The Top 10 Best Torchlight Mods
Why Modify Torchlight Anyways?
Torchlight was released in October 2009 as an under-the-radar Diablo clone, and quickly met rave reviews and relatively high popularity. It is a bright and colorful action-rpg, with interesting abilities and devious enemies. Basically, this is pick up and play dungeon delving at its finest.
However, Torchlight also falls short in a few areas. First off, quality loot is almost too rare, and gold is non-existent. Balance issues abound with the in-game economy, and it is often frustrating to come back from a deep dungeon with bags of loot, only to get a measly 150 gold for your troubles. Second, Torchlight’s gameplay gets incredibly repetitive incredibly fast. While the dungeons are all well done and randomly created, there is no fantastic locales or interesting story to back up the rest of the game.
Thankfully, Torchlight mods are plentiful now, and can help fix many of these glaring issues. So what are the most essential Torchlight mods? Keep reading to find out.
10. Gold Sharing Service
Torchlight is a Diablo clone, this is obvious. And, much like Diablo, it is almost impossible to say no to another dungeon run with a completely new class. However, it really sucks leveling up a dirt-poor Vanquisher from scratch, especially when you have already beat the main game with your first character.
That is why Gold Sharing Service ranks out at number 10 on this list. It gives players an in-game voucher that lets your characters swap for set amounts of gold at the bank - but it draws from your other character’s bank accounts. This mod allows you to “twink” your new alts with some good starting gear and potions - and makes the first 5 levels actually fun to play again.
9. More Stash
There are fewer joys in rpg-life than returning from a dangerous labyrinth loaded to the gills with loot, identifying all of it and finding some amazing pieces of armor or a new enchanted sword to play with. There are fewer more painful moments in rpg-life than having to decide what to keep and what to sell of your new found loot.
More Stash for Torchlight fixes this problem in the easiest way possible; it gives you more space to stash your loot. More Stash generates 19 extra chests for you to keep anything you want in, and all of them are in convenient locations in the overworld. Of course, this mod has been tested extensively for stability, and these chests pass with flying colors. This mod is an absolute must for loot-loving RPG fans.
8. Fayd’s Arithmancy Mod
A lesser talked about area in Torchlight is the gem-making and enchanting vocation. The reason it is not really talked about is because it is poorly balanced and does not affect the main game directly. Fayd’s Arithmancy mod completely changes this. It adds in a whole new level of itemization strategy as it buffs the heck out of gems. There are over 250 new recipes included in Fayd’s mod, and most of them are actually useful and balanced. This mod won’t change much about your game except how unique your weapons are, and in a loot-focused dungeon dive RPG, that is exactly what matters most.
7. Epic Boss Maps
Bosses in Torchlight are hard…very hard. Often times boss battles on the harder difficulty settings can last up to 5 minutes long - mostly due to strategy and heavy potion consumption. But what happens when you have to go three of more dungeon levels before hitting a hard boss? The game gets boring.
Epic Boss Maps changes this - and extends the life of Torchlight for veterans of the game. Epic Boss Maps allows players to buy map portals that transport characters to Champion Boss dominated maps. If you think the Hard difficulty was frustrating, wait until you run into 4 Champions in 5 minutes. Unfortunately, this mod also murders any semblance of balance Torchlight had - killing Champions gives characters quite a few levels and some nice pieces of loot regularly. Still, for extending Torchlight’s shelf life, Epic Boss Maps gets a solid 7 on the list of the Top 10 Best Torchlight Mods out now.
6. Respec Mod
While Torchlight only has three original main classes, each of these classes has a large variety of abilities to specialize in. As players level up, they gain experience points to put into these abilities, allowing them to transform into a specialist, or branch out as more of a jack-of-all-trades. This feature is deep and engrossing, but does have one major flaw; what happens when you get bored of your specialization? Unfortunately, Torchlight is a dungeon grinder - so characters will generally be using the same abilities over and over again, which can get tiring quickly.
Respec Mod is a well thought out and relatively balanced Torchlight mod that allows players to do one simple thing; re-specialize their characters. Heres how it works: Player A has made it to level 25, but is bored of her fire special abilities - so she decides to respec. She saves up 15,000 gold pieces - not a trifling sum - and goes to the respec merchant. She buys all of her points back, then assigns them to new abilities as she sees fit. Easy, fast, and a needed improvement. The best part is that Respec Mod charges players a hefty sum of gold to change their abilities - balancing the act and preventing accidental (or direct) exploitation.
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5. The Merchant Pack
If there is one thing that is lacking in Torchlight, it is a balanced economy. There is a distinct lack of merchants with variable goods, and most of your junk is worthless anyways. Of course, for a dungeon-crawling RPG like Torchlight, this is a huge oversight. Getting a measly 100 gold back for your huge haul of magical items seems particularly unrewarding. Unfortunately, with only 2 merchants to sell to, it can seem as if you are stuck between a used car salesman and a pawn shop.
Thankfully, there is a mod for that. The Merchant Pack Torchlight mod clocks in at a hefty six extra merchants to use, all in easily accessible locations. This mod includes a jewelcrafter for your fine gem wares, and even a fisher for your hobby sales. All of these offer slightly improved prices for your dungeon loot, which makes return trips to town something to look forward to eagerly. All of the merchants included in this mod offer a variety of random goods - including rare unique items from time to time. This adds an extra layer of depth to your equipment set up - as you are no longer simply a slave to what you happen to find. The Merchant Pack is a much needed mod for Torchlight, and is deserving of its number 5 ranking on this list.
4. Jarcho’s Class Compilation
One of the biggest criticisms of Torchlight has always been the limitations of the three main classes. Although players can specialize in several different areas per class, at some point players get bored of using the same abilities over and over again. If you have alt-itis, Torchlight vanilla is not the game for you…at least until now.
Jarcho’s Class Compilation is a fantastically huge mod that introduces 20 new and unique classes to the Torchlight universe. Want to play a fists-of-fury style beastmaster? How about a holier-than-thou Paladin, or even an Icy Sorcerer? All of these are dreams come reality with Jarcho’s expertise at hand. This mod adds in a staggering amount of replayablity to Torchlight, but it does come at a price. While Jarcho is still updating his class compilation, many of the abilities are somewhat broken, or at the very least quite unbalanced. I recommend playing Torchlight on the highest difficulty with Jarcho’s mod installed, otherwise your new class might trivialize much of the content of the game. Despite the balance issues, Jarcho’s mod might be the most fun Torchlight mod out now.
3. Total UI Reskin
Staring at the same User Interface for hours on end is something gamers do quite often, usually without much complaint. Torchlight’s UI is not particularly bad, but it isn’t the most fun thing to stare at in an isometric view point for long periods of time. The menus are somewhat faded and dull, and the ability hotkeys are nondescript in general. Honestly, Torchlight’s graphics are well done - but the UI just isn’t up to snuff.
That is why the Total UI Reskin mod was made. This mod totally redesigns the User Interface, infusing blue and red into an otherwise drab color scheme. While not necessary at all, this mod has to be seen to be appreciated. The snazzy blue interface options really pop out on the screen, giving Torchlight a refreshingly hip window.
2. Starch The Monster Hunter
The number 2 spot on the top 10 best Torchlight mods list deservingly goes to Starch the Monster Hunter. Starch is a mod that introduces players to a new force to be reckoned with in the Torchlight universe - Starch. He is a monster hunter who actually doesn’t do much hunting himself. In fact, he sends players to do his bidding - which is almost always extremely dangerous and exciting - for fantastic rewards.
If you find yourself getting bored by Torchlight’s regular old monsters and demons, then you will love Starch’s unique horrors. One of the major tasks he gives you is an entirely unique task - kill the Leviathin in the misty marshes. This epic battle is an amazingly tough sequence with some great rewards - and takes upwards of 10 hours to complete. Starch is a great addition to Torchlight, and has even been mentioned as one of the developer’s favorite mods to play through.
1. Torchlight Texture Project
And the number one Torchlight mod out now is…..The Torchlight Texture Project! This ambitious mod is a complete remapping of every texture in the game - and it even comes in high-resolution or low-resolution versions. If your computer is a beefy graphics machine the high res version makes Torchlight absolutely come to life. Roaring waterfalls look fantastic, grasses are green, lush and soft, and grimy dungeon floors look disgusting - as they should. This mod is one of the most impressive and immersive mods for Torchlight, and should be installed on every single Torchlight fans’ machines. If you like Torchlight, do yourself a favor and install the Texture Project right now.
