Avowed is the newest game from Obsidian Entertainment, the Microsoft-owned studio behind Fallout: New Vegas and The Outer Worlds. Originally announced in 2020, this first-person fantasy RPG was in the works for approximately six years, until it finally came out earlier this month. Avowed was rebooted several times during its development. It initially started out life as a Skyrim-like open-world multiplayer game, but it eventually evolved into the traditional, hub-based single-player RPG that it is today.
For the most part, Avowed is a fairly approachable game for newcomers to the RPG genre. The game has a lot of detailed tutorials and in-game guides, and its combat is neither too complex, nor is it incredibly simple. The same can also be said for Avowed‘s dialogue mechanics and choice and consequence systems. However, there are some parts of the game that players may struggle with. Gathering all the collectibles scattered throughout the Living Lands, for instance, is not an easy feat. Fortunately, Avowed does have a helpful feature that can make getting some of these collectibles a lot easier, but for whatever reason, it’s hidden in the game’s settings menu.
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Totem Collecting in Avowed Can Become a Lot Easier By Enabling One Setting
God Totem Fragments Are One of the Major Types of Collectibles in Avowed
Collectibles are an important part of any open-world or hub-based game, and Avowed definitely has no shortage of them. In Obsidian’s fantasy RPG, there are a handful of different collectibles that players can come across as they make their way through the game. Some of these are more menial items, such as keys, amulets, and trinkets, while others are more unique, like the Ancient Memories, which give players a permanent boost to one of their core stats when obtained.
Perhaps the most useful collectibles in Avowed, though, are the God Totem fragments. For those who aren’t familiar with the lore of Avowed, God Totems are essentially divine objects that were created in honor of a specific god in the pantheon of the game’s world. God Totems are incredibly rare, and there is only one located in each of the four regions of Avowed. These Totems, however, have been broken into pieces and dispersed throughout the Living Lands, so it’s up to the player to put them back together again.
Each God Totem fragment provides a passive buff for the player and/or their companions. The more fragments a player collects for a specific totem, the more buffs they unlock. Avowed doesn’t explicitly tell players where the God Totem fragments are located, but it does give them certain hints regarding the matter. In each major area of the game, players can encounter a vendor that sells riddles scribbled on pieces of paper. If players are able to decipher these riddles, they can figure out where each of these fragments are. However, the riddles in question can sometimes be so vague that it’s hard to tell what they truly mean.
Avowed’s In-Game Compass Can Direct Players to the Nearest God Totem Fragment
Gamers who don’t want to spend all their time deciphering riddles need not worry, because there is a much easier solution to finding these collectibles. If players open up Avowed‘s settings menu, select the UI tab, and scroll down to the bottom of the screen, they will see an option labeled “Compass – God Shrine Totem Pieces.” When this setting is enabled, the in-game compass at the top of the screen directs players to the nearest God Totem fragments. This feature doesn’t provide an exact location for these collectibles, of course, but it definitely comes in handy.
Oddly enough, this “Compass – God Shrine Totem Pieces” setting is disabled by default, even though almost all the other compass-related settings are normally enabled. Perhaps Obsidian thinks that this feature makes collecting the God Totem fragments in the game too easy, which is why it doesn’t openly mention it in any of Avowed‘s in-game tutorials. Whatever the reason may be, it’s great that this feature was even included in the first place, because thanks to it, players don’t have to spend too much time deciphering riddles and locating these collectibles in Avowed.
Welcome to the Living Lands, a mysterious island filled with adventure and danger. Set in the fictional world of Eora that was first introduced to players in the Pillars of Eternity franchise, Avowed is a first-person fantasy action RPG from the award-winning team at Obsidian Entertainment.
You are the envoy of Aedyr, a distant land, sent to investigate rumors of a spreading plague throughout the Living Lands – an island full of mysteries and secrets, danger and adventure, and choices and consequences, and untamed wilderness. You discover a personal connection to the Living Lands and an ancient secret that threatens to destroy everything. Can you save this unknown frontier and your soul from the forces threatening to tear them asunder?
- Released
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February 18, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence
- Publisher(s)
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Xbox Game Studios
