NWN2's campaign is split into three acts: the first featuring low-level adventuring on the road to and inside the city of Neverwinter, the second revolving around an excellent trial, and the third around gathering allies to stop the big bad.

The campaign as a whole is not bad or particularly good, but the pacing of the first act is horrendous, involving seemingly endless traipses to dungeons to unlock plot gates. The trial in the second act is a great example of how to do dialogue as a boss battle, only slightly undercut by the fact that your failure means nothing. The third act gives the player a stronghold to manage, providing a much-needed breath of fresh air, even if the decisions are mostly without consequence.

During the campaign, you are joined by four-at-a-time of 12 total companions (mostly at your choice, sometimes imposed), one of every base class except the Barbarian. This makes all PC classes relevant, but the writing is spread a bit thin, and most of the characters are stereotypes of their class. They will sometimes interject during quests, allowing you to gain or lose loyalty with them, which has consequences later in the campaign when that loyalty is tested.

Overall, NWN2 is a very strong foundation for a good CRPG, but the content is lacking, something which was addressed in the expansions.

The first one, Mask of the Betrayer, featured a new campaign with vastly improved writing, while the second expansion, Storm of Zehir, introduced one with much stronger gameplay. NWN2 also received an official third-party adventure pack made by Ossian Studios called Mysteries of Westgate, featuring a small city with less but more significant combat.