Thus far, I've been enjoying it. The Foundry is probably the only innovation that has truly blown me away, but the rest of it does feature quite a number of nicely executed minor features. The combat is very nice, for an MMO - you have a pretty efficient handful of powers, rather than the screenful that crops up in other MMOs, and you combine that with very dynamic real time action, as you can manually dodge and evade enemy attacks if you watch them carefully.
Now, that isn't anything new on its own - Guild Wars 2 was quite similar. But it felt much clunkier in Guild Wars 2 - in this game, at least for my Fighter, the rhythm of dodging and repositioning seemed to happen by instinct. It is fantastic to watch my dwarf go toe to toe with an ogre, constantly hacking away at his feet, dashing behind him, leaping away from his smash, and emerging from the fight with a feeling of truly having outfought the foe.
Also, after Guild Wars 2, having dungeons that were gorgeous and functional (at least, based on the one I've seen thus far) was a very nice welcome, and the ease of joining up for skirmishes and dungeons was handy. Similarly, being able to run around questing without having to fight over mobs along the way.
That said, the questing - at least at early levels - has been a bit mindless. The Foundry does help with that, though - I've only played a few player-made quests thus far, but they have been quite solid in the story and interaction department. And to an extent, I like having both as options - I can go blitz an area and run all the related quests when I just want to get levels and loot (possibly hopping in some queues for skirmishes/dungeons/PvP along the way), and when I have the time for a more elaborate activity, I can go on a foundry quest.
And, while somewhat mindless, the quests and monsters aren't entirely lacking in flavor. I ran into some kobolds in the sewers early on, and went chasing after a few that fled when they saw me - and, of course, ended up stumbling into the brutal regiment of traps they had cleverly led me into. I moved a bit more carefully from there on - and I liked that while my character might notice some traps based on their own perception (and highlight them in red to avoid), I could also keep my own eyes open and often see the pressure plates or other indications of where a trap would be, and avoid them entirely based on my own awareness. I like how they've handled traps - as well as secret doors and other surprises that can yield rewarding treasures when you find them.
Meanwhile, for a Free to Play MMO, I've been very impressed by it in comparison to others I've played. I tried out D&D Online, previously, and while I liked the game, I definitely got to the point - not too many levels in - when I felt the need to either spend money, or group up - in order to get any farther. With Neverwinter, it actually feels like a complete game without ever needing to spend a penny. That is far more a concern to me than whether someone can 'Pay to Win' and power up by spending lots of cash - if that is what they want, good for them! But it doesn't affect me either way.
Also a highlight thus far: Professions. I've grown to hate the standard MMO profession approach, of sitting in front of the screen watching a bar fill up as you process a ton of meaningless actions. (Tear up shirt into scraps, turn scraps into cloth, turn cloth into new shirt, tear up shirt and continue, etc, etc, etc.) Instead, in Neverwinter, you train and hire workers to do that for you. You simply assign them tasks - which you can do at any time (even from your web browser when not logged into the game!) They spend some amount of time on those tasks, and you gain rewards for them doing so, and level up your profession skill while you are at it. Simply easier, smoother and less intrusive than most other MMO crafting systems.
In many ways, that sums up what I like most about the game - it does feel like it has taken elements from other MMOs and refined them. It is easy to play - not necessarily in that you will overcome all challenges without difficulty, but in that you can avoid many of the usual frustrations of MMOs - the mindless grinding, the needless busywork, and all the other minor bits of tedium that mainly seem there to keep you tied to the game.
The areas where I have been a bit less impressed:
-Travel. Zones are pretty easy to navigate and get to a gate that will let you fast travel elsewhere, but I do miss having a hearthstone or other instant-teleport available for when needed. Teleport scrolls do exist, but are consumable, and while not expensive, they aren't exactly cheap either.
-Class Options. Not a huge selection right now - but then, it is still in beta, and they can easily add more as they go, so I'm not really holding this against them.
-Character Customization. Upgrading powers and spending feats is, in this, pretty much standard 'incremental bonus' MMO fare. I'd have liked something a bit more robust.
-Currency. Once I got used to it, it hasn't been too problematic, but having a half-dozen different forms of currency (gp from monsters, astral diamonds for the auction house, zen for real world cash, tokens and insignias for bounty hunters, glory for pvp, etc.)
-Visuals. This isn't to say there is anything wrong with the game appearance - the graphics seem solid. But the visual design of the open world is not particularly inspired - in large part because we are just seeing another usual fantasy environment with usual fantasy monsters roaming about. After Guild Wars 2, which had some stunningly scenic vistas and landscapes, the difference was noticeable. What I did find especially odd, though, was that the one dungeon I've been through was a surprisingly majestic place, as we passed from the normal corridors of the tower into elaborate labs filled with colorful equipment - and then into underground caves in which gorgeous plants and crystals were grown by the tower mages. The scenery in the dungeon was excellent. Similarly, the main city is a vibrant, colorful place, which did make them rest of the questing areas around it - at least the early ones - feel a bit humdrum in comparison.
Now, that isn't anything new on its own - Guild Wars 2 was quite similar. But it felt much clunkier in Guild Wars 2 - in this game, at least for my Fighter, the rhythm of dodging and repositioning seemed to happen by instinct. It is fantastic to watch my dwarf go toe to toe with an ogre, constantly hacking away at his feet, dashing behind him, leaping away from his smash, and emerging from the fight with a feeling of truly having outfought the foe.
Also, after Guild Wars 2, having dungeons that were gorgeous and functional (at least, based on the one I've seen thus far) was a very nice welcome, and the ease of joining up for skirmishes and dungeons was handy. Similarly, being able to run around questing without having to fight over mobs along the way.
That said, the questing - at least at early levels - has been a bit mindless. The Foundry does help with that, though - I've only played a few player-made quests thus far, but they have been quite solid in the story and interaction department. And to an extent, I like having both as options - I can go blitz an area and run all the related quests when I just want to get levels and loot (possibly hopping in some queues for skirmishes/dungeons/PvP along the way), and when I have the time for a more elaborate activity, I can go on a foundry quest.
And, while somewhat mindless, the quests and monsters aren't entirely lacking in flavor. I ran into some kobolds in the sewers early on, and went chasing after a few that fled when they saw me - and, of course, ended up stumbling into the brutal regiment of traps they had cleverly led me into. I moved a bit more carefully from there on - and I liked that while my character might notice some traps based on their own perception (and highlight them in red to avoid), I could also keep my own eyes open and often see the pressure plates or other indications of where a trap would be, and avoid them entirely based on my own awareness. I like how they've handled traps - as well as secret doors and other surprises that can yield rewarding treasures when you find them.
Meanwhile, for a Free to Play MMO, I've been very impressed by it in comparison to others I've played. I tried out D&D Online, previously, and while I liked the game, I definitely got to the point - not too many levels in - when I felt the need to either spend money, or group up - in order to get any farther. With Neverwinter, it actually feels like a complete game without ever needing to spend a penny. That is far more a concern to me than whether someone can 'Pay to Win' and power up by spending lots of cash - if that is what they want, good for them! But it doesn't affect me either way.
Also a highlight thus far: Professions. I've grown to hate the standard MMO profession approach, of sitting in front of the screen watching a bar fill up as you process a ton of meaningless actions. (Tear up shirt into scraps, turn scraps into cloth, turn cloth into new shirt, tear up shirt and continue, etc, etc, etc.) Instead, in Neverwinter, you train and hire workers to do that for you. You simply assign them tasks - which you can do at any time (even from your web browser when not logged into the game!) They spend some amount of time on those tasks, and you gain rewards for them doing so, and level up your profession skill while you are at it. Simply easier, smoother and less intrusive than most other MMO crafting systems.
In many ways, that sums up what I like most about the game - it does feel like it has taken elements from other MMOs and refined them. It is easy to play - not necessarily in that you will overcome all challenges without difficulty, but in that you can avoid many of the usual frustrations of MMOs - the mindless grinding, the needless busywork, and all the other minor bits of tedium that mainly seem there to keep you tied to the game.
The areas where I have been a bit less impressed:
-Travel. Zones are pretty easy to navigate and get to a gate that will let you fast travel elsewhere, but I do miss having a hearthstone or other instant-teleport available for when needed. Teleport scrolls do exist, but are consumable, and while not expensive, they aren't exactly cheap either.
-Class Options. Not a huge selection right now - but then, it is still in beta, and they can easily add more as they go, so I'm not really holding this against them.
-Character Customization. Upgrading powers and spending feats is, in this, pretty much standard 'incremental bonus' MMO fare. I'd have liked something a bit more robust.
-Currency. Once I got used to it, it hasn't been too problematic, but having a half-dozen different forms of currency (gp from monsters, astral diamonds for the auction house, zen for real world cash, tokens and insignias for bounty hunters, glory for pvp, etc.)
-Visuals. This isn't to say there is anything wrong with the game appearance - the graphics seem solid. But the visual design of the open world is not particularly inspired - in large part because we are just seeing another usual fantasy environment with usual fantasy monsters roaming about. After Guild Wars 2, which had some stunningly scenic vistas and landscapes, the difference was noticeable. What I did find especially odd, though, was that the one dungeon I've been through was a surprisingly majestic place, as we passed from the normal corridors of the tower into elaborate labs filled with colorful equipment - and then into underground caves in which gorgeous plants and crystals were grown by the tower mages. The scenery in the dungeon was excellent. Similarly, the main city is a vibrant, colorful place, which did make them rest of the questing areas around it - at least the early ones - feel a bit humdrum in comparison.
