Yes, Dawn of Ragnarok is set before The Forgotten Saga in the Assassin‘s Creed Valhalla storyline

As an avid gamer and Assassin‘s Creed enthusiast, I can definitively state Dawn of Ragnarök occurs in the Valhalla timeline before The Forgotten Saga. Through deep analysis of the DLC stories, fan theories, and Ubisoft developers‘ guidance, it is clear Ragnarök provides critical backstory for The Forgotten Saga. Grab your controller and let‘s dive into the epic Viking afterlife adventures!

Dawn of Ragnarök Story Summary – Rescuing Baldr from Surtur

In Dawn of Ragnarök, Odin journeys to Svartalfheim to save his son Baldr from Surtr, leader of the fire giants. Adopting a dwarven form with exciting new powers called Hugr, Odin fights enemies like the massive Muspelheim warriors and tricky illusion magic while forging alliances to build an army.

After battling elite-tier enemies in Surtr‘s fortress, Odin defeats the fire giant ruler in an epic showdown. But victory comes at a tragic price…setting the stage for The Forgotten Saga.

The Forgotten Saga Story Summary – Searching For Baldr in Helheim

Picking up after Baldr‘s rescue, Odin descends to Helheim in The Forgotten Saga when his son goes missing yet again. Venturing through realms like Mistland and Dokkalfheim, Odin must reclaim legendary gear like his spear Gungnir while confronting monstrous threats like the colossal Thrael brothers.

Eventually, Odin learns Fenrir and Loki have conspired with Hela, Goddess of Death, to lure Baldr back to her icy domain Niflheim. After an intense ideological battle with his daughter, Odin secures freedom for Baldr‘s soul – and averts disaster for the Aesir gods.

Narrative Connections Between the DLCs

Based on the story summaries above, The Forgotten Saga clearly picks up after Dawn of Ragnarok. Baldr is already rescued from Surtur‘s imprisonment, then kidnapped again by gods envious of Odin‘s power. Let‘s examine three key narrative threads between DLCs:

• Baldr‘s recurring capture drives the conflict in both expansions
• Odin‘s developer powers enables him to journey across mythical realms for rescue missions
• Family drama with Loki and Hela escalates after initial Surtr confrontation

These interconnected plots and character motivations confirm Ragnarök preceding Forgotten Saga chronologically. As Reddit fans theorize, Surtr likely formed a villainous partnership with Loki, Hela, and Fenrir to enact an epic conspiracy against Odin!

Release Date & Playtime Analysis Supports Narrative Order

Beyond story connections, the Dawn of Ragnarök and Forgotten Saga release dates support the DLC order revealed in their narratives. Check out this quick timeline:

*Per How Long to Beat

With Dawn of Ragnarok launching months before Forgotten Saga, it aligns with the DLC‘s sequential storyline order. Ragnarök also has over double the playtime, letting developers go bigger in scope to kick off Odin‘s afterlife journey before a shorter Part II.

Odin‘s Developer Powers Drive Both DLCs

Unlike the base game where you play as Viking raider Eivor battling through 9th century England, both mythic DLCs feature Odin as the protaganist. As king of the Aesir gods, Odin possesses incredible powers – which evolve even further through new abilities unlocked in the DLC adventures. Let‘s compare his base abilities to the new DLC skillsets:

Odin Base Powers

• Blink teleportation for stealth and mobility
• One-shot kills with Gungnir spear
• Slows time perceptively to strike precisely

Dawn of Ragnarök – New Hugr Abilities

• Hugr-Raven – Fly quickly across Svartalfheim
• Hugr-Bear – Use super strength to move objects
• Hugr-Wolf – Use stealth and spirit energy attacks
• Hugr-Huginn – Create distractions and illusions

The Forgotten Saga – More Combat Focused

• Retains Hugr powers
• Regains Gungnir spear
• Unlocks Odin‘s Sight to uncover hidden paths
• Wields Lævateinn sword for precision attacks

As you can see, Odin‘s base skillset expands mightily in Dawn of Ragnarök with the new polymorphic Hugr abilities tailored to progression and exploration. Meanwhile in The Forgotten Saga, combat and navigation skills become even more honed through legendary weaponry – truly befitting the Allfather of gods!

Are the DLCs Playable as Standalone Games?

While the mythic DLCs tell self-contained stories, they do require ownership of the Assassin‘s Creed Valhalla base game first. However, as Ubisoft clarified, AC fans have two options to experience the expansions:

1. Play within existing Valhalla save files after completing early main quests

OR

2. Start a fresh save file focused just on DLC content

So if you wish to solely play as Odin on his new quests, you can select "Dawn of Ragnarök" or "The Forgotten Saga" from the main menu and be matchmade to an appropriate power level. This enables fans to play the DLCs as quasi-standalone adventures! Yet owning the full Valhalla game is still a prerequisite to embark on these mystical journeys.

Should You Play Dawn of Ragnarök or The Forgotten Saga First?

To recap, Dawn of Ragnarök kicks off Odin‘s journey to rescue his beloved son Baldr from devious arch-enemies old and new. Meanwhile in The Forgotten Saga, Baldr goes missing AGAIN from scheming gods, forcing the Allfather back to Hels domain on an icy rescue mission.

So for maximum narrative immersion and context, I strongly recommend playing Dawn of Ragnarök first, then The Forgotten Saga. This allows you to experience the full tragic tale in order and best appreciate Odin‘s emotional arc as he battles threats to his family and very existence of Asgard itself!

Over 35+ hours, these ambitious expansions let fans walk in Odin‘s legendary shoes to confront titans and gods through explosive combat made even more visceral with controller haptic feedback. Truly EPIC allure for mythology enthusiasts and AC completists alike.

Let me know which mystical DLC you‘ll play first in the comments, and if you have any other Valhalla questions – long live the Allfather!