Last Epoch developer Eleventh Hour has been quietly working on the game’s biggest update yet since it launched out of Steam Early Access back in February. The Harbingers of Ruin update not only bolsters the endgame, it adds a major new mechanic for all players.
The headline new addition is undoubtedly Evade, which is effectively a form of dodge/roll. The move is available for all classes and their variants, and it’s something players have been asking for (and strangely, remains uncommon in ARPGs).
Evade works as you’d expect; offering a fast, short-distance dodge that lets you avoid a hit. By default, all characters will start out with two charges, operating on a four-second cooldown. The cooldown can be further decreased the more your character’s level grows.
The developer stressed, however, that Evade does not come with any invincibility frames. In other words, it won’t function like a roll in a Soulslike, meaning it won’t negate damage. You can use it to reposition, and avoid an attack before it hits.
Last Epoch already has a Dodge move, which does offer its own utilities, not to mention other movement skills that are designed to be safer in combat, so think of this as a basic mobility tool on your belt. From a design perspective, Evade allows Eleventh Hour to create more challenging content, knowing that all players have access to that move.
Although Evade doesn’t occupy a slot on the skill bar or have its own skill tree, you’ll be able to find Unique pieces of gear that can alter its behaviour, so don’t sleep on it and stick with your current build’s movement/traversal abilities.
Harbingers of Ruin (patch 1.1) also introduces the Nemesis system. No, this isn’t quite a reincarnation of Shadow of Mordor’s villain encounters, but it is one more way to earn good loot.
As you play through the campaign and Monolith of Fate, you’re going to come across slain warriors. Interacting with one offers three options. You can pick up one of its items as loot, thereby banishing the current Nemesis and anything else you didn’t pick. This essentially refreshes the loot table the next time you come across another Nemesis.
You may instead decide to challenge the Nemesis, which brings the warrior back to life for you to fight it. If you beat it, you’ll earn all items it offered as loot when you interacted with its remains. If you’re feeling very confident, you can choose to Empower the Nemesis, which lets you fight a more difficult version of the fallen warrior.
Upon defeat, however, it won’t drop any loot. Instead, it’s going to flee, but that only means that it will appear again to offer you all items you saw – with the potential of increased Affix Tiers, Forging Potential, or Legendary Potential. You can do this twice to the same Nemesis.
Hit up the official blog for a recap of all the other major features coming with Harbingers of Ruin on July 9. More detailed patch notes, as well as a look at all the quality of life improvements you can also expect, will arrive between now and launch.