Summary
Assassin’s Creed Valhallais one of the biggest open-world games, not only inUbisoft’s popular action series but among all action RPGs ever created. The developers ensured players always had something to do inValhalla. The game features enormous locations, including Britain, Norway, Francia, and Ireland, alongside several mythical realms, tons of different loot to collect and upgrade, an array of exciting side quests and activities, and dozens of enemies to slay. This results inAssassin’s Creed Valhallabeingone of the best-selling gamesin the series to date, alongsideAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag.
InAssassin’s Creed Valhalla, players can obtain many different armor sets of varying rarity, each providing a unique appearance and combat stats. Aside from leveling up gear using iron ore, leather, and other exotic materials, players caninsert runes with various propertiesin every armor piece. These runes can be obtained by exploring the world, bought from merchants, or granted as rewards for quests or for defeating important targets. Moreover, unlike many other RPGs, players don’t have to worry about wasting such runes, as they can be freely taken out of their sockets at any time and switched to better ones. Here are some of the best runes for armor that players can find inAssassin’s Creed Valhalla.
Updated June 24, 2025 by Vlad Mazanko:Following the announcement that the upcomingAssassin’s Creed Shadowswon’t arrive this year as expected, some players might want to revisit older titles like Valhalla.
The game’s itemization and progression systems are among the strongest in the franchise, offering a flexible approach to various playstyles. This updated list includes additional powerful armor runes and their potential combinations for different character builds.
1Brigandine Rune
Increase Speed When Surrounded By More Than Two Enemies
TheBrigandine Runeis a rare diamond armor rune inAssassin’s Creed Valhalla, granting additional speed whenever players fight more than one enemy. This is the most common combat scenario, making this rune particularly useful. With its notable speed increase, players will find it easier to dodge enemies' attacks and move quickly between targets.
Unfortunately, only one diamond rune can be socketed across all armor pieces in the game, making the choice difficult. The Brigandine Rune is one of the strongest options available, complementing almost every combat build and making life notably easier for players.
2Mentor Rune
Increase Evasion After Each Hit
The purpose of armor is to ensure survivability, and for that matter, theMentor Runeis one of the best choices inAssassin’s Creed Valhalla. This rare diamond rune increases Eivor’s evasion stat with each delivered hit, making them harder to hit and reducing damage from enemy attacks. For players who want to survive longer in every fight, it is an invaluable addition to their passive evasion skills and other defensive stats from their armor.
Choosing between the Mentor Rune and the Brigandine Rune can be tricky. It is recommended to decide between a more aggressive playstyle to deal with enemies quickly, or a more defensive style to evade and outlive them.
3Great Rune Of Life
+18.9 Health
In any action RPG, having more health is something many players will strive for, andAssassin’s Creed Valhallais no different. Aside from some passive perksin the skill tree,theGreat Runes of Lifeare some of the easiest ways to become unkillable, as they significantly boost Eivor’s health pool, allowing them towithstand more direct hits from enemies.
As one of the most common round runes in the game, Minor Runes of Life are pretty easy to get, but obtaining their Great variation isn’t as trivial. Players are recommended to check vendors often for these runes to spawn in high-level areas.
4Great Shell Rune
+5.0 Armor
As straightforward as it gets, theGreat Shell Runeis the easiest way to make player armor inAssassin’s Creed Valhallamore resistant. This common round rune can be socketed in any armor piece, making players more resistant to enemy and boss attacks, and to damage overall.
While the majority of other common armor runes usually grant a specific minor resistance to something like poison, fire, or lightning, the Great Shell Rune’s bonuses are always welcome for any combat build, making it a no-brainer to socket as many of these runes as players can find.
5Life And Shell Rune
+11.0 Health, +4.0 Armor
Combining two strengths of one of the best armor runes mentioned above, theLife and Shell Runeis a hybrid round rune fromThe Siege of Parisexpansion that gives players the best of both worlds with just a little compromise. Unlike many other hybrid runes from the DLC, this one’s bonuses are very reasonable and just slightly inferior to the Great Shell and Life runes separately.
If players manage to find more than one Life and Shell Rune, it is recommended to socket them as soon as possible to make Eivor much harder to kill, even in the most intense combat scenarios inAssassin’s Creed Valhalla.
6Evasion And Feather Rune
+1.5 Evasion, -1.0 Weight
TheEvasion and Feather Runeis another hybrid round rune fromThe Siege of Parisexpansion, but unlike the Life and Shell Rune, this one isn’t as versatile and is mostly used for specific combat builds inAssassin’s Creed Valhalla. While players can get +2.0 Evasion and -1.5 Weight from the respective Great Runes, the two bonuses from this hybrid rune are just slightly inferior and will save players one extra socket for other armor runes.
Decreasing the weight of armorcan be beneficial to some of Eivor’s skills and perks, so if players aren’t focused on getting the most protected character and instead focus on dealing maximum damage as quickly as possible, the Evasion and Feather Rune can be very handy.
7Warrior And Safeguard Rune
+1.5 Melee Damage, +1.5 Range Resistance
Just like the previous rune, theWarrior and Safeguard Runeis a hybrid common runeonly available inThe Siege of ParisDLC,combining two great bonuses players might want to boost for their character. Additional melee damage is always a good thing, as well as more resistance to arrow damage, and the ability to enhance two of these at the price of just a single socket might be pretty tempting.
Arguably, players striving for increased damage inAssassin’s Creed Valhallaare better off using such common runes as Warrior, Hunter, or Assassin Great Runes, but this hybrid rune can also prove beneficial in certain situations.
8Reaper Rune
Restore Some Health After A Successful Assassination
TheReaper Runeis a particularly interesting major armor rune, especially useful for players tackling higher difficulties. Ideal for survivability, this rune becomes invaluable when players go into stealth mode after tough battles while low on health. With this rune equipped, assassinating a target will restore a small portion of health to Eivor, reducing the need to rely on valuable Ration supplies.
However, the Reaper Rune is less advantageous on lower difficulties, where Rations are easier to stockpile and restore more health. While Rations are generally abundant, players shouldn’t overlook alternative healing methods to keep Eivor in fighting shape between intense combat encounters. Players also should remember to change the Reaper Rune whenever they play through sections where stealth isn’t an option, including sieges, raids, or boss fights as it won’t offer any advantage.
9Great Aegis Rune
+2.3 Elite Resistance
TheGreat Aegis Runeis incredibly useful when facing bosses inAssassin’s Creed Valhalla. It provides solid resistance to damage from elite enemies, including mini-bosses and regular bosses, some of which can be particularly tough to handle. While equipping armor with higher defense values is the most effective way to mitigate damage overall, the Great Aegis Rune serves as a situational tool to enhance Eivor’s survivability during challenging fights.
A great feature of this rune is that players can stack multiple Great Aegis Runes across one or several armor pieces, further increasing resistance and reducing damage taken in some of the most intense battles. Given that the game doesn’t feature level scaling for bosses, it’s not uncommon for players to encounter optional elite enemies who are significantly higher in level. In these situations, the Great Aegis Runes can make these challenging fights more manageable earlier in the game.
10Vinland Rune
Increase Assassination Damage When Close To Full Health
For players embracing their assassin instincts inValhalla, theVinland Runeis one of the most valuable runes for armor. It boosts Eivor’s assassination stealth damage based on their remaining health. Since stealth players ideally avoid damage, they should typically have full health, making the Vinland Rune consistently effective.
When paired with other assassination-focused lesser runes and the right passive skills, the Vinland Rune allows players to reach impressive damage levels, making it possible to eliminate nearly any target with a single stealth attack — perfect for a true predator-style playthrough. Naturally, the Vinland Rune should be swapped out for a more suitable option when players are forced into open-combat scenarios, such as raids or sieges.
