Neverwinter Nights 2: D&D Boot Camp Edition

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I got Neverwinter Nights yay.

I made a Warlock and got fighty dwarf man and cutey tiefling rogue.

I am trying to save the townspeople from the bandits and I keep getting CUT THE FUCK DOWN.

I think I am missing something fundamental about the D&D combat system.

Tiefling chica has 24 HP and the bandits hit for 8-12. There's like, 4-5 bandits at once. She usually dies within a few rounds.

Do I need to go somewhere else and come back to the bandits in another level or two? Or once I have a four person party, at least?

I have super high concentration (+7, +6 from gloves). Should I be using "defensive casting" mode? What is defensive casting mode?

Is relying on the default AI what's causing me a world of sorrow and tears?

Should I be trying to stealth around and 1-shot these bandits to whittle down their numbers before I try?

The only D&D game I've ever put serious time into was Planescape, and combat there was pretty much an afterthought. I am getting totally reamed and having not played D&D in my youth I am totally clueless as to "how" I am supposed to play. Do I need to pump Dex? Armor? Buy a lot of potions?

Help meeeeee.

[MrAngryFace]

Turn the difficulty down, if its higher than normal the ruleset is going to be cruel. I dont lead with the demon chick tho, I usually send in dwarf guy then use a sleep spell to drop everyone thats crowding them.

The AI in NWN games is umm, interesting. You will spend a bit more time dealing with them than you probably should have to, but this is no different from the original really.

Im sure frag and doug can fill you in a bit more, not really a D&D nerd, just liked IWD and BG a WHOLE lot

[Smooth Groove]

I found NWN2's rules a bit overwhelming too since it's been a long time since I've played a D&D RPG.  Did you try pausing during battle?  That makes a big difference for me because the battles are too fast. 

[Howard Alan Treesong]

is there anyway to turn down the time between rounds? I agree that the default (6 seconds / round) seems a bit intense

[MrAngryFace]

I dunno, I just pause n command, dont need that much time. Just stock up on potions too. NWN2 is, on normal, imo, plenty easy. Druids are still overpowered, and area affect mage spells, like fireball, only hit the enemy which is just so cheese. Queue up 5 of those and things are REAL easy

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I haven't been pausing in combat to queue commands, that could be my biggest problem.

[Fragamemnon]

Are you talking about the bandit camp near Fort Locke?

If you are, here is my advice:

1) on the approach use the broadcast command "hold your ground" for everyone and then control kelgar to "pull" each group of three bandits to a safe zone outside of the camp. Once the group gets pulled back enough, kill them at point blank range so they can't bow you to death.

2) Save your game before rescuing the townspeople.

3) Once you save the townspeople, the whole place respawns if I remember. Keep your cool, do your best to range pull stuff back to you as the townspeople shuffle out. Keep spamming that hold your ground thing-the thing that always got me killed there was a dumbass party member running off and aggroing another group of bandits.

It's sorta MMO-ish right there. It took me a couple of times to get through that point on D&D hardcore mode. I would also think about turning it down to easy or what not for the duration of the fight, as I do think that particular part is somewhat unbalanced with the rest of the early game due to your armor values versus bows-you get hit too often.

[Smooth Groove]

Pausing is pretty much a necessity since you usually want to focus all your attacks on one enemy at a time.  You pause w/spacebar in case you forgot.   Also, like BG, try to take out the spellcasters first.  

[MrAngryFace]

TVC has been having issues with the AI and I agree that its a bit dodgy at times. Basically you can pause, dish out commands, but as soon as that command is done the AI takes over again. NWN2 has some really decent spellcasting AI, but it could be argued pretty easily that the AI will use anything at its command to completely overpower even the easiest of enemies.

I actually have to ration potions of bulls strength for example to the dwarf cause he'll chug it to fight a rat or some shit. The druids constantly using the bear spell for dumb fights too. You can turn puppet mode on but then the AI needs a command for EVERYTHING and thats a lot of pausing.

The AI also does a meh job picking targets of opportunity or importance and will often run off to other rooms to fight if they see someone. Im so used to pausing a lot thanks to IWD and the tricky spots in BG2 that pausing often to give commands to all my party members seems second nature to me.

I didnt have a huge problem with the bandit camp. I spammed sleep and had lots of potions, I also used protection vs arrows on two of my characters. I also rest tons. Im an abjuration wizard so protection spells are muh thang

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Frag: Yeah, that's the one.

I never played BG so "like BG" does not do much for me.

What are "broadcast commands"...? Are they ways to override people's default AI?

I may just move on to another part for a while and come back in a level or two.

[MrAngryFace]

I actually did the graveyard area before the bandit area and found the bandit area to be easier cause of disease and zombies being annoying.

[Fragamemnon]

Frag: Yeah, that's the one.

I never played BG so "like BG" does not do much for me.

What are "broadcast commands"...? Are they ways to override people's default AI?

I may just move on to another part for a while and come back in a level or two.

To issue commands to your party you right-click and hold it until you see a tab. Use the "broadcast command" option, and one of the choices is to tell your party to hold their ground, preventing them from running headlong to their death while you control a single character and "pull" the enemies back to a safe zone, maybe even with traps set up.

Edit: I use this when playing NWN2, it helps with the AI:

http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Hakpaks.Detail&id=4510

But it isn't necessary by any means.

[Smooth Groove]

Frag: Yeah, that's the one.

I never played BG so "like BG" does not do much for me.

What are "broadcast commands"...? Are they ways to override people's default AI?

I may just move on to another part for a while and come back in a level or two.

You just need to pause a lot like MAF said.  The AI isn't perfect but I still prefer using it over full puppet mode.  I just don't like potentially wasting a turn because I haven't given out a command.  Also, always remember to take out the spellcasters first.  It'll make your fights much easier.  

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Ah. I think I saw that and figured "broadcast command" was chat displayed to other human players, not AI party commands. Too much WoW, I guess.

[MrAngryFace]

If you have the protection from arrows spell use it, I dunno what warlocks get.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I have a buff that improves my Bluff and Intimidate skill. It doesn't work very well on arrows.

If I go somewhere else for another level, I can prolly learn the Entropic Warding that makes projectiles more likely to miss.

[Smooth Groove]

Warlock seems pretty hard to play if you're a novice.  It doesn't seem versatile enough if you plan to rely it for most magical purposes.  Gamespot actually has some pretty good general battling and character creation advice.  The recommend the Sorceror class if you want to use a spellcaster.


 http://www.gamespot.com/features/6161016/p-2.html

[Smooth Groove]

What weapon proficiencies should I get for my fighter?  I know Frag already recommended Great Sword.  I don't want to waste my feats on weapons that would rarely appear in the game  Also,is it worthwhile to dual-wield? 

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I figured that I would get a regular caster eventually to round out my magical hooptiness.

[Smooth Groove]

Well, you can't have too much magic in a D&D game.  The D&D rules are balanced in favor of the magic users.  Still, I personally prefer playing a tank.