Tomorrow, free-to-play Dungeons & Dragons MMO Neverwinter returns to some of its earliest zones with its latest expansion, Sharandar. But while our party is venturing forth into the elfy forests of ages yore, these aren't the forests you remember from back in the day.
"Even though it's still Sharandar, players won't technically be returning to the same place in this new update," says lead designer Randy Mosiondz. "Our team has fully rebuilt the area from the ground up, including never before seen adventure zones and a brand-new social hub."
With a three-episode arc whose first instalment, The Iron Tooth, arrives tomorrow, Cryptic's revamped Sharandar supplants the mystical forest introduced in 2013 via the game's first module, Fury Of The Feywild. This new version sports grander vistas, with new "Ruins Of Malabog" adventure zone, social hub, and end game dungeon.
But this isn't a one-and-done do-over. As Mosiondz explains, you can expect more mix-ups in the forest over the coming months.
"Another thing we've started doing is evolving our existing game worlds. We did that with the Rage of Bel and Redeemed Citadel updates for Avernus, and we're doing that more with our upcoming episodic content for Sharandar. We want to advance the story and evolve the world alongside that narrative in a natural way."
The next two episodes continue the story with an ongoing transformation to Sharandar's wilds, likely leading to new lairs, zones and challenges. Episodes 2 and 3, The Soul Keeper and The Odious Court respectively, are set to arrive later this year.
Of course, Neverwinter isn't the only way to play Dungeons & Dragons on a PC. We've put together handy guide on how to get get started with virtual tabletop sessions.
