Release 79

RELEASE 79, June 25, 2020
Release 79 of Shroud of the Avatar goes live this Thursday, June 25, at 10:30 AM US Central Time (16:30 UTC).

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.

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.

Here is a list of what you can expect to see in RELEASE 79, June 25, 2020.

New Adventure Scene: Spindelskog!

Spindelskog is an entirely new Episode 2 adventure scene in Mistrendur! Spindelskog is located far to the northwest of the continent on the westernmost island. Hidden within the tangle of an ancient forest, this adventure scene contains dangers never before faced by the Avatars of New Britannia! Shadowy beasts lurk within, such as the Onus and Feram Cavas! These vile creatures posses terrifying abilities sure to thwart any trespasser!

Skarde, a brave traveler from Tanglemire stands just within Spindelskog’s entrance and awaits the arrival of any Avatar brave enough to test their mettle beneath the sun deprived canopy of this accursed wood. He speaks of the “pale ones” and warns newcomers of the curse which plagues this blighted land.

Currently a Tier 10+ adventure scene, Spindelskog will soon be adjusted to offer a variety of additional scaled difficulties. The scaled versions of the scene should patch in shortly, but in the meantime, please enjoy the first available version at “Easy” difficulty. Upcoming difficulty tiers to be added are tentatively Normal (Tier 12) and Hard (Tier 14). Only players with Episode 2 Access will be able to adventure within this new scene. Will you aid Skarde upon your visit to Spindelskog? If so, bring your companions, oh brave ones! The dangers here are not to be taken lightly.



Player-Owned Town News!


 * New Player-Owned Towns Available: In celebration of Lord British’s birthday and in the foreseeable future, players will once again be able to purchase new Player-Owned Towns on the web add-on store. The player town feature of the game is one of our most intriguing and enjoyable systems, and now more players will have a chance to become a governor. All new towns can be placed directly on the overworld in Novia and Hidden Vale, but Mistrendur placement is still exclusive to those who purchased Episode 2 transfer vouchers or Episode 2 new town vouchers in the past.
 * Town Service Voucher Changes: Until now, there were two town service vouchers. The $50 Player-Owned Town Transfer Voucher allowed players to transfer an entire town from account to account and the $25 Player-Owned Town Submission Form Unlock Voucher was used for all other POT-related tasks. Both vouchers are being replaced by the new ones described below:
 * $25 Player-Owned Town Minor Work Request: Tasks that are covered by this voucher include:
 * Add or change the targets for up to 3 interconnection teleporters (balloon, wagon, boat, or hatch, as appropriate for the POT biomes). Note that Mistrendur POTs still have the exclusive ability for unlimited distance in their interconnection change requests, while Novia and Hidden Vale towns will still be limited to interconnection locations within a geographical proximity. (Since Mistrendur still lacks much in terms of nearby content for those governors, we thought it best to allow them to keep and even add interconnections regardless of distance. Future plans include allowing POT governors to set up their own interconnections thereby minimizing the need for interconnection-related vouchers.)
 * Slightly adjust the location(s) and/or orientation(s) of their interconnection teleporter(s). (Note that interconnection teleporters must remain by the central hub of each POT but can be moved, for example, from one side of a bridge to the other, or from one side of the docks to the other.) POT owners with multiple interconnection teleporters of a given type can request that they be replaced with a single list teleporter. (For example, a POT with 5 boats can request they be replaced with a single “list teleporter” that links to the same 5 targets.)
 * Move an overworld POT to a new overworld location, or from one nested location to another nested location. Mistrendur POTs can move to Novia or the Hidden Vale if they so choose, but Novia or Hidden Vale towns cannot yet move to Mistrendur without an applicable Episode 2 Town voucher.
 * $50 Player-Owned Town Major Work Request: Tasks that are covered this voucher include:
 * Transfer a POT to another account.
 * Change the POT’s name, biome, or both. Note that the POT will need to be emptied prior to implementation otherwise all belongings in the POT will be moved to their respective owners’ banks. Also, all interconnection teleporters will be migrated to the newly created version. (Previously biome and name changes were available with purchase of a $25 voucher, but after much consideration, these requests now require the $50 voucher due to the amount of work required to perform these tasks. In both cases, the town must be entirely reset, which takes a considerable amount of developer effort and time.)
 * Merge two POTs. (NEW!) Now, governors can request the merger of two Player-Owned Towns! If both POTs are owned by two different players, as with a transfer between accounts, both parties must provide permission for the merge to customer service (at support@portalarium.com). The owner(s) will designate which POT will be removed from the game, and which POT will receive the value of the town to be removed. A town’s value cannot exceed the value of a Megalopolis, which currently is the largest town size available.
 * Change a nested POT to become an overworld POT. POTs nested within Novia or the Hidden Vale can move to the overworld map of either Novia or Hidden Vale. POTs nested within Mistrendur can move to the overworld maps of Mistrendur, Novia, or Hidden Vale. (As a goal, we’re providing a means for all nested towns to find their way onto the overworld map. Expect more placement options to become available as continents continue to be added to the game in upcoming episodes.) Note that POTs without Episode 2 access that move to the overworld may find themselves too far from old interconnection targets, so please keep this in mind when choosing an overworld location.
 * Two minor work request items may be requested with a major work request voucher, but each voucher is still limited to 3 interconnection changes/additions. For instance, with the major work request, a governor could also include as many as 3 interconnection changes (as the 1st minor work item) and a teleporter change from balloon to a wagon (as the 2nd minor work item).


 * Player-Owned Town Crown Upgrades: Players may now officially request town upgrades using Crowns of the Obsidian (a.k.a. Crowns or COTOs). We’ve managed to perform some of these upgrades in the past, and now the process is completely refined and ready for full implementation. Simply put in your request through customer service (at support@portalarium.com), indicate which town is to be upgraded and in which character’s inventory the appropriate amount of Crowns is available. Customer service will remove the Crowns from your character and initiate an upgrade request. Also, your town’s record will be updated such that if you choose to purchase an upgrade via the web store, this option will still be available. This upgrade option is exceptionally helpful to teams and guilds who upgrade their towns through a collaborative effort. These upgrade requests must be performed by the governor and the governor’s character must be the one holding the Crowns used for the upgrade.
 * Town Form Changes: Very soon, the online POT form will be revamped. When players access or unlock their online POT form, we sometimes receive feedback or notice confusion about certain aspects of the form. Through the years, portions of the form have become either obsolete and/or misleading to governors making change requests for their town. We want to improve and streamline every governor’s experience, and the changes to this form is a part of that desire.

Expect all of these town service changes to become available as we approach Lord British’s birthday. We hope governors enjoy the improved experience, and we welcome any upcoming new governors to the Player-Owned Town system.

New Scene Difficulty Tier Markers!

With the arrival of the new dynamically scaled difficulty concept for Episode 2 adventure scenes, players will start seeing a new type of difficulty tier marker to provide a graphical representation of the player selected difficulty just inside the entrance of each applicable scene. The difficulty levels available are “Easy,” “Normal,” “Hard,” and “Extreme.” The old tier markers had up to 5 skulls on a spike–the more skulls, the harder the difficulty. Also, a ribbon on the top meant “plus” in that there was at least one large section (not just one enemy) within that same scene that was a notably higher difficulty.

These new tier markers include five shelves. A skull on the bottom shelf means you’re in the Easy version of the scene. A skull in the second shelf from the bottom means you’re in the Normal difficulty. Third from the bottom means Hard. Fourth from the bottom means Extreme. The top shelf is reserved for the “plus” marker or some other future use.

Tier markers also appear in the overworld, and Mistrendur’s tier markers are handled in a special way. For example, if the scene has a Normal and a Hard difficulty, the overworld tier marker will have skulls both on the Normal shelf and the Hard shelf to let you know both modes are available. We hope you enjoy these new tier markers. As more scaled scenes arrive in the Episode 2 continent of Mistrendur, these new markers will be a great indicator to the dangers players are about to face.

Reward Item Collections!

Recent player feedback about the decoration and gear login items created each month for Rewards Program subscribers has led the team to rethink what types of rewards are delivered in a given release, in order to appeal to all different types of players. A desire for more immersive or functional gear items became evident as we read through the feedback. Moving forward, players can expect a more varied selection of items in order to provide a balance between intriguing gear, immersive decoration, and vanity/fun type login rewards.

To further enhance the login items provided for the Rewards Program, a collections type concept has also been implemented. During Lord British’s Birthday Bash in 2017, a unique plate helm was delivered to players which never received any other plate armor counterparts to complete the set. In the months ahead, one additional piece of Lord British Plate Armor will be forged by master artist Damon and delivered to players amongst their Rewards Program login items. The Lord British Chest Plate Armor arrives this month as our first piece in a collection of new Lord British-themed items. For the time being, the helm will still cycle through the Vault periodically as a rare and more difficult item to obtain. When this collection is fully delivered, expect other amazing collections to become available to subscribers in the future. Also, reward and monthly login items will become available in the Crown Store towards the end of each month in case subscribers want to receive additional copies of these items, or if non-subscribers would like to acquire them separately without a subscription.

New Store Additions: BBQ Smoker Cooking Station & More!

Cooks now have a wondrous second option for a crafting station style — the BBQ Smoker Cooking Station! Just perfect for the outdoor BBQ with fellow Avatars! This new cooking station will become available very shortly. For the Avatars seeking to display pipes throughout their properties, two new Steam Pipe 10-Packs are available on the Crown Store! Thick and thin varieties of pipes can now extend throughout your dungeons, basements, homes, and towns as a wonderful display of technology!


 * BBQ Smoker Cooking Station
 * Aviator Glasses
 * Horn-Rimmed Glasses
 * Rectangular Glasses
 * Round Glasses
 * Thick Steam Pipes 10-Pack
 * Thin Steam Pipes 10-Pack



Also, we’re scouring the realm for items that have long been missing from the store. Here’s a small glimpse of additional items once again becoming available for purchase in the coming weeks:


 * Blue Tile Roof 2-Story Row House
 * Blue Tile Roof 3-Story Row House
 * Rustic 2-Story Village Home
 * Rustic 2-Story with Balcony Village Home
 * Rustic 2-Story with Loft Village Home
 * Gift Boxes 3-Pack
 * Silver Clockwork Armor
 * Silver Clockwork Armor Pattern Pack
 * Smoke Virtue Emote



July Login Reward: Picnic Table & Bench Set!

Get to cooking, Avatars! Now, with this splendid picnic set, players can have a stylin’ BBQ with friends! The tablecloth can be dyed, so players can show off their guild colors or simply color coordinate with the various items placed upon the table. Simply log in during the month of July, and this picnic set will become available in the Rewards Window.

Release 79 Reward Program Login Reward Items: Lord British & Summer Theme!

Avatars! Rewards Program login reward items for Release 79 are Lord British and summer themed! Reward Program members will receive these items immediately upon logging in during Release 79!


 * Lord British Plate Chest Armor
 * Pig on a Spit (Turns when activated)
 * Veggies on a Spit (Turns when activated)
 * Aviator Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable)
 * Horn-Rimmed Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable)
 * Rectangular Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable)
 * Round Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable)



NOTE: You must login during the release to receive each release’s rewards.



The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items!

For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following:


 * 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month
 * Monthly Login Reward Items (3 per month)
 * Exclusive Title every 3 months
 * 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith
 * 6 Months: Keeper of the Word
 * 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow
 * 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame
 * 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath
 * 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge
 * Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months
 * Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including:
 * Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity
 * Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance
 * Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills
 * Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills
 * Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage
 * Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills

New Vault Round!

The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, July 2nd at Noon CT. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc.


 * Hula Emote
 * Barn 2-Story Village Home
 * Brown Chaperon Hat
 * Viking 2-Story Stronghold Village Home
 * Kobold Fighter Mask
 * Island Spear
 * Island Flower Crown
 * Island Dress
 * Saddle with Stand



World & UI Changes

These miscellaneous updates affecting the game world or aspects of the user interface (UI) patched in during R78, will go live with R79, or will go live shortly after R79:


 * Spindelskog: The first unique Episode 2 scene has been added to northwest Mistrendur. This scene features a new quest and a variety of new creature variants. Only players with Episode 2 Access will be able to enter this scene.
 * Myrkur: This new scene features dynamically scaled challenges and is based upon the existing dungeon known as Despair. This new scene is located on the eastern island of Mistrendur, along the southeastern shore just east of the “serpent’s mouth.” Myrkur is also only available to players with Episode 2 Access.
 * Dynamic Creature Names: The names of dynamically scaled creatures now feature names indicating their relative difficulty.
 * Kingsport: Added a list teleporter boat to “Coastal Towns” (Brave Coast, Estercove, and Port Mirren) on the newly-expanded docks at Kingsport.

Crafting, Items & Economy Changes

These changes to the player economy, in-game items, or crafting patched in during R78, will go live with R79, or will go live shortly after R79:


 * Vault Automation: The store’s Vault now rotates every week instead of every 2 weeks and is fully automated. This change will free up significant developer time since the Vault items will no longer require manual loading.
 * Dragon Skinning: Meticulous collection skinning results of dragon corpses has been greatly improved.
 * Upscale Stable: This decorative stable can now be partially decorated.
 * Fancy Storage Shed: The walls of this decorative shed can now be decorated.
 * Focus Battery: This item now drains focus at a MUCH lower rate.
 * BMC Ring: Only one Ring of the Unknown BMC Member can be equipped at a time.
 * Basement NPC Limits: All basements have received an additional 3 slots for NPCs.
 * Store Item Polish: Many store items received improved descriptions. Some store items received drastic price reductions such as some of the 4-Story Row Homes, the larger Ornate Moondials, the large Stone Dragon Statues, and the large Topiary Dragon Statues.
 * POT Water Conversion Statues: Newly purchased salt and fetid water conversion statues are no longer considered Heritage items and can now be traded between players.
 * Beach Towels: All beach towels can now be placed as POT decoration items.
 * PvP Shard Trophies: These upcoming developer PvP prizes can be placed as POT decoration items.
 * Jabbering Bertha: This off-hand item can now be placed as a decoration.
 * Stone Castle Wall Packs: All 4 varieties of the stone castle wall packs now come with 5 additional straight pieces to match the number of pieces included in the Shogun and Viking castle wall packs.
 * Glowing Mushrooms: These decorations can now be placed in dungeons.
 * Stackable Items: The following items are now stackable in a player’s inventory…
 * Premium Hot Tubs
 * Chimney Pieces
 * Ornate Elven Streetlamp
 * Copper Bathtub
 * Kobold Corkscrew Wind Power Generator
 * Kobold Distillation Device
 * Ornate Tavern Counter
 * Ornate Tavern Counter with Gate
 * Large Ornate Yule Wreath 2018
 * Medium Ornate Yule Wreath 2018
 * Large Tiki Statue
 * Lord British Round Table
 * Lord Marshall Benefactor Throne
 * Ornate Mantle Garland Strand 2017
 * Ornate Mantle Garland Swag 2017
 * Round Palapa
 * Virtue Oktoberfest Tent
 * Adobe Stables
 * Large Adobe Dome
 * Medium Elven Tent
 * Ornate Gazebo
 * Small Adobe Dome

Combat Balance & Changes

These changes to combat skills or concepts patched in during R78, will go live with R79, or will go live shortly after R79:


 * Nightmares: This tamed pet’s attacks are now considered fire attacks.
 * Ring of Fire: The creature-casted version of Ring of Fire now features light blue tinted effects to help distinguish it from player-casted versions. Aggro for the player version has also been increased.
 * Meteor Shower: Aggro for this ability has been increased.
 * Control Points: Some mobs within control points have new challenging abilities for players to overcome.
 * Eastreach Gap: This scene has received additional balance passes as well as various bug fixes.
 * Healing Burst: The range of Healing Burst now increases with Life Specialization.
 * Vexlyns Ember of Conflagration: In a balancing effort, this artifact now comes with a 25% focus cost penalty.
 * Provoking Shout: This new heavy armor skill applies a buff to the user which dramatically increases aggro generation.
 * Armor Durability Changes: New behaviors have been assigned to durability damage for armor. Durability Multiplier is a new stat which causes heavier armors to be less susceptible to durability damage than lighter armors. For more information, please see the original announcement on this topic.
 * Tamed and Summoned Pets: Adventurers should now notice a significant decrease in the reaction time for pets.

Updated Player Owned Towns

These updates affected Player-Owned Towns which patched in during R78, will go live with R79, or will go live shortly after R79:


 * Alexandria: Moved to Mistrendur, upgraded, changed biome, and added interconnections.
 * Aranal: Changed biome and name (formerly New Heaven).
 * B’ar Teiliener: Added new Crossroads Village to Mistrendur.
 * Bard’s Rest: Changed governor.
 * Crystal Cove: Moved to Mistrendur.
 * Daedscua: Added new Holdfast to Mistrendur.
 * Dark Bayou: Added new POT to Novia north of Brittany.
 * Erana’s Peace: Changed biome and name (Sequanna’s Peace). Moved to Mistrendur
 * Goober’s Gas Station: Added interconnection with Arx Draconis.
 * Haunted Keep of Mistrendur: Changed name and biome.
 * Iron Gate: Moved to Mistrendur.
 * Knightmare Falls: Added interconnections.
 * Mistrendur Ruins: Changed biome and name (formerly En Nox).
 * Multivisium: Added interconnections.
 * New Britannia Swap Meet: Changed owner. Added interconnections.
 * Novia Market: Added interconnection with Siren Song Bayou.
 * Obsidian Ridge: Moved to Mistrendur.
 * Sea Bear’s Black Market: Changed biome, moved toward center of Mistrendur, and added interconnections.



Bug Fixes

Albeit many bug fixes patched in during R78, will go live with R79, or will go live shortly after R79. Here are some of the highlights!


 * Fixed several POTs in Mistrendur that were not accessible.
 * The Skrekk Caverns crash issue has been resolved.
 * For many situations, the 94% crash issue has been fixed.
 * A typo was fixed in Roedberk’s Journal in South Majestic Forest.
 * Various NPC names were fixed in Lamech’s Bazaar.
 * Rhoswen no longer grants Quentin’s quest if already completed in Solace Bridge Outskirts.
 * Lamech’s Bazaar is no longer limited to party mode.
 * Fixed issues with stairs at the Hunter’s Cabin in Highvale Outskirts.
 * Navmesh improvements made in Highvale Outskirts.
 * Sound effects for floor traps in Highvale Outskirts now limited in audible range.
 * Fixed a typo in Carmelo’s “Divine” response in Bramble.
 * Fixed a typo in the “Ask Martin About Red Cloth” journal entry for a Soltown quest.
 * Fixed an issue where Hagen in Far Hinterlands wouldn’t give a reward in some situations.
 * Several hex map displacement issues with the Mistrendur overworld map have been corrected. Affected towns should now align appropriately with their actual location.
 * Soltown barmaid and innkeeper now have different shifts so they no longer leave work at the same time.
 * Showing Japeth’s poem to Emma now properly provides an experience reward.
 * Keyholes on a door in Artifice are once again functional.
 * Patrator now spawns correctly in South Longfall Wetlands.
 * Level 3 Troll Totems now show stack quantity in a player’s inventory.

As you can see, there are so many more exciting features and improvements coming to players of Shroud of the Avatar this year, and R78 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.

Sincerely, Shroud of the Avatar Development Team

Additional Information

 * Release 79 Instructions
 * Release 79 Known Issues
 * Quick Reference Card