The Yule Festival has returned for a second year in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, and like other seasonal events in the Valhalla, there are quests and activities to complete, tokens to earn, and new items available to purchase. There are both new and returning items available to purchase from Norvid as players explore the Yule-decorated Ravensthorpe. For context, Yule was a Viking celebration beginning on the winter solstice and continuing into January. While many pagan winter festivities are considered precursors to contemporary Christmas celebrations, Yule is generally accepted as the origin of the Christmas tree, with the Yule Festival having a Yule tree.
Last year, some players reported bugs in the Yuletide quests in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, but this year they are running smoothly. However, a new issue arose this year in which players had trouble triggering the Yule Festival at all. This seems to have only occurred to some of those who have played the festival last year, and Ubisoft is aware of the issue with updates promised. Like last year, this event comes with two seasonal quests, three activities for earning tokens, and plenty of seasonal items to snag with these tokens. The festival runs until January 6, so there's plenty of time to explore these features.
Quests and Activities
Purchasing any of the special items available during the Yule Festival requires Yule Tokens. Buying all of these items will cost almost 700 tokens, but thankfully there are easy ways to grind for them. The games/activities that will earn players these tokens are Yule Brawl, Braun's Folly, and Twirling Targets.
The first of these is the typical Assassin's Creed Valhalla fighting mini-game, which can earn players a decent amount of tokens after a few rounds and is an easy one to grind for tokens in. The second is a drinking game, which will net players 15 tokens. Finally, Twirling Targets is the activity in which players can earn the most tokens, with an amount given based on how many targets the player shoots in a given time. Especially if players are adept at using the bow, this task can be the best for earning tokens quickly.
There are also two seasonal quests, called The Case of the Missing Ale and Cow Catcher. As mentioned, these quests could be a little buggy last year but seem to be running smoothly this year. They are relatively simple fetch quests that can bag the player 280 tokens after completing both quests. Considering the quests' simplicity, and that there are no reported bugs with them this year, they are a good way to gain a chunk of tokens. However, it was The Case of the Missing Ale that caused most of the issues last year, so players may still wish to use caution and save beforehand. To begin each quest, speak to Winfrith at the Cattle Farm and Reveler Arwin in the Brewery.
Available Items
As with last year, the Modraniht Ceremonial armor set is available to buy with the Yule Tokens, and players who didn't snag it last year may wish to now. A new weapon has been added to this year's event, called King Aethelwulf's Royal Hunt Bow. This bow will cost 150 tokens and its bonus adds +30 headshot damage. This is definitely the most attractive new item available during the Yule Festival this year and is pretty reasonably priced at 150 tokens. Last year's event offered up the Modraniht Ceremonial Seax and Shield instead of this bow.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is also giving players an opportunity to get into the Christmas spirit with festive decorations and hairstyles available during the Yule Festival. The Hoarfrost hairstyles will cost about 100 tokens in total, and all the decorations (including those returning from last year) will cost around 140 tokens. Continual updates like this are part of the lasting appeal of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and players can enjoy the Yule Festival while awaiting the new DLC, Dawn of Ragnarok.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is available now on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.