In our review of Avowed, Jerry Williams praised its story, combat, and worldbuilding. A year later, Obsidian Entertainment returns to the Living Lands with Avowed’s most substantial update yet, alongside the game’s PlayStation 5 release. The Anniversary Update introduces New Game+, new playable races, expanded customization, combat additions such as the quarterstaff, and a wide range of quality-of-life improvements.
We were excited to speak with Gabe Paramo, the gameplay director of Avowed, about the rationale and design behind these changes. From balance and build diversity to customization, cosmetics, and player-driven adjustments, our interview dives into the systems and decisions shaping the update.
Without further ado, let’s delve into the questions and answers.
RPGFan: You’ve framed the Anniversary Update as the culmination of a year of player feedback. What were the most consistent player behaviors that directly shaped this update?
Gabe: It was less about player behaviors and more about direct feedback that came in through our community management team. The way the process worked was that players would reach out with specific requests or issues, and our comms team would essentially give a “plus one” to each piece of similar feedback that came in.
Over time, the highest-value requests naturally bubbled to the top. That’s where our bigger features came from: New Game+, Arachnophobia Mode, Photo Mode, and additional playable races. But it also surfaced smaller, more specific pain points, like not being able to dispel illusions using the Forgotten Soul Pod, or players wanting more ability points to spend on their envoy and companions. The system made sure we were hearing both the big-ticket items and the granular stuff that affects day-to-day play.
RPGFan: At what point in your planning did this stop being a simple patch and become a systemic overhaul?
Gabe: Honestly, it was always the plan. Given the success Obsidian had with Grounded — and how that team was able to work hand in hand with the community to improve their game over time — we always knew this would be a two-way conversation with our players. From the start, we planned to deliver new features players were asking for while also fixing issues we either didn’t catch before ship or ran out of time to address. The scope grew naturally as the feedback came in, but the intent to do something substantial was there from day one.
RPGFan: With new abilities and weapon archetypes, how are you preventing build homogenization across the Fighter, Ranger, and Wizard trees?
Gabe: It starts with the discipline of making sure we aren’t packing too many mechanics into any one ability or weapon. The more we constrain ourselves and give an ability or weapon only a few mechanics, or even just one, the more room it creates for those abilities and weapons to complement each other. When you tie too many mechanics to a single weapon or ability, everything gets muddied, and it becomes really hard for players to find meaningful mix-and-match synergies. Keeping things focused is what makes build diversity possible.
RPGFan: Speaking of weapon archetypes, the quarterstaff seems designed to reinforce a melee-mage identity. Was this filling a gap you saw in player builds, or a fantasy you always intended to support?
Gabe: Exactly! It was filling a clear gap. If you wanted to play a full Wizard fantasy at launch, the weapons we shipped with didn’t fully support that. You could run a wand in one hand and a grimoire in the offhand, robes and all, and that felt great. But then your second weapon loadout — your melee backup — was limited to a sword, mace, or dagger, and none of those fit the vibe of a Wizard. The quarterstaff solves that. It was important to us that players who committed to that fantasy could stay in it across both loadouts.
RPGFan: The Magic Mirror lets players change appearance mid-playthrough. Was this driven more by role-play feedback or practical needs from long RPG campaigns?
Gabe: This came directly through our community feedback process: players asked for it, and we wanted to give it to them. I think it speaks to a common RPG experience: you start the game feeling one way about your character, and then ten or twenty hours in, after you’ve lived with them for a while, you want to tweak something. Maybe you’ve found armor that changes your silhouette, or your sense of who your character is has evolved. The Magic Mirror gives players the freedom to jump in quickly at the start and then take more time refining their look later, during a quieter moment in the campaign, when they know their character better.
RPGFan: I’ve been playing the PlayStation 5 version on a PS5 Pro and was impressed by its look and performance. What challenges came with bringing Avowed to PS5, and were any enhancements made specifically for PS5 Pro?
Gabe: We regularly ship on multiple platforms, and it is a heavy lift for any studio to develop on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and handhelds like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally. We spent a lot of time during development making sure the game scaled well in both directions — high-end and low-end. To hit our PS5 target, we partnered with a co-development studio, Double 11, who is known for helping teams bring their games to additional platforms. Because of that work, the improvements PS5 Pro players notice are consistent with what players on higher-end PCs experience: higher framerates and greater graphical fidelity. The investment in scalability paid off across the board.
RPGFan: The combat and economy modifiers feel granular. Are they primarily intended as accessibility tools, role-play tools, or balance levers for experienced players?
Gabe: All of the above, really, and that’s by design. We wanted to put these tools in players’ hands and let them shape the experience to fit their playstyle. Some players might use them to ease difficulty in specific areas, others might crank things up for a challenge run, and others might use them for role-play flavor. The point is, it’s the player’s call.
RPGFan: Building on that, how systemic are the changes in New Game+? Are they handcrafted per encounter or pulled from scalable rule sets?
Gabe: New Game+ lets players carry over all of their abilities, unique weapons, unique armor pieces, and attributes into a fresh playthrough, but the enemies aren’t the same as the first time around. They now have gameplay-changing modifiers that are either elemental or physical. For example, an enemy might be resistant to fire and deal fire damage, forcing you to rethink your loadout. Or they might have a “Forceful” modifier that increases the impact of their attacks, causing much heavier stagger reactions than players experienced in their first run. Enemies also have access to additional abilities they can use against the player. It’s designed to make familiar encounters feel meaningfully different.
RPGFan: Which quality-of-life improvements do you expect players to notice almost immediately?
Gabe: The game just feels the best it’s ever felt, and I think players will sense that right away. Character progression lets you earn ability points more frequently, so it feels less restrictive. The upgrade path for weapons and armor has been refined to be clearer and more rewarding, and the crafting experience has been streamlined with less friction and more payoff. On top of that, we’ve fixed a massive number of bugs over the past year. The cumulative effect of all those changes is a noticeably smoother, more polished experience from the moment you load in.
RPGFan: If someone finished Avowed at launch, what moment in this update would convince them to start a new playthrough?
Gabe: Obsidian RPGs are built for multiple playthroughs — that’s in our DNA. Maybe you want to make different choices and see how the story shifts. Maybe you want to fully commit to a different ability tree or playstyle. Maybe you want to play as a new race and see what it feels like to be a towering Aumaua or a short, furry Orlan. There are a lot of fun reasons to revisit the Living Lands. And if you’re part of the PlayStation community, you now have the ability to jump into a really fun action RPG and get a full year of updates on day one.
RPGFan would like to thank Gabe Paramo and Obsidian Entertainment for taking the time to speak with us and share their insight into the Anniversary Update. Avowed is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam, where you can explore all the new features and updates.
