Play Release 93 Now! New Adventure Scenes, Quests, Potions, Recipes & Artifacts! Virtue Recalibration Kits! Time Machines! UI Improvements!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 93 (R93), two new adventure scenes have been added to the game, Jotungrund and The Outlaws’ Run! 12 new potions and potion recipes have arrived! 2 new artifacts! New quests! MANY new craftable items, and a long list of UI improvements and bug fixes are also live as of R93. Check out the update below! For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes. Now, let’s see what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

News Announcements

Community Updates

New Adventure Scene: Jotungrund!

Jotungrund, an enormous new Tier 14 adventure scene in Mistrendur which is only available to Episode 2 access holders, has been discovered! As the development team works to deliver more and more Episode 2 content, Mistrendur has become a popular hunting grounds to many adventurers of New Britannia, and this icy scene is likely to be a favorite amongst them. Packed with new content, concepts, and loot, players will have much to do in this frigid wasteland…

“Far to the northeast of Mistrendur awaits the vast icy wasteland known as Jotungrund, the Plain of Giants. Large packs of oversized wolves, hidden enclaves of fearsome barbarians, and furious “ice devil” hazards are mere distractions for the hardiest avatars. Make sure to bring your friends before you climb to the battlefield dominated by the most fearsome threat in New Britannia: a storm-wielding Frost Giant!”

The Frost Giants of Jotungrund utilize an entirely new character model with amazing new animations and special attacks with ominous VFX befitting their grandeur and prowess in combat. Their sheer size alone would frighten off most adventurers of New Britannia, but YOU are the Avatar! Will you dare to test your mettle against such a threat?

There are other challenges within Jotungrund, for those willing. Seek out the friendly inhabitants of these lands and lend them your sword arm. Obtain rare artifacts and other treasures! Horde precious raw materials to utilize at your crafting stations, such as Pure Elemental Ice which is a common material for the new player-crafted invisible walls and walkways! But what else can one obtain within these icy reaches of Mistrendur?

The common version of a new artifact known as the Ice Hammer of Jotungrund has a small chance to drop from the barbarians in Jotungrund. Players completing the first iteration and daily version of Hisa’s “signal fire” quest can also receive a common version of this artifact. This upgradeable artifact scales between Common to Epic tiers and offers varying bonuses to Ice Arrow damage. A new imbued gem can be salvaged from all tiers of this artifact at varying chances, which provides an Ice Arrow Damage bonus to items accepting imbued gems. Players can also salvage all tiers of this artifact to receive a pattern which can be applied to other two-handed bludgeon weapons.

A new artifact known as the Frost Giant’s Eye can be looted from the Frost Giants in Jotungrund. Every giant will drop at least a Common version, and this artifact, which is upgradeable and scales between Common to Epic tiers, offers bonuses to Water Attunement, Ice Field Damage, and Ice Field Radius. Also, a new imbued gem can be salvaged from these artifacts at varying chances, which provides Ice Field Damage and Ice Field Radius bonuses to items accepting imbued gems. An additional stat will be added during R93 which allows wielders of this artifact or items socketed with the related imbued gem to apply a frost resistance debuff to their combat targets.

The Frost Giant Skull has a small chance to drop as loot from a Frost Giant, which offers those with “peculiar tastes” to decorate their home or Player-Owned Town (POT) with this sinister decoration.

The Frost Giants in Jotungrund also have a small chance to drop either a Frost Giant’s Hammer Fragment (Head) or Frost Giant’s Hammer Fragment (Handle) which can be used in a high level carpentry recipe to form the Frost Giant’s Hammer Trophy. The recipe also has a small chance to drop from the Frost Giants in Jotungrund.

The Frost Giants also drop various fragments of their giant helmet when slain. These fragments can be utilized to to rebuild a Frost Giant’s Helm decoration as a trophy to place in your POT or property. Upon the first completion of Hisa’s “signal fire” daily quest, you will receive the recipe for rebuilding this helmet.

We hope you enjoy this latest addition to Episode 2 content. So many more scenes are coming to the lands of Mistrendur, and as they’re added, the story of this new continent will continue to unfold. More quests, more challenges, and more rewards are inbound, so stay tuned and keep your blades sharpened!

New Adventure Scene: The Outlaws’ Run

The Outlaws’ Run is an additional new Tier 8 adventure scene added as R93 content, which is also only available to Episode 2 access holders. This densely wooded area is loaded with nooks and crannies to explore and dangers to face, for much is hidden from view under the thick canopy of the forest. Bandits abound! New quests aplenty! Will you dare to explore The Outlaws’ Run and claim the treasures therein?

“For years, merchant caravans of Mistrendur’s central island risked using a wilderness shortcut known as The Outlaws’ Run. Recently, the criminals dominating these woods have become bolder and more aggressive, robbing caravans, destroying one of the two local waystations, and even kidnapping a handful of travelers! Unable to venture too far from the road for fear of lawless bandits, vicious wildlife, the deadly Ancient Druid that haunts the nearby groves, or getting lost in the ever-shifting hedge maze that is rumored to surround a secret outlaw village, desperate caravanners are relying on the avatar to conquer these threats before their livelihoods are destroyed forever!”

Hidden throughout this bandit-ridden territory, much treasure is rumored to exist, but will you survive long enough to discover these riches? Four of the 12 new potion recipes are rumored to exist in the hands of the denizens here, but will you be able to wrest these papers from their dying grip? Or will you become lost in these woods, never to be seen again?

Release 93 Patch Notes!

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 93 (R93) in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R93 is a content, improvement and bug fixes month. Polish, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R94 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 93!

Crafting, Decoration, & Inventory Item Changes:

  • All 27 varieties of regular agriculture plants now have a small chance to also yield a decorative version of the plant during an optimal harvest. The chances for the new plant decorations to drop vary slightly between plant types, but none are greater than 5% and none lower than 1%. These new plant variations can be placed on any ground surface to include the ground in Player-Owned Towns. Each plant features 2 versions, one regular and one mature, providing a total of 54 additional plant decorations. All supply bundles (and therefore Storehouse Containers) also feature a chance to drop these new plant decorations, with chances varying between bundle type. The “Ancient Druid” enemy which sometimes appears in Outlaw’s run, has a 100% chance to drop one of these 54 plant decorations upon every kill. In future releases, the ability to salvage these decorative plants for crafting materials and spell reagents will be introduced.
  • 3 new Aether versions of the Potions of Acumen, Deftness, and Might and their recipes have been added to the game. The original versions of these potions have also been altered to behave in a fashion related to these new Aether versions. Each type exists in its own channel. For instance, only 1 Acumen potion can be imbibed, whether it is an old version or a new Aether version. Each Acumen, Deftness and Might potion scales with adventurer level, and each also features a small penalty to the other primary stats. Recipes for the new Aether potions can be found in these locations:
    • Potion of Acumen, Aether: Satyr Mages in the Tartarus maze.
    • Potion of Deftness, Aether: Bandits in The Outlaws’ Run.
    • Potion of Might, Aether: Goruk in Ruined Keep.
  • 9 Potions of Magic Mastery and their recipes have been added to the game, one for each school of magic. These potions provide a bonus to each school’s mastery ability, and the bonuses scale with adventurer level and your specialization ability. Only one Mastery potion can be taken at any given time as they all share the same channel. Recipes for the Magic Mastery Potions can be found in these locations:
    • Potion of the Master Air Mage: Suutak in Aldur.
    • Potion of the Master Chaos Mage: Tharsis Vrul in Solania Catacombs.
    • Potion of the Master Death Mage: Elrin Nayer in Despair.
    • Potion of the Master Earth Mage: The druid in The Outlaw’s Run.
    • Potion of the Master Fire Mage: Xavara and Tier 15 Fire Elementals.
    • Potion of the Master Life Mage: The druid in The Outlaw’s Run.
    • Potion of the Master Moon Mage: Wisps in The Outlaw’s Run.
    • Potion of the Master Sun Mage: The Phoenix in Rhun Ruins or Wynton’s Folly.
    • Potion of the Master Water Mage: The Frost Giants in Jotungrund.
  • A Withered Flesh Flayer Baby has a small chance to drop from Flesh Flayers in all scenes available, which are primarily located in PvP Shardfalls. Supply Bundles and the new druid NPC in The Outlaws’ Run also have a chance to drop a Withered Flesh Flayer Baby. This withered plant can be placed as a decoration, or players can utilize a recipe to revitalize the withered plant. The revitalization recipe can be found in the loot of the three elf mages in the small room just southwest of the Flesh Flayers in The Rise. When all the ingredients for the recipe are found, players can then craft a Revitalized Flesh Flayer Baby using an alchemical and magical procedure at their alchemy crafting station.
  • Two new craftable decorations and their recipes have been added to the game to provide bulletin board or mounting board concepts to player-decorated walls. The recipes for the very rustic looking Wall Board (Square) and Wall Board (Rectangular) are now available on the decoration merchant above the bank in Central Brittany. Many wall decorations such as bulletin board flyers can be placed on these items.
  • The Small Canvas Tent recipe has been added to the game and is available on the decorations merchant above the bank in Etceter.
  • The Small Kobold Tent and the Triangle Kobold Tent recipes have been added to the game which have small chances to drop from the kobolds in Greymark Forest.
  • Property deeds have been renamed to better indicate their functionality as well as to improve sorting results in inventories. Also, the tooltip descriptions have been revamped to better describe their functionality and how to perform an upgrade. No-trade deeds now clearly indicate that they are no-trade in their display names and tooltip descriptions, which also is indicated in the upgrade context menu if listed.
  • All fishing bait now includes “(Bait)” at the end of each nomenclature to improve inventory search/filtering capabilities.
  • All backpacks can now be placed as POT decorations.
  • The Aether Vibration Amplifier Backpack can no longer be rotated along the additional axis, nor can it be placed onto walls as of this update.
  • Newly-crafted Large Pots and Cleavers in the two kitchen utensil set recipes now feature 50 extra durability since exceptionals no longer provide 50 durability.
  • Recipes using Pecan Nuts no longer require nearly as many nuts as before.
  • Salvaging mundane items such as beakers, test tubes, flasks, and jars now provide a little more quartz per attempt.
  • Zinc has some chance to be obtained by salvaging mundane items which appear to have metal parts.
  • Fixed the issue with exceptional ranged weapons not getting exceptional modifier.
  • Fixed the issue with leather belt masterwork attempts using the cloth armor masterwork skill. Now masterworking these leather belts properly uses leather armor masterwork skill.
  • Fixed the issue with color deviations in dragon masks after being patterned.
  • Fixed the visuals on the Jar of Oil and Jar of Vinegar items.
  • Fixed the jar decorations so they can properly stack.
  • Emotes and recipes can once again be traded properly.
  • Empty Flask and Empty Flask, Hardened items now actually appear as empty when placed as a decoration.
  • Fixed an issue with books not displaying the correct name in the tooltip when switching from runic to normal text.
  • Applying the patterns from The Shard of Night, the Xen Penetrator, or the Halberd of the Sun no longer include the tier of the artifact in the patterned item’s name.
  • Merchants with the same wares as Emily from Owl’s Head will no longer display two separate stacks of torches for sale.
  • The artifact upgrade recipes for the Two-Handed Sword of Elf Slaying, the Two-Handed Mace of Elemental Slaying, and the Wand of Wild Lightning now also reflect the new names recently applied to these artifacts.
  • The recipe for the Round Rug (Royal) has been renamed to “Recipe: Oval Rug (Royal)” to match the item it creates.
  • The Skull Mask no longer allows attempts at applying dye. The visuals for this item were never designed for dyes, but dye application was inadvertently enabled for this item.
  • The Fancy Ice Box can now be traded.
  • The New Water Lanterns can now be placed as POT decorations.
  • Adjusted many chandelier decorations to allow for exterior ceiling and POT placement.
  • The Isabelline Stone 2-Tier Outdoor Fountain and the Cinereous Stone 2-Tier Outdoor Pedestal Fountain can now be placed on other decoration items which accept other decorations as child objects such as castle walls or building blocks
  • Adjusted all the Xenossian shields to be placeable as POT decoration.
  • The Ancient Xenossian Bracers eternal pattern now functions and can be applied to hand slot items.
  • The ground and hanging versions of the Dunkleosteus trophies will now scale based upon the size of the lava fish.
  • The Heraldry Heart Shield can now be placed on exterior wall surfaces.

Combat & Skill Changes:

  • Creatures throughout all of Novia now have improved hearing and can detect players behind them up to 12 meters away instead of 6 meters.
  • The base weapon skills in the Ranged Combat, Polearms, Bludgeon, and Blades skill trees were not being applied to special attack calculations for almost all active weapon skills. This has been fixed.
  • The Spinning Attack polearm skill will now be able to critically hit and also include polearm specific bonuses.
  • The combo Icy Puncture’s range should now scale with the player’s polearm Reach skill.
  • Ice Fist’s range was utilizing fire range as an additional modifier, which has been removed.
  • The “Gust Chance” buff provided by the Ring of Air artifact or items socketed with the Imbued Jewel of Gust now correctly applies to the player’s character.
  • Flaming Bash and Shield Smash buff descriptions now show properly on the icon tooltip in the buff window if active.
  • Icefield damage now utilizes the correct damage bonus stat. Previously it was using the Meteor Shower damage bonus.
  • Melody of Mending and Atonal Aria now display the proper icon in the active buff bar instead of Ice Field’s icon.

User Interface, Lua, & Performance Changes:

  • Added a pet version of the character sheet which features many pet statistics for your summoned and tamed pets. Simply right-click the nameplate or the pet to reveal the context menu, then select the “examine” option. The sheet also features 3 equipment slots which will be utilized by upcoming pet gear items to be revealed in future releases.
  • A new feature has been added which allows players to right-click the gear item to select repair options. The appropriate repair tool must be in the player’s inventory.
  • A performance pass was made on many UI elements and NPCs to improve frame rate for scenes with high numbers of creatures.
  • The following items were added to the character sheet which appears when examining another player:
    • Second ring slot.
    • Extended character stats.
    • Show “more” character stats button and functionality.
  • The Looking For Group window now indicates the time the party was formed.
  • Critical chance calculations have been improved on the character sheet and a new tooltip was added to reflect this change.
  • Created in-game maps for the following locations:
    • Obsidian Panopticon
    • Desolate Hills
    • Jotungrund
    • Skrekk (Exterior)
    • Kobold Battle Camp
    • The Outlaws’ Run
  • Added feedback in the chat window for when the AskADev command is properly utilized.
  • Additional improvements to the game’s mouse cursor have been implemented.
  • 82 more items have been added to the player vendor “Manage Orders” listing, to include items such as totems, young fish, wyvern heads, dragon eggs, quartz, and many more.
  • Added 4 new Lua functions: ShroudGetCurrentSceneNameRaw() ShroudGetPetInfo() ShroudGetPetBuff() ShroudGetPlayerBuff().
  • Fixed an issue where the loot window would show color codes when resized.
  • Fixed the subterfuge checkbox in the decks window filter which was not remaining checked when selected.
  • The Hamstring combo now displays properly in the decks window.
  • Fixed the issue for cloaks showing after dismounting even if the option to hide the cloak was enabled.
  • Fixed the issue where the low ammo indicator was showing instead of the damaged weapon indicator.
  • Fixed the missing low ammo indicator tooltip which showed an error.
  • Fixed the mount icon reappearing when changing scenes while mounted.
  • Fixed the Romeus disconnection issue when players would go AFK.
  • Fixed for text aberrations in the decoration palette window.
  • Fixed the issue in the dye application version of the character sheet which was inappropriately displaying the show “more” button.
  • Fixed the issue where the mount button misbehaved when another player would mount next to you.

Player Economy, Rewards, & Loot Changes:

  • Added a new uncommon quest reward for the newly added Kingsport Storehouse Container which accepts 100 diamond fragments for the Uncommon container. The Common containers feature Metal Scrap, Leather Scrap, Fabric Scrap, and Wood Scrap.
  • The drop rates for Zinc have been increased greatly across all mechanical/clockwork beings such as Automatons, Spiders, Flyers, Cats, and Dogs. Automatons still remain the likely primary farming source for Zinc since they are guaranteed to drop Zinc with every kill. Grey, Yellow, Blue, and Orange supply bundles will now provide much larger quantities of Zinc and at higher drop chances within their loot tables, which also increases Zinc’s availability at Storehouse Containers. Clockwork Dragons now also drop significantly large stacks of Zinc with every kill.
  • The gold value of Zinc has been greatly reduced.
  • Grey and Yellow Supply bundles now have a greater chance to drop a stack of Pecan Nuts, Brown Cap Mushrooms, or Cinnamon Bark.
  • The little scavenger girl in Tanglemire now also provides Pecan Nuts as a reward to the Missing Bones daily.
  • Pecan Nuts have been added back to NPC merchants for the duration of R92 with a price increase from 15g to 25g. They’ll likely be removed from NPC merchants in R94.
  • Quartz nodes now also provide more quartz.
  • Clockwork Monkeys in the Monkey Room of K’rul were unintentionally featuring regular loot and now feature reduced control point type loot.
  • The loot for the kobold boss in Mysterious Swamp once again drops kobold boss loot.

World, Quests, and Miscellaneous Changes:

  • Aerie and Resolute: Improved the logic which allows the devotional caretakers to recognize when the avatar has defeated their respective Cabalists.
  • Aerie: Fixed a typo in one of Vivienne’s responses.
  • Arabella: Updated her responses related to the starting locations (Blood River, Highvale, and Solace Bridge) of the three Episode 1 storylines.
  • Ardoris: Updated a cushioned chair so that NPCs have a better sitting orientation.
  • Ardoris: Updated Siranto’s “undead” response logic to help ensure he gives the proper dialog.
  • Blood River Outskirts: If a player receives the “reward” version of the manifesto from Alberic, then accidentally destroys it before giving it to Captain Bearfield, they can get a replacement by saying “manifesto” to Alberic.
  • Blood River Outskirts: Updated the logic which Phineas uses to give poison to the avatar.
  • Blood River Outskirts: Updated the logic, compass markers, and food interaction for the “poison the food” quest. Also, avatars on a certain stage of the quest can now delete the poison item and get a replacement from Phineas.
  • Broken Echoes Silver Mine: Replaced several nonfunctional destructible crates with functional versions.
  • Highvale: Updated the “Aldorn is missing” quest with improved dialog, updated journal entries, compass markers, and the chance to find “evidence” in the Battle of Highvale the same as its aftermath.
  • K’rul: Fixed an issue with several crates that had displaced collision.
  • K’rul: Swapped the plane version of the grate for the 3D version.
  • Necropolis Barrens: Fixed an issue with one love letter that couldn’t be collected.
  • Necropolis: When Davropos accepts a dead body, he’ll advise the player that he’ll return anything he finds that’s not the body.
  • North Brightbone Woods: Katana-wielding Ebon Cultist Champions now wear proper Ebon Dawn gear.
  • Novia: Fixed an issue where players were being drawn into a swamp encounter in a hills location.
  • Plains Encounter: Avatars will no longer get a message about a great threat when entering the Hidden Vale dragon scenario of this encounter.
  • Plains Encounter: Fixed an issue where the Mistrendur dragon scenario was incorrectly pointing to Hidden Vale assets. Also, ensured all random encounter locations with Aether dragons are able to spawn them.
  • Return to Previous Destination teleporters: Added “return” boats or balloons to the docks or default entrances to several scenes. These teleporters have purple canvases.
  • Serpent Spine Mines: Updated stairs in a “lich boss area” to improve the path grid.
  • Skrekk: Added a “skilled hacker” and props near the west entrance to this area.
  • Skrekk: Added compass marker to skilled hacker that appears for avatars that have a virtue recalibration kit in their inventory.
  • Solace Bridge Outskirts: Bancroft will advise places who have received their Episode 1 lot deed to visit the banker in Soltown, now named SLT-3113.
  • Solace Bridge Outskirts: Updated the logic which Kinsey uses to set players on the quest to deliver the report to Stanley.
  • Solace Bridge: Updated text for Quincy’s compass marker.
  • South Drachvald Spur: Updated the path grid to help NPCs walk on troublesome slopes.
  • Tanglemire: A new load screen has been added for Tanglemire, which is an alteration of a screenshot provided by the screenshot contest winner Ian Berie — congrats on your contest win, and thank you for the submission, Ian!
  • Tenebris Harbor: Changed the ore nodes from tier 4 to tier 5, as befitting the scene’s tier.
  • The Brave Coast: Removed a redundant target (West Docks) from the signpost teleporter network.
  • The Obsidian Panopticon: Moved an exploding barrel away from a bed that it was intersecting.
  • Valhold: Added a compass marker for the Town Crier.
  • Valhold: Fixed typos with the “amulet of testimony” quest.
  • Valhold: Players are no longer blocked from finishing the Valhold amulet of testimony quest when trying to finish after completing the path of Courage.
  • Wynton’s Folly: Swapped tier 5 ore nodes for tier 6 nodes, as befitting this tier 6 scene.
  • Fixed issues with the dismount dissolve animations.
  • Fixed the issue which allowed players to perform various actions while a ghost.
  • Ankhs are now properly visible in the Ardoris PVP Arena.
  • Linux players will no longer see a mysterious ladder appear and disappear in the Hills Random Encounter.
  • Adjusted the spawn locations in the Village Mine Basements to prevent players from spawning inside of a support post.
  • Decorations on the Dais in the player-made dungeon Lich Room no longer float above the surface.
  • The player-made dungeon “Hilt Rotunda” can now be decorated on the first floor, the dais, and on the mezzanine.
  • All store entries for planting beds (elven and viking) have been split into separate entries.
  • All planting beds and areas are now in the crafting section instead of the outdoor planter section of the store.
  • Cloaks, Wings, and Backpacks are all now in a new store subcategory called Cloaks, Wings, Backpacks.
  • Fixed a typo in the Ancient Xenossian Spear store entry.
  • Fixed a typo in the Fancy Ice Box store entry.

Player-Owned Town Changes:

  • B’azaar of the B’izarre: Upgraded to Teralopolis.
  • Broken Ground: Upgraded to Crossroads Village.
  • Kustingen: Added new holdfast to Novia west of Ardoris.
  • Nauvoo: Upgraded to Metropolis.
  • Quel Regional Market: Added crossroads village southeast of Etceter.

Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

The weekly Community Livestream is Friday, August 27th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other members of the development team for a community 1-hour livestream!

To enter the prize drawings, type “live in the sunshine” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website Add-On Store.

Please submit questions using in-game universal chat by typing “askadev” before your question. We’ll do our best to answer these questions live on the stream, and we’ll even be periodically posting answers to some unanswered questions in the forums each month. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT!

Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar — be sure to get the  channel on follow for notifications so you can join us right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel. Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!!




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

Labor Day Sales Event!

Happy Labor Day! In observance of Labor Day, bonus EXP and various sales will start on Friday, September 3rd at Noon CT:

  • +100% Adventure and Crafting EXP!
  • Holdfast Player-Owned Towns are 20% Off!
  • 2-Hour Flash Sale Items are 20% Off!
  • Crowns of the Obsidian are 20% Off!
  • Crown Store Deeds Still Include Dungeon Entrances and Foyers Until R94!
    • Crown Store Row Lot Deeds: Ancient Tome Dungeon Entrance Pattern
    • Crown Store Village Lot Deeds: Magic Mirror Dungeon Entrance
    • Crown Store Town Lot Deeds: Ruined Stone Arch Dungeon Entrance Pattern & Ornate Triple Connection Stone Dungeon Foyer
    • Crown Store City Lot Deeds: Circle of Stones Rift Dungeon Entrance Pattern & Ornate Triple Connection Marble Dungeon Foyer
  • Player-Owned Town Upgrades are 20% Off! (Crown Upgrades Only)
  • Episode 2 Access is $4 Off!
  • New Character Slots is 40% Off!

All these sale items except for the Crown Store Deed specials will last until Tuesday, September 7th at Noon CT, so don’t miss out! Happy shopping, Avatars!

Crown Store: Planting Areas, Tents, Virtue Recalibration Kits, Time Machines & More!

Many new store items are coming your way in the month ahead! Keep an eye out each week as the following items become available in the Crown Store. Available today on August 26th, Planting Areas! These planting areas allow plants to appear as if they’re growing straight out of the ground rather than in a raised planting bed. When players select the “Show Decoration Indicators” checkbox, a helpful indicator becomes visible to aid players in seeing all the nodes in their planting area.

Players can now also purchase Virtue Recalibration Kits! A skilled kobold hacker, located on a hill overlooking the western entrance to Skrekk, can use these kits to bypass the Oracle’s defenses and make unauthorized changes to her secret virtue scores that she records for avatars. In exchange for one virtue recalibration token, the skilled hacker can change a highly positive or negative Courage, Love, or Truth value to a moderately positive or negative one, or a moderate value to a low one. Low values are not able to be affected. A skilled hacker cannot perform more than one recalibration a day for an avatar.

A large fancy icebox is now available on the store! This decoration provides players more decorative ways to depict cold storage, and features a 300 item capacity with functional doors! Also, a 9-Pack of Xenossian shields and their separate store entries are now available! These high quality shields with stunning Greco-Roman style blazons are sure to attract the gaze of curious onlookers. Equip them! Apply their patterns to your crafted and artifact shields! Decorate your walls with them! Collect them all!

  • Single Planting Area
  • Small Planting Area
  • Medium Planting Area
  • Large Planting Area
  • Virtue Recalibration Kit
  • Large Fancy Ice Box
  • Ancient Xenossian Round Shield 9-Pack
  • Ancient Xenossian Round Bird Shield
  • Ancient Xenossian Round Cerberus Shield
  • Ancient Xenossian Round Face Shield
  • Ancient Xenossian Round Crested Helm Shield
  • Ancient Xenossian Round Octopus Shield
  • Ancient Xenossian Round Owl Shield
  • Ancient Xenossian Round Pillar Shield
  • Ancient Xenossian Round Trident Shield
  • Ancient Xenossian Round Triskelion Legs Shield

Becoming available on September 3rd, 6 varieties of tents! Whether you’re looking to decorate your town or property with canvas, kobold, or market tents, you’ll certainly have a much wider variety to choose from as you delve into your creative ventures:

  • Medium Canvas Tent
  • Large Canvas Tent
  • Medium Kobold Tent
  • Large Kobold Tent
  • Wide Market Tent
  • Nomad Market Tent

Becoming available on September 10th, 3 more varieties of Kobold Weather Machines! These amazing devices can currently only be placed as Player-Owned Town decorations by stewards and governors. Turn your town foggy! Make it rain! Make it stormy! These machines are a fantastic way to set the scene for town role-playing events or simply adding a more immersive feel to your player-created environments:

  • Kobold Weather Machine (Foggy)
  • Kobold Weather Machine (Heavy Precipitation)
  • Kobold Weather Machine (Storm)

Becoming available on September 17th, three varieties of Flesh Flayer decorations! These highly frightening looking plant decorations are an excellent way to add a sinister feel to your town or property decoration endeavors. Also, a Feathered Leather Wizard’s Hat that features two dye layers becomes available:

  • Flesh Flayer
  • Large Flesh Flayer
  • Huge Flesh Flayer
  • Feathered Leather Wizard’s Hat (Dyeable)

Becoming available on September 24th, 4 varieties of Kobold Time Machines! Each time machine is specially calibrated to adjust the time within your Player-Owned Town to a specific setting. Freeze the clocks in your town at sunrise, noon, sunset, or midnight. Featuring a tank of bubbling magic fluid and spinning electric orbs, their time freezing powers are a true testament to the technological capabilities of the engineers deep within the underground city of Skrekk. These amazing devices can currently only be placed as Player-Owned Town decorations by stewards and governors. These machines are fantastic tools for role-playing events or improving your town’s look and feel:

  • Kobold Time Machine (Sunrise)
  • Kobold Time Machine (Noon)
  • Kobold Time Machine (Sunset)
  • Kobold Time Machine (Midnight)

The Summer Seasonal store items are still available! These rare summer items will remain on the store until September 25th:

  • Hula Emote
  • Fire Dance Emote
  • Fire Dance Cross Emote
  • Flame Stained Glass Table Lamp 3-Pack
  • Flaming Bagpipes
  • Island Spear
  • Flame Scimitar
  • Island Flower Crown
  • Island Dress
  • Flame Shield
  • Firedancer Outfit

To see a full listing of all the items which rotate through the Vault, we have prepared a forum post showing all items which could appear throughout the year!

September Login Reward: Wizard’s Wand!

Log in during the month of September, and you’ll receive a Wizard’s Wand as part of this month’s “Back to Wizard School” theme.

Release 93 Subscriber Login Rewards: Wizard’s Hat, Kopis Sword, & Backpack!!

Avatars! Rewards Program login items for Release 93 are a must have — don’t miss out! As part of this month’s “Back to Wizard School” theme, a dyeable Leather Wizard’s Hat is a new subscriber login reward item! Also as part of this wizard collection, a new dyeable Leather Backpack which is fantastic for those wishing to tote their Wizard School items on their back! Also, the Ancient Xenossian Collection continues with the introduction of the Ancient Xenossian Kopis Sword which features a dyeable grip. Dual wield these amazing swords for a very intimidating look! Reward Program members must login during Release 93 to receive these special login items:

  • Ancient Xenossian Kopis Sword (Dyeable)
  • Leather Wizard’s Hat (Dyeable)
  • Leather Backpack (Dyeable)

The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following:

  • 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month
  • Monthly Login Reward Items (about 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
    • 21 Months: Keeper of the Bond
    • 24 Months: Keeper of the Promise
    • 27 Months: Keeper of the Covenant
  • Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months
  • Pick any three of these 7 Obsidian Potions every month:
    • 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
    • Potion of Stamina: Decreases focus use from sprinting

New Bug Brigade’s 1st Anniversary Party!

Please join us for a party celebrating the 1st anniversary of the new Bug Brigade, hosted by the Bug Moderators Ravalox, Alley Oop, Justyn, and Echondas. The party will start Saturday the 28th at 8PM CT in Ardoris on the Bug Brigade’s Houseboat indicated in the image on the right. Justyn will be spinning tunes on WRFB while the party-goers dance, play party games, and more! You never know what might happen!

If you have questions about this event, please post them in this event’s forum post.

Bug Brigade & Testing Directives!

The Bug Brigade was established to improve how the community and the development team work together to improve the game. Since the Brigade’s inception, the program has gone through a number of changes and was eventually placed on hold. The stability of the game is as important to the development team as it is to the players, therefore the program was revamped and was recently relaunched.

The Brigade has been up and running for two months now, and the volunteers are getting into a good rhythm for verifying and submitting bugs to the developers. If you have reported a bug that has not yet been addressed, please be patient while the backlog is being worked. The Brigade is working diligently to cleanup the backlog of bug reports posted by players on the forums.

Every month, a considerable amount of development time will be spent working many of the verified bugs which have been submitted to the team by the Bug Brigade. This focused effort on bug fixes would not be possible without the recent efforts of the Bug Brigade. Please take the time to thank these bug hunting aficionados when you encounter them in your travels!

In turn, the development team would like to express a big thank you to the Bug Hunters! These community members are doing a fantastic job bringing so many bug reports to the team, and they’re doing it in a way which makes the process smooth and efficient. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Already, much improvement has been noticed by the development team, and we’re so very excited to see the program successfully back in action!

The development team would also like to thank all of those who took time out to participate in the QA Testing Directive for the upcoming Mount System. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, many issues and bugs were identified and fixed prior to the system going to the Live Server! Keep up the great work! For those that wish to participate in future bug hunting endeavors, please check the forums regularly for upcoming QA Testing Directives.

Also, the Bug Brigade would like to welcome its newest Bug Moderator, Echondas! Please congratulate him the next time you see him in-game or on the forums. This new member expands the Bug Moderator team to: Alley Oop, Echondas, and Justyn. Thank you Moderators! Your efforts are highly valued by the development team!

Don’t forget, the Bug Brigade is open to all players in good standing, and the bug rewards are back! And they are SWEET! They will be awarded on a monthly progression basis with only minimal requirements to qualify. The available rewards to receive in progression via qualifying participation are as follows:

  1. Antennae Head Gear and Forum Title 1: “Bug Hunter”
  2. Single Ant Cloak
  3. Lady Bug Backpack
  4. Bug Painting A and In-Game Title 2: “Associate of Aphids”
  5. Ant Farm
  6. Insect Leg Table
  7. Many Ants Cloak and In-Game Title 3: “Bachelor of Beetles”
  8. Bug Painting B
  9. Bug Sprayer
  10. Bug Painting C and In-Game Title 4: “Master of Moths”
  11. Butterfly Chair
  12. Corpion Chair (Pictured Below)
  13. Yellow Fireflies VFX and In-Game Title 5: “Doctor of Dragonflies”
  14. Hacked Oracle Flyer
  15. Giant Blue Butterfly Pet
  16. Butterfly Mask
  17. Dragonfly pet
  18. Fairy Wings
  19. Monarch Butterfly Pet
  20. Dragonfly Wings
  21. Hacked Oracle Crawler
  22. Blue Butterfly VFX
  23. Orange Fireflies VFX
  24. Orange Butterfly VFX

If you’ve come to think of Shroud of the Avatar as your home, signup and help make New Britannia a better place to live! To learn more about joining the Bug Brigade, please read the announcement thread by Ravolox in the main Bug/Feedback forums.

Updates to the Streamer Rewards Program!

Several months ago, a program was proposed for the Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar. The ultimate goal being to showcase Shroud of the Avatar while giving SotA streamers a reward for their efforts. The program is currently in Phase I, with Phase II technology currently being discussed and worked internally. So, let’s talk Phase I!

Phase I:
Streamers who wish to be included in the Streamer Program must contact Laney via in-game mail or in a private message on the forums with their Character Name and Twitch Channel information. If you have already signed up for the program in the past, fear not, you’re on the list, and you don’t need to reapply.

  • Streaming Rewards Program participants must adhere to our Terms of Service (TOS) and Community Rules while Streaming Shroud of the Avatar.
  • Streaming Rewards Program participants must stream at least 10 hours of Shroud of the Avatar ACTIVE game play to remain in the program with reward accrual.

Streamers will receive a one-time digital reward of in-game items after meeting the program’s requirements: Streamer’s Cloak, Streamer’s Camera, and a brand-new LIVESTREAMING title. Future incremental rewards will occur at 6-month intervals. (More information to come).

Rules:

  • To qualify for Streamer Rewards, each streamer must continue to meet the minimum requirements for 60 days after application.
  • To accrue additional rewards, Streamers must stream SotA a minimum of 10 hours per month, tallied on the 1st day of each month, to remain in the program.
  • Streamers must be actively playing the game during their streams. Being away from the keyboard (AFK) for short periods is acceptable. If Twitch indicates the streamer is playing SotA but they are streaming other content or a timeout/login screen, they risk being removed from the program.

Items of Note:

  • SotAbot: Streamers in the program will be included in the SotAbot StreamPop function, appearing in the player-streaming channel in Discord.
  • Graphics & Overlays: An optional “Streamers Kit” is available to the participating streamers as well as all players of Shroud of the Avatar, which includes graphics, overlays and other material.

Watch the forums for more information, coming soon, regarding Titles, future rewards and for info on Phase II of the program. We love our Streamers, so get out to Twitch and follow them, watch them, and support them!

Upcoming Release Dates

Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums. The upcoming 2021 Release Schedule is as follows:

  • Release 93 – Aug 26 (Content)
  • Release 94 – Sep 30 (Polish)
  • Release 95 – Oct 28 (Content)

Community Updates & Resources

Greetings event holders and event attendees! So many fun and exciting events are available in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to get out there and participate, make some new friends, perhaps make some great emote, recipe, or gear trades, or get some adventuring and role-playing into your mix! Here are spotlighted events or updated community resources that we’ve noticed popping up lately on the official forums:

Catnip Games Contests:

  • Catnip Games Monthly Fishing Tourney: Greetings Anglers! The monthly Catnip Games Fishing Tourney is live! Join in on the fun! SO many prizes available for the anglers of New Britannia!
  • Catnip Games Monthly Screenshot/Video Contest: Avatars! For those of you skilled with the camera or screenshot key binding, a monthly screenshot and video contest is underway which features a large number of valuable prizes. The focus will be for players to submit creative or informative screenshots and videos of content introduced to the game during the latest 3 monthly releases.
  • Catnip Games Monthly Treasure Hunting Contest: Want to go hunting for rare items? Want to see if you can beat other players in this quest for treasure? Well join in on the monthly treasure hunting contest, Avatars!

Special Announcements:

  • New Bug Brigade’s 1st Anniversary Party: Please join us for a party celebrating the 1st anniversary of the new Bug Brigade, hosted by the Bug Moderators Ravalox, Alley Oop, Justyn, and Echondas. The party will start Saturday the 28th at 8PM CT in Ardoris on the Bug Brigade’s Houseboat indicated in the image on the right. Justyn will be spinning tunes on WRFB while the party-goers dance, play party games, and more! You never know what might happen!
  • The New Britannia Theater Troupe Needs YOU: If you would like to join this band of merry story writers and voice actors, give Asclepius a reply on the forums or send him a PM. Already there is a very rich selection of past work written and performed by the troupe which is available in audio form here at the Caverns.net.

One-Time Events:

  • No One-Time Events have been announced.

Recurring Events:

  • Trash to Treasure Dropped Items Turn-In: Some unscrupulous fella has been flooding the loot in New Britannia with junk: Wizard Hats! It’s time to clean this trash up that’s plaguing the loot tables, so a bounty has been placed on all gear crafted by Coswald Dirthmire that you find in loot. Turn in what you find every contest period! R93’s contest period lasts until September 28th!
  • Mad Splatter Tea Party: The Mad Splatter Tea Party takes place in Lily Byrd’s back garden in Jade Valley. This month’s episode will be held on Sunday, August 29th at 3PM CT. This special edition of the event will be hosted by Time Lord! There are drinks and eats, there is sometimes music, there are often party games with prizes, and sometimes attendees just sit and talk about life in Novia. Get your role-playing hats on and come on over!
  • Ironhall Tournament & PvP Training: The Player-Owned Town of Ironhall holds weekly player training events every Saturday at 1PM CT. Events are held in the village of Virtus Mons in Ironhall and can be reached easily via use of the fast travel signs.
  • M’Hul Island Monthly Fishing Contest: Join Asmodi M’hul and friends at M’hul Island for their monthly fishing tournament that lasts from Release Day to Release Day! Prizes are available!
  • Lightbringer Isle Fishing Contest: Why not earn some extra prizes each month and participate in Lightbringer Isle’s monthly fishing tourney? Lots of fantastic prizes — don’t miss out!
  • Combat & Crafting Sunday School: Head on over to Immortal City every Sunday from 7PM to 9PM CT to learn the tricks of the trade in combat and crafting!
  • 500 Crown Fishy Prize: If you’re ever worried there isn’t an active fishing contest going on, well worry no longer! Sonja Solar and friends are running a continuous fishing contest in Brittany Fort “Now and Forever for All Eternity” which has wonderful prizes and objectives. Be sure to watch the video indicated in the “bagged” link provided to see the full explanation of the contest rules.
  • RHEC Traveling Pop Up Fishing Contest: Keep an eye out in universe chat, trade chat, and the forums! Asmodi M’hul will routinely announces at least one pop up fishing contest every week for those anglers out there anxious for extra prizes and fun!
  • PvP Fishing with RHEC: The RHEC anglers of New Britannia will be hosting PvP fishing contests in The Brave Coast! There are 3 tourneys which will take place on July 23rd and July 24th from 7PM to 9PM CT, and July 25th from 5PM to 7PM CT. Hope to see you there!
  • Lightbringer Isle Auction: Ladies and gentlemen! The Citizens of Lightbringer Isle welcome you to the weekly auctions! The auctions are about bringing together people from all corners of the community, with the Lightbringer Isle’s market being the perfect place to do so! Join us every Sunday at 11AM CT!

Community Calendars:

  • Avatars-Virtue Radio Calendar: Just when are all those talented DJ’s and streamers broadcasting? Don’t just guess, check out there very helpful calendar! Never again will you wonder when’s the best time to tune in!
  • NBNN Calendar: This calendar provides a great schedule for NBNN and WRFB programing as well as many other community events. If you’re a fan of the Laz & Jack show or even if you’re hoping to catch them in action for the first time, this is the calendar for you!
  • SotA Event Calendar: Event participants, take heed! Thoryk Omara has done a wondrous job creating a community event calendar which is available to all players of Shroud of the Avatar. Please make an effort to support this new calendar. The more resources players have at their disposable for event notifications, the better!

Community Event Resources: Here are some fantastic resources for tracking down community events or posting your own events. Become involved! Create! Explore! Make friends! But most of all, have fun!

  • One-Time Community Events Forum: Sometimes events happen only a single time, so you’ll not want to miss out on these events as they occur. Check out the forums routinely to spot these!
  • Recurring Community Events Forum: Some events occur on weekly or monthly schedules which are a great way to routinely meet up with friends and to make new ones. Be sure to check this forum frequently for new events or time changes to existing ones.
  • Game Master (GM) Potion Request Procedures: Shroud of the Avatar has an amazing in-game consumable for player event holders — the Potion of Temporary GM Powers! Players wishing to enhance their in-game community event by having GM Powers at their disposal need to simply follow the procedures outlined in this forum thread.
  • Player Event Trophies and Special Item Requests: Would you like to request a special trophy or renamed item for a player event you’ve created? Head on over to this thread to see what’s available and to obtain more information about request procedures.
  • Player Radio Station Forum: If you want to check out the latest and greatest from our in-game radio stations, go to the radio stations forum! If you’re a DJ, be sure to advertise your time slot and venue in this forum.
  • Player Livestreams & Videos Forum: If you’re searching for a Shroud Streamer to watch, head on over to the streamer forum! If you are a live streamer for Shroud of the Avatar, be sure to advertise your Shroud stream by posting in this forum.
  • Town Directory Forum: Want to find a town to live in or get your town listed in the directory, head over to the forums and check it out!
  • Guild Directory Forum: Looking for a guild or want to get yours posted in the guild directory? Head on over to the forums and check it out!
  • Fire Lotus Tavern: This wondrous role-playing and story writing forum is the spot to be if you love fan fiction and role-play.
  • Community Resources:  Looking for links to community and official resources for Shroud of the Avatar? Well look no further. On this page you’ll find links to a plethora of helpful resources created by the dev team or the community.

SO many options to stay tuned-in with fellow community members. Please take advantage of all these wonderful options. Happy adventures, Avatars!

Project to Support: Shard RPG

Shard Studios invites you to enter the fantastic world Dárdünah, the vast shard of a shattered realm, as presented in the colorful pages of the SHARD RPG! Many years in the making, this system allows players to choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures this otherworldly setting offers. Skyships glide through shimmering clouds past majestic crystal peaks. Giant insects prowl alien jungles or lurk in the sparkling emerald seas. Warriors with blades of diamond and amber duel across crimson sands. And mystics chant in shadowy chambers as their spirits wander abroad.

  • Intro Sheet: For a quick glimpse into the world of Dárdünah, be sure to download the intro pdf! It’s packed with great information and features beautiful artwork, not unlike the artwork found throughout the many pages of this gaming system’s gorgeously designed manuals.
  • Core System Manuals: It’s easier than ever to delve into Dárdünah, World of the False Dawn, with the Core Books Bundle! If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience this unique gaming system and setting, now’s your chance! This bundle includes two beautifully illustrated, full-color, hardcover books: the original Basic Compendium and the Magic and Martial Arts book! They contain everything you need to begin your adventures, and include instructions for the ritual magic and martial arts combat systems. These manuals also include 90 new Animal Templates upon which to base your character!
  • Other Shard RPG Products: So many more manuals and gaming materials are available! Everything an avid tabletop role-player and game master needs to delve into the world of Dárdünah!

So if you’re ready to experience a gaming world like no other, check out what Shard Studios has created for tabletop role-players on the Shard RPG official website! You’ll most certainly be immersed and amazed by the offerings of the Shard RPG!

Project to Support: Shadow of Valhalla

Shadow of Valhalla is a visceral physics-based VR combat game with dynamic RPG elements, set within an ancient realm of Viking lore and mystic powers! Early Access beta includes “endless horde mode” featuring a variety of enemies with progressive difficulty. Also, players can discover many magic spells to unlock! So much more is coming!

Finn Staber with Chicken Waffle, will join the Shroud of the Avatar team on Twitch during their Friday the 28th livestream to showoff this new Early Access game! Also, here is a teaser video on YouTube:


The development team is working hard to create additional environments and new quests! Shadow of Valhalla is available on Steam as Early Access. Additional features coming to the game:

  • More Enemies!
  • More Environments!
  • More Magic Spells!
  • RPG Quests!
  • Weapon Forging and Crafting!
  • Much, much more!

If you would like to learn more about Shadow of Valhalla, be sure to stop by the main webpage for the game as more news becomes available!

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: 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 commitment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like.

Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immediate 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

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.



2 Comments


  1. Lord SteinLord Stein

    This release shows the dedication of the Dev’s to make this game truly one of a kind and growing monthly.


Comments are closed.