Last Epoch
Eleventh Hour Games
Diablo 2 pretty much introduced the whole action role-playing hack-and-slash genre to the gaming masses. But that was back in 2000. Since then, people have been hungry for something that captured that special feeling that Diablo 2 delivered.
By most accounts, its successor, Diablo 3, didn’t quite scratch that itch. And while there has been a vast multitude of attempts at emulating that classic action RPG vibe, none have really been successful besides a few standouts like Grim Dawn and Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem.
Indie developers, Eleventh Hour Games, have entered the ever-contentious fray with their new project, Last Epoch. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, a beta version of Last Epoch became on Steam a year later.
Although Last Epoch is still in Steam’s Early Access category, it’s a pretty well-rounded action RPG already. What’s more, the developers actively listen to their player base (something that seems to be becoming increasingly rare these days).
Last Epoch has some darn good character progression and customization options. There are a total of 5 main character classes and each one has its own 3 unique branches of specialization.
They are detailed as follows:
Sentinel—your basic melee warrior. Available Mastery classes: Paladin, Void Knight, and Forge Guard.
Mage—he who destroys his enemies with powerful elemental magic and can perfect his skills like with these Mastery classes: Spellblade, Sorcerer, and Runemaster.
Rogue—a very versatile melee and ranged fighter, as well as a master of various traps. The Rogue’s available Mastery classes are the Marksman, Bladedancer, and Falconer.
Primalist—a protector of nature and the elements who relies not only upon his strengths but also his loyal beasts. He’ll later reach his Mastery potential as a Druid, Beastmaster, and Shaman.
Acolyte—the shadowy practitioner of forbidden magic and invocation rituals. His Mastery classes are understandably more on the dark side: Necromancer, Warlock, and Lich.
In addition to the unique tree of passive talents that opens up access to new skills, each skill gained can also be improved. Yes, you read that correctly—each skill has its own customization tree. That means 2-3 dozen nodes that not only improve your character but also completely change its mechanics. All this will allow you to create a huge number of unique builds with skills that can be customized for any style of game. Talk about versatility!
Another unique feature that Last Epoch brings to the table is its expansive campaign, which is located at once in several different time periods. Get ready to embark on an exciting adventure and watch how different zones change depending on your character’s actions.
This cool gameplay twist is available not only in offline single-player but also online with up to four other players. End-Game content is represented not only by PvE battles, but the game also features Time-Lost Colosseum where you can drop into PvP battles with varying modes depending on how many players want to scuffle.
These days, games expect to be treated to vast amounts of different types of loot, for which he will fight mobs of dastardly monsters. There are many different types of weapons and gear to get your hands on (or at least your digital avatar’s hands) that have various item bases and stat modifiers, as well as truly unique items.
In addition to that, your equipment can be improved, and even created by using a special crafting system called the Shattering Stones. Thanks to the Eternity Cache System, which is not subject to the passage of time, it will be possible to improve all sorts of things, leaving them in one era and picking them up in another, throughout thousands of years (thankfully not real years).
As it stands, Last Epoch is coming along very nicely and I’m really looking forward to the final product.
Last Epoch has some great graphics so you’ll need a pretty beefy gaming PC or gaming laptop in order to play it at a decent framerate. Therefore, you may just want to invest in a superior gaming rig:
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