By Lucy O’Brien
Sivako! Rise to the challenge in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora™, available now! This first-person, action-adventure game is set in the open world of the never-before-seen Western Frontier of Pandora. Reconnect with your lost heritage and discover what it truly means to be Na’vi as you join other clans to protect Pandora.
The continent of the Western Frontier is vast and varied, with a ton of exploration opportunities. We have the scoop on what to do first, according to the game developers. Creative Director Magnus Jansén and Senior Narrative Designer Chella Ramanan share their personal recommendations below for six must-do’s in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
Explore Pandora
Take some time to do some exploring, because the entire Western Frontier is built around it, explains Jansén. “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is all about joyful surprises and discovery, and the awe that you’ll feel after that discovery,” he says. “So, explore on your own. Challenge some preconceptions. Meet the flora and the fauna and interact with them. Some of them are dangerous, some are beneficial. Some give you food, some give you material to make weapons and armor.”
Eavesdrop
“There’s plenty to learn about the characters in the world if you do a little eavesdropping,” says Ramanan. “Eavesdrop on the Na’vi or the Resistance, or any of the characters in the world, frankly,” she says. “There are little nuggets of gossip in there—who fancies who, or who’s stealing stuff from the fridge!”
Use the Hunter’s Guide
Jansén also stresses the importance of using the Hunter’s Guide, a compendium of all the cool things you have discovered, or have yet to discover, in the game. “It’s not just nerdy lore… although there’s plenty of nerdy lore,” he explains. “There’s also a lot of important information in there, like where the best things grow and the best time of day to harvest them. It has gameplay value, too, so don’t sleep on it.”
Check Out Pandora’s Caves
Ramanan is particularly impressed with the level of detail in the caves in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. “It sounds really weird, but take some time to find a cave,” she says. “They’re stunning. They’ve got all these bioluminescent fungi and little pools of water, and all the soft colors that bounce off the rocks and reflect in the water. Jump into Photo Mode once you find a cave.”
Experiment With Cooking
Play around with cooking, Jansén recommends, as you’ll unlock benefits from your ingredients. “Just experiment,” he says. “Because once you find out what an ingredient does, it’ll have that benefit for every dish you cook with.”
Learn Some Na’vi Words
Ramanan and the Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora actors worked closely with dialect coaches to ensure that the Na’vi language in the game is authentic and pronounced just right. “We consulted Paul Frommer for all of our Na’vi, and then we had vocal coaches in all the recording sessions,” she explains. “So, all the Na’vi words that you hear are true to how they should be pronounced. We have a few words peppered through the dialogue, so see what you can pick up as you explore the Western Frontier.”
For all the Avatar film fans, the game was also created in collaboration with 20th Century Studios and James Cameron’s production company, Lightstorm Entertainment so the game is accurate in terms of Na’vi culture and fits into the Avatar universe.
Now that you know what to do first in the game, it’s time to protect Pandora and become Na’vi in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora! Available now from the Ubisoft Store.
Watch the story trailer below: