Summary
While there aren’t traditional classes in Obsidian Entertainment’sAvowed, each of its abilities can be unlocked from various class-oriented skill trees. Three of those skill trees — Fighter, Ranger, and Wizard — have abilities that have already been confirmed ahead ofAvowed’s launch. The other two skill trees — Godlike and Companion — haven’t been revealed, but it can be assumed that the Godlike tree will have racial abilities and the Companion tree will either let players unlock abilities for each ofAvowed’s companionsor unlock global abilities that every companion can benefit from.
So far, a total of fourteen abilities have been confirmed forAvowed, shared between the Fighter, Ranger, and Wizard skill trees. Far more Ranger and Wizard abilities have been confirmed than Fighter, but most of the Fighter skills will presumably revolve around melee damage and mitigation. As for the Ranger and Wizard skill trees, Ranger abilities seem to focus on agility and finesse, whereas Wizard abilities deal more with ranged offensive elemental spells and magic defense.
Every Fighter Ability Confirmed So Far for Avowed
Unfortunately for those who prefer melee skills, only one Fighter ability has been confirmed so far forAvowed: Charge.World of WarcraftWarriormains should recognizeAvowed’s Charge ability fairly well, as the two skills are essentially the same, with some very minor differences. When a Warrior charges inWorld of Warcraft, they rush toward an enemy from a distance, root it in place, and then generate Rage as a result. InAvowed, Charge is an active Fighter ability that works almost the same way, except that players interrupt enemies and deal damage to them in the process. It also seems to affect any enemies caught in the path, so it should benefit players looking to deal damage to a line of enemies. Finally, Charge can break through an enemy’s block and even be used to destroy breakable walls.
Every Ranger Ability Confirmed So Far for Avowed
Every Active Ranger Ability Confirmed So Far for Avowed
Only two active Ranger abilities have been confirmed so far forAvowed, but they both look like they will be game-changers. Based on these two skills, players should expect a wide range of trap and stealth abilities inAvowed’s Ranger skill tree.
Once again, someWorld of Warcraftinfluence can be seen in the Ranger’s Tanglefoot ability. Specifically, Tanglefoot appears to resemble the Entangling RootsDruid skill fromWorld of Warcraft. InAvowed, Tanglefoot summons entangling vines at an enemy’s location and Roots them in place for a period, andWorld of Warcraft’s Entangling Roots skill is almost identical in its execution. Shadowing Beyond is another active Ranger ability inAvowed, and it works as a cloak that makes the player invisible and intangible until they run out of the Essence required to keep it active.
Every Passive Ranger Ability Confirmed So Far for Avowed
A whopping six passive Ranger abilities have already been confirmed forAvowed, and they prove that the Ranger skill tree may make up the bulk of a player’s passive combat skills. While the Fighter ability tree is likely to increase a player’s resilience in battle, the Ranger skill tree appears to increase their agility.
Based on its description,the Ranger’s passive Dodge ability inAvowedis likely a skill that comes naturally to the player character, as unlocking and upgrading it in the Ranger tree simply reduces its stamina cost. Finesse and Marksmanship are similar, in that the former increases the damage of one-handed melee weapons and the latter increases the damage of bows and guns. This means players should be able to equip one-handed melee weapons, bows, and guns without needing to unlock the ability to wield them first.
Unlike Dodge, Finesse, and Marksmanship, players will need to unlock Parry before they can parry an enemy’s attacks. The Parry skill allows players to time a perfect block against an enemy to knock them back and follow up with an immediate counter-attack. Piercing Thrusts is another passive damage-increasing Ranger ability that causes daggers, swords, and spears to deal extra damage. Finally, the Steady Aim passive Ranger ability allows players to slow time while holding a Power Attack with their bow or gun, much likeGhost of Tsushima’s Concentration technique.
Every Wizard Ability Confirmed So Far for Avowed
Every Active Wizard Ability Confirmed So Far for Avowed
Three active Wizard abilities have been confirmed forAvowedahead of its release, two of which are fire and ice elemental attacks. It appears there are also electric attacks players can take advantage of, but none have been confirmed yet.
Chill Blades may be a go-to ability forAvowedmagicusers, as it summons blades of ice that deal frost damage and contribute to frost accumulation. It’s unclear what frost accumulation does to an enemy, but, based on what it accomplishes in other games, it may slow or freeze enemies once it is fully accumulated. Fan of Flames is an area-of-effect skill that creates a cone of fire in front of the player and damages anyone caught in the blast. It has also been confirmed that Fan of Flames can be used to remove flammable objects such as vines blocking a path.
Minor Missiles seems to be the only non-elemental confirmed active Wizard ability inAvowed, and it is likely the most basic attack in the tree. Rather than dealing elemental damage to an enemy, Minor Missiles simply summons three magical homing projectiles that explode for significant damage when they make contact with an enemy. It’s unclear whether any of these active Wizard abilities will take advantage of one ofAvowed’s wandsor a grimoire, but they nonetheless sound devastating and could cause some balance issues.
Every Passive Wizard Ability Confirmed So Far for Avowed
Only two passive Wizard abilities have been confirmed forAvowed, and one of them may end up being more sought after than the other. The rest of the icons shown aren’t clear in what they might offer, but the Wizard might still have a decent set of passive abilities to offer players.
InthePillars of Eternityuniverse thatAvowedis set in, Essence is similar to mana, in that it is the resource required to cast abilities. Armored Essence, a confirmed Wizard passive ability inAvowed, therefore “protects” Essence. Specifically, it decreases the Essence penalty for Light and Medium armor. InPillars of Eternity, maximum Essence is restricted by armor, and even more so the heavier the armor. Wand Mastery is another confirmed passive Wizard ability that, similar to the Ranger’s Finesse and Marksmanship abilities, increases damage with wands.
Judging by the footage that has been shown forAvowedso far, there are dozens of abilities for players to unlock, so the fourteen that have been confirmed are only a handful. Thankfully, players won’t be restricted to oneclass inAvowedand can instead mix and match freely to fully personalize their character’s build.
