Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer Interview
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GB: How many new spells, skills, and/or feats will you be implementing in Mask of the Betrayer? Any examples you can share with us? Kevin: We are adding dozens of new spells and feats. The spells range from some heavy hitters like burst of glacial wrath to great utility spells like the vigor healing spells from Spell Compendium. For feats, we are strongly emphasizing the ones tailored to epic level gameplay. These will include almost all of the epic feats from Hordes of the Underdark plus many new ones we've designed with guidance from Wizards of the Coast.
GB: How many new items do you plan on adding in the expansion? Will there be any totally new weapon/armor categories or notable changes/additions to the game's crafting system?
Kevin: We're making crafting easier for the player by simplifying the new recipes and having the component items themselves better explain their purposes. Also as an added convenience, you'll also be able to enchant items without needing a workbench handy, which should make things easier for players who enjoy crafting. Overall, we've worked hard on making the process of enchanting items more intuitive.
NX1 will be more about customizing your equipment through enchanting you'll be finding many more essences and their role is expanded. You'll also find new items, but they will be less common and more powerful than those in NWN2. We are adding new armor and weapon appearances, but not really new categories.
GB: What new environments will we be traveling through in Mask of the Betrayer? Are there any specific areas you can describe for us?
Kevin: The story primarily takes place in distant Rashemen, near the infamous kingdom of Thay. We have carefully chosen specific locations, such as the snow-covered Ashenwood, to be tailored to this region while also allowing us to create new tilesets and terrains that will be broadly useful to the modders.
GB: What new monsters can we expect to see in the expansion? Will you be introducing any new D&D favorites?
Kevin: We'll be adding many classic D&D creatures, such as the treant and the night hag. We're treating the game's setting very seriously you'll find a number of the new creatures described in the pages of Unapproachable East. We'll share more in upcoming weeks. =)
GB: Once Mask of the Betrayer is released, what is next for Neverwinter Nights 2? Are there any plans to release more retail expansion packs or even introduce a premium module program?
Kevin: Well, as you might guess, we can't really say much yet. =P But keep your eyes and ears open! We (Atari, Hasbro, Obsidian, and Wizards of the Coast) plan to continue supporting the Neverwinter Nights 2 community in every way possible.
Thanks for answering our questions, Kevin!
