Release 76

RELEASE 76, March 26, 2020
Release 76 of Shroud of the Avatar goes live this Thursday, March 26, 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 76, March 26, 2020.


 * World & UI Changes: Many updates that affected the game world or aspects of the user interface (UI) were patched in during R75 or went live for R76: [[Image:SS_4Elg_Ep2SS_B.jpg|1028px]]
 * Mistrendur: Considerable polish to the overworld Mistrendur map patched in during early R75 to include mesh and collision improvements and placeholder town locations to assist with land rush selections
 * Snowy Mountains Road Encounter: The naughty brats now have a higher chance to drop a chest key in their version of this encounter
 * Plains Road Encounter: This roaming encounter was added to the continent of Mistrendur
 * Forest Road Encounter: This roaming encounter was added to the continent of Mistrendur
 * Goti: This town has received a boat to Novia by the docks


 * Crafting, Items & Economy Changes: Many fantastic changes to the player economy and crafting were patched in during R75 or went live for R76: [[Image:concept-SotA_sigils_Crafting_02.jpg|1028px]]
 * Crown Store Mannequins: The Crown version of the mannequins have had their prices cut by more than 50%
 * Housing Interior Deco Limits Adjusted: All lot sizes have received an additional 200 interior deco slots
 * Housing Interior Light Limits Adjusted: All lot sizes have received an additional 20 interior light slots
 * Housing NPC Limits: NPC limits for all housing lot sizes have received double the NPC limits as before
 * Player Owned Town NPC Building Limits: All POT sizes received anywhere from 2 to 6 additional NPC building slots
 * Frozen Tear of Titans: This off-hand item can now be placed as a decoration
 * Gaia’s Heart: This off-hand item can now be placed as a decoration
 * Gothic King Size Bed: This item is now dyable
 * Gothic Queen Size Bed: This item is now dyable
 * Gothic Dining Chair: This item is now dyable


 * Combat Balance & Changes: As part of the SotA 2020 Vision Post, Atos indicates combat balancing efforts will be a big part of changes coming to Shroud of the Avatar this year. Read what we’ve got brewing for combat balance changes and his reasoning behind it. Here are just a small number of the balance items that were patched in during R75 or went live for R76: [[Image:screenshot-SS_Grannus_01.jpg|1028px]]
 * Bard Skill Tree is Live: The bard skill tree is has now officially entered into the world of New Britannia on the live server. Players can find the trainer for this new skill tree on the continent of Mistrendur at the main entrance to the Ruins of Utheim. So many skills await your mastery, Avatars! Go and test your musical prowess with these new abilities: Melody of Mending, Atonal Aria, Anthem of Alacrity, Psalm of Stagnation, Concussive Canticle, Savage Sonata as well as several innate abilities! [[Image:effect_bard1.jpg|1005px]]
 * Bard Skills, Icons, VFX Added: Various additions/changes to the Bard skill tree were made on the Player Test Enviroment (QA) server
 * PvP Ransom Loot: After a long period of PvP activity analysis with ransom turned off, many locations have had ransom restored as an option for PvP.


 * Updated Player-Owned Towns [[Image:R76_Map_of_Mistrendur_POT-1.jpg|1028px]]
 * Belly of the Snake: Renamed from Saint Mary’s Island, moved to Mistrendur, and updated interconnections
 * Clevedon: Moved to Mistrendur
 * Crossroads Landing: Added new Holdfast to Mistrendur
 * East Port: Renamed from Aerie Centre Exchange, moved to near Soltown
 * Far Green: Added new Village island to Mistrendur
 * Jade Gardens: Renamed from Jade Caverns, changed to Forest 02, and moved to Mistrendur
 * Organized Chaos Market: Added new Holdfast to Mistrendur
 * Outlandia: Added new Holdfast to Mistrendur
 * PaxLair: Upgraded to Megalopolis
 * Phoenix Haven: Added new Holdfast to Mistrendur
 * Riptown Creek: Added new Village to Mistrendur
 * Siren Song Bayou: Upgraded to Municipality


 * An Old Favorite Returns! [[Image:sceneUtheim.jpg|1028px]]
 * Sometime early in R76, an old favorite scene will return. “Ulfheim” received a wonderful revamp from Sannio not too long ago, which is an adventure scene which now features various paths of virtue ultimately leading to an encounter with a fierce dragon. Albeit this new uncloned scene was a stellar creation by our master world builder, some have missed their old grind spot in northern Novia. “Ulfheim” was originally a clone of Deep Ravenswood yet had distinct differences such as an excellent bear spawn point, undead minions, high level barbarians and various Reaper locations. Well, for those missing this piece of adventure history, long for it no longer! Sometime early in R76, the old “Ulfheim” (to be called “Utheim” in its newer version) will be restored to the game and be found somewhere in Mistrendur. Enjoy!


 * Megalopolis: New Town Size Available!
 * [[Image:megalopolis.png|220px|right]]After the Municipality town size became available, the Player Owned Town (POT) governors of New Britannia demanded even larger town size upgrade options! And more upgrade options they shall receive! Now, players of Shroud of the Avatar can upgrade their POTs to the size of Megalopolis.


 * Bug Fixes: Albeit many bug fixes were patched in during R75 or will patch in for R76’s release, here are some of the highlights!
 * Fixes for Vault items not showing
 * Many quests received typographical fixes
 * Ankhs in Tartarus PvP Maze should now be functional
 * Dual wearable restrictions refined and fixed
 * Major decoration bug was fixed which prevented some players from manipulating decoration
 * Blood Spatter decoration was fixed
 * Stats fixed on Gustball Uniforms
 * Carmelo received bug fixes in Bramble
 * Ring of Fire visuals fixed
 * Multiple Mistrendur overworld collision issues fixed
 * Wealthy Merchant visuals fixed
 * South Longfall Wetland cage behavior improved
 * Female avatar’s nameplate now shows in correct place during piano animations
 * New gothic beds can now be used from either side
 * Troll overworld encounter should once again be functional
 * New gothic dining chair better accommodates male characters
 * Cancelling a “Packaging Item for Trade” transaction no longer leaves item red/unresolved
 * Fixed issue where Ferocious Red Arachnid and Ferocious Red Spider had same health
 * Skrekk received many background fixes related to NPC barks
 * Shark Trophy can one again be placed as decoration
 * Pathing on broken stairs at the Ruined Keep has been improved
 * Blood River Outskirts quest journal and marker improvements
 * Kyle Berhand in Aerie has received improvements to the “weapon upgrade” task
 * Full and Half Full Fine Oak Bookshelves are now more easily interactive
 * Ornate Oak Panel Wardrobe can now be utilized as a container when placed as a decoration
 * Highvale Bandit Leader received improved dialogue options
 * Ardoris Devotional Caretaker now properly responds to “Corpus” when applicable
 * Floating rocks fixed in Ravensmoor
 * After completing Paths of Love, Truth and Courage, players receive improved guidance to visit the Oracle in Brittany

As you can see, there are so many more exciting features and improvements coming to players of Shroud of the Avatar this year, and R76 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 76 Instructions
 * Release 76 Known Issues
 * Quick Reference Card