[2021] Official Last Epoch Multiplayer FAQ

Hello Travelers!

We have been working very hard on multiplayer and we know that you are very excited to get your hands on it. We also know that you have a lot of questions regarding the specifics of how multiplayer will function. This FAQ represents our current plans for multiplayer. As development progresses, some things could change and we will keep this FAQ up to date. We know that this may spark more questions and we will do our best to add those to this list as they arise.

Basics

1. When will multiplayer be released?
   Because it is more important that multiplayer is received well rather than received quickly, multiplayer will be released when we believe it’s ready. We’ll be providing regular updates of what we’re working on (look for posts titled Multiplayer Development Post - Month) so you have a better idea of how much longer it may be until you’re able to play with other Travelers in Eterra.

2. How many people in a party?
   You will be able to be in a party of up to 4 players, including yourself.

3. Will multiplayer be server authoritative?
   Yes, Last Epoch’s multiplayer will be server authoritative which largely prevents cheating, allows us to have competitive systems like leaderboards and races, and store characters securely that can be accessed from any machine that has Last Epoch playable.

4. Will I be able to play offline?
   Yes, but only with characters that you’ve chosen to create as offline characters. Online characters cannot be played offline and offline characters cannot be played online to prevent cheating.

5. What is the user flow of getting into game?
   You will enter the world on a single character and be able to party with people in that same mode once in the game world. For example if you create a hardcore character you will load into the game and then be able to form parties with other hardcore characters.

6. Will I only see other players if I’m in a party with them?
   When adventuring through the world, yes. Though you will see many other players in public non-combat areas like towns and the Bazaar.

7. Do you plan to have multiplayer specific PvE content?
   Because we don’t want to lock the best loot behind content that requires a cooperative party and maintain that playing with groups is optional (albeit a lot of fun) we will not be adding content that requires parties to defeat.

8. Will multiplayer be predictive or lockstep?
   Our approach to multiplayer is not a perfect analogue of predictive or lockstep. We are prioritizing controls feeling as responsive as possible, so multiplayer should feel very close to single player unless your ping is particularly high.

9. Will there be a way to find other players to party with?
   Yes. We will provide details on this soon.

10. Will there be PvP?
    We want to add PvP but we are currently focused on making the PvE experience the best that it can be. This means that PvP would come after 1.0.

11. Is there friendly fire?
    No.

12. Can I inspect other players?
    Yes, but possibly not until after 1.0.

13. Will there be incentives to party with other players?
    We want the decision of playing with others to depend on whether you like spending time adventuring with other players, and try to steer away from it being a much more efficient way to beat content or get loot. Besides having an organized or synergistic team that can defeat enemies faster than a solo player, we are not planning to incentivize parties with additional rewards.

14. What happens if I disconnect? Will my character instantly leave the game?
    We are still designing the details of this system. We know that different playstyles and connection stability affect how people interact with it. We are taking those viewpoints into account.

15. What happens to my current characters when multiplayer goes live?
    All characters created offline will not be transferable to the online multiplayer environment. If you want to play multiplayer, you will have to start from level 1 again. Your current offline characters will still be available to play offline just as they are now.

Gameplay

1. Will party members be able to resurrect each other?
   Yes. All characters will be able to resurrect each other by clicking on a downed party member and channeling for a brief moment. Hardcore characters cannot be revived.
2. Can party members revive Primalist party member’s pets?
   You betcha.
3. How will quests work in a party?
   Events that are not repeatable within the same instance, such as killing a boss, will complete an objective or start a quest for everyone in the instance. Repeatable events, such as walking to a location or talking to an NPC, will only complete an objective or start a quest for the player triggering the event, but other players can trigger it in the same way. Generally if you skip to completing an objective further along a quest line than you were before it will fast forward you to that point, so skipping ahead does not leave you unable to progress.
4. How will enemies scale?
   When additional party members join an area monster’s health will scale up per party member. We are not planning to scale damage as this can be discouraging for players who have geared defensively for a solo experience.
5. Are there tanks and healers?
   While players may build to be tankier or heal allies there is no designation that a player IS or is not a tank/healer or other. Parties will not need to be built with tanks and healers in mind.
6. Will content be easier or harder in groups?
   Our design goal is to have it so that a party that is cooperating is slightly more efficient than a solo player and a disorganized party is slightly less efficient than a solo player.
7. How will balance be considering the huge variety in character builds?
   Some party compositions will synergize well together and we’ve built in mechanics to many skills and classes that will benefit parties. We will continue balancing to make sure that there are not team comps that are too overpowered.
8. Will there be a balancing pass on skills for multiplayer?
   Yes. Some of this will likely occur after multiplayer is already publicly testable, and some of this has already happened. Balancing is an ongoing effort.
9. Will there be a grace period upon entering party member’s zones that are in combat so I don’t die upon entering?
   Yes.
10. Can I skip the parts of the story through party member boosting?
    Yes. We prioritize letting people play together over forcing players to go through every step of the story.
11. Following up on #10, How are you going to get passive points and idol slots?
    The same way as if you played normally. You’ll need to go back and complete the quests to get the Passives and Idols if you’ve skipped content with a group. It’s worth noting that there are more quests with idol inventory rewards than you need to fully unlock your idol inventory, so you don’t have to complete all of them. We are planning to change passive point rewards to work in the same way.
12. Can I heal/buff/sacrifice another party member’s minions?
    You can positively affect them with heals and buffs, but cannot sacrifice or harm them.
13. Can I power level my friends?
    There is a cap on effective experience level of a zone. For example, a level 10 player in a level 20 zone will gain xp as if the enemies were level 13, not level 20. This does not affect the experience gained by other players.

Loot

1. What will the trade system be like?
   Our current plans regarding the trade system are still a work in progress and will require scale testing, but are centralized around having an area for players to congregate called The Bazaar. In the Bazaar you can visit other player’s shops and purchase items for in-game gold. The player shops that appear are random so the act of finding gear that you are interested in feels like browsing an active bazaar instead of finding players on third party websites to trade with directly. We want the main item hunt to remain outside of trade so making this an enjoyable experience but not the clear best way to obtain better items is our goal. Players in a party will also be able to gift items to each other, as long as the item dropped after both players joined the party.
2. Will players be able to give their friends items?
   If they were playing together in the same party when the item dropped they will be able to gift one another the item.
3. Will players be able to link Items in chat?
   Yes.
4. Are you changing loot drop rates or crafting because of multiplayer?
   Perhaps. But if so, not drastically. We want the drop rates to be mainly balanced around self-found and feel we are doing a decent job of this right now. Because of the way the trade system is planned to work we don’t believe this will throw off the balance of the item hunt drastically.
5. How will loot drops work in a party?
   Loot drops will be instanced, meaning that only you will see the items that are dropped for you. You will not see or be able to interact with other player’s loot. Loot will drop at the same rate and rarity that it does when not in a party.
6. Can party members see the loot that drops for all other party members?
   No, we don’t want to clutter the player’s screen or the ground with items they cannot pickup. Items can be linked in chat to share your findings with your party though.

Content Specific

1. How will Monolith work in a party?
   Any player will be able to click the monolith stone to bring up their run of that timeline and choose an echo. Other players in the party can then follow that player into their echo, help them complete it, and share the rewards. The stability reward will go towards each of the players’ individual runs of that timeline, as will quest echo completion. However other players’ quest echo runs and stability will not be reset if they complete the third quest echo in another player’s timeline run.
2. Do I get blessings if I help my friend kill a monolith boss?
   Yes.
3. Follow Up: Does this make the most optimal way to play to be to split up and tackle multiple timelines at once, then just join for the boss fight?
   No, because you gain the same stability with four players completing one echo together as you do with four players all completing different echoes (assuming each echo has the same stability reward).
4. Will there be Player Hideouts or Housing?
   We are interested in adding a player housing system. This is not included in our initial launch scope. We will consider adding this as a new feature in a future cycle.

*This thread will have replies disabled as there is too much to unpack and discuss in a single thread - but please do discuss and let us know how you feel about individual points in other threads! We will also be leaving replies open on the monthly multiplayer update reports to have a more focused discussion on those items.

You can check out the first multiplayer monthly development update here: Multiplayer Progress Update - July

Check back periodically as we will be adding more questions and answers over time.

Thanks again for your patience as we make sure multiplayer is an enjoyable experience for all Last Epoch players!