As is widely known, with the launch of Diablo 4 Season 13 and Lord of Hatred expansion, the original four Torment tiers have been completely restructured into a new system of 12 tiers. These new T1–T12 tiers aren't merely a simple numerical scaling-up; rather, they serve to smooth out the overall difficulty curve.

More importantly, access to Torment difficulties is no longer automatically granted based on your character level; instead, it is now tied to The Pit. You must clear specific tiers within The Pit to unlock higher Torment levels. Torment I roughly correspond to the starting difficulty of the previous system and requires clearing Pit Tier 10; conversely, Torment XII (T12) is designed specifically for players seeking the ultimate challenge, benchmarked against Pit Tier 100, and has been playfully dubbed by the developers as the realm of the apex and the insane.

Whether you are playing a seasonal character or experiencing Lord of Hatred expansion content on Eternal Realm, you will be facing this brand-new 12-tier Torment difficulty system.

In particular, T12 difficulty represents the pinnacle of endgame efficiency. It not only yields the highest-quality loot but also offers a massive +1400% experience point bonus, empowering players to achieve the ultimate optimization of their character's attributes. Consequently, despite its daunting difficulty, countless players continue to flock to the challenge, striving to conquer Torment XII. If you are one of them, you cannot afford to miss this guide, as we will be sharing key tips to help you survive and thrive within this apex difficulty tier.

Boosting Your Toughness

To make steady progress in T12, defense is no longer a mere afterthought; it becomes a critical metric on par with your offensive capabilities. Therefore, the first step we must take is to significantly boost our character's Toughness attribute.

However, Toughness is not a single, standalone base stat; rather, it serves as a composite metric that takes into account three major factors: your Maximum Life, Armor, and Resistances. Its purpose is to provide a comprehensive assessment of your character's survivability when facing incoming damage. 

To achieve a high Toughness rating, the key lies in maintaining a healthy balance across these three defensive pillars; relying too heavily on a single attribute leaves you highly vulnerable, and prone to being instantly one-shot, when challenging the bosses of Torment XII. 

In short, for builds tackling T12 difficulty, I would recommend aiming for a Toughness rating of approximately 2 to 3 million in Softcore. In Hardcore, however, this target value should likely be doubled, reaching roughly 4 to 5 million.

Naturally, this implies that you must invest a considerable amount of effort into enhancing your gear. However, always remember: do not focus solely on stacking damage output while completely neglecting your defensive attributes.

Gear Stat Priority

Across the 12 difficulty tiers introduced in Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred, the ceiling for defensive capabilities has been raised significantly. You must approach the enhancement of your defenses with the same rigor you apply to offense, utilizing Tempering, Masterworking, and Greater Affixes to bolster your survivability.

The first step in building a solid defense is ensuring your foundational stats are robust. You can re-roll the stats on your gear, specifically Life, Armor, and Resistances, as these three elements constitute the core pillars of your defensive capabilities. When selecting gear, every defensive piece (Chest Armor, Pants, and Boots) should ideally incorporate as many of these three core elements as possible.

It is worth noting that All Resistances is an exceptionally rare and premium affix, typically regarded as a late-game attribute used to fine-tune and perfect a defensive build. Therefore, I highly recommend immediately configuring your loot filter to highlight All Resistances so you do not miss any gear pieces bearing this valuable attribute.

However, please be aware that within Horadric Cube, All Resistances is categorized as a defensive affix, rather than a standard resistance affix. This means you cannot obtain this specific affix simply by using basic Tuning Prisms; you must manually reroll your gear's defensive affixes to have a chance at rolling this particular premium stat.

As for Life and Armor, these two defensive attributes are incredibly easy to acquire, they are the absolute fundamentals. Your maximum Life serves as the base value for all Toughness calculations; beyond your standard defensive gear, weapons and rings are excellent sources for obtaining additional life.

If you are able to replace a secondary damage affix on your weapon with a Greater Affix (GA) tier Life affix, or even Life on Hit, your survivability will see a dramatic improvement, while the impact on your monster-clearing efficiency will be negligible. Therefore, it is recommended that you prioritize seeking out gear featuring defensive Greater Affixes. 

Furthermore, thanks to the new Horadric Cube feature introduced in Lord of Hatred, you have the opportunity to re-roll other affixes into offensive ones, allowing you to craft perfect Diablo 4 items with a three offensive, one defensive stat distribution!

Gear Selection

A practical issue arises here: in the endgame phase, most builds typically opt to equip Mythic Unique items, such as Heir of Perdition, or specific Unique items exclusive to their class. However, equipping too many offensive Mythic items can result in a severe deficiency of defensive affixes.

Conventional wisdom suggests that weapons should be dedicated solely to damage output; however, at T12 difficulty, affixes such as Life on Hit and high Maximum Life on a weapon serve as excellent supplements to your survivability. Since gloves and talismans currently provide the vast majority of multiplicative damage bonuses in Diablo 4, replacing a weapon's elemental damage bonus with a defensive affix results in a negligible overall loss of damage output.

Currently, in Diablo 4 Season 13, one of the most dominant defensive gear pieces is undoubtedly Endurant Faith. Although it occupies an offensive gear slot, if your build is already capable of effortlessly one-shotting packs of monsters at T12 difficulty, then sacrificing one offensive affix slot to equip these Unique gloves is more than enough to completely resolve any survivability issues you may face.

If your build generates an exceptionally high amount of healing or Life on Hit, then items like Temerity unique pants can suddenly become a top-tier choice. These pants convert your excess healing into a massive, consistently stable barrier shield, thereby significantly raising your survivability ceiling.

Now, for a cautionary tale: you have undoubtedly heard of Tyrael's Might, but it is not always the absolute best-in-slot option for defense. Unless a Tyrael's Might drops with a Greater Affix for All Resistance or Damage Reduction, a Legendary chest piece featuring perfect defensive affixes and a powerful defensive Aspect will often provide superior survivability benefits compared to a standard Tyrael's Might.

Paragon Board

Once you reach Paragon Level 245 or higher, you no longer need to obsess over chasing down every single minor damage node on your Paragon Board; instead, you can begin prioritizing nodes that provide supplementary defensive benefits. 

Rather than expending your precious points to unlock nodes that are situated in remote corners of the skill tree, and offer only negligible boosts to your Glyphs, consider revisiting Armor and Resistance nodes you previously skipped over in your haste to chart a path across the board. By activating just 5 to 10 Magic Nodes on your skill tree, you can easily boost your total Toughness by an additional 10–15%.

Furthermore, do not hesitate to slot in defensive glyphs. For certain classes, these Glyphs can provide up to 10% base damage reduction at Torment 12 difficulty, a benefit far more valuable than a mere 5% additive damage increase.

Whether you are a Diablo 4 Season 13 player or a pioneer who already possesses Lord of Hatred expansion, survival in Torment 12 is a systemic undertaking. You cannot expect to achieve invincibility by relying on a single affix or a solitary unique item.

While the inherent durability of each class varies, by optimizing your build using the strategies outlined above, even the most squishy classes can hold their ground amidst the monster hordes of Torment 12. Remember: your DPS is meaningless unless you stay alive to deal it.

It's time once again to discuss brand-new farming strategies for Torchlight Infinite: Lunaria. This time, our focus is on a brand-new mechanic introduced in SS12: Creation Engine.

Creation Engine is a brand-new, permanent map mechanic. Players must defeat Creation Sentries, which are guarded by sentinels, to unlock a trove of lucrative, top-tier rewards. Once a player has cleared out all the sentries, the nearby Creation Crystals automatically transform into highly valuable loot.

To be honest, Creation Engine initially made me laugh out of sheer frustration during the early stages of Season 12. To even engage with it, you had to sink a significant amount of resources into Pets and Pactspirits, yet the drop rates were abysmal, to put it mildly. Many players were quick to label it an epic trap.

The verdict? By the late game, I was singing a completely different tune. As soon as you systematically take down those Creation Sentries one by one, the adjacent crystals instantly morph into premium loot. When combined with effects from Netherrealm Talents, such as Crystal Duplication or Chain Reaction triggers, the sheer visual spectacle of loot raining down across the entire screen is truly breathtaking. 

Although the initial barrier to entry is a bit steep, provided your damage output is top-tier, this is arguably the most stable and entertaining late-game strategy available right now. The stress-relieving satisfaction of clearing the entire screen of monsters is genuinely addictive, it's an investment you won't regret!

Before Entering

Before you begin, please take note: this Creation Engine strategy in Torchlight Infinite is effective only within Profound difficulty tier. If you have already progressed to Deep Space tier, you may certainly attempt it there as well. Our point is that in any lower-level Timemarks, tiers below those mentioned, this strategy will be completely ineffective.

Furthermore, this strategy places quite high demands on your character's build: you will need to possess a minimum DPS (Damage Per Second) of approximately 2 trillion or higher. This is because throughout our farming runs, we will be exclusively utilizing Legendary Compasses. This implies that we must clear these maps at lightning speed to maximize our efficiency and profit; consequently, high DPS is an absolutely essential, non-negotiable requirement.

In addition to high damage, you will also need to possess a certain degree of survivability. If your defensive capabilities are insufficient, you will, without a shadow of a doubt, be instantly one-shot and killed when facing the final Creation Engine boss at the end of the map. Should you fall in battle, you will forfeit all loot acquired during that specific run, effectively rendering your entire map clear a complete waste of time, leaving you empty-handed.

That said, this strategy carries a slight element of risk regarding its profitability, and the pet you choose to bring along often has a direct impact on your earnings. For instance, running without a pet might yield approximately 1,500 to 2,000 FE per hour; however, if you bring along a low-level Kong, your earnings can instantly skyrocket to between 2,500 and 3,000 FE per hour!

Yet, this represents only a fraction of the full profit picture. The reason is that Creation Engine strategy features two exclusive, heavyweight drops: Silent Avowal and Tyrant's Iron Fist. Each of these rare items is individually valued at several thousand Torchlight Infinite Flame Elementium; as you continue to farm, you will discover that you can acquire these treasures quite frequently.

Regardless of your current farming efficiency, simply by adopting this strategy, these rare drops can effortlessly boost your hourly earnings by an additional 1,000 to 1,500 Flame Elementium.

Talent Constellations

Now, let's dive into the specifics of Void Chart setup for this strategy.

This section of the setup is quite straightforward, as our core objective is to activate the nodes associated with Creation Engine and to stack as much Drop Quantity as possible. Therefore, before you begin, ensure that you visit your Path of Progression and all your Boss Skill Trees to claim every available Talent Point.

Within Creation Talent Constellation, we can activate almost every node, with the exception of those providing additional chance modifiers, as well as a specific node located on the right side of the tree (activating that particular node would completely undermine our core strategy).

Our primary focus should be on Commodity Talent Constellation, where we want to activate all Deep Space Resonance nodes. This is because Creation Engine mechanic generates a substantial amount of Resonance; activating these nodes translates into significant overall profit gains. Subsequently, allocate all your remaining Talent Points into Drop Quantity.

Next, we can switch over to Profound Talent Constellation. Here, activate the node that grants a 12% bonus to initial Drop Quantity at a reduced Talent Point cost, as well as the node that provides a flat 30% increase to Drop Quantity. This is the key to maximizing your earnings per run.

With that, your Void Chart setup is complete. The entire configuration offers very little room for deviation. If you feel it isn't strictly necessary, you can opt to forgo the 12% bonus to Item Quantity and instead allocate those points to unlock talents on side branches, such as Sandlord.

However, aside from that specific exception, pursuing any other nodes is generally not worth the effort. Compared to simply maximizing the output of Creation Engine, those alternative strategies tend to be both time-consuming and inefficient in their use of talent points.

Mapping

As for our mapping setup, as we mentioned earlier, the cost per map run will be relatively high because we require the continuous use of Legendary Creation Compasses. This constitutes the very core of our entire farming strategy.

Furthermore, we will be running two Legendary Compasses in conjunction with one Purple-quality Compass, as the primary objective of this strategy is to farm as many Fluorescent Memories as possible. Additionally, it is highly recommended that you use a Blue-quality Lunaria Compass to boost your map rewards; this represents pure, free profit, so there is absolutely no reason not to use it.

Concurrently, please ensure that for every map you run, you stack your Item Quantity bonus to a full 100%. If you are executing this strategy within Deep Space region, you must ensure that you activate Deep Space Resonance effect for every run, as the additional Item Quantity bonus it provides is absolutely critical.

Regarding map selection, you are free to operate in any region you prefer. In truth, the specific region you choose matters very little; the only requirement is that the map layout possesses a relatively linear structure. This ensures that you won't waste time wandering around in search of Creation Engines you might have otherwise missed.

Pactspirit

Next, let's quickly run through Pactspirit configuration required for this Creation Engine farming strategy.

How ​​to run it?

Now, let's discuss the actual map run itself in greater detail. You need to make a straight dash all the way to the end of the map; feel free to kill any monsters you encounter along the way, but always prioritize maximum efficiency. Once you reach the end, simply activate your Lunaria skill and proceed to process every Creation Engine you see, one by one.

If you prefer, you also have the option to activate and process multiple engines simultaneously. However, please keep this in mind: do not touch Record Creation Engine, the massive engine in the map displaying a specific numerical count, until you have finished clearing every other Creation Engine in the zone. Its function is to scan and consolidate all Creation Engines you have already activated within the map, thereby rewarding you with loot far more bountiful than what is typically found.

Regarding the mechanics of this entire system, there is absolutely no way for you to manually intervene in or influence where Creation Engines spawn. All you can do is kill monsters as quickly as possible and clear the entire map with maximum speed. So, get ready, it's time to dive into the frenzied slaughter of Torchlight Infinite SS12!

Loot and Returns

Finally, let's discuss the loot dropped by Creation Engines and the ultimate financial returns, after all, this is the core topic that everyone truly cares about.

In total, we ran through 675 maps, ultimately netting a total profit of 82.5K FE. As for the specific loot we obtained, 38% of it consisted of Fluorescent Memories. Furthermore, thanks to my Level 3 Pactspirit, Kong, the quantity of dropped Fluorescent Memories increased by approximately 30%. This means that roughly 11% of my total earnings can be directly attributed to the various bonuses provided by my Pactspirit.

On average, we were able to earn between 2,500 and 3,000 FE per hour. If you do not have Kong, your hourly earnings will probably range from 1,500 to 2,000 FE, depending on your luck and the speed at which you clear maps.

Additionally, a significant portion of our profits came from two top-tier items exclusive to Creation Engine mechanic: Tyrant's Iron Fist and Silent Avowal. During our farming runs, we obtained two copies of each item; this alone was enough to boost our total earnings for the entire session by an additional 20%.

Without a doubt, Creation Engine gameplay in Torchlight Infinite SS12 truly delivers substantial Flame Elementium returns, occasionally offering up various random jackpot surprises and other treasures you might stumble upon. All in all, the actual experience of utilizing this strategy is fantastic. After all, you can completely switch off your brain, without having to bother thinking about too many details, and still secure a steady stream of income! Give it a try right now!