Despite lacking in other areas, NWN 2 fixed one of the biggest annoyances from the first game for me: Combat Modes (rapid shot, power attack, defensive casting, flurry of blows etc.). In NWN they turn off the instant you disengage an enemy, move or perform pretty much any action. This means you are constantly fighting against the game to keep them on.

So... is there any mod / fix that allows these combat modes to just stay on when you have enabled them?

I agree. But unfortunately I have never seen such a mod despite looking.

Rapid Shot is the one that really pissed me off, because I just wanted to leave it on forever. The penalty for the extra attack was just so small.

Because this doesn't work properly (IMO) I don't even bother getting the rapid shot feat for Arcane Archers anymore since I can't be bothered to be constantly turning on Rapid Shot.

I hope I am wrong and such a Mod does exist.

Try posting this in the NWN1 Custom Content forum on the NWVault. I haven't a clue about the differences/limitations between the Aurora and Electron engines but many of the contributors there do.

I'm guessing it has something to do with all the modal overlaps (expertise while casting, etc.). I've kept expertise/imp expertise mode active as long as there were targets still on the screen. Instead of just moving to a spot, you move the toon from target to target and the mode stays active.

The same for RS. As long as you keep aiming at a target, it stays active.

But why would one need the combat mode to persist if the encounter ended? As long as you keep targeting an attack, it stays active.

I like the way it works myself because I wouldn't want to forget which mode was last turned on and enter a surprise encounter unprepared (like using PA to bash a roomful of locked chests with low AC and then need expertise before subsequent recon with high AC). At least I know the latest mode has been toggled off. And yes, you can queue a combat mode, then move around. When you next attack, the mode you queued will go active.

But check the forums where the designers hang. They may be able to suggest something that achieves what you seek.

I don't have an account on the new vault, but I may well give it a go. I wonder though - if such a mod or fix does not exist, how difficult it would be to implement? I really would not know where to start, but perhaps existing modders might have a clue. I find it disheartening that such a mod doesn't already exist - because it probably means it is all hard coded and difficult to work around, but who knows.

Like I said - the way NWN 2 did it was spot on. It's a complete nightmare for some characters and very annoying for others.

If anyone does come up with a way of doing this or a mod that already exists, I would greatly appreciate it. This is the biggest UI / gameplay issue with NWN 1 in my opinion - and I am forced to agree with you, PeterScott - it kind of puts you off using those abilities when they are such a hassle to work with.

I, too, would be interested in such a mod if it exists.
Basen on what I know about modding hardcoded stuff in NWN (and this is definitely hardcoded), I'd say the best chances of such a mod existing would be in the form of a NWNX or an NWNCX plugin. The first is much more likely than the latter. And for NWNX, you'd need to play via a dedicated server for its plugins to function, which is some (though little) hassle if you just want to play solo.

NWNCX plugin for that is unlikely, I think, because it could cause problems when playing online. No real idea though, these are merely my guesses.