The MMORPG Neverwinter sends players back to a floating pirate island. The new expansion “As Above, So Below – Return to Pirates’ Skyhold” was released on November 19, 2024, on Steam and PS5.
What kind of game is this? Neverwinter is a free-to-play MMORPG set in the well-known universe of Dungeons & Dragons. The game world, classes, and backstories are inspired by the pen-and-paper role-playing game.
On November 19, 2024, a new free expansion for Neverwinter was released. In “As Above, So Below – Return to Pirates’ Skyhold”, as the name suggests, it is a return to Pirates Skyhold, a flying pirate island.
You can see the trailer for the new update here:
Neverwinter was released in 2013 and was originally developed by Cryptic Studios. In 2021, the studio was acquired by the Embracer Group, but following a failed multi-million deal, massive layoffs occurred. MeinMMO reported on this back in October:
New content for an old area
What area is this? The adventure zone Pirates Skyhold was already in the game at the release of Neverwinter, so it is not fundamentally new. However, with the update, the area has been revised and expanded with new content.
Meanwhile, a shadow hangs over the Pirates’ Skyhold. This has cost the lives of many travelers. With your party of adventurers, you will return to this place and the past to uncover the mystery of this curse.
The main changes at a glance:
- The Pirates’ Skyhold has been “unvaulted” and polished
- 16 brand new encounters (6 Heroic Encounters and 10 Named Encounters)
- A variety of new side quests and loot
- Update for instances and a dungeon – the Dread Vault becomes the Dread Sanctum and offers an “epic, never-before-seen boss finale”
- “Quality of Life” improvements for guilds, companions, and more
Neverwinter offers a very action-packed combat system compared to other MMORPGs. If this is important to you in an MMORPG, you will find further recommendations of this kind in the following list. Read more about it here: The 7 best MMORPGs with action combat systems in 2024
