Avowed Gets New Game Plus, Playable Dwarves and Orlans in Major Update

New Races and Weapons Arrive

Obsidian Entertainment has rolled out a significant update for Avowed, adding New Game Plus mode alongside playable dwarves and Orlans. According to PC Gamer, the update also introduces quarterstaffs as a new weapon type and brings the fantasy RPG to PlayStation 5.

Previously, dwarves and Orlans existed only as NPCs in the Living Lands. Players can now create characters from these races during character creation, expanding build variety beyond the human, elf, and godlike options available at launch. For those unfamiliar with Pillars of Eternity lore, Orlans are small, furry humanoids with distinctive large ears, known for their scrappy nature and keen senses. They come in two subraces: Hearth Orlans (with antler-like fur patterns) and Wild Orlans (with more muted coloring). Dwarves in Eora follow a more traditional fantasy template, but split into two distinct cultures: the Boreal dwarves of the far north and the Mountain dwarves who favor underground settlements.

The addition of these races isn't just cosmetic. Each brings unique passive abilities and stat modifiers that can meaningfully impact character builds. Orlans typically receive perception bonuses, making them natural fits for ranged builds or characters relying on critical hits. Dwarves lean into constitution and resolve, perfect for tanky frontline fighters or characters who need to weather status effects. This opens up new optimization paths for players who've already exhausted the launch roster's possibilities.

What New Game Plus Brings

The New Game Plus mode allows players to carry over their character progression into a fresh playthrough. This addition addresses a common request from the community since Avowed's February release, giving completionists and build experimenters a reason to return.

What makes this particularly valuable is how it interacts with Avowed's choice-driven narrative. Your first playthrough likely locked you into specific faction allegiances and story branches. New Game Plus lets you explore alternate paths while maintaining your hard-earned gear and abilities, removing the tedium of rebuilding your character from scratch. For a game where combat builds can take 20-plus hours to fully realize, this is a massive quality-of-life improvement.

The mode also creates interesting possibilities for challenge runs. Starting a fresh story with endgame gear and abilities fundamentally changes the difficulty curve, letting players experiment with self-imposed restrictions or simply steamroll through content they struggled with initially. It's the kind of feature that extends a single-player RPG's lifespan considerably, especially for the theory-crafting crowd who want to test multiple builds without replaying the early game grind repeatedly.

Quarterstaffs join the existing arsenal, offering a new melee option for players who prefer staff-based combat styles. The weapon type fits naturally into Avowed's magic-heavy combat system, likely functioning as a hybrid option for spellcasters who want some melee capability without fully committing to sword-and-board or dual-wielding. Think of it as the battlemage's best friend: a weapon that probably scales with both physical and magical stats, letting you weave spells between staff strikes.

This fills a notable gap in Avowed's weapon roster. At launch, magic users who wanted melee range were stuck with daggers or had to invest heavily in strength-based weapons that didn't complement their builds. Quarterstaffs should provide that middle ground, similar to how they functioned in games like Dragon Age or earlier Obsidian titles. Expect to see new unique and legendary quarterstaffs added to the loot pool, giving players reasons to revisit areas or tackle endgame content with fresh eyes.

PlayStation 5 Expansion

Avowed's arrival on PS5 marks the end of its console exclusivity period on Xbox. PlayStation players now have access to Obsidian's latest RPG, potentially bringing a new wave of adventurers to the Living Lands.

The timing is interesting. Avowed launched as an Xbox and PC exclusive back in February, riding the wave of Game Pass day-one releases that have defined Microsoft's first-party strategy. Now, roughly three months later, it's hitting Sony's platform, suggesting Microsoft is more willing to let its studios reach wider audiences than in previous generations. This follows a similar pattern to other recent Xbox titles that eventually made the jump to PlayStation, though the exclusivity window here is notably shorter than what we've seen historically.

For PlayStation players, this means jumping into a more polished version of the game. Obsidian has had months to address bugs, balance issues, and community feedback. You're getting Avowed with all its post-launch improvements baked in, plus this substantial content update right out of the gate. The PS5 version should also take advantage of the DualSense's haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, adding tactile depth to spell-casting and weapon strikes that the Xbox version can't match.

The update represents Obsidian's continued support for the title post-launch, addressing player feedback and expanding content options. It's a strong signal that the studio isn't treating Avowed as a one-and-done release. Given Obsidian's track record with games like The Outer Worlds and Pillars of Eternity, we can probably expect more substantial updates down the line, potentially including story DLC that expands on the Living Lands' lore or introduces new regions entirely.

Are you planning to start a New Game Plus run with your existing character, or will you roll a fresh dwarf or Orlan to experience the early game with new racial abilities and dialogue options? And for those on PlayStation, is this the push you needed to finally dive into Obsidian's latest?