Review Titan Quest for PC By Richard Lackinger RELgames@comcast.net
The gods giveth gravy points, and the gods taketh gravy points away.
Iron Lore Entertainment and specifically its co-founder Brian Sullivan (of Age of Empires fame) have been making the rounds over the past year trying to spread the word on their debut title, Titan Quest. Through numerous interviews and several Developer Diary style videos, Iron Lore has been doing a lot to hype Titan Quest and all of the features it has to offer. An action-RPG in the vain of Diablo, Titan Quest takes place in the ancient world, allowing player to traverse Egyptian, Greek, and Chinese mythology. Iron Lores mantra all along has been that Titan Quest will excel in the three main areas that make action-RPGs so fun: exploration, fighting, and rewards.
So now that Titan Quest has been released, everyone is wondering whether or not Iron Lore delivers as promised. Well, the short answer is sort of, but not necessarily for the reasons stated by the developer. I know that is not much of an answer, is it? An answer like that just leads to more questions, such as what does it deliver? Or, how does it fall short in other areas? To shed light on these questions you will require the long answer (translation: read the whole review).
Lets look at the exploration aspect of the game, for instance. Iron Lore probably came closest to delivering on this part of Titan Quest. This is mainly because of the great setting and art direction in the game. Part of the driving force that kept me playing Titan Quest was the anticipation of seeing new locales and new creatures. Iron Lore took full advantage of the mythological setting by creating memorable areas such as the maze at Knossos and the hanging gardens of Babylon. Unfortunately the overall quest you partake in Titan Quest has a very linear feel to it, moving you along from city to city, objective to objective. You can go back and revisit any area you have previously visited, but rarely do you have any reason to do so. It would have been nice if the world of Titan Quest would have been a bit more organic. I would have liked to revisit areas and find those places changed by the passage of time, especially when Titan Quest contains so many beautiful and exotic locales.
Next up is the fighting system of the game. Iron Lore started on the right track with their skill system. Titan Quest offers the player eight different masteries from which to choose skills. These allow players to specialize in things such as warfare, nature, hunting, etc. Eventually the player selects two different masteries and they can mix and match as they see fit. This results in numerous possibilities in how your character will play. On the down side, and probably a direct result of so many different possibilities, the balance of different character classes seems uneven and there are several exploits with regards to defeating enemies. As an example of one of these exploits, on several occasions I was able to juggle enemies by walking in and out of their range of attack. While the enemy runs toward me and then retreats over and over again, I could easily take them out with
my bow and arrows. In addition, the fighting overall can get very repetitive. Although there is a varied assortment of different looking monsters, there are only about ten that actually play differently. The rest are just new skins draped over the same old monsters. Also the only tactic that said monsters seem to know is the swarm attack.

Last and least, the reward system in Titan Quest promised to keep players doing what they do best (playing) by supplying thousands of items to collect and an advancing storyline. As far as item drops are concerned, Iron Lore over-produced on this promise. Magical items are a dime a dozen, and after defeating any typical swarm of enemies it was not uncommon to find ten to twenty magical items strewn about the ground. Rare and Epic items seemed to be about on the same level of rarity, as I only encountered about fifteen of each during a play through of the single player campaign. Although extremely satisfying when you find an epic item, there is such a wide variety of items that I seldom found an item that I could or wanted to use with my particular type of character. I never found a legendary item, which is probably about how it should be. Also money does not seem to have much of a point in Titan Quest. The vendors rarely sold something better than what I had already found off of a monster and money is way too plentiful. I ended the game with about two million gold and that was because about half way through I just stopped picking up magical items to sell.
The story of the game is also offered up as a reward to the player. Iron Lore had the Academy award nominated writer of Braveheart, Randall Wallace, help out with writing the story, so I had high hopes for this aspect of the game. Although not terrible, the story
ends up just being some vague reason as to why you have to go from point A to point B and kill monsters C, D, and E. There are also lots of different side quests throughout the game, but they are as deep as the kiddie pool at the YMCA. I would have taken quality over quantity any day. There are a few side quests that stand out above the rest, but they are as rare as an epic item tailored to your characters needs.
So far, I have been pretty harsh on Titan Quest, but truth be told, I actually like this game. This is because of the fringe benefits it offers. These come in the form of a 6 player online co-op mode, and a deep level editor that is fairly easy to pick up. Titan Quest lets you play through its story in single player or co-op at any time, switching between the two as you please. Any of Titan Quests faults are quickly forgotten when you are battling the endless hordes with a couple of friends in tow. Iron Lore also includes a very robust world editor that allows you to make your own levels and missions for you and your friends to play through. I spent as much time playing with the world editor as I did playing the actual game.
Highs: Great art direction, a varied skill system, online co-op and a robust world editor all earn Titan Quest extra gravy points.
Lows: Repetitive fighting, a mediocre story, and overkill with regards to item drops and money take some of those gravy points away.
Final Verdict: Although it has its flaws, Titan Quest makes for a decent package when you factor in online co-op and the included world editor. If those things do not interest you, however, then what you are left with is a good looking game with a great setting and some original monsters that is linear, repetitive, and easy to exploit. And that is the long answer. 78%

When checked, right-clicking will automatically sell items from your inventory when trading with a merchant.

Enable Item Comparison:

When checked, compares mouse-over items in inventory or Merchant Window to current equipped item.

Display Critical Damage:

When a critical hit is scored, shows critical amount as text over the targets head.
An Important Note Regarding Graphics and Having the Best Possible Experience
Titan Quest uses some of the most advanced rendering techniques available today for special effects and to achieve real-time performance for a great game playing experience. The game was largely developed and tested on NVIDIA GeForce FX, 6 Series, and 7 Series graphics cards and the intended experience can be more fully realized on NVIDIA GeForce 7 Series graphics hardware. On a GeForce 6800 or better you will be able to turn on all of the NVIDIA special effect features at higher resolutions in the game.
Language Select: Select language for text displays. Requires game restart.

Master Volume:

Controls overall sound volume for Titan Quest

Getting Started

Creating Your Hero
Welcome to Titan Quest. Once the game is installed and running, you are ready to begin. Select Play Titan Quest from the Main Menu. You should be prompted to create a new character. At this point, you need only choose a name and gender and if you like, the color of your tunic. Just what sort of hero you will become will be determined during your journey through the world of Titan Quest
At the start of your game, this is what your hero will look like:

Music Volume:

All game music

SFX Volume:

Sound effects such as weapon noises, monster cries, spell effects, etc.

Dialog Volume:

Volume for all dialog
Ambient Music Control: How often ambient music will play
Sound Blaster X-Fi sound cards blur the line between gaming and reality. To truly experience audio beyond your imagination in Titan Quest, you must have one of the Sound Blaster X-Fi series. So upgrade your PC audio to one of the Sound Blaster X-Fi series for the most thrilling gaming audio ever. To learn more about Sound Blaster X-Fi sound cards, please visit www.soundblaster.com.

Introduction

IT IS SAID THAT WHEN TIME BEGAN a great war was fought between the Titans and the gods. The struggle shook the earth and the heavens, mountains were leveled and oceans were made. Continents were broken in two. At last, the gods prevailed against their crude and savage masters, the Titans. And when they assumed lordship over all the world, they favored humankind, who had taken their side in the war. The Titans were gone from the earth, banished far from the light of sun or moon or stars. IN ANCIENT GREECE, in a quiet village, early in the day, all is far from peaceful this forgotten corner of the great Greek civilization is about to taste its ll of chaos and destruction and horror. Things all but forgotten except in the colorful fancy of legend, glimpsed perhaps by shepherds in the thick of the woods strange, terrible monsters and beasts run like a rain-gorged lake over the elds and huts of the Greek people. Dusty, weary, a wanderer approaches this tiny village a stranger fated to become their one, bright beacon of hope.

Merchant Window

Main Quest tab (p.29)

Side Quest tab
Quest map Region (Greece, etc.) Active Quest Summary tab Quest Title Quest Summary Quest Objectives Dialog tab. Hear quest assignment dialog.
Side quests are shown on this tab (p.30) Region Location Side quest title Side quest description
Merchant Name Merchant Type (p.31) First weapon tab Second weapon tab Armor Potions & Jewelry Sell-back tab Not enough gold mouse icon

Map Window

Party and Trade Windows

Party Window

Other players in the current game. Party members Party buttons Invite. Join up with others (p.43) Remove. Kick somebody out of your party (party leader only) Leave. Leave someone elses party Ban. Kick player out of the game session and prevent them from returning (game host only)

Current Location

Zoom buttons. Also use mousewheel Center map button. Shortcut: NumKey 0 Fog of War Previously explored area (in previous game sessions) Map Legend NPCs. Speaking people Mystics. Skill point reallocation Merchant Shrines Player Character Party. In multiplayer, members of your party Rebirth Fountains Portals Quest. Quest items and objectives POI. Points of Interest Current Location For more on the Map Window see p.34.

Trade Window

Your trade offering Their trade offering Gold offered Trade button. Both players must press for transaction. Cancel button. Items on the table are not lost if you cancel. For more on trading see p.44.

Combat

In Titan Quest, no matter whether you wield a spear or hurl fireballs, you are a warrior and fighting is what you do. You will find all kinds of strange, mythical monsters wandering the world of Titan Quest, and every single one is looking for a fight. You would do well to be prepared.

Advanced Combat

Choose Your Skills
Swinging a sword is a good start, but as monsters get harder, youll need some more tricks up your sleeve. You have no skills when you first create a character in Titan Quest. As you gain levels of experience and choose a Mastery (p.26), you will gain skills that give you more powerful attacks. You can assign these skills to the right mouse button and to the skill Quickbar (and in some cases, the left mouse button). A skill attack can be anything from a lethal ice-bolt to a stunning shield-bash. Skill attacks use up your energy. When a skill costs more energy than you have, you wont be able to use it. Youll have to wait until your energy regenerates, or drink a potion. Some skill attacks also have a cool-down time, and cannot be used again until they are ready. Over the course of the game, you will acquire more than one attack skill. You will also gain skills that are used for other things than attacking, such as summoning pets or enchanting your weapons. After assigning a primary skill to your right mouse button, you will probably want to assign the others to the skill Quickbar. The Quickbar has a total of ten slots. The last two default to health and energy potions, but they can be reassigned. To assign a skill, simply right click on an attack or Quick Slot. Left click on a skill (or potion), and it will be assigned to that slot.

Note: only some skills can be assigned to the left mouse button the ones meant to be used as a primary attack.

The Basic Attack

The easiest way to attack a monster is by left-clicking on it. Youll use whatever weapon you have in your hands and if youre not holding anything, youll use your fists! Weapons can be divided into two basic categories: melee and ranged. An example of a melee weapon is a sword or a spear, used to strike at close distance. A ranged weapon, such as a bow or a magical staff, fires at monsters from afar. Left clicking on a monster will perform either type of attack, depending on whats in your hands. Its that simple. Click and hold the mouse button to attack repeatedly until your foe is dead. This is especially useful for tougher monsters, who wont fall in one or two blows. If you hold down the Shift key and click on an enemy, you will attack without moving. This can be handy for firing arrows at a moving target or for just admiring your prowess with a blade!
Left click: Attack using your equipped weapon Left click and hold: Attack and keep attacking until monster is defeated Shift-left click: Attack standing still (dont run towards enemy)
To use a skill from the Quickbar, either left click it on the bar, or press the number of the Quick Slot on your keyboard.
Note on assigning skills to your left mouse button: for most attack skills, running out of energy will cause you to use your standard attack instead.

Know Your Enemies

The monsters in Titan Quest can be fierce opponents. Not only will many attack you on sight, but many have skills of their own so dont be surprised if you see an ice-bolt hurled at you! When youve entered a new area, monsters may be newer and possibly more deadly than those youve met before. You may find it worth your while to proceed cautiously and size a monster up before you take it on, especially if its in a group. When you move your mouse over a monster, a box will appear at the top of the screen, which tells you the type of monster. Look carefully you may have faced a satyr pawn, but have you faced a satyr guardian? When you have Monster Level enabled under Gameplay Options, you will also see a number next to the name, which is the monsters level. As a rule of thumb, if that number is much higher than your own proceed with caution.

Choose Your Weapons

In Titan Quest, you can keep a second weapon set at the ready, and switch to it at any time even in the middle of combat. To swap weapons, you must first equip a second set (see p.25). Once you have two sets equipped, simply press the swap button. (default shortcut key: W). Note that skills assigned to your mouse buttons are swapped along with your weapons.

Click on loot or its name to pick it up Hold down Alt to show all non-broken loot Hold down Z to show all loot and X to show non-common loot Text color tells you class of item
You will often find a chest or stash of some kind amongst a group of monsters, where they have stored their own spoils of war. Click once on a chest to release its contents. The items will scatter on the ground, ready to be collected by the diligent adventurer.
Note: You cannot attack monsters while holding down Alt, X, or Z. Fight first, gather later!
Always carry some health potions. To drink potions, use default Quick Slots 9 and 0. Increasing your health attribute will give you more life, so you can take more of a beating. For maximum protection, cover yourself from head to toe in the best armor, including a shield when possible.
Victory is sweet but in Titan Quest, defeat isnt really all that bitter. When you lose all your health, you will die and then find yourself standing at the last Rebirth Fountain you activated. Aside from being set back in your journey, you will lose some amount of experience however, you will never lose a level once you have earned it. Early in the game, the experience penalty is light. As you reach higher levels, the penalty will become a little more severe. A Rebirth Fountain is activated the first time you come near it. After that, you can reactivate fountains by left-clicking on them. Not only are Rebirth Fountains where you return after dying, but they are also where you begin when you load a saved game. Rebirth Fountains are marked on the map for easy spotting. (See p.33 for more on maps.)

The Things Youll Carry

Material possessions. Things. In Titan Quest, youll win loot from slain foes. Youll gather it from chests deep in ancient tombs. Youll receive rewards for heroic deeds, buy gear from merchants, and possibly trade your items with others in multiplayer mode.

Know Your Gear

Everything you acquire in Titan Quest goes into your inventory. Your primary inventory lies directly below your character portrait, and it is all the storage space you have when you start the game. Once you have an item, you will want to examine it. Simply hover your mouse over an item, and you can learn quite a lot. Not only the items name, but the details, bonuses, and requirements are listed here. Whats more, if you have an item of that type equipped (and item compare is enabled in the Options Menu), mouse-over will compare the two items. Item comparison also works for the merchant window (p.31).

Hero Management

If you want to be truly ready for battle, you will want to spend some time on yourself and your equipment. Most of this preparation will happen on the Character Window. Character Window Hotkey: C or I

Equipment Wrangling

To move an item around, left click it to pick it up. The item will move with your mouse. Left click again to place the item, or right click to drop it back where you got it from. To drop items, place them anywhere over the game world, outside the character window or simply press the D key. To wear or wield an item, move it over the image of your character. The equip slot that the item belongs in will turn green. Drop it in the slot. If you were already wearing or wielding an item of that sort, doing this will swap the two items. The new item will be equipped, and you will be holding the old item.

The Quest Log

Every adventure you undertake is tracked in the Quest Log. Each chapter of the story is considered a quest, and every major development in a quest is updated in the Main Quest tab. Whenever you are confused about what to do next consult the Quest Log. Quest Log Shortcut Key: Q Current selected bead - yellow Active quest (not yet completed) - orange Completed quest - unlit
Every time a quest is added, a glass bead marker is added to the map in the Quest Window. Selecting that marker will show you the information for that quest. The quest objectives, listed with checkboxes at the bottom of the window will always tell you exactly what , needs to be done in the quest. Select the dialog tab for the quest to hear the speech of the person who first assigned it. You can view any quest you have encountered in the game, whether finished or in-progress. As with the game maps, the quest log will eventually be divided into the different lands you will travel to. At first the only option will be Greece, but later others will be added. The quest log will always open to your current, active quest.
Following the Story Quests are your part in the story Read the quest descriptions to understand whats going on Read the quest objectives to find out what you have to do next Side quests also come with objectives, but you may have to do some thinking and exploring on your own.

Quest Items

A few items in the game will be necessary for quest purposes only. Quest items look a little different than normal items: Hold on to your quest items! If you lose a quest item, you can always go back and get it again, but you may have to quit out and re-enter the game first.
Note: Quest items cannot be sold or traded.

Side Quests

In your travels, you will come across many people whom you can speak with. Some of these people will simply talk about whats going on or about their lives. Others will tell you about problems, places, and enemies that you may get involved with, if you want to. These are called side quests, and they are recorded in the Side Quest Tab of your Quest Log. Each side quest is a small adventure you can pursue. None are required to beat the game, but these optional quests will always involve prizes of some kind or another, be it rare and valuable loot won from a foe, or a reward in thanks for helping someone in need. Side quests are organized by the location they take place in. Quests that have been completed are checked off. Sometimes you must return to the person who gave you the optional quest, in order to complete it, but not always. Pay attention to which is which, to make sure you get your reward. Talking to People Only people with talk icons will talk to you The icon tells you if their message is for a quest, or if its just informational After you talk to someone, their talk icon will go gray If they have new information for you, their icon will light up again People have lots to say to you. Try clicking on them more than once

Merchants

All sorts of weapons and armor are for sale at your local merchants. You can spot a merchant by his market stand, tent, or wagon-cart, and the icon above his head. There are three basic types of merchant in Titan Quest: Trader: a general shop with a standard selection of goods Blacksmith: specializing in items for warfare, rogue, and hunting Masteries Arcanist: magic users of all types visit these shops Buying and selling is a straightforward affair. It begins by clicking on a merchant.

Buying

The goods a merchant has to sell are divided into categories:

Maps and Travel

In Titan Quest, you will travel far across the ancient world. No adventurer would set out on such a journey without a good map. Luckily, you have several types of maps at your disposal.

Weapons

The Compass Map
Armor The first map that you will see is the Compass Map. It sits in the top right corner of your screen, and is excellent for at-a-glance navigation. The Compass Map shows an eagles-eye view of the terrain. Your current location is displayed just left of the map useful if you are looking for something in a specific place. The small button in the top right corner of the map is the map size toggle. This button switches the Compass Map between small, large, and hidden. You will find several icons on the compass map. To buy, left click on the item. If you have enough gold, its yours. If you cant afford it, your mouse cursor will change to show this. You will also be warned if you try to buy something when you have no inventory space. The stock a merchant carries will not stay the same forever. While the window is open, you can sell back and buy back items for exactly the same price. However, if you step away, costs will change. If enough time goes by, the merchants entire stock will change over and the items you sold him will be gone. Rebirth Fountains Quest items NPCs Merchants Portals Other players in multiplayer Mouse-over icons for extra info. In multiplayer games, you will also see party members on the map. Party members who are too far away to be shown are displayed on the map-edge, indicating the direction in which you should travel to find them.

The Portal System

Naturally, you can get around the world of Titan Quest just fine on foot. However, sometimes you want a faster way to travel. Spread throughout the ancient world, located in just about every city and safe area, are Portals. When you come near one of these Portals, you will activate it. When you click on a Portal, you will be presented with a map of the entire land. All the Portals that you have activated in that region will be shown. Simply click on one of them to travel there.

Equipment

There is a lot of equipment in Titan Quest. You will find exotic swords and spears. You will find magical staffs that shoot fire. You will find greaves, helms, rings, robes and bows. Taking all the sorts of average and above-average equipment together, there are thousands of items waiting to be won, plundered or bought in Titan Quest.

The Basics Item Types

Weapons divide into the following categories. Melee weapons, which are weapons you use at close range, come in many varieties: swords, knives, clubs, spears and axes all do different amounts of damage at different speeds. Ranged weapons, on the other hand, divide into bows and staffs. Staffs fire some type of elemental damage: either fire, ice or lightning.
Armor is divided into pieces. There is armor for the chest, arms, legs and head as well as shields. Armor is generally divided into armor for warriors and armor for magic users. Magic users will generally wear robes and lighter armor that provide benefits other than mere protection, such as enhanced life or energy regeneration, and movement speed. Items generally require that you be strong, quick, or smart enough to use them properly. To learn more about attribute requirements for equipment, see (p.24).
Superior Gear Magical Items
In your adventures, some items you find will have special powers and properties. You can tell right away by their names. A magical sword might be named the Bloodthirsty Short Sword or the Enfeebling Short Sword of Destruction! When you go to pick one of these up, the text color will be different than that of a normal item. A magical item will have one or sometimes several bonuses. Magical items can make you stronger, swifter, and more deadly. They will also often fetch a higher price on the market. Standard

(white) Found everywhere. No bonuses. Imbued with magical properties Some Magical items have several powerful bonuses These unique magical items have names, histories, and bestow powerful bonuses on those who use them Rarer than rare, these unique items have earned fame in the songs and tales of heroes of myth. They are generally superior to any other equipment in the game.

Item Quality

Equipment can be made of several different materials. Since oak is stronger than pine, and iron is stronger than bronze, an oak bow will be better than a pine one, and an iron helm will be better than one made of bronze or copper. Different items are classified differently. For instance, most weapons only come in three material types. Chest armor for fighters can cover more or less of you (breastplate covers more than a corselet), material type (bronze is better than copper), and quality (ornamented is better than embossed).

Magical

(yellow)

(green)

Epic Copper Knife Good Bronze Knife Better Iron Knife Best

(blue)

Legendary

(purple)

Item Sets
Some Epic and Legendary items come in sets. Wearing one item from a set is like wearing any other unique item, but when you have a second item from the same set equipped, an extra bonus is added. Each extra item you add increases the bonus. Equipment sets generally consist of two to five items. Information about sets is always shown on each item.
Harness Better than nothing

Breastplate Good

Suit Best

Relics and Charms

Over the course of time, possessions of a god or a great hero will come to be imbued with the power of their owner. If you were to find a piece of such a belonging, called a Relic, there are ways to harness that power for yourself by attaching it to your equipment. Similarly, there certain great beasts, so superior in grace and power among their kind, that even after they perish, some of their greatness lingers. Hunters and nomads claim a piece of such an animal, called a Monster Charm, will act exactly as a Relic does when applied to ones equipment. Dont look for Relics and Monster Charms among merchants wares. In Titan Quest, they can only be found or won. A Relic Shard A Monster Charm
Once a Relic or Charm is fixed to an item, it can never be removed. If you attach a Relic shard to something and then find another shard of the same type, dont worry. You can add the second piece to the item. The same goes for Monster Charms. Remember, you can only ever combine Relics and Charms of the same type. Tips Combine Relic and Charm pieces of the same type Relics and Charms can only be attached to certain equipment types Once attached, Relics and Charms can never be removed You can combine a Relic or Charm piece with one already attached to an item (of the same type, only!)

Difficulty Levels

All good stories come to an end. When your heroic adventures in the world of Titan Quest reach the final chapter and you emerge victorious against all your foes, is it so long, farewell? It doesnt have to be. When you complete Titan Quest, you unlock a new difficulty level for that character: Epic mode. Your hero, with all the levels, loot and powers youve earned, returns to the dusty Greek road where it all began. Only this time the monsters are harder and the rewards are higher. And what happens when you defeat Epic? The answer is Legendary mode. Epic is hard, but it will take more than perseverance to beat Legendary mode. To stand a chance in Legendary mode, youll want to collect at least a few Legendary Items. Legendary Items are high-level unique equipment that begins to appear late in Epic difficulty mode. Even then, you may want to try Legendary mode in the safety of numbers in multiplayer mode. Difficulty Levels Normal Difficulty Epic Difficulty Legendary Difficulty The adventure starts here Harder Zeuss bolts thats hard! Bring some Legendary Equipment and some friends!

Attaching a Relic shard or Monster Charm to certain equipment grants a bonus to that equipment. Relic and Charm pieces of the same type can also be combined until a complete Charm or Relic is formed. Each piece you add increases the bonus granted. When a Relic or Charm is completed, it gains extra bonuses above and beyond the standard one.

1 relic piece

partially complete

complete set

The mouse-over text for a Relic or Charm tells you what bonus it will give, what equipment it can be attached to, and how many pieces must be combined to form a whole. To attach or combine a Relic or Monster Charm, right click on it. You can now apply it to any valid item, which will be highlighted in green when you move over it. To attach or combine, left-click. To cancel and return the Charm or Relic to you inventory, right-click. (You can, of course, move Relics and Monster Charms around your inventory like normal items by left-clicking on them first, instead of right-clicking.) When you apply a Relic or Monster Charm to an item, the items inventory image will change.
Note: Relics and Charms cannot be attached to Epic or Legendary items.
In Titan Quest, playing in multiplayer is as easy as playing in singleplayer mode. In fact, you may move your hero between single- and multiplayer games whenever you wish. Join up with as many as six other players to adventure, trade, or battle online or over a network. The world and story of Titan Quest remain the same in multiplayer mode. The only difference is that you face the challenges with your friends fighting at your side.
Level Range: Set the number of levels above and below your own allowed for players joining the game. When everything is set as desired, press the Start button to begin.

Joining

To join a multiplayer game, simply select Join Multiplayer, choose LAN (Local Area Network) or Internet, and press the start button. This will bring you to the Join Window. The Join Window displays all available games.

Logging On

From the Titan Quest main menu, select Play Titan Quest. Just as in single-player mode, select your character or create a new one. Then choose Join Multiplayer or Host Multiplayer from the play mode menu.

Hosting

Note: Hosting a game means that your computer will act as the server. See the Readme file installed with Titan Quest for the machine and bandwidth specifications recommended for optimal performance.

Defense

Training in defense provides the means to fend off physical attacks, effectively use defensive equipment such as shields and armor, and recover quickly from damage dealt by enemies. Primary training includes use of shields and armor, attack avoidance, and utilizing the bodys own regenerative power to boost recovery. Concussive Blow Passive Club-type weapons have chance to stun. Improves all stun attacks. Adrenaline Passive Chance of increased life regeneration when hit. Resilience Adrenaline rush can happen more often. Defensive Reaction Adds damage and speed to boost.
Rally Active Buff Heal and short life regeneration boost to nearby allies. Inspiration Adds mana regeneration. Defiance Adds defense and chance of damage reflection. Battle A wareness Energy Reserve Enter a state of enhanced defense. Focus Makes shields more effective. Iron Will Adds stun, trap, disruption and freeze resistances. Quick Recovery Active Buff Increase shield block recovery and armor absorption for a time. Shield Charge Active Running attack with shield that stuns your enemy. Disruption Charged enemies cannot use skills for a time. Batter Active Strike enemies with your shield, slowing their attack. Rend Armor Hit multiple targets, reducing their armor for a time. Colossus Form Active Assume the form of a giant for a short time. Armor Handling Passive Lower armor requirements, increase armor absorption. Shield Smash Weapon Pool Chance to smash enemies with your shield. Disable Weapon Pool Chance to disable enemies, slowing their attacks. Pulverize Weapon Pool Chance to stun one or several enemies.

Hunting

The art of hunting has been cultivated since before civilized times as a means of sustenance and sport. However, in these times, the skills of the hunter are put to better use tracking and slaying the monstrous quarry that now plagues every human land. The arts of hunting concern mastery of bow and spear, mobility, and tricks for fighting enemies on your terms. Ensnare Active Thrown net that keeps enemies from moving. Barbed Netting Netted enemies take bleeding damage. Study Prey Active Lower enemy physical and pierce resistance. Flush Out Lowers all enemy resistances. Call of the Hunt Active Buff Grant attack speed boost to yourself and nearby allies. Exploit Weakness Adds enhanced pierce and bleeding damage. Marksmanship Active Primary Attack Shoot arrow with increased speed and damage. Puncture Shot Arrows fly through enemy and hit those behind it. Increases pierce and bleeding damage. Scatter Shot Arrows fragment on impact, damaging nearby enemies. Take Down Active Strike with a forceful, well-aimed blow of your spear. Eviscerate Adds bleeding damage. Gouge Weapon Pool Chance of bleeding damage with bow or spear. Volley Chance to attack three times with bow or spear.

Survival Instinct Wolves can rally when their health is low. Strength of the Pack Wolves howl, buffing all nearby. Sylvan Nymph Active Summon Summon a bow-wielding nymph. Overgrowth Nymph can cast a living shield with retaliation damage on allies. Natures Wrath Adds elemental damage to Nymphs attack. Plague Active Cast a poisonous disease that spreads among enemies. Fatigue Saps strength and speed from those afflicted. Susceptibility Further lowers speed and damage resistance.
Ravages of Time Enemy weapons dull and armor crumbles. Necrosis Makes enemies susceptible to life-sapping attacks. Life Drain Active Steal life from enemies. Cascade Life drain arcs from enemy to enemy. Enslave Spirit Active Control the mind of an enemy, for a while. Summon Outsider Active Summon Summon an extra-dimensional ally for a short duration. Vision of Death Active Fill the minds of enemies with fear and confusion. Dark Covenant Active Buff Energy regeneration boost at the cost of life. Unearthly Power Better attack speed, damage is converted to life, plus extra elemental damage. Summon Liche King Active Summon Summons the spirit of an undead mage. Death Nova Deadly aura that saps the life and strength of enemies. Wraith Shell Increased resistance to all damage types. Arcane Blast A new powerful attack. , Spirit Ward Energy Reserve Ward protects all from undead near you. Spirit Bane Nearby allies do extra damage to undead. Circle of Power Active Buff Create a circle that protects against the undead.

Spirit

Those who study the forbidden lore of death know that in the absence of corporeal life, the immortal spirit may yet persist. Spirit lore begins with mastery of ones own spirit, but in time allows for the manipulation of other spiritual energy. Spirit masters can manipulate spiritual energy and life force, gain dominion over the dead, assault their enemies minds, and strike dark bargains with powerful beings. Ternion Attack Active Primary Atack Fire three projectiles from your staff that go faster, do extra damage. Arcane Lore Adds speed boost and area damage. Death Ward Active Buff This ward will heal you if your life gets too low. Deathchill Aura Active Buff Aura slows and saps life from enemies. Also saps your life.

Charts and Diagrams

Mastery Combination
Spirit Spirit Nature Rogue Hunting Storm Earth Defense Warfare Theurgist Wanderer Rogue Hunter Stormcaller Pyromancer Defender Warrior Warfare Spellbreaker Champion Assassin Slayer Thane Battlemage Conquerer Defense Spellbinder Guardian Corsair Warden Paladin Juggernaut Earth Conjurer Summoner Magician Avenger Storm Oracle Druid Sorcerer Sage Hunting Bone Charmer Ranger Brigand Rogue Warlock Nature Soothsayer

Damage and Resistance Types

Physical Damage

All physical damage is blocked by armor (p.60), except for pierce, which penetrates armor. Pierce damage is blocked by pierce resistance. Damage Good old physical damage Pierce Ratio A percentage of damage goes straight through armor Bonus Damage Extra physical damage

Retaliation Damage

Most damage is dealt when you attack. Retaliation damage happens when someone attacks you. When armor or a magical item grants you retaliation damage, every melee attack against you will cause harm to your assailant.

Illusionist

Elementalist

Elemental Damage

Each element is blocked by its resistance type, instead of armor. Elemental resistance blocks all elemental types.

Melee Full melee

Damage Over Time
Hybrid Full Caster Caster
Fire Cold Lightning Elemental (all three combined)

Burn Frostburn

Fire damage over time Cold damage over time

Attack and Defense

A melee attack will not always strike its target; the to-hit test below is used to determine whether a blow lands on an enemy. A ranged attack, on the other hand, always does damage if it strikes its target. Both ranged and melee attacks do physical damage as described below.
Poison Bleeding Life Leech
Poison causes damage until it wears off Lose health until bleeding subsides Health is stolen and given to the attacker

Hitting

Offensive Ability Defensive Ability

Based on Dexterity

Energy Leech Energy is stolen and given to the attacker Energy Burn Enemys energy pool turns to fire in their veins, depleting their energy and hurting them at the same time
To Hit = Random Number x (Offensive Ability Defensive Ability) attacker defender

To Hit Result

High: Critical Medium: Hit Low: Miss

Other Types of Attack

Disruption Stun Freeze Ensnare Speed reduction Disable all skills for a duration Enemy cant move or attack while stunned Like stun, but colder Ensnared enemy cant move, but can attack Decrease speed of attack, casting, movement or all three
Base Damage = Weapon Damage + Bonuses + Skill Damage + Critical Damage Base Damage x Strength Multiplier = Physical Damage

Physical Defense

Physical attacks randomly fall on one armor region

SOFTW ARE Agent movement powered by PathEngine www.pathengine.com
This product contains software technology licensed from GameSpy Industries, Inc. 1999-2005 GameSpy Industries, Inc. All rights reserved. Uses Bink Video. Bink Video. 1997-2006 by RAD Game Tools, Inc. This product includes cryptographic software written by Eric Young (eay@cryptsoft.com) 1995-1998 Eric Young (eay@cryptsoft.com). All rights reserved. This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit. (http://www.openssl.org/) 1998-2004 The OpenSSL Project. All rights reserved. This product includes software from the G3D Project (http://g3d-cpp.sf.net). 2000-2006, Morgan McGuire. All rights reserved.

Wheelhouse Entertainment

Writer Randall Wallace Story Consultant/Editor Danielle Lemmon Story Consultant/Editor Stephen Zapotoczny Story Consultants Kevin Gugle Jill Rytie Jason Tracey

Opening Cinematic

Blur Studios

Voice Over Credits

Dialog Recording & Editing Atlantis Group Recording Engineer John Chominsky Dialog Editor Jaimie Siedow Dialog Casting and Direction Voice Works Productions

TroubleShooting

Technical Support If your computer meets the minimum system requirements and you are having trouble running Titan Quest, first make sure that your graphics and sound drivers are up to date, and that the latest version of DirectX is installed. Download DirectX from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/ Consult the documentation or manufacturers website of your graphics and audio cards for information on updating your drivers. For further help, please refer to the Limited Warranty page at the back of the manual. Titan QuestTM settings should be automatically tuned to your system specifications. If the game performs poorly at the default settings, experiment with lowering various graphics options until game performance improves.

Notes:

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