Good news for Torchlight fans, Torchlight 3 is officially arriving this summer. Technically it's not really a new game, but a rebranding of Torchlight Frontiers. In addition, closed alpha testing is set to begin tomorrow, January 29.
Torchlight Frontiers was first revealed in August of 2018 and was originally planned to be a free-to-play game. However, this all changed after developer Echtra Games received feedback from the Alpha testers.
In a statement, Echtra Games CEO and Torchlight franchise co-founder Max Schaefer said that when Torchlight Frontiers was developed, the vision was to offer a shared-world experience. He went on to say that they soon realized that "Torchlight Frontiers was meant to be a true successor to Torchlight I & II." As a result, Schaefer mentioned that the decision was made "to take the game back to its roots and model it after the classic Torchlight games that ARPG fans have come to love."
Aside from this change, there was also the decision to use Steam as its official platform for the PC. The Torchlight 3 team shared in a post that other changes arriving with the game include:
- Torchlight 3 is now going to follow the classic Act structure similar to the previous titles.
- Players begin at the Imperial Outpost which is besieged by goblin hordes.
- Players then follow the trail of nether corruption into lands overtaken by Hyvid until they reach the Peaks and their cavernous underplaces.
- Horizontal progression has been removed along with Frontiers-specific levels, gear stats, and scaling.
- This is why the progression systems are returned in order to better work in tandem with this.
- To offer better play experience, most zones are now private by default.
- Players can still meet each other in public town levels and even form parties in order to play together in instanced combat zones.
- When creating a character, players can now select Online or Offline Mode.
- While characters made in Offline Mode won't need an internet connection to play, they won't be able to participate in multiplayer games.
- The in-game real-money store has been removed.
Like the previous games, Torchlight 3 offers diverse hero classes that come with unique abilities and powers. These are:
- Dusk Mage
- An enchanter who harnesses the power of light and dark energy in order to summon devastating attacks.
- Forged
- A powerful robot who relies on an arsenal of weaponry for explosive assaults.
- Railmaster
- A locomotive savvy powerhouse that steams into combat using a massive hammer plus heavily armed battle train.
That's not all as there's also a new class that will be revealed soon. So, what else is coming to Torchlight 3? Pets are back! That's right, why fight your way to the top alone? Take a loyal companion with you. There are different species available in different colors and styles. Be sure not to go for the first one you meet. It's not just about companionship, since the pets can become stronger by adding skills. Players can also equip their pets with gear to make them hardier and be able to battle together.
Speaking of gear, players can collect Epic Gear which includes weapons, ember cores, and armor. Since each area is generated randomly, they can be played over and over. A different item is brought in each time. For even more epic gear, players can run maps from the Mapworks or even take on a contract in order to earn Fame and be able to unlock elite items.
Torchlight 3 is arriving to the PC via Steam this summer.
