Base installation

GOG version

The GOG.com version is recommended because it installs all patches and extensions with one single installer.

CD version

You need to install the game from the disk (and the extensions if any), then download and install patches for you language.

Patches can be found here: https://neverwintervault.org/patches?field_game_tid=6&field_official_version_tid=All

To install the patches, copy the patch zip file to your installation folder, and run nwupdate.exe

Some online servers may require you to have the two extensions installed (Mask of the Betrayer and Storm of Zehir)

Client extension

Skywing's Client extension is a must have. It restores the multiplayer server list, fixes a lot of bugs and enhances the game performance. Additionally some NWN2 server may require the client extension to be installed.

Head over to the vault page for download and installation instructions: https://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn2/other/nwn2-client-extension

DXVK

DXVK is a library for translating DirectX applications to Vulkan, a newer and more optimized graphics library. Vulkan does not run very well on old hardware (GTX5XX and older), so you may get better performance by skipping this step.

Using DXVK will improve graphics performances a lot (5 times less GPU usage in some cases) and repair the vertical sync in windowed mode.

To install DXVK, go to https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/releases and download the latest dxvk-x.x.x.tar.gz file. Open the downloaded file (for example using 7zip) and extract the the x32/d3d9.dll file to the game installation directory (C:\Program Files (x86)\Atari\Neverwinter Nights 2).

To fix vsync you also need to add a dxvk.conf file in the game installation directory with this content:

d3d9.maxFrameLatency = 1
d3d9.presentInterval = 1
# dxvk.hud = full

(remove the # to show FPS and frame timings information)

All dxvk.conf options can be found here: https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/blob/master/dxvk.conf

Mods

The installation instructions are different for each mod, so you should carefully read the mod page.

Generally:

  • Mod files are installed in %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Neverwinter Nights 2
  • HAK files are meant to be used by custom modules and servers. They will not modify the official campaigns experience.
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