Shadowlands Alpha - Torghast Abilities


Shadowlands Preview - Torghast, Tower of the Damned
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
At the heart of the Maw lies Torghast, Tower of the Damned, a cursed otherworldly prison where the wickedest souls in the universe are locked away. Highly replayable and inspired by roguelike games, heroes are invited to explore its ever-changing halls and chambers and do battle with the minions of the Jailer, Torghast’s vile ruler. Those who brave its trials can claim legendary treasures and help free the heroic spirits wrongfully trapped within.

The Torghast experience is in a true alpha state. It is not yet feature complete and many design decisions are still being made. Due to our desire to get pointed feedback on class-specific Anima Powers, we are only testing a few classes at this time. The following classes are currently available for testing: Demon Hunter, Mage, Priest, and Warlock. We will keep you updated on when other classes are introduced.

Torghast is an otherworldly place, with an ever-shifting interior. There are many areas to discover, and at this time players will be able to explore Skoldus Halls and Fracture Chambers.

Skoldus Hall
Warden Skoldus oversees this wing of Torghast. He is a cruel warden who uses rats, dogs, and other beasts to torment his quarry.

Fracture Chambers
Prisoners from Maldraxxus are held here, their bones broken over and over again. With the player's help, they escape their cells and assault their captors.

Your Mission

With every floor, enemies will become stronger but you’ll also become more powerful by using temporary skills called Anima Powers. Levels will also become more complex the higher you climb—the first few floors will have a simple layout, but higher up you’ll be dealing with traps, puzzles, and locked doors that will require keys held by ruthless enemies.

Always Changing

These dynamic wings change their layout each time you step inside, and they can also be influenced by the Jailer’s command—changing the types of enemies you encounter and the Anima Powers available for you to choose between.

Every time you enter the tower you will need to explore it; don’t rely on memories of past ventures lest you get lulled into trap or ambushed by a horde of enemies!


The Power of Anima

Anima Powers grant you the incredible strength needed to take on the Jailer’s more challenging allies. They will often directly improve one of your Covenant class or signature abilities, modifying it with powerful properties for you to wield. Anima Powers can be found hidden in corners, tucked away in phylacteries, or carried on the bodies of the Jailer’s servitors. Keep an eye out for powers that interact with one another in interesting ways!


Anima Powers can also be found while discovering an area, be on the lookout for floating anima orbs as you make your way to the next floor.

Phantasma and Vendors

Sometimes enemies will drop Phantasma, a currency that is unique to Torghast. You may also find Phantasma from Anima Powers or breakable objects. Your Phantasma all disappears as soon as you leave Torghast. Occasionally, you may find a Broker, a Phantasma vendor within Torghast, who will allow you to spend your Phantasma to buy Anima Powers, along with other consumables that will aid you on your run.

Deaths and the Tarragrue

By and large, your failures in Torghast are measured in deaths, not with a timer. Dying repeatedly alerts the Tarragrue, a lumbering iron-clad creature that will appear at the level’s entrance and slowly move toward its end. If he sees any heroes, he will chase down and kill them. If he reaches the end of the level or kills all the players in the level, your run ends and you are thrown out of Torghast.

The Tarragrue cannot be defeated, but there are whispers that it is possible to slow him—if only for a moment.

Legendary Rewards

As you climb the tower, you may discover a floor that contains a Legendary chest. Inside you’ll discover reagents to craft legendary items that can be taken to a mysterious rune sage who will help you build legendary items. You are in full control—you can choose which type of equipment you’ll make and what powers will go in them to make them truly your own.

We look forward to sharing more information as development continues, and we hope this preview prepares you for the trials of Torghast!

What kind of Anima Powers would you like to see? Join the discussion on the forums.

Torghast is still in development and subject to change. Legendary items are still being worked on and are not currently available in alpha. Check back for periodic updates on worldofwarcraft.com as we approach the release of Shadowlands.
This article was originally published in forum thread: Shadowlands Preview - Torghast, Tower of the Damned started by Lumy View original post
Comments 77 Comments
  1. Softbottom's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Bennett View Post
    if you read it is says " Dying repeatedly alerts the Tarragrue" - so you can take as long as you like if you don't die
    Just wait for all your CD's every pull lol. It looks like this may be a thing; You may take 8 hours per tower run though
  1. Charles123's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Suggs View Post
    This actually sounds too good to be true, im very interested in getting in this place for sure out of everything else thats currently been shown.
    Thing is, too early to get too excited and on paper is one thing actually executing it is another..... hopefully its on alpha (if not already,just got back from work) so i can watch a stream with it on.
    You're not wrong, it is "too good to be true".

    At first it'll seem like it's ever changing, but with time we'll learn the room paterns. They did that in division, it was pretty fun tbh but don't go thinking it's a different dungeon every time because it becomes repetitive after a while.
  1. taishar68's Avatar
    It sounds really good. The fact that it is untimed is the best news I've seen on a feature in a long time. For me, the only question is if the mobs drop loot or not.

    Speaking of loot...why would mobs in the afterlife carry gold and silver? You'd think once you're dead currency is meaningless. Then again we may as well ask why animals sometimes drop coin or, a breast plate. Meh.
  1. Tarx's Avatar
    I don't like the turn wow have right now . I prefer the more classic gameplay like do raids to get the best gear or do arena and no things to grind for Titanforged gear and progress each week to make a legendary item . I prefer the TBC way to get the legendaries to drop from bosses .
  1. Wangming's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by taishar68 View Post
    It sounds really good. The fact that it is untimed is the best news I've seen on a feature in a long time. For me, the only question is if the mobs drop loot or not.

    Speaking of loot...why would mobs in the afterlife carry gold and silver? You'd think once you're dead currency is meaningless. Then again we may as well ask why animals sometimes drop coin or, a breast plate. Meh.
    Yeah there is no need to think too hard about it. Either you make loot realistic or you make it interesting. WoW chose interesting.

    Also since it gives you a legendary anyway I don't think Torghast will have other loot. Not loot you can carry out of the place anyway. Deep Dungeons in FFXIV only gave you pets and transmog beside the weapons and this is pretty much the same system.
  1. GreenJesus's Avatar
    The Power of Anima

    Anima Powers grant you the incredible strength needed to take on the Jailer’s more challenging allies. They will often directly improve one of your Covenant class or signature abilities, modifying it with powerful properties for you to wield. Anima Powers can be found hidden in corners, tucked away in phylacteries, or carried on the bodies of the Jailer’s servitors. Keep an eye out for powers that interact with one another in interesting ways!
    "With the Power of God and Anime on my side" lol

    So we will have to grind Anime points to make our covenant abilities stronger? Does that mean the covenant abilities are trash in the beginning until we level them up? Will rotations / spell priorities change as the patch progresses? Will straight damage abilities not be worth taking in the beginning and it will be better to take utility abilities? How does this work?
  1. ZyntosAran's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by GreenJesus View Post
    "With the Power of God and Anime on my side" lol

    So we will have to grind Anime points to make our covenant abilities stronger? Does that mean the covenant abilities are trash in the beginning until we level them up? Will rotations / spell priorities change as the patch progresses? Will straight damage abilities not be worth taking in the beginning and it will be better to take utility abilities? How does this work?
    In the tower...
  1. Redroniksre's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Wangming View Post
    Yeah there is no need to think too hard about it. Either you make loot realistic or you make it interesting. WoW chose interesting.

    Also since it gives you a legendary anyway I don't think Torghast will have other loot. Not loot you can carry out of the place anyway. Deep Dungeons in FFXIV only gave you pets and transmog beside the weapons and this is pretty much the same system.
    There should be other loot, but like Visions it is only based on your best run for the week or so. Without normal loot, and no titanforging to go around, non-raiders would be done gearing within a couple weeks and likely quit.
  1. THEORACLE64's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by kamuimac View Post
    so can be visions - yet nearly anyone chooses to do them solo .
    Still doesn’t make it exclusively solo content though - that’s not blizzards fault.
  1. taishar68's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Wangming View Post
    Yeah there is no need to think too hard about it. Either you make loot realistic or you make it interesting. WoW chose interesting.

    Also since it gives you a legendary anyway I don't think Torghast will have other loot. Not loot you can carry out of the place anyway. Deep Dungeons in FFXIV only gave you pets and transmog beside the weapons and this is pretty much the same system.
    Hm. I still think they should drop something, but that's just personal taste; especially if we're not up against a timer (until they tack on a leaderboard for our more competitive brethren). If that is the case, there should be a chest at the end that drops a bunch of stuff, akin to Greater Rifts in Diablo 3. There will be breakable items and chests that contain phantasma and mats (iirc) so it is possible mobs will drop as well. Now I really want to see it live.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Redroniksre View Post
    There should be other loot, but like Visions it is only based on your best run for the week or so. Without normal loot, and no titanforging to go around, non-raiders would be done gearing within a couple weeks and likely quit.
    There's no timer on the run, how would they quantify best?
  1. Redroniksre's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by taishar68 View Post
    Hm. I still think they should drop something, but that's just personal taste; especially if we're not up against a timer (until they tack on a leaderboard for our more competitive brethren). If that is the case, there should be a chest at the end that drops a bunch of stuff, akin to Greater Rifts in Diablo 3. There will be breakable items and chests that contain phantasma and mats (iirc) so it is possible mobs will drop as well. Now I really want to see it live.

    - - - Updated - - -



    There's no timer on the run, how would they quantify best?
    The first run of the week, and the furthest you get determining ilvl, like how Visions do now based on how many masks/per run you do. Maybe a lower level of gear (LFRish) dropping per run, even after the initial push run. While the first run gives the higher ilvl stuff.
  1. Not A Cat's Avatar
    Looks good on paper, but Blizz is notorious for having good ideas and then implementing them horribly.

    Let's hope the alpha testers are reliable, and let's hope they actually listen to feedback.
  1. Queen of Hamsters's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Bennett View Post
    Yes because classic and tbc had absolutely no grinding
    Zing!

    If one wants the most simplistic and basic systems that this game had, Classic and TBC will be there. Live has to shake things up and experiment lest it too becomes a museum of what used to be. Sometimes they succeed, other times they fail so hard that the shockwaves are felt in Deepholm. But at least it doesn't stagnate. ALL the group content will literally still be there.
  1. taishar68's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Redroniksre View Post
    The first run of the week, and the furthest you get determining ilvl, like how Visions do now based on how many masks/per run you do. Maybe a lower level of gear (LFRish) dropping per run, even after the initial push run. While the first run gives the higher ilvl stuff.
    I had a brain fart, of course it’s based on how many levels you clear. Thanks!
  1. styil's Avatar
    Hopefully this doesn't become an Islands 2.0 where what goes live is a shell of what was announced in Alpha.
  1. Gref's Avatar
    You know when I first saw the Torrasque in original starcraft, I was amazed, I mean ultralisks were already great and you have a special kind of them.
    Here years later in shadowlands again Tarragrue. I am %100 positive the name is derived from it and it is a big ass monstrosity.
  1. Othraerir's Avatar
    I'm just worried about the MAY be a chest, unless they have a chest on set floors, as a kind of checkpoint to reach for. If there's limited attempts (which is possible) I'd certainly like to have an excellent chance of collecting the mats for the legendaries, otherwise you'd almost be wasting your time doing them. After all, depending on how powerful the legendaries are, you may not get a raid spot if you don't have one. It's alpha though, and I'm sure shit will sort itself out.
  1. Stickiler's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Othraerir View Post
    I'm just worried about the MAY be a chest, unless they have a chest on set floors, as a kind of checkpoint to reach for. If there's limited attempts (which is possible) I'd certainly like to have an excellent chance of collecting the mats for the legendaries, otherwise you'd almost be wasting your time doing them. After all, depending on how powerful the legendaries are, you may not get a raid spot if you don't have one. It's alpha though, and I'm sure shit will sort itself out.
    I'm almost 100% certain that the "you may discover a floor" is entirely flavour writing, to give it a mysterious or exploratory feel. I'd be shocked if it was either x number of floors, or guaranteed x number per run.
  1. Zubacz's Avatar
    I don't know why people are saying this isn't timed.
    a lumbering iron-clad creature that will appear at the level’s entrance and slowly move toward its end. If he sees any heroes, he will chase down and kill them. If he reaches the end of the level or kills all the players in the level, your run ends and you are thrown out of Torghast.
    That's the timer. This thing will chase you and if it catches up, you fail. It's probably a forgiving timer, but still a timer.
  1. Poppincaps's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Zubacz View Post
    I don't know why people are saying this isn't timed.


    That's the timer. This thing will chase you and if it catches up, you fail. It's probably a forgiving timer, but still a timer.
    He only appears if you die a lot. So it's not timed for most of it and then when you die enough you are essentially "timed" to push as far as you can before getting kicked out.

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