14 DAY TRIAL // Wrath of the Druids is the first major expansion for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and while it's a standalone experience, you must have played the base game for at least a dozen hours to be able to jump into the new DLC.
To be able to play Wrath of the Druids you must have completed at least one of the main story arcs in England. It's also recommended to be at least at power level 55 before going to Ireland because everything in the new expansion is set at this power level.
It doesn't matter that your Eivor is much more powerful, Wrath of the Druids will synchronize your character with the challenges ahead, but not if your power level is lower than 55, so you've been warned.
In Wrath of the Druids, players are summoned by one of the smaller kings of Ireland, who also happens to be Eivor's cousin. Barid chose Christianity to be recognized by the High-King of Ireland, Flann Sinna, as the rightful ruler of Dublin, but that didn't gain the king's trust as well.
That's where Eivor comes in, as Barid sends his most trusted counselor, Azar, a one-eyed trader from the Middle East, to ask for your help. If you finished one story arc in England and own the new DLC, you'll find Azar in your settlement near the dock.
If you liked Assassin's Creed Valhalla, you'll love Wrath of the Druids. The expansion has a similar gameplay loop that requires players to do a bunch of repetitive side quests to advance the main story. In this case, they're called Royal Demands and reward you with some much-needed resources that will allow you to upgrade Dublin, your main settlement.
Every Royal Demand requires you to retrieve an item or assassinate one or more enemies. The catch is that each comes with secondary objectives like completing your mission without being detected or not killing anyone. For each secondary objective successfully cleared, you'll get boosted rewards.
Just like in the base game, throughout your adventures in Ireland, you'll clash axes with a mysterious cult of druids called Children of Danu. The cult is tied to the main story, so I won't go into details. However, I will say that killing all cultists will lead to an interesting outcome, so I'd strongly suggest doing that if you have the time.
Obviously, Wrath of the Druids is all about druids, so let's talk a bit about the new enemies you'll encounter in Ireland. Well, there are several types of druids that employ different fighting tactics (some even have their own pet companions), but none have been designed in the traditional D&D sense.
Just about all of them are fighters first and magic users second, so brute force will work whenever facing the fearsome druids. They're very nimble and many times they use hallucinogenic substances or poison. Some of these hallucinogenic substances can even make you see your enemies differently, like wolves can turn into werewolves (for real), so there's a bit of strategy involved whenever fighting certain types of druids.
Then we have the brunt of the Irish army: man-at-arms, elite warriors, spearmen, etc. They're not really a threat for Eivor when facing alone, but in great numbers they could pose quite a challenge, so don't ever get surrounded unless you want to.
Ireland is split into four territories, which you'll end up exploring in detail throughout the campaign. There aren't too many story-based side quests in the expansion, and that's a good thing since it means we're getting less bloat.
There's one activity in Wrath of the Druids that you'll find yourself involved in more than anything: trading. You see, there are trade hubs spread throughout Ireland, which you'll have to find and rebuild to get the resources that you need to upgrade Dublin.
Each Trade Post will give you a certain type of commodity, which you will need to fulfill requests coming from main trade hubs across the globe. The more requests you manage to fulfill, the faster you'll be able to upgrade your settlement.
Unfortunately, I didn't find any difference between having a level 1 renown Dublin and a maxed-out settlement. It shouldn't affect the outcome of your main campaign, but having a level 5 renown Dublin is required for the platinum if you're a completionist.
It took me around 17 hours to finish Wrath of the Druids and I've done a fair share of the side quests, but if you're going for the platinum, you're probably looking at an 25-hour gameplay time.
Conclusion
Story-wise, Wrath of the Druids is compelling enough to make you want to play through the end, but don't expect any major plot twist. Visually, Ireland is really beautiful, and many times I found myself exploring “just one more” point of interest so that I can admire the scenery.
The best thing about Wrath of the Druids is that you can play it without having to finish Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which is a humongous game. I do recommend the first expansion to all those who liked the base game, but I would definitely wait for a sale. Wrath of the Druids launches on May 13 and costs €25 / $25, which I think is too steep a price to pay for what it has to offer. If price isn't a concern to you or you've already bought the Season Pass, then, by all means, get into it, it's good.
