With today's release of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, you can now feel what it's like to ride through Scandinavia and Europe on horseback, burn villages to the ground, hurl axes at your foes, and drink lots (and lots) of mead.

If you're new to the game or having difficulty getting the hang of it, here are a few tips and tricks to surviving Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and saving you from going to the real Valhalla in the afterlife a little too soon.

Explore Everything

Approach Valhalla as if you were a real Viking. Leave no stone unturned and destroy everyone in your path.

The best way to get Settlement resources, especially in the early parts of the game, are to raid and pillage enemy territories. Arrive, burn it all down, and leave with your well-deserved loot. Your settlers will thank you.

Head off the Beaten Path

As is the case with most Assassin’s Creed titles, you shouldn’t be afraid to embark on your side quests every once in a while. Valhalla is no different (you’re a nomadic Viking after all).

In many cases, your main quest takes exploration into account and you might encounter more powerful enemies than you were expecting should you not have taken a few detours.

Spend time addressing your side quests between main missions. If nothing else, you’ll appreciate having a higher power level when doing the main story.

Master the Parry

Learning how to parry from the get-go will definitely help as you progress through Valhalla, especially as you meet new enemies with attacks that are harder to dodge.

It’ll be annoying at first, as Assassin’s Creed games don’t really have the game engine to deal with non-stealth encounters, but enough trial and error will get you to the point where you’ll be able to defeat powerful enemies thanks to your parrying skills.  

Pick Your Fights

Sometimes, though, not even your elite combat skills will be able to save you. If you find yourself way outmatched by an enemy, it’s probably best to escape and live to fight another day.

Valhalla does a great job of alerting you to enemies that are above your pay grade, indicating them with a red dot (or worse, a blood-red skull) along with their power level.

Savvy players can make up for a few dozen levels, but don’t try to take on a warrior that’s 50 levels higher than you; it won’t end well.

Play Every Flyting Minigame

While the drinking minigames are fun, the Flyting minigame actually gives you something beneficial (more than just an alcohol problem, at least).

Every successful Flyting battle gives you Charisma, a stat that can modify the game and help you get out of sticky situations with your words, rather than your steel.

Take the opportunity to play every Flyting minigame so you can build your Charisma as soon as possible. You might be surprised what you can get out of if you’re charming enough.