First Look: Neverwinter In-Depth Hands On Part 2
By Date: Mar 04 2013 Views:
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First Look: Neverwinter In-Depth Hands On Part 1
The Basics
At launch, Neverwinter will feature 8 different races and 5 different classes. In true form, each race will have its own set of racial abilities,
making every character combination unique.
Only six races have been confirmed so far: Human, Half-Elf, Elf, Drow, Dwarf, Tiefling, and Halfling. While the other two remain a mystery, Cryptic Studios confirms that they do intend on adding more races after the game's launch. This is also going to include prestige-level races, which will be available for unlock by any player after they are implemented into the game. They may also appear in the game's cash shop for the impatient player that just HAS to get their character right, but Cryptic assures us that even if that is the case, players will still be able to unlock future prestige-level races through progression, without having to spend a dime.
The five launch classes have all been confirmed, and the way Cryptic Studios handles these classes is the more interesting story. At launch, players will be able to choose between the Trickster Rogue, the Great Weapon Fighter, the Guardian Fighter, the Control Wizard, and the Devoted Cleric. Rather than try to limit players into playing a certain character in one specific way, Cryptic wanted to introduce different variations of the same base classes, allowing players to choose multiple versions of the same class in such a way that they fill different D&D archetypes. This way a cleric isn't stuck as being a healer, or a fighter isn't stuck as being a tank. Approaching the classes this way is important, since each variation will have different primary stats and second stats on top of different movesets - and since this is D&D we're talking about, character creation isn't what one might expect from a traditional MMO.
Each class has an advancement system which works ALMOST like attaining epic characters in D&D. As of the beta, each class can only choose one -- but there are plans to add more of these as the game goes along. There are also Epic Destinies which are scheduled for release sometime after the game launches. There are no details as to what they will be as of yet, but the game's Epic Destinies should follow D&D standards very closely, and they promise to add a new layer to characters pursuing the many evils that plague Neverwinter.
