Neverwinter Nights 2 is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari Interactive. It is the second installment in the Neverwinter Nights series and is the sequel to BioWare's Neverwinter Nights, based on the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy tabletop role-playing game.
It utilizes an adaptation of the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition game rules. Players create player characters to represent themselves in the game, using the same character creation rules as found in the Dungeons & Dragons game. They may gain the assistance of additional party members, and they eventually acquire a keep that can be used as a base of operations. The story is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, centered in the city of Neverwinter. The story is mostly unrelated to the first Neverwinter Nights game. It follows the journey of an orphaned adventurer investigating a group of mysterious artifacts known as "silver shards" and their connection to an ancient, evil spirit known as the King of Shadows.
Neverwinter Nights 2 went into development in July 2004. This sequel was designed with the Aurora Engine, also used by its predecessor, and the game's toolset was included in the game's release for players to use in designing their own adventures. The game's design team drew upon older role-playing video games, and decided that the player character would have to earn the respect of others by the things the character does. The game was also designed to be playable with other players online in a cooperative fashion. The game was released in October and November 2006. Official multiplayer support for the game was suspended in December 2012. In response, the Neverwinter Nights 2 community developed several initiatives by which players can continue to play the game online.
Reviews of Neverwinter Nights 2 were generally positive. Reviewers were pleased with the changes that had been made from the first game in the series, especially regarding the storyline and party management. The game won GameSpots Best Story award for 2006. One of the most commonly raised complaints about the game was the presence of numerous technical glitches in its initial release. Two official expansions and one official adventure pack have been released for the game: Mask of the Betrayer in 2007, Storm of Zehir in 2008, and Mysteries of Westgate in 2009.
Gameplay
Neverwinter Nights 2 is played in the third person from a top-down perspective, where the player controls a hero and his or her attendant party. As a role-playing video game based on the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition ruleset, There are sixteen races and twelve classes available, including the rogue and the wizard, as well as an additional seventeen unlockable classes. Neverwinter Nights 2 makes use of the d20 system introduced in Dungeons & Dragons,
left|thumb|alt=Screenshot of gameplay, demonstrating a character and his party|An in-game screenshot. The [[player character and his party are in the middle of the screen. The interface is around the border, with a mini-map, dialogue box, and a variety of hotkeys.]]
The game is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. The party is able to explore various areas of Faerûn—including its cities, forests, and dungeons—while earning experience points and treasure by defeating monsters and completing quests. Items such as weapons, armor, potions, and scrolls can be used or equipped by characters, As the keep is improved, it can generate income and gain stronger defenses to repel sieges. Non-player characters such as equipment vendors can be recruited to work at the keep, and the player must manage the training of guards and the allocation of resources.
Story
Setting and characters
Neverwinter Nights 2 takes place in and around the city of Neverwinter, in the Sword Coast region of Faerûn. The first part of the game is set in the small Sword Coast village of West Harbor, which was the site of a battle between an evil host led by an entity known as the "King of Shadows" and the warriors aligned with Neverwinter. The player character's fate is tied to this battle, during which his or her mother was killed. During the campaign, the player has the opportunity to recruit party members to aid in the cause, including the violent dwarf Khelgar and a vocal young tiefling Neeshka. Antagonists include the King of Shadows, and the warlock Ammon Jerro.
Plot
right|thumb|alt=A human wizard and a large otherworldly creature are locked in battle|The game's opening [[Cut scene|cinematic, portraying the main antagonist, the King of Shadows (left), in battle with the warlock Ammon Jerro]]
Neverwinter Nights 2 is composed of three distinct acts. Duncan instructs the party to speak with Aldanon, a sage who reveals the shard's connection with a dead warlock and his descendant, a farmer named Shandra Jerro. However, the githyanki kidnap Shandra and the player character must rescue her. At the end of Act I, the party dispatches the githyanki, rescues Shandra, and learns of the origin of the shards.
In act two, the party discovers that an evil wizard, Black Garius, is plotting to subsume the power of a powerful entity known as the King of Shadows. The party interrupts Garius during the scheme and Garius is apparently killed. As a reward, the protagonist earns a title of nobility and is awarded a stronghold, Crossroads Keep, by Neverwinter's political leader, Lord Nasher. After tracking down Ammon Jerro, the warlock who fought the King of Shadows and the grandfather of Shandra Jerro, the player character learns that the King of Shadows was once known as the Guardian, a powerful creation of the ancient fallen empire of Illefarn. The Guardian was corrupted after tapping into a dark magical energy called the Shadow Weave. Thereafter the Guardian destroyed Illefarn in a misguided attempt to protect it. Ammon is initially unwilling to help the player character, but after inadvertently slaying his descendant Shandra, he repents and joins the party.
Act three introduces the Shadow Reavers, a sect of powerful undead mages that include a revived Garius, still intent on resurrecting the King of Shadows. The player must prepare Crossroad Keep for imminent battle by fortifying its troops and lands. After additional shards are retrieved by defeating Shadow Reavers, the shards are reformed into a powerful unique weapon for the player character, the Silver Sword of Gith. The sword, stolen by Ammon Jerro in the first battle against the King of Shadows, is the only weapon that can resist the enemy's power. The army of the Shadow Reavers lays siege to Crossroads Keep and is repelled by the occupants.
Development
Neverwinter Nights 2 was unofficially announced on April 1, 2004, when an Atari employee listed the names of several games in development, including a "NWN2" in response to an inflammatory comment on Atari's forums. The company officially announced the game on August 4, 2004. Obsidian Entertainment handled development of the game and BioWare, the company that created the first Neverwinter Nights, offered support and guidance to Obsidian. The two companies collaborated in a similar manner on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, an Obsidian–developed sequel to a BioWare game. BioWare joint CEO Ray Muzyka said "Neverwinter Nights remains one of the most important titles BioWare has ever created. We certainly plan to remain involved in the production and development of Neverwinter Nights 2". Obsidian employed several game designers from the defunct Black Isle Studios, which developed other Dungeons & Dragons role-playing video games such as Planescape: Torment, the Icewind Dale series, and the Baldur's Gate series. Development of Neverwinter Nights 2 began in July 2004, when Obsidian assigned several staff members to work on the project. Staff included Darren Monahan, the producer of several Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance games; Marc Holmes, art director of the first Neverwinter Nights; and Chris Avellone, lead designer of Planescape: Torment and Knights of the Old Republic II. BioWare made itself available to Obsidian with technical support on the engine, but Obsidian planned on completely overhauling Aurora, including its code. The designers wanted to improve the visuals of the first game with additions such as better lighting and textures, which required significant changes to the engine. The upgraded engine was referred to as Electron. Electron was designed to incorporate DirectX to make it compatible for a potential Xbox 360 release, but Obsidian eventually abandoned plans for a port to the system for financial reasons. The toolset that was used to create the game was also revamped, and included several additions like a customizable interface, a new dialogue format, and building assistants—similar to the wizards found in Microsoft Word and Excel. Like Neverwinter Nights, the toolset was included in the game's release for players to use.
Obsidian drew on older computer RPGs for inspiration on the storyline and gameplay, like Fallout and the Ultima series. Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart said "We've been thinking about a lot of older RPGs, and we have this feeling that something has been lost with recent RPGs." The game's story, while still revolving around the city of Neverwinter, would be unrelated to Neverwinter Nights. Instead of starting the game as a powerful, important character, players would begin Neverwinter Nights 2 as nobodies. Obsidian wanted realism in the game and concrete consequences for the player's actions. Companions would have distinct personalities and their own agendas, but it would be possible for the player character to influence them. Characters can leave the party permanently under certain circumstances. Other changes from the first game include the addition of prestige classes and more exotic races, like planetouched and Elven subraces. After the purchase, Glu Mobile raised the fees being charged to publishers to provide online services for their games. The new owners then shut down a number of the online services for different games, including Neverwinter Nights 2.
Release
Neverwinter Nights 2 was ready for mass production on October 17, 2006, and was released on October 31 in the United States, on November 3 in Europe, and on November 16 in Australia. The Electron toolset was available early for consumers who pre-ordered the game through GameStop or Best Buy, as well as exclusive class-specific special items. Alongside the standard version, Atari also published a special edition. The United States and Australia "Limited Edition" contained several physical items like a cloth map depicting the Sword Coast, as well as in-game benefits like the "Blessed of Waukeen" feat that grants players a bonus to saving throws. The Europe special edition was split into two separate boxes, dubbed "Lawful Good Limited Edition" and "Chaotic Evil Limited Edition", a reference to the Dungeons & Dragons concept of moral alignment. Each box contained the collectibles available in the United States and Australia versions, as well as copies of the original Neverwinter Nights and its expansions, and a trial code for Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach.
Atari licensed Aspyr Media to develop a port of Neverwinter Nights 2 for the Apple Macintosh; the game was announced shortly before the Windows release. The initial announcement gave a December 2007 release date, It included the full version of Neverwinter Nights 2 with the exception of the editor toolkit. A "Gold Edition" bundle was also published in May 2008 containing copies of Neverwinter Nights 2 and Mask of the Betrayer. A platinum edition containing the original game and both its expansion packs was released on the Steam platform on December 27, 2010. As of May 2013, Neverwinter Nights 2 is no longer sold through Steam.
A complete edition that contains the original game and the three expansion packs was released on GOG.com on January 24, 2013. The game was added to the GOG Preservation Program on July 14, 2025, ensuring ongoing compatibility with modern systems. An enhanced version developed and published by Aspyr was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on July 15, 2025.
Expansions
- Mask of the Betrayer, the game's first expansion pack, was announced in April 2007 by Atari and Obsidian Entertainment. It was released on September 28, 2007, in Europe, on October 9 in the United States, and on November 1 in Australia. Mask of the Betrayer's story begins shortly after the events of Neverwinter Nights 2 and is set in the country of Rashemen, a matriarchy near Thay. The expansion contains several new options for character development, including additional races and prestige classes. It received favorable reviews from critics.
- Storm of Zehir was announced in June 2008. The pack is set on the Sword Coast and Chult areas of the Forgotten Realms and was released on November 18, 2008, in the United States, on November 21 in Europe, and on December 11 in Australia.
- Mysteries of Westgate was announced in October 2007. Atari referred to it as an "adventure pack", comparing it to the premium modules of Neverwinter Nights. The game was developed by Canadian-based Ossian Studios, the designers of the cancelled premium module Darkness over Daggerford. It is set in the Dragon Coast city of Westgate. Atari's initial press release gave a release date of fall 2007 for Mysteries of Westgate,