Season 2 Masteries: Last Epoch Tier List Unveiled

If you're diving into *Last Epoch*, you've probably noticed the staggering 15 Mastery classes available. Each Mastery functions as a subclass, allowing you to specialize in a particular playstyle. From the traditional Sorcerer to the unconventional Falconer (who rides around on a bird companion), choosing the right Mastery can feel overwhelming. But fear not—this *Last Epoch Mastery tier list* will guide you through the chaos.

Keep in mind that you're not locked into one Mastery. Many optimized builds incorporate points from multiple Masteries, allowing you to enhance your character in various ways. You can invest in the first half of any Mastery's passive tree, and you can reset your Mastery choices at the Respec NPC in the End of Time.

Ranking the Best and Worst Masteries in Last Epoch

What makes a Mastery strong, weak, or somewhere in between depends on how well it meets the needs of potential builds. Every build seeks to maximize its clear speed, bossing prowess, and defense. Some Masteries excel more than others, and some synergize better than others.

For instance, "more" damage multipliers are typically more desirable than "increased" damage multipliers. If a Mastery offers more of the former, it's more likely to land higher on this list. Always pay close attention to passive descriptions to understand how they scale damage—these details are crucial. Other factors like critical hit chance, critical hit multiplier, flat damage, armor shred chance, armor shred effect, and recovery stats all carry significant weight.

In terms of defense, critical hit damage reduction or avoidance is essential, as unexpected spikes can be lethal. Resistances are also vital—while you can obtain them through gear and idols, having them on the Mastery passive tree offers flexibility. Damage reduction is another standout stat, and recovery stats like leech, health regeneration, and health/ward on hit are equally important. Any Mastery offering these stats in an efficient manner is more likely to rank higher on this list.

When evaluating Mastery skills, their damage potential for both bossing and clearing is the primary consideration, along with how enjoyable they feel to play. A skill might be S-Tier, but if its mechanics feel clunky, it may affect the Mastery's overall ranking. Ultimately, if you don’t mind dealing with quirks like snapshotting, you’re free to rank a Mastery higher.

Last Epoch Tier List: Best Season 2 Masteries

Last Epoch Tier List: Best Season 2 Masteries

Contribute to the community Tier List by voting on the best Last Epoch Masteries!

Last Epoch Season 2 Masteries Tier List

S-Tier: Paladin, Void Knight
Best overall clear, bossing, and defense, with no significant weaknesses.

A-Tier: Falconer, Bladedancer, Shaman, Druid
Strong clear, bossing, and/or defense. Lacking significantly in one area.

B-Tier: Marksman, Lich, Beastmaster
Good clear, bossing, and/or defense. Lacking significantly in one or more areas.

C-Tier: Necromancer, Forge Guard, Runemaster
Decent to good clear, bossing, and/or defense. Lacking significantly in one or more areas.

D-Tier: Spellblade, Warlock, Sorcerer
Poor to good clear, bossing, and/or defense. Lacking significantly in multiple areas.

Our detailed explanations below feature example builds from our friends at Maxroll.gg.

S-Tier Last Epoch Masteries

S-Tier: Void Knight

If you're all about screen-clearing dominance and survivability, Void Knight (and its signature move, Erasing Strike) is your go-to. It scales beautifully into its World Splitter version, and a Warpath variant is just as viable—both are top-tier and beginner-friendly.

Void Knight boasts enhanced mobility and effective HP (eHP), and its damage output remains formidable. Its ability to deal damage while moving is a massive advantage for sustained DPS, making it feel incredibly smooth to play.

Numerically speaking, Void Knight enjoys 200% added damage effectiveness on all skills (with 600% on Erasing Strike), placing it firmly in the sweet spot. Its passive tree offers resistance to and penetration for Physical and Void damage, leech and leech rate, damage reduction, increased health, slow and chill resist, mana solutions, attack speed, and more. Highlight nodes include Sorrow & Steel (damage, armor, and AoE in one), Void Corruption (critical hit chance and multiplier), and Mortal Cleave (culling, damage, and critical hit chance).

For more Void Knight builds, explore Smite Void Knight (fast, tanky, and long range) or Time Rot Void Knight (complex but highly sustainable with burst damage).

S-Tier: Paladin

Developers at Eleventh Hour Games (EHG) acknowledged overhauling the Sentinel class was ambitious, which is why Judgement Paladin dominated the Terminate Uber Abberoth race. No doubt, this Mastery earns its S-Tier status.

Like Void Knight, Paladin excels in damage and survivability. Judgement alone delivers 350% damage effectiveness and 200% critical multiplier at a 15 mana cost and 4-second cooldown, paired with a healing punch. Every other skill in its arsenal matches this potency—a rarity among Masteries. Symbols of Hope and Holy Aura continue the theme of blending damage and defense, while Healing Hands offers immense healing for tough bosses.

The passive tree provides the most resistances in the game, along with recovery and damage reduction, mana, attack and cast speed, block, armor, penetration, and more. Key nodes include Covenant of Light (boosts Healing Hands and Holy Aura), Covenant of Protection, and Reverence of Duality and Covenant of Dominion (offering ridiculous amounts of damage, sustain, damage-over-time mitigation, and defense).

Although Judgement takes center stage, Bleed Hammerdin and Smite are solid alternatives if you prefer something off-meta.

A-Tier Last Epoch Masteries

A-Tier: Falconer

EHG aimed to tone down overpowered builds by making them "just under OP," and Falconer fits the bill. Once absurdly strong, it’s now simply exceptional.

This Mastery boasts unmatched movement speed and top-tier damage, thanks partly to easy access to critical hit multipliers and Dexterity scaling options. Best of all, you can leverage both simultaneously via Aerial Assault—just summon your bird and let the mayhem begin.

Its primary weakness lies in defense. You'll need to rely on Dodge, Silver/Dusk Shrouds, and/or Glancing Blows to mitigate damage, keeping you on your toes. The lack of resistance options on the tree is another downside, forcing you to prioritize resistance-heavy gear and idols when you'd prefer other stats.

If you're willing to embrace the Falconer's defensive shortcomings, a Zero HP Ballista Falconer build can dish out devastating damage but requires cheese tactics like Silver Shrouds and Dodge. While fun, this isn't ideal for hardcore mode.

Alternatively, Umbral Blades is a top-tier Falconer build, transitioning from Shadow Daggers to a Dexterity-focused version with Talons of Valor bow and Razorfall boots. If you enjoy dashing around while slicing enemies and riding your bird, you'll love this playstyle. It’s button-intensive, though, especially if you aim for max DPS.

A-Tier: Bladedancer

While Falconer dominates popularity, Bladedancer is similarly strong and well-rounded. Clear speed, single-target performance, and defense are all top-notch, thanks to high-DPS skills, powerful passive support, and useful iframes from Lethal Mirage. If you want a fast, effective melee class, this is the one.

Key nodes on the passive tree include Pursuit (efficient damage and movement speed), Argent Veil (making dodge more reliable), and Death’s Door (damage reduction for low-life builds). The defensive layer formed by Glancing Blows, Dusk Shrouds, and Dodge is robust, and stats like Dexterity stacking, crit, leech, frailty, armor shred, and armor shred effect are all available. In short, you have everything you need to succeed.

Bladedancer’s only real drawback is its slightly lower numerical potency compared to top-tier Masteries like Judgment Paladin.

Build examples include Shadow Daggers, Shadow Cascade, Chakrams (with