Last Epoch dev admits its communication has "missed the mark," apologizes with mountain of Season 4 teasers

It's been a rocky few months for Last Epoch. Having been acquired by Krafton in July, questions have swirled around the game's future given the company's hard commitment to being an "AI first" business. Then came the Paradox Classes - new, purchasable DLC specializations that Eleventh Hour claims are a necessary evil "as cosmetic sales alone were not enough to fund development costs." The response, as you likely expected, has been far from positive, with the RPG's latest reviews sitting at 'overwhelmingly negative' on Steam, or a harrowing 17%.

As tensions continue to rise, Eleventh Hour begins its extensive Last Epoch preview blog by admitting that, in terms of communication, it's "missed the mark in recent posts. There's a delicate balance between keeping the community informed and keeping information hidden to build hype before a big update," it writes. "So we're revealing much more than we usually would at this stage, but we still have plenty of details and exciting content to share on the lead-up to Season 4's launch."

But the post isn't just about Season 4. Eleventh Hour discusses Season 5 too, while also revealing a brand new roadmap that answers some questions about the Orobyss DLC (and misses out one controversial detail). Let's just hope it doesn't clash with the rumored Diablo 4 expansion or another Path of Exile 2 update - it's been through a tough time already.

The core focus of Season 4 are Omen Windows; eerie tears in the veil that will pop up both during the campaign and endgame. As you approach these spectral oddities they shatter, spawning myriad Void-dwelling monsters and the elite, eponymous Omen. During the first phase of the fight the Omen doesn't take damage, but if you manage to defeat enough waves it'll destroy any remaining beasties and come at you head-on. Defeating it will net you various rewards, including the all-new Runes of Corruption and Timeglass Fragments.

Runes of Corruption can be socketed into your items, enchanting them with Void-inspired powers. But, there's a catch. While you may end up massively upgrading your weapon, there's a chance that the corruption eats away at it, rendering it completely useless. Using the Runes is a gamble, and one I know I'll be constantly flipping a coin over. The Timeglass Fragments, meanwhile, are a new tradable currency.

There's another addition to the Monolith's Echo Web, too, aptly named Echo Chains. These sequential quests test specific mechanics, and culminate in a harder fight that nets you more rewards.

But perhaps the most important thing for this sneaky little glass cannon main are the new Rogue skills. As a high-risk-high-reward player, Shadow Rend (you do a lengthy swipe, then your shadow follows up with a powerful delayed attack) is absolutely perfect, while Bladestorm lets you toss out a merciless spinning sword that cuts foes to ribbons - think Cloud of Daggers in Baldur's Gate 3. Rogue's also got some brand new animations, with Primalist getting a full rework in that department, too.

Mage's Spellblade spec is also getting an update that's "aimed at improving the effectiveness of triggered spells," as well as upping its defensiveness and improving its mana costs.

More generally, however, there are a slew of adjustments to combat, with enhanced visual and sound effects making everything look more explosive, and new bespoke animations that make enemies react to your hits. It's subtle, but it certainly adds a bit of weight, which is something I find ARPGs struggle with given that the core objective is, of course, delete as many enemies as fast as possible to make numbers go up.

Then we move onto Season 5, which Eleventh Hour confirms is "still a ways out." The seasonal mechanic will be the Rage of Morditas, inspired by the icy demigod himself, who you'll face down as an endgame boss. There are major improvements to item factions, and the new Radiant Lance skill for Paladin that effectively allows you to shoot a laser beam of light.

Then, of course, there's Orobyss, the game's first DLC that, in theory, adds the paid Paradox Class. It's worth noting that said class is missing from both the blog post and the roadmap, which may hint that the devs have U-turned on the decision. We may have to foot the bill for the DLC instead, bringing it more in line with the likes of Diablo 4, but in the meantime we've got two new campaign chapters, bosses, monolith changes, and skill system expansions to get excited about.

Last Epoch Season 4 arrives on Thursday March 26, with Season 5 and Orobyss set to launch later in 2026. With the next chapter of Diablo 4's saga also rumored to drop next year, alongside the potential Path of Exile 2 1.0 release, Eleventh Hour has its work cut out for its ARPG.

But despite its end of year woes, I still see a place for Last Epoch. As Diablo 4 struggles to make the headway Blizzard no doubt wants to see, this next expansion feels very make or break - especially because, given the roster will probably hit seven with the new DLC's release, it feels like this may be the final chapter in Sanctuary's latest saga. If Last Epoch can pick itself up, I truly believe it can succeed. I just hope it can avoid Krafton's generative AI push.