Neverwinter MMO

[Kazyth]

Here's a little primer of things I've learned from playing the Beta thus far for anyone thinking of starting.

The game won't tell you when you are able to put earned Power Points into new powers.  The Powers screen tells you when they should become available (when you have spent 5 power points, ten, and so on), but it's up to you to check and see if you've actually met the criteria yet.

You only get 3 active encounter powers, max.  You can collect all of them still if you want, of course.

You have two passive power slots, which are kinda hard to see, on your action bar, and like the encounter powers they have to be slotted to be active.

Every class has one gathering skill that they don't need kits for.  Rogues get theivery, clerics get religion, wizards get arcana, and both fighter classes share dungeoneering.  No class currently has nature.  If you want to gather everything, you'll need to keep a couple kits for the other gathering skills handy in your inventory.  The kits can break, and they are used up if you successfully gather something.

The gathering nodes will give you random tradeskill bits.  It isn't like a lot of other MMO's where a tree gives you wood, an ore vein gives you ore, etc.  Any one of those nodes above could give you linen, some iron ore, a bit of leather, and maybe a minor enchantment to slot.

If you prefer to solo, you get your first companion at 16.  The game is good about giving you quests directly at level up to introduce you to new mechanics.  There will be quests to go visit this person about learning your tradeskills, that person about getting your first companion, this priestess about channelling for the favor of the gods.  When you level up you -can- just use the C key to go to your character sheet and spend your points, but I suggest actually using the U key.  It'll show you everything you have earned for your level up, including the mechanics quests.

Money isn't useless in the game, but you can buy your way easier if you want.  Much of the really good stuff that you might want to buy (stuff from the auctionhouse especially) is bought with a second currency called Astral Diamonds.  You can earn these in game, through channeling, doing quests, even through some tradeskills, but it takes a while to build up a good supply of them.  When you can start channeling (around 11 if I recall), it has a one hour cool down, so try to do it as soon as it becomes available.  Not only does it get you a free buff, but it can net you some Astral Diamonds as well.

That's it for now, but I'll stop by and drop off more as I come across things.

[WildCat]

at a glance, looks like it requires downloading?...

I grow trepedatious.

[Kazyth]

Indeed it does.  Like pretty much any MMO out there you just download the client, let it patch, then launch and play.  It's free to download though, and totally free to play, so there's really nothing to be worried about.  If you don't enjoy, just delete it, and you've spent nothing but a bit of time.  *nods nods*

[SinXAzgard21]

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Here's a little primer of things I've learned from playing the Beta thus far for anyone thinking of starting.

The game won't tell you when you are able to put earned Power Points into new powers.  The Powers screen tells you when they should become available (when you have spent 5 power points, ten, and so on), but it's up to you to check and see if you've actually met the criteria yet.

You only get 3 active encounter powers, max.  You can collect all of them still if you want, of course.

You have two passive power slots, which are kinda hard to see, on your action bar, and like the encounter powers they have to be slotted to be active.

Every class has one gathering skill that they don't need kits for.  Rogues get theivery, clerics get religion, wizards get arcana, and both fighter classes share dungeoneering.  No class currently has nature.  If you want to gather everything, you'll need to keep a couple kits for the other gathering skills handy in your inventory.  The kits can break, and they are used up if you successfully gather something.

The gathering nodes will give you random tradeskill bits.  It isn't like a lot of other MMO's where a tree gives you wood, an ore vein gives you ore, etc.  Any one of those nodes above could give you linen, some iron ore, a bit of leather, and maybe a minor enchantment to slot.

If you prefer to solo, you get your first companion at 16.  The game is good about giving you quests directly at level up to introduce you to new mechanics.  There will be quests to go visit this person about learning your tradeskills, that person about getting your first companion, this priestess about channelling for the favor of the gods.  When you level up you -can- just use the C key to go to your character sheet and spend your points, but I suggest actually using the U key.  It'll show you everything you have earned for your level up, including the mechanics quests.

Money isn't useless in the game, but you can buy your way easier if you want.  Much of the really good stuff that you might want to buy (stuff from the auctionhouse especially) is bought with a second currency called Astral Diamonds.  You can earn these in game, through channeling, doing quests, even through some tradeskills, but it takes a while to build up a good supply of them.  When you can start channeling (around 11 if I recall), it has a one hour cool down, so try to do it as soon as it becomes available.  Not only does it get you a free buff, but it can net you some Astral Diamonds as well.

That's it for now, but I'll stop by and drop off more as I come across things.

Well that is just fantastic.  I've been just going quest to quest and didn't even realize that I could do that stuff... Wonderful.

[Kazyth]

It isn't as terrible as all that, especially not the gathering stuff.  You don't get XP for gathering, and frankly you'll need to do a LOT of work before you get anywhere near to making gear that would be better for you than what you get as drops and quest rewards.

Tradeskills are also pretty different.  More like SWTOR than anything.  You don't do them yourself, you get hirelings to go do them for you, with a given amount of time taken depending on the task.  Time that you can, of course, cut down on by spending astral diamonds.  Also, if you really want to dabble in tradeskills, you can wander zones outside of Neverwinter to find nodes tucked away here and there.

That's one of the things I like about this game.  It encourages you to go exploring every nook and cranny for hidden chests and nodes.  Which are often protected by more baddies, so you get extra XP and drops as well.

[Geeklet]

... you need to roll a Halfling GWF.  >_>  I'd do it myself if I had another slot free.  But I don't, so it falls to you.

I know you werent talking to me, but... It has been done. I had been wanting to try out this game, so.... There is something awesome about swinging a sword around that is larger than you are.

[Kazyth]

*laughs*  The who doesn't matter.  Only the result matters.  In this case, the result is exactly what I wanted.  A tiny halfling with a hugenormous sword.  *nods nods*

[Blythe]

Gonna give the MMO a try and see how I feel about it. I'm in desperate need of another MMO to kill some time with.

Now to decide what I want to play as....hmmmm.

[SinXAzgard21]

I need to log back on at some point.

[Kazyth]

I'll give you a quick rundown if you'd like, Blythe.

First off, all of the classes can solo, especially once you get your free companion at 16.  When you get to the upper levels, the basic free companion starts to lag behind, but for a long while they are very helpful.

The Trickster Rogue is a lot like rogues in other MMOs.  Great burst damage to single targets.  It works a bit differently though in a few ways, not the least of which is that you have limited stealth.  When you unlock stealth (at level 10), when you activate it you have about 5 seconds of stealth, in which you have combat advantage.  More damage, higher crits, all that.  Using any powers but your at-will/autoattack ones use up some of that time, as does taking damage (from an AOE or the like).  You can spec for more stealth time, though, and you have tricks to help refill the bar faster.  And they look cool with all the stabbing.

Devoted Cleric is the best solo class in my opinion.  If you don't care to group much until the higher levels, the Devoted Cleric has it easy.  Lots of different heals, solid damage, can easily be specc'd to DPS or to full heal, or somewhere in between.  Again, a bit different from other healer MMO classes, though.  Much more bent towards healing attacks, heal over times, and the like, with a bit of control put in for fun.  At 10 unlocks the Divine Power bar, which fills as you do damage, and can be activated with tab to add extra power to your encounter powers.  Changes your at will powers to a channeled direct damage, or a channeled direct heal.

Control Wizard is not what you would expect, if you are used to WoW and the like.  Most of the CW's control is in interrupts and debuffs.  You can extend the duration of their control through speccing, but these guys are much more Direct Damage/Control.  You will move around a lot with them, temporarily freeze enemies, and do a lot of direct and aoe damage.  Like the other classes, at 10 you unlock Arcane Mastery, which you build with your at will attacks, and adds power/extra effects to your encounter and daily powers.

Guardian Fighters are tanks, pure and simple.  They snap aggro, the generate aggro, and they do it well.  Can be specc'd to DPS surprisingly well, though, and they have decent AOE abilities.  Honestly, they are pretty much like a tank from any other MMO.  Good for soloing, too.

Great weapon fighters are DPS/AOE melee strikers.  They hit hard, they can clear trash mobs well, and they can make decent off tanks/backup tanks.  Currently they are considered a little bit of a gimp class, but I've seen a lot of builds emerging that make them very viable in groups and solo.

Just a few class observations from me, given that I've tried them all.  (Cleric is still my fave).

When you unlock professions (around lvl 10 or 11, if I recall), for anyone who doesn't plan to spend money on the game, I would suggest looking into leadership first.  You'll outlevel the equipment you can make with the other professions fast, while Leadership will net you xp, money, tradeskill goods, and Astral Diamonds, which can be traded for Zen (the pay-real-money-for currency) to buy things from the Zen store.

Happy Neverwintering!

[Chris Brady]

Great weapon fighters are DPS/AOE melee strikers.  They hit hard, they can clear trash mobs well, and they can make decent off tanks/backup tanks.  Currently they are considered a little bit of a gimp class, but I've seen a lot of builds emerging that make them very viable in groups and solo.

I can attest to this.  The GWF doesn't have the armour to withstand sustained attacks against them, and unfortunately compared to the Trickster, they don't do nearly as much damage to anything.  They do lag behind.  Not to mention that they don't have any real defensive options.

The Rogue gets a Dodge, the Guardian gets his shield.  The other two classes get 'teleports' (of sorts) but really, they don't need them too much because they're ranged.  The GWF has a dash which is slightly trickier to use, and is mainly designed to get you INTO the fight, as opposed at mitigate damage.

They need a slight tweak before they're as viable as all the other classes.  I figure more damage OR more damage reduction and they'll be good.

This has been my experience going from 1-30 (so far)

[Blythe]

Oh, Kazyth, thanks! I ended up making a half-orc control wizard, and I'm really enjoying the game. I'll keep in mind about leadership at level 10. <3

[Kazyth]

Sure thing!  There are finally some build guides and such going up, but feel free to shoot me a PM or ask questions here if you have any.

I'll include a few other things that I've learned here.

You have only 16 bank slots, and have to spend Zen for more, there is no way to earn more in game.  (Besides saving up Astral Diamonds and traiding them for Zen)
By level thirty you will have earned two additional bags for your personal inventory, both as quest rewards.  Again, outside of that, they are ultra-rare drops or can be bought with Zen, or from the AH with Astral Diamonds.

Everything bought and sold on the AH uses Astral Diamonds.

When you unlock Channeling at level 11, you will want to log in and do so at least once a day.  You get special coins the first time you channel each day, and they will vanish entirely if you go a day without channeling.  They can be saved up and used for some really good gear and perks, though, if you have the patience.

Foundry quests are good ways to patch up your level if you lag behind the suggested quest levels for a zone, which can happen.  So are skirmishes and dungeons.

Explore everything, don't just follow the glowing trail.  This game LOVES to hide chests and resource nodes in side rooms, behind wall hangings, and behind stairs.  If you just follow the trail, you'll miss out on a lot of free goods.

And lastly, unless you are looking for a guild or group, turn off zone chat.  It is absolutely cluttered with a flood of crap, at least in Protectors Reach.  They haven't made seperate channels for LFG and the like yet.

[SinXAzgard21]

Sure thing!  There are finally some build guides and such going up, but feel free to shoot me a PM or ask questions here if you have any.

I'll include a few other things that I've learned here.

You have only 16 bank slots, and have to spend Zen for more, there is no way to earn more in game.  (Besides saving up Astral Diamonds and traiding them for Zen)
By level thirty you will have earned two additional bags for your personal inventory, both as quest rewards.  Again, outside of that, they are ultra-rare drops or can be bought with Zen, or from the AH with Astral Diamonds.

Everything bought and sold on the AH uses Astral Diamonds.

When you unlock Channeling at level 11, you will want to log in and do so at least once a day.  You get special coins the first time you channel each day, and they will vanish entirely if you go a day without channeling.  They can be saved up and used for some really good gear and perks, though, if you have the patience.

Foundry quests are good ways to patch up your level if you lag behind the suggested quest levels for a zone, which can happen.  So are skirmishes and dungeons.

Explore everything, don't just follow the glowing trail.  This game LOVES to hide chests and resource nodes in side rooms, behind wall hangings, and behind stairs.  If you just follow the trail, you'll miss out on a lot of free goods.

And lastly, unless you are looking for a guild or group, turn off zone chat.  It is absolutely cluttered with a flood of crap, at least in Protectors Reach.  They haven't made seperate channels for LFG and the like yet.

Yay cookie cutter builds... Yeah this may get uninstalled now.

[Thorne]

That's what 4e /is/, and it's one of the things I despise about the system in table-top play. In a computer game, it works. Although it might take me a while to get my head around combat-cleric /throwing/ things. That's a new one.

If I ever have a chance to log in and play her some more, I'll let you know what I think, other than, 'grab ALL THE SHINY THINGS!' which is ... actually, how I play all MMOs. The sparkly thing just ensures I won't get lost. If I run into any vampires though, we're gonna have words - and I'm going to want my Turn Undead abilities back. ;p

[Kazyth]

Yeah, 4e was not at all for me.  It felt... silly, I guess.  I would bring M:tG cards with me and tap mana for my powers, as I kept them on little notecards.

As for the game itself, they'll be introducing more classes and races, as well as more paragon paths and the like.  For now, it's all about the power build.  Given that it's 6.00 to respec, most folks are sticking with one build, be it a DPS cleric, heal cleric, or Control Cleric for the moment.  Until they at least get more Paragon Paths out though, yeah, it's going to feel cookie cutterish.  Then again I felt that way in GW2 really.  Not quite so heavily, but still there.

[Saerrael]

Interested in giving this a spin and currently downloading the client.
Been looking around the web and my research is telling me it's not unusual for this download to be slow. I'd like to know if that is true or if there would be anything (short of tearing down my firewall, that is) I could do about this.

[Kazyth]

Nothing you can really do.  The download was slow as hell for me too.  Comes from PWE's limited use of extra servers and the like.  I actually just set it to download for me and then went to bed, installed and patched it in the morning.

You'll just have to be a bit patient.  But given that it's entirely free, a little patience was easy for me to come by.

[Saerrael]

Thank you, dear. I really was just looking for a bit of confirmation *smiles*

[Kazyth]

Figured as much.  Sorry if I came off as snippy.  Haven't had my caffine today, and the headache's been getting to me.  Going to snag a Dew and get that resolved before I really start growling and biting at folks.

[Saerrael]

You didn't come across as snippy to me, don't worry.

Also! Has anyone tried the Foundry yet? That is one aspect that I would love to try, myself. And, this being Elliquiy, I do expect a few very well written quests to be out there ;)

[SinXAzgard21]

Mine was downloaded and patched with in an hour....

[Chris Brady]

You didn't come across as snippy to me, don't worry.

Also! Has anyone tried the Foundry yet? That is one aspect that I would love to try, myself. And, this being Elliquiy, I do expect a few very well written quests to be out there ;)

You have to be level 15 to get access to it.  I was curious too, but I'm going to see about getting to 60 first.

[Saerrael]

You have to be level 15 to get access to it.  I was curious too, but I'm going to see about getting to 60 first.

Thank you!

I'm not interested in hitting max lvl (been there, done that), myself and probably will start tinkering with the Foundry when I can unlock it.

[Kazyth]

I've been looking a the Foundry too.  Mostly because I enjoyed the architect stuff from CoX, even if it wasn't as flexible as the Foundry is.  They do still have in common the fact that they are used as much for storytelling as for grinding XP to powerlevel, though.

I've done more than a few Foundry missions already, mostly for the Astral Diamonds from the daily quest.