A new update is now live for Avowed, Obsidian’s recently released and very good open-world RPG. The patch is live on Xbox and PC and it fixes a lot of tiny bugs and other issues. But the biggest news is that all players will now be a bit more powerful thanks to some extra upgrade points.
On March 13, Obsidian released patch 1.3 for Avowed on both Xbox and PC. Alongside the update, Obsidian published a massive patch notes post that outlines all the various changes, fixes, and tweaks. The list is so big that Obsidian had to split it. Heck, it’s so big that I couldn’t even fit the entire thing in this post. Given its size and the fact that it contains some spoilers, instead, I’ve just included the spoiler-free highlights.
And the best news is that players will now receive an additional talent point at levels 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30. Don’t worry if you’ve already leveled up past these milestones, as the extra points are being given out retroactively, too. I loved Avowed, but I did feel like it was a bit stingy with talent points which let you unlock and upgrade new abilities and spells. These six extra points will help out a lot!
Also buried in the massive patch notes post is a hint from Obsidian about future updates. The developer says that in the coming weeks it will release a roadmap for Avowed that will share some of the plans the studio has for the game over the next year or so. Will we get a confirmation of DLC? Or a new talent tree? I hope so, as I want more Avowed to play!
Anyway, here are the non-spoiler patch notes for Avowed’s latest update. Again, this isn’t everything, but just the highlights courtesy of Obsidian:
Community Requested Features
- The player will now receive an additional talent point at levels 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30. Players with save files past those levels will receive the additional points.
- High Contrast Documents: New option increases font size and applies bold styling to all documents, tutorials, in-game pop-ups, and the ledger’s quest tab.
- Walk Toggle: Players using mouse and keyboard can now toggle between walking and running.
HUD Customization:
- HUD Toggle Keybind: A new keybind (default: Backslash) hides all HUD elements for cleaner screenshots.
- HUD Opacity Slider: Adjust the transparency of the HUD to your preference.
- Camera & Compass Options:Third-Person FOV Slider: Added to Graphics Settings.Static Compass Option: Players can now lock the compass to always point North instead of rotating.
- Controller & Input Improvements:Full support for customizing controller keybinds.
Crashes & Major Issues
- Game Stability Fixes: Fixed a rare crash when switching music during level transitions.
- Xbox App (PC) Launch Crash Fixed: No longer crashes with error 0xc0000005.Fixed a save data issue causing crashes related to encounter spawning enemies with save/loading.
- Resolved a Fast Travel crash that could sometimes occur.
- Addressed a rare crash affecting ROG Ally and Intel-integrated laptops.
- Main menu frame rate is now capped to prevent crashes and hardware issues.
Quests & Dialogues
Quest Progression Fixes
- The “Quest Available” icon for Ranger Verano no longer appears after the quest becomes inaccessible.
- “The Finer Things in Battle” quest now triggers reliably and will retroactively complete for players who already met its requirements.
- Attacking the xaurips in Dehengen’s cabin before the “Find Her Cabin” objective now properly progresses the quest.
- “Our Dreams Divide Us Still” – Combat at Mount Forja now consistently ends to advance the quest.
- “Dawntreader” quest fix: Now properly turn-inable to Ofryc even if Kai and Marius are not in the party.
- “Elder Offerings” quest fix: Now properly resolves if the player both paid for the stolen food and returned it.
- “Boundaries of Antiquity” quest fix: Prevented an issue where players could skip a required conversation.
- “An Untimely End.” – Ygwulf and the rebels no longer become hostile after sparing him.
NPC & Conversation Adjustments:
- Fixed Adelarro and opponents failing to appear if Dreamthralls were killed before starting a side quest.
- Amalia will now always give you the key to her camp’s chest when speaking with her.
- Constable Hajime now correctly rewards players for bounties even if “Heart of Valor” isn’t completed.
- Marius’s Training Offer: His training offer is now more accessible in conversations.
- Conversations will no longer drop unexpectedly if enemies detect the player while in dialogue.
- Restartable Dialogues: Players can now restart conversations with: The illusion in the “Face Your Fears” quest (Shatterscarp). Runyd the watcher if dialogue ended prematurely. Ranger Casagrada in “Steel Resolve” after progressing past “Ancient Soil.”
Systems & Gameplay Improvements
Combat & Enemy Behavior:
- Arrow Decals Improved: More visible in XSX Performance mode for “The Wasteland Courier” quest.
- Pistols now hit targets more reliably.
- Companions with the Shocked status effect no longer electrocute the player when nearby.
- Enemies react more reliably to arrows impacts.
- Ranged enemies are less confused when the player moves in and out of cover.
Spells & Abilities:
- Essence cost reductions now properly apply and no longer prevent spellcasting.
- Fixed cases where totem effects would stop working after conversations or cutscenes.
- “Into the Fray” ability can now be canceled into other actions sooner, improving combo potential.
Quest & Loot Fixes:
- Fast Travel is now disabled during certain animations to prevent getting stuck when quest items are consumed before progression.
- If Old Nuna was defeated but the bounty quest didn’t progress, returning to the location now correctly updates the quest.
- If Belderreno was defeated but no bounty trophy was received, players can now revisit the bounty location to find the trophy.
- Loot in the Yellowband area no longer falls into the environment, preventing collection issues.
Controls & Performance:
- Mouse 4/5 buttons can now be bound to actions.
- Optimized elemental accumulation effects for better performance.
- Optimized the Tebaru Sanakis spirit visuals to improve performance.
- Reducing VO volume now also reduces reverb/echo for characters.
- Upscaling no longer defaults to DLSS every time the game is launched.
Collision & Environmental Fixes
- Adjusted Eothasian temple collision to prevent going out of bounds.
- Doors at Naku Tedek now correctly unseal when reloading a save if combat was already completed.
- Fixed rock collision near the Strangled Adra in Dawnshore.
- Wall textures in Emerald Stair Pargrunen Cache now render properly.
Bug Fixes & Miscellaneous
General Stability & Fixes:
- Resolved issues with respawning enemies, such as the Sporeking reappearing after being killed.
- Fixed unkillable Dreamthralls outside of Thirdborn.
- Fixed an issue where Ryngrim’s rotating wheel would shift when the game was out of focus.
UI & Localization Fixes:
- Gjeda’s Journal no longer contains duplicate entries when playing in French.
- The description for the food item Saucco now displays correctly in all languages.
- Medical Supplies quest item now has the correct icon.
Navigation & World Interactions:
- The player can no longer become stuck in the Cistern after dying in combat with Ygwulf.
- Sliding under obstacles now works properly.
- The player can now properly talk to Ambassador Hylgard, and others if combat previously interrupted a quest-related conversation.
- Sargamis no longer gets stuck when walking toward the lever in Eothasian Temple.
