Each base class eventually branches into Last Epoch gold three masteries (subclasses). For example, the Sentinel can become a Paladin, Void Knight, or Forge Guard. These choices drastically change how your character plays by unlocking unique passives and skills.

Tip: You can respec skills, but mastery choice is permanent. Try a class long enough to get a feel for it before committing.

Skills and Specializations

Every class starts with a set of base skills, but the real depth comes from specialization trees.

You can specialize in up to five skills as you level.

Each specialization has its own passive tree, allowing you to customize how the skill works.

Not all specialized skills need to be on your skill bar-some trigger automatically through other abilities.

For example, a Rogue's Shadow Cascade does moderate damage by default. But with the right nodes, it can scale with summoned shadows, massively boosting its power. Other skills, like Smoke Bomb, can be modified into movement tools or defensive utilities.

Attributes and Scaling

Your character's stats matter. Press C to open the character sheet:

Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Attunement, and Vitality all improve damage and defenses in different ways.

Each skill has scaling tags (e.g., "Melee, Physical, Dexterity"), showing which attributes or effects improve it.

Resistances are crucial-keep them high to survive as you progress.

If you're a Rogue stacking Dexterity, you'll not only boost your damage but also gain Dodge Rating for extra survivability. Understanding scaling ensures your build feels powerful instead of underwhelming.

Campaign Quests, Idols, and Factions

During the campaign, pay attention to the gray diamond side quests. These often reward:

Extra passive points.

Idol slots (special charm-like items that provide bonuses).

Later, you'll choose between two factions:

Merchants Guild - focused on trading with other players.

Circle of Fortune - rewards self-found farming and loot bonuses.

You're not locked in forever-you can switch factions if you change your mind.

Crafting Basics

Crafting is one of Last Epoch's core systems. To understand it, turn on "Always Show Mod Ranges" in settings so you can see affix values when hovering over items.

Key terms:

Implicits - base stats every item has (e.g., swords add melee damage).

Prefixes - usually offensive modifiers (attack speed, damage).

Suffixes - usually defensive or utility stats (resistances, health).

The Forge

Press F to open the Forge anywhere. Items have Forging Potential (FP), which acts like crafting stamina. Each modification consumes FP until the item can't be altered anymore.

Glyphs and Runes

Glyph of Hope - 25% chance to not use FP on craft.

Glyph of Chaos - rerolls an affix into another of the same type.

Rune of Shattering - destroys an item to recover its affix shards.

Affixes can be upgraded from Tier 1 to Tier 7, with Tier 5 being the normal crafted max. Tier 6 and 7 only appear on Last Epoch gold for sale special Exalted items.