The last point I wanted to touch on was the Foundry. The Foundry allows players to create their own content for Neverwinter and, when approved, it gets put straight into the game for players to experience. Players can pick up a Foundry quest from a menu (they can also filter their search for duration of time, difficulty, etc.) and start the quest. The quests are usually really easily accessible (often just requiring a travel from the city gate or a door in town) and the enemies killed in it drop items and provide XP. The Foundry is an amazing idea, because not only is it a useful leveling tool for players (the quests are repeatable and they scale to player level), but it also means thatNeverwinter could potentially have a ridiculous amount of content if players continue to make Foundry levels. There’s tons of Foundry quests available and some of them are stunningly well done. Since the system allows players to tip the Foundry quest creators when they complete the quest, I really hope that good creators are frequently tipped so they can continue to make amazing quests.
The reason I mention the Foundry is that many creators have made content balanced for a team. Some are intended for two, three, etc. players, and I foresee a lot more in the future being designed for party play. Sure, the min-maxers probably won’t play these group Foundry quests because they don’t have the “epic loots,” but in my opinion they’d be missing out. Neverwinter is a joy to play, and my best co-operative play experience so far has been on a Foundry quest (the Cragsteep Crypt, if you’re interested) just because I had so much fun.
Suffice to say, I’ve been extremely impressed with Neverwinter. It’s completely free-to-play (just download and jump on), and (in my opinion) not at all pay-to-win. There are no level caps or restricted content to free players, and I really feel that everything important in the game can be gained by time and patience. Neverwinter is in open beta, so there are some bugs, but they’re pretty few and far between. I have to say it’s the best free-to-play from launch game I’ve ever played, and I’m having a great time. I’m on the Beholder server, if you’d like to say “hello!”