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Neverwinter Nights + hotu + sou character creation and other knowledge

zur312zur312 Member Posts: 1,366
Hi guis.

I would like to know some things before i play this game (Neverwinter Nights + hotu + sou ) with 2 of my friends multiplayer online.

I am a master @ Baldur's gate character creation

I know most of the things in IWD2 (probably the most similar to NWN )

1)so what i should know about this game?
2)Are there weapons like 2handed axes no 2handewd axes in BG2?
3)Are druids subpar clerics?
4)Are rouge skills especially traps needed to finish the game?
5)Is it hard to play with no cleric?
Our first team will probably look like monk + fighter + sorc so i dunno.
6)What should i know about the game options or something
7)Are expansions like TOB continuation to original story or just different NEW story?
8)is this game hard? if i finished tactics BG2
9)anything else?

Comments

  • OlvynChuruOlvynChuru Member Posts: 3,079
    1. The more party members you have, including summoned creatures, the less experience you get. However the game has the whole higher level means less experience system so it doesn't really matter that much how many party members you have. The original campaign and SoU start you at level 1, but in the original campaign you will have reached level 3 by the end of the prologue. HotU starts you at level 15 and you generally reach level 26-28 by the end of the game, I think. Out of the three stories, HotU is by far the most fun in my opinion.

    2. Yes. In fact there are a LOT of two-handed weapons in the game.

    3. Basically yes, unfortunately, but they do have some things that clerics don't, like Camouflage, a level 1 spell which gives you a huge hide bonus, and Call Lightning, which deals the same damage as Lightning Bolt but in an area of effect around that caster that doesn't hurt allies as far as I know. They also get to summon and animal companion and clerics don't. But overall clerics are better.

    4. No. However, rogues are more fun to use in NWN than they are in any other DnD video game I've played. They can sneak attack anyone who isn't currently attacking them. They don't have to be stealthed or hit the enemy in the back, and unlike in IWD:EE you can sneak attack the same enemy multiple times.

    5. No. Resting fully heals you, and any class can use restoration scrolls.

    6. There is a difficulty in which enemies do full damage but your own area of effect spells don't hurt allies. In higher difficulties they do hurt allies. Enemies do more damage in higher difficulties (but there is a "core rules" kind of setting).

    7. I believe HotU is the sequel to SoU, but the original campaign is standalone.

    8. I'm not really sure what to say because I haven't played much multiplayer in this game. I've found that sometimes you might get your butt handed to you but generally in those situations the reason why you lost was either because you were unlucky or because you didn't use enough buffs before the fight. The game's combat unfortunately doesn't seem to have a lot of depth, as far as I can tell.

    9. Nothing else.
  • FlashburnFlashburn Member Posts: 1,847
    1. If you're planning on munchkinism, this game is ripe for it. For example, dipping one level into Shadowdancer will let you use Hide in Plain Sight, which I'm sure you know already from BG2EE. Dipping one level into Paladin will give you save bonuses from your CHA modifier, which is useful for sorcerers who use CHA as their casting stat.

    Your number of attacks per round is derived from your Base Attack Bonus (BAB) up until you hit level 20. Beyond level 20, increasing your BAB will not give additional attacks. The normal maximum number of attacks you can get is 4 with a BAB of 16. You can increase this in a number of ways like Haste and dual-wielding. Monks are an exception and get more attacks per round, up to 10(!) or 11(!!) attacks per round by dual-wielding Kamas with Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Haste, and in Flurry of Blows mode.

    2. Lots of two-handed weapons are in the game, including double-sided weapons which require the Exotic Weapons feat to wield, and the Two-Weapon Fighting feats to wield effectively. They're not worth it, IMO, but good for flavor.

    3. Druids can be considered a nature-based cleric in this game. They are pretty good, but clerics are walking death machines that can be even better than fighters when buffed with the right spells.

    4. Rogues are not necessary, but they are useful for mitigating damage in the Official Campaign if you haven't memorized every trap's location, as traps can cause some significant damage later on. They are more of an annoyance early, but by Chapter 3 some traps will do serious damage, even on a successful save. Having a fighter tank enemies while a rogue sneak attacks is very effective, because every attack counts as a sneak attack if the target is engaged in combat with someone else. Dual-wielding gives more attacks, so it will also give more sneak attacks too.

    5. Its not hard to play without a cleric, but clerics offer healing on the spot without having to return to the main hubs to get cured of status effects like level drain or ability drain. Clerics are ridiculously good.

    6. Difficulty options are like those in BG. Easy, Normal, Hardcore, and Very Hard. I'd recommend Hardcore because Very Hard merely increases enemy damage without any XP compensation or anything. And depending on which PVP setting the host sets, your AoE spells like Fireball can harm party members.

    No PVP = no one gets hurt
    Party PVP = anyone that's not in your party will get hurt, including neutrals
    Full PVP = everyone gets hurt

    7. The OC set in Neverwinter is stand-alone for levels 1-20. SoU is the first expansion, set in the Silver Marches for levels 1-15. HotU is the continuation of SoU, so you can bring your character along and its set in Waterdeep and the Underdark, for levels 12-28 or so. You won't get to level 40.

    8. Compared to the Baldur's Gate series with difficulty mods, this is cakewalk - especially with friends. The only reasons a fight should go badly is if you are underleveled, underequipped, or ill-prepared. Gold is also not shared among the party, so you will have to divvy up whatever loot you find.

    9. Seriously, the game is ripe for munchkinism. I've experienced getting absolutely destroyed in PVP servers many times by some ingenious class combinations.
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    I mostly agree with @OlvynChuru‌.

    However,

    3. Druids are different. Clerics are the absolute kings of melee (buffing) in NWN. Druids are more about summoning, debuffing and offensive (damage) spells.

    4. Fighter rogues are mega awesome indeed.

    7. Yeah, OC is a standalone game, which will take you to about level 20. I don't remember there being much story connections between SoU + HotU, but the ending level of the former matches the starting level of the latter.

    8. I think 3E combat has more depth than 2E, however NWN lacks the party mechanic of BG. I don't think there is anything that can bring the difficulty level of OCs close to modded BG, but Tony K's AI is must!
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811

    1)It is more Role playing than tactical fighting.

    2)There are two handed axes, scythe, whips and other exotic weapons in the game.

    3)Nope.

    4)Nope. It is 3.5 edition though, so having some points in find traps on one of our characters is beneficial. With high saves though, you can just eat trap damage and theor secondary effects.

    5)Nope. Of healing is an issue there are heal kits and the heal skill which replaces the cleric heal bot. Clerics are more of a buffer than anytjong elsenin NWN

    6) If buildings block your sight, you can turn off second story graphics. Besides that, it is straight forward.

    7) Undertides is a new campaign and HotU is suppose to be a continuation of that. However, all three can be played seperately with new characters if one wishes.

    8) It is easy. Mob control is probably the hardest thing to do in the game.

    9) The original campaigns were designed for a single player experience. You maybe able to find some multi player modules to experiment with though if you are finding the games too easy.

    The game is also 3rd edition as mentioned before, so all those master Baldur gates building techniques won't help much when it comes to character creation.

    Saving throws are more important in the game than any other RPG so attempt to boost those up with your AB and AC and you should do fine. Read up on the prestige classes and if any of them interest you, make sure you are taking the feats and skills needed to unlock them.
  • SilverstarSilverstar Member Posts: 2,207
    Of the three campaigns (original, SoU and HotU) only the first is actually designed for multiplayer. Indeed, until several patches in, the last boss of the game was even designed with multiplayer in mind and was hard to solo. SoU and HotU is designed with single player in mind. HotU is one of the best expansions any game has ever received btw, both in content and mechanics.

    I believe most points are allready covered by the other guys. Oh yeah. The "Manic Psychotic" voice set is hilarious though that's obviously an opinion. Speaking of voice, there's a quick emote system thingie that's hot keyed, quite similar to what you find in many FPS games these days. Handy for multiplayer.
  • kcwisekcwise Member Posts: 2,287
    Make sure to keep saves and backups of characters when you're multiplaying HotU. I haven't tried it in years, but there are multiple places where things simply don't work correctly and can cause a crash. The final battle, for instance, I could never manage to complete with my friend. We just had to complete it solo on our own to see the storyline. There is also a major battle near the middle of the game which includes a variety of clever scripts that can break if you're trying it in multiplayer. The original campaign and SoU was doable though, as I remember.
  • iKrivetkoiKrivetko Member Posts: 934


    3. Druids are different. Clerics are the absolute kings of melee (buffing) in NWN. Druids are more about summoning, debuffing and offensive (damage) spells.

    You can't be serious. The absolute kings of melee in NWN are druids with monk levels. You can't beat a dragon with UBAB, 80+ AC and so on and so forth.
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    edited January 2015
    @iKirivetko I didn't know you start the game with dragon shape...
  • iKrivetkoiKrivetko Member Posts: 934
    I never said that. I said that the absolute kings of melee aren't clerics, but druid/monks. In fact, a Bard/BG/RDD would likely also be stronger than a cleric in melee. That's not to say that clerics aren't devastating in melee as well, mind you.
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    edited January 2015
    @iKirivetko You're not getting it. Druid/Monks are great after they get dragon shape, yes, but that's level 30-ish. What about before that? It's not just about high-level performance. Getting DS in HotU will be very late-game.

    I highly doubt a Bard/BG/RDD is better than a Cleric/Bard/RDD, as much as I love bards.
  • iKrivetkoiKrivetko Member Posts: 934
    Again, I never said that it's easy to get. I said that clerics aren't the "absolute kings of melee". Of course, a cleric will be generally stronger in melee for a major part of their progression, although a druid/monk will still be better at casting because they won't have to spread their abilities as much.

    A strength-focused Bard/BG/RDD with dev crit is actually quite menacing, especially with their -4 to saves. Anyway, let's just agree that one has many efficient paths to pursue as a melee character :)
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    It's been hinted at several places here, but I'll state it outright. Character progression is much different in 3E and later. Whereas in BG (2E), your wizard was pretty much going to be a wizard for all times unless you planned otherwise at inception, in 3E, you can dip into other classes and roles. This adds variety, but is also rife for Min/maxing and munchkinism. Taking a single level in several select classes (suggested earlier) will give you SIGNIFICANT benefit, but will also drag on your experience. There are racial parings with regards to classes that will allow you to avoid this though. And you may find yourself crafting your characters, planning them out from level 1.

    Beyond that have fun with it. Pretty much any class can be a juggernaut, or a train wreck depending on how you build them.

    Also, the attacking, bonuses and several other mechanics are a bit different. You will have to play around with them to see how they interact.
  • zur312zur312 Member Posts: 1,366
    Thx guis great discussion
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