Highlights

  • Avowed transitions the Pillars of Eternity setting from CRPG to first-person action RPG, emphasizing a mix of physical and magical combat styles.
  • Recent trailers showcase the return of magic wands from Pillars of Eternity, which combine with Avowed's emphasis on versatile equipment sets.
  • Avowed needs to ensure its wands are properly balanced and don't simply allow heavily-armored players to cruise through combat encounters.

Avowed is set to arrive later this year, and the Obsidian Entertainment RPG's foray into the world of Eora has the potential to establish itself among some of the most memorable entries of the genre in recent years. Following up the legacy of the Pillars of Eternity titles that saw the debut of Obsidian's original fantasy setting, Avowed has left the CRPG style of those games behind in favor of first-person action RPG gameplay. Many elements seem to have made relatively smooth transitions into this new genre, but one aspect of the player's arsenal in combat could become an area of concern if left unchecked.

The game has been the topic of much speculation among a community that has grown since its initial reveal, but Avowed's more recent trailers have created more hype than ever for the upcoming Xbox-backed release. Avowed's tone has become more defined as Obsidian has showcased more of what The Living Lands has to offer, but its most recent footage showed players that magic wands are making a return from the Pillarsof Eternity titles.

Avowed logo over light and dark environments
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Its most recent trailer centered around Avowed’s Skyrim-influenced first-person combat, and the unveiling of wands as available weapons seems to lean even more heavily into the style of mixing physical attacks and magic. Obsidian had already established that Avowed is set to feature guns on top of the typical array of fantasy melee weapons and bows, but the introduction of a tool like a wand opens up even more possibilities for mixing and matching damage types. There was a challenge associated with properly utilizing these magic weapons in the Pillars titles, but this seems to have been mitigated in the name of Avowed’s more accessible approach.

Wands Are Just One Type of Implement in Eora

On top of what has been shown off so far, it’s likely that the presence of magic wands in Avowed indicates that all three of Pillars’ magical implement weapon types will return. Between wands, scepters, and rods, those modern CRPG titles offer options between different damage types when it comes to these weaker, but more accurate ranged weapons. Now that Avowed has presented a new combat system, however, the increased effectiveness of this weapon type may need special attention to keep them from dominating.

Obsidian's Task of Keeping Weapons like Magic Wands Fair in Avowed

Accessing Magic Through Items Alone Could Be Overpowered

The common classes of the RPG genre are based around the concept of trade-offs between their various strengths and weaknesses, but the prospect of Avowed’s improved magical implements could end up throwing off this equilibrium. If there’s nothing stopping a player from simultaneously being a heavily-armored tank while dishing out devastating spell damage through an equipped weapon alone, the player may end up easily wrecking encounters. Regular spellcasting seems to be separately available on top of this, as if magic builds didn't seem powerful enough, as confirmed by gameplay director Gabe Paramo in an interview with Eurogamer.

"[Spells are] on their own button...There's a single button to use an ability, in terms of the ones that you have on your talent tree."

The Pillars of Eternity Games Could Be a Reference for Balancing

It’s evident that the power of magical implements seems to be buffed in Avowed when compared to Pillars, as the likes of wands in those games have often been considered niche picks. They struggle to do more damage than guns or spells outside situational builds, making their new relevance an ironic turn of events. There’s a risk that Avowed’s magical weapons could overtake the game’s meta in terms of power level, but it’s also true that Obsidian is no stranger to balancing this kind of feature.