Torchlight some more

I finally got around to playing Torchlight again, this time with respec potions. They're not trivially cheap, but definitely worth it. I fixed up my talents (couldn't do anything about my attribute distribution) and found that it made a big difference. My previous method was pure glass cannon with the exception of my obsession with health draining on my weapons. That wasn't working so well when faced with swarms and waves of enemies who wouldn't even die fast enough to my exploding shot. So I gave in, threw on a shield and equipped a stupid pistol (gun sound is irritating, I prefer bows). Now I don't get torn to shreds so easily, though enemies with seeking poison attacks still hurt a lot, though if I was better I could outrun and outrange them.

Next time around I think I'll try a melee-based spec, though I can't imagine how that would work. I suppose it would help if I hadn't spent literally every single point on damage, with not the slightest bit of defense (except a tiny bit so I could use a few pieces of armor) and armor weighted towards damage rather than armor or magic resistances. Moving forward I've been getting more defense, which is helping, but I'm still very much a glass cannon. Maybe I should have invested in some frost abilities. Or traps, those look awesome! I'm going to have a lot to try...

I'm not very sure how far in I am, which I think I enjoy. Nor do I fully understand every mechanic, which probably gimps me, but that's what normal difficulty is for.

I've heard that Torchlight is a Diablo clone and from what I've seen of screenshots and gameplay, that's pretty much true. It makes me think of all the talk of WoW clones. Maybe the problem isn't cloning, but cloning and ending up with birth defects. Sometimes I think I'd enjoy a WoW clone for a chance to see a new world, play a slightly different way, but without going too far out of my comfort zone. But it would have to have low graphics that my computer can handle and somehow be cheap enough that I could play it and WoW. Oh. Well maybe that's the problem: why pay all over again for essentially the same game?

That knockback attack seems like it would work really well for a ranged spec...