Neverwinter Nights 2

• Your main character's class isn't as important as in the first game as you have access to a larger party with the ability to directly control them at will. Some classes are stronger than others but the game is finishable with any of them, so you can go with whatever sounds interesting.

• Your actions and words determine what your companions think of you, and it's worth trying to keep them as happy as you can (even if playing as an evil character) as it does have an impact on the story and gameplay.

• It's probably worth leveling at least one communication skill (Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate) if possible, with Diplomacy being the most frequently used one.

• Just like in NWN1, it's good to keep your enemies' (and your own) weaknesses in mind. For example brutish enemies are likely to have low Will but high Fortitude saves, making them vulnerable to Will-targeting effects like Confusion but resistant to Fortitude-targeting effects like Poison.

• The unofficial Companion and Monster AI mod allows for more precise control over your party's AI and improves AI overall.

• Despite its intimidating name, "D&D Hardcore Rules" is arguably the most balanced difficulty level as the lack of friendly fire on Easy and Normal leads to area of effect spells trivializing most encounters and Very Difficult is just flat +50% to enemy damage.

• You can broadcast commands to your party from the Context Menu brought up by briefly holding down the right mouse button. This can be useful if your companions aren't doing what you want, or if for example you want them to stand still while you disarm a trap.

• Crafting isn't essential, but it can net you some powerful gear and enchantments later on. It's probably best to let a spellcasting companion handle crafting instead of spending your own skill points and feats on it, though.

• If you do plan on crafting magical items or enchanting gear, keep an eye out for leather hides, iron ingots and rare gems as they are the most common ingredients.

• If you have a thief in your active party, you can occasionally pickpocket some useful items from NPCs using Sleight of Hand. Note that you can't sell stolen items to most merchants.

• If you want to specialize on a weapon type, magical falchions and longswords are particularly common.

• If you make a spellcaster, the 'Spellcasting Prodigy' feat only available at level 1 is amongst the best feats in the game, essentially acting as free +2 to your primary spellcasting stat(s) for casting purposes.