Flix 5,116 Posted November 10, 2019 Author Share Posted November 10, 2019 52 minutes ago, gogoblender said: and what about that cursed gold... does it disappear after a while or stay intact? I in fact have forgotten I took it all greedily and hoped for the best. In the end I had to look it up, because I had no idea if the curse was real. I found this on the good ol' Wiki: "Sirithcam (Fire Dragon) and Lorinor of Tyr Fasul both guard Cursed Treasure. Lorinor guards ten batches of cursed treasure…each good for 1000 gold in bronze (and going up each difficulty level) and a drop (based on your Survival Bonus and “Chance to find Special Item”, and whether Greed has been cast on you—your chances of better drops improve). These treasures will not harm your character. Loot at will!" http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred:Sacred_Guide:_The_Dracobane PHEW!! Link to comment
gogoblender 3,070 Posted November 10, 2019 Share Posted November 10, 2019 4 minutes ago, Flix said: I took it all greedily and hoped for the best. In the end I had to look it up, because I had no idea if the curse was real. I found this on the good ol' Wiki: "Sirithcam (Fire Dragon) and Lorinor of Tyr Fasul both guard Cursed Treasure. Lorinor guards ten batches of cursed treasure…each good for 1000 gold in bronze (and going up each difficulty level) and a drop (based on your Survival Bonus and “Chance to find Special Item”, and whether Greed has been cast on you—your chances of better drops improve). These treasures will not harm your character. Loot at will!" http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred:Sacred_Guide:_The_Dracobane PHEW!! lol...thats awesome! So not only do you get the gold, but a chance at getting buffed? Clever ole Sacred... Good Ole Wiki! gogo Link to comment
Flix 5,116 Posted November 12, 2019 Author Share Posted November 12, 2019 Daemon Chronicles, Part 8: Wings of Ice and Fire When we last left Syanna she was about to journey to Frostgard to retrieve the Element of Air from the frozen fortress. The Dragon Sisslith blocks her way. Sisslith is a formidable foe. Syanna's 65% Survival Bonus has boosted the Dragon to 6 levels above her. I thought this Dragon would be roughly equivalent to one of the twin Ice Dragons, but it seems to be much more powerful and resilient. It is highly resistant to Physical, Fire, and Magic, which are the three elements Syanna wields. Its health is barely chipped away by Syanna's power combos of Hell Sphere and Blazing Disk. Even worse is the dragon's breath, which seems to do magic, which Syanna is not well protected from, and the meteor showers which take 75% of her health with one hit. This was as far down as I got the Dragon's health before a brutal death from Meteor Shower. And then a second, then a third. Clearly a new strategy must be considered. First, I need to level up, because I know the Dragon will stay locked at level 72 no matter how much I level up. Second, I need to socket more magic resistance in my armor (using Energy Daemon helped, but not enough). Third, try to read more runes in my spells and upgrade my combos. Fourth, absolutely pack my inventory with Health and Concentration potions. So, now Syanna is only four levels lower than the dragon, with combos levels increased by 4 runes each, more magic amulets socketed, and a backpack full of the good juice, it's time for a rematch. So close! Almost there. After several fights I've learned the Dragon's AI. If you're close, it attacks with melee claws. If you're mid-range, it uses its breath Area of Effect. And if you're far-ranged, it uses Meteor Shower. Never go far-ranged unless you want rocks dumped on your head. Meteor Shower is more powerful in Sacred Reborn. I died all my deaths due to retreating to re-cast my combos, and getting mercilessly barraged with Meteors while locked into the casting animation. I learned that in order to stay safe, I had to stay mid-ranged, then quickly flank the dragon when it launches its breath attack. From that safe spot, you can re-cast your buffs, combos, and even get a few sword hits in before it turns around and attacks again. And this strategy worked! One of the linchpins is making this battle work is remembering to use Call of Death, which increases damage dealt with each kill. There are enough stray trash mobs around to sacrifice and really ramp up the Daemon's damage against the Dragon. This plus careful maneuvering made all the difference. And I even got good loot from this kill! Finally, after 70 levels I get my first set chest armor. Now at last Syanna can enter Frostgard, and retrieve the Element of Air! Her task is done in this icy region. Now her quest takes her in search of the Element of Fire, and more importantly, Sirithcam, the Fire Dragon! Alkazaba noc Draco is not my favorite region in the game (and they don't seem too thrilled to see me either). I like big open spaces. I don't particularly like cramped mazes, and both the overworld and the underground "town" in this area are very winding and maze-like. Fortunately Syanna has a distinct advantage when it comes to navigation: Soaring Daemon! With this form, she can zip across the rivers of lava as if they weren't there. She can also hover over the lava and launch her spells from a safe distance while enemies try in vain to reach her. Although she's somewhat more vulnerable to all the fire attacks by giving up her Fire Daemon form, she is so fast no fireball can catch her. When she lands with a fury, she quickly switches to Fire Daemon and becomes fire incarnate. Fortified with a Dragon Scale (socketable quest item), Syanna becomes fire-resistant even without her Fire form. This item was given a boost in power in Sacred Reborn, and will be a great boon in fighting the Dragon. The time has come to defeat Sirithcam. I use the same strategy as before, not getting too far away to avoid triggering the meteors, dodging the fire breath when possible (it stings somewhat but not deadly). My one mistake was running out of Concentration potions just when the Dragon's at the last 5% of its health. Unable to re-cast my combos, I had to rely on Fire Daemon melee attacks and Wall of Flames. And ultimately, it's Wall of Flames that takes down the Fire Dragon. Whittling down that last little chunk of the Dragon's health cost me more health potions than the rest of the fight combined. More Cursed Treasure! Mine for the taking. And to finish up my time in this region, it's time to take The Element of Fire. Syanna's task in this region of fire is finished. Although the heat doesn't bother her, perhaps it is too much like being back in Hell. It's time to journey in search of the Element of Water, deep in the Fortress of Verag-Nar. 1 Link to comment
Dragon Brother 619 Posted November 13, 2019 Share Posted November 13, 2019 Always an entertaining read Flix! Seeing all the pictures and reading the stories brings back such good memories Link to comment
Flix 5,116 Posted November 13, 2019 Author Share Posted November 13, 2019 15 hours ago, Dragon Brother said: Always an entertaining read Flix! Seeing all the pictures and reading the stories brings back such good memories Thanks. I really never thought I would play this game again. I was ready to consider that chapter closed. But this mod has breathed new life in Sacred for me. Will I replay all 8 characters? Probably not. But I will squeeze all the enjoyment out of what feels like a "fresh" playthrough with all the new changes, and since it's been so long I don't remember a lot of the finer details anyway. Link to comment
Dragon Brother 619 Posted November 13, 2019 Share Posted November 13, 2019 3 hours ago, Flix said: Thanks. I really never thought I would play this game again. I was ready to consider that chapter closed. But this mod has breathed new life in Sacred for me. Will I replay all 8 characters? Probably not. But I will squeeze all the enjoyment out of what feels like a "fresh" playthrough with all the new changes, and since it's been so long I don't remember a lot of the finer details anyway. I completely understand that... I can't even think how many years it must be since I played it, but seeing the pictures and remembering things I had forgotten (with I'm sure many fine details still lost as you say). Hmmm I think I actually have the game in my steam library, maybe it is time to run through the original world of Ancaria for old times sake. Link to comment
gogoblender 3,070 Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 Flix, your details of thought while taking out the Dragon are delightful! I dont think many creatures in any game have any chance against your gift for calculation. The cool thing is if you loaded up these images in order to Youtube while reading out, you'd have created yourself a true animated, narrated tale of adventure! gogo Link to comment
Dax 481 Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 @ Flix A while ago I mixed some atmospots together for the ice region. Secretly I´m hoping that new sounds will make it into the game one day. That would be similiar to a dam break. 1 Link to comment
Flix 5,116 Posted November 16, 2019 Author Share Posted November 16, 2019 14 hours ago, gogoblender said: Flix, your details of thought while taking out the Dragon are delightful! I dont think many creatures in any game have any chance against your gift for calculation. The cool thing is if you loaded up these images in order to Youtube while reading out, you'd have created yourself a true animated, narrated tale of adventure! gogo Haha well I TRY to have a plan. But every time a boss fight begins I'm reminded of Mike Tyson's quote "Everybody has a plan... until they get punched in the mouth." Something unexpected always happens. 1 Link to comment
Popular Post Flix 5,116 Posted November 18, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 18, 2019 Daemon Chronicles, Part 9: Earth and Water The search for worthy foes continues. Syanna's first stop is Bravewall, where she soundly defeats Terrorflux, a giant spider who had menaced the local farmers. The next element required for the main quest is the Element of Earth, not water as I had previously thought. To retrieve this, Syanna, delves into the dungeon of Zhurag-Nar. In this land, Dark Elves reign supreme. I was for some reason expecting another Dragon guarding the Element of Earth, but instead I get a boss duo blocking my way. First is Maeglawari, a Dark Elf matriarch. I love how this dungeon has random pools of poison everywhere. With her defeated, Syanna must now face an even greater foe: Karissall, the Medusian Guard! This enemy was very dangerous, with a high movement speed that made retreat impossible and very high melee damage inflicted, not to mention very high Fire Resistance, as it seems everything in this game has, Syanna had a very hard time. Eventually however, spamming healing potions won the day, and the way was clear for Syanna to collect the Element of Earth. Next is the Element of Water, located deep within Verag-Nar. After a long trek through one of those winding, maze-like dungeons that I'm none too fond of, there is a great watery marsh underground marsh area. Unbeknownst to Syanna, she tiptoed right past the Dragon guardian of this realm without a fight! The Element of Water is retrieved. Even better, however is a wonderful drop that I had been hoping for for ages: Aarnum's Fiery Blade! I had collected all the rings already, so now I can socket them into the sword to get the complete set bonus. The extra bonus that traps Ranged Fighters and Mages is absolutely wonderful. Syanna's melee damage has now more than doubled since acquiring this sword. She is also wearing much more of Pandora's and Dralkcib's sets, which predisposes her more towards melee combat w/ Battle Daemon rather than spellcasting. Regeneration times for spells have suffered a bit, so Blazing Disk and Hell Sphere play a smaller part currently. So, no Dragons this time. Syanna will have to back and face the one she missed in Verag-Nar. That still leaves two more to meet after that... 2 Link to comment
gogoblender 3,070 Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 My favorite part of this last chronicle of yours is the bonuses coming from that insane sword. I remember a player on line in olden days who had painstakingly collected the parts...he could not stop posting happines about the damage...but I'd forgotten until now about its ability to trap those ranged damagers ...the effect with the green vines is amazing ... great animation... the sounds? gogo Link to comment
Flix 5,116 Posted November 18, 2019 Author Share Posted November 18, 2019 54 minutes ago, gogoblender said: but I'd forgotten until now about its ability to trap those ranged damagers ...the effect with the green vines is amazing ... great animation... the sounds? Sounds like justice! This swamp region is full of enemy mages who like to run circles around you and cast spells... this modifier came along at just the right time to put them in their place! Enemy mage spells are made more powerful in Sacred Reborn, though they are still very weak physically and easy to kill, you have to catch them first! Link to comment
Flix 5,116 Posted November 19, 2019 Author Share Posted November 19, 2019 Daemon Chronicles, Part 10: Swamp Things Leaving behind the Dark Elves and their barren lands, Syanna makes the journey into one of the most atmospheric regions in the game, the Swamps. There is a small quest to kill a lich lord who is resurrecting cows. I found it hilarious that (harmless) undead cows were scattered all throughout the marshes. The next exciting quest is the chain quest "The Forgotten Swamps" that was added in the free "Sacred Plus" update. This is a very fun adventure-like chain that reminds me a lot of the "Teeth of Naros" DLC for Kingdoms of Amalur. To prove her worth to the party of adventurers, Syanna must first survive the arena quest "Panem et Circenses." After doing so, Syanna heads to the meeting place in the western forest... but there is one little obstacle blocking her path! The Swamp Dragon is named "Sssiliths," a confusingly similar name to the Frostgard dragon (Sisslith). This Dragon poses almost no threat. Syanna's body is thrumming with Hellpower and her blade is finely honed to cut through Dragon scale. Sissliths is dead within moments. The drops look good at first but there's nothing of particular use to Syanna. The portal rune is useful to allow quick travel between Drakenden and Mystdale. Onward, to join up with the party of treasure-hunters. I love how much character and atmosphere the Forgotten Swamps have. The art design and music here is really lovely. Unfortunately the party is scripted to die to a horde of Undead Goblins, and Syanna must carry on alone. The source of all this mischief is H'Runga'zz, the Forest God, a gorgon-like creature. This boss was given a hearty boost in Sacred Reborn. She and her children are highly resistant to all elements except Physical, so Battle Daemon is the order of the day. Blazing Disk has partial physical damage so it is contributing some too. I love how my Hell Spheres are making a partial pentagram around the Forest God here. Forest God defeated. Sadly there were no good drops from the kill, nor from the treasure chest rewarded for completing the quest. But it was a fun quest nevertheless. A few other interesting side quests. One has Syanna descending into the depths of "The Outer Rim" (Hell) to close off a portal that is letting demons through. This small dungeon reminded me very much of Diablo 1. This quest has Syanna fighting "Gilga Mesh" a demon from Sacred Underworld. The quest giver was a huge Gladiator who swore he never saw anything so fearsome in his life - an exciting build-up. But Gilga Mesh died easily enough though. Now here's a surprise: a friendly Dragon! Loromir the Wise resides in Drakenden and is surely the source of the town's name. Loromir is in love with a Dragon-Slayer princess and wishes to make peace between the Dragons and the knights of the realm. Well, who is a Succubus to say no? By the way, that little Dragon's name is "Gleeeep!" Seems there are perks for a young lady who weds a Dragon. The reward for helping Loromir and Princess Lara is the Orbus Dracos, another unique socketable item that received a nice boost in Sacred Reborn. With the orb's power, Syanna is sure to become an unstoppable Dragon slayer. Luckily she also received the perfect gear to socket the orb into, her first pair of set gloves (finally). Now Syanna has all this wonderful dragon-slaying gear, but are there any Dragons left in Ancaria? Only the one she missed in Verag-Nar. Seems Syanna will be returning to the sunken ruins of the Dark Elves one more time... Link to comment
Flix 5,116 Posted November 20, 2019 Author Share Posted November 20, 2019 Daemon Chronicles, Part 11: Easter Eggs On a rainy windswept evening, Syanna arrives at Mystdale Castle to begin the final leg of her journey. Having collected the 4 Elements of Ancaria, she is to meet Shareefa here for further instructions. And Shareefa's instructions are to collect a fifth element, the Element of Void, from the castle of the big bad himself, Shaddar-Nur. It could be reached from the desert, but luckily a portal makes the trip shorter. Strangely, Shaddar is not in his castle guarding the element. Instead, a single stupid Ogre named Glubba is ready to hand it right it over. Glubba also hates his job and locale so he gives a quest to take him somewhere nicer, a "big-dark land" where "dark princes" once ruled, but no more. This paradise turns out to be the Tristram easter egg town. This entire area is modeled after the town from Diablo 1, the granddaddy of the genre. Glubba is happy here and Syanna is happy to rid of him. Man, some of the voice acting in this game is bad. It's like the actors are reading the lines for the first time. On the way back to Mystdale is another easter egg area, featuring the Jason mask and machete from the Friday the 13th slasher series. One last loose end to tie up before finishing out the main campaign: Relerissith the Swamp Dragon, who for some reason is named "Acutami of the Swamps" on the Wiki and all the old resources. Maybe he got renamed when the Underworld expansion came out? At any rate, this Dragon is no match for Syanna. Armed with the Orbus Dracos and armored with the Dragon Scale, she easily dispatches the Swamp Dragon. That makes the tenth and final Dragon in Sacred. A piece of Draelokk's set dropped from the Dragon. Lately Syanna is wearing more of Draelokk's and especially Taelon's sets. This has disposed her much more towards spell-casting, with regeneration times plummeting so low that multiple Blazing Disks and Hell Spheres fill the screen. It is lighter armor, however, with much less physical resistance, so she must be more cautious if not using Battle Daemon form. Nothing left to do now but the final push to fight the campaign's three big bad bosses: DeMordrey, the Sakkara Demon, and Shaddar himself! 1 Link to comment
Flix 5,116 Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 Daemon Chronicles, Part 12: One Journey Ends, Another Begins Syanna has done every side quest she could find, fought all the enemies, explored every dungeon she came across. Nothing left to do now in the main Ancaria map except the final brawl with the last three campaign bosses. All three of these bosses have been beefed up for Sacred Reborn, so let's see how they stack up against Syanna. Round one: Baron DeMordrey This is a nice "storm the caste" battle sequence, complete with the chaos of troops on both sides fighting in the streets. When we reach DeMordrey, he hits pretty hard and of course has high fire and physical resistance so he soaks up damage. But with the help of Valor, Vilya, and Shareefa, he goes down soon enough. Round two: Ilith'Bah, the Sakkara Demon After a lengthy summoning ritual, the Sakkara Demon appears. This is technically the boss of the campaign, since Shaddar is not required to "beat" the game and advance to the next difficulty. I expected absolute carnage due to the notes in Sacred Reborn changelog, but honestly the Sakkara Demon was a bit of a pushover. Maybe Syanna is just getting too powerful for Silver difficulty at level 88. The Demon seemed almost frozen in place by the constant barrage from Syanna's Blazing Disks and Hell Spheres. He managed to summon some volcanic fissures in the floor but they didn't do much. Altogether a little disappointing but I'd rather have the fight be too easy than too hard. Round three: Shaddar + Shareefa With the Demon dead, the real final boss (in terms of the story), Shaddar, reveals himself, kills Valor, and abducts Vilya. So, it's back to Shaddar-Nur for one last showdown. Shaddar has dramatically more hitpoints than vanilla and his spells are devastating. He also has his female counterpart Shareefa aiding him in the battle. Can't remember if this was in the vanilla game or not, but I like it. This fight was one of the most dangerous Syanna has had in a long time - and it's fitting. Syanna got some pretty nasty poisoning that lingered on. I had to spam health potions constantly to survive. Eventually though, Shaddar fell, and the message flashes on-screen that Vilya has been liberated. It's almost too fast to read before the ending cinematic movie plays. And that's it for the main campaign! Next time: Syanna begins her journey back to her home realm: The Underworld! Link to comment
Flix 5,116 Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 Daemon Chronicles, part 13: Descent into the Underworld Having beaten the main campaign in Silver at level 88, Syanna is ready to move on to the Underworld expansion. I decided to remain in Silver difficulty for tackling this campaign. Underworld begins where the main campaign left off. Shaddar is defeated, but his murder of Prince Valor has left wounds. Baroness Vilya is grief-stricken at the loss of her prince, and enlists Alcata the Wise (a minor character in the main campaign) for some kind of summoning ritual. Unfortunately it goes awry, Alcata is killed, and Vilya is yet again kidnapped, this time by a Subkari Demon who carries her off into the Underworld. Prince Valor's ghost communicates with the Syanna throughout the campaign to guide her through her various missions. Apparently, portals from Ancaria to the Underworld are opening up all over. The starting area is the Dwarven Ruins, which Syanna clears easily. Sadly, almost all of the Dwarven lore and NPC's in the whole Sacred franchise are found in this small area. She then journeys to Fungi Hillock, an interesting mushroom forest, where she meets the Haduk race, and then on to the city of Purgatori where the Darethians dwell. These two races look generally the same but the Haduk seem to be a more primitive, lower class of citizen. Lacking the city walls of the Darethians, the Haduk in their mushroom huts are more vulnerable to being preyed upon by the evil forces of Anducar, the big bad of the Underworld. There are many interesting quests in this region, like an alchemist who accidentally turned himself into a demon, and another quest to gather up a menagerie of undead to reunite them with the ghost of their bear companion. Underworld has many more chain quests than the main campaign. This would set this stage for more advanced quest design in Sacred 2. The first boss is the Subkari Demon Ssskrak, who kidnapped Vilya. This boss is very poison resistant, and caused high poison damage with his attacks. Syanna is moderately well equipped to resist poison, and is able to dispatch Ssskrak with her burning attacks. However, with poisoning, the danger lingers even after the battle is won, and Syanna almost dies before she's able to drink several Potions of the Viper's Antidote to save herself. Defeating the Subkari Demon is only half the battle though. Syanna must now close the gate between the Underworld and Ancaria. To do so, she uses the portal rune dropped by Ssskrak and briefly travels to Ancaria to defeat a Sakkara Demon there to close the gate for good. All the following boss battles in Underworld follow this dual-boss pattern. The Sakkara Demon poses little threat to a Fire Daemon and goes down quickly. The gate is closed and Vilya is rescued! Now Valor's Ghost directs Syanna to the next such portal that must be closed, and our Daemon has the option of having Vilya join the party as a follower or sending the Baroness off to stay with Valor. Syanna naturally takes the opportunity to have more firepower in her corner, so the two prepare to head out for the next phase: The Embalmed Forest and beyond! Link to comment
Flix 5,116 Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 Daemon Chronicles, Part 14: Nuk-Nuk-Nukkin' on Heaven's Door So Syanna sets out for the Embalmed Forest with Vilya at her side. It is good to see Vilya not stuck in the damsel in distress role, if only for a brief time. I kind of like how they decided to make Vilya unhinged by her grief. Her battle cries when attacking enemies are ultra-violent, and at other times she makes sounds halfway between sobbing and deranged laughter. At first she was fighting bare-handed but eventually I found a sword to give her. She does good damage so it's good to have her along. On entering the realm of the Garema, or "Nuk-Nuk," Syanna finds that she is trapped in the forest. She must defeat the leader to bring down the magic barriers. The Nuk-Nuk are the undead versions of the Garema in Sacred 2 (in fact in the internal Sacred 2 game files they are also called Nuk-Nuk). They are small, spiteful little undead creatures who prey upon the Haduk. Villages in the Embalmed Forest have a strong Japanese aesthetic. The Daemon, Dark Elf, and Vampiress have quests that help the Nuk-Nuk, while the other characters get a quest to help the Haduk. This feels like a protoype of the eventual Light Path/Shadow Paths we would see in Sacred 2. There are many secrets in this forest, and many area which look impassable may actually be traversed. Hidden paths through the trees lead to secret merchants, quests, and even treasure. Eventually it is time to defeat the next Subkari, Ceriri. Demon Lords received a big boost in Sacred Reborn. From the changelog:"Significantly increased the experience gained, health, movement speed, damage from spikes and hits. Now each of the four Demons-Lords is almost immune to one of the damage types, depending on the skin color." This particular demon lord is highly resistant to physical. That will not stop a Fire Daemon from burning him to death. After the fight comes another trip through a portal to Ancaria to defeat a Sakkara Demon. However, this time, something goes wrong. After the Sakkara Demon is defeated and the portal sealed, Vilya lets out a terrible scream and vanishes. Syanna is trapped on this side of the portal. Now she must search Ancaria for another portal to get back to the Underworld and resuce Vilya. Her trusty horse Dead Meat is ready to saddle up and ride through the desert, down to the coast. Our next destination: the Pirate Islands! 1 Link to comment
Flix 5,116 Posted November 29, 2019 Author Share Posted November 29, 2019 Daemon Chronicles, Part 15: Pirates, Zombies, & Crabs Oh My! Syanna emerges from an underground cavern into the Pirate Islands. Her jobs is to exterminate all the Undead so the Pirates can sail back into the bay. Task accepted. Undead burn better than most enemies. The pirates are free to sail back to their harbor, and in return they help Syanna find the portal she needs to get back to the Underworld. A side-quest pits her up against a nameless Subkari Demon Lord. This is another poison-oriented one, which makes him the most dangerous type due to the poisoning effect that requires Viper's Antidotes to cure. Another main quest enemy upgraded to big boss status is the Hatchet Crab Queen. I remember my Battle Mage having trouble dealing with her claws so I was apprehensive to see how the Daemon handled her. It turned out to be no big though. Crab claws for dinner. I love the number of H.P. Lovecraft easter eggs there are in the form of creature names in Sacred 1. So far I've fought quest monsters named: Nyarthalotep, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth, Ubba-Sathlo. The middle island seems inaccessible except by flying over the water with Soaring Daemon. Which is strange because there is a quest that sends you there looking for the legendary pirate treasure. I wonder how less mobile characters would be able to reach the island. The pirate treasure turns out to be disappointing sadly. Just a few gold pieces and some junk items. At last, Syanna finds in the entrance to the dungeon that contains the portal to the Underworld. It's underneath a volcano. Because she's on the mainland, the first boss battle is with the Sakkara Demon. After its defeat, Syanna can finally enter the portal and return to the Underworld. Waiting for her on the other side is the Subkari Demon Lord Fingoniel. This is a fire boss, so Syanna uses Battle Daemon in order to achieve some weapon damage against him. After Fingoniel's defeat, it's a long trek through a demon-infested cave that will eventually lead to the Dryad Forest. 1 Link to comment
Flix 5,116 Posted December 1, 2019 Author Share Posted December 1, 2019 Daemon Chronicles, part 16: From Forest to Forest Syanna arrives in the Dryad Forest, a land of treetop huts and rope bridges. There is a "town" area called Esotopia, but all Dryads are hostile so there is no quest hub, and not really much to do here in this region at all except advance the main quest. This is another region with winding, maze-like pathways that I'm none too fond of. Luckily Soaring Daemon saves the day yet again by allowing Syanna to cut straight across the trees and fly directly to her targets. Stygian Elders are tree-like opponents that were powered up in Sacred Reborn. From the changelog:"All Stygian Elders generated in the game are now bosses. Significantly increased experience gained, health and movement speed, added extremely high poison damage from attacks. Extremely resistant to magic, poison and physical damage, but weak to fire damage. Added the status of a big boss, which improves level scaling and adds immunity to certain types of control." This makes them very dangerous to encounter. Luckily there are only a few of them. Viper's Antidotes are a must-have here. In fact despite being random mobs they were much more difficult than the actual "boss" of this main quest section, a forgettable Frazzler-type demon. Another interesting foe here is the Forest Golem, the boss at the very end of the long "Ultimate Fighter" chain quest. What makes the fight unique is that the Golem can only be damaged with a special dagger. Fortunately Syanna is specced for Sword Weapons and Battle Daemon contributes to the dagger's damage and attack. A pure spellcaster would have a much more nightmarish time against this foe. After the forest, it's time to continue on to Hell's Ridge. Some of my favorite opponents are here, like the Frazzlers and the Bolting Terrors. My least favorite enemy is also here: The Cerebropod, which freezes your Combat Art regeneration when it hits you. Combined with the Shadow Guards who root you in place, this area can really feel like a slog that takes forever to progress through. With Soaring Daemon, Syanna can actually leave the map and just fly right past them. Her target here is Shaddar's Tower. The big bad of the main campaign has had a change of heart and been reborn like Gandalf the White. Now, "Shaddar the Enlightened" pledges to help your fight against Anducar. The first step to this new alliance is to destroy the now-familiar boss pair of Subkari and Sakkara demons that have taken over Shaddar's Tower. This last Demon Lord is Ninocaur and he is magic-based in damage and resistance. After Ninocaur's defeat, Syanna passes through the portal and arrives at the mirror image of Shaddar's Tower in Ancaria, where she destroys one last Sakkara Demon and closes the portal. Now Shaddar reveals the secret of how to unlock the gate barring the way forward. Syanna retrieves the keys and passes through the Darkwood, the last stop before entering Anducar's fortress in the Valley of Tears. The Darkwood has a wonderful gothic forest aesthetic that makes me wish it was a larger region. Next time: the final entry of Daemon Chronicles! It is time to move on the final battle in Gathol - The Fortress of Tears! 1 Link to comment
Dax 481 Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Excellent selection of screenshots, Flix! I remember so many locations when I look at your screenies. Especially when I ran unprepared into two Stygian Elders and how they made me suffer. What do you think of the idea to turn your screenshots into a couple of youtube videos? 1 Link to comment
Flix 5,116 Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 7 hours ago, Dax said: Excellent selection of screenshots, Flix! I remember so many locations when I look at your screenies. Especially when I ran unprepared into two Stygian Elders and how they made me suffer. Thanks! They are especially brutal in Sacred Reborn. Are you playing that mod too? 7 hours ago, Dax said: What do you think of the idea to turn your screenshots into a couple of youtube videos? Would probably be better to make videos of gameplay footage. I don't think anyone would be too interested in watching a slideshow of screenshots. Link to comment
Popular Post Flix 5,116 Posted December 3, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 3, 2019 Daemon Chronicles, part 17: Final Battle and Final Thoughts Just outside Anducar's Fortress of Tears is an interesting NPC: Hell's Blacksmith, a giant golem. Apparently it's possible to fight him, though I don't know how. Dealing with him is necessary to advance the main quest, but perhaps there is an alternative way? Oh my, remember when a single Sakkara Demon boss was a heart-pounding affair? Now Syanna is mowing through whole mobs of them! They are supposed to drop their horns for a certain side quest, but no matter how many I killed I could never get enough horns to complete the quest. Syanna makes good use of Soaring Daemon one last time to cross the chasm around the Fortress of Tears. Man I am spoiled by this skill. I am going to miss it sorely. Just outside the throne room, Syanna is ambushed by a mob of "Anducar's Guards" plus one unbelievably deadly "Anducar's Elite Guard." This latter one may be the most difficult oppponent Syanna faced in the entire game, aside from the Frostgard Dragon. He really only has one weakness: Poison, which Syanna does not inflict. So, ever so slowly, she whittles down his health while chugging health potions. Anducar by comparison really doesn't hold a candle to his guards. As the battle commences he is a Sorcerer, with some dangerous spells but nothing too bad. At first it seems the fight will be a nightmare due to the Cerebropods, but these enemies stay away and do not attack (perhaps if Syanna got too close they would). Her Hell Spheres take them out before we can find out. After Anducar is defeated, we get the big plot twist: that Vilya willingly worked with Anducar to open up the portals between Ancaria and the Underworld because she thought that would help her reunite with Prince Valor. And in a way, she gets what she wanted, when Anducar resurrects into a massive demon form that kills Vilya and renews his attacks. Syanna's bonus from Aarnum's set saves the day, as Anducar becomes entrapped and strangely does not try to attack (perhaps he has no spells in this form, only melee). So Syanna keeps a safe distance and lets her fiery spells do their work. Finally Anducar is defeated for good. Vilya and Valor reunite as a pair of ghosts and soar off together, and Syanna is left right back where she started in the Underworld. It's time to reflect on her journey. These are her final stats: Final Thoughts on Sacred Reborn: This is the last of the Daemon Chronicles. It has been an interesting and very enjoyable ride. This mod increases difficulty but improves combat arts, items, and drops to compensate for it. So overall the challenge feels similar to vanilla except that you get to enjoy more & better items and more effective & fun to use combat arts. I love the increased experience gain & drop rate, and I adore the new rune drops and the standardized long durations for buffs. There are some difficulty spikes in the game that make the experience a little uneven compared to vanilla. Big bad bosses are actually big and bad now, and may catch some players off-guard after cruising along destroying mobs with ease. However, I've found there's no battle that can't be won without some strategy and planning. There was nothing that seemed unfair or unbeatable, and the feeling of reward when overcoming the challenge of many bosses was very rewarding. The Daemon in particular was a character I always struggled to get off the ground, so it was gratifying to use this mod and see her flourish. I'm very happy that I got to play this mod and finally take a Daemon all the way through the game. I hope you enjoyed this in-depth look at Sacred Reborn. @MetaL @Starling Thanks to you and the Overlookers team for making this mod! 1 2 1 Link to comment
Dax 481 Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Hello Flix I abandoned the unmodified Sacred quickly after I tried Reborn. Got roughed up now and then especially during the very early versions of the mod. Poisoned Tendrils killed more than one time. I try every version as soon as it sees daylight and I was never disappointed. Overlookers are doing a great job! You´ll find dozens and dozens of vids concerning Sacred. Adding some more will have no effect I guess, but a while ago I mixed ambients together and hoped to get them into the game one day. If enough screenies are available, we could turn them into a slideshow, while the ambients are getting played in the background. Currently, I´m hoping for more players to show up, then I´ll ask for help. 1 Link to comment
gogoblender 3,070 Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Flix, I missed commenting on some of the posts, but I have read all of them and it was a thoroughly good old fashionged "sacred" content read that goes up on these boards because of the passioned (or addicted ) players. I know you're very happy with the longer buffs...I can see this going both ways...the difficulty of this game when it came out made the online HC community cling to each other because the need to share resources to defend against such a hostile environment was necessary. I like how this mod team has made the game a little kinder and so makes it easier to to play and be more attractive to today's crowd. I'm a little sad that you're telling of tales is finished? But you did well with your Daemon whom was always a challenge for you as it was for many players because of her intricate mechanics Thank you for spending all this time and creating a magnificent share for the fans Bravo gogo Link to comment
Starling 49 Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Flix, thank you for you feedback, nice job! We are glad that you liked the mod! Link to comment
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