Androdion

Yes, this is the really really important part! People who don't want to go through a changelog shouldn't really install something because they have no idea how it'll change their game. That's why there's a changelog, which documents what was actually changed. It's all there, so if people don't want to go through that bit of reading what else can we do to help out? Spell it out each and every time when it's all written there?!

Those background images are rad!

Yep, some buffs/debuffs really make a big difference! The quest goes on, you should keep going after it.

Yeah, Desm also can't play without them and according to his reports there isn't necessarily a decrease in stability with the original file. Do bear in mind that when this was under development all was done to contain (read: end) CTD that had plagued the game for years, so you might say that it was probably made in excess. As it worked though people started experimenting backwards, so eventually some things could be trimmed down in other ways.

I was overconfident, like "nah nothing can bring him down". I got toast real fast since the hydra does crazy damage. I went there a couple of more times without the SB and the takedown was equally fast, so eventually I had to find a way around it. A weapon with %LL did the trick.

Can't really vouch for Win 10, but on Win 7 everything works nice and easy without any complications.

You can just make a backup of physxExt on the PAK folder prior to installing the patch, then replacing the patch version with the original one. I know that at least Desm plays like that.

Those last drops in HP on that video tell me that deathblow was used. Anyway, that particular boss is horrid if you aren't well protected! It has huge DPS, enormous DOT and sick HP, so unless you have really good equipment and life leech/debuff CAs/deathblow all I can say is... good luck?! I remember one of my SW builds dropped dead in Platinum lightning fast with that boss...

Actually you're not entirely wrong. I just loaded my Seraphim with CM 1.60 and the cooldown is fixed at 40 seconds, so modding Divine Protection with capacity/boost seems very similar to modding Dashing Alacrity with delay/impatience. Someone who knows the number better should probably say something in order for the Wiki page to be corrected.

And it works great with Nether Allegiance as well, although if you're using Reflective Emanation with the Idol mod then it becomes kind of superfluous since the skellies pretty much can't die! But for filling the gaps AG is great indeed, and depending on the chosen skill set I'd say it's worth being the third in row for modification, even before Killing Spree. It just depends on how you roll.

Every enemy scales up considering how high the difficulty level and your Survival bonus are, but at level 27 I don't believe the boss could've been more than level 30 or so. Take into consideration that at level 27 your skills are still undeveloped, so imagine that if you'd get to that boss by level 50-60 you'd be much better prepared. The more you level up the more your skills matter and the more points you can put into them, so the more powerful you can become. But yeah, the Malevolent Champion tree is kind of awesome, and considering that Tactics Lore bumps both it and the Death Warrior tree you can easily develop both. Augmentation Guidon is a very very underrated CA!

Scything Sweep isn't awesome against a single opponent, you could try Frenzied Rampage as a multi-hit CA but I don't know if you're using anything from the Malevolent Champion tree. Thing is the SW doesn't have debuffs so all you can do is temporarily buff your own toon. Rousing Command, Killing Spree and Augmentation Guidon are your best friends in boss fights like this one. Then you need to be able to cause really high DPS, otherwise you're screwed. It's like trying to battle the Forest Guardian boss in the Dryad's Island without being able to cause enough DPS, he'll just heal up and call it a day. The Succubus is really hard so you might want to grab all the life leech modifiers you can get as to cause extra damage while keeping yourself alive. The best thing against bosses like these are %LL weapons though, no getting around that. If you have the Bargaining skill you should be able to purchase some double-handed swords with that modifier, otherwise you'll have to depend on luck on the roll of the dice.

Oh man, the Evil Dead series!!!

Oh I see. Well, much of what CM Patch did over the course of its existence was correcting bugged quests, so I'd say you're missing out on a lot!

It's possible that there is some console code for that, but I'm not aware of it. Maybe someone else could pitch in. What do you mean "parts of it"?

I understand what you're saying, and I used to play a lot of time in the lower difficulties as well. Go back a few years and you'd see me trying to do every quest in Silver and Gold, but eventually I'd get bored out of repetition and not play the later difficulties. And since modifiers get better with each new difficultly I then started doing the inverse course by running fast through easier difficulties and then taking my time at harder ones where I can get much better loot. I guess we just differ in the way that we play. Regarding reaching level 200, I honestly was never able to endure it. I just don't have it in me, maybe I could do it if I repeated the game's completion on every difficulty level but I just don't want to play through the same content four times in a row like that. Plus, nowadays gaming is secondary to everyday life, sometimes even tertiary, ha ha. So the lack of proper time leads to a lack of progression in the game, which leads to me trying out these changes to try and see a bit of movement in the few hours I'm able to play. And without changing the game that much, that was my original intention. So yeah, I'm not breaking the wheel here or reinventing the game, just adapting its progression to my personal needs. I may come to find that progression past level 100 is too fast, I'll give you that, but I'll try to have some fun while finding it out.

Thanks for replying. Starting by the end on your first post, I think I made the rounding up on the max values and must've done the same for minimum values as well. Can't say for sure as my job has consumed a good part of my memory during this month. You're right that levelling gets a lot faster and that levels get wider with the changes I've made, and indeed new players shouldn't mess around trying new builds with such parameters. Even Flix usually tells that his tweaks to XP gain and/or enemy spawn count are made to test enduring characters, so we agree when you say that these changes are more in line with experienced players. At the end of the day I think these changes suit my original purpose. I've had a few sessions with a new BFG Seraphim build, like a version 2.0 of my previous one, and I've definitely noticed just how much faster the levelling was with these tweaks. Reaching Gold was fast, something like 10 game hours, even with a few stops for micromanagement along the way. Yet it was much faster than how much it would take me before changing balance.txt, and by a few hours. You see I've done the whole course, played untwinked, then twinked with Niob smith and a ladder of shoppers, to the point that the game got unproductive. Hell, I've even dropped my Inquisitor build on Gold because at level 60 it would wipe the floor with everything! Seriously, a Guardian run in LAN was like killing Kobolds, that's just how overpowered I made that toon via +All Skills and modifiers like deathblow and %life leech! All of this to say that my main idea was to level quickly through the pre-mastery levels and really start banging it at Platinum and Niobium. I usually end the main quest in Niobium around levels 110-120, so what do I do for the next 80-90 levels when I've already killed the toughest enemies in Ancaria?! With these tweaks my primary intention is to end the main quest in Nibium closer to level 200 than to level 100. I do hear your doubts about the XP penalty being turned into a boni, that's why I did a Guardian run in Niob with my level 115 SW to see the difference in XP gain. Before I'd get a bit over one million XP, and with the tweaks and boni the value now is closer to three million, which isn't much when you need over twice that value to get to the next level. Plus you're "not supposed" to play that bit over and over again, so if you want to consider the game being less grindy then these changes are bound to make pure questing and the path on which that happens more rewarding in terms of XP gain. At least you'll feel like you're advancing towards a goal, that being level 200. This is all theory though, but that's also why I started a new BFG toon to see how it fares in the long run. Right now it's working nicely, ten hours in at level 45 and Gold, so I should hit mastery level and Platinum difficulty within or below one day worth of gameplay. Then I can really have fun with my already strong build in harder difficulties. I'll try to keep making some updates regarding the progression, especially when I get over level 100. Regarding your Blacksmith tweak, nah, I don't bite. I've already been through the "put Niob arts in Silver gear" and it just takes the fun away. Even if the idea is to put a bit of restraint into it I'm not interested. I just don't want the early levels to be inconspicuous in the way that I can just mop the floor with every mob, I actually don't mind feeling a bit of stress on early levels because like I said above I already plan ahead for strong toons. That bit of challenge actually makes me feel like the progression is more balanced because it's early and your toon isn't fully developed in terms of skills nor does it have the best possible equipment. So even though you level up considerably faster and reach higher difficulty levels faster as well you'll have to play more carefully and plan better ahead. And then progress noticeably more the more you advance towards level 200. At least that was my intention, we'll see how it goes once I get past level 100 with my new Seraphim build. Like I said above this is a work in progress and I'll post my findings about these changes when I can.

Yeah, like I told you there's some micro-stuttering the first time you go through some places, but it's just the textures caching. I'm very happy to see that you've been able to overcome your problems and are now fully enjoying the game. Have fun!

Weird indeed. Maybe your HE was being hit by DOT and when you teleported something went south? Could be your answer. Yeah, I also don't do HC characters. I can see the appeal of playing HC online, where it's you with/versus other human players, but in single player it's not something that I can see much interest in. You seem to be having some trouble with that particular boss Desm, maybe it's time to surrender to Bargaining and get some %LL weapons on your toon?!

Glad to hear that! If you happen to find micro-stutters the first time you are in Sloeford or Griffinborough don't stress, it happens as the textures are caching. Dmitry did a great job in downsizing the original graphics20-24 files into them being more fluid, but there are still things that are the way they are. Have fun and drop us a line if you find any other issues.

Oh, sorry. I usually install the ISO first so that's why I have the files in the folder. You just need to put the graphics20-24 in the PAK directory then. Just that, then enable the elite textures in-game.

Put them in the PAK directory on the Sacred 2 folder. Rename the original graphics20 to graphics24 prior to that in case you want to revert to the original form. Then on the in-game options menu choose elite textures. The original Elite Textures was an ISO that installed those pak files, the trimmed version are just the files themselves, hence not having instructions.