Torchlight Infinite is looking to translate the addictive dungeon farming and crawling of the popular console and ARPG PC franchise to iOS and Android devices. Currently in closed beta, developer Torchlight Infinite XD Inc. recently announced the free-to-play mobile ARPG to be released on open beta this fall. At the same time, XD also revealed the game’s sixth playable launch hero, Oracle Thea.
Like the recently released Blizzard Diablo Immortal As shown, porting a previously PC-focused ARPG to mobile can be challenging. While it’s impossible to say if Torchlight Infinite will succeed on that front, it’s clear that the XD franchise is looking to attract both new players as well as longtime fans of the series. Set 200 years later Torchlight IIit will include abilities, classes, and environments familiar to fans of the franchise, but also lots of new characters and systems for fans to explore.
Although Torchlight Infinite is in production on mobile devices, it will also release on PC. In an email interview with GameSpot, producer Liu Heng said Torchlight Infinite will allow cross-development. Players will be able to link their data in one account and switch between mobile and PC without losing progress. The PC version will also have some additional upgrades beyond the mobile version including more camera options, a wider field of view, and additional control options.
A key question to any free-to-play experience, especially a loot-based one, is how the game is monetized. In that regard, Heng explains that purchases in Torchlight Infinite fall into two categories. Features like extra pocket space, talent reset, and auto-steal functionality will be what Heng describes as “paying for convenience”. New heroes, as well as various cosmetics, will also be available for purchase, and in what Heng says is “pay for content.”
Heng said Torchlight Infinite will not sell equipment or crafting materials for real money. Those items will be “milled to get” to ensure a fair experience for all players. Heng made it clear that Torchlight Infinite won’t have any stamina meters or systems that limit player progress, and said players will have “the freedom to begin and end their course according to wish.”
It is a difficult road to walk. Diablo Immortal, which Torchlight Infinite might be compared to was heavily criticized at launch for its pay-to-win mechanismeven if it is reported to have generated more 50 million dollars in the first month. Recently, players have complained about how Diablo Immortal’s MMO structure punishes solo players, with many unable to find the additional players needed to complete the required dungeons or raids. to progress.
When asked XD Inc. What lessons have been learned from the launch of Diablo Immortal, Heng did not address the game’s controversial microtransactions, but instead said many of Diablo Immortal’s problems came from not managing it properly. player expectations.
“In our view, the public was most dissatisfied with their expectations of Diablo Immortal being presented as an ARPG game, but being released as an ARPG MMO instead,” Heng said.
Heng said Diablo Immortal’s progression systems and build options are much narrower than Diablo III As a result, and that can confuse players looking for the traditional Diablo experience.
“If the game hadn’t used Diablo IP, its performance would have been vastly different in our opinion,” Heng said.
Heng said the team, from the very beginning of development, made it clear that Torchlight Infinite is purely a loot-based ARPG, an ARPG that has a large number of builds possible thanks to different systems of the game such as hero traits, talents, skills and glued gears.
The mobile game was born with the expectation of regular content updates, and Heng said that Torchlight Infinite will introduce new seasonal expansions every three months. Seasons will introduce new gameplay mechanics, and Heng teases that XD has a “new line of heroes” waiting to be added to the game’s roster of characters.
Unlike previous Torchlight games, players will be played as specific characters rather than a generic class. For example, Torchlight Infinite includes a Berserker character, but it won’t be quite the same as Berserker from Torchlight II. That’s because this Berserker is their unique character, Rehan, who has his own backstory and unique traits compared to the class version of Torchlight II.
A key part of Torchlight Infinite is the game’s skill system, which includes more than 230 skills shared across each of the game’s six heroes that can be modified with various assistive skills. This creates a huge amount of customization options, especially when combined with Torchlight Infinite’s talent system and the actual rewards of equipped gear. Players will be able to trade and sell gear with each other in what Heng describes as a “tax-free economy” and a “player-generated economy”.
Torchlight Infinite enters open beta this October, with a specific date yet to be announced. Pre-registration for the beta on iOS devices is available now.
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