Torchlight Frontiers: Seeds of Fortune Closed Alpha Update Now Live

The Seeds of Fortune content update for the closed alpha version of Echtra Games’ multiplayer action-RPG Torchlight Frontiers is now live, offering an array of new features that include enchanting, contracts, new class skills, the so-called Luck Tree, and more. The link above has all the latest patch notes, and here’s just an overview of the new stuff:

FEATURES

ENCHANTING

As mentioned in our previous blog post, this feature allows for a new layer of customization for characters. Convert any old or unwanted loot you’ve found into magical essence. This essence is used to apply bonuses to your weapons and other equipment at the Enchanter’s Altar within your Fort. Recipes for enchantment can be found as drops while adventuring throughout the Frontier.

CONTRACTS & FAME

Contracts are chock-full of unique and otherwise useful rewards. This new system is now a core part of the experience of Torchlight Frontiers. Complete Fame quests and reach new Contract levels to unlock things like the new chakawary, eagle, and cat pets, interesting fort props, and sacks of gold or other loot. Get a sneak peak of the Goblin Expedition Contract in our latest blog post.

NEW CLASS SKILLS

Up to this point, each of the three currently available classes had some mysterious “?” on their skill paths. Update 9 finally pulls back the curtain on a few of these (though there are still more to be released). We’re eager for our alpha testers to put these new skills to good use then providing their first round of feedback and sharing their totally OP builds, of course.

Duskmage

• Light Spear: Throw a spear of searing light with a chance to heal you for every enemy hit.
• Damnation: Corrupt an area, causing your enemies to deal less damage. Defeat an afflicted enemy to return some of your mana.

Forged

• Sonic Pulse: Unleash a pulse that exposes enemy weaknesses, thereby temporarily increasing damage against them.
• Fracking Strike: Your fists send rippling waves of earth that damages and slows your targets.

Railmaster

• Lantern Flash: Unleash the brilliant light of your lantern to both burn and blind your foes.
• Spike Drive: Sunder the earth with your weapon, sending out cracks that damage and slow your enemies.

RELIC CRAFTING

We want to add more feels-good-man moments to the Relic crafting journey by taking the emphasis off that binary drop/no-drop moment. Especially for those that were falling on the wrong side of our RNG bell curve. As such, we’ve added more avenues by which to rapidly accumulate cores–namely as Contract rewards–but we’ve also increased the number of cores to craft each Relic. The same bosses will drop the core with approximately the same frequency, but they now drop 1-3 cores at once. These changes net out to require the same amount of time currently needed to collect and craft a Relic.

LUCK TREE

Early on in you adventure, you’ll receive a quest to obtain your very own Luck Tree. Once you’ve planted it in your Fort, you’ll need to care for it. What does a Luck Tree need to grow? Loot, of course! Your old magic, rare, and legendary items can be sacrificed to level up this mighty flora. Each level brings a 1% increase to your Item Luck.

HYVID REWORK

Similar to our rework of the Goblin Frontier, we’ve dramatically revised the quest structure, rewards, and monster pacing for the Hyvid Frontier. Even if you’ve managed to squash and stomp your way through waves of these insectoids, you’ve still got to face two newly updated boss fights: Psora & Spinderella!

SHRINES

Update 9 will include a series of changes to Shrines. The goal is to make them more impactful, but counter that with a shorter duration.

• Speed Shrine: Now increases movement speed by 30% (down from 50%), and also increases attack speed by 60%.
• Healing Shrine: Now restores 33% of your maximum health per second (up from 20%).
• Shrine of Energy: Now named ‘Skill Shrine’, which reduces all cooldowns by 50% while active instead of increasing resource regeneration.
• Might Shrine: Now raises your Critical Hit Chance to 100% for the duration rather than increasing raw damage.
• Fire Defense Shrine: Now named ‘Smoldering Shrine’, which gives 100,000 Fire Defense.
• Poison Defense Shrine: Now named ‘Plague Shrine’, which gives you 100,000 Poison Defense.

NEW MONSTERS

A new monster, the Cave Lurker, will now appear in Goblin Frontier cave dungeons, starting in the Den of Upheaval. Watch out for these self-destructing firebats – they hit hard, but die quickly if you can react fast enough.

A new monster pair, the Moltenslinger and Moltenfang Spiders, will now appear in Goblin Frontier cave dungeons, starting in the Cave of Boom. These spiders can pelt you with fire attacks that leave small flaming spots on the ground. Deal with them if you don’t want your fighting area to become an inferno. There’s also tales of a rather venomous version being spotted in the Hyvid Frontier as well.

One does not simply go from a rank and file goblin to being a Goblin Shaman, there’s an intermediate step. Enter the Goblin Apprentice! This foe also shoots fireballs (though only one at a time) and bolsters his companions, ridding them of their propensity to flee in fear when one of their number falls.

UPDATED QUEST UI

Life on the Frontier is surprisingly task-oriented. The Empire’s agents fill your quest log from the get go. We’ve significantly enhanced the overall look and behavior of the quest UI, making changes to color coding within the log and adding the ability for players to flag/unflag quests for tracking. Let us know what you think once you’ve spent some time in Update 9.