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Neverwinter beta weekend features Control Wizard, new zones, Foundry content
Perfect World has officially unveiled Neverwinter's next beta weekend. It starts tomorrow, March 8th, and runs through March 10th. New to this phase are the Ebon Downs and Lair of the Mad Dragon zones as well as the opportunity to advance all the way to level 40. Players may also test drive the Control Wizard class for the first time. Perfect World and Cryptic are also opening up a bit more of the game's player-generated Foundry functionality for public consumption. Finally, the devs have released a new video teaser which is viewable after the break. [Source: Perfect World press release]
Neverwinter Days: The allure of bite-sized gaming
Before we get into the really hectic period of the pre- and post-launch frenzy, I wanted to take a week to discuss both why I'm looking forward to playing Neverwinter and why I decided to take on a column covering the game. Oddly enough, I've only been following this title very casually since its first announcement. Sometimes I get swept up in all of the pre-launch hype, and sometimes it just passes me by. In this case, I've dipped my toes into the waters of interest from time to time and found it pleasingly warm. Yet it's kind of a no-brainer to be interested in this game for me because I do love Cryptic's titles and free-to-play philosophy (especially for Star Trek Online) and also because I'm at the right point in my life to appreciate some bite-sized gaming. Bite-sized gaming? Is that just vernacular for "fun size" candy bars that are neither filling nor sized for a party? Nay, I say to you. It's just a good alternative to have in a gaming diet.
Icy dangers revealed in Neverwinter's Icespire Peak trailer
Is it Neverwinter or always winter? According to the newest trailer released by Perfect World, the lands of the upcoming free-to-play fantasy game based on the Dungeons & Dragons franchise could be plunged into eternal winter unless brave adventurers step in to help. Touching on Dwarven lore, this video reveals the Icespire Peak, an adventure zone where players will fight to thwart the frost giants who have seized control of Winterforge and aim to expand their frozen empire. Watch as the action heats up when adventurers face off against their frozen foes in the trailer after the cut. And don't forget to check out the beta action live as Massively TV brings you six hours of Neverwinter livestreams on Friday and Saturday. [Source: Perfect World press release]
Neverwinter's Great Weapon Fighter playable at PAX East
Perfect World has announced its plans for PAX East, and Neverwinter will be prominently featured on 18 demo stations. The event marks the public's first chance to lay hands on the Great Weapon Fighter class, and long-time Forgotten Realms author R.A. Salvatore will also be dropping by the Neverwinter booth for a book signing on March 22nd and 23rd. PAX East runs from March 22nd through March 24th in Boston, Massachusetts. Neverwinter may be found at booth 624 on the show floor. In other news, Perfect World has released a new teaser video focused on the title's mounts. You can view it after the cut. [Source: Perfect World press release]
Jewel of the North: Impressions of Neverwinter to the level 30 cap
I've been stoked for Neverwinter ever since I first got my hands on a short demo of the game at PAX East a year or two back. The game's stylish, fast-paced combat hooked me, and I've always been particularly fond of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, having spent a considerable amount of my teenage years in the original Neverwinter Nights and its many persistent worlds. So of course when I got my hands on a Neverwinter beta key, I was thrilled and waited on pins and needles for the duration of the excruciatingly long download, courtesy of my lovely ISP. Once the game was finally installed on Friday, however, my weekend was consumed by my adventures in the Jewel of the North and its surrounding environs. Over the course of the weekend, I managed to take my Trickster Rogue to the level cap of 30 and experienced a fairly large amount of the available content. Spoiler alert: I liked it. But if you wanna know the details, listen up and I'll recount my tales for you.
Leaderboard: DDO vs. Neverwinter
By now you've probably had a chance to sample the new Neverwinter MMO, and if not then you've surely availed yourself of all our excellent textual and video coverage during the ongoing beta. You probably also know that Neverwinter marks the second official Dungeons and Dragons-based MMO to grace our favorite genre, the first being 2006's Dungeons and Dragons Online. While it may not seem fair to pit a seven-year-old game against the new shiny, we're going to do it anyway because there's something to be said for age and experience. So, how about it? DDO vs. Neverwinter, 3.5 vs. 4th edition, Eberron vs. the Forgotten Realms, and Turbine vs. Cryptic. What say you Massively readers? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
New Neverwinter dev diary is all about mounts
Mounts are kind of a thing in MMOs, and Neverwinter is no exception. The latest Perfect World dev diary shines the spotlight on four-or-more-legged transportation, and the company says that it is "drawing on D&D lore for all kinds of spectacular mounts." Said mounts will be available from Founder's Packs, the cash shop, and in-game as mid-level rewards. The devs are also planning on dedicated PvP and Foundry mounts. It's also worth mentioning that mounts are not class- or race-specific. As long as you've unlocked a mount, your avatar can ride it regardless of his physical size or lack thereof.
Neverwinter Days: Money and knowledge
If you've been following Neverwinter's development closely and combing the internet for every scrap of information about it, chances are that this week's column isn't for you. But if Cryptic's newest D&D dungeon crawler has arrested your interest as of late and you're trying to catch up with the rest of the crowd, I think we can be accommodating. Prior to a game's release, I like to bone up on the basics without crossing over into spoiler-heavy territory (especially guides and extensive video walkthroughs, but that's just me). It's a great time to get into dedicated podcasts on the game as well; I swear that podcasts at pre-launch are always more interesting than afterward. So this week we'll go over a few essential resources that all Neverwinter fans, current and aspiring, should include in their bookmarks, as well as a brief discussion about the game's monetization plans.
Neverwinter's Orcs ready for their closeup
Are you fond of greenskin brutes with big battleaxes and bad breath? Do you tire of maggoty bread after three stinkin' days? If you answered yes to either of those questions, you'll probably appreciate the latest trailer for Neverwinter, because it's an Orc-infested smorgasbord from start to finish. Perfect World wants you to know that "Orcs have always been a major threat to Humans, Elves and Dwarves. Laying claim to the area in the northern half of the old Tower District, Orcs have made the Cloak Tower in Neverwinter their home," says the company's latest PR blast. "Even the most courageous heroes will have to fight their way through the ruins of this district to put an end to the Orc domination and help restore Neverwinter to her former glory." Check out the teaser clip after the cut. [Source: Perfect World press release]
Neverwinter's Guardian Fighter gets her 80s montage sequence
A good montage can tell you so much in a tight time frame, although if you blink you might miss the entirety of this particular one. Neverwinter put together a quick 45-second montage of the Guardian Fighter in action, with all of the shield-bashing, sword-slashing fury that the class can muster. The Guardian Fighter was one of three classes available in last weekend's beta event. It relies heavily on AoE attacks and a defensive posture to stand toe-to-toe with the big baddies. You can watch the Guardian Fighter in action after the break, and then perhaps go way back to watch the official class video that came out a while ago.
Some Assembly Required: The sweet sorrow of choosing a new sandbox
Late last year I penned a piece that looked ahead to 2013's most promising sandbox titles. Recent developments have necessitated that I add to that list, which is simultaneously staggering and somewhat stressful. My new MMO home is lurking in one of these games, but I must choose, and choose wisely! Help me out after the cut.
The Daily Grind: Is powergaming via PGC tools acceptable?
Any game that implements a player-generated content system runs the risk of creating a system that's more fun -- or more lucrative -- than the original game itself. Players of the now-sunsetted City of Heroes, for example, were forever finding ways to turn experience and currency gain within the player-content tool known as the Mission Architect to their advantage. Imagine designing a mission with mobs that deal nothing but fire damage, then bringing your fire Tanker with her anti-fire shields to blaze through a group's worth of mobs while soaking up the levels and loot. Overpowered? Most definitely. Fun? Frequently, especially when you just wanted to level up your 50th alt to get to the good powers. Exploitable? Some people did consider such activities to be expoits, and to pacify them, the developers brought so many nerfhammers down on the system that by the end, it was seldom used except by the most diehard storygoers. This same battle is now being waged on the forums of Neverwinter, which game will also implement a player-generated content system that allows participants to design and play each other's missions. Cryptic plans to curtail potential powergaming by limiting rewards earned through the tool, but there's always a danger of limiting rewards so much they're not worth the bother. Today, let's discuss what you think about the potential dangers of PGC. Are powergaming and farming acceptable uses of PGC tools like the Foundry? Do you prefer studios crack down hard on people who aren't doing it the "right" way? Or do you have a different solution? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Neverwinter Days: Beta blitz
Welcome to Neverwinter Days, a fresh new column that will be pulling on our +1 boots of game exploring while we go tramping through dungeons and fantastic locales. I'm fairly excited about this game and wanted to explore it from top to bottom while bringing you along for company. Neverwinter is a Cryptic title, and with that comes a laundry list of expectations: Players will be pretty divided on it, it'll skew toward "fun" and "buggy," there'll be a lot of visual customization, and "F" always, always interacts with the world. And it's a Dungeons & Dragons title, so there are even more genre expectations. For example, we're going to be laying the smackdown on Kobolds early and often. Poor buggers. Usually we begin a column by showcasing the community resources out there, but we're going to put that off until next time in favor of discussing this past weekend's beta event. Yours truly and several other Massively staffers were on the scene to chow through Neverwinter and see how it's shaping up in these final months prior to release. So what did I get out of it? It's going to cost you one click to find out!
Cryptic reveals Neverwinter's Mount Hotenow zone, new video
Cryptic has released a new zone preview for Neverwinter. This time around, the subject is Mount Hotenow, and it's intended for high-level adventurers and stuffed to the gills with iconic Forgotten Realms enemies. Fire giants abound, and there's also the ancient primordial who caused Mount Hotenow's eruption in the first place. Cryptic's new dev diary expands on that setup, as does the new preview video that we've embedded for you after the break.
Your first 15 minutes in Neverwinter
The first Neverwinter beta weekend is behind us, and while founders got a chance to hack their way through throngs of kobolds while exploring the Forgotten Realms, everyone else is no doubt still eager for more information. How does the combat feel? Do the powers follow the D&D rules closely? What kinds of attacks will I use as the various classes? How does the questing work? These are all valid questions for any gamer still on the fence about Cryptic's inbound MMO. Neverwinter will be free-to-play at launch, but the only way to guarantee access to the next two beta weekend events is to shell out $60 or $200 for one of the Founder's packs. In case you've missed our previous coverage, we've reported on the Cloak Tower dungeon, character creation (twice), and given our first impressions of the beta weekend. Today, we'll highlight the low-level powers and feats from all three available classes and the first 15 minutes of Neverwinter's gameplay. Hopefully, these videos will help you decide whether to wait for the game's launch or pony up some scratch to get into the next beta event.
First impressions of Neverwinter's beta
Neverwinter is all the rage these days among MMO fans as the promise of a Fourth Edition D&D MMO in the Forgotten Realms setting has many old-school tabletop gamers jumping at the opportunity to get into the early testing stages. Thanks to last week's short press beta and this weekend's first early head-start glimpse, I was able to play through the game for a few days to get a feel for what to expect when the game launches later this year. We first heard rumblings of a Neverwinter MMO in 2010 and got to see a live demo of it at E3 2011, just before Perfect World Entertainment took over Cryptic Studios. It was a very early build, but I was so excited to see a comprehensive drag-and-drop dungeon builder that seemed to work beautifully. Even during the demo, I was daydreaming about what I could do with this thing and the adventures I could have with my friends. Of course, that all changed when Cryptic announced a complete overhaul to the original incarnation of the game. Luckily for us, this meant that the dungeon-creating RPG was turning into a full-fledged MMO.
Neverwinter unveils the Devoted Cleric
There's a lot of devotion running around in Neverwinter, and usually it's not something to be fond of. Most of the game features a plethora of foes devoted to the idea of ripping your character limb from limb, for example. But devotion isn't all bad. Take the newest class for the game, the Devoted Cleric, a beacon of healing light that will hinder foes, help allies, and always remain faithful to you even if you wear that hat he absolutely hates. Devoted Clerics have two at-will abilities under normal circumstances: a standard attack and a lighter attack that also heals allies for a small amount. As the Devoted Cleric attacks, he builds up Divinity, which allows him to shift into different at-will abilities -- a channeled beam of damage or a channeled heal that restores both the target and the cleric. Take a closer look at the class mechanics on the official site, or see the class in action in the trailer past the cut. [Source: Perfect World Entertainment press release]
Massively's video guide to Neverwinter character creation
Are you impatiently waiting to get your Dungeons and Dragons on in the upcoming Neverwinter beta events? Then we're sure you have already planned out what your character will look like. No? Well then, let us help you. Yesterday, we previewed the character creation tools for Cryptic's upcoming MMO, but we didn't showcase all of the customization options for every race. Today we remedy that with not one but six videos showing off all of the hairstyles, faces, scars, and tattoos for both genders of every race! Enjoy the previews after the cut.
Hands-on with Neverwinter's character creator
Cryptic is well-known for giving players powerful tools to create from the get-go when a new character is rolled in one of its titles, so it stands to reason that Neverwinter would fall in line with this philosophy. Because of this, I wanted to mine some of the details of Neverwinter's character creator so that you might be able to start planning out your ideal character -- if only in your mind (for now). At the time of the press preview yesterday, Cryptic was still keeping a few classes and races under wraps. Even so, I was able to make some interesting class/race combos, like a Halfling Devout Cleric and a Tiefling Guardian Fighter. What was of more interest to me was how these characters can be customized, both visually and personally, so I quickly skipped past this step to get into the good stuff. Read on for a look at my hands-on and a pair of videos exploring the character design process.
Neverwinter's Cloak Tower: A photo essay
We've seen a lot of clock towers in MMOs, but I have to say that Neverwinter's Cloak Tower was a first for me. We got an up-close and personal look at this low-level instance at a recent press tour, and the first question on my mind was, why cloaks? The backstory of the tower explains it: Apparently, it used to be home to a guild of mages who were famous for their fabulous cloaks. They disappeared, the tower moved location, and Orcs decided to move in and redecorate. Now it was up to us to head inside and clean house. Having only logged into the game for the first time yesterday literally minutes before being artificially raised to level 10 and given a handful of skills and abilities that were foreign to me, I did my best as our group charged into the place and started button-mashing like mad. What follows is a photo essay I've put together of my enchanting time among the magical cloaks and evil Orcs.
