I m not a fan of MMORPGs nine times out of ten. Neverwinter manages to be the exception to the rule so far at least.
I m honestly surprised in a good way that I like Neverwinter. The new MMORPG from Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment went into Open Beta today and I ve spent some time with it over the past few days to get a feel for the game in its current pre release (or soft launch ) state.
I don t normally like MMOs. I m a hard sell when it comes to the genre often growing bored with the combat and never finding myself able to drum up the requisite devotion to really get into all the raids and other content that so many people find so addictive.
But I like Neverwinter and I like it quite a bit imperfect though it may be.
Character Creation
You have a number of race/class combinations to choose from. I went with the Guardian Fighter because they can use shields and I really wanted to see how shields would work in the game.
Turns out they actually work really well and play a pretty important role in defense. Rather than simply boost your Armor Class a shield is used in real time to deflect blows. You can move around with the shield up maintaining a defensive stance.
Unlike so many MMOs and RPGs out there the shield isn t just another skill bar power up or extra stats. This makes the action combat in the game way more tactical and fun.
I played a red haired dwarf with a wicked handlebar mustache and I ve traversed much of the starting content and some Foundry quests solo though I ve just collected my Panther (who I named after our cat Toothless who we named after the dragon from How To Train Your Dragon.)
A pet will be useful for some of the harder dungeons like the most recent Foundry dungeon I just scraped my way through at much too low a level. Since combat has a lot more skill based elements rather than just damage per second I was able to pull this off with some trial and error.
I m not a huge MMO player and I often (though not always) play solo and so far this has been not only possible but quite enjoyable in Neverwinter.
Speaking of character creation it s beyond puzzling that there s not Ranger type class.
Really outside of magic users there s no ranged class at all.
No Warden no archer archetype nothing. I suspect that we ll get a lot more classes down the road but this is sort of standard MMO/DD stuff that shouldn t have been left out of the game even for an open beta.
A Brief Sketch
This is very much a first impressions post so I won t go into great detail on the game s systems. For now some basic details.
The graphics are fine. They re not the best out there but they re pretty enough. I feel like I m in a DD world. The big open city gives way to lots and lots of dungeons dark thug filled streets and other menacing terrain (though I m still early on in the game so I can t speak to later locations.)
There s a simple fast travel system that reminds me of the map from Dragon Age 2. A sparkly path that can be toggled on or off leads you to your mission objective though often it leads deceptively around hidden treasure chests.
The HUD is customizable but I found the standard functional enough and haven t tinkered with it yet. The UI is clean and easy to navigate though some menus could use with some clutter management still.
Neverwinter uses DD 4th Edition rules so you have your various Powers to choose from based on your class. Some are at will powers that form the bulk of your hack and slash capabilities. Others charge up as you fight and still others sit on a quick access bar recharging quickly in between uses.
I ve only played the Guardian Fighter so far but the melee is really visceral for an MMO. Lots of MMOs try to do action combat and most fail. I didn t care for the combat in Guild Wars 2 or Tera for that matter. But I ve enjoyed the combat in Neverwinter much more than I expected and not just because of the shield.
Several fights I ve been in already had me on the edge of my seat. Blocking shuffling out of range of an enemy area of effect attack lunging in for a strike and then backing out again as quick as my stubby little dwarf legs would carry me. There were whole segments of battle where I d run out of health potions drained my life to the very last drop and then prevailed thanks to defensive maneuvering alone.
That s pretty awesome in my opinion. I can t remember ever having this much fun with combat in an MMO.
The Do It Yourself MMORPG The Foundry is the other big interesting thing about the game. I haven t tried to build my own quest yet but I definitely will soon. The game s landing page and various notice boards around the game world all give access to user generated content. The Foundry quests I ve tackled so far have been pretty great with only a few minor bugs. Some character dialogue has led to actual dialogue trees with consequences for the wrong answer (nothing major but maybe some lost items or gold.)
Perhaps the best thing about this content from Cryptic s point of view is that they basically have an endless stream of new game material for players to enjoy and all they have to do is make sure it meets standards. Why every MMORPG out there isn t doing this is beyond me. The game will never run out of content. The prospect for end game material here is simply astounding.
(Actually while Blizzard can t open its gates to Diablo III modding the way Torchlight II has thanks to its puzzling always online disfunctionality they could and should do a Foundry like system. This would go further to creating a viable Diablo III end game than anything they ve mustered so far.)
Of course ensuring quality also means ensuring some basic rules. I played one quest that led me right into a brothel replete with scantily clad girls dancing all around the room. This means that player generated content may not always be age appropriate for some younger gamers though the scene was pretty harmless and very brief in the bigger scheme of things. This wasn t a Witcher 2 or God of War moment and there s no Skyrim style mods that allow for the truly racy stuff.
Other things to note
You rest at campfires that replenish your health. These are often check points when you die. Campfires shield wielding action combat if you re a long time reader you might see why the game has appealed to me so much.
It s still an MMO and the combat is still nowhere near as good as some of my favorite non MMO RPGs but it s solid. Surprisingly good and fun and engaging.
The story isn t bad so far either and fetch quests have been few and and tutorial related. Right off the bat in the main storyline you re chasing down bad guys and dungeoneering rather than going out in search of Ten Bloody Cockatrice Feathers or whatever stupid thing so many MMOs ask you to do. Maybe that sort of content will come later on but I m happy to report it s been absent thus far.
What I haven t liked quite as much is that the game is an MMO. Or rather that when I go to town there are so many people milling about everywhere.
I swear the genre desperately needs to rethink how it handles crowded areas. The presence of so many other PCs is an immersion killing waste of bandwidth. It s been especially bad the first few days thanks to all the Founders running around with their silly panthers. Mobs of panthers everywhere and everyone and their mother riding around on a giant spider. It s just silly (and it s one reason I refused to get my panther until I d played for quite a while.)
Games like Destiny Shroud of the Avatar and Star Citizen are all experimenting with new ways to approach the online social experience and in all three this includes making social interaction more meaningful rather than simply more abundant.
So I enjoy the instanced dungeons a lot more than the claustrophobic crowds of the city itself but that s still a pretty minor complaint. I ll undoubtedly come across bigger complaints going forward.
Neverwinter is also a free to play MMO so there s a cash shop. Several currencies exist including in game gold astral diamonds and Zen. These are all used for different things but Zen is the real money portion. You can sell astral diamonds in the auction house for Zen currency or you can just buy it with real money. This unlocks various aesthetic perks and other bonuses.
So far I haven t seen anything particularly egregious about the system but I haven t spent a great deal of time in the cash shop yet either so I ll go into great depth in a future post.
For now Neverwinter goes into open beta today and you can play it yourself for free. I highly recommend doing so. Even if you disagree with me you really have nothing to lose save some time from your day.
Which you were planning on wasting anyways.
Oh and Neverwinter has a really excellent intro cinematic which I am including below for your viewing pleasure. I m working on some gameplay video for a future post as well.
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