Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues
Out Now
About the GameWHAT IS SHROUD OF THE AVATAR?
Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues is a multiplayer fantasy RPG and the spiritual successor to Richard Garriott’s wildly successful Ultima and Ultima Online games.
Shroud of the Avatar is about testing one’s character on a path filled with peril and tough decisions. Player actions carry meaningful consequences within the deep and persistent world of New Britannia by either upholding or breaking the Principles of Truth, Love, and Courage.
Shroud of the Avatar is developed by the veteran Portalarium team that includes Richard "Lord British" Garriott, the creator of the Ultima series, Starr Long, the original Director of Ultima Online, and Tracy Hickman, the author of the beloved Dragonlance Novels and Dungeons & Dragons modules.
KEY FEATURES
As a revival of the classical in-depth RPG, Shroud of the Avatar binds together many of the key features that made the Ultima series so popular:
- A far reaching story written in collaboration with celebrated fantasy author Tracy Hickman, where players are confronted with ethical choices based on Virtues and Principles.
- Multiple MMO gameplay features combined to offer a unique, shared online experience set within a persistent sandbox world.
- The ability to create a classless avatar allows for distinct play styles and uniquely specialized builds.
- Wide-reaching freedom to explore a living, breathing fantasy world enriched by a player-driven crafting and economic system.
- Players can opt to play solo or with friends, owning their own houses or even entire towns, and sign up and cooperate within various in-game guilds.
- Pay Once to Play with no subscription fees.
AVAILABLE PLAY MODES
- Single Player Offline: Enjoy the full game experience without the need for an internet connection. Recruit NPC companions to accompany you on your travels and aid you in times of need. Your online Avatar will not share the progress of your offline Avatar; you advance on different tracks through the story due to interacting differently with the world.
- Single Player Online: Play the game at your own pace while still being able to interact with the persistent works of other players, such as vendors, houses and player-owned towns.
- Party Mode Online: Explore New Britannia with your friends and tell new stories together. Interact with the persistent works of other players, such as vendors, houses, and player-owned towns.
- Multiplayer Online: Experience the vibrant world of Shroud of the Avatar and trade, fight, and converse with thousands of other players, all playing on the same server.
THE FUTURE
Portalarium is committed to roll out regular monthly content releases post-launch and will continue to collaborate with the players to further improve gameplay.
Game Discussion
Steam User 5
Happily surprised with this. It is exactly what I was looking for, simplicity. I don't feel rushed to power level, I can enjoy the scenery and talk to everyone. Find hidden things and forage all day long. You even have the option of playing completely offline, which is a whole other level of chill. I love it.
Steam User 8
the game might not be packed with players but it should be. plenty to do and fun. i know it has a bad rap from the kickoff originally but it's no longer a problem. I hope more join and enjoy it.
Steam User 4
More playable than it used to be from what it looks like. Though, the community seems non-existent?
Steam User 4
Sort of, the game has died down a lot. People can remove your buildings if they don't like it. Further, the game has basically no direction on its own. So you can just wander no matter how interested you are in "playing"
Steam User 6
great game, not completely UO like it states, just a different depiction of it, no houses anywhere or spots, couldnt find anything, crafting is alot more complex than UO which is a shame, too much added to it i reckon,
i mean its a great game has lots of UO elements, but dont play this thinking its the New UO cause its not
Steam User 2
Realistic 2026 Review:
Prologue:
I come from a long history of online multiplayer games. In fact, I still admin a multi-user dungeon (MUD) that's been up since the 90s. And just like this game, mine has like, 2% of the player base we once had. People came here, they played the heck out of it, probably had some really fun and amazing Imms that ran awesome quests and things (this is what brings these kind of mmos alive), and they amassed wealth and items that seem wild and then over time they ran out of things to do or ran into real world responsibilities and moved on... and it's all on display for new players to see. This is kind of a cool thing, it shows you, the new player what is possible.
Gameplay:
It's a bit old-school, as one would expect based on it's release date. A mix of text-based MUDs and point-and-click MMOs. Fighting is meh, but you're not really here in a quasi Ultima-themed game for amazing fighting interactions, right? Graphics are also meh, until you get into homes and see some of the cool things they've added since they did the orig. world-textures, and then you appreciate that at least recently added items have improved f/x.
Why it'll be hard to play:
If you want to play solo, it's going to be a challenge. it's meant to be a massive multiplayer. Offline you will be grinding forever. Online, you will struggle to get beyond the core offline game experience because, naturally, the economy has succumbed to inflation, purchasing anything better than basic is going to take a hell of a grind to amass the gold required.
How you should play it:
1. Imho, send a signal flare to your clan, get that group of friends together and play. Hello, it's FREE, you don't have anything to loose. The game world is so big and so very very barren, you and your buddies can find an abandoned town, setup your houses, create a small community, and take on the world.
2. If you enjoy exploring worlds, go visit not only the base game-cities, but all the player-created towns. Walking down every street and talking to every npc just like in any Elder Scrolls game can be rewarding with all the custom homes to explore.
Tip:
Once you get past the intro zone and up to the first camp, just go walking until you zone out. That will set you free to get to a nearby player-town, and from there you can fast travel all over the world. Visit a bunch, you'll get 250gold from each crier, then find some player-crafter newbie gear from a player-shop and go back and finish the beginning zones.
Steam User 2
I love this game so much. It is everything I wanted in an MMO with the skill building and freedom to make your own character the way you want. I am doing the Moon Skill tree and making my character a Moon Mage aka a class I named myself. If you want total fantasy and the freedom to do whatever you want this is the game for you.