A new Torchlight Infinite update is upon us, and that means it’s time for me to give some love to the continued work developer XD is delivering. It might not be the same Torchlight you remember from years ago, but the free Steam game is packed with lightning-fast action and a wide-reaching array of buildcrafting potential. XD’s seasons might be second only to Path of Exile in terms of the sheer quantity of additions you can expect, so if you’ve had your fill of Diablo 4 Season 15, or want to try another ARPG after Minecraft Dungeons, this latest overhaul could be the ideal time to jump in.
We’re now up to Torchlight Infinite SS14, dubbed the Tartarus Season. It’s named for its new core mechanic, which sees you managing a prison in the Netherrealm. As you defeat certain dangerous foes, you’ll be able to lock them up in the 16 cells housed there. Forget any semblance of inmate rights, because you’ll be having the beasts battle and consume one another to grow stronger. Ultimately, this culminates in a grand riot, where you’ll battle through the full roster of inmates to earn loot based on the monsters you’ve created.
Fighting through Tartarus can also drop Recommendation Letters, used to recruit Followers. These newfound allies can be hired and developed to complement your chosen build, with a range of offensive and supporting ‘Tartarus skills’ to learn. Many of the abilities they can learn will be twists on existing player options – Berserking Blade, for example, trades its higher damage out for an area debuff that will soften up enemy groups for you to demolish. The rarer ‘Origin Tartarus skills’ are more niche, but can be even more build-defining.
Joining the character roster this time is Youga’s third hero trait, The Ultimate One. He’s a malicious incarnation who’s using his Clockwork Core to travel between realities and absorb the powers of his own parallel selves. In gameplay, this manifests by allowing you to attach a chosen spell to the Core as a spell tangle, casting it in orbit around the device. Depending on how you build him, Youga can also grow into one of three different forms.
Spacetime Dictator creates a realm that traps spells inside, looping them repeatedly for added damage, while also delaying any damage you take – it can even stave off death. Spacetime Conqueror gains high mobility with teleports, while linking your foes together to cause all the damage you deal to spread between them. Spacetime Overlord uses the research he’s learned from his other forms to amplify spells into more powerful new variants. Alongside this new-look Youga, XD has also reworked Thea’s Wisdom of the Gods trait.
Previous seasonal mechanic Afterlight is moving into the core game, although XD has worked to improve the encounter flow, progression, and rewards. It also gets its own talent constellation, allowing you to determine how you prefer to approach the mode and what rewards you want to chase. You can even slow down the pace if you’re struggling to keep up, and then speed things up again as your build begins to come together.
You can expect the typical Torchlight Infinite seasonal rotations too, such as a fresh boss lineup in Supreme Showdown. There’s a new mechanic here called Star’s Fall, which requires you to bounce falling energy balls as you fight – you’ll gain bonus damage for successful hits, but miss one three times in a row and you’ll suffer a fatal blow. The endgame Netherrealm maps have also been rotated, with a focus on replacing more awkward, older locations and minimizing overlap.
Divine Ascent has been expanded to 150 floors, with a redesigned difficulty curve to avoid sudden jumps in gear requirements. You’ll also be able to jump up to five floors at a time if you clear a tier fast enough without any deaths, rewarding stronger builds. The Battle Pactspirit reward has been moved from floor 35 to floor 50, but Community Manager Andre explains that the reworked progression means you should expect about the same level of challenge to earn your prize.
We’ve still only just scratched the surface, as there are a whole heap more additions and adjustments to dig into. That includes more active and support skills (and support slots), updates to Renewed Memory and legendary gear, and continued visual improvements. Loot filter priority will dramatically speed up the rate drops appear by ignoring items that fall outside your requirements. XD has also continued to polish the likes of the friend list, trade house, character stat displays, item tooltips, and quick price-check features.
The Torchlight Infinite Tartarus season begins on Thursday October 15. You can play for free on Steam. Simply head here if you fancy blasting your way through the new update when it arrives.
If you’ve never tried TLI, I would recommend dipping in at least once. It can be a touch overwhelming at first, and its microtransactions can certainly provide a tangible advantage if you get to the high-end level. With that said, you can still get a lot of entertainment out of a season playing for free, and the core of the game is fun enough that I’d recommend it to someone looking for a frantic ARPG, as long as you keep those free-to-play caveats in mind from the start.