Last Epoch, an upcoming ARPG slated for release on February 21, 2024, has been in Early Access since May 2019, undergoing significant improvements based on community feedback. With its full release, the game promises a complete and polished experience.
Indeed, complete games on release are not a thing of the past!
Despite common belief, fully complete games on release still exist! Since the launch of Diablo 4, ARPG enthusiasts have been debating between Diablo 4 and Path of Exile, searching for the ultimate gaming experience. Path of Exile is notorious for its complexity, often requiring a Ph.D. just to get started. On the other hand, Diablo 4 has been criticized for its lack of engaging end-game (and even early and mid-game) content, often resorting to enemy reskins each season.
Although Path of Exile is free, making its complexities more forgivable, Diablo 4 comes with a hefty price tag of $69.99, which is $35 more than Last Epoch’s price of $34.99. Furthermore, Last Epoch boasts seven features on release that Diablo 4 still lacks. Let’s delve into these features!
1. 15 Classes Vs 5 Classes
In every ARPG, character creation starts with selecting a class, which is where ARPGs shine, offering various ways to play the game. The diversity of playstyles excites ARPG enthusiasts, adding essential replayability to the game.
Diablo 4 launched with five classes – Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Necromancer, and Druid standard D&D classes familiar to all. However, each class only offers two or three viable playstyles and builds, which is quite underwhelming. It’s been eight months since Diablo 4’s release, and players are still awaiting the 6th playable class, presumed to be the Paladin.
In contrast, Last Epoch will debut with 5 classes and 15 different subclasses upon release. Each class in Last Epoch features 3 subclasses, known as Masteries, which unlock around level 25. These Masteries have their skill trees with unique skills defining the subclass’s playstyle, in addition to the base class skill tree.
What’s even more intriguing is that each Mastery skill tree is divided into two halves, allowing players to invest in the left half of any of the three available mastery trees, creating specialized hybrid subclasses as desired. This feature makes the game highly replayable with numerous playstyles, without overwhelming players like Path of Exile tends to do.
But the customization doesn’t end there, as each skill in Last Epoch has its own skill tree!
2. Extensive Skill Customization for Every Class
Diablo 4 has been praised for its simplicity, making it accessible for anyone to pick up and understand the game mechanics and skill tree, fairly easily. This accessibility is why even ARPG fans with limited time for gaming, such as Elon Musk, prefer Diablo 4 over Path of Exile. However, Diablo 4’s simplicity can also be its downfall, lacking depth in skills and offering only a few viable playstyles.
I’ve never agreed with the notion that a game cannot have a simplistic skill tree while also offering depth for different playstyles, and Last Epoch has proven me correct.
In Last Epoch, players can specialize in specific skills they prefer, unlocking the skill’s own skill tree. As skills level up with usage, players earn specialized skill points to invest in the skill tree. Specializing in skills not only increases damage numbers but can also change the nature of the skill itself, such as transforming the Fireball skill into a Flamethrower.
Experimentation is highly rewarding in Last Epoch and can be done simply by clicking on linked trees. You don’t need to watch a two-hour-long build guide before starting the game, as with Path of Exile, nor sacrifice the creativity valued in ARPG games for simplicity, as with Diablo 4.
3. Play Offline Anytime!
Have you ever wondered why you need an internet connection to play a game primarily focused on single-player gameplay? You’re not alone!
Most ARPGs are designed with single-player gameplay as the primary focus, with multiplayer modes added as an extra feature. However, both Diablo 4 and Path of Exile require an internet connection and will disconnect you at the slightest internet hiccup.
The fact that many players, including myself, mostly play these games solo makes it frustrating when we can’t play due to internet issues or limited data.
While Path of Exile’s online requirement makes sense since it’s free and they rely on in-game purchases, paying $70 for a game like Diablo 4, designed for single-player, should come with the option to play offline.
Developing an offline ARPG with online multiplayer is not a mystery, as Last Epoch has demonstrated. Last Epoch offers both online and offline modes, allowing players to enjoy the single-player experience independently and create new characters for multiplayer without any issues.
4. Endgame with Real Impact
Replayability is a crucial aspect of ARPG games, and while multiple builds and playstyles contribute to this, a robust endgame is paramount. Unfortunately, Diablo 4 falls short in this area due to its lackluster endgame content. So, what defines a good endgame?
My ideal end-game involves challenges that are mechanically demanding, not just reliant on inflated stats, and offer highly rewarding outcomes.
Now, Diablo 4’s current endgame consists of Nightmare Dungeons and the recently added Abattoir of Zir.
- Nightmare Dungeons mainly increase enemy health and damage without introducing significant new gameplay elements. This often leads to frustrating experiences where players can be stun-locked and one-shotted, regardless of their defenses.
- The Abattoir of Zir, while promising, suffers from a significant flaw: players cannot access it without a specific item obtained from Nightmare Dungeons. This decision baffles many, as Nightmare Dungeons are already unpopular due to their lack of engaging gameplay.
In contrast, Last Epoch offers four distinct endgame activities: Empowered Monoliths, Dungeons, Arena, and the Arena of Champions.
- Empowered Monoliths provide players with a structured yet challenging experience, allowing them to pursue specific items and gear while facing increasingly difficult challenges. This mode exemplifies meaningful difficulty progression.
- The Arena offers endless waves of enemies, providing a fun and challenging experience that encourages players to strive for higher rankings, despite not offering tangible rewards.
- The Arena of Champions is similar to the Arena but features 40 waves of enemies culminating in a boss fight, with the boss dropping a unique item upon defeat.
- Dungeons in Last Epoch are engaging, multi-stage experiences with bosses and rewards that refresh daily. Some daily quests are also tied to these dungeons, making them a rewarding and enjoyable endgame activity.
Overall, Last Epoch’s endgame is more rewarding, challenging, and enjoyable than Diablo 4’s. However, there is still room for improvement, and I look forward to Eleventh Hour Games expanding on these concepts in the future.
5. Top-tier Crafting System in an ARPG
Undoubtedly, Last Epoch boasts the most impressive crafting system in any ARPG released to date. In Last Epoch, every item has a forging potential, with rarer items having more potential than normal ones. Crafting in Last Epoch involves adding affixes to an item on top of its existing ones.
To craft, simply open the Forge menu from anywhere in the game, attach the item you want to craft, and choose either a prefix or a suffix to add. The cost of adding the affix will be displayed, and clicking “Add Affix” will do just that. You can continue adding affixes until the item’s Forging Potential is depleted.
What sets Last Epoch apart is that you are GUARANTEED to get the affixes you add WITHOUT any chance of failure. Furthermore, players have the option to utilize crafting materials to improve the likelihood of retaining the Forging Point or alter the nature of the affixes. Additionally, there’s a possibility of a critical success, adding twice the value of the affix and saving the materials used. With over 100 distinct affixes to collect, the crafting system in Last Epoch offers depth and customization.
You receive what you desire without any chance of failure, as long as the item has the required Forging Potential. There is also a chance of adding double the value while preserving the items.
In contrast, Diablo 4’s crafting system revolves around rerolling random stats on gear, relying heavily on luck to land desirable affixes. This system lacks ingenuity and requires little strategic thinking. While there’s talk of an upgraded crafting system coming to Diablo 4, given their track record, it may take some time to materialize.
6. Compete on the Leaderboards
Leaderboards and ladders are crucial components of multiplayer ARPGs, offering players the opportunity to compare their progress globally and strive for improvement. Last Epoch excels in this regard, features a fully implemented leaderboard system that ranks players based on their highest levels and waves cleared in the Arena.
Last Epoch’s leaderboards are divided between Normal and Hardcore players and can be further sorted based on the playable classes, adding a competitive edge to the game.
In contrast, Diablo 4 has yet to implement a leaderboard or ladder system, despite being eight months since its release. The upcoming Season 3 is expected to introduce a new leaderboard for the Abattoir of Zir, so it remains to be seen how this feature will be received by the community.
7. Quality of Life Improvements for a Smooth Experience
Loot filters and ample stash space are indeed crucial quality-of-life features in ARPGs, and Last Epoch excels in both areas, showcasing Eleventh Hour Games‘ understanding of player needs compared to Blizzard.
- Last Epoch’s loot filter surpasses many third-party filters available in other ARPGs, offering precise item selection and display options, outperforming even renowned third-party filters in games like Path of Exile.
- In terms of stash space, Last Epoch provides a staggering 200 stash tabs, allowing players to hoard items without the stress of constantly managing inventory space.
In contrast to Last Epoch, Diablo 4 currently lacks a loot filter, and while there are plans to add one in the future, the timeline for this addition is uncertain. Additionally, Diablo 4 offers only four stash tabs, each with a capacity of 50 items, limiting players to hoarding a total of 200 items.
Path of Exile initially provides only four basic stash tabs, with players having the option to purchase premium tabs for additional storage. However, considering Path of Exile is free-to-play while Diablo 4 is a $70 game, the limited stash space in Diablo 4 may be perceived as a disadvantage by some players.
Attention Diablo Fans: Discover Last Epoch!
Last Epoch is a labor of love from a dedicated small development team, with years of development and community feedback shaping its evolution. The game embodies some of the finest elements of the ARPG genre, offering an incredibly enjoyable experience. Eleventh Hour Games has even said on a record that the game won’t be charging for future DLCs, making the initial $35 investment a rare and worthwhile proposition for years of content. I urge all ARPG fans not to overlook Last Epoch and to give it a chance.
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