Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:
News Announcements
- Ask Us Anything Livestream Today
- Login during R61 for free Respec!
- 50% Items and 20% Crowns All Weekend
- Shipping Phase 2 Update – December 2018
- Winter 2018 Items
- Winter Recurring Items (now with Yule Hat)!
- Automatic Redemption of Rewards Release 62
- AAA (Ask Atos Anything) Livestream (YouTube)
- Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program
- Upcoming Events Calendar
Community Updates
- Community Event: Novia Market 1st Annual Yuletide Giveaway
- Meretz: Win a Topiary Keep Dragon Statue
- Project to Support: Avatars Radio
- Resources: Players Helping Players
Ask Us Anything Livestream Today!
Another content packed weekly Community Livestream is this Friday January 4 at 4 PM CT on Twitch!
This week we have another Ask Us Anything since last week’s AAA (Ask Atos Anything) was so popular! Post your questions in the original post or in Twitch chat during the stream and Chris “Atos” Spears and Starr “Darkstarr” Long will do their best to answer as many as they can.
This is the fourth Friday to earn the Release 61 Dark Winter stretch goals (in honor of Krampus) by making a purchase or by participating in the Rewards program!
- ACHIEVED $10K: Black Ice Wings
- ACHIEVED $25K: Black Ice Building Blocks Set
- ACHIEVED $35K: Haunted Snowman Mask
- ACHIEVED $50K: Black Ice Bow & Black Ice Sword
- ACHIEVED $65K: Haunted Snow Family
- ACHIEVED $75K: Black Ice Staff & Black Ice Wand
- ACHIEVED $85K: Haunted Yule Tree Set
- ACHIEVED $95K: Icy Dungeon Encounter Room with Fishing Spot
- ACHIEVED $105K: Dark Leather & Fur Yule Outfit
As usual we will be giving out prizes at 4:15 and 4:45! To be eligible all you need to do is either make any purchase in the store or log into the game and type “Its Cold Outside” in the chat window (no purchase necessary).
Watch on Twitch this Friday at 4 PM CDT
Login during R61 for free Respec!
Players who login December 20th through January 30th will receive a complementary item entitled “Obsidian Item of Greater Unlearning (Expires Soon)” that when used allows them to to reset all skills in a skill tree to minimum levels and move 100% of the experience to the experience pool for spending elsewhere. Alternatively, they can use it to set all adventurer or crafting skills to their minimums and return 100% of experience to your pool for reapplying in a new way. This effectively grants players a full respec to rebuild their character however they choose.
NOTE: This item must be used by January 30!
Additional identical items entitled “Obsidian Item of Greater Unlearning” can be purchased from the Crown Merchant interface. The purchased version has no expiration.
50% Items All Weekend (Extended!)
We have extended our 50% off weekend holiday sale! To celebrate our final release of our launch year we are putting most items* in the store on sale for 50% off, our deepest discounts ever, all weekend, through January 7! We are also going to track the R61 Dark Winter Stretch Goals all weekend (versus just the traditional Friday noon to midnight)!
We also have extended our Holiday Crowns Sale! Some packages are discounted as much as 20%!
Shipping Phase 2 Update – December 2018
We are in the middle of Phase 2 of shipping physical pledge rewards to eligible backers, and are happy to hear some of you have already received yours. If you got an email from Stamps.com with a tracking number, that means your package is on its way!
If you have not yet received an email from Stamps.com, don’t worry: We expect to resume Phase 2 of shipping mid-January.
As a reminder, please make sure your shipping address is up-to-date and confirmed in your Profile Settings and that if your address is outside the United States you need to have an International Shipping voucher listed on your Account page. You can purchase International Shipping here if you do not have this voucher yet.
If you are not sure whether you are eligible for physical rewards, please email support@portalarium.com from the email address associated with your account.
Thank you for your continued patience and support, Avatars!
With winter almost upon us the Winter 2018 items have appeared! These winter holiday items are only available until February 1, 2019 and then they are gone forever so get them while they are ice cold! This year we added functionality to the Menorahs where they now light the correct number of candles per day during Hanukkah (note this is retroactive for all Menorahs).
- 2018 Menorah
- 2018 Snowman Mask with Moustache
- 2018 Snow Family
- 2018 Small Ornate Wall Garlands 12-Pack
- 2018 Ornate Wall Garlands 12-Pack
- 2018 Ornate Mantle Garlands 12-Pack
- 2018 Ornate Garlands Mega Pack
- 2018 Yule Gift Box Set
- 2018 Yule Stocking Set
- 2018 Ornate Yule Wreath Set
- 2018 4-Story Yule Tree
- 2018 Large Yule Tree
- 2018 Yule Tree
- 2018 Tabletop Yule Tree
- 2018 Yule Card 5-Pack
- 2018 Yule Gift Set
- 2018 Winter Rares Mega Set
- 2018 Winter Ultra Set
Winter Recurring Items (now with Yule Hat)!
Winter is coming and with it winter recurring items have returned for a limited time, including the Ice Nightmare mask and Ornate Sleigh! Get these rare items while they are cold because they will go away again until next winter on February 1, 2019. NEW! This week after a concerted campaign by our players we added a Traditional Yule Hat!
- Traditional Yule Hat
- Ice Nightmare Mask (digital)
- Ice Building Blocks 110-Pack (digital)
- Ornate Sled (digital)
- Ornate Sleigh (digital)
- Winter Pattern Glass Floor Lamp 3-Pack (digital)
- Winter Pattern Glass Chandelier 3-Pack (digital)
- White Raven (digital)
- White Squirrel (digital)
- Breathe Snow Emote (digital)
- Breathe Blue Fire Emote (digital)
- Breathe Emote 6-Pack (digital)
- Replenishing Fountain Fireworks Box Pack
- Replenishing Pinwheel Fireworks Box Pack
- Replenishing Aerial Fireworks Box Pack
- Replenishing Elysium Candle Fireworks Box Pack
- Replenishing White Fountain Fireworks Box
- Replenishing White Pinwheel Fireworks Box
- Replenishing Aerial White Chrysanthemum Combo Fireworks Box
- Replenishing White Elysium Candle Fireworks Box
- Replenishing Red Fountain Fireworks Box
- Replenishing Blue Fountain Fireworks Box
- Replenishing Red Pinwheel Fireworks Box
- Replenishing Blue Pinwheel Fireworks Box
- Replenishing Aerial Palm Blue Fish Combo Fireworks Box
- Replenishing Red Elysium Candle Fireworks Box
- Replenishing Blue Elysium Candle Fireworks Box
- Replenishing Fireworks Mega Set
- Winter Recurring Mega Set
Automatic Redemption of Rewards Release 62
As part of our continuing improvements to Quality of Life in Shroud of the Avatar we are going to remove the extra step required when receiving purchased items inside the game. You will no longer have to click on a “Redeem Rewards” button. Instead we will automatically send the items to your rewards interface when you next login to the game. If you are currently logged in then they will appear as soon as the purchase transaction completes. We are also going to provide an onscreen notice for when rewards are delivered to your Rewards Interface. This improvement will go live with Release 62 on January 31, 2019.
AAA (Ask Atos Anything) Livestream (YouTube)
The AAA Livestream last week went great! Chris “Atos” Spears spent almost 90 minutes answering players’ questions and showed off his gigantic player made dungeon as well as his rework of Mysterious Swamp.
We also made great progress towards our Release 61 Dark Winter Stretch Goals!
- ACHIEVED $10K: Black Ice Wings
- ACHIEVED $25K: Black Ice Building Blocks Set
- ACHIEVED $35K: Haunted Snowman Mask
- ACHIEVED $50K: Black Ice Bow & Black Ice Sword
- ACHIEVED $65K: Haunted Snow Family
- ACHIEVED $75K: Black Ice Staff & Black Ice Wand
- $85K: Haunted Yule Tree Set
- $95K: Icy Dungeon Encounter Room with Fishing Spot
- $105K: Dark Leather & Fur Yule Outfit
In case you missed the fun times here is the stream on YouTube:
Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program
The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Gold Crowns, AND receive rare stretch-goal items from our monthly livestreams! This program automatically enrolls you in the monthly livestreams (counts as the $5 minimum purchase) along with other perks.
For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following:
- 9 Gold Crowns of the Obsidians every month
- Automatic Participation in the Monthly Livestream Stretchgoals (counts as the $5 minimum purchase)
- Exclusive Title every 3 months
- 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith
- 6 Months: Keeper of the Word
- 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow
- 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame
- Pick any Dye 12 Pack every 6 months
- Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including:
- Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity
- Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance
- Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills
- Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills
- Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage
- Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills
Upcoming Events Calendar
Jan 31, 2019 – Release 62
Feb 1, 2019 – Release 62 Livestream
Feb 28, 2019 – Release 63
Mar 8, 2019 – Release 63 Livestream
Mar 8 – 17, 2019 – SXSW
Mar 18 – 22, 2019 – GDC
Mar 28, 2019 – Release 64
Apr 5, 2019 – Release 64 Livestream
Apr 25, 2019 – Release 65
May 3, 2019 – Release 65 Livestream
May 30, 2019 – Release 66
June 7, 2019 – Release 66 Livestream
June 27, 2019 – Release 67
July 25, 2019 – Release 68
Aug 29, 2019 – Release 69
Visit the official Community Calendar to see the great lineup of activities our amazing community has planned for this weekend! And be sure to check out this month’s Release Events thread in the SotA forums for additional events.
Community Event: Novia Market 1st Annual Yuletide Giveaway
Meretz: Win a Topiary Keep Dragon Statue
Win the Topiary Keep Dragon Statue & earn free SotA in-game items daily!
Whether you move a little or a lot, as a Meretz user you rack up valuable Meretz Points (MPs). The more MPs you have, the more stuff you can buy!
Think: in-game SotA goodies, Sweepstakes entries, Relics by Rild giveaways, and tons more. With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month. This month, we’re giving away the Topiary Keep Dragon Statue – valued at $210! You can also enter to win a Relics By Rild $50 Gift Card and other cool prizes. AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes.
What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY!
Project to Support – Avatars Radio
Avatars Radio is a community run and community funded radio station founded by community member Amber Raine. They air plays, music, sermons, speeches, and they organize the monthly release dance parties. You can listen to Avatars Radio on their website or through one of the Aether Amplifiers inside Shroud of the Avatar. Consider helping this community endeavor by supporting their Patreon!
“This station was created with the love of our community and fellow citizens in Lord British – Richard Garriott’s new world of Shroud of the Avatar. Our dream desire is to serve and share (simply by airing) communities work through the moon towers. We have an open welcoming of all submissions from our community. Talented musicians (be it instrumental, vocal, or mixer), poets, designers of station identifications and other sound bytes, or perhaps you have the face and voice for radio and would like to try your turn behind the desk as a DJ? This station shall always welcome the creative works of the community weighed over that of earthly!”
Resources – Players Helping Players
The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website.
Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community.
1. Will the Daemonic Trident be one handed or two handed weapon? Would love to be able to use it with my Heart of Vrul!
2. Could the Focus Specialization provide a small, but universal buff to all magic summons? That way players have an option of being a “generalist” summoner, or to get the absolute most out of their favorite summon(s).
3. Will tameable pets be able to have barding ( armor for animals) in the future, as well as summons getting some sort of equipment as well (like sigils, runes, different weapons for Undead/Daemon summons)?
4. How far away is the Chaos Tree rebalance this year?
5. Imps as a Chaos summon? I love those little tricksters.