"We Want Players To Experiment": Avowed Developers Explain How Combat Is All Up To You

Summary

Speaking exclusively to Screen Rant, Avowed's game director Carrie Patel and art director Matthew Hansen discussed how the RPG wants players to experiment with its many, many choices in combat.
The game features skill trees that allow players to mix and match abilities without being forced to invest in unwanted attributes.
Players will also get to decide which type of weapon they'd like to use from a wide range, including magic, firearms, and more.

The game director and art director of Obsidian's Avowed have spoken more about the game's focus on player freedom when it comes to combat, and the myriad of options fans will have in battle when the game launches later this year. Avowed received a new trailer during the Xbox Games Showcase as part of Summer Game Fest 2024, offering up a new look at what's to come from the highly-anticipated fantasy RPG.

Speaking exclusively to Screen Rant, Avowed's game director Carrie Patel and art director Matthew Hansen discussed a little more about the game's combat and the fluid approach the team has taken when it comes to experimenting with melee, magic, and firearms. Patel told Screen Rant:

Avowed is a classless game. We have a range of weapons and also a range of abilities that players can choose from, and by design, those things are flexible. We wanted to encourage players to experiment, and we wanted to encourage them to really find and define their identity in the world through the way that they choose to play.

A flaming vignette of a The Outer Worlds character pointing a gun at a gaping maw as shown in the Avowed trailer.

Avowed’s Weapons Already Set It Apart From Other Fantasy RPGs

A number of exciting fantasy RPGs are on the horizon, but Avowed has a particular edge when it comes to the weaponry at players' fingertips.

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Avowed's Skill Trees Are Designed To Mix And Match

Avowed Wants Players To Have Freedom Of Choice When Leveling Up Skills

As seen in trailers - including the new trailer revealed during Xbox Games Showcase - Avowed will allow players to use almost any type of weapon imaginable. Whether fans prefer ranged attacks, magic, melee, or even firearms, there's seemingly no end to the many options for combat. As expected from an RPG, the game will also feature skill trees, but the creative team at Obsidian are side-stepping one of the most frustrating parts of a skill tree: forced point spending on unwanted attributes. Patel told Screen Rant:

We've got ability trees based around your traditional warrior archetypes, your traditional ranger archetypes, your traditional wizard archetypes, and you can mix and match freely between those. One that Matt [Hansen] and I were talking about earlier is, if you like your dual pistols, like I do, you can shoot at guys from a medium distance, charge on in to close the gap and do a little bit of knockback, and then switch to your one or two-handed melee weapon, and go to town on everybody.

You can also - if you've got a few skills that you're really interested in maybe late in the wizard tree, but you don't want all the stuff that's in the middle - you can spend those early points wherever you want, and then whenever you reach the appropriate level, invest in those big, powerful spells that you've been really excited about.

We really wanted all of the players' choices to lead them to things they were interested in playing and experiencing. We don't want players to feel like they have to invest points in areas they're not interested in. The goal really is flexibility, adaptability, letting players experiment with a wide range of abilities, your traditional melee weapons, some really fantastical, magical weapons, firearms, and also your bow and arrow for players who like that as well.

Being able to mix and match weapons and skills with no forced skill tree perks is a dream for the RPG genre, as it allows players to truly experience the game in the way they feel most comfortable and sets a high bar for other RPGs. It also allows for infinite replayability should fans wish to experience what other weapon types or skills might change about their playstyle. Avowed is already promising a high level of creative freedom in its game design, which in turn allows for different types of fans to approach it however they might wish.

Avowed is shaping up to be one of the most exciting releases of the year, but the latest look at the game didn't offer up a concrete release date. The game is targeting a 2024 launch, but a lack of solid date suggests fans might not be playing until Q4, though this is still just speculation. It has been confirmed that Avowed will be a Day One Xbox Game release though, meaning those with an active Xbox Game subscription will be able to play as soon as it launches, at no extra cost.

Stay tuned to Screen Rant for the full interview with Avowed's game director Carrie Patel and art director Matthew Hansen.