Life gets busy - Sacred 2?

[Timotheus 416]

I'm pushing to get my thesis done in time this summer, so I can graduate, and times are getting busy. Studying takes a chunk of time now, I still have my job at the supermarket, and I try to spend as much time with my friends and girlfriend. Needless to say, my gaming has almost come to a halt, spare the rounds of Tekken 3 I do on my good old PSone. Pc gaming? Meh. The only game I really like at the moment is AoE3, but it takes too long to finish a round to do it "in between".

 

For those wondering about Ascaron's latest, well, Sacred 2 has let me down completely. There, I said it. I know some of you will not agree, but that's the way I feel. Some grinds are fun (PM'ing the doo-doo out of Orcs, rounding up Sakkara Demons and incinerating them in a CoF) and some grinds aren't (Sacred 2 in general). I don't mind a little grinding but my gawd, Sacred 2 has you grinding from level 1. It takes extremely long (in comparison to S1) to gain a level. And how you get those levels... There's not a whole lot to it, you just run from one enemy to the next. But it takes a lot of 'em. (Most of the) Questing is boring and takes too long, so levelling with quests is outta the question too. Gameplay is far from smooth, it feels very sluggish. I don't know what it is, but with Sacred, I could lose track of time easily. I'd play for hours straight. In Sacred 2, I'm starting to wonder whether there's something else to do about 30 minutes in. I'm not feeling the fun. I hope patches or DLC will fix this, but I wonder whether it will.

 

So, will you see me in Sacred 2 again? Maybe. But for now, I'm still waiting for a few things to get fixed:

- more interesting KILL sidequests... I don't want to go kill 20 rats, I want to kill a cave filled with skellies, a cellar filled with ghosts, something interesting!

- a better online model, including a nametag for your account, bigger partying options and shared servers

- some experience points tweaking. But I don't see that happening at all. Oh well.

- making Combat Arts less worthless (increase duration, decrease those cooldowns, increase effect+duration god spell, higher investment-returns (no more +5 damage on a level increase) and probably a lot more)

 

I just don't think Sacred 2 is the right game for me at this time, I hope it will improve and I hope I will get back to it. But for the time being, regard me as offline.

Anyway, that was all... Feel free to comment.

[gial 2]

I have mixed feelings as well -- just got the game this week and my first impression was "This isn't as good as Underworld". I don't like the camera, it makes me dizzy when I turn, and I don't like my character to disappear around corners until I 'A' or 'D' enough to change the view.

 

Too many keyboard commands are needed - I'm used to click, right-click, Q and space. Occasionally a 1-0 to change weapon or CA, but rarely that. And now I need to remember whether 1-5 changes weapon and F1-F5 the CA or vice-versa. Found myself without an actgive CA yesterday because I switched the wrong one.

 

The backgrounds are stunning - the sights and sounds of the game are unbelievable. The detail on the characters is awesome - but they move like wooden figures.

 

I'm still playing, and beginning to get a feel for the camera. I'll try the custom camera settings Schot has recommended, too. Who knowa, maybe once I've played it through, I will like it more -- I'm hoping so. So far I've barely made it "through the wall".

 

One thing though, the babes are a bit more buxom than S1.

[gogoblender 3,071]

It takes a while to get used to it. I'll be really honest here and say I hated the game when I first got it I had to soldier through though, and with Brad here, I guess I had an advantage with someone always having an answer for me when I would yell out how I didn't like the lag, hated the switching delay, thought the tree was stupid, hated the fact that I had to have a certain of skills before choosing another one...lol, I could post for a long gime

 

But...after a few weeks, and when my first toon finally made it to level 50...I was hooked. I'm still playing more than three hours daily, and I've done weekends with more than 22 hours...but don't tell my work that.

 

Timo, if you're looking for friends to help you get your mojo back, you can always find me on msn, and Gial, same for you. One of the best things I've found about playing this game is the amazing times I'm having all the time on msn with Zinsho and Putrescine. I love being able to bounce build ideas off these two, and I wish there could be a way for all of us to get in on that.

 

Gial, I'm so sad that you have the American Servers I know that Ascaron is working on getting a merge happening, but me and Brad are trying very hard to get all of our members back together on the EU servers and we're slowly having things happening. For me, playing with friends always makes the game for me. I like what you have to say about backgrounds and images...but did you know I've almost got them completely turned to low most times simply because of that extra little "edge" it seems to give me when I'm playing? And ayup...the cam takes a while to get used to...I was screaming blue murder cuz I felt like someone was making me play the game with a helmet over my head. Brad's got an awesome guide somewhere around here with fiddling with camera settings. That for me all of a sudden was like a replay of the scene from The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy steps into a technicolor world. Click and forward to the bug bite ^^ And yes... SO many keyboard keys to use...but after a while...it becomes totally second nature, and you won't even notice you're using them. I pretty much only use forward, right left and my mouse... plus "Q" for picking up stuff.... most of all my levels are done that way, and mouse control over the camera gets to be great with Schot's guide.

 

 

Guild Wars, Requiem...all fun and good...but ONLY because I was playing with everyone from here.

 

Lots of games to buy and be dazzled by. But none of them except Sacred 2 comes packaged with all of you guys, my friends.

 

If I could offer some small advice, it's to stick it out for a few weeks, try hard to get a toon to level fifty at least. Getting all your skills in all of a sudden "clicks" a build, and from there you'll be looking for bug spray, cuz when the Sacred 2 bug bites, it bites hard.

 

Keep the faith!

 

 

gogo

[Schot 407]

Awh Timo. Say it ain't so!

 

Though I must say that I am having a lot of fun. There's problems oh yes indeedy but after getting through Sacred 1 I think I can handle just about anything, lol. It's not soooo bad. The separate servers are a bummer for sure but we have been told they would be merged. I'm holding onto that promise and sure hope it comes through.

 

I think the two most important issues you've made is mention of leveling and generally feeling of "funness". Fun factor has got to be numero uno and it was difficult for me to find the fun when I first started playing. Fact of the matter is that it's a lot like Sacred 1 with regards to how soon you get to reap your character investments. Personally I really began to enjoy my build at around level 45. At that level character execution speeds and regens are beginning to reach a point where you start to see the "hack'n'slash". Of course we would have had to make good choices on top of that.

Leveling is another thing. We need to get up those levels and we want to do it fast. It CAN be done fast but well thought out strategies need to be implemented in order to do it quickly. As an example:

 

Buy your new character gear to start with using a level 2-5 Bargainer to get best gear. Buy max possible sockets with item modifiers that will apply to your build choices. Forge your slots with a mix of high grade jewelry and Smith Arts. Choose an Area of Effect CA to use and build a booster for it. Travel towards the Thylysium Cemetery and use the Hero Statues along the way. Continue east and level on the Toxic Elementals. Toxic Elementals are easy kills and great experience. I do this run when I start a new character and the last, and only, test I did using this strategy brought me up to level 16 in about 20 minutes. Granted, I didn't buy myself gear that had sockets so it could have been much faster.

 

It's all about finding those little tricks I think Timo. Once you start learning them it becomes more fun IMO. None the less if it's not for you then that's that. Still a shame though.

 

P.s.

Ah gial. I totally hear yah on the camera thing. I was going bonkers for a while when I first started playing. I really didn't think I was going to be able to adjust but now I just adore the camera. I can do so much with it. Makes for amazing screenshots and videos as well as amazing gameplay views for my own pleasure.

[gogoblender 3,071]

There's a fantastic thread running in the SIF about peeps extoling their Sacred 2 Playing experiences started by Stubbie here:

 

http://forum.sacredeng.ascaron-net.com/sho...ead.php?t=50312

 

I found the read wonderful, and there were a lot of moments while reading it that I would find myself grinning and nodding.

 

 

gogo

[Erling 3]

I agree with you Timo! I've been pretty annoyed for a while and I didnt want to post how dissepointed I was because I didnt wat to get all the ''you are such a lamer, you only look for the bad stuff'' thrown after me :)

I wont rant about it here but I agree with all your points...

 

 

and AoE3. age of empires 3, right? I just got asian dynasties

[Schot 407]

I agree with you Timo! I've been pretty annoyed for a while and I didnt want to post how dissepointed I was because I didnt wat to get all the ''you are such a lamer, you only look for the bad stuff'' thrown after me :)

I wont rant about it here but I agree with all your points...

 

 

and AoE3. age of empires 3, right? I just got asian dynasties

 

 

Lamer!

 

I'm just kidding Erling, haha. Seriously. You should never fear to post your opinion here Erling. You should know by now we don't do that kinda stuff eh? Please, feel free to talk about what you have been disappointed with. We may or may not agree but it's safe. We have lots of anti-flaming extinguishers here.

[Timotheus 416]

Funny that I'm not the only one here. And Erling I understand you completely. I also feel it's a bit hard to start typing a message like this, knowing you are on a board where almost all active posters are out hunting in Sacred 2 and seem to be enjoying the game But if there's any place you can start typing things like this, it's here. Here you won't get hit with "LAMER!", or just one of the many complaining. People listen, people comment, people give advice. But most of all there is respect here, one of the main reasons I like this place and this clan

 

To add to my first post: I'm not saying that Sacred 2 is a bad game, but I miss the fun factor. My main gal is level 45 now, but can still be taken out easily in the hands of the wrong mob. And there are a lot of mobs out there able to do just that. In S1, it was so simple. Don't go near the khorad desert until you were 15-20, don't go off on sakkara runs before hitting 30-40 or something. In Sacred 2, a mob of scorpions can eat you alive. But undead can do that as well, as do a number of creatures in the jungle.

 

However, what I do like is the fact the bosses at least take some time to kill now. It feels more like an accomplishment than it ever did in S1. The world is huge, everyone likes a huge world! Graphics are a big upgrade compared to S1 (thank gawd). But there are just some things Sacred 2 lacks, the things that make a hack'n'slash fun for me, and I think I mentioned them.

 

But anyway, I have to get back to my paper now...

Edited February 18, 2009 by Timotheus

[fRACTAL 0]

I think I'll have to join the honesty line too...

Computer issues aside (of which I have a plentitude at the moment... for example Firefox hasn't worked the past ~10 boots, Sacred 2 has not kindled much enthusiasm from me, it doesn't look like it has that, well Sacred feel... And I haven't been encouraged by the number of people who have said what my impressions led my to believe. I probably will get Sacred 2 eventually, but at the moment it's a waste of my money (of which I have none...) and the time it would take to get it to run reliably on my computer

~Doom

[EvilMale 7]

Well at least I am not the only one filled with disappointment of the game I got the demo and decided to try it out. and from the small taste I had of it. it felt more like a console game than a pc game. I was talking to GoGo on msn the other day and mentioned that if I do get sacred2 it might just be for the Xbox 360. I in a way felt completely jipped by the demo. and I know I shouldn't judge something by the partial game. and from the troubles you guys have mentioned that the servers aren't merged that the US side of FDM would have a hard time playing with most. Unless we had the EU version. I felt even more unsettled about it. I think for now I will stay far away from Sacred 2. and if I get the sacred itch go back to playing underworld.

[FrostElfGuard 9]

To add to my first post: I'm not saying that Sacred 2 is a bad game, but I miss the fun factor. My main gal is level 45 now, but can still be taken out easily in the hands of the wrong mob. And there are a lot of mobs out there able to do just that. In S1, it was so simple. Don't go near the khorad desert until you were 15-20, don't go off on sakkara runs before hitting 30-40 or something. In Sacred 2, a mob of scorpions can eat you alive. But undead can do that as well, as do a number of creatures in the jungle.

 

However, what I do like is the fact the bosses at least take some time to kill now. It feels more like an accomplishment than it ever did in S1. The world is huge, everyone likes a huge world! Graphics are a big upgrade compared to S1 (thank gawd). But there are just some things Sacred 2 lacks, the things that make a hack'n'slash fun for me, and I think I mentioned them.

 

But anyway, I have to get back to my paper now...

 

I had to laugh when I read your post about S1 being easy... given the rules you had! Khorad level 18 was a must for me (I was mostly playing BMs, so very fragile).

Given my playing style was to read minimum runes, Sakarra runs at level 40 would be suicide! I only entered the Sakkara nest when I was level 50, levels 55 to 60 flew by there!

 

Sacred 2's monsters were created with the expectation that players would know the S1 world. They'd know about keeping armour up to date. Know to run from some fights (like I ran from the Kobold Chieftain when my level 4 High Elf (using Fireball only) wasn't able to hurt him (he'd heal the paltry damage she dealt before she could recast)).

 

Sacred 2 is a more complicated game than S1. More to learn. More to know.

 

It kinda looks like your life is full of school, work, gf, friends... sounds like a pretty full life already! Adding in a very deep&wide gaming world sounds like too much.

 

I'm finding I'm daunted with how much there is to see/do in Sacred 2. But, hey! I found that in S1 as well! I'll just slowly gnaw on the game--just like I did in S1! Maybe this time I'll be able to author some guides--though I'm having the same problem as S1. I want to play all the classes!!

 

Enjoy life Timo in your own fashion.

 

It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. You'll always be welcome in any server/game that the SIF/DM/DA gamers are gaming in.

[Schot 407]

Enjoy life Timo in your own fashion.

 

It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. You'll always be welcome in any server/game that the SIF/DM/DA gamers are gaming in.

 

Well said FrostElf. I second that notion.