Neverwinter Explains How Masterwork Professions Actually Work

Neverwinter players may have heard the term "masterwork professions" being thrown around lately and wondered what that's all about. As it turns out, there is an explanation. Although, it may not be what you were thinking. Game Designer Douglas "Asterdahl" Miller wrote an extensive developer blog explaining the new addition to the free-to-play MMO beginning with the fact that "professions" is a bit of a misnomer.

While players might have inferred from the title that new professions were being added to Neverwinter, what the title actually refers to is a new set of high-end, high-difficulty recipes that players who have reached max level in a crafting profession can use to set themselves apart and increase their income. As Miller notes, under the current system max level crafters aren't able to make items with an item level high enough to compete with other sources.

Neverwinter's solution to this issue is to create new recipes complete with new quests to unlock them and new tools needed to complete them. The goal is to give crafters new ways to distinguish themselves from one another. Of course, players will have to meet certain requirements in order to unlock masterwork recipes. They will need to be a member of a guild with a stronghold guildhall of rank 12 or higher. They will also need at least 1 profession at rank 25. If both of those requirements are met the player can acquire a quest from The Master of Coin to speak with a new contact named "The Artisan".

Players who take on the master recipes will gain the ability to craft item level 140 armor, new multi-slot rings and components for stronghold artifact weapons -- all of which are tradeable.

Lower level crafters will benefit from this new system as well as crafters taking on the master recipes will be in need of lower rank materials and rare items they might not have bothered leveling. This will mean lower level crafters will have a new source of income. So it should be win-win for everyone.

More -- quite a bit more, actually -- information on the new master recipes is available on the dev blog.