Last Epoch or Wolcen

[Scytale]

I am looking for a new D3-esque game and wondering if anyone had any opinions on which one is better.

Many thanks.

[Kalle]

I have already played both - and purchased both games. I personal think epoch will be better / suits better for me.

Wolcen: Pretty simple skills / Runes (like D3) this is my personal disadvantage for the game.

Epoch: Better synergies between skills, Shield throw which can buff Allies. From the Acolyte the debuff and then dmg etc - But the multiplayer is atm sadly missing...

I think, if you just want hop in, slaugher a few mobs go for Wolcen. If you want to try more different builds, like more Theorecrafting for for Last Epoch. An intereseting thing of wolcen is the mana / rage management it is nice (for me new) but at the same time annying. Also that the skills a determined by your weapons is for me also annoying (I knew there are Uniques which can change it...).

This might sound stupid, but for me:
Wolcen is the little, new brother from Diablo 3
Last Epoch: little new brother from PoE
--> If you liked D3>PoE go for Wolcen. If you liked PoE>D3 go for Epoch.

I think if you have money and can spent it: buy Wolcen and end of the year get Last Epoch - when it is (hopefully) released.

[PALS OF EXILE]

Originally posted by Scytale:

I am looking for a new D3-esque game and wondering if anyone had any opinions on which one is better.

Many thanks.

Truth be told, they're both highly enjoyable games as far as sheer content is concerned, and both developers have done a solid job keeping the core elements of most action rpgs while also successfully implementing features that offer a fresh unique alternative to D3 and PoE.

That being said, both games have their issues, specifically the vast amounts of system resources they reserve which has been a concern in the past. Last Epoch is without a doubt more dependent on system resources with the game being nearly unplayable for a lot of players who have mid-tier builds.

Wolcen is definitely more unique and has made more of an effort to set itself apart from the standard action rpg, and personally I enjoy Wolcen far more than I do Last Epoch. The game feels much more polished and fine tuned and their twist on PoE's passive skill tree is superb.

Wolcen has been in development for a few years now and the full release is finally being pushed at the end of the month and will add an insane amount of new content in the process.

I purchased both either way because they seemed like solid alternatives to PoE and I don't regret either purchase, however if I had to choose one over the other, I'd definitely go with Wolcen.

[Mykell]

If your a fan of ARPG's like me you'll end up getting both. They all do something different enough to enjoy by themselves.

[PALS OF EXILE]

Originally posted by Mykell:

If your a fan of ARPG's like me you'll end up getting both. They all do something different enough to enjoy by themselves.

Lol, essentially sums my giant wall of text up in a nice nutshell. Much obliged, and I agree wholeheartedly. Wolcen as of late has me pretty hooked, and eager for the full release. Aside from the astronomically long initial load screen, the game feels very precise and fast paced.

[Bobzzo]

I own them both as well so here are my 2 cents:

Last Epoch - the whole concept of time travel + deep class skill dive is what grabbed me so far. The whole atmosphere also somehow reminds me of Diablo 2 back in the day.
Wolcen - the way they introduced their passive skill tree is quite unique imo.

The only annoying thing atm - the lack of any difficulty during story mode and the lack of challenge. This unfortunately applies to both games so far. Which for me is a total fun killer, but I've already spent the money and enough time in each game to make my mind.

So nothing else to do while waiting (and hope) for some changes and playing GrimDawn / Inquisitor Martyr in the meantime

[Scytale]

Thank you all so much for your replies.

A lot to think about here and a great thread for other people as well.

[Mykell]

Originally posted by Bobzzo:

I own them both as well so here are my 2 cents:

So nothing else to do while waiting (and hope) for some changes and playing GrimDawn / Inquisitor Martyr in the meantime

I prefer waiting till ARPG's add a bit more content after release nowadays. I am also playing GD and Martyr and they are both better games than when i played at release. Might go back and check out POE 2.0 when it releases. There is plenty to keep me occupied while i wait for these games.

[PALS OF EXILE]

Originally posted by Mykell:

Originally posted by Bobzzo:

I own them both as well so here are my 2 cents:

So nothing else to do while waiting (and hope) for some changes and playing GrimDawn / Inquisitor Martyr in the meantime

I prefer waiting till ARPG's add a bit more content after release nowadays. I am also playing GD and Martyr and they are both better games than when i played at release. Might go back and check out POE 2.0 when it releases. There is plenty to keep me occupied while i wait for these games.

Keep in mind WOLCEN has been in development for 4 years, and we're just now finally getting version with enough content and polish to consider it a full game.

Last Epoch on the other hand came out of the gate with an impressive amount of content, and consistent patches to slowly incorporate new features.

Early access games are a win win. The devs get all the feedback and suggestions and players get a chance to try something new before most people.

[Joey Sav]

my opinion, i enjoy last epoch's build variety , more content and ambition much more than wolcen, but if you're looking to play a fully launched game that looks pretty has decently good feeling combat with an excellent graphical fidelity factor i'd reccomend wolcen. It really comes down to what you're willing to wait for and what you like to play, wolcen has become more and more like d3 as time has passed which is a good and bad thing in a lot of ways. I enjoy playing both, but in a nutshell if you want more complexity and are willing to wait a bit for it be fully fleshed out get last epoch if you want something sooner that will be complete with less complexity grab wolcen.

[Gunther Ultrabolt Novacrunch]

Wolcen raised nearly a half a million in a kick starter campaign on the premise of a revolutionary open world ARPG. They completely betrayed the original idea of the game and now it is literally just an amalgamation of every ARPG you've ever played. Which wouldn't be a bad thing had they not 1) raised funs based on an open world and 2) taken so damn long to bring us 20 lvels and a single act to play with.

Meanwhile... Last Epoch kickstarts 3 years later, earns 1/2 the amount wolcen did and looks to do a full release the SAME year as Wolcen.

Today...right now in thier current states? I choose Last Epoch.

And someone explain this to me... Currently you can only play 20 of the 90 levels in Wolcen... but somehow they have managed to add 70 levels and 2 more acts and will release those in 3 weeks? WHO IS PLAY TESTING THIS? WHY AM I NOT PLAY TESTING THIS? I paid for this game 3 years ago. Its been festering in my steam library for much too long.

[Neocronic]

I play in Wolcen and refund, becuase game not optimized for mid-tier pc, i have i7-2600, gtx 1050ti, 8 gb ram, ssd samsung 850 evo and have 20-30 fps in battle with 20 enemies. Always have 30 fps in first town and also have unplayable ping on their servers, almost every my skill miss when i try to kill mob. When i write feedback on wolcen forum devs say i should buy new pc. They even not plan to optimize wolcen, they just want release this game after many years and start making new games. I think game almost abandoned by devs right now.

In Last epoch i have 60 fps when i buy this game, but after some patches they bug something and now i have 30-50 fps on any settings. Almost unplayable. Can't refund because i play a lot before this patch. Hope devs make better optimization before full release.

Right now i play in PoE/Grim dawn and both games looks great and works perfect on my pc.

[Soulhex]

 Neocronic 
Seriously bro ?! Wolcen and Epoch are both under development ! what did you except when you bought it ? polished and optimized game ? buy a new PC !!!! if you cant effort then wait for the release !
and......2600K intel been release nearly 9 years ago ! time to upgrade bro or stick with POE and D3 ....

[Neocronic]

Originally posted by Soulhex:

 Neocronic 
Seriously bro ?! Wolcen and Epoch are both under development ! what did you except when you bought it ? polished and optimized game ? buy a new PC !!!! if you cant effort then wait for the release !
and......2600K intel been release nearly 9 years ago ! time to upgrade bro or stick with POE and D3 ....

Wolcen release in February, devs still not optimized this game, i don't think they do this after release.
2600 still good cpu, works fine in most of 2019 AAA games. I don't think this worth to upgrade this part when i can easily run 90% of all new games.

[Imniscor]

I have D1/2/3, POE, Grim Dawn, Torchlight I & II, Sacred 2 and 3, Hellgate London, played Marvel Heroes ARPG extensively(was the best ARPG imho), Warhammer 40K Inquisitor Martyr & Prophecy expansion, Wolcen, Last Epoch and Naxia. Been playing PC and Console games since 1989 and owned every console up to 64 bits including less known such as Amiga, 3DO, Jaguar, Neo Geo, 32X, Game Gear...

Theres a couple ARPGs in the oven but I'll talk mostly about the ones being sold on Steam :

NAXIA - To me seems to be the most promising because it features a combination of Wolcen & Last Epoch depth. It's currently in early access and has only 1 playable class. Does not have much content to be played yet. I'd recommend to keep an eye on it because it has prettier graphics than both Wolcen & Last Epoch and similar depth to Last Epoch (which will have bigger depth than Wolcen).
Will have apocalyptic form (like Wolcen's) and class/skill passive tree (like Last Epoch).
The potential is greater than Last Epoch and can be as big as D4/POE2 though I can't recommend buying it right now.

WOLCEN - Being on development for longer than Last Epoch, its clearly more polished, has less bugs, more story, more content and will launch in February 10th.
At the moment the story can be completed in a handful of hours but it will receive a big update at launch and developers have said expansions will be free.
The depth (player skill and brain) required is in the same amount of Diablo 3, so its very player friendly, does not take a lot to be good and what really shines in the game is the Unique Items that change how skills work. Of course the passive system is good but is a cheaper version of Path of Exile. The skills have a rune system like D3, 16 runes per skill if I'm not mistaken.
The Apocalyptic form shapeshifts you into a boss/demon and lets you wreak destruction on foes and it's really fun.
Wolcen already has multiplayer so you can play with other people.

LAST EPOCH - The graphics are really bad, the performance and stutter is worse than Wolcen, has more bugs and less content at the moment BUT it has greater potential due to how every skill has its own passive system separately from the class passives.
The story is short, not much to do, graphics resemble the first version of MU Online (1998?) and currently it has no multiplayer so you can't play it with friends.
If the devs manage to improve the graphics and deliver content, specially end game content, this game will be able to rival big titles such as Diablo 4 or POE 2.
It's a big promise but at the moment that is all the game is.

SANCTUM BREACH - The game is in very early stage and skills/character models and animations are very repetitive. The graphics are very crude and theres not much to do except kill stuff repeatedly. But it's a 1 man work who is working with passion and He listens to feedback.
You should keep an eye on it too. Sells on Steam.

GAME RECOMMENDATION -> WARHAMMER 40K INQUISITOR MARTYR.
There is an ARPG that is very fun and not so spoken about is Warhammer 40K Inquisitor Martyr.
I would recommend that game instead of these 4 at the moment.
It is very fun and quite different from the genre, specially because of futuristic classes, firearms, grenades, flamethrowers, spells, rockets, fireballs and destruction everywhere.
It feels very rewarding and fun breaking things.
Has a lot of end game content but lacks the depth of a Path of Exile passive tree.
It has a socket and crafting system bigger than what Wolcen's will be at release.
Biggest flaw of the game is that it has not many skills available to use.

[RoninJames]

Both have their good and bad but given Wolcen is due for release very shortly and also runs much better for most people I would say Wolcen. Its also a boatload of fun.
Dont forget about Last Epoch however as it has a stupid amount of potential. Just still a little rough.