Neverwinter - Full of Disappointment, Lacking in Everything Else

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Well this time we have a small preview of NeverWinter from GameSkinny. The writer is not happy with the game and writes why.

Everything in Neverwinter feels empty and useless.


The truth is that the game feels hollow. A fun combat system can't make up for a lack of depth, nor can it make up for a game-and-business model that aims to squeeze as much from the player as possible. Cryptic deserves no praise in this release.

I've played around 60 to 70 hours of the game since open beta began, and I'm still not clear why the standard copper, silver, and gold currency is included in the game at all. While there are certainly several items you can purchase from NPCs with gold, often you can get those same items with Astral Diamonds.
Astral Diamonds are, in practice, the game's primary currency. You use them to exchange for Zen (cash shop currency), buy and sell things on the auction house, and some items can only be bought with Astral Diamonds. Identification scrolls are one example that is completely baffling. Aren't they common enough to just keep to gold currency? Why should I spent my hard-earned diamonds on identification scrolls, when every other supply can be purchased with gold?
The above is not to say that the Astral Diamond currency isn't common, but you need such massive amounts for anything worthwhile that I just feel like I'm being ripped off in-game.

I got 600k for purchasing a founder's pack, but that 600k's worth is undeniably low in-game. It costs 300k to 600k on the auction house to buy a bag. A bag! And let me tell you, those people selling bags on the AH didn't get them from playing the game, they got them from the cash shop. How is this good, non-predatory game design?

It's hard not to feel like Cryptic and Perfect World Entertainment are taking us all for a ride. Their reputations in this field speak for themselves, and sadly Neverwinter has not proven to be the exception to the rule. The PvP is fun, but it's not fun enough to justify the mess that is the rest of the game. There is simply no excuse for the game's lack of depth, distinct void of challenge, or currency clusterbang.

The game had and has a lot of potential, but as it is now Neverwinter is not worth playing or investing even a few hours of time into. Five days in, I already found myself regretting the purchase of the Guardian of Neverwinter pack. This is not worthy of being related to Dungeons and Dragons, even the bastard child that is 4th Edition. If this is where the MMORPG genre is going, I think I may have to take a hiatus.
More information.
 
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I've tried this, and I'm quite enjoying it at the mo. I haven't bothered buying anything as yet. I think I prefer monthly fees to be honest, paying $10-15 a month beats $200 for a founder pack!

Daniel.
 
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I've tried this, and I'm quite enjoying it at the mo. I haven't bothered buying anything as yet. I think I prefer monthly fees to be honest, paying $10-15 a month beats $200 for a founder pack!

Daniel.
When the founder packs were announced I actually laughed that people would spend so much just for beta access and extra content.
 
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I'm sure it comes as a shock - but from that quote, it sounds pretty spot-on to me ;)
 
Hmm, seems like a terminal case of buyer's remorse to me :p

The same review author posted their thoughts on Neverwinter a week ago.

While there were some gameplay issues and concerns with the cash shop (which sadly came to fruition now), the author seemed a lot more positive at the time.

Oh well, everybody is entitled to their opinion. I'm still having fun with the game :)
 
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Hmm, seems like a terminal case of buyer's remorse to me :p

The same review author posted their thoughts on Neverwinter a week ago.

While there were some gameplay issues and concerns with the cash shop (which sadly came to fruition now), the author seemed a lot more positive at the time.

Oh well, everybody is entitled to their opinion. I'm still having fun with the game :)
Your just an optimist with most games. ;)

That's all right though it balances out my cynicism. Though I will agree he does have buyers remorse.:)

He does have some good points about how the currency is used though. At least it is F2P so I don't have to spend a single dime on it. I might give it a try, but I'm still playing TOR. .
 
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Me an optimist?! Guilty as charged :)

Oh yeah, I wanted to check our TOR. Maybe I'll give it a whirl this weekend. Any tips for a noob?
 
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Me an optimist?! Guilty as charged :)

Oh yeah, I wanted to check our TOR. Maybe I'll give it a whirl this weekend. Any tips for a noob?

Yes be careful of how you spend ability points. You can not be a jack of all trades. Also the game starts out easy, and gets hard fast if all you do is solo the game.
 
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Don't have time for a rant, but...

While there are certainly several items you can purchase from NPCs with gold, often you can get those same items with Astral Diamonds.

...you need such massive amounts for anything worthwhile that I just feel like I'm being ripped off in-game.

Where can you buy healing potions with astral diamonds? Gold is for potions, injury kits, lockpicks, arcana kits, etc. Last run I took about 6 gold worth of stuff and all I used diamonds on were ID scrolls cos it was one of those times the drop rate for magic items was much higher than the standard rate for scrolls. Can't really complain.

Bit soon to complain about how players are pricing their items. You really need to wait until time has gone by and abundance has set in. At the moment theres epic shields for just 7000 astrals which were priced 200000 a few days ago because people are finding them faster than buying.

The biggest pay2win issues I'm seeing are mounts being in PvP Domination. You have people paying for 110% speed mounts then they'll always capture their point before the 50% speed mounts free players like myself have.

Players with store bought epic companions really just help make your party of adventurers stronger as a whole since they can't be used in pvp.
 
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My rule on F2P games is that if you need to buy *consumables* to compete or play the game enjoyably, that's a game breaker. Am OK with permanent purchases, such as bag/bank space provided costs aren't extortionate and lead to spending more than one would on a subscription game.
 
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I guess I haven't played the game as much as the reviewer, but I've never played an MMO competitively. I suppose people who want to be the best in an MMO should steer clear of F2P. Otherwise, the game seemed a lot of fun and I didn't have to pay a dime to enjoy myself.

I mean, if you can even spend 10 hours in the game having fun without having to spend any cash, how can it be a rip-off?
 
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I mean, if you can even spend 10 hours in the game having fun without having to spend any cash, how can it be a rip-off?

Because a lot of people spend more time and more cash.

It's not a rip-off until you realise how much you've wasted your time on it.

Some people will never feel that way - and then it's probably not a rip-off FOR THEM.

Personally, I don't use games as a black hole in which to throw my free time. I prefer to feel like I've accomplished something or experienced something special after spending a significant amount of time with it.

That doesn't mean games that don't provide that are bad - or necessarily a waste of time overall. It's just not the kind of games that I enjoy playing.

There are people who've spent literally hundreds or thousands of hours playing Farmville or Solitaire.

Does that mean those games are fantastic? I don't know. I don't think so, though.
 
My sister bought the $60 founder's pack and was pretty disappointed in the low value of the currency she got. She's hoping the ingame economy will shift and it will get easier to make more diamonds. Personally I'm just playing casually, and I'm mostly disappointed in the lack of cool D&D classes, and the super linear quest progression. The combat is pretty fun though, when it's not too easy.
 
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Personally, I don't use games as a black hole in which to throw my free time.

You must have reached that point in your life where you fully appreciate that TIME is the ultimate currency...
 
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You must have reached that point in your life where you fully appreciate that TIME is the ultimate currency…

I reached that point very early in life - but only because money became boring as soon as I realised the limits of the things you can buy within the space of time you have available - and the sacrifices you generally have to make to get enough of it, which are largely about giving up the space of time you have available.

Doesn't mean I'm not wasting time constantly - it just means I'm always aware of when I'm wasting it. Not sure it's actually a better position to be in :)
 
I pretty much agree with the article and have written similarly.

PWI needs to be slammed for Neverwinter, which will be their most visible game so far, in the same way that EA/Maxis have been slammed for the SimCity debacles. Their predatory F2P model needs to be shredded and shamed publicly.

The game is D&D in name only. It's a D&D location. There are other D&D names and terms but the actual implementation of the game has next to nothing in common with D&D. It's actually somewhat repulsive that these developers were allowed to make a D&D game this way. When WOTC was in charge of the D&D name I doubt this would've happened.

The gameplay is pretty simplistic. Grouping is lackluster.

It's ok to play, but it's pretty hard to get past the cash shop element and the cash shop prices are insane.

You start with 16 bank slots. 16. That's nothing. It's $6 for another 16. You start with 1 bag and get another smaller bag thru questing. It's 5 or 10 (depending on size) to buy one bag for one character. It's 5 or 6 to respec.

I'm sorry but no matter what your business model, 16 bank slots to start is just pathetic. If you DO buy a founders pak or anything from the store that probably leaves you with more junk to store making the paltry bank slots even more of an issue.

You start with 2 character slots. It's $5 to buy 2 more - one of the few things that's actually reasonably and priced. If the whole cash shop was this reasonable there would be no issue. $5 for 2 character slots vs $5 for a single respec vs 5/10 for a single bag...just doesn't compute. I suppose their logic is that letting you play more classes with crippled everything else will push you towards buying the more expensive crap. It's repulsive.

I don't mind throwing money at a good game but I don't want to feel like I'm getting ripped off and the cash shop prices for NW are criminal for the most part to the extent that me and people I know just won't play if it comes down to paying those prices vs playing a completely crippled game.

Obviously it costs money to develop games and they need to make money but I've grown to despise the F2P model because also obviously it's not free. It kills immersion and fun to have money brought up constantly and to have so many elements of the game crippled without paying. The model also aims to suck a lot more out of you than a monthly sub would. The model also rewards players who want to pay more, which is a lame way to game.

The other crap thing about F2P is you get tons of gold spammers since free accounts are easily obtained, and you get a LOT of low quality players (mostly in terms of behaviors, not ability). MMOs these days already feature a lot of losers and free games dip even further into the bottom of the barrel.

I much prefer sub-based where your ability as a player and how much time you want to play are the factors in your potential, not how much you want to pay. Pay to win is lame.

I was also baffled that people would spend 20-200 on the game before it even releases, especially knowing that there's no way this game could ever deliver more than a years worth of content and gameplay (200 being more than a whole year of paying a sub). Some people just have too much money apparently. I'm not lacking but I don't flush my cash down toilets just because I have it either.
 
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It's not a rip-off until you realise how much you've wasted your time on it.

Some people will never feel that way - and then it's probably not a rip-off FOR THEM.

Personally, I don't use games as a black hole in which to throw my free time. I prefer to feel like I've accomplished something or experienced something special after spending a significant amount of time with it.

I'm not sure if I'd call it a black hole if I was having fun playing it. I suppose it all comes down to goals and which ones you have for playing a game. Story has been a big one for me for years now, contrary to the years before. Some games, it'll be just fine for me to simply throw some time at it, have some fun, and then forget about it. *shrugs* Like you said, different people want different things.

I guess Tetris is never going to be a game you're gonna like, huh? ;)
 
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I'm not sure if I'd call it a black hole if I was having fun playing it. I suppose it all comes down to goals and which ones you have for playing a game. Story has been a big one for me for years now, contrary to the years before. Some games, it'll be just fine for me to simply throw some time at it, have some fun, and then forget about it. *shrugs* Like you said, different people want different things.

I guess Tetris is never going to be a game you're gonna like, huh? ;)

Yup - you're enjoying the game and you don't mind forgetting all about it afterwards as if it never happened - so it wouldn't apply to you ;)
 
Yup - you're enjoying the game and you don't mind forgetting all about it afterwards as if it never happened - so it wouldn't apply to you ;)

Well, I wouldn't forget about it if I was into the story, of course. In that way, you are still invested and getting somewhere with it. There are different types of games, maybe a Diablo 3 or Torchlight 2, where I could just mindlessly click away and still have fun. I really stopped putting much of myself into games, as in its mechanics. I even looked at a walkthrough for Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse a couple of times recently. :( It's like I get stuck and I'm too impatient to keep hammering away at it until I figure it out myself. While, really, the figuring out is the important part and kinda the point of such games.

I'm getting old? Hah.

I guess I'm consuming games much like I'd consume a book or movie these days.
 
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