The game also allows for players to seamlessly drop in and out of games. Either way, it's there if you want it.ĬDV has promised that the game will support all popular multiplayer connection options, including local LAN, Peer-to-peer connections and dedicated servers for up to sixteen players at once. There's hardcore, and there's just plain daffy, and the hardcore mode certainly straddles the line between them. Only one shall stand, and the rest can cry their way back to level one. Lose in hardcore mode, and your character is permanently destroyed. For the truly sadistic, CDV is including a "hardcore" mode in which players can battle other players for survival. The game also features a PvE co-op mode for arena fighting with a friend, and also a PvP arena with fully implemented leader boards.
There is also a free mode that allows unlimited side-questing without worrying about the main storyline, and allows the entire map to be open to the player off the bat.
Sacred 2 features a full suite of various multiplayer modes, including the standard campaign. Therefore, playing with other players who follow a different deity than you will allow you to unlock some of these quests and items without starting a whole character anew. The deity system is essentially a god that is chosen by the player, and each deity offers exclusive secondary quests and combat techniques to the player. The host of any game determines which quests parties will embark upon, and this mechanic extends to the deity system. Therefore, it's not possible for a Seraphim player to join up with an Inquisitor, but aside from that exception, it seems that there are countless other possibilities for players to match up with each other. The Seraphim class and Inquisitor classes are locked in to light and shadow paths respectively. The High Elf, Dryad, Shadow Warrior and Temple Guardian classes all have a choice in which path players will follow. Sacred 2 allows players to choose a path of good or evil, and character class plays a large role in determining that path. However, character class plays a very large role in determining what players can play together. Whether playing single player or multiplayer, players will be using the same character is either mode, which is great for players looking for a little help on a particularly difficult quest or those who intend to play exclusively with friends. Perhaps best of all, the game world is completely seamless, with nary a load time after the initial game load. Unlike Diablo, the map is not randomly generated, giving the game a hand-crafted feel that is more detailed and lush than any hack and slash title to date. Mario Kroll of CDV informed us that the map covers "22 square miles of varied terrain and will take six hours to walk from one corner of the map to the other." Across the map are unique regions such as the northern Seraphim Island (a volcanic wasteland filled with tough enemies), a high elf region with a Mediterranean type climate, a human region similar to medieval England, and the expected desserts, marshlands, orc and troll regions, and tropical areas. First, no matter which mode you choose, the game is played on the same enormous world map. The multiplayer aspects of the game tie directly into the single player mode in several ways.
At a CDV press event in San Francisco California, CDV Software was gracious enough to take us through the latest Sacred 2 build, including a detailed run through on the multiplayer aspects of this anticipated title.įor those who missed our single player preview, Sacred 2 is a Diablo style hack and slash RPG with a heavy emphasis on magic spells, differentiated character classes, and collecting rare loot to make your character more powerful.