Avowed's release is rapidly approaching, allowing players, nearly seven years after the last Pillars of Eternity game, to re-enter the world of Eora. One major benefit of this shared universe, beyond the wonderfully developed lore, is the truly unique class design that was present in the Pillars series. Certain classes, such as the chanter and cipher, are difficult to compare to other RPGs, while even Pillars's more standard fare took drastic departures from their classic inspirations.
Unfortunately, with Avowed's genre transition into a more standard action RPG, the unique class design of its predecessors has taken quite a hit. Avowed has three simplified skill trees: ranger, fighter, and mage. They do represent more classes than may initially appear, but they still miss the mark when compared to the more inventive options present in Pillars. Players jumping into Eora for the first time may not notice these absences, but their exclusion from Avowed is not only disappointing from a gameplay perspective, but also from the lost narrative potential.
Avowed's Skill Trees Are Too Limiting
Fighter, Ranger, And Mage Aren't The Most Exciting Classes
Of course, skill trees in Avowed were bound to feel more limiting coming from its fantastic CRPG predecessors. Looking through the selection of classes in those games, now better than ever to do with their free access on Xbox Game Pass, shows 12 classes to choose from. Avowed, with its three primary trees of ranger, fighter, and mage, feels extraordinarily slim in comparison.
While Avowed does feature a class-less system, the skill trees themselves simply don't offer enough options to make that decision feel truly exciting. Incredible freedom has been promised in Avowed's story, but that freedom, even within a classless system, does not feel particularly applicable to Avowed's character building. This is not based purely on the number of spells either, but also with the actual abilities and passives being offered.
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Some hybrid classes can be easily envisioned; a late game wizard spell granting the envoy a magical bow is a nice blend of the ranger and wizard. Perhaps a greatsword-wielding fighter may dip into the ranger tree for improvements to guns. These options are there, certainly. Yet, they don't inspire nearly the same creativity as the options presented in the Pillars games, and particularly in Deadfire The sequel added multi-classing for the original 12 classes, a worthy addition that was also supplemented with the inclusion of multiple subclasses for each class.
Characters morphed from being just a rogue in Pillars of Eternity 1, to classes such as a witchblade: a rogue and cipher multiclass, while perhaps using the assasin and soulblade subclasses for some added flair. Sure, Avowed was never expected to reach this level of build diversity, but part of the excitement of those options was finding interesting ways in which the classes could complement each other.
A fighter and ranger multiclass wasn't used just to add some extra defensiveness to a ranged character, but instead, could facilitate more unique combinations, like a tank fighting alongside a bear. Of course, the still elusive godlike skill tree may spice up this restrictive system, but its doubtful that Avowed will be remembered for having an inventive or substantive class system.
Pillars Of Eternity Had Some Great Classes
Franchise Originals And Remixed Classics
Pillars of Eternity had more classes, but beyond the number, they also had more interesting classes. There's no question that Avowed's choice of ranger, fighter, and mage is about as generic as a fantasy game could get, both from a narrative and gameplay standpoint. Conversely, Deadfire, in particular, shows the full potential of Eora.
Take chanters. Narratively, chanters are almost like historians, finding and utilizing ancient oral history, an element that may have led to interesting dialogue options in Avowed if they were present. These characters are even more unique in combat; Chanters don't just have a list of music-themed spells, players must attach together a series of phrases into a chant, which plays automatically as the chanter engages in combat. Smart usage of phrases would create powerful chants full of overlapping buffs, creating a tangible sense of both dynamic gameplay and class flavor.
Ciphers, another class with almost zero representation in Avowed, will also be missed. Lore wise, Eora has a huge emphasis on its inhabitants' souls. Ciphers, complementing this world-building component, are a spellcaster weapon hybrid that draws their strength from being able to interact with souls.
Ciphers occupy a strange place in Eora, always useful allies, but never without some degree of distate from those around them. Gameplay wise, the cipher spell pool feels entirely unique; a blend of manipulation and deception, soul-rending cuts, and a host of supportive, defensive buffs through soul-linking.
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Besides these more setting-specific classes, even the genre classics had interesting changes from the expected formula. Monks in Pillars, for instance,have their abilities locked behind a wound resource, which can only be generated by taking damage. Both clerics and paladins have actual consequences for not following the tenets of their deity or order. Even fighters, the most basic of all, have an interesting mix of passive and active abilities that creates just as much decision-making in combat as a wizard.
There was no expectation for Avowed to compete with the character building of a bona-fide CRPG, but looking back at Pillars, the comparative lack of variety still stings. While Avowed's scope leans more toward The Outer Wildsthan Skyrim, it still feels lackluster in the skill tree department when compared to other action RPG staples.
Avowed Shouldn't Abandon Its Universe's Best Ideas
Avowed Loses Eora's Flavor With Its Limited Skill Trees
Seeing such colorful renditions of classic archetypes makes Avowed's regression even more disappointing. These classes played an essential part in adding context to the world. Ciphers were a perfect representation of the general populous's distrust of soul-magic.
Companions in Deadfire also had unique subclasses that, besides gameplay additions, could better represent classes across cultures, such as the role of druids in the Rauatai Kingdom's storm-ridden archipelago. Chanters, Eora's historians, show the prominence of ancient oral lore, and the role that souls and tradition plays in recounting that history.
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Ultimately, while Pillars offered a lot of options for representing characters through classes, part of the system's appeal was also in the way the tightly themed classes worked to create not just distinct gameplay, but distinct lore implications. The idea that monks gain their strength through harm, for instance, is an interesting gameplay choice that also raises questions about Eora's monastic tradition. Where franchises like DnD tirelessly work to make re-theming classes approachable and easy, the immovable restrictions of Pillars classes helped create a truly fascinating world.
There's certainly a chance that Avowed's companions will help fill in its missing classes, but otherwise, Avowed's ability system is a disappointing asterisk from an otherwise exciting re-entry into the world of Eora.
Seeing the reversion to such banal renditions of RPG archetypes is perhaps what hurts the most, even if the skills themselves are fun to interact with in Avowed's seemingly spectacular combat. The customization of characters improved ten-fold in Deadfire, so perhaps more is on the horizon if an Avowed 2 finds its way into players' hands. There's certainly a chance that Avowed's companions will help fill in its missing classes, but otherwise, Avowed's ability system is a disappointing asterisk from an otherwise exciting re-entry into the world of Eora.
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