English and Norwegian maps.

Thus, Norwegian landscapes are covered with ice and snow, with little road to travel by land. While ancient Scandinavia wasn't as barren as we're made to believe, the harsh and uninviting land depicted in AC Valhalla means to push the players towards England and continue Eivor's journey.

To do so, Level Artists, Tech Artists, and Level Designers used the Lofoten Islands as a visual reference to emulate its rough landscapes. Through shapes and outlines, the designers made the world feel treacherous, while England's flora is lush and lively.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the sea!

Characters

Image	Name	Description	Availability
	King Alfred	Protected Wessex against Vikings and promoted literacy amongst his people.	Visit 70 Discovery Sites
	Basim ibn Ishaq	Basim is calculating, an agent of chaos, a fickle trickster, and capricious.	Visit 5 Behind the Scenes stations
	Ceolbert	The son of a noble, he finds himself embroiled in his father's political affairs.	Visit 30 Discovery Sites
	Brother Ealric	Ealric is a kind, determined monk, whose aim is to share his faith and love for his God.	Unlocked by default
	Eivor (Female)	Protagonist of AC Valhalla, Eivor is a skilled fighter and strategist.	Unlocked by default
	Eivor (Male)	Protagonist of AC Valhalla, Eivor is a skilled fighter and strategist.	Unlocked by default
	Freyja	Goddess of fertility and magic, she rules over Fólkvangr.	Visit 90 Discovery Sites
	Fulke	Clandestine member of the Order of the Ancients.	Visit 20 Discovery Sites
	Gunnhilda	Gunnhilda is a weaver. Tenacious, practical, and married to Thorsteinn.	Visit 5 Discovery Sites
	Hytham	Basim's disciple, Hytham is incurably optimistic and endlessly curious.	Visit 10 Behind the Scenes stations
	Ivarr the Boneless	An historic Viking conqueror and the inspiration for many a saga.	Visit 15 Behind the Scenes stations
	Layla Hassan	Member of the Brotherhood and former employee of Abstergo Industries.	Unlocked by default
	Loki	Loki is the god of mischief. And mischievous he is indeed.	Complete the Where Fates Align quest
	Odin	As the mightiest god of all, Odin seeks exemption from any binding fate.	Visit 50 Discovery Sites
	Randvi	Randvi is a War Chief and wife of Sigurd. She's ruthless but boisterous.	Visit 80 Discovery Sites
	Rebecca Crane	She is the creator of the Animus 2.0.	Visit 20 Behind the Scenes stations
	Shaun Hastings	Gives tactical guidance to numerous Assassin cells across the globe.	Visit all 25 Behind the Scenes stations
	Sigurd Styrbjornsson	Eivor's adoptive brother, he is strong, fearless and charismatic.	Visit 60 Discovery Sites
	Soma	Soma, Jarl of Cambridge, is friendly, determined and empathetic.	Visit 10 Discovery Sites
	Stowe	Stowe has a strong sense of purpose in helping others, despite his temper.	Visit 40 Discovery Sites
	Thor	God of thunder, god of the people, giant slayer... Which is the most accurate?	Visit all 92 Discovery Sites
	Thorsteinn Silvertongue	Patient, honourable, Thorsteinn yearns to be a great merchant. Married to Gunnhilda.	Unlocked by default
	Valka	Valka is a seeress. She practices Seidr [Magic] and brings counsel to Eivor	Complete the Aelfred's Legacy quest
	Young Sigurd	Eivor's adoptive brother, as a child.	Unlocked by default

Gallery

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