Sacred Wood Elf Guide
Version: 1.02
Created by: Gilmore R. Guirao
Date created: Sat. Aug. 20, 2011
Date modified: Sat. Nov. 17, 2012

Table of Contents
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  I) Legal Issues
 II) Contact Info
III) Acknowledgements
 IV) What is Sacred?
  V) Who is the Wood Elf?
 VI) Wood Elf Pros and Cons
VII) Attributes
VIII) To Ride or Not to Ride?
 IX) Wood Elf Skills
  X) Wood Elf Combat Arts
 XI) Wood Elf Combos
XII) Misc. Tips
XIII) Allowed Sites
XIV) Version History

I) Legal Issues
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*Sacred is copyright 2004 Ascaron Entertainment.

*This guide is copyright 2012 by Gilmore R. Guirao. This may be not be
reproduced under any circumstances except for personal and free use. It may
not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without
advance written permission and must remain unaltered. Unauthorised use of
this guide is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.

II) Contact Info
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For any questions, comments, or ideas, feel free to e-mail me at
[email protected]. Please be sure the word "Sacred" is included in the
subject line. Flames, spam, or other junk will be promptly deleted.

III) Acknowledgements
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1) God for everything.
2) My friends and family for their love and support throughout my life.
3) Ascaron Entertainment for making this game.
4) Other players who have made my gaming experience most enjoyable.
5) Matt P. ([email protected]) for inspiring me to write this guide
  and providing some minor insights.
6) GameFAQs.com for hosting this guide.
7) You for reading this guide.

IV) What is Sacred?
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Sacred is a simple point-and-click, hack-and-slash RPG not unlike Diablo and
Titan Quest. You go through the game killing monsters, finding items, and
solving quests. It's simple, yet addictive. One of my favorite games of all
time.

V) Who is the Wood Elf?
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When the Ancarian people first hear about Elves, they typically picture kind,
graceful beings who commune with and protect nature. In truth this image only
refers to the Wood Elves. Although they are noble and will help humans and
animals in times of need, Wood Elves are but one species of Elves living in
Ancaria. Recently, the more warlike Ice and Dark Elves have made their evil
pressences known to humans, either as the hired mercenaries of tyrants and
cults or as terrors in their own right. Wood Elves typically find themselves
either fending off attack from their evil counterparts or struggling to
uphold a noble image in the eyes of humans in response to the surrounding
turmoil. Some Wood Elves have set up camps among humans in areas such as
Tyr-Hadar and Tyr-Fasul. Here they typically serve the Crown and Kingdom as
hunters, scouts, mages, or warriors. Despite their kindness and willingness to
aid humans, Wood Elves harbor a secret grudge against the human expansion into
nature in the forms of large cities and paved roads.

Like other Elves, Wood Elves can trace their lineages back to the times before
men. Rumors even tell that, during the times of the Wars of the Gods, Elves
fought through numerous battles, much like the Heavenly Seraphim. All Elven
clans tend to organize in matriarchal societies led by priestesses.
However, female Wood Elves are more likely to serve as fighters for their
people than the females of the other clans, in which males typically serve as
warriors, hunters, and assassins.

As with other Elven clans, Wood Elves draw their power from nature in ways
that reflect their respect for its powers. While Ice Elves identify with the
bitter winds and deathly cold of the frozen North near Icecreek Dale, and Dark
Elves harness the raging heat and vile poisons of the foresaken lands of
Verag-Nar and Zhurag-Nar, Wood Elves draw upon the pure primal energies of the
land itself. This explains their preference to settling in forest areas, like
the outer regions of the Mascarellean Barony.

Wood Elves differ from their counterparts in their manner of fighting. Clans
of Dark and Ice Elves train their warriors in hand-to-hand combat with some
focus in spells or traps. In contrast, Wood Elves excel in ranged fighting
with bows and crossbows. They may also supplement this mastery with magical
spells usually focused on enhancing their abilities or protecting or healing
themselves and their allies. Wood Elves practice their form of nature magic
under the watch of the moon spirits and confer their most sacred rites and
honors during times of the full moon. Though they are the finest archers in
Ancaria, Wood Elves may also take up swords, staves, or spears when fighting,
even if only as a last resort when cornered by hordes of enemies.

VI) Wood Elf Pros and Cons
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Wood Elves are expert archers. In fact, it is rumored that the finest archers
and hunters of Ancaria share some ties to the various Wood Elf clans, either
as students, decendants, or even members of those clans. Not only can the Wood
Elf employ tactics usually reserved for close-combat with her bows and
crossbows, but she can also implement attacks specifically designed for ranged
combat.

Wood Elves are also adept at casting spells. However, these spells tend to
focus on such matters as healing, strenghening, or avoiding danger rather than
delivering damage to foes. Battle Mages and Seraphim may be more suited for
striking down their enemies with fire, lighting, or Heavily magic, but all
fighters know deadly skill is useless if one does not live longe enough to use
it. Many heroic parties have sought the aid of Wood Elves to serve as healers
or even as a magical reserve force for battle.

A Wood Elf's greatest weakness may be that, because she is meant to fight at a
distance, she will need some way to either detect her foes and launch a
preemptive strike against them before they can move in close or keep herself
out of harm's reach while maintaining an offensive strategy. Unless she wishes
to engage in close-quarters fighting, she must know how to scout ahead, strike
first, and retreat. Another weakness is that her spells tend to lack damaging
power and usually may only be used as a distraction. Fortunately, the spells
that do deliver damage seem to focus on the element of poison, which can deal
considerable damage over a long period of time, allowing the Wood Elf to
either reposition herself or retreat. For Wood Elves to succeed in their
quests, they must find ways to enhance their weapon damage with elemental
sources, strenghten the damage components of their spells or both.

Personally, I have never been a fan of ranged fighting in RPGs. Characters
like the Rogue of Diablo and the Amazon of Diablo II seemed to spend more
time running and hiding than fighting, at least at early levels. I like a
character who can either stand toe to toe with enemies and beat them to a gory
pulp or bombard them with an unstoppable magical assault from afar before they
can even blink an eye. Finally, ranged weapons tend to inflict less damage
than swords, axes, or other weapons meant for close-ranged fighting.  If you
want to play the character whom I believe requires the most strategy in
Sacred, then you may enjoy the Wood Elf.

VII) Attributes
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As with other characters, the Wood Elf has the ability to raise her strength,
endurance, dexterity, physical regeneration, mental regeneration, or charisma
as she gains levels. What's interesting is that, even though you only get one
attribute point to invest per level, your attributes will increase by ten
percent of their starting value automatically.

Strength (13): Strength increases your attack rate, damage with melee weapons
(swords, axes, etc.), and health.

Endurance (13): Endurance increases your defense and reduces the damage you
take from being poisoned.

Dexterity (29): Dexterity increases your defense and damage with ranged
weapons (bows and crossbows).

Physical regeneration (21): Physical regeneration accelerates your natural
rate of healing and the rate at which your non-magical Combat Arts regenerate.

Mental regeneration (24): Mental regeneration increases the damage your spells
inflict and the rate at which your spells regenerate.

Charisma (25): Charisma increases the amount of poison damage you do and
reduces vendor prices.

When deciding on how to allocate attribute points for a Wood Elf, remember,
she can function equally well as a warrior, ranger, mage, or any combination
of the three. Wood Elves who favor weapon-based combat may want to focus on
improving their physical regeneration to aid in recharging special moves.
Purely magical Wood Elves will want to focus their investment on mental
regeneration to improve the rate at which their spells recharge. Hybrid Wood
Elves should invest in both forms of regeneration, either in equal measure or
favoring one over the other. Investing in either strength or dexterity is not
advised. Although they will increase a Wood Elf's damage with close-ranged
or distanced weapon combat, respectively, the benefits are not worth the cost
of a player's single skill point. The natural increase is enough to provide
the needed bonus.

VIII) To Ride or Not to Ride?
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Ah, yes, horses. Everyone wants to know, "Should I ride them or not?". Well,
like all aspects of this game, horses have their advantages and disadvantages.
Some characters or builds will clearly benefit from riding horses, whereas
others may be better off fighting on foot.

Why should I ride a horse?
If you choose to ride a horse, you will get bonuses to hit points, speed,
and resistances. This may sound tempting at the start of your game, since
you may not have ideal equipment yet. Also your steed is able to execute a
charging attack in combat, allowing it to stampede through foes and clear
your path. Equipping your horse with riding equipment further enhances its
restances, and often, it's speed. Characters who favor a hit-and-run battle
plan should not be so quick to pass off these speeding stallions. Your mounts
will also benefit from bridles or saddles placed on them. Simply right-click
on one while in possession of a horse to place it on them.

Why should I not ride a horse?
You don't have to feed or clean up after your mounts, but you will need to
heal them if they're injured. This can be done by taking them to a stable
master and paying for healing or by drinking a healing potion while on
horseback. Also, don't forget horses are not exactly the smartest animals in
the world. You have to keep them in a protected area when you're not riding
them, or else, they may get killed. You also can't take them into caves or
other underground/indoor areas. The biggest drawback of having one of these
animals is it usually depletes your offense. Even with their charging attack,
you may find yourself unable to use a powerful attack or spell, and combos are
completely out of the question.  Also the horse's charge attack does little
damage comapred to your comabat arts and has a long regenration time that
cannot be reduced by items that regenerate special moves faster. The charge
attack also damages your character when used against larger enemies, such as
hill giants and dragon bosses.On a technical note, there may also be a glitch
in the game that causes your horse to vanish if you  exit the game while not
mounted. Make sure to be on horseback before exiting your game to prevent
this.

Again, the choice is always yours.

IX) Wood Elf Skills
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Each character in Sacred starts with two default skills. As your character
progresses, he or she will be able to learn new skills. These skills are
passive and do not need to be triggered. When you put a point into a skill,
the enhanced bonuses the skill offers will apply instantly. As with attribute
points, you will gain skill points with each level up. You may invest points
into a skill until the number next to it turns red with each level.

Default Skills
Agility: Agility improves your attack and defense ratings. If you won't be
carrying a shield. Agility may be more helpful than Parrying, since you will
get an increase in attack rate so you can fight more efficiently despite not
having Parrying's greater defense bonuses. Of course, taking both would be
the best idea.

Weapon Lore: Weapon Lore increases the overall damage you inflict from melee
and ranged weapons. Damage is broken down into physical, fire, magic, and
poison.

Level 3 Skills
Concentration: Concentration increases the rate at which special moves (non-
magical combat arts) regenerate. If your character uses special-move combat
arts, you will need this skill. Keep track of how quickly your special moves
regenerate, and spend a point here if you want them to recharge faster.

Constitution: Constitution enhances your maximum health and natural healing
rate. Put points into this skill if you are low on healing potions or are
planning to take on dragons or other bosses. For other enemies, you should
have the stamina to survive. As you play the game on higher difficulty
settings, healing potions will heal less of your overall health, so you should
start investing in Constitution early on, even though it looks as if you don't
need it.

Long-handled Weapons: Long-handled Weapons improves your attack rate and
attack speed with staves and spears.

Magic Lore: Magic Lore increases the overall damage your spells inflict.
Spell damage is broken down into physical, fire, magic, and poison damage.

Meditation: Meditation improves the regeneration time for spells--a favorite
of casters of all types. Place points here to keep your spells' regeneration
rates in check.

Moon Magic: Moon Magic is a skill exclusive to the Wood Elf. It accelerates
the regeneration rate and casting speed of her spells. Wood Elves focusing
heavily on magic will want a high rank in this skill.

Ranged combat: Ranged combat improves your attack rate and attack speed with
bows and crossbows. Of all the weapon-based skills, Ranged Combat seems to be
the ideal choice for the Wood Elf because, unlike other characters, her
attacks function with both hand-to-hand and ranged wepons. Some of her combat
arts are even designed exclusively for ranged combat.

Riding: Riding allows you to have better control over your horse. A skilled
rider will improve the damage and duration of his or her mount's charge as
well as receive an attack rating bonus while on horseback to make up for the
initial decrease in attack rate that comes with horses.

Level 6 Skills
Trading: Trading reduces vendor prices and increases the chance of vendors
carrying special items. It is almost a must for solo players, who can't trade
with others. However, as Matt P. explains in his battle mage guide, your level
of this skill must be about equal to your character level to find the best
items for sale.

Level 12 Skills
Sword Lore: Sword Lore enhances your attack rating and attack speed with
swords.

Level 20 Skills
Armor: Armor increases your armor's protective values against physical, fire,
magic, and poison damage. Also your speed penalty is reduced, allowing you to
wear armor with greater ease.

Level 30 Skills
Disarming: Disarming gives you a chance to strip foes of their weapons,
which will weaken them. However, like riding, this skill may not be as good as
it sounds. As Matt P. states in his battle mage guide, the weapons this skill
causes to drop are inferior to what you could get by just killing your foes.

Level 50 Skills
Parrying: Parrying improves your defense and ability to deflect attacks. Good
if you want to use a shield. Again taking Agility and Parrying will give you a
double bonus to defense, but if you're only going to choose one, and you will
be carrying a shield, take Parrying instead. Parrying is also the better
choice if you won't be using your weapons in combat, as in the case of spell
casters.

Wood Elves function equally well as warriors, rangers, mages, or any blend of
the three. With so many options, players must decide on which skills will
best benefit their preferred style of play. The first issue to consider is
whether players will want to fight using their weapons, spells, or both. when
using weapons, Weapon Lore, Concentration, and a weapon-focused skill are
obvious choices, Moon Magic, Meditation, and Magic Lore are core skills for
caster Wood Elves. Hybrid builds will have to compromise between skills meant
for improving weapon- and spell-based combat, which may weaken both but at
at least allow for more options. Agility and Parrying serve as a perfect skill
combination for fighter-type builds, but casters will not benefit from
Agility's bonus to attack rating. Instead, they may want to experiment with
Riding to give them a better chance of avoiding close-ranged combat. Armor
and Constitution are always welcome skill choices, and Disarming is almost
always a waste. Finally, the Wood Elf has the fortune of being able to learn
Trading at relatively low level, however, she should refrain from investing
heavily in it until she has gained a reasonable mastery over core skills for
combat.

X) Wood Elf Combat Arts
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Unlike your normal left-click attack, combat arts can only be used when their
icons are fully colored. Once activated, all combat arts are depleted and may
not be used until they regenerate. There are two types of combat arts: special
moves and spells. The regeneration rate for special moves is based on physical
regeneration, while spells require mental regeneration to increase their rates
of regeneration. Here I will list all the Wood Elf's combat arts in
alphabetical order as well as each is classified as a special moves or spell,
what type of damage the combat art causes, and whether or not it is usable on
horseback. I will also add a brief description of each combat art and a grade
of its usefullness based on my own experience.

*Call of the Ancestors*
Combat art type: Spell
Damage type: Physical/Magic
Available on horseback: Yes
With the blessings of nature at her side, the Wood Elf never needs to face the
forces of evil alone. With this spell, she summons the souls of past champions
for nature's cause to aid her in battle. Foes in the physical world cannot
harm these spirits, which can harness the power of nature to attack. Also, the
Wood Elf need never worry about losing sight of her spiritual companions, as
they will remain with her until the spell ends. However, the spirits' bond
with nature will only allow the Wood Elf to summon them from unspoiled ground;
the ritual will fail when performed on scorched earth. Call of the Ancesstors
introduces the interesting concept of summoning to Sacred. Only two characters
can summon followers to aid them in battle: the Wood Elf and the vampiress.
Call of the Ancesstors is the first of the Wood Elf's two summoning abilities,
the other being Companion of the Woods. With both active, the Wood Elf can
become an army unto herself and turn the tide against an assault of enemeis.
Still, only Wood Elves proficient in spellcasting should invest in this combat
art, as warrior and archer Wood Elves will focus their skills on weapon-based
combat.
Grade: A

*Companion of the Woods*
Combat art type: Spell
Damage type: Physical
Available on horseback: Yes
Not only can Wood Elves commune with the creatures of the natural world, but
they can also call upon the fantastic beasts of legend. Using this spell a
Wood Elf summons a unicorn to fight at her side. Although it doesn't deliver
a large amount of damage, it serves as a relaible defense to draw out lesser
enemies, provided it is strong enough to endure the battle. Companion of the
Woods is the second of the Wood Elf's two summoning combat arts, and makes an.
ideal addition to Call of the Ancestors in bolstering the Wood Elf's attack
force to even the odds in a fight against multiple enemies. The only drawback
to Companion of the Woods is that it is a spell and requires skills focused on
spells to be efficient in combat. This may put warrior and ranger Wood Elves
off of learning it, but caster and hybrid types will love having a durable
minion around. Besides, weapon-based characters invest enough points into
physical regeneration and the Constitution skill to fend for themselves,
anyway. I'm quite certain the unicorn delivers physical damage, but the
character sheet doesn't indicate anything. Finally, you cannot ride the
unicorn.
Grade: C

*Explosive Arrow*
Combat art type: Special move
Damage type: Depends on equipment
Available on horseback: Yes
The animals and spirits of the forest reward those who devote themselvs to
their ways by revealing secrets about the ways in which nature protects itself
and its followers. In a particularly bold example, a Wood Elf archer learns
how to coat her arrows with naturally-combustable minerals, salves and
powders. The result: arrows capable of detonating on contact with enemy flesh
or armor. Not only do these potent missiles deliver devastating damage, but
they can cause smaller, weaker foes to explode in a shower of blod and gore.
Initially, Exploding Arrow seems like nothing more than a stronger version of
the Wood Elf's ranged Hard Hit. However, unlike Hard Hit, Exploding Arrow
benefits from the Multiple Shot combat art, which will allow the Wood Elf to
bombard multiple foes with her explosive ammunition. Still, the Wood Elf
should keep Explosive Arrow's regeneration time as low as possible for
constant use.
Grade: A

*Eye for an Eye*
combat art type: Special move
Damage type: Depends on equipment
Avialable on horseback: No
Eye for an Eye behaves almost similarly to other characters' Attack-type
combat arts. The only exception is that it can function with ranged weapons as
well as with close-ranged ones. With a close-ranged weapon, the Wood Elf will
unleash an assault of blows against a target that can continue on to other
nearby foes if the initial target dies to the barrage. When used with a ranged
weapon, Eye for an Eye launches a small quantity of arrows toward a target for
muliple hits. In either case, the damage of each blow is less than that of a
normal attack, but multiplies by the number of hits. Eye for an Eye works
poorly as a close-quarters combat art because it will stop if foes simply
step out of range of the sequence of hits. Also, Attack-type combat arts will
only hit enemies the maximum number of times when used with dual weapons, and
the Wood Elf cannot learn the Dual Wielding skill. Therefore, players should
limit its use to either ranged combat exclusively or only agianst non-moving
foes if they want to use it with a short-ranged weapon. However, Hart Hit will
serve as a better alternative at close range, anyway. Finally, although Eye
for an Eye should be avialble on horseback when used in ranged fighting, it
isn't.
Grade: C

*Hard Hit*
Combat art type: Special move
Damage type: Depends on equipment
Available on horseback: Yes
The Wood Elf starts the game with this combat art. She will deal a powerful
blow against one enemy with either a close-or long-ranged weapon. Hard Hit
also increases her attack rating. Use it to attack fast-moving targets, like
shamans, and archers. For constant use, keep Hard Hit's regeneration time as
low as possible and monitor investment wisely.
Grade: A

*Knockback Arrow*
Combat art type: Special move
Damage type: Depends on equipment
Available on horseback: Yes
Wood Elven fletchers have crafted an assortment of arrow types to deal with
various foes or situations. The worst situation a Wood Elf may encounter is
facing an advancing enemy in a cornered space. With nowhere to retreat, she
must either kill quickly or engage in close-ragned combat. As a remedy,
archers have come to depend on heavy, blunt-tipped arrows that, although
lacking the power to pierce flesh and armor, can strike a foe's center of
balance with enough force to both halt its advance and stun it for a short
time. When I first tested this combat art, I honestly didn't like it.
Knockback Arrow will not increase your damage or attack rate, it only pushes
foes back a short distance, and the stun doesn't last very long or affect.
champion and boss monsters. Stil, Knockback Arrow's effects last long enough
for the Wood Elf to escape danger or better position herself for attack.
Remember, archers don't want foes up close to them and should do everything to
keep them at bay. Also, advancing enemies are quick to close the distance gap
between themselves and you. Like all combat arts meant for ranged weapons,
Knockback Arrow benefits greatly from the Multiple Shot combat art, which will
allow you to launch a barrage of arrows to stop groups of onrushing enemies.
Grade: C

*Multi-hit*
Combat art type: Special move
Damage type: Depends on equipment
Available on horseback: No
When using a close-ranged weapon, the Wood Elf will execute a spinning attack
to strike all foes within reach. With a ranged weapon, she will spin around
while firing an array of arrows at multiple enemies in the distance. Warrior
Wood Elves will treat Multi-hit in the same way other warrior-type characters
and builds do--as a way to escape foes surrounding them. Archers should use it
to scout ahead, stop advancing lines of enemeis, or retaliate in a shooting
match against a group of ranged foes like shamans and mages. Just remember,
Multi-hit may not strike all foes surrounding the Wood Elf.
Grade: B

*Multiple Shot*
Combat art type: Special move
Damage type: N/A
Available on horseback: Yes
The spirits of nature are ever vigilant and willing to aid their followers.
This Elven art imbues a Wood Elf's ranged weapon to strike with a multitude of
arrows as quickly and easily as she can with one. Multiple Shot benefits both
normal arrow attacks and combat arts meant for use with ranged weapons. A
favored technique among ranger Wood Elves is to fire Penetrating Arrows after
activiating Multiple Shot to deliver massive damage to multiple foes. Unlike
the Wood Elf's other enhancing abilities, Multiple Shot functions as a special
move rather than a spell, so Wood Elf archers can comfortably raise its level
without worrying about monitoring two regeneration times. Unfortunately,
Multiple Shot's duration does not increase beyond the initial 20 seconds. The
only benefit to increasing the level of the combat art is a greater quantity
of arrows with each shot. The frequent re-casting of Multiple Shot may not
make it worthy of investment, or at least limit its use to the most dire of
battle situations. Also, Multiple Shot only multiplies the arrows fired from
your normal attack and Explosive, Knockback, Penetrating, and Spider Arrows.
Using other combat arts with a ranged weapon will not activate the bonuses.
Grade: B

*Penetrating Arrow*
Combat art type: Special move
Damage type: N/A
Available on horseback: Yes
Wood Elves are undoubtedly the finest archers and hunters of Ancaria because
of their mastery of long-ranged fighting tactics. Perhaps the most advanced of
these abilities is the power to launch an arrow that seems to have a mind of
its own to hunt down targets. In a combined effort, Wood Elven fletchers and
mages have developed arrows capable of piercing through foes compeletely and
hunting down a selected foe. With this ability, the Wood Elf fires an arrow
that travels in an eliptical path to a target, pierces through foes in
pursuit, and hits all enemies for significant damage. Penetrating Arrow is
ideal for killing groups of enemies, espcially if a powerful boss creature
hides behind a group of its underlings. When a Wood Elf uses Multiple Shot in
combination with Penetrating Arrow, she will send a swarm of missiles flying
towards an army of foes. Penetrating Arrow also functions simillarly to a
buffing combat art, and Wood Elf archers should strive to keep its recharge
time shorter than the duration of the arrow's flight.
Grade: A

*Plant Cage*
Combat art type: Spell
Damage type: N/A
Avaialble on horseback: Yes
The dense forest regions near Tyr-Fasul and Tyr-Hadar serve as the ideal
places for Wood Elves to reside when among humans. Not only is the area
surrounded by throns and posionous plants, but also the roots and vines in the
area can halt almost any encroaching outsiders. With this spell, the Wood Elf
summons a sentient vine that grabs hold of her foes and entangles them.
Against larger foes, the vines may only temporarily delay them, but the Plant
Cage's best use is for grounding smaller enemies, especially those that can
fly. Plant Cage best resembles the rooting spells certain mages cast, or the
ability to trap flying enemies that can be found on certain items or combat
art runes. Plant Cage is another of the Wood Elf's diversionary spells, but
may be the least useful. It may serve some purpose early on for caster Wood
Elves, who need to keep foes at bay, but it ultimately looses its usefulness
once the Wood Elf improves her other spells for combat.
Grade: D

*Poisoned Tendrills*
Combat art type: Spell
Damage type: Magic/Poison
Available on horseback: Yes
Much like their Dark Elf counterparts, Wood Elvs have learned to harness the
power of poison, believing there is no wrong in using any of nature's powers
to protect it and themselves. With a prayer to the forest spirits, a Wood Elf
can summon forth a thicket of tendrills to knock back incomming foes and
damage them with poisonous thorns. This skill somewhat resembles the Seraphic
Celestial Light spell. It can only damage enemies that step into the path of
the tendrills. Casters can either target ranged foes that will remain standing
in the way of the thickets or lead close-ranged foes into them. With some
practice, caster and hybrid Wood Elves should have no trouble setting up a
barrier of lethal poison to trap and slay their foes.
Grade: A

*Quick as a Flash*
Combat art type: Spell
Damage type: N/A
Available on horseback: Yes
While in deep meditation and communion with the moon spirits, the Wood Elf or
a chosen ally receives the blessings of gracefulness. The spirits free their
followers from their worldly burdens and allow them to move as gracefully as
the wind and strike as furiously as lightning. This skill is good in the
earliest stages of the game when your character's attack and movement speeds
are lowest. Eventually, your speed will naturally increase and you will find
items to further enhance both your attack and movement speeds. Magic-focused
Wood Elves should have no problem fighting on horseback because riding does
not hinder their spellcasting abilities. Simillarly, the Wood Elf's special
moves intended for use with bows and crossbows function on horseback as well
as they do on foot. Though all Wood Elves should consider learning a few
levels of Quick as a Flash, they should stop investing in it when other speed
bonuses become available to them, especially those engaging in hand-to-hand
combat. Also, remember your attack and movement speeds maximize at 220,
regardless of bonuses. Of course this may not happen until characters reach
level 60 or so. Quick as a Flash becomes absolutely useless at this point. As
with all ehancing combat arts, Quick as a Flash's regenaration time should
remain less than its duration for best performance. Unfortunately, levelling
up Quick as a Flash will be difficult for warriors and archers, who lack a
high spell-regeneration rate from skills like Meditation and Moon Magic.
Grade: C

*Recuperation*
Combat art type: Spell
Damage type: N/A
Available on horseback: Yes
The lunar spirits are quick to attend to the needs of their followers and will
lend their healing touch to those who fight for their cause. This spell allows
the Wood Elf to heal either herself or a chosen ally of a certain amount of
damage that increases as her mastery of this combat art improves. In addition,
the healing balm of this spell neutralizes poison damage. Recuperation is
another spell that seems good at first, but quickly loses its effectiveness.
Merchants sell potions to heal wounds and neutralize poison all throughout
Ancaria for very little money. Of course gold is scarce at the start of the
game, so a low-level Recuperation spell may serve as a better alternative.
However, once the Wood Elf gathers enough gold, learns the Constitution skill,
or finds or creates equipment that allows her to steal life from her enemies,
Recuperation becomes obsolete.
Grade: D

*Spider Arrow*
Combat art type: Special move
Damage type: Depends of equipment
Available on horseback: Yes
In their effort to protect the harmony of the natural world, Wood Elves often
turn to the creatures of the wilderness to aid them. A favorite tactic among
archer Wood Elves is to attach clutches of spider eggs to their arrows just
as they are about to hatch. When these arrows strike a foe, they release the
brood of spider hatchlings to attack with a venomous bite. Of course, these
creatures won't last long; just enough to infect their targets. Spider Arrow
may be a good combat art to use if you combine it with Multiple Shot to fire
an entire volley of them. The poison damage can stacks well with other sources
of elemental damage on your character, so you can develop a powerful multi-
element attack. Of course, some enemies are resistant to poison and can easily
remedy its effects.
Grade: B

*Thorn Bush*
Combat art type: Spell
Damage type: Physical/Poison
Avialable on horseback: Yes
The Wood Elf creates a thicket of poisoned thorns and fires it at her enemies.
Not only do enemies receive damage from the poisonous brambles, but a worse
fate awaits any foe foolhardy enough to destroy them. Upon destruction, the
thron bush explodes, sending toxic thorns firing at nearby enemies. This
attack can do a lot of damage to a single target or a group. With a little
practice at aming the thron bush, players can easily weaken or kill dozens
of enemies. Unfortunately, Thorn Bush's greatest damage bonus may not always
strike the Wood Elf's foes. Unless somehting destroys it, the thorn bush will
only deliver its normal damage. The bush also doesn't travel too far and
will not explode when it collides with stationary obstacles, like walls and
trees.
Grade: B

*Transformation*
Combat art type: Spell
Damage type: N/A
Available on horseback: Yes
Nature shall claim and rule over all. Nature will bless those who follow it
and punsih those defy it. This is the core belief of the Wood Elves. In an
effort to teach both men and monsters to honor and revere nature's power, the
Wood Elf casts a spell to create a magical ward that transforms enemies who
cross it into humble forest creatures. Though the enemies of the Wood Elf
stil retain their resistances to damage in their altered forms, they cannot
do anything to harm the Wood Elf or her allies, who can attack. The duration
of Transformation depends on the type of enemy affected. More powerful foes
can resist the spell's effects and reduce the time they spend transformed.
In rare cases, Transformation may not even work on a creature. The Wood Elf
should make the best use of this spell to either deliver as much damage to a
foe as possible or flee.
Grade: B

XI) Wood Elf Combos
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Combinations of moves are an easy way to do a lot of damage in one attack.
They also allow you to have a second way to activate a skill if you are
waiting for your combat-art timers to recharge, becuase combos run on a
separate timer. You can create up to four combos of up to four moves each. My
favorite Wood Elf combos are:

1) Penetrating Arrow*4: This is an excellent crowd- or boss-killing combo for
  archer Wood Elves. For best effect, cast Multiple Shot before activiating
  it.
2) Hard Hit*4: This is a signiture boss-killing combo for all characters who
  focus on weapon-based fighting.
3) Eye for an Eye*4: This is a good combo for dealing with stationary targets
  with high ammounts of life. You can used with all sorts of weapons, but
  it's best use may be in ranged combat because enemeis may flee form it up
  close. Also remember, the Wood Elf cannot wield two weapons to achieve the
  maximum number of hits with each use of Eye for an Eye. Warrior Wood Elves
  should rely on a combo of Hard Hits to take down powerful foes at close
  range.
4) Multi-Hit*4: Here is another generic combo most characters use, this time
  for killing groups of enemies. Warrior Wood Elves should save this combo
  for fending off enemeis swarming in upon them. Ranger Wood Elves can use it
  to strike down a line of ranged foes or to halt advancing enemies trying to
  close in on them.
5) Poisoned Tendrills*4: Caster Wood Elves can use this combo to bring down
  more powerful enemies, provided they stand still in the path of the
  poisoned vines. This is somewhat like the Seraphim's combo using Celestial
  Light.
6) Thorn Bush*4: Caster Wood Elves may want this combo for crowd control. The
  brambles can hit multiple enemies and cause even more damage when they all
  explode. In fact, players may want to use this combo instead of the one
  above to face bosses.

XII) Misc. Tips
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Always check for and download the latest patches at the Sacred offical site
<http://eng.sacred-game.com/index.php> to ensure your game is up to date and
free of bugs. I would especially suggest downloading the free Sacred Plus
file. This will offer new quests, areas, enemies, and items.

*Certain towns have more than one armory. In this case, each armory changes
its inventory with every visit. So you can travel between them and browse to
find something you'd like.

*Be on the lookout for magical hiding places. If you see a twinkle when you
mouse over a piece of land, click there, and find a treasure.

*Certain items require a certain ammount of points invested into a certain
skill to be used. Take note of these requirements if you plan to use such
items.

*Take every quest presented to you. The experience rewards you get from
solving quests are not dependent on your character's level, unlike experience
from killing monsters. Quests are also the easiest way to get experience,
gold, and items, especially runes. Finally, the more quests you complete, the
quicker you gain the respect of the townspeople.

*Certain quests will require you to escort someone. There are basically two
types of escorts; those who can be killed before they reach their destination,
and those who can't. Those escorts who can be killed should be healed
frequently and you should quicksave your progress. Those who do not need to
be healed are nothing to worry about. It could possibly help to equip your
escorts, too. Also, the quicksave feature is a good way to keep your client
alive.

*Look for items that allow you to increase the regeneration rate of your
combat arts. while there is nothing wrong with using your normal move,
your specials should be your bread and butter, while your normal move just
passes the time between using your specials. Also look for items with +skills
and +combat arts.

*When considering upgrading your combat arts, consider the regeneration time
increase. If you can kill enemies with a level 1 combat art with regeneration
time of 3.0s, it is better to wait for your regeneration time to lower before
improving your combat art. The same goes for combos. You can create a combo
with low-level moves and keep it at a low regeneration time so you can use it
more often instead of having a high-level combo that will take longer to
regenerate.

*If you are using your weapon to attack, diversify your damage. Have one
weapon setup for each type of damage. Of course, all weapons do physical
damage, but you need to have high fire, magic, and poison damage as well.
Also examine the resistances of your foes. That way, you won't use your
poison weapons against zombies and liches, where fire damage would be better.
Many rings and skeleton skulls have damage bonuses, so socket these into the
appropriate weapons.

*As with damage, you will want to diversify your resistances. Socketing
resistance jewelry is an easy way to get high resistances.

*The ability to trap flying opponents may come in handy. Look for ways to
augment a setup of your weapons with this power. Remember there are no potions
to do this for you, unlike preventing the undead from being raised again.

*If you are using your weapons for damage, socket life-stealing runes and
jewelry into your armor. That way, you can leech no matter what type of
weapon setup you are using.

*Hold on to mentor potions. They are not sold in stores and can help you get
level ups when you want to get new skills or improve your present
skills.

*The longer you go without dying, the higher your survival bonus becomes. With
a high bonus, you will have a better chance to get special items. Qucksave is
an easy way to keep yourself from dying.

*Don't bother staying in areas with enemies at a much lower level than you.
You will get less experience per kill. Look at the circles beneath your foes'
feet to compare their level to yours. You should only be fighting enemies with
green, yellow, orange, or red circles under them. These enemies are, at most,
a couple levels lower than you, and give a fair amount of experience.

*Start in bronze difficulty, unless you think you can handle the challenge of
starting at silver. At higher difficulty levels, the enemies' levels are
higher relative to yours. Also, healing potions are less effective. The best
thing to do is to play quickly through bronze and export your character into
silver when you notice your character is no longer gaining efficient
experience. Beating the game in bronze is not required for anything, and may
just be used to gain levels and items and improve your character.

*Notice how potions come in different strengths. You should conserve higher-
level potions during lower difficulty levels. This is especially true of
healing potions. If a potion works well enough for where you are, save
stronger potions for later.

*Certain quests will require you to meet quotas. You will have to kill a
certain number of a certain kind of enemy and/or find a certain number of a
certain item. For such quests, the quest indicator may not lead  you to
exactly where you will meet your goal, but you should be able to find what
you need if you keep looking.

*Activate all transfer portals as soon as you can. Not only does this provide
a quick means of travelling between areas while on a campaign, but any portals
activated during an earlier game are kept for later difficulties.

*Certain quests have a time limit. You should complete these quests as soon as
possible upon accepting them.

*Listen to any comments your character provides about your current environment
or battle situation. For example, if your character comments on how difficult it
is to resist a certain form of damage, that may be your cue to improve your
resistance to it.

XIII) Allowed Sites
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is a list of sites allowed to host this FAQ. If any other sites
have this FAQ posted. Please inform me at once.

gamefaqs.com (Most up-to-date version.)
gamespot.com
neoseeker.com
supercheats.com

XIV) Version History
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*v1.00 Finished Sat. Aug. 20, 2011 Original version. All sections completed.
*v1.01 Finished Mon. Aug. 22, 2011 Made some corrections in Section VIII.
Added some information on the Wood Elf in Section V. Edited information on
Call of the Ancesstors, Explosive Arrow, Hard Hit, Multi-hit, Penetrating
Arrow, Plant Cage, and Quick as a Flash in Section X.
*v1.02 Finished Sat. Nov. 17, 2012 Updated copyright information in Section
I. Edited information on Companion of the Woods combat art in Section X.

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