Neverwinter

Diving into any MMO can be an intimidating task, especially when it's one with a decade of history. Luckily, games like Neverwinter (the Dungeons and Dragons action MMO) have made things a bit more new player friendly with streamlined new player onboarding systems.

This week marks the release of the Northdark Reaches module in Neverwinter and lots of new and old players will be flocking to the free to play MMO to check out the content that ties directly into R.A. Salvatore's The Way of the Drow trilogy of novels. Since the new content is designed for level 20 characters, there are some things that new players should keep in mind if they are interested in reaching the Underdark content.

Luckily, The Best War Games was recently able to sit down with Neverwinter's Narrative Director, Winter Mullenix and Principal Lead Game Designer, Randy Mosiondz to talk about all things Northdark Reaches, including what new Neverwinter players need to know heading into the module launch...

The Best War Games: How could a free to play player brand new to Neverwinter experience this module whenever it drops?

Randy: When you come into Neverwinter we've really streamlined the initial experience so you don't have to go through all of the content in order to get to the latest module. So we've got the 1-20 leveling, which is a lot faster now. And it includes a lot of tutorializing on how to play Neverwinter. So once you get to level 20 you have a good idea about how to play your class and how to play the game. And one of the things we're doing to promote the newer zones is having a window where if you come within three weeks of launch and if you have a 20th level character you can go right into the zone and start playing there. Essentially you get to bypass all of the item level requirements that would normally be in place. So you don't get squished automatically. You can get into the zone and start playing with a lot of other players and experience it right off the bat. It's a really quick on ramp for new players.

Winter: And I should add that the story is accessible in and of itself. So if you do meet those requirements, you don't have to read the books to understand the story - it's self-contained. That said, it does have connections ot the stories that are much more gratifying for the lore lovers if they read the books. They'll catch a lot more of what's going on. Nobody needs to fear about being out of the loop. You will get it.

Reaching level 20 will take the average player under ten hours if they are staying on track and really racing through the main path, so getting into Northdark Reaches in those opening three weeks is very doable for new players who want to achieve that goal.

Northdark Reaches just went live, so be sure to check back for more news, updates, and strategy guides in the near future.