Androdion

Like I said, if you're doing regular left click attacks with your BFG then Combat Discipline isn't the best thing ever. I use Pelting Strikes more or less in the same way that I use Magic Coup on a melee High Elf, I have it at a low level and spam it as my main attack with regen per hit to cover the rest, so if you use your BFG like I do then Combat Discipline can help you cause even more damage, even if the skill is at level 1 with the rest being done by gear bonuses. I've been fooling around with the game ever since 1.60 came out and have discovered the taste for builds that rely more on spamming CAs than using regular attacks.

You don't need to disable Steam entirely as you can disable the Steam Overlay individually for each game you have installed. When you right click on the game title in the Steam library and click "properties" the "general" tab will have an option to disable it specifically for said game. This means you can have it globally turned on but not for a specific game, which in this case is Sacred 2. I really hope you get around your issues as CM Patch 1.60 does all the difference in the world.

Oh you kill the Egg before the Guardians? That could be it then. Just a long shot, but Sacred 2 isn't very friendly with third party apps running in the background. Heck, even the Steam Overlay should be turned off for added stability. I assume AlienFX does some kind of backlighting on your keyboard synchronised with the app you're running?! If that's the case that could be your answer right there. And no, if you have a clean install then there's no need for a reinstall. You could still verify the integrity of the game files if you have the Steam version though.

You'd be surprised at how many times users have reported "bugs" with CM Patch 1.60 just because they didn't do a clean reinstall or haven't bothered to start a new character. I've played a few hundred hours with it and even then I could barely reproduce a CTD, so yeah grab all the help the folks here are willing to hand you ok?! @desm @dimitrius154 - I've never been stuck with the Nameless Guardians not activating, though once or twice they didn't. Nothing a reload couldn't fix though. And I'm the guy doing Guardian runs for loot! Probably some remnant of a file misbehaving mates.

Don't drop Combat Discipline, that skill is basically a damage multiplier for all your CAs. Plus it gives you fixed 10% regen bonus at level one and 20% when mastered, so it's quite the skill to have if you're mainly hitting foes with CAs. If you're hitting them with left-click attacks though... Word of advice, try keeping Pelting Strikes at level one and use it as your main attack. Once the regen time for PS is low enough you'll feel like you're wielding Robocop's gun! EP has always been working as far as I know, it's just a tooltip error, which I think was corrected with one iteration of the CM Patch. Sorry, my memory isn't at its best today.

Could you please be more specific? Frozen how, what happens?

It also depends on your life leech abilities. From my perspective, and being that I tend to approach bosses with %LL weaponry, there's more HP coming in than going away. In that respect Constitution mastery dependency will vary with how well and how fast you can leech life from bosses.

CM Patch 1.60 is final, it won't undergo any further changes. As there were differences of opinions during development Dmitriy continued his work in the form of his Addendum, which features further fixes and personal alterations. So in short, no. If in the future some agreement is reached there could be a CM Patch v1.70, but that's something that isn't guaranteed to happen. Still, the amount of work made on 1.60 has made it the (in my opinion) most complete iteration of the CM Patch so far. Who knows what the future reserves though...

It's funny because I was thinking myself about letting off Constitution in my redone Shadow Warrior build, mainly because he does ranged damage, enjoys the company of an elite Hound of Havoc and uses three buffs. You see, your build doesn't need that specific skill that every build has (unless it's Armor Lore) if it has the means to circumvent that shortcoming. If my BFG Seraphim causes ranged damage and kills fast enough, has Constitution/Armor Lore/Thoughness masteries why do I need Warding Energy Lore? I can still use Divine Protection and have 15-16k worth of shields so what's the point in raising the shields even further?! With my SW I'm considering dropping Constitution in favour of anything else since I run Grim Resilience/Reflective Emanation/Nether Allegiance and use magic staves, so why do I really need Constitution when, furthermore, my Hound of Havoc gives +attack/+defense/+HP bonuses? I might as well choose a different skill and expand the gameplay, know what I mean? And that's totally valid with most builds, as like I said you don't need that specific skill that everybody uses, you just need a way around it with different skills or gear. Have fun. PS: I just realised I lied on my earlier post... I don't have Constitution+Toughness, I only have Armor Lore+Toughness! And yet she still kicks ass!

SHIFT+click is to order a minion attack.

Yeah, if you use Warding Energy and Divine Protection for your basic defensive countermeasures chances are that you'll hardly get redlined, so in that respect an additional buffer of defense in extra armour for all types plus damage mitigation for all channels will make more difference than an HP bonus or its in-combat regen. Constitution isn't seen as nearly mandatory because of the HP bonus as much as it is (at least in my opinion) for the ability to constantly regen HP when it's mastered. It allows you to take hits and regen at the same time if mastered, which is a great defensive measure. Toughness however can be present with just a single point and you can let socketed +All Skills raise it, still making it efficient and without needing it to be mastered. You can find more use for it that way because you need to master several skills before that one, so it's more likely to be more efficient than Constitution in your build. For kicks, I have a BFG Seraphim without Warding Energy Lore but with Constitution and Thoughness mastered. She lives, safe and sound.

And here I was asking if I was modifying my numbers too much, yours are huge compared to mine! Thanks for your numbers as they're a good way for comparing. I think I'll try editing the file and see how it goes via LAN. I really don't want to change it that much in the end, just trying to have a more interesting and faster progression. PS: Did the tweaking on balance.txt, after which I ran a level 1 High Elf to get the quest and kill values in both Bronze and Silver. Then I ran my level 115 Shadow Warrior on LAN and made the Runemaster's Son quest. Here are the changes and results. TWEAKING: MP_experience = {1000,1150,1325,1550,1825}, => MP_experience = {1500,1150,1325,1550,1825}, QuestExplow = {20,25,30,40,50}, => QuestExplow = {30,40,45,60,75}, QuestExpmax = {4020,5025,6030,8040,10050}, => QuestExpmax = {6030,7540,9045,12060,15075}, ExpLS100 = 985, => ExpLS100 = 1015, ExpLS125 = 980, => ExpLS125 = 1020, ExpLS150 = 975, => ExpLS150 = 1025, ExpLS175 = 970, => ExpLS175 = 1030, RESULTS: BRONZE QUEST XP: 20 / 30 ENEMY KILL XP: 14 / 21 SILVER QUEST XP: 25 / 40 ENEMY KILL XP: 17 / 25 SW LV.115 QUEST XP: 6381 / 9572 ENEMY KILL XP: 2638 (champion->5578) / 6394 (champion->13521) So this is it. The ratio of 1.5x the base XP gain seems well in order, and the progression with the post level 100 boni instead of penalty is definitely noticeable! I mean, a regular mob now gives more XP than a champion unit with the base XP gain. It's a 2.42x ratio of XP gain at level 115 (though in all honesty that SW has XP gain socketed so the ratio should be smaller). I think this might make the levelling more rewarding past level 100 since millions and millions are necessary to level up. What do you think? Is this a balanced way to get closer to 200 in a more productive amount of time?

Oh right, I need to edit these in order to increase the XP gain from quests in the same ratio right? QuestExplow = {20,25,30,40,50}, QuestExpmax = {4020,5025,6030,8040,10050}, What new values would you suggest, all base values multiplied by 1.5 to fit the enemy XP ratio? QuestExplow = {30,38,45,60,75}, QuestExpmax = {6030,7538,9045,12060,15075},

Hey folks, a few questions here. I love playing the game as it is but as I have more responsibilities in life I have less time to play a game that's such time consuming as Sacred 2. As all of you know we can really loose a lot of time in this game just trying to go from level A to level B, and sadly I'm finding that I don't have as much time as I'd like in that respect. So with that in mind I was thinking about rebalancing the experience gain to be able to have a faster progression curve and be able to play more levels in less time. At first I thought about not doing it from level 1 and only after level 100 because of the huge penalty that kicks in, but I thought about it a bit more and I'd like to start out faster and then be able to compensate past level 100. Basically I want to be able to level up faster but not feel like I'm getting rushed through level after level without much effort. So, as to make the way from levels 1-100 faster, would changing this default value to its double be too unbalanced in terms of XP gain? It's basically like running a mentor pot all the time so I think that it shouldn't cause a bad impact on the gameplay feel right? Well, I can effectively quadruple the XP gain with a mentor pot, so I guess that's why I'm asking for opinions here. PS: Scratch that, I was dumb. Mentor pots give 50% increase and hero statues 100%, so maybe the best way is to make the value 1500 instead, which would equate to running with a mentor pot all the time? If then I'd pop a mentor pot I'd get a bit over twice the base value the game has (1000=100%; 1500=150%; 150%*50% increase=225%) right? A hero statue would effectively triple the XP gain instead of doubling it too right (150%*100% increase=300%)? MP_experience = {1000,1150,1325,1550,1825}, => changed to MP_experience = {2000,1150,1325,1550,1825}, As for the penalty past level 100, I was looking at these values: ExpLS100 = 985, ExpLS125 = 980, ExpLS150 = 975, ExpLS175 = 970, What happens if I raise them over 1000 (100% XP gain, thus no penalty)? Will the game run smoothly with values above 1000? Because what I was thinking was about inverting the penalty and making it a boni, as to have you gain incrementally more XP the more you advance, thus making it feel like the game was progressing further instead of stalling due to diminishing returns. Something like: ExpLS100 = 1015, (+1,5% instead of -1.5%) ExpLS125 = 1020, (+2% instead of -2%) ExpLS150 = 1025, (+2,5% instead of -2.5%) ExpLS175 = 1030, (+3% instead of -3%) Would this work? What do you guys think? Would these changes be well balanced in terms of progression through the game or would it feel like rushing through it? Any thoughts?

Hi 1 - It depends on the range of your weapon. Different bows have different ranges so unless your enemy is in range you can't really hit it without your character moving towards it. CTRL+attack works for stationary hits when enemies are in range. 2 - Nope, you have to manually do it. In terms of grouping items, only potions and runes get stacked, and only the exact same item from the same difficulty level. This is if you're using CM Patch 1.60, otherwise only potions stack.

Oh, sorry that I misunderstood your post. Well that makes more sense, if players opted for the easy route as opposed to the "normal" one then those skills were bound to be left untouched. And yes, your builds are usually very fluid and "progressive" in the way that they develop through different styles. I'm more one to play in a particular way all the way through, so the fun for me is in taking a new planned toon all the way to Niob and fine tuning it to exhaustion. I'm sorry to hear that you couldn't play with 1.60, it's really a world apart in terms of stability and content. Maybe somewhere in the future. I'm thinking about using general skills as a way to make builds more challenging and more for the long term, as I lack the motivation to level my toons past 110+ levels. I just seem to hit a cold place where levelling begins to take too much time so I think making a build more dependant on levelling should be an interesting way of keep playing.

Just have fun with it. When (or if) it stops being fun you can always try something different. I think if we wanted to do speed runs towards Niobium that build could prove interesting. Hitting Niob at level 75 with Constitution mastery and such a high damage output could really offset the 75 to 111 difference I reckon.

Five general skills? My hero! Absolutely no sarcasm meant there, you've had some excellent guides over the years. I'm just surprised to see you advocate editing the drops and experience gain, though I'd reckon it has to do with having little to no time to play the game at "regular speed" perhaps?! Anyway, I do agree with some of what you say. You only need one smith, make it a level 200 and you're set in stone. As for Enhanced Perception it's good but not incredible as it makes drops infinitely better but at the same time doesn't guarantee you all those set pieces you're after. I swear it, I could never complete a Genesis Siderea set with my Seraphim, and I'm talking about a six pieces set over the course of nearly 120 levels. Sad, I expected more of the skill to be honest. I can't vouch for Alchemy because I haven't tried it, though I'm curious about its capabilities in filling the holes like you mentioned. Riding has become more interesting with CM Patch 1.60, even if it's just for the 1 to 5 points on it (with the rest from +all skills), since Elite Mounts are available from the Jungle onwards and they have a bonus tied to the skill. And since you mention caves, mounts can now be used inside them too. You just need to go through the mount/dismount routine upon entering a cave, but I think Dimitry has coded around that in his Addendum, so a solution exists. Bargaining I think is what breaks the game for good. Sure you can't get your hands around uniques or sets, but the ability to pick every piece of equipment you'd like and carefully select every bit of jewellery to use or socket as accordingly as you'd like makes it an incredibly overpowered skill. Sure it has a high upkeep, but you can basically make your own modifier list as you see fit.

Hey folks. Title says it all really, but without further ado I'll put out the long version. Ever since the game became available players have been running shoppers, smithers, seekers and whatnot. Our in-house expert, Chattius, has been a longtime apologist of Alchemy as an important skill. Even Riding has seen some use in some builds here and there, so unless you don't count for Divine Devotion which can't be made as important as the rest, General Skills area actually a big deal in this game aren't they? The ability to get all your loot dressed in yellow, of buying the best items money can afford, of circumventing slot rarity by means of in-house smithing, and in more complex ways of circumventing penalties and lack of proper skills, or unlocking extra bonuses from Elite Mounts (generally available via CM Patch). There's really so much that can be done with these green skills that sit at the bottom of the skill page that I find it hard to believe that they are ignored. So the question that I dare ask is this, why such little adoption of those skills in large scale? Sure players use shoppers and smiths, but what about making builds that always account for the use and mastery of General Skills? Why isn't that more of a standard schematic for each new build? I dared defy the norm a while ago and created a BFG Seraphim with Enhanced Perception, Bargaining and Blacksmith as primary skills (well, Blacksmith was left for the 100ish levels) as it felt like a decent challenge for a typically overpowered type of build. And it worked! I reached Niobium and stopped playing it around 118 or so, but I can just pick it up and keep going strong. So it is in fact possible to have builds made with these skills and still keep a balance of power. So why aren't there more of them? Ideas, thoughts, notions? Young and new, please contribute.

A Shadow Warrior dual-wielding a staff and a leech life weapon will kill anyone from a distance just by casting Frenzied Rampage. The three skeletons keep him safe and keep the enemies busy. It's a different way of playing. Equip your Inquisitor with weapons that leech life before casting the Doppelganger and he will leech life as well. I'm trying to write simple phrases for the translator, hope it helps. PS: Just had an encounter with the past. I launched the game for the first time in the past couple of months and took my Inquisitor for a ride through the Gold campaign, and holy hell does it slay! It's so on the offensive side of the equation that I think that raising the Survival Bonus will become a problem since everything dies so fast! I launched a LAN game for fun and went for the Guardian's chamber... Man, with Zealous Doppleganger and dual-wielding two fist weapons with %LL it took me some 5 to 6 seconds to take out the last Guardian! I believe that's maybe why I parked it where it was, too much of a beast to have fun with it since it's all pretty easy. He is twinked all the way though, with my shoppers feeding him the specific gear to maximize its potential, and with a 70% value in deathblow nothing can really stand it. I think it's too powerful, and if levelled right and with enough patience it should become tough enough to survive the end game with ease. Mewkang, take heed. This build is as addictive as it is boring, if you understand what I mean.

Sometimes it happens that when mounted your mount gets semitransparent as well. Try going back and forth on a portal and you should be back to your visible self, as far as I can recall that was enough. As for it being a bug, I have no idea how to troubleshoot it.

I merged your three responses, try the "edit" button next time. Anyway, I too can't understand very well what you're saying. Maybe another Russian user can be of help in the translation?

In reply to your question, check below my build. I haven't played it past level 60ish but it's already wiping out the floor with everything in Gold. I use two sets of weapons, two of the best damage output swords on one slot and two fist weapons with %LL on another slot. I dubbed him "vampire" because of that. Purifying Chastisement always on with either Soul Reaver for regular/champion mobs or Reverse Polarity for bosses, which accompanied by Zealous Doppelganger makes taking out bosses a really fast endeavour. And I mean really fast! I haven't gone to Plat/Niob with him but I think it'll suffer a bit from low magic resistance, hence the points in Willpower. Plus it should need %Damage Mitigation gear to stay alive, especially in Niob! But I can't vouch for that scenario as I haven't tested it (yet). I was on the lookout for a Disgraced Gods set too but haven't completed it (yet). I enchant one weapon with Poison and the other with Fire, on both slots, as to maximize DOT. It's a 90% on the offensive character, something different from my usual balance between offensive/defensive and I was having fun with it. I've been busy with moving between two houses over the past few months so I haven't had as much time as I'd like to keep playing it. Maybe in a month or two I can continue to level it. This is a tactical analysis on how to use Zealous Doppelganger. It basically tells you to not turn it into a buff, if you do you'll have a bodyguard like I said above but you'll also have a buff upping your regen times. If you keep it as a common CA you can cast it without regen penalty. Every active bonus you have when you cast the spell will transfer to ZD, so I usually choose the slot with the %LL weapons before casting ZD. The rest is how it stacks your CAs and bonuses, but at a high level it's so powerful that you only need it doing LL.

I agree, it's great seeing you update a lot (!) of old mods and still working out on the newer ones. The force is strong in this one!