Eternity Avowed - Obsidian's first person action-RPG in the Pillars of Eternity setting - coming February 18th

[scytheavatar]

I fucking hate this "Do the best thing for unreleased game". Jesus fucking Christ one of the main joys of a game is to figure shit out and do the math.
Path of Exile is plagued with this retarded shit and no one had the time to sit and study the math and game new methodology to approach combat so its just spreading misinformation and making the new guys have the worse time of their lives because they decided to follow some shit eater wanting to receive his 1 usd payment from youtube.

With the direction Obsidian has been going, it is unlikely Avowed will be difficult enough that minmaxing is necessary anyway.

 

[Raghar]

You know if you know RPG theory, you know why machineguns and similar stuff is typically not used in RPG games together with swords. It depends on aiming and reflexes, and ultimatelly it ends as "if you want to kill something that you can't kill with current gun, bring a bigger gun."

Even in SF settings when it's normal, it typically means one lucky hit and you roll new character. And if you have armor that can stop machinegun, enemies are typically bringing in autocannon with 50 mm.

 

[Oberon]

I want to see an RPG where black powder firearms will pop a head like a melon

 

[Pink Eye]

I want to see an RPG where black powder firearms will pop a head like a melon

By Sigmar! Vermintide has been invoked once again.

The crime is your foul existence, the sentence is death!

Fall back! I smite your heathen souls!



Bonus screenie:

Anyways Vermintide has black powder firearms that can do that; the game is somewhat of a masterclass when it comes to the *feel* of hitting things. The game also has a good selection of black powder firearms which range from a Repeater Handgun, Blunderbuss, Rifle, Pistols, to even the neat Griffin Pistols. I personally love the Blunderbuss even though it sucks in the game - just something about going up to an enemy and blowing them up point blank range is fun. Now while headshots don't explode into gibs like in the video you posted, they do explode into a blood mist which is, nonetheless, still satisfying to see. Additionally the game has a really cool thing you can do with pistols where you can spin them around:

^this stimulates my lizard brain

 

[HumanTotemPole]

We joke but I'd consider playing a demo for Avowed if available.

I'm probably different to most here in that I've not actually played a post-2010 Obsidian release or, frankly, many post-Skyrim wRPGs (and I got to Skyrim very late). Something of an overvalued idea of mine is that Skyrim fundamentally poisoned the well in terms of its influence on gaming. Crap RPG, sub-par action game, extremely technically impressive world space for the time and, of course, monstrously successful. Hence, graphically impressive open worlds at the expense of everything else became the ideal. For years now a lot of the technical talent in the Western gaming industry has been invested into making so many impressive vistas filled with so little interesting gameplay.

This makes Avowed interesting to me as, over 13 years later, it seems like the most directly analogous game to Skyrim ever made outside of Bethesda's own offerings. Could be a handy synthesis of what design lessons have and haven't been learned in the years post Skyrim's release. Part of a Rosetta Stone for understanding where the hobby is at now, with BG3 and DA4 being the other fragments (not that I'll ever play DA4).

 

[Oberon]

We joke but I'd consider playing a demo for Avowed if available.

I'm probably different to most here in that I've not actually played a post-2010 Obsidian release or, frankly, many post-Skyrim wRPGs (and I got to Skyrim very late). Something of an overvalued idea of mine is that Skyrim fundamentally poisoned the well in terms of its influence on gaming. Crap RPG, sub-par action game, extremely technically impressive world space for the time and, of course, monstrously successful. Hence, graphically impressive open worlds at the expense of everything else became the ideal. For years now a lot of the technical talent in the Western gaming industry has been invested into making so many impressive vistas filled with so little interesting gameplay.

This makes Avowed interesting to me as, over 13 years later, it seems like the most directly analogous game to Skyrim ever made outside of Bethesda's own offerings. Could be a handy synthesis of what design lessons have and haven't been learned in the years post Skyrim's release. Part of a Rosetta Stone for understanding where the hobby is at now, with BG3 and DA4 being the other fragments (not that I'll ever play DA4).

I think you will find that design lessons haven't been learned, DEI has sent us back and a lot of valuable experience and talent has just simply been lost in a sea of incompetence.

 

[Pink Eye]

Could be a handy synthesis of what design lessons have and haven't been learned in the years post Skyrim's release.

Eh I'm not so sure the right lessons are going to be learnt. For starters, consider that Skyrim's whole appeal was its big open world that you can explore - we don't call it a hiking simulator for nothing. As soon as you leave the cave at the start you can freely go anywhere you want. This was Skyrim's biggest strength. Meanwhile Obsidian has stated that Avowed will not be open world, instead it'll be zone based, see:

While Avowed has been discussed as an open world game by some commentators, recent previews have made clear it’s more about “open zones” – large, explorable areas that are siloed. Speaking to GameSpot, region director Berto Ritger described these areas as “expansive” and with a “lot of breadth to them,” but the team aimed to keep them manageable enough to hand-craft each aspect.

At first, players will be guided through these zones with a strong handhold, and then they will be free to explore at their own pace, discovering new things in every nook and cranny.

https://www.gameshub.com/news/features/avowed-obsidian-new-features-combat-world-2647201/

This kind of misses the point of why people even play that stupid game.

 

[HumanTotemPole]

We joke but I'd consider playing a demo for Avowed if available.

I'm probably different to most here in that I've not actually played a post-2010 Obsidian release or, frankly, many post-Skyrim wRPGs (and I got to Skyrim very late). Something of an overvalued idea of mine is that Skyrim fundamentally poisoned the well in terms of its influence on gaming. Crap RPG, sub-par action game, extremely technically impressive world space for the time and, of course, monstrously successful. Hence, graphically impressive open worlds at the expense of everything else became the ideal. For years now a lot of the technical talent in the Western gaming industry has been invested into making so many impressive vistas filled with so little interesting gameplay.

This makes Avowed interesting to me as, over 13 years later, it seems like the most directly analogous game to Skyrim ever made outside of Bethesda's own offerings. Could be a handy synthesis of what design lessons have and haven't been learned in the years post Skyrim's release. Part of a Rosetta Stone for understanding where the hobby is at now, with BG3 and DA4 being the other fragments (not that I'll ever play DA4).

I think you will find that design lessons haven't been learned, DEI has sent us back and a lot of valuable experience and talent has just simply been lost in a sea of incompetence.

Hence my interest, particularly on the gameplay side. Obvious problems there already - floating damage numbers, no melee hitstop, health bars and difficulty skulls everywhere. Failure to understand that a lot of stuff suited to an isometric or 3rd person view points does not translate well to 1st person.

Could be a handy synthesis of what design lessons have and haven't been learned in the years post Skyrim's release.

Eh I'm not so sure the right lessons are going to be learnt. For starters, consider that Skyrim's whole appeal was its big open world that you can explore - we don't call it a hiking simulator for nothing. As soon as you leave the cave at the start you can freely go anywhere you want. This was Skyrim's biggest strength. Meanwhile Obsidian has stated that Avowed will not be open world, instead it'll be zone based, see:

While Avowed has been discussed as an open world game by some commentators, recent previews have made clear it’s more about “open zones” – large, explorable areas that are siloed. Speaking to GameSpot, region director Berto Ritger described these areas as “expansive” and with a “lot of breadth to them,” but the team aimed to keep them manageable enough to hand-craft each aspect.

At first, players will be guided through these zones with a strong handhold, and then they will be free to explore at their own pace, discovering new things in every nook and cranny.

https://www.gameshub.com/news/features/avowed-obsidian-new-features-combat-world-2647201/

This kind of misses the point of why people even play that stupid game.

I'll push back a little bit and say going zone based is potentially a change for the better. I think going open world is frequently detrimental to interesting mechanical design e.g. the apparent issues with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 relative to the older titles in that it was presumably impossible to implement decent A-life for performance reasons, the poor quality overworld encounters in Elden Ring relative to the legacy dungeons or indeed the lack of competent mechanical design in Betheseda RPGs for literally decades now.

Obsidian, however, will probably not use that opportunity well. Very probable that the right lessons will not have been learnt.

 

[Jermu]

It's weird that they're publishing guides like this for a game that's still months away.

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/avowed-best-builds/

Make Avowed's early game a breeze by picking the best abilities and weapons for your build​

Whether you want to be a master archmage, or just shoot people with guns, there's a combo for you.

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)

You're not tied down to a single class in Avowed—instead, you can use any weapon combinations you like. Add to that three ability trees that you can freely level up in, and it's possible to create a lot of unique builds. While that does give you a plenty of freedom, it also makes it tricky to figure out which are the best abilities and weapons to choose for your playstyle.

I've recently had a lengthy hands-on with a preview build of the game, and while I didn't get to play long enough to explore late-game combinations, I did get enough experience to give you some good advice for the best builds in the early game to get you started.


Something important to note is that you can respec your abilities freely simply by going into the abilities menu and spending 100 gold. That means if a build isn't working for you, you can easily switch things up. 100 gold isn't an insignificant cost, though, especially early on when you'll want to be loading up on gear and potions, so make sure you're certain of where you want to reallocate your points before you hit the button.

If you just want to try stuff out and see how it feels, just make a save, respec, and then if you don't like the results, reload your save and start again. That'll save you from losing all your money to experimenting.

Example builds​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)

Stay There, You​

• Abilities: Tanglefoot, Chill Blades, Evasive, Jolting Touch
• Weapons: Pistol and grimoire, arquebus

How it plays: Melee combat is undignified. When some uncouth oaf demands to fight you, simply root them in place with Tanglefoot or freeze them with Chill Blades, and then blast them with gunshots and lightning bolts until they get the message. Just be prepared to do a lot of dodging to keep distance.

Blademaster​

• Abilities: Parry, Charge, Brawn, Armored Grace
• Weapons: Greatsword, pair of pistols

How it plays: You know why they call them greatswords? Because they're great. They swing slowly, but not as slow as the other two-handed weapons, and they do serious damage. Who needs a shield when you can just get good at parrying instead? This build really lets you dominate the space. Up close, your wide, powerful swings will keep you on top. If things get dangerous, or a priority target is keeping their distance, a Charge will let you reposition. And for any other tricky situations, you've got a pair of pistols ready to unleash hell at mid range.

Dragon Warrior​

• Abilities: Shield Bash, Parry, Fan of Flames, Armored Essence
• Weapons: Mace and shield, wand and grimoire

How it plays: Let your enemies come to you. As they approach, pepper them with wand bolts. Once they're close enough, unleash your flamethrower hands. Then, switch to mace and shield for a safe defensive style. Stunning foes with Shield Bash and parries will let you get hits in with the slow but powerful mace, or if you've got the Essence to spare, create distance when your Fan of Flames cooldown is up for another blast.

Abilities​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Gear up
For advice on which weapons to choose for your build and why, check out our guide to the best weapons to use in Avowed.
Abilities are key to creating a build, providing the active and passive abilities that will shape your playstyle. Each time your character levels up, you can place a point in one of three ability trees: Fighter, Ranger, and Wizard. Each provides its own options and benefits, but you can freely mix and match between them to combine the most useful parts of each.

Fighter​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Perfect for getting up-close-and-personal, either with a two-handed weapon or a one-hander and shield, and increasing your survivability. If you're enjoying the melee combat system, this is a great tree to start putting some points in early.

The first active ability in the Fighter tree is Charge, which allows you to sprint forward and smash through anything in your way. It's a really useful one for any character using a melee weapon, because it allows you to quickly close the distance with ranged enemies, or make a beeline for spellcasters who often hide behind their allies casting healing magic. It also deals explosive damage—you can use that to break down weak walls while exploring without wasting precious grenades.

Shield Bash gives you a pretty effective new knockback attack that's great for clearing yourself some space in the often hectic fights. It's only usable while blocking with a shield, however, so it's only worth getting if you see a shield as a core part of your weapon loadout going forward. It also costs a decent chunk of stamina (which is already depleted by blocking), so it helps a lot to pair it with Armored Grace, which reduces the stamina penalty of medium and heavy armour.

Brawn simply ups your damage with two-handed weapons. It's a decent boost if you're committed to using one of those, and pairs nicely with Toughness—that one buffs your health, mitigating some of the risk that comes with going without a shield. They're both very straightforward passives, though—I think at low levels it's more effective (and fun) to use your ability points to increase your options in combat rather than simply upping your base numbers.

Ranger​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
This tree offers a mix of both ranged-focused and melee-focused abilities. Put all your points here and you can be a bit of a sneaky, agile jack-of-all-trades—but it also works really well in combination with the other two trees.

A magic-focused character with lots of points in Wizard, for example, will benefit hugely early on from the Tanglefoot active ability, which allows you to root an enemy in place. That makes them a sitting duck for ranged spells, and keeps you safe from their melee attacks. Naturally it also combos well with ranged weapons and particularly guns—not only can you more easily get high-damage headshots if the target's unable to move, but it also gives you more leeway with their long reload times.

Meanwhile, Parry feels like a must-have for a Fighter, or any melee build really. It basically opens up a full parry mechanic, where if you perfectly time a block the enemy is sent reeling and you can hit them with a quick counter-attack. Evasive is useful too, and Finesse simply buffs the damage of one-handed melee weapons, which is great for a shield build.

Marksmanship similarly just boosts your ranged weapons: bows and guns. Considering how much damage guns already do, 25-50% extra is nothing to sniff at. If you love a really devastating headshot, this'll get you there.

Wizard​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
This is your magic-focused tree, obviously. As is often the case in RPGs, a build that relies mostly on this skill tree is a little more complex, but you certainly get plenty of fun toys to play with to reward your efforts.

Minor Missiles is a simple ranged spell. It's nice to have one always available even when you don't have a grimoire equipped, but I don't think it's vital, and actually even for a full Wizard build I think Tanglefoot from the Ranger tree is going to be more helpful. Ultimately if you just want magical ranged damage, you've already got that in your grimoire and wand.

Speaking of, I'm also a bit down on Wand Mastery. It's a straight buff to wand damage, but if you're aiming to deal most of your damage with spells, I don't think it's that relevant. And if you're out of Essence for casting, you're better off just switching to a gun or a melee weapon instead.

Armored Essence is rather more useful, reducing the Essence penalty of light and medium armour. In the early going, running out of juice is a real concern, so anything to help mitigate that is welcome.

The remaining first tier Wizard abilities are where things get a little more complex. Basically, you can individually buy and level up all the spells that you're able to cast out of any grimoires you own. That allows you to cast them without the grimoire equipped, but also it means if you do cast them out of a grimoire, they count as being a level higher. This can be a bit confusing, because if you are using a grimoire, you have to make sure to remember to always cast out of that rather than from your hotbar to get maximum effect.

You'll also need to focus in on the spells that you most like, because there's too many to spread your points across all of them. If in doubt, I'd say Fan of Flames is a great one for close-range damage, while Chill Blades' freezing effect makes it great for keeping enemies at long range (and if you're doing a Wizard/Fighter build, the explosive damage from Charge will actually shatter a frozen foe for extra damage).

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/avowed-best-weapons/

These are the best weapons to use in Avowed, whether you want to be a deadly swordsman, a fire-chucking wizard, or fantasy John Wick​

Two weapon loadouts, a ton of possibilities.

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)

Choosing which weapons to use in Avowed is great fun. Almost all one-handed weapons can be equipped in either hand, in any combination, and your character has two loadouts that you can switch between at will—that really gives you a lot of freedom. Want to wield a shield and pistol in one slot and a wand and dagger in the other? You can!

The tricky part is figuring out which are the best weapons to use. After about four hours with a preview build of the game, during which I did a lot of switching around, I've got some good tips for combos that work in the early game, and the info you need to decide which are best for you.


And if you want some idea of the best ways to combine these weapons with abilities, check out our guide to the best builds in Avowed.

Best weapon combos​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Easy combos

Row 0 - Cell 0	Loadout 1	Loadout 2
Ready For Anything	Axe + Shield	Arquebus or Wand + Grimoire
Offence and Defence	Axe + Pistol	Spear + Shield
Pistol Wizard	Pistol + Grimoire	Axe + Shield
Fantasy John Wick	Pistol + Pistol	Arquebus

If in doubt, it's a safe bet to have one melee-focused loadout and one ranged-focused loadout. That gives you plenty of flexibility—you can open fights with a few shots, but not be at a defensive disadvantage when the enemy reaches you. A good example would be using an axe and shield with an arquebus. You'll get great damage with your gun, but not be caught out when it's reloading.

Magic can serve the same role in that kind of set-up, simply replacing the ranged weapon with a wand and grimoire. You get a bit more versatility with magic—each grimoire contains multiple spells, and you've got the wand's attacks on top. The disadvantages are that each spell has its own cooldown before it can be used again, and the cost they have in Essence. In the early game, you can find yourself burning through Essence potions fast to keep the spell-slinging up.

You can make more unusual or focused combos, however. Using a pistol with an axe or other one-handed melee weapon allows you to threaten foes at both close and mid-range. While the pistol's reloading, just keep swinging. Bear in mind you can't block with a loadout like that, however, so you'll need to get used to ducking and weaving—or equip a more defensive pairing for your other loadout, such as a shield and spear, to switch to when things get scary.

Equally a pistol and grimoire can work nicely, giving you a backup ranged option for when your Essence runs out that's more impactful than a wand. Focus on long-range spells like Chill Blades and let the pistol handle mid-range.

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Two-handed melee weapons are really good fun, particularly the greatsword, especially in combination with the Parry ability from the Ranger tree. They're not as safe as using a shield or keeping enemies at range, but the huge damage of each hit can make it a lot easier to take down key targets fast. And you can always use a more defensive or ranged choice for your other loadout, for switching to when needed.

For pure chaos, I've had a blast (pun intended) with two pistols. The reload time on these is short enough that with two, you can get a pretty steady rhythm of shots by alternating between them, and it's super satisfying strafing and dodging around getting headshots all over the place like a cross between John Wick and Blackbeard. Your other loadout can be something more defensive for safety, but I actually really enjoyed just going full blackpowder with an arquebus for my second loadout. Snipe far away targets with that, barrage close up ones with your pistols, and always be moving—turns out there are few problems gunpowder can't fix.

One combination that you might expect to work that I've had no luck with at all is using two one-handed melee weapons, like a mace and a dagger. You can't block, but you also don't seem to be able to attack any faster, because you can only swing with one weapon at a time. As it stands, I can't see an advantage, beyond the minor flexibility it offers in choosing which weapon to use for each swing. It may be that later abilities unlock the potential of this traditional style of dual-wielding, but for the early game I'd recommend going for a safer approach.

Weapon types​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment)

Melee weapons​

Axe: My favourite of the melee weapons, axes have a useful balance of damage and swing speed that makes them versatile and easy to use.

Mace: Slower, but with higher damage and stun. Trickier to use, but combo well with a shield, which opens up safe opportunities to get your hits in. Add the Shield Bash ability to get even more stun on enemies and stagger them fast.

Dagger: Super fast with a high crit chance, but low damage and a short range. I haven't had much luck finding a good combo for these—the frantic attack animations feel a bit at odds with the relatively deliberate pace of Avowed's combat.

Spear: Long range and average speed makes spears a great defensive choice, especially with a shield, but I think once you get comfortable with blocking and dodging, you may find those advantages unnecessary.

Shield: Is a shield a weapon? Sort of, but you can only use it in your off-hand, so forget your dreams of dual-shielding. The easy blocking power of shields make them an amazing tool in melee combat. It's perfectly viable to not use one, but be prepared that you'll need to be sharper with your dodges and/or parries.

Greatsword: A two-handed weapon, which most importantly means you can't use it with a shield. It can still block, however, and if you grab the Parry ability you can still put up a reliable defence. Greatswords are a great, balanced option among the two-handed weapons, with a manageable swing speed and high damage. Super fun.

Great axe: Slower swing speed than the greatsword, but higher damage. I think it's a bit trade-off, at least in the early game. You really have to know when you can get a swing in and when you can't, or else need to be ready to take some hits, which isn't easy in starting armour with low health.

Great hammer: Even higher damage, but even slower, making it really unwieldy against Avowed's many small, fast enemies. The last thing you want in a Xaurip fight is a swing animation this sluggish.

Ranged weapons​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Arquebus: Suffers from a long reload animation, but the damage is huge and, importantly, it fires in a perfectly straight line at any distance. That makes it easily the best sniping weapon in the game, and really easy to use.

Pistol: Shorter range than the arquebus, but one-handed and with a much shorter reload time. A great off-hand weapon to combine with melee or magic, or double them up for a faster fire rate.

Bows: The sheer power of gunpowder does make the traditional bow and arrow feel like the weaker option. It's not just about their lower damage, it's the fairly brutal drop off they have. After it's loosed, an arrow will gradually drop towards the ground, meaning you need to aim above where you want it to actually hit, depending on how far away the target is. Judging that is much harder than simply pointing and clicking with the guns, and also makes it harder to hit weak spots, further reducing your damage. The only major advantage I see in bows is that they're the best choice for stealth. Gunfire is loud—if you want to clear out a camp one patrol at a time, a bow is what you need.

Magic weapons​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Grimoire: The most important weapon for any wizard. It doesn't have its own attacks, but a selection of spells (specific to each grimoire) can be cast from it. You can cast magic without one, by buying the spells as abilities instead, but even in that case they'll still be stronger if cast from a grimoire. The only downside is that they're locked to the off-hand, so you can't dual-wield books and call yourself Conan the Librarian.

Wand: These act more like ranged weapons, but firing little magical bolts instead of bullets or arrows. They pair very neatly with a grimoire, but I don't think they're actually a great option for most builds. At long range, you'll be focused on your spells, and at mid or close range, a pistol or a melee weapon will be more useful.

what kind of retard follows a guide for first playthrough
unless this is aimed for people who skip the game then its fine

 

[ferratilis]

Vermintide has been invoked once again.

Can this be played as a single player game? The gameplay looks interesting.

 

[Pink Eye]

Zone based is potentially a change for the better.
[...]
I think going open world is frequently detrimental to interesting mechanical design

On the fundamental of hand crafted levels being superior - yes, I agree. You mentioned Elden Ring and I personally believe that open world was a detriment to the Dark Soul design, which predicates itself on linear dungeons with carefully placed enemies. Some of my most memorable moments in Dark Souls 1 was precisely because of how tightly interconnected the world was. Take for example the elevators near the Black Smith which takes you back to the firekeeper. When I beat the knights near the elevator and opened up that shortcut, it felt like a nice relief. To this day, whenever I revisit Dark Souls 1, I still get excited each time I open up a shortcut in a hard dungeon. Elden Ring diminished this quality of design because of the simple fact that no amount of developers, no amount of people, can give you unique engaging content whilst delivering a huge world - Elden Ring reuses content because its impossible to make every single dungeon be a unique set piece, this is why Dark Soul design doesn't scale to open world - this is also why the best part of the game is the legacy dungeon since those have the most effort.

However, with all that said, even though open world is used in a lot of games these days; and is more often than not a marketing check for triple A studios. I still think that it has merit. I still think that it has value. I think that in the case of the Elder Scrolls, where the design is mostly focused on exploration, seeing new vistas, and just hiking around, I believe that open world ADDS to this type of game. It's not like Dark Souls where the design is fundamentally incompatible.

Again let's look back to that stupid game that people like. In Skyrim most people love walking around, seeing new biomes, and overall being instilled with a *sense* of adventure by traveling with their favorite companion. In the game Outward, its open world adds to the design of adventuring, exploration, and surviving. So to put it simply: I don't agree with the spirit of open world itself being detrimental to mechanical design. It has value. It just depends on whether or not it fits with the design of the game and whether or not the game itself scales to it - in the case of Dark Souls it doesn't, in the case of Skyrim it does.

 

[S.H.O.D.A.N.]

Could be a handy synthesis of what design lessons have and haven't been learned in the years post Skyrim's release.

No game is made in perfect conditions, but Obsidian seems so desperate to put out a product, I don't know how much you can trust anything in Avowed to be the result of intentional design effort, and not a first draft impression on a pitch bullet point that was deemed good enough to ship.

Vermintide has been invoked once again.

Can this be played as a single player game? The gameplay looks interesting.

You can play through the game with bots, yes.

 

[Pink Eye]

Can this be played as a single player game?

So Vermintide 2 is an online game - you need to connect to Fatshark's server, there's no offline mode. However, you can play with bots. Just set your game on private and no one will bother you. Here's a video of me just playing with my bots:



This type of thing is supported in the game.

 

[HumanTotemPole]

Zone based is potentially a change for the better.
[...]
I think going open world is frequently detrimental to interesting mechanical design

On the fundamental of hand crafted levels being superior - yes, I agree. You mentioned Elden Ring and I personally believe that open world was a detriment to the Dark Soul design, which predicates itself on linear dungeons with carefully placed enemies. Some of my most memorable moments in Dark Souls 1 was precisely because of how tightly interconnected the world was. Take for example the elevators near the Black Smith which takes you back to the firekeeper. When I beat the knights near the elevator and opened up that shortcut, it felt like a nice relief. To this day, whenever I revisit Dark Souls 1, I still get excited each time I open up a shortcut in a hard dungeon. Elden Ring diminished this quality of design because of the simple fact that no amount of developers, no amount of people, can give you unique engaging content whilst delivering a huge world - Elden Ring reuses content because its impossible to make every single dungeon be a unique set piece, this is why Dark Soul design doesn't scale to open world - this is also why the best part of the game is the legacy dungeon since those have the most effort.

However, with all that said, even though open world is used in a lot of games these days; and is more often than not a marketing check for triple A studios. I still think that it has merit. I still think that it has value. I think that in the case of the Elder Scrolls, where the design is mostly focused on exploration, seeing new vistas, and just hiking around, I believe that open world ADDS to this type of game. It's not like Dark Souls where the design is fundamentally incompatible.

Again let's look back to that stupid game that people like. In Skyrim most people love walking around, seeing new biomes, and overall being instilled with a *sense* of adventure by traveling with their favorite companion. In the game Outward, its open world adds to the design of adventuring, exploration, and surviving. So to put it simply: I don't agree with the spirit of open world itself being detrimental to mechanical design. It has value. It just depends on whether or not it fits with the design of the game and whether or not the game itself scales to it - in the case of Dark Souls it doesn't, in the case of Skyrim it does.

Worth pointing out I'm not totally against open worlds as such, god only knows how many hours I've sunk into M&B over the years. I've also recently started playing Outward and I'm enjoying it so far. As you say, glove has to fit the hand in overall design terms.

 

[Pink Eye]

As you say, glove has to fit the hand in overall design terms.

Yep.

I personally don't care for Avowed. I just find it weird how Obsidian marketed this game to be like Skyrim. Then all of a sudden they cut one of the biggest things that made normies enjoy Skyrim. You're kind of shooting yourself in the foot there. Even Fall of Avalon, which wears its Skyrim inspirations on its sleeve, has a big open world for people to explore.

 

[A-Minish]

I am willing to give it a chance but if the enemies wait their turn to attack like good little retards and some mobs are bullet sponges then there is no point in playing higher difficulties.

By the look of it I will probably have to play it on easy out of boredom.

 

[d1r]

It's weird that they're publishing guides like this for a game that's still months away.

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/avowed-best-builds/

Make Avowed's early game a breeze by picking the best abilities and weapons for your build​

Whether you want to be a master archmage, or just shoot people with guns, there's a combo for you.

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)

You're not tied down to a single class in Avowed—instead, you can use any weapon combinations you like. Add to that three ability trees that you can freely level up in, and it's possible to create a lot of unique builds. While that does give you a plenty of freedom, it also makes it tricky to figure out which are the best abilities and weapons to choose for your playstyle.

I've recently had a lengthy hands-on with a preview build of the game, and while I didn't get to play long enough to explore late-game combinations, I did get enough experience to give you some good advice for the best builds in the early game to get you started.


Something important to note is that you can respec your abilities freely simply by going into the abilities menu and spending 100 gold. That means if a build isn't working for you, you can easily switch things up. 100 gold isn't an insignificant cost, though, especially early on when you'll want to be loading up on gear and potions, so make sure you're certain of where you want to reallocate your points before you hit the button.

If you just want to try stuff out and see how it feels, just make a save, respec, and then if you don't like the results, reload your save and start again. That'll save you from losing all your money to experimenting.

Example builds​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)

Stay There, You​

• Abilities: Tanglefoot, Chill Blades, Evasive, Jolting Touch
• Weapons: Pistol and grimoire, arquebus

How it plays: Melee combat is undignified. When some uncouth oaf demands to fight you, simply root them in place with Tanglefoot or freeze them with Chill Blades, and then blast them with gunshots and lightning bolts until they get the message. Just be prepared to do a lot of dodging to keep distance.

Blademaster​

• Abilities: Parry, Charge, Brawn, Armored Grace
• Weapons: Greatsword, pair of pistols

How it plays: You know why they call them greatswords? Because they're great. They swing slowly, but not as slow as the other two-handed weapons, and they do serious damage. Who needs a shield when you can just get good at parrying instead? This build really lets you dominate the space. Up close, your wide, powerful swings will keep you on top. If things get dangerous, or a priority target is keeping their distance, a Charge will let you reposition. And for any other tricky situations, you've got a pair of pistols ready to unleash hell at mid range.

Dragon Warrior​

• Abilities: Shield Bash, Parry, Fan of Flames, Armored Essence
• Weapons: Mace and shield, wand and grimoire

How it plays: Let your enemies come to you. As they approach, pepper them with wand bolts. Once they're close enough, unleash your flamethrower hands. Then, switch to mace and shield for a safe defensive style. Stunning foes with Shield Bash and parries will let you get hits in with the slow but powerful mace, or if you've got the Essence to spare, create distance when your Fan of Flames cooldown is up for another blast.

Abilities​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Gear up
For advice on which weapons to choose for your build and why, check out our guide to the best weapons to use in Avowed.
Abilities are key to creating a build, providing the active and passive abilities that will shape your playstyle. Each time your character levels up, you can place a point in one of three ability trees: Fighter, Ranger, and Wizard. Each provides its own options and benefits, but you can freely mix and match between them to combine the most useful parts of each.

Fighter​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Perfect for getting up-close-and-personal, either with a two-handed weapon or a one-hander and shield, and increasing your survivability. If you're enjoying the melee combat system, this is a great tree to start putting some points in early.

The first active ability in the Fighter tree is Charge, which allows you to sprint forward and smash through anything in your way. It's a really useful one for any character using a melee weapon, because it allows you to quickly close the distance with ranged enemies, or make a beeline for spellcasters who often hide behind their allies casting healing magic. It also deals explosive damage—you can use that to break down weak walls while exploring without wasting precious grenades.

Shield Bash gives you a pretty effective new knockback attack that's great for clearing yourself some space in the often hectic fights. It's only usable while blocking with a shield, however, so it's only worth getting if you see a shield as a core part of your weapon loadout going forward. It also costs a decent chunk of stamina (which is already depleted by blocking), so it helps a lot to pair it with Armored Grace, which reduces the stamina penalty of medium and heavy armour.

Brawn simply ups your damage with two-handed weapons. It's a decent boost if you're committed to using one of those, and pairs nicely with Toughness—that one buffs your health, mitigating some of the risk that comes with going without a shield. They're both very straightforward passives, though—I think at low levels it's more effective (and fun) to use your ability points to increase your options in combat rather than simply upping your base numbers.

Ranger​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
This tree offers a mix of both ranged-focused and melee-focused abilities. Put all your points here and you can be a bit of a sneaky, agile jack-of-all-trades—but it also works really well in combination with the other two trees.

A magic-focused character with lots of points in Wizard, for example, will benefit hugely early on from the Tanglefoot active ability, which allows you to root an enemy in place. That makes them a sitting duck for ranged spells, and keeps you safe from their melee attacks. Naturally it also combos well with ranged weapons and particularly guns—not only can you more easily get high-damage headshots if the target's unable to move, but it also gives you more leeway with their long reload times.

Meanwhile, Parry feels like a must-have for a Fighter, or any melee build really. It basically opens up a full parry mechanic, where if you perfectly time a block the enemy is sent reeling and you can hit them with a quick counter-attack. Evasive is useful too, and Finesse simply buffs the damage of one-handed melee weapons, which is great for a shield build.

Marksmanship similarly just boosts your ranged weapons: bows and guns. Considering how much damage guns already do, 25-50% extra is nothing to sniff at. If you love a really devastating headshot, this'll get you there.

Wizard​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
This is your magic-focused tree, obviously. As is often the case in RPGs, a build that relies mostly on this skill tree is a little more complex, but you certainly get plenty of fun toys to play with to reward your efforts.

Minor Missiles is a simple ranged spell. It's nice to have one always available even when you don't have a grimoire equipped, but I don't think it's vital, and actually even for a full Wizard build I think Tanglefoot from the Ranger tree is going to be more helpful. Ultimately if you just want magical ranged damage, you've already got that in your grimoire and wand.

Speaking of, I'm also a bit down on Wand Mastery. It's a straight buff to wand damage, but if you're aiming to deal most of your damage with spells, I don't think it's that relevant. And if you're out of Essence for casting, you're better off just switching to a gun or a melee weapon instead.

Armored Essence is rather more useful, reducing the Essence penalty of light and medium armour. In the early going, running out of juice is a real concern, so anything to help mitigate that is welcome.

The remaining first tier Wizard abilities are where things get a little more complex. Basically, you can individually buy and level up all the spells that you're able to cast out of any grimoires you own. That allows you to cast them without the grimoire equipped, but also it means if you do cast them out of a grimoire, they count as being a level higher. This can be a bit confusing, because if you are using a grimoire, you have to make sure to remember to always cast out of that rather than from your hotbar to get maximum effect.

You'll also need to focus in on the spells that you most like, because there's too many to spread your points across all of them. If in doubt, I'd say Fan of Flames is a great one for close-range damage, while Chill Blades' freezing effect makes it great for keeping enemies at long range (and if you're doing a Wizard/Fighter build, the explosive damage from Charge will actually shatter a frozen foe for extra damage).

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/avowed-best-weapons/

These are the best weapons to use in Avowed, whether you want to be a deadly swordsman, a fire-chucking wizard, or fantasy John Wick​

Two weapon loadouts, a ton of possibilities.

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)

Choosing which weapons to use in Avowed is great fun. Almost all one-handed weapons can be equipped in either hand, in any combination, and your character has two loadouts that you can switch between at will—that really gives you a lot of freedom. Want to wield a shield and pistol in one slot and a wand and dagger in the other? You can!

The tricky part is figuring out which are the best weapons to use. After about four hours with a preview build of the game, during which I did a lot of switching around, I've got some good tips for combos that work in the early game, and the info you need to decide which are best for you.


And if you want some idea of the best ways to combine these weapons with abilities, check out our guide to the best builds in Avowed.

Best weapon combos​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Easy combos

Row 0 - Cell 0	Loadout 1	Loadout 2
Ready For Anything	Axe + Shield	Arquebus or Wand + Grimoire
Offence and Defence	Axe + Pistol	Spear + Shield
Pistol Wizard	Pistol + Grimoire	Axe + Shield
Fantasy John Wick	Pistol + Pistol	Arquebus

If in doubt, it's a safe bet to have one melee-focused loadout and one ranged-focused loadout. That gives you plenty of flexibility—you can open fights with a few shots, but not be at a defensive disadvantage when the enemy reaches you. A good example would be using an axe and shield with an arquebus. You'll get great damage with your gun, but not be caught out when it's reloading.

Magic can serve the same role in that kind of set-up, simply replacing the ranged weapon with a wand and grimoire. You get a bit more versatility with magic—each grimoire contains multiple spells, and you've got the wand's attacks on top. The disadvantages are that each spell has its own cooldown before it can be used again, and the cost they have in Essence. In the early game, you can find yourself burning through Essence potions fast to keep the spell-slinging up.

You can make more unusual or focused combos, however. Using a pistol with an axe or other one-handed melee weapon allows you to threaten foes at both close and mid-range. While the pistol's reloading, just keep swinging. Bear in mind you can't block with a loadout like that, however, so you'll need to get used to ducking and weaving—or equip a more defensive pairing for your other loadout, such as a shield and spear, to switch to when things get scary.

Equally a pistol and grimoire can work nicely, giving you a backup ranged option for when your Essence runs out that's more impactful than a wand. Focus on long-range spells like Chill Blades and let the pistol handle mid-range.

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Two-handed melee weapons are really good fun, particularly the greatsword, especially in combination with the Parry ability from the Ranger tree. They're not as safe as using a shield or keeping enemies at range, but the huge damage of each hit can make it a lot easier to take down key targets fast. And you can always use a more defensive or ranged choice for your other loadout, for switching to when needed.

For pure chaos, I've had a blast (pun intended) with two pistols. The reload time on these is short enough that with two, you can get a pretty steady rhythm of shots by alternating between them, and it's super satisfying strafing and dodging around getting headshots all over the place like a cross between John Wick and Blackbeard. Your other loadout can be something more defensive for safety, but I actually really enjoyed just going full blackpowder with an arquebus for my second loadout. Snipe far away targets with that, barrage close up ones with your pistols, and always be moving—turns out there are few problems gunpowder can't fix.

One combination that you might expect to work that I've had no luck with at all is using two one-handed melee weapons, like a mace and a dagger. You can't block, but you also don't seem to be able to attack any faster, because you can only swing with one weapon at a time. As it stands, I can't see an advantage, beyond the minor flexibility it offers in choosing which weapon to use for each swing. It may be that later abilities unlock the potential of this traditional style of dual-wielding, but for the early game I'd recommend going for a safer approach.

Weapon types​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment)

Melee weapons​

Axe: My favourite of the melee weapons, axes have a useful balance of damage and swing speed that makes them versatile and easy to use.

Mace: Slower, but with higher damage and stun. Trickier to use, but combo well with a shield, which opens up safe opportunities to get your hits in. Add the Shield Bash ability to get even more stun on enemies and stagger them fast.

Dagger: Super fast with a high crit chance, but low damage and a short range. I haven't had much luck finding a good combo for these—the frantic attack animations feel a bit at odds with the relatively deliberate pace of Avowed's combat.

Spear: Long range and average speed makes spears a great defensive choice, especially with a shield, but I think once you get comfortable with blocking and dodging, you may find those advantages unnecessary.

Shield: Is a shield a weapon? Sort of, but you can only use it in your off-hand, so forget your dreams of dual-shielding. The easy blocking power of shields make them an amazing tool in melee combat. It's perfectly viable to not use one, but be prepared that you'll need to be sharper with your dodges and/or parries.

Greatsword: A two-handed weapon, which most importantly means you can't use it with a shield. It can still block, however, and if you grab the Parry ability you can still put up a reliable defence. Greatswords are a great, balanced option among the two-handed weapons, with a manageable swing speed and high damage. Super fun.

Great axe: Slower swing speed than the greatsword, but higher damage. I think it's a bit trade-off, at least in the early game. You really have to know when you can get a swing in and when you can't, or else need to be ready to take some hits, which isn't easy in starting armour with low health.

Great hammer: Even higher damage, but even slower, making it really unwieldy against Avowed's many small, fast enemies. The last thing you want in a Xaurip fight is a swing animation this sluggish.

Ranged weapons​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Arquebus: Suffers from a long reload animation, but the damage is huge and, importantly, it fires in a perfectly straight line at any distance. That makes it easily the best sniping weapon in the game, and really easy to use.

Pistol: Shorter range than the arquebus, but one-handed and with a much shorter reload time. A great off-hand weapon to combine with melee or magic, or double them up for a faster fire rate.

Bows: The sheer power of gunpowder does make the traditional bow and arrow feel like the weaker option. It's not just about their lower damage, it's the fairly brutal drop off they have. After it's loosed, an arrow will gradually drop towards the ground, meaning you need to aim above where you want it to actually hit, depending on how far away the target is. Judging that is much harder than simply pointing and clicking with the guns, and also makes it harder to hit weak spots, further reducing your damage. The only major advantage I see in bows is that they're the best choice for stealth. Gunfire is loud—if you want to clear out a camp one patrol at a time, a bow is what you need.

Magic weapons​

(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)
Grimoire: The most important weapon for any wizard. It doesn't have its own attacks, but a selection of spells (specific to each grimoire) can be cast from it. You can cast magic without one, by buying the spells as abilities instead, but even in that case they'll still be stronger if cast from a grimoire. The only downside is that they're locked to the off-hand, so you can't dual-wield books and call yourself Conan the Librarian.

Wand: These act more like ranged weapons, but firing little magical bolts instead of bullets or arrows. They pair very neatly with a grimoire, but I don't think they're actually a great option for most builds. At long range, you'll be focused on your spells, and at mid or close range, a pistol or a melee weapon will be more useful.

what kind of retard follows a guide for first playthrough
unless this is aimed for people who skip the game then its fine

Achievement hunters. Those special types of vermin, who only play video games to increase their gamerscore, truly exist.

 

[Zlaja]

what kind of retard follows a guide for first playthrough

The sort of retard that likes to pretend how good they're at the game and tell others online that they need to "get good".

 

[Sherry]

Hi.

sail
Sail?
SALE!

Gosh wtf is but why right? with the recent shots fired by that MEAN Art Director pushing everyone who worked on Avowed under the bus, hiring African Americans before Mice, White Chicks, or Men Who Can't Jump job applications is shameful and irresponsible to forcefully move the discussion away from the beautiful world of Eora and the Living Lands Orange was from but what HURTS the most is that even Orange cannot venture back to her homeland in The Living Lands okay!! SHAME! Orange is a Dwarf and using the locale of The Living Lands which is a unique landmass in Eora's Northern Hemisphere would hagfe brrought a connection to her story from the first two games right? Okay right? WRONG! You are forced to play a Clicker from the Last of Us like wtf right? Orange does not deserve being tredated like this but do you know what YOU can treat yourself with?

Until December 4, 2024, the Steam Sale for Pillars of Eternity and DEADFIRE is -78% off for the BUNDLE with all EXPANSIONS! Okay? OKAY!!

Thanks,
Sherry

 

[TedNugent]

Killing Floor 2 probably has the most meaty headshots

 

[Konjad]

I don't know much about Avoved, but I sure look forward to hundreds of newsposts by Infinitron about every patch to this - no doubt amazing as all Obidian games with no exceptions - masterful game.

 

[Tyranicon]

I enjoyed the months of streamer-type marketing and now complete radio silence.

Modern devs with modern marketing teams.

 

[Orange Clock]

Hence my interest, particularly on the gameplay side. Obvious problems there already - floating damage numbers, no melee hitstop, health bars and difficulty skulls everywhere. Failure to understand that a lot of stuff suited to an isometric or 3rd person view points does not translate well to 1st person

You can disable most of the HUD elements and I noticed some kind of “blowback” when you hit enemies(maybe just my imagination)

 

[HumanTotemPole]

You can disable most of the HUD elements

Which is fair enough. The issue with this is often that the basic gameplay loop will account for the presence of certain HUD details rather than their absence. This can have a surprisingly large knock-on effect on overall design choices; the classic deleterious example being the introduction of the quest markers to Bethesda games with Oblivion.

 

[AwesomeButton]

I enjoyed the months of streamer-type marketing and now complete radio silence.

Modern devs with modern marketing teams.

The autist doing podcasts on the world of Eora has decided not to comment on the Hansen debacle, but kees putting out podcasts: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/worldofeora/episodes/Ep--1-Intro-and-Overview-of-Eora-epdl3m