Yes, look for slotted items. The more the better. Then depending on your character put in items that increase Defense regeneration or whatever. Some of the best items are Vamp runes that add life drain. Not the ones that extend night but drain life. They really improve your weapons and work whether they are on armor or weapons.

I've got my Dark Elf, BM and Vamp looking for the elements now and they are all levels around 25. I'm now trying to build a Wood Elf. I really like this character but it is hard to build her up. She doesn't have the crowd clearing combat arms like Dark Elf's Poisen mist and BM's ice ring and she can't do the miltiple hits like Vamp so I have to do more shooting and running and when the monsters follow rapidly she has problems.

I'm also having more difficulty finding good equipment for her. The others got slotted equipment early and she is stil hunting.

I'm not sure she's going to make it all the way to the end or not but will keep trying to get her up to snuff cause, as I said, I really like her.

I got my Vamp up to level 20 or 21 I think last night..
I may just stick it out with her..although..well see there's the problem I like the other's too.
But now that I'm finally finding weapons for Vamps I am having a better time of it.

Wood Elf is hard, hardly ever see equipment in the other guys stuff(I always check out the other character's stuff just to see what I can find as that character)..if I see anything slotted for your Wood Elf I let you know John. Mine is too far behind now that I'll leave her for a while and work on the 3.

Ingie

I wish I could post more often but I can't access GB from work so I have to wait till I'm home.

My vamp is also level 20, in Crow's Rock. She and Wilbur are backtracking to Lumberton before going to Icewind Pass. Stumbled into a dungeon full of undead enemies. My vamp actually took damage! Wilbur died repeatedly, natch.

I've been raising the level of my bat skills, but I'm not sure what that does, increase their health and/or damage? I wish the game gave more info about the special skills.

I wish vamp form lasted longer. I know raising the skill level increases duration, but I always go for the other skills when i have enough runes to trade

When do you get the runes?? I don't remember that part at all.
I have a lot of points invested in vampirism and bloodlust and meditation so my vamp last a long time. Blowing her kisses to everyone.
My guard bats do just that anything attacking me they yell and go after them and the attack bats..they'll go after anything I click on..they stay even when not in vamp form. I have yet to find bat swarm..so that's the only one I do not have for the vampire mode.

Also, John, found 2 long bows for a wood elf with 3 slots no clothing so far though. Found them at Crow's rock.

Ingie

Ingie, I meant the Combat Art runes, like the bat swarm, multi-hit, etc.

They can drop from any enemy, but I think they may drop more often off enemies around your level or as quest reward.

You ARE exchanging the ones you can't use with the combo-master to get ones for your character, right?

Hi all,

I have got a lot to learn about this game and Ingie what you said about the Blacksmith does help but I still have questions.

How do you tell how many slots an item has?

In Divine Divinity when you had the skill for charms all you had to do was right click on the item and a window would pop up so you could see how many charms to put in and also it would tell you on the item's window.

Does it work the same way in this game? How do you know how many slots you have?

Do you have to wait until you go to the Blacksmiths or can you tell ahead of time?

Hi Schwab,
No I forgot about exchanging things with the Mage
You can tell an item has slots, when you see circles or squares under the item. When you mouse over the item, the description of the item comes up and you can see even clearer if it is available to accept "charms"
Only the blacksmith can do the work but you can see the circles or squares anytime..sometimes that inventory screen is hard to see, but mouse over and you'll get a better view.

If you do not see any circles or squares under an item, then it cannot be charmed.

Only those items with circles or squares can be.
any item you can equip can if it has circles or square under it be charmed.

If you find an item that can be charmed, but don't have a good charm to use, you can keep the item in your storage trunk at the well of the town (that is your storage trunk in every town) until you find or purchase a charm that will beef up that item.
Hope that helps a bit more.

Ingie

Ingie, when you open the combo training window at the combo master, hit the EXCHANGE tab at the top, you can then put in runes in the slots and get one of your character's runes in exchange. You need 4 runes to get your choice of rune. If you only put 3 in you get one of your character's runes, but you dont get to choose which one.

thanks Schwab,

that's right, I remember now..geez I totally forgot that ability..shall be holding onto them now.

Ingie

You all were having entirely too much fun, I had to put on Sacred Plus. I don't know why for sure, but it seems a lot more fun than Sacred was. Did they add more dialog? Some of it is hysterical! I wasn't doing anything and my Battlemage said, "Are you asleep?!"

Welcome to the party Nickie, it does feel like they added more dialogue, but what I love is they fixed so many of the quest bugs..also I think they added a lot more loot, perhaps too much...my vamp is a little overpowered

I have to hand it to you folks who play the battlemage, I've tried but he gets hurt so much I feel bad for him

Thanks Schwab! I wanted to play the Battlemage again to see how it compared to the first game. So far - and admittedly I'm not far into it yet- he seems more powerful. Except at the moment I'm getting killed by the same boss trying to rescue the mage's books...Wonder why my meteors always miss him!

Schwab I have a Vamp, Dark Elf and BM at around level 25 and going for the elements. I used slotted equipment and filled all the slots using runes, amulets and rings. When I find a better one I just go to a Blacksmith and replace it. Of course you can only save one item in the slot and you lose the other two (if it's 3 slots). Anyway my BM is strong enough to withstand everything thrown at him so far and for offense I use the Ice Shards and the ice circle thingy which I can't remember the name of right now.

That said, I'm trying to bring a Wood Elf up to the level of the others and she doesn't level up as fast, can't find as much good stuff dropped and there is not really good combat arm rune to control hoards of monsters as the other three have. I'm working on poison tendrals and they are helping but with my other 3 characters I was finding all kinds of runes and with her they are few and far between. She's much harder to bring up to snuff but I'm stubborn and haven't given up yet.

When I finally get around to the expansion I will probably go with either the Dark Elf or Vamp.

Incidently for anyone who is still in the Silver Creek Porto Vallum area there is a grave right on the road half way between Silver Creek and Porto Vallum that has a good sword and a rune. You click on the grave and kill the guy that appears and he drops this neat stuff.

Hi all,

Oh Ingie Thank You for that explanation and I think it helped. Will let you know once I go into the game to see those squares and circles.

LOL LOL LOL nickie boy the amount of times I have slept (not really..just looking at items in inventory)and the character getting tired of waiting for me to move.

I love the chest in every town which is really the same one to store stuff in. There are many things I really like about this game and that is one. I now have 21 skeleton heads in my chest in the Vamp game. This chest being in every town is the same as in Diablo II.

I really like the way the journal keeps track of stuff you did and where it was located and so on.

I really like the way the map shows you where your quests are located and subquests also.

Can you tell I am really beginning to like this game?

Hi Nickie,

Magic,
I agree on all you said. I think the quest/log book is one of the best in games I've played and I too enjoy the map..I do wish there was a small onscreen map, but if there is I can't find it.
The chest great idea, I do remember the likeness to Diablo 2, but had forgotten until you said it..mine right now has potions in it and one bow I can't use yet for my vamp.

John,
I can find bows for my Wood Elf, but equipment is difficult especially anything with the slots. But I do find runes, just happens to be the same ones, which is nice for leveling the "spell or skill" but not much help all around.

Ingie

John, do you know what the different colors of the blacksmithing slots mean? Most are tan/brown but some are gray, does that mean you can remove and replace upgrades?

Schwab I'm not sure about the colors but if you use the upgrades from the blacksmith you are stuck with that and can not change them. However, if you use rings, amulets or runes you can remove one of them and you lose the rest but you can change the slots. (ie if you have three slots and remove a onr you lose the other two items but get to keep the one you removed.)

Schwab I just found this post on the Sacred Forum about socketing and colors.

http://forum.sacredeng.ascaron-net.com/showthread.php?t=22604

Oooh, thanks for the link John!
So, the color of the socket relates to an increase in fixed value of the item being socketed, as I understand it. So much to think about..

Thanks John, :kiss:
you were looking as I was searching and you found it..now translate it please..

That's a lot of information for those things..
I was a bit confused over the use of other characters rings and amulets..had no idea I could use them for my character at all..but if I understood it correctly, if it's a trait your character cannot normally have-think they used the BM and concentrate, then it will do nothing for your character..wonder if it would kick it out?
I'm not sure I've seen a ring just for one character, amulets yes..
Also, I understood another character's rune could not be used..is that correct?
Geez, You wouldn't think something like this would be so complex. Or is it just to me?
Also, the minimum effect part...explain for me please, it would seem the maximum would be the one to discuss, not the min...

Ingie

Ingie it's just as confusing to me as it is to you so I doubt that I can explain very well. As I understand it you can use runes that are for other characters to socket but you may or may not get all the upgrades that the runes list. Your own character's runes, of course, upgraded the equipment as stated.

What I do is save before I socket and then equip my character and see how the stats advance. If I don't like them I reload and try a different item in the slot.

What I have learned is that the more sockets you have the better your character is so I'm always looking for equipment with more sockets and then items to put in the slots.

The thing that has always confused me about this game is the regeneration time and how to shorten it. I've read many posts from the Sacred board on this subject and the more I read the more confused I become. But that's generally sop for me.

Well I'm in good company then...Yes, I know what you mean about the regeneration time..I thought that meditation had something to do with it..or the mental what ever...now my BM is fast, but the Vamp is slow..the Dark Elf, is about in between the two.
I haven't figured it out at all..at least I know I now how company; perhaps Nickie, Schwab or Magic can lend a little knowledge our way..I need a memory slot.

Ingie

I'm not sure I understand the question, but that's par for the course. Haven't you clicked on upgrading your physical or mental regeneration when you get the points? You know, when the game tells you that you have advanced a level, and you get to put points on the two little screens?

Hi all,

Well I finally saw the circles and squares that the items have. How could I have been so blind??? There they were the whole time. Hmmm.

As for regeneration as Nickie says you have to use your numbers when you uplevel to improve those.

As for the mini map.....Ingie you did know if you hold your tab key while you are walking that you get a mini map which shows you where you have been and where you still have to clear the fog???

That is the way you see the mini map by holding down the key.

You can increase the speed of combat art regeneration with the skill Concentration, this is for characters that don't use spells (BM, Seraphim)...they need Mental Regeneration, which is an attribute rather than a skill.

Physical regeneration just raises the rate at which you regain your hit points.

There are armor/weapons that increase "special attack regeneration" too, my vamp has some and they increase her combat arts regen noticeably.