Ben's Thoughts On Torchlight Infinite!
Summary
- Combat and Speed: Highlighted as a “zoomer’s paradise,” focusing on extremely fast movement and screen-clearing capabilities very early in the game.
- Character Progression: Features over a hundred systems for incremental power gains, tied directly to the Timemark difficulty scaling and loot cycle.
- Monetization and Pay-to-Win: Addressed common criticisms, arguing that the game is playable at a high level with minimal spending (primarily the $15 seasonal Battle Pass).
- Pet System: Explained the impact of loot pets, noting that a max-level pet provides approximately 25% more loot, which is significant but not game-breaking.
- Endgame Scaling: Demonstrated Timemark 8 gameplay, comparing the difficulty and progression milestones to the “four-stone” endgame equivalent in Path of Exile.
Combat and Speed
Torchlight Infinite stands out as one of the best ARPGs currently available, primarily due to its combat speed. It is a “zoomer’s paradise” where, within the first hour of gameplay, you are already moving fast and blowing up entire screens of enemies. Most class setups are heavily movement-focused; for example, a typical toolbar might include a spammable dash and a cooldown-based dash for utility, leaving one primary skill to handle the damage.
Character Progression and Scaling
The character progression system involves siphoning power from roughly a hundred different systems. Every gain in power is felt immediately. Once your character becomes sufficiently strong, you can increase the difficulty to the next “Timemark” to acquire better loot. This cycle—getting stronger to kill harder enemies to get better loot—is executed very effectively in this game.
Addressing the “Pay-to-Win” Narrative
There is a lot of hyperbolic information online regarding the pay-to-win aspects of this game. After 30 hours of gameplay, reaching Timemark 8 Traveler and building a solid character, the total expenditure was $35.
- The Battle Pass: Costs $15 and is recommended for seasonal players.
- Initial Spending: Aside from the pass, a single targeted pet was purchased using a new-account offer.
- Necessity: Spending beyond the basic Battle Pass is unnecessary for a great experience. While paying increases the rate at which you acquire pets, the game provides free pulls over time.
The Pet System
Pets are the central system associated with monetization.
- Loot Pets: You can increase a pet’s level by unlocking it multiple times.
- Efficiency: Moving a loot pet from Level 1 to Level 6 results in approximately 25% more loot. While meaningful, this is not mandatory or game-breaking for standard progression.
Endgame Combat: Plane Watchers and Timemark 8 Traveler
The endgame involves defeating Plane Watchers to unlock the fight with the Traveler.
- Damage Scaling: Progression can lead to massive damage spikes; at certain points, you may find yourself doing four times the damage compared to previous attempts, allowing you to breeze through encounters that were previously difficult.
- Boss Mechanics:
- Lord of Thunder: Focus on high damage to bypass mechanics.
- General Boss Mechanics: Watch for frontal slams and area-of-effect circles.
- Phase Management: Be aware of phases where you cannot leech health/resources, which can lead to damage-over-time (DOT) pressure.
- Hitbox Issues: Use caution when using movement skills like Whirlwind near boss hitboxes to avoid getting stuck.
Conclusion of Progression
Defeating the Timemark 8 Traveler is the equivalent of obtaining “four stones” in other ARPGs (referencing Path of Exile Voidstones). Beyond this, there are much harder endgame bosses located in the “Supreme Showdown” for those seeking further challenges.