All 15 Masteries and What They Do in Last Epoch

Choosing a mastery is one of the key decisions in Last Epoch, and it shapes how your character plays from then on. Masteries are the specialized paths that build on your starting class, and they range from armored melee fighting to curses and summoned companions. Knowing how they work before you pick one will make that decision a lot easier.

Void Knight

A Sentinel who bends time and void energy to repeat attacks and drain life.

Base Class

Sentinel

Playstyle

Uses void attacks, leech, and time effects; many skills can echo and repeat after the first hit.

Damage Focus

Void

Mastery Skill

Erasing Strike

Good Fit If

You want armored melee combat with void damage and attacks that can repeat.

Forge Guard

An armored Sentinel who calls forged weapons into battle and backs them with physical attacks.

Base Class

Sentinel

Playstyle

Builds around heavy armor, throwing attacks, and weapons or shields forged to fight beside you.

Damage Focus

Physical, bleed

Mastery Skill

Forge Strike

Good Fit If

You want a heavily armored fighter with a forged-weapon companion angle.

Paladin

A holy Sentinel who mixes melee and spell attacks with healing and party support.

Base Class

Sentinel

Playstyle

Combines melee and spell damage with healing, defensive buffs, and support for nearby allies.

Damage Focus

Fire, ignite

Mastery Skill

Holy Aura

Good Fit If

You want a durable frontline character who can heal and strengthen a party.

Runemaster

An elemental Mage who builds runes with spells and spends them on varied invocations.

Base Class

Mage

Playstyle

Casts elemental spells to build runes, then combines their order into different Runic Invocations.

Damage Focus

Fire, cold, lightning

Mastery Skill

Runic Invocation

Good Fit If

You want to combine elemental spells into a flexible set of powerful effects.

Spellblade

A melee Mage who coats weapon combat in elemental spells and ward.

Base Class

Mage

Playstyle

Fights at close range, weaving elemental spells into melee attacks and building ward as it attacks.

Damage Focus

Fire, cold, lightning

Mastery Skill

Shatter Strike

Good Fit If

You want a close-range Mage that blends weapon attacks with elemental magic.

Sorcerer

A ranged Mage who spends mana on large elemental spells such as Meteor.

Base Class

Mage

Playstyle

Uses mana-heavy ranged spells to hit groups of enemies with large elemental attacks.

Damage Focus

Fire, cold, lightning

Mastery Skill

Meteor

Good Fit If

You want a ranged spellcaster with large attacks and room to manage mana.

Shaman

A nature-focused Primalist who calls storms and uses totems to support combat.

Base Class

Primalist

Playstyle

Calls storms and nature magic, with totems that support elemental spells, melee, or companions.

Damage Focus

Cold, lightning

Mastery Skill

Summon Storm Totem

Good Fit If

You want to mix elemental magic with totems or other Primalist skills.

Beastmaster

A Primalist who fights with animal companions and boosts them with Aspects.

Base Class

Primalist

Playstyle

Fights alongside animal companions, strengthening them with companion buffs called Aspects.

Damage Focus

Physical, poison

Mastery Skill

Summon Raptor

Good Fit If

You want your animal companions to be a main source of damage and support.

Druid

A shapeshifting Primalist with Werebear, Spriggan, and Swarmblade forms.

Base Class

Primalist

Playstyle

Shifts between Werebear, Spriggan, and Swarmblade forms, each with its own abilities and combat role.

Read more

Damage Focus

Physical, poison, cold

Mastery Skill

Werebear Form

Good Fit If

You want shapeshifting with different forms for melee, spellcasting, and companion play.

Bladedancer

A mobile melee Rogue who uses shadows and quick blade attacks to strike from close range.

Base Class

Rogue

Playstyle

Dashes through enemies with fast melee attacks and shadow techniques, often wielding two weapons.

Damage Focus

Physical, poison

Mastery Skill

Dancing Strikes

Good Fit If

You want fast close combat built around movement, shadows, and repeated hits.

Marksman

A bow-focused Rogue who fires arrows from range and prepares them with quiver skills.

Base Class

Rogue

Playstyle

Specializes in bow attacks, using arrows and quivers to control range and build damage.

Damage Focus

Physical, poison, fire

Mastery Skill

Detonating Arrow

Good Fit If

You want a ranged Rogue whose skills are built around using a bow.

Falconer

A Rogue supported by a falcon that attacks and helps control the fight.

Base Class

Rogue

Playstyle

Pairs Rogue attacks and traps with a falcon that attacks enemies and assists your build.

Damage Focus

Physical, poison, lightning

Mastery Skill

Falconry

Good Fit If

You want a falcon companion to work alongside traps, ranged attacks, or melee.

Lich

An Acolyte who spends health for power and can transform into a life-draining Reaper.

Base Class

Acolyte

Playstyle

Trades health for power and can become a Reaper, gaining a dash attack that heals on hit.

Damage Focus

Physical, necrotic, poison

Mastery Skill

Reaper Form

Good Fit If

You want a risk-and-reward caster or fighter that uses health as a resource.

Necromancer

An Acolyte who raises undead minions to fight and overwhelm enemies.

Base Class

Acolyte

Playstyle

Commands undead minions, from groups of smaller summons to a few powerful creatures.

Damage Focus

Varies by minion

Mastery Skill

Summon Wraith

Good Fit If

You want minions to do most of the fighting while you direct and support them.

Warlock

A curse-focused Acolyte who opens fissures and wears enemies down over time.

Base Class

Acolyte

Playstyle

Curses enemies and layers fire, necrotic, and other damage over time effects.

Damage Focus

Fire, necrotic, poison, physical

Mastery Skill

Chthonic Fissure

Good Fit If

You want to set up curses and let damage over time wear down groups of enemies.

What Are Masteries in Last Epoch

Your starting class is the broad path you pick when you create a character, and the options are Sentinel, Mage, Primalist, Rogue and Acolyte. Each one describes a general style of play, and every class leads to its own set of masteries. A mastery is the more specific path that grows out of your starting class.

Each mastery comes with its own mastery skill and its own passive tree, which is a web of bonuses you unlock by spending passive points. Two characters from the same starting class can play very differently once they pick different masteries. That's why the mastery is often called the real class.

How to Choose a Mastery in Last Epoch

You pick your mastery during the main story, when you reach the end of Chapter 2. You only see masteries from your own base class, so a Mage chooses between Mage masteries and a Rogue chooses between Rogue ones. Think about the kind of fight you enjoy, since the mastery sets most of how you fight.

If you want to stay in the thick of things, Sentinel masteries suit sturdy front-line play, and Paladin adds healing and support for your party. Spellblade and Bladedancer are built for fast fights up close, while Sorcerer and Marksman suit players who want to attack from a distance.

If you would rather let helpers do much of the work, Beastmaster, Falconer and Necromancer each build around companions or minions. Shaman uses totems to boost your spells and attacks, and Druid lets you shift between several forms.

Lich suits players who like risk, since it trades health for power. Warlock is the pick for curses and damage that builds up over time, and Runemaster suits players who enjoy mixing spells into different combinations.

Damage Types in Last Epoch Masteries

Each mastery leans toward certain damage types, which makes them a handy starting point when you compare options. Fire, cold and lightning sit at the heart of the Mage masteries, while physical and poison show up across more masteries than any other type. Void, bleed, ignite and necrotic are more specialized and tied to specific masteries.

Necromancer is a special case, since its damage depends on the minions it commands. Treat all of this as broad themes rather than hard limits, because many masteries can work with other damage types too.

How Passive Points Work in Mastery Trees

Once you've chosen a mastery, you can spend passive points across its whole passive tree. You can also put points into other mastery trees, but only after you've spent at least 20 points in your base class tree. Even then, your reach stops at the halfway point of those trees.

This lets you add a few extras from another mastery while keeping your main one at the center of your build. It's a useful option, though it doesn't give you the full set of another mastery's bonuses.

How to Change Your Mastery in Last Epoch

Your first mastery isn't a permanent lock. You can change it for gold through Chronomancer Lerinne, who is in The End of Time, and players often call this a respec.

The swap only works within your own base class. A Rogue can move between Rogue masteries, but can't jump to a Mage one. The gold cost rises as your character levels up, so a change made early costs far less than one made late. If you're not sure which mastery suits you, it's much easier to switch while you're still early in the game.

What Resets When You Change Mastery

A mastery change wipes every passive point you've spent, including the ones in your base class tree, so every point starts from zero. The passive points you place again take effect right away, with no leveling needed.

Skills work differently. Each skill has a minimum level, and any points above that minimum have to be earned back by using the skill again. That part costs you playtime rather than gold, and it's the least expensive piece of the whole change.

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