Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the most successful title in the franchise so far; the game managed to beat the previous game’s (initial sales) record in just 24 hours. Unfortunately, though, the game has been suffering from a series of bugs and technical problems such as screen tearing; a company the size of Ubisoft obviously would not leave its “golden goose” without fixes, right? Of course not: a patch is coming out today that brings several bug and performance fixes and will also add performance and graphics modes. For those who want to know all the improvements and updates, I have left the full description below. Check it out:

Patch sizes and deployment times:

• Xbox Series X|S – 5.3 GB
• Xbox One – 4.9 GB
• PlayStation 5 – 2.5 GB
• PlayStation 4 – 4.1 GB
• PC: – 4.3 GB

Please note that these times are estimates and subject to change.

Check out the most notable changes with 1.0.4 below.

Content

Introduction of the graphics/performance mode Added an option to the game that lets players choose between Performance or Visual Quality:

• This option is available for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.
• The Performance choice allows the game to adapt resolution and graphics settings to maintain 60 FPS.
• The Quality choice allows the game to run at maximum resolution and graphics settings, maintaining 30 FPS.
• The defaults since the game’s launch are as follows:
• Xbox Series X / PlayStation 5: Performance
• Xbox Series S: Quality

Miscellaneous

• Added a new background image to the title screen.
• Added several VFX to improve visuals.
• Added an option that will automatically assign all nodes on the path when acquiring a core skill.
• Added rune categories to the rune menu. All runes are now categorized into weapon runes and armor runes.
• Added a warning when switching from a language that supports TTS to one that does not.
• Sliders can now be moved with the left/right arrows on M&K and controllers.
• Increased the cloth cap to 82.
• Added cloth to merchants once the deal reached Level 6.
• Added offering altar requirements to the world map.

Balance

• Updated gear quality and gear to their correct values.
• Added assassination damage stats to the character stats page.
• Removed duplicate gear from the inventory.
• Heavy and light attack stats will now adjust correctly based on acquired skill nodes.
• Heavy attack modifiers will no longer be applied to ranged attacks.

Game improvements

Performance and Stability

• Improved stability and performance.
• (Xbox Series) Improved experience on Xbox Series S | X consoles including screen tearing
• (PC) Addressed a VRAM/RAM leak issue when alt-tabbing to the desktop.

Save games

• Fixed some instances where Load Game did not display save games correctly.
• Renamed cloud saves to make them more distinct from regular saves.
  • Previously, cloud saves were only highlighted with a cloud icon. Now they will be called, for example, “Manual Save Cloud”
• Removed cloud saves from the Save menu. This will ensure they cannot be overwritten by accident.
• Added a notification when a cloud save retrieval failed.

Graphics, Audio, Animation

• Addressed various graphical issues across the board.
• Addressed various FX issues.
• Addressed various instances of clipping issues.
• Addressed various visual issues with Eivor’s cloak.
• Addressed various instances of player or NPC animation issues.
• Addressed various audio issues.
• Addressed various lighting issues.
• Shadow resolution on High will now use correct values.

World

• Addressed various texture or object placement issues.
• Addressed some cases where the player could get stuck in specific locations.
• Fish in Norway will now spawn in bad weather. Yes, we had to read that twice as well.
• Ravens will no longer randomly fall from the sky in Asgard. * Bad omens, huh?*

Gameplay, Combat, AI

• Addressed various aiming issues.
• Improved NPC and Boss behavior across the board.
• NPCs will now react to the player stealing… so think twice before stealing!
• Addressed an issue where dogs would start levitating when Eivor starts petting them.
• Blocking Springald projectiles will now consume stamina, as intended.
• Zealots that were hit with a sleep dart can now be attacked. Sleep tight.
• Zealots will no longer heal while in the vicinity of players.
• Guards who clearly saw Eivor shoot their ally will now become hostile. *presses panic button*
• Guards will now hear the impact of bodies falling to the ground.
• Better guard reactions to whistling.
• Better disguise behavior in suspicion zones.
• Shooting Longship bows now consumes arrows.
• Players will now be able to assassinate sleeping NPCs. *Savage…*
• Improved fish flopping behavior.
• Addressed an issue where the horse would not use the gallop animation in combat.
• Crowds will now cheer during drinking games. Better you.
• Reworked sliding mechanic.

Quests, World Events, Side Activities

• Addressed an issue where the assassination sequence would not play for some targets.
• Addressed various texture issues during cutscenes.
• Addressed various issues with quests or world events that prevented players from completing them.
• Players can no longer use the fishing tool or the horn during the drunken walk with Tewdr – *you are drunk, go home.*
• Sub-quests will now display the correct parent quest “Part”.
• The memory stream can now be chosen when starting a new game if the Hold Alternative option is set to ON.
• Increased the frequency of seasoned travelers.

User Interface / HUD

• Addressed various User Interface/HUD issues.
• Addressed various localization issues.
• Addressed various input issues related to mouse and keyboard
• Secrets will now be discovered when synchronizing a Viewpoint. (This does not apply to Pathfinder difficulty)
• Seasoned travelers are now highlighted on the world map and compass when nearby.
• Addressed an issue where the map would not update when players obtained information from a seasoned traveler.
• Odin’s Sight radius increased and enemies will now be highlighted for longer. ️️
• Improved radius in which Sýnin reveals keys.
• Reduced Sýnin’s material viewing distance.
• Improved objective beam behavior.
• Settlement building beams can now be seen using Odin’s Sight.
• Improved enemy target lock mechanic.
• “Sell all trinkets” will now be grayed out after all trinkets have been sold. *Cha-ching!*
• Boss power levels will now be displayed on their health bar. This does not apply to regular enemies.
• Regular brightness settings no longer apply to HDR exposure settings.
• The Codex will no longer preview or spoil some events.
• (A11y) Desktop entries and content on Layla’s laptop are now narrated when menu narration is ON.
• (A11y) Colorblind filters are now correctly applied to the mini quest log and raid tutorial.

Skills and Abilities

• Addressed an issue where players could no longer use any ability when the Valkyrie’s Dive ability was interrupted.
• Ally NPCs or horses can no longer trigger body traps. Some people just want to watch the world burn, huh?*
• Addressed a display issue where the poison powder trap could become invisible after using Sýnin.
• Adjusted chain assassination behavior. Players will no longer be able to assassinate a target that has been knocked to the ground.
• The secondary hand slot will no longer be available when a two-handed weapon is equipped (pre-heavy dual-wield skill).
• Gunpowder traps will explode when passed over by the arrow.

Raids

• “Force Open” will be displayed correctly even if nearby allies are in combat.
• Addressed an issue where allies would not help Eivor open a door during raids.
• Allies will now return to the longship when a raid is complete.
• Added a timer until players can restart a raid that was just completed.

Photo Mode

• Effect values can now be adjusted with arrow keys or WASD.
• The no filter option will now work correctly.
• The Territory panel is no longer displayed in Photo Mode.
• Switching filters will now work as intended.
• Addressed an issue where an online service error could temporarily occur when looking at photos on the world map.
• Snow FX will now be centered on the camera instead of the player in Photo Mode.

System

• (PC) Updated readme files to show the correct PC specs.
• Added additional checkpoints to some boss fights.
• Addressed an issue that caused controllers to vibrate constantly.
• Addressed an issue where players could get stuck on a black screen after closing the menu with start.
• (PC) Updated the autodetect config for Nvidia GeForce 1650 S.

Source: Ubisoft