Durmir

Haven't played the last expansion yet, I'm having too much fun on Sacred 2 atm. But I can talk about GD and the first expansion. To be fair, it is hands down in the top 3 ARPG of the moment. The mecanics allow for an insane amount of customisation and freedom to build characters. However, unlike Sacred 2, some builds will simply not work very well and will give tough times to the player, while some builds will just roll over everything. Now that being said, the amount of builds that can clear the entire game with no major sweat are by the dozens, with all playstyles represented, so you'll always find something fun to play. Overall, the game is a true successor to Titan Quest in every aspect. Arguably it gives the player more freedom, choices and tough decisions to make than Sacred 2, but the map is linear (unlike Sacred 2) and is more or less one giant corridor, which kinda kills the replayability. Also, the Crucible is the only endgame content and it becomes boring very fast. Long story short : Grim Dawn is a fantastic game, the mechanics are just outstanding and the freedom to build whatever playstyle you fancy is there, provided you understand the game mechanics well enough. But it lacks replayability and endgame content (although it will easily take you 200h+ to get bored). The story is not very engaging either, although the world is rich, original and has a lot of potential for future games in the license. In terms of willingness to pay, for ARPG lovers, the base game is worth getting below €12, the first expansion was worth €6-7. So I'd consider buying it as soon as the whole package is below €25. If you can get the base game + first expansion for less than €10, buy it. These will keep you busy long enough to wait for the new expansion to be on sale.

I am starting to feel sorry I am asking that many questions, but I have a couple of new ones... I don't know whether they belong here or in the dryad sub though, as they both are related to her... One is related to Twisted Torment: I have read some guides, and this CA, when used, is always modded to gold included. But if the wiki is correct, the damage output of the skill is so low, the gold mod will be barely noticeable. I intend therefore to skip it and save some precious skill points for something else. Am I missing something in regards to guides? Viperish Disease: I am quite happy to see this skill was fixed with the cm patch, as I remember it as a "1-cast-kills-the-whole-map" nasty kind of exploit. Now the question is: how is this skill balanced? The patch note says it was balanced, but I could not find how. If I intend to use this skill, what would it be for and how should I mod it? In the worst case scenario, intuitively it looks like relapse/headhunter/contaminate would make for a fantastic headhunting CA (provided it can kill, or at least help killing significantly enough), but if the damage is significant enough even on single targets, would bronze gangrene and gold gouge be better options? I.e: should I still use this skill for mass murdering mobs, headhunting or boss sniping? Cheers

Ah ok, thanks! Good to know

Thanks guys! Another question, absolutely not related: It is obvious there is some kind of "smart drop" system in the sense that drops correspond to the class in 90% of cases. Do we know what are the other components of the smart drop system? For instance, if I take "Ranged Weapons" as a skill, would it drop more ranged weapons? If I kill mobs using certain skills, would I get more items with bonuses related to that skill (similar to headhunting CAs for the dryad)? Etc.

Ah ok thanks. I thought it was too good to be true (about Ancient Bark). Regarding evasion and defense, do we know in what order the calculations are made? Here is an example with what I now understand to be correct (but feel free to correct anything): If a monster attacks me (weapon basic attack) for 100 damage: - there is a first roll to compare his attack value with my defense value and determine if his attack goes through - if it goes through, then there is a roll with my %evasion to know whether or not I dodge it - if it goes through, there is a roll on my %chance to reflect it - if it goes through, then I take damage. The damage is mitigated by armor and %damage mitigation of the corresponding type, sequentially So, if with attack and defense values the monster has 50% chance to hit me, and if I have 10% chance to evade and 20% chance to reflect. With 10% mitigation through armor and 10% mitigation through item modifiers, I would take on average: 100 x 0.5 / (1+0.1) x 0.8 x 0.9 x 0.9 = 29,45 damage per hit? The question is particularly interesting to know whether I should raise my defense value, my evasion chance or my damage mitigation if I use reflect damage. Also, I could not find on the wiki, what is the formula that relates attack value and defense value? The question behind is: as a general rule, is it better to increase %defense+ or %evasion? %evasion should work the same regardless of level, but the defense value will depend on the ennemy type and level. However, defense may have an overall greater impact, especially with %defense. PS: so if I use 2 staves, only the one in the right hand would fire a projectile? Well that is disappointing...

Brilliant, a dedicated thread for my future questions Let's get cracking: if I select the Divert silver mod for Ancient Bark, and I pump the CAlvl to 40, I am basically immune to melee damage, is that correct? Then, Shield Lore would only provide additional defense value (only from the shield or overall bonus?), still useful for ranged attacks (and magic?). If I understand properly, defense is used to determine the evasion chance? Then wouldn't Combat Reflexes be better at it even if I use shields? Although it would not do anything anymore in terms of melee defense. But then... Wouldn't Spell Resistance become a better skill overall? Especially since higher melee evasion means less damage reflected? Except... Goldenglade Touch's silver mod persevere would provide me with enough Willpower to dwarf Spell Resistance? The question behind is that I would like to pick Armor Lore (secondary defensive skill), but if the 3 primary defensive skills are more or less useless for a caster dryad, then is Armor Lore still worth picking (2 skill slots for it)? Another stupid question: if I select both Magic Staff and Dual Wield as skills, can I fire with ranged attacks from both hands? Cheers

Question moved to the proper thread

Thanks guys, I'll have a look From my own screening on the wiki, I think I'll give a try to a dryad (the kung fu one looks crazy, I don't know if I'll go that far . But the rules and restrictions are interesting and there is much to learn from the results). With 3 toons on the stove, I should be busy for a while

As I foresaw, here I am again. Quick question: If I build a ranged SW (with energy weapons for instance), and I get a permanent full invisibility with no summons, does that mean no mob would ever attack me? Starting at what CA level? If it does, would that mean: - invicible toon, with no need for defensive buffs or skills - potentially extreme damage (as he would be fully focused on offensive) - extremely boring build (it'd kinda turn the game into a shooting galery) So... if I want to have fun with my SW I should stay away from invis? Or just keep it as a non-perma buff to sneak away? Also, completely random other question: - what build would be the most varied (I.e requires brains and is not 1-button smashing) while still viable, regardless of the steepness of the learning curve? Sometimes I like to chill with a melee idiot, sometimes I like the challenging but rewarding experience more (still need to be fully viable though, otherwise it becomes only frustrating) Cheers

Sweet, thanks a lot

Thanks! That is very clear and interesting. This game is indeed very rich, it makes it all the more interesting! Just to bounce back on Spell Resistance and Willpower: would a heavy investment of my attribute points to Willpower make a noticeable impact then? Especially since I use the community patch and intend to get myself lightsabers? Or vitality is still a better idea and Spell Resistance would cover all my needs?

Thanks a lot for all the info! I think I have a pretty solid idea of what to do from there, although my noobitude will indubitably lead me here again cheers!

Hi guys ! Thanks again for your help installing Sacred 2 from Steam I am already back with game-mechanics related questions, as I am already designing the concept of a couple of future toons. I found a lot of info on this forum and on the wiki already, but some things need to be clarified (either I have not found any final answer or it was not made clear) : 1) if I understood well, bargaining is great until a certain point, then the diminishing returns make it somewhat useless? Or is it still useful for a reason (rings etc.)? 2) Enhanced Perception (I can see you guys rolling your eyes already :p) : is it worth taking? Some context on this : I am thinking of an Inquisitor with double-bladed lightsaber (because if you get to kick ass, it's better to do it with style). The inquisitor is squishy and I find myself hesitating between picking bargaining + EP to gear him up (I fixed a rule for myself of having self-sufficient toons, that means no use of shopper network) or picking Spell Resistance and Toughness (Constitution, Combat Reflexes and Armor Lore will already be picked). Would the extra loot from EP improve my toon more than these 2 skills? If I pick EP, how many skill points should I invest in it? 3) I am confused about Blacksmithing, I read sometimes that it is a required skill at high level, sometimes that it is broken and should be ignored. So... what is the truth? 4) Are energy weapons viable (I was thinking of a SW focused on ranged combat) or are they dealing too little, the projectile is too slow, ranged combat is not worth considering (I have not found many guides for range combat, even with dryads...), etc.? 5) is there somewhere a list of skills with explanations on how many points are worth investing in each of them? (This question concerns a lot diminishing returns on skills) 6) what exactly is the effect of the skill Riding on a special mount? Does it actually do anything? 7) about the mounts... Would I always go faster with a mount (with no temporary buffs, I hate these as I keep forgetting about recasting them, even more since in this game there is no timer on remaining durations of temporary effects), or with the right investments (speed lore, permanent buffs etc.), the difference is barely noticeable (maybe even you go faster running)? The question becomes particularly relevant for the Inquisitor (fast natural run speed, low base mount speed) Thanks!

JANEY MACKERS!!! Thanks to you, my good man, I solved it!!! Now that I know which dll was the issue, all I had to do was to rename it into *.dll.bak, and BAM!!! Tha game works now, I just created my seraphim Thanks everyone, it was tough, but totally worth it! @Hooyaah: indeed you were right, patience and stubborness...

Nice, I did not even know about that... This is what I get: