Last Epoch (LE) has come a long ways over the years, especially with the launch of Season (Cycle) 2: Tombs of the Erased on April 17, 2025. This new season enhanced the game in many ways. One of the greatest strengths of LE is the fact so many builds are available, strong, and capable of doing nearly all content in the game. It really comes down to the play style players prefer.

Most everyone knows the top meta build is Judgement Paladin. But the reality is there’s so many viable build variations in Last Epoch, it’s a lot of fun to play and try other things. My criteria for fun and solid builds are they must be beginner friendly and HC viable. I used to say SSF was important, but with the new factions, any player can gear their character fairly quickly and easily.

While the ultimate goal of the most hardcore players is to kill Uber Abberoth, the reality is the vast majority of players will never see, fight or kill him – and that’s fine. It’s all about fun factor! Besides, if you’re like me, once you take a build to end-end-game, you might already be thinking about the next build you want to try out.

I’ve played a lot more builds than what are listed here. I just didn’t find them as “fun” as the builds listed below. I’m not a big fan of button mashing or piano playing. I enjoy builds that are smooth, get up and running quickly, and have great survival while just being fun to play. I’m sure there’s other builds I haven’t tried as of yet that belong on this list, but this is what I’ve played and can recommend so far.

A note about item filters. Some of the below guides have item filter links. For those that don’t, all you need to do is use the Generate Loot Filter for this Build option from the lastepochtools.com build planner.

Before we get started, for those of you who haven’t played yet, Rhykker made a great video covering the changes in Last Epoch with Season 2.

Abomination Necromancer

This is hands down the best build I’ve played in Season 2. It completely destroys all content and is a ton of fun. Granted it takes time to unlock the abomination, once it’s active… whoa nelly. It should really be called the “Pet Hammer Build”. Note I don’t play the snapshotted version. It’s really not necessary unless you want to try and kill Uber Abberoth.

I prefer Grunfire’s plague Abomination build, which addresses the inherit lack of AoE the Abomination has. The information section of the below video has a link to the build. Once the Abomination is unlocked the player just needs to find the Chance to Apply Plague on Minion Hit Grand Idols, and voila! The only downside to this build is Assemble Abomination isn’t unlocked until 40 points are spent in the Necromancer tree. Around level 56-58. The good news is all you need to do to level is use the skeletons and skeleton mages that you assemble the abomination with. It’s actually quite easy. But this build is a blast to play, and my favorite in Season 2… so far. Remember to use the Circle of Fortune Prophecies to target farm idol drops!

Scorpion Beastmaster

I just love this build. Always have. There’s just something about playing the poison DoT melting Scorpion Beastmaster. It comes online around level 26 and prior to that time, you can use either Crows or even Totems. But once the scorpion is at your side, prepare to melt everything. It’s tanky. HC viable and can go beyond 800 corruption. I love this build.

I prefer CookBook’s build guide. Everything you need is in the guide, including the leveling section. But CursedBoy’s build is also solid, and here’s his video.

Thorn Totem Shaman

This build is still top tier and secured the #3 position in the HCSSF ladder for the race to level 100. It has great damage, is tanky, and a blast to play. You really can’t go wrong with Thorn Totems, and can start using it at level 4. I think this is one of the best new player builds in the game.

You can find BinaQc’s complete written guide here, and below is the video.

Smite Warpath Paladin

This build has always been strong and a lot of fun. With the 1.2 changes, Iva Markova was able to take it beyond 1400 corruption. I tried it out and was surprised with how fluid and enjoyable it was. Great damage, and tanky as all getgo. It’s very easy to start out with as well. I definitely recommend it as a top tier fun build for Season 2.

Warpath Minion Forge Guard

If smiting things while spinning isn’t your thing, how about generating flying swords and axe minions to destroy your targets while you spin? Got you covered! With the changes to Forge Guard in the 1.2 release, it’s been fun trying different FG builds. My favorite Forge Guard build is Spin2Win Minions, which can go well beyond 1000 corruption. It’s also very easy and quick to get up and running. It just hasn’t made it very high on the HCSSF ladder because most Forge Guard players are embracing more tanky builds. This build holds the 18th slot for the race to 100 in Softcore, so it’s definitely solid. The build planner link is in the video description.

Ballista Falconer

The ZHP (Zero Hitpoint) version of the Ballista Falconer is a very popular build because it melts everything. But it’s squishy as all getgo. Perfect for softcore, making it work in hardcore takes a bit more effort. A shout out to Tatiantel2 for perfecting the HCSSF version of this build. He completed all content and killed Abberoth with it (but not uber Abberoth).

More importantly, this build is FUN. One of my favorites. The ballistas turn into machine guns and can shoot targets offscreen, which is a lot better distance than the Thorn Totem Shaman. Here’s a snapshot of Tati’s HCSSF L100 build. It’s funny he calls it his Tier_F build, but the reality is it’s his favorite build for S2. It’s only called Tier_F because nobody else tried to make it survivable for HCSSF. Thanks to Tati, we now know how to do that!

It’s very easy to level this build. Follow TriKster’s Bleed Puncture Leveling Build and specialize in Puncture first, then Ballista second. In the late 20’s or so, the Ballista will start doing some actual damage, and you can switch over to be 100% ballista by the 40’s.

Storm Crows Beastmaster

Storm Crows is the top Beastmaster build in HCSSF. It’s fun and one of the highest DPS builds in the game. Although I prefer the play style of Scorpion and Abomination, it’s still worth trying for those who want to 1-shot bosses. And you can start playing it as soon as Storm Crows are unlocked. Sadly, to unlock the highest DPS the build has to offer, players are using snapshotting. Note the devs have already said snapshotting will be removed in Season 3. But even without snapshotting, Storm Crows can easily destroy most everything in the game.

Here’s Bina’s video. The written guide is linked inside.

Heartseeker Marksman

I’ll admit I’ve never been a rogue player in LE, but with the new Heartseeker Skill added with the 1.2 release, I just had to try it out. And boy, is it both fun and powerful. The main downside is the skill doesn’t unlock until you’ve spent 30 points in the Marksman skill tree. The good news is TriKster’s Bleed Puncture leveling guide destroys the campaign and quickly takes the character where they need to go. And believe me, the moment you switch to Heartseeker, it’s fantastic. The only downside to this build is it’s very click intensive, similar to Heartseeker with Diablo 4. But I think the skill is better implemented in LE than D4.

Maxrolls Heartseeker build guide is solid, and I definitely recommend it as Volca is very well known and a trusted source for solid guides. If you follow TriKster’s guide, once you have 25 points in Marksman, you can remove the extra 5 points from the base Rogue tree and put them in Marksman. Voila!

Summary

I realize there are many other fun builds that people love and recommend. Judgement Paladin. Erasing Strike Void Knight. Heartseeker Marksman. Ballista Falconer. Bleed Hammerdin. The list goes on and on. I’ve played a few of these and just didn’t find them as fun for my personal style, or they were just too squishy. For example, Bleed Hammerdin is great DPS and tanky, but it’s a nonstop clickfest. Some folks like that, others – not so much. Tati was able to take the ZHP (Zero Hitpoint) Ballista Falconer build and reached level 100 in HCSSF. This shows the diversity in builds within LE, and how most any build can be adjusted to survive. That’s the sign of a great game.

I hope this list helps new, returning, or experienced players enjoy the new season of Last Epoch!