Will Torchlight or GW2 fit this need?

[JTDSR]

I had just recently stopped playing D3. I enjoyed the randomness of the loot, even though the Legendaries/Set pieces were a tad less random rolled than rares. It had been a long time since I had played a game where I didn't have to do an instance/raid to obtain an epic piece of loot that the rest of the playerbase did not have already. I long for the days of EQ/AC/AC2 where I could truly find/trade for an item off world mobs that had uniquely rolled stats that set you apart from other players. Anyhow, back to the crux of my post...

I am contemplating playing GW2, but I find I have less and less time to devote to "raid nights" to acquire the top end items. Is GW2 raid based when it comes to the upper echelon of loot? The last MMO I played was Rift, and while I enjoyed it, every class after getting raid geared were essentially clones...Did I say I missed the days of uniquely statted items where the RNG had to have a 1 in millions chance of duplicating the same item already? Please bring back old school styled loot systems gaming companies...

Also, was considering Torchlight 2 also, as sort of a D3 replacement. Is the loot in TL2 as varied as D3 was? Is the trading market about the equivalent also? Or is it a "whatever you find, is what you use". I enjoy farming for a few hours, and then coming back to town to AH items, or straight barter with other players. Almost as fun as playing the game itself...

I also would rather not go back to any MMO that has been released for awhile already....I had contemplated Borderlands 2, but damned if that cartoony look really is not my style. Is the loot in Borderlands 2 varied also? Or does every class walk around with similar items also?

Sorry about the wall of text, and the lack of a cohesive order to this post...I am feeding a fussy 1yo on my lap as I type this.

Thanks again for any advice on any of these titles. I have the money to spend, but not sure which direction I want to go in atm...

 

[darkewaffle]

GW2 has no raids but the loot is all pre-set. No stat randomization, but you do have a lot of flexibility customizing your look at least. Dungeons require five players and generally about a half hour, noticeably less or a little more in some cases. Very little if any bartering or trading takes place, it's all done through the AH.

TL2 is all random loot. I don't think people actually trade hardly at all.

BL2 is all random loot. I don't think people actually trade hardly at all with the exception of certain skins. Even then, iirc 'duping' is easy and rampant.

 

[JTDSR]

Cool, thank you for the response.

So the random loot in TL2 and BL2 you refer to, they are similar to D3? Such as stat ranges, and X amount of actual attributes per item, rather than fixed stats?

 

[gorcorps]

Yes, TL2 and BL2 stats vary a lot. I couldn't give a specific number of possibilities but it's rare to see people with exact same statted gear. Even if it has the same name a couple of the stats may be a tad different.

 

[darkewaffle]

All random. Well, mostly. There are certain set rare/legendary items in BL2 (and probably TL2, but I haven't played it) that have static stats/characteristics (but are usually randomized within a range).

I guess I don't see why having "the same gear" matters for what are essentially offline games personally.

 

[gorcorps]

I guess I don't see why having "the same gear" matters for what are essentially offline games personally.

Because they're NOT offline games for a lot of people

Yes you can play them offline fine but they've all had a lot of time devoted to the MP. Hell, the whole reason TL1 existed in the first place was to test the waters and try to generate some funds for the full multiplayer version. Borderlands is VERY focused on coop. It tells you up front that to get the best gear drops you need people.

 

[JamesV]

Torchlight 2 loot is like expanded Diablo 2 loot. While there are alot of random stats, by the time you are level 20, you have probably found 20 set pieces and 5 uniques easily. Remember things like D2's Sigon gear (low level set) or Nagel rings (low lvl uniques)? T2 has those in spades.

I've only played it single player so far, so can't comment on the multiplayer, but overall it is fun; not quite the Diablo 2 draw that kept me playing for years though.

Guild Wars 2 has static loot as far as stats go in the endgame. All staffs will be 1.1k dmg (top end), but you can get one from dungeons, world vs world tokens (pvp), karma merchants, or simply by crafting one yourself. The cool thing though, is that you can transmute items - my 1.1k staff was ugly, so I transmuted it with a low level staff and got the looks of that low level staff with the stats from my end game staff.

End game is pretty much dressing up your character how you want through transmutes. One Warrior might be in full flame armor, while another might be in full spiky armor, or a mix. The stats are the same because you fight in world vs world with your PVE gear. GW2 is built around pvp, so you don't get World of Warcraft fights where you might be obliterated because someone else has full raid gear.

 

[darkewaffle]

Because they're NOT offline games for a lot of people

Yes you can play them offline fine but they've all had a lot of time devoted to the MP. Hell, the whole reason TL1 existed in the first place was to test the waters and try to generate some funds for the full multiplayer version. Borderlands is VERY focused on coop. It tells you up front that to get the best gear drops you need people.

To me online is about persistence. I played BL2 100% co-op but I still consider it an offline game because there's no persistent world and there's no distinction between an 'online' or 'offline' character of any sort. There's no serverside storage, no central hosting, etc.

Which I think is great, that's how BL is meant to be. But because of that I guess I don't understand why anyone would care what all the other characters that you will never ever ever ever see are wearing, especially when you can copy items so freely and easily.

 

[Hmoobphajej]

I miss the days of more hardcore MMOs. Now I can't take many of the mmos seriously with their cookie cutter gears, lack of equipment variety, and end game content. I used to play WoW, FFXI, and beta tested some MMOs. From them only a few aspect of the games kept me in there for however long I played. I also don't like to go back and play older games they've been up for far too long and don't seem as friendly to me anymore.


I've been looking at this game lately, but not much is know about it besides the harcore play and perma death.

Wizardy Online

 

[JTDSR]

One more quick question about GW2 if you guys don't mind. Is there a group finder option? Or are the dungeon/instances runs comprised of guild mates only usually?

 

[JamesV]

One more quick question about GW2 if you guys don't mind. Is there a group finder option? Or are the dungeon/instances runs comprised of guild mates only usually?

There is a looking for group option, which will put you in a pool and party you, that actually seems to work, but you don't need a tank/healer whatever for the dungeons (although a tank can help)... so finding parties is usually pretty easy.

However, each dungeon has seperate paths, so it is different if you play path 1 instead of path 3. Many players like to farm the easier paths for gear and tokens to buy gear, and can be elitist at times (ie. don't know AC path 1 like the back of your hand? they may not want you).

 

[JTDSR]

Sounding like I may just go the GW2 route. My friends IRL are usually horrendously busy, and I do so miss the socialization a true MMO can have....Barrens Chat or not....


Damn, I miss AC/AC2.