Hey folks! We’ve been listening to your feedback and working hard to improve the overall Neverwinter experience. With our new update, we’re doing a number of things to improve the quality of life. This ranges from giving guilds the tools they need to band and grow together, to helping guide players through their overall journey across the Sword Coast.
We’re also continuing to work on class balance (which is going through internal testing right now, but will be out on our preview shard in the near future) and general bug fixes.
But that’s not all! We’re also working hard on a number of upcoming events, including Neverwinter’s third anniversary and our ever-popular summer event. We’ll have more on both of those soon, so be sure to check back regularly!
Thanks for reading and I can’t wait to see you in game!
Scott Shicoff
Lead Designer
Announcing Neverwinter: Storm King's Thunder
Giants will return to the Sword Coast when Neverwinter: Storm King’s Thunder strikes on to PC in August 2016! In Neverwinter’s tenth expansion, adventurers will experience an uprising of giants, which follows the upcoming tabletop expansion from Wizards of the Coast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB9jgID3_-c
Adventurers will travel north to Bryn Shander - capital of Icewind Dale - to investigate the sudden presence of frost giants in the region. No visit to Icewind Dale would be complete without the help of Catti-brie and Wulfgar - characters from R.A. Salvatore’s novels - who will aid adventurers in their quest to stop the invading giants.
High-level adventurers will also experience a new campaign, which will take them across three new adventure zones and story content for Neverwinter: Storm King’s Thunder. In addition, our newest expansion will introduce a new tier of Dungeon for adventurers seeking a challenge.
We’ll reveal more detailed information in the future, so stay tuned. Make sure to follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Neverwinter: Storm King’s Thunder will be available on Xbox One and PlayStation®4 at a later date.
Will you brave the storm?
Announcing The Maze Engine: Guild Alliances!
In our continued effort to improve the quality of life for Neverwinter, we’re releasing a new update on June 7. The Maze Engine: Guild Alliances will contain several improvements to existing systems or content, which we’ll reveal as we approach the update’s release.
As the name states one of the major system changes will be guilds and strongholds. Previously, smaller guilds had a rough time donating to their coffer and keeping up with larger guilds who would unlock boons and gear at an accelerated pace due to their membership. We’re introducing alliances as a way for more adventurers to play together, organize events and to strengthen their stronghold. More information on alliances will be released in the near future!
A second major change coming will be Sword Coast Chronicles: a campaign of campaigns, if you will. This storybook-like interface will seamlessly mesh all campaigns together so adventurers won’t be intimidated when they hit level 70. Sword Coast Chronicles will guide new adventurers through the recommended order of post-70 content and will contain unique rewards.
Much like The Maze Engine, there’s much more around every corner and will be revealed soon!
Portobello's Campaign Has Arrived!
The Day of the Dungeon Master has arrived!
Though it’s actually more like a month...
I’m so excited to announce that both Respen’s Marvelous Game and Portobello’s Campaign are now available for you to play! For the next few weeks you’ll be able to visit the Burrow Dawn Inn (as seen at the 2015 PAX Prime live show), be evaluated by Flabbergast and Mr. Snibbly, get mocked by some cheeky gargoyles and more as you journey through the magical mind of dungeon master extraordinaire, Chris Perkins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkf2W3jNXSM
Be sure to check out both Respen’s and Portobello’s campaigns as each has tasks to offer during the month-long event.
In between evaluations at the Burrow Dawn Inn, don’t forget to check the event queues for new ways to be tested. A new queue will open up each week, so be sure to check back regularly.
Thanks for reading and I can’t wait to see you in game!
Scott Shicoff
Lead Designer
Neverwinter: Portobello's Campaign Official Reveal Trailer
Hear ye, hear ye! Respen is hosting a colleague of his this year to start a campaign beyond your wildest deaths – err, dreams! Please welcome Portobello DaVinci to Neverwinter, who will take residence at the event dais from March 31 to April 28. Take a seat and experience the brand new Portobello’s Campaign – and try not to let your party down by dying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkf2W3jNXSM
Dungeon Master and game designer extraordinaire, Chris Perkins has graced Neverwinter with his D&D persona Portobello DaVinci and is quite the fun guy! Participate in the event based off of Acquisitions Inc. as seen at PAX Prime – hence the nifty real-life footage in the trailer above!
Portobello’s Campaign is available in the campaign interface, which contains the hub map of Burrow Dawn Inn. Once inside, adventurers may talk to Flabbergast – and his cat Mister Snibbly – to start the campaign tasks and the relative quests. Along with this, adventurers may queue for four different Dungeons, each with their own perils riches!
Remember, the party that sticks together, dies together!
Neverwinter: The Maze Engine is Live!
Neverwinter: The Maze Engine has finally escaped into PC and is now live! Delve deeper in the Underdark as you unravel the plans of Baphomet, Prince of Beasts, who seeks the Maze Engine, an ancient artifact that could alter the very fabric of reality itself. To aid you in your quest, familiar faces return in the form of Drizzt Do’Urden, Minsc and Boo, Linu and many more!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JMS22xJU7M
As you repel Baphomet’s demonic army, another demon lord has taken a liking to Castle Never. Orcus, Prince of Undeath, has risen the unfortunate adventurers who perished in the castle and seeks the dracolich as a new pet. Venture into the forgotten halls of Castle Never to take down Orcus’ servants and slay the demon lord himself.
In the midst of chasing down two demon lords, a handful of systems have been given an upgrade!
The revamped Mount system lets you choose your desired Mount and assign it an active power, a passive power and the desired speed. You may also insert Insignias to your mounts, which provide bonuses to your existing stats along with set powers! How many Mounts can you collect?
The long-awaited queue system improvements now allow control over who you queue with. You’re no longer automatically queued with your current party; instead, you can join a queue alone and invite players to join that same instance. With the new private queues, you can create a queue just for your group, which also lifts any class restrictions!
There’s much more around every corner in The Maze Engine – just head to our developer hub so you don’t hit a dead end!
Will you escape the maze or be consumed by it?
Neverwinter: The Maze Engine Coming March 15!
Neverwinter: The Maze Engine will escape into PC on Tuesday, March 15! The Maze Engine wields a plethora of updates around every corner including new maps and a campaign, stronghold cost reductions, a reworked mount system, the revamped Castle Never and many more challenges along the way.
Following the events of Neverwinter: Underdark, a new threat has waltzed its way into Neverwinter in the form of Baphomet, the Prince of Beasts. Baphomet seeks the ancient Maze Engine artifact in a quest to alter reality in his favor and bring about the destruction of Neverwinter. Thankfully, familiar faces such as Drizzt, Minsc, Linu, Makos and many more return to aid adventurers in their plight to take down the demon lord.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JMS22xJU7M
And yet, another demon lord has lay foot in our lands. Orcus, Demon Prince of Undeath has invaded Castle Never in search of a new pet. In his arrival, he has brought back to life the unfortunate adventurers who fell from the dangers of the castle – and previous bosses for good measure. Will you fight the horde of undead to reach Orcus?
Get ready to start your maze engines on March 15!
Announcing Neverwinter: The Maze Engine!
Hey folks! Scott here again to tell you about Neverwinter: The Maze Engine! This powerful artifact is nearly in the clutches of a powerful demon lord, and the only way to stop... wait... I promised I WOULDN’T spoil all of the upcoming cool things in this first blog... right... Sorry.
Neverwinter: The Maze Engine continues the story of demons escaping from the Abyss that was started in Neverwinter: Underdark. I don’t want to give anything away just yet, so be sure to look for an upcoming blog where we’ll go over the story-thus-far, and give you a peak into what you can look forward to as overwhelming madness permeates the... /sigh right... no spoiling. I’ll just say for now that a lot of your favorite characters are making return appearances and ready for adventure!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JMS22xJU7M
So what are a few of the big news items this release? Here are three that stand out:
Dungeons are returning!
It’s been one of the things everyone (including those on the dev team) has been asking for since they went away. With Neverwinter: The Maze Engine, we are bringing back four of the favorites. Each of these dungeons has had both a visual and design pass to bring them up to the quality people expect.
We’re also bringing back Castle Never as a revamped, higher-tier dungeon. It’s got a new look, new fights and a new story.
Mounts are getting an overhaul!
Mounts are inherently pretty cool, but we thought they could be a lot better. With the upcoming mount system, we’re looking to add value to your furry (scaly?) friends. There’s a LOT to cover here and we’ll be releasing a series of blogs about how everything will work moving forward.
The short version: all of the mounts you already have will automatically be made better, and there are a lot of new mounts/mount features being created.
A new campaign for the solo player!
We know that campaigns at higher levels (Icewind Dale, Sharandar, etc.) can be very difficult to participate in if you’re a solo player. We’re using this new campaign, available at level 60, as a way to both provide additional story content (so much cool stuff here, it’s hard not to spoil), and give the solo player a growth-path to follow.
Scott Shicoff
Lead Designer
Neverwinter: Underdark is Live!
Demons have invaded Neverwinter! It’s up to you to vanquish them back to the realms from which they came. Journey into the Underdark where darkness conceals the many dangers that lurk within.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoInLLZAxrQ
Adventurers will begin their descent by starting the questline written by acclaimed author R.A. Salvatore where they’ll team up with characters such as Bruenor Battlehammer and Drizzt Do’Urden! After completion, head into the hub town of Mantol-Derith to begin the fight against the demons. R.A. Salvatore’s characters may also make appearances in the new Demonic Heroic Encounters!
Two new Skirmishes await any brave adventurer who dares challenge them: Prophecy of Madness and Throne of the Dwarven Gods. A large-scale raid against Demogorgon, Prince of Demons, brings Underdark together in one explosive battle.
In terms of systems, the Tarmalune Trade Bar Store has also undergone a massive – and very popular – rework. Gear Preview is a new feature, which allows your effectively “try on” gear that you may want to purchase or work towards.
Prepare your darkvision for there’s much more to uncover in Underdark! Do you dare to descend?
Neverwinter: Underdark - Official Gameplay Trailer
Demons will invade Neverwinter on November 17! Get your first look at the evil that lurks within Underdark in our official gameplay trailer below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoInLLZAxrQ
Featuring a brand new story written by New York Times Bestselling Author R.A. Salvatore, Underdark will introduce a 10-player battle with the dreaded Demogorgon, two end-game Skirmishes and an improved Tarmalune Trade Bar Store! Adventurers will stand ground with iconic characters including Drizzt Do’Urden, Bruenor Battlehammer, Thibbledorf Pwent and more as they battle some of the most ferocious demons in the Dungeons & Dragons franchise.
Be sure to visit our Underdark Developer Hub where you can find information on the development of Underdark along with guides on the content you’ll soon delve into.
