Neverwinter Ravenloft Preview: The Tarokka Deck & Cards

As part of our massive preview of Neverwinter’s Module 14: Ravenloft, I’m going over the Tarokka Deck system in this article. The deck is handed out as part of the introductory quest line and serves a dual-purpose in the game. First of all, the cards of the deck are used to add more challenge to the Hunts of Barovia for additional rewards. Second of all, it’s a collector mechanic that can net players an unique artifact. So let’s go through the deck, the cards, and all of their effects!

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How Does The Tarokka Deck Work?

As mentioned players get the deck by completing the introductory quest line of Ravenloft. It is put into the “Useful Items” inventory tab and can be brought up by either clicking it there or using the button in the Ravenloft campaign UI. The deck concept comes from the pen and paper lore. Used by Madame Eva to read the adventurers’ future, it loosely guides players through the campaign. In Neverwinter however it fills a different purpose. While doing Hunts, group leaders can add up to three cards of their deck to add additional challenge and rewards. The cards get consumed so you need to refill them constantly. You can also collect all cards and claim an unique artifact.

The Tarokka Deck consists of a “High Deck” and several lower ones. The cards in the High Deck are epic, and offer the best bonuses and rewards. The lower deck cards are rare and offer the same type of rewards in a gradual format. The first card of the Glyphs Deck for example adds 10 Barovian Coins, the last one 100.

  • High Deck: Adds additional gear rewards to Hunts and feature Tarokka Deck Artifact Powers (see below)
  • Swords Deck: Adds additional gear rewards to Hunts
  • Stars Deck: Adds additional refining point rewards to Hunts
  • Glyphs: Adds additional campaign currency rewards to Hunts
  • Stars: Adds additional Astral Diamond rewards to Hunts

Where to You Get Cards?

The deck is free, but the cards have to be farmed or bought. There are several sources of Tarokka Cards:

  • Campaign Tasks (High Cards)
  • Some Weekly Campaign Quests (High Cards)
  • ZEN Store (High Cards)
  • Drop from mobs in the zone (Low Cards)
  • The Card Dealer (High and Low Cards)

As you can see, you should be able to progress with your deck by just playing the zone and the campaign. Players that like shortcuts will however also be able to buy random cards from the ZEN store. If you’re looking to complete your deck, the Card Dealer in the Vistani Camp in Barovia also comes in handy. You can trade him cards and then buy one card you do not already possess once per week. This way you can fill holes by using your duplicates.

Hunt Functionality

When played as part of Hunts, the cards add extra challenge for extra rewards. You can see all cards of the High Deck and selected ones from the Low Deck above. Some cards are merely annoying or extend the Hunt, but others might make it necessary to bring a group, like “The Donjon”. The rewards are worth it though as you can get item level 470 – 510 armor. We’ll go over the gear in a different article, but you will be pleased to hear that the devs re-introduce a lot of the old transmutes that were removed with Elemental Evil. There are at least thirteen different sets (6x 470, 4x 490, 3x 510), but maybe I even haven’t found all of them yet. The stronger ones feature equip bonuses and are definitely endgame viable. The blue gear (470) binds on equip, the epics (490 and 510) to account.

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I guess the gear will be what most players go after in M14, either to use it or for salvage purposes. The other cards that add refining points, Astral Diamonds, or campaign currency are nice, but are only complementary. I will by the way try to give you guys a full list of all sets and their visuals, but can’t guarantee it. It’s a lot of sets. Collectors do face quite a task to be honest, but you can also buy a pack in the campaign store that hands out the same gear pieces that you can get from the Tarokka Deck Cards.

Tarokka Deck Artifact

Other than adding rewards to Hunts, the deck once fully completed also grants an unique artifact. It’s interesting for different reasons. First of all it features a completely new mechanic as power. On use, you can select one out of three random cards that are drawn from your Tarokka Deck. Albeit there’s randomness involved, some of the effects look nice (see above). Also in case the artifact doesn’t draw any card you like, you can skip it, which shortens the cooldown and therefore can be used to proc stuff like the Insignia Bonus “Artificer’s Persuasion” more rapidly than with other artifacts. Obviously aiming to complete the deck and claim the artifact means that you can pretty much only use duplicates for Hunts. So players might have to decide how to use their cards early on. I would think that once obtained you no longer need to keep the deck intact, but I haven’t been able to test that so far.

Conclusion

Being able to add challenge for additional rewards is great, although I personally almost find the amount of gear choices the cards hand out a bit overwhelming. In the end though most stuff will probably end up as salvage or transmutes and endgame players are unlikely to switch. The same can be said about the artifact. It’s kind of a new approach for an artifact but I do not see it outperforming any current stuff. Also I’m quite interested how picking the powers works. While in combat I don’t think you really want to mess with such a mechanic, at least not unless the powers are really great. Overall however the Tarokka Deck indeed is a nice fresh idea that definitely adds an unique element to Barovia.


Have you tested the Tarokka Deck or even the artifact on preview? Do you like the system? Share your thoughts on our social channels, in the comments below, or the corresponding thread on our message board!

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j0Shi

j0Shi plays the Neverwinter MMORPG since the open BETA in 2013 and is a regular contributor to the blog and the whole UN:Project. Originally a Guardian Fighter, he has built up ALTs of all classes and plays on BIS/near-BIS level.

4 thoughts on “Neverwinter Ravenloft Preview: The Tarokka Deck & Cards

  • May 31, 2018 at 9:42 am
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    So when cards are used for a hunt, they’re consumed? If you build the whole deck and trade it for the artifact, can you start over with a fresh deck? Can you have more than one of each card? I wouldn’t expect you to be able to *use* two Donjons on the same hunt, but could you have 2 so you can use the Donjon on two hunts in a row without farming up a new one?

    • May 31, 2018 at 1:28 pm
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      Cards when used for a Hunt are consumed, yes. I haven’t claimed the artifact yet, but I assume you won’t lose your deck or any cards in the process. It’s more of an achievement, you do not actually “buy” it for your deck.

      Not sure you can play two of the same cards in the same Hunt. Will definitely check. But if you have two, you can absolutely use them in consecutive Hunts.

  • August 21, 2018 at 10:29 am
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    I completed the artifact last night and am messing around with it now. When you activate it, you see 3 card appears as “thumbnails” above your Encounter powers and you use the same keys to activate a power/buff. You only have 10 secs to choose one and you have to memorize which cards do what. Personally, until I do that, I will be using whatever shows for the “Q” Encounter key. After you choose one, text appears onscreen saying what card you chose. Cheers!

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