Neverwinter’s Monoliths of Madness Event Is Live for 12 Weeks

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Neverwinter’s new Monoliths of Madness event is now live, sending players back into several existing zones for a 12-week campaign built around corrupted altars, zone-wide objectives, and server-wide progress rewards.

The event centers on strange Madness Altars appearing across Faerûn, with weekly activity rotating through Menzoberranzan, Northdark Reaches, Narbondellyn, and Dragonbone Vale. Each active zone gets new quests, modified Heroic Encounters, and downscaling so players can’t simply steamroll the event.

To start, level 20 players need to visit Protector’s Enclave and speak with Master Arcanist Viorel Amakiir. The active event zone is marked on the map with a modified icon. Some zones also require their related access quests first, including “Whispers in the Dark,” “A New Ally,” “The Call of the King,” “A Discreet Meeting,” or “Forging the Shield,” depending on the area.

Progress comes through daily and weekly challenges that award Shards of Madness. Those feed into the Monoliths of Madness campaign, which is split into four phases lasting three weeks each. Rewards include Warden’s Caches, Insignia Powder, Trade Bars, Legendary Dragon Keys, and mount and companion upgrade tokens.

  • Corrupted Altars can be purified by collecting Lesser and Greater Abyssal Lures, then defeating the creatures they summon.
  • Heroic Encounters now include extra hazards inspired by Reaper’s Challenge-style mechanics.
  • A roaming world boss, Maxare’xek the Mad, appears every few hours and grants a temporary zone damage buff when defeated.
  • Server-wide Nightmare Progression rewards include the Burning Hope artifact, Umbral Widow mount, Brimming Bountiful Bag, and Peeper Keeper.
  • The Legendary Staring Cat of Uldun-Dar companion is available through the campaign during the “Can you hear him?” phase.

Cryptic also rolled in a few broader update changes alongside the event. Several items now stack up to 999 instead of 99, including Genie’s Gifts, Rank 10 healing potions, most Preservation Wards, most Coalescent Motes, Black Pearls, and other commonly hoarded items.

Combat Enchantments have changed too. Players can now equip two, split into Strike and Guard slots, similar to Neverwinter’s old weapon and armor enchantment setup. Combat Enchantment item level has been reduced by half so using two keeps the same total item level as before.

The Vault of Piety also has a new weekly account-limited Coffer of Celestial Insignias for 11 Celestial Coins, containing 50 Insignia Powder and either a Rare or Epic Insignia.

Further reading: Official Neverwinter Steam news