Gateway – MMO Fallout

I’ve talked about Neverwinter’s Gateway app, a handy tool where players can level up their crafting professions even while not in-game. Unfortunately the ease of access means that the professions tab can be used by bots to mass-produce astral diamonds via the leadership profession, which is exactly what bots have been doing in Neverwinter: Using the Gateway to mass produce astral diamonds, inflating the economy, and raising prices of goods in the process.

Last month, Cryptic decided to fight back by removing the leadership profession from the Gateway app, leading to further concerns that this would simply drive bots into the game, filling up the servers. After studying the servers, it has been concluded that there hasn’t been any significant increase in the amount of botting in-game.

We also understand your concerns regarding the cost of goods versus the amount of Astral Diamonds coming into the economy. In the short term, we are keeping an eye on the supply of Astral Diamonds to make sure it performs as expected. We will also be running multiple “2x AD” events to make sure adventurers are able to get the Astral Diamonds they need. In the long term, we are re-examining the various non-profession methods of earning Astral Diamonds. It’s important to us that playing the game rewards AD sufficiently.

(Source: Neverwinter)

If you haven’t played Neverwinter, the crafting system is similar to Fallen Earth: You click a few buttons and then wait for the cooldown timer to stop. Gathering iron ore? That’s ten minutes. Researching new potions? That’s fifteen minutes. You unlock more research “slots” by leveling up your characters and leveling your crafting skills. Needless to say, the system is higher maintenance than your average MMO and can lead to the frustrating system of having to log in just to keep your professions going.

The good news is that you don’t have to log in to work your professions. Neverwinter’s Gateway allows players to log into a character and make use of some game functions when not logged in. Gamers have access to the auction house to buy and sell items and manage their bids. They can also work on professions, starting research and collecting results, and checking your mail and character stats.

The good news is that Neverwinter’s Fury of the Feywild update will bring much more functionality to the Gateway system. Players will be able to sort their inventory, discard items, open chests, and sell junk for gold. Professions will now allow for buying required materials straight from the market right through your browser, and the Zen market will be open through the browser to making purchases.

Those of you with Neverwinter accounts can check out the test page for the new Gateway here.