Titan Quest II - Greek mythology action-RPG sequel by SpellForce 3 devs

[Peachcurl]

Warhammer 40k: Inquisitor Martyr is another one that's "fine for one playthrough".

 

[Lyric Suite]

Warhammer 40k: Inquisitor Martyr is another one that's "fine for one playthrough".

I couldn't finish it because i came up with some obnoxious psyker build that made it annoying to play, but in the main it wasn't as bad as i expected. It's just those auto generated simplistic and repetitive maps that kinda of killed it.

It also had the Grim Dawn style itemization which i didn't particularly like in either game. In Diablo finding loot was pleasurable because of the fantastic art design, great 2D icons, and unique weapons. Both Grim Dawn and Martyr had the same generic and average looking sprites with different colored outline to indicate their value kinda drab.

 

[luj1]

Warhammer 40k: Inquisitor Martyr is another one that's "fine for one playthrough".

"fine for one playthrough" = term used by low standard retards

 

[luj1]

Grim Dawn and Titan Quest better than D2?

You can read amazing stuff in this thread lol

 

[Cohesion]

D1/D2 are the best no contest.
I did like Sacred though.

 

[Lacrymas]

D2 holds up only until the end of Act 2, if that. Everything else is/has become a slog due to overpowered runewords and lack of meaningful endgame. Even if you somehow manage to get to the end of hell difficulty and like to grind Baal thousands of times, items are essentially meaningless or of very low priority compared to runewords.

 

[luj1]

Guess you never played D2 before runewords

 

[luj1]

D1/D2 are the best no contest.

Of course

 

[axx]

Blogpost about fish people. Will probably be an annoying enemy.

The Ichthians in Titan Quest II

In Titan Quest II’s ancient Greece, human civilization is threatened by all manner of monsters and mythical beasts. Some of these enemies you will face act independently, either by choice or simply acting on instinct. But others will be more organized, forming a coherent faction with their own combat doctrine.

One of the early factions you will encounter is the Ichthians. You might remember seeing Ichthians in the original Titan Quest. They are one of the game’s original additions to Greek mythology, and for Titan Quest II we’ve expanded their lore to hint at how these monstrous fish-men came to be and to tie them into existing myth. The Ichthians are a monstrous hybrid of human and sea monster, with a vicious hatred of the god Glaukos and all the humans under his protection. Using their own brand of magic and tools and weapons improvised from their aquatic environment, the Ichthians are able to fight on land--though they do not like to stray far from the water.

We wanted to give you a short introduction to some of the Ichthian enemies, and how they interact, giving you a little taste of what we are aiming for with our combat. Naturally, we are also working towards real gameplay demonstrations, though the game will need some more time in the oven before that.

Ichthian Trooper:

A simple, light warrior equipped with a spear. They can either use it for melee or as a thrown weapon. They will choose how to attack depending on the situation, primarily entering melee only when they have no allies already doing so.


Ichthian Enchanter:

Drawing on Ichthian sorcery, Enchanters assist their allies in combat by mending their wounds and keeping them in the fight. This is particularly impactful when they accompany strong Ichthians. Their healing ability is a single target channel that enhances the target’s movement speed and damage, in addition to restoring their health. The healing link also benefits the Enchanter, so their health is also restored in the process.


Ichthian Hunter:

Hunters are extremely skilled and nimble warriors armed with a heavy spear, specializing in melee combat. They are already potent in direct combat, but they further bolster themselves by using nets to pin down their target. Using their net ability is how they enter combat, and they follow up by rapidly closing the distance before escape would be possible. Pinned targets meet the heavy spear, usually followed by a one-way trip to the underworld.


Ichthian Brute:

A heavily armored warrior wielding a two-handed mace. Their regular attacks are already hard-hitting, but in addition to this, they have a dash attack, challenging you to try and stay out of their path. In melee, they can also perform a heavy attack, slamming their mace into the ground, creating a shockwave in front of them.



Putting it all together, it will quickly become clear that we have designed the faction to form effective squads that benefit from each other’s abilities. While each creature may have weaknesses, depending on the group’s composition, we can cover for some weaknesses, while leaving others open. With the numerous possible scenarios, we aim to keep our combat engaging, challenging and fresh.

Picture an encounter with the four creatures above. Troopers serve a function of light harassment, while Brutes are hard to ignore heavy hitters. If the Hunter manages to ensnare your character, you would have limited options to avoid the barrage of hits coming your way. You could teleport to free yourself, or use barriers for tanking, but not your core dash ability while snared. The Brute’s heavy attack would be especially devastating if directly absorbed. Meanwhile, the Enchanter would heal and empower either the Brute or Hunter as a priority, making them even more of a threat.

From a tactical point of view, it’s important for players to think of target priorities as you engage in this combat dance. Do you take out the fodder-like Troopers first, just because that would be easy? Do you take out the relatively fragile Enchanter while risking exposure to the heavy hitters? Do you spread your damage out and risk the Enchanter negating your progress? Or do you use stuns, interrupts and freezes to shut down enemy abilities during their charge-up window? Do you focus on absorbing damage and returning it to your enemies via reflection? The choice is yours.

From a design perspective, one of our key objectives is to ensure that different player builds interact differently with each creature, and by extension, each enemy squad composition.

For example, a ranged character can comfortably keep a Brute at a distance, while a melee character will be often times wanting to side-step the regular attacks, and evade the abilities (or tank/reflect them with the right build). On the other hand, a melee character can quickly dispatch ranged targets, while a ranged character will often take hits during their own attacks from the unfazed ranged enemies.

There are many other loadouts that the warriors of the Ichthian faction utilize (see some extras in the images), and perhaps more importantly, there are other factions for you to face. But, as we said last time, we don’t want to reveal all our secrets just yet.

3D weapon models of the Ichthian Faction

Ichthian Concept Art

 

[duskvile]

I love this design, very distinct and unique. Environments are great.
Now wee need to see the gameplay.

 

[Lacrymas]

I'm sure the graphics are going to be amazing, like they were in Spellforce 3. But yeah, gameplay is key.

 

[Lacrymas]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1154030/view/4175475797755916830

Mythical Beasts
In our March update, we detailed the ichthian faction, but alluded to how not all types of enemies in Titan Quest II form factions. The boss enemies that you encounter are perfect examples of this. Usually fighting alone, these enemies will generally be some of the most lethal encounters you will come across. In today’s update, we give you a glimpse of two of our minibosses: the gryphon and the hippokampos.

Gryphon
Mythologically, gryphons hail from Skythia, a region in eastern Europe and central Asia, where a tribe of them is said to sit atop a hoard of treasure. Like many monsters in Greek mythology, they are a hybrid creature, with a lion’s body and an eagle’s head and wings. When a gryphon moves into the neighborhood, there’s bound to be trouble, as they are known for picking off sheep, goats, pigs, and even wild boars for their supper. A fight with a gryphon is the perfect opportunity for a fledgling Greek hero to prove their mettle. But be warned--gryphons can be crafty creatures.


In combat, the gryphon’s most powerful ability has it take off into the air and utilize a powerful swooping attack. As an agile creature, it will also be capable of pouncing around the player, lashing out several times in a row where least expected. This then gets rounded out by several variants of regular melee attacks. While this is the first and easiest miniboss you will come across, we still intend for it to pose a threat and test your combat fundamentals.



Hippokampos
Hippokampi are what the ancient Greeks believed the adult form of the sea-horse looked like, and you can see that reflected in their colorful, almost feather-light appearance. In the world of Titan Quest II, they were coveted by the ancient Mycenaeans for their menageries. As mounts to the Nereids and chariot-horses for Poseidon, they can be quite dangerous when provoked.


The hippokampos is somewhat more advanced in combat than the gryphon. Utilizing a mixture of cold and lightning damage, it will hit the player with a barrage of powerful attacks, such as a telegraphed, but sudden geyser eruption, as well as a powerful water jet followed up by a stunning lightning strike. It will also be able to hurl ice shards at the player, and make use of several melee attacks, as well as a defensive barrier. What’s more, we are experimenting with making this creature completely immune to crowd control effects (e.g. stun, freezing) outside of telegraphed windows of vulnerability. These aspects together will require that the player makes use of all they have learned so far. A good sense of attack timings, movement during combat, and evasion will be rewarded.



As far as our vision for these boss encounters goes, studious players that learn the moves of these creatures will be best equipped to respond to them--it’s all about building a rhythm and achieving a clean execution. To aid this learning process, these creatures perform clear sequences of attacks, making it so that clean play can result in victory on a first attempt, provided you survive as you are learning the enemy’s moves! Mind you, death carries a heavy price in Titan Quest II. The entire encounter that killed you (whether it’s a boss or not) gets fully reset, and you will respawn in the previous hub (convenient teleport options will be provided, though). These creatures will certainly have the tools to put players down when they’re making several mistakes. Even defeats can teach useful lessons, however.
You can also always choose to work on getting a little stronger before returning for your next attempt. You can level up beyond the current area’s level, or simply farm for items that help against the specific boss in question, such as via resistances. On the other hand, if you are looking for even more of a challenge, you can raise the difficulty by invoking rituals.



Lastly, these fights are not one-off experiences, as you will be able to re-summon these beasts in order to reap the rewards again and again. We will talk about these rewards in more detail soon.

 

[Lacrymas]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1154030/view/4152961604362682886

Long ago, in the year AD 2006, we first embarked on an epic journey that began in ancient Greece. Thrust into the heartland of legend and myth itself, we discovered fetid lairs, explored Mycenaean ruins, and conquered the great Labyrinth of King Minos.

The core element that connects all of these memorable moments is of course the unique and cherished setting of Titan Quest. In order to create an experience worthy of the original, the world of Titan Quest II is being handcrafted from the ground up, and today we want to take a deeper look into what this means.


A Setting of Mythic Proportions

When exploring the world of Titan Quest II you will discover many points of interest--from stately temples to lairs of mythological beasts and the realms of divine beings. Some are along the beaten path, while others are secluded, offering greater mystery and greater rewards, but also deadlier encounters to overcome.

We’ve designed our locations with the history and mythology of ancient Greece in mind. The player might stumble upon ancient ruins that reflect the the style of Bronze Age Mycenaean civilization, while locations more contemporary to the setting of Titan Quest II draw inspiration from the Archaic era. Doric temples and architecture showcase classical Greek style with simplistic columns and detailed upper trims.

In the example above, we have a ruined Doric shrine, surrounded by cascading waterfalls overlooking the turquoise coasts of the Peloponnese. Perhaps it was once used as a pilgrimage site for sailors or fisherman to seek good fortune before their voyage, but now it is overrun and defiled by ichthians. Environmental storytelling like this is an essential part of our level design process and helps reinforce the theme and function of each location. This is just one of many side areas you can come across.



Open World Potential

Titan Quest II’s world is a blend of open roaming spaces and structured points of interest. Our roaming areas are tailored toward freedom of exploration, environmental interaction, verticality, and uncovering secrets. Ladders can be climbed, ledges jumped, and if you look closely, you might even notice that it’s possible to interact with a part of the environment to create a new way forward. Epic vista points reveal glorious panoramic views of the picturesque, handcrafted world.

Meanwhile, smaller side locations and structured points of interest break up the open world, offering opportunities for grand adventures, like a harrowing mountain climb leading to a gryphon’s nest. The world itself provides player guidance, and we're sure you'll be pleased to see the classic 'zone torches' return!


Handcrafting each area means we can use navigation features and really reward those who want to explore every nook and cranny. Keep your eye out for hidden paths and ledges to jump from--you never know what’s waiting on the other side!

These new ways of traversing the world also compliment the verticality of our environments with deep canyons, coastal cliffs along pristine beaches, and backdrops of beautiful Grecian farmlands hinting at where your next adventure or challenge awaits.


Mythological Legacy

Finally, what would Titan Quest be without mythology? This is quite literally where the magic of Titan Quest II comes from, and we’ve designed the moment to moment experience to emphasize a feeling of wonder and myth as you step into the world.

You never know what might be waiting for you just ahead. From towering colossi of the Olympian pantheon, to ancient Trireme shipwrecks yet to be plundered, or even a sunken temple where the remains of ornate statues and sacred chambers, once dedicated to the great sea gods, now lie encrusted with barnacles as the ocean claims them back. A ruined shrine with a mysterious riddle could be an opportunity to win the favor of a god, while a relic of the Titans might be hidden underground, waiting to turn the unsuspecting into monsters. Attention to detail is key to ensuring that all these locations contribute to the end goal of crafting a world worthy of myth and legend.


With these pillars, we hope to create a world that captures all the magic of the original Titan Quest while delivering a rich, modern ARPG experience. What sorts of environments are you most excited to explore in Titan Quest II? Let us know in the comments!

It looks fucking amazing like I thought it would ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Grimlore's environmental artists employ some dark sorcery.

 

[ADL]

This is supposed to come out by March 2025. Hopefully we start seeing gameplay at SGF, if that doesn't happen, Gamescom for sure.

 

[Sensuki]

I admit I do like the art style so far.

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

Lookong forward to this :]

 

[IDtenT]

The single defining thing for Titan Quest for me is that when a normal enemy drops a magical weapon they actually wielded the magical weapon. Easiest way to notice this is when such a creature hits you and the weapon has say a mana draining effect you actually feel it. To me that will never not be cool.

 

[Zariusz]

The single defining thing for Titan Quest for me is that when a normal enemy drops a magical weapon they actually wielded the magical weapon. Easiest way to notice this is when such a creature hits you and the weapon has say a mana draining effect you actually feel it. To me that will never not be cool.

Weapons are one thing but seeing elite monsters wearing artifact armor pieces was best. Really this is such a simple logical mechanic, you get what you see and there is no silly shit like spider dropping gold and full plate armor +3 and yet when it happens you ask yourself why this mechanic is not more widespread.

 

[mediocrepoet]

I just hope it feels less like just smacking things until they fall over, suck back healing pots as needed. At least Greece in TQ is uniquely boring in this regard.

 

[Zariusz]

Yeah TQ lacked nice bloody damage effects and gore. Though ragdolls were nice, especially when you overlevelled and with every strike you launched everything like from catapult, even bosses i think. Blasting whole squads with spin attack and then seeing monsters fall to every hole and crevice on the screen was fun.

 

[Lacrymas]

I often hear this "Greece in TQ was boring" slander, but it really wasn't. It had good pacing, with optional bosses scattered around, mostly fine quests, the environment was nice and it had variety of monsters. It only starts to drag in the very end when you go to the Minoan labyrinth, but then you get to Egypt and that's when the game really starts going. I feel like people are choosing Warfare or Defense as their first mastery and then complain Greece is boring because you don't have buttons to push.

 

[NwNgger]

The single defining thing for Titan Quest for me is that when a normal enemy drops a magical weapon they actually wielded the magical weapon. Easiest way to notice this is when such a creature hits you and the weapon has say a mana draining effect you actually feel it. To me that will never not be cool.

Weapons are one thing but seeing elite monsters wearing artifact armor pieces was best. Really this is such a simple logical mechanic, you get what you see and there is no silly shit like spider dropping gold and full plate armor +3 and yet when it happens you ask yourself why this mechanic is not more widespread.

At the end of the day, it's old reliable "It's too much work" and they have a busy day of snacking on biscuits from their unlimited snack bar so they can't justify it financially.

 

[Zariusz]

I think if someone really wanted to add logical armor pieces to beasts then it could be remedied with simple item like "half digested bag" with random stuff like potions rings etc. for smaller beasts (after all animals will eat weird shit in specific situations) or "Severed RandomBodyPart" for giants that could swallow people whole. Just right click and you get stuff like if it was from chest, if someone really wanted to go even further with that he could made that stuff either partly destroyed (if there are durability mechanics) or made a special "Damaged helm/gauntlets/etc." item that only reveals stats after fixing.
Though i think that for many this would be too grindy or maybe even too much clicking for a single result if you had to repeat this many times to finally get that wanted loot piece (though devs with half of a brain cell should allow you to do this process for all this type of loot in your inventory, with a single click).

 

[Sensuki]

The single defining thing for Titan Quest for me is that when a normal enemy drops a magical weapon they actually wielded the magical weapon. Easiest way to notice this is when such a creature hits you and the weapon has say a mana draining effect you actually feel it. To me that will never not be cool.

Sometimes the gear they were holding was actually recognizable while fighting them.

 

[Lacrymas]

The gear they will drop does show up on enemy models. Weapons are recognizable the most, especially on cyclops enemies, I remember getting the frost mace from one of them and going "huh, this is quite the queer weapon this cyclops has" before it dropped and I remembered they use the gear they drop.