Avatars! Exciting news! Patched into the Player Test Environment (QA), the first iteration of Party/Raid type lovin’ for this year has arrived — Parties of 12! Players can test this new feature and provide crucial feedback to the development team on the Player Test Environment (QA) forums. Players will no longer be limited to 8 members in their party, and will soon be able to group with others in a party of 12! Once this new feature is fully tested, it will push to the live server!
Expanding the capabilities of adventure parties is just one of the exciting new features to arrive this year. Read more about what’s on the horizon in the Shroud of the Avatar 2020 Vision!
Fishing Contest & Trivia Livestream Today!
Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, Mar 6 at 3PM CDT on Twitch! Join Chris Spears a.k.a. Atos and other developer team members today for a community two-hour livestream!
3 PM: Introductions and Q&A
3:30 PM: Shroud of the Avatar Trivia Time!
4:00 PM: Fishing Contest at the Fishing Expedition
5 PM: Ending Announcements
To enter the prize drawings, type “march to a different tune” 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 today, Friday at 3 PM CDT!
New Store Items: Gothic Furniture and Chandeliers!
Additional CotO Store goodies are arriving during Release 75 to include three Gothic Furniture Sets, a Gothic King Sized Bed and a variety of Gothic Chandeliers with varying chain lengths. Also new to the CotO Store this release are the Dyable Heraldry Gustball Uniforms. Let the more stylin’ Gustball tourneys begin! Lots of great decoration items become available recently, such as the 8 amazing non-player characters (NPC) readied for the player created dialogue scripting system! These new type of NPC’s are known as Conversationalists. Other items added of late were a Dirt Path Pavers Set, a Fancy Kitchen Sink, and a Fancy Wash Basin Set!
To celebrate the upcoming 2nd anniversary of Shroud of the Avatar’s official launch, a major enhancement has been made to the Free-to-Play (FTP) experience. The Universal Broadcast Orb was formerly a $2 Add-On Store item which gated FTP players from having initial access to the global chat channels. This feature offered some level of spam protection to our in-game chat, but it also inadvertently stifled communication for new FTP players wanting to participate in our community. Well now the FTP players will be heard! As of R75, the Universal Broadcast Orb will no longer be required to utilize Universal nor Trade chat channels. This item has been removed from the Add-On Store, and for those already having one in their possession? Those users have received a stunning orb decoration as a replacement. The new decoration version of the Universal Broadcast Orb also emits light and counts as a light source.
This enhancement to the FTP player experience is just one of the exciting new features to arrive this year. Read more about what’s on the horizon in the Shroud of the Avatar 2020 Vision!
Land Rush Q&A Livestream with Atos Today!
Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, February 28 at 4PM CDT on Twitch!
Join us today for a community Q&A session! Chris Spears a.k.a. Atos and other developer team members will be present to answer questions about the Land Rush for Mistrendur as well as other topics broached by the community. Hope to see you all there!
To enter the prize drawings, type “love makes the world go round” 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 today, Friday at 4 PM CDT!
New Store Items: Dyable Heraldry Gustball Uniforms and More!
New to the CotO Store for Release 75 are the Dyable Heraldry Gustball Uniforms. Let the more stylin’ Gustball tourneys begin! Also, a Dirt Path Pavers Set is now available on the store! And better late than never, patching in during R75, a Fancy Kitchen Sink and Fancy Wash Basin Set will arrive on the store! Lots of great decoration items were patched in throughout R74, such as the 8 amazing non-player characters (NPC) readied for the player created dialogue scripting system! These new type of NPC’s are known as Conversationalists. Other items added to the game recently were a variety of stone/boulder packs, crystal chandeliers, goofy fish trophies, and even a new variety of VFX decoration — Fireflies!
By royal decree, the process details for the Mistrendur land rush has been issued to the peoples of New Britannia! Players made reservations to add or move towns to Mistrendur some time ago, and the time to begin selecting locations draws very close!
The site selections will be made in the sequence the reservation vouchers were purchased
The first bracket of players will commence with their selections on March 14, Noon CDT
This new land mass is just one exciting new feature arriving this year. Read more about what’s on the horizon in Shroud of the Avatar’s 2020 Vision!
Darkstarr & Atos Livestream Today!
Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, February 21 at 4PM CDT on Twitch!
Darkstarr has much to share about his latest ventures during his short time away. Albeit we very much look forward to Darkstarr’s return in the not too distant future, let’s check out what exactly he’s been up to:
Terrasurf Boards: the most exciting Onewheel XR accessory ever created. Check it out!
Dragon Fight VR: an internal experiment to see how a short, single level, visceral dragon fight could work in VR.
Also, Atos has been working diligently on the new Bard Skills coming to QA shortly. A total of 16 skills we be added into the Bard Skill tree. Be sure to pick his brain about these new abilities during today’s livestream!
To enter the prize drawings, type “love makes the world go round” 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 today, Friday at 4 PM CDT!
Kobold Vault Round! Hrrrrk!
The current round of Vault items are available until Friday, February 27 at 10:30 AM Central Time. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc.
Sometime very soon during Release 74, Avatars of New Britannia will be able to explore the overworld map of Mistrendur, the Episode 2 continent for Shroud of the Avatar! We will shortly announce the location selection process for Player Owned Town reservations within these new lands, whether it be a new town or one transferring from Novia or the Hidden Vale. All are welcome to explore and take in the spectacular views once this overworld map goes live! As the year rolls out, content will be added to this new region so that players can actually begin entering the various scenes therein, some as they become available, and others at the official launch of Episode 2. This new land mass is just one exciting new feature arriving this year. Read more about what’s on the horizon in the Shroud 2020 Vision post by Chris Spears!
Valentine’s Dinner Community Livestream Today!
Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, February 14 at 4PM CDT on Twitch! The developer team, feeling a little peckish, has decided to crash a party at Ordinis Mortis! PLEASE keep in mind this event actually starts at 3PM CDT, an hour before the official start time of the stream, so don’t be late… like us… For information about this fantastic event, now 4 years in running, be sure to read more below. Also, Chris will dive into Q&A with the community.
As usual we will be giving out prizes! Simply type !raffle throughout the stream to enter. We will also be answering questions throughout the livestream, so submit them in Twitch Chat and insert !question at the beginning of your text. Watch on Twitch today, Friday at 4 PM CDT!
Kobold Vault Round! Hrrrrk!
The current round of Vault items are available until Friday, February 27 at 10:30 AM Central Time. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc.
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, all Gold Crowns of the Obsidian (COTO) packages are on sale for approximately 20% off until February 16th! All deed upgrades are also 20% off!
Deed Upgrades can be performed in-game. Right-click the deed while it is in your inventory, and you’ll be presented with upgrade options using crowns from your inventory.
As a reminder, Valentine’s Day themed items are currently available in the Crown Shop. Some of these rare Valentine’s collectibles are only available on the current vault round, with a new round coming VERY shortly — don’t miss out!
As we step deeper into 2020, more and more exciting features will become part of our gaming world, to include the introduction of an entirely new architecture concept. The first lot size to receive this new architecture is the castle-sized lots for the Lord of the Isle supporters. As time progresses throughout the year, homes of this style will become available for other lot sizes. Be sure to pop on over to Hometown and check out this truly spectacular new home. This is just one of the many fantastic additions coming to the game this year. Read more about what’s on the horizon in the Shroud 2020 Vision post by Chris Spears!
Combat Balance & Lord of the Isle Mansion Tour Livestream Today!
Another content packed weekly Community Livestream is this Friday February 7, at 3 PM CT on Twitch! Ravalox and friends will be giving a role-played tour of a decorated Lord of the Isle Mansion in Hometown which are in-game and soon to be distributed to Lord of the Isle supporters. Also, Chris will be diving into combat balance discussions and Q&A with the community.
As usual we will be giving out prizes! To be eligible all you need to do is either make any purchase in the store OR log into the game and type “Love makes the world go round” in the chat window (no purchase necessary).
3 PM: Introductions and Q&A
3:30 PM: Lord of the Isle Mansion Tour
4:00 PM: Combat Balance and Q&A
5 PM: Ending Announcements
We will be answering questions throughout the livestream, so submit them in Twitch Chat during the livestream and insert !question at the beginning of your text.
Hail musically inclined Avatars! We’ve all been anxiously awaiting the addition of the Bard skill tree into the game, and portions of it will be patched in shortly. Already, master artist Damon has created art for the new skills, and here are just a few to whet your appetites. Many more skills are yet to be revealed in the Bard skill tree, so stay “tuned” Avatars! This, plus so much more is coming to you in 2020! This is going to be a fantastic year for Shroud of the Avatar. Be sure to check out the Shroud 2020 Vision, Bards are just the beginning!
Anthem of Alacrity: a new buff for your entire adventure party!
Atonal Aria: Causes AOE damage and boosts aggro!
Bard Innate Ability: what passive bonuses might this ability reveal?
Concussive Canticle: this musical ability is a damaging area-of-effect attack!
Ditty of Detection: this melody reveals hidden entities surrounding the bard!
Mastery: this ability is reserved for only the most talented of minstrels!
Melody of Mending: this soothing tune heals surrounding party members!
Release 74 includes lots of exciting updates including the return of Envy Angel, revamp of the Upper Tears wave battle, updates to The Clink, new tamable creatures, a new player scripted NPC Dialogue System, 8 new artifacts, and many combat balance measures. These are just SOME of the changes and additions coming in R74. Be sure to read below to find out more!
These are just some of the many exciting items coming your way this year. If you missed out on what’s on the horizon, be sure to check out the 2020 Vision Post by Chris Spears.
Exploring The Clink Livestream Today!
Another content packed weekly Community Livestream is this Friday January 31, at 4 PM CT on Twitch! Sannio and Elgarion will be demonstrating the wondrous new changes to “The Clink” adventure scene today — this time on the stream will be on the secondary Community Channel. Chris is feeling a bit under the weather, so let’s wish him well!
As usual we will be giving out prizes at 4:15 and 4:45! To be eligible all you need to do is either make any purchase in the store or log into the game and type “The weather outside is frightful” in the chat window (no purchase necessary).
Envy Angel Returns: The envious witch has somehow managed to miss “Sequanna’s Day” yet again and now she’s especially mad! Poor Hyun the Courier did not learn from last year’s folly and once again has attempted to cut through her territory, and wouldn’t you have guessed it? She stole his letters… again! Avatars, steer FAR clear of the Necropolis Barrens. Hyun indicates she might have another trick or two up her sleeve, or she might even have a new artifact on her person. Also, don’t forget — you can aid Hyun on a daily basis even after Envy Angel departs for the season!
Krampus Goes Dormant: Now that the dark winter is ending, Krampus sleeps once again. Beware Avatars, the naughty brats still roam the lands!
Upper Tears Reborn: For R74, many changes occurred with the Upper Tears adventure scene to make it more balanced and enjoyable. For a full explanation about combat balancing in 2020 to include reasoning behind the redesign of Upper Tears, check out the post by Chris Spears on the forums. Here is a summary of these changes:
Liches have always been one of the weakest creatures in the entire game in regards to risk versus reward. Their stats have been improved and more importantly, their level has been increased and more abilities have been added. High level lich mages will now push players out of melee range, and lich fighters will now pull players into melee range. Liches of melee variety can also enrage, and lich casters have several new damage type spells in their arsenal.
The Upper Tears wave events now require a minimum time to elapse before the next new wave type spawns. Before, waves would instantly respawn if you defeated the prior wave. A new timer has been added between respawns. Early waves have an 8 second timer which will grow upwards of 15 seconds for the later more difficult waves.
A mysterious obsidian shard of power spawns in the middle of the chamber and emanates a strong magical buff onto surrounding enemies. This stone is on a separate respawn timer causing it to appear at different times than the minion wave event spawn times.
Two additional waves have been added at the end of the wave cycles which are more challenging. These new waves generate less experience per hour but have more desirable loot chances.
Updates to The Clink: The famous prison under Owl’s Head is enjoying a good number of improvements to its layout in R74. Changes include improved guard dialogue, adjusted hallways, more “airlock” gate systems, a mess hall for the prisoners, and even a kitchen (complete with sewage pipe exit)! When checking out these changes, be careful how you enter. The prisoners are always rioting if you use the main entrance, but the prisoners are calm when entering through the pipe that leads to the kitchen (unlocked after acquiring Colman’s quest). There is an even chance of rioting when entering from the guard headquarters.
When a riot is active, new “high threat” prisoners and guards will actively attack strangers, including players!
When the prisoners are calm, security is heightened in the cell blocks. If you get too close to a guard, they’ll force you into a conversation. If you don’t have proper authorization, you might get thrown into a cell!
Speaking of authorization, a Red Sash Forger has been seen across the bridge from young Colman. When you take on Colman’s quest, he puts in a good word with the forger on your behalf allowing you to purchase authorization papers to help you schmooze your way past the Clink guards.
Be warned! Sneaking into the Clink through the sewage pipe is an option that helps avoid combat, but the Oracle may consider avoiding combat as having a negative impact on your Courage standings.
The Fall: The Fall just got a LOT more dangerous! The bridge spawns were previously 5.5 minute spawns of 2 tier 6 Ebon Dawn humans. Now, the spawns will be 3.5 minute spawns of 3 tier 10 Ebon Dawn humans. Those hunting in The Fall will earn roughly 6 times more experience!
Tartarus: If you haven’t been to Tartarus this month, you might not have noticed the decorations and spawning updates! Many tunnels, rooms, and even the maze have had fantastic layout improvements. Also, scattered around the scene are crates, tables, books, lanterns, rubble, and many props that help tell the “story” of this exciting underground labyrinth. Finally, most enemies within these caverns have better patrols and interactions with their revised environment. (Patched in during R73)
Release 74 of Shroud of the Avatar goes live this Thursday, January 30, at 10:30 AM US Central Time (16:30 UTC). Release 74 includes lots of exciting updates including the return of Envy Angel, revamp of the Upper Tears wave battle, updates to The Clink, new tamable creatures, a new player scripted NPC Dialogue System, 8 new artifacts, and many combat balance measures. These are just SOME of the changes and additions coming in R74. Be sure to read below to find out more!
We want to express a huge amount of gratitude to the players who tested the items listed below on our QA server. They found many bugs and also provided editorial feedback on this post so that it is easy to read and actually matches what is in the game. Keep the input coming, and again — thank you!
Before offering feedback and/or reporting a bug, we kindly ask that you read this whole message and the linked Player Guide and Known Issues to get up to date on the current game state. To keep up to date, please check out the Patch Notes.
By taking a few moments to read through this information, a great deal of our time and effort can be focused on new unanswered questions and addressing critical issues that impact each release. We greatly appreciate you taking the time to review this post and for all the truly valuable feedback you continue to provide.
Also, remember that while we are providing new content with each release, our community is also working overtime to make new events for you to enjoy. Be sure to check the schedule for player-run events in the Community Events Forums. You can also get the latest official events on the Main Website.
Without further ado, here is a list of what you can expect to see in RELEASE 74, January 30, 2020.
Story and Scenes:
Envy Angel Returns: The envious witch has somehow managed to miss “Sequanna’s Day” yet again and now she’s especially mad! Poor Hyun the Courier did not learn from last year’s folly and once again has attempted to cut through her territory, and wouldn’t you have guessed it? She stole his letters… again! Avatars, steer FAR clear of the Necropolis Barrens. Hyun indicates she might have another trick or two up her sleeve, or she might even have a new artifact on her person. Also, don’t forget — you can aid Hyun on a daily basis even after Envy Angel departs for the season!
Krampus Goes Dormant: Now that the dark winter is ending, Krampus sleeps once again. Beware Avatars, the naughty brats still roam the lands!
Upper Tears Reborn: For R74, many changes occurred with the Upper Tears adventure scene to make it more balanced and enjoyable. For a full explanation about combat balancing in 2020 to include reasoning behind the redesign of Upper Tears, check out the post by Chris Spears on the forums. Here is a summary of these changes:
Liches have always been one of the weakest creatures in the entire game in regards to risk versus reward. Their stats have been improved and more importantly, their level has been increased and more abilities have been added. High level lich mages will now push players out of melee range, and lich fighters will now pull players into melee range. Liches of melee variety can also enrage, and lich casters have several new damage type spells in their arsenal.
The Upper Tears wave events now require a minimum time to elapse before the next new wave type spawns. Before, waves would instantly respawn if you defeated the prior wave. A new timer has been added between respawns. Early waves have an 8 second timer which will grow upwards of 15 seconds for the later more difficult waves.
A mysterious obsidian shard of power spawns in the middle of the chamber and emanates a strong magical buff onto surrounding enemies. This stone is on a separate respawn timer causing it to appear at different times than the minion wave event spawn times.
Two additional waves have been added at the end of the wave cycles which are more challenging. These new waves generate less experience per hour but have more desirable loot chances.
Updates to The Clink: The famous prison under Owl’s Head is enjoying a good number of improvements to its layout in R74. Changes include improved guard dialogue, adjusted hallways, more “airlock” gate systems, a mess hall for the prisoners, and even a kitchen (complete with sewage pipe exit)! When checking out these changes, be careful how you enter. The prisoners are always rioting if you use the main entrance, but the prisoners are calm when entering through the pipe that leads to the kitchen (unlocked after acquiring Colman’s quest). There is an even chance of rioting when entering from the guard headquarters.
When a riot is active, new “high threat” prisoners and guards will actively attack strangers, including players!
When the prisoners are calm, security is heightened in the cell blocks. If you get too close to a guard, they’ll force you into a conversation. If you don’t have proper authorization, you might get thrown into a cell!
Speaking of authorization, a Red Sash Forger has been seen across the bridge from young Colman. When you take on Colman’s quest, he puts in a good word with the forger on your behalf allowing you to purchase authorization papers to help you schmooze your way past the Clink guards.
Be warned! Sneaking into the Clink through the sewage pipe is an option that helps avoid combat, but the Oracle may consider avoiding combat as having a negative impact on your Courage standings.
The Fall: The Fall just got a LOT more dangerous! The bridge spawns were previously 5.5 minute spawns of 2 tier 6 Ebon Dawn humans. Now, the spawns will be 3.5 minute spawns of 3 tier 10 Ebon Dawn humans. Those hunting in The Fall will earn roughly 6 times more experience!
Tartarus: If you haven’t been to Tartarus this month, you might not have noticed the decorations and spawning updates! Many tunnels, rooms, and even the maze have had fantastic layout improvements. Also, scattered around the scene are crates, tables, books, lanterns, rubble, and many props that help tell the “story” of this exciting underground labyrinth. Finally, most enemies within these caverns have better patrols and interactions with their revised environment. (Patched in during R73)
Teaser Pictures of the Episode 2 Overworld Map: List Rostov has been hard at work developing the new land mass for Episode 2. This map will patch in sometime during R74 but in the meantime, here are a handful of teaser pictures captured from Unity to wet your appetites!
New Tamable Creatures:
Light Unicorns: Search for these elusive creatures in roaming encounters throughout New Britannia, because now they’re tameable! And don’t kill them. Really… who would kill a unicorn?
Dark Unicorns: Even the dark-coated cousins of the Light Unicorns have become tameable! Find these rare beasts roaming within various overworld map roaming encounters.
Nightmares: Master tamers throughout New Britannia might even be able to tame the Nightmare, if they survive the attempt!
Bard Skill Tree: Expect some bard skills coming to QA shortly with much if not all of the tree going live during R74 this month! For a hint as to what’s coming, check out the names of some of the musical skills coming our way:
Melody of Mending
Atonal Aria
Mesmerizing Melody
Anthem of Alacrity
Concussive Canticle
Psalm of Stagnation
Ditty of Detection
Savage Sonata
Chorus of Conservation
Rhythmic Readiness
Chant of Charming
User Interface:
Pooled XP Font Size Increase: On everyone’s skill sheets (default “K” to open), the font size of Pooled Experience was increased so newer players would notice how important this stat is. This item was suggested live during F’zol’s livestream interview with Chris — great input F’zol, thank you! (Patched in during R73)
Polearm Ability “Reach” Tooltip: Tooltip was improved to better indicated the ability’s purpose. Great suggestion F’zol! (Patched in during R73)
Mail System Subject Line: The character limit for subject lines in the in-game mail system has been increased from 50 characters to 125 characters.
Drag Glyph Toggle: A new interface option was added to help prevent accidental dragging of glyphs on your combat bar. If toggled on, dragging glyphs will only be allowed while pressing either CTRL key. This new setting is off by default. (Patched in during R73)
Ink NPC Dialogue System: As part of the SotA 2020 Vision for Q1, the first rendition of the NPC dialogue system has gone live in R74. Soon, a greater number of available NPC’s will be added to this new system with expanded conversation options!
Initially, the Automaton Decoration Pet is the only pet available with this system. This is perhaps a bad choice on our part since it was a pledge reward NPC. No worries! Currently, anyone with the tradeable Lord Marshal reward “Automaton Decoration Pet” will be able to experiment with this new system, but other NPCs are on the way!
An introduction and two guides are available for the Ink NPC Dialogue system, which are linked below:
Second Ring Slot: Characters can now equip 2 rings at once! (Patched in during R73)
Second Ring Slot/Off-Hand Item Changes: As mentioned in the Combat Balance section below, players might consider a wider variety of equipment items since there will be restrictions as to what might be equipped simultaneously.
Fishing Book Cover Pattern: There’s a new pattern awaiting players at your local bookstores, which is certainly fine bait to attract the fishermen and ladies out there!
Item Salvage: Players salvaging equipment items will no longer be limited to 15 at a time. Players can now batch 50 at a time to queue for salvaging. (Patched in during R73)
Multi-colored Clockwork Dragon Heads: expect some new varieties of the metallic beasts and related trophy head… Silver, Blackened, Bronze and Gold!
Eggs: Chickens and ducks now drop more eggs.
Feathers: Chickens and ducks now drop more feathers.
Pecan Nuts: Squirrels now drop more pecan nuts.
Durability Increased for Crafted Legs: Leggings now have more durability, allowing for more chances to Enchant and Masterwork the item. Great idea F’zol! (Patched in during R73)
Durability Increased for Crafted Rings: Rings now have more durability, allowing for more chances to Enchant and Masterwork the item. Another great idea from F’zol! (Patched in during R73)
Grass/Tree Removers: Player-Owned-Town decoration limits are no longer affected by tree and grass removers. (Patched in during R73)
Reagent Merchants: Reagent merchants will now sell magical reagents 10K at a time.
New Artifacts: Additional artifacts have been added in R74 to include an armor set and a new drop for Envy Angel!
Acara’s Plate Armor Set and Shield (drops mostly at control points)
Quiver of Jealousy (drops from Envy Angel)
The Tricorn Hat belonging to the skeletal Captain in Tartarus now has stats and tiers
Shroud 2020 Vision: Be sure to check out the Shroud 2020 Vision Post! Chris Spears updates the community on what we can expect from Catnip Games this year. Below are three videos where Chris Spears goes into intricate detail on each item in the vision — enjoy!
New Store Items:
Long Chain Iron Great Hall Chandelier
Long Chain Iron Chandelier
Fancy Bathroom Sink
Fancy Kitchen Sink (will patch in early R74)
Fancy Indoor Toilet
Fine Oak Bookshelves (Empty, Pack of 3)
Snow Paver (Pack of 14)
Combat Balance: As part of the SotA 2020 Vision Post, Atos indicates combat balancing efforts will be a big part of changes coming to Shroud of the Avatar this year. Read what we’ve got brewing for combat balance changes and his reasoning behind it in R74 and the releases to come. Here are just a small number of the balance items addressed in R74:
Simultaneous Use of Identical Artifacts: Coming in with R74, expect a wide range of artifacts to no longer allow simultaneous use. For instance, your character will no longer be able to use dual wands, ankhs or even rings of the exact same variety in each hand or ring slot.
Simultaneous Use of Related Artifacts: Also expect a variety of similar artifacts to be prohibited for simultaneous use. Examples will vary, but Rings of the Frogkin will not be allowed with Rings of the Cuttlekin, and Vexlyn Wands with Wands of Undying Embers.
Earthquake: Earthquake ability for Earth Mages had its casting time reduced if they are specialized.
Root: This Earth Mage ability received a balance pass.
Stone Fist: This short range ability now has a chance to stun.
Valentine’s Day Vault Round: These are some of the upcoming Vault Items available on Thursday, January 30 at 10:30 AM CT in celebration of the upcoming Valentine’s Day season, known as “Sequanna’s Day” in New Britannia:
2016 Cupid Heart Cloak
2016 Valentine Hearts Cloak
2016 Valentine Card 5-Pack
2016 Cupid Ensemble
Double Smoke Heart Emote
Smoke Heart Emote
Triple Smoke Heart Emote
Heart Tub
Performance:
Various improvements were made to server hardware this release.
Release 74 Rewards Program Items: To receive these exclusive rewards, all you need to do is be a member of the Rewards Program during Release 74 and log in to the game during Release 74.
Heart-Shaped Footstool
Heart Top Hat
Heart Spear
February Login Reward:
/breathehearts Emote: Just in time for Valentine’s Day, known as “Sequanna’s Day” in New Britannia, a new festive emote will be added to your character’s emote list for February’s login reward. Just log in during the month of February to receive this free reward!
New/Updated Player-Owned Towns:
Bard’s Rest: Upgraded size.
Britt Mart: Added interconnection with Novia Market.
Jade Mountains: Transferred to new governor.
Novia Market: Added interconnection with Britt Mart.
Port Royal: Added new Municipality to Hidden Vale.
Silk Road: Added new Crossroads Village near Desolis.
Silverdale Market: Added interconnection with Bard’s Rest.
S Mart Factorium: Moved to north of Solace Bridge.
Stonegate: Changed governor. Changed biome to Forest 01b.
QA Testing & Incentive Program: The QA Testing Incentive Program will be returning in R75 with Ravalox at the helm! Community members provided helpful input on the forums about the status of our QA testing program. Ravalox was quick to jump in with a plan and replied promptly. Thank you to everyone!
Bugs/Fixes for R74: Albeit MANY more bug fixes went in this release and into R74, here are some of the highlights!
Grass removed and land leveled beneath tavern in PRT Greenfall
Savage Handle once again has a chance to break down into craftable parts when salvaged.
Disco Ball effects will no longer create flashing squares in some situations.
All Gauntlets of Lead variants should now be enchantable.
Small Fancy Shed can now be placed in a player made dungeon.
Guard waypoints in Ardoris are improved.
Second ring slot no longer interferes with equipment changes during deck swapping.
Players now receive a PvP warning as they transition into the PvP areas of Tartarus.
Simone von Eglinger now exhibits an off-duty response when “Buy” dialogue option selected.
Exiting into Savrenoc Stronghold from Tartarus now brings you to the proper location and a bad shader was fixed at that location.
Collision boxes fixed at still in East Perennial Coast moonshine shack.
Water-Lot conversion vouchers were fixed to match pricing of in-game deed upgrades.
Players can no longer walk underwater in Broken Echoes Silver Mine
Book inside of crate at Oracle Colossus can now be collected.
One of the Ankhs in Tartarus is no longer beneath the ground.
All players in a party can now collect the Vermillion Lens shard at Grannus Colossus.
Captain Burnes in Highvale Outskirts no longer refers to multiple deeds when speaking to the player. Only a single deed is mentioned.
The quest from Davropos in Necropolis Barrens to find the Mors Ex Tenebris book now has proper compass markers.
Improvements were made to Valhold NPC conversations.
Cugel, Simone, and Rolf’s dialogue has been improved for the Black Arrow questline.
Compendium of Pain and Suffering (Challenge Dungeon) Teleporter can now be placed as both a house and town decoration.
Central Brittany citizen Fred Becker’s gender has been switched to male.
The visuals of the Braemar NPC Halmar now properly represent his homeland of Norgard. Halmar’s dialogue was also improved.
Sir Patrick questline has been improved for better flow. No longer will players be able to retrieve the key before completing the wave battle with the automaton monkeys.
Pets should now path correctly in the The Rise Shaft player made dungeon room.
Lot decoration pets are now placeable in player made dungeons.
Highvale Outskirts received a large number of improvements, especially the quest related to finding Michael’s note for Hyla/Rebecca.
Kobold Expeditionary Camp: Players can no longer acquire the key to free Sir Patrick at the wrong time (which blocked the quest). Players currently blocked can return to this scene, free Sir Patrick again, and talk to him after he is freed to complete the scene.
The secret room with the Page of Corporeality in Central Brittany will now magically teleport players outside that room when it reseals itself.
In addition to the changes mentioned above, a large number of fixes have been applied to various conversations, journal entries, quest props, spawning, and/or compass markers in many scenes, including Aerie, Blood River Outskirts, Braemar, Brookside, Jaanaford, Middle Downs, Necropolis Barrens, Resolute, Soltown, and Spite!
As you can see, there are so many more exciting features and improvements coming to players of Shroud of the Avatar this year, and R74 is just the beginning! The Shroud 2020 Vision Post by Chris Spears outlines a wondrous schedule of features coming our way. If you’d like to follow a day-by-day play-by-play posting of Chris’ activities, check out the Official Catnip Games Twitter Feed to get the most up-to-date information! And just because something didn’t make it into the 2020 Vision Post, no worries! There’ll be many new features that sneak in throughout the year as each release unfolds.
Episode 2 features are in-bound which includes new story, new lands, a revamp of the Quest and Journal system, a Theater System, Treasure Hunting with treasure maps that show up as loot, Item Affinity, Taming system expansions, Customizable NPCs, and expanded permissions for containers and doors!
As a reminder, here are links to Player Instructions and Known Issues. Also, a list of helpful links is available on our New Player Welcome Forum pinned right at the top! Thank you again for your continued support. This is truly the most amazing community we have ever worked with, and we are proud to be on this journey with you.
Word has spread throughout the land that new dangers await adventurers in Upper Tears! The undead which inhabit this territory have sent word to their masters that their rest has been disturbed–many times! Over and over! In fact, they were being grinded for experience, with only the magical powers of Experience Attenuation holding adventurers at bay. Take caution Avatars! Reinforcements have arrived! The denizens lurking behind the waterfall of Upper Tears will now have much greater power at their disposal! Enemies that Charge! Enemies with Chain Lightning!
These changes as well some combat balance and attenuation changes are now patched into QA and should patch into the live server soon! These are just some of the many exciting items coming your way this year. If you missed out on what’s on the horizon, be sure to check out the 2020 Vision Post by Chris Spears.
Upper Tears Reborn Livestream Today!
Another content packed weekly Community Livestream is this Friday January 24, at 4 PM CT on Twitch! Chris Spears will demonstrate the changes to Upper Tears, Combat Balance and Attenuation!
As usual we will be giving out prizes at 4:15 and 4:45! To be eligible all you need to do is either make any purchase in the store or log into the game and type “The weather outside is frightful” in the chat window (no purchase necessary).
FLASH SALE: Crowns of the Obsidian 20% Off All Weekend!
Attention Avatars! For those who missed out on the holiday Crown of the Obsidian sale, worry not! For it has returned for a short weekend Holiday Sale Revival! Crowns will be on sale for the entire weekend. You might just need it after seeing what’s up on the vault this round. Enjoy!
As a team, we try to remain as flexible as possible to work on what feels most important at any given time. With that said, we wanted to give players some insight into what our focus will be as we head into 2020.
It is important to note that this is not intended to be some kind of binding contract where we promise we will hit each and every item mentioned. Rather this is just intended to be a vision of where we believe we are headed for the next year. Items will move around, sometimes slip, or sometimes move earlier in the schedule, In some cases we might decide that an item no longer makes sense once we start digging into to it and we might remove it.
The obvious elephant in the room that needs to be discussed first is Episode 2; what that means and when it will arrive. How to deliver it is the really big question. We have some people who are angry we are not currently creating content. At the same time we have other people who say they want us to hold all of Episode 2 until it is 100% done and not trickle it out to people. There is some logic to each of these views and where we will end up is likely somewhere in the middle.
Our goal will be to roll out some new content on a continuous basis, roughly one new scene per release. Simultaneously we want to keep the Episode 2 story held back until we have full confidence in our new quest system. The current plan is that once we have confidence in the new quest system we will start rolling out the main Episode 2 quest line on QA only. Additionally, at least once each release we will migrate data from Live to QA and effectively reset your progress on the main quest line on QA.
New Episode 2 content in the form of new maps, items, creatures, and skills will roll out monthly. Our goal will be to average roughly one new scene a release starting with the February release. Long term our goal would be to get to two scenes per month in the second half of the year. Read more…
