Hel has no anger like a despised Viking

Tribes of Midgard Season 4, Witch Saga, launches today on all platforms. A brand new Ancient is here to terrorize Midgard and players will once again choose to team up or fight alone against the hordes of Helthings and eventually Hel himself. We had an early preview of Tribes of Midgard: Witch Saga, taking some of the first steps into Niflheim and testing new tactics to emerge victorious from the realm of the dead.

As in the previous three seasons, the new quests will give players a little bit of narrative. The fallen god Baldr was captured by Hel and taken to the underworld of Niflheim. Of course, it’s up to the player and his company to save him. The first task is to find an Undergate portal. There are a few that appear on the map, and depending on how lucky you are with your world, you might not have to travel too far to find one. A portal can be identified on your mini-map by a purple and yellow gate icon.

While your first stop might be finding a portal, it’s best not to be caught unprepared. Draugr will guard the entrance to Niflheim: tough undead guardians with a penchant for frost spears. This encounter will familiarize you with what to expect from Niflheim. Aside from the waves of Helthings of varying strength, Draugr are plentiful and quickly drain your health. Niflheim is also a bitterly cold biome, so proper ice protection is a must.

It’s a tough challenge, especially for the solo player in Saga mode. Managing your base and advancing to Hel is a lot to juggle on your own, but the progression feels rewarding. If you have a game strategy from the first few seasons, it will likely serve you just as well in Season 4. My personal best practice is to get my hands on the lightning-based Tier 2 Nornir Ax as soon as possible – effective for slicing through almost any opponent, with a bit of healing magic thrown in for good measure.

Once you’re properly prepared and have enough cold protection, your next objective in Niflheim is to find Modgudr guarding the entrance to Hel’s Arena. Similar to previous seasons’ blockades, she asks players to collect a selection of items before she lets you pass. This includes event and quest fragments to keep track of throughout your saga run. This time, players will also need Nidhoggr Tooth Chips and Hvergelmir Serpents. The former are usually guarded by high-ranking Helthings and Draugr entangled in dark purple vine-like substances. The latter is a bit more difficult to find and requires some fishing.

Somewhere in Niflheim there is an arena that, alongside the usual Helthing residents, contains a special pool of water where you can fish these aquatic creatures. In my solo run, it only took me nine to report to Modgudr. With everything gathered and presented to the Warden blocking my path, it was time to face Hel.

Crossing the now open and very evil looking bridge, Baldr is seen trapped and chained in the middle of the arena. It’s clear that it beckons Hel to release him, but there’s no going back, it’s the only way. Immediately after Baldr is freed from his chains, Hel slowly but menacingly approaches. After a brief and dramatic pause, the fight begins.

Luckily, Baldr is sticking around for the fight. Be it out of politeness or circumstance, who’s to say. He’s not very strong and will most likely fall several times during the fight, but he’s a good distraction from the small mobs Hel will summon regularly. If you have the Nornir Axe, you can actually defeat Hel without any health potions and instead use the healing ability at crucial moments. Baldr distracts enemies enough for you to heal in time before he’s knocked down again, and Hel’s attacks provide just enough respite for you to help him get back on his feet. I didn’t want to defeat Hel without potions. Rather, it was Day 10 with Fimbulwinter fast approaching and I had misjudged my available resources to craft more potions. In my eyes it was do or die.

Tribes of Midgard: Witch Saga follows the same formula as the previous seasons, albeit with some differences and quality of life updates: follow the quest instructions, make sure you collect enough event and quest fragments, give them to the container (in In this case B. a stranger blocking a bridge in Niflheim, find a few extra things from the area and turn them in as well, then set off to kill the Ancient One. But although the steps are mostly the same are, it’s still a lot of fun.

This fourth season will no doubt scratch the itch for gamers looking for more content. It’s everything you’ve enjoyed before, made more intuitive and given a new underworld-themed coating. It’s a great addition for players who want to mix up their three Ancient runs or even attack four Ancients. Tribes of Midgard: Witch Saga is a natural expansion. A new biome, new enemies, new prehistory – and all the quests and tasks that come with it. With the overworld now fully conquered, it’s time to take the fight straight to the realm of the dead. Just don’t expect a warm welcome.

Tribes of Midgard: Witch Saga, developed by Norsfell, is available now as a free update on Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Crossplay for Steam, Epic Games Store and Xbox has also been enabled.

A copy of Tribes of Midgard: Witch Saga was made available to DBLTAP for review by its publisher, Gearbox Publishing.