Crafting in Last Epoch is one of the most rewarding systems in the ARPG genre. It combines accessibility for new players with enough complexity to satisfy theorycrafters who want to Last Epoch gold squeeze every ounce of power from their gear. If you're just reaching endgame or exploring how to build your perfect setup, understanding crafting is essential. This guide walks through the basics of affixes, item rarities, shards, and forging potential-giving you the foundation to create powerful items and avoid common pitfalls.

Understanding Affixes

At the core of crafting are affixes, the stats that appear on gear. Each item can have up to two prefixes and two suffixes, a system borrowed from classic Diablo naming conventions. Prefixes and suffixes represent different stats-damage, resistances, health, crit, movement speed, and so on.

Affixes are ranked in tiers from Tier 1 (lowest) to Tier 7 (highest):

Tier 5: The maximum you can craft yourself.

Tier 6-7: Known as Exalted affixes, only found on dropped items. You cannot add these through normal crafting.

When viewing an item, enabling the "Always Show Modifier Ranges" option in the settings will reveal affix tiers and their possible stat ranges. This is critical for knowing how close a roll is to its maximum potential.

Item Rarities

Last Epoch's rarity system determines how many affixes an item can hold and whether it can roll exalted stats:

Normal (white): No affixes.

Magic (blue): One or two affixes.

Rare (yellow): Two to four affixes.

Exalted (purple): Contains at least one Tier 6 or Tier 7 affix.

While leveling, most players rely on magic and rare items, customizing them with crafted affixes. Later on, exalted items become the true chase, since they can be merged with uniques to create legendaries.

Crafting Shards

To add or upgrade affixes, you'll need shards. These represent individual stats (like health, fire resistance, or crit chance) and are consumed each time you craft.

How to acquire shards:

Drops: Randomly rewarded from monsters, chests, and endgame activities.

Shattering items: Use a Rune of Shattering on gear to break it down into shards of its affixes. This is the main way players stockpile crafting mats.

Vendors: Early in the game, runes of shattering can be purchased from gear vendors for Last Epoch gold.

Shattering is especially useful when you find items with stats you don't need but want to save for future crafting.

Forging Potential

Every item has a hidden crafting resource called Forging Potential (FP). This dictates how many times you can modify an item before it "burns out." Each craft consumes a random amount of FP.

When FP hits zero, you can no longer alter the item.

Because of this, crafting is both deterministic (you control what affixes to add or upgrade) and random (you don't control FP loss).

This balance prevents endless spamming while still giving you agency over your upgrades.

The Crafting Process

Let's break down how crafting works in practice:

Choose your base item. Ideally, start with something that already has affixes you want. A rare or exalted item with two strong affixes is the perfect candidate.

Add missing affixes. Empty prefix/suffix slots can be filled with shards from your crafting inventory.

Upgrade existing affixes. Push Tier 1 stats upward until Tier 5. Each upgrade costs shards and consumes FP.

Use support materials. Runes and glyphs can alter outcomes-shattering items, sealing affixes, or preventing FP loss.

Monitor FP carefully. Don't waste potential upgrading minor stats; focus on scaling core affixes for your build.

Example: You find a blue wand with two useful suffixes (crit chance and elemental damage). You could add a prefix for intelligence and another for cast speed, then upgrade them all toward Tier 5. If FP runs out, you're locked-but even then, you've created a strong item for your build.

Runes and Glyphs

Crafting isn't just about shards. Runes and glyphs are consumables that influence the process:

Rune of Shattering: Destroys an item, granting its affixes as shards.

Rune of Removal: Deletes a random affix, refunding its shards.

Glyph of Hope: 25% chance that crafting won't consume FP-vital for preserving resources.

Glyph of Despair: Seals a low-tier affix, freeing up the slot for another.

These tools introduce strategy. For example, sealing a weak affix with Despair lets you stack stronger stats without losing the original bonus.

Restrictions to Keep in Mind

Crafting has some important boundaries:

You cannot craft exalted affixes (T6-T7). They must be found on drops.

Items with zero FP are finished-you can't continue crafting, rerolling, or upgrading them.

Some advanced mechanics, like turning exalted items into legendaries, require FP to still be present.

Because of this, players often recommend being selective about which stats you upgrade. Don't blow FP on minor utility affixes if the item has potential to become endgame gear.

Early-Game vs. Endgame Crafting

Early Game: Focuson filling resistances, health, and movement speed. Use rune of shattering frequently to gather shards.

Midgame: Start targeting offensive stats for your build-crit, damage over time, spell damage, etc.-while balancing defenses.

Endgame: Save FP for exalted bases with strong affixes. Combine with uniques for legendaries. Use glyphs strategically to preserve FP and seal less important stats.

Final Thoughts

Crafting in Last Epoch is one of the game's standout features. Unlike other ARPGs that lean on pure randomness, this system strikes a balance: you can deliberately shape your gear, but the forging potential system keeps things exciting and forces smart decisions. Having enough cheap Last Epoch gold can help you make wise decisions.

To succeed, you'll need to master affixes, gather shards, and learn when to use runes and glyphs. Whether you're sealing affixes with Glyphs of Despair, upgrading key stats to Tier 5, or breaking items down for shards, every step feels meaningful.

By the time you're in the deep endgame, crafting will feel less like a gamble and more like an art form-one of the many reasons Last Epoch stands out in the ARPG space.

The endgame of Last Epoch has evolved significantly, and one of the newest seasonal systems - Woven Echoes - adds both depth and rewards for dedicated players. Whether you're looking to buy Last Epoch gold maximize loot, power up your build, or just make your maps more fun and rewarding, understanding how woven echoes work (and how to farm them efficiently) is crucial.