Now I feel bad for grabbing four, well three and getting my brother to grab one. (High possibility of being snowed in this weekend over my younger son's birthday, thought we could hunker down with NW.)
Eh, it's only beta, don't feel bad about it. Got a key and downloading. I don't know why I'm excited about playing this, but I guess I'll get a better understanding in a few days.
more beta keys:
Anyone else having problems with the account guard one time authentication sending out an email with the code in a prompt manner?
I'm getting authentication emails more than a hour later so the login is timed out by then.
One time code issues:
http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/sho...
Account Error issues:
http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/sho...
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Hope one of those helps and that you get in! I was able to get to character select but then responsibility kicked in and I had to watch Wreck It Ralph with my wife. I guess life isn't so bad 
I've played through the crown room quest so far. Seems okay, not sure if I'm really into it just yet but I'm enjoying it enough to give it a fair chance.
Hmm, thought I patched yesterday or the day before, they must have done another one since then. Oh, well, oly time to play for an hour, then off to babysit my niece/nephew for the evening.
I feel like I'm glad I picked up a key.
Dwarf Guardian cyrax
Halfling Trickster rogue Sheyoli
I'm on as Dethroned. I'm a priest
I think to send a friend invite it has to be [email protected]. Give it a try, I should be on for most of the night. Cyrax, I believe I sent you an invite. I tried [email protected]
It's [email protected]. Yup, it's that easy. Dammit, PW.
I played up to level 15 with an Elf Wizard. Overall, I'm liking the game, mostly for the combat and also because it's D&D. It doesn't have the full depth of it but it is still pretty cool.
There are quite a few things I don't like though, like:
- Combat animations are very good, but walking feels really awkward. The wizard idle animation looks dumb and when in combat, it looks like my character decides to enable the "Crab Mode" walking animation. It makes me laugh at least.
- Visuals look a bit generic to me. There are definitely pretty scenes, but it is somewhat bland and it lacks a sense of style.
- Character models are kinda ugly. Again, my expectations were a bit too high here, based on previous Cryptic games that offered extensive character customization.
- Voice working on most of the quests is just horrible and so is the writing. I expected a lot more on this front, since this is D&D and all.
- A lot of instancing going on. The outside world doesn't feel too big. I'm not sure this is a con, but it made me feel like certain areas were a bit too disconnected from the rest of the game.
So, these were my issues with the game, mostly cosmetic stuff. There's plenty more stuff for me to try, like Foundry missions (player made content), PVP Arenas and I should be running my first Instance (lvl 15 Clock Tower) in a few minutes. So far, I'm enjoying the game.
I've played through the crown room quest so far. Seems okay, not sure if I'm really into it just yet but I'm enjoying it enough to give it a fair chance.
This was exactly my experience today!
Hopefully I will get a chance to put a little more time in tomorrow. I really need to decide if I am putting any monies into it. I think I have already decided against the $200 pack. If there was a monthly stipend like my CO & STO lifetimes then I would have, but not for a one time purchase.
I played solo this weekend and I had a great time. The combat feels really good and it's genuinely fun. I'm going to wait for open beta before I play again. I don't want to ruin the experience like I did in Guild Wars.
I played a wizard through the first step of the crown quest, as mentioned, then played a cleric with my kids. I didn't quite hit level 10, but things were finally starting to get interesting and I started to actually feel needed as a cleric rather than just being more damage. I might go back in for a few minutes to ding level 10 as it appears that's the first "distinction" level.
Okay, played a bit and got my cleric to level 10. First thing I did was one of the dungeon queues. While not super challenging (it was only level 8 to be fair), I definitely felt useful as a cleric although I still had the 2nd highest damage. Then I moved to the orc area and while I quickly hit 10 it started to feel more challenging. The cleric was a lot more interesting with the new level 10 abilities and that orc area has high monster density. Yesterday I was mildly interested but today certainly bumped up my anticipation. The fact that it's completely F2P is awesome for me as I can play with the kids without needing three copies and three monthly subs.
I love the combat and the design, from the 12 levels I played. I'll definitely put some time into this game, as long as as it gives me 'the feels'.
I got to 11 or 12 with my cleric and absolutely loved it. I don't care that the graphics aren't next-gen and mind-blowing. For me it's about the gameplay. I still don't understand all there is to know about the game but it doesn't bother me that I put down $60 on the game already. As for $200, I wish it was $100. That's just a bit too much for me to spend with all other expenses. I'm really excited for the game though but do agree about waiting for open beta. The good thing for me is that the next closed beta weekend is the 23rd/24th. The 23rd I am out of the state for the day and the 24th is when PAX's Amnesia stream is happening and I refuse to miss that
I didn't get to play much this weekend between the Marvel beta, my wife wanting to go shopping and I kept getting hit with annoying bugs that didn't recognize what phase I was on for a quest.
I enjoyed the beta. I'm not going out to drop $200 on it, but I'll probably pick up the $60 pack. I agree with all the previous sentiments about the game not having the full depth of D&D, the animations being terrible, etc. However, I believe that when the game launches Cryptic will likely include a high resolution texture pack to help with the bland textures. One thing I think is interesting though: the elves look almost exactly like the elves from DDO. I don't know if that's intentional or not though.
It's Cryptic, and while they make decent games they don't make games that are life-affirming. So I take their content with a grain of salt. One of the things I'm most looking forward to is the Foundry. The Foundry looks amazing, like how it should have looked in all the other Cryptic games that have a Foundry. However, for a free-to-play ever expanding game that is in a Faerun setting, I could do a lot worse than Neverwinter. We'll see what it looks like in a few months. I don't think this game should be ready before June.
I only played a wizard up to ~6 or so. Interesting, and entertaining enough for free. I'm not sure I'd drop any money on it, at least not out of the gate.
I did notice that the little solo-able quest instanced dungeons (like the ruined tunnels under the building) fully repoped on leaving and entering. I abused that a little since it had 2 guaranteed lootable containers and ~40ish xp. It's not game breaking, but I was accumulating a little bit of cash from the process, along with a moderate amount of crafting materials and minor / small healing potions.
I really enjoyed the cleric. That class was head and shoulders above the rest. I was nearly 8 when I decided to try out the other classes.
The wizard was my highest character at level 9 and I definitely enjoyed that class too. I got a guardian fighter to level 5 and I would definitely play one but I am more looking forward to the great weapon fighter.
The thief I struggled with if only because the game kept crashing or the quests bugged out when I played one. I am bummed that the dagger throw has "charges" because it was immensely fun to play the thief that way and if anything got close, they were sliced and diced in rapid fashion. I got one to level 3 so I didn't even get stealth or my clone yet.
What level do you get companions at? You go into that one instanced area with that archer that acted like they were going to become your companion but they only stuck around for a mission. You can level them up and I would love to test all of that stuff out.
I bumped into Hedgewizard in game but you can't chat with other people until you get 1 character to level 15 I think?
I cannot wait until I can play with the Foundry. I can already tell based on the missions I've tried, that is going to be so much fun!
The thief I struggled with if only because the game kept crashing or the quests bugged out when I played one. I am bummed that the dagger throw has "charges" because it was immensely fun to play the thief that way and if anything got close, they were sliced and diced in rapid fashion. I got one to level 3 so I didn't even get stealth or my clone yet.
Several classes seem to have the Encounter Charge mechanic on some skills. The cleric's Healing Word for example, which helps to keep from spamming regeneration on the whole group. I think the reasoning for putting charges on the dagger throw is likely similar.
What level do you get companions at? You go into that one instanced area with that archer that acted like they were going to become your companion but they only stuck around for a mission. You can level them up and I would love to test all of that stuff out.
You get companions at level 16, and mounts at level 20. However, from what I could see there isn't such a hard cap on the companions as there is a minimal quest progression. You have to finish the "Tower District" according to a load screen tip I read.
After getting my wizard to 15, I decided to give a Cleric a try and I liked it so much more than the wizard. The Cleric has a lot of AoE skills, self healing and I believe mine was doing more damage than my Wizard.
My problem with the Wizard is that it doesn't "Control" enough. All their control abilities last only a second or two and most of their skills are single target. And their damage seems to be lacking. I'd much rather bring a Thief for pure damage. I think they need to increase the amount they can control mobs to make them more useful.
I ran the Clock Tower instance with my son and 3 other ramdon people from the LFD tool. I was on my Cleric and I found the place and the mechanics really fun. If there's one thing they did right in this game is the combat. It feels really good. My only problem while trying to heal my group, was that Companions were allowed in a full 5 man team, so trying to target that Dwarf Guardian for heals was very difficult, with so many Companions and other players on top of the mobs. I wish they would not allow Companions in full parties and have that handled just like in SWTOR.
I'm looking forward for launch and I hope they can release the Scourge Warlock soon after that. That class sounds like it could be awesome!
Scourge Warlock? *drools*
I agree with your assessments regarding the lack of AoE for wizards. You do have that one power that will attack enemies around your target and the daily ice blast. Those really lack compared to the cleric's pbaoe encounter power that heals and is heavy on damage. They should a least make the pushback skill aoe for the wizard.
Yeah I saw that the cleric had charges on the heals and to me that makes sense because you don't want spamming heals breaking content. However, I understand it a lot less for the thief unless they are forcing you to play a thief in melee. Which makes less sense to me unless there are talents that let you increase the amount of charges or give you a chance to add a charge on hit. (or a chance to not consume a charge) Why give them a spammable ranged attack if you don't want them to fight that way? You can just give them a one shot ranged attack on a longer cooldown and have the same effect. I really think that is a weakness with rogue style classes. You give them no survivability but expect them to be most or only effective in melee.
I think DnD really needs to get rid of leather armor or medium armor, at least in the video games. In the video games it boils down to whether you have plate or not and if not you are squishy. And they don't do shields right either. Because then either you have to have one, which makes plate wearers without them useless, or the shields are so marginal in effectiveness that they are just another slot for stat increases.
I think DnD really needs to get rid of leather armor or medium armor, at least in the video games. In the video games it boils down to whether you have plate or not and if not you are squishy. And they don't do shields right either. Because then either you have to have one, which makes plate wearers without them useless, or the shields are so marginal in effectiveness that they are just another slot for stat increases.
All the classes in Neverwinter get offhand items, the Guardian Fighter's item happens to be a shield though. The Great Weapon Fighter gets sword tassels, or something similar. Clerics get icons. As it is, the shield is just an aspect of the class and therefore there isn't a point in not using a shield. There's literally nothing else to put there, so why not take it? From what I've seen in videos, the Great Weapon fighter will get to use heavy armor, and of course then the question becomes: "why not use heavy armor?" I hope they give an advantage to Great Weapon Fighters to make medium armor viable. Perhaps a feat that gives +damage when wearing medium armor?
The feats right now are all kinds of screwy - if you look at them, they don't line up correctly with their intended purpose, there's a metric ton of typos, and I think the mechanics that they affect are a little random. Some of the feats increase an ability in the text, and then say, "In addition, no longer does this>." Even though the two abilities don't look like they mesh together at all. So I bet that's where a lot of the playtesting comes into play - seeing just how these abilities are broken, and they will be broken.
I'm also interested in finding out what they do with the Paragon Paths. In the UI, it looked like there was room for two Paragon Paths, but some of the Paragon-level feats only affect abilities within a particular Paragon Path. So I wonder if the Paragon-level feats will be different if you pick a different Paragon Path. Let me check... 6 uses of the word "Paragon" (7 now) in a single paragraph. I think that's a record.
I had a lot of fun last weekend. I didn't get to play much since I'm still unpacking from a move, but the few hours I spent with it were really impressive. I can't wait to try out the Foundry. I was surprised to see they imported my friend's list from Champions Online. I ended up emailing a few of my friends afterwards to get them to try out Neverwinter.
The graphics and gameplay seem to be an improved evolution from Champions, which I thought did a few things well but missed badly on some really important MMO fundamentals such as group content. Champions didn't implement the action combat system well, either, although the idea behind it was solid. From the little I saw of Neverwinter, it appears they've learned their lessons, and now I'm really looking forward to the next beta event.
I had a lot of fun last weekend. I didn't get to play much since I'm still unpacking from a move, but the few hours I spent with it were really impressive. I can't wait to try out the Foundry. I was surprised to see they imported my friend's list from Champions Online. I ended up emailing a few of my friends afterwards to get them to try out Neverwinter.
The graphics and gameplay seem to be an improved evolution from Champions, which I thought did a few things well but missed badly on some really important MMO fundamentals such as group content. Champions didn't implement the action combat system well, either, although the idea behind it was solid. From the little I saw of Neverwinter, it appears they've learned their lessons, and now I'm really looking forward to the next beta event.
I agree with your assessment of Neverwinter being a step up from Champions. Looks like they implemented a lot more voiceover content as well, which really fleshes out an MMO in today's market. The action combat is a lot better than Champions ever did, but the animations still need some work to make them fluid. SWTOR did an amazing job with their combat animations, hopefully it'll be up to that level by the end. Looking forward to the next beta weekend in a couple weeks. Hopefully they'll show off some more classes and Paragon Paths.
You know, it is funny because I needed a new fix after the Neverwinter weekend so I decided to download f2p SWTOR. I remember liking the combat but I think it was mainly because of the combat encounter variety. I liked that you would solo fight groups that varied from 1-3 with peons and much tougher opponents in the mix. It was a marked difference from prior mmos where if you took on more than one or you fought something tougher than a peon you were pretty much going to die.
But after playing GW2, TERA and Neverwinter, the combat was absolutely awful. (animations aside) And it is interesting because it has nothing to do with the pace or tab targeting. Combat in WoW still seems solid. The only problem with that game now is all the time that feels wasted running around.
No I think the problem is that with no auto-attack, the pacing and the tab targeting, they wanted you to feel the combat was like GW2, TERA, or Neverwinter. But after those games were playable/released, SWTOR felt like a pretender.
And after months of experiencing the heralded feature, the dialogue trees are just dumb and I am disappointed when I try to pick the fastest route through them only to find they last far longer than I hoped.
As far as Champions, it would be so awesome to get a revamp where the combat and the content are as tight as Neverwinter. Hopefully we wouldn't have to sacrifice the pick-what-you-want abilities. I would play that game in a heartbeat and for a long time.
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