Last Epoch is a great video game and I thoroughly enjoy playing it. That being said, there are definitely some things that I wish I knew when I first started. First, and it can seem obvious, but while doing research on builds to try, I wish I had noticed the level required for Unique gear that makes or breaks some builds. There are so many options and it can be overwhelming. Looking through the entirety made me miss quite a couple of details! Additionally, I wish I knew where to look for information, and what information I needed.
Last Epoch is a fantastic game and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new aRPG
But if you’re just starting out, be sure to do your research and take advantage of all the resources available to you. That includes this blog post! Trust me, it’ll make your Last Epoch experience that much better. If you haven’t already, make sure to head over to my Beginner’s Guide to Last Epoch for extra information!
This post may contain affiliate links which means that I may receive compensation at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase from a link found on my site.
what are some good Starter builds for last epoch?
Some of the best builds I’ve encountered so far to start enjoying this game:
The Lightning Blast Sorcerer Build which is what I used on my first Mage. It scales really well, and lightning blast is a spell that can specialize very well with the buffs added in there. There is one Unique (level 24) recommended, but not needed. Not having it will not make a huge difference!
My Primalist became a Werebear Druid. While I did not start out with this Vines Bear Build, I recommend this one because it actually makes sense. Don’t worry about the gear recommendations, Druid is not dependent on gear, and it is also very tanky!
* Note: My start as a Primalist was nothing short of a roller coaster. However, the Werebear spell will not be available to you until you unlock your Druid Mastery. Until then, you can follow this Short n’ Sweet Primalist Build and manipulate it as you wish!
My last recommendation is this Smooth-Sailing Lich leveling build. How I wish I had come across that one when I just started! Lich was my very first character and I went about it in such a backwards way, I’m surprised I didn’t rage quit. This build will save you quite some time, efforts, and frustration.
* Note: while not necessary, this build can benefit from a Unique Item you can get really early on in-game. Through a side quest, you will have the option to choose to return an item to two different NPCs. Make sure to choose Artem if you want the correct item 🙂
what type of character is best to start playing?
While starting with a Lich was not a terrible choice (let’s get this out of the way, there are no real “bad” options in Last Epoch; only viable ones and very powerful ones), I certainly hit a brick wall when I got into the current endgame content, Monoliths.
I was not ready. In fact, I believe I logged out from my Lich after my third failure into the Monoliths and re-rolled myself into a Primalist, where I proceeded to have a terrible time until level 30 or so, hence my Primalist build recommendation before switching to Druid.
The Druid Werebear build is very solid. I chose it because the game chat kept talking about “Werebear” and “Thornbear” etc., and I was wondering what all the fuss was about. Going through Monoliths was a breeze, the bosses were much easier, and even with some really bad gear, I made it to Legendary Monoliths fairly quickly. That build is the same Druid build that I linked to you previously, and I did make a lot of changes to it since then, but the base gives you everything you need.
Having a farming character FIRST is what I would have done. Loot, gold and affix shards are all shared between characters, which means you can use that farming character to make it easier to level the other classes you want to play after. The few dungeons we have access to can be difficult, and each entry into a dungeon requires a dungeon key, which is wasted if you die, so why wouldn’t we want to go in on an overpowered Mega-Vine-Bear?
What is the best place to get your information?
There are a couple of places. All builds I linked previously come from lastepochtools.com which is an absolute goldmine of research, has a long list of builds and an Item database, which is super useful.
Another very good resource is the in-game guide, which you can access by pressing “G”. Unlike other game guides, this one is very thorough, and it has so much information that it even gives you a search bar to go through all the things.
Last but not least, the in-game chat. Like any human interaction online, this chat gets derailed quite often and the trolls abound, but questions are rarely unanswered. Just make sure to check out the other options or try to Google your question first. The chat is global which means questions get repeated a lot. I mostly just read it, and I learn new stuff almost daily still!
color hierarchy, loot, and loot filter
So each game has a color hierarchy, right? Last Epoch is no different. The original one goes, in order of lowest to highest: white/blue/gold/green/orange/purple.
Green and orange items will have a beam of light when they drop. Green is for Set pieces, and orange is for Uniques. With that light beam AND a star on your map, you most likely won’t miss them.
Purples don’t really show up until late in-game, mostly (if not only) in monoliths, so don’t worry about those just yet.
The main thing about loot is that it’s not as important as you think. Inventory is limited! You really only should pick up what you mean to use, either to equip it or to shatter the equipment for affix shards. Nothing sells well at the merchant, and you’ll get a lot more gold through enemy gold drop and Shrines of Wealth.
Shift+F will bring you to the loot filter. You can click (link here) for a generic starter filter, just to take out the white items, and see how it looks when you open the filter settings. As you keep going, you will want to filter more and more until the only loot you see is the things you are actively looking for. I waited a long time to get a loot filter because it seems complicated, but hopefully this generic filter will give you a little example 🙂
affixes, how they work, and where they can be used
An affix is the stat boost on equipment. By shattering the equipment piece, you may get some affix shards to keep for later (crafting article to be linked here soon).
But not all affix shards are created equal! There are rare shards, and some shards that are more useful, which you may run out of. The main shards to look for are any +1 to (spell name), which can show up on helmets, chest pieces and relics.
It may be more of a “for later” thing, but check out any amulet you get for (damage type)% Penetration Affixes. They can only go on amulets, and they make a big difference in damage.
Strength, Attunement, Intelligence, Dexterity and Vitality affixes are always good to have, since they are “main” stats. Make sure to hover over each of these stats in the “C” window, as they also have extra uses! These shards are not super rare, but it’s good to make sure you don’t run out.
Lastly, make sure to check the wording of the affixes. That will be an entire link here article later. Wording matters a lot in Last Epoch, and make sure you’re using the right affix for the tag you’re looking for (my specific nemesis being that I keep confusing “Damage Over Time” and “Channeled Damage” NO I DO NOT KNOW WHY) otherwise you may end up with affixes that are not actually helping you.
Now, go out there and smash some heads!
All of these little nuggets of knowledge are nothing more than… direction. Last Epoch is an absolutely amazing aRPG with the best storyline I’ve witnessed so far, and my ADHD brain just couldn’t absorb all the information given (or stop for a minute to do the proper research before mistakes were made). When I get into a story, I get INTO the story. That’s a lot of words to say that my tunnel vision into Last Epoch made me vanish from the world until I emerged out of Act 9 to see the sun again, a couple days later.
If you want to see some fun builds (or build failures) you can head over to (link here) my YouTube channel! The videos are purely for you to check out how the build works (or how it didn’t) and I put the link to the build planner in the description for you. I’m not a fan of having to pause through a YouTube channel trying to find the part that talks about the thing I want, so I don’t do that.
Well, that was certainly a lot of information, but anything mentioned here is something I either learned very late or that I dramatically f*cked up and learned the hard way. So, don’t be me! Keep this post in mind and run through Eterra’s verdant hills knowing you HAVE THE POWER!
I mean… ANYWAY. You got this, I hope this helped, and you have fun exploring Last Epoch. It is an amazing game. See you there!
