Avowed: A Beginner's Guide

Embark on your *Avowed* adventure with these tips, designed to make Obsidian's latest RPG enjoyable for both seasoned veterans and newcomers alike. RPGs can feel daunting, but with a little guidance, you'll be mastering the Living Lands in no time.

RPG Basics: Leveling Up and Character Building

*Avowed*, like many RPGs, rewards exploration and combat. Complete quests, defeat enemies, discover new areas—all these actions earn you XP. Leveling up grants attribute and ability points, allowing you to customize your character. Become a mighty warrior, a powerful mage, or something entirely unique—the choice is yours! Attributes dictate your character's strengths. Experiment and don't worry about mistakes; *Avowed* lets you respec your points, offering unparalleled flexibility for beginners.

Explore the World of Avowed

*Avowed*'s world isn't entirely open, but it offers satisfying freedom beyond the main questline. While following markers is tempting, resist the urge! Explore buildings, caves, and hidden areas to uncover loot, resources, and a wealth of side quests. Many offer easy XP gains. Books and notes enrich the lore, adding depth to your adventure. Seek out treasure maps for valuable gear and gold. Thorough exploration also yields significant gold, crucial for acquiring better weapons and gear, making combat—especially against bosses—much easier. Rushing the main story might leave you underpowered, so take your time.

Manage Your Potions and Resources

Early combat can be challenging. Balance physical and essence attacks, and carefully monitor your health and essence bars. Health and essence potions are your best friends. Health potions (glowing red) restore health, and essence potions (bright pink) refill your essence bar. Find them throughout the world and from vendors. However, conserve health potions; use food to restore minor health losses. Some food and herbs counteract poison—save those for when you need them. Don't treat health potions like *Call of Duty* respawns—use them strategically.

Don't Forget Your Companions

Leveling up benefits your companions, too! Investing in their abilities is vital. Strong companions aid in combat, potentially offering healing capabilities. Neglecting them leads to a tougher fight and possible frustration. Upgrading their skills transforms them from liabilities into invaluable assets.

Upgrade Your Gear

Gather resources to upgrade your weapons and gear at the camp's crafting station (left side upon entering). Prioritize upgrades on gear you plan to use for a while. Early game, you'll change weapons frequently. Better gear requires more resources, but the enhancements—increased attack power, critical chance, damage reduction, and more—are well worth the investment.

Play Your Way

The beauty of *Avowed* lies in its freedom. Focus on the main story, delve into every side quest, or create your own path. Your adventure, your rules. Explore the Living Lands, forge your legend, and most importantly, have fun!

*Avowed* is available now on PC and Xbox.