Torchlight 2 handles things abit differently. The increase in stats from 60 to 63 is huge, as weapons can start providing thousands of extra points of damage with a major defense increase to boot. Now, level 60 and up items don't appear until the player is in the final act of Hell difficulty (second hardest difficulty.) When the player reaches the end game of Diablo 3 with the current cap of level 60, loot continues to level up three more times to a total of level 63. The primary attribute’s effect on loot makes upgrades very noticeable, but occurs rarely. As the primary attribute not only affects how much damage the character can do, but also is a factor of their defense. The most important factor when determining what is considered good loot for a character is if it provides a bonus to the class's primary attribute. Going up the scale, items become more powerful, have greater stats and at set and higher may have special abilities. Let's start with Diablo 3, here the rarity scale is: normal, magic, rare, set, and legendary. Once again looking at Torchlight 2 and Diablo 3, both titles have good ideas, but also some problems.
If there is anything that can sink an ARPG faster, it's not having good loot design. Loot is a cornerstone of any ARPG: both as a form of progression and as a motivator for the player. But Torchlight 2's ability to improve skills beyond their original functionality offered more customization and freedom in defining your character. On one hand, the better defined classes of Diablo 3 made them more unique and diverse, with a more varied selection of skills. Overall, to have to decide on a favorite of the two games, I'm split. And since you had to pump additional points into a skill before you saw any changes, meant that skill progression was slower compared to Diablo 3. While this does allow the player more control on skill growth, the skills themselves lack the variety and depth that Diablo 3's classes had. But at the same time, the duration and effect will go up with each skill point added. Each skill has three tiers that the player can level them up to, which will increase the functionality of the respective skill.įor example one skill that weakens all enemies around the player for a few seconds will have its range increased with each tier. Unlike Diablo 3, the skill's basic functions are not set in stone and can be improved over time.
The skills available to each class could be improved by investing skill points into them. Instead each one had an important purpose that could fit into the player's style which I'll be coming back to in the loot section. One of the reasons for the openness was that there was no such thing as a primary attribute. Meaning, if I wanted to take the engineer (heavy melee class) and use a ranged weapon that was fine. Each class had three skill trees unique to them, but was not restricted by gear. Meanwhile, Torchlight 2's set of classes were more open and less defined. The rune system that allowed players to attach a skill modifying affect, while having a major impact, still only had set effects on the specific skills. When you played as a Barbarian, you were never going to use bow and arrows and equip quivers likewise a Monk would never need a Witch Doctor's sacrificial totem.Ībilities were set in stone in terms of their use, potential and utility and would never change. In Diablo 3, each class was designed as a defined character, with a back-story, unique abilities that fit and preferred gear and attributes. With both Torchlight 2 and Diablo 3, the designers had a different philosophy that wasn't quite perfect. The Man/Woman Behind the Armor:Ĭlass design is a major point in ARPG design, as this is what defines your abilities and search for loot. When I broke both titles down into these categories, the winner wasn't as black and white as I hoped. When it comes to ARPG design, there are three areas that we can judge them on: Character Design, Loot and Combat. While on the outside both teams created a similar game, if we look closer there are very subtle differences that make it that much harder to pick a winner. And Torchlight 2 from Runic games, which is helmed by the co founders of Blizzard North and the creator of Fate.īoth developers set out to create an ARPG of a similar mold. With Diablo 3 coming from Blizzard, which is arguably one of the biggest developers in the world. With these two games we had an almost David vs.
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