Obsidian Entertainment’s highly anticipated RPG Avowed launched on February 18, 2025, throwing players into the mysterious Living Lands as an envoy of Aedyr investigating the deadly Dreamscourge plague. Your adventure begins in Dawnshore, the game’s expansive first map that sets the tone for this epic fantasy journey. Whether you’re hunting treasure, seeking fast travel points, or simply wanting to uncover every secret, understanding Dawnshore’s layout is essential for maximizing your opening hours in this Pillars of Eternity universe.
Table of Contents
Avowed Dawnshore Map Overview: Key Details
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Regions | 7 major areas |
| Fast Travel Beacons | 11 throughout Dawnshore |
| Party Camps | 4 strategic locations |
| Starting Location | Claviger’s Landing |
| Major City | Paradis (includes Hightown) |
| Exploration Style | Open from arrival, fog-of-war system |
| Special Cache | Pargrun Cache (top of map) |
| Treasure Maps | Multiple, including Cartographer hunt |
The Seven Regions of Dawnshore Explained
Dawnshore isn’t just one sprawling landscape—it’s divided into seven distinct regions, each offering unique environments, challenges, and secrets. Understanding these areas helps plan efficient exploration routes and ensures you don’t miss critical content.
Paradis serves as your central hub, the diplomatic heart where you meet the ambassador to discuss the Dreamscourge threat. This bustling city includes Paradis Hightown, which features its own dedicated map system separate from the main Dawnshore overview.
Ondra’s Reach and Ivona’s Threshold flank the northern territories, offering coastal vistas and mysterious caves. The Fractured Shore lives up to its name with dangerous cliffs and hidden grottos perfect for adventurers seeking off-path rewards.
Southern Embrace occupies the lower regions, while Overgrown Frontier presents dense vegetation and wilderness challenges. Finally, The Rise features elevated terrain with breathtaking views—and equally breathtaking dangers.
Similar to other expansive RPG maps that reward thorough exploration, Dawnshore’s regional diversity ensures each area feels distinct rather than repetitive open-world filler.
Essential Points of Interest You Can’t Miss
Dawnshore hides numerous valuable locations beyond main quest markers. Here’s where to find the most important destinations:
Strangled Adra sits directly behind the Emerald Stair Gatehouse on Dawnshore’s far eastern edge. This location plays into the world’s deep Adra lore, connecting to the ancient magical substance central to Pillars of Eternity mythology.
The Voice occupies the edge of Watcher’s Mirror, northeast of Paradis facing the eastern river. This mysterious location provides crucial narrative context for understanding the Dreamscourge’s nature.
Pargrun Cache represents Dawnshore’s ultimate treasure—located at the map’s highest point above Pilgrim’s Path and Godless Ruins. This requires significant effort to access but rewards players with unique gear unavailable elsewhere. Every Avowed map features a Pargrun Cache, making this a consistent endgame goal for completionists.
The Mapping the Living Lands Cartographer hides near Usher’s Hand east of Paradis, initiating a treasure hunting quest that spans multiple locations. Finding this NPC early opens additional exploration objectives that naturally guide you through Dawnshore’s less-traveled paths.
Fast Travel Strategy: Red Road Navigation
With 11 fast travel beacons scattered throughout Dawnshore, understanding their placement prevents tedious backtracking. The beacons primarily spawn along the main roads, represented by red lines that appear as you dispel the fog of war covering unexplored areas.
This design encourages players to follow roads initially, ensuring beacon discovery while traveling to quest objectives. However, the most rewarding secrets often lie off these beaten paths, hidden in caves, atop cliffs, or deep within dense forests.
The four Party Camps complement fast travel beacons by offering rest, companion conversations, and strategic planning locations. Positioning these camps throughout the map allows players to prepare for challenging content without returning to Paradis constantly.
Much like other modern RPGs that balance convenience with exploration incentives, Avowed’s system respects player time while still rewarding those who venture beyond convenience.
The Totem of Rightful Rulership Collectible Quest
Beyond standard exploration, Dawnshore features collectible hunting for players seeking 100% completion. The Totem of Rightful Rulership consists of multiple pieces scattered throughout the region, each requiring detective work to locate.
This optional content provides both immediate gameplay rewards (unique items, experience) and deeper narrative context about the Living Lands’ political history. The fragmented totem pieces mirror the fragmented political situation players navigate as Aedyran envoys caught between competing factions.
Paradis Hightown: The Hidden Map
Uniquely among Dawnshore’s regions, Paradis Hightown doesn’t appear on the main map. Instead, entering this district reveals a dedicated map showcasing its distinct areas—upper-class residences, merchant quarters, and political headquarters.
This design choice emphasizes Paradis’s importance as a living, breathing city rather than just another outdoor zone. The separate map system allows for more detailed architectural representation and tighter quest design within urban environments.
When to Explore vs. When to Follow the Story
While Dawnshore opens for complete exploration immediately upon docking at Claviger’s Landing, Obsidian recommends completing initial main story missions first. This approach ensures you have necessary equipment, companion support, and contextual understanding before tackling challenging optional content.
However, experienced RPG players comfortable with higher difficulty can immediately venture off-path. Early exploration yields powerful gear that trivializes early main quests—a valid trade-off for those prioritizing open-ended gameplay over narrative pacing.
This player choice philosophy reflects Obsidian’s legacy, following patterns established in other choice-driven RPGs that respect player agency.
Obsidian’s RPG Legacy Continues
Avowed represents the culmination of Obsidian Entertainment’s two-decade RPG expertise. The studio behind Fallout: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds, and the Pillars of Eternity series brings refined mechanics, reactive narratives, and interconnected world-building to this new adventure.
Set in Eora—the same universe as Pillars of Eternity—Avowed benefits from established lore while introducing fresh perspectives. The Living Lands were previously unexplored territory even in Pillars, making this genuinely new ground for franchise veterans.
The game launched on Xbox Series X|S, PC (via Steam, Xbox app, and Battle.net), and cloud platforms, with day-one Game Pass availability. This multi-platform approach ensures maximum accessibility for Obsidian’s diverse fanbase.
Tips for Efficient Dawnshore Exploration
Start by following main roads to uncover fast travel beacons, then systematically clear side regions. Use Party Camps as forward operating bases when tackling dangerous zones far from Paradis.
Prioritize the Pargrun Cache once you have sufficient combat capability—the unique rewards justify the challenging approach. Save treasure map quests for mid-exploration when you’ve naturally covered significant ground, allowing efficient completion without dedicated farming.
Most importantly, take time to absorb the atmosphere. Dawnshore’s gorgeous environments, from secret caves to perilous vistas, showcase Obsidian’s environmental storytelling at its finest. The world reveals narratives through placement, not just quest text.
For complete guides and additional location details, visit GameSpot’s comprehensive Avowed hub and the official Avowed website. Explore more about Obsidian Entertainment’s game design philosophy and modern RPG exploration mechanics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: How many regions and fast travel points are in Avowed’s Dawnshore map?
Dawnshore features seven major regions: Paradis, Ondra’s Reach, Ivona’s Threshold, Fractured Shore, Southern Embrace, Overgrown Frontier, and The Rise. Throughout these regions, players can discover 11 fast travel beacons and four Party Camps. The fast travel beacons primarily spawn along the main roads (marked by red lines on the map as you uncover fog), making them relatively easy to find while completing main story missions. Paradis Hightown has a separate dedicated map that doesn’t appear on the main Dawnshore overview.
Q2: What are the most important points of interest in Dawnshore and where can I find them?
The Pargrun Cache sits at the top of Dawnshore above Pilgrim’s Path and Godless Ruins, offering unique rewards but requiring effort to access—every Avowed map features one Pargrun Cache. The Strangled Adra location sits directly behind the Emerald Stair Gatehouse on the far eastern edge, while The Voice can be found on the edge of Watcher’s Mirror northeast of Paradis. The Mapping the Living Lands Cartographer, who initiates treasure hunting quests, is located near the Usher’s Hand area east of Paradis. The Totem of Rightful Rulership has multiple pieces scattered throughout Dawnshore for collectors seeking 100% completion.
