If you do not see your question or a question you feel should be in this FAQ, feel free to post it in this thread, and I will update it.
General Questions
- 001) What is Torchlight?
- 002) Who's Runic Games?
- 003) How much does Torchlight cost?
- 004) Will this game run on Windows (XP/Vista/7)?
- 005) Will this game run on a Mac?
- 006) Will this game run on Linux?
- 007) Is there Multiplayer?
- 008) Is there a Demo for this game?
- 009) Will my Demo characters transfer to the full game?
- 101) What are these classes?
- 102) What's the animal?
- 103) What difficulty should I play on?
- 104) How do I level up?
- 105) What is fame?
- 106) What's the difference between a skill and a spell?
- 107) How do I level up spells?
- 108) What happens if I unequip a spell?
- 109) Are there Identify and Portal spells?
- 110) What skills should I invest in?
- 111) How do I fish!? I can't get it to work!
- 112) What do Fish do, then?
- 113) How do I send my pet back to town?
- 114) Is there a faster way for me to put stuff in my pet's inventory?
- 115) Is there a stash? What about a shared stash?
- 116) What do the wand and sword icons on my skill mean?
- 117) Is there ReSpec? (Can I re-assign Skill Points?)
- 118) What does this "the Cheat" tag do?
- 119) What do these colors on my item mean?
- 120) Why do some set items have different backgrounds?
- 121) What happens after I beat the final boss?
- 122) What is retirement?
- 123) Why are some of my skills identical to those of another class?
- 124) Why does my skill at Rank 10/10 say the next rank is Required Level 40? Can I level it up again?
- 125) What are Chaos Gems?
- 126) Is there a Nightmare or Hell mode in this game like D2?
- 127) What are the differences between difficulties? What difficulty should I play?
- 128) How do I get to the Secret Horse Level?
- 129) How do I add a skill to my Quick Bar?
- 130) Where is (insert) Ember? I have this quest...
- 131) What is Enchanting?
- 201) How do I open the console?
General Questions
001) What is Torchlight?
Torchlight is an Action/RPG from Runic Games. It was released on October 27th, 2009 on PC.
002) Who's Runic Games?
Runic Games is a company born from the ashes of Flagship Seattle. They were previously working on Mythos. In addition, Max Schaefer and Erich Schaefer, as well as Peter Hu, made the jump from Flagship Studios (San Fran). They worked on Hellgate and were some of the key members in the development of Diablo and Diablo 2.
003) How much does Torchlight cost?
$20. You can find the game at Direct2Drive, Steam, PerfectWorld, and TorchlightGame.com. If you're not sure about buying the game, you can get the demo for free, which lasts up until the first boss fight.
004) Will this game run on Windows (XP/Vista/7)?
Yes. Even 64-Bit versions of Windows are compatible with Torchlight.
005) Will this game run on a Mac?
The official Mac version is not yet completed, but players have been able to get the game working with Crossover. A good explanation of how can be found here.
006) Will this game run on Linux?
Possibly. Again, this is not the game's intended operating system, so it may have issues. However, if you follow the instructions of lgtspecb's post in that thread, you should be able to run the game.
007) Is there Multiplayer?
No. Torchlight is a single player game. There are plans to release an MMO set in the Torchlight world about 18-24 months down the road.
008) Is there a Demo for this game?
Yes. Currently you can find it on Steam or on TorchlightGame.com.
009) Will my Demo characters transfer to the full game?
Yes! Any character you play in the demo will automatically transfer over to the full version of the game.
Gameplay Questions
101) What are these classes?
The Destroyer is, in general, a melee Warrior class. The Alchemist is a magic/summoning class. The Vanquisher is a ranged DPS class. No class is limited to its general build, however, and can be played in a variety of ways.
102) What's the animal?
That is your pet. Your pet fights for you and has its own inventory, and it can equip spells, necklaces, and two rings.
103) What difficulty should I play on?
If you have ever played a game similar to Torchlight before, such as Diablo, Diablo 2, Titan Quest, or Sacred, I highly recommend playing on Hard difficulty your first time through. Normal and Easy are NOT for experienced players.
104) How do I level up?
Kill monsters and complete quests. Each level gives you 5 Attribute points and 1 Skill point.
105) What is fame?
Fame is an alternative form of leveling in the game. As you complete quests and kill champion monsters, you gain fame. Leveling up in fame gives you one skill point.
106) What's the difference between a skill and a spell?
Skills are found in your skill menu (default hotkey: S). These are unlocked by leveling up and increasing in fame. Active skills are unique to your class. The passives found on the left and right of your skill trees exist on every character class.
Spells are found as item drops or through vendors and quest-givers. These occupy the four bottom equipment slots in your inventory window and two outer slots in your pet's inventory window.
107) How do I level up spells?
Each class has three skills that level up their spells. Charm Spell Mastery, Offensive Spell Mastery, and Defensive Spell Mastery. To determine which one will be effective for your spells, look at the spell itself; it will say "Charm" "Attack" or "Defense" spell. You cannot, at present, level up spells equipped to your pet.
Additionally, each spell has 6 Tier versions of itself, each getting stronger than the one before it.
Note: Putting points in "Spell Mastery" skills does NOT change the name of the spell. The change is reflected in the top right corner of the spell's tooltip, where you will see Spell Rank x/11. The x is what increases. Tiers of the spell will not change unless you replace a spell with the next tier.
108) What happens if I unequip a spell?
It is lost forever.
109) Are there Identify and Portal spells?
Yes. They are very rare. Do NOT give these spells to your pet, by the way.
110) What skills should I invest in?
Whatever you think feels right. If you're playing on a higher difficulty, though, you should definitely consider a skill with Knockback, Stun, Fear, or Slowing abilities.
111) How do I fish!? I can't get it to work!
Fishing is a mini-game, not random-chance. Wait until the two white circles overlap and turn red, then click the hook in the middle. You will catch a fish or sometimes something more rare.
112) What do Fish do, then?
Fish transform your pet into monsters. Usually, this effect lasts 120 seconds (2 minutes), but Big fish last 1 hour, and the extremely rare GIANT fish last permanently or until you use another fish on your pet.
113) How do I send my pet back to town?
At the top left, there is an HUD for your pet. At the top right of the HUD, there is a green and yellow button (looks like an item bag). Click this, and your pet will go to town for you. CAVEAT: Your pet will sell EVERYTHING in its inventory, so make sure you do not have uniques or spells on it unless you meant to sell them. CAVEAT 2: The game does get a little harder if your pet isn't around to soak up damage, so be careful.
114) Is there a faster way for me to put stuff in my pet's inventory?
Shift+Click. If you are not in a vendor menu, shift+click defaults to "Give to Pet." Also, any items laying on the ground that are Shift+Clicked will command the pet to pick them up for you.
115) Is there a stash? What about a shared stash?
Yes to both. The Stash is in the center of town. The Shared Stash is in the north of town.
Note: The Shared Stash cannot be shared between hardcore and non-hardcore modes.
116) What do the wand and sword icons on my shield mean?
To be honest, I'm not ENTIRELY sure, so this answer may be inaccurate (until corrected by a Dev).
The Wand, Sword, Shield, and whatever the other icon is, represent your Magic, Strength, Defense, and Dexterity stat. The % next to it shows the amount by which that stat affects your skill's effectiveness. For example, a skill with 50% Sword and 50% Wand means it is improved by half your Strength and half your Magic. This may not be a direct additive improvement, and may be further augmented, because even the Devs have trouble with their damage calculation (just ask Erich!)
117) Is there ReSpec? (Can I re-assign Skill Points?)
By default, no. There is a Respec potion in the game which can be spawned through the in-game console, but this will label your character a cheater. If you want the Respec potion enabled without being flagged a cheater, Download the ReSpec Mod, created by Runic's Matt Tanwanteng.
118) What does this "the Cheat" tag do?
Apart from permanently branding your character a cheater, it disables your Shared Stash. If you accidentally flagged yourself as a cheater, and wish to re-enable the Shared Stash, here is a thread explaining how.
119) What do these colors on my item mean?
An item with non-white text means it is a magical item.
Green - Magic
Blue - Rare
Yellow/Gold - Unique
Purple/Pink - Set Item
120) Why do some set items have different backgrounds?
Different sets have different rarity values. The more common a set, the different color its background. Purple/Pink backgrounds are the most common sets, while Yellow/Gold are the most rare. The general trend is that the more items that are required to complete the set, the more rare it is.
121) What happens after I beat the final boss?
You have beaten the game. If this is your first time beating the game, you unlock the Endless Dungeon (a dungeon that NEVER ENDS!) and you also gain the ability to retire. The retirement NPC is located by the shared stash.
122) What is retirement?
Retiring deletes your current character, but passes down an item to a brand new character. The item has its equipment requirements reduced and its stats enhanced. You start from Level 1. (Although, since you've beaten the game once, the Endless Dungeon is unlocked.) Note: Your descendant does NOT have to be the same class as the retiring character. You can retire a Destroyer and choose Alchemist or Vanquisher, or whatever.
123) Why are some of my skills identical to those of another class?
The skills on the left column and right column of the skill tabs are all passive skills that exist on each class. These offer basic augmenting stats that are useful for all classes. The skills in the middle column are unique to your character class. Though this reduces "class identity" the skills help to allow your character to branch out of item stereotypes or to try unique equipment set-ups you would otherwise find difficult to attempt.
124) Why does my skill at Rank 10/10 say the next rank is Required Level 40? Can I level it up again?
No. You cannot add any more skill points to that skill.
125) What are Chaos Gems?
Chaos Gems are a socketable item similar to Jewels from Diablo 2: LoD. They have random affixes and are treated as a magical item. Combining 4 Chaos Gems at the Transmuter will NOT upgrade them. It will turn them into a random Cracked Gem.
126) Is there a Nightmare or Hell mode in this game like D2?
No. After you beat the story, you can either go to the endless dungeon, or retire and play a new character on a different difficulty level.
127) What are the differences between difficulties? What difficulty should I play?
Monsters in higher difficulties have more health, higher damage, slightly more armor and resistances, and a higher awareness/aggression radius. In Easy Mode, you level faster.
If you've ever played a game of this genre, it is recommended you start on Hard difficulty at the very minimum. You'll likely find Normal to be too easy.
128) How do I get to the Secret Horse Level?
There is no secret horse level.
129) How do I add a skill to my Quick Bar?
Click the hotkey you wish to use for your skill. Then find the icon of the skill you wish to place there.
130) Where is (insert) Ember? I have this quest...
There is one Ember quest per tileset (I think). The floor on which you find the Ember is random, as long as it's in that tileset. Just keep looking. If you can't find it and have scoured all the floors in the tileset, move on for about 30 minutes, then go back and look. You do not HAVE to complete these quests to beat the game, however.
131) What is Enchanting?
The enchanter in town (he's between the gem/spell saleswoman and the Transmuter) will randomly add a new affix or socket(s) to an item of your choice for a fee. This fee depends on item quality and how many affixes it already has. The enchanter has a chance to fail. He also has a chance to completely wipe your item clear of affixes, reverting it back to its base item with no bonuses whatsoever.
Miscellaneous Questions
201) How do I open the console?
First, venture to your Torchlight folder. (...Program Files/Runic Games/Torchlight).
Go to the Application Data or AppData folder there (Or just click Start and search for %appdata%), and find Runic Games/Torchlight/Settings.txt
Change "Console: 0" to "Console: 1" then save the file and close it. Shift+` (Tilde) is the default keybinding.
Again, if you do not see your question or a question you feel should be in this FAQ, feel free to post it in this thread, and I will update it.
TY again!
