They might not be the most pleasant-looking creatures, but they are definitely a fierce bunch of savage and bloodthirsty warriors. By plaguing the civilized races, Orcs have always been a major threat to humans, elves and dwarfs. Laying claim to the area in the northern half of the old Tower District, Orcs have made the Cloak Tower in Neverwinter their home. Even the most courageous heroes will have to fight their way through the ruins of this district to put an end to the Orc domination and help restore Neverwinter to her former glory.

The major milestone of Open Beta marks the beginning of unrestricted access to Neverwinter and its content creation system, the Foundry, along with no further character wipes. All skill upgrades, profession choices, personal customizations, companions and mounts are persistent and shape the way adventurers rebuild the city of Neverwinter, saving it from Valindra Shadowmantle's evil forces. Neverwinter's Foundry further enables and empowers gamers and authors to create their own unique adventures, publish their own self-generated content directly to the game world, review the missions and quests of others and even tip creators with in-game currency.

"After four successful Beta Weekends and many months of internal Alpha tests, we are thrilled to be in Open Beta," said Cryptic Studios Executive Producer and COO, Craig Zinkievich. "On behalf of the entire team at Perfect World and Cryptic Studios, I'd like to thank the Founders, Beta Weekend participants, Alpha testers, fans, and press for their feedback and continued support in making Neverwinter the best game we've ever launched."

Open Beta also brings a new feature to the Neverwinter community. Neverwinter's Gateway is a web portal that allows players to remotely access in-game status information via their desktops, tablets, or smartphones. In its initial state, players can craft, view their characters, buy and sell in the Auction House, monitor guild activity and daily events, and access their mailboxes.