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Last Epoch, an action role-playing game developed by Eleventh Hour Games, is now accessible to players via early access. It will be officially released on February 21, 2024. The timing of its launch couldn't have been better, with Diablo 4's underwhelming Season 3 and Path of Exile nearing the end of the Affliction League.
Even in its early-access stage, Last Epoch is garnering praise for its gameplay depth and the special features that will likely make it a competitor of other well-known action RPGs like Path of Exile and Diablo 4.
This article lists five reasons why Last Epoch could be the next big action RPG release.
Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer
Why Last Epoch might be the next big ARPG
1) Last Epoch is not pay-to-win
The fact that Last Epoch is not a pay-to-win game will excite players. Everything can be earned through end-game activities or farmable currency, even Stash tabs and unique goods. Players cannot spend money on anything other than the title itself or cosmetics from the in-game store. Items that help with faster advancement or even currency like Gold or Faction Tokens cannot be purchased.
All players must create a character in a cycle, complete the campaign, equip the right gear for their builds, and farm the remaining end-game tasks.
This experience will change with the addition of Trading Merchant and Circle of Fortune, two new factions that will make it easier for players to target items with certain attachments. Nevertheless, using the factions' mechanics won't require actual money.
2) Challenging game mechanics
In the ARPG genre, Last Epoch stands out for its exceptional campaign and storytelling. There are nine chapters in the game, which are separated into four periods: Ancient, Divine, Imperial, and Ruined. Players can delve into each era, work out the story, and take on enemies exclusive to the period, like The Void, The Immortal Empire, and the Rahyeh factions.
Even though it was still in its early stages of development, Last Epoch has established a reputation as a great ARPG title with mechanics that are simple enough for beginners to understand.
Some games, like Path of Exile, have a lot of character classes to choose from and might be a little confusing at first. However, this title lets players play various classes and then decide which class they want to specialize in.
Another ARPG available now is Diablo 4, which was developed by Blizzard and is regarded as a vastly better title than its predecessor in terms of graphics, gameplay, narrative, and everything else. However, it allows players to adjust their world level when faced with difficult challenges. The monsters' drops are also great, making it easy to level up quickly by completing several side missions.
In Last Epoch, players must strategically employ their resources to maintain the upper hand against their rivals and grind their characters to level up their forces.
3) End-game activities in the Last Epoch
The actual game starts once players complete the Last Epoch campaign. The latter stages of the hack-and-slash ARPG are filled with amazing treasures and more formidable foes. Players must battle them for more valuable treasure, which they can then utilize to take on more difficult opponents and earn even greater rewards.
There are three major end-game activities available in the title: Arena, Dungeons, and Monolith of Fate.
Monolith of Fate - The main feature of Last Epoch's end-game is the Monolith of Fate. After their initial visit, players can access it in the End of Time timeline. However, as opponent levels begin at 58, it is advisable to complete the campaign before proceeding.
Every Monolith offers a different perspective on the things players have gone through and has multiple Echoes that they can clear to earn awards. These Echoes are sections of the map that are teeming with creatures, some of which may be rare opponents or bosses.
Dungeons - There are three dungeons in Last Epoch, and each has a unique purpose. They're excellent for gathering items, but their special end-game uses make them stand out.
- Temporal Sanctum - This is the area where legendary goods can be crafted by fusing identical Exalted and Unique artifacts. The quality of Unique artifacts players can utilize to create a Legendary is higher and the loot they will find is better the harder the dungeon level they take on.
- Soulfire Bastion - Here, players are faced with creatures that deal Fire and Necrotic damage. To defend against these attacks, players are given special shields, but they can only use one at a time and must pay dungeon cash to use them. Players should save this money to bet on legendary potential uniques and exalted items, among other rare goodies.
- Lightless Arbor - This comes down to maintaining the spark of a player's character and igniting new ones along the way. Once players defeat the last boss, they can exchange their gold for chests and unique, exclusive items. Lightless Arbor is a great place to spend extra gold for this reason.
Arena - Players fight never-ending waves of progressively more formidable opponents in the competitive leaderboard game known as The Arena. They then land on a worldwide scoreboard, where their position is determined by the highest wave they were able to reach. Everyone gets their arena and plays whenever they choose, thus there is no direct competition. However, one's score is recorded for a global ranking.
While playing in the Arena and clearing waves might earn rewards, this is the least effective way to advance one's character. It's mostly intended for competitors who enjoy breaking records.
4) Trade and Item Factions
As many players are aware, one of the trickiest problems to solve in a loot-based game is balancing the trade system because it has a significant effect on every player's item quest. If there isn't a trade economy that allows players to construct builds more consistently and provides their things more worth, many won't want to play an ARPG.
Many players believe that a trading economy distracts from their enjoyment of the item search and that they would never engage in such systems. Although this game has a solo challenge option in which you must locate every object on your own, this mode also restricts cooperative play.
The announcement of the Item Gifting System as the Last Epoch's version of trade was made on December 22, 2022. This was created to safeguard the itemization methods that had been established elsewhere in Last Epoch while satisfying the fundamental need to trade and share goods with pals while players are playing.
Meanwhile, Item Factions, a completely integrated solution within this title's narrative and mechanics, provide players with a meaningful and satisfying option on how to enhance their treasure quest in Eterra:
- The Merchant Guild - Allows for item trading through the Bazaar with other players. as well as between players
- Circle of Fortune - Enhances items players uncover on their own through prophecies and adds passive perks.
5) Devs of The Last Epoch
Last Epoch was created by Eleventh Hour Games, sometimes known as "EHG" or "Eleventh Hour." To finance the title and publicize the game, the company began development on it in 2017 and successfully ran a Kickstarter campaign in 2018.
Currently, the title is available for download on the official website of the game as well as through Steam, both of which are distributed by independent developer EHG.
The title is being developed by about 30 like-minded people, some of whom are players of RPGs. This gives them a unique understanding of what the market is looking for in a new role-playing game, something that other releases were unable to provide.
Check out other articles about this title below:
Last Epoch 2024 content roadmap || Last Epoch release date || Falconer Mastery skills || Warlock Mastery skills
