Last November, the free-to-play MMORPGNeverwinterreleased its Spelljammer module, which took players on board a titular Spelljammer spacecraft for some D&D-style sci-fi questing.Neverwinter’s new 28th module, Adventures In Wildspace, concludes the story kicked off by its predecessor while introducing some new mechanics that shake up the campaign’s core loop.
Game Rant spent some time playing Adventures in Wildspace leading up to its release, taking in the sights throughout the module’s visually striking landing sites that range from tropical island asteroid paradises to gigantic orbital bases among the stars. Alongside somequesting and exploration, we dabbled in the module’s challenging new Arena of Blood that pits players against increasingly difficult waves of enemies. Due to the nature ofNeverwinter’s campaign progression system, however, we were only able to check out the first third of the campaign’s storyline.
Wildspace is Some of Neverwinter’s Best Environmental Design
Like its predecessor, Adventures in Wildspace strays fromNeverwinter’s typical approachto new modules. Rather than taking place in a single larger adventure zone, Adventures in Wildspace spans a handful of planetary landing sites which has once again resulted in a refreshingly diverse assortment of visual themes. Since each playable area is more contained, we also found that we’d be wrapping up our quests in each zone before they wore out their welcome.
Acting as a hub for this module is the first landing site, Moon Vocath. This is the seat of power for the crime lord Vocath and his headquarters for the Trade Consortium, and the playable area is a gigantic orbital base set beneath the vibrant starry nebulae of Wildspace. This is where many of the module’s quests are doled out, and it’s also where Vocath’s famous Arena of Blood is hosted. Meanwhile, our next destination was Asteroid Hymirea, a lush tropical paradise floating through space. Asteroid Hymirea plays well into the nautical theme of Spelljammer space exploration, with rowboats gently floating in the void along Hymirea’s “shoreline.”
Since Adventures in Wildspace is a continuation of Spelljammer, the module has benefited from keeping those previous landing sites relevant, and we found ourselves revisiting the crystal mines of Asteroid Tannis and fighting off Illithid mind flayers once more on the asteroid Zar’bos. These Wildspace environments are some of theNeverwinterart team’s best work, and we were happy to have legitimate reasons to return to them.
Neverwinter’s Arena of Blood is a Fun Challenge
The Spelljammer module’s campaign progression largely hinged around participating in Xaryxian invasions, which popped up once the collective player base completed enough activities throughout Wildspace. Taking things in the opposite direction, one of the main campaign drivers in Adventures in Wildspace is the Arena of Blood.
The Arena of Blood can be entered at any time, eithersolo or with a group, and participation is only really limited by the currency cap. It’s a straightforward arena gauntlet where players are faced with increasingly difficult waves of enemies interspersed by boss waves. There’s a solid variety of enemies ranging from simple waves of trolls and giants to brutal double boss fights against a basilisk and a giant worm, and we looked forward to seeing what each wave would throw at us.
Playing solo, we could comfortably reach the fifth round of about fifteen waves before we began to struggle to stay alive. The earlier waves are certainly doable for solo players, but it seems to be a much more fun activity to pursue with a group. As the Arena of Blood continues until all players are downed, it’s a great opportunity for skill flexing as players show off how many waves they can survive.
Narratively, both Spelljammer and Adventures in Wildspace have been some of ourfavoriteNeverwintermodulesto explore. The stakes feel incredibly high as we gather a coalition of allies to fight against the Xaryxian Empire, a tragic people who sap the energy from countless worlds to preserve their own fading star. It’s great to see that, eleven years down the road, theNeverwinterteam continues to take the game quite literally to new heights.
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Neverwinter is the premier Dungeons & Dragons MMORPG experience, featuring fast-paced combat and epic dungeons. Explore the vast city of Neverwinter and its surrounding regions, battle its many enemies, and be a part of Forgotten Realms history.Experience Dungeons & Dragons Like Never Before - Neverwinter is an action MMORPG that bridges intense combat with classic D&D gameplay. Journey through the city of Neverwinter and the legendary subcontinent of Faerûn, and face off against the greatest adversaries from D&D legend.Build Your Own Legend – Bring your adventures to life through iconic D&D classes and races, advanced paragon paths, companions, and a remarkable range of customization options. Whether you’re hunting dragons and beholders within crumbling dungeons or battling other players in the icy reaches of Icespire Peak, you’ll discover why Neverwinter is the definitive Dungeons & Dragons experience.
