Tharkane

I decided to give the game another whirl. I blew the dust off the jewel case and fired it up. I'm an old school DE (Cobra was godly), a latter day Daemon (Flying Daemon for those precision nuclear battlefield strikes), and now a Shadow Warrior devotee. No doubt about it, the SW wears the mantle well. Melee is my preference, and I like Demonic Blow with the Area of Effect mod for massive carnage. I prefer all of my foes to scream in unison, and Demonic Blow doesn't disappoint. Sometimes I just use Scything Sweep to go bowling, which is just as fun. I see some excellent suggestions in this thread. I stick to Death Warrior and pump up Grim Resilience as far as I can, using the Fortify, Readiness, and Safeguard mods. I also use Reflective Emanation with the Backlash, Antimagic and Riposte mods, and find my work much easier because of it. Most non-elites are almost dead by the time I get to them if I have packs to work through. Demonic Blow is also great with the leeching mod + leech on gear (I think that one is pretty much a must-have). I have all of the CAs I use down to about 1.3 second regen time, which means I can just mash buttons while pressing alt to look at the loot as it drops. P.S. - Two-handed axes and hammers. You are the Prophet of Carnage, and a really big hammer or an axe is your bully pulpit...

*looks around* So, you gave the forum a facelift yet again, eh gogo? No Hello Kitty theme:)

Underworld delved into synergies more thoroughly than the previous incarnation of the game did. I explored one particular avenue with Daemon builds. I believe I covered that topic in some part of the Daemon guide that I wrote. The synergies were quite dramatic in regards to the Daemon build variants. That was the strength of the Daemon character.

I'm looking forward to GW2. I'll look y'all up when it's up and running. Hopefully they have Flower Elves...

Venison is lean...and gamy in flavor, if it wasn't processed properly. If it's been treated properly, then you have a healthy, lean meat to eat that requires some sprucing and spicing up in order to avoid tasting bland. This recipe for venison meatloaf is very close to what an old girlfriend of mine used to do with the venison she had stored in her freezer (yes, she hunted, processed, and butchered it herself): Venison Meatloaf You can also use the venison to make some tasty chili, if you so desire. Whatever you use it in, don't rely on the venison to carry the flavor, because it won't. On the other hand, considering how healthy it is for you compared to beef, it's worth the effort.

More than likely, I'll give it a shot...after all, I gave Sacred 2 a shot. I cannot help but remain skeptical of games these days, however...they all seem like shallow, glitzy, hyped fluffy croissant shells stuffed with a sugary filling that leaves you buzzed for a time before you crash down into the carbohydrate blues. Perhaps this speaks more about the demise of the small gaming studio than it does anything else. Their passion tends towards actually making games, as opposed to making gobs of money. I think of Black Isle Studios and the top-notch creative content they were cranking out...that is, until their untimely demise. If this game is being created by those with a passion for gaming, then I have no doubt that they will resurrect the Sacred franchise like a phoenix rising from the ashes. On the other hand, if what we are looking at here falls into the modus operandi typical of the gaming industry, then prepare yourselves for another colossal disappointment. I, for one, am not content with settling with less, regardless if it bears the Sacred name or not. This is why Sacred 2 was a failure in my estimation.

Ah, it's like old times. Hey Dave, long time no read. In the game's defense, I never got around to the patches nor the expansion. I set it aside before those arrived on the scene. Here's to hoping that Blizzard doesn't rob D3 of it's original dark heart as expressed in the earlier games, Knuckles. I quite enjoyed tinkering with D2 and the LoD expansion back in the day...my Bowazon was a carnage machine, a precursor of my gore-factory Daemon in Sacred. I'm a bit wary from what I have seen of D3 thus far. We shall see. I was disappointed in the lack of synergies, for one, gogo. That was something the Diablo games featured and something that Sacred offered as well, as a nod to the inspiration the developers derived from that franchise. It made for a more diverse and varied play experience, and helped to make character building more detailed for those who wished to plumb the depths, in a manner of speaking. I like doing that sort of thing. Secondly - and perhaps more important than what's above - is the general impression I had that the game was rushed into completion with gaping holes in the storyline, dialogue, and itemization. It made me miss the Annihilating Daggers of the Menial, to be honest. Remember those? I used to hate 'em. Now I miss 'em. The English translation was sloppy, to say the least. That bugged me considerably. The quests seemed to be a farce of a farce, of a farce. The original Sacred, by comparison, was like War and Peace compared to Sacred 2's Bazooka Joe gum wrapper comic strip about War and Peace. It seemed that way to me, anyway. In the end analysis, I'd say that Sacred 2 lacked a soul like its predecessor had. I couldn't connect with the game. After I put it down, I went out and picked up Titan Quest. I didn't like that one, either.

The Elder Scrolls is a good series. It certainly sucks you in. I had some issues with munchkinism, though. Take Morrowind, for example. By the time I stopped playing, my Redguard could whip Vivec bare handed...I could run around killing Ordinators on a whim...I could fly, breathe underwater, and my armor would perpetually heal me...ach. My gear looked cool, no doubt...but I could run around naked owning everything. I didn't use any cheats, either. Cheats make games boring beyond the pale. I played Oblivion for a while, and found the same issues. Like a seven speed manual transmission can't help but climb in power, you cannot help but end up ultra-uber and godlike in power. That might be cool for some, but for me it ended up being rather boring.

I'm still around. Those who frequented the SIF might recognize me...and if you don't, well, you aren't missing much. Sacred 2 just didn't do it for yours truly. After tinkering around with the characters for a while, I grew despondent and started pulling my hair out. Well, okay...the pulling my hair out bit is an exaggeration. I'm doing other things these days...and waiting for a decent game to come along that I can sink my teeth into. Other than that, nothing much to say. Glad to see that Dark Matters is till kickin'...and I notice the facelift. You go, gogo.

And here at 40 I thought I was old. Thanks for making me feel better.

That's primarily because the term mob as it is used in gaming originated in online applications. Occasionally people with MMO experience (like myself) will refer to non-player creatures in a single-player game as a mob. It's widely used in MMOs.

The term mob as it applies to gaming is thought to originate in 1980 from a creator of a MUD (Multi-User Dungeon). It is derived from mobile object. I have seen it used countless times in gaming over the years...including being used by a number of game designers when referring to NPCs in games. It is widely used to describe a non-player creature in gaming. A bit of gaming history: a MUD is the grand-daddy of MMOs, and to a lesser extent most modern computer games.

Giles? Nah, he's a b00b. A perv. Totally.

Nicely done, solid build. I've been playing Sacred 2 for a few days now and I really like this seraphim. She packs a punch. Kudos.

My definition of underrated does not correlate with underpowered. I would say that the most underrated character is the Dwarf. He isn't played very often. The most underpowered character (at the start, I would say) has to be a Seraphim. She takes some finesse to play. So to all my fellow players who have taken their Seraphimas into Niobium, hats off to you. The most overpowered from the start? That's easy...the Daemon. She's obscenely OP. @Knuckles: Hmmm, my favorite DE has always been a melee DE. His Multi-hit is godly. Cobra is nicely overpowered. Pumped up with Testosterone, boss mobs die swiftly.