Does Last Epoch have EXP penalty mechanics?

In Last Epoch, sometimes EXP is more valuable than gold, unless you play specific factions (Image via Eleventh Hour Games)

Last Epoch recently hosted a special event for one player from each class to reach level 100 in their recently released Tombs of the Erased update. This has given rise to many EXP-related questions in players' minds, namely if Last Epoch has an EXP penalty and, if so, how it works and what are the potential workarounds towards a smoother leveling experience.

EXP — an abbreviation of experience — is passively generated by all players through various in-game actions, such as slaying monsters, overcoming bosses, and many more. This experience is accumulated to level up player characters and gain certain passive boosts, or improve their playstyle through various progression mechanics. In most ARPGs, players obtain one or multiple points that can be invested in a Passive skill tree for power progression.

That said, Last Epoch does have some EXP penalty mechanics. Read on to learn more.

How is the EXP penalty enforced in Last Epoch, and why does it exist?

Pushing Corruption in the Empowered Monolith can get you a lot of EXP (Image via Eleventh Hour Games)

EXP penalty serves as a balance against players using less preferable methods to gain experience and level up too early or too fast. Moreover, different games take novel methods to make players follow. For example, Grinding Gear Games uses player death as a form of involuntary EXP-reduction in Path of Exile, i.e, if you die in higher-tier zones or Maps, you will lose a set amount of experience.

In the case of Last Epoch, EXP reduction is enacted rather simply. Developers have issued a blanket range for player characters, as in they will have to stay within ten levels compared to the active zone to gain full EXP. This change was made into a feature of Last Epoch during the beta period, around patch 0.9.0. An earlier version of the EXP penalty existed in patch 0.8.5, but this penalty was limited only to the Monoliths of Fate, and the operable level threshold was down to 5.

Also Read: Last Epoch Season 2 tier list: All Classes and Masteries ranked

Certain in-game rules are in place to enforce the penalty automatically and prevent any unwanted interactions, as well as hamper fair play. If a player is 5 levels below the recommended level threshold, they will also suffer reduced EXP gain, so players aren't encouraged to spend their time in the lower brackets. And in general, EXP gain is greatly increased when engaging with Empowered Monoliths at higher Corruption levels, alongside the quality and quantity of loot.

Fortunately, the new Weaver faction has done wonders for EXP farmers, as the new Woven Echoes have made powerleveling a reality. Stacking enough shrines on the Monolith Echo and gaining one "Increased experience gain" buff is powerful enough for a decent player to farm up one or two levels.

Here are some other Last Epoch features and guides:

About the author

Arnab Chakrabarti is an MMO writer at Sportskeeda. After getting his first console and playing Oni, he knew that playing games and writing about them was all he ever wanted. To that end, he gave up his bioscience studies to take the leap into video game coverage - a move that saw him work for such publications as TechARX, XRIG, eSportsportal, and Game Rant, to name a few.

Arnab looks up to popular video game journalists and commentators like John Peter Bain aka TotalBiscuit, Jason Schreier, and SkillUp, and tries to bring the same level of commitment and accuracy to his work.

He was also a part of the team that created the event Nerdmeet, which garnered over 5000 attendees in its final run.

In his spare time, Arnab takes care of animals, learns new languages, and plays his guitar. He is eyeing amateur astronomy soon as his next hobby.

Know More

Edited by Shraman Mitra