Last Epoch just dropped a cinematic trailer that sets the tone and mood for the upcoming ARPG, which will be released in 2024.
Last Epoch Shows Off Cinematic Trailer Ahead of 2024 Release
Eleventh Hour Games is literally in the eleventh hour before midnight. As of writing, it is literally three short months until they release their time-traveling ARPG project, Last Epoch. The February 21, 2024 date will be a monumental milestone for the team, who have started development many many years ago. To build up some much-needed hype before the holidays get too busy, the team has decided to release a cinematic trailer.
The trailer sets off the stage of the game’s story and setting. We see the world in ruin and chaos, with humanity at the precipice of extinction. It is our character that looks to be the only hope for survival. Armed with a mystical trinket that allows us to turn back time (or even jump even further into the future), we are the ultimate savior in the making.
Last Epoch’s November Development Update
The developer didn’t have too much in terms of specific updates during this month’s community post. Instead, they have reiterated the “road to 1.0” they previously announced. So, let’s review.
The Factions
Starting after the new year will be a comprehensive guide by the developers themselves on the new “Item Factions” system. This includes various elements, such as The Merchant’s Guild, Circle of Fortune, The Bazaar, and Prophecies. The two main “factions” a player can represent are the Merchant’s Guild and the Circle of Fortune. Think of it as a way that the developers will try to balance an economy with purely solo players. Depending on the players’ choice of who to represent will determine the items that they will receive while battling out in the world, as well as other perks.
The Merchant’s Guild will let players freely buy, sell, and trade their equipment with other players. Think of it like Diablo II’s free market system, and less like Diablo III and IV. Players can make use of the Bazaar area to peruse the wares available to them.
On the other hand, Circle of Fortune will emulate the ever-popular “Solo-Self-Found” system that many hardcore ARPG players are looking for. These systems will make sure that any gear you have on your person is only something you earned yourself with your blood, sweat, and pixels.
Of course, there are a lot more intricacies to this system, which will all be explained on January 11th.
Mastering the Masteries
Two weeks later on the 25th of January, the Acolyte’s final mastery or advanced class will be given more details. Enter the Warlock, a character that is sure to wreak havoc with demons and imps instead of skeletons and zombies. They are also said to make use of their life pool to fuel their abilities, making them a good risk/reward type of class.
Again, two weeks later, this time on February 8th is more info on the Falconer mastery. This is another pet class it seems, but it will have greater emphasis on one companion instead of multiple ones, such as the Beastmaster.
Another improvement that will be coming in update 1.0 is the reworking of some of the mechanics of the Shaman class. This elemental warrior will be given a facelift that will bring its power level more in line with its other counterparts, making it a much more appealing choice if you want to hit your enemies with massive clubs while also unleashing your elemental fury. There weren’t too many specific details, except for the mention of the improvements to their Tempest Strike ability.
The Technical Technicalities
Eleventh Hour Games’ accepts that there will always be improvements to be made, especially in those areas that were created much earlier in the development cycle. These will be getting some pass-throughs with many improvements and performance enhancements. However, the most welcome change for Last Epoc might be the various modifications for the game’s lighting systems.
They have claimed that there are times that Last Epoch feels “floaty” in the sense that characters and objects aren’t “grounded” in the world. This is likely due to the contact shadows that the team hasn’t been able to fully implement in a way that is OK for them. Coming in version 1.0 are many improvements to the Ambient Occlusion systems, which should add depth by bringing contact shadows as well as highlights to various scenes.
Players will also emit light to cast shadows on various objects in the world as they pass by. This will be made even better with the new modernized Soft Shadows that look to create even more realistic shading. Of course, objects also include monsters so those should look quite terrifying as well, thanks to the update.
Variants and Varmints
Lastly, Last Epoch will have a new “scene variant” system in play. Development traditionally had the level designers and artists painstakingly create environments that were completely hand-placed. Now with this new system, they can better make use of shaders that will allow the team to create some drastically different scenes by changing some light sources.
The same area can be modified from sunrise to sunset, to dusk, or even create unreal or alien feeling moods. This will allow for tons of variety and can open up many tools for the developers to work with, especially in creating randomized content.
Last Epoch Perfected
Eleventh Hour Games is truly in a good place right now. With the resurgence of ARPG popularity due to the likes of Diablo IV and Path of Exile, now is the perfect time to jump into the genre. Veteran Grim Dawn even got a surprise expansion announcement after four years, plus a major update that attempted to modernize the Victorian-horror ARPG.
Last Epoch will be released next year, on Steam, in February of 2024. Be sure to check out 10 Reasons Why You Should be Excited for Last Epoch and see why it has the bones for something great.
In other news, check out Diablo 4 Gets Free Trial on Steam; On Sale 40% Off, and Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition Releases December Includes Phantom Liberty.
