Developer Blog: New Gear With Strongholds

strumslinger · July 2015

Take a gander at some of the new gear you'll find in our next expansion: http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/neverwinter/news/detail/9460133

xgrizzlygrinx · July 2015

Is this gear a **** joke? End game gear is looking worse and worse.

krondhor · July 2015

Nah, the gear for some classes are really looking good, but I agree that for some other ones its worse

orangebang · July 2015

Yeah some are hit and miss. For the not so nice ones just override it, no need to over react.

garrol · July 2015

That is interesting: devs know know that on April 1 it was three and a half months ago?

This armor is terrible. From Tyranny of Dragons no armor with good appearance. It is very frustrating.

beckylunatic · July 2015

I'd actually really like the Dragonflight pieces if they'd left off the stylized epaulettes.

The GWF guild gear (far right; we know it's GWF from the post with concept art) actually looks like armor. That one, I like. Indifferent on the other two that are depicted.

I'm disappointed in the Lionsmane equipment. I was envisioning something more savage and less like a tacky costume.

Edit: "tacky costume" is an image link!

beckylunatic · July 2015

Couple other points out of the blog text that are much appreciated:

Clearer in-game indications of currency caps, currencies needed, and such things. Awesome!

Guild vs. guild PvP will reward the losing team more the closer the loss is. Getting the same (lack of) rewards in PvP whether you lose by 1 point or 999 points has always been disheartening, so this is good news.

anim3k · July 2015

I am really

...I hope this will change. And last u know what is worst? Armor between male or female is almost no diffrents!

reds351 · July 2015

I at least like the new pvp Armour. apart from the helm can we please get a non stupid looking helm.

Edit please change the Lionsmane helm to a wolf pelt hood or something. I would rather not wear a broom on my head.

skitzopyro · July 2015

What is wrong with the devs in this game when it comes to Item level? Armor Accessories and weapon ilvl's are Wasted! Enchants and Enchant Slots are the only thing that matters.

What does Item level even mean? You can be in <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> gear with huge ilvl if you have rank 12s and extra enchant slots... its pathetic and it makes PVE for gear a complete waste of time.

What is the point of me getting Elemental Infusion if I only gain 3k HP and a handful of stats? Not even equaling a 1% increase...

adent086 · July 2015

Thanks go out to the devs for the update. The more information and the more often it comes the better. So, again, thanks.

Unfortunately, I only wish that the news was better. The hard truth is that it seems many of the fears of where this content was going that have been on my (and my guild's) mind over the past few months are being realized. Because while there does indeed seem to be a little something of a cookie in this content for some people; there doesn't seem to be ANY content that is in it for EVERYONE. Once again the devs are taking a step further AWAY from one of the major things that USE to make this game awesome and stand above the rest; and one step closer to ho-hum-main-stream-MMO-that-is-run-of-the-mill-average-and-forgettable. Namely, they are continuing to drive mindlessly home EXclusive (not in a good way) content rather than INclusive content.

What am I talking about? Simply this:

Dragonflight Gear. Great right? What if you don't have enough people in your guild to run the raid? Answer: Excluded.

"But! But! But!" the devs cry, "There is Guild level 125 gear for those "lesser" players that prefer a more "casual" gaming experience."

So, Guild Gear. Great right? What if you don't want to be in a guild? Answer: Excluded.

This is what I am talking about. Content that is designed from the ground up to EXclude large swaths of players and leave them out in the cold. Or, WORSE, use purposefully developed conditions to try and FORCE players into guilds, thereby relying on social pressures to retain a paying customer base rather than do the HONEST thing and rely on the frequency and strength of your generated content. Before mod 6, this exclusionary content was far and few between. Or, at the very least, there were tons of OPTIONS on how to get gear and other things you needed in a way that fit into how you WANTED to play the game. Now days? You play the game in EXACTLY the way the devs want you to, exactly WHEN the devs want you to (i.e. time scheduled raids and encounters), and repeat the process EXACTLY the amount of times the devs want you to, or guess what? You get nothing.

Does anyone remember the days when you could, as a elite player, go into a dungeon, run it as many times as you wanted, get rewards (most of the time) that you didn't need, and be able to go: "No problem, I don't need it, but it's still a "reward" because I can sell it on the AH for a profit to someone who does." Does anyone remember those days of really NOT SO LONG ago?

What happened to them? Why were they taken away? Why won't the devs ever give them back? The likely answers to these questions are far too unpleasant to discuss in an open forum that will just get "moderated."

So, here is what needs to happen: Three little words that I know are "dead" in the eyes of the devs (and probably many players) before I even type them, but I'm going to type them anyway: Bind on Equip. All of this new gear needs to be bind on equip; as does all of the gear you can buy in the game for any in game awarded currency.

Why? There are too many fantastic reasons WHY this should happen, but a top few would be: Massive stimulus to the economy (both real and game), give players a much needed way to earn significant amounts of AD by actually being good at and actually PLAYING the game, be inclusive to many players that don't have the time to sit for dozens of hours a week (if not more) in game to keep up with the (all too) rapidly changing gear situation in game, and just an easy and all around fun way for the devs to bring real REWARDS back to their players with content that already exists in game, and perhaps most important of all: To actually be able to use the stores and merchants we are going to have to work SO hard and SO long to get in Strongholds to buy this gear more than ONCE.

Now, I am sure there would be many out there who would passionately disagree with me on this point. But, I honestly think that history and the very track record of the game is on the side of showing this is a good move here. I mean, this is the way it was for FIVE MODULES. It worked. Everybody liked it. So, why is it gone? Why was it changed?

So, in unfortunate summary: If the devs continue down this self-destructive path of EXclusionary content development, and do not start opening up LARGE amounts of HIGH END rewards that the players can generate and profit from in game, in meaningful ways through BoE equipment drops while actually PLAYING the game or through game currency stores, my wallet will stay firmly closed...... permanently. And this is coming from someone who has spent more money on this game title than he is comfortable admitting in public....... in the PAST; because of the way the game was THEN..... not what it has become and is becoming now.

The only thing I would like to add, and close with is this: "The dev team is dedicated to continuing to make your experience as a player better, and helping to make sure you can spend your time wisely, battling the right enemies, for the loot you want."

These are pretty words, and in true honesty, I would LIKE to be able to believe them. But, NOTHING that I have seen since mod 6 hit has shown ANY meaningful sign of them being true. I wish that the situation was different. But, we are where the devs have left us. I hope they can still turn this around.

Take or leave this cautionary tale as you like it devs.

Peace all.

hochstepanzer · July 2015

adent086 wrote: »

Thanks go out to the devs for the update. The more information and the more often it comes the better. So, again, thanks.

Unfortunately, I only wish that the news was better. The hard truth is that it seems many of the fears of where this content was going that have been on my (and my guild's) mind over the past few months are being realized. Because while there does indeed seem to be a little something of a cookie in this content for some people; there doesn't seem to be ANY content that is in it for EVERYONE. Once again the devs are taking a step further AWAY from one of the major things that USE to make this game awesome and stand above the rest; and one step closer to ho-hum-main-stream-MMO-that-is-run-of-the-mill-average-and-forgettable. Namely, they are continuing to drive mindlessly home EXclusive (not in a good way) content rather than INclusive content.

What am I talking about? Simply this:

Dragonflight Gear. Great right? What if you don't have enough people in your guild to run the raid? Answer: Excluded.

"But! But! But!" the devs cry, "There is Guild level 125 gear for those "lesser" players that prefer a more "casual" gaming experience."

So, Guild Gear. Great right? What if you don't want to be in a guild? Answer: Excluded.

This is what I am talking about. Content that is designed from the ground up to EXclude large swaths of players and leave them out in the cold. Or, WORSE, use purposefully developed conditions to try and FORCE players into guilds, thereby relying on social pressures to retain a paying customer base rather than do the HONEST thing and rely on the frequency and strength of your generated content. Before mod 6, this exclusionary content was far and few between. Or, at the very least, there were tons of OPTIONS on how to get gear and other things you needed in a way that fit into how you WANTED to play the game. Now days? You play the game in EXACTLY the way the devs want you to, exactly WHEN the devs want you to (i.e. time scheduled raids and encounters), and repeat the process EXACTLY the amount of times the devs want you to, or guess what? You get nothing.

Does anyone remember the days when you could, as a elite player, go into a dungeon, run it as many times as you wanted, get rewards (most of the time) that you didn't need, and be able to go: "No problem, I don't need it, but it's still a "reward" because I can sell it on the AH for a profit to someone who does." Does anyone remember those days of really NOT SO LONG ago?

What happened to them? Why were they taken away? Why won't the devs ever give them back? The likely answers to these questions are far too unpleasant to discuss in an open forum that will just get "moderated."

So, here is what needs to happen: Three little words that I know are "dead" in the eyes of the devs (and probably many players) before I even type them, but I'm going to type them anyway: Bind on Equip. All of this new gear needs to be bind on equip; as does all of the gear you can buy in the game for any in game awarded currency.

Why? There are too many fantastic reasons WHY this should happen, but a top few would be: Massive stimulus to the economy (both real and game), give players a much needed way to earn significant amounts of AD by actually being good at and actually PLAYING the game, be inclusive to many players that don't have the time to sit for dozens of hours a week (if not more) in game to keep up with the (all too) rapidly changing gear situation in game, and just an easy and all around fun way for the devs to bring real REWARDS back to their players with content that already exists in game, and perhaps most important of all: To actually be able to use the stores and merchants we are going to have to work SO hard and SO long to get in Strongholds to buy this gear more than ONCE.

Now, I am sure there would be many out there who would passionately disagree with me on this point. But, I honestly think that history and the very track record of the game is on the side of showing this is a good move here. I mean, this is the way it was for FIVE MODULES. It worked. Everybody liked it. So, why is it gone? Why was it changed?

So, in unfortunate summary: If the devs continue down this self-destructive path of EXclusionary content development, and do not start opening up LARGE amounts of HIGH END rewards that the players can generate and profit from in game, in meaningful ways through BoE equipment drops while actually PLAYING the game or through game currency stores, my wallet will stay firmly closed...... permanently. And this is coming from someone who has spent more money on this game title than he is comfortable admitting in public....... in the PAST; because of the way the game was THEN..... not what it has become and is becoming now.

The only thing I would like to add, and close with is this: "The dev team is dedicated to continuing to make your experience as a player better, and helping to make sure you can spend your time wisely, battling the right enemies, for the loot you want."

These are pretty words, and in true honesty, I would LIKE to be able to believe them. But, NOTHING that I have seen since mod 6 hit has shown ANY meaningful sign of them being true. I wish that the situation was different. But, we are where the devs have left us. I hope they can still turn this around.

Take or leave this cautionary tale as you like it devs.

Peace all.

QFT. I do not belong to a guild, have never belonged to one, and have no desire to join one. So I guess I won't be getting this nor anything else that's being designed with the guilds in mind.

Guilds are not what got you to where you are, Arc. It was the independent players players that did. Overlooking their needs through either arrogance or incompetence serves you no purpose in the end but to foster bad feelings with the very members of the community you are trying to reach out to.

inyawayupdeep · July 2015

Would you please consider lowering the cost of transmutation, I have DC who has had a pretty cool look for quite awhile now. I hated the way he looked in black ice armor so I played around a little. I transmuted the BI armor with armor I found in AH, then used Emperor pants and shirt for something really different, now he looks like he stepped out of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. His look is totally unique and I don't ever want to change it. But it cost 50K AD per item to keep his look every time his armor changes (three times in mod 6), you do the math. 5K would be much more tolerable, and would give everyone the opportunity to have the new armor but keep their old look, or do what I did and create something all their own. May not be a total win win but might get some to douse the torches and put the pitchforks away.

smbvms · July 2015

Quit calling it end game gear if you are just going to make it worthless in the next mod (roughly every 3 months). I ground out gear, spent several hundred thousand AD reinforcing it so that it can be worthless again? At the very least make the reinforcment kits unbind from the old class armor like enchants. There is no need for new "end game gear" every mod, it's not a cookie it's an aggrivation. More content to play and less gear grinding would be great, unless you are aming for mass exodus.

hedgebet · July 2015

The armor is certainly on the ugly and poorly designed side -- not as bad as black ice or elemental but it is of poor quality (with the exception of one or two pieces scattered about). I know that fantasy armor doesn't have to be exactly like real armor but their are ways to add in the fantasy aspect and still retain the apparent functionality of what armor is. Just putting crazy edges/ridges/projections onto armor does not demonstrate creativity but it actually reveals the opposite. I would seriously look for a decent artist (in this area -- not insulting the artists qualities elsewhere) as I am sure they are not doing this for free and thus they are being paid.

suboxos · July 2015

wow - those armor pieces are a huge letdown

... looks like they only have one guy doing the artwork and he got only one day to create those ...
Its really "nice" to see my freshly farmed and upgraded mod 6 elemental set is already obsolete and i have to trade it for this junk. Time to go and look for another game :*(

redsea1000 · July 2015

Just started this game at lvl 62 now, have opened many lockboxes, the rate at which good stuff is issued is dismal to the point I dont think i will open anymore. earning the diamonds is an almost non happening thing at lvl 62, possibly it gets better. I have no epic armor and dont know how I will afford it with the exception of drops, possibly, am in no guild as of yet so some content is unplayable to me as well. Time will tell if I stay with this game./

beckylunatic · July 2015

Glory can be donated to the Stronghold directly, for which you would receive guild marks.

mytholus · July 2015

I hope along with this new mod that there is also going to be some (fixing what is currently broke) adjustments, like the SW. My wallet is about to close. Nuff said...

vteasy · September 2015

so I saw this blog and thought we would be getting some cool looking TR gear.

Then i saw the guild armor design yesterday. Why the hell does my hood have beak? Come on guys this isn't classic D&D. the looks at least for TR are getting worse and worse. Look at the art for the books for inspiration

Developer Blog: New Gear With Strongholds

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