Last Epoch: A Quick Look
It's been slim pickings for a while now when it comes to quality action RPG games. With the disaster, Diablo 3 is there aren't many high-quality action RPG games. You always have the trusty Path of Exile, but even then maybe you don't like some of the changes they are making. Maybe Path of Exile is too complex for you? Last Epoch isn't as complex as Path of Exile and is a great game if you're looking for a new ARPG.
From left to right we have the Acolyte. They can specialize in Lich, Necromancer, and warlock. The rogue who can specialize into Bladedancer, Marksman, Falconer. The Primalist can specialize in Shaman, Beastmaster, Druid. The Sentinel can specialize in Forge Guard, Paladin, Void Knight. The Mage can specialize in Spellblade, Sorcerer, and Runemaster
Each class will have its own mini storyline, with a cut scene at the start. I'm a big fan of the art style for the cut scenes, and I think you should watch them to get an idea of what is going on. It's not incredibly important, but it's not very long either.
There currently is no multiplayer which is the big downside to Last Epoch. However, the devs are hard at work for getting this working into the game. At the time of writing this, the game does have a chat box to talk with other players.
If you are interested in watching some gameplay and a video guide over some of the stuff discussed in the article check out my video above. It's a quick look into the game so you can see how some of the basic systems work.
While Last Epoch is less complex than Path of Exile it is much more complex than Diablo 3. It's a nice little middle ground between the two. As you can see above the Rogue itself has 6 base skills, 3 that are unlocked from adding points to the passive tree. On the right side, you see the other skills unlocked by putting points into their masteries. For example, if I put 5 points into Bladedancer I would unlock Shadow Cascade. For those of you familiar with Path of Exile you can think of this sort as an ascendency.
You can specialize in 5 skills. Those 5 different skills will then also have their own skill tree and gain passives as you level. You can respec these easily by the top right button, or select a new one. The dots in between the nodes indicate how many points you need to progress.
Each class also has its now passive tree. This is the Rogues. You work from left to right. as you fill-up the bar you unlock new skills. Once you have 20 points in you can then unlock your new classes on the left there. 20 points will let me specialize in Bladedancer or Marksman. Falconer is not out at the moment so it is not an option.
The inventory system is the same as all the other ARPGs really. You have slots for your gear, and the inventory space itself is broken into squares. Each item takes up so many squares. The nice thing here is that your crafting materials can be moved to your crafting inventory with one click. Just click Transfer Crafting items and off they go. Super easy to clean up your inventory. Idols you will unlock later on in the game. These work like Diablo 2 charms. It's essentially a mini inventory for charms instead of using your own inventory so you can't pick up any items.
The crafting is much easier than Path of Exile as well. You collect shards that you can use for crafting. In the image above (left picture)we are going to increase the spell damage on the item. As you can see the upgrade chance is 100%. However, it will add Instability to the item. This means the next upgrade may fracture. Fractured items can no longer be crafted, but you can still use them. On the image above (right picture) I have decided I need elemental resistance on the item. I already upgraded the Increased Spell damage so I know has Instability on it. Now I have a 95% chance to add all resistance to the item. You can keep doing this until you fracture the item.
Overall the systems in Last Epoch are quite fun. The combat is pretty fluid, and the graphics are nice. I'm really excited to see what comes from the Last Epoch. They have an interesting storyline and are adding to it. I hope it eventually becomes a rival for the long-standing king Path of Exile.