Most of the things that annoy me have already been mentioned, AI and interface being the hardest to swallow, or get used to. Here's a few more (unavoidable comparison with NWN1 expected) :
Speed.
And I mean, simply, how slowly your character moves. This may not be entirely the Game's fault, it propably has to do with:
1) System requirements. Since I used the same system for NWN1 and 2, I was bound to experience some lagging.
2) The fact that last time I played NWN1, I played a monk. An epic and permanently hasted monk, no less, and she moved so fast it was ludicrous.
3) The 8 seconds delay between attacks is driving me mad. Really mad. OK, it's a DnD rule, but for crying out loud, I keep watching characters making a very fancy slashing move very very fast and then... holding the weapon up in the air and
panting for the rest 7.5 seconds. It's ridiculous. If they wanted to keep the rule, they should make it at least
seem realistic - because that's what the rule was made for. A compromise between realism and something playable.
The Map
Someone said the map is useless, because you can't get lost. Well, personally I
can and in fact
do get lost anywhere, anywhere at all, real life and Faerun alike, and that blasted moving map doesn't help at all. Where did I enter from again? Where is the exit? Where is the road? I know having a "modern" map is frowned upon and considered meta-gaming of sorts, but it's so useful. I'd like a map like this site's Walkthrough maps, but opening gradually.
Travelling
And if the map is confusing for large areas (for me), the small areas offer you no choice whatsoever. You will go
there, because there's nowhere else to go. So why are we merrily stomping around fields and marshes and cities and not simply select Encounter 1 or Encounter 2 from a menu and get done with it?
Influence
I like the Influence concept and I'm all
for consequences for your actions. I generally prefer role playing even at the expence of XP - not
too many of them, though
. But for a game advertised as "playable by all alignments", I find it utterly disgraceful that role-playing as you like may cost you a whole bunch of quests
without providing in exchange something else, that fits your character better.
Irreversible Choices
I can't describe this theoretically, so
spoilers from now on:
I'm playing a chaotic good rogue, let's call her the Persuader, who prefers to talk herself out of a battle or any complication, if at all possible. At Docks District, she must decide if she will join the Watch, or Moira. Now, this character is indeed good and not at all selfish, but has authority issues, OK? Chaotic, big time. So she talks to Moira's guy and accepts his job "to hurt people", and then Moira's bribing quest as well because, well, she doesn't like the military. But she doesn't hurt anyone at all - except already hostile rival thugs. She persuades / bluffs / lies to every single soul and avoids bloodshed entirely. Then Moira tells her to burn down the Watch. At this point, I would like my character to be able to refuse, attack, or just say "yes madam" and then spill the beans to Cormick. But I can't speak to Cormick anymore.
(Spoilers end here) And thus, due to poorly designed
irreversible choices,
a role-playing game isn't allowing my character to proceed unless she does something completely out of character. It's a shame...
Now, despite all this, I am totally hooked on NWN2. Stopped to post this, and now I'm running back. It frustrates me in every conceivable way, but I think I love it. Don't ask me why. I may write another big post, concerning the bright side of life, at a later time. Perhaps.
