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Torchlight 2
Diablo 3 was my "welcome back" to the arpg genre after a loooong vacation (Diablo 2 was my last dedicated arpg), and like most, I played it and I enjoyed it. Sure it had its problems, but I had my little fun with it. So let's not turn this into a versus thread.
Anyway, so the other day Torchlight 2 was on sale for $10 on Steam and I picked it up. I was not a fan of the "WoW-esque" graphics I've previously seen on review sites but I figure for $10 it was worth a shot to kill the boredom of the day. To say I was not a fan of the graphics was an understatement, I HATED the look of it from what I saw on review sites. And another thing, WTF is up with the pokemon pets? Boy, was I wrong.
The graphics lend a charm to the world that makes it quite enjoyable to play through. Most would refer to it as art direction.
The gameplay has been addictive.
The pet system did not take away from the immersion to the hero character, quite the opposite. In my opinion the pet system is quite brilliant. You can send your pet to re-supply and sell merchant fodder for you during gameplay without distracting from the action. If I wanted to play micro-management with an inventory system, I'd go play Skyrim. The developers of TL2 got it right.
The music is downright awesome and adds a layer of atmosphere missing in a lot of rpgs as of late.
And let's not forget the mod system!
So what are some of your favorite builds in TL2?
I've put 12 hours so far into the game, is the storyline short?
What are some of the better mods out there I should download?
Comments
The story lasts about as long as it took me to get to level 50. You're then given options of replaying maps of your choice or starting the story over at the level you have attained with mobs increased too. There are also 3 difficulty levels.
I've been playing a Berzerker using 'unarmed' weapons and concentrating on Dexterity. I concentrate on only 3 - 4 attacks and maxing out the passive skills. This allows for a pretty easy play through. Many of the skills and equipment I have provide for self healing while damaging. They also concentrate on critical chance and damage. Playing this way is not challenging. Just mindless fun a couple of hours at a time. My pet has 4 magic attack skills, has never needed healing and only very rarely panics and runs from battle.
While Torchlight 2 is not bad, it didn't hold me.
Path of Exile on the other hand, holy shit. At first I dismissed this game, but than when it came out of open beta I gave it another shot. And holy shit, beats the crap out of Torchlight 2 and Diablo 3. I clocked 67 hours so far, beating the game on first difficulty and now working my way towards the end of 2nd difficulty. The customization is mind boggling!
It's truly free 2 play, so you got nothing to lose if you give it a try.
Cheers!
Closed servers are a must, otherwise there is rampant abuse of hacking, duping etc. Just take a look at any arpg that does not have closed / secure servers and this is what happens.
In my opinion said servers must be online at launch and the dev's must keep a close eye on them. The majority of gamers would certainly pay the extra cost for a cheat free gaming experience, I know I would.
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Torchlight2 in my opinion is a fun game to play, also there are some great mods for it too, if you use Steam then mods will be easy to launch for they have a panel that asks you if you want to play a mod, a quick mouse click and you are in game.
You don't mention that you have played Titan Quest + the expansion Mortal Throne, if this is true then pick then up for they are still gems in the arpg scene, plus there are mods to add to the fun.
Anyway enjoy the game , I know I did.
Yes I played Titan Quest, bought the expansion as well but I don't think I finished it. It was worth buying but they lacked closed servers too. I didn't even know about the game until after the company went under.
I liked the Dungeon Siege games a lot more than TQ, although they aren't exactly ARPGs. they feel like a hybrid.
D2: LOD was the game that kept my interest the longest, must be like 1,000 hours.
I have absolutely loved TL2. The only real gripe I have had are also my favorite part of the game and that is the mods. I have found that what people can do with custom classes and UI tweaks have found a way to breath new life into a game that hasn't gotten stale yet. If you are bored of the story, there are various endless dungeons to do. If you like the regular maps take heart in that the maps are random (which was a huge fault in D3 for me) so I do not get the same playthrough.
But alas, while the mods are wonderful, the fact that they get screwed with can cause issues where gear and whole characters get lost. When they work right, the game is awesome but then you start to experience client crashes because an update to one mod causes clashes with other mods, it can get really frustrating. I had a character that was in the 60's get wiped because he was bound to a mod that had to get reworked (awesome classes) and because it went from guts to the steam side, I wasn't able to unbind him and he was lost. Still, the game is awesome and I love popping in and dungeon crawling with my friends so eventually we get he mod orders ironed out.
RIP Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan and Paul Gray.
I just started getting into mods for TL2 and OH MY, what a great modding system they have. People have been creating new classes and whole new adventure modules.
I agree with a previous poster, POE had me hooked for quite a while as well. I was just surprised to enjoy TL2 considering I am NOT a fan of cartoony graphics, POE is more my kind of game. It goes to show that gameplay > gfx.
what's a good mod site?
EQ2 fan sites
Just use the Steam Workshop. They have all the mods listed there and all you have to do is click Subscribe on a mod you want and Steam will download and install it for you. I use SynergiesMOD which overhauls the mobs and combat and adds a couple of new classes and pets along with the StormTexturePack which overhauls all the graphics in the game. The only class pack i use is the Far East one which adds like 8 classes, I am really enjoying the Ninja class right now.