Last Epoch: 7 Beginner Mistakes To Avoid

Highlights

• Don’t get overwhelmed by inspecting every item – most will get outclassed as you level up.
• Use a loot filter – it’s essential in Last Epoch to manage the overwhelming amount of gear.
• Don’t ignore crafting and runes – they are simple systems that are fun to use while leveling up.

Unless players already have a lot of experience in ARPGs, Last Epoch can be a very overwhelming game at first. Even for those who have a lot of experience, this game has a lot going on with its Class and Masteries systems alone.

That said, all the information players need can be found in-game, they just have to know where to look. So, to make those first couple of hours in Last Epoch a whole lot less confusing, let’s take a look at some of the things we wish we knew right from the get-go. Keep in mind that these are tips targeted for beginners or newer players to Last Epoch, so there’s not going to be a lot of final build or endgame discussion found here.

7 Inspecting Each & Every Item You Pick Up

If You Do This, It’ll Take 100 Years To Beat The Game

First off, this game has an absolutely absurd number of drops. This is very typical of ARPGs like Diablo, Path of Exile, or even Lost Ark (to an extent) but Last Epoch almost feels like it takes it to another level.

Players will constantly be picking up new white, blue, yellow, or even unique items just running through a single map in this game, and it not only fills their inventory quickly, it’s also overwhelming. So, the first recommended tip is not to worry too much about inspecting each individual item, most of them will be quickly outclassed as one keeps leveling up and progressing the story. These items also barely ever sell for more than a couple of gold, so try not to stop every few seconds to read all these stats on some new weapon or armor that dropped.

6 Thinking A Loot Filter Is ‘Going Overboard’

There’s Simply Too Much Gear In This Game Otherwise

Along that same train of thought relating to gear in Last Epoch, one of the best early-game tips anyone can give is not to ignore the Loot Filter options in this game. While setting up a Loot Filter may seem like a bit too much min-max investment for players who don’t have a ton of experience in MMORPGs or ARPGs, the one in Last Epoch is basically mandatory. Thankfully, it’s very easy to set up and people can even use online resources to download and import their own Loot Filters into the game.

At the very least, set up a Loot Filter that hides white-rarity equipment (and probably blue-rarity too) as this will save players from having to resist that constant urge to just ‘check and make sure’ that every white or blue item on the ground isn’t worth keeping just because it buffs their Minion Health by a small percentage.

5 Ignoring The Forge & Crafting Mechanics

It’s a Very Simple System & Very Fun To Use

This next mistake is something a ton of Last Epoch players have made, and understandably so. Crafting in MMORPGs and ARPGs is usually relatively reserved for the late-game, and it’s usually pretty confusing at first (depending on the game). So, just by following their instincts, a lot of players end up ignoring the Forge, Crafting, and Affixs systems thinking it’ll be a waste to use them before the end-game/max level.

Luckily, the Crafting in Last Epoch is very simple (make sure to read the Forge section in the Game Guide) and is something players should absolutely use to their heart’s content while they’re leveling up. While a lot of the enjoyment of these games understandably comes after players reach max level, there’s nothing saying they can’t enjoy the time getting from level 1 to 100, so have fun with the Crafting systems in between.

4 Ignoring Runes Of Shattering At The Hub Vendor

These Make Hoarding Gear A Bit More Worth It Early On

Runes of Shattering are another part of Last Epoch that’s lost on a lot of players who aren’t familiar with these games or didn’t read up on the game beforehand. Basically, after buying these Runes, players can slot them into Equipment that’s currently in the Forge, and break the Affixes on that item into a random number of Shards matching those Affixes.

While it’s not exactly necessary to do in the early to mid-game (AKA before gaining the Class Mastery), there’s no harm in doing it either for players who know what Affixes they’re looking for in the late game. Granted, it’s better to do things in a more ‘efficient’ way by saving them to use on late-game gear and get higher Tier Affix Shards or by using a Rune of Discovery to fill the empty Affix slots and then using a Rune of Shattering, but players really won’t suffer much by doing things whatever way they’d like with these Runes.

3 Investing In The Gambler

As One Would Expect, It’s a Big Gamble To Do This

One of the earlier NPC Merchants players are introduced to in Last Epoch is the Gambler, and this is dangerous. The Gambler is an NPC where players can spend gold to buy weapons, armor, accessories, and so on that will have random Affixes applied to them when bought, so players can essentially use gold to ‘roll’ for items.

While there’s no way to ‘stop’ players from doing this more than a couple of times at most, it’s highly recommended to spend that money elsewhere such as on Runes of Shattering. This is an ARPG, and enemies drop items in large quantities that players can literally use filters and only see the gear they care about, so wasting gold on the Gambler is often just a waste of time and gold.

2 Skipping Sidequests Without Looking At Their Rewards

You’ll Miss Out on Passive Points, Idols, & More

Sidequests in Last Epoch are very important for a multitude of reasons. Not only do they make the leveling process a bit easier, flesh out the maps with more tasks to do, and introduce players to more characters and concepts in this world, but they’re also great for Passive Points and Idol Slots.

If players skip Sidequests in this game, not only are they going to be missing out on about 15 Passive Points, but they’ll basically not be able to interact with the game’s Idol System at all due to the lack of Slots. So, make sure to go to either the Quest Tracker (J on PC by default) or by looking at the Quests on the World Map to see what the currently assigned Sidequests are and their rewards. This way, players will know at a glance which Sidequests are worth doing now for the Passive Point/Idol Slot reward and which are only EXP rewards and are therefore probably worth saving for later or until after the important Sidequests are done.

The Game Explains Everything To Those Who Look

And finally, while Last Epoch might be an ‘information overload’ type of game, it’s not like the game itself doesn’t try to make things easier. The systems in Last Epoch that exist to help players understand everything are plentiful and very well made.

Not only is there the Game Guide that players can access through the Escape Menu which has entries on literally every mechanic in the game, but players can also just hold ‘Alt’ when looking at just about anything and more information will be provided in blue text. Using this tool, players can figure out if a Skill Modifier will change the damage type (and therefore scaling) of a Skill, what exactly certain Debuffs are, and so much more. So, use these two resources whenever things feel like ‘a bit much’ and it should really help.