YouTuber Josh Strife Hayes has been making videos about MMORPGs for years. In his series “Worst MMO Ever,” he tests games that many may not be aware of to see if they are truly that bad. In the latest episode, the game Neverwinter was in the spotlight, into which he has invested thousands of hours himself.
What is the video about? Hayes typically tests new MMORPGs for his video series for 8 to 10 hours and then summarizes his opinion in 30 to 60 minutes, also integrating current Steam reviews at some point. However, the latest episode is quite special.
Because the YouTuber has played Neverwinter for many years and called it his favorite MMORPG. Hayes even originally created his YouTube channel to share guides for Neverwinter.
But now so many things about the MMORPG bother him that he can no longer recommend it in good conscience. Reasons for this include the so-called content vault and pay-to-win, which is said to have become rampant in Neverwinter.
Right from the start of the video, he says: “This video hurts me so much because Neverwinter Online was my main MMORPG for many years. Difficult years, and it helped me through that time. I was addicted to the game.”
Illogical story content and pay-to-win are the big problems
What bothers Hayes about the content? To begin with, the YouTuber shows some beautiful aspects of the game. He praises the action-packed combat system, the good introduction in the first missions, and the challenging enemies and bosses that are present right from the start.
He also praises the mounts, which offer different bonuses and a unique attack, as once unlocked, these bonuses can be mixed as desired.
However, the tone changes throughout the video. For instance, Hayes is disturbed by the adjustments made for leveling that were introduced in Summer 2021:
- The max level was reduced from 80 to 20.
- There are no more experience points; instead, you level up through story progression.
- A new training room was introduced, which Hayes dislikes because it interrupts the game and the story.
- Some old campaigns were removed, so players cannot experience them anymore.
Hayes is also bothered that some characters were replaced with the update. New players may hardly notice the issues, but those who are deeper into the story and know the old content would wonder why these changes were made in the first place.
What is the biggest criticism of Neverwinter? However, the YouTuber is most upset about the pay-to-win aspect. This is said to be enormous in Neverwinter. Hayes himself states: “In the shop, you can buy real power. I will show you how you can buy your way directly into the end game.”
At the beginning of the video, Hayes had already shown the various races in the game. Each of them offers a different bonus. Therefore, there is objectively the best race, which, however, must be paid for with Zen. The price is 3,500 Zen.
Zen can be obtained in-game and for real money. 3,500 Zen corresponds to about 28 Euros.
Additionally, you need buffs that you receive for completing various campaigns. In this context, there are campaign tokens. These immediately complete a campaign without playing, allowing you to collect the rewards. Such a completion costs 700 Zen (5.50 Euros).
There are also the following useful items in the shop:
- A boost directly to max level.
- Enchantments for your weapon that make it stronger.
- When upgrading equipment, the material can break, but there are items in the shop to counter that.
- There are companions that can be obtained in-game as well as in the shop.
- The strongest mounts are available in the shop, each having its own bonuses.
Additionally, there are items that revive you on the spot before the dungeon boss generates life. This means you can theoretically defeat bosses by using real money, regardless of your skill level.
Premium membership as the cherry on top: In addition to the content in the shop, there is also a premium membership. This gives you more bonuses the more months you pay for at once.
If you purchase for 12 months upfront, you receive, among other things, +1% additional health for the entire group, more in-game currency, no penalties upon death, and access to the bank from anywhere in the world.
Currency packages are good for the seller: Another major criticism from Hayes is how Zen is sold. There is a package that offers 3,450 Zen for 27 Euros. However, for the race, you need 3,500 Zen and must either buy another package for 4.50 Euros or go directly for the more expensive version for 45 Euros.
You can watch the full critique here:
Zen can be purchased for in-game currency, but first, 500,000 Euros need to be spent
What about the exchange of currencies? Hayes explains how the exchange of in-game currency for Zen works:
- You can exchange Astral Diamonds for Zen.
- Currently, there are over 65 million offers from players who want to buy Zen for Astral Diamonds.
- This means that first, 65 million Zen must go to other players before you would be next in line with the newest offer. That equates to 2,742 times the most expensive Zen package in the game.
- In plain terms: Other players would need to spend nearly 500,000 Euros and convert it all into diamonds before you would be next in line for the newest trade offer.
Since this is unlikely to happen in the coming weeks, you will need to spend real money for the many bonuses.
By the end of the video, Hayes appears very dejected. You can tell that he actually likes Neverwinter, but is dissatisfied with the latest decisions and especially the development of the shop. PvP in Neverwinter is reportedly quite dead because of this.
Hayes ends his video with the rating: “This review costs 3,500 Zen / out of 10.”
What do you think about Neverwinter and the shop system? Have you had a similar experience or had Neverwinter not on your radar so far? And which MMORPG has the worst shop system? Feel free to write it in the comments.
We have already looked at the shop of the upcoming game Lost Ark in beta. Here, too, there is plenty of criticism:
Is Lost Ark pay-to-win? What’s in the shop of the western version?
