Category Archives: Update of the Avatar

Avatar’s Update #419: Upcoming Developer Community Events! Latest New Q&A Friday Livestream!

February 5, 2021

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

The developers of Shroud of the Avatar will be making some changes to the fishing tourney events which we have held weekly for the past 40 weeks, and we’ll be introducing 2 additional developer community event concepts. Lots of fun and prizes inbound! 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

Upcoming Developer Community Events!

During the next 3 weeks there will be major changes to the Weekly Catnip Games Fishing Tourney, and we will be adding two additional events in hopes to capture interest of a wider player base. What? Not everyone loves fishing? Hard to believe, but worry not non-anglers of New Britannia! Two additional event varieties will be coming soon to a Community Events page near you.

Monthly Screenshot & Video Contest: A new screenshot and video contest will be fully announced during the upcoming week which will feature 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.
- Videos must be of 720p quality or greater and posted on a popular social media outlet, and images must be in 1920×1080 resolution and hide the UI. All submissions must be embedded into responses in an upcoming forum thread which will appear in the community events and screenshot forums early next week (where we’ll also be taking feedback about the contest).
- The full contest details will be posted in the forums next week. The event will officially start on the day of Release 87, and initial subject matter considered must feature R87, R86, or R85 content items.
- The prizes will be as follows:
  - 1st Place Video: Player-Owned Town Town Lot Deed
  - 2nd Place Video: Player-Owned Town Village Lot Deed
  - 3rd Place Video: Player-Owned Town Row Lot Deed
  - 1st Place Screenshot: Player-Owned Town Town Lot Deed
  - 2nd Place Screenshot: Player-Owned Town Village Lot Deed
  - 3rd Place Screenshot: Player-Owned Town Row Lot Deed
- Winning entries will be posted throughout our media venues, and each winner will also receive a Master of the Arts in-game title. As long as submissions feature content of the 3 spotlighted releases, they will be considered during each month they remain eligible.
Monthly Rare Item Bounties: In 2 weeks, we will announce a new bounty type event which encourage players of Shroud of the Avatar to seek rare drops throughout two designated scenes which will be identified monthly. One scene will be PvP and coincide with the fishing tourney PvP location. The other scene will be PvE and differ from the fishing locations.
- All prize decisions are still being finalized, but will be appealing enough to attract players to these scenes. For the developers, these item bounty events will be very informative and could provide valuable insight into leaderboard improvements in the future. Also, as players adventure in these scenes, we will be attempting to provide targeted loot improvements to the spotlighted scenes based upon player feedback.
- The event details will be posted in the forums prior to R87 so players can prepare, and the official start date of this event series will be on the day of Release 87. Also, Master of Collections and Master of Mayhem titles will be provided to the PvE and PvP winners, respectively. More details to come, Avatars!
Catnip Games Fishing Tourney Changes: To be fully announced on the day of Release 87 (February 25th), the fishing event will be changing to a monthly format. We’ll be increasing the number of scenes in which the event will take place, and the prizes will be adjusted. We will continue with the weekly tourney as designed until release day, but full details about the upcoming changes will begin to appear early in this forum thread so players, governors, and stewards can prepare. Please post suggestions in the same thread, and they will be taken into consideration.

We look forward to your feedback as we release the details for each event in the coming weeks. The commencement of these events on the day of Release 87 should provide an additional and interesting mix of community activities available to players going forward.

Also, we’re likely to discontinue the provision of participation trophies for such events and use this developer time for loot improvements and bug fixes. Instead, we will deliver rewards to random non-winners so even players with small amounts of available time to participate will still have a significant chance to win something. To encourage more spin-off events, we will be offering a larger variety of trophies to event holders upon request (each trophy available will be announced as well), so that they may distribute them to participants of their spin-off contest according to their unique rule sets.

Get your fishing poles, weapons, and cameras ready, Avatars! So much more is coming your way in 2021, so stay tuned!

Avatar’s Update #418: Play Release 86 Now! New Adventure Scene: The Well of Aldur! New Gear Pattern Flexibility & So Much More!!! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

January 28, 2021

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

To herald in 2021, the first release of the new year brings players of Shroud of the Avatar a robust offering of wonderful new content items, decorations, and other game updates. A new adventure scene has been been added, an extensive revamp of how gear patterns function is now live, a new decoration type that buffs players with magical attunement is now available, dragon eggs now drop as loot which can be crafted into Baby Dragon Conversationalists, and Public Cache Chests have received additional variations! 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: The Well of Aldur!

New Britannians! A mystical and mysterious adventure scene is now live and available to players of Shroud of the Avatar. “The Well of Aldur” is a scene for Episode 2 Access holders which features a variety of activities to challenge even the most stalwart of Avatars! World builders List Rostov and Sannio both worked hard on this wondrously ethereal adventure scene, which is now available! Sannio has shared a small teaser for what to expect:

“High above the mountain peaks of Mistrendur floats the crumbling remains of a civilization whose origins are lost to time. Only the greatest adventurers will decipher the secrets, survive the threats, and discover the true nature of the Well of Aldur.”

Players can expect a variety of challenges, including crystal-powered sky-movers, jumping puzzles, and wave battles. One of the wave battles includes new mechanics and new unique loot for the scene. And beware, engaging in combat upon one of the platforms within the scene could draw out Suutak, Master of Tempests! May the Virtues guide thee on your adventures within… The Well of Aldur!

Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

The weekly Community Livestream is Friday, January 29th 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 “2021 is gonna rock” 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!

Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar — be sure to get these channels 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:

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

Upcoming Gear Patterns Flexibility!

Gear Patterns in Shroud of the Avatar, up to this point, have been considerably restrictive in how players could apply them to gear. For instance, a 1-Handed Longsword Pattern would only apply to other 1-Handed Longswords, or a cloth helm pattern would only apply to a cloth helm. The list goes on, but this list will get considerably less complicated going forward! As of Release 86, gear patterns are now much less restrictive!

Category Restrictions Simplified: Below is a list of categories which will remain. Any item within that category will accept a pattern from another item within the same category.
- Bludgeon 1-Handed
- Bludgeon 2-Handed
- Blades 1-Handed
- Blades 2-Handed
- Polearm 1-Handed
- Polearm 2-Handed
- Bows
- Crossbows
- Shields
- Head Slot
- Back Slot
- Chest Slot
- Gloves Slot
- Legs Slot
- Feet Slot
Artifacts: Most of these elusive treasures scattered through out the realms will now accept all patterns available within the same gear slot. For instance, an artifact chest piece will accept ANY pattern for a chest piece.

Also, with many visuals for off-hand items already available, and 3 more off-hand artifacts having just been introduced for R86 with the new Shrines of Attunement, expect some off-hand item patterns on the horizon as well! We hope players enjoy this extra flexibility with gear patterns. We will be introducing many more patterns in the future, so expect additional options for character customization shortly.

Shrines of Attunement!

Avatars! With the unveiling of The Well of Aldur, an entirely new statue type has been discovered throughout New Britannia–Shrines of Attunement! These powerful and crafted statues utilize 9 related off-hand artifacts to craft (3 of which have been introduced with this release), which provide 3-day attunement buffs for any character which steps into their aura. These buffs are on their own separate buff channel, and 2 buffs can be simultaneously utilized. Significant loot improvements have resulted, and more use has been made for a variety of underutilized crafting components or loot drop locations. The 9 required off-hand artifacts to craft these shrines have either been created as new, received visual effect enhancements, increased loot drop chances, and/or received significant stat bonus adjustments. Here’s a breakdown of the artifact updates:

Ankh of Wala (Sun Magic, Atenism): This odd little artifact appears as a golden ankh. Why the powers of Atenism were infused into a golden symbol for life magic? That is a story for another time. Users of the Ankh of Wala can expect some improved visuals. This item’s attunement power has been significantly reduced yet still provides more attunement than many of its off-hand brethren. Also, the reagent consumption penalties have been removed, and fizzle reduction has been added. Drop rates for this artifact have been increased, and players have the best chances to receive one by defeating a phoenix (which also drop talons more frequently now).
Heart of Vrul (Chaos Magic): The Heart of Vrul is an intriguing artifact that drops from Daemons and can be used on its own or crafted into the Warlock’s Chain. Now, players can use the Heart of Vrul to craft the Shrine of Chaos, and it has received visual touch-ups utilizing Chaos Magic visual effects.
Gaia’s Heart (Earth Magic, Gaiaism): This artifact, glowing green with the powers of earth magic, now drops more frequently, received a bug fix (common attunement was equal to uncommon attunement, now scales), and no longer provides a negative attunement penalty to Air Magic. This item has not received an appearance update.
Aether Orb (Moon Magic, Lunaism): The Aether Orb has been an extremely rare artifact, most readily obtainable during the seasonal coming of the comet when the aether creatures reenter our realm. The magical buffs on this item tie it in directly with Moon and Water magic, but slight adjustments have been made to increase the amount of moon magic attunement provided, and the featured water magic attunement has been slightly decreased to provide more significance to the Frozen Tear of Titans. Drop rates for the Aether Orb have been increased, especially amongst the applicable aether creatures, and rumor has spread that Shadow creatures now have a chance to drop common versions of this artifact. This item has received visual enhancements, and also a bug fix has ensured the epic versions scale for attack speed. The epic version now features 15% Attack Speed, instead of 12.5%, which was already featured on the legendary version.
Anapa’s Favor – NEW! (Death Magic, Necromancy): This new off-hand artifact has stunning visuals and drops from a large variety of lich casters or bosses. Anapa’s Favor provides death magic attunement, intelligence, and fizzle reduction. Upgrade recipes are discoverable, but can also be found in Grey Supply Bundles.
Vexlyn’s Spark – NEW! (Fire Magic, Sorcery): This new ominous looking Fire Magic artifact has been added to Lord British’s Castle and Xvara (Fire Boss) loot tables. Fire elementals throughout the lands also have small chances to drop this artifact. Vexlyn’s Spark provides fire magic attunement, intelligence, and fizzle reduction. Upgrade recipes are discoverable, but can also be found in Grey Supply Bundles.
Frozen Tear of Titans (Water Magic, Tempestry): This artifact has received improved visuals, and the negative fire magic attunement penalty has been removed. The artifact now also features ice and water elemental power bonuses to make the summoned creatures in that school more appealing. Expect to find this artifact more frequently, and even common versions have a chance to drop amongst water and ice elementals throughout the lands.
Ankh of Sacrifice (Life Magic, Thaumaturgy): The Ankh of Sacrifice has received visual improvements, and the reagent consumption penalties have been removed. Also, a fizzle reduction bonus has been added. The amount of life magic attunement has been reduced, but is still far greater than many of it’s off-hand artifact brethren featuring attunement bonuses. Drop rates for this artifact have been increased, especially in regards to common versions, and elven mages now have a chance to drop Ankhs of Sacrifice.
Suutak’s Bluster – NEW! (Air Magic, Theurgy): This spectacular orb of air magic has been discovered in The Well of Aldur, the new adventure scene introduced this release! The Well of Aldur features the greatest chances to receive common, uncommon, and rare versions of this artifact. Air elementals throughout the lands have also received small chances to drop common versions of this artifact. Suutak’s Bluster provides air magic attunement, intelligence, and fizzle reduction. Upgrade recipes are discoverable, but can also be found in Grey Supply Bundles.

Each shrine can be crafted at a blacksmithing station, and the recipes drop at locations indicated in the list below. Each recipe features common components between them (such as Ancient Essences, Bronze Ingots, and the rare version of the related artifacts), but underutilized ingredients have also been added to each recipe. These recipes are considered to be highly difficult, so expect some significant effort involved to obtain all the elusive components required to craft them. These shrines can be placed as property or Player-Owned Town decoration, the buffs last for 3 days each, and 2 different shrine buffs can be utilized simultaneously. Here are more details about the 9 Shrines of Attunement:

Shrine of Atenism (+15 Sun Magic Attunement): The crafting recipe for this shrine also requires a Phoenix Talon and Atenism Gems. The non-teachable shrine recipe drops from the phoenix.
Shrine of Chaos (+15 Chaos Magic Attunement): The crafting recipe for this shrine also requires Ground Daemon Hoof and Obsidian Chips. The non-teachable shrine recipe drops from Daemons.
Shrine of Gaiaism (+15 Earth Magic Attunement): The crafting recipe for this shrine also requires Pure Elemental Sand and Gaiaism Gems. The non-teachable shrine recipe drops from earth, sand, and lava elementals.
Shrine of Lunaism (+15 Moon Magic Attunement): The crafting recipe for this shrine also requires Shadow Essences and Lunaism Gems. The non-teachable shrine recipe drops from Shadow Creatures.
Shrine of Necromancy (+15 Death Magic Attunement): The crafting recipe for this shrine also requires a Dragon Skull and Necromancy Gems. The non-teachable shrine recipe drops from Lich bosses.
Shrine of Sorcery (+15 Fire Magic Attunement): The crafting recipe for this shrine also requires a Red Dragon Egg and Sorcery Gems. The non-teachable shrine recipe drops in Lord British’s Castle.
Shrine of Tempestry (+15 Water Magic Attunement): The crafting recipe for this shrine also requires an uncommon Ring of Water and Tempestry Gems. The non-teachable shrine recipe drops from water elementals in The Well of Aldur.
Shrine of Thaumaturgy (+15 Life Magic Attunement): The crafting recipe for this shrine also requires an uncommon Ring of Life and Thaumaturgy Gems. The non-teachable shrine recipe can be found in destructible crates.
Shrine of Theurgy (+15 Air Magic Attunement): The crafting recipe for this shrine also requires an uncommon Ring of Air and Theurgy Gems. The non-teachable shrine recipe can be found in The Well of Aldur.

As more artifacts roll out into the world of New Britannia, crafters amongst the ranks of Avatars might have some concerns about lessening the significance of crafted items. Rest assured, plans to allow more artifacts to be broken down into components (such as Torq’Dawl’s Basher and Slicer) are still very much in planning, and underutilized gathered/looted components will continue to be featured in upcoming recipes to add to their value.

We hope you enjoy the new Shrines of Attunement! Keep an eye out for a plethora of new crafting recipes in the future, providing love to all aspects of loot, gear slot/type, and gatherers. Also, masters of Combat and Strategy skills won’t be left out! Similar concepts for buffing skills in these trees through use of shrine type decorations will make their way into the game in the future.

Weather Control Devices Incoming!

Work is well underway to provide governors and stewards a means to alter the weather and even biome of their Player-Owned Town (POT). The new tech is finished, and the related decoration items are being created which utilize this feature. The existing Moontower decoration will be the first to receive this tech, a change which will patch in shortly after release, with many more weather altering decoration items to follow. Many of these devices will be premium store items, but players can definitely expect some weather varieties to be altered from looted and/or crafted items.

Dragon Eggs & Baby Dragon Conversationalists!

New loot items have been added to all the loot tables for chromatic dragons — dragon eggs! These rare drops from each dragon work nicely as decorations, but can also be taken to your alchemy table to hatch the egg. Upon success, these rare eggs are converted into Baby Dragon Conversationalists! These conversationalists can be scaled in size from 0.5 to 1.3 to help players depict a larger age range between their hatchlings.

Conversationalist, Black Baby Dragon
Conversationalist, Blue Baby Dragon
Conversationalist, Green Baby Dragon
Conversationalist, Orange Baby Dragon
Conversationalist, Purple Baby Dragon
Conversationalist, Red Baby Dragon
Conversationalist, White Baby Dragon
Conversationalist, Yellow Baby Dragon

For more information on how to “craft” these conversationalists, players must first seek Kaiser, the NPC located near the entrance of Ulfheim. Kaiser can provide a book of knowledge which describes nuances for each recipe and provides hints to where players can obtain each recipe.

As we continue to expand the free offerings of conversationalists in the game, we hope players continue to enjoy the ever growing variety afforded to the conversation system. So many more conversationalists will be added in the future, so get your stories ready, Avatars!

Public Cache Chest Varieties!

Many players of Shroud of the Avatar utilize in-game decorations in their towns and properties to tell a story or to enhance their in-game events. Public Cache Chests have always been a fantastic resource for sharing inventory items with other players, but unfortunately have been limited to two very large chests, which does not suit all needs for public cache containers. Besides simple storage, here’s a list of some of the common uses for these chests we’ve witnessed in years past:

Sharing Gear & Resources
Player-Created Treasure Hunting Events
Player-Created Quest Rewards
Contest Entry Collections & Prize Distribution

Although there are likely many other creative uses for public cache containers, we hope to expand the appeal of these items by offering a much larger variety in sizes and appearances. Here are some of the future updates for public access containers, some of which arrived today with Release 86:

Immersive Varieties: 3 varieties of corpse/coffin containers are now available as of Release 86 to aid players with storytelling in our wondrous yet dangerous world of New Britannia! The dead villager versions are looted from many creatures which could easily swallow a villager whole, and the coffin variety is crafted.
Crafted Varieties: The above mentioned coffin is the first crafted public cache container, with many more to follow in the releases ahead! A new “wildflower” quest that results in the player getting a coffin recipe has been added to Spindelskog.
Smaller Varieties: There will be a variety of small public cache containers which will certainly take less shelf space, but these smaller varieties will also add a significant improvement to player-created treasure hunting ventures. Those large original cache chests are simply too easy to spot from a distance for treasure hunting and player quests!
Fancy Premium Varieties: Most definitely we’ll have more varieties of these items on the Crown Store, which will feature larger storage space as well as ornate or special qualities.

As we continue to expand our offerings for how players share gear and resources with other players, we hope to improve the overall guild, player quest, and inventory sharing experiences throughout the community.

Avatar’s Update #417: Public Cache Chest Varieties Incoming! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

January 22, 2021

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Many players of Shroud of the Avatar utilize Public Cache Chests as a means to provide other players easy access to resources, loot, prizes, and even player quest rewards. In Release 86, the first batch of new public cache containers are set to arrive! 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

Public Cache Chest Varieties Incoming!

Many players of Shroud of the Avatar utilize in-game decorations in their towns and properties to tell a story or to enhance their in-game events. Public Cache Chests have always been a fantastic resource for sharing inventory items with other players, but unfortunately have been limited to two very large chests in appearance, which does not suit all needs for such items. Besides simple storage, here’s a list of some of the common uses for these chests we’ve witnessed in years past:

Sharing Gear & Resources
Player-Created Treasure Hunting Events
Player-Created Quest Rewards
Contest Entry Collections & Prize Distribution

Albeit there are likely many other creative uses for public cache containers, we hope to expand the appeal of these items by offering a much larger variety in sizes and appearances. Here are some of the future updates for public access containers, some of which will arrive as early as Release 86 on January 28th:

Immersive Varieties: 3 varieties of corpse/coffin containers will arrive on R86 to aid players with storytelling in our wondrous yet dangerous world of New Britannia!
Crafted Varieties: The above mentioned coffin will be the first crafted public cache container, with many more to follow in the releases ahead!
Smaller Varieties: There will be a variety of small public cache containers which will certainly take less shelf space, but these smaller varieties will also add a significant improvement to player-created treasure hunting ventures. Those large original cache chests are simply too easy to spot for treasure hunting and player quests!
Fancy Premium Varieties: Most definitely we’ll have more varieties of these items on the Crown Store, which will feature larger storage space as well as ornate or special qualities.

Avatar’s Update #416: Upcoming Gear Patterns Flexibility! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

January 15, 2021

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Gear Patterns in Shroud of the Avatar will receive a plethora of adjustments, Avatars! Expect them to become far more flexible with Release 86! 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

Upcoming Gear Patterns Flexibility!

Gear Patterns in Shroud of the Avatar, up to this point, have been considerably restrictive in how players could apply them to gear. For instance, a 1-Handed Longsword Pattern would only apply to other 1-Handed Longswords, or a cloth helm pattern would only apply to a cloth helm. The list goes on, but this list will get considerably less complicated going forward! These changes should arrive in Release 86 or soon after!

Category Restrictions Simplified: Below is a list of categories which will remain. Any item within that category will accept a pattern from the same category.
- Bludgeon 1-Handed
- Bludgeon 2-Handed
- Blades 1-Handed
- Blades 2-Handed
- Polearm 1-Handed
- Polearm 2-Handed
- Bows
- Crossbows
- Shields
- Head Slot
- Back Slot
- Chest Slot
- Gloves Slot
- Legs Slot
- Feet Slot
Artifacts: These elusive treasures scattered through out the realms will soon accept all patterns available within the same gear slot. For instance, an artifact chest piece will accept ANY pattern for a chest piece.

With many visuals for off-hand items already available, with even more coming very soon (hint hint), expect some off-hand item patterns on the horizon as well! We hope players enjoy this extra flexibility with gear patterns. We will be introducing many more patterns in the future, so expect additional options for character customization shortly.

Developers continue to work hard to bring new features, content, and fixes to reveal on January 28th for Release 86! Of the new or improved items coming to players, development is still on schedule to launch the new “Well of Aldur” adventure scene. Corpses and coffin decorations are inbound, some to be found as loot, some to be crafted at your Carpentry tables! Also, at least 8 new crafted conversationalists are coming, which feature 8 related decoration items and crafting recipes! New crafted and premium scroll decorations are coming to offer players more variety in publishing their great literary works! And most certainly a slew of new Quality of Life improvements will also be in the mix. Release 86 is going to be a great one, Avatars, so don’t miss out!

Avatar’s Update #415: Homes & Lord of the Isle Bundle Sales Continue! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

January 8, 2021

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Lord of the Isle Bundles and Player Homes remain on sale for a limited time! 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

Homes & Lord of the Isle Bundle Sales Continue!

In continued celebration of the holidays, the following sales have been extended! Homes will continue to be on sale until January 11th, and The Lord of the Isle (LOTI) Bundles (9-16) will remain on sale until the end of the month. Upon reaching the end of the month, all LOTI bundles will be removed from the webstore and will no longer be offered.

Crown Store Homes 25% Off!
Lord of the Isle Bundles (9-16) 25% Off!

In the future, players can expect new bundle offerings of much smaller varieties. Plans to create these bundles are already underway, so stay tuned!

In the coming weeks, developers will continue working hard to bring new features, content, and fixes to reveal on January 28th for Release 86! Of the new or improved items coming to players, development is still on schedule to launch the new “Well of Aldur” adventure scene. Also, at least 8 new crafted conversationalists are coming, which feature 8 related decoration items and crafting recipes! New crafted and premium scroll decorations are coming to offer players more variety in publishing their great literary works! And most certainly a slew of new Quality of Life improvements will also be in the mix. Release 86 is going to be a great one, Avatars, so don’t miss out!

Avatar’s Update #414: Happy New Year, Avatars! New Store Additions! New Vault Round!

January 1, 2021

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

As many within community and the development team take a break during the holidays, we wish everyone a happy, safe, and restful time! 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

Happy New Year, Avatars!

Happy New Year, Avatars! While the development team continues to spend some extra time with loved ones, we hope the new year brings everyone much happiness. The team is anxious to dive back to regular hours on Monday morning fully charged to bring you all great content and improvements for 2021! We’ll be back on track to provide weekly development updates starting next Friday as well.

We hope everyone stays healthy and safe during their celebrations, and for those that don’t have balmy winters, stay warm! Happy Holidays, Avatars!

NOTE: We mistakenly only submitted sale prices to 80 of the store homes. As a result, we’ll be submitting a patch shortly to add the discounts to the remaining 40 or so homes that got missed, AND we’ll be extending the home sales an additional week as a result.

UPDATE, LORD OF THE ISLE (LOTI) BUNDLES (9-16): Don’t miss out if you were on the fence about becoming a LOTI supporter — LOTI bundles 9-16 are on sale for 25% Off!

Avatar’s Update #413: Season’s Greetings from the Development Team!

December 25, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

News Announcements

Community Updates

Season’s Greetings from the Development Team!

Season’s Greetings, Avatars! As the development team spends some extra time with family and friends, we wanted to express our deepest appreciation and admiration for the community. So many of you have done so many wonderful things for each other as well as the development team, and because of this amazing community, we’re continually inspired and motivated to forge ahead and provide new content, features, and improvements.

Through your support and love for project, as well as your dedicated efforts to help us improve the game, we believe each and every year ahead, Shroud of the Avatar will improve and become home to more and more players throughout the world. Please take some time this holiday season to express your thanks and appreciation to your fellow community members, family, and friends. We hope you all have a happy holiday season. Stay safe! Stay warm! And be on the lookout for those that might just need a little extra holiday cheer to brighten their day. Happy Holidays, Avatars!

For those that missed the Christmas caroling from two of our most famous New Britannians, Maxine (Lead Vocals) and Chris Spears (Back-Up Vocals), no worries! Here’s the video from yesterday’s caroling event:

Avatar’s Update #412: Play Release 85 Now! Well of Aldur Update! Decorative Framed Maps! New Bone Decorations! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

December 17, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Adventurers, ready your weapons! Shroud of the Avatar has just placed the Well of Aldur onto QA for player testing! Expect this new adventure scene to go fully live on Release 86. Sales, sales, and even more sales events are live! Don’t miss out! Also, more information has been revealed about the new collectible framed maps! And be sure to check out all the new bone decorations — so many to choose from and to discover! These exciting updates and more are outlined below for Release 85! 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

Well of Aldur Update!

New Britannians! Soon, a mystical and mysterious adventure scene will be coming to players of Shroud of the Avatar. “The Well of Aldur” is a scene for Episode 2 Access holders which will feature a variety of activities to challenge even the most stalwart of Avatars! Many finishing touches still need to be done, but the images shown are a great example of the work in progress. World builders List Rostov and Sannio are both hard at work to complete this wondrously ethereal adventure scene, with a full launch expected for Release 86 on January 28th. Sannio has shared a small teaser for what to expect:

Players can expect a variety of challenges such as a jump puzzle with a reward upon reaching its end. Also, a boss fight with new mechanics will become available to players, as well as new unique loot for the scene. As of today for Release 85, players will be able to reach “The Well of Aldur” for testing purposes on the QA server. If interested, message an online developer for teleportation to the scene. Please report all related bugs and feedback items on the QA bug reporting/feedback section of the forums. Stay tuned for more information as the scene develops. Happy adventures, Avatars!

Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

The weekly Community Livestream is Friday, December 18th 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 “let it snow” 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, Homes, Deeds, Deed Upgrades & Two-Hour Flash Sales!

In celebration of the upcoming holidays, various sales will begin on Thursday morning and extend from December 17th to January 4th. The following sales will be available:

Crowns 20% Off!
Crown Store Deeds 25% Off!
Deed Upgrades 25% Off!
Crown Store Homes 25% Off!
Episode 2 Access Discounted to $14!
2-Hour Flash Sales!

To upgrade a deed, place the deed into your inventory, then right-click the deed to reveal upgrade options. And be sure to watch your clocks, Avatars! A new batch of 9 sale items will rotate into the in-game Crown Store every 2 hours! Happy shopping, Avatars!

Decorative Framed Maps!

Upon Release 84, two new decorative framed maps were immediately available to players of Shroud of the Avatar, but during R84 the remaining 24 framed maps became available! These framed maps can be crafted by players, but the recipes can be significantly challenging to locate and are scattered widely throughout New Britannia in various monster loot tables. Well, no worries. Caravaggios Wolf is here to help!

[SPOILERS] Caravaggios Wolf is a prominent art dealer NPC in Ardoris, who is located in an art store just on the edges of the main market square. If a player prompts Caravaggios with the phrase “framed maps” phrase, Caravaggios will provide his knowledge of these recipes and even provide a book which was written by one of his colleagues. This book has very helpful information as to the location for each of these recipes.

If players would like to see a variety of these framed maps in-game, be sure to pop on by Cypher Black’s art museum in the Player-Owned Town of Whyte Roc. Nearly a half of these crafted framed maps are already on display, many of which have been donated by community members supporting the museum. More collections such as this will be coming in the future, so keep your eyes open, Avatars!

New Bone Decorations!

As of Release 85, a wide range of bone type decorations will be featured as loot, crafted items, or even upcoming store items. Some of these bone decorations already served as crafting components, but now they can also be placed as decorations! Here’s a quick summary of where to find all these recently added or upcoming decorations for all you bone collectors out there!

In the above image, the following bones are shown:

Dragon Claw (Loot – Drops from non-clockwork dragons)
Dragon Leg Bone (Loot – Drops from non-clockwork dragons)
Dragon Rib (Loot – Drops from non-clockwork dragons)
Dragon Jaw (Loot – Drops from non-clockwork dragons)
Dragon Skull (Crafted – Recipe Drops from Chest Mimics and Barrel Mimics, uses any non-clockwork dragon head)

The massive Reinforced Dragon Skull decoration will appear on the Crown Store on January 22nd!

The Dragon Bones 2 decoration will appear on the Crown Store on January 15th, and can be placed on player property as well as a Player-Owned Town (POT). The original POT Dragon Bones decoration, which is significantly different, has been renamed to Dragon Bones 1. Expect changes to that decoration item in the future allowing it to be placed on player property as well.

This creepy Skull Pile decoration will appear on the Crown Store on January 1st!

The recently added Bone Pile decorations (3 versions) are a wonderful touch for any player-created dungeon scene, and the recipes to craft these are in Xenos.

Pictured above is the variety of additional bones, many of which were already available as crafting components but can now be placed as decorations:

Skeleton Pelvic Bones (Loot – Drops from skeletons)
Troll Pelvic Bones (Loot – Drops from trolls, renamed from Troll Hip Bone)
Skeleton Bones (Loot – Drops from Skeletons)
Dragon Neck Bone (Loot – Drops from non-clockwork dragons)
Pristine Rib Cage (Loot – Drops from skeletons)

We hope you all enjoy collecting and decorating with these new bone decorations. Expect more bone decorations to come in the future, and be on the lookout for additional recipes which drop as loot from creatures to utilize some of these bones for crafting!

Craftable Zombie Conversationalists!

The game of Shroud of the Avatar features a wide variety of Conversationalists. These decorative NPCs allow players to insert custom interactive conversations which other players can enjoy. Whether you’re sharing information about your vendors, town, guild, or even creating a custom storyline, these amazing items inspire creativity throughout the community and add a considerable bit of flair to any in-game town or property.

As more Conversationalists are added to the game, most of which are premium Crown Store items, there are additional crafted or looted Conversationalists coming with R85, with even more crafted and looted varieties coming just on the horizon! Just added for Release 85 are two new Zombie Conversationalist alchemy recipes, which can be looted from Ebon Dawn casters. Here’s a quick summary of non-premium Conversationalists, to include the ones which went live with R85, and the ones which will be coming to a recipe or a loot table near you!

Recently added crafted Conversationalists:

Conversationalist, Beggar Male 1 (Crafted – Recipe sold in Xenos)
Conversationalist, Beggar Female 1 (Crafted – Recipe sold in Xenos)

Conversationalists added with Release 85:

Conversationalist, Putrid Zombie Male 1 (Crafted – Recipe drops from Ebon Dawn casters)
Conversationalist, Putrid Zombie Female 1 (Crafted – Recipe drops from Ebon Dawn casters)

Crafted/Looted Conversationalists slated to arrive in the future:

Conversationalist, Imp
Conversationalist, Child Male
Conversationalist, Child Female
Conversationalist, Child Elf
Conversationalist, Zombie Child Male 1
Conversationalist, Zombie Child Female 1
Conversationalist, Oracle Crawler
Conversationalist, Oracle Flyer
Conversationalist, Clockwork Monkey
Conversationalist, Baby Dragon (All Colors)

We hope utilizing the Inkle Studios “Ink” conversation system has become a joyful endeavor within the game. Six additional Zombie Conversationalists will arrive to the Crown Store on January 8th. Expect many more Conversationalists to arrive in the future as this system continues to develop.

Supply Bundle Decorations!

For years, players of Shroud of the Avatar have been looting a variety of “Supply Bundles” which randomly drop from a large number of creature types throughout the game. Many players open these bundles immediately upon acquisition, but others have chosen to either save their findings or to place excess bundles onto their player vendors. Well, another option has arrived! Starting with Release 85, players can utilize Grey, Yellow, Blue and Orange bundles as decorations! Stack’em high! Flip’em on their sides! Resize them! Put other decorations on top of them! Most importantly, we hope you enjoy them.

Patterns & Cabalist Hoods!

Many players of Shroud of the Avatar have spent considerable effort and time acquiring impressive collections of Cabalist Hoods which are desired by players for their excellent stat bonuses. Until now, if a player wanted to receive these bonuses, they were forced to display the hood’s appearance or utilize the “Hide Helm” feature. Patterns could not be applied to these hoods or any artifacts for that matter, but no longer! Live today for Release 85, all 8 Cabalist Hoods will accept cloth head patterns. This new option will allow those hood wearers to vary their appearance significantly. The following hoods will receive this update:

Cabalist Avara Hood
Cabalist Corpus Hood
Cabalist Dolus Hood
Cabalist Fastus Hood
Cabalist Indigno Hood
Cabalist Nefario Hood
Cabalist Nefas Hood
Cabalist Temna Hood

In the near future, expect many more artifact varieties to receive pattern capabilities. We hope players enjoy this new flexibility for altering one’s appearance. So many more exciting new features and Quality of Life improvements are inbound, Avatars! So, stay tuned!

Avatar’s Update #411: Patterns & Cabalist Hoods! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

December 11, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Adventurers rejoice! The brave souls of Shroud of the Avatar possessing Cabalist Hoods will soon be able to alter their hood’s appearance by applying patterns. 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

Patterns & Cabalist Hoods!

Many players of Shroud of the Avatar have spent considerable effort and time acquiring impressive collections of Cabalist Hoods which are desired by players for their excellent stat bonuses. Until now, if a player wanted to receive these bonuses, they were forced to display the hood’s appearance or utilize the “Hide Helm” feature. Patterns could not be applied to these hoods or any artifacts for that matter, but no longer! Coming on Release 85 next Thursday, all 8 Cabalist Hoods will accept cloth head patterns. This new option will allow those hood wearers to vary their appearance significantly. The following hoods will receive this update:

Cabalist Avara Hood
Cabalist Corpus Hood
Cabalist Dolus Hood
Cabalist Fastus Hood
Cabalist Indigno Hood
Cabalist Nefario Hood
Cabalist Nefas Hood
Cabalist Temna Hood

Avatar’s Update #410: Streamer Rewards Program Update! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!

December 4, 2020

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Attention! More information about the Streamer Rewards Program has been released for streamers of Shroud of the Avatar! 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

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 1^st 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!

Morkin65