Obsidian Avowed new combat and gameplay Shown. Release Fall 2024. |UP| 2/5/24 Dropped Frames Interview.

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Gamernyc78

Gamernyc78

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Carrie Patel was on Dropped Frames talking about Avowed.​

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Here's a breakdown of what was discussed:
- They are aware of the vocal feedback around combat [impact]; it's something they already know about and are actively working on. The footage shown in the Developer_Direct was already weeks behind what was the current build (at the time of filming).
- Players will find themselves one foot between a grounded political story and a metaphysical story about gods and souls.
- There will be things to find in the environment (Cohh's question was targeted around loot, environmental storytelling, notes etc.).
- Classless system but skill trees will allow for speccing into more traditional 'archetypes' if a player wants.
- Companion skill trees are locked to a specific archetype, but will allow for variations.
- Different enemy attacks can impact the player (knockdown, push, unblockable etc.).
- Not discussing endings or NG+ at this time.
- Some character creation decisions will have mechanical and roleplay impacts.
- Scope is similar to The Outer Worlds (question was about playtime, critical path vs. 100% completion).
- Weapon upgrade system (not mandatory, but recommended).
- Party camp will follow you through the game (no base building).
- Similar difficulty options in their previous games (story time, path of the damned).
- Grimoire magic still in the game, just wasn't shown at the direct (can also dual wield grimoire + wand for quick magic and powerful spells).
- Can't speak much about the stat system, but the general idea is they don't want a system that corners players into potential bad decisions. Want to present a fun set of options for the player.
- Can't speak much on bosses yet, but the idea around combat encounters is to present a variety of enemies that will challenge the player and not make them feel too complacent with sticking to one play style. Want to encourage swapping weapon sets.
- Playing PoE 1 and 2 are not required to understand what's going on.
- No mini-games.
- Day and Night system is there, but doesn't affect gameplay.
- No mounts, some combat abilities affect movement (charge, etc.).
- Tease about some gear can affect things like movement.
 
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Gamernyc78

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A commonly seen inclusion in fantasy games like Avowed is a collection of sorcery-related institutions, each devoted to a particular brand/type of magic in their respective settings. Some easily recognizable examples of these would be Hogwarts Legacy, Skyrim's College of Winterhold, and the Academy of Raya Lucaria in Elden Ring. While it's not known yet how big of a factor Deadfire's cliffhanger will be for Avowed's narrative, given that animancy (as well as other more "traditional" magic like fire, lightning, etc.) plays an important role within Pillars of Eternity and Avowed's shared setting, it might make a lot of sense as well as add variety and player choice for it to have a suite of joinable factions each focused on a different specialization of magic, affecting players' class/skills on top of any related story options.