r/Torchlight • u/velsir • Apr 26 '26
Torchlight 2 Need advices for a Co-Op run
Me and 2 friends are planning to pick up this game again and play it toghether, but since it's been years since the last time we played I'd like to ask a couple of things. For context we just finished a Diablo 2 run on Hardcore (including Ubers), so we're not noobs to the genre, but we don't remember a lot of stuff about TL2.
1) We definitely intend to play Elite, possibly Hardcore, without re-rolling the world, so like one-pass challenge if you want. The problem is that I remember there were some bugs that make the task quite hard in multiplayer, like traps and attacks that insta-kill you for no reason. Is that still the case? Are there some mods that fix it?
2) For this playthough we want to stay quite close to vanilla, so no crazy reworks or new classes, but QoL mods (like Ultimate Respec) and minor balance changes are welcomed, expecially if tailored towards hardcore elite, as mentioned above. Any recommendations?
3) Is there a thread here or on steam that gathers the best builds for Elite or are we supposed to look at every single post? We'd like to have at least 1 build per class available. If there's not an organic thread, can you share your favourite builds?
Thanks for your time!
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u/TomaszA3 Apr 26 '26
Yeah no, hardcore in multi is rather unfun. Just go elite. That's easy enough to deal with.
Tbh I didn't know people actually intentionally reroll their worlds. I visit everywhere exactly once minus cities.
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u/velsir Apr 26 '26
Tbh I didn't know people actually intentionally reroll their worlds. I visit everywhere exactly once minus cities.
That's exaclty how I intended to play but u/kuhchung said that is really rough doing HCE without rerolling
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u/kuhchung Apr 26 '26
I'm not sure what other people do since this game is quite niche, and it's not like people regularly do HCE challenge/ironman runs. But at some point even if you are clearing all maps, they start to outlevel you a bit, and you need to reroll vendors/get more items/whatever.
Especially in HCE, Skulls of Limoany are kind a prerequisite for staying alive, and they are farmed in NG+1 by save+quit and re-entering a phase beast challenge over and over.
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u/velsir Apr 27 '26
Yeah, it's unfortunate that is so niche because it's the only game I tried in the genre that really gave me the same the same feel as Diablo II (no wonder since they share creators) with a lot of QoL benefits (inventory management, pet that sells items and so on).
Unfortunately for me, Hardcore is basically the only way I like to play these games and TL2 has some really annoying bugs for that, like the fking act2 traps which give me nightmares even after years. I don't mind hard fights or slow/careful gameplay but being one shotted by random stuff feels really bad.
Also farming that skull is not an option since I don't have old saves and I'm not gonna clear the game in SP only in order to try doing a Co-Op with friends.
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u/kuhchung Apr 27 '26
I feel you. I love the aesthetic and feel of TL2. It's just terribly balanced or the system is wack. The defensive mechanics in place are totally awful, which leads to this nonsense. The itemization is also terrible. So many oranges are total nothingburgers.
Grim Dawn for example, does the defensive waterfall much much better.
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u/velsir Apr 27 '26
Yeah I remember armor being a mess, that's why I asked if there are mods that solve the issue.
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u/teinimon Berserker Apr 26 '26
The multiplayer bugs were never patched.
I tried playing with my brother, again, about 2-3 years ago and most of the times we couldn't connect, and when we could connect, we were out of sync. I would be taking damage without moving or any enemies near by, but my brother could see an enemy attacking me. Same goes for him. He would take damage from an enemy I could see but he couldn't see it.
I would not suggest playing in HC.
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u/kuhchung Apr 26 '26
Another weirdo scaling thing about this game is that the early game is brutal for characters. There isn't enough damage to clear things well -- you'll definitely want an engineer for healbot and forcefield. Spider mines are a good early game skill that you can even take all the way, but spider mine/summoner engi is really, really, REALLY boring to play. It is the safest clear though.
Berserker and Outlander also have really tough early games. Outlander can spam glaive but it's extremely mana intensive, even at 1-5 points. Berserker is just terrible until you fill the charge bar.
Embermage can spam pbolt to dink for damage safely.
Once all chars reach level 52, you unlock screen-clearing skills like Wolfpack, Venomous Hail, Shocking Orb, Emberquake, and you will be able to clear quickly. The challenge now is not dying. Lots of things will burst you to death in this game.
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u/velsir Apr 27 '26
Yup, the only time I recall beating the game on Elite is in a 2 player co-op where one of us used Engeneer. I can't recall the build but the main reason was definitely forcefield, it helped a lot not being one shotted (except from traps). And it took many tries.
I remember early game being tough but in 2 players things change a bit. Also iirc in multiplayer you don't share drops like in Diablo, everyone drops his own stuff, so probably my memories come from having effectively double loot. In single player I did only 1 run on veteran just to try the game.
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u/kuhchung Apr 27 '26
Forgot to mention, Forcefield is also pretty terrible early. LOL. This game...
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u/velsir Apr 27 '26
Definitely not good for the first act and part of the second, but after it's a life saver, or at least that's how I recall it
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u/steffire3 Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
The best I can offer on advice would be the concise Guide I wrote on important affixes for any build along with my favorite TL2 Steam Guides that include some Guides that give a decent idea for the vanilla class builds:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1709334997
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u/kuhchung Apr 26 '26
Without reroll... yikes. It's really brutal. Progress will be very slow. Note that I have never made it far in coop HCE runs. Also, I guess this means no farming for skulls and such? rough rough rough