Module 33 - Biting Cold

major update

Neverwinter · published 4 months ago · build 11833704

The contents in this article are taken from a test version and could be subject to change for the final version. When this happens, we will inform you.

Keeping your head cool is an automated process with Module 33, Biting Cold, where the temperatures drop and rise on the go. Explore the Reghed Edge, where beleaguered people struggle and need your help. Conquer Heroic Encounters over shared zones, survive the freezing cold of the Encroached Frost and beat the Jotunskar Dungeon’s bosses! It's time to get into Biting Cold, a good reason to introduce some of our team members to you!

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“I had just received an urgent call for aid from our old friends over in Icewind Dale.

Remote camps at the edge of the Reghed Glacier and the Sea of Moving Ice reported strange activities plaguing their homes. Nightmares, warped creatures, and disappearances have forced people to brave the freezing cold to Ten-Towns for help. The Speakers reached out to us to see if you could journey to one of these camps and find out what's going on.”

In the freezing lands, north of Icewind Dale, lies The Reghed Edge, where the Reghed Glacier nearly touches the Sea of Moving Ice. According to the people there, strange events are unfolding. The warm season has stretched unseasonably long, thawing ancient glaciers. Frost giants and other monsters have been seen far closer to their seasonal camp than ever before. Disturbing dreams come to them, driving them to madness.

The land suffers. Corruption eats into every corner, rousing the old magic. There are many things here that should never be disturbed. A dense forest draped in snow, populated by dangerous creatures. Buried ruins, slightly revealing themselves by shards of blue light. Howling winds carry whispers of madness, and something ancient stirs beneath the ice. Frost giant warbands and savage beasts roam the wastes as players press deeper into a land where the truth is buried as surely as the past itself.

It is time for adventurers to gather their thickest clothes, to investigate a frozen frontier gripped by unnatural shifts in weather.

Behind the scenes:
Designing this new adventure zone has been mainly in Jan Olcina's hands, who previously worked on a variety of Heroic Encounters and who was also responsible for leading Red Harvest II: The Soul Collector’s zone in the intended direction. The narrative design has been the responsibility of Pawida ‘Chess’ de Borde, implementing Neverwinter's lore, voice lines and everything story-related since Red Harvest. Biting Cold’s questline eventually brings you in a separate instance environment built by Georgi Valkov and Mark Tchaipunt, growing the strength of the new zone’s team.

Concept Art for the Reghed Edge, created by Lucca Medeiros.

Upon entering the Reghed Edge, the first thing you will notice is Margherita Lucchi’s work. From a fully detailed village to a big forest, our environmental artist brought Biting Cold alive. It proved quite a challenge, because an environment artist will always add as many details as possible. While there is plenty to be seen, performance optimization always plays a big role in her work too. Both Biting Cold's performance and snow are as smooth as possible. The frozen lakes with all its cracked details and glows from underneath were carefully handled by Richard Sööt.

Concept Art for the Reghed Edge's Instance quest, created by Artem Plotnikov.

Through creating the Slaughterhouse Arena, we gained inspiration to have our Heroic Encounters shared over three arenas for the first time, meaning that one spot could feature a variety of encounters. There are six new Heroic Encounters for you to conquer!

Freeze and unfreeze the guardian spirits, try to stay warm while fighting the Stormcaller in the blizzard, channel arcane energies on the frozen lake, shatter the frozen armor of the yeti, face the forest's primal animals, and help miners to survive against goblin raiders.

In the frozen expanse of Icewind Dale, where the wind howls like a living thing and the cold bites to the bone, lies Jotunskar, a place of brutal purpose and ancient power. Carved from stone and scarred by fire, this forsaken stronghold is no mere ruin. A crucible where strength is demanded and weakness is consumed.

Slide down the icy descent through the slippery Jotunskar, where Frost Giants have succumbed to whispers, mobilizing under a mysterious new authority. Avoid the Death Pit at all costs while you delve your way through the darkness, on your way to defeat three mighty bosses while looking for answers.

With three difficulty levels, every adventurer can test their strength:

Normal Mode – Accessible to all.
Advanced Mode – A steppingstone for mid-level players looking to push their limits. For now, Advanced Mode won’t be available in Random Queues.
Master Mode – A relentless challenge for the most skilled adventurers, emphasizing strategy and teamwork over raw stats.

Behind the scenes:
Inspired by his work on M32’s Soul Harvest Trial, where he was responsible for the ice boss, Victor Romero took the lead in designing even more literally cool content, designing all of Jotunskar's bosses and their powers. For the third boss, he got help from Charles de Mello, who earlier took the lead in designing both of Thay's Trials. Together, Charles and Victor formed a great team to helm this new Dungeon, and in our opinion, it also looks great visually. Environmental artist Natalia Wylezińska did a great job bringing Jotunskar to life, with a beautiful frozen ceiling, gorgeous rooms, loads of details and more.

The dungeon features a new unique way to access the sublevel of the dungeon, a frozen slide created by the natural flow of time. The later encountered Death Pit initially was crafted as this very narrow path where you had to gather several buffs to destroy the ice wall that now prevents you from getting to the next campfire at first. While not all initial ideas always make the final version of a dungeon, there is always room for creative ideas next time.

The first few testing sessions came with plenty surprises for the team, like the Death Pit that suddenly got changed into a big, slippery circle! Multiple team members straightaway slid into the void and kept on slipping later while fighting the vast number of critters placed.

A lot of adjustments have been made after testing, and we truly hope you have a great time exploring the frozen halls of Jotunskar!

Concept Art for Jotunskar, created by Uliana Amosova.

Not only does the Ten-Towns region experience bizarre visions, but there are also plenty of bizarre creatures to find. Our Battle Pass shows you just what we mean, with Wormungandr as its chase reward!

The weather watchers warned us of the blizzards getting worse, which coincides with the rising temperatures. They're periodical, but you'd have to be mad to willingly venture into one without sufficient protection. We're calling it the Encroaching Frost... Even the most seasoned explorers struggle to get through it. Normally, we'd advise waiting it out, as great evil hides within the winds, and visibility is drastically reduced, but entering the storm and withstanding its debilitating effects is often the wiser choice to eventually reap great rewards!

Slay Ice Mephits and Air Archons, locate and open Storm Treasure Chests or Storm Skill Nodes, and participate in the Stormbound Reaver Summoning Ritual to bring him down when he finally emerges from the blizzard! Defeating the Stormbound Reaver will bring greater rewards, including Reghed Shards.

The storm lasts for a limited time, after which you must refill the Storm Meter to trigger the next one. Whispers claim that the more Heroic Encounters adventurers tackle, the faster a new Encroaching Frost begins to brew. Standing close to campfires or braziers will help mitigate the damage and get rid of the side-effects from the deadly Freezing Cold.

Brave the cold and face all that hides in the winds, but take time to prepare before you do. Even Giants can struggle in the Blizzards...

Behind the scenes:
Designer Samuil (Spami) is combining most of his experience into one big zone mechanic with the Encroaching Frost. Before Biting Cold, he created Tenebraloth, the Necrotitan, the Slaughterhouse Arena, and quite the variety of other Heroic Encounters and zone mechanics.

Mike Lopez has been responsible for Neverwinter's music and sound effects for a while now, from making the heavy metal piece for Red Harvest's Shackles of Divinity Trial to Biting Cold's music, filled with traditional ‘joiks’ of the Sámi people of Northern Europe.

Check out Lakeblurgaming's recent interview with him below!

Encroaching Frost has crept down from the Reghed Glacier's dangerous mountains, bringing with it treasures born of biting winds and endless snowdrifts. Within this chilling Lockbox, you may ride the Snowtusk, or feel honored to be accompanied by the ever-dapper Sir Waddlelot!

>> Read more about the Lockbox.

Watch on YouTubeLinck's Siqueira created a lot of visual effects for Snowtusk, other Mounts and Companions, and the Jotunskar Dungeon.

What goes into a penguin? A lot of fish, you might say… but in truth, it takes a surprising amount of effort, craft, and love. From stumbling flippers to fearless defender, Sir Waddlelot’s journey proves that even the smallest heroes can leave the biggest footprint in the snow.

Art lead Anto Covi created this cool article about Neverwinter's general art process, using Sir Waddlelot as a muse.

>> Check out the art process for Sir Waddlelot.

Celestial Rings can be acquired by upgrading Mythic Rings. This can be done with the new Cosmic Dust. Both Mythic Rings and Cosmic Dust can be acquired from Master Jotunskar.
Both Legendary Rings and Mythic Rings are bound to your character upon pickup.
Weapons, gear pieces, shirts, pants and Mythic Companion Gear are bound to your account on pickup; you can swap them between your own characters.
Mythic Armor can drop from Master Jotunskar in two bind states: Account (Pickup) or Bind on Equip. Happy trading!
Legendary Companion Gear is also Bind on Equip.
Jotunskar's Dungeon Key is available through the Encroaching Frost. An alternative, ‘stabilized’ version of the key can be obtained through the Campaign. You can trade this one.

Please note that any date stated could change at any moment.

We hope you have a good time with our new Module, and we hope you liked this article! Our Community Manager spent a lot of effort presenting it to you, and he feels like he wrote a full digital magazine with this one while introducing a lot more team members than before, making the team behind Neverwinter a bit more personal! Enjoy the new content, more to come soon!

~ Jeroen den Hartog (Kyrië)