One of the most common points of feedback we've been getting from the community is that you want to see gameplay. You won’t have to wait much longer! Tune into the THQ Nordic Showcase on August 2nd to see the first Titan Quest II gameplay trailer! But there’s more! You will also be able to play Titan Quest II at Gamescom from August 21-25. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/bbc9936f3dc574d21e97cdc18da727a7bbac3d21.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/bbc9936f3dc574d21e97cdc18da727a7bbac3d21.jpg[/img] [b]Combat pillars[/b][/url] Before getting to the meat of our article today, we wanted to offer more clarity on what kind of aRPG gameplay Titan Quest II offers and that is deeply rooted in what the original Titan Quest offered. [list] [*]Titan Quest II is a classic-style top-down aRPG game, with a modern, yet traditional, take on combat. [*]The original Titan Quest’s enemies were always characterful, and we're doubling down on this by offering a wide variety of enemy types. Stronger foes stand out with their hard-hitting abilities that you must answer in some form (for example, by dodging or preparing a strong defensive build), while weaker enemies are dangerous in numbers, but you can quickly eliminate them with well-placed abilities. [*]Epic boss fights are also part of the Titan Quest DNA. (Remember Typhon?) Expect a large variety of abilities from our bosses with a clear sequence that you are rewarded for learning. [*]Your active abilities come from your choice of two masteries. You can equip a large number of abilities at the same time and customize them using modifiers to personalize your build. Masteries also offer separate passive abilities that will drive much of your power scaling. You can choose feats for your passive skills, which add further bonuses. [*]Level-ups award active skill, passive skill, and attribute points. Attributes and their connected secondary attributes determine what gear you can wear, and they scale your damage and other stats. At certain thresholds, they also unlock skill modifiers that are always active in the background. [*]On death, the enemies that killed you (and those nearby) respawn at full power. You respawn in the nearest hub, but teleporters are placed across the world for convenience. Expect them near boss locations in particular. An on-death portal helps you get back into action quickly. Co-op parties need to initiate activities like boss fights together and are blocked from leaving until the fight is won… or lost. [/list] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/5f94315dec644c0da7e209c768e9d653415e534d.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/5f94315dec644c0da7e209c768e9d653415e534d.jpg[/img][/url] [b]Looting, items & character styles[/b] Moving on to the main part of this update, let’s go into a bit more detail on how the item system works and show off some examples! Since Titan Quest II is a classic-style aRPG, looting and character scaling via items are at the heart of the game. Different locations have an assigned level. This level scales enemy stats as well as those of the items looted. Therefore, progressing further in the game or raising the difficulty level are both directly rewarded with better loot. To start with, we’re offering the following equipment types: [list] [*]1-Handed Weapons: o Swords o Spears o Daggers [*]2-Handed Weapons: o Axes o Bows o Staves [*]Off-Hand Items: o Shields [*]Armors: o Helmets o Shoulder Guards/Capes o Bracers o Leg Guards o Torso Armors [*]Jewellery: o 2x Rings o Amulet [*]Potions: o Health Potion o Energy Potion [/list] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/5d1be447aabad2c239447039c36c52388c14be81.gif][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/5d1be447aabad2c239447039c36c52388c14be81.gif[/img][/url] These weapons and armor come in six broad categories which can be combined with masteries to create a wide variety of styles. These styles are determined by attributes. There are three offensive character attributes, a supporting defensive attribute, and three secondary attributes: [list] [*]Might - Good for powerful aggressive styles, using heavy armor and weapons. Unlocks damage-related skill modifiers. [*]Knowledge - A more tactical-minded perfectionist or scholarly style. Unlocks scale or utility related skill modifiers. [*]Agility - Suited for characters with quick eyes and reflexes, who like to outplay their opponents. Unlocks speed-related skill modifiers. [*]Vigor - Governs health and tenacity as well as overall capability. Sometimes it's enough to be tough. [*]Resolve - A secondary attribute fueled by your might, knowledge, and vigor. People with extraordinary determination show greater ability to bend the arcane powers of fire and ice to their will, as done by elemental warriors and magi. [*]Cunning - Pulling from knowledge, agility, and vigor, this is a secondary attribute that gives success to both assassins with poison daggers and druids controlling the weather. [*]Fitness - A combination of agility, might, and vigor, with obvious advantages for anyone who wants to deliver physical pain. [/list] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/fde666645631f982b5f28b45af89639370e0ecf4.gif][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/fde666645631f982b5f28b45af89639370e0ecf4.gif[/img][/url] Attributes and their secondaries together create a highly flexible system that allows you to, for example, split your attribute points across two offensive attributes, thus focusing on the damage types they both contribute to, and enabling gear and unlocks for both attributes. Of course, you can also choose to focus on just one attribute for high values in its related damage traits and rush for the modifiers unlocked there. But your choice of items may be narrower as a consequence. Pairing all this with the ability to re-spec both attritubes and skills, we make a strong commitment to respecting your time as a player and allowing you to shape your character the way you want to--though this will require some work and experimentation on your part. In addition, potions don’t get emptied and discarded, as they are equipped items with charges that refill based on damage you do. They also have affixes, lending the further ability to customize your play. The affixes' effects will be active for a short duration as you consume charges. This means that you’ll never have to worry about sacrificing inventory space for stacks of potions, nor about whether you are able to reach the next checkpoint with your potion limit. Simply fight and deal enough damage to get more chugs. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/3b0bac2aef716aadac5a7f4f9d1720f107fbe0a2.gif][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/3b0bac2aef716aadac5a7f4f9d1720f107fbe0a2.gif[/img][/url] [b]Rarities and affixes[/b] Items in Titan Quest II are heavily defined by their rarity. A weapon’s style determines its base stats and properties, but the number of affixes differs based on rarity. [list] [*]Common: only basic properties [*]Magic: 1-2 affixes [*]Rare: 3-4 affixes [*]Infrequent: 2-4 affixes and a special inherent property [*]Unique: completely custom properties [/list] [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/6bf4ad631c57b4c0e02e86da744e853604d312f1.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/6bf4ad631c57b4c0e02e86da744e853604d312f1.jpg[/img][/url] Basic properties are going to be consistently the same across what we call “item families”--a loose grouping of similar item styles, which we spread across the world so that you get a different look based on where you looted your items from. When it comes to weapons, our system can stitch together different weapon parts in order to create more visual variety for your loot. But Grimlore, you say, what good is having lots of cool-looking weapons if they are all iron beat sticks for warriors? Glad you asked! In the mystical world of Titan Quest II, you will at times also find more exotic weapons like an icy axe, or a lightsaber. Or was it lightning saber? In any case, these will have more varied damage profiles at a base level (without wasting an affix) for all you battle-magi out there to really take your weapon builds off the beaten path. Your masteries' abilities may help with this as well. These shiny items aren’t considered “unique” in our game’s framework, however. Unique items look fancier than that. We should probably show you. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/10366a88f568caf0a76b899e7cd083588d718d02.jpg][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/10366a88f568caf0a76b899e7cd083588d718d02.jpg[/img][/url] [b]Where it all goes[/b] Ok, that’s a lot of items, and you want to have your cake and eat it too. We get it--cake is great. So is the caravan system. Ours works quite similarly to the original Titan Quest, but we heard you need a lot more space. Buying chests will act as a bit of an in-game gold sink (no real-world money required; we don’t do that here.) There is no limit to how many chests you can have. They will all work on a cross-character level, although we plan to provide a self-found mode as well, to allow you to isolate your character if you wish. Organize your chests with icons, colors, and names, and you’ll have a pretty solid setup, we think! That’s all we have for now. We are very much looking forward to hearing your thoughts on your first glimpse of Titan Quest II’s gameplay, and hope that several of you reading will be at Gamescom to experience the game first-hand!