Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is gearing up to drop a new update next week, and while the version number (1.4.1) doesn’t necessarily indicate it, it seems like it will be a fairly significant one. Not only is Ubisoft Montreal promising to restructure the game’s data, resulting in a smaller file size and faster loading, but they’re giving players more options to customize the game’s difficulty, stealth, and exploration. Following the 1.4.1 update, these options will be available…

　　Combat

　　Aim Assist (Full, Moderate, Light, Off)Level Scaling (Off, Default, Constant, Harder, Nightmarish)Parry timing-window (400, 650, 800 ms)Brush with Death timing-window (300, 400, 600 ms)Brush with Death Duration (1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 sec)Stealth

　　Guaranteed Assassination (ON/OFF)Detection escape (0.5, 1, 2 sec)Detection escape while aiming (1, 2, 4 sec)Search duration (50, 65, 80 sec)Maximum enemies in search (2,3)Exploration

　　Closest Opportunity (ON/OFF)Icon Distance (OFF/ON)Viewpoint Synchronization (ON/OFF)Exploration Beams (Limited/Full)Unguided Objectives (OFF/ON)While I usually just play on standard difficulty on most games, I admit, I do appreciate these kinds of granular options. I'm usually pretty good at combat, but suck at stealth, so I can make a challenge level that suits me specifically. You can also look forward to the following fixes to the game’s stealth mechanics…

　　Stealth Fixes

　　Improved instances where NPCs detected players when vision between the player and NPCs is obstructed.Reduced the hold time and speed restriction when blending with crowds.Resolved some issues that caused players to be instantly detected when they should not have been.Between updating the game’s file system and adding these new options, it sure seems like Ubisoft is tidying up Assassin’s Creed Valhalla ahead of that 40-hour expansion rumored to be coming in early 2022.

　　Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is available now on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Stadia, and Luna. Update 1.4.1 drops sometime next week (most likely on Tuesday).