When I started, I thought I had to pick up every item to maximize gold gain. This led to constantly full inventories, frequent trips back to Last Epoch gold town, and using the forging system just to clear space. In reality, gold comes naturally as you play. By the time you reach the endgame, you'll have more than enough without worrying about every single coin.

My advice: don't stress about picking up every item. Focus on items that matter to your build or loot filters, and let the game reward you naturally. Last Epoch gold dumps like respecs are cheap and easy, so don't hoard unnecessarily.

Use Loot Filters Early

Loot filters are a game-changer in Last Epoch. They allow you to only see items that are relevant to your build, saving inventory space and reducing clutter. When I first started, I underestimated how helpful this system could be.

Beginner-friendly templates are available online, often tailored for popular builds. Simply find a template, copy it, and enable it in-game. Once set up, your gameplay becomes much smoother-you only pick up what matters, whether it's specific affixes, set items, or rare drops.

Enable Helpful Settings

A few quality-of-life settings make a huge difference:

Auto-compare items: Shows you a side-by-side comparison of your current gear and any item you hover over, making upgrades obvious at a glance.

Mod ranges: Displays the potential range of stats for an item, helping you see if it's worth upgrading or crafting. For example, a melee critical strike chance of 8 (range 7–8) shows that the item is maxed in that stat.

Floating player names: Useful when playing in crowded areas or with friends, giving you clarity on who's who.

Condensed names: Reduces screen clutter, which is especially helpful on smaller devices like the Steam Deck.

These small adjustments can make your first few hours much less overwhelming.

Learn the Forge and Resource Rarity

Understanding the forge is crucial, particularly the runes and glyphs you'll use for crafting. Some runes are rare, and knowing which to save and which are abundant will save frustration later.

For example, the Rune of Shattering is your primary method to break down unwanted items into crafting resources. It's abundant and easy to acquire, and it allows you to clear inventory space quickly while salvaging useful affixes. Paired with a loot filter, you can target the exact affixes you need for crafting powerful gear.

Respeccing is Easy

One of the most forgiving aspects of Last Epoch is the talent respec system. Mistakes are not punishing-you can reset your skill points or passives easily and without high cost.

Even a full respec is quick; it might feel like you're starting over, but after a few echoes or combats, you'll be back at full power. This encourages experimentation without fear of permanent mistakes, which is rare in many ARPGs.

Level Alts Efficiently

If you enjoy multiple characters, leveling alts is surprisingly fast. You can skip through dungeons using charms and keys from your main account, making the leveling curve much smoother.

Once you reach level 15, you can also teleport to unlocked monoliths from your main account. This provides massive experience boosts, even for low-level characters, allowing you to quickly catch up and experiment with new builds.

Dungeons like Lightless Arbor, Temporal Sanctum, and Soulfire Bastion are great for both experience and loot. Completing them once is highly recommended, and after that, you can prioritize efficiency and skip non-essential encounters.

Don't Worry About Missing Out

Many beginners stress over missing the perfect item early on. Don't. With loot filters, the forge, and crafting, you can always work toward the gear you want. Gold, materials, and respecs are plentiful enough that you can focus on enjoying the game instead of buy Last Epoch gold micromanaging every drop.