‘Neverwinter’ Expansion ‘The Cloaked Ascendancy’ Releases for PC February 21 with PS4 and Xbox One Releases to Follow

Perfect World Entertainment and Cryptic Studios officially announced today that the latest expansion for Neverwinter, the MMORPG based on the mega-popular Dungeons & Dragons franchise, releases for PC on February 21, followed by releases on PS4 and Xbox One later this year.

In this newest expansion, titled The Cloaked Ascendancy, players will be able to access several new features, providing a full experience for fans of the Forgotten Realms. The expansion will include a new campaign, adventure zone, skirmish and more.

Neverwinter: The Cloaked Ascendancy‘s campaign picks up where the last Neverwinter expansion, Storm King’s Thunder, left off. Players will explore the latest adventure zone, the River District, to uncover the secrets of four mages from the Cloak Tower. Gyrion the Ascendant and his comrades, now known as the Cloaked Ascendancy, are preparing to use their formidable magic powers against Neverwinter after surviving the Far Realm. According to Neverwinter Unblogged’s preview of the introductory questline, Gyrion now claims to be the true ruler of Neverwinter and plans to usurp the throne from the city’s current Lord Protector, Dagult Neverember.

The expansion’s campaign ultimately leads up to players revisiting the stunning Spellplague Caverns, which will serve as a leveling dungeon for The Cloaked Ascendancy with a new skirmish featuring fresh and exciting gameplay.

Arc Games’ developer blog went into detail about The Cloaked Ascendancy‘s features ahead of its release:

“New Adventure Zone: The River District – Lord Neverember has made good on his promise to expand the city of Neverwinter by reclaiming the neighborhoods of the old River District. Once home to rich merchants, nobles, temples, and wizards, it is filled with lost treasures. The Protector is looking for adventurers like you to help him secure the port and lands. By establishing guard posts to keep the areas safe, adventures can delve into excavation sites of buried mansions and crypts in search of riches. But the heroes are not the only ones searching for these treasures! This Adventure Zone comes with a new campaign with alternate paths for completion.

“More Treasure Hunting! – The River District is full of possibilities and hidden treasures! All you have to do is find a map…

“Ships Ahoy! – The opening up of the River District port means lots of opportunities for trading. Protect treasure caravans and barter with travelling merchants willing to trade fresh supplies of Voninblood for resources from the River District.

“The Illusionist’s Gambit! – A crazy skirmish into the mind of a mad Illusionist. Be ready for anything- then play it again and be ready for something else!

“Spellplague Caverns Returns! – Refurbished and remastered, we’ve cleared out all the bodies of adventurers gone by, and reopened both standard and epic versions. New challenges, new boss fights and of course new epic loot. The Mimic King compels you!”

Arc Games also went in depth about the River District, which serves as the main hub for Lord Neverember’s efforts to reclaim Neverwinter. According to the blog, the district will feature a rich underground network of dungeons, crypts, and treasure vaults left behind by the city’s wealthiest citizens before the Spellplague. The zone will also be dynamic, meaning you’ll earn credit for your dailies simply from playing in the district rather than completing a series of daily quests.

“The dynamic nature of the zone means more choice when it comes to completing dailies for the campaign. Rather than having several rotating quests that must be completed each day, the bulk of your daily credit simply comes from playing in the zone. You can play the territory control game with the guard posts, activate and explore treasure vaults at the dig sites, participate in heroic encounters to stop wizard rituals and counterattacks, or just defeat enemies throughout the district. Any and all of these things grant credit toward daily campaign progress.”

Neverwinter is free to play and is available on PC or digitally on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. An Xbox Live Gold membership is required to play on the Xbox One. Neverwinter is an action MMORPG that puts players in the middle of the expansive city of Neverwinter, which is filled with equal parts lore and combat. Players can also venture out into the surrounding countryside to learn more about the Forgotten Realms, battle their way through epic dungeons, and face myriad foes. Neverwinter: The Cloaked Ascendancy will be Neverwinter‘s 11th expansion when it releases February 21 for PC.

[Featured Image by Perfect World Entertainment]