[PC] Torchlight 2 (Review on pp5)

[Blackjack]

Man, that "Faces" quest finale in the two-part quest in the deserts to the East in Act II. That was a BEYOTCH! I wanted to let out a primal celebratory yell this morning when I finished it.

Yet I found the finale fair in a way various climactic bosses in Diablo 3 were not (at least not for my builds). Or for that matter the wonky French Diablo-wannabe Silverfall, which was so difficult sometimes, I wanted to cry.  

I do like a challenge and T2's Veteran mode is frequently kicking my ass. But I never feel like it's completely hopeless, or that I can't progress without begging someone else to help me. It's such a fine line. imho this is one of the few games (on Veteran anyway) of this ilk that challenges me without quite getting me to the point I want to stick a fist through my precious Samsung monitor.  

My Outlander's to L36. Starting to see some really effective (in terms of additional elemental resistance stats and armor thickness) stuff finally drop so maybe I can do something about my glass-jawedness.

[Blackjack]

Hey if anyone else has a character in the mid 30s (my Outlander's 36) in Act II and wants to play tonight, let me know. It would be nice to get a full GT group in Veteran mode and do some group steamrollering. I think I might just start a game later and post the password here in case anyone wants to drop by.

If I'm on your Steam friends list, I think I'll show up as BlackjackGT, both on Steam and in the game lobby.

[155mm]

I think the loot table and choices given are far superior to D-3. But at level-26 I'm feeling the definite drop in anticipation of clicking the box.
Not sure if its the absolute abundance of useable loot or what ever, but I still don't feel my desire to play wanning yet.
Just a very slick and enjoyable ride. And as Drew Carey would say, "The price is right".

[Reemul]

This is the game that keep on giving, £15 in the uk is a steal that's pretty much half price and 1/3rd of new console releases. I can't recommend this game higly enough, while I enjoyed D3 and still return to it thi is just something else.

[Blackjack]

That says it all.  I'm so groggy from playing all night. I'm attending a funeral for a friend's husband this afternoon. I hope I don't fall asleep...

[Blackjack]

So after numerous occasions of dying 10-25 maybe even 50 times on certain dungeon/quest end bosses (basically completing them more out of sheer stubbornness than any skill on my part), I've come to the conclusions that I suck, that I don't have a diverse enough set of Outlander skills points assigned to survive end bosses, and also that I wish we could select one difficulty for "general gameplay" (because Veteran seems the perfect challenge generally) and one for quest/dungeon end bosses (because for me, the challenge is proving too brutal and unfun in those cases on Veteran).   This has only gotten for worse for me as I level (reached 44 last night).

[Blackjack]

So after numerous occasions of dying 10-25 maybe even 50 times on certain dungeon/quest end bosses (basically completing them more out of sheer stubbornness than any skill on my part), I've come to the conclusions that I suck, that I don't have a diverse enough set of Outlander skills points assigned to survive end bosses, and also that I wish we could select one difficulty for "general gameplay" (because Veteran seems the perfect challenge generally) and one for quest/dungeon end bosses (because for me, the challenge is proving too brutal and unfun in those cases on Veteran).   This has only gotten for worse for me as I level (reached 44 last night).

Buckle up, you wimp! Remember, you're good enough, smart enough, and doggone it, people like you!

Ahem. So I found putting a point into the 360-spin glaive attack (this damages, and knocks back targets surrounding you, etc.) and then a point into the huge Darkling Brute summoned pet (think Diablo's Golem, but much much larger, and for only about 10 seconds) made a big deal.

Still died several times on the Act 3 cave quest end boss  , but the spinning glaive would keep me from getting trapped, and dropping the Darkling Brute in front of the boss would buy some precious escape time as well as do damage.

While you can assign various hotkeys and the Function keys to the right click skill, I'd still like maybe just one more extra hotkey bar. I don't want it to turn into an mmorpg with 4-6-8 hotkey trays everywhere, but I would like just one more for direct access to more skills/spells. I've seen many threads suggesting it, so maybe we'll get it at some point. While the game is to moddable, I don't know if that extends to the basic UI.

[Soulchilde]

Still trudging along Blackjack   Love the running commentary as I level up my Engineer.  Think I hit 30 yesterday... Just cleared the first Dungeon in the desert...  Nice zone.


Loving my Engineer, but I think I need to respect some of my skills.  Think I need a range attack for some of these bosses and mini bosses with knockback skills



Edit - Its weird I can't assign skills to my mouse button 4-6.   TL2 just won't recognize the keys

[Blackjack]

One tip I can give with the nasty quest-end bosses at the end of dungeons is... if you're battling one in single player and whittled it down a certain amount and need a break, it's OK to exit, but DO NOT JOIN someone else's multiplayer game. If you do, that will usually completely reset that dungeon AND the boss's "health state."

Now sometimes you may want that simply to work through the dungeon again and get some more loot. That's fine, but if you've chipped away 60% of a nasty boss's health, you might as well not have to start over again next time. 

[Blackjack]

Edit - Its weird I can't assign skills to my mouse button 4-6.   TL2 just won't recognize the keys

What kind of mouse is it? Some mice have their own custom software application that lets you assign keyboard keys to the mouse buttons. So in that case you could use that to sort of "fake out" the game by making it think mouse button 4 is actually a Function key or a letter key etc. And then assign a skill/spell to that keyboard key, instead of mouse button 4.

That's more of a workaround suggestion, rather than explaining why the game doesn't recognize those.

[Roguetad]

I appreciate the running journal too.  Please keep posting BJ (same with your screenshots in the other thread).  I just started a berserker on veteran difficulty this weekend, so it's way too early for me to judge the difficulty.  They've improved so many small things from Torchlight 1, it's amazing that I only had to pay $19.99. 

[CeeKay]

damn, I'm already starting to feel burned out, and I'm still in act 2.  it's not that the game is bad, far from it, but to me it seems like too much of a good thing; if this were a dinner then they've made the courses so big that I'm full halfway through.

[Arclight]

damn, I'm already starting to feel burned out, and I'm still in act 2.  it's not that the game is bad, far from it, but to me it seems like too much of a good thing; if this were a dinner then they've made the courses so big that I'm full halfway through.

Same.

[Blackjack]

damn, I'm already starting to feel burned out, and I'm still in act 2.  it's not that the game is bad, far from it, but to me it seems like too much of a good thing; if this were a dinner then they've made the courses so big that I'm full halfway through.

Same.

My advice is:
-Switch to another character (they're very and often amusingly different)
-Play online for a while if you've (like me) been playing single player to death
-Wait for the editor to come out. Latest dev post said they needed to finish up one more patch and a couple foreign language translations before they can finish polishing the editor and release it.
-Go play one of your 1,349 other games on Steam for a while and just don't let the addiction wear you out.  

Me, I'm kind of sick at L46 with my Outlander's glass jawedness and constant bankruptcy (due to constant potion purchases). I've started diversifying more in skills (the darkling brute is so awesome), but now I have too many hotkeys to keep track of and it's almost feeling mmorpg-like in that regard. Probably I should've stuck with my original 2-attack strategy....

I suspect I'll go with the Beserker next time out but like you guys I just might be too "burned out on a good thing" to keep playing as much as I have been.

Besides, I expect the XCOM game next week to diversify our addictions, right?  

[ATB]

Restarted as an engineer as I feel like I wasted a lot of skill points. Back up to 14 and having a hoot.

Question:

Is there a way to change your pet or what color he is once you've started?

I picked that cute little dog, made him black, and I can never tell where he is on screen.

[ATB]

I've got a level 21 engineer. I've not come across a single spell.  Where do you get them in this game?

[Roman]

spells are found on the ground as loot. Similar to scrolls etc.

[ATB]

You can't buy them like in one?

It's odd that I'm this far along, beginning act two and haven't seen a single one.

[Destructor]

You can't buy them like in one?

It's odd that I'm this far along, beginning act two and haven't seen a single one.

Spoiler for Hiden:

About half-way through Act Two you'll get a vendor that has them up for purchase based on the RNG.

[ATB]

Thanks Destructor. 

[Blackjack]

I've stubbornly gotten my Outlander to L53 or so. I believe I'm in Act 4 now, but I'm not really sure. Put in about 48 hours or so in the game at last count.

Later on, those 4 spells you can assign, esp. passives, really become quite critical. In recent levels I got Concentration (which gives you extremely strong mana regeneration - extremely welcome, and I don't gobble up mana potions like Pac-Man anymore). One passive with bonuses for all ranged attacks. And one passive that gives a tremendous damage bonus (24%!) when double-wielding.

I've assigned mostly summoning type things (skeletal warrior/archer squad) for the pet, so I don't have to worry about it so much.

The Brute pet skill is fun/useful and I've gotten him to tier I, where he/it has a dash attack that knocks enemies backward.

Couple frustrating things (other than constant dying, which is slightly less frequent of late, though battling things at even levels can still be a challenge with bosses):
-Never seen a legendary item
-Never, EVER have gotten a unique pistol to drop, and only one unique shotgun. I'm sure if I ever roll another character, it'll get endless unique pistol/rifle drops.  

I've taken to combining various uniques, and usually I get something great... for another class.  

[Roman]

Beat the game on Friday. Never found a legendary either despite extra magic find
Got tons of unique items most of which were not of any use to my Engineer.

Really liked the game and feel that I more than got my monies worth. I think I ended somewhere around lvl 51.

Not sure if I will dive into NG+ right now.

[Blackjack]

You can't buy them like in one?

It's odd that I'm this far along, beginning act two and haven't seen a single one.

Spells have a separate inventory tab for both you and your pet. Check the SPELLS inventory tab, and I'll bet you have a few spell scrolls in there. You won't see spells scrolls in your regular inventory screen. If you checked the tab already, then hey, just be patient.   You can buy scrolls yeah but they're not cheap per se.

While I like the pet spells, I eventually preferred to let my pet use those (it just automatically casts them when in combat, and again when the cooldown ends), and use passives to improve my character's effectiveness. There's just too many dang hotkeys as it is, if you spread your skill points around.

No, you can't change your pet once you've created the character. I can't see my pet cat in the game most of the time but it really doesn't matter. Your pet can take care of itself, and will sort of teleport to catch up with you if you get too separated/lost in the mazes. In later Acts, so much **** will be flying on screen, you simply won't see your pet. Maybe you won't even see yourself, as I find in many of my screenshots. 

[CeeKay]

While I like the pet spells, I eventually preferred to let my pet use those (it just automatically casts them when in combat, and again when the cooldown ends).

I give my pet summoning spells.  kinda annoyed I haven't found an actual identify spell-  I had one in the first game so I didn't have to bother with the scrolls.

[ATB]

Spells have a separate inventory tab for both you and your pet.

Correct. No spells.  Found my first one at level 23. Tool tip popped up and everything.

[ATB]

And on into Act III!

[ATB]

Where do you go in steam to see the weekly play time breakdown?

[Azhag]

So I finally got around to starting this. Playing Outlander on Normal right now. Only lvl 10 but haven't felt threatened yet. Should I re-start on Veteran or will it get more challenging? I DON'T like having to randomly level up for bosses, which is why I started Normal...

[Destructor]

So I finally got around to starting this. Playing Outlander on Normal right now. Only lvl 10 but haven't felt threatened yet. Should I re-start on Veteran or will it get more challenging? I DON'T like having to randomly level up for bosses, which is why I started Normal...

IMHO, Normal will be a cakewalk. Veteran is where the difficulty is.

I think if you start a LAN game (via the multiplayer menu) you can choose a different difficulty, which I think will then stick for your character. NOTE: I think you'll lose out on your current map exploration if you do this.

[Eel Snave]

Yeah, I restarted playing on Normal, and I haven't died once. Veteran I was dying so, so much.

[Azhag]

See, I don't want to die very very much... but I don't want a cakewalk

[ATB]

Veteran is not that hard. I'm in act 3 and have died 31 times.  About 12 of those were over 2 specific encounters (one where i didn't see the floor blades doing all the damage as there was so much on screen).  Another 5 or so were me getting used to hotkey placement.

It's about the right difficulty.

[Azhag]

Sigh... I suppose I'll replay through here on vet...

[Eel Snave]

Yeah, and I wouldn't have died so much if I hadn't royally borked my build. I did such a bad job, it's not even funny.

[Ridah]

I'm playing through this with a friend on Veteran difficulty and we think it's perfect. Sure, we've died, but that's the point.

Awesome game by the way, both of us agree it's better than Diablo 3.

[Gratch]

After not really warming to it the first time around, I gave Torchlight 2 another look over the weekend.  Played a Berzerker up to level 18, and am enjoying it quite a bit now.  Now that I'm actually done with GW2, I can actually focus on TL2 without feeling the pull of something else.    The biggest help was finding a build recommendation that I really liked, which makes me feel less like I'm simply guessing with my skill points.  The crazy amount of loot can be a bit overwhelming at times, but it's cool to have so many options available.

My only real gripe is that there really isn't any connection with the world and story at all...it's simply an excuse to run around and collect loot.  Through 4+ hours, I literally have no idea what the overarching goal of the game is.  I think there was something about defeating an evil wizard but really don't know for sure.  I know that story doesn't matter for 99% of gamers (especially in the ARPG genre), but it makes the entire thing feel overly sterile to me.

At this point, I'm not sure I like it better than Diablo III, but it's still quite fun (has a very distinct D2 vibe).

[Blackjack]

My only real gripe is that there really isn't any connection with the world and story at all...it's simply an excuse to run around and collect loot.

You've summed up action RPGs in one sentence.   Me, I would've liked a few more side quests, but I understand from Runics' perspective which is presumably more towards streamlining.

As much as I like TL2, I did feel kind of burned out in the last act. Maybe in the end, the SP campaign might've benefited from a little judicious editing to end it a bit earlier rather than leave some of us feeling "OMG, I'm still not finished with this game? Does it ever end?" Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Perhaps. I put something like 50 hours at Veteran (Outlander) and still wasn't finished.

X-COM released and I just haven't played this much since then.

TL2 did its job for me though. I had all but stopped gaming for several months, and it succeeded in reinvigorating me, for now.  

[Gratch]

As much as I like TL2, I did feel kind of burned out in the last act. Maybe in the end, the SP campaign might've benefited from a little judicious editing to end it a bit earlier rather than leave some of us feeling "OMG, I'm still not finished with this game? Does it ever end?" Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Perhaps. I put something like 50 hours at Veteran (Outlander) and still wasn't finished.

This was my biggest problem with TL1 as well...it just got really dull and repetitive towards the end.  We'll see how TL2 fares in that department.

[Gratch]

Pushed through and finished over the weekend.  Around 18 hours, level 52 Berzerker.  Thought it was decent, but it just gets soooooo repetitive towards the end.  I really only finished TL2 because nothing else was grabbing my attention and I wanted to add one more to this year's finished list, not because I was necessarily enjoying it.  Even with umpteen more locales and monster models, it all felt very same-y and really quite dull.  I'd give it a C+ overall.

[KC]

Pushed through and finished over the weekend.  Around 18 hours, level 52 Berzerker.  Thought it was decent, but it just gets soooooo repetitive towards the end.  I really only finished TL2 because nothing else was grabbing my attention and I wanted to add one more to this year's finished list, not because I was necessarily enjoying it.  Even with umpteen more locales and monster models, it all felt very same-y and really quite dull.  I'd give it a C+ overall.

I just finished the game too and am in full agreement with Gratch's assessment.