With a game as expansive as Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, there is a lot to do, but there are also a lot of questions that come up, too, so how about a quick guide to help?
Developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora takes place after the battle of the Hallelujah Mountains but before the events of the second Avatar film, which released at the end of 2022. This means that players hear about Jake Sully and his exploits, but neither he nor any other human is the center of the resistance or the story. Instead, your time on Pandora is spent as a young Sarentu Na’vi who was kidnapped by the RDA and forcefully assimilated into human culture and customs. When the fight against the Sky People begins, you’re rescued by the Na’vi and begin a journey of not only fighting humans, but reconnecting to your Na’vi culture as you visit different tribes across Pandora.
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Hunting, blowing up pipelines, and traversing the world are all central to the game. But not everything is available right when you start the game. You learn to hunt, fly, and even play with a friend, but these are all locked behind different quests. So, where do you start?
To help you get started on your journey through the Frontiers of Pandora, we put together a quick guide answering some of the most frequent questions that players have or will have for the latest Ubisoft title.
When can I play co-op?
One of the first questions I had when I booted up Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and honestly why I made this guide, was, “When can I play with my husband?” The good news is that you can play co-op after about 3 hours of play, depending on how much you explore and which side quests you take along the way. Co-op unlocks after you reach the Aranhe Hometree and have completed “The Aranahe Clan” quest, which serves as your first entry into Pandora and reconnecting to your clan. From there, you can play through the rest of the game with another person, and to be honest, it rules.
While flying through the skies solo is still a stellar experience, getting the chance to take down RDA helicopters and polluting facilities with someone else is unmatched. With much of each area’s leveling dictated by the score of your gear, you can compensate, usually about two levels higher than you, with someone at your side. However, with each subsequently leveled RDA base having more and more fortifications, it can get dicey.
Do I keep my co-op progress?
While playing co-op, one player serves as host and the other as a guest. This means that some quests and objectives tied to the host’s version of Pandora are non-transferable. For example, clearing out polluting oil refineries in the host’s game is not reflected in the guest’s version of Pandora. That said, quests completed and gear or items gained while playing with another person are all saved and available when playing solo as well.
The only caveat for this is that if a guest, doesn’t pick up a side-quest in the host’s session, they will not have it when they return to their solo playthrough. You can pick it up again, but a quick and easy workaround to a problem that comes from the nature of drop-in-drop-out co-op is to cooperate with your co-op partner and allow the guest to pick up the quests. That said, because you maintain fast travel to the main cities explored in co-op, and that is where quests are housed, doubling back to quickly pick up quests isn’t the biggest deal breaker.
When do I get my Ikran?
If you’re looking for an Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora guide, chances are you just want to know when you get your Ikran, the flying animal that has been as much of a franchise star as the Na’vi themselves. The Ikran and the bonding ceremony are locked behind the “Take Flight” quest.
You ascend a rookery and allow an Ikran to choose you. After ascending the spiraling and floating rocks, you’ll attempt to make contact with an Ikran a few times before it finally accepts you and you form your bond. From there, you’ll unlock the skill tree specific to the Ikran. You’ll then be able to learn skills like fishing while flying close to water or attacking RDA helicopters once they’re stunned and bringing them down with one of the coolest combat animations in the game.
When do I unlock ankle wraps?
Ankle wraps are unlocked when you complete the “Wandering Clan” quest, which introduces you to the second clan of the game, the Zeswa. The Zeswa are warrior nomads and, as such, have another way of getting around that isn’t the lifetime bond that you have with Ikran. It’s riding Direhorses. The ankle wraps exist as a way to for short-time bonds while soothing a Direhorse. This makes locking it behind a quest make absolute sense.
Can I fish?
C’mon, it wouldn’t be an open-world adventure if you couldn’t. To fish, use your bow or your spear to shoot ripples in the water. Once shot, the fish will float to the top, and you can collect it. Alternatively, if you unlock the “Aerial Fishing I” skill in the Rider branch of your skill tree, which requires two skill points, you will be able to fish with your Ikran while skimming bodies of water.
What is the difference between Guided and Exploration mode?
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has two options for quests: Guided and Exploration. The former is a more traditional way of visualizing quests, allowing a bright blue light to appear on the map, visible through terrain when you use your Na’vi sense to know which direction to head. The latter, however, doesn’t give you any quest marker. Instead, you’re tasked with making your own waypoints by reading the description of the quest and then using the map to find the right area. For example, if a quest is located at a camp at the junction of a river and a lake, the quest will name the landmarks and rely on you to find them.
While most will probably use Guided mode for ease of navigating the quests, and particularly if you’re trying to move quickly to progress the story, Exploration mode offers the player a level of immersion that is fascinating. With such a dynamic world, there are plenty of places to explore, plenty of paths to take, and a huge map to uncover both on the ground and in the sky.
What’s the best weapon to use?
This part of the Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora quick guide is for those looking for a quick answer to the weapon variety. That said, the answer is that there is value in switching between your weapons. In the game, you have access to RDA and Na’vi weapons—with advantages and drawbacks to both. For the Na’vi, you have Heavy Bow, Longbow, Shortbow, Spear Thrower, and Staffsling. On the RDA side of things, you have the RPG, Assault Rifle, Shotgun, and stun grenade.
While the RDA weapons work great when sieging bases, the truth is, much of your time in the game will be spent hunting or blowing up smaller-scale pipelines with humans and easily handled mechs. Additionally, different bows have specialties, requiring you to craft special ammunition. Using the bow to quickly and silently take down enemies on RDA bases is quick and efficient—hell, you can even take down helicopters and mechs with arrows that strike weak spots. Additionally, those same bows can be used to down animals, and the spear are the only way to do so and not lose the resources they provide, as assault riffles ruin the animal—obviously.
So the best weapon to use is dependent on not just your playstyle, but what you’re trying to do while on Pandora.
Avatar: The Frontiers of Pandora is available December 7, 2023 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
