Last Epoch: Experimental items, explained

Experimental items are one of the most innovative and complex features of Last Epoch. With their ability to offer unique and powerful modifiers, these items can completely transform your build, especially with the introduction of advanced crafting methods like the Rune of Research. If you're aiming for a high-level, customized build in Last Epoch, mastering experimental items is essential.

In this guide, we dive deep into what experimental items are, how to craft them, where to find them, and how to increase their affix tier to maximize your gear’s potential.

Also Read: Last Epoch 1.2.1 patch notes: More juiced Exiled Mage, rarer Rune Wardens, and bugfixes

What are experimental items in Last Epoch?

Experimental items in Last Epoch are unique pieces of equipment that have at least one experimental affix, a hybrid modifier that cannot be found on any other standard gear. These affixes offer powerful and sometimes niche effects that can drastically improve specific builds. Here are some of the available affixes for experimental items:

Endurance Threshold if you have not been Hit Recently.
Ward Gain on Kill.
Bees Summoned on Potion Use.
Armor Mitigation also applies to Damage over Time.
Ward gained after you use a traversal skill.

These affixes may seem build-specific at first glance, especially during the leveling process. However, as you approach the endgame, experimental items become incredibly valuable. Their unique affixes can provide powerful buffs that help optimize your character for high-end content like Empowered Monoliths, Dungeons, and Arena waves.

This method of crafting items doesn’t make regular Uniques or set items obsolete in any way but further opens up a route for item crafting in your journey through Last Epoch.

Moreover, crafting experimental items using advanced techniques like the Rune of Research allows you to lock in these experimental affixes while freeing up additional affix slots. This gives you a huge edge in customizing your gear, particularly when crafting Exalted or Legendary gear.

How to obtain experimental items in Last Epoch

In Last Epoch, you won’t find experimental items just by killing regular monsters or from any other sources. Instead, you need to specifically hunt down Exiled Mages, a mini-boss that drops experimental items. Exiled Mages are trapped within Rune Prisons, which you can encounter randomly during the campaign or while running Monolith of Fate encounters.

Where to find Rune Prisons

Exiled Mages can be found in Rune Prisons (Image via Eleventh Hour Games)

Rune Prisons are scattered throughout Eterra and spawn randomly during campaign missions or Monolith encounters. These Rune Prisons are key to farming experimental gear, and you can increase the chances of encountering them by running Monolith timelines with high stability rewards. Once you defeat the Exiled Mage inside the Rune Prison, you’re guaranteed to receive at least one experimental item.

Advanced crafting system: Rune of Research and Glyph of Insight

Rune of Research and Glyph of Insight are the two primary aspects of this advanced crafting system (Image via Eleventh Hour Games)

Once you reach higher levels in the game (around Level 70+), you’ll gain access to two critical crafting materials:

Rune of Research: This rare crafting material allows you to seal an experimental affix onto an item, locking it into place while freeing up an additional affix slot for other mods. This can dramatically increase your item's power, especially when applied to Legendary gear.
Glyph of Insight: This rare glyph lets you replace a random prefix on an item with an experimental affix. Pair this glyph with smart crafting strategies to target specific affixes and craft incredibly strong Exalted or Legendary items.

These crafting materials open up a higher level of endgame customization, allowing you to tweak your gear beyond traditional crafting methods.

How experimental affixes are determined

When crafting experimental affixes, the affix you receive is determined by specific properties of the item you're enhancing. Here's how the affix is determined for belts, boots, and gloves:

Belt experimental affixes (determined by item level)

For belts, the experimental affix depends on the item’s required level. When you apply the Glyph of Insight, the system uses the level and applies the affix based on the remainder of dividing the item’s level by 4. For example:

If the item’s level remainder is 0, you could receive an affix that grants Gain Ward on potion use.
If the item’s level remainder is 1, the affix might grant Gain Mana on potion use.
If the item’s level remainder is 2, you could get an affix that Reduces cooldowns of traversal skills after potion use.
If the item’s level remainder is 3, the affix may grant the ability to summon volatile zombies upon potion use.

These affixes are particularly useful for builds that heavily rely on potions or minions.

Boot experimental affixes (determined by Forging Potential)

For boots, the experimental affix is based on the item's Forging Potential (FP). Depending on the FP, you could receive affixes such as:

With a Forging Potential remainder of 0, the affix could grant Haste after using a movement skill.
If the Forging Potential remainder is 1, the affix might grant Frenzy after using a movement skill.
For a remainder of 2, the affix could grant Ward after using a movement skill.
A remainder of 3 might provide an affix that increases minion damage or teleports minions to you after using a movement skill.

This system rewards crafting with higher Forging Potential, ensuring you get the affix you want.

Glove experimental affixes (determined by affix tier count)

For gloves, the experimental affix is determined by the total affix tier count (prefixes and suffixes) on the item. This includes any sealed affixes. Here's how it works:

If your affix tier count remainder is 0, the affix could grant +X Dodge Rating and +X Endurance Threshold if you haven’t been hit recently.
A remainder of 1 might provide Health to Ward conversion.
With a remainder of 2, the affix could grant armor that applies to DoTs, but less effectively.
A remainder of 3 could give you an affix that grants Ward a kill.

This system is highly dependent on the affix tier count, so it's important to keep an eye on this when crafting.

Increasing your experimental affix tier

The tier of the experimental affix you craft can be increased by meeting specific conditions before applying the Glyph of Insight. These conditions must be met prior to crafting, as they are not retroactive. These are as follows:

Exalted item: Improves the tier of the affix.
T7 prefix: Adds a solid boost to the affix tier.
Sealed affix (T2 or higher): Raises the potential tier.
Two affixes of the same tier: Ensures a higher tier outcome.

Meeting all four conditions guarantees a T5 experimental affix on the gear, the highest tier you can craft. To get experimental affixes beyond the T5 tier, you’ll need to find them naturally through Exalted experimental item drops in Last Epoch, since these can not be crafted.

Practical tips for crafting experimental affixes

Belt affixes: Perfect for builds that rely on potions or minions.
Boot affixes: Ideal for fast-moving builds that need movement skill enhancements.
Glove affixes: Excellent for defensive builds that need additional dodge, endurance, or ward on kill.

Crafting tips

For Gloves: Check the affix tiers before applying the Glyph of Insight to ensure the right affix.
For Boots: Manipulate Forging Potential carefully to get the affix you want.
For Belts: Focus on leveling the item to match the desired potion-based affix.
Rune of Research farming: The Exiled Mages in Rune Prisons are your best source of experimental items and crafting materials.

By following these tips and utilizing advanced crafting mechanics, you can target the exact affixes you need to create powerful, customized gear for your build.

Experimental items in Last Epoch offer one of the most customizable aspects of the game. With their powerful, unique affixes, they are crucial for pushing high-tier content and refining your build. Whether you’re aiming for high-speed movement, powerful defenses, or niche damage boosts, these offer the tools to create truly legendary gear.

Take advantage of crafting materials like the Rune of Research and Glyph of Insight, and experiment with different affix combinations to push your gear to the next level. As Season 2 introduces even more experimental affix options and crafting improvements, now is the perfect time to dive into experimental crafting and take your build to new heights.

Check out our other guides on Last Epoch:

About the author

Jagaran is an MMO and ARPG writer at Sportskeeda. His involvement in the gaming industry also includes working as a concept artist and as a narrative designer.
At age of nine, Halo: Combat Evolved kicked off his love for the medium. He looks back fondly on the times he visited cyber cafes, watching the older boys playing the game and shouting, "Master Chief!"
If given a chance to inhabit a game world, he would eagerly jump into the breathtaking world of Halo.
He admires Ben "CohhCarnage" Cassell for his engaging dialogue and gameplay as well as his critical thinking regardless of how much he loves the game, which encouraged him to spend countless hours in games and technically analyze them.
In his free time, he enjoys writing books, cooking, sketching, and the occasional game of football.

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Edited by Angad Sharma