Assassin's Creed Valhalla - How to increase the power level

Assassin's Creed Valhalla's power level is increased by spending skill points earned through levels and mysteries.

Power level does not increase on its own when leveling up in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Instead, you are rewarded with two skill points every time you fill up your experience gauge (roughly 5 experience points). Investing those skill points in your skill tree is what actually increases your power level, so in theory you can manually your power level by removing skills.

Skill points can also be earned through Mysteries around the world (blue dots). Some mysteries, like World Events which replaced side quests, grant a considerable amount of experience, but a few others distribute a skill point or two when completed. Cairns, Fly Agaric puzzles, and shrines are examples of mysteries that grant skill points (shrines award the most, but the amount varies among shrines - the more you have to collect, the better the payout). Upgrading your armor and weapons increases your damage and health, but they don't directly contribute to your power level. The number at the bottom of your inventory will only increase with skill points invested, so you'll want to make sure you spend them to actually increase your potency.

Power Scaling is also more forgiving than the old level-gating found in Odyssey. There are four difficulty levels depending on your power level versus the power level recommended by a territory or quest. Green indicates that you have leveled that content and it will be easy, white is tied, red means you are below and enemies will be difficult, and a red skull indicates that you are significantly under. leveled and enemies will - shot you, or get close to doing so. The power level scaling window is plus or minus 30, so if you are at power level 90, anything between power level 30 and 120 will be normal for you.

Here's the kicker: A few bosses aside, the power level doesn't significantly increase enemy health in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. It does, but you can actually tackle more difficult areas and content if you're very stealthy or pretty darn good at dodging and parrying. The damage from enemy attacks increases dramatically, so you'll want to be sure to avoid getting hit.