Uh, sorry to break it to you, but by design multiplayer in TL2 allows the game to be modded pretty much any way players wish. Play with your friends and you can either play vanilla or any kind of mods you want; play with strangers and you'll probably get an experience similar to what open bnet was like with D2.

As for the game itself, I've currently got a lvl 30 embermage in the middle of act 2, and the game is living up to my expectations. Difficulty seems well balanced on veteran, item drop rates are clearly geared towards a mostly single-player experience without grinding (a good thing, IMO), and gameplay is very fun (and rather intense at times). My username is also the same as mine here if anyone is down for some multiplayer.

having great fun in the game so far , decided i would solo the game first with one character and then go with multiplayer with other characters

in any case my account name is : liquidsnakehpks
currently lv33 outlander

I'm just about to reach level 19 for the first time. Playing, and losing, hardcore characters makes the progress slow, but so much more enjoyable :D
...if you enjoy gut wrenching terror, that is. Ooh yeah, baby!

Anyone feel free to add me Whitewraith. I have a 18 level Beserker

Loving this game just soloing right now but may try multiplayer later.

aluinie is my character name.

DRM exists to make people decide to pirate over paying for the game...?

I don't think you know what piracy is.

Nor do you know what DRM is (Hint: It's not cheat protection). See DarkPhoenix's post.

Elite is freaking tough, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Really keeps one on his/her toes.

2nd hardest difficulty is not difficult, the bosses have a lot of HP but if you drink pots you can pretty much tank the damage with a Vanquisher.

Not quite, cheat protection is DRM, but DRM isn't cheat protection. All the best cheat protection mechanisms are ultimately DRM. Things like making the server do the calculations and banning players that are caught cheating are DRM or require DRM.

On a side note, anybody catch the Silence of the Lambs reference in the Stockade? ROFL.

My whole point was not to argue for or against DRM or the difference between DRM and cheat protection, I really don't care one way or an other. All i was trying to say is Runic is a small team and they made an amazing game for a fair price and to pirate the game because or a multiplayer CD verification I think is not really fair to Runic.

AHHH well back to playing Torchlight 2

I wish all the "internet" characters were stored online like Diablo 2 b.net.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-09-18-torchlight-ii-dev-finds-digital-as-profitable-as-full-retail
This is why they may get my money eventually even if I hate it NOT being on gog. :) All devs should follow this. This guy is showing they make as much at $20 as they used to selling retail boxes at $60! I still haven't bought Witcher 2 mostly due to price. It's getting there though :) Not sure why it was released at $60. I'm sure they'll have a black friday sale and maybe I'll pick up a copy then (hopefully with TL2 in the cart also...heh). They only make $14 on a $60 box at retail. What kind of game would they be able to create at $30 digital?

NOBODY should be charging over $30 when it's digital download as this dev proves. I'd like to see TL3 make an even larger game and charge $30! Assuming TL2 is really 4x TL1 as the ceo said (maybe a moot issue then). I like HUGE games like the old days (wiz8 took me over 110 hours I think and I played twice to get both endings :)). But I get that $20 brings in a larger audience creating an even larger mod scene perhaps, so this isn't a complaint on TL2 really.

You can buy the offline installer from their site (unless I'm missing something & it's just not explaining needing steam to activate). Can someone confirm if all you need is a key to play it? No connection at all to steam etc? I checked the Knowledge base on their site and it doesn't really clear that up. I can probably live with a key, if that's all it is and it doesn't get to gog before thanksgiving. Whitewraith mentioned CD verification so I'm kind of confused. I really just don't want to hear you need the web to turn it on once the d/l is done. Am I done dealing with them after the d/l? Does the keycheck happen in the game, or via the web? Meaning 5yrs down the road, they go belly up, I can't connect to the server to activate on a system later ? They are very clear on their site you need to get your copy from the place of purchase or the activation doesn't work.

Quick warning: The new update has caused me to lose multiple hours of progress (though oddly not lvl, xp, or items, just progress with maps and quests). Other people are reporting a variety of issues since the update, including losing all the inventory in shared stash. I'm about to rage again.

Ouch, I think my response to Whitewraith just got deleted...LOL. I'm guessing for mentioning some name. I didn't realize there was a rule regarding that on a site with no DRM :) I could be wrong but since the response was very polite I can only guess that was it.

No matter...I'll happily support you at xmas anyway gog... ;)

Sorry Whitewraith, I can't be bothered to type that again, just know I did respond :)
Dang, not feeling so bad about waiting now. After reading the reviews I was pondering opening my wallet pre-gog getting it. Lets face it they are pretty glowing all around.
***puts wallet back***
I think I can wait until thanksgiving and move along now...ROFL. It should be pretty patched up by then (hopefully on gog then too) and I won't have any reason to RAGE over the patches. ;) Is that steam or something autopatching you, or did you do it yourself but had an option MonstaMunch?