Neverwinter Celebrates Smooth Ravenloft Launch and Crowded Servers

Neverwinter Ravenloft successfully launched on Tuesday and based on our first impression, the mod is doing quite well. SteamCharts’ peak players are up to 5,000 which are the most since May 2015. As regular visitor you know that these numbers are not too accurate because most players use the game’s own launcher, but it nonetheless suggests a nice influx of players. Another indication might be the crowded instances in the new Barovia zone. At some point there were over 200, which sure feels like more than usual. Ravenloft is a very popular D&D module and it seems like Neverwinter was able to pick up some hype!

Launch Issues

No launch comes without issues however and we’d like to quickly go over the known stuff and possible workarounds. First and foremost: Bonding Runestones and other companion equipment is broken and doesn’t grant the correct amount of stats. So if you feel a little powerless in Ravenloft, it might be because you are. It’s apparently an unintended side effect of the new scaling system that “scales down” some elements of the character even in level 70 content. The devs are aware and actively working on a fix.

[su_quote cite=”nitocris83″]We hope to get a fix out this week for the bonding runestone issue. This issue was escalated when it was originally reported on preview but due to its complexity we were not able to get a fix out prior to the final build that made it live. This is our current main priority but we are following up on other issues reported. [/su_quote]

The other annoyance is a bug to the instance system. Sometimes it breaks and players can no longer manually switch. If that’s the case, the UI will only show 2-3 instances when there should be more. You can still move to other instances in case you’re in a party however. Just leave the zone, come back, and you should be placed in the instance of your teammates. Please note that the game picks one of the instances of your party members. So make sure only the players in the desired instance stay in the zone and all others leave.

We have listed other known minor issues below. You can also monitor the official launch issues thread, where the devs post their updates.

Other Minor Issues

• The weekly quest “Company of Wolves” in Barovia can be completed more often than intended
• The introductory hunt “Direwolf” can be completed more often than intended if you use VIP and not the portal to zone out
• Small HEs in Barovia sometimes do not spawn the last wave of mobs
• Game keeps trying to patch ingame even with on-demand option disabled
• DC dodge length is broken
• The chat UI randomly activates outside the “alt”/spectator mode
• Some dailies in Omu can no longer be completed because mobs are missing or stuck in terrain

What’s your impression of the Ravenloft launch? Share your thoughts and experience on our social channels, in the comments below, or visit the corresponding thread on our message board!

Neverwinter UN:Blogged is always looking for writers to contribute to the blog. If you are an active player and search for a way to spread your opinions, analysis, diaries or reviews to more than 50,000 regular visitors, then don’t hesitate and get in touch with us on our contact page or message board! We are currently especially looking for console and PVP content, but that’s not exclusive. There is no frequency requirement, you post how often you want.