Beginner's Crafting Guide for Last Epoch
In this guide, we will introduce you to the basics of crafting in Last Epoch, going through the different terms and items used. We have also included a video demonstration to showcase how it works in game.
Introduction to Crafting
Last Epoch has a very robust crafting system which allows you to improve and modify a common, magic or rare item drop. The crafting system uses special Affix Shards, Glyphs and Runes to aid you in the process, helping to tilt the odds in your favor for crafting your ideal item. This is all performed through the Forge in game and can be pulled up anywhere in the world with the 'F' button. The specialized Affix Shards, Glyphs and Runes will drop throughout the world as you play and will be included in many rewards from Events to Shines to Boss fights. As this is our basic crafting guide, we want to introduce a glossary of terms so you understand how itemization and crafting can be performed in Last Epoch.
Glossary of Terms
- Affix Shards: These are the currency we will need to alter or modify an item's affixes or stats. These are dropped throughout the world and can be picked up and stored in a specific bag without worry of needing stash space. These can also be acquired through Rune of Shattering and Rune of Removal.
- Glyphs: These are another type of currency that can affect the results of crafting an item. They carry several different benefits from preserving Forging potential on an item to preserving certain aspects of an item to increasing your odds of certain roll. These are rare drops than the common Affix shards and should be used wisely.
- Runes: These are the final type of currency that are quite valuable and should considered rare. These Runes can alter the crafting process in many different ways from destroying an item for affix shards to re-rolling all affix values to creating a copy of item. Runes even have the ability to convert a common item into a unique item. These are valuable and difficult to find at times in the game.
- Prefixes: Theses are stats on an item that include damage stats, Minion affixes, Attribute stats and defense affixes.
- Suffixes: These are stats on an item that include Status Effects for both positive and negative results, Mana, Health and Resistances.
- Forging Potential: This is a property that exists on all items and is used to perform crafting actions. Each action will use up a portion of the Forging Potential limiting you on how many alterations you can perform on that particular item. There is no way in game currently to increase this amount.
- Stat Range: This is the range of each tier of an Affix. When you craft each Affix is randomly rolled within a certain tier, this tier has a pre-determined range of values that control the upper and lower number. Tiers are important for level and stat requirements, it is possible to roll an item into a higher tier to the point that you don't have the requirements to wear it.
To go into more of the process and explain exactly how crafting works in Last Epoch, we have one of our Boot Camp Videos ready for you to view. This video will review everything you can do with crafting and explain the general theories involved in making your own gear.
The Crafting Forge
The components of the Forge have been color coded to help explain each piece.
- The Red boxes showcase the item you are working on and its Forging Potential.
- The Yellow boxes will showcase the Affixes, broken down into Prefixes and Suffixes, that you can change, modify or add a stat to an empty slot.
- The Green boxes are our input sections, this is where we will add our Affix Shards, Glyphs and Runes. Also, below this section will add the Forging Potential cost which is typically shown in a range, for example: Costs 1 to 18 Forging Potential.
Forging Potential
Forging Potential is a component of all weapons and armor in the game, from normal to exalted rarity. This number represents the items ability to be modified or altered, with each change costing a certain amount of the items Forging Potential. This limits how much you can alter an item, blocking players from endlessly crafting a single item. Each time you craft you will see a number range appear above the 'Add a Modifier Item', this amount represents how much Forging Potential will be used up for the specific alteration you have selected. If you have a Glyph of Hope, you can add it to your craft — the green box right below the item — to attempt remove any cost of Forging Potential.
Affixes
Each weapon or armor in the game will typically have up to for four affixes, two Prefixes and two Suffixes, and these can be altered through the Forge by using Affix shards. These will drop throughout the world and store within your inventory as long as you pick them up or you can use a Rune of Removal or Rune of Shattering to break down an item. Last Epoch has hundreds of Affixes in the game, each assigned a particular stat and gear combination.
Modifier Items
Modifier items are your Affix Shards and Rune selection, as shown in the green boxes. The Affixes shards, as we have already stated, are related to a particular affix and you will need a set amount of shards to upgrade a particular affix. Runes are a more valuable kind of currency and should only be used on specific high-end crafts. Let's take a closer look at what each of them do.
- Rune of Refinement: This Rune can be used to reroll the values of Affixes within the set tiers of the item. Be aware this will reroll all affixes, not a targeted affix.
- Rune of Shaping: This Rune lets you specifically target an implicit modifier on an item and reroll it within its tier range.
- Rune of Discovery: This Rune adds a random Tier 1 affix to any empty affix slot. It has a chance for rarer affixes, creating some very interesting combinations.
- Rune of Ascendance: This Rune takes any standard item and rerolls the item to become a Unique or Set piece of that type; the level and rarity does not matter, you only need the right kind of item. For example, a normal helmet combined with the Rune of Ascendance can produce all World-drop Set or Unique helmets regardless of level.
- Rune of Creation: This is one of the rarest Runes in the game. This Rune duplicates an item, however, it locks the item out of crafting by setting both the original Item and Copy to a Forging Potential of zero. This is used on only the best of the best pieces of gear and you need to have a minimum of 1 Forging Potential remaining to use this Rune.
Additional Modifying items include Glyphs, which are listed below.
- Glyph of Hope: The most common Glyph in the game, it grants you a 25% chance of removing the Forging Potential cost of a craft.
- Glyph of Order: This Glyph protects the value of your Affixes, for instance, if you upgrade your affix to the next tier and reroll the value there is a chance of it actually becoming worse. This can happen if you previous roll was extremely high and you upgrade to the next tier with an extremely low roll. This Glyph helps to preserve your pervious roll and keep it locked in place. This is best used for up to Tier 5 crafts.
- Glyph of Chaos: This Glyph modifies the outcome of a craft, altering a chosen affix to become a completely different random affix. This is typically used as a gamble on an item with three very good affixes and one poor affix. The new affix is chosen at random depending on the item type. It will also be a higher tier than what it replaced. This is very much a gamble, as the results are completely random.
- Glyph of Despair: This is a very powerful Glyph and will be sought after by any player that loves to craft. This Glyph can seal an affix of an item, freeing up the affix slot it was using. This unique Glyph allows you to create items with five total affixes, creating an opportunity for a very powerful item to be crafted.
In Last Epoch, crafting is as much apart of the endgame as finding the perfect drop. Every endgame build will be pushed to its limits using the crafting system to hone your stats perfectly. Good luck as you test out different ideas and push your favorite item to the next level.
Changelog
- 30 Nov. 2023: Guide added.
AaronActionRPG is a passionate gamer who loves to play and stream RTS, MMO, and ARPGs. He has his own Youtube channel, Twitch channel and gaming community on Discord. He loves to sit back, laugh and play games together with his community.
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