Re: MaiDenSnow Eve
Yariel:
Quite a lot of questions there, so bear with me.
1. Melee Weapon (I don't use range, sorry)
Personally, I think Rapier is the best (for standard use) melee weapon. It have good defence, good offense, 4-max socket, and stinger. But it's not almighty, especially if you want to go for a specific built, like what Moceber said, it is up to you to discover your own play-style.
2. Essences
2.1 Combining Essence (on the same piece of equipment)
STR1 + STR1 = STR2
STR2 + STR2 = STR3, 3 is max for any [Stats] and [Element] essences.
Silver1 + Silver1 = Silver2, 2 is max for [Silver], [Player], [Creature]-slay, and [Status] essences.
2.2 Red-Essence is Fixed-Essence.
No creatures drops you [STR3], [DEX3], [Silver2], etc. in its pure yellow essence (I mean not STR2+STR1, but solid STR3), it is always Fixed in an equipment as a red-essence, even [DEF2] only exist as red-essence. So, once you find Katze-Balgen with [STR3] [DEF3] embedded, don't be shy to keep it.
2.3 What makes Essence Great?
Just because you found a highest grade Essence does not make it a great equipment. Generally, Knuckle-Duster with [STR3] are less valuable then Knuckle-Duster with [Dex2], since I don't think a ranger would need STR. Further advice into this requires the overall looks into what you envisioned your built should be, and that would be beyond me, sorry.
2.4 Short term preparation
I don't want to give lecture about what you need to built 10-months from now, so I just tells you what you could have built in this month. If you strive for CQC, then try to get at least 1 melee-weapon with solid STR3, or a dual-wielding weapon with [Paralysis2/Confuse2], and work around there. Visit Dwarf regularly if you can already fight high level enemies, in hopes he could sells you the weapon(s) with its highest essence(s) that you want.
3 The Sacrifice (I'm sorry if I repeat this)
You can discover the Sacrifice under two conditions, and it is always random encounter. You know its there if there is a short cut-scene at the beginning of the Floors:
3.1 - After you visited the Priest, Turn ON the Memory for (sorry, can't remember the name), then goes to specific field (like The Abandoned Mine, Waterway, etc.) and goes into The Lightless Path Doors
(example: instead of heading from Dwarf Cave to Cat Cave, you head from Dwarf Cave to Lightless Path to Cat Cave), several times into the Lightless Path if needed be.
OR
3.2 - Random encounter at BoE. I advised you always have a spare of Bestseller a/o Master Ninja for BoE.
The Stranger:
I think you already knew, but for those who haven't, you can expand your Donation Box by (+1) and your Stash by (+0.5) for every The Sacrifice you saved (both have its limits though).
The following are just me grumbling. Pay no heed: I've already explained some of these before, but I modified it (some of it went to oblivion) since SOME people just HAD to neg-rep me for some st*pid reasoning. But I'm also a noob, so I cry in the corner.