I have recently posted an introduction and pro-tip Solo Sorcerer write-up for Icewind Dale 2, which everyone should buy from GoG because it's awesome.

https://lilura1.blogspot.com/2018/04/Icewind-Dale-2-Walkthrough-Guide-Best-Easy-Solo-Sorcerer-Part-I.html

GoG purchase link:

https://www.gog.com/game/icewind_dale_2

If you can't get it running at full frames, let me know I'll help you. If you have any Qs on the campaign in general, let me know.

This is also the only Infinity Engine game that Beamdog have not been able to "Enhance" because they couldn't find the source code.

Choice quote: BROKEN TUSK CLAN, SLAY THIS DOG!

I also love IWD2 and it's definitely underrated.

Cool, I love soloing games, especially Infinity Engine games. I don't think I tried soloing IWD2 though.

Why underrated though? I never thought of it as underrated. It is what it is: the most advanced version of the engine (I loved how you can freely customize your UI bar), using the (at the time) most recent version of D&D, a much better story than IWD, but not as good as BG2. For me it's alway been No. 3 of the Infinity Engine games, after PS:T and BG2, technically the best one, but still lacking in terms of story and exploration compared to the other two.

I liked the first IWD quite a lot (its combat was quite satisfying, even better than in Baldur's Gate 2), and of course I eagerly installed and started Icewind Dale 2 after it.

I got stuck in the character/party creation though. I was hoping one could transfer their IWD party directly to IWD2, but that is not possible due to different AD&D system I guess, and I couldn't quite figure out the new system in IWD2. It didn't feel familiar so I couldn't create a party just like that, too many strange variables.

So there I am, still trying to figure out how to make a similar party as I had in IWD. I think I quickly read some IWD2 party creation guide in Gamefaqs.com, I should read it again I guess.

Oh and I am not interested in a solo party. That's the main reason I like RPGs like Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate 2: you get to create a party with wildly different kinds of characters, each supporting others in their own role and seeing many different aspects of the gameplay.

So I don't have to choose whether I want to be a strong warrior, or a spellcasting magician, or a defensive healer, or a conjurer who summons monsters to fight for him, or a thief who unarms traps and backstabs enemies: with games like these, I can have them all at the same time! Great!

I wouldn't say its underrated. Like IWD before it, it lacks a story, and doesn't have the epicness of BG or PS:T. It is very combat focused. Not a bad thing, I enjoyed BG: Dark Alliance, and that is a hack and slash.
Engine wise its pretty good, and graphically nice. Also IWD2 uses D&D 3 rules rather than D&D 2 rules, so is slightly different.

You can solo all those games, sorceror plays well on BG as with the wish spell you effectively have endless magic.

Nice guide, I will read it fully when I get a chance, and always great to have multiple strategies.

For me it's definitely the worst of the Infinity engine games. The prologue and the first chapter are pretty good, the whole war setting with the siege of Targos was fresh and did something no other Infinity engine game had done before. But later on it falls apart somewhat, with boring and repetitive environments like that stupid Ice temple (to which you even return later...for no discernible reason at all, just pointless filler).
It also had some really annoying non-combat parts like the tests in the monastery, and while I appreciate they wanted to diversify the gameplay, the skills system wasn't implemented that well imo...they should just have kept IWD1's focus on combat.
It's still a decent game though and turned out much better than could have been expected given its apparently rather short development time.