Updates

Avatar’s Update #388: Tanglemire Sneak Peek! Lord British Birthday Q&A Friday Livestream!

July 3, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

This week’s update takes us into a sneak peek at Tanglemire! Located in Mistrendur, this new town/adventure scene is for Episode 2 Access holders, and will be the first new town scene for Epsiode 2! 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

Tanglemire Sneak Peek!

Tanglemire is one of the upcoming new town scenes coming to Episode 2 Access holders! Inhabited by a deeply superstitious Norgardian-style populace, the people of Tanglemire protect their borders with Spirit Warders that impede the incursion of creatures from Spindelskog. The shadow-like beasts from within that nearby darkened wood infect their weary minds with crippling dread. The people of Tanglemire are ruled by a group of “elders” struggling to preserve their village, but how long can they delay the inevitable demise of their beleaguered settlement? What aid might an Avatar bring to a people so burdened by doubt and fear?

“Life is a never-ending struggle for Tanglemire, a fading outpost in the north of Mistrendur virtually abandoned by the Norgard Empire. Surrounded by freezing cold, deadly swamps, and a haunted wood, it’s no wonder that the desperate locals have turned to unusual means for protection. But how long will their decaying “spirit warders” keep them safe from the untold horrors that threaten these peaceful people?”

The outskirts of Tanglemire, in similar fashion to Valhold, will feature a variety of enemies to defeat and challenges to overcome. Much of the Tanglemire content will ultimately land somewhere in the middle of the Mistendur storyline, but upon release, Tanglemire will still feature an initial quest. Additional quests will be added as more Episode 2 content is released in the time ahead.

Lord British Birthday Q&A Friday Livestream!

Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, July 3rd at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and Richard “Lord British” Garriott de Cayeux, and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream!

Be sure to pop by to wish Lord British a very happy birthday!

To enter the prize drawings, type “happy birthday Lord British” 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!

Crowns, Deed Upgrades & Two Hour Flash Sales!

In celebration of Lord British’s birthday, various sales will begin on Friday morning and extend throughout the holiday. Crowns will be on sale for 20% off. Deed Upgrades will be 30% off! To upgrade a deed, place the deed into your inventory, then right-click the deed to reveal upgrade options. But that’s not all! Two Hour Flash Sales will also commence on Friday morning! So watch your clocks, Avatars! A new batch of 9 sale items will rotate into the in-game Crown Store every 2 hours!

Players have until Monday, July 6th at 1PM CT to take advantage of these great discounts, at which time all 3 sales events expire. Happy shopping, Avatars!

Double EXP Continues!

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 (EXP) for their endeavors in Adventure and Crafting! Please take advantage of the extra experience points! Stay home, stay safe and explore New Britannia!

New Vault Round!

The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, July 9th at Noon CT. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc.

Wood & Plaster 2-Story with Front Porch Town Home
Jester Carnival Mask
Black & Chrome Ornate Aeronaut Outfit
Kobold 2-Story with Rooftop Deck Village Home
Kobold 3-Story with Open Deck Town Home
Question Stovepipe Hat
Large Knight’s tent
Small Obsidian Obelisk
Fireworks 45-Piece Assortment 1

New Store Additions: Lord British Birthday Cake, Stiletto Heels & More!

This year’s Lord British Birthday cake has arrived! When used, this wondrous cake creates 4 cupcakes, also unique to the 2020 birthday celebration! Tear up the dance floors, Avatars! The new Stiletto Heels are a perfect addition to any wardrobe worthy of a night out with friends. Also, cooks now have a wondrous second option for a crafting station style — the BBQ Smoker Cooking Station! Just perfect for the outdoor BBQ with fellow Avatars! This new cooking station will become available very shortly. For the Avatars seeking to display pipes throughout their properties, two new Steam Pipe 10-Packs are available on the Crown Store! Thick and thin varieties of pipes can now extend throughout your dungeons, basements, homes, and towns as a wonderful display of technology!

2020 Lord British Replenishing Birthday Cake
Stiletto Heals – Low Slung with Straps
BBQ Smoker Cooking Station
Aviator Glasses
Horn-Rimmed Glasses
Rectangular Glasses
Round Glasses

Also, we’re scouring the realm for items that have long been missing from the store. Many items are being loaded into the Vault and will rotate in periodically which will be announced each week as they go live, but here’s a small glimpse of additional items becoming permanently available for purchase:

Aggressive Spider 3-Pack
Attacking Spider 3-Pack
Still Spider 3-Pack
Blue Tile Roof 2-Story Row House
Blue Tile Roof 3-Story Row House
Rustic 2-Story Village Home
Rustic 2-Story with Balcony Village Home
Rustic 2-Story with Loft Village Home
Gift Boxes 3-Pack
Silver Clockwork Armor
Silver Clockwork Armor Pattern Pack
Smoke Virtue Emote

Avatar’s Update #387: Play Release 79 Now! New Adventure Scene: Spindelskog! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

June 25, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

This week’s update brings us an entirely new adventure scene — Spindelskog! Located in Mistrendur, this new scene is for Episode 2 Access holders, and features a new quest and several new creature variants! Also, many changes are coming to how we process Player-Owned Town vouchers. Dynamically scaled scenes have received a new style tier marker, and subscriber reward login items will receive more varied themes going forward. 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: Spindelskog!

Spindelskog is an entirely new Episode 2 adventure scene in Mistrendur! Spindelskog is located far to the northwest of the continent on the westernmost island. Hidden within the tangle of an ancient forest, this adventure scene contains dangers never before faced by the Avatars of New Britannia! Shadowy beasts lurk within, such as the Onus and Feram Cavas! These vile creatures posses terrifying abilities sure to thwart any trespasser!

Skarde, a brave traveler from Tanglemire stands just within Spindelskog’s entrance and awaits the arrival of any Avatar brave enough to test their mettle beneath the sun deprived canopy of this accursed wood. He speaks of the “pale ones” and warns newcomers of the curse which plagues this blighted land.

Currently a Tier 10+ adventure scene, Spindelskog will soon be adjusted to offer a variety of additional scaled difficulties. The scaled versions of the scene should patch in shortly, but in the meantime, please enjoy the first available version at “Easy” difficulty. Upcoming difficulty tiers to be added are tentatively Normal (Tier 12) and Hard (Tier 14). Only players with Episode 2 Access will be able to adventure within this new scene. Will you aid Skarde upon your visit to Spindelskog? If so, bring your companions, oh brave ones! The dangers here are not to be taken lightly.

Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, June 26th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears, and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream!

To enter the prize drawings, type “soaking up the rays” 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!

Player-Owned Town News!

New Player-Owned Towns Available: In celebration of Lord British’s birthday and in the foreseeable future, players will once again be able to purchase new Player-Owned Towns on the web add-on store. The player town feature of the game is one of our most intriguing and enjoyable systems, and now more players will have a chance to become a governor. All new towns can be placed directly on the overworld in Novia and Hidden Vale, but Mistrendur placement is still exclusive to those who purchased Episode 2 transfer vouchers or Episode 2 new town vouchers in the past.

Town Service Voucher Changes: Until now, there were two town service vouchers. The $50 Player-Owned Town Transfer Voucher allowed players to transfer an entire town from account to account and the $25 Player-Owned Town Submission Form Unlock Voucher was used for all other POT-related tasks. Both vouchers are being replaced by the new ones described below:

$25 Player-Owned Town Minor Work Request: Tasks that are covered by this voucher include:
- Add or change the targets for up to 3 interconnection teleporters (balloon, wagon, boat, or hatch, as appropriate for the POT biomes). Note that Mistrendur POTs still have the exclusive ability for unlimited distance in their interconnection change requests, while Novia and Hidden Vale towns will still be limited to interconnection locations within a geographical proximity. (Since Mistrendur still lacks much in terms of nearby content for those governors, we thought it best to allow them to keep and even add interconnections regardless of distance. Future plans include allowing POT governors to set up their own interconnections thereby minimizing the need for interconnection-related vouchers.)
- Slightly adjust the location(s) and/or orientation(s) of their interconnection teleporter(s). (Note that interconnection teleporters must remain by the central hub of each POT but can be moved, for example, from one side of a bridge to the other, or from one side of the docks to the other.) POT owners with multiple interconnection teleporters of a given type can request that they be replaced with a single list teleporter. (For example, a POT with 5 boats can request they be replaced with a single “list teleporter” that links to the same 5 targets.)
- Move an overworld POT to a new overworld location, or from one nested location to another nested location. Mistrendur POTs can move to Novia or the Hidden Vale if they so choose, but Novia or Hidden Vale towns cannot yet move to Mistrendur without an applicable Episode 2 Town voucher.

$50 Player-Owned Town Major Work Request: Tasks that are covered this voucher include:
- Transfer a POT to another account.
- Change the POT’s name, biome, or both. Note that the POT will need to be emptied prior to implementation otherwise all belongings in the POT will be moved to their respective owners’ banks. Also, all interconnection teleporters will be migrated to the newly created version. (Previously biome and name changes were available with purchase of a $25 voucher, but after much consideration, these requests now require the $50 voucher due to the amount of work required to perform these tasks. In both cases, the town must be entirely reset, which takes a considerable amount of developer effort and time.)
- Merge two POTs. (NEW!) Now, governors can request the merger of two Player-Owned Towns! If both POTs are owned by two different players, as with a transfer between accounts, both parties must provide permission for the merge to customer service (at support@portalarium.com). The owner(s) will designate which POT will be removed from the game, and which POT will receive the value of the town to be removed. A town’s value cannot exceed the value of a Megalopolis, which currently is the largest town size available.
- Change a nested POT to become an overworld POT. POTs nested within Novia or the Hidden Vale can move to the overworld map of either Novia or Hidden Vale. POTs nested within Mistrendur can move to the overworld maps of Mistrendur, Novia, or Hidden Vale. (As a goal, we’re providing a means for all nested towns to find their way onto the overworld map. Expect more placement options to become available as continents continue to be added to the game in upcoming episodes.) Note that POTs without Episode 2 access that move to the overworld may find themselves too far from old interconnection targets, so please keep this in mind when choosing an overworld location.
- Two minor work request items may be requested with a major work request voucher, but each voucher is still limited to 3 interconnection changes/additions. For instance, with the major work request, a governor could also include as many as 3 interconnection changes (as the 1st minor work item) and a teleporter change from balloon to a wagon (as the 2nd minor work item).

Player-Owned Town Crown Upgrades: Players may now officially request town upgrades using Crowns of the Obsidian (a.k.a. Crowns or COTOs). We’ve managed to perform some of these upgrades in the past, and now the process is completely refined and ready for full implementation. Simply put in your request through customer service (at support@portalarium.com), indicate which town is to be upgraded and in which character’s inventory the appropriate amount of Crowns is available. Customer service will remove the Crowns from your character and initiate an upgrade request. Also, your town’s record will be updated such that if you choose to purchase an upgrade via the web store, this option will still be available. This upgrade option is exceptionally helpful to teams and guilds who upgrade their towns through a collaborative effort. These upgrade requests must be performed by the governor and the governor’s character must be the one holding the Crowns used for the upgrade.

Town Form Changes: Very soon, the online POT form will be revamped. When players access or unlock their online POT form, we sometimes receive feedback or notice confusion about certain aspects of the form. Through the years, portions of the form have become either obsolete and/or misleading to governors making change requests for their town. We want to improve and streamline every governor’s experience, and the changes to this form is a part of that desire.

Expect all of these town service changes to become available as we approach Lord British’s birthday. We hope governors enjoy the improved experience, and we welcome any upcoming new governors to the Player-Owned Town system.

New Scene Difficulty Tier Markers!

With the arrival of the new dynamically scaled difficulty concept for Episode 2 adventure scenes, players will start seeing a new type of difficulty tier marker to provide a graphical representation of the player selected difficulty just inside the entrance of each applicable scene. The difficulty levels available are “Easy,” “Normal,” “Hard,” and “Extreme.” The old tier markers had up to 5 skulls on a spike–the more skulls, the harder the difficulty. Also, a ribbon on the top meant “plus” in that there was at least one large section (not just one enemy) within that same scene that was a notably higher difficulty.

These new tier markers include five shelves. A skull on the bottom shelf means you’re in the Easy version of the scene. A skull in the second shelf from the bottom means you’re in the Normal difficulty. Third from the bottom means Hard. Fourth from the bottom means Extreme. The top shelf is reserved for the “plus” marker or some other future use.

Tier markers also appear in the overworld, and Mistrendur’s tier markers are handled in a special way. For example, if the scene has a Normal and a Hard difficulty, the overworld tier marker will have skulls both on the Normal shelf and the Hard shelf to let you know both modes are available. We hope you enjoy these new tier markers. As more scaled scenes arrive in the Episode 2 continent of Mistrendur, these new markers will be a great indicator to the dangers players are about to face.

Reward Item Collections!

Recent player feedback about the decoration and gear login items created each month for Rewards Program subscribers has led the team to rethink what types of rewards are delivered in a given release, in order to appeal to all different types of players. A desire for more immersive or functional gear items became evident as we read through the feedback. Moving forward, players can expect a more varied selection of items in order to provide a balance between intriguing gear, immersive decoration, and vanity/fun type login rewards.

To further enhance the login items provided for the Rewards Program, a collections type concept has also been implemented. During Lord British’s Birthday Bash in 2017, a unique plate helm was delivered to players which never received any other plate armor counterparts to complete the set. In the months ahead, one additional piece of Lord British Plate Armor will be forged by master artist Damon and delivered to players amongst their Rewards Program login items. The Lord British Chest Plate Armor arrives this month as our first piece in a collection of new Lord British-themed items. For the time being, the helm will still cycle through the Vault periodically as a rare and more difficult item to obtain. When this collection is fully delivered, expect other amazing collections to become available to subscribers in the future. Also, reward and monthly login items will become available in the Crown Store towards the end of each month in case subscribers want to receive addtional copies of these items, or if non-subscribers would like to acquire them separately without a subscription.

Crowns, Deed Upgrades & Two Hour Flash Sales!

Players have until Monday, July 6th at 1PM CT to take advantage of these great discounts, at which time all 3 sales events expire. Happy shopping, Avatars!

Avatar’s Update #386: Dynamically Scaled Scene: Myrkur! Lord British & Atos Q&A Livestream!

June 19, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

This week’s update highlights the introduction of a new dynamically scaled adventure scene based upon the existing dungeon known as Despair. Myrkur, the name for the spin-off version, will be available to Episode 2 Access holders shortly! 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

Dynamically Scaled Scene: Myrkur!

Dungeoneers of New Britannia, ready thine weapons and prepare to brave the depths of Myrkur! This new scene will be located on the eastern island of Mistrendur, along the southeastern shore just east of the “serpent’s mouth.” Myrkur will be available to all players with Episode 2 Access. A cloned version of Novia’s Despair, Myrkur is the newest scene to receive a dynamically-scaled version. In the deepest depths of Myrkur are teleporters that allow players to conveniently switch between the normal and “extreme” difficulty versions of this dungeon. Initially, Myrkur’s dynamic nature will scale creature difficulty and experience, but plans are in the works for this scene’s loot to also scale in the future.

The two difficulties initially available for Myrkur are as follows:

Normal (Tier 10)
Extreme (Tier 15)

Dynamically Scaled Difficulty will not only scale the tier level of spawns, but also the experience awarded for each opponent defeated. Most new adventure scenes added to the game will feature scaled difficulty options, but not every scene will receive the same difficulty levels. All scenes will have some type of dynamic scaling, with a few exceptions that include scenes which are primarily story-driven or based in social interactions. The upcoming loot scaling will not only affect items dropping from creatures, but also chests and gathering nodes found within these scaled adventure scenes. Chests and gathering nodes will scale very soon, with loot scaling going live shortly after more testing occurs.

Recently, the first scene to feature this new dynamic tech was Lamech’s Bazaar, a cloned version of the beautiful Tier 2 location known as South Midmaer Way. Lamech’s Bazaar features revamped spawns and NPC dialogue adjustments and is fully integrated into the new dynamic system. The 3-day reward buff which also resides in South Midmaer Way is still available in Lamech’s Bazaar, but there are plans to alter that buff to vary with the scaled options offered for the scene. The scaled reward buffs for Lamech’s Bazaar are as follows:

Easy (Tier 7): +30 Dexterity, -10 Strength
Normal (Tier 10): +30 Dexterity, -10 Strength
Hard (Tier 12): +40 Dexterity, -10 Strength
Extreme (Tier 18): +20 Dexterity, +10 Damage Avoidance

Myrkur isn’t the only new scene coming to Mistrendur. Available in Release 79, Spindelskog will become the first unique adventure scene designed specifically for Episode 2. Players with Episode 2 access will experience new and exciting adventures in a very dark and gloomy forest. With plans to also make this scene dynamically-scaled, Spindelskog will add much variety to a player’s adventure options. So take caution, adventurers! Shadowy creatures lurk within the gloom beneath the smothering canopy of this depraved and ancient forest….

Lord British & Atos Q&A Friday Livestream!

Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, June 19th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Lord British, Chris “Atos” Spears, and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream!

That’s right, Avatars! Lord British will be on the livestream today! Be sure to greet him with a hearty hello and plenty of questions about his latest adventures.

New Vault Round!

The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, June 25th at Noon CT. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc.

Airship City Home
Battle Banner
Wizard Tower Village Home
Hacked Oracle Crawler Decoration Pet
Red Squirrel Decoration Pet
Battle Banner
Elven Peaked-Roof Village Home
Viking Three-Story Stronghold Town Home
Longboat Dry Dock
Aether Aeronaut Helmet

Avatar’s Update #385: Armor Durability Changes! New Ability: Provoking Shout! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

June 12, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

This week’s update spotlights some significant changes to Armor Durability! Durability Multiplier is a new stat introduced to differentiate armor durability damage between the armor types. Also, Provoking Shout is a new ability in the Heavy Armor skill tree which greatly increases the aggro tanks generate during combat. 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

Armor Durability Changes!

New mechanics to distribute armor durability damage have been introduced! Now, players will notice certain types of armor are less susceptible to durability loss than others. A “Durability Multiplier” has been applied across the board, and adjustments have also been made to an equipment’s “chance to be hit.”

Durability Multiplier scales with armor type as follows:

Cloth: 100%
Leather: 150%
Chain: 200%
Plate: 300%

For example, when plate armor piece is hit for 300 damage, it will experience the same durability loss that a cloth piece would have sustained at 100 damage. This change allows for heavy armor wearers to survive more attacks at less durability loss than their lighter armor wearing companions. Also, a 100 cap on damage and how it effects durability loss has been removed. Now, incoming damage will affect durability loss in a scaled fashion.

The adjustments to an equipment’s “chance to be hit” should also provide a more sensible approach to durability loss. For instance, head slot items will now have a lower chance to be hit. Also, with the recent addition of the second ring slot, both rings will now have a chance to be hit.

Overall, some players might notice as much as a 25% increase to armor damage, but the damage is now applied more systematically and fairly across the armor types, slots, and adventure roles. Soon, a new concept of magical “damage sinks/magnets” are coming. These new items will attract more damage than other gear currently equipped in your inventory as a way to protect your more powerful and expensive pieces. Also coming up, expect changes to shield behavior as well as Masterwork/Enchantment concepts in a continued effort to enhance tanking gameplay and the overall party experience.

Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, June 12th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream!

Today’s topic will talking about the latest durability changes for armor and the new Provoking Shout ability in the Heavy Armor Tree.

New Ability: Provoking Shout!

Tanks rejoice! For those heavy armor users struggling to protect their high DPS or healer companions, a new skill has been introduced into the Heavy Armor skill tree — Provoking Shout! This new skill provides a buff which dramatically increases aggro generation from all sources throughout the duration of the buff. Heavy Armor Specialization increases this duration significantly.

So if a player was specialized in heavy armor and had the Heavy Armor Specialization Skill at 80, Provoking Shout at 80 would add 100% aggro generation to all sources for 120 seconds. If the Heavy Armor Specialization Skill was at 120, Provoking Shout at 120 would add 150% aggro generation to all sources for 150 seconds. The creation of Provoking Shout is a strong step towards improving tank mechanics and overall improvement to the adventure party experience.

Episode 2 Access Update!

Avatars! Soon, Mistrendur adventure locations will be limited to Episode 2 access holders! For those players who’ve already received Early Access Episode 2 either through direct purchase or through pledge/bundle items, no changes will occur. These players will still be able to enter all of the Mistrendur scenes currently present and any future ones added, such as the upcoming dark forest scene, Spindelskog. For players yet to receive Early Access Episode 2, they will no longer be able to enter the dynamically scaled Lamech’s Bazaar, or The Ruins of Utheim which provides access to the Bard Skill Trainer. Players without Episode 2 Access will also not be able to enter the soon-to-arrive Spindelskog (which will also be dynamically scaled) nor any future Episode 2 adventure and NPC town scenes. All players, regardless of Episode 2 Access, will be able to roam the Mistrendur overworld map and be able to access any Player-Owned Town within the continent.

Soon, shadow creatures will be discovered in the new lands… “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.” If you have not already, please join us in the exploration of Episode 2 content. Every new adventure scene will be dynamically scaled for difficulty, and new challenges and creatures await thee!

New Store Items: Steam Pipe Sets & Town Improvement Items!

For the Avatars seeking to display pipes throughout their properties, two new Steam Pipe 10-Packs will soon be added to the Crown Store! Thick and thin varieties of pipes can now extend throughout your dungeons, basements, homes, and towns as a wonderful display of technology!

Currently live on the Crown store are 8 more varieties of Row Homes. The Obsidian, Kobold, Shogun, and Elven 2 and 3-story Row Homes are now once again available! These permanent additions to the store were previously part of the expired bundle concept and are just a glimpse of what’s returning to the store in the months ahead. Also, all Row Home prices have been normalized to match the prices of the already present Viking Row Homes. This brought about a huge reduction in price to the Obsidian, Kobold, Shogun and Elven 4-Story Row Homes. (Of note, other items also received very large price reductions/normalizations to include the Stone Dragon Statues, the Topiary Dragon Statues the larger Ornate Moondials, and the Obsidian Stone Fence.) We also noticed we never loaded in the Town-Sized version of the Flaming Dragon Statue, which should patch into the game shortly.

Other new items added to the store are for Player Owned Town Governors and Stewards! New to the Crown Store, all of the Player Owned Town NPC’s, Statues, Decorations and Devotionals are available for purchase separately and nestled inside a new store category called “Town Improvements.” Upon purchase of a new town, players already receive a large variety of these items automatically, but through the years, Player Owned Towns have received additional slots for placement of town items. With the new Megalopolis sized town, it became very clear to us that we simply haven’t provided a way for town Governors and Stewards to acquire additional items to fill these available slots, nor did we provide the flexibility town owners would prefer in utilizing a larger number of a particular asset. Now, these concerns have been alleviated! These items can only be placed as decoration by town Governors and Stewards. We hope you enjoy all the additions to the Crown Store!

Thick Steam Pipes 10-Pack
Thin Steam Pipes 10-Pack
Obsidian 2-Story Row Home
Obsidian 3-Story Row Home
Kobold 2-Story Row Home
Kobold 3-Story Row Home
Elven 2-Story Row Home
Elven 3-Story Row Home
Shogun 2-Story Row Home
Shogun 3-Story Row Home
Flaming Town-Sized Dragon Statue
Armor Merchant NPC (female)
Armor Merchant NPC (male)
Banker NPC (female)
Banker NPC (male)
Bartender NPC (female)
Bartender NPC (male)
Caretaker NPC (female)
Caretaker NPC (male)
Combat Merchant NPC (female)
Combat Merchant NPC (male)
Cooking Merchant NPC (female)
Cooking Merchant NPC (male)
Crafting Merchant NPC (female)
Crafting Merchant NPC (male)
Decorations Merchant NPC (female)
Decorations Merchant NPC (male)
Fishing Merchant NPC (female)
Fishing Merchant NPC (male)
Guard NPC (female)
Guard NPC (male)
Homes Merchant NPC (female)
Homes Merchant NPC (male)
Magic Merchant NPC (female)
Magic Merchant NPC (male)
Pet Merchant NPC (female)
Pet Merchant NPC (male)
Tavern Customer NPC (female)
Tavern Customer NPC (male)
Town Crier NPC (female)
Town Crier NPC (male)
Weapon Merchant NPC (female)
Weapon Merchant NPC (male)
Armor Shop (NPC Building)
Cemetery (NPC Building)
Dragon Bones (NPC Building)
Guard Tower (NPC Building)
Moon Tower (NPC Building)
Oracle Confirmatory (NPC Building)
Oracle Guardian Statue (NPC Building)
Stables (NPC Building)
Titan of Courage Statue (NPC Building)
Titan of Love Statue (NPC Building)
Titan of Truth Statue (NPC Building)
Devotional of Compassion
Devotional of Courage
Devotional of Honesty
Devotional of Honor
Devotional of Humility
Devotional of Justice
Devotional of Love
Devotional of Sacrifice
Devotional of Spirituality
Devotional of Truth
Devotional of Valor

Avatar’s Update #384: Vault Round Automation! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

June 5, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

This week’s update brings you some great news about the Vault! Not only will the vault be automated soon, it will be packed with MANY more items in the coming months. Also, 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

Vault Round Automation!

What mysterious and ancient treasures can be found within the Vault on the Crown Store? Soon, Avatars? Much, much more! Currently, about 200 items manually cycle into the vault. The process took a considerable amount of developer time to hand select 9 new items every 2 weeks and prep them for store availability. Albeit the process allowed for more theme related selections, time could be better spent elsewhere on more important parts of the project. Going forward, these changes will enhance the Crown Store experience for all players:

Vault Item Selection Automation: 9 items will automatically be selected within the pool of available Vault items.
Vault Item Pool Increase: Currently about 200 items cycle into the Vault. We’ll be adding roughly 400 additional items into the pool in the coming months to provide a much more varied availability of old Stretch Goal, Monthly Telethon, Rewards Program, Monthly Login, and expired items. Pledge Rewards are still not eligible to become Vault items.
Vault Duration Change: Now that the Vault will be automated and the old manual process is no longer a factor, Vault items will change out every week instead of every 2 weeks. As we load in the additional Vault items, this duration could possibly be shortened again in the future.

We hope you enjoy the wider variety of available Vault items coming your way very shortly. This week, we will not have the normal Vault Round available items announcement since this system is about to go live, and the items will be randomly selected. Happy shopping, Avatars!

Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, June 5th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream!

Avatar’s Update #383: Play Release 78 Now! Dynamically Scaled Difficulty! Shadow Creatures Preview! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

May 27, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

This week’s update brings you some great news about a new concept coming to Episode 2 adventure scenes called Dynamically Scaled Difficulty! Soon after release, players will be able to experience the first scene enabled with this new tech. Also, take a sneak peek into the new Shadow Creatures effects coming to encounters near you! 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

Dynamically Scaled Difficulty!
Adventurers, rejoice! A new concept for Shroud of the Avatar, called Dynamically Scaled Difficulty, brings a variety of user selectable difficulty levels to a single adventure scene. Here is a breakdown of the difficulty levels available in the first iteration of the new tech:

Easy (Tier 7)
Medium (Tier 10)
Hard (Tier 12)
Extreme (Tier 18)

Dynamically Scaled Difficulty will not only scale the tier level of spawns, but also the experience awarded for each opponent defeated. After further testing occurs, loot will also scale accordingly. Every new scene added to the game will feature scaled difficulty options, but not every scene will be broken down identically.

The first scene to feature this new tech is Lamech’s Bazaar, a cloned version of the beautiful Tier 2 location known as South Midmaer Way. Of late, in addition to adding entirely new scenes, the team has routinely revamped old underutilized low tier scenes such as this to feature greater challenges for higher level players. Some of these updates included the revamp of Spectral Peaks, Owls Head Sewers, Ravensmoor, Ruins of Ravensmoor, Mysterious Swamp, Deep Ravenswood and Ulfheim.

We learned a valuable lesson when the original version of Ulfheim was removed, because some fans of the old clone longed to see their favorite hunting grounds restored, hence the Ruins of Utheim appeared. So, to head off a similar concern, we’ve decided to leave in South Midmaer Way at its original location and difficulty, and the new scaled version of this scene will be placed in Mistrendur in a patch shortly after the release.

Lamech’s Bazaar features revamped spawns and NPC dialogue adjustments and is fully integrated into the new dynamic system. The 3-day reward buff (+30 Agility, -10 Strength) which also resides in South Midmaer Way is still available in Lamech’s Bazaar, but there are plans to alter that buff to yield entirely unique yet undetermined benefits.

Spindelskog, an Episode 2 adventure scene nearing completion, will likely be the next scaled adventure scene coming your way. Dynamically Scaled Difficulty adventure scenes are just some of the exciting features to arrive this year. Read more about what’s on the horizon in the Shroud of the Avatar 2020 Vision!

Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, May 29th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream!

To enter the prize drawings, type “may the fourth be with you” 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!

Shadow Creatures Preview!

Soon, Mistrendur will be home to frightening shadowy creatures, no doubt brought forth by the Obsidians and their dark magics. Albeit a variety of new creature models will be added throughout the design of Episode 2, some of which using these new shadowy effects, this video portrays the reskinning of 2 existing creatures already in the game (the wolf and the bear). Shadow type creatures will feature unique abilities to thwart adventurers in Mistrendur and will be prone to surprise players in dark scenes due to their cloaked appearance. Look for their eyes in the dark, Avatars! The shadow creatures are coming!

June Login Reward: Floppy Hat!

Just in time to hit the beaches, this floppy hat is perfect for abating the sun during shoreline festivities. Simply log in during the month of June, and the hat will become available in the Rewards Window. Time to catch some rays, beachgoers!

Release 78 Reward Program Login Reward Items: Beach Theme!

Avatars! Rewards Program login reward items for Release 78 are beach themed! Reward Program members will receive these items immediately upon logging in during Release 78! Surf’s up, Avatars!

Beach Towels (4-Pack, Dyeable)
Male Swimsuit (1-Piece, Uses Chest & Legs Slots, Dyeable, Also fits females)
Female Swimsuit (2-Piece, Dyeable, Also fits males)

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

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 (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

Avatar’s Update #382: Official PvP Event Trophies! Crowns, Deed Upgrades & Two Hour Flash Sales! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

May 22, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

This week’s update brings you some great news about new PvP trophies slated as unique rewards for upcoming Official Catnip Games PvP related events. Also, 3 types of sales will be active over the holiday weekend! 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

Official PvP Event Trophies!

For nearly a month, the development team has hosted an official weekly fishing tourney and provided unique trophies and other prizes to the dedicated anglers of New Britannia. Soon, a revival of official decoration contests will be announced, and the unique decoration contest trophies will get some use once again! But now, its time to provide some love to the PvP community!

The team is now planning officially hosted events to the PvP’ers of New Britannia! To do this properly, we desired to create some high quality unique trophies related to PvP lore concepts within the game. A new variety of shards, remnants of the moons which collided during The Fall, blanket the twisted landscapes of the Shardfalls/PvP zones throughout New Britannia. Amongst the litter of moon fragments, a new variety of Shards have been discovered, but they will only be awarded to participants of Avatar vs. Avatar combat during official Cantip Games PvP events.

Master artist Damon a.k.a. @enalNomad on the forums, has designed these amazing shard PvP trophies to function as a light source, rotate and occasionally have sparks of electricity amongst the glowing ethereal mist which coats the stone’s surface. The set includes 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place versions as well as a small tabletop Participation Trophy version. As the official PvP events begin to unfold, the community manager will distribute these wondrous trophies (amongst the other prizes provided) to further inspire PvP combat within the game. More announcements about PvP concepts are just around the corner, to include a PvP Queuing system and a Developer-Owned PvP Town as an optional venue for official and community sponsored PvP events. Happy adventures, Avatars!

Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, May 22nd at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream!

Crowns, Deed Upgrades & Two Hour Flash Sales!

The Crowns Sale continues, Avatars! Still at 20% off, players will have the entire holiday weekend to enjoy the discount. Deed Upgrades are ALSO 20% off! To upgrade a deed, place the deed into your inventory, then right-click the deed to reveal upgrade options. But that’s not all! Starting on Saturday at 1PM CST, the Two Hour Flash Sales event returns for another round! So watch your clocks, Avatars! A new batch of 9 sale items will rotate into the in-game Crown Store every 2 hours!

Players have until Wednesday, May 27th at 1PM CST to take advantage of these great discounts, at which time all 3 sales events expire. Happy shopping, Avatars!

Obsidian & Island Vault Round!

The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, June 4th 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.

Obsidian Tower (Town Home)
Obsidian Sarcophagus
Obsidian Order Throne
Obsidian Order Plate Armor Set
Island Dress
Island Flower Crown
Island Spear
Large Tiki Statue
Hula Emote

Avatar’s Update #381: Female Shopkeeper Outfit Preview! Two Hour Flash Sales! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

May 15, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Check out what’s new this week! Flash Sales! These new short duration sale frenzies will be going live this weekend! Also, we’re providing a sneak peek of the new Shopkeeper Outfits due into the store soon. For those searching for social activities, new 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

Female Shopkeeper Outfit Preview!

Merchants of New Britannia! Make room in your wardrobes for these upcoming new outfits, perfect for shop owners throughout the lands! Soon to arrive to the game is the Female Shopkeeper Outfit! Coming in soon after will be a Male Shopkeeper Outfit modelled after some of the NPC merchant styles currently available.

These new Female Shopkeeper Outfits (functional on male characters as well) will feature a dyeable bodice and a dyeable aproned skirt. In fact, this set includes TWO dyeable bodice pieces, one with a pendant necklace and one with a choker. Long leather gloves and high leather boots also accompany the outfit. All these splendid wearable items are perfect fit for any up-and-coming or veteran merchant players. Happy vending, shopkeepers!

Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, May 15th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream!

Two Hour Flash Sales!

Watch your clocks, Avatars! A new Crown Store sales event is launching and will last throughout the weekend — Flash Sales! Starting on Friday, May 15th at 1PM CST, a new batch of 9 sale items will rotate into the Crown Store every 2 hours! This fast-paced new sales concept provides community members a total of 108 sale items to consider for purchase each full day of the event opposed to the 9 normally offered.

Players have until Monday, May 18th at 1PM CST before the Flash Sale event expires. Flash Sale events are just one of the many exciting changes to arrive this year. Happy shopping, Avatars!

Avatar’s Update #380: Gathering & Meticulous XP Rewards Update! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

May 8, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Check out what’s new this week! Gathering XP has received a HUGE update! A new Vault round has arrived — Riding Outfits & Pack Animals! New one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Also, 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

Gathering & Meticulous XP Rewards Update!

Gatherers of New Britannia… Rejoice! Experience awarded for gathering has been significantly increased at various tiers. This change was implemented to ensure players could obtain crafting XP in a more efficient manner. The more efficiently players can increase the amount of XP in their crafting pool through gathering, the more quickly they can raise their refining and production skills. New players might find crafting to be a little less daunting, and veteran players will be able to increase their crafting skills even further! Experience from Tier 4, 5 and 6 gathering nodes were affected in the following way:

Tier 4 Nodes: Increased from 600 to 1,000 per node
Tier 5 Nodes: Increased from 1,000 to 2,500 per node
Tier 6 Nodes: Increased from 2,000 to 5,000 per node

Currently, Tier 6 mining nodes only reside in Tartarus, so be sure to delve downward into the more dangerous levels of that adventure scene to reap those increased rewards!

Also, there has been a significant change to how meticulous results award experience while gathering. For each and every meticulous success within a single gathering attempt, you’ll now be awarded an XP amount equivalent to that node’s tiered reward. For instance, if you are mining a T5 Iron Node, which results in a Meticulous x3, the player will receive 7,500 XP. This is just one of the many exciting changes to arrive this year. Happy gathering, Avatars!

Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, May 8th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream!

Expect a little extra fun and prizes this time around. While we answer questions from the community, Atos will teleport around the world displaying subtle views of various scenes. The first player to find him in-game will win a prize! This is IN ADDITION TO the prize drawings normally present during the Friday livestream.

Riding Outfits & Pack Animals Vault Round!

The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, May 21st 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.

Saddlebags Decoration
Grey Donkey
Cria (Baby Llama)
Saddle Stand Decoration
Lady’s Riding Outfit
Gentleman’s Riding Outfit
Black Foal
White Foal
Adobe Brick 2-Story with Roof Access Village Home

Avatar’s Update #379: Play Release 77 Now! New Adventure Scene: Bunker C! Dark Shogun Outfit! New Store Items: Electric Katanas, Ivy & More! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

April 30, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Lots of exciting changes have occurred this week! A new adventure scene rolled in from world builder Sannio! A new armor set fashioned in the shogun style just arrived! Awesome new decorations such as Ivy and Electric Katanas are now in-game! Also, be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on 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: Bunker C!

Keith “Sannio” Quinn has completed “Bunker C” which is now available for adventurers in R77 to explore! “Bunker C” is a new underground scene accessible from the caves underneath the Northwest Blackblade Mountains. Players are directed to this crumbling underground shelter as part of a quest that starts in Novia’s Far Hinterlands. The bunker challenges players with deadly lava in addition to undead and elemental threats. This bunker also includes a vault door puzzle, multiple traps and even lava fishing!

“An unusual doe wandering near the entrance of the Far Hinterlands needs your help to remove the curse that has turned her into an animal! Along the way, you’ll venture into the newly uncovered “Bunker C” and brave the high-threat dangers that lurk underground!”

This new adventure scene is just one of many to arrive this year. Read more about what’s on the horizon in Shroud of the Avatar’s 2020 Vision!

Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, May 1st at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream!

New Dark Shogun Outfit!

An exciting new addition arriving soon to the Crown Store is the Dark Shogun Outfit. This bold and shadowy armor set is a must have for any players venturing down the path of anti-virtue. If this plate armor set is salvaged to obtain eternal patterns, the patterns can be applied to player-crafted plate armor to take on the appearance of this new armor set. The outfit also features an emblemed black cloth cloak which also yields an eternal pattern when salvaged for application onto cloaks. The Dark Shogun Outfit is one of many additions this release recognizing “May the Fourth” and Japan’s “Golden Week” seasonal celebrations. (The armor set is still in design and testing but should arrive shortly after release.)

New Store Items: Electric Katanas, Ivy & More!

Exciting new additions arriving to the Crown Store are the Electric Katanas coming in three colors (Pink, Red and Green). These “electrifying” new 2-handed swords, if salvaged, will yield eternal patterns which can be applied to player-crafted 2-handed swords. Also arriving to the store is a pack of English ivy to adorn the deco surfaces of building sides — perfect for making that knight’s keep a little more rustic! Last but certainly not least — plants! Many plants! The Cherry Pie Plant, the Potted Banana Plants (3-Pack) and the Potted Chusan Palm Plants (3-Pack) will all offer much more variety to the plant-type deco throughout your homes and gardens. These decorations, to include the Dark Shogun Armor previously spotlighted in these release notes, were inspired by “May the Fourth,” Japan’s Golden Week and Greenery Day!

Pink Electric Katana (Breast Cancer Awareness Charity Item)
Red Electric Katana
Green Electric Katana
Ivy Wall Decoration Set
Cherry Pie Plant (Heliotrope)
Potted Banana Plants (3-Pack)
Potted Chusan Palm Plants (3-Pack)

Updates

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