Summary
- Last Epoch, an upcoming ARPG, could appeal to Diablo 4 players disappointed with the Season of the Construct's frustrating traps.
- Last Epoch offers more build customization than Diablo 4, with three different class masteries and specialized skill trees.
- Last Epoch addresses the controversial MMO-like elements of Diablo 4 by providing both offline single-player and online multiplayer modes without pay-to-win elements.
Diablo 4's Season of the Construct has been controversial among fans, with the introduction of traps within the season's new dungeons proving to be frustrating for players. Diablo 4 has had a lot of ups and downs since it launched back in June 2023, with a disappointing first season followed by a more substantial second season. While Diablo 4 Season 3 has improved somewhat thanks to recent updates, fans who were turned off by the season's initial launch issues might want to keep an eye on February 21 when the upcoming ARPG Last Epoch launches out of early access.
As the Diablo franchise has popularized the ARPG genre, there have been various titles that have tried to capture what players love about the series while iterating on its formula to create a unique experience. Fans of ARPGs are likely familiar with titles like Path of Exile and Grim Dawn which are two standouts within the genre. While Path of Exile 2 still seems to be a ways off, Last Epoch has the potential to be another great entry in the ARPG genre that might win over some Diablo 4 players who were disappointed after the Season of the Construct's controversial start.
Diablo 4's Most Popular Classes Explained
Diablo 4's statistics for 2023 say a lot about the game, and there's a reason its most popular classes stand out in the Season of Blood meta.
Last Epoch Could Be the Solution for Fans Disappointed with Diablo 4 Season 3
L ast Epoch is an indie ARPG title from developer Eleventh Hour Games that launched in early access back in 2019 and is now slated for a full release on February 21, 2024. Like Diablo 4, Last Epoch features five base classes for players to choose from, including Mage, Rogue, Primalist, Acolyte, and Sentinel. The core gameplay loop of Last Epoch also mirrors Diablo 4, with players tackling hordes of enemies as they explore dungeons and search for the rarest loot they can find within Last Epoch's randomized loot system.
How Last Epoch Improves on Diablo 4's Criticisms
Where Last Epoch's gameplay goes beyond Diablo 4's is in its level of build customization, something that Diablo 4 players have lamented with its build imbalances across the game's first three seasons. Instead of simply having five classes for players to work with, Last Epoch allows players to ascend into one of three different class masteries for each of the game's five base classes. This system greatly expands the build varieties available to players, and the addition of specialized skill trees for each mastery further deepens the build complexity players can expect in Last Epoch.
Another aspect of Diablo 4 that was controversial among players was the MMO-like elements the game introduced, such as always needing to be online. Last Epoch sidesteps these issues by including both an offline single-player mode and an online mode for multiplayer groups, but only characters made specifically for a particular mode can be played within that mode. Eleventh Hour Games promises that Last Epoch will never introduce pay-to-win elements and will follow Diablo 4's lead with cosmetics being the only items available for purchase from an in-game shop.
While Diablo 4 still lacks many of the quality-of-life features and endgame mechanics that players were hoping for, Last Epoch seems like it will be filled with a lot of these features when it launches out of early access. Last Epoch will also include endgame content like the Arena, where players can face endless waves of enemies and compete for top scores on the leaderboard.
Diablo 4
- Released
- June 5, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard
- Publisher(s)
- Blizzard
- Franchise
- Diablo
- Number of Players
- 1-2 players
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash
- How Long To Beat
- 26 Hours
- Metascore
- 88
- Platforms That Support Crossplay
- PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 players (console only)
