Avatar’s Update #375: Spindelskog Adventure Scene Update! Latest News and Q&A Friday Livestream!

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

News Announcements

Community Updates

Spindelskog Adventure Scene Update!

Spindelskog is an upcoming Episode 2 adventure scene located on the new Mistrendur continent which is currently deep in design with List Rostov at the helm! For those familiar with the Mistrendur Land Rush, this location has been indicated for some time as Adventure Scene 1, far to the northwest of the continent. Just this past week, List shared a screenshot of his progress with the scene, and the image definitely brings “spooky forest” to mind.

“Amidst the fetid swamps of the Northwest of Mistrendur hides Spindelskog, a rotting and decrepit old-growth forest. Swathed in ancient webs and choked with detritus and weeds, this forest can go without sunlight for months at a time. Within this foreboding darkness, the summer growth falls into decay and the webs and shadows creep across the woods. It is home to creepies and crawlies, huge predators and mysterious creatures of shadow.”

Latest News and Q&A Friday Livestream!

Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, April 3rd at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris Spears a.k.a. Atos and other developer team members for a community 1 hour livestream!

To enter the prize drawings, type “April showers bring May flowers” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website add-on store. Please submit questions into Twitch Chat by inserting !question at the beginning of your text. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT!

Bard Skill Tree is Live!

The bard skill tree is has now officially entered into the world of New Britannia on the live server. Players can find the trainer for this new skill tree on the continent of Mistrendur at the main entrance to the Ruins of Utheim. So many skills await your mastery, Avatars! Go and test your musical prowess with these new abilities: Melody of Mending, Atonal Aria, Anthem of Alacrity, Psalm of Stagnation, Concussive Canticle, Savage Sonata as well as several innate abilities!

Party Size Increases to 12!

Avatars! Exciting news! The first iteration of Party/Raid type lovin’ for this year has arrived — Parties of 12! Players can utilize this new feature on the live server for Shroud of the Avatar! Expanding the capabilities of adventure parties is just one of the exciting new features to arrive this year. Read more about what’s on the horizon in the Shroud of the Avatar 2020 Vision!

Mistrendur: Land Rush Final Bracket Underway!

By royal decree, the process details for the Mistrendur land rush have been issued to the peoples of New Britannia! Players made reservations to add or move towns to Mistrendur some time ago, and the time to select locations is well underway!

The official announcement thread is ready and full of information about the currently active land rush! Bracket 7 started Wednesday at Noon CT! This is the final bracket which lasts until Noon CT on April 4th. Keep those entries rolling in — we’re ready for them! If you have any last minute questions or concerns, reply to the official announcement thread, or contact Elgarion on the forums via forum conversation.

The site selections will be made in the sequence the reservation vouchers were purchased.
The seventh and final bracket of players commenced site selection on Wednesday, April 1, Noon CT.
For more information, please read the official announcement in the forums.

This new land mass is just one exciting new feature arriving this year. Read more about what’s on the horizon in Shroud of the Avatar’s 2020 Vision!

The Arch Lapin Returns!

Deep within the cavernous Spectral Mines, lies something very… scary. With huge fangs! And cute little feet. Deadly feet! And fangs! Fangs that go on from here until tomorrow and then again to the next day and sometimes the day after that. Beware adventurers, for peril certainly awaits thee! The Arch Lapin is far more than a mere rabbit! It’s got fangs! And red eyes! Just look at the bones!

Be sure not to miss out on this year’s return of the Arch Lapin! Many loot items can be found upon its corpse, such as rare paintings, a trophy head and an Orb of Obliteration!

Latest Store Items: Tulips Flower Arrangement & Dyable Lepus Masks!

Latest additions to the Crown Store include the new Tulips Flower Arrangement, Pink Dye and a Dyable Lepus Mask! Other items also recently added: a Gothic Candelabra, three Gothic Furniture Sets, a Gothic King Sized Bed, and Dyable Heraldry Gustball Uniforms.

Tulips Flower Arrangement
Pink Dye (Breast Cancer Awareness Charity Item)
Dyable Lepus Mask
Gothic Candelabra
Gothic Furniture Mega Set
Gothic Furniture Dining Set
Gothic Furniture Bedroom Set
Gothic King Sized Bed with Black Leather
Dyable Heraldry Gustball Uniforms

Deed Upgrades 30% Off!

Avatars! Upgrading deeds in Shroud of the Avatar is still 30% off! To upgrade a deed, be sure the deed is in your inventory, then right-click it for upgrade options. If sufficient Crowns are available in your inventory, then select the desired upgrade. Be sure to take advantage of this amazing deal! Increase the size of your property then spend some nice quiet and safe time at home decorating, enjoy!

Double Experience Points Continue!

Head out into the lands of New Britannia and charge headlong into the dangers therein, Avatars! For the near future, Shroud of the Avatar players will receive double experience points (XP) for their endeavors in Adventure and Crafting! Hourly XP attenuation limits have also increased. Please take advantage of the extra experience points! Stay home, stay safe and explore New Britannia!

Megalopolis: New Town Size Available!

After the Municipality town size became available, the Player Owned Town (POT) governors of New Britannia demanded even larger town size upgrade options! And more upgrade options they shall receive! Now, players of Shroud of the Avatar can upgrade their POTs to the size of Megalopolis.

Springtime Vault Round!

The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, April 9th at 10:30 AM CST. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc.

2017 Rabbit Tailed Bodice Ensemble
White Rabbit Pet
White Lepus Mask
Replenishing Confetti Eggs Basket
Giant Butterfly Pet
Stained Glass Hand Lantern
Floral Pattern Stained Glass Oil Table Lamp (3 Pack)
Shogun Four-Story Town Home
/flowerleap emote (leap into the air and throw flowers)

April Login Reward: Bunny Ears!

Just in time for the return of the notorious Arch Lapin, a new springtime wearable becomes available! Be sure to log in sometime between April 1st and 30th to receive this special and festive Bunny Ears headpiece! WARNING: The Bunny Ears headpiece does not cause the Arch Lapin to befriend you nor does it provide bonuses to hearing. Enjoy!

Release 76 Reward Program Exclusive Login Reward Items: Springtime Theme!

The hillsides are abloom, bunnies abound, and evidently ladybugs are also around! Rewards Program exclusive login reward items for Release 76 are springtime themed! Reward Program members will receive these exclusive items immediately upon logging in during Release 76!

Giant Bunny Companion
Ladybug Backpack
Bunny Slippers

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

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

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

- 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month
- Exclusive Monthly Login 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

Packaging Items for Trade in Player Test Environment (QA)!

Just arriving to the Player Test Environment (QA) server is a very useful new feature with which allows players to trade formerly no-trade Heritage items by packaging them for trade. Simply right-click the item, then select “Package Item for Trade” which will spawn an option window requesting a Crowns payment for the packaging. Once packaged, the item can be freely traded to another player, who can then unpackage it for use simply by double-clicking upon the item.

Allowing for the trade of formerly no-trade Heritage items is just one of many useful new features to arrive this year. Read more about what’s on the horizon in the Shroud of the Avatar 2020 Vision!

Streaming the Player Test Environment (QA) Now Permitted!

Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar are now welcome to stream gameplay of their Player Test Environment (QA) experiences! We hope this new option will inspire increased new feature testing before these features go to the live server. When streaming from QA, please be sure to notify your audience that you are testing new and unfinalized features on the test server.

Are You a Livestreamer?

Soon, the Streaming Reward Program will be returning. As the details are getting reworked, we’ll reveal more information. Traditional streaming rewards included an exclusive in-game Streamer Camera for being a veteran of our Streaming Program! Expect the camera reward to return! More goodies will come to your way as the program fully develops. Thank you for streaming Shroud of the Avatar!

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 Lord British’s property, and dinner with the game leaders including Lord British himself! Only 24 of these unique bundles will be sold!

Complete List of Rewards:

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
Unique Lord of the Isle Home
NEW – Town Size Upgrade (if a town is not owned by the LOTI supporter, they may gift this size upgrade to another town owner. Maximum possible town sizes will be taken into account, but the Megalopolis size just became available!)
Festival of the Avatar FULL ticket (which includes admission, King’s Dinner, Barons Men Play, A Heraldry Banner) and one additional guest at a discounted rate.
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)
Unique Lord of the Isle Dungeon Room
140,000 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 Lord British’s property
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, 2019). Other items will be delivered at a future date TBD.

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

Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams (YouTube)

Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on our TWO Twitch Channels: twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar and twitch.tv/communityoftheavatar — be sure to get these channels on follow and get the latest information right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel (complete with “Mojito the dog” cam). Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!!

Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at our other social media venues:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShroudoftheAvatar/
Catnip Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/catnipgames
Shroud of the Avatar Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShroudofAvatar
Shroud of the Avatar Discord: https://discord.gg/GuBXakQ

Upcoming Events Calendar

Be sure to check out the Community Events section of the forum for events hosted by our wonderful community members! Below is a list of additional events as the year progresses:

2020 Events
Apr 30 – Release 77
May 28 – Release 78
June 25 – Release 79
July 30 – Release 80
Aug 27 – Release 81

Meretz: Win an Elven 3-Story w/Dual Cabanas Town Water Home (No Trade)

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 and tons more. With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month. This month, we’re giving away an Elven 3-Story w/Dual Cabanas Town Water Home (No Trade) to a lucky winner! AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes.

What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY!

Community Event: 2nd Annual Novia Market Easter Egg Hunt

[Forum Post by Robyn Hood]

It’s that time of year again! Novia Market will be having it’s Annual Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday, April 5th, at 1400 CST!

Where: Novia Market
When: April 5th, 2pm CST
Duration: 30 minutes

How it will work – Hidden throughout Novia Market will be brightly dyed eggs. Unfortunately, since folks can’t interact with eggs you can’t pick them up. However, placed near each egg will be a sheet of paper with a number on it. Write that number down and when you are done hunting for eggs, send a whisper to Robyn Hood with the numbers that you found! Random prizes will also be awarded for particular eggs (whoever sends me a whisper with the number for that egg first wins – I will announce which eggs I’m looking for prior to event start). Prizes include:

Number of eggs found
1st place: 1500 Crowns
2nd place: 750 Crowns
3rd place: 250 Crowns

Random prizes: Replenishing Spring Equinox Confections Platter, Silver & Gold Lepus Mask, 5 x Decorative Dyable Egg packs. Best dressed bunny – 2500 Crowns to the Avatar with the best Easter-themed costume!

Be there or be square, Avatars! For more information, please visit the original post by Robyn Hood.

Community Event: Podcasts & Poetry on Virtue Radio

[Forum Post by Asclepius]

Attention Avatars! The Shroud of the Avatar community is INCREDIBLY creative, and over the last five years, many community members have composed short stories, poems, and other creative works. Asclepius, along with a number of other narrators have had the privilege of rendering them into audio form. There is a huge vault of podcasts on the Caverns site with well over 200 amazing creative contributions.

So after fiddling with the broadcast software, Asclepius now offers to share them with you. This is planned to be a regular WEEKLY segment, about an hour in duration. Listen in and you will hear a curated selection of short stories and poems, interspersed with some great community music.

When: Wednesday Evenings at 7 PM CST
How to Listen: There are two methods to tune in to Virtue Radio

Utilize your in-game Aether Vibration Devices for Avatar’s/Virtue Radio (radios, clockwork pets, clockwork helms, etc.)
Simply point your browser to Avatar’s/Virtue Radio: https://zcu.io/jXP8

For more information about these reoccurring broadcasts on Avatar’s/Virtue Radio, please contact Asclepius on his forum post about this topic.

Project to Support – Jar Wars

While you are delving into Virtual Reality (VR), be sure check out this exciting and hilarious new game, Jar Wars! Our very own Darkstarr has been busy on some side projects, one of which is Jar Wars, a slapstick multiplayer game made just for VR enthusiasts. Battle your friends with wacky weapons and intriguing gadgets for total domination of the Moon! Available for free on Steam!

Project to Support – Rodasurf

Darkstarr and the Rodasurf team once again dazzle us with another interview which aired on Spectrum News! The RodaSurf board is an accessory to the Onewheel XR device. Simply snap and lock the Onewheel into RodaSurf’s latching system, and you’ll be surfing the streets before you know it! For the full article PLUS a fantastic video, be sure to head straight over to the Spectrum News Website and see our beloved Lord of Chaos show off his latest venture!

Project to Support – Dragon Fight

Darkstarr has also been hard at work with the team for Dragon Fight VR which recently went live on Steam! Dragon Fight VR is an internal experiment to capture the “essence” of a dragon fight, the classic penultimate experience of every fantasy story. We wanted to create a short visceral, realistic experience stripped of user interface, lobbies, scores, levels, and other visual intrusions that might distract. There were some key elements of fighting a dragon that we wanted to capture and we felt VR was uniquely qualified to convey:

Face to face with a large scale hostile creature trying to kill you
Using a sword and a shield
Fire!
Nowhere to run!

This started out as an internal experiment to learn some things about VR’s capabilities, be reductionist in our designs, etc. We felt that the experiment was successful enough to release as a free experience to share. Enjoy! Available for free on Steam!

Project to Support – Crowfall

Be part of shaping the next great MMO by becoming a Crowfall Backer! Crowfall is the first and only online Throne War game. You can win. Join intense PvP battles that demand strategy, survival and a fierce competitive spirit. Reap the spoils of war as an Eternal Champion!

Claim virtual territory on behalf of your guild or faction. Capture mines, mills, and quarries to secure resources, build castles, and besiege your neighbors. Scavenge artifacts and relics from the Dying Worlds and install them in your temples to grant blessings to your vassals. Capture lost spirits to do your bidding — or bind them into your weapons to infuse them with sorcerous power!

Project to Support – Avatar Express

[Forum post by Vladamir Begemot]

I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site.

If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening.

You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no committment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like.

Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immidiate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game.

It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts!

So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us!

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.

Nysaliwow