Why Last Epoch is better than Path of Exile
15.02.2024 - 08:13:12
Game Guides , Last Epoch
After the long wait, The Last Epoch is set to launch this Feb. 21 on PC. It's been a long wait for fans of the game but finally, the time-traveling epic is finally here. The game is going to launch with a lot of competition considering that Diablo 4 and Path of Exile are two big games in their own right.
In terms of comparisons, a lot of players are comparing The Last Epoch with Path of Exile. The two games have a lot of similarities in terms of gameplay and content. With Path of Exile deep into its lifespan and probably still months away from the release of the sequel, fans are expecting others to jump ship when The Last Epoch launches.
While the similarities are plenty, many are also saying that the time-traveling ARPG is a lot better than Path of Exile. That shouldn't be too surprising as the game's developer has probably learned a lot from other games after being in development these last couple of years. Here's why The Last Epoch could be better than Path of Exile.
The Last Epoch Has A Great Story
One of the most promising points of The Last Epoch is its great story. To put it simply, in this game, you're tasked with changing the past to help save the present. The game takes place across 4 distinct eras set within the same world. The eras in the game are:
6020 BE (Ancient Era) - This epoch predates the reign of gods, empires, and the world's downfall. The landscape remains unspoiled, untamed, and teeming with untamed wilderness. Expect encounters with formidable creatures in rugged terrains, reflecting the primitive state of the world.
12 BE (Divine Era) - As divine beings and rival nations engage in conflict, the world embarks on a path toward decay. Despite advancements in Eterra, ongoing warfare impedes progress, perpetuating the cycle of regression.
- 1005 AG (Imperial Era) - The grip of the undead reign tightens as the Immortal Empire faces its twilight. Concurrently, the living populace struggles in a desperate bid for survival against the encroaching darkness.
- 1290 AG (Ruined Era) - The world lies in desolation, reduced to naught but wreckage. Humanity's remnants huddle within the confines of the Last Refuge, clinging to a dwindling hope amidst the ruins.
You'll be facing off against gods, an undying army, and empires in this game. What's great about the story is that it's very open for expansion. We could potentially explore other eras in future updates of the game. Considering how deep the lore is in The Last Epoch, there's going to be so much potential for an epic story.
This isn't to say that the story of Path of Exile is bad. However, if you want a more expansive story, then The Last Epoch seems like a pretty smart choice. It's also worth noting that as Path of Exile is already relatively old, you might've gone through the story several times already so there';s nothing more to explore.
Who knows how long you'll have to wait for the game's second story in Path of Exile 2. While waiting for the sequel, playing The Last Epoch seems like a pretty smart way to pass the time.
Better Visuals
When it comes to visuals and how the game performs overall, players who've played both games say that The Last Epoch has better graphics, while Path of Exile features better animations. To be fair for Path of Exile, the game is already a few years old so it's definitely going to be a bit behind when it comes to which game looks better.
Visuals aren't all that you need to look at when it comes to comparing two games. However, if you're the type of gamer who prefers games that look better overall, then you might want to consider playing The Last Epoch instead.
A Better Plan For The Future
Path of Exile is seemingly on its last legs as the developers are already bracing themselves to launch Path of Exile 2 within the next couple of years. They've said that both games are going to exist at the same time, as Path of Exile will still get updates even when its sequel releases.
However, it's hard to imagine that the developers are going to put in major content updates for the game once the sequel launches. Likely, we're just going to get new Leagues every now and then.
On the other hand, The Last Epoch is still pretty fresh and young. The developers have a solid plan for the game's future already and we're very excited to see what comes next. Even if you aren't sold on the game yet, it's going to be a great alternative while you're waiting for the release of The Path of Exile 2.
A Simpler But Just As Deep Class System
One of the most beloved aspects of Path of Exile is its class system. The game features seven classes you can choose from, Marauder, Ranger, Witch, Duelist, Templar, Shadow, and Scion. Each of these classes except for the last one is further divided into three Ascendancies which are mastery classes of the game.
On top of all that, you have over a thousand skills to choose from which offer plenty of opportunities to create a build that suits your playstyle. One main concern of many players is that the class system itself can be very complicated especially for newcomers to the game.
The Last Epoch gives you five classes: Acolyte, Mage, Primalist, Rogue, and Sentinel. Each of these classes is then divided into three Masteries. Each class will have 20 Passives and 20+ Active abilities to go along with it. This might seem like a downgrade but in reality, the game's class system is unjust as in-depth as in Path of Exile. The developers still have a lot of time on their hands to expand the game with new classes in the future. Here are the classes in The Last Epoch just in case you aren't familiar with them yet.
Sentinel
The melee-based knight class, offering strong support potential based on build and mastery. Ideal for close-quarters combat and tanking enemy damage.
| Mastery | Description |
| Paladin | High-defense tank class capable of providing support skills to allies while lacking heavy damage output. |
| Void Knight | Specializes in dealing damage, capable of sacrificing health for offensive power. Shares similarities with the Lich but focuses on melee combat. |
| Forge Guard | Pure melee class utilizing various weapons and armor, leveraging fire-based abilities for offensive dominance. |
Rogue
Agility-based class dealing heavy damage with melee or ranged weapons, albeit lacking in defensive capabilities.
| Mastery | |
| Falconer | Equipped with a falcon companion to blind foes and manipulate enemy positioning with traps. |
| Marksman | Ranged damage dealer rumored to possess abilities inflicting various status effects, albeit with lower survivability. |
| Bladedancer | Assassin-like class with high damage output and mobility skills, compensated by low health and defense. |
Acolyte
Magic class focused on support abilities, with potential for heavy damage depending on Mastery choice.
| Mastery | Description |
| Lich | Dark-powered Acolyte harnessing blood and death for damage-dealing abilities, likely involving sacrificing life for power. |
| Necromancer | Master of summoning undead minions and utilizing dark magic for combat, specializing in familiars and curses. |
| Warlock | Acolyte mastering forbidden arts, employing curses and hexes to weaken enemies with magical abilities. |
Primalist
Blend of offensive Mage capabilities and defensive Sentinel traits, offering heavy damage and strong survivability.
| Mastery | Description |
| Shaman | Utilizes elemental forces for potent area-of-effect spells and summons storm totems for lightning strikes, focusing on offense with boosts to spell and elemental damage. |
| Beastmaster | Excels in summoning companions for close-range physical damage, boasting strength-based scaling and endurance for survivability and enhancing versatility through Aspect skills. |
| Druid | Harnesses nature's power to control enemies with vines, heal allies with spriggans, and access various wereforms, providing defensive and offensive spells for versatility. |
Mage
Pure-magic user wielding elemental damage from a distance, vulnerable in close combat but proficient in long-range attacks.
| Mastery | Description |
| Runemaster | Sets magical traps and wards to control or harm enemies, serving as a support class with emphasis on preparation and strategic positioning. |
| Spellblade | Fusion of Mage and Sentinel, offering a mix of magic and physical damage for a versatile playstyle, ideal for those who enjoy both melee combat and spellcasting. |
| Sorcerer | Mastery of offensive spells from a distance, specializing in dealing heavy damage to mobs while retaining the Mage's spellcasting prowess. |
Better For Beginners
Needless to say, Path of Exile can be very intimidating for newcomers. Even if you're jumping into the game right as a new League is starting, it's very easy to get lost in all of what the game has to offer. That doesn't mean that the game is bad though. It's just that Path of Exile is already an old game that has tons of content added to it already. Partner that with an intricate progression system and you've got a game that can break RPG newbies easily.
While it's been in beta for a while, The Last Epoch is still relatively new. It's a great opportunity to start playing a new game with friends or on your own. The game also has a simpler progression and endgame system which will make it better for beginners who can't devote too much time to understanding the full mechanics of Path of Exile.
Endgame: The Last Epoch vs. Path of Exile
For many, the endgame content of games like these are more important than anything else. Luckily, both games offer a robust endgame experience in their own way. Let's talk about how Path of Exile's end game works first.
Path of Exile Endgame
Path of Exile's endgame is very rich. One of the main endgame content you can after finishing the campaign, is the mapping system.
To unlock more of the Atlas and gain additional customization options for your Atlas Passive Skill Tree, you must complete maps. Progress through quests is essential for you to defeat formidable foes like The Searing Exarch and The Eater of Worlds, enabling you to unlock their Voidstones. Similarly, conquering challenges posed by The Shaper and The Elder, including their Uber Elder encounter, will lead to the acquisition of their Voidstone.
Having the Maven witness battles against other Atlas bosses allows you to collect Crescent Splinters, which you can then use to form The Maven's Writ. Subsequently, you must confront The Maven herself to obtain her Voidstone. Further rewards and the chance to designate a Favorite Map slot come from defeating the Conquerors of the Atlas, culminating in a showdown with Sirus, Awakener of Worlds.
Additionally, triumphing over Venarius in the Cortex Unique Map yields valuable rewards and another Favorite Map slot. Completing the Maven's special Invitations, which involve her witnessing various endgame bosses, unlocks the last remaining Atlas Passive Points for you. The Maven's Invitation: The Feared is achieved by defeating potent endgame bosses under her observation. Finally, you can activate the appropriate Atlas keystone to challenge "Uber" versions of previous bosses, offering yet more valuable rewards.
There are 115 endgame maps to conquer and this should be enough to let you enjoy the game for months, if not years to come.
Aside from mapping, you can also do Delve. This is an alternative endgame system where you'll have to progress through the Azurite Mine. The deeper you go, the more challenging and rewarding challenges you'll unlock. The mine itself is endless, thus giving you a lot of things to do.
Another endgame system is Heists. In this one, you'll go on dangerous missions to steal loot, which you'll then use to fund Grand Heists, which will let you have access to a variety of rewards. If you're tired of that, then you can do the Forbidden Sanctum as well. Again, this is a series of dungeons filled with traps and enemies.
On top of all this, there are league challenges that can help revamp current endgames that are accessible to you. Leagues are constantly changing, thus giving you a near endless loop of things to do.
The Last Epoch Endgame
Although The Last Epoch hasn't been released yet, the developers have already laid out a pretty solid plan for the endgame content. The endgame consists of multiple plans.
Monolith of Fate
In the Monolith of Fate, you find intricate timelines, each weaving an alternate tale of events. These timelines offer you a journey to navigate and conquer, rewarding you with blessings that bestow various buffs.
Initially, only one timeline is accessible to you. As you progress through the timelines, branching paths on the World Map unlock subsequent timelines. Your progress within timelines persists even after you log out.
The Echo Web is the heart of each timeline, consisting of interconnected nodes. These nodes can be completed individually to gather Stability and earn rewards. Upon completion, more nodes unveil, guiding your journey through the timeline.
Each node presents a unique objective within a specific Zone map. Tasks range from slaying enemies to uncovering hidden Gates, defeating ambushes or powerful Bosses, destroying Spires, confronting patrolling foes, or surviving waves of monsters in an arena.
Echoes within the timeline bestow modifiers upon enemies, escalating their danger while enhancing item rarity and Experience gained. These modifiers persist across multiple echoes, challenging your skills and offering greater rewards.
Furthermore, each timeline houses three Quest Echoes, pivotal milestones in the timeline's story. As you accumulate enough Stability, these quests become accessible. Completing the final Quest Echo concludes the timeline's narrative journey.
Corruption
In the Echo of a World nodes lies the formidable Shade of Orobyss, whose defeat heralds corruption within the timeline. Corruption entails a permanent increase in monster health and damage across all echoes, accompanied by heightened stability gains, monster levels, item rarity, and experience.
Upon completing a timeline, you are presented with a selection of at least three blessings, from which you can activate one. These blessings bestow permanent buffs upon your character, which can be re-rolled or swapped out by re-completing the timeline. Each timeline permits only one blessing to be equipped at a time.
A new addition to the reward pool is introduced in the form of an additional Unique or Set Item, tailored to a particular type, which carries a higher chance of appearing as Corruption levels rise. As Corruption surpasses 100, Sanctuary of Eterra nodes are integrated into the central area, providing unique challenges and rewards for players. Furthermore, access to the third Quest Echo is solely contingent on stability, rendering other prerequisites obsolete. Upon vanquishing the timeline boss, players are bestowed with 1 Gaze of Orobyss and are generously rewarded with Grand Blessings.
The fourth and fifth blessing slots become accessible when 50+ and 200+ Corruption saturates the timeline, respectively. This progression adds an exciting layer of complexity to character enhancement.
Special Echoes
The Echo Web may house unique echoes, offering opportunities to gather information or manipulate timeline properties:
- Vessel of Memory: Resets the Echo Web, allowing you the opportunity to claim the rewards of discovered nodes once more.
- Vessel of Chaos: Rerolls the rewards of uncompleted nodes within the echo.
- Beacon: Illuminates a broad area around the node, revealing additional echoes within a larger radius.
- Sanctuary of Eterra: Reduces Corruption within the timeline (exclusive to Empowered timelines).
- Echo of a World: Resets the Echo Web while introducing Corruption to the timeline, altering the landscape of challenges and rewards.
Upon successfully completing an Echo and returning through the portal, you'll be rewarded with a treasure chest that contains rewards depending on the number of enemies you defeat. This chest holds a variety of treasures, including items, glyphs, and runes.
Additionally, Echoes offer node-specific rewards, particularly if conquered on the initial attempt:
Normal nodes yield supplementary loot, which can be claimed from the reward crystal post-node completion. These rewards can contain:
- Three Tomes of Experience.
- Piles of Gold.
- Assorted Affix Shards, Glyphs, or Runes.
- Assorted Rare items of a designated type.
- A Unique or Set item.
- An Arena Key (an Arena Key of Memory is granted above level 90).
Echo of a World, Vessel of Memory, and Vessel of Chaos nodes have double the rewards of a regular node.
Empowered Timelines
After beating the three level 90 timelines, you'll unlock Empowered Mode. You can do this by activating the crystal at their location. Once done, you’ll be able to participate in level 100 variants of the timelines, all of which will have a base Corruption of 100.
Empowered Timelines are just like their regular counterparts with the exception of some modifiers.
Boss encounters in Empowered Timelines may yield exclusive items unattainable elsewhere.
Conquering The Shade of Orobyss requires the expenditure of all Gaze of Orobyss for additional Corruption. However, if defeated, gazes are forfeited upon death to the Shade.
These differences add depth and challenge to the Empowered Timelines, offering seasoned adventurers new trials and greater rewards.
Arena
The Last Epoch also involves an Arena mode. In this endgame content, you'll be facing off against waves and waves of enemies, whether in solo or with the help of others. You can be ranked based on your performance. Aside from a place in the leaderboards, you’ll get various rewards by doing the arena as well.
The developers are planning more endgame content in the future and this is going to further enrich your experience in The Last Epoch.
Is The Last Epoch A Game Changer?
The Last Epoch is certainly a promising game. To say whether or not it's actually better than Path of Exile depends on how you view the game. Considering all the things we’ve said for both games, it’s safe to say that the upcoming time-traveling epic is going to be a game changer.
