Avowed’s PS5 Launch Fixes the Gear Gate — But Obsidian Isn’t Throwing Out the Rulebook

Obsidian says Avowed’s gear wall is fixed – the PS5 launch just made it happen

This caught my attention because Avowed’s biggest gripe wasn’t combat or visuals – it was progression. Players weren’t getting stopped by a boss or a puzzle, they were being told “come back later” by their own gear. With the PS5 release, Obsidian bundled a sizable anniversary update that rewrites the upgrade loop so equipment no longer gates exploration the way it did at launch.

• Key takeaway: Tutorials + resource boosts + scaling toggles blunt the “gear gate” that pushed players into grinding.
• Design trade-off: Obsidian eased pain points but insists the RPG’s core economy and progression philosophy remain intact.
• Platform context: PS5 gets the patch bundled at launch; it’s a competent port with only modest Pro gains.

Why this matters now

The PS5 release gave Obsidian a convenient window to roll out fixes informed by a year of player feedback. Director Gabe Zubizarreta told PushSquare the anniversary update directly targets complaints about the equipment upgrade system – adding clearer tutorials, raising resource drops by roughly 20-30%, and adding scaling toggles so upgrades don’t hard-lock progression. In short: exploration should feel less like a chore and more like an invitation.

Breaking down what actually changed

• Tutorial and UX improvements: New onboarding content explains upgrade paths and resource use so players aren’t left guessing why their kit is falling behind (PushSquare).
• More resources: Obsidian increased material drops by about 20-30%, cutting the worst-case grinding loops that forced players back to known farming spots (PushSquare / PC Gamer).
• Scaling and difficulty sliders: Custom difficulty toggles and upgrade-cost modifiers let you soften the economy — this affects prices, scarcity, and how strictly gear scales against enemies (Steam news / PC Gamer).
• Workbench and caps: Expanded workbench options and an attribute-cap increase ease mid- and late-game progression without adding new narrative gates (Steam patch notes).
• QoL and content additions: Respawning encounters, a Magic Mirror for mid-play race swaps, three playable races, a quarterstaff weapon, photo mode and New Game Plus are bundled in the update that shipped with the PS5 release (TheSixthAxis).

Obsidian’s patch is deliberate: it softens the slope rather than gutting the core loop. The director has been explicit that the RPG’s core systems haven’t been “fundamentally changed,” which is fair — the studio didn’t flip the economy on its head, it adjusted the knobs where players were getting stuck.

The gamer’s perspective: less grind, still some philosophy

For players who bounced off Avowed in year one, these are practical fixes that address the most common complaint: exploration blocked by equipment. Making upgrades feel more gradual and providing toggles to reduce the sting of scarcity are the sorts of changes that actually bring more people back to the map. That said, Obsidian’s insistence that the underlying scarcity philosophy remains tells me the game will still reward careful planning — it just won’t punish curiosity as harshly.

Technical and platform notes

Digital Foundry’s PS5 analysis calls the port “decent,” noting parity with Xbox Series X in Lumen/Nanite usage but pointing out some dynamic resolution trade-offs and modest shadow/resolution dips. PS5 Pro support buys you only incremental stability gains — this isn’t a showpiece Pro upgrade. The anniversary patch is bundled with the PS5 release (around a 66 GB install), and pricing landed at $49.99 for the standard edition and $59.99 for the premium edition, which positions Avowed as a more approachable buy than some full-price launches.

What to watch next

• Early PS5 player reports and subreddit threads over the first two weeks — evidence matters more than promises.
• Whether Obsidian leans further into flexibility (more sliders, lowering upgrade costs further) or keeps the current compromise.
• Sales and retention numbers compared to year one — did the fixes open the funnel enough to move the needle?

Obsidian did the sensible thing: listen, tweak, and use a new platform release as the moment to deliver fixes. The result should be a version of Avowed that lets more players explore at their own pace without turning every climb into a grind. It’s not a radical reinvention, but it’s the practical fix the game needed to match its scale and ambition.

TL;DR

Avowed’s PS5 launch ships a major anniversary update that smooths out the upgrade system with better tutorials, 20-30% higher resource drops, and scaling toggles. Obsidian hasn’t abandoned its design philosophy, but it has made the game less punishing for explorers — and that’s exactly what many players wanted.