No, I figured out the puzzle later (with a walkthrough). I fought the spider demon without deactivating the dead magic zone. Solving the obelisk would have made the fight so much easier.
The problem with the Guardian was that you don't stand a chance as a fighter if you haven't upgraded your weapon to +8 enchantment. I was lucky to have an Astral Blade in my inventory.
Well, first, the Astral Blade +8 is a guaranteed drop.
But if you're playing as a fighter...why wouldn't you have at least a +8 weapon by then? I guess I'm confused here.
That orb to cause a dead magic zone didn't work against the Guardian. Against Maugrim and the lich and their gang I didn't remember to use it.
It's a scripted item, I don't believe it works outside of HotU Chapter 2 specifically. Same reason the Shadow Plane mirror thing from SoU doesn't work in HotU.
My companions weren't ideal, either, I had Aribeth and Valen with me. I simply had to take Aribeth, of course. And while Valen is a fierce damage dealer, he's difficult to keep alive with his lousy AC.
Both of those companions are incredibly strong...Aribeth has a massive amount of free HP, has incredible saves, and can easily carry you through the entire Chapter if you gear her right.
Valen's a Weapon Master and even an unoptimized Weapon Master like himself is one of the strongest characters in the game. He also can carry you through the entire Chapter. Looking at my latest playthrough he had 43 AC unbuffed and like 400 HP.
What kind of AC did Valen have for you? If you'd rather not discuss this further that's fine but I'm very confused here.
so i just had something amazing happen today in my mage play through;
warning this contains mega spoilers for those who haven't beat NWN EE so if you don't want to be spoiled, beat the game first and then continue on....
so anyways, here i was in chapter 4 and of coarse we have to come toe to toe with our ol' pal aribeth, so i blast off a disjunction and a couple empowered chain lightnings and she already gives up
but in the meantime that it took me to cast those spells, she, casted blade barrier....
so anyways, i choose the path to let her go ( since i had her ring from chapter 2 ) and when she went to go walk away, she was killed by her own blade barrier LOL
and the best part is; i got both achievements at the same time for letting aribeth live, and finishing her off ( ironically im pretty sure this isn't suppose to be "possible" in one play through because one play through you let her go, get achievement 1, then the next play through or *cough* *cough* reload *cough* take her down for the other one )
i just thought that was hilarious when it happened, although when i screen shotted it, the achievements didn't show up in the screen shot, talk about convenience hahaha
@sarevok57
I always found it a bit odd that she is a Paladin/Blackguard yet she has a couple of high LVL Cleric spells, are they in her spellbook or are they special abilities?
I have memories from a online experience years back, we were playing on a modded campaign labelled "Hardcore Mode" but some sections were way beyond that, optional encounters like under Helms Hold against a Vrook with Assassin's Death Attack and others but I remember several encounters with Aribeth being amped up and very dangerous, either we would use too much power and accidentally kill her or she would thrash me without blinking an eye....several Implosion and Firestorms ?.
I have also been doing another run, this time with a male paladin (to see if there's more information on Aribeth this way), with a slightly different build, starting to use Divine Might and Divine Shield much earlier, and it makes a huge difference. Also, I reloaded instead of respawning, and that makes the game a *lot* easier, not losing money and XP. But, of course, everything is biased, because nothing can be compared to a first playthrough, because now I know what to expect, how to fight, and what's not worth spending money on, or how much difference it makes to sell only to favorable or neutral merchants...
I only should have taken the Elder Brain's name and abilities more seriously in the Underdark. I negotiated an armistice, gave it the mirror, but then I helped the rebellious slaves. So, of course I had to face a few mind flayers during the battle against the Valsharess' army...
I haven't played anything for weeks, or maybe months.
Now I've decided to give NWN2 a try. I have created a paladin (surprise) and am now ready to leave my home village heading for Neverwinter.
My foster father reminds me of Sarek (at least of the Star Trek: Discovery version). I'm playing this game for the first time and hope that I haven't got the build all wrong. I went with my NWN:EE experiences.
I'm playing on core rules.
My beginning stats:
STR 15
DEX 10 (might regret that, I know. Forgot about the AC bonus)
CON 12
INT 12
WIS 14
CHA 15
I took Luck of Heroes, because unlike in NWN1 it gives +1 to AC as well as saving throws, and Weapon Focus: Longsword.
I'm level 4 now, with Toughness as additional feat, put a point in STR and wear the Harvest Cloak, so that STR and CHA are at 16 now.
My AC is 19, and I'm using a club +1, haven't found a longsword yet.
Nothing worth mentioning until now, only that I've taken the diplomatic solution with the lizardfolk in the swamp ruins. I'm curious if that's going to have consequences later.
@BelgarathMTH , I started to read your reports at the beginning of this thread again, noticed that I had forgotten most of the details already and decided I'd rather go blind and spoiler-free. More frustrating and more fun.
I don't know if I'm going to continue playing and posting, since free time is always an issue, but I'm happy that I can finally give this game a try.
Any spoiler-free advice or warnings would be greatly appreciated.
from what i remember i want to say that in the bandit camp there was an astral longsword there, which i believe is a +1 longsword that deals an extra 1d4 sonic damage
plus when you get to high cliff, i believe..... ( or maybe its neverwinter? ) you can get a +2 longsword there
plus, longsword is a good choice, because way later in the game, you will eventually get a really awesome longsword which i believe there are certain points that you would basically have to use it regardless
@Arvia , good luck, and I hope you have fun. If you do have time and the desire later to share any more about your run or about your impressions, I'll enjoy reading about it.
It's really hard to mess up a build in NWN 2. I don't think the combat in it is as hard as in NWN 1, especially since you can directly control your companions. For me, the fun is more in the story and the cutscenes.
Maintaining control can still be tricky. I always put the voice commands "Stay", "Follow", "Guard", and "Attack" on my quick bar. Without frequent "Stay" commands, party members will rush forward into traps, run off and aggro new groups of monsters, and other stuff like that. Neeshka needs the voice commands on her bar, too, because I often switch her to the active party member to find and disarm traps. You can access the commands by typing "V".
It's a good idea to turn off all spell casting in your character's AI controls, so that your avatar doesn't waste spells if you switch to controlling a different character during combat. I also turn casting down to "scaled casting mode" for all the other casters, or even turn off their AI casting completely so I can control when they cast any spell.
If you have any trouble with the camera spinning around too fast, it's possible to go into the .ini file and slow down the minimum camera speed. I have to do that on my computers before I find the game playable.
Let us know if you have any other questions.
Also, thank you for your service and hard work on the medical front lines during the pandemic.
Thank you for the appreciation, although it's embarrassing because I'm not one of the front line pandemic heroes. I'm just a regular ant in an anthill. Small hospital, mercifully few cases, enough protective equipment, very few patients on a respirator. Our biggest challenge is to fight suspicion and carelessness with math, science and patience, because too many people here are like "See? Nothing happened! It was an overreaction!"
My thoughts (I would say "prayers", but I don't pray anymore) are with those who risk their lives under difficult conditions, who fear for their own or their loved ones' health, whose financial security is at risk or lost, who can't see their loved ones, who live in troubling social or family situations and can't leave the house, and all those who are busy, mostly unnoticed and underpaid but keep our society going.
Take care, everyone.
To the game: Thank you for reminding me of the voice commands. A lot less sprung traps now .
I'm still fumbling with the controls, and the tiny map doesn't really help, but I already like the interaction and roleplaying opportunities. I don't feel like tactical challenges right now. And I understand now why you compared Neeshka to Imoen. I like her a lot. I'm not sure what to think of the battle-hungry dwarf yet, but I'm giving him a chance.
I've finished the issues around Fort Locke and will soon go to Highcliff.
Another question, what about crafting? Is it worth it? I don't feel like collecting tons of ingredients and spending skill points, but maybe there are companions who are good at it?
Also, any advice on level up of companions? I went with "recommended" for them and only chose my own skills and feats the way I wanted.
Pity that tower shields need a proficiency. Although it makes sense that fighting with a barn door in your hand requires extra training. Speaking of annoying but realistic details, I like it that bashing a chest doesn't leave everything intact.
Ah, and thank you for reminding me how to adjust the camera. It makes me dizzy.
Until now, I like this game. Progress will be dreadfully slow, of course, but who cares.
Edited typos and grammar. Haven't written in English for weeks. Sorry.
Crafted items can be worth it later on, when you can create elemental weapons. On my last run, I didn't bother with it, because it gets time consuming, and you can finish the game fine without it. Plus you find very powerful weapons and armor in the game any way.
The skill to craft normal weapons and armor is useless. If I do crafting, I usually use Sand's (wizard companion you get later) alchemy skill to get the essences needed, and then he needs to take the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat. If you want necklaces, rings, and/or belts, he also has to take Craft Wondrous Items. That carries a really big opportunity cost, because he could spend those feat slots on metamagic (Empowered Spell, Maximized Spell, Spell Penetration, Greater Spell Penetration, etc.)
The "recommended" button usually does a really bad job building your companions, so I don't "recommend" it. I usually take Taunt on Khelgar, then cross train Spellcraft so he can get the bonus to his saves for five ranks in that. Important feats for fighters are similar to the ones for paladins, so he should get Power Attack, Cleave, and the like. His dexterity is high enough to go into the Dodge line of feats if you want to improve his defense. Fighters can get weapon specialization as well as getting tower shields for free. I usually choose warhammers for Khelgar. If you don't make him a monk later, there will be a really good warhammer for him that fits the second part of his character quest. (There's more story for him than just learning about the monks.) I personally think he's more powerful as a fighter, so I don't change his class, but he can be strong as a monk, too.
With Neeshka, I usually train her to dual wield short swords and rapiers, and select her feats accordingly.
Stay away from Parry skill. A character in Parry mode mostly just stands there taking blows. It was an interesting idea, but they didn't implement it very well. The "Recommend" button will often pump up Parry skill on characters who have it, which is a waste of skill points.
There's a lot of build advice out there, if you get into that. It's a good idea to look over the feat lists at level ups that include new feats, and create an idea or a plan of how you want them to fight, or what skills you need them to have. But, as I mentioned, I don't think combat is that hard in the main campaign, and I think you can finish the game with just about any builds for your team. Sometimes I think it's fun to theory-craft new builds, though.
Be sure to keep AC as high as possible on all characters. You know how I believe in strong defense in games over maximized offense.
We have reached the city of Neverwinter. After joining the City Watch, I have received a battlefield promotion to lieutenant on my second day. That doesn't mean much, because the Watch is corrupted and, sadly, I had to kill several fellow watchmen who refused to do their duty and sided with a gang of smugglers and other criminals.
This place has been in chaos since the war. I have to find out more about the shards and my mother, but while I'm trying to get access to the Blacklake District, I might as well help to reestablish order as much as possible.
Captain Brelaina thinks that any kind of watchmen are better than none. I disagree. I understand if people accept some extra coin to feed their children, but those people were risking their lives for a group of criminals instead of facing their responsibilities. That's greed, not need, and it won't change with increased wages. Shockingly few of them accepted the chance to surrender and do their duty.
Anyway, I have other things to worry about. We need to enter a haunted tomb to save a priest, then confront the criminals that were supposed to receive the smuggled weapons we intercepted, and then we have to help my new friend Elanee reach the Skymirror and find out what's wrong with the druid circles.
She has become a dear and trusted friend. Without her voice of reason, I'd feel like the only adult in the group. Neeshka, who has a bounty on her head, and Khelgar, who provokes fights where I was trying to be diplomatic, are like a bunch of squabbling children.
At least Elanee agrees with me that more stealing won't solve Neeshka's problems. I thought druids only cared about nature and balance, but I've come to respect her loyalty, compassion and reason.
I probably shouldn't associate with a crazy dwarf who won't follow orders and a half-demon thief, but I've come to feel responsible for them. I can't leave them to their fates, and maybe with a little guidance they can find the right path. I'm just glad I didn't accept the overconfident sorceress into our group, but sent her to work for Uncle Duncan instead.
I just hope we aren't too late to save the priest, because we had to follow our orders first and intercept the smugglers.
[Level 8, no reloads until now, just a near-death experience, because I didn't know that Flamestrike isn't part friendly in this game )
@Arvia , glad to see you having some fun with the RP in NWN2. I never take Qara, either. Her personality is like the polar opposite of mine. We'd be at each other's throats within a day.
Elanee is also a favorite for me. Bear with Khelgar and Neeshka - you can in fact have some influence on them, although Neeshka is a little bit hard to keep happy, because you lose influence points with her every time you refuse to help her with one of her schemes. I can usually make up for lost points by just being nice to her and standing up for her when somebody tries to bully her. It helps that I always have her around as a priority party member because of needing her skills so badly when we're adventuring, so I don't miss any opportunities to win points with her, whenever I can do so without agreeing to rob somebody.
EDIT: Pardon if you already knew this, but don't forget to right-click your companions and select "Talk" frequently. A lot of their character development is done through conversations you have with them that you have to activate yourself.
@BelgarathMTH , I didn't know that I could and should initiate conversations with my companions, so thank you! I'll keep that in mind when I continue next week.
The RP opportunities in the game are great until now. I love to have so many possibilities to say Keldornish things about duty, for example.
My doubts about Neeshka are just musings of a paladin who worries that she's becoming too laissez-faire. I'm actually enjoying Neeshka's quips about Khelgar and their bickering. But of course I can't let her steal stuff.
Khelgar is a different matter. His heart is in the right place, but he fights for the sake of fighting, won't follow orders and actually runs around provoking everyone. Gimli on steroids. He'd be better off with Tempus, not Tyr! He's really testing my patience. But I'm bearing with him.
That sorceress is a spoiled, arrogant brat. Of course I convinced her attackers to leave her alone, but I didn't even consider letting her join. Uncle Duncan can teach her some manners and modesty.
I've checked the feats and skills of my companions, and the "recommended" stuff was okay, except that it gave Khelgar skill points in "craft armor" or something. He got points in Taunt, which is good, and his feats include Knockdown, Great Cleave, and started the Dodge and Mobility line. Seems okay so far, but I'm going to pay more attention in the future.
Wouldn't even cross my mind to waste points into parrying. Passive defense like high AC? Sure, give me as much as possible. Trying to find an acceptable solution without a fight? Gladly. But waste an attack to deflect a blow? No, thanks. Winning quickly is a far better protection from further damage, and if I have to "waste" a round, I'd rather use it for healing.
Edited: And I was so happy to see my little Deekin, and so disappointed that I couldn't recruit him!
@Arvia
Someone's playing NWN 2 and i only just noticed.
I know what you mean about Qara she's quite arrogant, Neeshka is great i like her alot, Khelgar's head is full of rock but his companion quest can help him find his way but it will take awhile.
Elenee at first she seems like a treehugger but i recommend keeping her around because i find her spells great and if you give her Breastplate armor, Shield and a Scimitar she"ll be very useful.
When Sand comes into it i keep him around always, not only are his spells valuable but i find his dialogue humorous, he does tend to rub people the wrong way but his name is Sand, this first time i played i had Qara around but after i got Sand he quickly took her place and i never looked back.
It's good you went with the Longsword Focus, there are several Longswords and one in particular that you'll find useful, don't worry you cant miss it.
One day you'll meet a really nice absent minded old man name Aldanon... , i love the interactions with him.
The Crafting is time consuming like Belgarath said but if you want it Sand would easily fit the role of Enchanter, a couple of enchantments require a priest to cast but most Sand can make if he has the required Feats.
One Enchantment is very useful, enchant any chest piece of cloth or armor with Immunity to Critical Hit & Sneak Attacks...totally not OP.
If you plan on using a Shield you can get some Umber Hulk Hide and make a shield with Immunity to Mind Effects, very nice.
When it comes to weapon crafting it's not just about the Enchantment anymore, Cold Iron and Alchemical Silver are useful against certain creatures like Demons & Devils or Lycanthrops, if you get Khelgar to smith a weapon using Alchemical Silver than Sand puts +3 than Acid damage you cant go wrong, oh and you can enchant any item with 3 different enchantments but if you make a +3 weapon than put 2 others onto it you cant reenchant the +3 to +5, you can upgrade a +1 and so on but once you reach the 3 slots no more can be added.
Last time i played i modified all the fixed enemies to give them better classes and beef them up because in the early game they're a bit weak.
I hope you'll enjoy it.
Edit: Oh i almost forgot Adamantine and Mithral can be crafted with, Mithral is fantastic for armor as it will lighten the Dexterity restriction such as Full Plate Armor normally restricting Dex to +1 well Mithral Full plate alloys for +3 Dex this works for all chest Armors made from metal with Mithral and it makes heavy armor considered medium and medium to light, a Bard or Warlock who's allowed to cast in light armor can wear a Mithral breastplate no worries.
IF you craft with Adamantine it comes with a magical effect but that takes up an enchanting slot so i don't use it.
I was thinking about doing a playthrough with NWN EE with the PRC mod but recently i had to fix my PC beacuse it finally died on me...had to buy Motherboard, Ram, CPU , while i was at it i got a NVME M.2 so that's a pleasent upgrade from a HDD.
Anyway after getting things up and running i tested out the Mystic Theurge Prestige class but i quickly discovered that the mod also restricts you to resting once every 16 hours...for a low lvl spell caster that's torture so screw that, i don't know if i can change that.
On a pleasent note i just tested NWN 2 on my new hardware and I've never had NWN 2 run so perfectly, 4k max settings, smooth as butter.
I had to reinstall the 2 mods i like using on NWN 2.
The Complete Craftsman Reboot this expands the crafting system with well a whole lot, more items such as ammunition, traps and clothes are expanded and many more enchantments such as instead of enchanting a Ring of Wizardry that gives 1 extra spell slot to Bard. Sorcerers & Wizards you can opt to just take up one enchantment slot on a empty ring. https://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn2/hakpak/original-hakpak/complete-craftsman-reboot
Also you can breakdown enchanted items to retrieve gems and essences (provided your character has the required Spellcraft skill).
I don't usually rely on mods but these two i came to love years ago so i kept them.
No mods for me, but I hack the .ini file to slow down the minimum camera turn speed for exploration mode. I find the game unplayable without doing that.
i like using the "only takes 5 seconds to rest" workshop mod, normal resting just takes way too much time in NWN
plus i also like using the "real hands" workshop mod as well, so instead of cube hands, your character will actually have fingers
and i also use the "improved monster appearance" mod from the neverwinter vault ( don't know what it is actually called, but it is something on those lines ) and it makes a lot of monsters look a hell of a lot better than the blocky messes that NWN comes with
I use mods extensively, because there are just so many good ones with a wide range of compatibility. It's a shame the NWNVault is as disorganized a website as it is, because so much great stuff lurks under there.
I'm currently using some fighting animation mods along with some PRC weapons, crescent moon blades in this case. A good choice for a dual-wielding monk/druid.
Now that I mention it, this build can get ridiculously powerful in NWN2. That AC is deities avatar level.
@WarChiefZeke Yeah I've played as a Monk/Druid, it's very powerful in late game.
In NWN 2 you can get a feat to allow spell casting while shifted, awesome (Natural Spell I think).
Before epic shapes the Dire Bear and Earth Elemental Shapes are really good.
Do you have a list of mods you like?
I recommend alternate combat animations to everybody. The styles look great, are varied, and some are compatible with all races. The classic fighter set looks great on halfling or dwarf warriors, for example. Some great ones for barbarians, mages, and dexterity-based fighters as well.
To get it to work, you have to use the nwhak.exe (available on the vault) and extract the contents of the haks to your override folder. Not hard, and once set up it works on every main campaign as well as module I ever tried it in.
TheBarbarian's NWN Heads is a good improvement over the classic heads, also on vault. It hits that sweet spot that some Morrowind graphics mods do in my opinion, where they somehow make early 3D models just good enough to not be hard on the eyes, unlike much of vanilla NWN, yet still feel like they fit.
I also use CEP as well as the Pretty Good Character Creator CEP2 to load myself up with some custom weapons and enchant them myself. Nunchucks, Sai, Monks Spade, Crescent Moon Blades, really fleshes out the list of exotic and monk/rogue weapons.
There are many others, such as improvements to vanilla monsters and environments, but that is my must have list for NWN.
Comments
By puzzle I meant the obelisk, yes.
Er...I would disagree with that "obviously" bit. Knowing more about your character stats may help a lot.
Well, first, the Astral Blade +8 is a guaranteed drop.
But if you're playing as a fighter...why wouldn't you have at least a +8 weapon by then? I guess I'm confused here.
It's a scripted item, I don't believe it works outside of HotU Chapter 2 specifically. Same reason the Shadow Plane mirror thing from SoU doesn't work in HotU.
Both of those companions are incredibly strong...Aribeth has a massive amount of free HP, has incredible saves, and can easily carry you through the entire Chapter if you gear her right.
Valen's a Weapon Master and even an unoptimized Weapon Master like himself is one of the strongest characters in the game. He also can carry you through the entire Chapter. Looking at my latest playthrough he had 43 AC unbuffed and like 400 HP.
What kind of AC did Valen have for you? If you'd rather not discuss this further that's fine but I'm very confused here.
warning this contains mega spoilers for those who haven't beat NWN EE so if you don't want to be spoiled, beat the game first and then continue on....
so anyways, here i was in chapter 4 and of coarse we have to come toe to toe with our ol' pal aribeth, so i blast off a disjunction and a couple empowered chain lightnings and she already gives up
but in the meantime that it took me to cast those spells, she, casted blade barrier....
so anyways, i choose the path to let her go ( since i had her ring from chapter 2 ) and when she went to go walk away, she was killed by her own blade barrier LOL
and the best part is; i got both achievements at the same time for letting aribeth live, and finishing her off ( ironically im pretty sure this isn't suppose to be "possible" in one play through because one play through you let her go, get achievement 1, then the next play through or *cough* *cough* reload *cough* take her down for the other one )
i just thought that was hilarious when it happened, although when i screen shotted it, the achievements didn't show up in the screen shot, talk about convenience hahaha
I always found it a bit odd that she is a Paladin/Blackguard yet she has a couple of high LVL Cleric spells, are they in her spellbook or are they special abilities?
I have memories from a online experience years back, we were playing on a modded campaign labelled "Hardcore Mode" but some sections were way beyond that, optional encounters like under Helms Hold against a Vrook with Assassin's Death Attack and others but I remember several encounters with Aribeth being amped up and very dangerous, either we would use too much power and accidentally kill her or she would thrash me without blinking an eye....several Implosion and Firestorms ?.
i guess they just wanted to make the battle "cool" with giving her a bunch of flashy spells and whatnot
i do have to agree though, that battle has one for my favourite battle tracks in the game
I only should have taken the Elder Brain's name and abilities more seriously in the Underdark. I negotiated an armistice, gave it the mirror, but then I helped the rebellious slaves. So, of course I had to face a few mind flayers during the battle against the Valsharess' army...
Now I've decided to give NWN2 a try. I have created a paladin (surprise) and am now ready to leave my home village heading for Neverwinter.
My foster father reminds me of Sarek (at least of the Star Trek: Discovery version). I'm playing this game for the first time and hope that I haven't got the build all wrong. I went with my NWN:EE experiences.
I'm playing on core rules.
My beginning stats:
STR 15
DEX 10 (might regret that, I know. Forgot about the AC bonus)
CON 12
INT 12
WIS 14
CHA 15
I took Luck of Heroes, because unlike in NWN1 it gives +1 to AC as well as saving throws, and Weapon Focus: Longsword.
I'm level 4 now, with Toughness as additional feat, put a point in STR and wear the Harvest Cloak, so that STR and CHA are at 16 now.
My AC is 19, and I'm using a club +1, haven't found a longsword yet.
Nothing worth mentioning until now, only that I've taken the diplomatic solution with the lizardfolk in the swamp ruins. I'm curious if that's going to have consequences later.
@BelgarathMTH , I started to read your reports at the beginning of this thread again, noticed that I had forgotten most of the details already and decided I'd rather go blind and spoiler-free. More frustrating and more fun.
I don't know if I'm going to continue playing and posting, since free time is always an issue, but I'm happy that I can finally give this game a try.
Any spoiler-free advice or warnings would be greatly appreciated.
from what i remember i want to say that in the bandit camp there was an astral longsword there, which i believe is a +1 longsword that deals an extra 1d4 sonic damage
plus when you get to high cliff, i believe..... ( or maybe its neverwinter? ) you can get a +2 longsword there
plus, longsword is a good choice, because way later in the game, you will eventually get a really awesome longsword which i believe there are certain points that you would basically have to use it regardless
so weapon wise, that was a good choice
don't worry, the above doesnt give away any story
It's really hard to mess up a build in NWN 2. I don't think the combat in it is as hard as in NWN 1, especially since you can directly control your companions. For me, the fun is more in the story and the cutscenes.
Maintaining control can still be tricky. I always put the voice commands "Stay", "Follow", "Guard", and "Attack" on my quick bar. Without frequent "Stay" commands, party members will rush forward into traps, run off and aggro new groups of monsters, and other stuff like that. Neeshka needs the voice commands on her bar, too, because I often switch her to the active party member to find and disarm traps. You can access the commands by typing "V".
It's a good idea to turn off all spell casting in your character's AI controls, so that your avatar doesn't waste spells if you switch to controlling a different character during combat. I also turn casting down to "scaled casting mode" for all the other casters, or even turn off their AI casting completely so I can control when they cast any spell.
If you have any trouble with the camera spinning around too fast, it's possible to go into the .ini file and slow down the minimum camera speed. I have to do that on my computers before I find the game playable.
Let us know if you have any other questions.
Also, thank you for your service and hard work on the medical front lines during the pandemic.
My thoughts (I would say "prayers", but I don't pray anymore) are with those who risk their lives under difficult conditions, who fear for their own or their loved ones' health, whose financial security is at risk or lost, who can't see their loved ones, who live in troubling social or family situations and can't leave the house, and all those who are busy, mostly unnoticed and underpaid but keep our society going.
Take care, everyone.
To the game: Thank you for reminding me of the voice commands. A lot less sprung traps now
I'm still fumbling with the controls, and the tiny map doesn't really help, but I already like the interaction and roleplaying opportunities. I don't feel like tactical challenges right now. And I understand now why you compared Neeshka to Imoen. I like her a lot. I'm not sure what to think of the battle-hungry dwarf yet, but I'm giving him a chance.
I've finished the issues around Fort Locke and will soon go to Highcliff.
Another question, what about crafting? Is it worth it? I don't feel like collecting tons of ingredients and spending skill points, but maybe there are companions who are good at it?
Also, any advice on level up of companions? I went with "recommended" for them and only chose my own skills and feats the way I wanted.
Pity that tower shields need a proficiency. Although it makes sense that fighting with a barn door in your hand requires extra training. Speaking of annoying but realistic details, I like it that bashing a chest doesn't leave everything intact.
Ah, and thank you for reminding me how to adjust the camera. It makes me dizzy.
Until now, I like this game. Progress will be dreadfully slow, of course, but who cares.
Edited typos and grammar. Haven't written in English for weeks. Sorry.
The skill to craft normal weapons and armor is useless. If I do crafting, I usually use Sand's (wizard companion you get later) alchemy skill to get the essences needed, and then he needs to take the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat. If you want necklaces, rings, and/or belts, he also has to take Craft Wondrous Items. That carries a really big opportunity cost, because he could spend those feat slots on metamagic (Empowered Spell, Maximized Spell, Spell Penetration, Greater Spell Penetration, etc.)
The "recommended" button usually does a really bad job building your companions, so I don't "recommend" it. I usually take Taunt on Khelgar, then cross train Spellcraft so he can get the bonus to his saves for five ranks in that. Important feats for fighters are similar to the ones for paladins, so he should get Power Attack, Cleave, and the like. His dexterity is high enough to go into the Dodge line of feats if you want to improve his defense. Fighters can get weapon specialization as well as getting tower shields for free. I usually choose warhammers for Khelgar. If you don't make him a monk later, there will be a really good warhammer for him that fits the second part of his character quest. (There's more story for him than just learning about the monks.) I personally think he's more powerful as a fighter, so I don't change his class, but he can be strong as a monk, too.
With Neeshka, I usually train her to dual wield short swords and rapiers, and select her feats accordingly.
Stay away from Parry skill. A character in Parry mode mostly just stands there taking blows. It was an interesting idea, but they didn't implement it very well. The "Recommend" button will often pump up Parry skill on characters who have it, which is a waste of skill points.
There's a lot of build advice out there, if you get into that. It's a good idea to look over the feat lists at level ups that include new feats, and create an idea or a plan of how you want them to fight, or what skills you need them to have. But, as I mentioned, I don't think combat is that hard in the main campaign, and I think you can finish the game with just about any builds for your team. Sometimes I think it's fun to theory-craft new builds, though.
Be sure to keep AC as high as possible on all characters. You know how I believe in strong defense in games over maximized offense.
We have reached the city of Neverwinter. After joining the City Watch, I have received a battlefield promotion to lieutenant on my second day. That doesn't mean much, because the Watch is corrupted and, sadly, I had to kill several fellow watchmen who refused to do their duty and sided with a gang of smugglers and other criminals.
This place has been in chaos since the war. I have to find out more about the shards and my mother, but while I'm trying to get access to the Blacklake District, I might as well help to reestablish order as much as possible.
Captain Brelaina thinks that any kind of watchmen are better than none. I disagree. I understand if people accept some extra coin to feed their children, but those people were risking their lives for a group of criminals instead of facing their responsibilities. That's greed, not need, and it won't change with increased wages. Shockingly few of them accepted the chance to surrender and do their duty.
Anyway, I have other things to worry about. We need to enter a haunted tomb to save a priest, then confront the criminals that were supposed to receive the smuggled weapons we intercepted, and then we have to help my new friend Elanee reach the Skymirror and find out what's wrong with the druid circles.
She has become a dear and trusted friend. Without her voice of reason, I'd feel like the only adult in the group. Neeshka, who has a bounty on her head, and Khelgar, who provokes fights where I was trying to be diplomatic, are like a bunch of squabbling children.
At least Elanee agrees with me that more stealing won't solve Neeshka's problems. I thought druids only cared about nature and balance, but I've come to respect her loyalty, compassion and reason.
I probably shouldn't associate with a crazy dwarf who won't follow orders and a half-demon thief, but I've come to feel responsible for them. I can't leave them to their fates, and maybe with a little guidance they can find the right path. I'm just glad I didn't accept the overconfident sorceress into our group, but sent her to work for Uncle Duncan instead.
I just hope we aren't too late to save the priest, because we had to follow our orders first and intercept the smugglers.
[Level 8, no reloads until now, just a near-death experience, because I didn't know that Flamestrike isn't part friendly in this game
Elanee is also a favorite for me. Bear with Khelgar and Neeshka - you can in fact have some influence on them, although Neeshka is a little bit hard to keep happy, because you lose influence points with her every time you refuse to help her with one of her schemes. I can usually make up for lost points by just being nice to her and standing up for her when somebody tries to bully her. It helps that I always have her around as a priority party member because of needing her skills so badly when we're adventuring, so I don't miss any opportunities to win points with her, whenever I can do so without agreeing to rob somebody.
EDIT: Pardon if you already knew this, but don't forget to right-click your companions and select "Talk" frequently. A lot of their character development is done through conversations you have with them that you have to activate yourself.
The RP opportunities in the game are great until now. I love to have so many possibilities to say Keldornish things about duty, for example.
My doubts about Neeshka are just musings of a paladin who worries that she's becoming too laissez-faire. I'm actually enjoying Neeshka's quips about Khelgar and their bickering. But of course I can't let her steal stuff.
Khelgar is a different matter. His heart is in the right place, but he fights for the sake of fighting, won't follow orders and actually runs around provoking everyone. Gimli on steroids. He'd be better off with Tempus, not Tyr! He's really testing my patience. But I'm bearing with him.
That sorceress is a spoiled, arrogant brat. Of course I convinced her attackers to leave her alone, but I didn't even consider letting her join. Uncle Duncan can teach her some manners and modesty.
I've checked the feats and skills of my companions, and the "recommended" stuff was okay, except that it gave Khelgar skill points in "craft armor" or something. He got points in Taunt, which is good, and his feats include Knockdown, Great Cleave, and started the Dodge and Mobility line. Seems okay so far, but I'm going to pay more attention in the future.
Wouldn't even cross my mind to waste points into parrying. Passive defense like high AC? Sure, give me as much as possible. Trying to find an acceptable solution without a fight? Gladly. But waste an attack to deflect a blow? No, thanks. Winning quickly is a far better protection from further damage, and if I have to "waste" a round, I'd rather use it for healing.
Edited: And I was so happy to see my little Deekin, and so disappointed that I couldn't recruit him!
Someone's playing NWN 2 and i only just noticed.
I know what you mean about Qara she's quite arrogant, Neeshka is great i like her alot, Khelgar's head is full of rock but his companion quest can help him find his way but it will take awhile.
Elenee at first she seems like a treehugger but i recommend keeping her around because i find her spells great and if you give her Breastplate armor, Shield and a Scimitar she"ll be very useful.
When Sand comes into it i keep him around always, not only are his spells valuable but i find his dialogue humorous, he does tend to rub people the wrong way but his name is Sand, this first time i played i had Qara around but after i got Sand he quickly took her place and i never looked back.
It's good you went with the Longsword Focus, there are several Longswords and one in particular that you'll find useful, don't worry you cant miss it.
One day you'll meet a really nice absent minded old man name Aldanon...
The Crafting is time consuming like Belgarath said but if you want it Sand would easily fit the role of Enchanter, a couple of enchantments require a priest to cast but most Sand can make if he has the required Feats.
One Enchantment is very useful, enchant any chest piece of cloth or armor with Immunity to Critical Hit & Sneak Attacks...totally not OP.
If you plan on using a Shield you can get some Umber Hulk Hide and make a shield with Immunity to Mind Effects, very nice.
When it comes to weapon crafting it's not just about the Enchantment anymore, Cold Iron and Alchemical Silver are useful against certain creatures like Demons & Devils or Lycanthrops, if you get Khelgar to smith a weapon using Alchemical Silver than Sand puts +3 than Acid damage you cant go wrong, oh and you can enchant any item with 3 different enchantments but if you make a +3 weapon than put 2 others onto it you cant reenchant the +3 to +5, you can upgrade a +1 and so on but once you reach the 3 slots no more can be added.
Last time i played i modified all the fixed enemies to give them better classes and beef them up because in the early game they're a bit weak.
I hope you'll enjoy it.
Edit: Oh i almost forgot Adamantine and Mithral can be crafted with, Mithral is fantastic for armor as it will lighten the Dexterity restriction such as Full Plate Armor normally restricting Dex to +1 well Mithral Full plate alloys for +3 Dex this works for all chest Armors made from metal with Mithral and it makes heavy armor considered medium and medium to light, a Bard or Warlock who's allowed to cast in light armor can wear a Mithral breastplate no worries.
IF you craft with Adamantine it comes with a magical effect but that takes up an enchanting slot so i don't use it.
Anyway after getting things up and running i tested out the Mystic Theurge Prestige class but i quickly discovered that the mod also restricts you to resting once every 16 hours...for a low lvl spell caster that's torture so screw that, i don't know if i can change that.
On a pleasent note i just tested NWN 2 on my new hardware and I've never had NWN 2 run so perfectly, 4k max settings, smooth as butter.
I had to reinstall the 2 mods i like using on NWN 2.
Vorden's Hero Creator is obviously what it sounds like but i use it to test out a character before commiting dozens of hours to a campaign only to discover i don't get enough feats on a build.
https://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn2/module/vordans-hero-creator
The Complete Craftsman Reboot this expands the crafting system with well a whole lot, more items such as ammunition, traps and clothes are expanded and many more enchantments such as instead of enchanting a Ring of Wizardry that gives 1 extra spell slot to Bard. Sorcerers & Wizards you can opt to just take up one enchantment slot on a empty ring.
https://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn2/hakpak/original-hakpak/complete-craftsman-reboot
Also you can breakdown enchanted items to retrieve gems and essences (provided your character has the required Spellcraft skill).
I don't usually rely on mods but these two i came to love years ago so i kept them.
What mods do you all use if any?
plus i also like using the "real hands" workshop mod as well, so instead of cube hands, your character will actually have fingers
and i also use the "improved monster appearance" mod from the neverwinter vault ( don't know what it is actually called, but it is something on those lines ) and it makes a lot of monsters look a hell of a lot better than the blocky messes that NWN comes with
I'm currently using some fighting animation mods along with some PRC weapons, crescent moon blades in this case. A good choice for a dual-wielding monk/druid.
Now that I mention it, this build can get ridiculously powerful in NWN2. That AC is deities avatar level.
In NWN 2 you can get a feat to allow spell casting while shifted, awesome (Natural Spell I think).
Before epic shapes the Dire Bear and Earth Elemental Shapes are really good.
Do you have a list of mods you like?
I recommend alternate combat animations to everybody. The styles look great, are varied, and some are compatible with all races. The classic fighter set looks great on halfling or dwarf warriors, for example. Some great ones for barbarians, mages, and dexterity-based fighters as well.
To get it to work, you have to use the nwhak.exe (available on the vault) and extract the contents of the haks to your override folder. Not hard, and once set up it works on every main campaign as well as module I ever tried it in.
TheBarbarian's NWN Heads is a good improvement over the classic heads, also on vault. It hits that sweet spot that some Morrowind graphics mods do in my opinion, where they somehow make early 3D models just good enough to not be hard on the eyes, unlike much of vanilla NWN, yet still feel like they fit.
I also use CEP as well as the Pretty Good Character Creator CEP2 to load myself up with some custom weapons and enchant them myself. Nunchucks, Sai, Monks Spade, Crescent Moon Blades, really fleshes out the list of exotic and monk/rogue weapons.
There are many others, such as improvements to vanilla monsters and environments, but that is my must have list for NWN.