Last Epoch

Last Epoch had a long road through early access before its 1.0 launch in early 2024, and the community that followed it through those years came out of it with a clear consensus: this is a good action RPG that does certain things better than anything else in the genre, held back by some rough edges that matter more or less depending on what you’re looking for.

The reception has been broadly positive, with most of the praise directed at the character building systems and most of the criticism aimed at launch server problems and endgame variety. Players who value deep theorycrafting and build diversity tend to rate it highest. Those looking for polished multiplayer and a deep endgame grind find it less complete, though ongoing updates have narrowed that gap.

Build Depth and Time-Bending Ambition

Character building is where Last Epoch separates itself. Each of the five base classes branches into three mastery classes, and every skill can be specialized through its own mini talent tree. This means two players running the same mastery can end up with wildly different playstyles depending on which skills they specialize and how they modify them. The community consistently highlights this system as the game’s greatest strength, and it’s easy to see why. The number of viable builds is large, and the process of discovering interactions between skill specializations and gear affixes is the kind of puzzle that ARPG players live for.

The loot filter system deserves its own mention because it solves a problem that plagues the genre. You can create detailed rules for what drops get highlighted, hidden, or color-coded, all within the game itself. No third-party tools required. Players who’ve spent hours configuring external loot filters in other ARPGs appreciate this more than newcomers might realize, and it’s one of those quality-of-life features that’s hard to go back from once you’ve used it.

The campaign uses time travel as more than a narrative gimmick. You move between different eras of the game’s world, and the environments and enemy types shift meaningfully with each jump. It doesn’t reach the storytelling heights of a narrative-focused RPG, but by ARPG standards the campaign holds attention better than most. The different time periods give the leveling experience a sense of variety that a single continuous world wouldn’t provide.

Crafting gives players direct control over gear improvement without relying entirely on random drops. The deterministic crafting system lets you add and upgrade specific affixes on items, which means finding a piece of gear with good base stats but imperfect rolls isn’t a dead end. You can work with it. This pairs well with the build system because it means you can actually target the stats your specific build needs rather than hoping they drop.

Where Last Epoch Stumbles

The 1.0 launch multiplayer experience was rough. Server instability, login queues, and character data issues dominated the first weeks after release. Eleventh Hour Games addressed these problems over subsequent patches, but the launch left a lasting impression on the community. Players who came in expecting a smooth online experience were frustrated, and even though the situation improved, it colored early sentiment in a way the game is still recovering from.

Endgame content, while solid in its core loop, doesn’t yet offer the breadth that veterans of the genre expect. The Monolith of Fate system provides a structured endgame with branching timelines and escalating difficulty, and it works well for a significant stretch. But players who measure ARPG endgames in hundreds of hours eventually find the variety thinner than what competing titles with years of additional content updates provide. This is improving with patches, but it’s a real gap.

Performance optimization is uneven. Some builds that produce heavy visual effects cause frame rate drops even on capable hardware. The game runs well enough in most situations, but specific skill combinations and dense enemy encounters expose optimization problems that haven’t been fully resolved. Steam Deck performance in particular requires some settings adjustment to stay smooth.

Multiplayer beyond co-op remains limited. Trade functionality was restricted at launch and the social systems around group play feel underdeveloped compared to the genre’s standard. Players who want ARPGs primarily as a social experience find this lacking, though solo and small-group co-op work well enough.

The Theorycrafters’ ARPG

The defining question with Last Epoch is what you value most in the genre. If your answer is build diversity, crafting depth, and the satisfaction of making a character concept work through careful optimization, this game delivers that better than most of its competitors. If your answer is endgame longevity, a thriving trade economy, or polished multiplayer infrastructure, it’s not there yet. The game’s identity is built around giving players tools to create and refine, and that identity is clear and well-executed.

Should You Play Last Epoch?

Players who get excited about skill trees, passive synergies, and crafting systems will find a lot to love here. The build diversity alone can sustain multiple characters worth of experimentation, and the crafting system means you’re not entirely at the mercy of random drops. If you’ve bounced off other ARPGs because the endgame felt like a slot machine rather than a puzzle, Last Epoch’s approach might be what you’re after.

Skip it if you need a massive, years-deep endgame right now, or if your primary interest in ARPGs is the multiplayer economy and trading experience. The game is getting there, but it’s not there today. Solo players and small co-op groups will get the most out of it in its current state.

The Verdict on Last Epoch

Last Epoch proves that a newer entry can compete in a genre dominated by long-established titles, at least in the areas it chooses to focus on. The character building and crafting systems are best in class, and the campaign is surprisingly engaging for a genre that usually treats story as an obstacle between you and the endgame. The launch stumbles and endgame limitations are real, but they’re the kind of problems that shrink with time rather than grow. For ARPG fans who care most about the build, this one is worth the investment.