Release 80

RELEASE 80, July 30, 2020
elease 79 of Shroud of the Avatar goes live this Thursday, July 30, 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 80, July 30, 2020.


 * New Player-Owned Town Teleporters! [[Image:item_pot_teleporter_boat.jpg|1028px]]  As of Release 80, governors and stewards are now able to acquire and place Player-Owned Town (POT) interconnection teleporters as well as Player-Owned Town teleportation signposts! The interconnection teleporters allow for teleportation to another Player-Owned Town. Teleportation signposts allow for teleportation within the same Player-Owned Town.  [[Image:item_hatch_teleporter_window.jpg|250px|right]]The new interconnection teleporters can be placed anywhere in a town which permits land decoration, but the boat can only be placed on water. The governor or steward can then right-click the teleporter and select “Change Destination” which reveals a filterable list of all the available Player-Owned Towns present in the game. The teleporter can be directed to any Player-Owned Town regardless of proximity.  Once the destination is selected, the steward or governor then selects “Teleport” to assign the new destination to the teleporter. The teleporter is then ready for use, and any player utilizing the teleporter will zone to the designated location. The interconnection teleporter can be relocated and the destination reassigned as many times as the governor or stewards desire.  [[Image:item_pot_teleporter_balloon.jpg|1028px]]  [[Image:item_pot_teleporter_hatch.jpg|1028px]]  [[Image:item_pot_teleporter_wagon1.jpg|1028px]]  The new signpost teleporters can also be placed anywhere in a town which permits land decoration. Once placed, players can then activate the signpost to be presented with a list of teleport options within the town.  [[Image:item_signpost_teleporter_window.jpg|250px|right]]Locations selectable are typical to the static signposts already present in POTs, such as: Central, Town Boundary 1-4, Docks (if applicable) and the Town Crier. If a player renames the signpost then places it, that signpost name shows up as an available option for all signpost teleporters in their town. Selecting any of these locations does not cause the player to experience a load screen, the player will simply teleport straight to the new location instantly. The signpost teleporters can be relocated as often as the governor or stewards desire.  Also, these new teleporters will greatly reduce the number of manual adjustments developers are required to perform from service vouchers. The less time spent adjusting towns manually means developers will have more time to spend working on game improvements.  With the introduction of these teleporters, vouchers can no longer be utilized for new developer created POT interconnections, but players can still request interconnections to NPC towns using service vouchers until the NPC town teleporters become available. Novia and Hidden Vale POTs must be within close proximity to NPC towns to request an interconnection. Mistrendur towns are still waived from the NPC town proximity requirement since Episode 2 content on Mistrendur is still very much in design. All existing developer created POT interconnections are still valid and will not be affected by the addition of these new teleporter types.  These new teleporters have been carefully designed to offer some wonderful customization options. In addition to the aforementioned flexible placement option, all of the teleporters can also be dyed with primary and secondary colors. The teleporters also feature decoration surfaces! In the future, be on the lookout for Heraldry POT Teleporters and NPC Town Teleporters!


 * New Building Blocks Preview! [[Image:item_buliding_blocks.jpg|1028px]]  Builders of New Britannia! Seven new building block sets will be added to your arsenal of construction materials very soon! These new blocks will come in the same 110-packs and size variants as previous block sets. These new AND old sets will no longer be limited to just property decoration. Going forward, ALL block sets will be permitted as Player-Owned Town decoration. Six of these new sets will arrive on the Crown Store, and one set will be reserved for crafters only. Pictured above, the displayed blocks are 4x2x2. From left to right, the new sets are as follows:
 * White Marble
 * Black Marble
 * Polished Granite
 * Fallow Granite
 * Rough Wood (Crafted)
 * Polished Wood
 * Iron


 * These new building block sets are just some of the amazing items coming to decorators in Shroud of the Avatar this year! Stay tuned for more great decorations in the months ahead!


 * August Login Reward: Potted Giant Sunflower! item_login_sunflower_potted.jpg  Gardening time, Avatars! Now, with this wondrous Potted Giant Sunflower, players can enhance their gardens even further! Simply log in during the month of August, and this potted sunflower will become available in the Rewards Window.


 * Release 80 Reward Program Login Reward Items: Lord British & Flame Items! item_lord_british_gauntlets.jpg  Avatars! Rewards Program login reward items for Release 80 are Lord British and flame themed! Reward Program members must login during Release 80 to receive these login items:
 * Lord British Plate Gauntlets
 * Flame Trident
 * Flame Cloak
 * [[Image:item_flame_trident2.jpg|1028px]] [[Image:item_flame_cloak.jpg|1028px]]  [[Image:rewardsprog2.jpg|1028px|link=https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=77345]]  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! [[Image:item_wood_plaster_two_story_balcony_town_home.jpg|1028px]]  The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, August 6th at Noon CT. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc.
 * Black Clockwork Cat Decoration Pet
 * Juggle Oracle Eyes Emote
 * Blade of the Avatar Cloak
 * Wood & Plaster 2-Story with Balcony Town Home
 * Ornate Viking Chest
 * Viking Tyr Shield
 * Kobold Archer Mask
 * Exclamation Stovepipe Hat
 * Cloud Imperium Navy Airship (City Home)
 * [[Image:item_Viking_Tyr_Shield.jpg|1028px]] [[Image:item_ornate_viking_chest.jpg|1028px]]


 * Latest Store Additions [[Image:item_dragon_helm.jpg|1028px]]  we’re scouring the realm for items that have long been missing from the store. Many items are being loaded into the Vault and will rotate in periodically which are announced each week as they go live, but here’s a small number of additional items becoming permanently available on the Crown Store:
 * Construction Crane
 * Construction Scaffolding
 * Construction Planks
 * Construction Stone Cart
 * Construction Ropes
 * Construction Barricade
 * Black Ice Building Blocks
 * Ice Building Blocks
 * Dragon Helm
 * Dragon Longbow
 * Dark Unicorn Mask
 * Black Horse Mask
 * Aether Dragon Statue
 * Aether Lich Statue
 * Dark Thorn Wand
 * Black Ice Wand
 * Black Ice Staff
 * Black Ice Elemental Statue
 * [[Image:item_black_ice_staff.jpg|1028px]] [[Image:item_construction_scaffolding.jpg|1028px]]  [[Image:item_construction_stone_wagon.jpg|1028px]]  [[Image:item_construction_planks.jpg|1028px]]  [[Image:item_black_ice_blocks.jpg|1028px]]


 * World & Miscellaneous Changes [[Image:SS_4Elg_Ep2SS_B.jpg|1028px]]  These miscellaneous updates affecting the game world or aspects of the user interface (UI) patched in during R79, will go live with R80, or will go live shortly after R80:


 * Timothy the Enchanter: (spoilers) Timothy the enchanter in Ardoris now gives a daily quest to collect bones from the Archlapin’s lair. This quest is available all year. Master quest designer Keith “Sannio” Quinn added this quest to further support all seasonal monsters having off-season quests.
 * Love Letters: The daily love letters quest in Necropolis Barrens now has a much larger quest reward.
 * Mistrendur Adventure Scenes: All of the adventure scenes in Mistrendur are now set for Episode 2 access holders only.
 * Luminous Atavists: Once again the Avatars have pressed the Atavists into hiding. The Atavists will not be available until their season returns.
 * Pumpkin Head: The notorious Pumpkin Head has returned! With his powers restored, Avatars will once again be able to face this gourd-headed being in East Vauban Foothills.
 * Kingsport: This player village received interconnection boats as well as an Overworld access boat.
 * The Brave Coast: This player village received interconnection boats as well as an Overworld access boat.
 * Estercove: This player village received interconnection boats as well as an Overworld access boat.
 * Port Mirren: This player village received interconnection boats as well as an Overworld access boat.
 * Player-Owned Town Web Form: Town owners will now have a MUCH more efficient and less confusing form to complete when submitting initial set-up or change requests for Player-Owned Towns.


 * Crafting, Items & Economy Changes [[Image:concept-SotA_sigils_Crafting_02.jpg|1028px]]  These changes to the player economy, in-game items, or crafting patched in during R79, will go live with R80, or will go live shortly after R80:


 * POT NPC Building Limits: The NPC building limits have been increased for Holdfast to Town sized POTs. See the player guide for more information.
 * POT Container Limits: Megalopolis sized towns now have a container limit of 12.
 * Ornate Giant Grim Reaper Statue: This statue has received improved VFX for the glowing eyes.
 * Shadow Creature Loot: The shadow creatures of Spindelskog now drop recipes and Shadow Essences for 3 varieties of Shadow Potions.
 * Ringmaster’s Vest: This new elusive artifact drops from Tier 15 ranged liches throughout New Britannia. Players will most commonly encounter these liches in Upper Tears behind the waterfall.
 * POT Decoration Placement Now Allowed For:
 * Rough Stone Building Blocks
 * Dark Rough Stone Building Blocks
 * Black Ice Building Blocks
 * Ice Building Blocks
 * Wooden Runic Letters Set
 * Ornate Runic Letters Set
 * Elven Essences: Buy orders can now be placed for these essences on player vendors.
 * Custom Titles: Improvements have been made to the title mechanics to allow developers to send custom titles to players. Expect some of these titles to work their way into developer run community events as prizes in the near future!


 * Combat Balance & Changes [[Image:screenshot-SS_Grannus_01.jpg|1028px]]  These changes to combat skills or concepts patched in during R79, will go live with R80, or will go live shortly after R80:
 * Elixir Extension: This skill is now available and resides within the Tactics tree. The duration of consumable effects are extended. Training this skill untrains the “Elixir Receptive” skill in the Focus tree.
 * Elixir Receptive: This skill is now available and resides within the Focus tree. The effectiveness of consumables is increased. Training this skill untrains the “Elixir Extension” skill in the Tactics tree.
 * Bard Skills: Most of the bard skills received cast time reductions but also equivalent effect reductions. Stacking bard skills can produce equal effects and cast times to the previous versions.


 * Updated Player Owned Towns [[Image:R80_Map_of_Novia_POT.jpg|1028px]]  These updates affected Player Owned Towns which patched in during R79, will go live with R80, or will go live shortly after R80:
 * Allaman: Added interconnections.
 * Arlia: Moved to Novia, east of Nightshade Pass.
 * Caesaromagus: Added new hamlet southwest of Xenos.
 * Crystal Cove: Updated interconnections.
 * Dark Bayou: Changed to Swamp Island and moved offshore.
 * Dragon’s Reach: Changed name from D’Jernstad. Changed biome to Island 01a. Moved offshore to north of Ulfheim.
 * Goldfield: Moved to Hidden Vale overworld near Kingsport and updated interconnections.
 * Goober’s Gas Station: Upgraded to Village. Changed biome to Forest 01b.
 * Islands of Wonders: Upgraded to metropolis.
 * Knightmare Falls: Added interconnections.
 * Knight’s Watch: Changed to City.
 * New Britannia Swap Meet: Fixed missing interconnections.
 * Noshima Island: Upgraded to Metropolis. Added interconnections.
 * Rock Ridge: Added interconnections.
 * Sentinel Stand: Upgraded to Town.
 * Sleepy Hollow: Added new Hamlet southeast of Brittany in Novia.
 * The Fields of Misery: Added new village to Hidden Vale, north of Braemar.
 * Twin Traders: Added to Hidden Vale overworld near Kingsport.
 * Valor: Added new Holfast to Mistrendur.
 * [[Image:R80_Map_of_HiddenVale_POT.jpg|1028px]] [[Image:R80_Map_of_Mistrendur_POT.jpg|1028px]]


 * Bug Fixes [[Image:concept-Oracle-Watchers.jpg|1028px]]  Albeit many bug fixes patched in during R79, will go live with R80, or will go live shortly after R80. Here are some of the highlights!


 * Fixed excessive damage from shadow creature corruption ability.
 * Purify now clears corruption ability from shadow creatures.
 * Fixed pattern names for Stiletto Heels and enabled masterwork/enchant option.
 * Added banners to Spindelskog and Myrkur on the Overworld.
 * Players can now only have a single “Summon Samael” whistle in their inventory while adventuring in Malice.
 * Fixed issue where corrupted pet names could cause the client to hang at 94%.
 * Restored textures to numerous magenta objects throughout the game.
 * Various quests received typo fixes.
 * Mesmerizing Melody no longer has a 100% chance to mesmerize targets regardless of level.
 * The following items can now be placed on the floor in dungeons as decoration:
 * Box Tent
 * Carved Decorative Tombstone
 * Wishing Well
 * Water Well
 * Ancestor Tombstone
 * Stone Crypt
 * Gravestone
 * Tombstone
 * Headstone
 * Rectangular Tombstone
 * Triangle Topped Tombstone
 * Heraldry Polearm
 * Ornate Scythe
 * Ornate Scythe 2017
 * The following items can now be placed on the bottom floor as decoration:
 * Elven Elite Fighter Boots
 * Hedge Spiral Tree
 * Hedge Sphere Tree
 * Flat Shovel
 * Fixed an issue which caused Magic Mover/Property Manager stored properties to become hidden from view. This only occurred when the stored plot had zero items from the owner yet did have items from another resident on the property. Any plots affected by this bug will once again become visible in the stored property list after the patch.
 * Quest flag improvements added to Confluence Chamber questline.
 * Red cloth questline improved with better task clearing upon completion.
 * The stairs in the city-sized shogun home now all feature the proper texture.
 * Micsere Ingots quest has received greatly improved tasks and compass markers.
 * The Oracle’s daily Virtue quest has been altered for improved functionality.
 * Navmesh improvements were made to the Valhold tower location.
 * Spawn location improvements made to Central Brittany, Storms Reach, Point West, Northwood, and Tartarus.
 * Stair railings in Westend are once again attached to the stairs.
 * North Quel Way NPC’s now have custom dialogue.
 * Quest item loot options were improved in the war room of Understorm Gold Mine.
 * All random encounters in Mistrendur now exit to Mistrendur instead of Novia.
 * Additional ankhs were added to Lost Whiteguard Silver Mine so players can resurrect regardless of death location.
 * Companion armor quests received significant compass marker and quest polish in the following locations: Storms Reach, Understorm Gold Mine, :*Longfall Woods, Resolute, Verdantis Foothills, Verdantis Mines, Desolis, and the Epitaph.
 * Conversations for Conrad, Ariel, Fiona, Whitte, Pip, and Isabel Spalding were also improved.
 * The Thin Pipe Set on the Crown Store no longer has 1 thick pipe piece within the set.
 * Many inventory item icons were lightened for better viewing on darker backgrounds. This will be noticeable in player inventories and in the Crown Store.
 * The Large Elven Tent inventory icon now matches the actual item.
 * Many Crown Store items received improved descriptions.
 * Duplicate character level-up chat messages have been removed.
 * A failed reshaping of a Rotunda between the spawn options no longer consumes the Crowns of the Obsidian.


 * Double EXP Continues! [[Image:BannerDoubleXP1.jpg|1028px]]  Head out into the lands of New Britannia and charge headlong into the dangers therein, Avatars! For the near future, Shroud of the Avatar players will receive double experience points (EXP) for their endeavors in Adventure and Crafting! Please take advantage of the extra experience points! Stay home, stay safe and explore New Britannia!

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 80 Instructions
 * Release 80 Known Issues
 * Quick Reference Card