Avowed - What We Know So Far
Dec. 20, 2023Avowed – What We Know So Far
Since the reveal of Avowed, an Action-RPG set in the same universe as the CRPG games Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity 2, we’ve been excited to see what awaits us in Eora. In this Avowed article, we go over what we know about the game’s narrative, combat, development changes and what we could see in this first person take on POE that many players are anticipating.
First announced about three years ago, Avowed was unveiled to be a first-person RPG by the same developers of the Pillars of the Eternity games, Obsidian. Having worked on the previous CRPGs, the studio looks to be stepping out into a new direction. Moving away from turn-based RPG combat, Avowed will have real-time action-based combat with magic as well as traditional weapons.
Avowed will be set in the area of Eora known as the Living Lands which is in the same universe as the CRPG Pillars of Eternity. From what’s been released trailer-wise, we know that the main character will be able to wield magic and is sent to the Living Lands as an envoy of Aedyr, by the emperor to find out about a plague that is impacting the land.
Being able to command magic the locals don’t quite trust you upon first meeting, and here you will need to show you’re not the bad guy, and get them to come over to your side via persuasion or force.
Using both weapons and magic in combat means a whole range of possibilities. You won’t be playing as a Watcher in this iteration though, but you will still have some sort of Soul connection which we don’t know a lot about currently.
The setting of the Living Lands means a diverse world of flora and fauna. The environment is full of poisonous weeds, and dense forests but also dry mountainous regions. But it’s not just the natural environment adventurers should be keeping an eye out for, from the footage shown animals are also affected by the unique soul plague. This could mean they also have further abilities not normally found in the wild, opening up a host of problems that only players can solve. Whether that is by blade, by casting spells, persuasion or coercion, or a combination of these things.
Avowed’s world is expected to be roughly the same size as KOTOR 2, orThe Outer Worldsif you want a more recent comparison. Avowed won’t be open world but will have interconnected open zones, and from what was shown at the Xbox Extended Game Showcase back in June, there will be plenty to explore which you can do at your own pace.
Past trailers have also shown teases of deities from the Pillars of the Eternity universe. A scene shows a castle displaying hanging banners on its walls with a symbol which can also be seen on the player’s sword. The symbol looks very similar to that of the one for the deity known as Woedica. Another name she goes by is the Exiled Queen who holds a particular importance in the Empire of Aedyr.
This might give some clues as to exactly when in time and where in Eora, will be the focus of Avowed’s narrative. Being so prevalent in the trailer could mean we’re at a time before Woedica is cast out. This could very well be a prequel to the Pillars of Eternity games being set in the same world. It’s still unclear if this will be a prequel or sequel to the series of games. However, it could also be its own story hence not gaining ‘Pillars of Eternity’ as its title.
Combat is in real-time and looks very reminiscent of games such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim or the more recent Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, where you can cast magic with one hand and use a weapon in the other. In June, Obsidian released a gameplay trailer featuring swordsmen ready to ambush a lone figure stepping off a ship. It featured some double pistol fights, swords, bows and axes. But dual-wieldingweaponsaren’t the only thing in the player’s arsenal, Avowed also gives players the ability to wield magic in first-person.
There seem to be different types of magic to cast. We may even see returning Spells and abilities from Pillars of Eternity realized in 1st person. For instance, you can see a sword slash that looks like it could be Flames of Devotion with it’s whitish yellow flames engulfing the blade. Or the Wizard’s Fireball that has a longer cast time, as well as Pull of Eora, with the dark sphere that pulls enemies into its vortex.
There also looks to be a melee attack that looks an awful lot like the Cipher’s “Soul Annihilation”, as well as a charging move with a raised Shield that reminds me of the Fighter ability: Charge.
Also teased on the game’s Steam page is the ability to set traps by using your grimoire which seems to have a range of spells. But there are other less tactical ways to get rid of enemies such as kicking them off a cliff, which reminds me ofShovingenemies off high places inBaldur’s Gate 3.
Shared in a video celebrating 20 years of Obsidian, thePillars of Eternity 2andThe Outer Worldsdeveloper dove into what the game used to be. The RPG was once targeted to be a co-op multiplayer, but has since changed scope. Studio head Feargus Urquhart explained in the video when looking back on the 20 years at Obsidian, that there were choices they felt good about, and some that felt “not so good”. Previously they “pushed” Avowed as a multiplayer in order to sell it better to publishers. However, they felt ultimately it wasn’t the right direction for game.
The development of quests, narratives, and other elements were significantly shaped by the multiplayer component. Understandably a multiplayer game has a different set of content compared to a solo experience. The game’s director, Carrie Patel, described the eight-month transition period to a new direction as “very hectic”.
Before Obsidian was acquired by Microsoft, they were independent. This influenced how the game was viewed and pitched. Urquhart explained asking for “50, 60, 70, 80 million” from publishers meant they needed something to hook them in and “multiplayer made it interesting”. This is also probably why we hadn’t really gotten much of an update on Avowed until this year, when it appeared at the Xbox Games Showcase in June with a newtrailer.
Single-player games don’t necessarily mean playing alone though. The appeal of games like Dragon’s Dogma 2 are putting players in situations where they can recruit their own party members who can act on their own or as directed. Or the recent majorly successful Baldur’s Gate 3 which is often amplified by the presence of a group of companions. Your main character may be designed for a specific build, but you can leverage the abilities of your party members to enhance combat strategies.
However having a companion or two, could help provide more flexible gameplay. We’re excited to find out whether the party members will be commanded in combat, or will they rely more on their own AI driven combat similar to games such asDragon’s Dogma‘sPawnsystem which I could see also working here. In an interview with PC Gamer, director Carrie Patel expressed that Avowed is very much a companion-focused game, being “integral to the story”. They went on to say they are “tied to the story, tied to your party”, meaning your adventure will revolve around your companions. Being such a big part of your gameplay means there have to be skills or upgrade systems as you get into more challenging fights.
Companions will join you on your adventure with up to two at a time. OneCompanionrevealed already is theCoastal Aumauacalled Kai, a battle-hardened ex-soldier and mercenary. From one trailer we see Kai running into what looks to be a battle alongside others in the group. But there could be more races for companions such asHuman,Dwarves,Elves,GodlikeandOrlan. Each race has its own attributes and sub-class bonuses. For example the Coastal Aumaua have bonuses such as Towering Physique. It will be interesting how this will be adapted to combat in Avowed.
As Avowed isn’t a turn-based game, this leaves a lot open in how Obsidian plans to tackle companions and combat. Its first-person view may also shape how you interact with Companions while in a fight. Not having an isometric view like in the CRPGs means a much different tact when it comes to skills. Adapting this to an Action-RPG will be a challenge but could also be quite fun with fewer restrictions being in real-time and be the culmination of what they’ve learned from developing The Outer Worlds. While that title was more gunplay-focused, there could be some takeaways from this.
In an interview with PC Gamer back in June, the developer shared your role will be set, playing as an imperial envoy. You do however have control over personality, appearance and philosophy. Race however will only be human or elf. You won’t be locked into a particular class with having several ability trees. This sounds like we’ll have quite the flexibility to customise our character to play how we like, suiting multiple playstyles. As we also have weapon choices such as double pistols and swords, it will be interesting how flexible it will be to switch up weaponry.
If we look at the classes available in the Pillars of Eternity series, we can make some predictions of what kind of abilities could appear in Avowed. Having seen abilities from many different Pillars of Eternity Classes, I think it’s safe to assume most if not all Classes will be returning in Avowed, and these are: Barbarian, Chanter, Cipher, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Priest, Ranger, Rogue and Wizard. Multiclassing also opens up a mix of different playstyles, but since we’re not locked to classes, multiclassing might not be there in a traditional sense, though mixing and matching Class Abilities should still be a thing as it was in PoE2 to some degree.
Avowed sounds like it will be an interesting experience attracting not only fans of the Pillars of Eternity crowd but also those who are enamoured by the mix of magic and weapon playstyle. Being an Action-RPG will give a fresh take on a well-established Pillars universe. From what’s been teased of the game so far, we’re in for an adventure to maybe a time we haven’t seen before in Eora which could provide a lot of new stories.
Hopefully it will be just as great as the CRPG narrative and also open up the game to new experiences within the Pillars universe with its combat options being in real-time. A companion-based game will give further flexibility and hopefully some player agency when it comes to making choices in the game.
Yuria
News Editor at Fextralife. Yuria is an avid PC gamer and Twitch streamer who enjoys online multi-player games and believes games should have amazing storylines not just great graphics.
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