Updated - 5/4/25 - Completely new player to Last Epoch: Feedback for S2! (on a variety of very random things!)

[Xalviloph]

Note: Fixed a typo. ‘Shield Rush’ (not Shield Bash) should be a controllable directional skill. Scroll down for more details (and for the balancing on that).

• !!! The graphics setting ‘Volumetric Lightning’ should be set to ‘Very Low’ by default for all players. It just makes the game look bland/washed out with the fog. This is especially noticeable in areas that are darker or have dark backdrops. It’s even worse in an area like The Wengari Fortress or The Temple of Eterra. You can’t even see things below bridges from high ground!

• Add a hybrid Mouse/Keyboard WASD option where the ‘S’ key makes your character step backwards (for positioning purposes) vs. turning all the way around and running in the other direction.

• !!! Each players’ Character Level should show up on each others’ avatars when Partying with each other. This missing small feature came as a surprise to me for a game that’s been out since 2019. No Party Member should ever have to ask what level another Party Member is.

• !!! Further, each players’ Character Level should also be displayable (to the left of their names) in Towns with an ON/OFF button in the Settings to do so.

• A Guild system would be very nice in Last Epoch! This will help bring players together and to have access to their own private Guild Chat. And an ON/OFF Setting to display Guild Tags next to players’ names in Chat would also be welcome (for whoever wants to).

Further, each main Town can have a Guild Board to find established Guilds listed by players that gives players the option to ‘Join Request’ in which a Guild Leader would Accept/Decline.

Reason why: The general combat style/layout in LE seems to encourage Party play more than the competition does. How? It just does. The gameplay of LE reminds me a lot of the map layouts you would see in RPGs of the past with NPCs following you around in a Party, so picture that but with real players tagging alongside you

• All towns/main hubs should have no fog of war, especially if already explored. Regardless, fog of war makes no sense outside of combat zones. This was one of my immediate pet peeves in the game when I first started playing. There is no need for players to have to re-explore towns.

• Pressing ‘Enter’ to open the Chat Window should also close it out (under the condition the chat box has no text within it). Otherwise, pressing ‘Enter’ will submit the text to other players.

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HOT TOPIC here in comments section below

• !!! Weapon Swapping? When? For example, players should be able to have an ‘Offensive’ setup (main) and a ‘Defense’ setup (secondary).

However, I went a few steps further and fleshed out an entire new concept called ‘Harmonic Resonance Swapping’ that completely changes Weapon Swapping as we’ve always known it in ARPGs. Refer to the comments section below for more details and on the drawbacks for such a system if ever anything like it were implemented

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• Add a toggle button for us to Show/Hide our characters’ helmet next to the helmet slot from the Inventory window.

• When left-clicking on NPCs (almost all of them in the game), player characters move too much into the NPCs’ space/standing area vs. keeping player characters at somewhat of a distance upon interaction.

In other words, interacting with NPCs throughout the game doesn’t feel ‘snappy’, especially for players playing on PC using Mouse/Keyboard.

• One-Handed Weapons (like Swords and Axes) need more love in general, especially in the Cosmetics Shop. Shields? Same thing. More Ice, Lightning, and Fire-themed Cosmetics would be nice.

• For some reason (whether in Windowed mode or Full-Screen mode), the game makes your Taskbar disappear if you’re alt-tabbed out of the game and you have another app open like your web browser or a Word document when taking notes (or any other window outside the game).

• The skill ‘Shield Rush’ should be able to be controlled by players to go in any direction they want to go in to deal more damage on enemy mobs (yet NOT re-triggering the 1-second ‘Stun’ mechanic tied to it) through holding down the left-click button (PC) or the joysticks (controller).

Currently, it seems Shield Rush will go on for as long you don’t hit a barrier but if it’s to be turned into a full-on direction skill, it needs to have its duration lowered to a maximum of 8 seconds AND to not be stopped by destructible things like fences. Yea, that would be neat!

In other words, players cannot Stun enemies again until they use Shield Rush a second time.

Currently, the skill just feels stiff, especially if/when players want to use it for movement/getting around (which should be allowed).

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ON TEXT (improving reading comprehension throughout the game)

You—yes, you, narrator of the game—your hard work has not gone unnoticed!

There are, however, just a few run-on sentences (where commas should be) and missing skill capitalizations in tooltips throughout the ‘Skills & Specialization’ window alone.

Here are a few good examples:

• Sentinel – Vengeance – Tooltip for Vengeance: If vengeance successfully hits an enemy and you take a hit in the next 2 seconds[insert comma] you will riposte, taking 25% less damage and striking at a nearby enemy.

Improvement: If Vengeance successfully hits an enemy and you take a hit in the next 2 seconds, you will riposte, taking 25% less damage and striking at a nearby enemy.

Examination: ‘Vengeance’ should be capitalized since it is the name of a skill. There is also a missing comma within the tooltip.

• Sentinel – Rebuke – Tooltip for Rebuke: When you stop channelling[insert comma] the barrier breaks[insert comma] dealing physical damage to all nearby enemies. This deals 20 additional physical damage for each hit you received while channelling.

Improvement: When you stop channelling, the barrier breaks, dealing physical damage to all nearby enemies. This deals 20 additional physical damage for each hit you received while channelling.

Examination: There are two missing commas within the tooltip.

Further examination: The word ‘channelling’ throughout the game (American English) should be ‘channeling’ (unless your team is using British, Australian or Canadian English).

• Paladin – Javelin – Tooltip for Javelin: If you have a spear equipped[insert comma] added melee damage from the spear applies to Javelin as added throwing damage at 50% of its normal value. Added melee damage from other sources has no effect.

Improvement: If you have a spear equipped, added melee damage from the spear applies to Javelin as added throwing damage at 50% of its normal value. Added melee damage from other sources has no effect.

Examination: There is a missing comma within the tooltip.

• Paladin – Divine Throws – Tooltip for Divine Throws – TL;DR: There is a comma missing after the word ‘consequently’ where a pause should be in place.

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NPC Texts (just a couple examples I will pull from The Council Chambers town)

It is beside the point most players ‘skip texts, anyway’ in most ARGPs. First impressions subconsciously and significantly influence player engagement by absorbing emotional or atmospheric cues, which do linger after each interaction that sets the tone for the game.

• Area: The Council Chambers – NPC: Captain Leora – Text: We need more soldiers, we need to go back down there and evacuate more survivors!

Improvement: We need more soldiers! We need to go back down there and evacuate more survivors!

Alternate improvement [albeit, still less urgent in tone]: We need more soldiers; we need to go back down there and evacuate more survivors!

Examination: The above cited text the way it is originally written does not convey to players a sense of urgency, at least, not enough urgency.

• Area: The Council Chambers – NPC: Artem the Gambler – Text: No wonder the Elders kept this place to themselves, hell of a view. Hmm, care to try your luck? Found some good stuff on my way up here.

Improvement [and to make the NPC more likeable/engaging]: No wonder the Elders kept this place themselves! Hell of a view, eh?! Hmm… Care to try your luck? Found some good stuff on my way up here!

Examination: The above cited text the way it is originally written for the Gambler NPC sounds inorganic with a lack of emphasis on how impressed he is with The Council Chambers area.

Thank you for looking into this feedback : )

[Gregory_Portman_PL]

@Xalviloph

‘Volumetric Lightning’

That one intereseted me to check it out, thanks!

[Xalviloph]

Lmao! That’s great. Totally not correcting it.

[ExSea]

@Xalviloph

Weapon Swapping? When? For example, players should be able to have an ‘Offensive’ setup (main) and a ‘Defense’ setup (secondary).

POE2 was almost everything i hoped for with weapon swapping. but very quickly i realized that it gave the developers a lazy way to address issues.

for example. you’re a 2 hander with slow attacks. with the existence of a weapon swap, the devs can easily brush off balance concerns (such as vs ranged enemies) by saying. oh you COULD equip a shield in your swap and shield bash the enemies. or you could equip a ranged weapon to snipe at them. which are all legitimate solutions BUT not solving the issue.

if weapon swaps did not exist, the devs could come up with different ideas on balancing. maybe they can introduce a new passive, or a new bonus for 2handers where they receive less damage from ranged attacks.

[Xalviloph]

Weapon swapping/sets have been a thing in ARPGs since Diablo 2. So regardless of whatever reasoning weapon swapping/sets do not exist in Last Epoch, it should still be available. Period.

I have also never heard of weapon swapping causing an ‘imbalance’ in a game. It allows more ‘flexibility’, in a word. The issues you speak of that PoE 2 has go well beyond the concept of weapon swapping and I would venture to say have nothing to do with weapon swapping. Having access to weapon swap functionality has never made PoE 2 feel ‘overpowered’ (satisfying? yes) and neither will it in Last Epoch.

In other words, the general point you’re getting across is not a very sharp one. An ‘imbalance’ has nothing to do with an entire functionality via weapon swapping being missing from Last Epoch. Weapon swapping not existing in Last Epoch is generally silly and any reasoning behind its inexistence is equally silly.

[DJSamhein]

@Xalviloph

Weapon swapping/sets have been a thing in ARPGs since Diablo 2. So regardless of whatever reasoning weapon swapping/sets do not exist in Last Epoch, it should still be available. Period.

In D2 weapon swapping was always about giving you extra buffs (placing CtA on swap and periodically casting it for the extra +skill and other buffs) or for snapshotting minions.
In PoE1 weapon swapping is basically just “level up gems here” and has no other use.
In PoE2 weapon swapping is mostly just for buffs as well. Most of the time it’s to use a weapon that will give you a buff and the weapon passive points will be used to buff area and effect.
D3 didn’t have weapon swapping.
D4 only has weapon swapping for barbs and all it does is let you use 1H skills alongside 2H skills.

So not every ARPG since D2 has it (Diablo franchise dropped it altogether, for the most part). And it’s not really used for anything in PoE1 other than a gem leveler. And it’s not used for anything in the rest other than a buff/snapshot stick.

So the question is: what do you want weapon swapping in LE for? What is the purpose you want it to achieve? What would it bring to the game that you don’t have now?
Once that question is answered I guess we can use that as a strting point for the discussion.

[Xalviloph]

Alright, so I made an all-or-nothing statement by saying ‘every ARPG’. My bad. In other words, almost every ARPG since D2 has weapon swap functionality in some way, shape, or form.

I also never said every (or any) iteration of weapon swapping was effective in D2, D4, PoE, etc., just that the mechanic exists and serves at least some purpose. However, I do agree with you that other ARPGs never tapped into the weapon swap mechanic at full potential.

Ways the weapon swap mechanic can be made more useful (some examples)

Weapon swapping could serve as a tactical combat pivot, not just for buffs but to enable build-defining dual-mode gameplay. Think of it like shifting between two combat “stances” or specializations on the fly, each supported by different weapon types, skill trees, and potentially passives. Here’s how this might work:

1. Mode-Specific Skill Loadouts

• Allow players to assign 2–3 skills per weapon set (separate from main skill bar), swapping them in with the weapon.
• This could let you swap between a melee burst setup and a ranged AoE setup, or between minion play and direct spellcasting, etc.

Sure, that might require a little re-working to the game but it can be implemented in the game in such way where the more in-depth weapon swap mechanic does not interfere with builds in such way where weapon swapping will be ‘required’. Instead, weapon swapping will be an optional way to push builds further and to do more with those builds.

2. Passive Tree Interactions

• Introduce passive nodes (or even blessings/idols) that only activate with a specific weapon type equipped, or that interact with swapping (e.g., “gain X for 4 seconds after swapping to a two-handed weapon”).
• That will encourage deeper build crafting. Do you go hybrid with synergy between the modes or specialize hard and use swaps sparingly?

3. Synergy with Buff Windows or Rotations

• Support gear or mechanics that grant short-term effects upon swapping (not just weapon stats but meaningful interactions).
• Examples: “On weapon swap, gain Haste for 3s”; “When swapping from a staff to a wand/dagger, your next spell costs no mana”; “Swapping consumes X resource but empowers your next hit.”

4. Class/Archetype Integration

• Give some mastery-specific synergies. For example:
  • A Rogue build that swaps between a bow stance and a dagger stance (ranged vs close combat).
  • A Primalist that shifts from beastmaster mode to shamanic caster mode.
  • A Spellblade who toggles between melee enchant procs and defensive shield casting.

Why Add This?

• It will add depth and flexibility without mandating complexity.
• It will encourage creative builds that explore gear synergies and stat balancing in a new way.
• It will open the door for future content design: think time-sensitive fights or challenges that reward dynamic adaptation.
• It will be distinct from D2/Poe because it’s not just buffs/snapshotting but combat role adaptation.

To further answer your question in full, weapon swapping in LE would be about agency and letting players feel like they have a secondary way to shift their strategy, mid-fight, rather than locking into one mode of play per build.

It is not about copying another ARPG’s implementation but using LE’s strong Class/Passive/Skill system to create a new expression of the weapon swap mechanic.

What say you?

[DJSamhein]

I feel like your suggestion will only serve as a sort of loadout and everyone will be using it to have 1 setup with clear speed/AoE and another setup for boss killing.
This would actually accomplish the opposite of what you want, which would be reducing build diversity, since you could just have an all-out clear “build” in one setup and a full ST build in the other and switch according to the situation.

I’m not against weapon swapping (nor are the devs) but I feel like this isn’t the way to go. Honestly, I’d rather have them simply as buff sticks than loadouts.

[Xalviloph]

Fair enough. I answered your question in full and I gave examples on a variety of ‘ways’ the weapon swap mechanic can be made more useful beyond just acting as a stat-stick. or like you exampled from PoE 1, as a means to merely level up Skill Gems.

The fact that you would rather weapon swapping serve the purpose of acting as a stat-stick surprises me a little because your first response seemed to have mocked simplicity and instead begged a response for more mechanical ‘depth’.

The main takeaway here is the weapon swap mechanic in LE can certainly be implemented in a way where it fits the game without also being a primary ‘requirement’ or interrupting the fluidity of combat (be it in the form of an inadvertent ‘loadout’ style or not).

[DJSamhein]

@Xalviloph

The fact that you would rather weapon swapping serve the purpose of acting as a stat-stick surprises me a little because your first post seemed to have mocked simplicity and instead begged a response for more ‘depth’.

I would like more depth. I just disagree with your specific suggestion because that would just lead to speed farm/boss killing setups on swap, which isn’t a good thing for the game, in my opinion.

But if there are other interesting options, I’m all for them. As I said, I’m not against weapon swapping, even if it’s just being a stat stick. I would like a more involved system, but even just something like that wouldn’t necessarily be bad.

EHG has a knack for giving their own unique spin on things like these and I would be curious to see what they would come up with.

[Xalviloph]

Let me ask you this: If you were to add a weapon swap mechanic to a game like LE, what would be your approach vs. the examples I gave and without creating a dynamic where it leads to 'speed farm/boss setups/killing?

I’m curious.

Imho, adding weapon swap functionality in any game for ‘stat-stick’ purpose is both archaic and lacks in depth, so let’s discuss and figure out a better way/purpose for the mechanic

[DJSamhein]

I honeslty don’t know. I’m not a game designer.
And the fact that almost always it’s being used as either a stat stick or a loadout system makes me think that maybe there aren’t many other options.

That being said, there are several mechanics in LE which were out-of-the-box and quite clever, like the set shards solution for sets. So I would be curious what they can come up with for weapon swap.

[Kuro466]

#1. Your text fixes are better submitted using the in game F8 screenshot tool. There is a category “text” to get it to the right place.

#2. You can already weapon swap. You can swap everything, it just has to be in your inventory. Having a secondary weapon set “slot” would just be a convenience to not “lose” ir confuse the swap weapon with other gear.

#3. Im for remiving snapshotting of pets and such, and fully against weapon slots having multiple “specs”. I think I’m practice switching only the weapon would not be that great, as the affixes i would want to swap are not on weapons.

#4. If anything, it would be nice to be able to “lock” a piece if gear fir “keeping” so it cant be vendored/sharded/dropped… and mark it with a little visible mark… this would be a good tool to organize using situational gear better. Beyond this, there could be some kind of pulldown on the character sheet for “equipment sets” that would just auto equip the set from our inventory/stash… though i think most of this is not necessary for the game. Is rather they fixed bugs, like giving us “only evade follows wasd movement direction”

[Xalviloph]

To #1 Good idea. Didn’t think about that.
To #2 Of course a secondary weapon set slot would be for convenience but it can be made much more than that.
To #3 Good ideas. Also, certain affixes may not be on weapons but certain special ‘effects’ that affect certain Skills would be nice.
To #4 That would be a nice QoL to lock certain pieces of gear to prevent accidents. I believe such a system is in D4 where you mark equipment as ‘Junk’ but I don’t think that system prevents accidents. And at least if you vendor something by accident in LE there is a ‘Buyback’ option, anyway.

I really thank you for your feedback

[TaurusHORN]

@Xalviloph

Synergy with Buff Windows or Rotations

• Support gear or mechanics that grant short-term effects upon swapping (not just weapon stats but meaningful interactions).
• Examples: “On weapon swap, gain Haste for 3s”; “When swapping from a staff to a wand/dagger, your next spell costs no mana”; “Swapping consumes X resource but empowers your next hit.”

In other words - rewarding people for swapping weapons. In the presented form players would need to use weapon swaps to get the rewards, so what about players that do not want to use swaps? How are you going to balance things out so that weapon swapping isn’t necessary for optimal play?

[Xalviloph]

Hmm… Alright. After giving things more thought, how about something like this? The general concept below avoids the idea of ‘loadouts’ and the idea of ‘stat sticks’.

‘Harmonic Resonance’ Swapping ! (let’s not even call it ‘Weapon Swapping’)

• Core Concept: Weapons aren’t just tools for dealing damage; they possess unique “Resonance Frequencies.” When a player swaps weapons, it creates a brief “Harmonic Resonance” window where the effects of both weapons momentarily combine and amplify the player’s abilities in unexpected ways.

• Mechanics:

  • Inherent Frequencies: Each weapon has a distinct, hidden “Resonance Frequency” represented by a combination of elemental affinities, attack patterns, or even abstract qualities (e.g., “Aggressive Tempo,” “Defensive Rhythm,” “Arcane Instability”). Those things would not explicitly show as a ‘stat’ but ‘felt’ through the combined special ‘effects’.

  • Resonance Window: When a weapon swap occurs, a short window of opportunity (e.g., 1-2 seconds) opens. During this time:

    • Combined Effects: The next ability or attack the player uses will be influenced by the Resonance Frequencies of both the weapon just swapped to and the weapon just swapped from.
    • Emergent Properties: The combination of frequencies can lead to surprising and powerful emergent effects. For example:
      • Swapping from a fire-based Sword to an ice-based Staff might cause the next attack to create a localized steam explosion (to blind enemies) or apply both burn and frostbite.
      • Swapping from a slow, heavy Mace to a rapid-fire Bow could result in a single, incredibly powerful piercing shot charged with the Mace’s impact.
      • Swapping between two weapons with “defensive” frequencies might grant a significant but temporary shield (or invulnerability).
    • Skill Synergies: Certain skills might have specific interactions with different Resonance Frequency combinations, rewarding players for finding powerful pairings.

  • No Static Bonuses: The benefit isn’t a passive stat increase from holding a particular weapon. The power itself comes from the act of swapping and the skillful timing of abilities within the “Resonance Window”.

  • This will encourage ‘Rhythmic’ Play: The short window encourages players to develop a rhythmic flow of combat, constantly evaluating which weapon to swap to next based on the current situation and the desired combined effect.

• Why this can be pretty neat (and this is all just food for thought, folks)

  • Deeply Integrated: Weapon swapping becomes an active and engaging part of combat, not just a menu selection.
  • Emergent Gameplay: The unpredictable combinations of Resonance Frequencies create a high Skill ceiling and encourage experimentation. Players will discover powerful synergies and develop unique combat styles.
  • Beyond Stat Sticks: The value of a weapon lies in its unique frequency and how it interacts with other weapons during the swap, not just its raw damage numbers.
  • No Loadout Paralysis: Players aren’t locked into pre-defined sets. They can carry a variety of weapons and adapt their strategy on the fly based on the harmonic resonance they want to create.
  • Thematic Resonance: The idea of “resonance” can be tied into the game’s lore or magic system, making the mechanic feel more meaningful.

• Example Scenario: Imagine you, the player, is facing a heavily armored enemy. You are currently wielding a Lightning-infused Axe (“Aggressive Tempo,” “Electric Surge”). Then, you quickly swap to a Poison-tipped Dagger (“Lingering Affliction,” “Subtle Decay”).

The brief Harmonic Resonance window opens > You use a powerful swing ability > But instead of just a normal swing, the attack now delivers a burst of Shock damage followed by a potent Poison cloud that lingers on the enemy, weakening their armor and dealing damage over time.

This “Harmonic Resonance Swapping” mechanic transforms ‘weapon swapping’ from a utility into a core combat dance, rewarding skillful timing and creative weapon combinations for powerful and unpredictable effects.

[Xalviloph]

That is the whole point (as I was saying earlier to DJSamhein) that no matter what take/direction the devs go if they were to implement the weapon swap mechanic, it will not be a ‘requirement’ but an ‘added level/layer’ players can utilize for their build(s).

In other words, whatever players are doing now with their builds? they can still do those things (no difference), but if they want to ‘expand’ upon their builds and to create a more fun experience? they can utilize their weapon swap capabilities to do that.

The system would not make the game more overpowered but strike a balance between: ‘increased power’, fun, and general combat engagement.

[DJSamhein]

That is certainly a much more interesting idea. At least it’s original and out-of-the-box.
It can certainly be balanced and expanded upon to create an interesting gameplay alternative.

I would say it needs to have some downside to it, otherwise you would be encouraged to simply swap them all the time (which could be stressful, not to mention yet another button in the rotation) and it would need to be figured out a way to also affect minions (otherwise minions builds get nothing out of the system), but it’s an interesting idea.

[Xalviloph]

Well, friend, this is, after all, what this forum section is truly all about so I really hope my post(s) here help get the devs’ gears rolling on some really neat stuff. There is so much more they can do with this awesome game that is LE that I just got into myself.

Also, like I been saying, nothing would be a ‘requirement’ as it is an ‘option’. So the ‘Harmonic Resonance’ Swapping concept would trigger if/when players want to utilize it whenever they want as the system itself is a ‘passive’ one that pops off upon pressing your swap button.

I have faith that they’ll figure it out. Let’s see what happens And thank you for actually participating in the discussion in a constructive way.

[TaurusHORN]

@Xalviloph

In other words, whatever players are doing now with their builds? they can still do those things (no difference), but if they want to ‘expand’ upon their builds and to create a more fun experience? they can utilize their weapon swap capabilities to do that.

So they would be able to do more of the same. Its still a bonus that could be utilized in some builds. There must be a tradeoff for getting those bonuses by simply swapping weapons.