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[aett]

I'm really sad that Engineer scales so much better with focus. Kind of makes my initial Str/Vit build useless.

Same here. Especially because I'm stuck equipping a helmet that has +30 focus on it so that I can keep wearing a couple other pieces of equipment, most notably my awesome hammer. It would be nice to be able to rearrange my stat points.

So, if I'm reading the recent posts in this thread correctly, the best way to set up a 2H engineer would be to build up Focus and Dexterity instead of Strength and Vitality? Damn. Can't wait for mods.

 

[Krabboss]

Just tried it on a whim, and you can do the same 'drag item over to buy back tab' glitch on the regular store owners too.

This kind of goes without saying.

 

[scy]

I'm really sad that Engineer scales so much better with focus. Kind of makes my initial Str/Vit build useless.

To be fair, basically every class is this way. Melee build Berserkers are about the only exception due to their melee tree actually being a melee tree. Engineer has that whole Fire and Electric motif so it's designed more as a hybrid with Berserker as the pure build (though they still have a viable caster option).

If it's any consolation, Flame Hammer scales better with STR and is less RNG reliant than Emberquake (splinters targeting and all). The main issue with STR Engineer is that Flame Hammer uses Charges that you want to have maxed out for Forcefield.

Doesn't change the fact my Elite Engineer will be 2H STR. I'll just do a Focus tank eventually instead

Spoiler

and do more damage than my 2H anyway

 

[Ferrio]

Did a focus build Outlander to 20 dual wielding wands, thinking it would be the wacky underpowered build. Fuck was I wrong.... I felt dirty playing it.

So I rerolled, now I'm running a str/dex shotgunne, summoning outlander.

 

[SnakeswithLasers]

How rare are skill respec potions? I've made some bad decisions and am still low level (15 with my Outlander, 12 with my berserker), not sure if I should just start over or just keep up with my dumb investments until I can respec.

 

[scy]

How rare are skill respec potions? I've made some bad decisions and am still low level (15 with my Outlander, 12 with my berserker), not sure if I should just start over or just keep up with my dumb investments until I can respec.

Without the console or mods? They don't exist.

 

[Miletius]

To be fair, basically every class is this way. Melee build Berserkers are about the only exception due to their melee tree actually being a melee tree. Engineer has that whole Fire and Electric motif so it's designed more as a hybrid with Berserker as the pure build (though they still have a viable caster option).

If it's any consolation, Flame Hammer scales better with STR and is less RNG reliant than Emberquake (splinters targeting and all). The main issue with STR Engineer is that Flame Hammer uses Charges that you want to have maxed out for Forcefield.

Doesn't change the fact my Elite Engineer will be 2H STR. I'll just do a Focus tank eventually instead

Spoiler

and do more damage than my 2H anyway

It's ironic because Runic specifically said that they wanted melee classes to be more auto-attack focused before the game released. So, they came up with the charge system and stat weights in order to encourage non-casters to mix in regular attacks with their skills. The end result of all of this -- the most efficient builds are ones whose primary damage skills don't use charge for offensive maneuvers at all, i.e. caster skills.

Thanks for the input on dyanmo field earlier. I'm fine with it at 5 points and I'm fine with onslaught not being the most min-maxy skill. Honestly the last couple of days of researching builds and min-maxing have really soured me on the game a a whole. The new shine has really worn off, so to speak, and the stat and skill system being so easily to mess up and easy to exploit have left a bad taste in my mouth.

Right now my engy is a beast, but I'm only just starting Act 3. I'll probably plough through the game maybe up through NG+ (no extra pluses) and not worry about it afterwards. If they patch it and make it better for STR based chars I'll revisit my engineer. If not then well, plenty of other classes and other games.

 

[aett]

Oh, well, if Flame Hammer is better used with high STR, then I'm fine with my build. I only wish I could take a big chunk of my VIT and move it to Focus and DEX.

 

[SnakeswithLasers]

Without the console or mods? They don't exist.

wat

Really?

 

[scy]

It's ironic because Runic specifically said that they wanted melee classes to be more auto-attack focused before the game released. So, they came up with the charge system and stat weights in order to encourage non-casters to mix in regular attacks with their skills. The end result of all of this -- the most efficient builds are ones whose primary damage skills don't use charge for offensive maneuvers at all, i.e. caster skills.

To be fair, a lot of this is Elite difficulty thoughts. Basically anything works for Casual - Veteran. The Charge mechanic is interestng for most the classes, and I think Engineer has one of my favorite ones, but the actual execution of it doesn't seem to match.

Though, I think the largest problem is just Forcefield. :/

Honestly the last couple of days of researching builds and min-maxing have really soured me on the game a a whole. The new shine has really worn off, so to speak, and the stat and skill system being so easily to mess up and easy to exploit have left a bad taste in my mouth.

Honestly, it seems like they took a look at balancing things out and decided "Fuck it."

Oh, well, if Flame Hammer is better used with high STR, then I'm fine with my build. I only wish I could take a big chunk of my VIT and move it to Focus and DEX.

I do find it kind of funny that VIT is largely a useless stat for non-Shield characters (and, even then, you don't need to stack it). Seems rather against basically all other experience when it comes to the +HP stat.

wat

Really?

There is a respec NPC in town that will let you undo the last three skill points spent but nothing more. And then there's nothing for stats.

 

[UncleSporky]

Vit needs to start off really strong and then have diminishing returns. Like +10 or 20 HP per level for a long while before petering out into what we have now.

I guess that could trivialize earlier levels, though...maybe make it percentage based in some way.

Basically invite some discussion as to how much vit is worth it before the diminishing returns become a problem. Right now, there's not really any discussion. You simply don't get enough return on your points invested unless you have a shield.

 

[scy]

Vit needs to start off really strong and then have diminishing returns. Like +10 or 20 HP per level for a long while before petering out into what we have now.

I guess that could trivialize earlier levels, though...maybe make it percentage based in some way.

Basically invite some discussion as to how much vit is worth it before the diminishing returns become a problem. Right now, there's not really any discussion. You simply don't get enough return on your points invested unless you have a shield.

Personally, the best way to treat it may be to just give it certain breakpoints where it does something extra. Essentially, the Skill Tier system applied to stats. 80 VIT adds 10% HP, -5% Damage taken. 140 VIT is an additional 10% HP, -5% Damage Taken, maybe some Knockback Resistance. 230 adds 20% HP, -10% Damage Taken, some more Knockback Resistance, bonus to Potion Effectiveness, etc. Make them separate break points from the others (e.g., 53 VIT is 10% Block, 113 is 20% so 80 is roughly in between) so it requires an extra commitment over the existing ones.

Though, it may just create a "get A/B/C/D minimum then go from there" effect. I dunno. Just flesh things out more at least.

 

[TheExodu5]

Put diminishing returns on dodge and block chance (either that, or cap them). Don't put diminishing returns on anything else (including crit chance). Make VIT give more HP than it currently does.

That would be my solution.

 

[scy]

Put diminishing returns on dodge and block chance. Don't put diminishing returns on anything else (including crit chance).

So basically just remove diminishing returns from Crit Chance%? Dodge and Block already have diminishing returns (and are capped) while +Armor%, +CritDamage%, +Damage%/ElementalDamage% all do not.

 

[Miletius]

To be fair, a lot of this is Elite difficulty thoughts. Basically anything works for Casual - Veteran. The Charge mechanic is interestng for most the classes, and I think Engineer has one of my favorite ones, but the actual execution of it doesn't seem to match.

Though, I think the largest problem is just Forcefield. :/

Honestly, it seems like they took a look at balancing things out and decided "Fuck it."

I do find it kind of funny that VIT is largely a useless stat for non-Shield characters (and, even then, you don't need to stack it). Seems rather against basically all other experience when it comes to the +HP stat.



There is a respec NPC in town that will let you undo the last three skill points spent but nothing more. And then there's nothing for stats.

Yeah you are 100 percent correct that the biggest problem with Engineer charge system isn't the system itself, it's Forcefield. Well, I'd also argue that skills that use charge other than FF could use a little boost when they use charge too.

 

[Ferrio]

Think I'll give up outlander. Glaive seems to be the only build worth doing, the shooty builds seem really fucking stupid, and the summonings almost completely worthless. If they had early skills that did %weapon damage as poison, then I could worth something interesting...

 

[scy]

Yeah you are 100 percent correct that the biggest problem with Engineer charge system isn't the system itself, it's Forcefield. Well, I'd also argue that skills that use charge other than FF could use a little boost when they use charge too.

Aegis of Fate needs a Charge interaction, really. Make Forcefield the "blew all my Charge, awesome Shield!" while Aegis of Fate has a "When you get hit/use a Charge get a Shield" mechanic instead. Would serve to make Aegis a more offensive way of getting your defense going, kind of fitting the theme of building up and steadily using Charges rather than hoarding them. Maybe increase the Armor% a bit and it becomes a fairly viable reason for STR/VIT builds to opt for it instead of Forcefield.

Think I'll give up outlander. Glaive seems to be the only build worth doing, the shooty builds seem really fucking stupid, and the summonings almost completely worthless. If they had early skills that did %weapon damage as poison, then I could worth something interesting...

Could always do the "hybrid" Focus build (or I guess "Mad Genius" as it's been dubbed). Wand/Gun so all your WeaponDPS skills scale with Focus due to the Main Hand Wand and you get access to all your skills (sans Rapid Fire) that require a non-Wand ranged Weapon due to the off-hand Gun.

 

[Cloudius12]

Think I'll give up outlander. Glaive seems to be the only build worth doing, the shooty builds seem really fucking stupid, and the summonings almost completely worthless. If they had early skills that did %weapon damage as poison, then I could worth something interesting...

I'm playing my outlander now and the initial glaive skill is the only offensive skill I use.

Hi Gaf!

I'm back with a new interview with Max Schaefer. As some of you'll recall I interviewed Max back at E3 and we talked about bunch lot of cool things, including his time at Blizzard working on Diablo 3 many moons ago.

Well I sat down with Max again a few days after Torchlight 2 launched and we discussed: Torchlight 2 sales, how powerful the mod tools really are, will TL2 on the Mac make 2012, player cheating, working on Diablo 3, open-multiplayer vs secure-multiplayer, Claptrap and Minecraft cameos in TL2, PvP, Torchlight 3, Torchlight 2 on next gen consoles, Sci-Fi ARPGs and if he'll ever make that Torchlight/Minecraft hybrid he told me about at E3 this year.



http://eat-games.tumblr.com/post/32824468588/max-schaefer-torchlight2-launch-interview
Lots more at the link too...hope you guys enjoy, I'm proud of this one!

Cheers,
-Mark


(Does this deserve it's own thread? Not sure, you guys decide. I don't think I can create new threads anyways).

It was a good read. For TL2, it seem there was no way they could do a closed server due financial reasons. So it was a smart decision.

 

[Ferrio]

Could always do the "hybrid" Focus build (or I guess "Mad Genius" as it's been dubbed). Wand/Gun so all your WeaponDPS skills scale with Focus due to the Main Hand Wand and you get access to all your skills (sans Rapid Fire) that require a non-Wand ranged Weapon due to the off-hand Gun.

Oh hrm... I didn't realize you could throw something in your offhand to unlock those skills. That gives me something.

So my focus will work for the weapon DPS skills then? Why doesn't rapid work?

 

[scy]

Oh hrm... I didn't realize you could throw something in your offhand to unlock those skills. That gives me something.

So my focus will work for the weapon DPS skills then? Why doesn't rapid work?

"Inflicts X% WeaponDPS" scales with whatever your weapon scales with. Since you have a Wand equipped, this means that your WeaponDPS will scale with Focus. Also of note, skills that are based on your Weapon but do not have a type themselves (e.g., "Inflicts X% WeaponDPS" vs "Inflicts X% WeaponDPS as Element") will use the Elemental properties of your weapon.

Rapid Fire doesn't work because it doesn't play nice with an off-hand Gun. It's the only skill that requires it to be in the Main Hand.

 

[Ferrio]

"Inflicts X% WeaponDPS" scales with whatever your weapon scales with. Since you have a Wand equipped, this means that your WeaponDPS will scale with Focus. Also of note, skills that are based on your Weapon but do not have a type themselves (e.g., "Inflicts X% WeaponDPS" vs "Inflicts X% WeaponDPS as Element") will use the Elemental properties of your weapon.

Rapid Fire doesn't work because it doesn't play nice with an off-hand Gun. It's the only skill that requires it to be in the Main Hand.

Good to know. The fact that I couldn't have a focus build using my weapon skills was really bumming me out since I couldn't find any weapondps skills that used wants... or weapondps skills as elemental damage. Thankfully that wand/pistol loophole fixes that.

 

[Fugu]

Think I'll give up outlander. Glaive seems to be the only build worth doing, the shooty builds seem really fucking stupid, and the summonings almost completely worthless. If they had early skills that did %weapon damage as poison, then I could worth something interesting...

I'm playing on hardcore elite* (I drop the difficulty down for boss fights as they are basically impossible to do without dying at my level) as an outlander and I don't even have glaive throw. I'm using a single gun and a shield. My build mostly uses venomous hail. I don't buy that str/dex builds aren't viable, only that focus builds are... extra viable (I still have quite a bit of focus, mind you). The Outlander has so many good skills that skill builds are sort of irrelevant.

Edit: Scy, it is worth mentioning that many of the game's best pistols do as much elemental damage as physical or more, so focus being the best option for scaling doesn't apply exclusively to wands.

 

[Dice]

I'm back with a new interview with Max Schaefer.

His reason for not having respec is so dumb.

The reason we did this is basically because it makes the character you’ve played totally yours, instead of being this clay thing that can be molded for any given situation. You actually build a character and it means something.

Then don't make it so easy that you could fully change for every new situation. Make it harder to do yet still possible.

I understand wanting to respec your character to try out new things, but it’s really at the expense of individuality.

The individuality of your ignorance of what was coming or what the moves even do because you had no possible way of knowing how they actually work out until you have invested points into them and tried them in combat? Fuck that.

We’re really not designing our game for that level of min/max, where you have to have things charted out in Excel in order to get to the parts of the game that’re fun.

Except that's exactly what you have to do when there is no turning back with your decisions. You ask people who have tested various things and knows what works before you even get into the game.

We just wanted to make a game where it’s fun to try out crazy, different builds that sometimes end up contrary. Like, so far from min/max you’re almost forced to come up with a clever build someone else has never thought of before. Just, you know, have fun with replayability that way.

Or you're so far away that there is no recovering from it and that character is fucked, and you're not having fun with replayability, you're forced to replay when you didn't want to yet just to get your character done in a somewhat competent manner.

As soon as you allow full respec it kind of kills the fun of making cool new builds because anyone can be any build at any moment.

No it doesn't. The fun of making cool builds is trying them out and playing in those different ways.

 

[commissar]

His reason for not having respec is so dumb.

Eh, I appreciate that. Adds value to a character.

You can always us the console to change things up anyway.

 

[Dice]

You can always us the console to change things up anyway.

And get branded a cheater.

 

[scy]

Edit: Scy, it is worth mentioning that many of the game's best pistols do as much elemental damage as physical or more, so focus being the best option for scaling doesn't apply exclusively to wands.

That's true, it's just easier to get your hands on a good Wand than a good purely Elemental (or mostly Elemental) Pistol. Also has to deal with the fact that the Wand/Pistol build will still be pumping Focus so your low DEX will kind of impede early access to any of those Pistols.

Eh, I appreciate that. Adds value to a character.

You can always us the console to change things up anyway.

While I do agree with the spirit of it all, the lack of respecs forces a lot of planning to be done for people like me who want to build a character and build it right. Even if it is "their build", they still want it to be the best version of that build that it can be. It also helps the planning of builds if tooltips were actually helpful. Many of them are rather misleading or just don't say enough to truly get a feel for them.

Granted, if you're not on Elite, basically all of this planning won't matter :x

 

[Fugu]

In theory, I am completely opposed to respecs of any kind. However, my opinion is contingent on them providing accurate and informative tooltips that provide information on scaling and clear explanations of where damage boosts will come from. Without that, respecs are a necessary evil.

In my opinion, you should get one respec for beating the game the first time and then no more.

 

[Miletius]

In theory, I am completely opposed to respecs of any kind. However, my opinion is contingent on them providing accurate and informative tooltips that provide information on scaling and clear explanations of where damage boosts will come from. Without that, respecs are a necessary evil.

In my opinion, you should get one respec for beating the game the first time and then no more.

I agree mostly with this sentiment but I also am a bit of a realist. Realistically most people aren't going to want to level even one of each class up to cap, much less level multiple of each classes to cap in order to try out different builds.

I think that respecs should be attached to an event or quest so it's not trivial, but also not overly punishing so that people can at least give multiple builds a try. I think that's a happy medium between D3's system (which is too easy) and T2's (which is painfully unforgiving).

I guess the answer to that is mods, which isn't really ideal in my opinion.

 

[UncleSporky]

And get branded a cheater.

It's possible like you wanted, that's the consequence. Either way it's a meaningful, permanent choice about your character.

Maybe you'd prefer if it was a counter that listed the number of respecs?

In theory, I am completely opposed to respecs of any kind. However, my opinion is contingent on them providing accurate and informative tooltips that provide information on scaling and clear explanations of where damage boosts will come from. Without that, respecs are a necessary evil.

In my opinion, you should get one respec for beating the game the first time and then no more.

This is perfect, actually.

 

[Dice]

I don't like the high-horse air that non-respec people put off.

 

[Ploid 3.0]

Just tried it on a whim, and you can do the same 'drag item over to buy back tab' glitch on the regular store owners too.

Yeah that was the second thing I tried. Had to limit myself, I got a few spells I needed.

 

[Fugu]

I don't like the high-horse air that non-respec people put off.

It's your fault for picking a low horse at the start of the game.

I think that respecs are a relatively new concept in role-playing games and they represent two design issues through their late introduction.

The first design issue is that respecs modify the balance of the game: if you make the game balanced for respecs, it's too hard to play with a bad build and then it's less of a roleplaying game and more of a bad action game because everyone is playing more or less the same game. If you make the game balanced for suboptimal builds, then the game is too easy for people using optimal setups.

The second design issue is that it modifies the balance of skills. Respecs mean that a lesser combination of skills have to be play tested due to the fair assumption that every player will have access to every build. In effect, making respecs possible makes respecs more necessary.

I don't know if this is what you mean by high horsiness, but I'm basing this opinion largely on the fact that I played a lot of Diablo 2 and became so comfortable with my knowledge of which skills scaled well and why that respecs were entirely pointless to me. When they were introduced, I ended up just exploiting them to strength bug my gear because I didn't need them for their intended purpose: for the informed player, all respecs do is allow them to use less planning in their lower levels.

On that note, I want tooltips to allow every player to be informed from the start and therefore not need the respecs in the first place. Respecs are, in my opinion, the result of a failure of design.

 

[scy]

Respecs are, in my opinion, the result of a failure of design.

This is basically how I feel about them. Given the right level of information, respecs should be unnecessary (or even unwanted as it promotes gaming the system). However, Torchlight II right now is not a game that benefits from the lack of respecs given how certain parts of the game work (or do not work).

 

[desverger]

Act 3 was a bit rough start for my hammer engi but once I hit 42, it all clicked into place beautifully.

Emberquake - even with a pure str build (I have 5 focus) this skill is well worth it. The damage is just immense and all the splinters home in on a single target if others aren't available, making it usable in any situation.

Sledge Bot - Excellent damage and another target for the mobs to handle. Just a shame it picks out weird targets at times. Still, I might keep it for novelty value and the trait steps seem to give it good stuff.

Onslaught is working well for me, damage might not be great but the mobility and the attack speed debuff are. I can pretty much slow the giant mycons so they don't hit me at all.

The only problem I have is that it sometimes is tough to get Forcefield going when I start playing - I'm really squishy without it and can't generate charge without going into melee and exposing myself. A fast 2-hander seems to help with this though.

My healing bot seems also a bit worthless at 5 points, the heal isn't noticeable at all and I'm usually forced to take a pot when my Forcefield drops. At least it's giving me mana back, so not a complete waste there.

 

[Izayoi]

Respecs are, in my opinion, the result of a failure of design.

Maybe, but when a game like this is in its infancy, nobody has the access to the information you did after years and years of Diablo 2. It will come in time, but until that point not allowing respeccing is introducing pointless grinding.

 

[Tomat]

Dynamo Field. It is godly.

This kind of makes me regret putting points into Shield Bash now. I really only use Shield Bash to build Charge and occasionally for a stun. Dynamo seems to build it even faster even at rank 1.

 

[Fugu]

Maybe, but when a game like this is in its infancy, nobody has the access to the information you did after years and years of Diablo 2. It will come in time, but until that point not allowing respeccing is introducing pointless grinding.

I feel that the tooltip should indicate to you how the skill will scale. It should tell you what the skill will do at every level so that there will be no surprises if a skill does not scale well with many points. Skills that scale with player level should indicate the multiplier by which they scale, as these skills are inconsistent and some of them scale extremely poorly compared to their point investment (stone pact comes to mind). They should also use clear language when describing skills so that it is obvious to the player what will benefit a skill and what won't. If they gave all of this information upfront, it wouldn't take years of experience to accumulate the amount of experience necessary to avoid respecs.

It should go without saying, but this approach to tooltips should come in conjunction with good skill balance.

This is basically how I feel about them. Given the right level of information, respecs should be unnecessary (or even unwanted as it promotes gaming the system). However, Torchlight II right now is not a game that benefits from the lack of respecs given how certain parts of the game work (or do not work).

I certainly wish I'd known that shadow shot or whatever the hell it's called was bugged before I invested points into it.

 

[Talaysen]

Respecs don't have to be free. If you make them come with a fitting penalty, you can't really game the system or anything like that, and you still make the planning and all that important.

 

[Fugu]

Respecs don't have to be free. If you make them come with a fitting penalty, you can't really game the system or anything like that, and you still make the planning and all that important.

I think respecs should come with the penalty of sending you back to level 1.

 

[Ferrio]

I don't like respecs myself, BUT torchlight does a shitty job in giving you an idea of how the skills work.

Poison burst for example, causes enemies to explode for aoe damage right? Well only works for regular attacks, and attack damage based skills... you have no idea of knowing that before hand.

 

[TheExodu5]

I think 1 respec per playthrough wouldn't be so bad.

 

[Fugu]

I don't like respecs myself, BUT torchlight does a shitty job in giving you an idea of how the skills work.

Poison burst for example, causes enemies to explode for aoe damage right? Well only works for regular attacks, and attack damage based skills... you have no idea of knowing that before hand.

I put a couple points into it just for fun when I was level... whatever level it is that it unlocks at and I still don't actually know what that looks like when it procs.

That's what I mean about bad tooltips being the enemy of respec-free design, though. I think that if the skill descriptions were thorough enough, respecs simply wouldn't be necessary.

 

[Tomat]

I think 1 respec per playthrough wouldn't be so bad.

Yeah. I've made two big-ish mistakes with this build that I can't take back anymore.

They're not build-breaking, but I still wish I could get those points back.

 

[UncleSporky]

Somehow I just got a third legendary, two hours of playtime later?! The hell!

However, this one kinda sucks. It requires focus that I don't have (and requires strength that focus builds won't have) so you can't really use it until 88. It boosts ice damage which is something that few 2H users will want since most are fire/lightning engineers, instead of my legendary hammer's 10% boost to all damage. And it has that mediocre health steal instead of -armor.

But still, geez.

Anyway, if anyone wants a tip on finding legendaries, apparently? I got both of these in Mapworks in maps that use the blue graveyard icon. The actual maps are the warm-colored crypts with lots of skeletons. They are extremely loot-rich, and I assume more rolls on items = more legendaries.

 

[Fugu]

Still zero legendaries, and I've really been pushing the loot envelope. I don't belong in these areas.

Really, really want Ator the Flying Eagle.

 

[UncleSporky]

I only have 20% magic find at all times, too.

 

[RankoSD]

Found my first legendary, took me only 100 levels heh...

 

[Fugu]

That shotgun is nuts.

 

[UncleSporky]

I would roll up a shotgunner for that...maybe. If it weren't for those dang stats! Look at that nonsense. And I wouldn't care by level 100.

I also thought I read that Acid Rain is no good, since it can damage the player? Hopefully that'd be patched soon.

 

[SnakeswithLasers]

Hi Gaf!

I'm back with a new interview with Max Schaefer. As some of you'll recall I interviewed Max back at E3 and we talked about bunch lot of cool things, including his time at Blizzard working on Diablo 3 many moons ago.

Well I sat down with Max again a few days after Torchlight 2 launched and we discussed: Torchlight 2 sales, how powerful the mod tools really are, will TL2 on the Mac make 2012, player cheating, working on Diablo 3, open-multiplayer vs secure-multiplayer, Claptrap and Minecraft cameos in TL2, PvP, Torchlight 3, Torchlight 2 on next gen consoles, Sci-Fi ARPGs and if he'll ever make that Torchlight/Minecraft hybrid he told me about at E3 this year.

http://eat-games.tumblr.com/post/32824468588/max-schaefer-torchlight2-launch-interview

Lots more at the link too...hope you guys enjoy, I'm proud of this one!

Cheers,
-Mark


(Does this deserve it's own thread? Not sure, you guys decide. I don't think I can create new threads anyways).

"Why are players not given access to fully respecify their talents and skills?

[Laughs] That’s one of those religious arguments! You either like to respec or you don’t.
The reason we did this is basically because it makes the character you’ve played totally yours, instead of being this clay thing that can be molded for any given situation. You actually build a character and it means something. I understand wanting to respec your character to try out new things, but it’s really at the expense of individuality. We’re really not designing our game for that level of min/max, where you have to have things charted out in Excel in order to get to the parts of the game that’re fun. We just wanted to make a game where it’s fun to try out crazy, different builds that sometimes end up contrary. Like, so far from min/max you’re almost forced to come up with a clever build someone else has never thought of before. Just, you know, have fun with replayability that way.

As soon as you allow full respec it kind of kills the fun of making cool new builds because anyone can be any build at any moment."

I disagree. It means that people don't invest in early skills because they don't understand the game yet and are afraid of making a mistake. It also means exactly the opposite of that bolded statement because you are AFRAID to experiment since you're SOL if it doesn't work out.

Design decisions are design decisions, so I can't argue. But this one just means I'm going to have to "cheat" in order to respec, when they could have taken the time to just add a rare drop to allow respecs. I really appreciate Path of Exile's approach in this sense.