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Hi

 

Long time registered user (and lurker) here, though I've been away from video games for some years now. I have returned to play Sacred 2 over the past couple of months and I'm currently enjoying it a lot. I'm playing Sacred 2 Gold on Steam without any kind of modifications.

 

Currently I'm playing a build I tried previously a few years back but didn't go all that well because it became a jack-of-all-trades, that one being a Magic Coup High Elf. This time around though I invested some extra time and thought into it and it's showing results. I'm using Expert Touch since my main focus is Arcane (Magic Coup and Expulse Magic) and I have Raging Nimbus modified for crowd control. Buffs are Grand Envigoration modified for physical endurance and Mystique Stormite, as well as Cristal Skin modified for (again) physical endurance. Skills chosen are Armour Lore, Shield Lore, Spell Resistance, Constitution, Arcane Lore and Focus, Mystic Stormite Lore and Focus, Concentration and Ancient Magic. I have my used CAs and Buffs up to levels above the penalty regen and I maintain a healthy balance due to "regen per hit" with Magic Coup. I also have a yellow shield with "%block close combat" and a couple of silver slots and an Arcane focused special mount. I guess that's it, ha.

 

So the thing is, I was kind of expecting the game to be harder than it is by this point in time. I'm currently at Lv.96 in Niobium and the mobs aren't proving to be much more of a challenge than they were in Platinum, which was already a breeze apart from that one final Guardian (yeah, that one made my HP drop heavy but I was able to get around to beat him anyway). The hardest difficulty level up until now was actually Gold, while on Platinum I practically rushed through the main quest because I couldn't see my health bar drop more than a 1-2k at a time, which with Constitution Mastery doesn't mean much either.

 

Oh, this is getting long and boringly descriptive... So, does the game become any harder now in Niobium or have I hit that point where the skill set you choose overcomes the difficulty threshold? Because it's cool to be powerful but in fact I'd like a bit of a challenge. The white griffin boss for instance couldn't even make a scratch on me, and while Gahanka caused nearly 6k of damage with his stone throw attack I couldn't even bother to activate Expulse Magic to prevent it since those would regen in 2-3 seconds.

 

So, am I out of luck and just browsing for loot or does a challenge awaits me further down some other areas?

Edited by Androdion
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You picked a powerful build!

 

Are you open to installing a mod on your game? If so, there is a fantastic mod called the Survival Mod that's made to challenge players with strong characters. It makes enemies, especially elites, much tougher, as well as increasing enemy spawn count and aggression range so they swarm you more quickly.

 

Survival Mod is 100% safe and pretty easy to install with the Generic Mod Enabler. I've been meaning to upload it to the DarkMatters downloads section...

 

Welcome to DarkMatters!

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Hi Ben

 

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I thought she was going to be a wimp like last time so I really went all out for endurance in her. Guess that paid out, ha ha. I know higher level regions will be a bit harder but my problem is that I barely take damage, and when I do I'm more than covered. I got a Velaria Garments drop from Gahanka in Niob, slapped an Artamark's Star, "+skills" and a "+%armour" amulets and suddenly I'm over 19k in armour level. It was a jump of almost 7k so I predict that the game won't get harder on these first regions.

 

Regarding what you said, I haven't even tried the CM patch. I'm really playing the "vanilla" 2.65 version that Steam has. I don't know how mods would influence the game's files and stability though, but by all means do get technical with your explanation. ;)

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I'd go run around the Blood Forest and get zapped by all the red lightning. That'd probably be the ultimate test of your survival. Of course Expulse Magic is so overpowered even that might not be too bad.

 

The CM Patch and mods are fairly lightweight in terms of effect on save games. You can enable and disable at will, and keep playing the same character. Of course, CM Patch-specific gear or quests would vanish if you disabled it, but then, if you wanted to disable it I guess you wouldn't miss that content anyway.

 

In terms of stability, I don't think there's a noticeable change. The only thing that is more stable is the quest log's behavior and quest scripting generally. It doesn't lessen crashes or improve framerate, but nor does it introduce more bugs. There's a huge changelog you can peruse. To my mind the improvements are almost beyond count and make it indispensable.

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Wow, that is a huge changelog! I'm typing on my phone so forgive me for the shortness of my answer.

 

I've checked the log and it does seems to be more good than bad, although I'll miss the exploding zombies... I'm curious though as to if I should wait to try it with a new character, since I'm already at Niob and probably won't gain much from it anyway. Does the Survival mod (or any others for that matter) require the CM Patch or just the vanilla I&B?

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Most mods were made for various versions of the CM Patch, as modding kind of took off after its inception (when there still official patches being made and stuff, talk of modding was actually banned). Most mods are now updated for use with the latest CM Patch 1.50 -- this is actually my doing. At least my thinking goes that if you are willing to install mods, you would be willing to install the best and widely used one as a base (CM Patch).

 

You probably could use Survival Mod without the CM Patch. No guarantees. I'd imagine there would be a lot of extraneous creatures defined in the creatures.txt script file, but it really wouldn't matter as they wouldn't be used or called on by any other game resources.

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OK so curiosity took the best of me and I installed the CM-Patch 1.50 and also tested the Survival Mod in the Sloeford area in Niobium with my HE.

 

The CM-Patch brings noticeable differences, the game actively looks different in terms of lighting and it feels snappier. The quest indicators seem to still not update automatically, and I had this weird bug where the Hunting Fever quest indicator appeared on the map and when I clicked on it it started the quest. And I was in Sloeford. But I digress. The patch seems to make the game different for the better in terms of smooth gameplay, and to be honest all I've read about it is good news so I think I'll keep it.

 

Now for the mod, well those were a lot of Kobolds coming in my direction! Two things I noticed though. One, mobs don't seem to be any harder to kill with the current toon I'm playing, although the increase in XP is very noticeable. And two, and it might just be my perception of it, but doesn't the loot seem a bit excessive (in quantity I mean)? I get the point of balancing extra hardness with extra gear, but slaying around 50-100 Kobolds almost got my inventory filled up! That seems rather excessive I'd wager, and I believe it that would eventually make the game actually easier to beat?! OK so if those were spitting spiders in the Swamp I wouldn't be saying this, but the excessive loot seems a bit overkill. Don't take it personally mate, just my two cents on it. ;)

 

I'd love the idea of starting fresh with the Survival Mod pumping my XP higher and faster than the game does, but with so much loot won't it become unbalanced again really fast?

 

Speaking of starting fresh, I was actually thinking about it. Starting fresh with the same build with the CM-Patch, only with a few skill modifications. I was thinking about doing it by dropping Mystique Stormite Lore and retain solely Focus for the CA's modifications, since I virtually only use Raging Nimbus and Crystal Skin, as well as dropping Ancient Magic because it would be a waste to have it just for Raging Nimbus. I was thinking about picking these two and splash them on general skills. Either have Bargaining+EP or Riding+EP (I know Riding is passable but EP is a secondary skill and I pretty much roam around in my special mount all the time). I'd have to plan ahead the placement of every skill very carefully, but given that I pretty much only use Magic Coup/Expulse Magic/Raging Nimbus this seems like an interesting twist to have a more diverse, and the same time more focused, build.

 

What do you make of it? And how much of a difference do you think having the mod turned on would do? I guess the extra loot would render EP highly unnecessary (or possibly even more overkill). What's your opinion on all of this?

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>"I had this weird bug where the Hunting Fever quest indicator appeared on the map and when I clicked on it it started the quest. And I was in Sloeford."

 

Crap, yeah, sorry, that is a known bug. That's the only one I can think of though. If it's any consolation, it's a display problem only. I was able to go on and successfully complete Hunting Fever at the proper place and time despite the timer randomly showing up (it only happened once for me in a full playthrough).

 

 

>"Don't take it personally mate, just my two cents on it..."

>"What do you make of it? And how much of a difference do you think having the mod turned on would do? I guess the extra loot would render EP highly unnecessary (or possibly even more overkill). What's your opinion on all of this?"

 

Well I didn't make the Survival Mod, so I can't take it that personally. Maybe I can recommend my own Challenge Patch instead. I didn't think of it before because it made it to go on top of my Enhanced Spells Mod. But it actually works fine when installed on top of the base game as well. I should have just recommended this one to start with.

 

I didn't increase xp, spawn count or boost loot quality or quantity to nearly the same extent as the Survival mod. However I increased enemy damage and resistance about 300% more, among other things. I'm a big fan of Enhanced Perception. So in lieu of tons of drops I actually just boosted the power of EP slightly in my mod.

 

If you don't want to download the entire spells mod you can get just the Challenge Patch HERE

This is the full list of changes:

  • Critical hit damage increased from 1.2 to 1.5 times damage.
  • 20% increase of T-Energy damage against the player.
  • Chance for T-Energy to mutate enemies increased by 25%.
  • Max speed in the game quadrupled. The player isn't faster by default, but will benefit from more Run Speed +% gear. Enemies will move faster as well.
  • Enemy aggro range tripled.
  • Aggro range for white (much lower level than player) enemies doubled.
  • Boss aggro range increased by about 10%.
  • No more damage downscaling for NPC's (they will inflict full damage on each other).
  • Range for clearing the fog of war on the map is tripled (results in more enemies).
  • Cooldown for healing potions is doubled.
  • Slightly lower chance to get runes.
  • Enemies gain greater damage from attributes.
  • Overall intensity of enemies increased by 25%.
  • Enemy weapon and spell damage and armor significantly increased (from about 40% on bronze to over 300% on Niobium).
  • Champion enemies receive greater bonuses to hitpoints, damage, armor, chance for critical hits, and attack and defense. They are no longer simply normal enemies with a bit more health. They can be extremely deadly.
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Thanks for the patience, and for keep having recommendations up your sleeve. ;)

 

Don't worry about the Hunting Fever bug, I just won't click on it in the world map next time. :lol: I think I'll mess around with some mods on my current build to see how different things are, and when I get a hang of it I'll start fresh. And since I don't have my own personal stable I'll probably focus more on a single character for now and maybe in the future I'll try a shopper build. I'll stick with only EP for the time being to see how well it works.

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Hi

 

Long time registered user (and lurker) here, though I've been away from video games for some years now. I have returned to play Sacred 2 over the past couple of months and I'm currently enjoying it a lot. I'm playing Sacred 2 Gold on Steam without any kind of modifications.

 

Currently I'm playing a build I tried previously a few years back but didn't go all that well because it became a jack-of-all-trades, that one being a Magic Coup High Elf. This time around though I invested some extra time and thought into it and it's showing results. I'm using Expert Touch since my main focus is Arcane (Magic Coup and Expulse Magic) and I have Raging Nimbus modified for crowd control. Buffs are Grand Envigoration modified for physical endurance and Mystique Stormite, as well as Cristal Skin modified for (again) physical endurance. Skills chosen are Armour Lore, Shield Lore, Spell Resistance, Constitution, Arcane Lore and Focus, Mystic Stormite Lore and Focus, Concentration and Ancient Magic. I have my used CAs and Buffs up to levels above the penalty regen and I maintain a healthy balance due to "regen per hit" with Magic Coup. I also have a yellow shield with "%block close combat" and a couple of silver slots and an Arcane focused special mount. I guess that's it, ha.

 

So the thing is, I was kind of expecting the game to be harder than it is by this point in time. I'm currently at Lv.96 in Niobium and the mobs aren't proving to be much more of a challenge than they were in Platinum, which was already a breeze apart from that one final Guardian (yeah, that one made my HP drop heavy but I was able to get around to beat him anyway). The hardest difficulty level up until now was actually Gold, while on Platinum I practically rushed through the main quest because I couldn't see my health bar drop more than a 1-2k at a time, which with Constitution Mastery doesn't mean much either.

 

Oh, this is getting long and boringly descriptive... So, does the game become any harder now in Niobium or have I hit that point where the skill set you choose overcomes the difficulty threshold? Because it's cool to be powerful but in fact I'd like a bit of a challenge. The white griffin boss for instance couldn't even make a scratch on me, and while Gahanka caused nearly 6k of damage with his stone throw attack I couldn't even bother to activate Expulse Magic to prevent it since those would regen in 2-3 seconds.

 

So, am I out of luck and just browsing for loot or does a challenge awaits me further down some other areas?

Have loved reading your posts on the forum, and enjoyed the lengthy questions and conversations

We're happy to see you here on the boards, Androdion, welcome to DarkMatters!

 

:)

 

gogo

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Thanks for the patience, and for keep having recommendations up your sleeve. ;)

 

Don't worry about the Hunting Fever bug, I just won't click on it in the world map next time. :lol: I think I'll mess around with some mods on my current build to see how different things are, and when I get a hang of it I'll start fresh. And since I don't have my own personal stable I'll probably focus more on a single character for now and maybe in the future I'll try a shopper build. I'll stick with only EP for the time being to see how well it works.

 

Let me know how my Challenge Mode works out for you if you try it. I created it with almost sadistic glee in response to cries that my Enhanced Spells Mod was making the game too easy. I think it would be even more punishing on the base game, where temp buffs can be active less often.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I've got a bit carried away with trying out the game with the CM-Patch installed and I've gone all the way to Platinum with the EP variant of the HE build that I described above (general skills over Mystic Stormite Lore and Ancient Magic). The thing is I intentionally made it out to be challenging as I grinded through Silver to get ahead of the curve but then rushed through Gold without barely any side quests completed, just main quest all the way without many deviations. So I ended up starting Platinum at Lv.59 and the enemies are way above the level spawned by the SB. I was getting stormed by mobs 7 levels above me in Gold and now that number went up to 11 in Sloeford at Platinum, which is nice since it now gives me a decent challenge for starters.

 

Two questions though, will mobs be Lv.71 up until the cap level for Platinum difficulty meets the spawn level for my SB? I ask this because I climbed up one level to 60 and the mobs were still Lv.71. As for the second question, should I repeat Gold's procedure and rush all the way to Niob or do I risk getting way below the curve in terms of resistances and gear (and level)? I was thinking about trying to reach Niob when nearing the mastery level, and then work my way up with the best gear possible (better attributes per gear than on Platinum), but do I risk getting severely underpowered?

 

Ok, so those were three questions. Sue me. :P

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As an addendum to that I'm now beginning to notice the "diminishing returns" of such a gastly level difference between me and the mobs being spawned at the beginning of Artamark. It's not that I can't deal with mobs that range between Lv.78-80, because I surprisingly can, it's moreover a fact that I'm getting loot drops above my toon's wearable level. So although I can actually go around and kill everything it doesn't really pay off if the loot drops are unusable.

 

I guess it's time for some side questing and levelling, though I'm liking the challenge of purple mobs. :)

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I guess it's time for some side questing and levelling, though I'm liking the challenge of purple mobs. :)

 

I think that would be thrilling. Plus you can just stash the gear for later.

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I guess it's time for some side questing and levelling, though I'm liking the challenge of purple mobs. :)

Forgot about those guys... they'd send my heart racing when I was in HC ... always scared of having one of those things come at me if I'd been sporting low health points...

point of Trivia..I think it was Schot's idea for that purple color ring as suggestion he made to the Devs when the game was in testing/beta.

 

:)

 

gogo

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I guess it's time for some side questing and levelling, though I'm liking the challenge of purple mobs. :)

 

I think that would be thrilling. Plus you can just stash the gear for later.

No doubt I can, and honestly around 90% of it is just stuff for sale anyway. You think I should press on and see how far I can get? I reckon bosses should prove hard enough right now, but I'll do an update after I run into the Gar'Colossus.

 

So, is purple the "last" colour no matter how high mobs get?!

 

PS: Well, faced a Lv.79 Gar with my Lv.62 HE and it was manageable. A miscast Expulse Magic and being on melee range nearly had me six feet under though as my HP were down to around 15%, but a quick hit on the space bar while realizing my mistake and recasting EM saved the day. I lucked out though, he could've had me. EM does the trick though, as it's strong enough to have his shield drop instantly as well as have him flee the scene, so after I realized that it was just a matter of time.

Edited by Androdion
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I wanted a challenge I got one. Word of advice though, never trust your HE's words when she says "I thought dragons were supposed to be bigger than this" because being hit by a Young Dragon's fireball which is 18-19 levels above you in Platinum difficulty isn't fun! :mellow:

 

Oh well, a forced trip to a resurrection monolith and a 76% SB to mourn about made me realize how underpowered my (now) Lv.66 HE currently is in the Dragon Caves. I managed to kill Xanthiar but I was just spamming health potions so I trust that the Carnach and its champion minions should be even harder...

 

I guess that now is a good time to go side questing and levelling up then.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been AFK for a while due to sickness and real life, but I was finally able to finish Platinum difficulty. That last Guardian though, with him being lv.96 and my HE lv.78 things were getting really nasty on my hand. I lucked out in the end since I got a yellow drop for a pole arm with "+2% leech life", so after picking it up I was hitting the bugger for over 15k of leech life. Still it was a 50-50 affair since I had to be really quick on the trigger finger as we was hitting me for 3k per hit, and when I missed I suddenly had to spam health potions. Nope, that last Guardian wasn't easy at all and I even thought I'd have to get back in the game and level up some more to beat him. Gladly it worked out so I now have entered Niob at lv.78.

 

So I'm starting Niob and the mobs are spawning at lv.111, which is really creepy since they're now 33 levels above my HE! I can kill everything between the spawn point and Sloeford, but even then I can't fool around because they're hitting me for an average of 0.5k for starters. I guess now is a really good time to go around doing each and every sidequest, level up and get Niob loot to equate things a bit more. Now the real challenge begins, I guess... :lol:

 

Anyway, are there any advices I need for Niob, since I've only scratched the surface in this difficulty level (as in, I've never been past Sloeford in Niob :blush: )?

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I've been AFK for a while due to sickness and real life,

Had noticed you were absent for a while, hope you're feeling better..I myself was taken down with some flu for a few days, and can relate.

welcome back

 

:)

gogo

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