The Pieces of Eden are powerful Isu artifacts in Assassin's Creed, dating back to the first civilization. They first appeared as the Apples of Eden, but as the series has expanded, so has the variety of Isu technology that has appeared, including shrouds, staves, and in-game weaponry. Assassin's Creed Valhalla has multiple Pieces of Eden which can be found throughout its world.
Some of the Pieces of Eden in Assassin's Creed Valhalla are key to the main plot. Others can massively increase Eivor's combat stats, as well as giving them special abilities. Here's a breakdown of every Piece of Eden which is encountered in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, where they can be found, and the role they play in the game's story and combat.
The Staff of Hermes Trismegistus
The Staff of Hermes Trismegistus is one of the most important Pieces of Eden from the last two Assassin's Creed games. Created by the Isu Hermes, the staff renders its wielder biologically immortal. It's also shown to be able to heal the sick and the injured almost instantaneously. As soon as the staff is given up, however, time catches up with the previous user, and they quickly perish.
Hermes passed the staff to Pythagoras, who passed it on to the player character of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, canonically Kassandra. They in turn passed it onto Layla Hassan in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey's 2018 plotline. After Layla became trapped in the Grey in Valhalla, the staff was taken by Basim, freed from his multi-century imprisonment in Yggdrasil, and restored to health by its power.
The Crystal Ball
The Crystal Balls make several appearances throughout the Assassin's Creed games, but the appearance of one in Valhalla marks the earliest known chronological appearance of one of the artifacts after the Great Catastrophe. Like all of the Crystal Balls, the one in Valhalla allowed the user to access the Nexus, allowing them to essentially speak to the Isu through time.
The one that appears in Valhalla is in the possession of Gorm Kjotvesson, who takes it with him to Vinland in the Americas. When Eivor stops Gorm's plan to use the Crystal Ball to free the Isu Juno, she decides to leave the object with a local Native American tribe. Eventually, the same Crystal Ball comes into the possession of Connor, the protagonist of Assassin's Creed 3.
Excalibur
Excalibur, also known as the Sword in the Stone or Caladfwlch, is also revealed to be a Piece of Eden in Valhalla. The sword was originally created by the Isu Hephaestus of Greek pantheon fame for use in an Isu civil war known as the War of Unification. In the Assassin's Creed lore it really was used by King Arthur, before being hidden in the Isu vault beneath Myrddin's Cave. In order to retrieve Excalibur Eivor must first find all eleven Treasure of Britain tablets across Assassin's Creed Valhalla's map.
The first eight Treasure of Britain tablets can be found after completing puzzles in Wocig, Grimes Graves, Red Lichen Cavern, Santlache Mine, Deoraby Spar Cavern, Old Cellar, the Cavern of Trials, and Wiccan's Cave. The remaining three can be found in the movie, guarded by Hrothgar in Suthsexe, Woden in Cent, and Heike in Essexe. In terms of gameplay, the sword has the power to blind enemies when using a finisher or a critical hit.
Mjolnir
Mjolnir is as Piece of Eden and one of the hardest items to acquire in the game, as well as among the most powerful. The hammer was once wielded by the Isu Thor, giving him the power to control electricity. After his death during the Great Catastrophe, the hammer was lost. Eivor can retrieve Mjolnir only after obtaining all of Thor's armor.
Three pieces of Thor's armor can be obtained by defeating the Daughters of Lerion. Eivor can then use the Daughters' daggers to unlock a fourth piece in the crypt by Yare River. Finally, Eivor must bring every Order of the Ancients medallion to Hytham in the Hidden Ones' Ravensthorpe Bureau, and he will give the player the final piece as a reward. The hammer itself is lodged in the ground in Hordafylke in Norway. The hammer has the power to stun enemies with electricity on finishers, as well as having a 1 in 3 chance of stunning enemies on a normal hit.
Gungnir
Gungnir is Odin's spear, which can also be found in Hordafylke. It was created by the Isu blacksmith Ivaldi and his sons, and wielded by Odin until his death during the Great Catastrophe. Eivor's first shot at retrieving Odin's spear comes with the quest "A Brother's Keeper," which sees them enter Goinnhellir, the cave above Yggdrasil. There is a fork in the cave's tunnels where Sigurd will turn left. Turning right leads to a crack that Eivor can slip through to get the spear. The spear's range is extended by a forcefield, and like Mjolnir, it can stun enemies. If players don't pick it up at this point in the main quest they can return and retrieve it later.
Nodens' Arc
Nodens' Arc is an Isu bow named for Nodens, the Celtic god of hunting. In order to get Nodens' Arc - without exploiting one Assassin's Creed Valhalla glitch - the player already needs to have retrieved Excalibur. Eivor has to go to Eurvicscire, travel southeast of Brunson Turret, and make their way to an island in the middle of a lake. On the island, they'll find a node of iron. By equipping Excalibur at sunset they can then use their sword to destroy the node and retrieve Nodens' Arc. The bow's damage increases the further away Eivor is from their target, making it among Valhalla's most powerful weapons.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
