Note: This is not an original page. This is a piece of Neverwinter history. Specifically, this was originally published back when I was with the Order of the Raven. One of our guild leaders, Kaelac, published this in January of 2014. I’m re-posting this content, with some updates to make the content readable to current Neverwinter players, in order to show that many of the concepts back in January 2014 are still applicable today. Enjoy.
—-start of original content—-
One of the most enjoyable things in Neverwinter can be running 5 member group content with party-centric players who use synergistic skills to clear dungeons quickly and efficiently. Every class in Neverwinter has some level of synergy with others, and when we can take our focus off the DPS race, there is a lot of room for cooperation. All builds should consider maximizing PARTY DPS to varying degrees. There are often build (feats, powers) and gear choices (artifacts, mount powers) that can not only improve personal DPS but also party DPS. DPS races are fun and it’s good to benchmark one another, but putting group ahead of self will almost always bring better results for runs.
While some of these tips may apply to PvP, this is written primarily from a PvE perspective. There are many other tips and suggestions that may be incorporated here if you want to contribute.
1. General Dungeoneering guide
1.1 Dungeon Positioning and aggro management
1.1.1 The common, but unfavourable scenario:
What I often see in dungeons is this: tanks will want to run in and engage the enemy; that’s their job. But melee DPS may run in ahead of the tank, or ranged DPS may start attacking their targets prematurely, which causes those mobs to rush straight to the backlines. The melee DPS and tank will either have to come back with a whole bunch of adds they pulled, or fight and hold their ground. As adds close in, the ranged DPS will dodge further and further back and away from party trying to solo groups of mobs or stay alive if they are overwhelmed. A DPS built for single target damage may get tunnel vision and focus exclusively on one target (sometimes they should, such as single target boss fights). As a result there are 3 battle fronts between the DPS focusing on the single target, the melee DPS and tank, and the ranged DPS. The healer has to make a painful moral decision on who to support/save, enemy aggro and red AOE is everywhere and this leads to everyone being scattered, finger pointing (often at the healer), everyone taking more unnecessary damage and being overall less effective.
The next thing that is becoming more and more common is the whole DPS race mentality. Don’t open that paingiver chart and track it. Honestly if there is more than enough DPS for the mobs, working together will kill them even faster than individual DPS races. Paingiver charts don’t mean much if it just becomes a case of who can run in front and kill half the mobs in 1 rotation first. When DPS and survivability isn’t of much concern, in some of the very serious groups I’ve been in we actually split into 2 sub parties and leapfrog packs of mobs and meet up at bosses later for even faster efficiency. There’s almost always a better way.
1.1. 2 The Ideal case:
What you want for boss/dungeon fights is to have a solid frontline and a backline in proximity. The party is hopefully positioned in advantageous terrain (e.g., on a ledge if tossing, away from bridge if fighting elites etc., and not exposed to other mobs for aggro). The melee DPS and tank will usually be on the elites/biggest mobs and a cluster of trash mobs. Single target DPS will usually be on combat advantage with someone else or DPSing down glass cannon targets or helping the healer or Ranged DPS deal with aggro’d mobs. Everyone dodges red and use potions if you take a big hit. If anyone goes down the Healer or Single target DPS should try to revive as melee DPS and tanks often bring too many mobs with them. The healer will be somewhere in the middle casting debuff and heal spells. The Ranged DPS is ideally just a little behind the healer to stay in healing range and using tanks as meatshields between mobs and you. This is a good setup, as tanks can hold the front, classes with control capabilities can cluster everything there to be mowed down with AOE or control them while priority targets are dealt with. There is focused fire so stuff dies fast and early, and the healer can support everyone with debuffing and healing. If adds break off to target the healer or the ranged DPS everyone else is close enough to the frontline for threats to be dealt with.
1.1.3 Let tank grab aggro before engaging:
With some exceptions, always let the tank engage first with taunt etc to grab aggro. If you are a tank, don’t stand around waiting for the DPS to pull. It’s your job. They will then either proceed to tank at the mobs or drag them back at the party. Once they have held their ground, the healer will know where to place their heals and that will be the right time for ranged DPS to start engaging and casting, not before, otherwise the mobs will rush straight at you in the backline and create two fighting fronts. The tanks will have to either tank the mobs and leave you on your own or try to peel off you and expose the rest of the party. Not a pretty scenario in either case. In the absence of tanks the melee DPS should initiate and healers can lay down healing spells at the right spots.
1.1.4 Stick with the group
When trying to clear multiple mobs in a short amount of time, the experienced players will often run ahead and do the mob pulling/clustering (usually proportional to what the party can handle). In most cases if most of the party has moved ahead, just run and stick with the group rather than try to solo a straggler. The idea is kiting the adds and burning them all with the next large pull is often a far more efficient way of clearing than stopping at every group and whittling down mobs one by one. Generally if the healer starts moving on, follow him 
. Stragglers don’t usually cause too many problems apart from the occasional big hit. If you look up and the whole party is gone, start booking it to them. If you need healing, always kite/dodge towards the healer rather than away. Healers shouldn’t have to abandon their post to save you. That said, if it’s an inexperienced player who overestimates and overpulls a lot then you’ll need to communicate.
1.2 Dismiss Combat Companions (in certain situations)
Combat companions may not be any real help in the hardest dungeons and often instead draw aggro and pull mobs before they’re ready. If you don’t have an augment pet (Ioun stone/Cat), get one ASAP. If you still want to usea combat companion, just know which parts of the dungeon you need to switch to an augment and resummon the combat companion after.
1.3 Potion use
The DC is not a potion replacement and should not be treated as such. NW is an action game, use potions often and when you need to. From combat log parses DC healing accounts for less than half of incoming heals for most high performing groups, primarily due to DPS classes being able to self heal during combat.
DCs like you only have 3 encounters and healing encounters usually consume precious divinity which is only built in combat, and usually only from attacking mobs. DCs do need to attack for AP and divinity gain and sometimes to place buffs and debuffs. NW DCs do not have an endless array of powerful 1 shot heals but rather focus on incoming damage mitigation and do supplementary maintenance healing. As such, at the high end DCs will focus on mitigation and buffs to help clear mobs in 1-2 rotations rather than pure healing because it’s often not needed or too late. Treat your clerics well and they’ll look after you. If you want to learn the healing mechanic, by all means try one yourself before you go off about how bad they are or how they don’t heal. If you choose to stand in dangerous red and expect to be clutched, don’t.
I do suggest acquiring a Greater stone of Health via auction house if you can spare the AD. They have 50 or 200 charges (~500 AD per charge) and heals you to full health immediately. I am by no means recommending you to use them on cooldown, but they are very helpful to avoid a wipe when things are otherwise going fairly well or you made a mistake.
1.4 Combat Advantage
Enemies have a white circle with a blue arc of about 80⁰ behind them. If a player or companion is within the arc while another player is around the mob everyone in the vincity will get to deal combat advantage damage. Likewise when you are surrounded by an enemy pack they will all gain combat advantage damage to you. Therefore surround enemies particularly elites and bosses where you can to help bring them down faster, and beware of scattering mobs or overpulling which can lead to a lot more damage being taken when ganked.
1.5 Buffs and Debuffs
Buffs and debuff usually apply on the skill the procs the debuff for immediate benefit. For example you can cast singularity then boost DPS via frozen power transfer before the damage is dealt. As such, try to sync time all your buffs/and debuffs just before the damage lands off big skills.
Stacking debuffs is currently the best strategy towards fastest and safest dungeon clearing as they can increase damage beyond mob damage resistance.
1.6 Communication
Read your party chat! See if someone is asking for afk or communicating stragtegy. Also, respect party loot rules. Nothing breaks apart a party faster than somebody who ignore loot rules. Please acknowledge you saw and understand what the group wants to do. If you’re lagging or need a quick afk say so.
2. Class by Class Discussion
Start with what you have and see the relative strengths and weakness of the classes/players based on their rotations/feats/paragon paths. Guides are not authoritative but rather to point out where synergy exists to build a team mentality. Strategies also vary depending on IL and experience. For example aggro management, positioning and survival is much more important for new characters than high IL ones where things die much faster anyway.
I am by no means saying you have to play this or that way, or you have to use the encounters/skills/gear I mentioned. It may not necessarily work out better for your situation. The guide is generally to point out where the synergy lies and how to take advantage of it when there are good opportunities.
2.1 Fighter (aka Guardian Fighter, “GF”):
GFs are now much better at holding and keeping threat on mobs and act as mob postioning/aggro management. Though tanks are not currently a ‘must have’ for content they do make things easier for the other classes by holding and keeping aggro and keeping party buffs up. GFs don’t necessarily need to run a party/support role but they do have plenty of that in their arsenal. Learn your block mechanic and know when to use it and when to take the heat and trust your teammates to help you out.
2.1.2 Class roles:
- Initiate combat encounters. Please don’t cower behind the DC and CWs. However if the CWs are good at it let them pull, and focus on marking big tough mobs and get their AoE away from the party. Adds will die so fast you don’t need to worry about them.
- Always be mindful about enemy positioning, holding and keeping aggro, marking and keeping marks up. Tanks should know the dungeon and advantageous terrain well and use them/guide the party to them
- Tanking boss/elites while party deals with priority targets (eg Spellplauge boss 1 and 2, fights involving dragons).
- Kiting adds away from boss in small circles while party DPS boss down (eg Frozen Heart boss 3, Karrundax boss 1 and 2, Spellplague 3)
- Party and group buffs, keep weapons enchantment debuffs up on targets
- Contribute to party DPS if DPS specced though it’s usually negligible compared to HR GWF and CW so don’t worry about it too much
- Watch positioning and beware of aggro on you. Don’t kite or pull dangerous mobs/red in the direction of your party/squishies! Where you can, have your back towards a wall so AoE is pointed away from the party (Mad Dragon 3, Pirate King 3, Dracolich). If you’re tanking a dragon, try to move left and right in a small frontal arc rather than spin the dragon because the tail whip hits your party hard and is not telegraphed.
2.2 Barbarian (aka Great Weapon Fighter “GWF”):
A well geared and well played GWF is an enormous asset in a 5 man group, and can do a significant portion of carrying DPSwise or 4 manning content. DPS wise a high end GWF can match or outDPS CWs due to higher survivability.
2.2.2 Class role
In the absence of a tank the melee is the main initiator for most pulls and cluster mobs around you. Take damage strategically to maximise Unstoppable uptime but know what you can or can’t handle. You would usually do AoE damage in trash clearing and either AoE adds (Wicked strike) or single target boss (Sure strike) depending on party composition. If there’s a GF or another GWF watch your TR/CW/DC and pull/kill adds off them. You are there for DPS, make sure you can give it and take it. Slam as a daily can be helpful party boost/interrupt as well as your prones. I don’t recommend Roar or similar push skills as it can interfere with positioning. Keep an eye out for mobs on your squishies and help peel/kill if they need it. Stuns and interrupts are a powerful part of your build and should be used strategically to supplement and extend CC duration with CW’s Oppressive force/steal time. Avalanche of Steel for example is an uncapped AoE stun/prone that can be a lifesaver to yourself and the group when timed precisely.
2.2.3 Synergy and tips:
- When you’re pulling multiple groups, make use of interrupts/stuns to knock mobs prone to cancel their red circles/ clear the way for other (eg Battle Wight commanders)
- Indomitable battle strike in singularity will hit everything
- Check your DC is following you before rushing in the thick of things
- Avalanche of Steel is a significant panic button and it’s use is two fold- firstly you will be immune when you’ve launched in the air- this buys you encounter and potion cooldown time. Secondly it’s an uncapped AoE debuff/prone/interrupt when you land and can save the party during crucial moments while dealing massive damage.
2.3 Rogue (aka Trickster Rogue “TR”)
The master of single target damage, TR brings utility and DPS to help burn bosses fast. Their dodges and utility allows them to be highly self sufficient at managing boss fights without much in the way of healing
2.3.2 Class role
- Survivability and boss clutch. Know when to dodge red, and when to utilise Stealth, Impossible to Catch and Bait and Switch instead to keep DPS uptime, or drop aggro and survive. You will find yourself in situations where the party wipes and you’re the only one left DPSing the boss (including Dracolich). You can finish the job, it does require skill and it’s totally badass when you pull it off. You won’t get much attention in the way of Cleric heals in most fights so make sure you have high pots and use them well
- Single target DPS. You will find yourself in situations where the Tank has all the adds and you tank and DPS the boss (Eg Frozen Heart 3rd boss, Pirate King 3rd Boss). Learn boss attack patterns and get the most out of your rotations. In clearing dungeons know which are your priority targets (eg Spawning pits, redcaps, healers/mages) and always burn them down before they cause more chaos. Be ready to jump and switch targets as needed
- Combat advantage positioning. Though you naturally get CA from stealth, positioning yourself behind a mob focused on a GF/GWF will allow both of you to get CA damage.
- Stuns. Smoke bomb is a great defensive skill when dealing with swarms of adds/casters to buy your party time. Very important in Temple of Spider final boss
2.4 Wizard (aka Control Wizard “CW”)
The other most flexible and powerful class in the game, and one who can dictate whether the dungeon experience is a pleasure or a pain, no other class has the control and synergistic/antagonistic potential as CWs.
2.4.1 Class role
Your key role is mob control, clusting mobs together via Arcane Singularity to minimise the battle front and make the most of party AoE skills. Your secondary class role is AoE DPS and your third role is keeping mobs locked down with freezes and stuns for stuff you can’t kill outright. Finally you also stack debuff and stuns on targets for them to take more party damage. In some situations you need to knock mobs off ledges for smoother/faster clears. In boss fights you are often controlling all adds and either piling them on the boss for AoE nukes or keeping them separate so TR/GWF/GF can deal with the boss alone. Your single target damage is also very competitive and vital for some fights.
2.4.1.1 Don’t scatter mobs
A good part of party play is controlling and locating mobs and where they are at. In a dungeon crawl usually you want to get by as fast as possible, and the CW’s role is more or less keep mobs grouped up so they can be burned down quickly and efficiently. There is no valid reason for using Icestorm (unless in ToS boss fight, even then there are substitutes).
Don’t go scattering mobs all over the place, for example with shield/ Ice Storm/ Repel unless it is into cliffs or you will gather them straight afterwards. Apart from a few niche examples those skills don’t have a place in group content and hurts every single party member’s rotation and AoE abilities. GF loses range for aggro and has to grab them off you, GWF wastes all his AoE and in addition has to run to mobs, TRs can miss their Wicked reminder and have to reposition, other CWs miss half their AoEs and it totally stuffs up DC AS positioning and grants mobs combat advantage. If it’s an issue of survivability, communicate with your party for more protection, but by scattering you make them much less inclined to help you, if at all. Don’t be surprised if you don’t get reinvited back to dungeons after knocking mobs all over the place.
2.4.1.2 Gather them!
What will score you likes is gathering mobs for easier positioning and AoE targeting. If there are multiple CWs, alternate singularity and oppressive force really turns through mobs fast. In a melee heavy party, singularity is the preferred option depending on your relative DPS. However don’t waste time using singularity on mobs already gathered, that hurts party DPS.
2.4.1.3 Have a team mentality
Yes, CWs can have very high DPS, but have a team oriented mentality- always ask yourself what can you do to help clear the dungeon as quickly and safely as possible. Don’t ever chase personal DPS at the expense of controlling and protecting your party (although yes the best form of control is killing). With module 1 and 2 this is more and more important. If things live for more than one rotation you need ways of keeping them under control till they can die. If there are multiple CWs always call/coordinate your dailys via party chat/voice chat.
2.4.1.4 Knocking off Cliffs vs. AoE killing:
Knocking is pretty much now redundant as most parties can kill just as quickly or faster. If you’re the CW, communicate with the group whether you/they prefer to toss them at points or AoE them all the way with some exceptions. Spider, Spell, parts of Pirates, FH and small parts of CN are probably the only dungeons worth trying to toss. However if party DPS is high killing them is usually just as effective. It does call for different playstyles, not only does your loadout change, the party, especially DC also has to be prepared accordingly. If you’re tossing, know your spots, know where to stand and when to push. Generally AoE killing is superior if you have the DPS for it because mobs won’t respawn and it’s just faster, plus loot.
2.4.2.5 The CW field survival guide:
If you have the inevitable an add train on you and everything is on cooldown, ideally the GF and GWF can come in and regain aggro off you, but if they have priorities elsewhere or forgot about you here’s how to survive:
- Don’t stand in red circles at all, even to get a cast off unless you’re 120% certain you’ll be fine. Often it’s not just the damage, but the stun/ toss back from one red circle to the next that will get you down.
- Use potions to counter spike damage. Use a potion between pulls if you’re less than half health and don’t expect the DC to heal you between fights.
- Dodge TOWARDS the cleric or center of party instead of further back. A good cleric will have his eyes on you and is ready to heal/clutch, but if you vanish or go too far they cannot support you. So often I have divine armor on cast as a clutch heal only for the CW to have dodged too far from the AOE. If clerics have to make a choice between backing the frontline and saving the CW they will often be more committed to the tanks, as that’s where the danger and bulk of the party is. Dodge towards the DC, they can handle a few more hits due to higher defense and they’ve dealt with adds from all their training. For our target heals, the worse thing you can do is actually run next to a party member, or jump, or run behind the DC. You need to be in our front of view and preferably by your own so we can target you easily.
- Don’t cast unless you can dodge. If stuff is in your face or right on your heels, do not stop and cast unless you have clearance to get a spell off and stamina to dodge RIGHT after. Wait for stamina to regen before casting. With 3 dodges per full stamina bar (vs 2 for DCs), you should be able to dodge to gain a lead, cast, dodge out of red circles and keep running.
- Use tank between you and new adds. When adds spawn (looking at you Spider temple blademasters) they will often just charge the closest member or the DC with healing aggro. You want to position yourself physically such that the GF/GWF are closer to them when they spawn/charge. They can take the hit, you can’t. They’d much rather take the damage and heal than to break off, revive you and turn the fight into a nightmare.
2.4.2 Recommended Gear and build
To be a good CW you not only need strong offensive skills but also very clever positioning and dodging. A dead CW does no DPS, so spec for survivability and learn when and how to dodge. Glass cannons are not recommended.
2.4.3 Synergy and Tips
To be most effective you should place yourself as a close-mid range class and pretend your range is 30’. This allows you to stay in the healing/buffing range of the DC as well as keep you close enough for Steal Time and Oppressive Force which are arguably 2 of the CW’s most important skills. You will be darting in and out of and around Astral shield a lot. Just dodge in a circle rather than further and further back from the DC. Do not be a backline CW who sling spells from afar. You DPS is ineffective, and if you mobs aggro the tanks are too far to catch it, and the DC is too far to heal you as you dodge further and further away. You will die and deserve it.
CW is one of the most daily dependent classes, you should be aiming to get your daily back every 1-3 rotation (30s or less). Try to always have a daily ready before every major pull. Get comfortable with using your daily, and positioning.
- CW and DC are a team. The DC tanks and keep you standing and you take care of adds on him so party stays supported. Especially when levelling and in T1 dungeons, adds piling on the DC are your priority
- Shield is a crutch power. When learning dungeons you can have it on to reduce incoming damage, but try to get used to not needing it ASAP because it seriously hurts your DPS. You will be squishy and the earlier you get used to it the smarter you will play. Do not use shield pop in your rotation (apart from maybe ToS final boss) even if you sing them back. It’s possibly one of the worse things you could do in a party. The only place where I’d actually recommend shield is perhaps ToS, CN and VT last boss if you have issues with survivability.
- Use your positioning tools to good effect, always sing where there are mobs scattered across the room as then the party can focus fire rather than divide and conquer.
- Likewise, position yourself wisely to get the best angle for shard push/sudden storm/ survivability and aggro management. If you have a lot of adds on you, don’t place red towards the rest of the party and get used to your stamina cooldown to max immunity frames.
- As a CW playing as efficiently as possible is key towards things dying faster or keeping controlled. Learn to time your skills and abilities to maximise both DPS and control, bearing in mind feat procs and synergistic feats.
- The center of singularity should ideally be right against a corner or wall to limit the degree of freedom where mobs can move. This allows other party members to predict their AoEs easily, and makes it much easier to guarantee your shard will explode when it bounce back from the wall. If you’re the GWF and pulling mobs for a CW keep this in mind and run them to a corner.
- There will often be 2-3 CWs in the party. Resist the temptation to turn it into a DPS race and rather try to see how you can best improve overall damage. Usually the lower GS CW might play a singbot (gather and pack mobs together via singularity/entangling force) and the high GS CW will do the DPS via Oppressive force. 2 CWs with High vizier sets are still very effective to keep stacks up. If there’s 3 one can go shadow weaver. For daily management, always communicate seconds before you’re about to sing so you don’t double daily.
- If the party is melee heavy (and capable) make use of sing and even tab entangling force for them to kill stuff faster rather than max your own DPS and keeping mobs scattered. Of course, if the party melee is weaker then you should be doing the main DPSing.
- Dodge in a circular pattern rather than a straight line. That way you remain in range of mobs, keep them together and the party/DC can pull mobs off you/heal you easily. Typically I will dodge anticlockwise in a circle around astral shield to avoid red.
- The DC cannot baby sit you 100% of the time if you don’t have some of your own supplementary survivability tools.
- Don’t pull more than you’re capable of. Check you have the party behind you before running ahead and dying on your own or worse, cause a party wipe.
- Oppressive force can push immune mobs sometimes off a ledge when positioned appropriately.
2.5 Cleric (aka Devoted Cleric “DC”)
2.5.1 Class Role
DC is a leader class, and bring damage mitigation, healing and DPS buff/enemy debuffs to the team. They are not an exclusive healer and can bring much more than just healing to the party.
2.5.1 Recommended gear and build
For endgame dungeon and bosses party-wide debuffs are best for fastest clears. In fact the faster your fights end the less you need to heal. Gearscore is not as important as knowing how to play your class.
2.5.3 Synergy and Tips
- Don’t be afraid of aggro- you can take hits. Kite mobs towards melee rather than run away.
- Double DC can be very effective- one can go healing and the other can go DPS.
- Generally TRs and HRs can take care of themselves. You want to focus on GF/GWF/CWs instead and be closer to them.