Ubisoft has released Assassin’s Creed Valhalla title update 1.8.0 with New Game+, Extended Progression, gear upgrades, Rune Forge changes, new achievements, and platform-specific patch sizes.
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Valhalla’s 2026 update is live, and it finally targets the endgame crowd
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla title update 1.8.0 is now live across all platforms, according to Ubisoft’s November 5 patch post, with the rollout scheduled for 14:00 UTC, 9:00 AM ET, and 6:00 AM PT. Ubisoft frames it as “The Most Requested Update,” and the headline addition is the one Valhalla players have been asking about for years: New Game+.
That immediately creates the useful question for lapsed players: is this a nostalgia reinstall, or has Ubisoft meaningfully changed the shape of a return run? Based on Ubisoft’s notes, Valhalla title update 1.8.0 is built less like a quick maintenance patch and more like a late-life endgame pass. It adds New Game+, raises Divine gear upgrade capacity, introduces a new Mithril resource loop, changes how old rewards convert in repeat play, adds Extended Progression Mode, updates the Rune Forge, and brings new achievements.
HappyGamer’s live-update report notes that the update has shipped after earlier coverage said it was still on the way, and points readers toward the full patch notes for specifics. The fuller detail comes from Ubisoft’s own post, mirrored in the official Assassin’s Creed Reddit post by u/Ubi-AssassinsCreed and covered by outlets including Wccftech and DSOGaming. The practical read is simple: if you bounced off Valhalla because the map was exhausted and Eivor had nowhere meaningful left to grow, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla 1.8.0 is aimed directly at that problem.
New Game+ starts before Valhalla’s true ending, but after a major story gate
Ubisoft says New Game+ becomes available after completing “Holy Day,” the final quest of the Hamtunscire region. The studio explicitly notes that this point comes before the game’s true ending, but says it chose that access point because Valhalla is “a very big game” and it wanted players to begin New Game+ a little earlier.
That detail matters for anyone trying to decide whether to reinstall tonight or keep Valhalla on the shelf. If your save never reached Hamtunscire’s conclusion, the new mode will not be waiting immediately at the main menu. The official Reddit version of Ubisoft’s post adds a setup note: New Game+ only appears after completing “Holy Day,” then loading the completed save file, saving again, and returning to the main menu, where a New Game+ pop-up should appear.
Each New Game+ iteration will get progressively harder, according to Ubisoft. That suggests the mode is not simply a victory lap through Norway and England with an overpowered Eivor carving through low-level camps. Valhalla’s combat rhythm was always at its best when raids, zealots, fortress assaults, and boss encounters pushed the player to actually use parries, ability timing, positioning, and stamina discipline. A harder repeat structure gives those systems a reason to breathe again, provided the difficulty curve holds up across a full replay.
Ubisoft also says it has added a new Naoe Master Assassin outfit. The patch notes do not position that as a mechanical system on the level of NG+ or Extended Progression, but for a series that often lets costume language carry franchise memory, it is another small hook for returning players who want their second run to feel distinct.
Mithril, Platinum, and Divine upgrades change the loot economy
The clearest mechanical change in AC Valhalla patch notes for update 1.8.0 is how repeated rewards behave in New Game+. Ubisoft says that when players receive a piece of gear they already own, or interact with a Book of Knowledge they already have, they will instead receive Mithril, a new resource.
Mithril is also available through the Niflheim, Mastery, and River Raid shops, according to Ubisoft. That gives late-game players multiple sources rather than forcing every upgrade path through a single activity. For a game as sprawling as Valhalla, that is an important design choice. A replay can become brittle if every piece of power progression sends the player back through the same grind. By placing Mithril into several existing endgame loops, Ubisoft is tying the new system into activities many returners may already understand.
The patch also changes old wealth rewards. Ubisoft says Carbon, Nickel, and Tungsten found in Wealth Chests will become Platinum in NG+. Platinum was previously available only through the Dawn of Ragnarok expansion, but Ubisoft says it is now available for free. As a result, upgrading gear to Divine quality no longer requires that DLC.
That is one of the most practical changes in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla update 1.8.0. Players who skipped Dawn of Ragnarok can now participate in Divine-quality gear progression without buying the expansion for that specific upgrade route. This does not turn the update into a replacement for the expansion’s quests, map, or story content, based on the provided sources. It does remove a progression barrier that previously sat behind paid DLC.
Extra Upgrades and Extended Progression are built for players who felt too powerful
Ubisoft says update 1.8.0 raises the maximum upgrade level for each piece of Divine gear from 13 to 27. Those upgrades require Mithril, which links the higher cap directly to New Game+ reward conversion and the new shop sources.
For returning players, this is the difference between replaying for atmosphere and replaying for a build. Valhalla’s long campaign can flatten once Eivor’s kit is complete, because many encounters become about clearing space rather than rethinking your loadout. Raising the Divine gear cap gives the endgame another ladder, but the real test will be pacing. If Mithril arrives at a satisfying clip through duplicate gear, Books of Knowledge, and endgame shops, the new cap could keep a replay moving. If it feels too slow, the second saga risks turning into a resource route.
Extended Progression Mode is the other major lever. Ubisoft describes it as a gameplay option for a more granular sense of progression. While it is active, gear upgrades and runes increase Power by 1 point, while Masteries increase Power every 5 skill points. Ubisoft says the mode is intended to increase the impact of gear, with a greater challenge attached.
That makes Extended Progression the update’s most interesting option for players who enjoy Valhalla’s combat but want more bite from the numbers underneath it. On paper, it shifts attention back toward equipment decisions. For a return run, that could make raids and regional pushes feel less like a checklist and more like preparation for the next clash. Ubisoft’s notes confirm the system rules, but they do not provide hands-on balance data, so the safest expectation is that Extended Progression is for players comfortable testing a tougher, more stat-sensitive version of the game.
Rune Forge changes give build crafters a reason to inspect the menu again
The Rune Forge update is one of the areas where shorter reports were initially vague. HappyGamer’s article identifies it as one of the named changes but says the announcement it cited did not explain the details. Wccftech’s coverage, drawing from the full patch notes, gives more substance: the Rune Forge receives a new menu tab where players can upgrade runes using silver.
According to Wccftech, runes can be upgraded from lesser to normal, from normal to greater, and from greater to superior. The superior tier is described as a new tier available only through the rune upgrade page, with the final upgrade costing Mithril rather than silver. Wccftech’s headline also says the update introduces more than 300 engravable runes.
That positions the Rune Forge as part of the same late-game triangle as New Game+, Mithril, and higher Divine gear upgrades. If your idea of a good Valhalla build is choosing a favored weapon style, leaning into a few passive boosts, and moving on, this may feel like extra menu work. If you care about squeezing more rhythm out of dual wielding, stealth approaches, crit setups, or ability-heavy combat, rune upgrading could be the system that makes a second run feel newly tuned.
The important distinction is attribution. Ubisoft’s provided patch excerpt confirms the update broadly and details NG+, Mithril, Divine gear caps, and Extended Progression. The specific 300-plus engravable rune figure and upgrade-path summary in the supplied material come from Wccftech’s report, not from the visible Ubisoft excerpt included here.
Patch sizes vary sharply by platform, so plan the reinstall around your hardware
Ubisoft lists different download sizes across platforms. The smallest current-gen console download is PlayStation 5 at 5.26 GB, while Xbox Series X|S is listed at 15.02 GB. On PC, Ubisoft Connect is 12.27 GB and Steam is 7.8 GB. Last-gen consoles sit in the middle-to-large range, with PlayStation 4 at 13.42 GB and Xbox One at 13.8 GB.
Those sizes are manageable by modern open-world standards, but they are large enough to matter if Valhalla is no longer installed. A returning player on PS5 has a relatively light download. A Series X|S player or last-gen player should expect a more substantial patch, especially if the full game also needs to come back onto storage.
The update is available “on all platforms,” according to Ubisoft’s post and the official Reddit mirror. The Steam News listing also carries the title update post for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which lines up with the listed Steam patch size.
There is no pricing attached to the update in the supplied sources. Ubisoft’s notes describe Platinum becoming available for free and Divine upgrades no longer requiring Dawn of Ragnarok, but that is about progression access rather than a new paid product. If you already own Valhalla, the question is storage, time, and whether your save is far enough along to unlock the new headline mode.
Who should reinstall, who should wait, and where Valhalla’s long tail stands now
The best candidate for an immediate reinstall is a player with a completed or near-completed save, especially one that has finished or can quickly reach “Holy Day.” That player gets access to the center of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla 1.8.0: New Game+, harder repeat runs, Mithril conversion, higher Divine gear upgrade levels, and a renewed reason to open chests that would otherwise be old news.
Completionists also have a clear reason to return because new achievements are part of the update list identified by HappyGamer. The supplied source material does not enumerate those achievements, so anyone chasing a full list should check the platform achievement or trophy page after updating.
Players who left early in the campaign should be more measured. The update can still matter because Extended Progression changes how Power grows and gear impact is calculated, but New Game+ is gated behind substantial story progress. If your old save is still deep in the middle of England’s alliance map, this patch does not magically shorten the march to Hamtunscire.
Gear-focused players and build crafters should pay close attention. Between the Divine cap rising from 13 to 27, Mithril entering multiple endgame loops, Platinum no longer being tied to Dawn of Ragnarok, and the reported Rune Forge expansion, Valhalla title update 1.8.0 gives the game’s systems a late push toward replayable optimization. Players who mainly wanted new story missions should temper expectations. The supplied sources describe progression, gear, rune, achievement, and replay systems, not a new narrative arc.
That is how this Valhalla 2026 update fits the game’s long tail. Ubisoft is not relaunching Eivor’s saga with a fresh campaign in the material provided. It is reinforcing the structure around a second journey through it. For a game built around long crossings, fortress assaults, settlement routines, and the slow accumulation of power, that is a sensible late update. The open question is whether the new grind feels like a sharpened blade or a heavier pack. The answer will come from players who step back onto the long road and test how the new systems hold over dozens of hours.