Regarding loot and rune drops

[NeveroddoreveN]

Hey everyone!! I am having a great time with Titan Quest!!!! I wanted to come on here and ask about if there are any websites that provide information about loot and rune drops. I mean, sites that indicate where certain items/gear/runes are more prominent, places where they are more likely to be dropped by enemies or found in chests, and the probability that those items will appear. I know in other ARPGs, like Grim Dawn and Diablo II, there are sites that will tell you the probability that a given item or accessory will be found at certain places in-game. Is there anything like that for Titan Quest? Any and all help is appreciated!! Thanks so much, guys!

[Medea Fleecestealer]

TQ database may have the info.

https://www.tq-db.net/en

Also TQCollector will tell you what Acts you might have certain items drop.

https://github.com/Malgardian/TQCollector

[NeveroddoreveN]

Thank you so much!!!! I appreciate your response, it really helps me out. I am having a great time with Titan Quest! Oh, btw, and I don't know if this is really a thing, but is there a place online that indicates what the player's character level should be for any given area in-game? That might be a stupid question, I have been doing some grinding recently, but I want to see if more grinding is necessary. Or does it depend on the character build? I have seen such things in other ARPGs, I am curious as to where I should be level-wise in-game. Again, if that is a dumb question, I do apologize!!

[Medea Fleecestealer]

Not that I know of.  If you clear everything in Normal you should get to Typhon around L30 or a bit higher.  But it really depends on what you have of the game since Atlantis is an optional expansion and if you don't have Ragnarok then you'd get to Epic difficulty earlier. 

[NeveroddoreveN]

Oh, ok. I purchased (and installed) the original Titan Quest, along with Ragnarok and Atlantis (sorry if I butchered the spelling of those two names). I am playing on a PS5, btw. I am a bit disappointed that there is no website out there that can provide a function like that, part of me worries that I am not grinding enough, or not farming items/gear/runes as much, etc. I will definitely use those two links you provided, I really appreciate your taking the time to let me know!! I have been known to grind quite a bit, but I don't want to overdo it (or underdo it). Thanks again!

[Medea Fleecestealer]

Don't really need to grind unless it's something you like to do.  Even with a full clearance playthrough on all difficulties you won't reach the max level of 85 without grinding late game, but getting to 85 isn't needed to finish the campaign.  Also since quite often greens (which can be socketed with relics/charms) are better than blues/purples got a build you're not so restricted on needing the exact BiS to make a build work.

[Zardoz]

^ Sorry, i can't agree with that. It's true that you can beat the game (all 3 difficulty levels) without grinding, but you will die a lot in the process, and the third difficulty will be a frustrating experience, especially for a new player, because he'll be as tough as a feather, not knowing how hard the game is about to get. So, just because you can beat the game in that state, doesn't mean that "you don't really need to grind". It's a Dibalo clone, so yes, you do need to grind, unless you enjoy reloading at rebirth fountains 100 times or more, while constantly losing experience points because your character is not up for the challenge.

[Antar36]

I don't think grinding is necessary either. The normal level is easily passable with a small (less than 5) deaths. The epic level is difficult only at the end of act III. However, even a lot of deaths can be avoided, but you have to watch out for resistance to fire (Wyrms) and piercing (Dragonian). As for Typhon, the rules are similar to normal. You run in circles and dodge his abilities (life drain and meteor shower which are deadly even on normal). As for the Barmanu the same as on normal, we avoid stunning at all costs. Keeping in motion, we attack and run away all the time. Choosing your starting class is the most important. Templar, Haruspex, Harbinger are without a doubt the best choices for beginners. All of these classes are very strong both offensively and defensively. They all have a powerful and very useful ability (Phantom Strike), which provides a lot of fun as we see the effects of hitting opponents. In addition, the advantage of them is that they are not so dependent on equipment. In general, the worst and most difficult thing is the right items that add resistance. Unfortunately, grinding does not always help. Just bad luck and we may have trouble finding the right items. The level itself is not that important. In TQ on Epic and Legendary levels, we receive powerful penalties to all resistances. That's why it's crucial to keep items that add a bonus to resistance in reserve. The key resistances are Piercing, Vitality, Fire. Special attention should be paid to these three resistances. I'm stuck in act III on epic, because I couldn't find the right items that increased protection against fire.

[Zardoz]

I'm stuck in act III on epic, because I couldn't find the right items that increased protection against fire.

So, let me get this right... you're stuck because you can't find the right items with resistances, but the game does not require grinding in your opinion? You're kind of contradicting yourself in that sentence alone. And sorry, but if only a few classes out of 45 (or were they 55 possible now?), are "manageable" without grinding, then most of the game (taking into account the rest of the classes) isn't really a no grind game, is it?

The fact is, for a new player with no experience, playing without grinding will be a very, very frustrating and hostile experience, and not just with their first character, but for many future attempts. And even an experienced player will have a hard time with the game. Keep in mind, i'm mainly talking about beating all three difficulties, you don't have to tell me how easy normal is... though even normal can brutalize newbie players in acts 3,4 and 5. And no, there's no such thing as unimportant resistance, they are all important. Lighting, cold, poison, they all matter in legendary. Let's see you survive act 5 if you disregard bleeding resistance.

Carrying reserve gear for situational encounters is only a partial solution, and definitely not a very fun way to play, when you constantly have to swap items, depending on ot what you're facing. Not to mention that it requires extensive knowledge of the enemies and their locations. A new player, like the OP, won't have that knowledge, right? So what is he suppose to do? Throw himself at the enemies and reload a thousand times at rebirth fountains, until he beats legendary? I think that will be slower and more tedious than spending 20 hours total, on a few popular grinding spots.

Also, the dragonians are not even close to being the most dangerous foe in act 3. It's the tigermen (on legendary) you should worry about the most... especially tigermen heroes, these guys will destroy you regardless of resistances, and are dangerous in all difficulties.

I don't know, maybe i just suck at the game, but i can't take opinions like yours seriously, unless you can provide proof to your words. Record a playthrough of you beating legendary without grinding and with no more than 20 deaths, and i'll bow down in awe of your skill. To be clear, not saying a run like this is impossible, i know it is, but i also know that not many TQ players can do it.

[Antar36]

@Zardoz Yes, that's true, I was stuck in Act III because I didn't have proper fire protection. First of all, being stuck meant I died about 2-3 times at this point, and I wanted to go through all the levels without dying a single time. (so I deleted the character and started another one) I thought Trance of Convalescence, Permance of Stone supported by Overgroth would be enough. (I also had Brimstone about 17% fire aid). Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, I didn't expect them to deal so much damage on epic. If I had kept at least one amulet and one ring, I think I would have easily broken these creatures. In general, it's possible to pass without grinding, but you need to have some experience in the game. Another thing is that TQ is a game based on randomness, so even many hours of grinding can make us not get the desired item. Therefore, mine is not worth doing builds based on specific items. As for juggling equipment at higher than normal levels, it's practically necessary. Another thing, everyone plays a little differently and different monsters are the worst for him. I had no major problems with the tigermen. Of course, I agree with you that a new player shouldn't dream of beating the game without a single respawn. However, a more experienced player can do without grinding. Of course, I'm not saying you're a weak/inexperienced player. On the contrary. However, the randomness of TQ means that there is a good chance that we will find a group of creatures that will be a real challenge for our character.

[Zardoz]

You can call me an inexperienced player if you want, i don't claim or consider myself to be a TQ pro. I've played the game a lot for many years, but everyone has a different ceiling of skill when it comes to ARPG, and no matter how long i keep playing these types of games, i'll always consider myself an average casual player. And as a result, my opinions are from the point of view of the average player type, and as such, i don't consider TQ an easy game, if we're talking about beating all difficulties without dying, or without turning the gameplay into a struggle once you get to legendary... for that type of challenge and for me, i feel some amount grinding is absolutely needed.

I've shared my opinion on the resistance penalties before, and why i think they are unbalanced. If a game forces you to constantly swap items to juggle your resistances depending on the situation, then there's something wrong with the game. For me, that's not fun gameplay, you should be able to max the resists without the need of item swapping and without too much grinding. You can do that in Diablo 2, you can do it in Grim Dawn, but TQ gives you the finger in that regard. Grinding should be necessary for making that god tier build, but not for basic resistances to cover penalties on higher difficulties. If they can balance that, TQ will be on a whole different level, while still keeping most of the challenge, because resistances are not everything after all, they alone won't make you immortal on legendary, but not having them... it just ruins the game for me, because i hate glass cannon gameplay, and playing without grind is nothing but glass canon gameplay, can we agree on that? And it's almost guaranteed to not have the resistances in legendary if you don't grind, sorry, but on that you can't convince me otherwise.  Besides, didn't you say in a previous discussion we had, that you're stashing items from previous characters? So you're not playing solo self found after all. Yes, you don't grind, but the items you carry with you are across multiple characters, so you've still spent a lot of time acquiring these items.

Grinding for specific items is not a solution and no one should do it, unless they have a very specific build idea that they really want to see it through, or if the item has a big drop chance, like some easy MI's. If we're talking about just beating legendary without dying, grinding should be a general thing. You never grind just for one or two items, no... You grind for everything you can get your hands on, out of the thousands of legendary, epic, and monster infrequent items in the game, that's what grinding is all about. There's a big difference between searching for 1 item and taking a massive gamble, as opposed to just farming in general for any helpful loot. I don't get why this is so hard to understand... you've been saying the same thing about chasing specific items in my thread too, even though general grinding is never about just one, or two, three, or any number of items. As a result it's not so much about luck, as it is about investing some time, because it is guaranteed 100% that you will find a lot of useful stuff for your character if you know where to look for it.

[Antar36]

I fully agree with your statement. Yes, I admit, I don't grind, but I use the caravan system, which can be considered a cheat. Sometimes you come across a really interesting item and it's really a pity to sell it or throw it away. Similarly, I agree with you that the resistance system on Epic and Legendary levels is a bit broken. I've thought about it, but I have to admit you're right. Grind is extremely important if someone does not want to use caravans.