The latest update to hit the free-to-play MMORPG known only as Neverwinter brings a brand new story to players courtesy of New York Times Best-Selling Author R.A. Salvatore, as well as his son Geno Salvatore. Northdark Reaches promises to be yet another fantasy epic set deep in the heart of Netherwinter’s sprawling magical world – let’s check it out!
Coming as a free update to the base Neverwinter game, available on Xbox, PlayStation and PC fronts, Northdark Reaches tells a brave tale of an elven civil war, and a missing accomplice to the dwarven king Bruenor Battlehammer. All this takes place under the ferocious mountains of Faerûn in the Northdark Reaches, where your character is instructed to track down the missing hero – Braelin Janquay – and learn of this civil war brewing under the surface.
In this expansion, players will experience new quests, challenging bosses and a host of novel gadgets to make use of in the intricate combat system Neverwinter employs. What’s more, the Northdark Reaches will oversee the introduction of a persistent Underdark Adventure Zone – the first port of call for only the most courageous of adventurers.
The Temple of the Spider Dungeon is also receiving some new additions as this update drops. Expect to be fighting new enemy types and bosses, as well as switch between the Normal and Master difficulty modes. Of course, new battles breed all-new rewards to bestow upon your player.
Finally, the Northdark Reaches update sees a number of QoL improvements made, such as an updated inventory system, as well as changes to the Wizard class that the wider community have been asking for.
“I was thrilled to team up again with the Neverwinter team at Cryptic,” said R.A. Salvatore, New York Times bestselling author. “Working with the team for the Neverwinter’s 8th module, Underdark, was fantastic, so when the team asked if I wanted to work with them on a new two-part adventure for the game, I gladly accepted the opportunity. Being able to expand the Way of the Drow universe within the game was something I couldn’t pass up. I hope all Neverwinter players, especially those Drow and Way of the Drow fans, enjoy embarking on this new adventure, and getting to experience the beginning of what’s to come!”
“I love writing stories for games, so when the opportunity to help write this new adventure for Neverwinter was presented to us I absolutely wanted to work on it,” said Geno Salvatore, co-author of the Stone of Tymora trilogy and The Legend of Drizzt graphic novel series. “Northdark Reaches is my first experience working on Neverwinter, but it was incredible working with the team on it as they’re able to take so many different parts of D&D and put them in the game so well. I’m excited for fans to dive into Northdark Reaches and see for themselves how it’s a love-letter to the D&D and Way of the Drow universe.”
“Collaborating with R.A. Salvatore and Geno Salvatore on Northdark Reaches has been a dream come true for the Neverwinter team,” said Winter Mullenix, Narrative Director for Neverwinter. “Our designers and artists worked very hard to bring this exciting new region of the Underdark to life, and I personally cannot wait for players to experience the stories we crafted together.”
If you want to jump into Neverwinter on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4 or PC, then there’s no better time to do so with the release of Northdark Reaches. As a free-to-play title, there really isn’t any reason not to give it a go! For Xbox, you can pick up a copy of the game via the Xbox Store.
