As we have been designing an growth for Neverwinter, we wanted an enormous area for gamers to progress to stage 80 with a brand new cap improve. The place higher to take action than within the largest dungeon within the Forgotten Realms? With that concept in thoughts, Wizards of the Coast’s “Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage” e book was our tome of alternative for analysis and reference. By providing 23 completely different ranges within the famed dungeon of Undermountain, this D&D Fifth Version marketing campaign e book gave our group so many decisions for location and story content material, centered across the Mad Mage – Halster Blackcloak – and his huge creation.
It was really very troublesome to pick only some of the degrees and monsters coated within the e book, which prompted many brainstorm and pitch periods amongst the group. Everybody spent these conferences advocating the professionals and cons of their favourite dungeon setting, tales, and monsters in present in Undermountain. There’s a lot nice content material within the Mad Mage’s dungeon that we needed to carry to our gamers in Neverwinter – however not every thing may make the lower. Finally, we wanted 5 new zones for gamers to progress from stage 70 to 80. Our bottom-line standards for choosing the ultimate zones have been: technical viability, thrilling story prospects, and the roster of monsters which lurked in every respective zone.
Firstly, we picked the Catacombs, as it’s the precise first stage of Undermountain, and an amazing start line for the story with principally humanoid enemies. From there, adventurers delve deeper down into the Twisted Caverns to get a change of surroundings and a vastly completely different ecosystem of large monsters. After that, gamers enterprise into Wyllowood, a magical forest within the mountain dungeon – sure, you learn accurately, a forest… inside a mountain. Delving even deeper, gamers enter the Terminus stage – a fiery cavern dotted with mithril mines and lava, dominated over by a fallen angel. For the ultimate stage of our Undermountain journey, we chosen Vanrakdoom, a dungeon stage overtaken by the shadowfell and a shadow dragon. Our Atmosphere group did an incredible job creating all new dungeon and caverns kits from which we constructed these zones, every of which has its personal distinct look and monster group.
Talking of monsters, a dungeon is only a gap within the floor with out them. The Neverwinter group created extra new monsters for this growth than we’ve in another launch since launch. Gamers will encounter teams of mushroom-like Myconids, spider-herding Ettercaps, lethal Umber Hulks and large purple worms – only for starters. Finally adventurers may even face off in opposition to the apprentices of the Mad Mage, Arcturia and Trobriand. These monsters are after all guarding nice treasures, which pulls many adventurers into Undermountain – by no means to return to the floor.
Whereas the Neverwinter group has labored very exhausting to carry a recreation of Undermountain into our recreation, the true maestro of Undermountain is Halaster Blackcloak. Following adventurers on their expedition, he may be seen popping out and in of the dungeon, summoning monsters, or simply absentmindedly chatting to himself. Halaster has spent centuries trapped in his personal dungeon area, constructing and altering Undermountain, filling it with magic and monsters, treasures and traps. The truth that Halaster frequently tinkers and modifications his dungeon was a key aspect in our group digging into Undermountain – the place we’ve encountered so many prospects, and so many extra ranges to discover in future content material releases.
Neverwinter is obtainable now as a free to play title for Xbox Stay Gold members on Xbox One. You may obtain it as we speak from the Microsoft Retailer.