Last Epoch might have the coolest skill system of any game I’ve ever played but before then, let’s touch upon what the game is. Last Epoch is an action RPG in the same vein as Diablo or Path of Exile, whereby you choose your character class and then use a mixture of loot, skills, and passives to create your own little god-killing hero.
The combat is good, there are cooldowns to manage, the story is fun, there’s a time travel mechanic, and there’s co-op too. Basically, it ticks a lot of boxes, but the main thing that makes it stand out is how the skill system works. Each class has a mastery (subclass) that you can unlock, and each of those has its own passive skill tree you can explore. Putting points into that skill tree allows you to unlock skills from that subclass, and you can actually venture into other subclasses, but only halfway. That’s just the overview of it, though, and you can see already that there are lots of ways you can build out your class.
It’s fun, and you can respec your passive points whenever, however, things really get wild when you dive into each skills individual skill tree. Each skill gains levels as you’re using it, and the passives in these skills can change the elemental damage type they deal, give buffs, give debuffs, allow them to cast other skills, or even completely change how they work.
When you combine all of that with loot that can also influence the way different skills and builds work, you’ve got a game that desperately wants you to play around and figure out what to build, but also one that’s happy to let you turn into something else with ease. It’s a glorious way of doing things, and it’s endlessly entertaining. If Last Epoch ever adds more classes, it’ll basically become eternal.
