Transfer Astral Diamonds in Neverwinter

Overview[edit | edit source]

Most information on this page generally applies to all Cryptic Studios games (except in currencies other than Zen Points), which currently include Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter (NW), Star Trek Online (STO) and Champions Online (CO). All of Cryptic's Massively Multiplayer Online games, like most others, have an in in-game economy. This little F. A. Q. is to help you understand the Cryptic economic paradigm and how it works so that you can spend (or save) your currency wisely. I will focus on Neverwinter in this post.

The three currencies most player will encounter first are:

1. ZEN POINTS
2. ASTRAL DIAMONDS
3. GOLD (and Silver and Copper)

There are many other currencies in Neverwinter, including Tarmalune Bars, Seals, and Insignia, etc, However, those are beyond the scope of this F.A.Q.Astral Diamonds is the primary currency in use and the type of currency you will want the most of. This currency is generally earned through NPC-assigned quests or missions, invoking to your deity, purchasing with Zen Points through the Zen Exchange (commonly referred to by players as "ZAX") or through other methods as you play the game, such as the Leadership profession. This is the most widely used and flexible currency in the game and used to purchase almost anything from consumables to high-end gear, among other things. Astral Diamonds (AD for short) are the most flexible of all the currencies as it can be used to purchase gear from Non-Player Characters (NPC) in-game, can be traded with other players through the Auction House (to purchase many other in-game items, including gear from other players) and even to exchange for ZEN POINTS though the Zen/AD Exchange. Hence, Astral Diamonds are the core currency of Neverwinter as far as playing the game is concerned.ZEN POINTS is the singular currency of Perfect World Entertainment. It is a real currency purchased with real money (Legal Tender) and is used only through the Neverwinter Zen Store, sometimes called the Zen Market (Z-Store for short). All items sold through the Z-Store are virtual in-game items, usually of a better quality than what is found only in-game (such as stats, cosmetic, or other attributes). The Zen Store is also the only place you can purchase "service items" that enhance your Neverwinter player account, such as the purchase of additional character slots, a character rename token, etc. Zen Point can also be purchased with ASTRAL DIAMONDS from other players through the ZEN/AD Exchange. More information is provided below.GOLD (and Silver and Copper) is the in-game currency for consumables, such as healing and other potions, companions, mounts, etc. It is considered by many to be the "role-playing" currency as it is found through the game frequently and often even by accident. Accumulation of Gold is important as the player character works toward the current level cap of 70 as it will be needed to purchase survivability potions most commonly and "Injury Kits" specifically which are needed to remove "Injuries" incurred from traps or combat death (respawning at a campfire). 100 copper = 1 silver, 100 silver = 1 gold. Note that for some players, can be more difficult to acquire at higher levels.

X-BOX NOTE: A note to players via X-Box - those items indicated as "Update Mod 6" will likely not apply to you immediately and do apply primarily to the more mature PC version of Neverwinter. However they may be helpful in helping you understand where your version of Neverwinter is heading in the future. Those items simply marked as "Update" should apply to you as well, and if not yet then shortly to come for you.

UPDATE: The X-Box One version of Neverwinter is brought in-line with the PC version with regard to content consolidation as of September 8th, 2015. Hence, the information included in this FAQ should apply to both versions of Neverwinter equally from that date forward.

If Zen is used to purchase items not available in-game, how can I buy Z-Store items without spending real money if this is "free-to-play"?[edit | edit source]

There are two ways to obtain Zen Points: purchase them with real money through Perfect World Web Site and transfer the Zen to your Neverwinter account, or you can trade Astral Diamonds for Zen Points using the in-game currency exchange, which works much like real stock exchanges. You are trading with other players and it is the player-base that will decide the actual conversion rate on a daily basis. Some people are always wanting Astral Diamonds and others are always wanting Zen Points. CAUTION: You may be invited to obtain Zen Point through other means. You are highly cautioned that these other means may or may not be officially supported by Perfect World Entertainment. Do your research to ensure and validate authenticity of any other means beyond the two methods described here.

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT STEAM : If you use the STEAM game launcher and shell you can also purchase Zen Point through that service. You must be cautioned, however, that purchasing Zen Points through STEAM has a couple caveats: The first caveat is that any promotional materials offered for buying or "transferring" Zen Points are not available for Zen Points purchased through STEAM. You must purchase the Zen Points directly from Perfect World Entertainment; Neverwinter web site to qualify for any incentives or rewards. ADDITIONALLY: Purchasing anything from the Zen Market with Zen Points acquired through STEAM will restrict those items to your character or account. Items will NOT BE BIND-ON-EQUIP (see below for definition of Bind on Equip). Furthermore: you will not be able to buy Astral Diamonds with Zen Points acquired through STEAM for the duration of your 'probation'. This is an anti-fraud measure implemented by Perfect World Entertainment. Though the time-length of a probation period has never been officially announced or revealed it is hypothesized to be a period of two weeks. WARNING: Requesting a refund of Zen Points purchased through STEAM will cause your PWE account to become BANNED. This is because the refund is created through a "charge-back" that is not initiated by PWE and is an automated computer response. It will require your communication with Customer Support to have your account reinstated.

Why does everything I do cost Astral Diamonds, such as removing gear enchantments, companion express training, using the auction house or exchange and all those other little annoying things?[edit | edit source]

These costs are called an "economic sink"; a black hole of sorts whose only purpose is to remove currency from the economy, thereby keeping it balanced through attrition. The reason for removing currency from the economy is a simple supply-and-demand rule: too much supply will lower demand, which will lower the value of the supply. Removing some of the supply (a little at a time) will help maintain the value of the supply. The rarer the supply, the higher the demand, the more valuable the supply becomes. Economic sinks are designed and intended to maintain the value of currencies at a steady and sustainable level.

UPDATE: Removing item enchantments no longer will cost you Astral Diamonds. The system has changed to now charge you GOLD, which is considerably more affordable.

What do the inventory item colors mean and why are some more expensive than others?[edit | edit source]

UPDATE MOD 6: See the updated description of 'item values' at bottom as major changes have come with the Module 6 release.

The primary paradigm regarding Cryptic Studios' gear economics is pretty well established across STO, CO and now Neverwinter. Non-consumable "gear" value is rated based on a four-color tier scheme. The idea is to make it easy to see, at a glance, the general value of an inventory item based on its color. These colors are: White: Common, baseline value, general stats, baseline price from/to vendors Green: Uncommon, good value, good stats, most common tier offered by vendors Blue: Rare, very good value, very good stats, more costly from vendors Purple: Very Rare, excellent value, excellent stats, most expensive from vendors Update: Though purple quality items are referred to as "Very Rare" in Star Trek Online and Champions Online, they are now referred to as "EPIC" in Neverwinter Update Mod 6: There is a new quality level in Neverwinter called "Perfect" (Enchantments, Artifacts) or "Legendary" (everything else) which refers to some items. Perfect/Legendary is signified by the color