I have been searching the internet all morning and really haven't found what I'm looking for. This is my first time playing any classic RPG and as a first time player I need some guidance. I am looking for three guides regarding Neverwinter Nights 2 complete.

-The first guide I need is a setup guide for configuring my game settings and key bindings. (If possible I want to make the camera controls and keybinds very similar to World of Warcraft or a more modern RPG like Divinity: Original Sin or Pillars of Eternity)

-The second guide I need is a modding guide, just basic info of how to mod and what to mod. Even something as simple as telling me which basic mods are essential.

-The third guide I need is an advanced character creation guide. More or less, I just need something that explains to which stats, abilities, spells and skills are useless. I'm not worried about min-maxing, but rather more worried about screwing up my character by not understanding when something is bad and investing to much into, for example I've found information explaining that the parry skill is garbage. I currently plan to play a two-handed cleric/fighter, I have a decent understanding of DnD 3.5e, although I've never played a cleric.

I do know that what I'm looking for might not exist, so any tips or suggestions regarding anything I posted about would also be very appreciated. If I get enough info, and there aren't really any guides out there I will probably end up writing one for new players like me. My main questions are as follows.

1. Which mods are essential and work for all of the NWN2 content and expansions?
2. Which settings can be adjusted to reduce the "clunkyness" of the game and UI?
3. What are character dump stats, abilities, skills, and spells? (I know it can be different for each type of character, I'm more asking what are the "noob trap" things people might end picking even though they are actually bad)
4. Is it worth playing the NWN2 original campaign first, or is it worth jumping into one of the others instead?
5. What are some basic tips, suggestions, or advice for new playings to both classic RPGs and the Neverwinter Nights series?

Thanks again in advance!


Edit: Thank you for the feedback, I'll add it to my post once I have a few minutes to read and sort it all!

I just recently started a new run through on the NWN2 main campaign.

I played it twice before, thought i did really well then discovered my team was utterly pathetically useless in the final battle.

There are loads of nasty 'sucked in' tricks and traps with character development in this game.... you either need to be an expert in understanding the game or find a build and follow it to the letter.

The problem i run into is that people who post builds to follow seem incapable of giving you all the information you need, always little bits are left out here and there leaving you scratching your head wondering what to do?

I found this nice build i want to try (link below) and even this one right from the start did not tell me what background i should choose and one other thing i forget, so i had to randomly guess.... am i rite or wrong, who knows?

http://nwn2.wikia.com/wiki/Celestial_Dwarf_King_-_Pal%286%29,_F%284%29,_DD%2810%29,_DC%2810%29

Check out a few sections of <span class="bold">thispost</span>

I wish I didn't waste time on NWN2, tbh. Should have just stuck with NWN.

huh, i tried NWN1 and after hording a huge pile of gear above what i can carry.... saved and reloaded the game next day.... its all gone!!! That never happened in NWN2.....

I immediately uninstalled the useless game and never played it again since.

Probably wont be exactly what you wanted but I can share my own experience.

* First, you may want to read my topic about differences between NWN1 and 2. It may give you some idea.

* I cant give any optinion about keybiding since i dont play those games you mentioned.

* About mods, you need to understand that mods mean two different things for NWN games. 1. Game tweaks. 2. Modules, completely new games created by bioware or fans by the toolset.

There are two tweaks that i found very useful.

Improved Hotbar.

I used this and there is also this All you have to do is...


INSTALLATION
*****************************************************************
Go to the subfolder of the variant you chose and copy hotbar.xml
to "My Documents\Neverwinter Nights 2\ui\default"
*****************************************************************

<span class="bold">Companion and Monster AI 2.2</span>
This basically improves the AI of monsters and your companions.

*** HOW TO USE *******
compmonai2.2.zip -- This zip is for use with the official campaigns and single player modules. Quick installation instructions:

Place all of the files in the zip into the “My Documents\Neverwinter Nights 2\override” directory. It can also be placed into subdirectories of the override directory. The presence of other haks may conflict with this one. If you run into a problem, try removing the other haks.
***********************

* About character creation, I cant give you an expert opinion since i only finished the game once. However I can give you some advice.

- While creating your character, you can press "recommended" button on "abilities" section. (aka stats). Although this is not perfect, it gives a solid idea about which stats you need. You can even leave them at that and you will be fine.

- On Packages page, always click "customize". You want to decide your own skills. My opinions about them would be like this.
Useless skills: Appraise, Listen, Parry, Survival

I wont say anything about FEATS because i dont think any of them are useless. Except "improved Parry" ofcourse.

About your questions...

Although you dont have to play the OC to enjoy expansions, I strongly recommend playing it atleast once since it will give you a better idea of the lore and game style. Also, I really enjoyed it. It wasnt as bad as some people say. And also, I found that everyone's favorite Mask Of The Betrayer to be very difficult while I finised OC on hardest difficulty with ease.

About clunkiness, The "behavior" tab on your companions are your best friend. Adjust them to your will.

Enjoy.

1. Can't help you with keybindings, just play around

2. There aren't any essential mods, the AI mod is nice, but not really needed. It's also quite complex, so you run the risk of your party acting weird and you don't know why. I'd stay away from mods for your first run.

3. The short answer is: avoid odd attributes (i.e 11 dexterity). You only get benefits from even numbers. For a longer answer, look up a guide like [url=]http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/922154-neverwinter-nights-2/faqs/49094[/url]. Or google..

4. The OC is quite newbie friendly, even if you screw your char up, the party will carry you through. If you're new to D&D I'd recommend playing the OC. And it isn't *that* bad,,,

5. In the context of nwn2: save often. Did I recommend *save often*? NWN2 isn't the most stable game

To make the camera behave more like World of Warcraft, use the Exploration mode, and this mod, which swaps the middle and right mouse button inputs. Use click-to-move rather than keys to move.

You shouldn't have any stability or crashing trouble if you also use the client extension.

In the settings, I'd turn off the camera rotation when you move the mouse to the edge of the screen, and leave it to when you use the mouse button or turn key. Also set trees/objects to fade so they don't block the camera, and turn the camera rotation sensitivity to the lowest setting. And keep point shadows on if at all possible.

I recommend playing all of the official campaigns, because I enjoyed them all, but they're all different. But it also wouldn't hurt to try some good downloadable modules even if you have the campaigns in progress. Some of them are short and can be enjoyed in a couple of sittings, and may be a nice break from the long campaigns.

Many hours of fun ahead!