In this article were going to be discussing why now might be a great time to try out Torchlight: Infinite, the latest entry in the beloved dungeon crawler series, because of the MASSIVE amount of changes that have come to the title with Season 6 The Frozen Canvas, which just released on October 24th. Highlights include a major crafting overhaul, the introduction of a new hero, a fresh game mode, and significant adjustments to the monetization system. This is without a doubt the biggest update Torchlight: Infinite has seen so far, so whether you’re a brand new player or a returning player, there is lots to check out. A special shoutout to XD Inc. for sponsoring this video.

The Frozen Canvas

Let’s start with this season’s namesake mechanic. The Frozen Canvas is the new game mode introduced in season 6, and it pretty much allows you to design your own dungeon. You create the dungeon’s layout and decide where enemies will spawn. While farming in the Netherrealm, you’ll start to get drops called Snowpapers. These Snowpapers are needed in crafting Frozen Canvases, which come in different colors depending on the canvas’s difficulty. Another key resource you’ll gather is colored snow, which plays an important role in leveling up your artistry skills. Once you have a Frozen Canvas, you can start painting on your grid or board and designing your map by placing enemies and other elements.

As you progress, you’ll encounter different types of paint corresponding to various monster types, which you can level up over time. You’ll also gain access to brushstroke effects, which allow you to improve the chances of rare paint drops or the appearance of rare monsters in the Frozen Canvas. While you have creative freedom in designing your dungeon, you’ll also receive Color Mixing Objectives to finish your Canvas. Completing these objectives can level up the paint in specific cells. Each Frozen Canvas has its own set of objectives, encouraging you to unlock and upgrade more paint types for stronger options.

After you’ve completed all the canvas objectives, you can start running the map you’ve designed. The layout will match your design, but the contents of each cell will be generated procedurally. As you explore your canvas, you’ll encounter eggs that spawn the monsters you’ve chosen. Battling these enemies in the Frozen Canvas gives you the opportunity to earn splendor eggs, which come in different colors, with rainbow eggs providing the best rewards. Another important resource is colored snow, used to level up your artistry skills. These artistry skills come in the form of a skill tree progression system that allows you to allocate points to unlock more brushstrokes and other bonuses, such as increased drop rates for Snowpaper fragments, better chances of finding paints in the Netherrealm, improved drop rarity inside the Frozen Canvas, and additional colored snow drops.

Monetization Changes and The Supreme Showdown

The next update to be discussed is the change in monetization. The game used to charge players for heroes and pactspirits making it tougher for folks to experiment with different characters. However, starting next season, during an event called Hero Gathering, all heroes will be free to use except for Selena, who will still be tied to the season pass. This change is a solid move by the devs because it shows they’re listening to player feedback and trying to make the game more accessible. In the upcoming season, you’ll get to play with the old heroes at no cost, and the devs will be monitoring how this affects the game. If the response is positive, it’s likely this could become a permanent feature. So, this is the perfect time to try out any characters you’ve been eyeing but couldn’t play before.

With all heroes except Selena available for free, now’s your chance to explore the game without heavy paywalls. Whether you’re a veteran or a newer player, this opens up plenty of opportunities to find your preferred playstyle or try something new.

As for pactspirits, you can earn a seasonal legendary pactspirit by completing the new 20-boss Supreme Showdown. But be warned, this boss gauntlet is extremely tough, and there are concerns that only a handful of players will manage to finish it. The devs have mentioned that if completion rates are too low, they’ll make adjustments to ensure it’s more accessible in future seasons. For now, though, this challenge is meant to test even the most skilled players, so refining your build will be crucial.

Tide Whisperer Selena

Speaking of the new hero, Tide Whisperer Selena is this season’s exciting addition. She’s a highly adaptable hero who can switch between two distinct forms, letting her handle different situations with ease.

In Bard Mode, Selena wraps her skills in foam that bursts on contact with enemies, automatically triggering her abilities. She can summon tidal waves that boost her damage and allow her to move through enemies without being blocked. This mode emphasizes speed and fluidity, making it perfect for zipping through dungeons and mowing down waves of enemies. If you want mobility and a quick way to clear content, Bard Mode is where Selena truly shines.

Then there’s Loud Song Mode, which takes a different approach by trading speed for raw damage. In this form, Selena sacrifices movement, attack, and casting speed for a massive boost in her damage output. It’s ideal for tougher enemies or bosses where dealing high damage is more important than moving quickly. Since you typically don’t need to move much during boss fights, this mode lets you go all out on offense.

The best part about Selena is how easily she can switch between these modes. You can zip through regular enemies in Bard Mode, then seamlessly switch to Loud Song Mode when facing a boss and needing that extra firepower. Her versatility makes her a fantastic choice for players who enjoy adapting their playstyle on the fly, balancing speed and strength. Overall, Selena’s ability to blend mobility and damage gives her a unique edge, making her not just fun to play but also effective in various situations.

Crafting Overhaul

The next update is a big one. crafting is getting a major overhaul. Legendary Gear crafting and Prototype crafting are being removed, and the process for crafting non-Legendary gear has changed significantly. Now, Priceless Gear drops with random base affixes that greatly influence its quality, and the number of modifiers depends on the gear’s level.

The removal of Prototype crafting is a significant shift, but it aims to stabilize the system. The new method is called deterministic crafting, which gives players more control over the results. You can now select an affix pool from three types of embers—basic, advanced, and ultimate—and then add or swap an affix. Higher-tier affixes require more embers and materials, with ultimate embers being the best, but they can only be used on Priceless Gear.

There’s also a new Auto Craft feature that allows you to use materials to automatically roll for specific affixes, making things a bit easier. The exact cost is still unknown, but it seems geared toward players who want to speed things up and don’t mind spending a bit more.

Crafting has evolved quite a bit over time. Initially, we had the ember spamming system, followed by Prototype crafting, which introduced more steps like targeted processing and plasticity concerns. Now, the developers are blending what worked from both systems and adding new features to reduce grind, like Auto Crafting.

One major change is the removal of Legendary Gear crafting. Last season, players could craft legendary items and fill in the affixes they wanted, but now, legendaries will have more distinct characteristics. If you miss an affix, the item becomes character-bound, introducing a bit of risk. This change makes those T0 affixes feel more special, rather than something you can easily obtain.

Overall, the new crafting system is simple enough for most players while providing depth for those who want to optimize their gear. It’s a lot of changes, but the goal seems to be making crafting more reliable without losing the thrill of chasing those perfect rolls.

Hero Traits

Hero Traits have undergone a complete redesign to make them more straightforward and user-friendly. Each hero now has a base trait and three additional traits that unlock as you level up, significantly simplifying the system. This change allows players to focus more on gameplay and strategy rather than navigating complex mechanics.

In addition to the Hero Traits overhaul, Hero Relics have been removed, and Hero Memories have been reworked. The new Hero Memories system features Trait Levels that activate specific Hero Traits and enhance the stats provided by the memories. Complicated mechanics have been eliminated, making it easier to maximize your hero’s potential without getting bogged down by unclear details.

Leveling up Hero Memories now involves using Hero Memory Fragments, which increase their base power. At certain item levels, memories can gain extra affixes, further boosting your hero’s abilities. The upgrade process for Hero Traits has also changed, allowing for multiple levels of upgrades. For instance, critical strike rating can significantly improve as you progress, with upgrades going up to level 5. This gradual power scaling makes the gameplay experience feel more rewarding, as you won’t suddenly become overpowered at specific milestones like level 60.

The reworked Hero Traits system is designed to be less complicated, with clearer descriptions and mechanics. Players can now appreciate the unique qualities of each character without feeling overwhelmed by confusing stats or terminology. The changes aim to streamline the experience while maintaining the game’s depth.

The Netherrealm

The Netherrealm has also seen some big changes aimed at improving gameplay. For this endgame mode, the Time Mark progression is now simpler; you’ll move from Time Mark 7 to Time Mark 8 and then to Profound Time Mark 8. This keeps the use of Time Mark 8 beacons but rewards you with better unique items and loot. There’s also a new area called Deep Space that requires special beacons, offering an even tougher challenge and richer rewards.

Confusion Cards have been completely revamped. They now apply across all maps in a sequence, making for a smoother gameplay experience. Higher Time Marks feature better cards, and you won’t have to deal with mechanics you didn’t sign up for, as they’re now tied to specific nodes in the Void Chart. So, if you’re not focusing on a particular mechanic, you won’t run into unwanted surprises.

Interactions with monsters in the Netherrealm have also changed. Melee enemies are now more aggressive, making them a bigger threat, while ranged enemies remain the same to keep them from attacking you off-screen. Plus, they’ve cut down on visual clutter from effects like watcher projections, which should help keep the screen clearer during battles. However, you might notice an increase in monster on-death effects which could add some fun chaos.

The Time Mark system has been simplified by eliminating the confusing 8-1 to 8-4 categories. Now, it’s a straightforward journey from Time Mark 1 to 7, followed by Time Mark 8 and Profound Time Mark 8. They’ve also brought back the Clockwork Ballet mechanic from last season, which is a nice touch.

Confusion Cards now activate at every level and last for four levels, creating a more dynamic combat experience with varied loot drops. They’ve been redesigned for better balance, and now you can unlock gameplay-related cards through existing Void Chart nodes to avoid clutter.

You can expect a tougher challenge overall, as melee monsters have been buffed significantly, making encounters more engaging. The devs are probably aiming for a balance that avoids excessive mechanics, though some effects have been toned down to help with clarity during gameplay.

Support Skills

They’ve also introduced a range of exclusive support skills designed for most active skills. Hunters can now equip these exclusive support skills in slots 3 and 5 of the skill support slots. These enhancements not only boost skill damage but also transform skill forms, creating unexpected and extraordinary effects that greatly enrich the combat experience.

Exclusive support skills aren’t acquired through traditional means or combat experience. Instead, they require the consumption of rare materials, Inspiration Essence, and leveling up with skills of the same name. Hunters can obtain exclusive support skills and Inspiration Essence through The Frozen Canvas gameplay.

Support Skills Overview

• Split Shot: Rapid Advance: The supported skill becomes a channeled skill, continuously firing projectiles at enemies within a certain range while channeling. The number of projectiles fired equals the skill’s Projectile Quantity, with a maximum of 5 channeled stacks.
• Groundshaker: Wrathful Vault: This skill transforms into a leap, creating a fissure upon landing. If the supported skill does not consume Demolisher Charge, it gains an additional +150% Attack Speed. If no enemies are within 8 meters, the supported skill cannot consume Demolisher Charge.
• Whirlwind: Whirling Blade: This skill now has the Projectile Tag, and the quantity of Wind Blades is unaffected by Projectile Quantity Bonus.
• Ring of Blades: Strength in Numbers: When this skill is cast, it creates a Ring of Blades around the user and their minions. The number of projectiles generated for minions is only one-third.

A neat feature here is the new transformative support skills. They showcased some nice examples as part of the season reveal. For instance, Groundshaker can be transformed into a jump release skill. Whirlwind’s exclusive support skill, Whirling Blade, adds projectiles to Whirlwind. When paired with Ring of Blades: Strength in Numbers, the ring of blades projectiles will be generated on summoned minions. These allow you to mix and match your support skills and make a lot of creative combinations that could definitely help you out while running dungeons.

This season, they plan to roll out over 100 brand-new exclusive support skills. For all the details, stay tuned for the final patch notes.

Conclusion

XD Inc. has gone all out for this upcoming season’s updates. It feels like they’ve redone almost the entire game at this point. Now if you’re a returning player or just someone looking for their next ARPG title to pick up, this just might be the perfect time to try out Torchlight: Infinite. The season rolls out on October 24th at 7:00 PM PDT for all platforms.