Instance Gratification 18: The Forgotten Realms Returneth

NW_PaladinScreenshot_010715Instance Gratification is the return of one of our premiere video outings. Originally featuring the cast of founder bloggers thrashing World of Warcraft dungeons and viewer runs of Dungeon & Dragons Online, the reinvigorated column heads to the realm of the Twitch channel. Come join us every Wednesday for dungeon dives, solo attempts and general loot hoarding in your favorite games.

Being completely honest with everyone there have only been two MMORPGs that have fully grasped by cerebral cortex and sucked me in for any lengthy time in 2014. And while I’ve documentedplenty of my return to World of Warcraft lately, the other has seen less op-ed attention (but plenty of on-air play, interviews and news pieces). That being the world of Dungeons & Dragons, the Forgotten Realms section specifically and, to be even more specific, Neverwinter.  It certainly doesn’t hurt that Cryptic Studios has been in the news quite a bit lately. What with the upcoming Xbox One version of the action MMORPG and the next module hitting the newswire yesterday.

Neverwinter hasn’t ever been dropped, steadfastly soaking up precious space on my small SSD main drive that La Juega contains. Yes, my computer has a first name. Its action combat is thoroughly enjoyable. The gameplay is perfectly designed for my lizard brain; getting in, getting something done and getting out. Let’s not kid ourselves, Cryptic Studios (and Perfect World Entertainment behind them) know how to keep us hooked. The development studio consistently pushes new content patches or teases the next as soon as the general community begins to hunger. Oh, to be a fly on the wall during the marketing/product meetings as they review metrics and come to those decisions.

At any rate, it’s out with the new Warlords of Draenor and WildStar and in with the old. At least for this week on Instance Gratification.

Be sure to subscribe to the channel for all our streams, giveaways and general shenanigans. Hit the jump for the livestream. The show will kick off around at its new time, 7:00 PM EST, and continue until approximately 9:00 PM! The floggings will continue until the level has improved!

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