I've been away from Neverwinter for far too long. There was a time when it was my number two MMO, after LOTRO and I spent a lot of time there. I created my own content, I played the mobile crafting version of the game when I wasn't logged in to the main game and I loved it.
The story content was great and each zone flowed to the next, group content was easy to get into and user generated content in the Foundry added an extra layer to the already well polished veneer.
Then came the events, always well done with one small drawback that seems the same in events in every example of MMO's, they are grindy as hell. I threw myself into the Winter festival a couple of years ago and all I remember of it was a LOT of ice fishing. There was a particular pet I was after and I eventually got it but that burnt me out and I've barely set foot in the game since, until now.
I recently got a notification of the game's Three-Year Anniversary and naturally there is an accompanying in-game event and this called to me. Now it seems odd that the exact type of content that drove me from the game has drawn me back, but here I am.
As I really had no memory of how to play my game, I selected one of my lower level alts to jump back in on and try to learn the game from scratch. Elbereth, Level 21 Hunter Ranger was back in action!
Within a couple of hours, she was up to level 24, I'd figured out what was junk in my bags and cleared some space and ran a couple of simple quests to get used to combat again before looking for the Anniversary content.
The one thing I like about Neverwinter's event content is that it tends to be all in one place (unlike LOTRO where it's all over the starter zones) and this event is no different. Elminster, the infamous Wizard I read about as a teenager was in Protectors Enclave, the start hub and he had quests to hand out!
There's a mixture of simple quests, like find an NPC in a particular zone, or retrieve an item then there's a grouped skirmish that can completed daily. My first experience of this was great, the grouping simple as it ever was and easy enough that I didn't get yelled at or booted for not pulling my weight or not knowing what the hell I was doing!
As with all such events, there are rewards to be had. A new companion in the form of a travelling minstrel (Seen juggling juggling behind Elminster above), a couple of lovely looking thrones (also pictured above, presumably for housing, that I've not yet looked into), a few cosmetic cloaks and armour pieces and a lovely new mount, the Jubilee Parade Horse.
One thing I like about Nevwerwinter is that you can view exactly what the items look like so you're not just grinding without seeing the end goal. That mount is 3000 Anniversary coins, of which I barely earned 150 on my first day so not sure I'll be grinding for that!
All in all, Neverwinter is still a beautiful game and if the gameplay can keep me engaged, I may try to level Elbereth to cap and see where that takes me.
The story content was great and each zone flowed to the next, group content was easy to get into and user generated content in the Foundry added an extra layer to the already well polished veneer.
Then came the events, always well done with one small drawback that seems the same in events in every example of MMO's, they are grindy as hell. I threw myself into the Winter festival a couple of years ago and all I remember of it was a LOT of ice fishing. There was a particular pet I was after and I eventually got it but that burnt me out and I've barely set foot in the game since, until now.
I recently got a notification of the game's Three-Year Anniversary and naturally there is an accompanying in-game event and this called to me. Now it seems odd that the exact type of content that drove me from the game has drawn me back, but here I am.
As I really had no memory of how to play my game, I selected one of my lower level alts to jump back in on and try to learn the game from scratch. Elbereth, Level 21 Hunter Ranger was back in action!Within a couple of hours, she was up to level 24, I'd figured out what was junk in my bags and cleared some space and ran a couple of simple quests to get used to combat again before looking for the Anniversary content.
The one thing I like about Neverwinter's event content is that it tends to be all in one place (unlike LOTRO where it's all over the starter zones) and this event is no different. Elminster, the infamous Wizard I read about as a teenager was in Protectors Enclave, the start hub and he had quests to hand out!
There's a mixture of simple quests, like find an NPC in a particular zone, or retrieve an item then there's a grouped skirmish that can completed daily. My first experience of this was great, the grouping simple as it ever was and easy enough that I didn't get yelled at or booted for not pulling my weight or not knowing what the hell I was doing!
As with all such events, there are rewards to be had. A new companion in the form of a travelling minstrel (Seen juggling juggling behind Elminster above), a couple of lovely looking thrones (also pictured above, presumably for housing, that I've not yet looked into), a few cosmetic cloaks and armour pieces and a lovely new mount, the Jubilee Parade Horse.One thing I like about Nevwerwinter is that you can view exactly what the items look like so you're not just grinding without seeing the end goal. That mount is 3000 Anniversary coins, of which I barely earned 150 on my first day so not sure I'll be grinding for that!
All in all, Neverwinter is still a beautiful game and if the gameplay can keep me engaged, I may try to level Elbereth to cap and see where that takes me.
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