Last Epoch patch notes have arrived ahead of the ARPG’s second season. The Harbingers of Ruin update introduces a wealth of new systems to 2024’s best Diablo rival, and the beginning of the new Cycle is a great reason to come back or start for the first time, especially if you’re looking for something to pass the next month before Diablo 4 Season 5 begins. Developer Eleventh Hour Games continues to innovate and adapt on its already excellent base, and we’ve dug through the full Last Epoch 1.1 patch notes to see what’s changed.
The Last Epoch Harbingers of Ruin update packs in a whole heap of new features. The eponymous Harbingers are the focus, with a new faction that you can join alongside its existing options and the appearance of the first pinnacle boss in the RPG. A Nemesis system acts as an additional form of random encounter, allowing you to claim powerful gear or hold off for even greater rewards later on.
Alongside all the new features, a big helping of Last Epoch quality-of-life updates are coming as well. The new evade mechanic is a short-range dash seen in many of the best games like Diablo including Lost Ark, Path of Exile 2, and Diablo 4 itself. EHG is also further honing its best-in-class loot filter and adding a codex-like stash to better sort and swap between the various blessings earned in its endgame Monolith of Fate.
As for the Last Epoch 1.1 patch notes, there are a massive number of changes to dig through. While there are certainly nerfs to be found, especially for some of the most dominant play styles at launch, the general tone appears to be a hefty amount of buffs. You’ll generally get more gold in most instances, although won’t be able to rake in such huge amounts from playing at very high corruption levels.
The Withering status effect gets a hefty nerf, while Frostbite is buffed. Most item affixes have been increased slightly, too, which should lead to a general feeling that your item and crafting choices are a little more impactful in Harbingers of Ruin.
For Acolytes, Warlocks see big nerfs to both Ghostflame and Provane Veil, which will lower your defensive capability dramatically. Lich’s Reaper form, however, gets a dramatic boost thanks to a new Bloodmoon Reaver node that converts Reap’s base damage to physical and transforms all your poison effects into bleed.
Core Sorcerer skill Lightning Blast has been notably lowered in power with the removal of buff stacking from its powerful Closed Circuit modifier. In addition, Runemasters can no longer obtain 30% damage reduction from the Reowyn’s Frostguard invocation, and both Celestial Doom and Jagged Veil see nerfs, which should help make the mastery a lot less dominant as the premier pick.
Primalists get some welcome buffs for Serpent Strike and the Shaman’s Storm Totem, which might make both quite viable. The Berserk passive is replaced with Cornered Beast, a much stronger option for low-life builds. Beastmaster’s Aspect of the Boar has now been made exclusive to the mastery – it’s a lot stronger than before, but you won’t be able to snag it as a bonus if you’re playing a different subclass. Shamans, meanwhile, get a colossal rework across their whole passive tree.
Rogue’s Dancing Strikes are blessed with several buffs across the board, while Cinder Strike now has a lot more ways to increase its damage through its passive tree. Conversely, the powerful Detonating Arrow skill has been dramatically brought back down to earth. On the passive side, Bladedancers get a big buff to Shadow Daggers via Skiasynthesis.
Last but certainly not least are Sentinels. Big Forge Strike buffs are incoming, Consecrated Ground gets a lot more reliable across the board with less reliance on Pious Offering, and Manifest Armor’s Whirlwind Strike is dramatically improved. Sentinels get a nice bonus to their Time and Faith passive, and Forge Guard passives have been given a lot of love across the board, leaving me very tempted to try it as my first build in Harbingers of Ruin.
That’s the majority of the most notable adjustments, although there are plenty more tweaks, changes, and fixes to be found – including a nerf to the annoying Osprix Lightmage enemies that should stop them sniping players from off-screen – in the full patch notes, courtesy of Eleventh Hour Games.
If you’re just starting out for the first time, have a look through our Last Epoch tier list for the best classes to start with, along with our pick of the best Last Epoch builds – while some things may change with this second cycle patch, they’re still a great place to start.
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