Crafting in action RPGs can feel intimidating, especially if you’re new to a game like Last Epoch. Should you save certain items? What’s worth upgrading? What happens if you “brick” an item? Many players skip crafting altogether because it looks complicated—but the truth is, it’s straightforward once you understand the basics.

 

This beginner’s guide will walk you through the crafting system in Last Epoch, explain the tools you’ll use most, and show you how to start making strong gear without fear. By the end, you’ll be ready to build powerful items confidently. Having a lot of Last Epoch gold will also help you craft powerful items.

 

Crafting Materials: Shards

 

The foundation of crafting is shards—small crafting materials that drop constantly while you play. You’ll be clicking a lot of them early on (your wrist might even get tired), but don’t worry: from Season 2 onward, shards will automatically transfer into your crafting inventory.

 

Until then, you’ll still need to press the “Transfer Materials” button to move them into storage. Once stored, they’re accessible anywhere in the game.

 

Item Rarities

 

Before crafting, it’s important to understand Last Epoch’s item rarities. You’ll encounter:

 

Common – basic gear, no affixes.

 

Magic – up to two affixes.

 

Rare – up to four affixes.

 

Exalted – high-tier, late-game items.

 

Set, Unique, Weaver’s, Legendary – specialized or endgame gear.

 

For beginners, focus on common, magic, rare, and exalted, since these are the easiest to craft on and will form your early progression.

 

Opening the Forge

 

One of the best features of Last Epoch is that you can craft anywhere. No NPC required. Press F to open the Forge, then shift + right-click to quickly move items in and out.

 

Every item has a Forging Potential (FP) value. Think of FP as the item’s “durability for crafting.” Each action you take—adding, upgrading, or changing affixes—consumes FP. As long as there’s at least 1 FP left, the item can still be modified.

 

Affixes: Prefixes and Suffixes

 

Items have up to two prefixes (left side) and two suffixes (right side). Affixes include things like extra damage, resistances, or health.

 

Let’s say you’re crafting a ring:

 

Add +Fire Damage as a prefix.

 

Use a Glyph of Hope (more on glyphs below) to increase the chance of not losing FP.

 

Click “Craft” and the affix is added.

 

Affixes range from Tier 1 to Tier 5. A finished item can have four affixes, each upgraded as high as tier five. That means your best basic craft would be a “T20” item: four affixes at tier five each.

 

Glyphs and Runes

 

Crafting relies on a set of consumable tools. You’ll gather plenty of them while playing, so don’t hoard them unnecessarily.

 

Glyph of Hope – The most common glyph. Gives a 25% chance your craft won’t use FP. Always use this.

 

Glyph of Chaos – Replaces an affix with a random new one. Great for removing something useless, like Strength, if you’re building a caster.

 

Glyph of Despair – Seals an affix, moving it to a special “sealed slot,” allowing you to add a fifth affix. Harder to succeed on high-tier affixes, but powerful.

 

Runes of Shattering – Destroys an item but returns some shards from its affixes. This is huge for farming specific shards early on.

 

Practical Crafting Example

 

Start with a rare ring with 30+ FP.

 

Add +Intelligence (important stat for casters).

 

Use Glyph of Hope and upgrade until you’re happy, or until FP runs out.

 

Add secondary affixes such as health, resistances, or damage types.

 

If an unwanted affix appears, replace it using Glyph of Chaos.

 

Result: a solid rare or exalted ring that directly boosts your build.

 

Exalted Items and Advanced Crafting

 

Exalted items drop with very high forging potential, sometimes over 50 FP. These are ideal for pushing your gear into true endgame.

 

This is where Glyph of Despair shines. For example, you could seal a Tier 1 poison resistance affix, move it into the sealed slot, and then add four more powerful affixes. Done right, you end up with five fully usable stats on a single piece of gear.

 

Shattering Items for Shards

 

If a craft fails or you don’t need an item, don’t just throw it away. Use a Rune of Shattering to break it apart and recover shards from its affixes.

 

This is especially helpful if you’re targeting specific stats. For example, if you’re looking for “+Critical Strike Multiplier,” set your loot filter to highlight it. Pick up every item with that affix, shatter them, and stockpile the shards for crafting on better bases later.

 

Viewing Your Materials

 

Press F to open the Forge, then click the Crafting Materials tab (top left). Here you can:

 

Search for affixes like “Health” or “Minion.”

 

See which shards you own.

 

Learn which gear slots each affix can apply to.

 

This is incredibly useful when planning a build or hunting for missing shards.

 

Why Crafting Matters

Unlike many RPGs where crafting feels random or punishing, Last Epoch’s system is deterministic. You choose exactly what to add. RNG mostly affects FP consumption and rare critical successes.

 

That means crafting isn’t about gambling—it’s about shaping items to fit your build. From leveling gear to early endgame setups, crafting is one of the most reliable ways to power up quickly.

 

Final Tips

 

Always use Glyph of Hope to maximize FP efficiency.

 

Don’t ignore shattering—it fuels your shard supply.

 

Use Chaos when you need a different stat.

 

Save Despair glyphs for high-value items.

 

Exalted bases with high FP are where true endgame gear begins.

 

Conclusion

 

Crafting in Last Epoch looks intimidating at first, but it’s actually one of the most accessible systems in the ARPG genre. With just a handful of glyphs, runes, and shards, you can take a plain item and transform it into something tailored for your build.

 

Start small—add a couple of useful affixes, upgrade them carefully, and practice shattering unwanted items for shards. Before long, you’ll not only be less afraid of crafting—you’ll be excited every time an exalted base drops, because you’ll know exactly what to do with it.

 

That’s the basics of Last Epoch crafting. Once you’re comfortable, you can move on to advanced techniques like legendary items and sealed affixes. Having enough cheap Last Epoch gold will also help you learn advanced techniques. But for now, you’ve got everything you need to start making awesome gear and powering up your character.