5 Last Epoch beginner tips for your first playthrough

Beginner tips aren't as necessary in Last Epoch as they are in a complex ARPG like Path of Exile. The game does a good job of tutorializing a player from the get-go, and while it does not ramp up as fast as Diablo 4, you will not hit any major snags for the first couple of hours.

That said, those of you who are seasoned by years of hardcore Path of Exile may need to re-calibrate with the new systems instead of old habits.

This article is not meant for those who have played Last Epoch in the early access, as you will likely already know these things. If you are a newcomer to the ARPG genre, however, these tips will definitely come in handy.

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5 Last Epoch beginner tips for first-time players

1) Set up Loot Filters for your build

Last Epoch has an in-built loot filter (Image via Eleventh Hour Games)

Like all ARPGs, Last Epoch involves a huge loot bonanza after each big fight. There will often be items scattered across the entire map, and the density of this gets consistently higher as you approach the end-game. A loot filter will help you in combing through these.

If you are following a preset build guide, they will sometimes come with their own loot filter. However, you should eventually take your time to learn how to create a homebrew Last Epoch loot filter for your future needs.

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2) Make use of the in-game guide

Last Epoch's in-game guide is detailed (Image via Eleventh Hour Games)

By pressing G, you can access the in-game Last Epoch guide. There are elements like mechanical nuances and damage calculations that will not be presented to you directly.

The in-game guide index is meant to instruct you in detail, and it is surprisingly comprehensive. It even comes with its own search function, allowing players to look up any specific element.

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3) Resistances aren't as important as damage

Last Epoch lets you have many layers of defense (Image via Eleventh Hour Games)

Those of you who have played Path of Exile will know the importance of capping out your elemental resistances as you gear up for the late-game. However, Last Epoch does not put nearly as much emphasis on tanking up; it is a better idea to maximize your offense capabilities at least till Chapter 4.

Preparing for the endgame dungeons, and even the early portion of mapping, will only require you to get some health boost and increasing your resistances where possible. You can explore other avenues of defense like armor, dodge chance, critical avoidance, and stun avoidance.

Arguably, the only resistance you should try to cap out is physical damage resistance, as most monster damage in campaign is straight-up melee or physical.

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4) Being underlevelled does not have as many penalties as being overlevelled

Follow the main quest at your own pace (Image via Eleventh Hour Games)

There are often huge penalties in ARPGs for going to higher level areas, which incentivizes the player to participate in all sidequests and squeeze out every bit of xp from an area before moving on. However, Last Epoch is not nearly as unforgiving in this aspect.

You can take it easy and proceed in the main campaign whenever you want, within reason. You will get xp penalties if you are overlevelled, but you will actually have accelerated xp gain when underlevelled as a catch-up mechanic.

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5) Crafting is accessible, and you should do it often

Crafting is intuitive and accessible (Image via Eleventh Hour Games)

You can press F to access the crafting menu in Last Epoch. This is a complex mechanic that turns away casual players in Path of Exile, while Diablo 4 gates it as the main crutch in its end-game grind. Last Epoch by far has the most accessible crafting system, encouraging you to use it as often as you like.

The item economy it sets up creates a loop where nothing is useless. With runes of shattering, you can shatter trash items to create shards, which can then be used for upgrading your main items on the crafting menu.

A tip with shard usage would be to focus your affixes into getting higher tiers of one stat, instead of trying to roll for multiple low-value stats.

Excited to try out the game, but wondering what class to start with? Check out our guide on the most beginner-friendly Last Epoch class.

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More on Last Epoch:

Last Epoch class tier list || Last Epoch item rarities || All Monolith Blessings || All Falconer skills in Last Epoch