Part of the NWN2 Mods Guide by Lilura1 of the cRPG Blog.
NWN2 Installation Guide
First things first, I don't recommend that you install NWN2 into your Program Files folder as this may cause permission issues (depending on your setup). Your installation folder should be something like C:\Neverwinter Nights 2.
Ok, Neverwinter Nights 2 is finally installed! What to do? Well, before diving straight into the game you might like to scope this section out as it may help you avoid some pitfalls or irritants that build up to throwing your arms up in despair and rage-uninstalling (Random joke: The frustrated cannibal threw up his arms.) I mean, you're going to put a few weeks of your life into playing this game, right? THE LEAST you can do is put in 20 minutes to get a clue as to what you are doing! Ok..
Check for Game Version 1.023 (1765)
Once the game's installed check the version of your install: load the game up and check the bottom-left of the main menu for the version you are running. It should say version 1.023 (1765). You can safely skip the rest of this section if that's what it says. If it says something else then you need to patch your game! I repeat: Don't skip patching your game. You will likely regret it down the track.
[GoG users: skip the rest of this section]
Now, the GoG version should be patched already, but if you have some sort of retail version from years ago (i.e, DVDs or ISOs of the DVDs) then a manual patching session is probably in order.
NWN2 Patcher: A Patching Guide to NWN2
You need the NWN2 Patcher and the relevant patch files. To find out which patch files are relevant to you, first check what version of the game you have (see above) and then download the files that will bring you up to version 1.023 (1765). That's right, there is no cumulative patch like for NWN (i.e, 1.69). You will have to download the patch files individually and install them incrementally. So say you have version 1.20 (1541) ... that means you need the following six files:
- nwn2_pcx2_english_from1201541_to1211549.rtp
- nwn2_pcx2_english_from1211549_to1221586.rtp
- nwn2_pcx2_english_from1221586_to1221587.rtp
- nwn2_pcx2_english_from1221587_to1221588.rtp
- nwn2_pcx2_english_from1221588_to1231763.rtp
- nwn2_pcx2_english_from1231763_to1231765.rtp
Next, run NWN2Patcher, click Use Queue, click Add to Queue, and add the patches, in numerical order, into the Patcher.
Once that is done, click Close. Don't worry that the files don't show in that main window.. I can assure you that they are poised for patching. Now, click Patch! -- and go and do something else while the patcher weaves its magic (because it can take quite a while).
Yay for doing things manually - and it actually working! (This process also removes the notorious SecuROM copy protection from your game.)
Ok, all patched up? Read on!
Create a NWN2 shortcut
Quit out of the game and navigate to your Installation folder (e.g, C:\Neverwinter Nights 2) and locate nwn2.exe. Right-click the exe → Send to → Desktop (create shortcut) and/or drag it over your Taskbar and drop it there. This just makes it easier to run the game each time you want to play it. (For those with retail versions it also bypasses the NWN2 Launcher.)
Important note for 99% of players. Other than what we just did (creating a short-cut) you will likely never need to stick your nose into this Installation folder ever again.
Why? Because:
NWN2 Documents Folder
Almost all configuration, tweaking and modding is done from the Documents folder.
(e.g, C:\Users\..\Documents\Neverwinter Nights 2).
To reiterate: when modding NWN2, don't mess around in its Installation folder unless you know 100% exactly what you are doing. Stick to the Documents folder. Note that the Neverwinter Nights 2 folder will not appear in the Documents folder until you have run the game at least once.
NWN2 Delete Characters
In order to avoid unnecessary clutter when selecting your own premade characters, you may like to delete the default characters in C:\Neverwinter Nights 2\Localvault.
Backup Your Files
Back up both of your NWN2 folders: the Installation folder and the Documents folder. Just copy paste them somewhere safe. That way if you stuff something up you can always return to a pristine installation state by deleting your "beyond repair" install folder and copying your pristine one back in (because Registry entries for the installation of the game are preserved when you simply del/replace a game folder's contents).
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