Avatar’s Update #336: Castle & Keep Sized Homes, New User Experience & New Dungeons Livestream Today

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

News Announcements

Community Updates

Castle and Keep Sized Homes!

Shroud of the Avatar’s housing system has so far had 4 sizes of homes: Row, Village, Town, and City. At the same time there have been six sizes of lots that these homes could be placed on: Row, Village, Town, City, Keep, and Castle. Each lot was double the size of the lot below it. As long as a home could fit on the lot below it could fit on a larger lot. Therefore a Village sized home could fit on a Town lot (or any larger lot).

For the very first time, starting this week, we will be offering homes larger than City sized! The first of these homes are massive seven deck Giant Pirate Galleon Castle Homes. That is correct, they are so large they can only fit on Castle Lots! For now there is a Dry-dock and Water version of this gigantic ship.

Soon there will be slightly smaller Keep sized versions as well. Note that these Keep sized versions are still twice the size of our previously largest homes!

Lords of the Isle also have a massive Castle sized mansion that spans the entire space of a Castle Lot. When released it will be the largest player structure we have ever made!

New User Experience & New Dungeons Livestream Today

Another content packed weekly Community Livestream is today, Friday June 14, at 4 PM CT on Twitch!

This week we will be discussing recent improvements to the New User Experience!  We will also show off new dungeons that are coming in Release 67!

Release 66 Rewards (Dance)

This month’s exclusive rewards for Release 66 are dance themed! Just be part of the Rewards Program during Release 66 to receive these exclusive rewards.

NOTE: You must login during the release to receive each month’s exclusive rewards.

  • Hustler Hat
  • Hustle Dance Emote
  • Colorful Mallard Duck Pet

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 “Dance til your dead” in the chat window (no purchase necessary).

Watch on Twitch this Friday at 4 PM CDT

Are You a Livestreamer?

Get this exclusive in-game Streamer Camera for being a veteran of our Livestreamer Program!

 

6/7 Crown Shop Updates

Greetings Avatars,

The Crown Shop has some great updates this week including the following:

  • Giant Pirate Galleon Castle Homes: These gigantic 7 deck ships are so large they only fit on Castle size lots! There is a Dry-dock and a water version available.
  • Lord British Birthday Cake 2019: Lord British’s birthday is on July 4th. In celebration we have the latest version of his birthday cake! As with the other cakes this has unique cupcakes too! As a reminder you can get other rare recurring Lord British items from the store until July 5th which is when they will expire (along with the birthday cake)!
  • Death Adder Cloaks: If you wish to show your loyalty to the Death Adders then you can purchase one of these cloaks. NOTE: This was previously listed as a possible exclusive cross promotion with Razer ID but this is no longer the case and will simple be available in the Crown Shop.
  • Ruined Furniture: When you absolutely, positively must have the most ruined and destroyed furniture possible then look no further! Just in time for Halloween (in 4 months)!
  • Large and Huge Disco Balls: There were a few folks who were unsatisfied with the previous Discoball’s size and output radius of the visual effects, especially in large dungeons and basements. So we created two larger sizes!
  • The Vault: A new set of Vault items are now available until Thursday, June 20 at 10:30 AM Central Time. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc.
    • Demon Wings
    • Shiba Inu Dog
    • Tansu Chest
    • The 4-Pack of Prosperity Tools
    • The 6-Pack of Prosperity Tools
    • The 6-More Pack of Prosperity Tools
    • Ornate Katana
    • Shogun 1-Story Village Home
    • Shogun Four-Story Town Home

June Login Rewards: Potion of Guidance & 250K XP

250,000 Adventuring XP + Obsidian Potion of Guidance!

As a special limited time promotion we are rewarding all players who login by the end of June with two rewards! Every player who logs in will receive an Obsidian Potion of Guidance (increases how fast your skills use experience out of our experience points pool) and 250,000 Adventuring Experience Points!

To receive the rewards simply login to the game before the end of June and check your rewards tab!

Rewards Program Update (and Release 66 Rewards)

We have some exciting news about the rewards program! The items previously known as stretch goal items are now exclusive only to the rewards program (versus also available through $5 purchase on the website). These items will now also be delivered immediately upon login during the release each month. Note that logging in during a given month is required in order to claim that month’s login rewards.To make this change happen we have to set the number of rewards to a fixed number of items per release (approximately 3) versus a variable number. This change will go into effect with Release 66.

For Release 66 the Rewards are Disco themed and Reward Program members will receive them immediately upon logging in during Release 66!

  • Hustler Hat
  • Hustle Dance Emote
  • Colorful Mallard Duck Pet

Here is the updated wording for the Rewards Program:

The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Gold Crowns, AND receive exclusive monthly reward items!

For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following:

  • 900 Gold Crowns of the Obsidians every month
  • Exclusive Monthly Reward Items (~ 3 per month)
  • 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
    • 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath
    • 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge
  • 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

Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles

As one of the biggest and earliest supporters of Episode 2 you will be granted the largest lot deed in the land (Castle), the title Lord (or Lady) of the Isle, a tour of the Portalarium Offices, and dinner with the game leaders including Lord British himself! Only 24 of these unique bundles will be sold! 

Complete List of Rewards:

  • UPDATED: Lord of the Isle Place Anywhere Castle Lot Deed: Tax Free Forever (when placed in a POT) and Tax Free for 1 Year (when placed outside of a POT). Placeable on water as well as land!
  • Title: Lord of the Isle or Lady of the Isle
  • NEW: Unique Lord of the Isle Home (to be revealed later)
  • UPDATED: PLUS Choice of any 1 House currently available in the store
  • Castle Basement currently available in the store of your choice
  • Castle Wall Set currently available in the store of your choice (with enough for Castle Lot)
  • NEW: Unique Lord of the Isle Dungeon Room (to be revealed later)
  • 1400 Crowns
  • 999 Bank Slots
  • Pick 12 Prosperity Tools
  • 2 Unique in-game items (to be revealed later)
  • Early Access to Episode 2
  • Episode 1 Box and map signed by the team
  • 1 hour one on one with Chris for design discussion (via video-conference)
  • One real silver ring crafted personally by Lord British: Numbered 1 – 8
  • In-game version of the Lord British ring: Numbered 1 – 8 (including a place-able decoration version)
  • Tour of Portalarium Offices
  • Fine dinner and drinks with Lord British, Darkstarr, & Atos at a location TBD in Austin or NYC.

NOTE: Digital items that are currently available will begin delivery as soon as Release 62 (Jan 31). Other items will be delivered at a future date TBD.

NOTE: Travel costs NOT covered by Portalarium for Tour & Dinner.

New Houses & Various Other Livestreams (YouTube)

The Release 66 Livestream last week was a blast! We gave out tons of prizes, showed off the new Top Tier Tameables, and toured some of the upcoming gigantic castle sized homes!

Here is the livestream from our YouTube channel in case you missed it:

Atos and others have also been livestreaming most days and you can check those out on our YouTube channel (complete with “Mojito the dog” cam).  Note that if you subscribe to the channel you will be notified when he goes live. Here are a few highlights:

Upcoming Events Calendar

Be sure to check out the Forums Recurring Events section for other events!

June 27, 2019 – Release 67
July 5, 2019 – Release 67 Livestream
July 25, 2019 – Release 68
Aug 29, 2019 – Release 69
Aug 29 – Sept 2 – Dragon Con
Sept 26 – Release 70
Oct 10 – 13 – SOTA International Convention
Oct 31 – Release 71
Nov 14 – Release 72
Dec 12 – Release 73

Meretz: Win a Stone Dragon Statue

Win a Stone Dragon Statue – Town Size & 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 a Stone Dragon Statue – Town Size! 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!

Community Event: Midsommar Events (Heavy RP)

Female-only spa night in preparation of Midsommar (June 28)

[Forum Post by Helvig Ingvildsdottir]

On the Friday before Norstead’s and Helboer’s Midsommar celebrations, all girls and women are invited to Helboer’s bath house for some relaxation and beauty time. We have several tubs and a sauna for you to enjoy. No males allowed!

Time: Friday, June 28, 6pm NBT
Location: Bath house in Helboer (district of Kahli in the Hidden Vale)
Contact: Helvig Ingvildsdottir

OOC information

About the roleplay
This is a RP event, and while everyone is welcome, we appreciate it if you attempt to stay in character for the duration of the event. There will be nudity and possibly talk about adult topics. Only female characters allowed, you can park your boyfriends at the meadhall next door to get drunk while we women get pretty. :cool:

About the location
Kahli is a no-ransom PvP POT. We cannot guarantee that you won’t be attacked by other players. We can guarantee that you’re not going to lose any items, though. The hosts of this event are -not- going to attack their guests and will make every effort to protect them. The sauna is in a no-PvP basement. And, come on, who is going to attack a bunch of naked and unarmed women soaking in a hot tub?

Directions
Kahli can be found in the Hidden Vale, next to Braemar. You can either access it from the overworld map or by using a wagon in Braemar. Helboer is just above the wagon to Braemar, the large walled fortress you see from afar. Kahli has an up-to-date map. You can use it to find Helboer. The bath house is the house directly left of the main gate of Helboer

Midsommar Blot and Dance in Norstead (June 29):

[Forum Post by Helvig Ingvildsdottir]

Jay Nord, the Gothi of Norstead and Helvig Ingvildsdottir, Völva in Helboer, cordially invite you to their second annual Midsommarblot. The Blot is a ritual where we celebrate the seasons, sacrifice to the gods of our original homeland, and experience community.

There is going to be an animal sacrifice, through which we are going to call our gods and the gods of our guests, if they so wish. This beautiful ceremony will be a cooperation of the Gothi and the Völva, and our guests are invited to participate at any level they feel comfortable with.

After the ritual there will be refreshments, music and dance, and possibly a performance of the skaldic arts.

All participants get to take home a limited edition sheet music and a book with a mythological tale.

Time: Saturday, June 29, 4pm
Location: Norstead (District of Hammaburg)
Contact: Jay Nord or Helvig Ingvildsdottir

OOC information

About the roleplay
This is a heavy RP event. Everyone is welcome as long as they are not disruptive to others’ roleplay. You can participate as heavily as you wish, or merely observe. It’s surely a good occasion to get in touch with other immersive RPers.

About the location
Norstead is a Viking village in the player owned town Hammaburg.

Directions
Hammaburg is a POT near Brittanny. Cross the central bridge and immediately go right, uphills. There you will find the Viking village of Norstead.

[Forum Post by Helvig Ingvildsdottir]

Midsommar Symbel and Games in Helboer (June 30):

On the second day of Midsommar, Jay Nord, the Gothi of Norstead, and Helvig Ingvildsdottir, Völva in Helboer, invite you to celebrate a symbel with them, followed by some games and other entertainment.

A symbel is a drinking ritual during which we invoke our gods, drink to our ancestors, honor lost friends and family, and remind everyone about our own great deeds of the past and/or promise new deeds of grandeur.

Word of caution: The whisky is going to be strong!

After the symbel there is going to be a treasure hunt with prizes.

Date: Sunday, June 30, 2pm NBT
Location: Helboer (District of Kahli)
Contact: Jay Nord or Helvig Ingvildsdottir

OOC information

About the roleplay
This is a very interactive roleplay occasion for those that want it, but you can also RP quietly or simply watch. Everyone is welcome. Please try not to disrupt the roleplay of others.

About the location
Kahli is a no-ransom PvP POT. The hosts of this event are not going to attack their guests, but we cannot guarantee that others won’t. You are not going to lose anything, though.

Directions
Kahli can be found in the Hidden Vale, next to Braemar. You can either access it from the overworld map or by using a wagon in Braemar. Helboer is just above the wagon to Braemar, the large walled fortress you see from afar. Kahli has an up-to-date map. You can use it to find Helboer.

Community Event: Welcome Quest Release 66

[Forum Post by Duke Gréagóir]

By Appointment to
His Majesty Lord British
Welcome Quest Makers​

You are invited to join the Welcome Quest in Release 66.

This is a Player ran event – Portalarium (makers of Shroud of the Avatar) is not represented.

This is NOT a PVP event. Please don’t plan on PVPing at this event.
It will be held on Saturday , June 15th, 2019 starting at 12pm (noon) central time/New Britannian time and lasting an hour. It is in your in-game Events book.

Greagoir Pendragon will be active 30 minutes before the event and during the event. So you can teleport to Greagoir Pendragon if you wish.

We are traveling to the town of Fallin’ Green. Travel to Ardoris, and take the wagon inside of the entrance to Fallin’ Green.

You can also search for the town in the SOTA Map web site – https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/map/

Are you with us?

Purpose:

The Welcome Quest is a quest for all people to see many towns and establishments. It is created as a way for people to visit many player-ran locations. It involves each town and establishment to give the quest person some information and then instructions to go to the next location (a town or establishment) to do something. The path may be sequential from place to place or in parallel to multiple places at the same time. The goal is for towns and establishments to showcase their places, educate the people, and work with other player-ran towns/establishments. We do the Welcome Quest 4 items a year, one in each season.

We are proud to be the first player-ran quest in SotA! We do it for all of you. :)

More information is located at
http://sotawiki.net/sota/Community:Quests/Welcome_Quest#Welcome_Quests_in_Releases

Welcome Torch changes – testing and answers due to burnout

With Release 38, all torches changed physically. The durability started to decrease when the torch is held onto. This change also affected the Welcome Torch you receive from the Welcome Quest.

With Release 41 you now can repair your own Welcome Torches with a carpentry repair kit and a carpentry table.


Community Event: NBTT Presents — Daggers In The Dark – The Video!

[Forum Post by Asclepius]

Yes, we do have a video! This is the recording of our maiden performance, in the Sabra Rose Theater, in Rift’s End.

Hope you enjoy it!

Community Event: Concert by the Sea (rescheduled)

[Forum Post by CatherineRose]

Concert by the Sea is Saturday and is almost here!!!​

It is also Father’s day on Sunday, the day following the concert, so give your father a great gift….the gift of wonderful music enjoyed by you with him. It will be a great gift to give your husband or any special person in your family. Go a step further and find someone that is brand new to SOTA and invite that person to the Concert by the Sea.

Concert by the Sea​
June 15, 1 PM CDT​

All Ye Novians, lovers of great music as well as loving the sounds of nature​
come to a Concert by the Sea. ​

The concert will be performed ​

by Ezekiel Cooper and his band​
June 15 at 1 PM CDT.

This is an outdoor concert in front of the dock in Dragomir Mori which is just north of Aerie.​

All the music is written and/or arranged by Ezekiel.

Amber will be streaming this event.​

Lord British is planning to attend.
​
This concert had to be postponed last month due to serious illness in my family. ​
Please come and enjoy this great music.​

Community Event: Grandmaster Tutoring Event for PRIDE

[Forum Post by Lace]

NBT Prism and Diamond Fields Present a Grandmaster Tutoring Event for PRIDE

We’re Back! By request from players the Original Crafting Mentoring Event is back and Pride month seemed like a great month to get back into the swing of things. We have decoed out the pavilion for Pride Month and even put in some disco balls.

@Amber Raine from Avatars Radio will be our DJ for us for the event!

In addition a training dummy will be located on the pavilion property, so you folks looking for some combat skill training can participate as well.

We invite all Grandmaster Crafters and now even combat Grandmasters to come and share their knowledge to new and would be Grandmasters.

We can confirm at least one Grandmaster in the following:
All Production and Refining GM’s will have at least one teacher available.

If more grandmasters donate their time then even more can be mentored simultaneously.

You must bring your own materials to this event. There are merchants very near by the crafting pavilion in Diamond Fields selling fuels, but prices may increase due to turn out (other sub pots have merchants in case this happens).

A banker is also near buy so you can shuttle in your raw materials and squirrel them away ahead of time for the event.

You can teleport to Lace Delamorte, or zone into Port Phoenix and take the first boat on the left to Diamond Fields. Hope to see you there!

If you are new to the game or want to learn more about crafting, come join us just to ask questions as well.

Community Event: 5th Annual Soldier’s Memorial Ball

[Forum Post by Bowen Bloodgood]

This year we have a new venue located inside the Library of Courage in Caer Dracwych. Read the ancient tome inside the observatory to enter the main library. The ballroom is on the left.

This is a formal event. Please dress appropriately.

Community Event: Shroudoftheavatar.net’s Monthly Raffle

[Forum Post by Titania Xylia]

Shroudoftheavatar.net wants to share the best information with the community that we can and we are currently sharing a ton of info about PvP, PvE monster hunting and loot. We will be making improvements over time and doing more with the data including hunting and PvP contests!

One of the most popular features on this site is our “How many people are playing Shroud of the Avatar?” page. There are three important numbers on this page: confirmed players, estimated players, and new characters created. We are committed to increasing the size of the Shroud of the Avatar community and sharing a game we love. I know I personally love checking in and seeing how many kills a specific player has made like Mac, Girlsname or Elgarion (a twitch streamer with LoM). I also like checking in on myself, Titania Xylia, and hang my head in shame, but I know seeing what I have been able to accomplish in-game and improving my process.

We want to improve our confirmed player numbers!
One of the biggest complaints about our “How many people…” page is that people do not trust our estimated player counts, and it is ONLY an estimate. The API gives all of us the ability to see all of the activity in-game including Anonymous players. Clearly, the greatest player in-game is Anonymous that group of players has what I estimate at least 75% of the data. Some want privacy and we respect that.Most players have no clue that there is an API or that they show up in that data! This is our campaign to educate the community and hopefully give you a good reason to share your name in the stats.

We want to continue to be the best place to find in-game pricing.
Now, market data is never exposed in the API much to our chagrin. For the love of Torc’Dawl the Broken, give us volume and price distribution in-game in 7, 30, 90, yearly and all-time windows. Our price listis the most popular page on the site by far. The greatest mystery in-game is “where are goods in-game and how much do they cost?”. Our in-game economy provides a ton of opportunity, but there are a few tools that help you manage all of the offers in-game or where to find them.

We have the ability to process your discarded emails, which you most likely didn’t know even existed. Every email that receive in-game is saved to a folder on your computer. You can upload that file and we will report on it for you. You get personal reports on items sold, items bought, top customers, top sellers, how each location performs (town specific), and total purchases and orders. You can inspect all of your receipts.

By default, when you upload a discarded email, your data is not shared with anyone on the site. Once your data is uploaded, you can delete it off the site. Your receipt information can be downloaded from the site, as well, in JSON format.

For the purposes of the receipt raffle, you must share your data publicly and show your player name. Login or register with this site, go to the SotA vendor tool and click on “upload discarded email” for details on how to find your discarded emails.

The tool only supports players that have set their in-game language option to English. We’re parsing a raw text file and the localization options are too diverse to possibly catch all edge cases. It’s our deepest regret, but it’s a big job.

Enough! What can I win??
If you share your data in API, there are three prizes this month! They will be distributed on July 1st. Each day that you share data with the API, will count as an entry into the raffle. There are three prizes this time around. Players can only win one of these prizes. Players are eligible to win the API raffle and the receipt raffle.

API Raffle Prizes

  • 100 point dungeon kit – everything you need for an incredible dungeon pre-built
  • Deco pack (44 pieces)
    • 2x Black Ice Elemental Statue
    • 2x Torture Table
    • 2x Torture Rack
    • 1x Haunted Snowman Set (4 snowmen)
    • 1x Haunted Yule tree set (tabletop to four-story)
    • 1x Haunted Sleigh
    • 1x Large Lord British Telescope
    • 2x Canvas Upholstered Set – Dyeable – (2x armchairs, 2x Barrel chairs, 2x barrel sofas, 6x chairs, 1x loveseat, 1x wood trim loveseat)
  • Weapon and costume pack (23 pieces)
    • 1x purple dragon mask
    • 1x krampus mask
    • 1x Dark Yule Short Skirted Leather Bodice Set
    • 1x Black Ice Staff
    • 1x Black Ice Bow
    • 2x Black Ice Sword
    • 2x Black Ice wand
    • 1x Black Ice Wings
    • 2x Aether Axe
    • 2x Aether Two-handed mace
    • 1x Bass Fish Mask
    • 1x Haunted Snowman mask
    • 1x Dragon Polearm (Two-handed)
    • 2x Dragon Sword (One-handed)
    • 1x Dragon Bow
    • 1x Jester Shirt, Pants, Shoes, Staff
    • 1x Masquerade Mask
    • 1x Haunted Snowman mask

Receipt Raffle Prizes

Upload your receipts and share with the public and share your name in public reports and you will be entered to win each one of these prizes. Players can only win one of these prizes. Players are eligible to win the API raffle and the receipt raffle.

  • 2500 COTOs
  • 1500 COTOs
  • 1000 COTOs

We will be holding this raffle every month and creating PvP and PvE tournaments. Unfortunately, there’s no fishing trophy data in the API, because that would be the ideal way to hold fishing tournaments going forward and creating a fishing leaderboard.

Prize Delivery on July 1st

All prizes delivered July 1st via in-game mail. The dungeon prize will probably be too have, so a pick-up/trade location will be arranged with the player in-game. PM Titania Xylia in-game or on the forums for any questions or requests.

Additional Prizes Offered by PoT Owners

Novia Market
Robyn Hood is offering additional prizes for residents of her town, Novia Market! The prizes in Novia Market will be rewarded randomly. The prizes are

  • 1,000 COTOs
  • 500 COTOs
  • 250 COTOs

Enjoy!

Project to Support – Avatars Radio

Avatars Radio is a community run and community funded radio station founded by community member Amber Okhan (formerly 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

SotA_NewPlayerWelcome_Forum

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.



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