text: Sacred worth trying? If so, which class? - Sacred General Discussion - DarkMatters
  By Elric of Grans, July 7, 2014 in Sacred General Discussion
  I have looked over at Sacred Gold on more than a few occasions, wondering if I were missing out on something. Since I already have Sacred 2 Gold, is it worth going backward? I know I always preferred Diablo to Diablo II, but I also know that most people who started with the sequel and later tried the original did not like it at all. Does Sacred 2 improve so much that Sacred Underworld is best left to the old guard, or does it have enough of its own unique identity that a newer player could find a home with it?
  If it is worth while, are there any potential gotchas that a Sacred 2 player may be surprised by? You know, things that everyone does in Sacred 2 but would have been really stupid to do in Sacred (or the inverse). Looking at the wiki, the Skills and Attributes are different, but seem easy to draw parallels to. Combat Arts seem similar in basic concept, though it appears modifications did not exist then.
  I would also not know where to start with classes/builds.
  * Battle Mage: I assume this holds the same niche as the High Elf, as the premier caster class. Do I have the right idea? Is it like the High Elf in that you specialise in an element, or is it more like the Diablo II Sorceress in that you can easily use multiple elements?
  * Daemon: I have no idea what to think of this. Can someone give me the basic idea as to what this class' play-style is?
  * Dark Elf: It sounds like the Diablo II Assassin (a class I liked), with traps and martial arts. Is that a fair comparison, or am I misinterpreting things?
  * Dwarf: Another class I cannot grasp. What is the role of this class?
  * Gladiator: I presume the standard Warrior/Fighter/etc class of heavy armour and big swords (or axes, or whatever). Is that right, or is the class a little deeper than that?
  * Seraphim: Would it be correct to think of it as being similar to the Sacred 2 class? My hybrid Seraphim is one of my favourite Sacred 2 builds.
  * Vampiress: Yeah, this one has me kind of stumped too. What is the `typical' way this class plays?
  * Wood Elf: Would it be fair to compare this class to the Dryad? My CH/NW Dryad is another class I have loved in Sacred 2.
  Love ranged
  For funness, try
  Demon's disks...absolutely addictive
  Elf's multi hit arrow, thrilling, but can lag... but nothing beats seeing these things whizzing around taking out dragons
  And if yer up for it... and not for the meek of heart...
  They call me the tentacle
  It's an amazing game, and the beginning of this inventive, fresh ( at the time) franchise.
  Definitely worth playing, even if you played Sacred 2 before this.
  Still as fun as Diablo 2. Though you might want to grind a bit from time to time as the difficulty curve can spike at times during the main quest.
  He functions very much like a Gladiator, but can quickly switch to and from ranged combat.
  He can simultaneously hold guns in one hand and shields with the other.
  He is also the only class that can have "Forge Lore" (from level 20) – become a mobile blacksmith.
  The cannon on his back is a very powerful weapon, with CA like short range flamethrower, direct fire long range cannon or overshot obstacles and do splash damage mortar gun.
  He is the only class who refuses to ride horses.
  He is a mix between the fighter and mage. His spells are not epic, but he can take a hit and swings swards like a pro. The balance between fighter and mage is for you to decide as you level him up.
  He also has teleportation, with which you can get to impossible to reach places, or take shortcuts over long obstacles like rivers and ravines.
  There was an old topic on Sacred International Forum, titled Sacred 1 vs Sacred 2. Its poll showed that 40% prefer Sacred 1, 40% prefer Sacred 2, and 20% like both equally and can't choose. The discussion that followed was along the same lines, as you can see for yourself if you want. If memory serves, a similar poll in the Russian community scored 70/30 in favor of Sacred 1. So there is enough people around here who still love Sacred 1 even though Sacred 2 is around. If you are a person who liked Diablo 1 and haven't thought that D2 is a full improvement of everything, you can just as well try Sacred 1 - it's rather cheap now and frequently on GOG's sale, so it's unlikely you'd waste much by trying it out.
  In general, there are some things that Sacred 1 does just differently from the second part: the general stylistics is a bit different, the classes are not the same, and the balance is somewhat different as well, providing for different dynamics. And it's a whole different world to explore, too. As for the differences: the world in S1 is a bit darker, a bit better developed lore-wise, but has its share of easter eggs and humor. The loot feels more rewarding, because the set and unique items are somewhat more rare and really powerful. The side-quests feel rewarding too, because they have a really good chance of giving set items and runes for reward, and in Sacred 1 these are something you don't see dropping from mobs around every corner. All in all, I do understand why some people preferred Sacred 1 - personally, I think that Sacred 1 and Sacred 2 are about equal and still play both.
  As for "potential gotchas", here are a few I can remember:
  - Concentration Skill: in Sacred 2 it's kind of a general regen boost for all CAs, but in Sacred 1 in only affects weapon-based ones. The corresponding skill for magic is called Meditation.
  - Runes: In Sacred 2 they are common drop and almost every char wallows in them and has way more than he/she needs. In S1 runes are rather rare, so you need to pay more attention to what you read, and what you exchange, and there is bigger value in the items that boost your CAs. Also, about exchange: in Sacred 2 it's also very simple, and depends only on how many gold you want to pay - in Sacred 1 only while exchanging 4 runes you get to choose the outcome, and runes are not frequent.
  - Aspect Skills: There are fewer of them in Sacred 1, but surprisingly, it feels liberating rather than limiting, especially for the Battle Mage. With Weapon Lore and Magic Lore taking care of all damage needs, much like lores in Sacred 2, you don't have to stick to CAs from particular aspect because it's the only one you have skills for. Similarly with focus skills - while characters have specific skills that boost regen and execution speed of their CAs, it's possible to successfully keep the regens at bay without them, using Concentration and Meditation alone.
  - Parrying Skill: while it sounds like Shield Lore, it does not need a shield to work.
  - Horses: were much better in Sacred 1 than in Sacred 2, where they are pretty useless. S1 horses are like a mix of a horse and a special mount - there are character's CAs that can't be performed on horseback and get replaced by horse's special CAs, and there are CAs that work on horseback without any problem. So do not discard the possibility of mounted combat just because S1 does not have special mounts.
  - Bows: are actually very effective ranged weapons in Sacred 1. In Sacred 2 they always lose to blowpipes and shurikens because they are slow and don't have good item modifiers, but in S1 they are a good choice.
  Battle Mage: is a caster and indeed HE has quite a few of his CAs. But the difference is that BM has 5 schools of magic, and can combine spells from different schools without spreading too thin. With the same Lore affecting the effectiveness of all spells, you are quite capable of using CAs outside of your primary aspect(s). Most probably you would only pick the specific focus-like skill for only one or two schools, but it does not make using temporary buffs and backup CAs from others a bad idea. BM has way better hybridization potential than HE does, considering that HE's Fire and Ice skills are mutually exclusive more oftenly than not. BM can be effective with swords, but I always played as pure caster and he can be very effective at that.
  Daemon: from my personal perception of her dynamics and skills, she is the best hybrid fighter/mage in the game, more similar to hybrid seraphim in Sacred 2, than Sacred 1 seraphim would be. Her forms that allow to convert the damage type of her weapons provide for a good change from the usual habit of having different weapons for different situations. Plus, she can fly - how often do you get a really flying char in ARPG?
  Dark Elf: is pretty much an assassin class, which Sacred 2 sadly lacks. In comparison to Diablo 2 assassin, I say that he dies less easily, not because he's a tank, but because it's easier to utilize his CAs to keep him alive. Then again I just might have been doing something wrong with the assassin... If you'd ever try playing DE, it's good to remember that Sudden Fury stuns (!), so unlike other Multi-Hit attacks it can be useful even against single opponents.
  Dwarf: occupies a niche similar to that of TG, but some players think him better balanced than the dog-bot.
  Gladiator: yes, your standard weapon-based jack-of-all-trades. Can be effective with any weapon, but does not have anything magical or highly original. A solid class, but not something that feels unique and exclusive for Sacred 1.
  Seraphim: is a seraphim, though in Sacred 1 she feels a bit less powerful than in Sacred 2, at least for me. On the other hand, her abilities are pretty different: she does not have the Tech CAs (even though she has BFG), but has more melee and Celestial abilities.
  Wood Elf: yes, Dryad is fairly similar, but if I have to choose, I'd prefer WE over Dry. I missed Explosive and Penetrating arrows in Sacred 2. Basically, you can think of a Dryad with only Hunter and Nature aspects, but with more CA variety in both.
  Vampiress: she is rather original. I have troubles likening her directly to other classes in ARPGs. Astral Lord Shadow Warrior may be similar to one of the ways to build a Vampiress (minion-based), but he is not as effective in being a general. And the Vampiress does not have to have minions - she can be an effective fighter on her own.
  This is only my personal opinion about classes, other people around here can (and probably would) have different opinions. Sacred 1 was the game that defined the first principle that we expect in a Sacred game - there is a great variety of builds and each character can be played differently.
  Edited July 7, 2014 by Silver_fox
  Virian 19
  Firstly, I want to refer to Sliver_fox's post. Silver said that runes in S1 are pretty rare. I haven't played Sacred 2 so I don't have any comparision but yes, runes are pretty valuable. It all depends on your character management because the more runes your char eats the less runes drop for you (dunno if there is same system in Sacred 2). Therefore, it's adviced to max ~2 skills.
  But of course some builds may require more rune investment. Some players have their rune factories. Rune factory is a character which ate as least runes as possible. The most popular one is Vampiress with only one rune eaten.
  Silver also mentioned that items boosting your CA (level I guess) are high-valued. Well, on lower levels it's actually true but wen you reach higher level there is more need in items that boost type of damage you mostly deal. Poison damage modifier will amplify Poison DE's damage more than levelling his skill, Poison Mist. It also won't increase its regeneration time, while boosting its level would do so.
  Many possible builds are available for each class but to tell the truth most effective ones are huge Area of Effect damage ones. They are most popular but some people find them boring. For example, magic Daemon (with Blazing Discs) is just walking by while discs are killing everyone in your sight.
  I couldn't say it much better than what's already been said. I fully agree with the posts above me.
  I love the atmosphere of Sacred 1 and generally prefer the lore over Sacred 2. The story and characters are more memorable, and the world has a bit more of medieval fantasy feel. I couldn't choose one, I still play both games, though I play Sacred 2 more, probably because it's newer and I can mod it.
  One other "gotcha" moment is the big difference in Combos between the games. In Sacred 2, they are more simple, basically just do-it-yourself chaining CA's together, using the appropriate regeneration times from the aspect(s). In Sacred 1, you have to visit a Combomaster just to make them (and pay gold). The Combomaster and the Runemaster are the same person in Sacred 1, he has a dual role.
  What makes Combos so different in S1 is that the combat arts are fixed the level they were at the time you make the combo. So if you put Fireball in a Combo, and then you keep leveling up Fireball, your combo containing Fireball won't change until you go back and re-make the combo. The upside is that you can wear a bunch of gear that gives you +40 to Fireball, and make a combo with a boosted Fireball, then switch back into your normal gear, but still use the combo with the boosted Fireball.
  The second big difference is that a single combat art can go into a combo multiple times. So you can make a 4-Fireball combo and fire it off, and it will launch four fireballs in a row before beginning regeneration.
  The third major difference with combos is that they have their own regeneration time, completely separate from regeneration of any spells or combat arts. I don't think any skills increase regeneration time, only the yellow Concentration potion (which have a much different role in Sacred 1, they only affect combos). And the length of combo regenerations can get HUGE. So maybe you launch your super 4-Fireball combo, but then you have a 100 second regen time. That's where the yellow potions come in. One gulp and the Combo is regenerated. So needless to say, using Combos requires either an inventory full of yellow potions or only using combos for temporary buffs that have long durations that exceed the combo's regen time.
  Speaking of buffs, in Sacred 1 all buffs are temporary. There are no slots for permanent buffs. And, they don't usually last very long until higher levels. So in early levels you can spend a lot of time recasting buffs, and it's hard to manage their regen time in Combos. It's kind of a gripe of mine. Combined with the much bigger CA variety, you'll want to choose more carefully about which ones are really worth using.
  And the variety is a big thing. The Battle Mage has 20 spells, compared to the High Elf's 15. I also agree with Silver Fox that having no aspects is liberating. The characters have "sets" or "schools" of spells and moves but they're not uniform (Battle Mage has 5 schools of magic, Wood Elf has physical combat arts and Moon Magic, Gladiator just has a bunch of physical Combat Arts). Whereas in Sacred 2 you usually feel like you have to take a Focus and Lore skill for each aspect to perform well, which can eat up your skill slots quickly. So you could try a bit of everything, although I think Sacred 1 is actually more rewarding for a character that specializes, and more punishing than Sacred 2 for a character that tries to use every Combat Art. This is because runes are so rare and because of the larger pool of Combat Arts to choose from.
  There's less micro managing compared with Sacred 2 I.e buffs and items. The combo runes are really powerful and their are some unique item properties - split , WIDD, damage received reduces gold, etc
  Storyline is better too. Early levels can be hard when you are unfamiliar with things (swarming goblins, fire archers in the desert and ranged attacks)
  You can use anyone but I'd stay away from the battle mage (frail, no armour lore iirc) and vampiress (her transformation skills can be confusing, sunlight damage)
  I'd recommend the wood elf - multi shot is awesome - or dark elf - poison mist and traps are great.
  There is one more thing to say about "gotchas" of Sacred 1, which Virian's comment reminded me of:
  Sacred 1 has no limitation of CA level allowed at particular character's level. By which I mean that there is not something like Sacred 2's "Maximum CA level without penalty". Each rune you read and each +CA bonus on an item always increase the CA level by one or whatever boost the item offers. And socketed rune in S1 gives full additional level of CA at +1/3 of regen (not +1/2 as in Sacred 2). Which is why I said that +CA items feel more powerful and desirable in S1 than in Sacred 2 - you don't have to consider whether or not the item would push your CA level far above the Maximum threshold and possibly become more trouble than it's worth. You only have the regen times to worry about. Yes, +CA bonus is not the best thing at all times, at higher levels you can find better ways to increase your damage outcome, but it is both more valuable and more rare than in Sacred 2.
  About combos, it's good that Flix remembered them and wrote a comprehensive explanation of what they are all about. In my opinion, they play a bigger role in Sacred 1 than in Sacred 2, because the feature about level differences provides for different tactical possibilities, and you don't need a skill to make combos the way you want. Though I have to add the third possible way to use combos - a power-up for especially tough battles, like bosses. For example, my Battle Mage had a super-powered defensive combo, which took forever to recharge, but its effect lasted longer than it took me to battle a dragon, and it was not needed afterwards.
  Also, I agree and disagree with Augmint at the same time - I played both Battle Mage and Vampiress and did not find them weaker than the others. But for the first play-through, starting as one of the Elves, or Daemon, or Gladiator would be easier.
  Thank you for the replies. It definitely sounds like it is worth my while giving the game a go. Based on the comments (and my own preferences) it sounds like the Wood Elf would be my best choice for a starting class. Ranged weapons with magic support would be my ideal play style.
  Attributes: Physical Regeneration sounds by far the most useful option (Dex does not sound to be as valuable).
  * It sounds like Sacred 2, in that you get an increasing number of skill points as you level up, but the wiki does not say how many skills per level and when you start getting more. Could someone please clarify?
  * Looking at the wiki, it seems like most skills hit pretty heavy diminishing returns at 50 and there is no Mastery concept. Is spreading skill points around a better idea than it is in Sacred 2?
  * Based on guides and the wiki, I think the following skills:
  01) Agility - starting skill and sounds too good to pass up anyway.
  01) Weapon Lore - starting skill and a no-brainer for the build.
  03) Concentration - weapon CAs will be the primary killers, so seems important.
  06) Constitution - I assume this is as great in Sacred as it is in Sacred 2.
  12) Ranged Combat - sounds like I need a few point in here to unlock weapons.
  20) Armour - sounds like it could be at least as important as in Sacred 2.
  30) Moon Magic - allow a hybrid build (more my taste).
  50) Parrying - unsure here, but the extra defense sounds like a good idea.
  * I always have more Runes than I know what to do with in Sacred 2, but it sounds like that is not the case in Sacred. It sounds like I should not invest even a single rune into a combat art unless I plan to use it, so I may need to be careful here. Should I hoard runes I do not want to take the to the Rune Master, or should I sell them when I do not need them and only gather excess runes when I want to raise something specific?
  * Weapon based CAs:
  > Eye for an Eye: Sounds inferior to Multi Hit.
  > Hard Hit: Sounds inferior to Penetrating Arrow.
  > Multi Hit: Sounds like the Dryad's Darting Assault with Rotate already built in. I see no reason not to name it George, and I will hug it and pet it and squeeze it...! OK, it sounds like it would be my primary mob-killing CA.
  > Explosive Arrow: Seems like the boss killer (eg Dryad's Ravaged Impact). Does it have a small Area of Effect (like Ravaged Impact + Blast), or just big damage?
  > Knockback Arrow: Sounds an OK defensive option, but can equipment (ie a knockback modifier) replace it? Is a single-target knockback that useful that often?
  > Multiple Shot: This sounds like a buff. It sounds like a powerful buff. Something to use whenever I need to turn the skies black with arrows?
  > Penetrating Arrow: Sounds interesting, but perhaps not as useful as Explosive Arrow or Multi Hit? If runes are precious, I assume this is not worth taking as as an additional attack to the other two.
  > Spider Arrow: This also sounds interesting. Perhaps something to use against bosses as an opener? Are the spiders a useful defensive strategy against regular mobs (as a distraction)?
  * Moon Magic spells:
  > Call of the Ancestors: Sounds interesting. Does it distract mobs, or only deal passive damage?
  > Companion of the Woods: Definitely sounds useful when getting mobbed. Does it take enough damage to be worth using?
  > Plant Cage: I love the Dryad's Tangling Vines, but this sounds less powerful. It is worth using?
  > Poisoned Tendrils: Sounds more useful to a proper caster.
  > Quick as a Flash: Sounds like a buff that could be useful in all situations.
  > Recuperation: A heal sounds interesting. Is it a regen, like Goldenglade Touch, or an instant heal, like the Seraphim's Cleansing Brilliance. Is it powerful enough to be worth using in a hybrid build?
  > Thorn Bush: Also sounds more useful to a proper caster.
  > Transformation: Sounds like a useful panic button. Is it worth while for a hybrid?
  Wood Elf is a good choice. My Wood Elf is my most successful Sacred 1 character since she has never died. My skills are identical to yours except I took them in a slightly different order and I have Meditation instead of Parrying. That was because I planned to use more magic, which I am slowly adding to her repertoire (yes I'm a slowpoke and I'm still my playing my old S1 characters).
  I made it through Silver relying on a very narrow set of Combat Arts: Penetrating Arrow, Multiple Shot, Quick as a Flash, Recuperation, and Companion of the Woods. So I know for a fact you can dominate the game with just these CA's. Eventually I was able to have Multiple Shot up all the time. You really have to see how impressive it is to use this along with Penetrating Arrow. The Unicorn is a great tank, she dies sometimes but she's good at charging enemies and sometimes I think she stuns them.
  In Gold I began to branch out a little more, adding in some more Combat Arts like Explosive Arrow and Plant Cage, but I haven't found enough runes yet to fully power them up. I haven't tried the other CA's extensively but I remember being massively unimpressed with Multi-Hit.
  Which brings me to my next point: the thought of selling runes in Sacred 1 made me gasp. In my experience you will use every rune you get, either reading, exchanging, or socketing them. I never feel like I have enough.
  Chalk my last post to being tired. The point being that initially those characters (BM & Vamp) would be a bit more complicated for a beginner - not that they were overly fragile or anything. I'd recommend using all the characters. Didn't use the vamp much but the BM is hella fun.
  Sacred doesn't have a shared chest in case you weren't aware, although there is a trick with multiplay. The guides here are old but they are very thorough.
  I have started the Wood Elf. I can see the potions are going to bug me. I keep pressing buttons that are hotkeyed to them that I have hotkeyed to other things in Sacred 2.
  Oooh, loot: 'Q'. #$%^
  Hmm, want to check my combat arts: 'E'. ^%*&
  Loving Penetrating Arrow, however. Way better than my expectations. I did not realise it would be live for a period of time. Using it constantly already. Explosive Arrow is also quite fun, but not seeing as much use at the moment.
  Just a few questions that have arisen so far:
  * I started with a Torch in my inventory. Is that something I will need later in the game as a light source, or is it just a melee Fire weapon?
  * Does Sacred have damage type conversion items like Sacred 2, or do I need to find weapons that already do different damage types?
  * I started in Bronze to get some basic gear and combat arts, with the plan to switch to Silver at lvl20. I did not realise that the game would save in such a different way (numerous save files, rather than per character saves). How do you change difficulty?
  * On that topic, with no Resurrection Monoliths, what happens when you die? There is a survival bonus, so the answer is clearly not that you load your last save.
  * I noticed that the game is tracking how much of the map I have revealed. Is there any mechanical benefit (like Sacred 2), or purely for interest's sake?
  * About when do people find they know if a class/build is going to `click' for them? In Sacred 2, I found I usually knew around lvl20-ish whether or not I was on the right track (though my Dryad was a little slower, due to poor early-game choices).
  1) The torch is a light source as well as a melee weapon but it's not all that great. Night in Sacred 1 is not very dark at all. The main way I notice it's night is because my light radius is diminished (you clear less of the fog of war at night).
  2) No damage converters in Sacred 1.
  3) Characters in Sacred 1 can be exported and imported. When you want to change difficulties, you export your character, then import him/her into a new difficulty.
  4) When you die you lost your survival bonus and respawn at predetermined checkpoints activated along the main quest line. I personally like the save method of Sacred 1 a little better. If you die you have the option of continuing on without your Survival Bonus or loading your last save game, keeping your SB but possibly having to replay a lot of content. There are auto-saves but they're triggered along the main quest line I believe. So I have to remind myself to save often when switching back to S1.
  Not sure about the others. I suspect the game gives out better rewards with more map explored but I can't remember.
  I have a few more questions, so I figured I would piggyback the original thread
  I played a Wood Elf through to lvl20 then took her to Silver, where she is lvl22 and very early Act I. The class is powerful and effective (though I stupidly lost my survival bonus when I underestimated Silver Goblins), but I am unimpressed with many of the combat arts. Explosive Arrow is insanely good and Penetrating Arrow is fun, effective and the perfect mob-clearing skill (I guess I can safely keep them both at lvl1 too and still maintain awesome effectiveness). Multiple Shot seems like it will be good once I level it up, as does Companion of the Woods, but I am beginning to understand how precious runes are in Sacred and they are both currently too low of a level to be useful. Everything else I have tried seems pretty underwhelming, especially on the Moon Magic side of things. This lack of options is making things pretty boring at the moment. Should I try to farm runes to get Multiple Shot and Companion of the Woods into the game? If so, how? Are any of the other Moon Magic spells worth using in a bow-primary hybrid and I have simply underestimated them at low level?
  I then decided to try a Seraphim. Got through Bronze with only a little difficulty, and am now lvl23 in Silver. Compared to the Wood Elf, the Seraphim is far weaker and harder to use, but also more varied and interesting. A proper gish, so also more appealing to me than the Sacred 2 Seraphim. I am using Rotating Blades of Light (in a combo), drawing mobs (individuals or smaller groups) with Lightning Bolt and using Attack to deal with them. I also throw up Celestial Light for extra DPS if I pull too many, and use only Lightning Bolt/Celestial Light against ranged mobs I cannot effectively melee. I feel pretty under-powered, however. Presumably because of my Survival Bonus, everything is 4-5 levels above and has a 20% chance to hit me, while I only have a 55-60% chance to hit them (Attack is obviously hitting a little higher). I thought of Strength of Faith to raise the attack rating, but it only brought me to 70% and did not seem to raise my overall DPS higher than Rotating Blades of Light. It takes three Lightning Bolts to kill a Goblin, with a 2 second regen between them, and the cooldown on Celestial Light is only slightly shorter than the duration (though its killing power is very satisfactory). I needs me some more skill points >_< Short of suicide to take out the survival bonus, is there anything I can do to even the fights out a little until I gain enough levels to bring all the pieces of the build together? Are there any other Combat Arts worth using in conjunction with Attack (since everything else is on a spell or combo timer)? The others struck me as pretty pointless in comparison.
  I also tried a Vampire and a Dark Elf, albeit both only very briefly on Bronze. They both seemed to be well designed and powerful, but very clearly not my play-style. Even without trying, I am sure the Gladiator is not my play-style and am unsure about the Dwarf or Battle Mage. I may try a Daemon at some point, but want to stick with the Wood Elf and Seraphim for now.
  Because Sacred 1 isn't about making hybrids using 2/3 of class' CAs. You can do it, it can be fun, but it isn't that effective. Probably the best builds are high-Area of Effect-unavoidable damage ones, focused on 1-2 CA of one "aspect". You keep them on low regeneration and use over and over, don't mix magic with melee and so on.
  Wood Elf using bows would be like this: Multiple Shot (18lv - 6 arrows), Penetrating Arrow (Regen 1,0-1,2s) and Quick as a Flash (1lv, she is sooooo slow). No sense to level anything else, penetrating arrow has a regen about 1s so it will be the only CA to use.
  I always thought that Seraphim just does low damage. Most popular build is magic one. Maxing Rotating Blades of Light as much as you can. What would help very well is full Fadalmar + full Icon sets.
  The advantage of non-hybrid builds is of course no wasting skills and skill points. When you focus on both melee and magic attacks you should have points in Magic Lore, Weapon Lore, Meditation, Constitution, Concentration, Heavenly Magic/Moon Magic... Already 6 out of 8.
  Yeah that's why I said Sacred 1 is more punishing to hybrids than Sacred 2. Specialists fare much better but of course as you've noted, it can be more boring using only the same few combat arts over and over.
  As Virian said, the most effective characters in Sacred 1 are narrow specialists, but in my opinion they are rather boring to play. The Wood Elf is an effective fighter with only Multiple Shot and Penetrating or Explosive Arrows, and maybe only one rune in Quick as a Flash for faster movement. But you don't have to be super-effective to beat the game without troubles and to have fun exploring Ancaria. So most of my characters use 5-6 CAs, 2 or 3 for damage, and others for temporary buffs.
  My favorite Wood Elf (I played several different ones) was running around with Quick as a Flash + Multiple Shot as a power-up combo, Multi Hit for crowd control, and Explosive for champions and bosses. Later in game I used Penetrating as an alternative for Explosive. Explosive Arrow offers huge damage, but it has lowered Attack rating, so it misses rather often when used against opponents with good stats. Later in game Penetrating Arrow was a good thing to spam on Dragons. Still, after 4x Explosive arrow combo, bosses usually had not all that much health left, and that was usually taken with Penetrating Arrows. Also I had a few runes in Recuperation, just to use it as a back-up in critical situations. I never really used Companion of the Woods, but that was due to technical issues, not because I found it weak. I played unpatched Underworld (it was only recently that I found the latest patch that agreed to install on my version of the game), and I could not get Companion runes for my WEs, because they just did not drop and could be obtained only by exchange (same was with Lightning runes for my BMs). Probably it got fixed in the latest versions.
  If you want Moon Magic to be used for damage, it's better to do it with a character who specializes in magic. For a hybrid, the damage would be underwhelming, so bow-wielders fare better with only buffs from the magic school. So for the bow build, there is no actual need to take Magic Lore, and whether or not you would want Moon Magic or Meditation depends on how often you would use the buffing spells.
  As for not having enough runes, there is only one way with which I, personally, remedy it - questing. Almost all side quests have a solid chance of being rewarded with a rune, even two if you are low-level in Silver difficulty. I can remember a couple of quests that most probably won't be rewarded with runes, but most would. The quests are also the best way to get set items in campaign (I'm not talking about boss-hunting because it's mostly for multiplayer). The set piece reward system seems to be similar to what we have in Sacred 2 - the more quests you complete, the easier is to get a set item as a reward.
  Some people also have special characters for rune farming, because the less runes you read the more would drop from monsters. But I never considered such farming with a warrior character fun. It's also possible to gather runes by starting a new character specifically for it - start in Silver, complete quests in Bellevue, get 2 runes from each, then give them to the old character. But that's an artificial method which not all people like.
  Edited July 14, 2014 by Silver_fox
  Ooooh, I assumed quests would be like in Sacred 2: 99% unrewarded. I was skipping them. Wow, Runes, good stuff I have my Wood Elf and Seraphim both to 30 now, and swimming in Runes.
  The Wood Elf has 4 arrows from Multiple Shot now, which is hilarious to use, and Companion of the Woods is now able to take more than one hit, making it useful. I have also made a 4xPenetrating Arrow combo, which I have targeted on Leaders in large groups (with Multiple Shot, of cause) for devastating effect. Yeah, this class is beginning to roll very nicely now!
  The Seraphim is still struggling a little, but I recently gained some lucky +attack% drops which has helped considerably. Some more levels and better gear will clearly go a long way here.
  I have also now tried the other classes and, other than the Daemon, did not enjoy them. The Daemon, on the other hand, is fantastic and a class I will definitely continue playing (only 18 so far). It seems like she gets enhanced drops compared to other classes, however. My Wood Elf and Seraphim are still in mostly white gear and rarely see a Blue, while my Daemon is head-to-toe in Blue and Yellow and finds Yellow items all the time.
  Vampiress was my favorite. However I never did finish sacred classic. I now have underworld as well but I've been locked up in path of exile if I have any gaming time. Good luck. I do love the game. I hope you do too.
  This is not the case that Daemon has something like enhanced drops. The only one built in mechanic for a single class to have a higher chance of dropping valuable items is Dwarf's CA Greed. Keep in mind that there are 2 more stats to increase your chance - modifier Chance of finding special items and Survival Bonus. Don't forget about one additional factor - your luck
  I highly recommend levelling your characters more (if it's possible of course). I feel like most characters are most powerful after at least level 100 and it's more satisfaction in having 2 150lv chars than 8 50lv.
  I tried Path of Exile some time back, but really did not like the game. I honestly enjoyed Diablo III more, and that was a crap game. I am finding Sacred (original) quite interesting. It feels more like the original Diablo than any other game I have played. Even Diablo II was hit and giggle, but Sacred gets that difficulty right. One on one? Sure. 10 on one? Ehh, I think I will run
  Oh, I fully intend to keep taking the classes further, but only the ones I enjoyed. Most of the classes I stopped early because they did not fit my play preferences. The Wood Elf, Seraphim and Daemon, on the other hand, I will definitely take further.
  None of the three have Chance of Finding Special Items and the Seraphim's Survival Bonus is the highest. The Wood Elf and Seraphim almost never find blue items; the Daemon gets more than half her drops as blue or better. There has to be something more than luck at play here. The Daemon also often sees blue items for sale; something I am yet to see with any other class (no Trading either).
  I have a few more questions related to classes/builds. For reference, I will list things x/y, representing hard-points/total-points.
  My Wood Elf is in Act III and going from strength to strength. My current build is as follows
  Attributes: all into Physical Regeneration.
  Agility: 20/21
  Weapon Lore: 45/57
  Concentration: 22/28
  Constitution: 17/18
  Ranged Combat: 10/16
  Armour: 17/18
  Moon Magic: 13/14
  Companion of the Woods: 9
  Explosive Arrow: 2/7
  Multiple Shot: 8/9
  Penetrating Arrow: 2/3
  Spider Arrow: 8/9
  I run with CotW active most of the time as a meat shield, usually have MS active and mostly spam EA. I have a 4xPA combo I fire into large mobs/tough opponents, and use SA on tough opponents while the combo recharges. Currently I am going well with gear and mostly not having too much trouble (the Ice Elves were tough, and I ran away from their two Dragons), but I am swimming in runes (more than half my stash space). Should I use those runes to add another Moon Magic spell to my repertoire, or just keep trying to save them and hope I do not run out of space?
  My Seraphim is in early Act II and it continues to be slow and hard. My current build:
  Attributes: Half Physical Regeneration, half Mental Regeneration.
  Magic Lore: 17/21
  Weapon Lore: 17/18
  Heavenly Magic: 17
  Constitution: 17/22
  Concentration: 13/14
  Celestial Light: 3
  Light Shield: 2
  Rotating Blades of Light: 2
  I keep either Rotating Blades of Light (vs melee mobs), Light Shield (vs ranged mobs) or Light (vs undead) active most of the time (long cast time keeps me from maintaining them if they drop mid-battle). All buffs are in Combos, so I can cast and immediately use other Heavenly Magic. Against ranged mobs, I spam Lightning Bolt. Against melee mobs, I drop Celestial Light and spam Attack. Gear is pretty average (still mostly white) and killing has been slow and regularly involves a lot of potions. Some of the things I have encountered with my Wood Elf I seriously doubt my Seraphim could hope to deal with. Is my build a complete mess, or is the Seraphim just really slow to build up and heavily reliant on good gear? I like the way this build plays, but am finding it exceedingly slow-paced.
  My Daemon is at the end of Act I and mostly going OK, but still definitely a lot weaker than the Wood Elf and I am not confident it would deal with the Ice Elves. My build so far:
  Attributes: Three quarters Mental Regeneration, one quarter Physical Regeneration.
  Magic Lore: 24/25
  Weapon Lore: 9/20
  Meditation: 10/11
  Hell Power: 24/25
  Concentration: 11/12
  Constitution: 4/5
  Abyssal Choir: 6
  Battle, Fire and Soaring Daemon: 3
  Blazing Disc: 4
  Hell Sphere: 4
  Infernal Power: 1/5
  I use Battle Form most of the time, Fire Daemon when dealing with high physical resistance (eg ghosts) and Soaring Daemon when I need mobility; I keep one form active most of the time, but the long cast time keeps me from recasting if it drops out mid-fight. I recently added Infernal Power, but with its low duration I only use it when I see a situation I expect to need the extra boost. I use Blazing Discs for my main spell, but use Hell Spheres instead for ranged mobs or in caves (where the discs often get stuck). I throw in Abyssal Choir when I get a decent number of melee mobs on me. She has much better gear than the Seraphim (blue and yellow) and kills more quickly/easily, but still nowhere near the power of the Wood Elf. Large groups of archers or casters can be a nightmare and progress is extremely slow, as I can only effectively harm a single mob at a time (even the Seraphim has Celestial Light for a solid Area of Effect). Am I doing anything wrong here? Does the Daemon just take time to scale up and I need to persist a little longer?
  I also keep looking at other classes, but have had no luck getting going:
  * Battle Mage: I tried to make a Shard Mage, but gave up upon reaching the Goblin Lawn in Bronze. I was spending more time recasting buffs than playing the game, was far too squishy and seriously lacking in offensive power. The slow drip of runes early-game was really hurting! I usually like casters, but found this one far less enjoyable than other games. Perhaps I just did something wrong?
  * Dark Elf: I was hoping for something like the Diablo II Assassin, but found this one far less enjoyable. Melee was effective, but boring (the Assassin was way more fun). Traps were really disappointing, being nowhere near as fun as Diablo II Traps. I gave up around lvl10 because I was not having any fun.
  * Dwarf: Not tried. I cannot really make heads or tails out of this class. I am not sure whether or not I would enjoy it and really have no idea what kind of build I would even try.
  * Gladiator: Not tried. I never like the melee bruisers (eg Diablo II Barbarian, Sacred II Shadow Warrior) so I am 99% certain I would not like this one.
  * Vampiress: Tried a couple of times. I love the concept, but something is not quite clicking. Perma-Vamp/Attack-spam is far too boring, and I am not interesting in a zookeeper build either. From what I read, most of the vampire spells scale badly and are useless (eg Bats, Master Bite, Blood Bite, etc), while other combat arts are often buggy (eg Multi Hit). I like the idea of a warrior Knight by day, `hybrid' Vampire by night, but it sounds like most of the class is non-functional.
  Based on those experiences, is it worth giving any of those classes another go, or just forget about them?
  By the sound of your posts you migh like the "Bruce Campbell with a boomstick" approach - using only ranged pistols, shotguns and rifles, even for close combat, and just go mowing down hordes of enemies with the highest DPS.
  Sacred UW seraphim > Sacred 2 seraphim
  Sacred 2 seraphim has useless Combat arts TBH.
  I think both games are really great. You would have to try each class for yourself to see which one you would like best. My two favorites for Sacred 2 are the seraph and the shadow warrior. For S1 it was the vampiress.