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Release 130 of Shroud of the Avatar features a fishing hat, quest improvements, and various fixes.

Oct 06, 20240044

Every seasoned fisher knows that donning the correct fishing gear doesn’t necessarily lure the fish to your bait, but it sure does make you feel good. This stylish yet functionally futile feeling can now be replicated by Shroud of the Avatar players with a new bucket hat item recipe released in Update 130.

The hat in discussion replicates a model that was available in the game’s shop for sale, albeit minus the M.A.S.H. show-inspired color scheme. The craftable bucket hat comes in a simple and an elegant version featuring a contrast band and brim. How stylish!

Release 130 brings along a month’s worth of polish enhancements that include new cosmetic recipes such as a pile of coal and a pinecone-holding squirrel spawner. It also introduces several quest and zone fixes and tweaks a few aspects of the player-owned towns of Meadowbrook and Persephone’s Throne.

Long-standing MOP readers are aware that Shroud of the Avatar has stirred controversy in the MMO realm. Since its Kickstarter launch in 2013, the project has faced flak for trimming promised features, overcrowdfunding, postponing Kickstarter rewards, concealing its corporate leadership and office status, and disregarding mandatory SEC filings required by its equity crowdfunding. In 2019, Richard Garriott’s company, Portalarium, transferred SOTA ownership to its lead developer and almost completely withdrew from the game. Attempts to ask questions officially resulted in deflections and insults, while equity crowdfunding investors were left in the lurch without notice and any trace of accountability. Further complicating matters, the executives began promoting a (failed?) blockchain MMO and a battle royale. Despite everything, SOTA still possesses a small playerbase and is undergoing minimal development.

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