Fancy a slice, but Diablo Immortal is stupid? Try Last Epoch!

Yesterday, On June 2nd, 2022, a new Diablo was released with Immortal. This more than covers the need for Hack&Slay games for the next few months. Or not?! Well, not everyone wants a mobile Diablo that relies on a Free2Play model (and therefore microtransactions) and has a similar look to Diablo 3. If you’re in that group of Action RPG fans, we have maybe an exciting alternative for you.

Last Epoch has been in Early Access on Steam since 2019. The final release is planned for 2022, and we became aware of the game from Eleventh Hour Games because it was able to collect almost 11,000 reviews during the early access phase, of which 87 percent were positive. So we invested almost 30 euros for the Early Access version and played it for a few hours to present the Diablo alternative to you below.

classes and championships

At first glance, Last Epoch looks like a typical Diablo clone: ​​you control your character from the iso perspective with mouse clicks through the world, while you box enemies by the thousands and always pack new loot in your bags. However, the first special feature of Last Epoch awaits you in character creation. There you will quickly notice that the base classes Sentinel, Rogue, Mage, Primalist and Acolyte each have three masteries that you can specialize in.

For example, as a Necromancer, the Acolyte can focus on summoning the strongest possible army of undead, or as a Lich, rely on blood magic and transform into a Reaper. As a primalist, however, you have the choice between beastmaster, shaman or druid. The mage specializations sound similarly exciting: Runemaster, Spellblade or Sorcerer. No matter which class you choose, you only choose your mastery during the course of the campaign.

Last Epoch played: The class selection.

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For your base class, but also for all championships, there is a separate talent tree made up of passive improvements in which you can invest points after leveling up. With the Primalist you can, for example, improve your animal companions, focus on close combat or strengthen spells and totems. At certain milestones, i.e. when you have invested a certain number of talent points, you unlock active skills.

Again using the example of the budding druid: With Eterra’s Blessing he can heal allies and also give his own servants a damage buff. Warcry knocks back and stuns nearby enemies. Serpent Strike is a new melee strike that can poison those hit, and it can also learn how to summon Storm Crows this way.

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Last Epoch Played: It only takes us a few hours to unlock all four abilities of the passive skill tree with the Primalist.

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Alluded to Last Epoch: We have already improved our wolves considerably via the talent tree.

Further passive and active skills are then added via the selected mastery. As a shaman, the primalist can set up a special storm totem and learn spells like tornadoes or earthquakes. Druids, on the other hand, transform into werebears, rooting enemies and summoning Spriggan. And as a Beastmaster, you summon raptors, saber-toothed tigers, bears, and scorpions. Then there are the eight standard attacks of the primalist, which you unlock quite quickly in the level phase.

Motivating character progression

A total of 26 actively usable skills are available to the nature-loving fighter, some of which are of course permanently assigned to the three championships. You can only use five skills in combat. And now comes the trick: All active skills can be leveled through use and have their own talent tree in which you can further improve the respective attack or spell. Summoned wolves then do more damage, for example, last longer, provide allies with useful buffs, or you can simply summon more wolves.

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Last Epoch played: We give our two-handed ax a healing effect through attacks.

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Last Epoch played: The legendary drop cannot be overlooked thanks to the light beam.

So you always level several things at the same time, your character and the selected skills, which ensures regular success and progress. At the same time, of course, you improve your character with equipment, idols and blessings. There’s even a forge where you can add new effects to items or just improve them. All of this isn’t as overwhelming as Path of Exile’s talent forest, but offers enough depth to spend a good amount of time improving your alter ego.

According to the user ratings, a lot has happened technically at Last Epoch in recent years, but texture quality, effects, animations, quest staging and world/creature design can’t compete with one Lost Ark (under review) keep up. Smilegate’s action RPG MMO is also in a different league when it comes to the power of the attacks. That doesn’t mean Last Epoch is ugly or feels bad, though. Some of the zones offer nice panoramas in the background, the action is easy to read and some of the bosses we have been able to fight so far are also impressive.

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Last Epoch played: In this fight, the boss forces us to constantly move.

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Played Last Epoch: Avoid the Ray!

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Last Epoch played: We can travel to the areas with the blue cross via the fast travel system.

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Last Epoch played: Some backgrounds are really impressive.

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Last Epoch alluded to: The quest staging is old-fashioned.

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Last Epoch played: These anomalies take you to other epochs.

As far as the level phase is concerned, Last Epoch also has a big advantage over Lost Ark: It already offers a certain challenge in the standard mode (i.e. without additional options such as hardcore or masochist). Healing potions are severely limited, while some opponents hit like Mike Tyson. If you fall asleep and get stuck in area effects, you will quickly die.

But Last Epoch has another ace up its sleeve: At certain locations in the game world, you will encounter a kind of anomaly that allows you to travel through time. Then you end up, for example, in a version of the world in which a previously buried entrance is freely accessible. And of course the fauna and flora of the area have changed over the years, which always provides pleasant surprises.

Last Epoch played: Through time travel we reach the primeval times, dinosaurs included.

Source: buffed

All in all, Last Epoch already makes a pretty good impression. The so-called cycles (seasons with leaderboard reset and new content; the ladder already exists), the trading feature and multiplayer functions. The Falconer (Rogue), Runemaster (Mage) and Warlock (Acolyte) are also missing from the championships. But you can still have some fun with Last Epoch.

Karsten’s opinion on Last Epoch

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What’s it like: Craving a new hack and slash game but not into Diablo Immortal? Have you even tried Last Epoch? If yes, what is your first impression? Did you have fun? And which action role-playing games with Diablo vibes can you recommend as alternatives? Tell us in the comments!