High Elf tips for a new player

[Jacek 19]

Hello guys,

I'ts been ages since I last played sacred and sacred 2.

this time I've decided to run a fire based elf, fireball, firewall, meteor...fire used to be my favourite element back in DII days too.

I could really use some tips on how to get started and how to go about this toon so that I dont mess anything up please

Any tips for an old / new player? to make my life easier?

Cheers !!!

 

[Hooyaah 2,815]

This is by far my favorite High Elf Pyromancer build: Loco's Pyromante

With a bit of intuitive tweaking you may model an Ice High Elf after it, substituting Mystic Stormite Lore & Mystic Stormite Focus in place of Arrant Pyromancer Lore & Arrant Pyromancer Focus. The High Elf is my favorite character to play and my specialty. So, if you need some advise please feel welcome to ask.

 

[Jacek 19]

Thank you

I just love fire magic so I do not mind a little struggle to have my share of fun.

Btw, I did play Sacred 2 years back and I remember something about bargaining...would u recommend it? in Loco's build is there some whiggle room?

And last thing - shall I happen to have some questions (which I will surely  ) do I continue in this thread or start a new one each time I have...an issue?

 

cheers!

 

[Hooyaah 2,815]

If you want some beneficial jewelry to compliment your build, then Bargaining is a good idea. You can boost skills and fire damage and speed your toon's regeneration time as well as boost her combat arts and casting speed. You may go without Combat Discipline or even Shield Lore. Whichever you choose, be sure to forge in or wear some jewelry with item modifiers to help make up for what you lost in either skill. It's a trade off of sorts but it's worth it, in my opinion.

My advice is that you should post here in this thread, as creating too many threads would clutter the forum and make it confusing as well as harder to find what you (and others) are looking for. The title that you selected is very good and would serve to aid others with the same or similar advice and queries.

[Jacek 19]

Here I go again...

with relation to this fire elf I want to roll now

- shall I start on bronze or silver...I do not really suck all that much at rpgs  if I start on bronze can I switch up to silver or the other way around - from silver to bronze ? or is it possible only by starting a new game?

- expert touch on or off? because once chose there is no turning back...aside from starting a new game...

I will use only offensive fire spells. 

- combat discipline realle needed? I can remember vaguely not using combos all that much...maybe I had 2 CAs but I would use spells in isolation...so I think I will trade combat discipline and take bargaining instead as I can remember I liked it and all this shopping  

anyway, is fire DE highly dependant on combos? or it would be a bad idea to skip combat discipline?

cheers

Edited December 17, 2017 by Jacek

[Rogue256 8]

1. you have to start from the beginning if start from either bronze or silver. I recommend bronze to gear up then move to silver when ready.

2. go expert touch you will using one aspect.

3. not really needed. it wont break your build but you will get a feel for what you want after playing and understanding the game mechanics after a while. dont sweat it..

4. no combos needed, it takes advantage for 10% dps boost by having 1 ca in combos. I think ?

[Jacek 19]

OK - Thank you

And what about:

- light or dark path for Pyro Elf?

- what god shall I choose...shall it matter?

cheers!

[Hooyaah 2,815]

2 hours ago, Jacek said:

OK - Thank you

And what about:

- light or dark path for Pyro Elf?

- what god shall I choose...shall it matter?

cheers!

I always play the Light Path, but as far as how your build works there should be no difference. Some of her comments would be different and the Main Quest and some side quests would be changed as well. Nevertheless, just as in life, one must choose their own path and in the end be accountable for the results.

You may select Bargaining instead of Combat Discipline, just be sure to forge into weapons and armor some fire and physical damage modifiers and decreased regeneration time modifiers, and perhaps a bit of All Skills +x and Combat Arts +x. I usually go for forging enough to get Chance to Halve Regeneration Time to 100%, as it's well worth it because you can "eat" more runes, making the CA power much higher. Just be sure to keep the levels down where the regeneration of your Combat Arts is below two seconds which would be halved to one second. I prefer 1.5 seconds halved, especially for Blazing Tempest. Dispatching Kobolds has never been so much fun. Combat Discipline does boost damage even if only one Combat Art is in a combo and it also hastens the regeneration time a bit as well.

I prithee well upon thy journeys, verily and forsooth.

[lujate 574]

2 hours ago, Jacek said:

OK - Thank you

And what about:

- light or dark path for Pyro Elf?

- what god shall I choose...shall it matter?

cheers!

In my experience, your diety choice never made a difference. I used the skill most often by accident while chatting.

[Androdion 875]

Combat Discipline is a good choice if you're after the best possible damage output, as it increases the damage of all CAs and complements even more the damage that Ancient Magic already does. It also gives a -10% regen time bonus even with a single CA on the combo, which goes up to 20% with mastery. Depending on how well versed you are I'd say that starting in Bronze is unnecessary as Silver is where gear starts to get minimally interesting. But if you choose the Light Path there's a reason to start at Bronze, well, two reasons actually. If you complete the quests Ancaria Airlines and Feed the Poor, in Sloeford and Thylisium respectively, you'll get one skill and one attribute point for each quest after you reload the game. The thing is, Feed the Poor is Light Path only, so if you go that route you can start in Bronze and run your HE until you complete both of those quests. After that you can jump to Silver right away as it proves to be more interesting.

[Hooyaah 2,815]

1 hour ago, Androdion said:

Combat Discipline is a good choice if you're after the best possible damage output, as it increases the damage of all CAs and complements even more the damage that Ancient Magic already does. It also gives a -10% regen time bonus even with a single CA on the combo, which goes up to 20% with mastery. Depending on how well versed you are I'd say that starting in Bronze is unnecessary as Silver is where gear starts to get minimally interesting. But if you choose the Light Path there's a reason to start at Bronze, well, two reasons actually. If you complete the quests Ancaria Airlines and Feed the Poor, in Sloeford and Thylisium respectively, you'll get one skill and one attribute point for each quest after you reload the game. The thing is, Feed the Poor is Light Path only, so if you go that route you can start in Bronze and run your HE until you complete both of those quests. After that you can jump to Silver right away as it proves to be more interesting.

I agree and as I mentioned earlier Bargaining could be selected in place of Shield Lore. If your toon is slaying all of the beasties before they can inflict much combat damage then Shield Lore is not necessary. Adding in some Damage Mitigation will help by employing one or more of the following items: Glacial Defender, Darwargon's Circlet, Gruma's Talisman, and/or Tanit's Collar, which should add a bit more security. Finally, if you don't mind employing a bit of creative gaming ("cheating"?)  there is always the "admin only" developer item that I discovered hidden within the Blueprint file: Paramount Pendant. It offers immense an quantity of Damage Mitigation and vastly expands ones Combat Art Range.

[Jacek 19]

Thanks guys for the advice

I will really get into this tomorrow, especially this Paramount Pendant thing tickled my fancy

Btw, I am using solely fireball, blazing tempest and Meteor for offensive / dmg spells and from other disciplines I use only buffs, like grand invigoration + fire demon.

I am not using combos. I am using the 3 spells in isolation. only 2 buff running at the same time, ie. demon and invigoration.

And I chose expert touch. Was it a good decision? or shall I reroll and start a new toon with expert touch disabled?

 - And I got: 1. bargaining, 2. pyro lore 3. concentration, 4. I plan pyro focus and 5. - what shall I pick?

cheers

Edited December 17, 2017 by Jacek

[Hooyaah 2,815]

Expert Touch is a good decision for Single Aspect Builds. Don't forget that Incandescent Skin when mastered grants "Pyromancer Expertise which further decreases the regeneration time for the Arrant Pyromancer aspect. (20% + 1% per CA level decrease." *

 

* from the Wiki here

[Dragon Brother 619]

1 hour ago, Jacek said:

I am not using combos. I am using the 3 spells in isolation. only 2 buff running at the same time, ie. demon and invigoration.

You don't need to be using combos to to benefit from combat discipline. Even single combat art combos gain the benefit of the increased damage and shorter regen times.

[Jacek 19]

Now I am wandering about stat point distribution:

- some say all the way stamina to reduce regeneration time of CAs

- some advise all-out intelligence

I am leaning towards intelligence.

Is there a general rule of a thumb for the stat points distribution?

 

cheers

[Rogue256 8]

For your high elf I would go all intelligence for normal game, but for hardcore you might want to go 20/80  vit and intel.

if you like you could go 10/50/40 vit intel stam.. so if you are not going to min max you can play around with the attributes.. just don't put points in places that don't help your char.

are you playing cm patch or normal ? 

 

 

[Hooyaah 2,815]

I prefer to put all into vitality until my High Elf is well enough protected by armor and has a fast enough regeneration time. This usually occurs by level 15 (because I only memorize one rune per Combat Art) and that's when I invest half of the points into intelligence and the other half into Willpower until I add the Spell Resistance Skill. Afterward 100% goes into Intelligence. To speed regeneration time you can use the item modifiers regeneration per hit or chance to halve regeneration time. I use the latter, but it's important to get the level up to 100% chance to halve regeneration time because anything less can easily become a problem in a boss encounter. Once I have Chance to Halve Regeneration Time at 100% I consume more runes and check to be sure they are regeneration fast enough to quickly use them is succession. I do not use combos but place one Combat art in each combo, as each CA is best for different encounters. Spam the appropriate CA and your enemies are quickly toast (or they turn into a Popsicle).

Also, to speed regeneration time (If you are not using "Chance to Halve Regeneration Time"):

Mystic Stormite Aspect builds may use Crystal Skin.  "Mystic Stormite Expertise - Decreases the regeneration time for the Mystic Stormite aspect. (26.7% + 1.3% per CA level decrease)"

Arrant Pyromancer builds may use Incandescent Skin "Arrant Pyromancer Expertise - Further decreases the regeneration time for the Arrant Pyromancer aspect. (20% + 1% per CA level decrease)"

I prefer using Chance to Halve Regeneration Time because the alternate option for Crystal Skin is Frosty Breeze - "Additionally increases ice damage. (50% + 2% per CA level increase)" and Arrant Pyromancer Expertise is Fiery Ardor - "Additionally increases fire damage. (50% + 2% per CA level increase)" Remember, additional damage is a very good thing.

The item modifiers I like to use in the slots not filled with Chance to Halve Regeneration Time are:

1) All Skills +x (with a suitable companion modifier)*

2) Ice (or Fire) Damage +x%

3) Casting Speed +x%

4) Damage Mitigation +x%

5) Spell Intensity +x%

6) All Combat Arts +

7) Aspect Mystic Stormite +x (or Aspect Arrant Pyromancer +x)

The best piece of jewelry (in my opinion) to stack in order to gain 100% Chance to Halve Regeneration Time is Tristan's Companion. There is a bug that has prevented it from showing up in the chest file with Bratgrimace's Legacy. I intend to upload a new file for Tristan's Companion in the very near future.

*There are amulets/pendants that have double the usual integer of All Skills plus that very rarely shows up when shopping. I had collected and uploaded them at about every tenth level but they now show up (using CM Patch 160) halved and with a companion modifier. I intend to upload a new version that will work with the integer doubled correctly as before in the (reasonably) near future as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jacek 19]

Thanks guys

I am running the latest ver of the community patch.

What would be the best strategy to farm Tristan Companion? I really want this piece of jewellery...

And just remembered it - for my Gran Invigoration - what shall I choose - arcania lore or arcania focus?

Im leaning towards focus to allow this higher level ca without penalty...I ate 5 Gran Invigoration runes and got it to 4.1 level instead of 5 so I must be incurring this penalty atm.

im really getting into this game...

 

 

Edited December 18, 2017 by Jacek

[Hooyaah 2,815]

I lean toward focus as well. Grand Invigoration is the only rune you can never get too many of as there's no penalty, so "eat" as many as you may. The other runes do have penalties so be careful to check your regeneration time with buffs active by opening up your Combat Arts and looking at the regeneration time as you hover with the mouse cursor.

Unfortunately, Tristan's Companion is a rare and random drop, so there's no best place to farm for it of which I am aware. I'll try to get it uploaded here in the next few days. It will be my Christmas present to you, Jacek.

 

[Jacek 19]

@Hooyaah: Ooo...thank you

Although I like playing selffound but on those rare occasions...you know... Cannot wait to get my greedy hands on the Companion.

I just googled feed the poor quest...really nice for the reward...but cannot find Ancaria Airline quest anywhere:) any suggestions? and tips as I want to quickly dispatch of the two quests on bronze for the rewards and jumped to Silver

 

Edited December 18, 2017 by Jacek

[Androdion 875]

Ancaria Airlines is in Sloeford. The questgiver is near the main building where you get the Levied Tax main quest, out in the gardens. Talk to him and he sends you on a teleport trip around Ancaria, talk to him again to complete the sidequest. Feed the Poor is also pretty simple, talk to the priestess, kill ten boars and collect their meat, talk to her again. Save, quit and load the game into Silver. When you start you'll have the extra points available. They only become available when you reload the game, but Bronze has little else of interest as the loot is very weak as opposed to Silver.

Edited December 18, 2017 by Androdion

[xcessive 55]

I´d recommend u to ditch spell resistance instead of shield lore, if u are going for bargaining. The Expulse Magic spell is your protection from spells, when you are fighting dangerous enemies. http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:The_most_powerful_protective_CA_in_Sacred_2._How_"Expulse_magic"_works

Spell resistance can only reduce spell dmg by 30% and help u against Damage over Time effects, but if u are going for a lot of Damage Mitigation (u should) and u learn to use Expulse Magic correctly, u wont need Spell Resistance.

 

Dont underestimate the power of "Combat Discipline" (especially when mastered) together with "Chance to half regeneration times" (should be at 100% as mentioned before). Both boni stack additively AFTER all other regeneration time boni are applied. So together they will improve your regtimes by 70% (the mastery of CD will effectively improve your regtimes by 40% compared to no CD with 100% Chance to half regtimes). 

Regarding Attribute points, u should fokus on Vitality and Intelligence. I dont think u will need Stamina, when u use Chance to half regeneration times, Combat Discipline, Pyro Focus (this should be maxed all times), concentration, grand invigoration, expert touch and BUFF SUITS http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:HolosBrothers_Guide_to_Buff_Suits,_How_to_achieve_max_buff_benefits_without_the_regen_penalty

 

I recommend to start every char in multiplayer, even if you are not planning to play multiplayer. This way u can repeat single-player-only-quests like the blind guardian quest over and over, which gives u one of the best shields, the Shield of Mirrors http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:Shield_of_Mirrors . This way u can farm for a new one, every time u upgrade your equipment. U can also farm Silithars Finger Hoop for an early increase of Casting Speed and a better chance to hit, when u arent strong enough to kill everything just with your spells yet. http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:Silithar's_Finger_Hoop

Be careful in the cursed forest though. U should be able to do it when u are between levels 15 and 20. Bring a lot of potions

 

 

 

[Jacek 19]

Extremaly informative. Thank you. 

Good u can download the shield in already playing in single player 5 hrs or 6 into game, shall I restart?

Btw, my mob killer is blazing tempest. I will mod it lje this: scortch conflagration ambition.

So fireball will be for single targets with hotpursuit and globe. 

But what 1st mod shall I take for AF  - greek fire or explosion? 

Since I use BT for mobs maybe I should mod AF to be a single mob  finisher hence with greek fire?

 

Cherrs

 

[Hooyaah 2,815]

Jacek, here as promised is your Christmas Present. You may be the first to download Tristan's Companion. Merry Christmas!

 

AF with Explosion is good for small mobs of two or three combatants close together.

[Jacek 19]

Thank you - Christmas came early this winter...

 

Edited December 19, 2017 by Jacek