[2022] My First Day with Last Epoch

Today’s my first day playing Last Epoch and I’m currently level 50.

Before i get into any details i first have to say: Holy sh*t this game’s f*cking amazing. I haven’t been this hyped and excited about a game since 2011 when i saw Path of Exile’s skill tree for the first time. The difference is that i’m now a cranky 26 year old programmer. I genuinely didn’t think a game could grip me like this again.

Alright so i’ll just walk you guys through some highlights of today.

I decided to start off as close to totally blind as possible. I knew some very basic stuff “this game has good crafting”.

I usually make my first character in new games an archer, but a decade of PoE has taught me that bow characters are fundamentally difficult to scale and build as your first character, especially if you have no idea what you’re doing.

So, after briefly looking at the skills, i settled with a Mage because Disintegrate looked interesting.

First things first: Game looks great. The time traveling thematic is really cool. The plot could probably afford to be more compelling but it’s an ARPG, not the end of the world.

A huge, absolutely colossal plus, is that the game guide is incredibly comprehensive. The fact that i could play through (almost) the entire campaign BLIND on my first character is a testament to how good the game guide is.

My plan was to have no plan and figure out as i go while trying to apply some of the common sense concepts from other ARPGs.

Took a look at the skills for the mage and since i could specialize into 5 i decided it would be:

1-Movement skill (teleport)

2-Panic button (Flame ward)

3-Mana regen (Focus)

4-Single target (Disintegrate)

5-Clearing skill (Elemental nova)

I would allocate skill points with those categories in mind. Trying to maximize clear for Elemental Nova, maximize single target for Disintegrate, etc.

The first 20 or so levels went smoothly. I didn’t engage much in crafting yet. I have a habit of hoarding stuff for lategame lol.

It wasn’t until around level 30ish where i really needed to start doing something. I was getting deleted pretty badly lol. So i opened up the forge and yup, the crafting in this game is awesome. I had stockpiled over 100 shards and upgraded all my resistances on all my gear. Pretty damn awesome. Little did i know i had missed a crucial part of the crafting system.

Fast forward to level 35 and my main issue is no longer defences. I do 0 damage. So, i ask the kind folks on global chat and lo and behold disintegrate is rough without specific uniques AND i was scaling the skill completely wrong.

I was at a crossroads. Do i reroll a new character or grind it out and see how far i can go? Well, turns out there is a 3rd option.

Apparently you can basically reroll your entire character for a fee. Holy sh*t.

I had tried out Ice Barrage and no joke that skill felt absolutely sick. So, i pivoted my entire character. Switched to ice barrage for AoE and Glacier for single target.

Then, as if a gift from god, a unique cold wand called Frozen Ire immediately drops. I go from a zDPS build to literally clearing 3 screens ahead within 15 minutes.

I really had to pause at this point and reflect. Did i just re-roll my entire character in 15 minutes? Yup. Did i have to grind for days to do it? Nope. I was legitimately shocked man.

Also… my stash was full of unique and set items. What is this? Leveling uniques actually dropping during leveling? Getting actual good gear from the ground? I had 2 SOLID uniques equipped before level 40.

I proceeded to blitz my way through the rest of the campaign with my new jacked character.

Then came the bombshell.

So, i continued messing around with the crafting system. But unfortunately i’m a silly fella and didn’t pay attention on the crafting menu.

It turns out, not only can you upgrade modifiers… you can also ADD modifiers.

I kinda just didn’t press the (+) button on the forge. Woops.

This revelation changed everything. It all clicked.

I’m supposed to shatter items with good/rare modifiers and then put them on items and wait i can upgrade and reroll with the chaos rune and wait i can use the glyph of hope to get more tiers and wait i can remove mods and lock mods. Holy sh*t.

I too can craft sick items. I can reroll my character if i want to. I can mess around try stuff out and experiment. I can make my own build and make decent progress i don’t have to follow a build guide. I don’t feel compelled to hoard the resources the game gives me. I can find good gear on the ground. I can have FUN.

Man this game is so good. Props to the devs you guys nailed it.

Only thing i’m sad about is that i missed the window for the Ardent Creator supporter tier.

I have to go to bed now and wake up tomorrow and go to work. I can barely fall asleep and i have no clue how i’m going to focus in the office tomorrow. Thanks Eleventh Hour.

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