Hero Overview Torchlight Infinite
Last Updated:October 25, 2024|Changelog
Welcome to the Hero Overview! This article is the place to be if you're undecided on what character to play. Each of the unique Heroes in Torchlight Infinite are specialized for different playstyles; these should be thought of as archetype enablers rather than "classes". Every Hero in Torchlight Infinite has up to 3 Hero Traits which further customize gameplay. Much like Ascendancies in Path of Exile, or sub-classes in Lost Ark these can completely change the type of build a Hero is best for. For example, Carino's Lethal Flash Trait allows projectile skills to Shotgun and Return, making sources of additional projectiles become a powerful damage multiplier!
Hero Trait Selection is permanent, so if you start playing Carino's Lethal Flash Trait and want to swap to his Ranger of Glory Trait later, you need to level a new character. A wide selection of base Hero Traits are available to you when you start playing Torchlight Infinite.
The newest Hero Trait comes with the Season Pass that is available for $15, this unlocks at level 1 so you don't need to grind to play the new character.
Base Traits
The following Hero Traits are available to all players when they begin their Torchlight Infinite journey. If you're looking for a "first build" to play, consider one of the following;
- Berserker Rehan - Anger
- This is an attack-focused hero, ideal for players who want to get up close and personal.
- Divineshot Carino - Ranger of Glory
- Ranger is in the name, and all things projectile are his game.
- Frostfire Gemma - Ice-Fire Fusion
- With a heart of flame, and mind of ice Gemma specializes in Elemental damage.
- Spacetime Witness Youga - Spacetime Illusion
- A trickster mage who summons a copy of himself.
- Commander Moto - Order Calling
- Why fight alone when you can summon a Mechanical army?
Leveling speed shouldn't be the deciding factor for your Hero Trait of choice. The average player needs about 5 hours to reach level 68 and unlock the end game content. Once you reach that point, the leveling speed of a Hero Trait won't matter anymore for the rest of your journey in the world of Leptis.
Rehan
Anger Identity
With Berserker Rehan's Anger Trait, attack enemies to generate Rage, which Bursts forth to damage enemies. Once Rehan starts Berserking that's when things get serious. This buff greatly amplifies his Rage effects in exchange for slowly draining his Rage.
Playstyle
Burst, is Anger's trait-specific skill and deals damage based on Rehan's weapon. This is the core of his identity and crucial to building Rehan - Anger. As you progress your Hero Trait you gain the ability to support this for even more damage. While you do use Attacks, they're primarily there to generate Rage and provide utility for your Burst.
Anger Pros & Cons
- Base (Free) Trait
- Burst is your identity
- Great for Attack Builds
- Bad with Spells
- Needs CDR Scaling
- Weak in the first few levels
To start leveling your Berserker Rehan - Anger Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Seething Silhouette Identity
Rehan's Seething Silhouette allows you to harness the power of his Seething Spirit to strike nearby foes with your Main Attack Skill. Seething Silhouette utilizes a powerful Berserk mode increasing your damage and Attack Speed.
Playstyle
Your goal on Rehan - Seething Silhouette is to build around his Spirit to amplify your damage and passively kill enemies as you run past. After level 60, you are Disarmed while Berserking, making you totally reliant on the Spirit for your damage. But in exchange, the Spirit's damage is greatly amplified. Maximize your Berserk uptime to ensure the Spirit is active and attacking your enemies.
Seething Silhouette Pros & Cons
- Passive Damage
- Great for Attacks
- Powerful Endgame Scaling
- Close Range
- Bad for Spells
- Low Base Spirit Duration
To start leveling your Berserker Rehan - Seething Silhouette Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Carino
Ranger of Glory Identity
Divineshot Carino's Ranger of Glory Trait specializes in enhancing projectile Skills via Special Ammo. Be it Attacks, or Spells if you can shoot the Skill forward, up or in a parabolic arc (IE: projectiles) Carino is a great choice. Reload is a bit clunky at first but effects like Ammo Expert and Magic Shot streamline it making him much easier to play.
Playstyle
Your goal is to consume as much Special Ammo as possible, applying additional Supports to your projectile skills and keeping Magic Shot active. Being able to add up to 2-3 more Supports (one of which can be an exclusive Noble support) to your skills gives you unparalleled flexibility.
Ranger of Glory Pros & Cons
- Base (Free) Trait
- Excels with Projectiles
- Can use Attacks or Spells
- Projectile Skills only
- Mechanically clunky
- Struggles to scale defense
To start leveling your Divineshot Carino - Ranger of Glory Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Lethal Flash Identity
Carino's Lethal Flash trait is all about Shotgun Effect, which means you often play him in melee range to maximize overlaps. Being able to shotgun means additional projectiles are additional damage and he can even modify the Shotgun Effect coefficient.
Playstyle
Pick a projectile skill, stack additional projectiles then get close to enemies and blast them. Depending on your choices, you can invest into Return for additional hits and gain large damage multipliers in exchange for more ammo management. Reloading is very much a thing, but you can use Mobility skills to make this easier.
Lethal Flash Pros & Cons
- Shotgunning
- Boomerang Bullets
- Spectacular Single Target
- Requires Positioning
- Ammo Management
- Only Works with Horizontal Projectiles
To start leveling your Divineshot Carino - Lethal Flash Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Zealot of War Identity
Divineshot Carino's Zealot of War trait represents him abandoning everything to focus on the thrill of the fight. Zealot of War has two modes of operation, Mobile Mode where he zips around the battlefield rapidly eliminating weaker foes, and Annihilator Mode which brings maximum damage against Elite foes. This Hero Trait also has multiple Knockback synergies allowing you to use Self-Knockback for additional mobility.
Playstyle
Remember to switch between the two modes depending on whether you need single target damage or clear speed. Because you gain the most damage in Annihilator Mode after activating, Heat Up Overheated or Burning Red there's quite a bit of ramp up time on this build. But the numbers you achieve after ramping are impressive. The higher his stacks, the greater his damage but also the lower his accuracy when using forward-firing projectile skills. Like with Lethal Flash and Ranger of Glory you need to stick to Projectile skills to benefit from his scaling.
Zealot of War Pros & Cons
- High top end damage
- Fast in Mobility Mode
- Great with Projectile skills
- Limited to Projectiles
- Long ramp-up for max damage
To start leveling your Divineshot Carino - Zealot of War Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Gemma
Ice-Fire Fusion Identity
Gemma's Ice-Fire Fusion Trait specializes in dealing both Fire and Ice. She gains bonuses to Fire damage when dealing Cold damage, and vice versa meaning you want a bit of each. Her Frostfire Rampage draws upon the power of Fusion Energy to magnify your damage bonuses for a duration.
Playstyle
You can play Ice-Fire Fusion with either attacks or spells, but it's very important to deal both Fire and Cold damage. Her 75 traits reward you for starting with a Cold skill, by either giving a portion of Cold as extra Fire or converting Cold damage to Fire damage.
Ice-Fire Fusion Pros & Cons
- Base (Free) Trait
- Beginner friendly
- Wide range of viable builds
- Relies on Buffs
- Requires Elemental Skills
- Complex mechanics to build
To start leveling your Frostfire Gemma - Ice-Fire Fusion Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Frostbitten Heart Identity
Gemma's Frostbitten Heart Trait specializes in Cold damage, Frostbite, and Freeze enemies. After condemning your enemies to a wintery grave, unleash Cold Pulses to take out everything else in a large radius.
Playstyle
With the additional bonuses to Frostbite it's very easy to Freeze enemies. In addition, you can use Cold Pulse to accelerate your clear speed while focusing on a skill that primarily does single target damage. Because of these synergies, you need to invest into Freezing enemies, but beyond that, there's a lot of Attack, Spell, and DoT Cold skills you can use. Frostbitten Heart is easy to play and beginner friendly.
Frostbitten Heart Pros & Cons
- Great clear
- Freeze is amazing!
- Perfect for Cold damage
- Must use Cold damage
- Reliant on managing your Freeze
- Significant build overlap with other Heroes
To start leveling your Frostfire Gemma - Frostbitten Heart Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Flame of Pleasure Identity
Gemma has been consumed by her inner Flames, and possesses the power to unleash Armageddon upon her enemies! Her core mechanic is Purgatory a zone that increases the damage taken by all enemies within. This has a generous AoE so you're not restricted to strict melee range, but definitely want to keep your enemies closer than your friends.
Playstyle
Make sure Purgatory is active to maximize your damage. Because her level 75 Hero Traits focus on Fire Damage, this does restrict the skills you can use a bit. However, as long as Purgatory is active your Hero Trait just works making her easy to play. She has a lot of damage and even some solid defenses via Dress Licker. Watch out for ranged enemies who can strike at you from outside of your Purgatory.
Flame of Pleasure Pros & Cons
- Massive AoE
- Beginner Friendly
- Perfect trait for Fire builds
- Reliant on Purgatory
- End traits give Fire bonuses
To start leveling your Frostfire Gemma - Flame of Pleasure Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Youga
Spacetime Illusion Identity
Youga never fights alone, he summons a Spacetime Illusion which copies your Main Spell Skills. Unfortunately, the Illusion hasn't quite figured out how to use Attacks or Channeled Skills but is a great way to add a consistent source of damage so you can focus on dodging! Most importantly Youga does not use hair spray and reminds you of this frequently.
Playstyle
Youga - Spacetime Illusion has a very easy playstyle due to the passive damage built into his Hero Trait. Your clone is very good at targeting enemies and attacking them independently. As you continue investing in your build, the illusion does most of your damage making the build even easier to play. Just focus on dodging, casting some support skills, and moving around to pick up the loot.
Spacetime Illusion Pros & Cons
- Base (Free) Trait
- Powerful Spellcaster
- Clone deals passive damage
- Can't use Attacks
- Clone can't use some Skills
To start leveling your Spacetime Witness Youga - Spacetime Illusion Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Spacetime Elapse Identity
Embracing the Void, Youga's Spacetime Elapse Hero Trait is good for all things damage over time. His Twisted Spacetime records a portion of the DoT damage you deal to enemies greatly amplifying your output and then unleashing it via Spacetime Turbulence.
Playstyle
The main downside of Spacetime Elapse is that you need to get comfortable with Reaping and Reap Purification two highly complex mechanics that remove life from enemies. A lot of your damage is reliant on Twisted Spacetime so Elapse may struggle against highly mobile elites and bosses but aside of that has an easy playstyle due to the persistence from damage over time effects.
Spacetime Elapse Pros & Cons
- Strong DoT Trait
- Scales well with gear
- Multiplies Reaping damage
- Only good for DoTs
- Heavily reliant on Reaping sources
- Weaker vs highly mobile enemies
To start leveling your Spacetime Witness Youga - Spacetime Elapse Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Moto
Order Calling Identity
If you like Minion builds, then Commander Moto is your dwarf! Order Calling specializes in enhancing your Summon Machine Guard, Summon Spider Tank, and Summon Grim Phantom Skills via Overload. This makes for a more active playstyle than many Minion builds in other ARPGs.
Playstyle
Your minions are largely persistent, because Overload refreshes their duration when used. Last Stand makes your Minions immortal, preventing their death by damage so long as Overload is active, and many of Moto's other Hero Traits focus on enhancing Overload effect. You need to invest into Cooldown and Skill Effect duration to ensure permanent Overload but after that this Hero is extremely easy to play!
Build into Command to further maximize your damage. This resource decays over time but offers significant bonuses. Check out our Minion Mechanics guide to learn more about how Command works and what to do to maximize it!
Order Calling Pros & Cons
- Base (Free) Trait
- Minion Builds
- Beginner and Mobile friendly
- May cause lag
- Must use minions
- Limited mobility options
To start leveling your Moto - Order Calling Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Charge Calling Identity
Sometimes to build you have to destroy. Moto, Charge Calling arms his minions with Self-Destruct Protocol causing them to charge a nearby enemy and explode for massive damage. Initially you need to use your Hero Trait actively to "arm" your Minions for detonation but later on you get several options to automate this for a super smooth playstyle.
Playstyle
Initially the playstyle is a bit clunky, especially during the early part of the campaign, but later on it smooths out. As your Minions explode on enemies, you run around collecting Mechanical Parts to collect damage bonuses or summon even more exploding Minions! If Order Calling is all about turning your Synthetic Troops into immortal killing machines, Charge Calling is about blowing up an expendable army then summoning more to blow those up as well.
Charge Calling Pros & Cons
- Easy to play
- Exploding Minions!
- Highly automated damage
- Can cause lag
- Limited mobility options
- Screen Clutter everywhere
To start leveling your Commander Moto - Charge Calling Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Thea
Wisdom of The Gods Identity
Thea channels the power of the 6 gods through her Blessings, so naturally her identity revolves around using Agility Blessing, Focus Blessing, and Tenacity Blessing to charge Divine Punishment for massive damage. Thea is a great choice for both Spell builds, or Attack builds, and she often has massive bursts of damage!
Playstyle
Wisdom of the Gods revolves around Focus Blessings giving you more damage the more of them you have. Think of this as a high floor, high ceiling trait that tends to struggle in the early game but excels once you get a lot of Blessings. She's pretty flexible, with the ability to scale Spells, Attacks and even Damage over Time but has a higher entry cost than many other Hero Traits.
Wisdom of The Gods Pros & Cons
- High burst damage
- Versatile build options
- Tons of stats from Charge stacking
- Reliant on items
- Weak early game
- Requires charge stacking
To start leveling your Thea - Wisdom of The Gods Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Incarnation of the Gods Identity
Thea creates a Divine Realm with her Trait Skill. Within the Divine Realm Agility Blessings become Tenacity and while outside of it all Tenacity Blessings become Agility.
Playstyle
There are two ways to play Incarnation of the Gods, focusing on Agility Blessings and staying outside of your Divine Realm, or maximizing Tenacity Blessings and staying within the realm. Like with Thea's first trait, the power you get here heavily scales with your maximum Blessings, resulting in an early game struggle. Agility Blessings give you bonuses against Full Life enemies, making this playstyle ideal for quickly clearing weaker foes. Alternatively, Tenacity Blessings provide additional damage against Low Life enemies. Look for ways to modify enemy life thresholds to maximize your damage.
Incarnation of the Gods Pros & Cons
- High speed
- Burst damage
- Automatic blessing generation
- Reliant on Gear
- Must stack Blessings
- Awkward campaign leveling
For more Thea - Incarnation of the Gods Builds check out our Leveling Guide here.
Erika
Wind Stalker Identity
Erika is a highly mobile Hero who utilizes movement to deal damage through Multistrikes. She excels at using Attack Skills and feels great to play due to the high Movement Speed. She may feel a little inconsistent at times, because you need to move to build Stalker stacks to maximize your damage.
Playstyle
Wind Stalker scales off of Movement Speed and Multistrike two keywords that require significant investment. It can be difficult to get these stats in the early game, which when paired with her lack of defenses makes the leveling experience tedious. But as your speed starts to come online, Wind Stalker starts to feel better and a lack of defenses are less of an issue. After all, if you're too fast for enemies to hit you, they can't damage you!
Wind Stalker Pros & Cons
- Speedster
- Great for Attack Builds
- Scales with movement
- Lacks innate defenses
- Poor choice for Spells
- Must move to deal damage
To start leveling your Cateye Erika - Wind Stalker Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Lightning Shadow Identity
Erika's second hero trait runs on Aember technology. She Electrifies herself to Numb enemies with her Feline Figure. This is a double-edged sword, because all of her toolkit revolves around this gameplay loop.
Playstyle
Run around while building into Lightning damage, inflicting Numbed on enemies then building stacks. When you're able to maintain this, she provides good damage. But especially in the early game she struggles to inflict her debuffs on enemies which severely limits her damage output. In addition Numbed relies on you doing enough damage to remove large chunks of enemy health, making it a "win more" mechanic that only shines once you're fully geared.
Lightning Shadow Pros & Cons
- Highly mobile
- Passive Hero Trait
- Master of Lightning
- Lacks defenses
- Ailments are complicated
- Must build around Numbed
To start leveling your Cateye Erika - Lightning Shadow Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Bing
Blast Nova Identity
Are you a big fan of Projectiles and a bigger fan of explosions? Then Bing's your guy! He loads Projectile Skills into his bombs which explode releasing the Projectiles in a Nova to damage all nearby foes. The more bombs you throw, the higher your EPS (explosions per second).
Playstyle
Bing has a lot of atypical mechanical interactions. Make sure to read all of his Hero Traits to fully understand how his bombs interact with Spell Burst, Projectile Quantity, and Sentry or Einherjar skills. As a result, there's a lot of mechanical complexity when building Bing but he's easy to play, toss bombs and watch enemies explode!
Blast Nova Pros & Cons
- Projectiles in a Nova
- Explosions Everywhere
- Works with Spells and Attacks
- Projectiles only
- Delayed damage
- Doesn't work with triggers
To start leveling your Escapist Bing - Blast Nova Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Iris
Growing Breeze Identity
Iris was once a Spirit Magi, therefore she's uniquely able to Nourish the Minions Summoned by Spirit Magi skills. Where most players need to equip Spirit Magi in their Passive Skill Slots, Iris has the option to equip them as Active Skills (they still Seal Mana), granting them accelerated Growth. Spirit Magus Skills use Growth to unlock their true potential gaining a chance to use more powerful versions of their abilities. Iris's Nourishment is a Trait-specific Empower skill which further enhances Spirit Magi, granting them additional damage.
Playstyle
Iris's playstyle varies a bit depending on the Spirit Magus skill you use. Each of the Spirit Magi have their own unique Enhanced Skill and Ultimate Skill which you unleash through your Nourishment.
- Summon Flame Spirit sets the world on fire with auras and AoE skills.
- Summon Frost Spirit fills the caster archetype while freezing foes solid.
- Summon Thunder Spirit attacks your enemies with skills that jump between targets.
In short, Iris is a support for her Spirit Magi friends, offering several unique playstyles tied to these skills.
Growing Breeze Pros & Cons
- Passive damage
- Mobile friendly playstyle
- Minions ressurect themselves
- Minion build
- Limited mobility
- Item reliant in the endgame
To start leveling your Forsken Iris - Growing Breeze Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Rosa
High Court Chariot Identity
Rosa is an irreverent Paladin, who would rather destroy Torchlight's foes than kiss the feet of Keegan's adherents. High Court Chariot is all about a zone of control. Wielding a shield in one hand and whatever else she damn well pleases in the other, Rosa dominates the battlefield. Blocking foes builds up Murderous Intent which she unleashes to create a Holy Domain, pulling enemies in for a nice shield bash to the face!
Playstyle
While there's a lot of flavor here, Rosa's toolkit lacks a lot of identity. She gets several generic bonuses, but they're reliant on her Holy Domain. If you invest into your block, Rosa is very tanky but her damage scaling is heavly reliant on the Murderous Intent.
Rosa's playstyle is fairly beginner friendly, but results in you remaining stationary to maximize the bonuses within your Holy Domain. Because Rosa's Domain skill pulls nearby enemies towards her, it's easy to stack foes up to mow them down. You can use either Attacks or Spells with Rosa, leaving her open to a variety of builds and playstyles.
High Court Chariot Pros & Cons
- Innate Defenses
- Can use Attacks or Spells
- Reliant on Holy Domain
- Lots of resource management
- Forces you to play in close range
To start leveling your Lightbringer Rosa - High Court Chariot Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Selena
Sing with the Tide Identity
Selena's first trait offers two unique playstyles. In her Bard Mode, she seamlessly glides through enemies while triggering abilities. Then switch to Loud Song Mode, sacrificing speed and mobility for raw damage. This dual identity means she has the ability to support several different playstyles.
Playstyle
Bard Mode is by far Selena's most unique feature. It enables her to do several things that aren't possible on other heroes like moving through enemies unhindered (without any investment), or channeling skills which normally require you to be stationary. In addition, she triggers skills in a manner similar to Activation Medium supports making her very good at breezing through areas while passively killing enemies.
In comparison, her Loud Song Mode is quite lackluster, it gives up all of these unique benefits in exchange for damage, something that you may not even need, depending on how geared you are. This can be a swap for single target, but depending on your build it may not outperform Bard Mode.
Sing with the Tide Pros & Cons
- Ignore collision in Bard Mode
- Incredibly smooth automated gameplay
- Awkward with some Skills
- Loud Song Mode is jarring
To start leveling your Tide Whisperer Selena - Sing with the Tide Build check out our Leveling Guide here.
Summary
Hopefully, this article can provide you some insight about the basics of each Hero Trait. If you are able to narrow things down to 2 or 3 options, check out some of the Leveling Guides linked throughout. While you can't change your Hero Trait once selected, but it's pretty easy to level a new character if you change your mind.
- Berserker Rehan
- Anger - Big man gets mad, and smashes everything!
- Seething Silhouette - Smash everything with help from your imaginary friend.
- Divineshot Carino
- Ranger of Glory - Projectile expert extraordinaire, from bows to guns he's your man.
- Lethal Flash - Meleeranger wielding the power of Shotguns for massive single target damage.
- Zealot of War - Swap between Mobility and Annihilation mode, keep firing when out of ammo to build up Heat and enter Burning Red.
- Frostfire Gemma
- Ice-Fire Fusion - Combine the power of Fire and Ice to Obliterate your foes!
- Frostbitten Heart - Let it snow, the cold never bothered me anyway.
- Flame of Pleasure - Brand your foes and watch the ensuing Armageddon!
- Spacetime Witness Youga
- Spacetime Illusion - A trickster whose Spacetime Illusion can copy Spells.
- Spacetime Elapse - This vaguely grape-flavored version of Youga specializes in DoTs and Reaping.
- Commander Moto
- Order Calling - From Summon Spider Tanks to Summon Machine Guard Moto's your man for all things Minion.
- Charge Calling - What's better than Minions? Minions that EXPLODE! PS: He's an Autobomber.
- Oracle Thea
- Wisdom of The Gods - Thea wields the power of Blessings to create massive bursts of damage.
- Incarnation of the Gods - Tired of her prayers going unanswered Thea decides to do it herself, wielding the power Agility and Tenacity Blessings.
- Cateye Erika
- Wind Stalker - She's a cat girl who specializes in Multistrike and going fast!
- Lightning Shadow - So fast she'll shock enemies to death with her Feline figure.
- Escapist Bing
- Blast Nova - He throws bombs that shoot projectiles in a nova.
- The Forsaken Iris
- Growing Breeze - Nourishes her Spirit Magi into powerful allies.
- Lightbringer Rosa
- High Court Chariot - runs over Torchlight's foes while blocking any form of retaliation with ease.
- Tide Whisper Selena
- Sing with the Tide - use Bard Mode to automatically trigger skills while moving or Loud Song mode to exchange speed and mobility for damage.
Credits
Written by Tenkiei
Reviewed by Raxxanterax, Xtra37