Two years have passed since Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment unveiled Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, an open world action/adventure game inspired by James Cameron’s iconic film universe. Despite the anticipation driven by the renowned developer of The Division series and the movie franchise’s impressive financial success, the game met with a lukewarm reception. Critics and players alike were not entirely won over, though it was praised for its technical brilliance. With the next film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, arriving in theaters on December 19, there’s a fresh chance for the game to capture the spotlight once again. On the same day, Massive plans to release a new expansion titled From the Ashes.
New Beginnings: 2.0 Update and Expansion
In anticipation of the upcoming movie, Massive has released a significant 2.0 free update for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Promised months ago, this update introduces the much-anticipated third-person view modes and New Game+. Initially, the game was expected to be a first-person exclusive, but this change might attract players preferring alternative perspectives. The update allows players to toggle between first and third-person views effortlessly using the J key on PC, the touchpad on PlayStation 5, or the View button on Xbox Series S and X. New Game+ offers players the chance to carry over gear and skills from a prior playthrough and access a new skill tree for the Sarentu, along with more formidable foes.
Technical Advancements and Challenges
Update 2.0 also introduces several technical enhancements, such as NVIDIA DLSS 4, DLSS Frame Generation, Multi Frame Generation, DLSS Ray Reconstruction, XeSS 2, XeSS Frame Generation, and AMD FSR 4. However, users should note a few known issues with Frame Generation, including crashes on startup with XeSS Frame Generation enabled and problems with frame rates and stuttering related to FSR3 Frame Generation. These additions aim to enhance the gaming experience, even as some challenges remain to be addressed.