Neverwinter: Ravenloft Release Day – Cinematic Trailer and Developer Vlog

If, despite all the recent popular media portrayals, you still think that brooding vampires that can turn into mist and bats are kind of cool, then you might like to know that the iconic Ravenloft module for Cryptic Studios’ D&D-inspired MMO Neverwinter should be launching today on PC. Here’s the official cinematic launch trailer:

And here’s a vlog from the developers that outlines the module’s exciting new features that include a proper day and night cycle:

You can find the latest patch notes, as well as plenty of links to detailed Ravenloft development updates right here. Check out the highlights:

New Zone: Barovia
It all starts with Neverember’s request to appease a noble patron, but soon after, you find yourself in the haunted realm of Barovia. Though the sun may never fully shine here, the day is still much safer than the night. Protect the village from the monsters in the mists, help the townsfolk regain hope, and prepare to face the ruler of this realm.

New Campaign: Ravenloft
Advance through the storyline surrounding Barovia and gain three objects of power to prepare yourself to fight Strahd. A new set of four boons accompanies this campaign, along with a straightforward approach from the mists to Castle Ravenloft.

New Dungeon: Castle Ravenloft
Once you have gained the necessary artifacts and assisted the townsfolk, you will be given the opportunity to enter Castle Ravenloft itself. Battle against hordes of vampires, waves of werewolves, and enjoy the ball! It will be your best opportunity to defeat Count Strahd von Zarovich.

Reimagined Hunt Experience
The monsters in the mists are much cleverer than before. This time, the hunt will take you across Barovia! Bring a wanted poster to Madam Eva to choose your target, present up to three Tarokka cards for added challenges with added rewards, and embark on an instanced hunt alone or with your friends.

Astral Diamond Refinement Changes
Astral Diamonds are now more easily accessible across a player’s entire account! The Shared Bank, accessible at the bank in Protector’s Enclave, can now store Astral Diamonds. In addition, regardless of character, an account can refine up to 100,000 Astral Diamonds per day.

Loot Experience Update
The Need / Greed prompt will now appear much less frequently, saving precious screen space. All items that are not Bind on Pickup, and would previously have made this prompt appear, will now cause all party members to auto-roll Need if they could use it, and Greed if they cannot.

Updated Bonus RP Event
The Bonus RP event has been improved! Not only are more Refinement Points awarded at a time, players may also spend Astral Diamonds to boost their RP drop rates even further, up to five times the normal rate. In addition, players now receive bonus rewards for reaching certain milestones on the way to the event’s cap!

Quest Path Improvements
Updates have been made to the algorithm that automatically selects which quest is tracked for the Quest Path. Players will still be able to override this through their Quest Journal or double-clicking on quests in the Quest Tracker, but the default should now be more intuitive.

Random Queues
Thanks to the feedback we’ve received, we’ve adjusted Random Queues to be more in-line with the desires of the community. The queue categories have been adjusted to match various bands of difficulty, regardless of type. The “once per day” bonuses have also been made once-per-account rather than once-per-character, and the value of those bonuses has increased.

Level Scaling Adjustments
The level scaling algorithm has been updated! When players are level-scaled up or down to the level of a dungeon, skirmish, or other content, this should bring the difficulty more in-line with the experience of players who engage in the content at level. In addition, Enchantments will also scale to a maximum rank depending on the content. This will make low-level dungeons less of a breeze for high-level players, but should still be fun.