18 March 2013 | |
iTZKooPA
Cryptic Studios is certainly taking full advantage of the Dungeons & Dragons intellectual property for Neverwinter. The developer released its latest zone reveal late last week focusing on one of the most awe inspiring cities available to the action-oriented MMORPG. Few cities are as majestic as the Jewel of the North, a bustling city before the Spellplague and after the eruption of Mount Hotenow.
Saved from the ravages of the external factors ever present in the Forgotten Realms by its massive city wall, the ‘Jewel of the North’ is a token to Lord Neverember’s tireless efforts to protect his people. Even the ones that hope to tear apart his reign from within the city’s very walls.
Hit the cut for the latest trailer taking viewers across the regions of Neverwinter, gameplay, included mounted combat and a collection of advanced skills for the classes.
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15 March 2013 | |
iTZKooPA
Ice beam.
“Hey, Pherephassa.” I ask.
“Yeah, iTZKooPA?” she responds.
“I’m a control freak. Is that weird?” I confessed.
“Why, heavens no. In fact, this game Neverwinter I’ve been playing has an entire class dedicated to the task. You should give it a whirl.” she informed.
And so I did. I did for over two hours during last weekend’s second beta event for Neverwinter. While I may not have been a huge fan of the DPS class with some crowd control abilities, it was a radically different play style than the Trickster Rogue I played week one. Change is good. I can only imagine how diverse that means Cryptic Studios has made the Guardian Fighter, Devoted Cleric and Great Weapon Fighter.
The Control Wizard is the master of the Arcane. Capable of wielding this field of magic for destructive and support purposes, a control wizard is a dangerous foe and powerful enemy in the lands of Neverwinter. The other classes can keep the party alive and end of foes life, but a skilled control wizard can keep such creatures from ever landing a blow.
Hit the jump for the latest class montage and a collection of wizardy screenshots. Continue Reading
8 March 2013 | |
Pherephassa
Is anyone else excited? The servers go online in just a few hours… and I’ll once again be able to explore the wilds of Neverwinter! To kick off the second beta weekend, we managed to corner Jack Emmert of Cryptic Studios and sweet talk a few moments of Q&A. I’d call that opening with a bang!
Once you’ve read this, if you’d like some more details about the game, I’ll be posting up a preview of the second beta weekend after I’ve played it for a bit. You can also check out my previews of the last weekend! First Beta Weekend Preview #1, First Beta Weekend Preview #2, First Beta Weekend Preview #3. We’ll also be livestreaming tomorrow, March 9th, at noon EST on the LoreHound Twitch channel. Hit the jump for the interview!
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5 March 2013 | |
iTZKooPA
Perfect World Entertainment and Cryptic Studios welcome adventurers to Icespire Peak, the most popular winter getaway in Neverwinter. Adventurers aren’t drawn to the wintery wonderland to hit the slopes and sip some joe. No, the first adventurers, the Icehammer dwarves, descended upon these lands as 49ers, mining its veins for gold and mithril. During the land’s excavation they discovered a portal to Winterforge.
And accidentally activated it.
The portal unleashed a horde of ice golems and an army of frost giants that quickly wrestled control away from the Icehammer clan. Now, their home in the possession of a fearsome foe, the Icehammer clan has requested the support of adventurers to reclaim their frozen kingdom.
Purchasing a Neverwinter Founder’s pack will guarantee immediate closed beta access, including this weekend’s beta. Can’t make it? Fear not, Lore Hound will be streaming our experience on TwitchTV starting Saturday, March 9 at 12:00 PM EST.
Hit the jump for the latest zone trailer and a collection of applicable screenshots. Continue Reading
20 February 2013 | |
iTZKooPA
Dubbed the first ‘critter video’ for Neverwinter, Perfect World Entertainment has unveiled the fearsome bands of orcs that will hope to behead, disembowel and bloodlet any hero on the other end of their weapon. If you haven’t pieced it together by now, the orcs aren’t big fans of the humans, elves or dwarfs that roam Cryptic Studios upcoming action-oriented MMORPG.
The orc hordes claim the northern area of the old Tower District, securing the Cloak Tower as their base of operations. Players will need all their wits about them to dispatch the bands and secure another section of Neverwinter.
Check out the critter reveal and a gallery of snazzy blue-skinned screenshots after the cut. The trailer comes with a mix of environments, concept art, cinematics and raw gameplay.
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15 February 2013 | |
iTZKooPA
The Guardian Fighter, Neverwinter’s tanking side of the holy trinity, is back in a new trailer showcasing a montage of its destructive capabilities. Neverwinter isn’t your typical Dungeons & Dragons property focusing on fast-paced combat and that means the Guardian Fighter isn’t your typical tank to stand there and take it. The class can give as good as it gets.
The Guardian Fighter supports its abilities with medium melee weapons, such as battleaxes, and a large base health pool. Dodging attacks in general is critical to battle, so it’s important for players to maintain the delicate balance of dodges and stamina.
Playable in last week’s closed beta session, I can tell you that the class was far more enjoyable than tanks in most MMOGs. Check out the action after the cut.
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12 February 2013 | |
iTZKooPA
The city of Neverwinter has been battered in its recent history. First, there was the Spellplague, which it survived relatively unscathed to the rest of the Forgotten Realms. Mother Nature wasn’t having any of that, unleashing to full power of Mount Hotenow upon the shaken city. Nearly obliterated, the city has spent decades rebuilding in Hotenow’s shadow.
That’s decades, plural, because creatures of the night, from the undead to orcs and the slumbering Primordial have been keeping the buildings and small folks busy. That leaves the mess up to the heroes of Neverwinter to deal with for the city to return to its former glory.
Check out our recent Neverwinter Closed Beta preview and be sure to snag the Founder’s pack if it suits your fancy.
Full trailer and screenshots after the cut. Continue Reading
8 February 2013 | |
iTZKooPA
I can haz healz?
In a clear case of “You’re doing it wrong!” Cryptic Studios decided to officially unveil the fifth launch class for the action-oriented MMORPG Neverwinter. The Devoted Cleric, the pure healing end of the holy trinity, has finally received a class reveal trailer to partner up with the four other classes. That’s emphasised for the fact that it’s one of three classes currently playable in this weekend’s press/Founder closed beta session.
Sure to spend most of its time healing, the Devoted Cleric is a master of holy spells, capable of preventing and repairing damage. With numerous direct, shared and healing-over-time abilities, a woman (or man) of the cloth is a requirement for every major confrontation. That doesn’t mean The Devoted One can’t contribute otherwise. Capable of wielding the light for crowd control and area-of-effect holy damage, the Devoted Cleric can make an impact on the damage meter.
Simply put, traversing the world of Neverwinter will be difficult without such an ally.
Check out our beta preview and live stream for more on Neverwinter. The full Devoted Cleric trailer and additional screenshots are after the cut. Grab a Founder’s Pack to get into the beta immediately. Continue Reading
