Neverwinter first impression: Is it worth playing?
Neverwinter is a free-to-play MMORPG based on the Dungeons & Dragons stories. The game receives lots of updates nowadays, let's see how is it in 2022!
Neverwinter was released in 2013, so it’s nearly 10 years old – not too old, but not too fresh in the genre. The game gives all the classic MMORPG thrills, it’s free-to-play, and it’s available on multiple platforms: PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
But what is the current state of Neverwinter in 2022 and what could the future hold for this game?
What kind of game is Neverwinter?
Neverwinter is an action-combat MMORPG with all the classic features us, true MMORPG-fans love: A game set in an open-world, questing through epic stories, with iconic classes like the Paladin, Cleric, or Wizard, fighting bosses in dungeons, and much more!
Neverwinter is set in the city of Neverwinter, which is based on the RPG game Dungeons & Dragons. If you are a huge Dungeons & Dragons fan, Neverwinter is absolutely made for you: The game has lots of references, like locations and enemies based on the original RPG.
Classes and races in Neverwinter
Upon entering the character creation screen, you’ll see are 12 playable races, each one comes with a racial bonus. The game allows you to set your six main stats – strength, constitution, intelligence, dexterity, charisma, and wisdom. If you are a hardcore player, make sure you read a guide before choosing these stats. There are 8 classes, based on the classic Dungeons & Dragons classes. Each one can choose from two separate “Paragon Paths” upon reaching level 30 (known as Skill Trees), which will ultimately decide their role in fights. These paths offer a completely different set of skills & abilities, and you can swap between them in your load-outs anytime you want to.Choosing your class in Neverwinter
The game has the classic holy-trinity of classes: tank-healer-DPS. If you are a true DPS lover, choose Rogue, Wizard or Ranger. If you are up for some tanking job as well, choose Barbarian or Fighter. If you’d like to have some damage, but do some healing and support for your tame, choose Cleric or Warlock. And finally, if you want to be the most important member of your party, choose Paladin – Paladin is the ultimate healer & tank class!
Gameplay of Neverwinter
Neverwinter follows the same linear gameplay just like other classic MMORPGs – As soon as your character spawns on a starter map, you have to take the quests, kill monsters, gather things, travel from town to town, and so on. This may sound boring, but the true power of Neverwinter lies in the combat system. The game has fast-paced action combat which makes this linear leveling less boring and more enjoyable.
Each class has a different playstyle, and each class is viable for solo and party play as well. You don’t have to use tons of abilities at the same time – the game lets you choose a set of skills, so you can use different set of abilities for different situations.
End-game of Neverwinter?
Although I did not get to the end-game phase, it’s still known, that the game has skirmishes, dungeons, epic dungeons, and trials.
Regular dungeons are usually easy and are mostly used for leveling, the real challenges are the epic dungeons and some trials.
Only the trials and dungeons from the latest couple of updates will provide valuable rewards, which makes it feel like there isn’t much of an end-game to speak of in the traditional sense – your ultimate goal is to get the best in slot gear for your character. However, getting your best gear costs a lot of time and effort, but it’s not a surprise, since we are talking about an MMORPG.
Summary
Neverwinter’s combat feels nice and smooth, the gameplay and leveling are just like in any other classic MMORPG (except that Neverwinter has removed the classic XP bar, and you only level up with quests, which was frustrating for me), the end-game is average and according to other players opinions, it’s grindy, but at least the game does not feel like a pay-to-win game.
Nowadays we don’t have tons of free-to-play MMORPGs to choose from – they either die or turn pay-to-win. However, Neverwinter feels like a decent choice, if you want to spend some quality game time.
Neverwinter’s latest update: Dragonbone vale
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