Torchlight 2 Beta: Monsters, Loot, And Sleep Deprivation, Oh My

From the very beginning of the beta, the changes that Runic games is providing for Torchlight 2 are significant improvements from the original title. No longer does the game take place beneath the dungeons of a single city. Players will now a wide range of hub cities throughout the course of the three act campaign. Surrounding each of these main hub areas are gigantic environments that will provide hours of randomly generated adventuring for fans. Upon leaving the hub city at the start of Act 1, I immediately searched for enemies to slaughter. My main priority when starting any dungeon crawler seems to always be destroying as many monsters as possible in order to get a taste of what loot the game might be offering. I found that many of the items you will find are class specific, and have a level requirement in order to equip. Fine and dandy right? Well, the twist comes when you can actually boost certain stats in order to equip the item at an earlier level which is an interesting change of pace. This provides a different strategy when thinking about which items you should sell or keep, and is awesome when you run across a weapon that may be a higher level but you already know you're going to invest in those stats. Instead of the overwhelming sadness that bears down upon you, when you get a rare magic item that will take four hours to level to, you can now weigh the chance that your dexterity and strength will be high enough in two levels. It's a great addition. After finding some decent gear, I set out to explore the surrounding environment. Runic has taken great lengths to create a wide variety of sights to see as you venture through different environments. A dynamic weather system, and day/night cycle, creates a variety for gameplay. This will certainly come in handy with the multiple playthroughs that fans will be cycling through. Monsters are varied, not only in appearance, but also with how they spawn into the world. Many will crawl from chasms in the earth, dropping from ceilings, and leaping down from ledges. During my playthrough I encountered one of the many random quests that are scattered throughout the world. This particular quest involved eliminating waves of increasingly difficult skeletons in order to access a nearby dungeon, and retrieve an item for the old adventurer relaxing outside the gates. These types of events can be found throughout the game, and while they aren't necessarily new to the dungeon crawler, they are certainly fun to experience. One of those fun moments I had while questing throughout the world, occurred at a lone treasure chest at the top of a hill, and the return of an "old" friend. My excitement mounted. Building up into an uncontrollable desire to find another rare armor piece for my set. However, after clicking the chest I found it was the return a monster in disguise. "Mimic", was its name, and trickery was indeed its game. Opening itself revealed a nasty set of teeth, and my disappointment quickly allowed me to slay the monster. No longer will it rob men of their happiness.

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