Neverwinter is a free-to-play fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game in development by Cryptic Studios. The game will be published by Perfect World Entertainment. The game is set within the popular Forgotten Realms campaign setting for Dungeons and Dragons and uses mechanics based on a modified version of fourth-edition Dungeons and Dragons rules.
Platforms
The game client was originally developed for Microsoft Windows. However, there is some unofficial support available for running the client on Linux and Mac systems.
Since 31 March 2015, Neverwinter is also available on the Xbox One.
Since 31 March 2015, Neverwinter is also available on the Xbox One.
Gameplay
As with most MMORPGs, gameplay revolves around playing a character created by the player in an open world. Neverwinter has a strong storyline. In order to advance that storyline, most of the action takes place in instanced areas which can be open outdoor locations, dungeons, caves, sewers, crypts etc. There are large open world locations where players compete with each other for contests and spawning monsters. However, Protector’s Enclave – the starting area where most of the earlier events take place – is a safe area without any enemies.
The combat in the game is more action-oriented than in most MMORPGs and has been described as being very similar to a third-person shooter. Instead of selecting targets by using keys like Tab or clicking on them, players rotate their view so that a targeting reticle is over their intended target. Use of the action bar is atypical of most MMORPGs in that the first two abilities are bound to the mouse buttons rather than to numeric keys, and others are linked to “Q”, “E”, and Shift by default.
