Eleventh Hour Games has announced the release of "Harbingers of Ruin," the first post-launch cycle for Last Epoch, set to arrive on July 9th. This extensive update, cycle 1.1, introduces a wealth of new content, features, and improvements designed to enhance gameplay and expand the game’s universe. Here’s a detailed look at what players can expect.
New Pinnacle Boss: The Herald of Oblivion
In cycle 1.1, players will face off against Aberroth, The Herald of Oblivion, a powerful new Pinnacle boss accompanied by his Legion of Harbingers. These formidable adversaries present a significant challenge, hunting down Eterra’s champions and offering them a grim choice: join Aberroth or perish.
Nemesis System
A groundbreaking feature introduced in this update is the Nemesis System. As players explore Eterra, they will encounter corrupted, fallen warriors. Interacting with these nemeses provides three choices:
- Banish the nemesis to reset their items for the next encounter.
- Challenge the nemesis in a direct fight to claim their equipped items upon victory.
- Empower the nemesis to increase its strength and upgrade its items for future battles. This can be done twice, enhancing items beyond the normal crafting system, including adding sealed affixes up to tier 7, raising forging potential, and converting rare items into exalted ones.
Nemeses can also drop a special unique, the Egg of the Forgotten, which players can use to empower their own uniques, provided they have no legendary potential or Weaver’s Will.
Forgotten Knights Faction
To counter the harbingers, players must ally with the Forgotten Knights, a new in-game faction. Progressing through this faction grants access to Aboth.
Players start this journey by surviving a harbinger ambush after completing the final level 90 non-empowered timeline. Defeating harbingers across empowered timelines will eventually lead players to the Altar of Oblivion, where they can challenge Aboth.
New Evade Mechanic
A new evade or dodge roll mechanic is introduced, providing a crucial survival tool with two charges available from level one. Although evade lacks immunity frames and a skill tree, it can be enhanced by various items and aces. Its cooldown recovery speed increases as your character levels up. This mechanic allows for dynamic boss fight designs, ensuring all players have a reliable way to avoid damage.
Extensive Balance Updates
Cycle 1.1 brings the most comprehensive balance updates in Last Epoch’s history. Key changes include:
- Mana Regeneration: Most channeled abilities now regenerate mana, making skills like War Path and Disintegrate more viable.
- Skill and Passive Adjustments: Numerous skills and passives have been updated, including:
- The mage’s Disintegrate skill tree now features multiple stages of destruction.
- Minions have increased tankiness.
- Sentinel’s Shield Bash ability has received significant updates.
- Spellblade mastery offers more access to critical strikes.
- Sorcerer’s high mana builds are more incentivized.
- Shaman and Forge Guard classes have been overhauled for more power and interest.
- Primalist’s Avalanche ability is no longer channeled by default and can trigger Earthquake and Upheaval.
- Rogue’s Multishot skill has been buffed.
New Unique Items
The update introduces 30 new unique items, including:
- The Nihilus Amulet: The game’s first unique with negative to positive roll ranges, providing highly variable and potentially powerful effects.
- Monument of Protection: A Sentinel shield that counts as a one-handed axe, allowing for dual shield usage, enhancing both offense and defense.
- Black Blade of Chaos: A two-handed weapon that significantly alters the Blade Dancer’s Lethal Mirage skill, offering a potent new playstyle.
All New Uniques
- Yrun's Penance
- Fingers of the Phantom Mire
- Palarus's Sacred Light
- Flight of Quetzeri
- Phantom Grip
- Carcinization of Momentum
- Orian's Sun Seal
- Traitor's Tongue
- Cruelty
- Grim Constitution
- Triboelectra
- Flames of Midnight
- Monument of Protection
- Plague Dragon's Tongue
- Naal's Tooth
- Aberroth's Command
- Celestial Doom
- Sword Catcher
- Black Blade of Chaos
- Razorfall
- Stealth
- Event Horizon
- Nihilis
- Null Portent
- Bane of Winter
- The Inevitable
- Seed of Ekkidrasil
- Wall of Nothing
- World Splitter
- Phase Point
- Harbinger's Needle
System and Quality of Life Improvements
Monolith of Fate Enhancements
- Echoes now consistently contain swarming and rare enemies for better rewards.
- Glyph of Envy: A new item that allows faster progression through non-empowered timelines for alt characters by converting item stability into timeline stability.
Gaze of Orobyss Adjustments
- Consistent corruption gains per stack with new carry-over mechanics.
- Reduced penalties for dying to a Shade of Orobyss.
- Party members now receive Gaze of Orobyss, making it easier to progress corruption together.
Blessings and Loot Filters
- Blessings can now be stored and swapped at a vendor for gold.
- Shared stash characters can equip minimum value blessings from the stash.
- Improved loot filters now support multiple affix conditions and the display of rule numbers for better item management.
- You can now filter for Legendary Potential and Weaver's Will in your Loot Filter
Other Quality of Life Updates
- New level ladders and timestamps on arena ladder entries.
- Boss dynamic damage reduction replaced with a more transparent boss ward system.
- Endurance threshold display options added to the health bar.
Additional Improvements
- Factions: Two new ranks for Circle of Fortune and Merchant Skilled factions, with revised rewards and smoother progression.
- Client and Network Performance: Significant improvements and bug fixes.
The "Harbingers of Ruin" update promises to significantly enhance Last Epoch with new content, balance changes, and quality of life improvements.
With the introduction of a new pinnacle boss, the Nemesis System, and extensive system updates, players can look forward to a richer, more dynamic gameplay experience.
For a comprehensive list of changes, you can view the full patch notes on the forum.
