Last Epoch Will Get Improved Controller Skill Targeting With Season 2 Update

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There is no shortage of great Diablo-like ARPGs to play nowadays, and Last Epoch is one of them. Not only is it gorgeous to look at, but it's got a solid chunk of endgame activities, variety, and great combat with unique classics. While it is playable on the Steam Deck, there were a few long-standing issues that stopped it from being enjoyable, and one of the biggest ones is being fixed when Season 2 drops on April 17th!

With how skills work, there could be some problems for targeting enemies with a controller/gamepad. However, the update improves the targeting system with a controller, and each skill can have custom behaviors depending on how the skill works as it evolves. This should make it significantly easier to target enemies with more complicated skills.

To quote developer Eleventh Hour Games from their blog post, this is what they said about the changes:

Controller targeting has been significantly improved with a new “targeting paradigm" system, this means we can create custom behaviours for every skill based on the intended use of a skill while using a controller, such as - ‘Cast On Self’, ‘Cast Max Range Forwards’ and ‘Cast on Closest Enemy in Range’. ‘Cast On Enemy in Forward Facing Cone’ is the default behaviour. This also includes if a node or gear changes how a skill works, allowing us to create two-tiered behaviours, something far more specific that what was used before.

A good example of this is Ballista. By default, Ballista is a long-range, easily damaged minion that you summon and stick close to. However, with the right choices in the Skill Tree, you could turn it into an explosive you want to hurl at your enemies. Previously, the system only allowed for one action - stay or throw - to take place, and thus Ballistae were always thrown regardless of how your Skill Tree was specced into. Now the new two-tiered system lets summoned Ballistae stay safely at your side while explosive Ballistae are correctly thrown at the nearest enemy.

It is also now much easier to kite enemies without being required to turn and aim directly at them with most skills, and each ability has been updated to feel more intuitive and satisfying. This includes Puncture (Bow form), Ranged Projectiles that had a non-standard delay or targeting that didn’t work well in the older system, and Meteor, though we’re still making improvements on this one.

Eleventh Hour Games

It sounds like this is going to be a fantastic change that benefits anyone playing with a controller, including us on the Steam Deck. However, the new season is bringing some amazing other changes along with it. You will now be able to respecialize your mastery and select a different one if desired, dungeon keys have their own inventory space and will no longer take up valuable gear space, you can exchange keys for key charms, more control has been added to auto-sorting to better stack found items, if you die in a dungeon, your loot will come with you, and so much more.

You can check out the full blog post detailing these changes coming on April 17th on Last Epoch's forum.

Last Epoch is available on Steam for $34.99 and is rated Steam Deck Playable due to showing incorrect controller icons and small in-game text.

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