Torchlight II

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Torchlight II
Studio Runic Games
Publisher United StatesUnited States Runic Games Daedalic Entertainment
GermanyGermany
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 20th September 2012
platform Windows , Mac OS , Linux
Game engine OGRE
genre Action RPG , hack and slay
Subject Fantasy , steampunk
Game mode Single player , multiplayer
control Keyboard , mouse
system advantages
preconditions		 Windows : 1.4 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 1.2 GB hard disk space, 256 MB DirectX 9.0c-compatible graphics card, Windows XP (SP3)

Mac OS : 2.0 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 1.7 GB hard disk space, 256 MB OpenGL 2.0 compatible graphics card, Mac OS X 10.8

Linux : 2.0 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 1.7 GB hard disk space, 256 MB OpenGL 2.0 compatible graphics card, Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
medium DVD , download
language Chinese , English , German, Polish , Russian
Current version Patch 1.25 (April 25, 2013)
copy protection Online activation
Age rating
USK approved from 16
PEGI recommended for ages 12 and up

Torchlight II is a hack & slay or action role-playing game for the PC developed by Runic Games and released on September 20, 2012 . It is the successor to Torchlight released in 2009 .

Gameplay

In Torchlight II , the player controls one of four characters through the game world, kills monsters, explores dungeons , collects items and does quests .

Character classes

While in the first part of Torchlight there were only three character classes with partly the same skills to choose from, in Torchlight II the player has the choice between four fundamentally different classes that play very differently. Each class has three skill trees, each with ten unique skills, seven of which are active and three are passive.

  • The berserker is a typical hand-to-hand fighter, but also has some conjuring and sorcery skills. The berserker has an affinity for wolves, which means that he can, for example, summon wolves as companions or transform himself into a wolf.
  • The Emberstone Mage is a wizard class that can use various offensive or defensive fire, cold and electric spells. He can also teleport and conjure up a reflection of himself.
  • The engineer is a versatile class that allows very different styles of play. The engineer is characterized by the use of heavy weapons, such as hammers and cannons, and the summoning of mechanical companions.
  • The Vagant is a ranged fighter and summoner. He has mastered blade spells, which are mainly used in long-range combat, as well as special skills in handling firearms and summoning shadow creatures.

The gender and appearance of the hero can be adjusted by the player, but have no influence on the course of the game.

companion

At the beginning of the game you can choose one of fourteen pets that will accompany the hero at all times. The companions follow the hero through the game, fight at his side and can be equipped with items and spells.

Character development

The hero gains experience for killing monsters and completing quests. If he has gained enough experience, he goes up one level. For each level up the hero can award one skill point and five attribute points. The maximum level is 100. In addition, the player receives fame for completed quests and killing special boss monsters. When the hero has gained enough fame, he rises to one of 33 fame levels, for which he receives an additional skill point and a special honorary title.

The heroes have four different attributes that can be expanded at will.

  • Strength increases the damage dealt in close and long-range combat.
  • Dexterity increases the chance of a critical hit (an attack that does additional damage) and the chance of dodging attacks. In addition, dexterity increases the damage from blunders (unsuccessful attacks).
  • Focus increases the player's mana and increases the damage of magical attacks. For heroes with two weapons, focus also increases the chance of execution (simultaneous attack with both weapons).
  • Vitality increases the player's life supply, his armor value and his chance to block enemy attacks with a shield.

In the basic game it is not possible to reset the talent points, only the last 3 talent points can be reset against gold costs. However, there are modifications that make it possible to reset all talent points.

Objects

As usual in Hack & Slays, the items play a central role in Torchlight II . The equipment exists in the quality levels normal (white), enchanted (green), rare (blue), unique (golden) and legendary (orange). Enchanted and rare items have randomly generated properties, while unique and legendary items have special enchantments that are not possible on normal items. Items can be upgraded by socketing embers. Unique items always have a base for expansion, legendary items even have two bases.

As in Torchlight, NPC items can be upgraded with enchantments. However, enchantments are no longer possible as often as required, but only up to a limit that depends on the enchanting NPC. Most enchanters can enchant items two or three times. The maximum is four enchantments. In Torchlight II it is no longer possible for items to be accidentally disenchanted and lose all properties when being enchanted.

In addition to the equipment, there are also many consumables such as potions, scrolls and fish. Fish can be fished at various points in the game and fed to the companion to give him additional properties or transformations. Fishing holes can be found in the cities and also in randomly generated locations outside the cities. The fishing holes in the cities can be fished as often as you like, while the randomly generated fishing holes only allow three to nine attempts. In return, the randomly generated fishing holes have a better chance of a good yield.

action

Torchlight II builds on the plot of the predecessor Torchlight . After defeating Ordrak in the mines under the city of Torchlight , the alchemist , one of the character classes of the first part, is corrupted by the heart of Ordrak and drawn to the side of evil. Ordrak's heart gives the alchemist unusual power, which he uses to destroy the city of Torchlight. The destroyer (one of the other two character classes from Torchlight I ) and Syl try to stop the alchemist, but are defeated in the fight, with Syl being killed and the destroyer barely escaping. The destroyer escapes from Torchlight and warns the hero, who then takes up the pursuit of the alchemist.

The hero's search for the alchemist runs through four different acts. The first act takes place in the Estheria area , which is also where the city of Torchlight is located. Starting from the enclave of the Estherians, the hero explores the steppe and meadow landscapes of the first act and later snow-covered mountain landscapes. The second act takes place in the Mana Wastes , desert landscapes around the starting city ​​of Zeryphesh . The third act takes place in the Grunnheim area , a gloomy landscape overgrown by dense forest. From the Imperial Camp , the starting city of the third act, you finally get to the final act. In the fourth act, an underground mine system, the hero finally meets the alchemist, kills him and takes Ordrak's heart. At the end of the game, the hero destroys the Nether Lord and uses the power of Ordrak's heart to avert the impending invasion of the Netherim .

Game modes

After playing through the four acts, the game can be restarted as "New Game Plus" , which means that the campaign can be played through again with stronger monsters and better loot while retaining the properties and items achieved so far. The New Game Plus can be repeated as often as you like. After the fourth New Game Plus, however, the level of difficulty does not increase any further.

A fundamental innovation compared to its predecessor Torchlight is the multiplayer mode. In addition to the single game, Torchlight II can be played free of charge both via LAN and on the Internet via peer-to-peer . Up to six players can take part in a multi-player game. All characters are saved locally on the player's computer, which makes the game saves very prone to cheats .

technology

Torchlight II is based on the OGRE engine that was already used for Torchlight. New compared to its predecessor are weather effects and day and night changes.

Development & sales

The game was developed by Runic Games and released as a download in English on September 20, 2012. On October 30, 2012, the German publisher Daedalic Entertainment released a retail version with German localization. On December 12, 2012, the German translation was made available to players of the download version through a patch. On September 27, 2013, Daedalic Entertainment released a new edition of the retail version under the name "Black Edition" , which contains the editor and the soundtrack by Matt Uelmen in addition to the current patch 1.25 . In most countries, the game is still only available as a download.

Shortly after the release, Runic Games began porting it to Mac OS , which, however, was not released until February 2, 2015, more than two years after the original game was released, due to unexpected problems. On March 4, 2015, a Linux port was also released via Steam .

reception

The game received mostly positive reviews. The Metacritic rating index calculated an average rating of 88% from 67 reviews. Many reviews positively highlighted the high replayability, the successful item design and the good flow of the game. The low poly comic graphics and the weak plot were often viewed as negative points.

On July 25, 2013 it was announced that Torchlight II had sold two million units to date. The first million was already reached in December 2012, according to Runic Games.

Modifications

Modifications created by fans are actively supported by the developers and are very popular with players. As with its predecessor, Torchlight , Runic Games published its own developer tools on April 1, 2013, including extensive documentation in English. The "GUTS" editor is a further development of the "TorchED" from Torchlight . With the help of the editor, almost all aspects of the game can be changed and expanded without programming knowledge, for example skills, properties of the classes, quests, event scripts, monsters, objects and areas.

After the editor was published, an active modding scene quickly formed. Over 900 modifications are now available on Steam Workshop , the modding site Runic Games Fansite even offers over 2,000 mods for download. (Status: February 2015)

To manage the modifications, Runic Games provides the "ModLauncher" , which enables up to ten different modifications to be started at the same time and has a function for prioritizing mods that overlap in terms of content. Mod combinations can also be saved for reuse. The update function automatically keeps all installed modifications up to date.

Due to the possibility of combining several mods with each other, smaller modifications with a strong focus on individual aspects are typical for Torchlight II . Particularly popular mods are:

  • Respec mods (complete redistribution of skill points)
  • Inventory mods (increased storage space in inventory or chest)
  • Mods with new classes and skills
  • "Synergies Mod" (a total conversion with new classes, quests, monsters and items)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Runic Games: Torchlight II Support. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 25, 2013 ; Retrieved April 1, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.torchlight2game.com
  2. ↑ InTorchlight: Torchlight 2 System Requirements. Retrieved March 5, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Runic Games: Patch Notes 1.25.x.2. April 25, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2013 .
  4. ↑ Runic Games: 9.20.12. August 31, 2012, accessed April 1, 2013 .
  5. ↑ inTorchlight: Torchlight 2 - Experience & Fame. Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
  6. ↑ in Torchlight: Torchlight 2 Items. Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
  7. ↑ inTorchlight: Torchlight 2 - Enchanter. Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
  8. ↑ in Torchlight: Torchlight 2 - Fishing & Fish. Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
  9. ↑ inTorchlight: Torchlight 2 - New Game +. Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
  10. ↑ a b Frank Erik Walter: Torchlight 2 - Test. September 25, 2012, accessed April 1, 2013 .
  11. ↑ Daedalic Entertainment: Torchlight II. Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
  12. ↑ Daedalic Entertainment: Torchlight II: German version available now. October 30, 2012, accessed April 1, 2013 .
  13. ↑ inTorchlight: Torchlight 2 - Patch 1.20 released - German translation available! December 13, 2012, accessed April 1, 2013 .
  14. ↑ inTorchlight: Torchlight II - Black Edition released * UPDATE *. October 8, 2013, accessed October 16, 2013 .
  15. ↑ inTorchlight: Torchlight 2 Mac version will be released on February 2nd. January 29, 2015, accessed February 2, 2015 .
  16. ^ Runic Games: Torchlight II for Linux. March 4, 2015, accessed March 5, 2015 .
  17. ^ Metacritic: Torchlight II for PC Reviews. Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
  18. ↑ Michael Graf, Patrick Lück: Torchlight 2 in the test, The Diablo Killer? In: GameStar . September 21, 2012, accessed April 1, 2013 .
  19. ↑ ingame: Test: Torchlight October 2, 2012, accessed April 1, 2013 .
  20. ↑ inTorchlight.de: Torchlight 2 sold two million times. July 25, 2012, accessed August 2, 2013 .
  21. ↑ Runic Games: Twitter / RunicGames: We had an amazing 2012, and ... December 31, 2012, accessed April 1, 2013 .
  22. ↑ Runic Games: GUTS. Retrieved September 27, 2013 .
  23. ↑ Steam: Steam Workshop :: Torchlight II. Accessed February 2, 2015 .
  24. ↑ Runic Games Fansite: Torchlight 2 Mods. Retrieved February 2, 2015 .
  25. ↑ inTorchlight.de: Torchlight 2 - ModLauncher. Retrieved September 27, 2013 .