Avowed has just received a large update that aims to balance out some of the gameplay differences between classes, particularly focusing on fighters and rangers who previously felt a bit overshadowed by wizards. This patch introduces new active and passive skills, distinct weapons, and improved performance on the Steam Deck, making the experience more enjoyable for different playstyles.
One of the most significant changes is the introduction of new abilities that provide fighters and rangers with more engaging ways to approach combat. The ranger’s new Shadow Step ability lets players teleport behind enemies for a stealthy attack, which can be upgraded so that landing a killing blow resets the cooldown. This move is a neat nod to Pillars of Eternity fans and offers a fresh tactical option. Other ranger skills include Fan of Daggers, which throws multiple poisoned daggers, causing both damage and status effects, and Smoke Bomb, which creates a cloud to disrupt foes as you retreat. There’s also a trap-setting ability called Chilling Surprise that unleashes frost damage when triggered.
Fighters gain some powerful additions, too. The new Reviving Exhortation can revive allies from a distance and grant temporary health, which is handy for tougher fights. Other abilities like Driving Kick and Barbaric Smash deliver heavy damage and can control crowds by breaking blocks or absorbing stun effects. The Deep Breath skill replenishes stamina quickly, reducing costs for a short period. Fighter passives, such as Adrenaline and Vanguard, now boost damage when health is low and increase the chance to block incoming attacks, respectively, adding some survival flair.
Obsidian also included new, distinct weapons across the game’s regions, including maces, axes, spears, wands, and more, although no new daggers have been introduced yet, which some players on Reddit have noticed. These items help players try out builds that were previously harder to access, and they should enhance the combat variety nicely.
To balance the buffs given to player characters, some enemies have gained abilities previously exclusive to players, like the Tanglefoot effect that slows movement. So, don’t be surprised if battles feel a bit more challenging in unexpected ways.
On the technical side, Avowed is now Steam Deck Verified, which is great news for handheld users. There’s a new 40fps mode, tweaks to FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) settings, including a clearer option for native anti-aliasing, and improved map markers that reveal a larger area around the player. Small fixes like hands no longer clipping through chests and quest journal updates also improve the overall polish.
New Ranger and Fighter Abilities
Ranger abilities:
- Shadow Step – Step into the Beyond, reappearing behind your enemy. Upgrades lower target’s Damage Reduction and reset cooldown after a killing blow.
- Fan of Daggers – Throw poisoned daggers hitting multiple enemies, applying Slow and interrupting foes with upgrades.
- Smoke Bomb – Creates a cloud that interrupts enemies while you dodge backwards. Upgrades add elemental damage matching your throwable.
- Chilling Surprise – Set frost traps triggered by enemies. More traps and lower Essence cost with upgrades.
Ranger passives:
- Concussive Shot – Weak Point shots increase melee stun damage on enemies temporarily.
- Sharpshooter – Boosts Weak Point damage based on consecutive hits.
- Deadly Poison – Increases poison damage and accumulation.
Fighter abilities:
- Driving Kick – Breaks enemy blocks, deals damage, and launches foes. Upgrades add explosive damage and area effects.
- Barbaric Smash – Massive blow that absorbs stun from killed enemies to empower next attack.
- Deep Breath – Recovers full stamina and reduces stamina costs temporarily. Upgrades improve cooldown and underwater use.
- Reviving Exhortation – Revives distant allies and grants temporary health. Upgrades reduce cost and heal allies.
Fighter passives:
- Dual Wield Mastery – Unlocks stronger special attacks on stunned enemies while dual wielding.
- Adrenaline – Boosts attack damage and stability when health is low; upgrades grant brief invulnerability.
- Bloodlust – Increases bleed damage and attack power against bleeding enemies.
- Vanguard – Chance to negate damage increases with number of attackers.
Other Changes and Fixes
- Graphics upscaling now properly disables TAA when turned off; separate TAA option added.
- Added 40FPS option to FPS Limit setting.
- FSR Quality setting now shows “Native AA” before Quality option.
- Map markers reveal a larger area around the player.
- Hands no longer clip when opening chests.
- Fixed drink swapping issue during “One Last Drink” quest.
- Quest “Shadows of the Past” updates correctly in journal.
- Descriptions for Piercing Thrusts now accurate.
- Fixed bow shooting blocking Spirit Lance ability.
- Updated enchantment visuals to show upgrade replacements.
- Menu screens and widgets input issues fixed.
- Thalla’s ground stomp attack area indicator now matches attack size.
- Ring of Fortune crit chance bonus doubled from 5% to 10%.
For the full patch notes, you can visit Obsidian’s official forums.
