Is Torchlight Infinite Pay to Win? What Money Buys (2026)

A little, and less than its reputation suggests. Money in Torchlight Infinite buys Pactspirit draws, early access to some hero traits and a lot of convenience. The thing that decides how strong a character is, gear, is bought with Flame Elementium on the Auction House, and XD does not sell FE.

The short version

The paid currency is Primocryst. Jagged Primocryst is the free version you earn by playing, and it buys most of the same things.
Pactspirits are the closest thing to paid power. One older estimate puts their share of a character's power at around 5 to 10 percent.
Some hero traits can be bought on day one of a season. Paid traits can be earned by playing later on.
Flame Elementium, the currency gear is bought with, only comes from farming and trading, so the main source of power is time.

Primocryst and Jagged Primocryst

Torchlight Infinite is free to play, with in-app purchases on Steam and mobile. Real money buys Primocryst. Jagged Primocryst is a separate, free currency that comes from quests, events and the season pass, and it covers most of the same purchases: Pactspirit draws, extra inventory and stash space, and so on. Players on the Steam forums note that the game spends your Jagged Primocryst first when you draw on a banner.

Neither one buys Flame Elementium. According to Gfinity, Primocryst cannot be spent on the Auction House either, which keeps the gear market tied to what players farm. Our currency guide covers every currency in the game.

What money buys, and how much it matters

Purchase	What it does	Effect on power
Pactspirit draws	Pets that add stats and drop bonuses through the Pact tree	Small but real, and the main pay to win complaint
Paid season pass	More consumables, cosmetics and advanced auto pick-up	Mostly convenience
Hero traits	Some new traits can be bought at the start of a season	Early access, then free to earn
Booth tabs and bag space	More room to list items and carry loot	Convenience that helps trading
Outfits and effects	Cosmetic	None

Pactspirits

Pactspirits are the pets you take into maps. They come from draws on banners, and duplicates level a Pactspirit up to a maximum of level 6. A Legendary Pactspirit lets you customise all three rings of the Pact tree, where a Rare one opens only the inner two. That gap is where paying players pull ahead: luck decides what each draw gives you, and once the free currency runs out, more draws cost Primocryst.

How much it matters is debated. Gfinity's analysis from the game's launch put the boost at roughly 5 to 10 percent of a character's power, and pointed out that Pactspirits can also be drawn with free Jagged Primocryst. Seasons also hand out Pactspirits for free: the Steam page lists a Legendary Battle Pactspirit selection pack for daily logins and free 10x draws from the second week. Our Pactspirits guide explains how they work. Pactspirits also handle auto pick-up, which our AFK farming guide explains.

Season pass and hero traits

Every season has a free and a paid track. In a 2022 developer blog, XD moved basic auto pick-up to the free track and kept advanced auto pick-up, extra consumables and cosmetics on the paid one. The same post said the first trait of each new hero comes with the paid pass, some traits can be bought directly, and others, like Youga's Spacetime Elapse, are earned in game. Our list of every hero and trait shows the full roster.

That post predates the global launch, so some details may have changed. Gfinity's 2023 guide describes the same pattern: traits can be bought with money when a season starts, and later unlocked with Hero Emblems, which you earn by playing.

What decides power instead

A Torchlight Infinite character is mostly its gear, and the best gear is either crafted with Flame Elementium or bought from other players for FE. Both depend on how much you farm and how well you trade. A free player who farms Timemark 8 efficiently and sells their embers and beacons will usually out-gear someone who bought a Legendary Pactspirit and plays an hour a week.

That is also why third-party FE sellers exist. Anyone who wants to pay their way to gear has to buy FE outside the game, which breaks the rules. Our page on buying Flame Elementium covers what that involves.

What players think

Opinion is split. On Steam the game sits at Mixed, with about 61 percent of more than 8,000 English reviews positive. Monetization is one of the recurring complaints, mostly about Pactspirit banners and hero traits arriving behind the paid pass. Players who defend the game point to the free currency, the free Pactspirits each season and the fact that gear cannot be bought from XD.

If time is your real problem

For most players the gap is hours. A full-time player farms many times more Flame Elementium than someone who plays after work, whatever either of them spends in the store. The Flame Elementium farming guide helps you get more out of each hour.

The other option is to have the farming done for you. MUSA's Torchlight Infinite bot runs the Netherrealm loop on your own account while you are away. Automation breaks the game's rules and XD bans for it, so read our guide to bot safety first.

Common questions

Is Torchlight Infinite free to play?

Yes. The game is free on Steam, iOS and Android, with optional purchases.

Can you buy power in Torchlight Infinite?

Some. Pactspirits and early hero traits give paying players an edge, but gear is bought with Flame Elementium, which XD does not sell.

Can you play Torchlight Infinite without spending money?

Yes. Free players earn Jagged Primocryst, get Pactspirits from season events and unlock hero traits over time. The whole game, endgame included, is open to them.

What is the difference between Primocryst and Jagged Primocryst?

Primocryst is bought with real money. Jagged Primocryst is earned in game and pays for most of the same things, including Pactspirit draws.

Is Torchlight Infinite pay to win?