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Altius
Altius is a character in Shovel Knight Dig. Altius is Shield Knight's pet owl and a supporting character during the True Ending.
Appearance[edit | edit source]
Altius' sprite appears as a purple and light blue coloured owl with yellow eyes. In his official art his eyes are orange and yellow on the edge and he has a brown beak.
Game information[edit | edit source]
Altius is Shield Knight's friendly pet owl that appears throughout the game.
| Spoiler |
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| Altius is a major part of the game's True Ending and appears through the various steps. |
Surface[edit | edit source]
Altius first appears asleep standing on top of a sign near the hole leading into the cavern. He occasionally opens his eyes. Shovel Knight can pet Altius by going up to him and pressing 
. When Hoofman's shop has a new item, Altius will pull the arrow off the sign and fly upward. When the Tower of Fate collapses or during an earthquake, Altius appears scared.
If Shovel Knight attacks Altius while he is sleeping, Altius will appear startled and then constantly fly toward Shovel Knight. After this, Shovel Knight can attack Altius as much as he wants without any repercussions. When Shovel Knight jumps into the hole leading in to The Well, Altius will fly away.
Shovel Knight can force Altius into the hole leading by pushing him in there via Shovel Drops. When done correctly, Altius will be sucked in, and after this will always enter The Well when Shovel Knight enter it via the hole. When descending in the hole, Altius will fly past Shovel Knight.
| Spoiler |
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| Altius joining Shovel Knight into The Well is required to start the True Ending. |
The Well[edit | edit source]
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Spoiler Alert |
Altius only appears in The Well as part of the True Ending and assists Shovel Knight and Shield Knight as they try to stop the Hexcavators. When stationary and flying down further in the current stage, Altius behaves as he does on the Surface when interacted with. He does not react when hit by a Flameo Wand fireball.
Mushroom Mines[edit | edit source]
Altius appears in two places in Mushroom Mines:
- When Shovel Knight lands on the starting platform in Act I, Altius will fly ahead of him.
- As part of the second step of the True Ending, Altius will appear in a sideroom sleeping on top of a yellow chest. If hit, he will awaken and will drop either a pink gem or a Relic. After opening the chest, he will fly away. Doing this 3 times across different runs will unlock the Hide Owl Seek achievement.
- If Shovel Knight perform this step correctly, when he reaches the end of Act III after Spore Knight's boss battle, Shield Knight will appear holding Altius. If he is not found, Shield Knight will not have Altius and will ask Shovel Knight whether he has seen him.
- The pink gem Altius can drop when hit is unaffected by the gem-reducing effects of Final Guard armour and Knightmare level VIII.
Altius and Shield Knight at the end of Mushroom Mines
Second world (Secret Fountain/Smeltworks)[edit | edit source]
Altius appears in the world accessed after Mushroom Mines, which is either Smeltworks or Secret Fountain. He appears in the following areas:
- During the third step, in Act I Altius will appear flying above Chester's treasure chest and will appear happy if the Cog on a String accessory is bought and fly away.
- At the end of Act I, Altius appears on top of the Drill Capsule. If Shovel Knight has collected all three Cogs, these three Cogs will go into the capsule as normal and the Cog on a String will rise up from Shovel Knight and go into Altius' mouth. At this point, Altius will jam this Cog into the Drill Capsule, which will destroy it, and then fly off happily.
- If Shovel Knight has not collected all three Cogs, Altius will shake his head in disappointment after the Cogs are inserted then fly off.
- At the end of Act III after the boss fight in the stage selection room, Altius appears during the cutscene with Shield Knight and the Drill Capsule and follows her into the next world.
Altius during the cutscene at the end of Secret Fountain
Third world (Smeltworks/Secret Fountain)[edit | edit source]
Altius appears in the third world of the True Ending, which takes place in either Secret Fountain or Smeltworks, whichever world was not played in the second world.
- Altius is present on the starting platform of Act I around Shield Knight, who explains to Shovel Knight the Hexcavators' plans and directs Shovel Knight to use the three Sacrifice Chambers in the world.
- In the stage selection room at the end of the world, Altius appears around Shield Knight.
Fourth world (Magic Landfill/Grub Pit)[edit | edit source]
Altius makes a few appearances in the fourth world of the True Ending, which is either Magic Landfill or The Grub Pit.
- In the first stage, Altius will appear around Shield Knight and fly down into the level after Shovel Knight talks to her.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
Altius near the hole leading into The Well, sleeping
Key art of Altius and Shield Knight
Altius in a collage of Halloween-themed Shovel Knight Dig characters posted on the Yacht Club Games Twitter account
Art of Altius and Shield Knight used for the Shield Knight t-shirt by The Yetee
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Altius originally had no role in the game or name and just appeared on the sign leading to Hoofman's shop. He was later integrated into the game after the development team had the idea of the starting screen owl being part of the game's story[2].
- Altius was called Lifdis for a large portion of development[2].
- The idea to pet Altius was suggested by a playtester[3].
- Prior to the game's release, to promote Shovel Knight Dig Nitrome posted on Twitter an animation of Altius killing Shovel Knight after being attacked on his sign, which cannot happen in-game. Later they posted an image of a monstrous version Altius.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Goomba Stomp: Yacht Club Games Talks Shovel Knight Dig, Working with Nitrome, amiibo Support, and More: Also, you should definitely say hello to Altias [sic], Shield Knight’s pet owl. I think there’s a reason why he’s hanging out there…, 14 Sept 22, retrieved 7 Oct 22.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Reddit:
Hello! We are Yacht Club Games and Nitrome, the folks who brought you Shovel Knight Dig! Ask Us Anything! → Comment by SeanyfaceYCG: grigspritle: What was the inspiration for Altius? He's a very cute addition and I think there should be a plush of him.
SeanyfaceYCG: And [sic] owl on the start screen was initially just a detail! Later on, we came up with the idea of the owl being involved in the quest, and the character of Altius was born. Fun fact, he was called "Lifdis" for a while!, 23 Sept 22, retrieved 7 Oct 22. - ↑ Reddit: Hello! We are Yacht Club Games and Nitrome, the folks who brought you Shovel Knight Dig! Ask Us Anything! → Comment by Jon Annal: I believe a play tester was asking that question can you pet the owl. And then we all thought oh my, why haven't we got that in already and quickly did it there and then., 23 Sept 22, retrieved 13 Dec 22.