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It is hard to accurately represent the power ceiling of classes with a Last Epoch Class tier list. The ranking of these classes tends to form a broader gradient, as two Masteries (subclasses) stemming from the same class may give you very different performance in grinding out high-corruption Monolith maps.
To solve this problem of vagueness, this Last Epoch Class tier list will provide a broader ranking of the classes, and then rank all the 15 individual Masteries in tiers.
Note: All Last Epoch classes and Masteries are at least somewhat viable in the end-game. Ultimately, your personal preference and playstyle will go a long way to decide the best Last Epoch Mastery for you.
Last Epoch Class Tier list: Ranking base classes in Season 2
For our class tier list, we will divide the five last Epoch classes into three tiers: S, A, and B. However, as explained earlier, you should also look at the Mastery tier list breakdown below to decide what you should pick this Cycle.
Trending
With the Last Epoch 1.2 patch for Season 2, a sweeping class rebalance uplifted previously underperforming classes. Specifically, the Sentinel and his masteries got a lot of love. However, this rebalance also made the board more even than ever, so expect a closer race than previous iterations of this Last Epoch tier list.
Keeping that in mind, here's our ranking of Last Epoch's base classes in Season 2:
This ranking is done by a very rough estimation on what its Masteries offer on paper. Some of these are more clear-cut than others. For example, Sentinel is clearly the big winner of the day-one Season 2 meta, whereas for Acolyte, a lot of Warlock builds are less performant than they used to be. Below, you'll find a more (hopefully) clearer demarcation of which Masteries are looking good.
Last Epoch Season 2 Mastery tier list: All subclasses ranked
Masteries in Last Epoch are far less commitment-heavy than subclassing in the average ARPG. You can pick one Mastery of your class while harvesting some of the benefits from the other two.
Here's the Masteries available to each base class in Last Epoch:
- Mage: Runemaster, Spellblade, Sorcerer
- Primalist: Shaman, Beastmaster, Druid
- Acolyte: Lich, Necromancer, Warlock
- Rogue: Bladedancer, Marksman, Falconer
- Sentinel: Forge Guard, Void Knight, Paladin
With patch 1.2, Last Epoch even allows you to fully change your Mastery, so the lines are even more blurry. This takes away some of the rigidity previously present with Mastery selection, so a Mastery tier list based on leveling matters far less than it used to.
Now, you can simply level with whatever offers the faster clearing acumen for the campaign, and then pivot to the Masteries that do best in the endgame. Going by that logic, our Mastery/Class tier list in Last Epoch is a bit more endgame-leaning.
With that out of the way, here's our Last Epoch Season 2 Mastery tier list:
Before we proceed, this tier list is based on how good the Masteries came off after balanced changes in Last Epoch Season 2. The actual meta remains to be figured out. It's possible (if unlikely) that even the lowly C-tier entrants get access to the most busted tech.
S-tier Masteries in Last Epoch Season 2
The masteries ranked in the S-tier boast the most powerful builds in the game, dominating all aspects of gameplay, such as Monoliths, speed farming, leveling, and arenas. They are exceptionally powerful against bosses and demonstrate remarkable versatility in the endgame.
The masteries that belong to the S-tier are the following:
- Void Knight
- Paladin
Void Knight
Void Knight was the struggling peon in the 1.0 release, but that changed with the Harbingers Cycle. Now, Last Epoch Season 2 has turned that initial reputation on its head completely, and Void Knight is unmistakably the most powerful thing in the game.
You can check out details on the Sentinel rework here, but the gist is that he's back, he's bigger, and he's better than ever. Survivaibility, Crowd-clear, pinnacle-thumping - you can have it all with the Void Knight, earning him the most predictable top rank on this Last Epoch tier list.
Best Void Knight builds to try: Erasing Strike Void Knight, Rive Void Knight, Warpath Void Knight
Paladin
Of course the Paladin is still on top of the world, and of course it's back to S-tier. This has been the most popular and the most consistent class throughout Last Epoch's post-1.0 life-cycle, and this lap does not change it. It still seems to play second fiddle to the Void Knight, but still, Paladin mains will be quite happy in this Season.
Best Paladin builds to try: Judgment Paladin, Hammer Throw Paladin
A-tier Masteries in Last Epoch Season 2
The masteries ranked in the A-tier have good viable build variety, which often leads to high versatility with different comps. While these may occasionally match the performance of S-tier masteries in certain aspects of gameplay, they are still not as 'broken' as them.
Here are the masteries that belong to the A-tier:
- Marksman
- Falconer
Falconer
Falconer has long been the de-facto best leveling Mastery for any Rogue in Last Epoch. However, in Season 2, there are numerous builds that make her the best subclass for the Rogue even in the endgame. If you want a steady natural progression through the whole game with very little passive-swap, Falconer is probably the best, maybe even S-tier with the two recommended builds here.
Best Falconer builds to try: Umbral Blades Falconer, Ballista Falconer
Marksman
It may be a bit questionable that Marksman is up this high, and sharing the same row with Falconer to boot. The truth is that this A-tier entry is purely based on the hype surrounding Heartseeker in Last Epoch Season 2. If that setup flops, Marksman is honestly B- tier at best, in the same trenches as Bladedancer.
If you're trying out Last Epoch for the first time, and like the regular ranger archetype, don't pay heed to this trepidation. Even if the hype for Heartseeker is artificial, it will still be decent in the worst-case scenario. Plus, that's hardly the only build out there for an enterprising archer.
Best Marksman builds to try: Heartseeker Marksman, Multishot Marksman
B-tier Masteries in Last Epoch Season 2
B-tier masteries comprise builds often outperformed by other masteries in different facets of gameplay. While certain builds can be competitive, there are always better options.
The B-tier masteries are the following:
- Forge Guard
- Blade Dancer
- Warlock
- Necromancer
- Lich
- Shaman
- Beastmaster
- Spellblade
- Runemaster
Forge Guard
Forge Guard has struggled the most throughout the last cycles of Last Epoch, having hurtled into B-tier even after a number of buffs. It's quite sad that he's fallen behind the other two Sentinel subclasses, because in terms of flavor, Forge Guard is leagues ahead, and also feels quite fun to play.
For those who liked the recent Smith of Kitava in Path of Exile 2, and the idea of animated weapons following you around — Forge Guard might be your pick this Season, because this B-tier entry is only because this Mastery is not nearly as good at bossing.
Best Forge Guard builds to try: Ignite-based Shield Rush Forge Guard, Forged Weapoin Forge Guard, Javelin Forge Guard
Bladedancer
Bladedancer is the traditional portrayal of a classic Rogue archetype — but sadly, in Last Epoch Season 2, it's not the best Mastery to pick. This is not because Bladedancer is weak or anything, it's just there are only one or two good builds, while the legacy stuff like Explosive Trap isn't looking that hot in this patch. This may change as the meta progresses, though.
Best Bladedancer builds to try: Lethal Mirage Blade Dancer, Dancing Strikes-Shuriken Bladedancer
Warlock
In case you are coming to Last Epoch for the first time in Season 2: Warlock has carried the whole Acolyte class on its shoulders for a while now. In the current patch though, Warlock is far from the unimpeachable S-tier material that she used to be.
The only up-and-coming meta builds are all about making use of the Witchfire and Torment ailments. Despite some great necrotic damage scaling, that's not universally good in all departments of the endgame. If you're not preoccupied with pushing endgame leaderboards, though, Warlock is at a perfectly serviceable position without being overpowered.
Best Warlock builds to try: Tormenting Spirits Warlock, Witchfire Warlock
Lich
Great offenses with shaky defenses, and the titular transformation to prolong the carnage. If you love a risk-vs-reward playstyle where momentum is everything, Lich is certainly worth trying in Last Epoch Season 2.
Or at least, that would have been the elevator pitch for a beginner. In reality, you can get pretty tanky with the Death Seal build — where you really fall behind as a Lich compared to other specs is the AoE capability.
Best Lich builds to try: Stygian Coal Lich, Death Seal Lich
Necromancer
In many ways, Last Epoch has one of the most fun and robust minion-based subclasses in the Necromancer. Yet, in Last Epoch Season 2, the Necromancer is not quite caught up with the S-tier or even A-tier classes. To explain it in brief, the Abomination summon carries the Necromancer hard, or she might even have been a C-tier candidate in this tier list.
Best Necromancer builds to try: Abomination Necromancer, that's it.
Shaman
Want to try out an elementalist with a touch of Totems, and a side of Primalist shenanigans? Go for Shaman in Last Epoch Season 2.
In this patch, the standout stars are mainly the Shock/Thorn Totem spammer playstyle, or any elemental Tornado build. Both of these are quite decent in the endgame. If more builds were as strong, Shaman would be A-tier, and possibly even the best Primalist Mastery to pick up.
Best Shaman builds to try: Totem Shaman, Tornado Shaman
Beastmaster
Storm Crows are back in business for the Beastmaster in Last Epoch Season 2. If you're a seasoned player, that's probably all you need to know. If you're newer: Beastmaster is the underrepresented cooler cousin of the Necromancer. There, I said it.
Best Beastmaster builds to try: Storm Crow Beastmaster, look no further.
Spellblade
If stealing juice from secondary Masteries was not allowed in Last Epoch, Spellblade would easily be the singularly strongest Mastery in Season 2. True to its name, Spellblade gives you a pretty good sword-and-sorcery combo class fantasy.
The problem is that it's not very cozy, as you often have to do some active resource-management to get good performance out of it. Most good Spellblade builds also get highly gear-reliant in the endgame, to boot.
Best Spellblade builds to try: Shatter Strike Spellblade
Runemaster
Invoker mains from Dota 2, rise and shine. Last Epoch Season 2 is yet another opportunity play Runemaster, to... unpredictable results. Runemaster is probably the hardest to pin down anywhere on a Last Epoch tier list, because of the sheer catalogue of spells this character brings.
Right now, the only obvious strong build we know about is reliant on Hydrahedron (Lightning, Fire, Fire) — but nothing else strong enough to stand out before the meta is formed further.
If you're a beginner held back by the apparent complexity, though, rest assured. You can easily level Mage with the Runemaster thanks to the simple but effective Glacier - Shatter Strike combo. Which aren't Runemaster-exclusive Skills exactly, but the Mastery-stealing allowances are there for a reason.
Best Runemaster builds to try: Hydrahedron Runemaster, STR-stacking Autobomber Runemaster
C-tier builds in Last Epoch Season 2
These Masteries have fallen out of favour with the meta for good reason. Namely, they provide underwhelming results compared to the amount of effort you have to put into them. You can still make these work with good crafting luck and the best unique item synergies, but expect nothing extraordinary.
The masteries that belong to this tier are the following:
- Druid
- Sorcerer
More on Last Epoch Season 2:
- 7 big reasons to revisit Last Epoch in Season 2
- Last Epoch Campaign Speedrunning guide (All Acts covered)
- 6 Strongest starter builds to try in Last Epoch Season 2
- Last Epoch: Best Weaver Faction tree for Circle of Fortune (Season 2)
- Last Epoch 2025 roadmap: What to expect from the game this year
