Last Epoch is a fast-growing ARPG that combines familiar hack-and-slash mechanics with deep character customization and an evolving endgame. If you’re brand new to the genre or the game, this guide will walk you through the essentials—from character creation and skills to crafting, loot filters, and the endgame.

 

Getting Started: Classes and Masteries

 

When you begin Last Epoch, you’ll choose from five base classes:

 

Sentinel – a sturdy melee fighter.

 

Rogue – fast and evasive, specializing in bows or daggers.

 

Mage – powerful ranged spellcaster.

 

Primalist – nature-driven, with access to beasts and elemental magic.

 

Acolyte – summoner and dark caster.

 

These base classes unlock into three masteries each, which completely change playstyle. For example, the Sentinel can evolve into a Void Knight, Forge Guard, or Paladin. Each mastery comes with unique passives and skills.

 

Tip: You can swap masteries later by spending Last Epoch gold, but the higher your level, the more it costs. If you’re unsure, try out a class during the early levels before committing.

 

Skills and Specializations

 

Every class starts with base skills that you can use immediately. As you level, you unlock the ability to specialize in five skills at a time. Specialized skills gain access to their own skill tree, letting you reshape how they function.

 

For example:

 

Shadow Cascade (Rogue skill) normally deals damage in front of you. But if you invest in nodes that scale it with summoned Shadows, the damage multiplies dramatically.

 

Some abilities serve as utilities—like Smoke Bomb or Decoy—that don’t require specialization but provide crowd control or survivability.

 

Not all specialized skills must be on your action bar. Some can trigger automatically through interactions with other abilities, giving you flexibility in what you equip.

 

Each skill also comes with scaling tags (such as Physical, Melee, Dexterity, and Minion). These determine how attributes and gear modifiers increase damage. Understanding tags is key to building around your character’s strengths.

 

Attributes and Character Stats

 

Open your character sheet (default C) to view your attributes:

 

Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Attunement, Vitality – boost different stats depending on your class.

 

Resistances – vital for survival, reducing elemental and physical damage.

 

Defenses, Damage, Minions, and Dodge – all scale based on your build.

 

Example: Rogues rely heavily on Dexterity, which not only increases damage for many skills but also grants dodge rating, improving survivability.

 

During the campaign, you’ll encounter side quests marked with gray diamonds. Don’t skip these—many reward passive points or Idol slots, both of which significantly improve your character’s power.

 

Factions

 

Midway through the campaign, you’ll choose between two factions:

 

Merchants Guild – focuses on trading and the economy.

 

Circle of Fortune – emphasizes farming your own gear through bounties and favors.

 

You’re not locked in forever. If you want to try the other faction later, you can switch. Many new players lean toward Circle of Fortune, since it rewards playing rather than trading.

 

Crafting Basics

 

Crafting is one of the most important systems in Last Epoch. To understand it, enable Always Show Mod Ranges in the Gameplay settings. This displays the possible roll values for each stat on an item.

 

Implicits – the fixed base stats an item always has (e.g., swords grant melee damage).

 

Affixes – randomized modifiers that come in two types:

 

Prefixes (damage, attack speed, etc.)

 

Suffixes (resistances, utility, on-hit effects).

 

Items also have Forging Potential (FP), which is the number of times they can be modified. Each craft consumes FP, and when it reaches zero, the item can no longer be upgraded.

 

Affixes range from Tier 1 to Tier 7, with T6–T7 considered Exalted. You can sometimes find sealed affixes, which act as an extra hidden modifier in addition to the four main affixes.

 

Glyphs and Runes

 

Crafting uses glyphs and runes:

 

Glyph of Hope – 25% chance crafting won’t consume FP.

 

Glyph of Chaos – rerolls an affix into another from the same pool.

 

Glyph of Order – upgrades a stat without rerolling its value.

 

Rune of Shattering – destroys an item, giving you affix shards.

 

Rune of Removal – extracts one random affix from an item.

 

Shattering is your main way to collect affix shards, which you’ll use to upgrade other gear.

 

Note: Some affixes are drop-only (shown in blue text). These cannot be obtained through shattering.

 

Loot Filters

 

ARPGs shower you with loot, and sorting through it all can waste time. Thankfully, Last Epoch includes a built-in loot filter.

 

Press Shift + F (or navigate through Settings) to create rules:

 

Highlight items with specific affixes you want.

 

Recolor loot beams for easy recognition.

 

Hide irrelevant gear types (e.g., bows if you’re a melee Rogue).

 

Filters are fully customizable and save you from scanning every single drop.

Endgame: Dungeons and Monoliths

 

Once you finish the campaign, the endgame opens up:

 

Dungeons – accessed with dungeon keys. Each has unique bosses and mechanics, as well as paths into legendary crafting. You can even combine keys into charms to skip straight to bosses (not recommended until you know the fights).

 

Arena of Champions – a challenging combat arena (advanced players only).

 

Monolith of Fate – the primary endgame system, similar to mapping in Path of Exile.

 

The Monolith consists of timelines, each with branching paths. Completing nodes advances you toward the timeline boss. Beating bosses unlocks Blessings, permanent buffs that enhance future runs.

 

Eventually, you’ll unlock Empowered Monoliths, the core of true endgame progression. Here, difficulty ramps up, but so do rewards.

 

Final Thoughts

 

For new players, Last Epoch offers an excellent entry point into ARPGs. Its systems may seem complex at first, but once you understand classes, skills, crafting, and loot filters, the game becomes incredibly rewarding. It would be more convenient to have enough cheap Last Epoch gold to help you.

 

Pick a class that excites you—every mastery is viable.

 

Specialize skills to transform abilities into powerful tools.

 

Learn crafting early to shape gear for your build.

 

Use loot filters to cut through clutter.

 

Progress through Monoliths for blessings and endgame power.

 

With time and experimentation, you’ll discover just how flexible and deep Last Epoch really is. Whether you’re here for loot hunting, build crafting, or endless boss fights, this ARPG has a lot to offer.