Assassin's Creed Valhalla New Game+ guide: Mithril, runes

Assassin's Creed Valhalla finally has New Game+, and this New Game+ guide covers everything Ubisoft has confirmed: how to unlock it, why your save may not show the option, what Mithril and Platinum do, and how the reworked Rune Forge and the new Stash change your build. The feature arrived with Title Update 1.8.0 on November 5, 2026, and it is a free update on every platform.

Ubisoft's trailer for the update, as published on the PlayStation channel. Video: PlayStation.

How to unlock New Game+

You do not need to finish the entire story. According to the official 1.8.0 patch notes on Steam, New Game+ becomes available once you complete the Holy Day quest, which is the last quest of the Hamtunscire region. Ubisoft points out that this sits just before the true ending, but because Valhalla is such a long game the team chose to let players restart a little earlier.

There is one catch that will trip people up. The option only appears on the main menu after you have saved a completed game on the 1.8.0 update. If you already finished Holy Day before patching, follow this routine:

1. Update the gameInstall Title Update 1.8.0 on your platform and launch Valhalla.
2. Load your completed savePick the save in which the Holy Day quest is already done.
3. Save againMake a fresh manual or auto save so the game registers it on the new version.
4. Return to the main menuNew Game+ should now be listed as an option.

The patch is not small on every platform, so plan your download. Ubisoft lists these sizes:

How New Game+ scaling works

New Game+ lets you replay Eivor's saga while carrying over much of your progression. The important rule is that each New Game+ iteration is harder than the last, so the mode is built to be repeated rather than finished once. Lead game designer David Larouche said in the Xbox Wire write-up that the team wanted the experience to be more than a simple do-over, and the added resources and caps below are how that plays out.

Finishing a run unlocks the new achievement Circle of Renewal, while fully upgrading a piece of Divine gear earns Ivaldi's Heir. Both are listed in the patch notes, and both are realistic goals in a single long New Game+ campaign.

Mithril and Platinum explained

Two resources define the endgame loop of New Game+, and both replace things you would normally receive.

• Mithril. In New Game+, receiving a piece of gear or interacting with a book of knowledge you already own gives you a piece of Mithril instead. It is also sold in the Niflheim, Mastery and River Raid shops, so players who simply want to keep adventuring in the endgame have an alternative source.
• Platinum. Looting Carbon, Nickel or Tungsten from a Wealth Chest now gives Platinum instead. This ingot used to be exclusive to the Dawn of Ragnarok DLC and is now available for free.
• Divine quality without the DLC. Because Platinum is free, upgrading a piece of gear to Divine quality no longer requires owning Dawn of Ragnarok.

Mithril is the bottleneck. Every upgrade of Divine gear beyond the old limit consumes it, and Ubisoft warns that you will need a lot of it. Treat duplicate gear and books of knowledge as currency rather than clutter, and spend your early Mithril deliberately on the one build you intend to play, not on every weapon you pick up.

Divine gear and Extended Progression

The maximum upgrade level of each piece of Divine gear rises from 13 to 27, which gives your gear much more headroom as New Game+ difficulty scales. Each of those additional upgrades needs Mithril.

Extended Progression Mode is an optional gameplay setting that gives you a more granular sense of growth. While it is active, gear upgrades and runes each add 1 point of Power, and Masteries add Power every 5 skill points. Ubisoft says the intention is to make your gear matter more: the challenge is greater, but so is the reward. If you find that vanilla Power numbers feel flat after dozens of hours, this is the toggle to try, and the PlayStation Blog also lists a new Power calculation among the features.

Rune Forge and Stash changes

The Rune Forge got two upgrades that work outside New Game+ too, so you can use them in your existing save today.

1. Upgrade tabA new tab lets you upgrade runes for silver: lesser to normal, normal to greater, and greater to superior.
2. Superior runesSuperior is a brand-new tier available only from the rune upgrade page, and the final step requires Mithril instead of silver.
3. Engrave more perksMore than 300 engravable runes were added, covering every perk added since launch, including DLC and Helix Store items.
4. 450 silver per engraveOnce you own a weapon or a full armor set, it appears in the engrave menu and can be engraved into a rune for 450 silver.

The practical takeaway is that perk combinations are now much wider. Gear you would previously have sold can become a rune that carries its perk onto your main kit. Ubisoft says it cannot wait to see what combinations players find, so expect build discussions to evolve over the coming weeks.

The new Stash solves the other complaint of a game that keeps getting bigger every year. In Ravensthorpe you will find a newly installed Stash that stores any piece of gear and any rune from your inventory, which makes it easy to park experimental builds before a New Game+ restart.

Balance changes worth knowing

Alongside the headline features, Ubisoft added lots of small balancing changes aimed at making dual wielding feel better and improving stat runes and skill masteries. A few concrete examples from the patch notes:

• Skill rounding fixes. Assassination Damage skills now grant 5.3 per point (previously 5.26), Stealth Damage 1.7 (was 1.67), and Health 5.2 (was 5.17).
• Raven Mastery. Now grants +0.2 Assassination Damage and +0.2 Evasion per level, plus +0.1 Health, and no longer increases Stealth Damage or Ability Damage.
• Bear Mastery. Now grants +0.2 Melee Damage and +0.2 Melee Resistance per level, plus +0.1 Health.
• Wolf Mastery. Now grants +0.2 Ranged Damage and +0.2 Ranged Resistance per level, plus +0.1 Health.
• Weapon multipliers. Many melee weapons were retuned; for instance the Bearded Axe's regular attacks with a shield rise from x1 to x1.16 base damage.

Two skill tree nodes in the Dawn of Ragnarok Wolf tree that used to give Range Critical Damage now grant Light Attack Damage instead. If you invested there, check your build before starting a new run. Several weapons, including the Sickle, Shortsword and Scythe, also gained animation speed scaling tied to your speed stat.

A sensible way to start your first run

These are our suggestions based on the confirmed numbers, not official advice. Make a backup save before you begin if your platform allows it. Decide on one Divine gear set early, because Mithril is scarce and every extra upgrade level costs it. Use the Rune Forge now, since it works in your current save and costs only silver until you reach superior runes. Park spare gear and runes in the Stash instead of selling them, and consider switching on Extended Progression if you want gear and masteries to feel more impactful.

The update also adds a Master Assassin outfit inspired by Naoe from Assassin's Creed Shadows, a nice reward for returning players. For more help with other releases browse our guides hub or the Assassin's Creed Valhalla page.

For background, Valhalla launched on November 10, 2020, was developed by Ubisoft Montreal, and, per its Wikipedia entry, passed 40 million players as of October 2026.

FAQ

How do I unlock New Game+ in Assassin's Creed Valhalla?

Complete the Holy Day quest, the last quest of the Hamtunscire region, on Title Update 1.8.0 or later, then save the game and return to the main menu.

Why is New Game+ not showing on my main menu?

The option only appears after you save a completed game on the 1.8.0 update. Load your finished save, save again, and go back to the main menu.

What is Mithril used for?

Mithril upgrades Divine gear beyond the old level cap and is required for the final step to superior runes. In New Game+ you earn it from duplicate gear and books of knowledge you already own, and it is sold in some shops.

Do I need the Dawn of Ragnarok DLC for Divine gear?

No. Platinum, the ingot that was once exclusive to that DLC, is now free, so Divine quality upgrades no longer need the expansion.

Is the New Game+ update free?

Yes, it is a free update on all platforms according to the official announcements.

Jules Rivera Souls specialist

Has finished every FromSoftware game at level 1. Writes the boss guides and checks them on every patch.