Avowed (Obsidian)

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 1:57 pm

I avoid public reviews of games, and any reviews of films for exactly that reason. I can play/watch the thing three times and love it, never noticing certain flaws. But if I read a review pointing them out, I become hyper-aware of those flaws and they can ruin a good experience for me.

I'm still struggling with myself, trying to convince myself to buy this (I haven't bought a release price game in years, so I'm due.) I'll likely give in, so I'm planning on buyer's remorse and guilt now so that I can get over it and have fun.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:02 pm

If my backlog wasn't so full (and I wasn't enjoying shooting Nazis in the face), I'd probably be all over this. Instead, I'll likely wait it out for a patch or two and likely pick it up in March or April.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:13 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:02 pm If my backlog wasn't so full (and I wasn't enjoying shooting Nazis in the face)

...you're doing it wrong. Aim lower.

Scraper · Post by **Scraper** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:17 pm

The game just launched. I'm looking forward to Coop's assessment after he beats it tonight.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:19 pm

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:28 pm

Hyena wrote: Tue Feb 18, 2025 1:50 pm Until I read other people's reviews, then I start to question why I like the game. Sometimes I guess I need to find out why I should be outraged?

Well, during character creation you don't choose your race or sex, just your body type (with or without pointy ears, with or without boobs), and you can specify he/she/they as your pronoun. So, without even checking, I know that a certain group of people hate the game sight-unseen. Plus, the graphics are very colorful, like a full-spectrum rainbow of colors, if you know what I mean. That'll probably trigger them too. And, of course, there's the fact that the game director is a woman. The hate reviews pretty much write themselves.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:29 pm

hepcat wrote: Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:13 pm ...you're doing it wrong. Aim lower.

I finally got the shot last night! I absolutely giggled.

On topic - I did see a reviewer mention that the inventory system in Avowed is a welcome change. My understanding is they streamlined everything and you can just send gear to your camp. No installing a Daehawk Bag of Holding mod or changing all the weights to 0 in order to carry everything. Just send things to your camp and you can get them later. Does it make sense? Maybe not. But neither does being able to carry 37 swords in your backpack because you have an insane strength score.

Hyena · Post by **Hyena** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:41 pm

Max Peck wrote: Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:28 pm
Hyena wrote: Tue Feb 18, 2025 1:50 pm Until I read other people's reviews, then I start to question why I like the game. Sometimes I guess I need to find out why I should be outraged?
Well, during character creation you don't choose your race or sex, just your body type (with or without pointy ears, with or without boobs), and you can specify he/she/they as your pronoun. So, without even checking, I know that a certain group of people hate the game sight-unseen. Plus, the graphics are very colorful, like a full-spectrum rainbow of colors, if you know what I mean. That'll probably trigger them too. And, of course, there's the fact that the game director is a woman. The hate reviews pretty much write themselves.

UGH!! Thanks, Max! I hadn't even BOUGHT it yet and I already hate it!

But seriously, I actually kinda like the fact that I won't be spending an hour in paralysis by analysis of character creation. Looking forward to creating a stealth archer like I do in every other game.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:52 pm

You don't need a high strength score to carry a bunch of swords - they don't weight that much. Soldiers gear weighs as much as a couple of dozen arming swords. What you need is just a way to manage them all - those things are awkward as hell to carry more than a couple of!

Spoiler:

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 3:11 pm

Oh, there is a shit load to do during character creation in terms of customizing your appearance. I was just pointing out that the Anti-Woke Chud Army is likely mobilizing to pump out negative reviews based on some very specific points.

As for going stealth archer, there aren't classes per se. You pick a background, which sets some default ability scores that you can still tweak if you wish. The skill system is classless, so you can pick and choose whatever mix of abilities you want, and can respec everything for a monetary cost so there isn't a risk of getting stuck with a gimp build if you make some suboptimal choices along the way. As you level up your character, you get points to spend on attributes and abilities.

One thing that I ran into fairly early on is that combat effectiveness is very much tied to your gear rather than just your character level. I've hit a point where I can't progress the main story because it would involve fighting a group of enemies that are simply too tough for me (playing on the normal difficulty setting). My companions are specifically calling out that I need better weapons during combat, so I need to take time to do some side quests and gather materials to craft upgrades for my weapons and armour.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 3:20 pm

Blackhawk wrote: Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:52 pm You don't need a high strength score to carry a bunch of swords - they don't weight that much. Soldiers gear weighs as much as a couple of dozen arming swords. What you need is just a way to manage them all - those things are awkward as hell to carry more than a couple of!

Spoiler:

Weapons and armour seem to be the only things that have a carry weight, so I've yet to run into the actual carry weight limit even with my spindly-armed bookworm character. I just scoop up everything I find and periodically dump anything I'm not actually using in the camp stash. At the moment I'm using a wand/tome alternating with a bow for equipped weapons, and packing a backup sword and shield for any times I feel like bashing and blocking instead of pew-pewing.

One interesting thing I've noticed about camps is that you can fast travel to one from anywhere, and it appears that when you leave the camp you can choose either to exit to the location where the camp is or return to the location you fast travelled from. I didn't actually try the second option yet, but if it does what it says on the label, that's a slick QoL feature that respects the player's time.

Hyena · Post by **Hyena** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 4:02 pm

Max Peck wrote: Tue Feb 18, 2025 3:11 pm Oh, there is a shit load to do during character creation in terms of customizing your appearance. I was just pointing out that the Anti-Woke Chud Army is likely mobilizing to pump out negative reviews based on some very specific points.

As for going stealth archer, there aren't classes per se. You pick a background, which sets some default ability scores that you can still tweak if you wish. The skill system is classless, so you can pick and choose whatever mix of abilities you want, and can respec everything for a monetary cost so there isn't a risk of getting stuck with a gimp build if you make some suboptimal choices along the way. As you level up your character, you get points to spend on attributes and abilities.

One thing that I ran into fairly early on is that combat effectiveness is very much tied to your gear rather than just your character level. I've hit a point where I can't progress the main story because it would involve fighting a group of enemies that are simply too tough for me (playing on the normal difficulty setting). My companions are specifically calling out that I need better weapons during combat, so I need to take time to do some side quests and gather materials to craft upgrades for my weapons and armour.

Interesting! Thanks, I was expecting it to be like Pillars in terms of classes (Chanter, Cipher, Ranger, etc.). I kinda like the idea of being able to dip into other skill sets. Also helps to cut down on my debilitating altoholism by being able to adjust my single character instead of making half a dozen toons.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 4:30 pm

I will be in when it is on sale. Plus by then the bugs will be ironed out and the guides will be plentiful. Plus there will be reaction videos for Daehawk.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 4:34 pm

Normal point-buy abilities fall into 3 categories: Fighter, Ranger (which includes abilities related to ranged weapons and stealth, for your stealth archer needs) and Wizard. As far as I know the abilities give you special attacks, buffs, heals or whatever, but don't directly affect your basic weapon attacks. There are also Godlike abilities, which are unlocked through story progression rather than being point-buy. There are also companion abilities, which have their own point-buy pools for each companion's skill tree.

You also get points on level-up to increase your attributes (Might, Con, Dex, etc).

Any of the above that are point-buy can be respecced by paying a fee in gold. I'm not sure if the fee is fixed or scales with the number of points you're getting back.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 4:53 pm

Jaymann wrote: Tue Feb 18, 2025 4:30 pm I will be in when it is on sale. Plus by then the bugs will be ironed out and the guides will be plentiful. Plus there will be reaction videos for Daehawk.

So far it seems to be pretty polished. I did have a couple of CTDs, but because of the initial issues I had with my new hardware I can't be certain that those weren't a me problem rather than a them problem. Aside from that, I haven't experienced any obvious glitches.

As for reaction videos, I already hit peak content yesterday. Mel Croft, Twitch's reigning champion Xtreme Makeup Athlete (aka bodypainter) did a sponsored stream for the game. She started with a bodypaint (boobs not included, sorry Daehawk) inspired by the game's cover art, followed by some gameplay.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 5:31 pm

Oh, hey, there's a launch day patch. That fixes a bunch of problems that I knew nothing about.

Patch 1.2.2 Notes

Hey everyone!

Patch 1.2.2 is here, bringing a variety of fixes and improvements based on your feedback. From crash and quest fixes to gameplay tweaks and UI updates, we’ve addressed several community-requested issues to make your experience even better.

As always, if you run into any other issues or have feedback, be sure to reach out—we appreciate your support!

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 7:59 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:29 pm
hepcat wrote: Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:13 pm ...you're doing it wrong. Aim lower.

I finally got the shot last night! I absolutely giggled.

On topic - I did see a reviewer mention that the inventory system in Avowed is a welcome change. My understanding is they streamlined everything and you can just send gear to your camp. No installing a Daehawk Bag of Holding mod or changing all the weights to 0 in order to carry everything. Just send things to your camp and you can get them later. Does it make sense? Maybe not. But neither does being able to carry 37 swords in your backpack because you have an insane strength score.

Just a friendly FYI, this one makes you queasy. Adjust your settings

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 8:08 pm

Ugh, really? Thanks for the tip!

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 9:50 pm

They’re kind of leaning into the JRPG aesthetic so far. Little blue anime Chewbacca is a prime example.

But I’m enjoying the combat. It’s actually pretty fun.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Tue Feb 18, 2025 9:59 pm

The orlans (the short big-eared furries) have been around since PoE, so I'd think they're leaning into their own lore and world building. Then again, I've never played a JRPG so maybe that's what it's been all along.

Scraper · Post by **Scraper** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 9:21 am

I'm about 4 hours in so far and I'm really enjoying the game. It really does feel like a modernized Skyrim (Only with a lot more color). I'm playing on the Series X and so far I haven't noticed a single bug or even any jank that is normally associated with big open world RPGs at launch.

At this point in the game I've picked up every quest I could find in the opening city (Paridise) and even completed a couple of them. So far I like what I see from the quest design and progression.

I chose to use a Mace and shield combo with the bow being my alt setup. So far I find the bow to be very useful and I've actually put some skill points into its ability tree. I've also managed to find and buy enough crafting supplies to level my armor and weapons up twice each.

So I really do like what I see and unless something changes I could easily get lost in this game for 50+ hours.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 10:59 am

I do miss a class system though. Without those restrictions, I feel like I'm just creating a hodge podge character who switches between whatever feels most powerful at the time. I mean, I could just force myself to adhere to a class approach, I guess.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 11:46 am

From what I've heard, you won't have enough resources to spread yourself too thin.

Scraper · Post by **Scraper** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 12:01 pm

Blackhawk wrote: Wed Feb 19, 2025 11:46 am From what I've heard, you won't have enough resources to spread yourself too thin.

So far I have focused on 1 melee weapon, 1 range weapon and 1 chest piece and I have had enough resources in the first zone to level them all. I think each subsequent zone provides improved weapons and armor as well as the resources to level them. So as long as you stick to just leveling your preferred weapons I think you'll be fine with resources.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 12:14 pm

Exactly what I'd heard. You can absolutely do a little bit of everything, but you can only really make practical use of a couple of approaches past the early game. That's the restriction on the classless system.

disarm · Post by **disarm** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 12:38 pm

I read something that pointed out your limited ability to build a diverse character because there are no enemy respawns in the game... clear every bad guy in an area and they're gone for good. It's an interesting approach in some ways, but you can't revisit areas to further build up your character.

WYBaugh · Post by **WYBaugh** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 1:18 pm

I was watching a video and the guy was saying to make sure you breakdown your extra equipment and not sell it. You need to upgrade your epuipment rather than grinding.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 4:31 pm

WYBaugh wrote: Wed Feb 19, 2025 1:18 pm I was watching a video and the guy was saying to make sure you breakdown your extra equipment and not sell it. You need to upgrade your epuipment rather than grinding.

Counterpoint to that. Shops sell some upgraded gear. Check the shops, if they have higher tier stuff that fits your need consider buying them. That way you won’t need to spread limited upgrade materials too thin.

WYBaugh · Post by **WYBaugh** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 5:06 pm

coopasonic wrote: Wed Feb 19, 2025 4:31 pm
WYBaugh wrote: Wed Feb 19, 2025 1:18 pm I was watching a video and the guy was saying to make sure you breakdown your extra equipment and not sell it. You need to upgrade your epuipment rather than grinding.
Counterpoint to that. Shops sell some upgraded gear. Check the shops, if they have higher tier stuff that fits your need consider buying them. That way you won’t need to spread limited upgrade materials too thin.

Good to know. I picked this up last night but haven't started yet.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 6:29 pm

I've now spent a couple of hours with it, and I finally beat the character creator.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 7:06 pm

Blackhawk wrote: Wed Feb 19, 2025 6:29 pm I've now spent a couple of hours with it, and I finally beat the character creator.

You mean you were able to re-roll your stats?

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 7:44 pm

No, not hard mode. That was just getting through the physical design, starting stats, and name.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 10:52 pm

By "beating the character creator" do you mean you figured out a way to make a character that didn't look like complete ass? Sorry, but these character models are ughhhh.

Played a bit through the tutorial stuff though, and it's fun. Also I REALLY suck at combat.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 11:47 pm

I’m playing on hard and I think that was the right choice. Even in the tutorial I’ve had to really think about how to win. Running in and hacking won’t cut it (bad pun, sorry).

Scraper · Post by **Scraper** » Thu Feb 20, 2025 10:23 am

I ended up respecking my character from archery to magic. The reason I first did it is because there are a lot of doors that require electricity to open. So you either have to have an electric grenade, which are hard to find, or use electric magic. It was just easier to use the magic and set it as my alt loadout.

Once, I switched I realized how much I liked using magic in the beginning stage of fights to weaken the enemies and then switch to my mace to finish them off. So much more effective and fun than early archery.

Hyena · Post by **Hyena** » Thu Feb 20, 2025 11:17 am

I started my character on Tuesday, focusing on archery as expected. Then I found a basic arquebus and started one-shotting almost every enemy with a power shot and wow... Then I found a flame dagger that ignites on a full combo completion and WOW! I upped my bow to the second tier and that has helped a bit, but it's a bit underwhelming at this level. Still enjoying the game, though.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Thu Feb 20, 2025 11:36 am

Is there any way to get just enough electric magic for doors but otherwise go full archery?

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Thu Feb 20, 2025 12:45 pm

Jaymann wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2025 11:36 am Is there any way to get just enough electric magic for doors but otherwise go full archery?

Just carry around the starter magic book, swap to it when you need it and swap back when you’re done.

Hyena · Post by **Hyena** » Thu Feb 20, 2025 12:47 pm

Ok, this drove me crazy for almost an hour last night. There's two spots in the opening area that I'm not able to get into and it's maddening. Both of them are near the Ivona's Threshold area on the map. One of them is a two-story building with vine-covered doors and windows, but there's a hole in the roof to get in, and there's loot right by the window so you can see it. There's a ruined section next to the house and it backs up to a mountain, but I can't access the door or the roof. How do I get in??

The other is a cave of those little lizard people up on a rise just out of reach. They leap down from there and attack, but there doesn't seem to be a way to access it. You can see the giant tusk/horns framing the cave entrance, but I can't find a way up and it's leaving a rather large fog-of-war unexplored. Is there a superjump mechanic you get later on or what?

Scraper · Post by **Scraper** » Thu Feb 20, 2025 1:33 pm

coopasonic wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2025 12:45 pm
Jaymann wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2025 11:36 am Is there any way to get just enough electric magic for doors but otherwise go full archery?
Just carry around the starter magic book, swap to it when you need it and swap back when you’re done.

Yep this. But I found that once I started using magic in battles I enjoyed that a lot more than archery. So my switch made a lot of sense.