[anaron]

Torchlight 2 beta released in limited quantities. Discord sown. Work done

Make a Runic Account - Good luck!
Video


It's a limited released so keep an eye on the forums and/or the RunicGames Twitter to hopefully find a way in.

Per tjohn86/Runic:

http://forums.runicgames.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=21846

Hi, everyone. I just wanted to address a couple of the threads that have been created recently about the beta. More information will be coming in the future, but I just want to reiterate that it will be a small, quick, closed, friends and family beta. While we haven't made any further announcements yet, we will do so at some point, so if you want to be the first to hear beta information from us, I'd recommend that you create a Runic Account (make sure that you leave the news and information signup checkbox marked!) and wait for emails from us. Thanks!

[Interfectum]

in before D3

Gonna try to get in the beta. Looks fun.

[Dragonzord]

They releasing beta codes through Steam or email?

[MichaelEM3]

Any info on how one gets into the beta? I'm assuming it's closed for now.

in before D3

[goldensun]

WANT D:

[Fixed1979]

Would love to be involved with this beta. Been waiting patiently with high hopes for awhile for this one to drop.

[spirity]

They've moved the health and mana orbs closer together. Thank goodness.

[EXGN]

Convenient timing with Diablo 3 around the corner.

[Zefah]

Damn, I'm jealous. I'd pre-order immediately if I could get into the beta.

[Lord-Audie]

How do you get into this?

[Sn4ke_911]

How do you get into this?

.

[Shambles]

I'm very interested in checking this out, can't wait.

[HiddenWings]

Congrats on them for putting this out there while people are in Diablo withdrawal. That said, it doesn't do us much good if we can't play it, so how about some additional info?

[anaron]

If you're looking for a way in, your best bet is by joining the Runic Games forums and posting in the TL2 forum. A few have already received invites.

[Kalnos]

Already looks vastly better than TL1. This is the year of the Diablo-clones. :>

[Dog Problems]

I played the open beta for Diablo 3 and now I can't get it out of my mind and it's all I want to play. I won't make the same mistake with Torchlight 2, haha.

[Elixist]

Congrats on them for putting this out there while people are in Diablo withdrawal. That said, it doesn't do us much good if we can't play it, so how about some additional info?

How bout you watch some of the 4 hours vid in the op? Shit looks awesome.

[anaron]

omg the Uelmen score.

[tjohn86]

Per http://forums.runicgames.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=21846

Hi, everyone. I just wanted to address a couple of the threads that have been created recently about the beta. More information will be coming in the future, but I just want to reiterate that it will be a small, quick, closed, friends and family beta. While we haven't made any further announcements yet, we will do so at some point, so if you want to be the first to hear beta information from us, I'd recommend that you create a Runic Account (make sure that you leave the news and information signup checkbox marked!) and wait for emails from us. Thanks!

[IceMarker]

Of all the crap things that had to keep from Torchlight (and FATE for that matter), WHY FISHING WHY.

[FieryBalrog]

Game looks hot. Loving the outdoor aesthetics of this.

Any compiled info on skill trees?

[Sn4ke_911]

official beta live stream

Wow this looks really good.

[evlcookie]

I'm loving the look of that darker dungeon, totally in love with it.

[Teknoman]

omg the Uelmen score.

Yup.

[v0mitg0d]

I got invited into the beta last night and only had time to play for about 3 hours, but I thought I'd share my impressions and notes with you fine folks.


Here is what my Outlander looked like after those first 3 hours: https://twitter.com/#!/heymarkd/stat...790465/photo/1




Visuals - Playing Torchlight 2 at 2560x1440 with all effects turned on and maxed out shows just how GOREGEOUS this game can look! But beyond it's technical capabilities, the actual art, assents, models, level design and animations have also come along splendidly. So far I think the thing that has stood out the most is the environmental designs. They're just spectacular and really just far beyond the sort of banal cave-after-cave we played through in T1. One cave had a pirate theme, and within were the animated skeletal remains of pirates, ghosts and other seaworthy nefarious creatures. Another dungeon was completely different in that it looked like a Gothic library, sort of like the one found in the Diablo 3 beta. :)

The game still has a more World of Warcraft aesthetic to it than a Diablo one. I love the look of it all.


Classes - I decided to go with the Outlander, mainly because ranged attacks coupled with a pet sounded like a blast, and you know what? It's a freak'n good time! Dual-pistols coupled with a Glave and I was mowing through mobs quickly. Oh and when creating a character you now have the option of 6 different pets. Pets still sell things for you, learn spells, can equip a collar and now have a shipping list to purchase things like identity scrolls or health potions.


- The GUI is unobtrusive, clean, responsive and does exactly what it should--stays out of our way!

- The loot, oh god the loot, THE LOOT!

- The world is more explorable, at least so far. As it opens up when you leave town and there are things to encounter. Like dungeons and NPCs. NPCs seem to guide you to various dungeons to kill someone who did something bad. The dungeons now have a level marker on this so you know if you're capable of handling the opposition. Its nice to see because it essentially means the world is your oyster.


There is more, but this is all I can think of off the top of my head.Feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer them, just keep in mind I've only played the game for a few hours and it's only the MP portion not the SP.

[Ardvent]

I got invited into the beta last night and only had time to play for about 3 hours, but I thought I'd share my impressions and notes with you fine folks. Here is what my Outlander looked like after those first 3 hours: https://twitter.com/#!/heymarkd/stat...790465/photo/1 Visuals - Playing Torchlight 2 at 2560x1440 with all effects turned on and maxed out shows just how GOREGEOUS this game can look! But beyond it's technical capabilities, the actual art, assents, models, level design and animations have also come along splendidly. So far I think the thing that has stood out the most is the environmental designs. They're just spectacular and really just far beyond the sort of banal cave-after-cave we played through in T1. One cave had a pirate theme, and within were the animated skeletal remains of pirates, ghosts and other seaworthy nefarious creatures. Another dungeon was completely different in that it looked like a Gothic library, sort of like the one found in the Diablo 3 beta. :) The game still has a more World of Warcraft aesthetic to it than a Diablo one. I love the look of it all. Classes - I decided to go with the Outlander, mainly because ranged attacks coupled with a pet sounded like a blast, and you know what? It's a freak'n good time! Dual-pistols coupled with a Glave and I was mowing through mobs quickly. Oh and when creating a character you now have the option of 6 different pets. Pets still sell things for you, learn spells, can equip a collar and now have a shipping list to purchase things like identity scrolls or health potions. - The GUI is unobtrusive, clean, responsive and does exactly what it should--stays out of our way! - The loot, oh god the loot, THE LOOT! - The world is more explorable, at least so far. As it opens up when you leave town and there are things to encounter. Like dungeons and NPCs. NPCs seem to guide you to various dungeons to kill someone who did something bad. The dungeons now have a level marker on this so you know if you're capable of handling the opposition. Its nice to see because it essentially means the world is your oyster. There is more, but this is all I can think of off the top of my head.Feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer them, just keep in mind I've only played the game for a few hours and it's only the MP portion not the SP.

I'm super jealous! I've been stuck watching live streams and F5ing my email every 30m.

• What is the current file size?
• Does it require you to log in to your runic account to play?
• Can items still be disenchanted (wiped)?
• How well varied do you think the classes are, i'm replaying TL1 (trying to retire all three classes before TL2) and there's some overlap with the classes in play style
• Are there still passive skills (Combat Mastery, Armor Mastery, Adventurer, etc.)

[Kalnos]

Thanks for the impressions, will read.

[vaelic]

Any info on how one gets into the beta? I'm assuming it's closed for now.

Did u even read the op?

[Lain]

official beta live stream Wow this looks really good.

I'm watching the stream right now. I still don't like the running animation for the Berserker.

[anaron]

Just as a heads up, we are expanding the beta out to build up concurrency a bit, now that we have shaken out some of the initial issues. A wave of invites is going out for a group of users who have created Runic Accounts at https://secure.runicgames.com/signup - we will continue to do so over the next few days. We don't have an explicit number of invites we are sending, but the lions' share of the total invitees will end up from Runic Games account holders. thanks everybody!

http://forums.runicgames.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=23537

[Interficium]

Really unfortunate about the string of delays they've had, if they had released last summer like originally intended this would have killed, now I'm worried they'll just GET killed by Diablo.

[atomsk]

a friend of mine of facebook mentioned she got into the beta yesterday...

so jealous

[Dragonzord]

a friend of mine of facebook mentioned she got into the beta yesterday... so jealous

Highlander her.

[Sn4ke_911]

game giveaway in 5 minutes!

[Volcynika]

I'm in the beta. It's pretty neat.

[atomsk]

game giveaway in 5 minutes!

next giveaway at 7 EST (not beta giveaway, full game)

[derFeef]

Oi, I have already pre-ordered - want beta :)

edit: combat looks meaty, nice.

[v0mitg0d]

Final Beta Impresssions


After spending about 5-6 hours with the beta--which is most of Act 1--I'm left completely impressed. Runic has managed to expand, improve, refine and polish just about every single system, machanic and technology from Torchlight 1.

First off I've got to mention how impressed I am with the level of polish--it's astounding. I experienced nary a hitch, glitch, hiccup or crash. The only thing I can even think of mentioning, and this is digging, is the fact that every time I fired up the game I had to reset the resolution. Again that's nitpicking though.

Ok, so, T2 looks Fantastic! Thanks to the much (MUCH!) more varied aesthetics and enviroments, I was treated to a very rich, lush and colorful pallate that seem to run the full spectrum. It's a game the REALLY pops on the screen, and yes it seems to have reached a point where it's more World of Warcraft (again, in aesthetic) that World of Warcraft. That's a compliment, and I love the sort of chariature design of it all.

The dungeon designs are light years beyond the ones from T1 where it seemed like we eere constantly running through had the same, mundane caves we experienced in T1. Just in the beta I ran through a Pirate themed cave that was crawling skeletons wearing eye patches and bandanas, with a boss called One Eyed Wily. Another had me running through a frostbitten cavern, filled with yeti's and ice...panthers, or something. My person favorite was the a bandit warehouse that was consumed in flames, and watching it crumble above me dropping embers and scafolding all around as I set some people free.

Again I played as an Outlander, and the combination of dual-pistols, the Glave and the pet really rocketed me through the action. It was very fast and furious filled with mountains of glorious loot. I'd probably recommend people who are interested in even a slight challenge to play on Vetertan difficulty because I didnt die once throughout the whole 5-6 hours. That doesnt mean I wasn't running away from boss or mobs, but some additional challenge would be recommended.

Speaking of the bosses, their fights were always made with grand entrances. They were fun, over-the-top and always the most challenging thing in the game. Each one always left me with a sense of accomplishment. It's also worth mentioning that there is a good variety in the enemies, and in the way they attack. They're not all just charging at you, some shift through things, some teleport, some spit goop, some charge, and some summon snot (or something). The point is, you will have to vary some of your strategies.

So there it is. At a full sprint I smashed my teeth into a stone wall called the level cap. Next I did the only sensible thing--started over.

[derFeef]

Thanks for the impression, but 5-6 hours to level-cap? I hope not...

[syllogism]

Thanks for the impression, but 5-6 hours to level-cap? I hope not...

Beta level cap

[derFeef]

Beta level cap

Phew :) I was scared for a moment

[ZombieSupaStar]

wont sully my palate with these poser's knockoff.












:)

[v0mitg0d]

Thanks for the impression, but 5-6 hours to level-cap? I hope not...

Yeah that's the level cap (21) for the beta.

It's a fairly aggressive leveling system. I decided to hit a few 13-15 dungeons when I was level 12 and I leveled a few times within--it was kinda awesome. :)

[Davidion]

Welp.

*takes out tissue and lotion*

[NaturalHigh]

Umm..Runic does know that D3 comes out next week right?

Game looks good though. I enjoyed the first one, did not know there was a sequel in the works.

[derFeef]

How is the coop handled? Can you play with just anyone no matter the lvl?

Umm..Runic does know that D3 comes out next week right?

They know as they said several times. I could not care less either, T2 looks fantastic.

[v0mitg0d]

I'm super jealous! I've been stuck watching live streams and F5ing my email every 30m. What is the current file size? Does it require you to log in to your runic account to play? Can items still be disenchanted (wiped)? How well varied do you think the classes are, i'm replaying TL1 (trying to retire all three classes before TL2) and there's some overlap with the classes in play style Are there still passive skills (Combat Mastery, Armor Mastery, Adventurer, etc.)

Let me see if I can answer these:

What is the current file size?

There was an inistal 800MB download, then a few patches or various sizes. If I had to guess somewhere around 1.2GB?

Does it require you to log in to your runic account to play?

Yes. It's an online, MP game.

Can items still be disenchanted (wiped)?

Yes, but not in the sense of WoW where it yields a reagent. It's like in T1 where you can remove a stone/gem from a weapon.

How well varied do you think the classes are, i'm replaying TL1 (trying to retire all three classes before TL2) and there's some overlap with the classes in play style

I honestly didnt spend enough time with all 4 classes to speak to this question, but I did play some 4-player MP and it appears so, not too much of an overlap.

Are there still passive skills (Combat Mastery, Armor Mastery, Adventurer, etc.)

yup yup! :)

[v0mitg0d]

Umm..Runic does know that D3 comes out next week right? Game looks good though. I enjoyed the first one, did not know there was a sequel in the works.

I played my 21 Outlander with three people who were level 15, so yes you can. I think it's completely dependent on the person who sets up the game though because you can specify the level range requirements.

[catapult37]

Have they said if this game is going to have steamworks or whatever it is that means 1 purchase = pc and mac? This + cloud would mean I could play on my macbook at work and go home to pick up on my gaming pc. Would be sweet...

[v0mitg0d]

Have they said if this game is going to have steamworks or whatever it is that means 1 purchase = pc and mac? This + cloud would mean I could play on my macbook at work and go home to pick up on my gaming pc. Would be sweet...

Good questions, let me see if i can get some answers.