Greetings Friends! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

Game Development

• The Making of East Vauban Foothills
• The Making of Norgard Fens (cont.)
• R53 Livestream Sky Navy Themed Items
• (SPOILER) POT Row Lot Deed Reward for Completing Story (R55)

The Making of East Vauban Foothills

This hilly area is northeast of Vauban pass in the Drachvald region. It was previously a Tier 3 area but is being upgraded to a Tier 5 area for Release 55. The increase in difficulty of this scene is part of a longer term effort where devs will be increasing the difficulty of several scenes to better match the surrounding scenes and the character’s progress along the associated story paths that bring you near those scenes. Undead have overrun a village here and Ebon Dawn Cultists are taking advantage of the resulting chaos.

[From a A Dev+ Forum Post by Chris “Sea Wolf” Wolf]

Hey folks! I have a few screenshots to share of my current progress on East Vauban Foothills. In this scene, an Ebon Dawn mage has converted the population of a small village into zombies, and is performing experiments on them to see if their humanity can be restored.

Cavern Scout Camp

Cavern Laboratory

Obsidian Towers

The Dead Farm

The Dead Village

Chris Wolf
Level Designer

The Making of Norgard Fens (cont.)

This marsh on the southern tip of Norgard was previously a Tier 3 area but is being upgraded to a Tier 5 area for Release 55.  Mushroom creatures and Reapers roam this marsh and have defeated any attempts to harvest the abundant natural resources of the area. Even the industrious Kobolds who have recently been trying to build a foothold here have been meeting with defeat and nature’s marshy hands.

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Esteben “SorcerousSteve” Zaldivar]

Hey guys! SorcerousSteve here to give you an update on the Norgard Fens!

This week I have been focusing on polishing up the POI’s and working with Dan on all things necessary for the puzzles and interactivity in the scene!

Below we catch a glimpse of the witches home situated above the quicksand pits of the Norgard Fens.

A cave in an undisclosed part of the swamp where the Beldame of Norgard Fens brings the children she abducts.

As mentioned in last week’s update the Kobolds have set up a camp in this area with the purpose of studying the mushroom species. Here we get a glimpse of a captive psilocybin behind glass that is getting gassed as a method of containment.

On the other end of the Norgard Fens deep in the heart of psilocybin country one can find a natural arena where players can choose to battle it out with mushrooms.

This system of burrows, gullies, and mud cliffs are the perfect home for the mushroom creatures.

There are plenty of nooks and crannies ready to be explore in the Norgard Fens!

Stay tuned for more on Norgard Fens!

Esteben “SorcerousSteve” Zaldivar
Level Designer

R53 Livestream Sky Navy Themed Items

This week devs showcased obviously Star Wars inspired and/or themed Sky Navy items, like the Blue and Red Electric Swords, White Sky Navy Helmet, Black Sky Navy Helmet, and Adobe Domes Deco Set (with Bonus Burned Skeletons and Blue Cylinders)!

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Michael “Hutch” Hutchison]

May the Fourth was more than just another Friday in May, it was also the date of our Release 53 Livestream! With development on R55 in full swing, we’ve begun to complete many of the Sky Navy themed stretch goal rewards that were achieved during the R53 Livestream. Take a look below!

Blue and Red Electric Swords:

White Sky Navy Helmet:

Black Sky Navy Helmet:

Adobe Domes Deco Set (with Bonus Burned Skeletons and Blue Cylinders):

Electric Staff:

Electric Halberd:

All Metal Crossbow:
Image Coming Soon!

Cylinder Automaton:
Image Coming Soon!

(SPOILER) POT Row Lot Deed Reward for Completing Story (R55)

As they continue to push to try and keep players and gain need ones, the following is again a decision made by Portalarium  to do that.  Remember when “not everyone will own land in Novia”?  That ended a while ago and this continues that trend as well.

[From a Forum Post by Starr “Darkstarr” Long]

Greetings Avatars,

We know that while property ownership is not a required component of the Shroud of the Avatar experience it is a very compelling one. So much so that we want all players to have a clear path towards that goal. We already have the deed lottery and deeds that drop as loot but those are random chances versus certainties.

Several members of our community suggested we reward property for a significant achievement in the game, some huge feat.

We really love that idea so, starting as soon as Release 55, all Avatars who complete the entire story will receive a Player Owned Town Row Lot Deed (Taxed) from the Oracle! This means completing the Paths of Truth, Love, Courage, and the Path of the Oracle. This will be retroactive so anyone who has already completed the story will merely need to revisit the Oracle and enquire about property to receive their lot deed.

This lot deed will not be tradeable between players and there will be a limit of one lot deed per account (i.e. you will not be able to earn one for each character you have). The no-trade and account limit are to prevent farming.

Note that in Offline Mode this lot deed can be used anywhere, not just in Player Owned Towns!

For those concerned about taxes a reminder that the Oracle provides 500 gold per day for consulting with her which is the same amount of taxes owed for a Row Lot per day.