Last Epoch Season 3 is the best time to play one of my favorite ARPGs in years

With Diablo 4's latest season still a month away, you might be on the hunt for a new ARPG to try, and Last Epoch Season 3 is here to answer the call. While it's about to have some serious competition from Path of Exile 2's next update, Eleventh Hour Games has brought some big improvements to the table in Beneath Ancient Skies. With a new story chapter, an evolving enemy threat, major class reworks, and improvements to many of the core systems that make it a personal favorite, it's a great point to start playing.

Developer Eleventh Hour Games just announced that Last Epoch has now sold three million copies, and its new season is the ideal time to join the crowd. If you've got the ARPG itch ahead of PoE 2 The Third Edict, I'll advocate for Last Epoch as one of the best games like Diablo right now, and among the most approachable to learn. If you're coming from Diablo 4, you'll find its systems relatively easy to pick up, and if you're a hardcore blaster, there's enough depth to keep you pushing through the endgame.

The core feature of Season 3 is the Primal Hunt, where you'll be tracking an ever-evolving foe known as a Rift Beast through time. Each time you defeat it, you can influence how it will adapt, ramping up both the challenge and potential payout. If it gets too far out of hand, you can reset the lineage and start anew. Materials gathered along the way can then also be cashed in at Wengari Hunt Master Skarven Bloodthorn, opening the door to new 'primordial gear' that's tremendously powerful, but limited to a single piece on your character at a time.

There's plenty more on offer, however, including the tenth chapter of the campaign, which delves back in time to the Ancient Era, a gorgeous realm filled with dangerous dinosaurs. EHG has given the graphics an extra level of polish to make sure it looks its best. Acolyte, the class I played most during my Last Epoch review, has been dramatically overhauled, both in its base form and for two of its three masteries, Lich and Necromancer. Expect new skills, some reworks, and a lot of fresh ways to craft strong Last Epoch builds.

Three of Last Epoch's best parts are the loot filter, stash, and crafting, and all have been upgraded here. The loot filter, which is fully customizable in-game and the most intuitive example of its type, has new custom light beams and sound options so you never miss a must-have drop. The generous stash, which offers hundreds of tabs to hold your entire hoard, has some new macros to help you sort and search through all the gear you've been hanging onto for too long.

The forge, which remains my favorite ARPG crafting system, has been improved with indicators that better show exactly how your items will be affected by your planned crafts. If you've not played Last Epoch, it primarily involves stripping modifiers off loot you don't want to put them on gear you like. This can then be modified by special items to ensure you get the best results possible. In the endgame, you even get the ability to 'slam' two items together to create the ultimate weapon or armor piece.

Last Epoch Season 3 begins Thursday August 21 at 9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm BST / 6pm CEST, following server downtime for maintenance. You can check the full patch notes via the Eleventh Hour Games forums.

We're certainly spoiled for choice when it comes to the best RPGs on PC these days. If you're ready to give this one a try, check our Last Epoch tier list for a full rundown of the classes at your disposal.

Which ARPG is going to eat the most of your time in the coming weeks and months? Tell us in the PCGamesN community Discord server, where you'll find thousands of fellow loot-seeking enthusiasts.